Nerevar's Feet: The Duplicity of Vivec Re-Examined : The Elder Scrolls Series Discussion

» Mon Dec 17, 2012 8:16 pm

(Parts of this have already been put forth by others, though I've forgotten the details)

Part 1. Feet among the Velothi

This is Akulakhan. This is Nerevar, at the Red Moment. Note what they're missing?

Feet.

Numidium once had its feet taken as well, just ask Vivec:

Each of the aspects of the ALMSIVI then rose up together, combining as one, and showed the world the sixth path. Ayem took from the star its fire, Seht took from it its mystery, and Vehk took from it its feet, which had been constructed before the gift of Molag Bal and destroyed in the manner of truth: by a great hammering. When the soul of the Dwemer could walk no more, they were removed from this world.

another corpse missing its feet is that of Sotha Sil.

The infamous pomegranate banquet, of course, took place only because Molag Bal destroyed the feet of Vehk's Giant Form.

So feet-taking is something fairly common in ritualized murder scenarios among the Velothi. Why is this? Peloponnese suggests that

feet are considered sacred. The only way I can make sense of this is that the feet connect the body to Nirn, and allow the body to travel and therefore serve the gods in the ways and places that they'd like. I guess.

I'm going to suggest that he's really quite close to the truth here, and go further to suggest that by "connecting the body to Nirn" and "allowing the body to travel", what feet really do is provide agency. The Pomegranate Banquet is probably the clearest example, since what followed was pretty much the definition of a removal of agency. However, from this Vehk gained CHIM, or at least knowledge thereof- by sacrificing his agency, he grew in ability.

Part 2. I really like Sermon 11
This in mind, let's talk about Nerevar. There's a line in the 36 that, I feel, is one of the most important of the bunch, up there with "Later, and by that I mean much, much Later...". It comes from Sermon 11, the first of the three Lessons of Ruling Kings:

Ordeals you should face unimpeded by the world of restriction. The splendor of stars is Ayem's domain. The selfishness of the sea is Seht's. I rule the middle air. All else is earth and under your temporal command. There is no bone that cannot be broken, except for the heart bone. You will see it twice in your lifetimes. Take what you can the first time and let us do the rest.

Twice in your lifetimes.

I hope it's not just me, but that sure did seem like Vehk just outlined the Nerevarine prophecy to the living Nerevar, now didn't it?
Considering what we know about the death of Nerevar, it seems odd that Vehk would be so flippant about knowledge of his death- and it's not just here: Another direct reference to Nerevar's death at the hands of the Tribunal can be found two paragraphs down:

According to the Codes of Mephala there can be no official art, only fixation points of complexity that will erase from the awe of the people given enough time.This is a secret that hides another. An impersonal survival is not the way of the ruling king. Embrace the art of the people and marry it and by that I mean secretly have it murdered.

A secret that hides another: The Second Secret being that someone's gotta die for the Sharmat to be stopped.
(Before we move on, seriously, Sermon 11 is really great, read it)

Part 3. Almalexia-as-a-total-[AYEM]

Going back to that last quote, try

marry it and by that I mean secretly have it murdered

on for size. All things considered, that's a pretty serious burn- the juxtaposition of marriage and murder in this sentence draws attention to the cruelty of Ayem's cut. And it's not Vehk's only jab at Almalexia, here's one from sermon eight.

Ayem was accompanied by her husband-state, a flickering image that was channeled to her ever-changing female need.

Ayem, again presented as petty and unstable towards her husband.

Of course, I might be reading this wrong thanks to the bizarrity of Chimer culture. It's not like Vivec ever just straight-up calls Almalexia a [censored], does he?

Who rules us?

That [censored]-whote of a storm that runs The Orphanage, if the writs be read. And I’ve yet to learn that bit of tradecraft. I see now only in the sigils, and yours are recognizable enough. Would you let me wear that mask, if only for a minute?

...

This, too: the [censored]-[censored] of storm if she does not take your hand when you ask it.

Well, damn, seems he does.

Why, though? Why this seeming hostility towards God-Queen Mercy?

I suspect it has to do with her motivations in breaking the oath they swore to Nerevar.

Part four: My Beloved Taught Me About Foot Hygiene

In all this talk of feet, let's talk specifically about Vivec's relationship to Nerevar's feet:

I’d learn to read and then write so that I could see right your name forever. And I would clean your feet so that the next time you made treaty it would be with an assured step.

A humble enough statement, certainly. But remember [url=http://imperial-library.info/sites/default/files/foulmurder.jpg]Foul Murder: Nerevar's feet aren't cleaned by the tribunal, they're removed: His agency is stripped away.

Why would they do this? Why would VIvec do this? Let's go back to Sermon 11:

There is no bone that cannot be broken, except for the heart bone. You will see it twice in your lifetimes. Take what you can the first time and let us do the rest

Admittedly, I'm throwing together two arguably seperate timelines, but Vehk has the third eye's fire in "Beloved" so I'm rolling with it.

Go ahead and just rub that quote, the "clean your feet" quote, and Foul Murder together for a bit, see what comes out.

If that's not quite getting you on my train of thought, I'll cut to the chase.

Part five: I cut to the chase

So hear's my thinking. If you've been TL;DRing, here's where you get to join the conversation with minimal effort.

Vivec originally meets Nerevar as seen in "Beloved". Ashlander sequence of events happens, but the reason Vivec murders Nerevar and uses the tools is to recreate a reality where he can teach Nerevar the ways of the ruling kings, then have him come back as the Nerevarine to stop Dagoth Ur (My pet (Stolen) theory of Nerevar-as-Boethiah-to-Dumac's-Trinimac-goes-here, but is beyond the scope of this piece). Almalexia kills him for power, which Vehk resents, and I can't comprehend Seht's motivation here, he's kinda out of the spotlight. He 'Washes', that is, removes, Nerevar's feet, taking his agency and allowing him to retell his tale in order to make his lord's power greater. The next time Nerevar makes treaty, as a Nerevarine confronting Dagoth Ur with the tools of Kagrenac, his footing is assured.

This is a pretty rough sketch of the idea in my head, but it's late and I want it out there.

EDIT: Dammit, my image links broke. Use your imagination/google.

» Mon Dec 17, 2012 8:51 pm

More stuff on the symbolism of feet, from the Fireside Chats. Don't know if it's any use to this:

Anyway, so, [Alessia]'s not in any way the female principle she is in the storming of the White-Gold or the Council of Skiffs. It’s 2700 years later, and she is indeed the queen of ancient times and when she appears she’s certainly not herself. She even talks here and she doesn’t sound [like she used to]. She's got remnants of how she talks in the Pelinal stories, but she's the mother of dragons here. That’s it. You have enough there. You got your question answered, I think. Actually, look up mythological references to women and mangled feet. Just saying. This is the woman that used to fly a bull. Used to fly a bull. When I think about those stories she's never ever ever -- I mean she's sometimes dirty, like as in covered in mud or some [censored], but even then she doesn’t really care. Like then she’s all still angel what. But now [by the time of King Hrol] she’s walked the earth for so long her feet [censored] hurt, dude, they’re mangled. The Shonni-etta expands on that a bit. Grabbin’ water.