Y'ffre, known as Jephre in the Aldmeri Pantheon and as Y'ffer in the Khajiiti Pantheon, is the most important god of the Bosmeri Pantheon. While Auri-El, the Time Dragon, might be the king of the gods, the Bosmer worship Y'ffre as the spirit of "the now."[1]
The Bosmer think that after the creation of the mortal plane everything was in chaos. The first mortals turned into plants and animals and back again. Then Y'ffre turned himself into the first of the Ehlnofey, the Earth Bones. After the laws of nature were established, mortals had some safety in the world because they could understand it. Y'ffre is called the Storyteller because of the lessons he taught the Bosmer. Some Bosmer still have the knowledge of the chaos times, which they can use to great effect, such as the Wild Hunt. In the Aldmeri Pantheon, Jephre is the God of the Forest.[1] Some Bretons also worship him.
During the early Merethic Era,[note 1] Y'ffre actually "walked with [the Elves]," greatly influencing their cultural development. He allegedly was the one who taught birds to sing and gave springs their "tinkling ethereal tune." In addition to his appreciation of the natural world – which he bestowed upon the Bosmer – Y'ffre is worshipped as the God of Song as well as that of the forest, especially by most Wood Elven Rangers. According to legend, he sees all within distance of any body of water, regardless of size.[2]
Representations[]
- Y'ffre – Bosmeri Pantheon and Bretony Pantheon
- Jephre – Altmeri Pantheon and Snow Elf Pantheon
- Y'ffer – Khajiiti Pantheon
Trivia[]
- The only thing Y'ffre will not allow is the destruction or manipulation of "the natural order of things."[2]
- In The Ooze: A Fable, said to be a story Bosmer are told as young children, Y'ffre is a female: "First, she told of the Green, the forest and all the plant life in it. She gave the Green the power to shape itself as it willed, for it was her first tale."[3]
Notes[]
- ↑ Of Jephre begins, "When the elven folk walked the land alone," which means this took place before the earliest human settlements in Tamriel – around roughly ME 1000 to ME 800, according to Frontier, Conquest.