» Thu May 03, 2012 8:16 am Without much preamble, I hasten to present to you a copy of one uncommon text.
This document came up to me in completely unintentional and ridiculous manner. Some khajiit left it on the secretary table in the Apothecary parlor... and was gone. The tattered scrap of paper has been filled up with half-obliterated aldmeris symbols (and in some places - with ehlnofex ones) which me and Grum gro-Ingan could barely decipher. Almost all of the text is in aldmeris (which gives grounds to consider it quite ancient), but across come untranslatable phrases in some language close to the proto-aldmeris, as well as individual words in ehlnofex (for obvious reasons not subject to translations).
Here is the text fully, that you by yourself may kindly make an impression on its contents.
[fragment unreadable]... two circular-serpents - Anurbis and Pyan-Do-Mai. They were whirling in [the void? the sea? the sand?], seizing their own tails, because they [were hungry? were blind? confused on what they are doing?]. And The Current was not present yet, as we now know it. Circular-serpents united, and out of them crawled, whirling, Saroth-of-Deeps, a swimming serpent and Ashada-of-Winds, a flying serpent, and they do not looked thus old yet. Following them Magash-the-buildress crawled, the first of colorful-serpents, and she was so bright that few could look at her. Then appeared many others (and the Daba and Stken and Taratar-the-protector and Janak-the-smart, and Meshra and Kahtanti) and others (and Aza, and Baatha, and Garas-the-hunter and Maoon-the-destroyer and Jlyg and Erme-Asmora and ...[fragment unreadable]) and others, now unknown.
And they began to whirl. Some of them were able to swim, and they whirled sidelong the Deeps, some of them were able to fly, and [they were whirling sidelong the Winds]. Lyrkhat was one of these serpents. But she was weak and she was able neither to swim nor to fly, and she did not know her way. And while the other serpents were whirling sidelong the Deeps, or whirling sidelong the Winds, she was just spinning around her axis. She was spinning, and suddenly looked at her reflection and saw that she forms the shape of "I". And it was her first symbol, and ...[fragment unreadable]. She now also wanted to do something, and after thinking she had an idea. Lyrkhat turned to colorful-serpents, and she said: "Ae niran on ur-dela Hum naar vi aad" which means: "I give you the correct course of The Current, that is, time." And she continued: "But for this you have to make the Near-Shores, and also the One who would differ from the serpents, so he could walk on the Near-Shores, sidelong The Current", and after these words she said no more, without telling the whole truth.
Colorful-serpents, (and before them all Magash-the-buildress) set to work without knowing the trickery of Lyrkhat, and soon the Near-Shores were done, and they were beautiful and so utterly dangerous, which the serpents did not know yet. Saroth-of-Deeps and Ashada-of-Winds have together begun the creation of One who would have been different from serpents. Colorful-serpents gathered on the Near-Shores, and out their ranks crawled, whirling, Saroth-of-Deeps, a swimming serpent, who was already looked old, and he said ...[fragment unreadable].
[fragment unreadable]... and he went up to the Near-Shores from beneath the sea, surrounded by the radiance that illuminated heavens and clouds and waves and colorful-serpents, which gathered around him. His skin was akin to medusae jelly, and his eyes were of the color of Day-Serpent in cloudless weather. He had neither tail nor forked tongue, but arms and legs. "Daeridoon isanzae ae moga ineri solon naar vi mer ai maor... mer ai maor... maormer", whispered he, and heavens shuddered because of his whisper, and the radiance was gone, and streams of water [poured from the sky, swallowing] everything. Thirty-and-six [Phy-Nuas spinnings] serpent looked and looked at the First-of-Maor, and all this eternity water fell from the sky.
Then out from their ranks crawled, whirling, Ashada-of-Winds, a flying serpent, who was already looked old. And he said mutely: "HUM!", and immediately streams of water have silenced and The Current has stopped. And he said aloud: "OR-KAEN-HUM!" and the First-of-Maor realized that henceforth Orkn'um his name. And then The Current slowly began to move on, as we now know it.
The water then became transparent, and suddenly serpents saw that The Current is devouring some serpents that crawled not so fast. Such was the curse of The Current and Orkn'um was cursed so that he could only [watch, how] serpents deceased. And then Lyrkhat taught Orkn'um how to shift serpents [in his semblance]. Former-serpents became similar to him, obtaining medusae skin and Day-Serpent eyes, and they all were mer ai maor. But former-serpents died anyway, only longer became their way to decease.
And then Magash-the-buildress [became very sad] because she loved Lyrkhat, and her beloved had caused her pain. Therefore she left the other serpents, and abandoned the Near-Shores. She burrowed into the heavens, and there a hole appeared, known nowadays as Day-Serpent, out of which comes life and glim. And with her moved off lesser-serpent, that nobody have counted, and nowadays their holes are called the Night-Serpents.
Ashada-of-Winds realized that Lyrkhat knew it right from the start, and he learned that nothing could save the other serpents that were bound to the Near-Shores.
Ashada-of-Winds did [fragment unreadable]... completely... [fragment unreadable]... and his lower reflection then... [fragment unreadable]... Lyrkhat realized that they did not listen to her words, so she closed her eyes in resignation, and the First-of-Maor tore her coral briasts, pulled the Center-of-Will out of her body ("TRI-NIE-MAY!"), and was going to eat it ("HUM-NUM-NUM!"). But Ashada-of-Winds understood that such potency was not to be possessed by any of former-serpents and un-serpents, and so he took away the Center-of-Will, rose high above the water and threw the Center to the Dark-Earth of the distant Tam-Rug-Ea (which was already separated from the Ak-Vir-Ea), because only there former-serpents and un-serpents could not reach it ("DWAY!").
But punishment was not over. Into eight pieces was torn the coral body of Lyrkhat. The First-of-Maor took out her eyes and turned them into Upper-Moons, which are the reflection of the Lower ones. The left, bloodied eye became the Eye-of-Malice, which gives strength to the ones-from-the-deeps and turns them into big-toothed-sharks. The right, dead eye, became the Eye-of-Umbrage, which mourns forever for the torn coral body of Lyrkhat, that is, deprived of the Center-of-Will. Two legs of Lyrkhat became the fertile lands of Iok-Ud-Ea ("HUM-DING!") and Oat-Mor-Ea ("IS-HUM-RAM-MOR!", and at this time it was the longest word that Ashada-of-Winds said, and in that is nothing strange), but they were cursed by The Current and doomed to death. Two hands of Lyrkhat become fertile archipelagos of Pyan-Do-Ea and Ines-Lo-Ea, but The Current [fragment unreadable]... The teeth of Lyrkhat were to be beautiful reefs, but The Current has made them sharp rocks. The lips of Lyrkhat were to be gentle waves washing the shores of our land, but The Current has made them deadly whirlpools.
So this is how Lyrkhat became the victim of The Current, which she herself had created. And now we know how not to.
