Books of Skyrim

by Bethesda Softworks

  And it is said that he emerged into the world like a Padomaic, that is, borne by Sithis and all the forces of change therein. Still others, like Fifd of New Teed, say that beneath the Pelinal's star-armor was a chest that gaped open to show no heart, only a red rage shaped diamond-fashion, singing like a mindless dragon, and that this was proof that he was a myth-echo, and that where he trod were shapes of the first urging. Pelinal cared for none of this and killed any who would speak god-logic, except for fair Perrif, who he said, "enacts, rather than talks, as language without exertion is dead witness." When those soldiers who heard him say this stared blankly, he laughed and swung his sword, running into the rain of Kyne to slaughter their Ayleid captives, screaming, "O Aka, for our shared madness I do this! I watch you watching me watching back! Umaril dares call us out, for that is how we made him!" [And it was during] these fits of anger and nonsense that Pelinal would fall into the Madness, where whole swaths of lands were devoured in divine rampage to become Void, and Alessia would have to pray to the Gods for their succor, and they would reach down as one mind and soothe the Whitestrake until he no longer had the will to kill the earth in whole. And Garid of the men-of-ge once saw such a Madness from afar and maneuvered, after it had abated, to drink together with Pelinal, and he asked what such an affliction felt like, to which Pelinal could only answer, "Like when the dream no longer needs its dreamer."

  Volume 7: On His Battle with Umaril and His Dismemberment

  [Editor's Note: Volumes 1-6 are taken from the so-called Reman Manuscript located in the Imperial Library. It is a transcription of older fragments collected by an unknown scholar of the early Second Era. Beyond this, little is known of the original sources of these fragments, some of which appear to be from the same period (perhaps even from the same manuscript). But, as no scholarly consensus yet exists on dating these six fragments, no opinions will be offered here.]

  [And so after many battles with] Umaril's allies, where dead Aurorans lay like candlelight around the throne, the Pelinal became surrounded by the last Ayleid sorcerer-kings and their demons, each one heavy with varliance. The Whitestrake cracked the floor with his mace and they withdrew, and he said, "Bring me Umaril that called me out!" ... [And] while mighty in his aspect and wicked, deathless-golden Umaril favored ruin-from-afar over close combat and so he tarried in the shadows of the white tower before coming forth. More soldiers were sent against Pelinal to die, and yet they managed to pierce his armor with axes and arrows, for Umaril had wrought each one by long varliance, which he had been hoarding since his first issue [of challenge.]... [Presently] the half-Elf [showed himself] bathed in [Meridian light] ... and he listed his bloodline in the Ayleidoon and spoke of his father, a god of the [previous kalpa's] World-River and taking great delight in the heavy-breathing of Pelinal who had finally bled... [Text lost] ... [And] Umaril was laid low, the angel face of his helm dented into an ugliness which made Pelinal laugh, [and his] unfeathered wings broken off with sword strokes delivered while Pelinal stood [frothing]... above him insulting his ancestry and anyone else that took ship from Old Ehlnofey, [which] angered the other Elvish kings and drove them to a madness of their own... [and they] fell on him [speaking] to their weapons... cutting the Pelinal into eighths while he roared in confusion [which even] the Council of Skiffs [could hear]... [Text lost] ...ran when Mor shook the whole of the tower with mighty bashing from his horns [the next morning], and some were slain-in-overabundance in the Taking, and Men looked for more Ayleids to kill but Pelinal had left none save those kings and demons that had already begun to flee... It was Morihaus who found the Whitestrake's head, which the kings had left to prove their deeds and they spoke and Pelinal said things of regrets... but the rebellion had turned anyway... [and more] words were said between these immortals that even the Paravant would not deign to hear.

  Volume 8: On His Revelation at the Death of the Al-Esh

  [Editor's Note: Volumes 1-6 are taken from the so-called Reman Manuscript located in the Imperial Library. It is a transcription of older fragments collected by an unknown scholar of the early Second Era. Beyond this, little is known of the original sources of these fragments, some of which appear to be from the same period (perhaps even from the same manuscript). But, as no scholarly consensus yet exists on dating these six fragments, no opinions will be offered here.]

