Skip navigation
Library

Draft: Auri-el/Trinimac Conspiracy

9 replies [Last post]
Offline
Joined: 03/08/2011

This is my rough rough draft of a piece indicating Auri-el in the destruction of Trinimac. I would appreciate any input (including organizational and grammar corrections/suggestions) so that I can either refine the piece or decide it needs to be re-evaluated.

 

There are several points which, when viewed together, show that one of the main beneficiaries of Trinimac's destruction was Auri-el. Futhermore, colletively they give rise to the possibility that Trinimac's destruction was part of a conspiracy between Auri-el and the Anticipations of the Tribunal.

 

1.) The presence of Boethiah gives rise to the potential of a plot.

 

While this in of itself does not prove that there was a conspiracy against Trinimac, the Daedra's presence was one of the first factors that raised my suspicion. Boethiah is traditionally viewed as the the Prince of secret plots of murder, treason, and conspiracy (9).

 

2.) Auri-el gained from the destruction of Trinimac..

 

The current dominant theory as to the motivations to why Boethiah would attempt to convert the Chimer into rebellion and Daedra worship are many. One popular theory is that the Daedra simply enjoy stealing the worship of mortals from the Aedra, as the passions and ambitions of mortals were more entertaining that those of Lesser Daedra servants (3). A second theory is that the Daedra usurped the worship of the Chimer because such worship would convey a greater degree of power (2). It is from this second theory that the gains of Auri-el from the destruction of his greatest knight are made plain. It is recorded that in some places, worship of Trinimac surpassed that of even Auri-el (4)(5)(6). This decrease in worship would, in theory, lead to a lessening of power in Auri-el while at the same time an increase for Trinimac. With Trinimac's destruction, Auri-el (Akatosh) would remain unchallenged as the most powerful of the Aedra.

(At this point, I ask for any input from my fellow scholars on whether this rise and fall of power could have potentially constituted an Enantiomorph if Trinimac had not been destroyed by Boethiah).

These two points provide the background and motive for the conspiracy against Trinimac, outlined in point 3.

 

3.) Conspiracy against Trinimac

 

The two main beneficiaries of the destruction of Trinimac were the Anticipations, who gained a new group of worshipers, and Auri-el, who was able to prevent a further erosion of his worship/power base to Trinimac.

I hypothesize that Auri-el, seeing the threat represented in his greatest knight, made a pact with Boethiah Prince of Plots, offering a portion of his worshipers in exchange for the destruction of Trinimac. Boethiah, using Trinimac's own voice, was able to sway the Chimer from worship of the Aedra to worship of the Daedra (3).

The immediate and long term reprocussions of Boethiah's destruction of Trinimac in relation to

Auri-el are outline in points 4 and 5 further implicate the God in conspiracy against his knight.

 

4.) Auri-el does nothing in reaction to the destruction of his greatest knight.

Sources indicate that Trinimac was a knight of Auri-el (1)(3). This relationship indicates a relationship of servitude and lordship in relations to the two gods. By that logic, Auri-el, the lord of Trinimac, should have exacted some sort of retribution against Boethiah. Yet there is no evidence of such action ever being taken. In fact, there appears to be some sort of mutual non-interference between the two parties of the conspiracy, as there is no evidence of Auri-el or Akatosh seeking to harm Boethiah or the Chimer/Dunmer or vice versa, despite the fact that Boethiah had destroyed Auri-el greatest knight, who in some accounts fought against Lorkhan with him (3). In fact, Auri-el does nothing to prevent the Exodus of the Chimer, as according to the conspiracy theory he would not as they were the blood price for Boethiah murder of Trinimac.

 

5.) Auri-el directly and indirectly prevents the restoration of Trinimac

When Trimimac was eaten and expelled by Boethiah, the Orcs were also susequently created as a race (6). An interesting theory I found in the library was that, in short, the development of the Orcish race (becoming more civilized and accepted in the world) would lead to a transformation of Malacath back into Trinimac. If this is true, and if Auri-el did not seek the destruction of Trinimac, then the God should have persued the opportunity to restore his knight and thwart Boethiah.

