Landfall in the Sermons

Post » Fri Feb 13, 2015 10:47 pm

In Sermon 31, Vivec writes:

Now, (the Ministry of) Truth is "instructed to smash" is my interpretation. The "lessons learned only by a mace" seems like it refers to the very next sermon, titled, appropriately, The Scripture of the Mace.

Denouncing the alienation of the Cloven Duality reads like getting rid of Tiber's ownership of Morrowind. If Vivec foresaw that Tiber would rule the world (the Red Jewel of Conquest is shown to be a king with no equal in the Sermons), perhaps he held Lie Rock in place knowing it would be a catalyst for Dunmeri independence.

Note that the sleeping world works a double shift, referring both to the Sixth House and, in this context, to the Aedra and their lies.

and:

...sound like they heavily allude to the future smashing of the Dunmer. The imagery of the drum breaking could be the destruction of the Heart of Lorkhan, and the escaping hornets are the calamities that followed.

The rest of the Scripture of the Mace reads almost like an apology for the Temple itself. Notably:

So yeah, the virtues of the Temple were there for a specific purpose (keeping Vivec strong, and holding Dagoth Ur at bay). Kind of corroborated by:

...if you read it sideways.

In the very next lesson he tells the origin story of Lie Rock, which eventually crashes into the world. I think that one has been mined quite a bit.

The lesson after that is about Gulga Mor Jil. This creature is created by a union which seemed necessary at the time (to learn about Chim through domination) but nevertheless created many problems for the Dunmer. The Red King is referenced again, and I don't think this is for spurious reasons*. Gulga Mor Jil's body becomes Narsis, a symbol of ancestor veneration (which regained prominence after the fall of the Temple). Before his death, the innocent monster is consoled with the very same words that Vivec told to his mother as she was dying. "The birth of the god from the Netchiman's Wife is the abortion of Kindness from Love," methinks. There's an intentional parallel here between the death of his mother to experimenting dwarves and the death of society that grew up complacent under the rule of protective gods. Both lacked Love.

The lesson finishes with:

Interestingly, after all of this is laid out in direct sequence, the Scripture of Love happens, which we all know to be the first writings that touch on the Amaranth.

Now, a lot of these words are vague enough that they could refer to general suffering, but these lessons are placed all in a row, starting shortly before the introduction of Lie Rock and ending with the Sermon of Love. I am just haphazardly quoting junk, but I think this can be mined a bit more.

Perhaps Vivec was more penitent than we think. Lie Rock is not revenge against a people that don't love him anymore, it's a catalyst that leads them to something greater.

According to the Sermons, at least.

*Molag Bal impregnated Vivec with the monsters of the Sermons, but Molag Bal was also involved with the rise of Tiber Septim, or at least such is hinted at in the sword meeting with Cyrus. Vivec and Tiber have Chim in common, which they both learned from Molag Bal.

User avatar
Rude Gurl
 
Posts: 3425
Joined: Wed Aug 08, 2007 9:17 am

Return to The Elder Scrolls Series Discussion