  And left you to gather sinew with my other half, who will bring light thereby to that mortal idea that brings [the Gods] great joy, that is, freedom, which even the Heavens do not truly know, [which is] why our Father, the... [Text lost]... in those first [days/spirits/swirls] before Convention... that which we echoed in our earthly madness. [Let us] now take you Up. We will [show] our true faces... [which eat] one another in amnesia each Age."

  Song of the Askelde Men

  (Nord/Traditonal)

  Translation 3E213

  Atheneum Monks at Old Anthel

  Fifty Nights from home I last awoke

  upon a sky-flung cliff in Hjaalmarch Hold

  Though my flesh had died and gone to ground

  My Vision went on, from body unbound

  Winking there in the vale whence I came

  This dead man's eyes saw pale flame

  Where men the same who took life away

  Sung high their battle-glory and praise

  Wafting went I, a shade or a wight

  Through stoic pines, pitched ink of night

  Ere I came upon the pyre-burning throng

  I heard carried on wind's wing their song

  "Sing high and clear, bandsmen born of sky

  Let Sovngarde hear and join our cry"

  "These honored dead shed blood upon the fen

  Ending Orc and Elf and traitor men."

  "Your spirit went unto and filled their heart

  You sped them to glory, Hail Spirit Wulfharth"

  Then oil from urns fed greedy flames

  burning what few my legion and I slayed

  Wordlessy they chanted then until dawn

  Every flake of ash gathered ere they marched on

  Swept along unseen, so too went I

  Meekly haunting these Children of the Sky

  Tireless they went, over hearth and hill

  Exhaustion seemed only to spur them still

  Unflagging they went, a whorl of rage

  Soon finding our camp, bloated with prey

  My dead heart ached for I knew men within

  Doomed, never knowing how close was their end

  Again the Nord chests swelled up in refrain

  I screamed unheard. I wept with horror plain

  "Hear us, our ancestor, Ash King, Ysmir

  Honor this warband as we to glory repair"

  "Those dead to whom you spoke and heard

  We bear them upon us, Your valor conferred"

  And so it was, to the man each was smeared

  With ash of a Brother's bone, blood and beard

  These ashen brutes, the Askelde Men

  Set to a gruesome task, each bowstring bent

  I bellowed then, a cry of desperate rage

  A futile howl among those men, an empty page

  Yet one elder turned and unblinking, stared

  into the vapor-soul of me, his nostrils flared

  He bellowed ancient words, his beard aflame

  And my vision fell away, Peace at last came

  Songs Of Skyrim

  Compiled by

  Giraud Gemaine

  Historian of the Bards College

  Solitude

  Ragnar the Red is a traditional song of Whiterun. Despite the grim final image the song is generally regarded as light and rollicking and a favorite in inns across Skyrim.

  Ragnar The Red

  There once was a hero named Ragnar the Red, who came riding to Whiterun from ole Rorikstead!

  And the braggart did swagger and brandish his blade, as he told of bold battles and gold he had made!

  But then he went quiet, did Ragnar the Red, when he m
et the shieldmaiden Matilda who said...

  Oh, you talk and you lie and you drink all our mead! Now I think it's high time that you lie down and bleed!

  And so then came the clashing and slashing of steel, as the brave lass Matilda charged in full of zeal!

  And the braggart named Ragnar was boastful no moooooree... when his ugly red head rolled around on the floor!

  The Dragonborn Comes has been handed down from generation to generation of bards. The Dragonborn in Nord culture is the archetype of what a Nord should be. The song itself has been used to rally soldiers and to bring hope.

  The Dragonborn Comes

  Our hero, our hero, claims a warrior's heart.

  I tell you, I tell you, the Dragonborn comes.

  With a Voice wielding power of the ancient Nord art.

  Believe, believe, the Dragonborn comes.