However, historical evidence points in the opposite direction. The Orcs are especially despised by Auri-el, which forced them to flee to the North (6). There according to The True Nature of Orcs, the orcish race fought against both Nords and Chimer, the former followers of Akatosh, the Man form of Auri-el. When the orcs did create a homeland of Orsinium, followers of Auri-el/Akatosh did nothing to prevent its destruction. Why would Trinimac's former Lord take no action to punish his murderer or to prevent the continual persecution of the Orcs except that he was complacent in the murder, especially considering that the latter would have restored Trinimac.

As an additional point of conspiracy, the followers of Boethiah and later the Tribunal also actively despise Trinimac's destroyed nature, Malacath. In line with the conspiracy theory, this is to prevent the re-emergence of Trinimac and a violation of the deal struck with Auri-el, which may result in a backlash. Sources from Morrowind cast Malacath in a very negative light, one of the four bad Daedra of all of the Princes from all of the Princes of Oblivion, and forbid worship of him (1)(8).

 

6.) Presence of Mephala

 

This point is included separetely from the point of Boethiah because the latter is the primary perpetrator in the destruction of Trinimac, Be that as it may, Mephala's involvement raises additional concerns of conspiracy. Mephala is the webspinner (9) and was involved with the Exodus of the Chimer (4). The presence of the webspinner seems to indicate a deeper level of conspiracy.

 

Conclusion

Auriel allowed the Anticipations to gain the veneration of the Chimer in return for th destruction of Trinimac who was becoming an increasing threat to his power. Auri-el/Akatosh did nothing to promote the Orcish race to thereby restore Trinimac. Auri-el/Akatosh did nothing to prevent the slaughter and destruction of Orcish unity by those the worshipped Trinimac/Malacath. The beliefs of the Chimer/Dunmer are largely anti-orc/anti-Malacath, potentially as a consequence of the Anticipations as a way to futher ensure Trinimac would not return.

 

Sources

1.) The Anticipations

2.) Overview of Gods and Worship

3.) The Monomyth

4.) The Changed Ones

5.) Varieties of Faith

6.) True Nature of Orcs

7.) Forum Scholars Guild: State of Trinimac

8.) The House of Troubles

9.) Book of the Daedra

Gnomey's picture
Offline
Joined: 03/18/2012

4. A reasonable point, but an alternate explanation would be that, because Trinimac was Auri-El's champion, without him Auri-El was basically too weak to win against the Anticipations. That sort of fight is basically what Trinimac was there for. Actually, that's how I always understood the tale: Trinimac became Boethiah's target because he was Auri-El's champion. He is the one who stood in the way of the Exodus, even more than Auri-El. Boethiah, by making an example of him, subverted the Aldmer's resistance.

But as I say, it's a legitimate point that Auri-El and the Altmer appear to have just given up without Trinimac.

5. Nords, especially at that time, by no means worship Akatosh. They view Alduin with fear and awe, but he is not strictly speaking an object of worship; more than any other god, he is a force of nature. And a grim one, at that. The Dragon Cult and Skaal appear to be a different matter, but it's unclear whether they came into contact with Orcs.

The Bretons and Redguards are actually much better examples, both worshiping, to some extent, Akatosh/Satakal, and both the traditional enemies of the Orcs, who destroyed Orsinium at least once.

Again, there is an alternate explanation for this point, which is the Aldmer's, and Auri-El's, phobia of Subgradience. Trinimac and his followers were corrupted by Boethiah and fell from grace, becoming unworthy of Auri-El and his followers. But either interpretation works.

All of that being said, while I'm skeptical of the theory, it has a lot of potential. The big question is whether removing Trinimac at that time didn't weaken the Aldmer too much. As far as the Enantiomorph goes, as I understand it, your theory would present a rather unique and, as such, interesting case: Auri-El, the King, gets rid of Trinimac, the would-be Rebel, before Trinimac has a chance to rebel. It would be a nice example of genre-savviness.

But who would be the Witness? The Orcs?

