Added to asset browser. See last post. -10Kaziem

Hello! I am a member of the Servants of the Tribunal RP guild on ESO, and one of our members (who works on this project) suggested coming here to post one or two of the things I have done for RP. I have not edited them much, if at all. They were spat out for RP purposes and then left untouched or put on our forum. Here goes:

"As Malidi"

The Way

Tractate Dawn and Dusk

Commentary, Thoughts, and Sayings of the Clergy, Elders and Servants

For the Holy People of Morrowind, the Children of Providence

Printed in Mournhold under the Purview of the Holy Temple of Morrowind
To be maintained and honored. To be always set physically above other writings alongside other volumes and other printed copies of the Holy Word.

Chapter 1:
“Speak none but good of the Gods.”

Malidi: The Word gives no nuance. Know the purity of Truth contained herein for the good of the faithful. Curate Llevana spoke: “Does AlmSiVi need kind words or devotion? Clearly, no. ASV needs no thing from any creature, though the inverse is true. We speak of them only in goodness for our own benefit and others, as unseemly speech does all minds harm.” Magistrix Sebaya said, “An open mind is like a fortress with it's gates open wide to the forces of Daedric corruption. Our Gods are loving parents... and do not require devotion as the Daedra do, but it is through our faith that we are shielded from the worst of the Shivering Isles. The battle for our minds is a constant one... keeping AlmSiVI in our hearts and on our tongues is a shield....”

Ald Shoul Yivohn: The Acolyte Shizzal said, “For thou are merely mortal and good with... scuttle dip.”The Curate clarified, “I think our brother, coarsely put, means to suggest that mortals, good only at mundane insignificant things do not deserve to speak of the Gods in anything besides a positive way.”

The Magistrix said, “One who disdains the gods, who curses them and refuses this protection is immediately in danger of the seeping corruption of madness, not poessession necessarily, but a slow creep that drives the mer from his kin and breaks down the social bonds that bind us. We fight a war which will be passed down a thousand generations, and the daedra are patient. It is for this reason that we faithfully praise their names, it endears us to their protection and keeps our Houses whole and unified.
 

Chapter 2:
“We can have no opinions about Truth.”
Malidi: What is Truth? Truth is AlmSiVi. Truth is the Triune Way. It is both unchanging, ever constant, law natural yet also law fluid, changing and evolving with the pilgrim on the path per their need. Curate Llevana said of Truth: “The Word and Scripture is not so obscure as to create divisions and confusions of Truth. While within it there is much Mystery, the Temple and its' chosen ordained are given the spirit to interpret the Word in Truth for all.” The Magistrix Sebaya said, "Truth remains truth, and the laws determined are unchanging, to speak otherwise is nothing more than madness.” The Novice Llervi said, “The perfect Truth can be neither denied nor twisted.”

Ald Shoul Yivohn: The Curate added, “The Word is clear, concise, logical and from it flows all wisdom. It is consistent, and belief that calls into question the consistency of the scripture dishonors the Triune way. Belief and practice that directly or indirectly contradicts the Holy Word is likewise devoid of the spirit of Truth." The Magistrix continued, "We live in a world of Determined Law, and the machinations of time, the movement of the planets, all so carefully ordained in the Clockwork City are beyond mortal reproach.A thousand generations of mages might levitate it in the air but eventually, they will die, or they will slip, and the cup falls. At best we can try to stretch the truth while ultimately failing. To say that the faith is wrong is akin to saying that Masser and Secundus will not rise in the evening, their motions are predetermined, and no mortal meddling may change them.”

The Novice Evos said, "Not only are contradictions of the Holy Word devoid of the Spirit of Truth, they are devoid of any meaning at all, like the ravings of delirium, or the grunting of a pig. Nor is it only contradictions that are devoid of truth, it is also wrong to merely restate or summarize Truth as a matter of opinion no matter what opinion you express. By so doing you imply that Truth can be questioned, you imply that contradictions may be stated by others. For example one who says: "In my opinion, Dunmer are the Chosen people," is stating something that is 'true', but he is stating it wrongly, and dangerously. You do not have an opinion on that matter. You have Truth---Determined Law."

 

Chapter 3:
“Rumors flow from the House of Troubles.”
Malidi: Beware, all ye faithful of whispers and backbiting, for these are the tools of the enemy. The Curate Llevana said, "This can be interpreted to mean two things. First, negative rumors and whispers are directly brought about by the influence of the Bad Daedra. As such, it is one's holy duty to turn a deaf ear to such kind of talk. Secondly, but not less important, is the possible extrapolation that those from whom rumors flow are themselves like the House of Troubles. If that sounds reasonable, and understanding the damaging nature that rumors tend to have, creating and spreading them is like making ones-self into the enemy of our people and our Gods."