  It's an end to the evil, of all Skyrim's foes.

  Beware, beware, the Dragonborn comes.

  For the darkness has passed, and the legend yet grows.

  You'll know, You'll know the Dragonborn's come.

  The Age of Oppression and The Age of Aggression are variants of one song. It isn't known which of the two was written first but the tune, with loyalty appropriate lyrics, is quite popular on both sides of the war.

  The Age of Oppression

  We drink to our youth, and to days come and gone. For the age of oppression is now nearly done.

  We'll drive out the Empire from this land that we own. With our blood and our steel we will take back our home.

  All hail to Ulfric! You are the High King! In your great honor we drink and we sing.

  We're the children of Skyrim, and we fight all our lives. And when Sovngarde beckons, every one of us dies!

  But this land is ours and we'll see it wiped clean. Of the scourge that has sullied our hopes and our dreams.

  The Age of Aggression

  We drink to our youth, to days come and gone. For the age of aggression is just about done.

  We'll drive out the Stormcloaks and restore what we own. With our blood and our steel we'll take back our home.

  Down with Ulfric the killer of kings. On the day of your death we'll drink and we'll sing.

  We're the children of Skyrim, and we fight all our lives. And when Sovngarde beckons, every one of us dies!

  But this land is ours and we'll see it wiped clean. Of the scourge that has sullied our hopes and our dreams.

  The following is an ancient song we've only recently been able to translate. Without a tune or a sure pronunciation the song is lost to time. It's included here to show the deep history of song here in Skyrim.

  The original version...

  Dovahkiin, Dovahkiin, naal ok zin los vahriin, wah dein vokul mahfaeraak ahst vaal!

  Ahrk fin norok paal graan fod nust hon zindro zaan, Dovahkiin, fah hin kogaan mu draal!

  Huzrah nu, kul do od, wah aan bok lingrah vod, Aahrk fin tey, boziik fun, do fin gein!

  Wo lost fron wah ney dov, ahrk fin reyliik do jul, voth aan suleyk wah ronit faal krein!

  Ahrk fin zul, rok drey kod, nau tol morokei frod, rul lot Taazokaan motaad voth kein!

  Sahrot Thu'um, med aan tuz, vey zeim hokoron pah, ol fin Dovahkiin komeyt ok rein!

  Ahrk fin Kel lost prodah, do ved viing ko fin krah, tol fod zeymah win kein meyz fundein!

  Alduin, feyn do jun, kruziik vokun staadnau, voth aan bahlok wah diivon fin lein!

  Nuz aan sul, fent alok, fod fin vul dovah nok, fen kos nahlot mahfaeraak ahrk ruz!

  Paaz Keizaal fen kos stin nol bein Alduin jot, Dovahkiin kos fin saviik do muz!

  And the translation...

  Dragonborn, Dragonborn, by his honor is sworn, To keep evil forever at bay!

  And the fiercest foes rout when they hear triumph's shout, Dragonborn, for your blessing we pray!

  Hearken now, sons of snow, to an age, long ago, and the tale, boldly told, of the one!

  Who was kin to both wyrm, and the races of man, with a power to rival the sun!

  And the Voice, he did wield, on that glorious field, when great Tamriel shuddered with war!

  Mighty Thu'um, like a blade, cut through enemies all, as the Dragonborn issued his roar!

  And the Scrolls have foretold, of black wings in the cold, that when brothers wage war come unfurled!

  Alduin, Bane of Kings, ancient shadow unbound, with a hunger to swallow the world!

  But a day, shall arise, when the dark dragon's lies, will be silenced forever and then!

  Fair Skyrim will be free from foul Alduin's maw, Dragonborn be the savior of men!

  Songs Of Skyrim (Revised Edition)

  Compiled by

  Giraud Gemaine

  Historian of the Bards College

  Solitude

  Ragnar the Red is a traditional song of Whiterun. Despite the grim final image the song is generally regarded as light and rollicking and a favorite in inns across Skyrim.

