A Khajiit’s Dissent to Our Stereotype, by J’derras of Dragonstar

Many members of the races of men and mer view us as thieves and scoundrels. While this may be true for the Khajiit they have encountered, this is hardly the case for our entire race. Yes, we have our trickster-god Rajhin, who could be called a thief by the Cyrodilics, but one should keep in mind that there are good thieves and bad thieves.

Rajhin is best compared the Breton’s tales of Reynard the Rogue, who stole from the exceedingly wealthy tyrants of Daggerfall and gave back to the downtrodden. For instance, the tale Rajhin and the Stone Maiden describes Rajhin exacting justice upon the greedy, heartless father of a maiden who only wished to be with her beloved, and taking the father’s shadow in compensation, a modest pittance to be sure. To be more accurate however, the Tales of Rajhin do not encourage one to be a thief, but to be clever, which in Ta’agra, uses the same word, so the confusion can be understood. When you hear a Khajiit say thief in Cyrodilic, they typically do not mean the common Cyrodilic connotation of the word; ie, one who steals from others.

Another issue this one has is the idea that we Khajiit are not capable of understanding the concept of property, which is of course ridiculous. We Khajiit understand the concept of property quite well, as the law-abiding Khajiit outside of Elsweyr can attest, they become upset when real thieves break into their houses and take their precious belongings. If it helps understand us in this regard better, wild cats like mountain lions and sabre cats are very territorial if their claim is threatened. The reason you may see Khajiit thieving is due to the fact that our society does not tolerate true thievery. Such Khajiit are exiled from Elsweyr, which is why the Khajiit you see may have a larcenous streak.

People also assume that we Khajiit are compulsive liars. This is a false claim that derives from two sources, the first being an exaggeration of our creation myth, which holds that Azurah made us the best deceivers. The short-minded person takes deception to mean lying, but this is not the case, as lying is merely a small fraction of deception. The second source is from the book Ahzirr Traajijazeri, which this one needs to point out is the manifesto of an extreme anti-Imperial faction of Khajiit, whose sole duty is to take Leyawiin back from the Empire. “When I contradict myself, I am telling this truth,” is part of this manifest. They may lie, but they do not speak for us. Yes, we are naturally deceptive, but rarely do we tell falsehoods. We do not reveal the entire truth unless we feel it is necessary. Is it a lie to bluff during a game of cards? We must maintain an air of mystery to cloak ourselves with, to hide from our enemies. This is why you almost never hear a Khajiit’s family name. This is reserved for only our trusted friends. If a Khajiit feels that revealing the entire truth is the best way to ensure the safety of himself and his clan, he will gladly do so. Sadly, the stereotype of the lying Khajiit causes others to believe we are lying when we are actually telling the truth.

I once heard a foolish Imperial say that moon sugar is like alcohol for us. While alcohol is commonly used by the races of men and mer as liberally as the sugar in Elsweyr, that is where the similarity ends. While this one has never partaken in the sugar, I have studied its effects (as a matter of alchemy, being this one’s trade). Moon sugar, in effect for Khajiit, is far closer to the coffee beans harvested in the jungles of Valenwood and Tenmar Forest that men often grind into a hot beverage (which is far too bitter for this one’s tongue). It is a stimulant for us in its raw form, rather than a depressant like alcohol, and it is a narcotic for others, so please do not consume the sugar in its raw form if you are not a Khajiit. Khajiit can become addicted to moon sugar, but it is only as likely as one of the races of men becoming addicted to their bitter-drink. On the issue of skooma however, very few Khajiit ever even consider consuming it. While it is derived from moon sugar, which has religious significance for many of my kind, skooma is borderline sacrilege, a corruption of the original blessing and a blight upon our people.

The people of other races often ask us why we refer to ourselves in the third-person when speaking. Some claim that it is because we have an absence of self, that we cannot comprehend us as being us. Those people are idiots. Those who speak Ta’agra as their primary language speak this way in Cyrodilic due to a combination of our grammar structure, combined with the tradition that speaking in the third-person in Elsweyr is a means to show that we are humble. As in, “My name is not important because I am less important than the other in this statement.” For those of us who grew up learning to speak Cyrodilic with Ta’agra as a second language, you might hear us use different points-of-view interchangeably without rhyme or reason. We just say what sounds good. For instance, if you were to meet me in public, I would most likely refer to myself in the first-person when introducing myself, and when with a group of people, I tend to use third-person when speaking, but occasionally slip in a first-person perspective. It all depends on the situation.

Finally, I must address the ridiculous claim that the Khajiit are incapable of self-reflection, another statement from the Renrijra Krin that is completely false. Being a sapient species has self-reflection as a requisite. It is what makes us capable of learning and growth. We are not shameless, we are confident and intelligent. We learn quickly from our mistakes. While we are not entirely predictable, neither are the races of man or mer. We highly value individualism, so long as the needs of the family are met. While there is no word for ‘rules’ in Ta’agra, there are words for honor, duty, and loyalty. While we do not have “laws” in Elsweyr, we have something far more important: consequences. Those who harm others are punished; this much is true in Elsweyr. It is how we survived and will continue to survive.

As I part with you, remember these words, “Do not judge us over the faults of a few.”