Ald Shoul Yivohn: The Acolyte Shizzal said, "Have you ever listened to the gabble of barmaids? That should tell you all you need to know about rumors and why you shouldn't listen to them or spread them. Unless, of course, you are trying to get dirt on your enemies. Then you know one part truth and nine parts the disposition of the rumor monger."

 

Chapter 4:
“Count only the happy hours.”
Malidi: In truth, all hours should be counted as happy, for has not AlmSiVi already given you blessings beyond comparison? Have they not already done so much? The Curate Llevana said, "Though one should always remember the past and recognize its' influence on the present and how it has shaped us all, negative aspects of said past (though important) should not be dwelled upon. Only happy hours should be counted and remembered. The unhappy hours should only be remembered for the lessons they teach." The Novice Llervi spoke, “Do not keep count of the wrongs you suffer. Do not forget what has been done to you, but learn to forgive and be at peace so that the number no longer has any meaning.”

Ald Shoul Yivohn:"The Acolyte Shizzal had interjected, “Life is hard. Life is ugly. You can let it get you down, or you can make the best of it. I suggest humor, but not in the company of Ordi....” the Acolyte stopped due to a hiss from the Curate.

 

Chapter 5:
“No child has a sinner's heart.”
Malidi: It is unfortunate that we are not all as children. We grow, we age, and we fail and can be held accountable for it. The Curate Llevana said, "Children are innocent. They are not necessarily incapable of sin per say, but they are incapable of understanding the full meaning of sin, its' actions, its' consequences, and the complex framework behind it. Therefore, children cannot be held accountable for sin, because they sin with their body but not with their heart. It is the sin of the heart that truly leads one astray from the Triune Way. ” The Novice Llervi agreed, “Children are innocent, and should not have their ignorance mistaken for ill-will.”

Ald Shoul Yivohn:"The Acolyte Sathelas said, “Hatred is a learned behaviour, as is the aptitude for abandoning that which comes naturally to the soul and the heart. The heart and mind of a child are open and impressionable, subject to the overwhelming light of AlmSiVi's love and worldly despair alike. Watch what is said to them, as they will most certainly be watching you. In essence, that innocence, that forgivable ignorance, should be carried as long as possible. It is not a crime to view the world and the Living Gods with eyes alight in wonder.” The Acolyte Shizzal interrupted, “On the contrary, children are capable of all kinds of nasty things! Pulling wings off a scarab and punching my playmate in the face when he didn't give me back my slingshot are two times I remember being less than nice as a kid. The difference is kids don't know what they're doing (the first time they do it). And I think this statement could be one of them metaphor things.

The first time you sin, you're the like the kid who doesn't know any better. Consequences are the gods' way of telling you done fetched up. Sometimes the lessons will be hard to take and hard to understand, like a child being switched. You have to trust that, like a good parent, the gods have your best interests at heart. The lessons are for your own good after all, so you shouldn't feel embarrassed or ashamed about your mistake.

Of course, if this is the second time you sinned the same sin, you're like the kid who knows it's wrong to steal and does it anyway. You deserve whatever you get then, you little fet....” The Acolyte was interrupted by the Curate who rapped her fingers on the table saying, “Perhaps our brother should be a traveling priest to the poor and simple in need. AlmSiVi knows he speaks in a manner fit for teaching them. Though, in his typical... coarse way... he is right.”
 

Chapter 6:
“Let faith be your only law. ”
Malidi: What is there that is as important as not only your faith, but the faith and all that flows from it? We are elevated, sanctified, and justified in all things by our faith. A clearer truth could be no better said. The Curate Llevana said, "The scriptures and traditions are, in and of themselves, sufficient for the creation of a godly society, a godly system of law, and a godly nation. Law laid down through faith in the Triune Way is sufficient for an individual to attain unto the highest glories. The source of all these things is faith in AlmSiVi, their Saints, and the chosen people.”

Ald Shoul Yivohn: The Acolyte Shizzal had said, “And the Temple has many laws! But there's a difference to what some judge wrote in the books and what's in your heart. You won't exactly be revered for it, but know this difference, and don't be afraid to do what you know is right. Money and political power only matters in this life; before AlmSiVi, it's what's in the heart that matters most.” The Curate responded, “Though if your heart is ruled by a true faith, and your desires are actually that of AlmSiVi's then they will naturally conform to the expectations of those things.” The Novice Llervi said, “Be ruled by faith, and your actions will follow the will of ALMSIVI.”