  Ragnar The Red

  There once was a hero named Ragnar the Red, who came riding to Whiterun from ole Rorikstead!

  And the braggart did swagger and brandish his blade, as he told of bold battles and gold he had made!

  But then he went quiet, did Ragnar the Red, when he met the shieldmaiden Matilda who said...

  Oh, you talk and you lie and you drink all our mead! Now I think it's high time that you lie down and bleed!

  And so then came the clashing and slashing of steel, as the brave lass Matilda charged in full of zeal!

  And the braggart named Ragnar was boastful no moooooree... when his ugly red head rolled around on the floor!

  The Dragonborn Comes has been handed down from generation to generation of bards. The Dragonborn in Nord culture is the archetype of what a Nord should be. The song itself has been used to rally soldiers and to bring hope.

  The Dragonborn Comes

  Our hero, our hero, claims a warrior's heart.

  I tell you, I tell you, the Dragonborn comes.

  With a Voice wielding power of the ancient Nord art.

  Believe, believe, the Dragonborn comes.

  It's an end to the evil, of all Skyrim's foes.

  Beware, beware, the Dragonborn comes.

  For the darkness has passed, and the legend yet grows.

  You'll know, You'll know the Dragonborn's come.

  The Age of Oppression and The Age of Aggression are variants of one song. It isn't known which of the two was written first but the tune, with loyalty appropriate lyrics, is quite popular on both sides of the war.

  The Age of Oppression

  We drink to our youth, and to days come and gone. For the age of oppression is now nearly done.

  We'll drive out the Empire from this land that we own. With our blood and our steel we will take back our home.

  All hail to Ulfric! You are the High King! In your great honor we drink and we sing.

  We're the children of Skyrim, and we fight all our lives. And when Sovngarde beckons, every one of us dies!

  But this land is ours and we'll see it wiped clean. Of the scourge that has sullied our hopes and our dreams.

  The Age of Aggression

  We drink to our youth, to days come and gone. For the age of aggression is just about done.

  We'll drive out the Stormcloaks and restore what we own. With our blood and our steel we'll take back our home.

  Down with Ulfric the killer of kings. On the day of your death we'll drink and we'll sing.

  We're the children of Skyrim, and we fight all our lives. And when Sovngarde beckons, every one of us dies!

  But this land is ours and we'll see it wiped clean. Of the scourge that has sullied our hopes and our dreams.

  The following is an ancient song we've only recently been able to translate. Without a tune or a sure pronunciation the song is lost to time. It's included here to show the deep history of song here in Skyrim.

  The original version...

  Dovahkiin, Dovahkiin, naal ok zin los vahriin, wa
h dein vokul mahfaeraak ahst vaal!

  Ahrk fin norok paal graan fod nust hon zindro zaan, Dovahkiin, fah hin kogaan mu draal!

  Huzrah nu, kul do od, wah aan bok lingrah vod, Aahrk fin tey, boziik fun, do fin gein!

  Wo lost fron wah ney dov, ahrk fin reyliik do jul, voth aan suleyk wah ronit faal krein!

  Ahrk fin zul, rok drey kod, nau tol morokei frod, rul lot Taazokaan motaad voth kein!

  Sahrot Thu'um, med aan tuz, vey zeim hokoron pah, ol fin Dovahkiin komeyt ok rein!

  Ahrk fin Kel lost prodah, do ved viing ko fin krah, tol fod zeymah win kein meyz fundein!

  Alduin, feyn do jun, kruziik vokun staadnau, voth aan bahlok wah diivon fin lein!

  Nuz aan sul, fent alok, fod fin vul dovah nok, fen kos nahlot mahfaeraak ahrk ruz!

  Paaz Keizaal fen kos stin nol bein Alduin jot, Dovahkiin kos fin saviik do muz!

  And the translation...

  Dragonborn, Dragonborn, by his honor is sworn, To keep evil forever at bay!

  And the fiercest foes rout when they hear triumph's shout, Dragonborn, for your blessing we pray!