Offline
Joined: 03/08/2011

I had not really considered the possibility of Auri-el being too weak to carry out the fight on his own without his champion. Now that you mention it, I cannot think of a time after the loss of Trinimac when the Time God directly confronts another divine being, at least until the Oblivion Crisis. And even there, it was a one on one fight and its not like it was a clear knockout victory, while attempting to stop the Exodus would mean opposing at least two, potentially three Daedra Lords. (Are there in fact any sources of Time God's direct interference in the matters of other divine beings after the loss of Trinimac?)

However, in regards to the handling of the matter of the Orcs after the fact, Auri-el's actions still seem to be suspicious. If the loss of Trinimac was in fact a blow to Auri-el, to the point to where he could not oppose the Anticipations, then why would he not try and reverse such a negative turn of events. In establishing a protection and even a degree of reverance for the Orchish race as those who struggle on even after they have been knocked down, Auri-el would be able to not only work towards the rebirth of his champion, but to demonstrate the ability to overcome Subgradience. Then again, the Altmer do appear to have a number of phobias that result in extreme behavior, such as the killing of their young, so abandoning a god because he has fallen from grace doesn't seem to be too much of a stretch. 

Finally, I feel as though Mephala's presence does lend credit to the theory of a deeper conspiracy. Boethiah is the Prince of Plots, but that does not mean the Daedra enjoys complicated conspiracies the way that Mephala does. If it was a simple plot of murder, why would the latter Daedra become involved, and why would Boethiah allow this other Lord to possess a portion of the Chimer's worship unless there was need for the Webspinner due to the nature of a more complicated conspiracy. Also, isn't Mephala the patron of an organization of assassins. It seems fitting that Mephala is involved as it could indicate that Trinimac's destruction was an assassination rather than simple murder.

In regards to the Enantiomorph, the lack of a clear witness does seem to detract from the credibility of the idea. As I understand it, the Witness of an Enantiomorph tend to end up $%&#ed in some way or form. However, logically if Trinimac falling results in a negative consequence for the Orcs, an ascention of Trinimac from Rebel to King should benefit them, so I'm not sure how the Orcs would be the Witness. Unless of course the Idea is that eventually the Orcs would have to get &*$%ed as King Trinimac then has to worry about being displaced by the eventual Rebel. 

Gnomey's picture
Offline
Joined: 03/18/2012

True on the Enantiomorph. As the third actor, Boethiah, or maybe the Chimer, would be the natural suspects, but it's rather hard to pin down the witness if the actual act of 'blinding' is forestalled.

The problem with the Exodus is that, as far as I can tell, we have never heard the full story. Generally only Boethiah's part in it and a general summary are supplied; it does seem odd that the other two 'Anticipations' don't appear to have a role in the actual act of schism. I certainly like the idea of a deeper plot lurking beneath the surface, and deeper interplay between divines is always fun.

Edit: another approach would be abandonment. While Trinimac strove to establish a foothold for the Aldmer on Tamriel to protect their interests in their new world, Auri-El and his followers were in a state of denial and refused to have anything to do with Lorkhan's creation. They just wanted to leave it all behind them and ascend to Aetherius. While the champion went to battle his king skipped off to another country.

The Daedra would have been involved in sowing seeds of dissent between Auri-El and his champion, so that Auri-El came to resent Trinimac's proactive attitude. Compare (very) roughly to WWII, with Trinimac being Poland and Auri-El being the Allies.

Offline
Joined: 03/08/2011

So a few additional points that were brought to my attention that also seem to strengthen the notion of a conspiracy. 

1.) Malacath's Imprisonment after the fall of Trinimac. This, under the conspiracy, would be a further indication of Auri-el attempting to keep his fallen champion down so that the conspiracy would not come to light.

a.) Malacath is referred to in the Imperial Census of Daedra Lords as an imprisoned Aetherial Spirit. This gives rise to the notion that Trinimac was actively prevented from being free, that is, prevented from rising back to his original station

b.) In Lord of Souls, Ashpit is referred to as a prison. An additional point that can be taken from the book is the hostility between Malacath and the Divines, as he urges the hero to not involve the Divines while he is there (this could also be resentment because of Auri-el's failure to aid his fallen champion).

c.) Malacath's people the Orcs were also imprisoned by the Altmer according to the Pocket Guide to the Empire v1. This mirrors the supposed actions taken by the God against Trinimac after his fall, and may be a reflection of Auri-el on the Altmer which resulted in them taking Orcs as slaves. To my knowledge, the Altmer do not normally take slaves, and so this instance of enslaving the Orcs is somewhat unique.

