» Sun Dec 18, 2011 6:27 am Now I have a speculative theory about the tsaesci which I would like the lore buddies to think on:
Are the Tsaesci 'soul vampires'?
By that I mean vampiric snakemen who feed on mortal souls instead of the blood of their physical bodies.
My proof to this? duskfang/dawnfang of Shivering Isles. The sword which no doubt has a personality similar to Umbra.
But my gut feeling tells me that this duskfang/dawnfang has an entrapped soul inside of it, one of a tsaesci.
Duskfang/dawnfang from what I can see, gameplay wise, takes 12 souls of fallen enemies and adds it unto itself, to make itself a superior version.
And I know how you lore junkies hate people referencing gameplay as lore, but I feel this time it actually makes a difference.
For as we all know that the developers love hiding little tidbits of information on lore within both gameplay and outer knowledge (MK writings).
Anyway the possessed sword is not of ordinary akaviri design (that compared to the Pale Pass soldier/Blades weapons), but it does show similarities to Akaviri architecture.
In particular some models of Fort Pale Pass, that of a snake head bears the most resemblance in my opinion. And models are normally representative of a person/ideal.
Thus I conclude that tsaesci purnishment is to burden a person's soul to become attached to a weapon, which is shaped in a manner of representating their status.
Swords like these would still have the personality of that tsaesci, but years of bound service would put a toll on their mind: becoming eventually mindless to their hunger.
This to me is a tsaesci idea of imprisonment. Crude with a touch of excellence- you have eternal torment and unwilling servitude. This is what I'd expect to see be used by any tsaesci.
So lets just work with this small theory for a second- that the tsaesci are in-fact these 'soul vampires' and that their lore should fit with this theory.
I've done a little homework myself on the subject to see if there was any references to them possibly being such a thing and I found these:
The serpent-folk ate all the Men of Akavir a long time ago, but still kind of look like them. They are tall, beautiful (if frightening), covered in golden scales, and immortal. They enslave the goblins of the surrounding isles, who provide labor and fresh blood.
Immortality in nirn is not an easy thing to grasp within one's reaches. Most who wish it deem to go down a path of one becoming undead- the lich or the life stealer, vampires. I do not have extensive knowledge on how TES souls work or their attributes, but it appears that they can be used as a source of power- to hold a moon in place or to power an enchantment. So if you had the power to absorb a soul unto one's own soul, could it be possible that this would expand your life span in the mortal realm to the extent of a person believing you be immortal?
You absorb a soul of a 40 year old nord who was only going to live to 100, you are 259 years old, you are only going to live untill 260 years by your current lifespan.
But by adding his remainder years to your own, you now have 61 more years to live. Get the idea?
The usage of providing 'blood' in the text, I think, is an author mistake. For seeing such an event could be easily mistaken for simple vampirism of the tamriellic kind.
First, the Tsaesci may have extremely powerful arcane forces at their command. The possibility that they may have manipulated the weather across such a vast region seems incredible (and it should be noted that three Commissioners strongly objected to this paragraph even being included in this Report), but the Commission believes that this matter deserves urgent investigation. The potential danger is such that even the slight possibility must be taken seriously.
After the Serpent-Folk ate all the Men, they tried to eat all the Dragons. They managed to enslave the Red Dragons, but the black ones had fled to (then) Po Tun. A great war was raged, which left both the cats and the snakes weak, and the Dragons all dead.
As some of you may well know that Dovahkiin of the fourth era can manipulate weather to his own needs. In particular: clearing skies and creating thunderstorms. Now picture this - that some tsaesci had the privilege of absorbing a red/black dragon's soul. Thus merging their own soul with that of the dragon's, becoming Dovsiiv (wyrm-found). Already having captured/enslaved the red dragons, tsaesci would no doubt over time learn the usage of the Dragon language and the power of the Thu'um which we see displayed in Skyrim. This would provide them with a few unique individuals to otherwise manipulate the weather to their own ends. This I believe, was shown to thwart the imperials at Ionith.
That's my evidence to this view of the tsaesci. There may yet be more sources which hold similar clues in texts relating to the Akaviri invasion of 1E 2703 but I haven't gone over that yet. And please, do spit at my thread here with anything you can come up with. All comments are welcome but please keep to constructive criticism within such discussion.
Oh and thanks for reading! :hugs:
