Oracle Bone Transcription

The Translated Text of a Maormeri Oracle Bone, as Translated by Atticus Plinius

Author’s Note: After the release of my transcription of the tale Raid on Pyandonea, I made a series of inquiries throughout the scholarly community regarding the Maormer, and Pyandonea itself. Existing sources are sparse, and my inquiries failed to draw up anything significant until I received the underside of an old shell, covered in inscriptions. The shell underside—which appears to have been taken from the shell of one of the rare breed of reptiles known as ‘turtles’—came from an anonymous source without a note, and thus all I can draw from it is what is inscribed upon the shell itself. The bulk of the text appears to be an Aldmeris derivative, but there are traces of Ehlnofex, Daedric, and Ta’agra scripts throughout. The inscriptions are heavily damaged, but a self reference to the text as an ‘Oracle Bone’ leads me to believe, with reference to Raid on Pyandonea, that this is, in fact, a Maormeri text. Amazing! Now, just as Raid of Pyandonea may have been a forgery of relatively recent generations, this ‘Oracle Bone’ may be a forgery of the immediate present. But the anonymity of the source should not stop one from reading and perhaps even trusting this transcription.

Oracle Bone Text 1341 B of the [untranslatable] School, Isle 3A

The Sixteen Princes of [Oblivion]: Attributes, Encounters, Etcetera

[Plume-Rainbow’d-Serpent?]: Malefactor of the Maormer people, Colored Snake that Slithers Across the Sky, Teacher of the Plumed Elves in [the North-Continent], Trickery Serpent, Inheritor of Lyrkhath’s Deceitful Role. During the early years of Mund, Magraashess banished her son Plume-Raindbow’d-Serpent from the sky, for Plume-Rainbow’d-Serpent had plotted to oust his mother from the heavens and take leadership himself, even going so far as to consort with [the-Hungry-Serpent], planning to allow the-Hungry-Serpent into the sky beneath [the-black-sky] to aid him. When Magraashess banished him, he grew furious and homesick, wishing to having a place in the sky proper once more, rather than only as the Colored Snake that Slithers Across the Sky (Aurora?). He thought and thought and hatched a deceitful plan that would grant him some small solace. He sought to sink all the lands, so that the sea may reflect the sky and allow him hollow comfort. He began with our land, Pyandonea, which was then whole, and persuaded the [Earth-roots? Earth-Serpents?] who rule below the earth as the dragons rule above it to loosen their roots and allow the land to sink. Because Plume-Rainbow’d-Serpent came under the guise of a representative of Magraashess and Lyrkhath, many Earth-Serpents listened, and much of our land sank, and that is why our land today is a mass of islands with sheer cliff faces. Many Earth-Serpents did not listen, and were soon attacked by their brethren while defenseless. They cried out to the Sea Serpents, who went to the Maormer and the First King Orgnum who was [Serpent-blooded] and [Auriel-Incarnate] and demanded assistance. The King Orgnum came with the Maormeri fleets at his back and the [text lost] below, and fought against Plume-Raindbow’d-Serpent and drove him from the land. He then turned his attention upon the Earth-Serpents who had betrayed their kin, and went to war with those who remained stubborn, devouring them and their souls [because he had to]. Plume-Rainbow’d-Serpent’s story continues past Pyandonea; ejected from our land, he fled to [North-Continent], but found that most of the Earth-Serpents there refused to heed his words. Some did, but he chose to maintain them as allies for the future rather than immediate Earth-Sinkers, and they became his [Plume-Rainbow’d-Serpent-Children]. Plume-Rainbow’d-Serpent then travelled to the West where the Dark Men are, and found that all the Earth-Serpents there refused to listen to him. Taking another approach, he taught the Dark Men the Pankrat, which cut many Earth-Serpents asunder with each swing, so that the Land of the Dark Men may eventually sink, or at least be damaged. Plume-Rainbow’d-Serpent then travelled to the East, where the Men Who Look Like Serpents But Aren’t live, and found that all the Earth-Serpents there refused to listen to him, and that the Men Who Look Like Serpents But Aren’t guarded against the teaching of the Pankrat. It is unknown how Plume-Rainbow’d-Serpent tried to sink the [Far-North-Continent] from whence the Pink Men led by a Dragon who once invaded came. Eventually, meeting failure after failure, Plume-Rainbow’d-Serpent calmed and thought, and realized that there were ways to return to the sky. He recruited the Plumed Elves, who endeavored to return Plume-Rainbow’d-Serpent to the sky until they fell before the descendents of the Pink Men. Plume-Rainbow’d-Serpent [text lost]

Hermium: First Benefactor of this School, Lord of Oracle Bones, King of Krakens, He Who Devours Those Who Are Laid To Rest At Sea, Master of the Third Claw. A friend to the Maormer people, and the Teacher of much of our knowledge. [text lost] King Orgnums 43, 1EK, 61RYX, and 12J were aided by Hermium in their invasions of [the North-Isles] of the [Static]-mer. Hermium allowed said King Orgnums and their fleets into his realm Apocryea, where they voyaged through the tentacled waters until reaching their destinations, portals into the seas around the North-Isles. Many King Orgnums have had the permission of Hermium to employ Apocryea in such a manner, as a secret-sea shortcut, but only those listed have voyaged through with their fleets following. It is rumored that one King Orgnum even requested the use of Hermium’s Krakens; Hermium’s response [text lost] and at one time, Hermium offered to convert the Men of Isles 6C through 2D into Maormer [text lost]

Pe’Rite: Second Benefactor of this School, Lord of Ceremony, Ritual, and Protocol, the Winged Serpent who Bears the Ultimate Venom in his Right Fang and the Ultimate Antivenom in his Left. Master of the Venoms of Serpents and Insects, Teacher of the Healing ways to his Maormer students who wield Staffs encircled by Small Serpents. The popularly acclaimed myth [untranslatable] holds that [text lost]

Molagal: Ruddy Shadow and Figurehead of the Dreugh, Master of the Dreugh Who Are So Big That They May As Well Be Krakens, Creator of the Sun-Shy, [text lost] as mentioned above, his Dreugh followers assisting the Maormer in the battle against Plume-Rainbow’d-Serpent, due to the existing rivalry between the two Princes [text lost]

[Storm-Prince]: Razor-fiend, Once-Leaping, Storm-Prince, [text lost] Like Plume-Rainbow’d-Serpent, Storm-Prince seeks to destroy the lands which the Earth-Serpents maintain, and, hating our uncursed existence, summons tsunamis, whirlpools, and storms of all kinds to harass us. His role in the recent [Oblivion] Entanglement is noted, and [text lost]

Zurea: Moon-watcher, Tide-keeper, Mistress of the Orange Waters of the Sinking and Emerging Sun [text lost]

[text lost]mira: Mistress of the Depths of the Sea, Queen of the Fish in the Dark, Lover of the Things that Scuttle on the Ocean Floor [text lost]

[text lost]ack Leader of Moon-Wolves, Moon-Beetles, Moon-Apes, and Moon-Sharks, [text lost] Teacher of the Riding of the Sea Serpents, He Who Zurea Lends A Moon To On Occasion, Lord of [text lost]