» Wed Apr 02, 2014 6:56 am Please Note That This Is Only A Pet Theory Of Mine And Thus Completely Conjecture, So Do Not Take This For Fact. Take With Ovaltine.
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Edited from the original post on teslore, to make it more understandable.
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“As above, so below.” – Mannimarco, the God of Worms
“Though the Ayleids gave theirs a central Spire as the imago of Ada-mantia, the whole of the polydox resembled the Wheel, with eight lesser towers forming a ring around their primus. To dismiss this mythitecture as being a mockery of the Aurbis is to ignore an important point: this same "jest" gave White-Gold Tower a power over creatia unalike any on this plane(t). It was a triumph of sympathetic megafetish, and the Start of the [Threat! To! Empire!] that brings me to this Council.” – Nu Hatta, Nu-Mantia Intercept #8
When the Ayleids reigned in Cyrodiil, the White-Gold Tower was known as the Temple of the Ten Ancestors. Within the Temple rested the statues of the Ten Ancestors, the deities that the Heartland Elves worshipped. While it can only be speculated on who exactly the Ten Ancestors were, I will attempt to theorize on their identities.
But isn’t this a piece on the true nature of White-Gold Tower? Why, yes it is. But to understand the people of Tamriel you have to understand the deities that they follow also, as they define the people themselves. Mannimarco said it best – as above, so below. Let me explain further.
The Mer (Actual, Changed, or Namesake) generally have either an Akaic/Anuic, Lorkhanic/Padomaic, or Magnic view on creation. The Khajiit I believe are Magnic (their tower literally involves them climbing to the moons and leaving Nirn). The Echmer (see my Uutak stuff) are Akaic/Anuic. The Bosmer, Altmer, and Ancient Falmer are Akaic/Anuic. And the Dunmer, Sinismer (Left-Handed Elves), Chimer, and the Maormer are Lorkhanic/Padomaic.
The Khajiit are Magnic, but they are Changed. So who were the Magnic elves? Which of the Mer were trying to mantle themselves out of creation like the Magne-Ge? In my opinion, it was the Ayleids that were the Magnic Mer. For the most part, the veneration of Meridia is a big factor for this assumption. Meridia herself was once a Magne-Ge, cast out of Aetherius for conversing with the Daedric Princes of Oblivion. My second assumption comes from the Exegesis on Merid-Nunda, where it mentions a ‘Rainbow Road’.
"… thus does Merid-Nunda [ride? slide?] across the rainbow road from end to end, at one end stretching the dragon, at the other end compressing him …." – Exegesis of Merid-Nunda
This short sentence seems to explain a lot about Meridia. By using the Rainbow Road, she is able to ‘stretch’ Auri-El who is Time, in order words accelerating it. At the same time, she ‘compresses’ time at the other end. In my opinion this is referencing Lorkhan who is Space, thus Meridia accelerates time while also squeezing space together while traveling the Rainbow Road. Which leads me to my first revelation:
The Ayleids didn’t worship Auri-El as the chief of their pantheon. They worshipped Meridia instead because she has power over both time and space, and since Lorkhan is every bit a part of Auri-El as they are different, they didn’t worship him either. Technically, the Ten Ancestors were really only Eight.
So what happened to Auri-El and Lorkhan? They didn’t disappear. Oh no, those two are the most important dudes (alongside Magnus) in Mundus religion. You can’t simply tell them to ‘screw off’; they’ll come back in some shape or form sooner or later. So what happened to them? Well, thanks to an excellent post on Ayleid Culture I read from this subreddit, I believe the Ayleids worshipped Meridia, Magnus, Mara, Stendar, Xen, Jyggalag, Vaermina, and Azura as their Ten Ancestors. Please note that I added Jyggalag into the Ten Ancestors, mostly because the Ayleids themselves seem to have been a regal society with a strict caste system. These were the Eight Ancestors.
So once again I ask, what happened to Auri-El and Lorkhan? They became the ‘Missing Gods’ of the Ayleid pantheon. They were venerated as the last two of the Ten Ancestors but not really worshipped, because their both extremely anti-Magnic. Lorkhan wants people to live and die on Mundus and Auri-El just wants people to live. Magnus, on the other hand, wants to nothing to do with Mundus at all and neither do the Ayleids. They just want to pack their bags and book it. Which is why they built White-Gold in the first place.
But here’s where things get complicated. Because the two Ancestors that the Ayleids want to have nothing to do with are about to get suddenly forced into the Temple of the Ten Ancestors dramatically. We all know that the Ayleids were displaced from their own empire by Saint Alessia in her revolt and the Temple of Ten Ancestors passed into the hands of the early Cyrods, who were – quite frankly – fed up with Ayleid culture. Before they left, the Ayleids took the statues of their Ten Ancestors with them (who knew what the Nedes would’ve done with them?) and were forced to leave their beloved Tower behind.
[But IceFireWarden, you still haven’t told us the true purpose of White-Gold Tower! Bear with me, my friends.]