(( This is still under construction, but we are collectively going to do this for the Homilies, Book of Dawn and Dusk, and to some extend the lessons of Vivec. These things are done, as honestly as we can, from the perspective of a Dunmer who has access to the relevant material as best as we can imagine that they might comment. We try very hard to avoid any amount of OOC blending of information into our exegesis.))

 

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Commentaries on the

Sermons of Lord Vivec

An Examination into the Theological, Spiritual, Historical, and Epistemological Contents of Scripture

Vol. 1

Analysis of the 31^st, 3^rd, and 27^th

Llevana Llethri Dren

Acolyte of the Tribunal Temple

Guard us against the whisperings of the Sharmat, Merciful Three;

and from the House of Troubles, from whom rumors flow.

Help us to stray not from the third walking path.

All worship, love, and devotion to AlmSiVi,

the beginning of the words.

The Tribunal are the Living Gods of Morrowind. The glorious defeat of the blasphemous Dwemer, the expulsion of the Northern Men from our lands, their triumphant victory over the evil Mehrunes Dagon, and the elimination of the Akaviri invaders with divine wrath is proof both of the power of AlmSiVi, their mastery over our realm, and of the providence that guides their people. They sit atop their holy throne and guide their people to glory. This we learn this from a young age in word, and see in the physical manifestations taken to be a guiding light.

We are the children of AlmSiVi, the culmination and fruition of fate, who were revealed to us in the fullness of time. They are a guide, a beacon to all. What other Gods show such direct, personal, and loving care of their followers?

None.

Thus, the Holy Three in One have taken on form from which to function as a focus for the devotions of said children. We have their Word to guide us, and this Word is a gift unlike any other in Nirn. Their Word takes many forms, one of which are the Sermons of Lord Vivec. The focus of this writing will be on these sermons, specifically the 31^st, 3^rd, and 27^th.

The 31^st

There are two primary themes found in the 31^st Sermon. AlmSiVi, or at least the aspect that chose to be Vivec teaches in this selection:

“...there was no equilibrium with the Et'Ada. They were liars, lost roots, ...

that fails the needs of the people.”

Lord Vivec speaks of the Aedra and the Daedra. Though some of the Daedra may not necessarily be inherently evil and antagonistic, does any Daedra truly love their followers? Are they truly trustworthy, or are they liars? Do they consider us with care, or do they just merely see us mortals as tools to use and discard? Even the “Good Daedra,” are just as likely to harm their worshipers as help them, as is written in The Anticipations.

And what of the Aedra? Are they not absent? Do they truly speak to their followers? Do they actually guide them? Servants of N'wah cults may be at times exemplars of honor, but is it truly divine power that guides them or just a general moral compass? That is what Lord Vivec means by “lost roots,” and why should one consider the root that is lost when there is, in sight, a holy tree that bears visible fruit?

That is the first theme and lesson of the 31^st Sermon. That theme ties in directly with the second theme and lesson of the 31^st. Vivec teaches:

“Truth is like my husband: instructed to smash, filled with procedure and noise,

hammering, weighty, heaviness made schematic, lessons learned only by a mace.”

The Truth our Ancestors found, guided by Saint Veloth was that of the “lost roots.” The Aedra did not guide Aldmeris, and without true divine guidance it sank into decadence and depravity. Like a trumpet he brought the light of Truth, smashing Aldmeri falsity with the mace of his words.

The conflict that thus arose saw to the migration of our ancestors to this promised land due to heavy persecution. Vivec also says:

“Let those that hear me then be buffeted, and let some die in the ash from the striking.”

The declaration of Truth often brings conflict, suffering, and death but this Truth also brings about a fundamental change from said dynamic that leads to a more glorious end. Our persecuted ancestors, following the Daedra, came to Resdayn. They smashed the old Aldmeric system, creating a more pure society free of the corruptions of old, yet the work of AlmSiVi was not done.

When we had been freed of the corruptions of old, Truth again showed itself to our Ancestors. Post-Aldmeris Daedric culture was necessary, a step on the path to true enlightenment; a step that, while necessary, could not bring providence to fruition. That enlightenment, that Truth was AlmSiVi. AlmSiVi had not yet been revealed because our people were not ready for ultimate truth. All things of glory for Mer must come to us as we can understand them. One cannot simply throw a book at the feet of a child and declare, “Read.”

In following the Anticipations, a proper environment was created in which AlmSiVi could be known. Though their divinity was recognized by the Anticipations, there were some who resisted the Truth. This is not to suggest that the Truth was lacking. All things necessitate their antithesis, otherwise they cannot be properly understood. It is through the interactions of this dynamic that the faithful are tested; for how can we truly comprehend the love, grace, and glory of AlmSiVi if there were not servants of the Sharmat to struggle against?

