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Translating the Mysterium Xarxes

Author: 
Kikaimegami

Many days ago, a fellow scholar came to me with a copy of a book called the Mysterium Xarxes. This book is said to have been written by the Daedric Prince of Destruction, Mehrunes Dagon himself and is a set of instructions on how to open a portal to a place called Paradise. The Mysterium Xarxes is written completely in Daedric script. I took it upon myself to translate this book in its entirety.

I am well-aware of another "translation" of this book, which is called the Mythic Dawn Commentaries (or Commentaries on the Mysterium Xarxes), however, this series of books is less a literal translation and more of a philisophical one. For this article, I was not interested in the meaning behind the words in this book, just the literal translation of them.

The book itself consists of two pages that contain text and two Arrays. I have reprinted them here for your convenience:

Mysterium Xarxes, page 1 DaedricMysterium Xarxes, page 2 Daedric

With these pages in hand, I painstakingly created copies so that I could begin my translation work. In my copies, I made sure to leave blank the places where I would fill in the translated text. I have included copies of my completed work here:

Mysterium Xarxes, page 1 EnglishMysterium Xarxes, page 2 English

Having completed the main task of the raw translation, I then had to make all this text actually make sense.

Page 1

First, I set about the task of transcribing the blocks of text that go down either side of the page. I should mention there that the Daedric alphabet has no letter Y, so in any instance it appears in a word, it must be assumed when translating.

first text block The first block of text:
"When I walk the earth again, the faithful among you shall recieve your reward."
second text block The second block of text:
"Above all other mortals, forever."
final text block The final block of text:
"To be set."

Bottom, page 1bottom, page 2

The bottom of both pages is meant to be read with the text on the first page:
"As for the rest, the weak shall be winnowed, the timid shall be cast down, the mighty shall tremble at my feet and pray for pardon."

Then, the more difficult part, that being the text around and inside the circular Array in the center of the page.

first text block I first translated the text around the Array, which was a simple task:
"For Lord Dagon forever reborn in blood and fire from the waters of Oblivion."
second text block

Then came the difficult part. At first glance, the letters inside the Array look to be quite random. However, with some help from my fellow scholars Proweler, Lorus, and Fallen Murk, we were able to decipher the hidden words.

The first series of triangles that border the edges of the circle starting at 10 O'clock and going clockwise read "Oblivion". The rest of the circle, when we took into account the single, red "O" at the top of the page and the two empty triangles which should contain another O and a Y, plus the single large O in the center of the Array, we found the words: OF, BOLD, FIRE, WHO, FINDS, YOU. Thus, we translated all the letters in the Array as reading:

"Of bold Oblivion fire who finds you".

After deciphering all this text, you can see that the first page, ignoring parts that spill onto the second page, reads as such:
When I walk the earth again, the faithful among you shall recieve your reward. To be set above all other mortals, forever. As for the rest, the weak shall be winnowed, the timid shall be cast down, the mighty shall tremble at my feet and pray for pardon.

The Array is not meant to be read with this text and is a seperate part:
Of bold Oblivion fire who finds you for Lord Dagon forever reborn in blood and fire from the waters of Oblivion.

Page 2

The second page was much easier to decipher despite being slightly cut off along the right side. This is when the Mythic Dawn Commentaries came in handy, as they contained parts of the text that was missing.

first text block The first block of text:
"Come slow and bring four keys."
second text block The four keys as being held by Mehrunes Dagon:
"In my first arm, a storm. My second, the rush of plagued rain. The third, all the tinder of Anu. The fourth, the very eyes of Padhome."

With the easiest parts done, I then had to decipher the Array. With help from Proweler, this was an easy task.

first text block First, the text outside of the triangle:
"Master akin Master, mother is miasma to Destroyer."
second text block Finally, the text inside the triangle (The large 'M' is simply part of the Array):
"Mythic Dawn."

Unlike the first page, it doesn't appear that the second page is meant to be read. It is, quite literally, instructions to build an Array. From recent events, we know that, if built, this Array will create a portal to Paradise.

We know that the four keys are as follows:

  • In my first arm, a storm. - A Great Welkynd Stone
  • My second, the rush of plagued rain. - A Great Sigil Stone
  • The third, all the tinder of Anu. - The blood of an Aedra
  • The fourth, the very eyes of Padhome. - The blood of a Daedric Prince

Conclusion

In closing, I would like to once again thank my fellow scholars who aided myself in creating this text: Proweler, Lorus, and Fallen Murk.

Sources:

Mysterium Xarxes
Mythic Dawn Commentaries