And then Saint Alessia died. And according to the legends, either Shezzar/Lorkhan or Auri-El/Akatosh turned her soul into the main stone of the Chim-El Adabal on her deathbed. The Amulet of Kings thus became the Stone of the Temple of the Ten Ancestors, or its new name White-Gold Tower. But what if this was done for an even deeper purpose? Well, if my theory holds some weight, then both Lorkhan and Auri-El were not worshipped by the Magnic Ayleids. So here is my second revelation:
Lorkhan and Auri-El created the Chim-El Adabal as an intentional plot to deliberately un-activate the Magnic properties of White-Gold Tower by strengthening its ties with Mundus. The Towers are the representations of how their builders viewed the Mundus after the Dawn. They all saw it as a trap, but the snare is different for each one. Some had an Akaic view; they saw it as a trap that kept them from their godhood and thus wanted to return to it (Stasis). Others had a Lorkhanic view; they saw it as a trap which they were forced to adapt to and evolve with it (Change). And then there were the others who had a Magnic view; they saw it as a trap and wanted to leave it entirely behind them (Static-Change). The Ayleids were Magnic, so not only does White-Gold uphold Mundus it also allows others to gain the power to escape it and leave it behind entirely.
The Amulet of Kings effectively acted as a barrier for White-Gold. It was still a Tower, and so it upheld Mundus. But it could no longer be used to attempt to mantle the Magne-Ge and enter Aetherius. It also explains why the Amulet of Kings kept the denizens of Oblivion from invading Tamriel. Not only did it bar people from leaving Mundus en masse, it also barred people from entering Mundus en masse as well.
In my opinion during the Dawn the Aldmer saw not only the Adamantine Tower that Auri-El used to achieve his godhood through stasis, they also saw the Red Tower that was created by Lorkhan’s Heart that allows godhood through change, and they also saw something else. A Tower that allows one to achieve godhood through static-change. Here’s my third revelation:
The Enantimorph resulted in the creation of the three Ur-Towers, which represent the Warrior, Thief, and Mage. Auri-El created Adamantine, and it represents Stasis. Lorkhan’s Heart created Red Tower, and it represents Change. But what the Mage? Well, I believe that’s Snow-Throat. Some people believe that the Dragon Break is the reason why Snow-Throat’s apex is only half-there. But what if it’s half there because Magnus used it as his launching point and sort of tore it to reach Aetherius? Magnus created Snow-Throat, and it represents Static-Change. And it’s Stone? Well, its Stone is a cave. And if you think about it, what is a cave? A formation within a place that enters into a chamber. Cave comes from the Latin word cava, which means ‘hollow’. Didn’t Magnus hollow out something when he left? Something big and noticeable? Like the…Sun? Hmm…
The plotline for the Dawnguard DLC just got a lot more important now, huh? The Stone of Snow-Throat is a Cave and it’s the Sun. Magnus inadvertently helped stabilize his creation when he travelled to Aetherius, creating the final Ur-Tower. Snow-Throat’s apex is only half-there because you can use it to one-shot yourself through the sun and into Aetherius, effectively leaving Mundus behind. However, to do this it must be a group effort and done in one go in order to mantle the Magnus and the Star Orphans correctly.
It also explains why Meridia had to use the Rainbow Road to make it back to the mortal plane. If Magnus (Light) and the Magne-Ge originally left Mundus to escape both Auri-El (Time) and Lorkhan (Space), then it makes sense that one would have to control Time and Space to make it back.
The Ayleids created White-Gold as an attempt to create a replica of Snow-Throat so they could escape Mundus and enter Aetherius. But as you have all noticed, this piece is also titled ‘The Mantling of the Wheels’. So let me get into that. And don’t worry folks, I’m almost done.
“If the Ayleids made their own Wheel within the Wheel, were-web aad semblio, what would happen if they plucked its strings?” – Nu Hatta, Nu-Mantia Intercept #8
The Temple of the Ten Ancestors was not built the way it was built just to make it look pretty. The Heartland Elves were its Architects, just like Magnus was the Architect of Mundus. This is why White-Gold is so powerful, even more powerful than Numidium if you think about it. And so, here is my fourth and final revelation:
White-Gold Tower is a harnessing the power of creatia because it’s not only a Wheel within a Wheel, it’s mantling conduit of multiple Wheels. There are Eight Divines, along with Lorkhan, which makes Nine. The Eight surround the Ninth, and thus make a Wheel. Now think about the geography of Tamriel. Nine Provinces, with the Ninth being surrounded by the Eight (Summerset Isles, Elsweyr, Valenwood, Hammerfell, High Rock, Black Marsh, Morrowind, and Skyrim all surround Cyrodiil). That makes a Wheel. The Wild Elves built White-Gold in Cyrodiil on purpose. Oh, and where was it built? On an island in the middle of Cyrodiil, which is surrounded by eight more islands. There’s another Wheel. And it’s stone? Eight Jewels that surround the Ninth, the Emperor/Empress them self. Oh look, another Wheel. And aren’t the Eight usurping the Dream from Anu?
There’s your answer. The Ayleids were crafty. They built White-Gold in such a way that it is actually mantling everything. From Tamriel to the Eight Divines to the Aurbis to the Dream itself. That’s why it’s the most powerful force on the plane(t). Why do you think Umbriel was heading towards it during the Infernal City and Lord of Souls? Why do you think the Thalmor wanted it during the Great War? Pluck its strings and they’ll reverberate, they’ll echo. The Ayleids had the power of the universe in the palm of their hand…and they just wanted to use it to mantle the Magne-Ge. Whoever controls White-Gold – even in its deactivated state – controls the Dream.
And that’s the true purpose of White-Gold Tower. Thank you all for taking the time to read this, and good morning/noon/afternoon/night to you all.