 

*Thanks to Malak the Orc who showed me these resources.

Gnomey's picture
Offline
Joined: 03/18/2012

The Altmer are mentioned as using goblins as slaves, though as all things Altmer concrete information is lacking. I'm not sure if they have a history of using other playable races as slaves, but the fact that the Direnni and Ayleid had human slaves would suggest to me that that concept would not have been unfamiliar to the High Elves. While slavery wasn't exclusive to the Orcs, though, the point still stands that that is indeed a pretty suspect way to treat former champions and companions.

Offline
Joined: 11/26/2013

From "The Requisite Book of Daedra":

[especially marked for special interest under the heading "Malacath" you find a reference to SCOURGE, blessed by Malacath, and dedicated to the use of mortals. In short, the reference suggests that any daedra attempting to invoke the weapon's powers will be expelled into the voidstreams of Oblivion.]

"Of the legendary artifacts of the daedra, many are well known, like Azura's Star, and Sheogorath's Wabbajack. Others are less well known, like Scourge, Mackkan's Hammer, Bane of Daedra....

"...yet though Malacath blessed Scourge to be potent against his daedra kin, he thought not that it should fall into daedric hands, then to serve as a tool for private war among caitiff and forsaken. Thus did Malacath curse the device such that, should any darkkin seek to invoke its powers, that a voidhole should open and swallow that daedra, and purge him into Oblivion's voidstreams, from thence to pathfind back to the Real and Unreal Worlds in the full order of time."

This does not seem to me to be the sort of weapon a Daedra could or would create.  Again, in "Legendary Scourge":

EXPLICATION: The mace Scourge, Blessed of Malacath, Mackkan's legendary weapon, forged from sacred ebony in the Fountains of Fickledire, has ever been the bane of the Dark Kin, and many a black spirit has been hurled back into Oblivion with a single blow of this bold defender of the friendless. Scourge now hangs within the armory of Battlespire, ready to take up in the name of the Emperor against the Daedric Lords.

It stands to reason that Malacath remains more like Trinimac than perhaps we have been led to believe.

Fiore1300's picture
Offline
Joined: 07/24/2011

Have I ever mentioned what a great piece of lore The True Nature of Orcs is?

Anyway, I like the theory, but remember that Boethia assumed Trinimac's form (Varieties of Faith, Changed Ones) and used Trinimac's likeness to convince his followers to leave the Aldmer. Because of this, Auri-El has a legitimate reason for believing that Trinimac betrayed him. Hence why Trinimac received no aid in the form of rescue from his leige-lord. And hence why he despised the Orcs so. The only conspiracy I see here is Boethia's.

 

Proweler's picture
Offline
Joined: 06/14/2010

Gnomey wrote:

The Altmer are mentioned as using goblins as slaves, though as all things Altmer concrete information is lacking. I'm not sure if they have a history of using other playable races as slaves, but the fact that the Direnni and Ayleid had human slaves would suggest to me that that concept would not have been unfamiliar to the High Elves. While slavery wasn't exclusive to the Orcs, though, the point still stands that that is indeed a pretty suspect way to treat former champions and companions.

Below Mournhold Helseth was building a goblin army. Altmer were training those goblins.

Offline
Joined: 05/28/2013

It was always my belief that without Trinimac becoming Malacath, there would only be 15 daedric lords, or "spaces between the eight spokes in the wheel".  15 spaces does not a sturdy wheel make.  Lorkhan let Trinimac rip out his heart, knowing that the three good daedra would take vengence on Trinimac, thereby completing Lorkhan's creation.