The Truth can “mangle” just as much as it can save, bringing either wisdom or doom. Such is the will of AlmSiVi. The Et'Ada were shown, through time, evidence, and trial to not be worthy of worship. Truth came to fruition through the noise and hammering of the ages, finally at rest in the glorious forms of AlmSiVi. These are the two primary lessons Vivec teaches us in Sermon 31.

We can have no opinions about Truth.

The ending of the Words is AlmSiVi.

The 3^rd

Lord Vivec's 3^rd Sermon teaches us the secret of doom. That doom is the failure to recognize the power of love. As has been said, AlmSiVi, in contrast to all other Gods, truly love and cherish their children. They take an active part in our growth as individuals, like a mother and father care for a babe. Through the folly of the Dwemer, AlmSiVi teaches us the folly of failing to love. The Dwemer are a tool that the divine used so that their children might preach this lesson to all of Nirn.

The blessed Lord Vivec, in theegg carried by the netchiman's wife, was assailed by Dwemeri atronachs. Out of love for her, he consoled her with a prayer that sent her into such a deep sleep that she could not feel the cruel Dwemer assaults upon her body to remove the egg. Though the egg form was removed and captured by the Dwemer, AlmSiVi in the form of Vivec confounded them with Truth. He taught to them the mysteries of love and its' power.

The cruel Dwemeri could not understand the words, as the Dwemeri did not understand love. They worshiped their gods of math and logic, and so did not understand the tenderer emotions. The Dwemer responded:

“We Dwemer are only aspirants to this that the Velothi have.

They shall be our doom in this and the eight known worlds...”

Truly the root cause and doom of the Dwemer is their failure to love and be loved. The Dwemeri gods of math and logic and noise cannot love. They cannot love their worshippers, but AlmSiVi can. Though the Dwemeri might love their gods, they are not loved back, and no dynamic occurs that enables true spiritual growth.

Truly, our ancestors loved. They loved each other, they loved their children, they loved the Hortator and AlmSiVi. This love and the power it created fashioned a force that not even the combined might of the blasphemous Dwemer and the northern men of Ysmir could overcome. Truly, love to and from AlmSiVi is the glory and light of Morrowind, a weapon of faith that no force can overcome.

Accept grace without limits. Forge Darkness into Light.

The ending of the words is AlmSiVi.

Selected Contemplations on the 27^th

Lord Vivec's 27^th Sermon is a collection of sayings, meant to illumine the mind and guard against falsity. There are six Sermons that bear a similar structure, and function in a similar way albeit with different focuses. The 27^th, which is called, “The Scripture of the Word,” teaches....

Lord Vivec says,

“All language is based on meat. Do not let the sophists fool you.”

It is the delight and wish of the sophist to cloud the mind of the faithful through fallacious logic. A sophist is a deceiver who twists meaning and language, equivocating instead of recognizing that language and definition must necessarily have concrete and diverse definitions so that dialogue can be clear and avoid miscommunication. Language is, as Lord Vivec says, based on meat. It has substance and tradition, it is solid. It is not water or air, subject to the sudden whims of the elements. Be wary of the sophist who would use clever language and rhetoric to confound your mind. Lord Vivec would guard you against this foolishness.

Lord Vivec says,

“The first meaning is always hidden.”

This can mean many things. One should imagine first and foremost that the ultimate meaning is itself AlmSiVi. Was not AlmSiVi at first hidden? The history of our Ancestors show us that ultimate truth comes to fruition with time, when it is read to be grasped in maturity. Both the beginning and ending of the words is, after all, AlmSiVi. One should approach all things understanding this. The first meaning will reveal itself in time. That does not mean that one should be a passive recipient. One should recognize that the first and true meaning is hidden and follow the example of Saint Veloth in seeking spiritual truth. The quest for Truth is just as important as finding it.

Lord Vivec says,

“The sage who suppresses his best aphorism: cut off his hands, for he is a thief.”

Truth and wisdom are treasures. AlmSiVi came to us that we might be illuminated and grow in wisdom. Wisdom and Truth, of which aphorism is a form, should never be completely hidden and suppressed. The sage who does so is like a thief, stealing the path to the divine from the seeker for their own selfish desires. Truly, can such a sage even be considered a sage anymore, but rather a thief as Lord Vivec says? What does one do with a thief? Such sages should be cut off from the people. May we approach and give wisdom with open arms.

Illuminate us, blessed Poet, jailer of Red Mountain, and slayer of Akavir. If you are for us, then who can stand against us? Help us to study thy Lessons with an observant mind, gleaning from thy words the wisdom to traverse the path of life as proud students of thy teachings. May we ever learn from thy Sermons and from them grow in knowledge and faith.

Walk in the light of grace, and let faith be your only law.

The ending of the words is AlmSiVi.