The Shezarrine (or Shezzarine),[1][UOL 1][UOL 2] also identified as both Shor-Who-Lives and Teacher of Men, was a bearded figure in Nedic folklore described as one of the guises of Shezarr, the "God of Man", in his role as a wise mentor towards the races of Man, primarily featured in tales where the Nedes resist the advances of the Ayleid invaders. The tales of the Shezarrine, alongside other folk legends of Shezarr, were taken as inspiration by later Cyrodilic Nedes to resist the oppression of the Ayleid slavemasters.[1] The term is derived from the name of Shezarr, whose name the Song of Pelinal identifies as an alternative for the word "freedom".[2][3]
At some point during the middle Merethic Era, the Shezarrine and other depictions of Shezarr as a wise mentor ceased to feature in the Nedic sagas. However, the term came to be featured in the Reman Manuscript of the Song of Pelinal, a work compiled in the early Second Era, where the eponymous Pelinal Whitestrake, a warrior as opposed to the bearded wise mentor of Nedic legends, was identified as potentially being the Shezarrine. The song says that the man who made the claim was then smothered by moths in the night.[3] Furthermore when the Nords first bore witness to Pelinal, they claimed that Shor had returned, though Pelinal spat at them for profaning the name of Shor.[4] Notably, Morihaus has claimed that Pelinal Whitestrake may return yet as a Fox,[5] which is known for being the Totem Animal for Shor.[6] Pelinal was also infamous for having no Heart, his chest showing an open wound.[7] Echoing the most famous trait of Lorkhan, his heart's sundering. Pelinal claims to share madness with Akatosh,[7] and that Akatosh is his other half in fragments of the Song older than the Reman manuscript.[8] Notably, other sources claim that Lorkhan is Akatosh's Twin, or Shadow, who shares his madness.[UOL 3][9][10]
NotesEdit
- Michael Kirkbride has previously affirmed that the Shezarrine are Lorkhanic hero figures who wander and defend Mankind, of which Pelinal and others named in Before the Ages of Man are numbered among.[11][UOL 4]
- In What Would Pelinal Do? Michael Kirkbride has Pelinal admit to being an "Avatar of Shezarr", with the character in question stating "no and duh" after repeated confrontation.[UOL 1] Further, The Song of Pelinal mentions that Pelinal may yet be an incarnation of a God who has come previously, giving further insight on the meaning of "Shezarrine".[12]
- In Khajiiti mythology, Lorkhaj was cursed "to walk Nirni for many phases".[13] In Reachfolk mythology, Lorkh supposedly still walks among the mortals of Nirn and appears only once in a great while, braving the pain and sorrow of the cruel world he created to aid the Reachfolk in times of desperate need.[14]
ReferencesEdit
- ^ a b The Footsteps of Shezarr — Sister Priscia Stolvo
- ^ Varieties of Faith in the Empire — Brother Mikhael Karkuxor of the Imperial College
- ^ a b The Song of Pelinal
- ^ The Song of Pelinal, v 4
- ^ The Adabal-a — Morihaus
- ^ Divines and the Nords — High Priest Ingurt
- ^ a b The Song of Pelinal, v 6
- ^ The Song of Pelinal, v 8
- ^ The Nine Coruscations — Star-Queen Varalias
- ^ The Exclusionary Mandates
- ^ Before the Ages of Man — Aicantar of Shimerene
- ^ The Song of Pelinal, v 1
- ^ Words of Clan Mother Ahnissi — Clan Mother Ahnissi
- ^ Great Spirits of the Reach: Volume 5 — Vashu gra-Morga, Chief Daedrotheologist at the University of Gwylim
Note: The following references are considered to be unofficial sources. They are included to round off this article and may not be authoritative or conclusive.