Silgrad Tower from the Ashes

Here is a much (much) longer song from the "Songs of the Ashkhans," about the Prophet Veloth

THE SONGS OF THE ASHKHANS:
Song of Veloth

SING, O CHIMER,
Of the days of old,
The days of the Exile.
Sing of the faithfulness
Of the Remnant Tribe,
The Tribe-Most-Beloved.

When the Aldmer were gathered
Around their towers high,
Worshiping their coveted metals
Of crystal and adamantine,
Who looked to their own feeble minds
For comfort in times of trouble.

[They were] saying,
?What need have we of gods?
Of Azura or Auri-el?
Are we not more powerful than they?
Can we not give birth with our magic
What they conceived in their minds??

[They were] saying,
?What need have we of the Ancestors?
Of our Fathers or Mothers?
Do we not know better than they?
Can we not know with our reason,
What they received from on high??

?Let us, then, dispose of Azura and Auriel;
We have no need of their assistance,
For they are but Created, the same as we!
Let us, then, forget about the Ancestors;
For they are but dust in the ground now,
Surely we who are living know better than they!?

So the Aldmer shoved aside the Aedra
And likewise their progeny, the Dwemer,
Scoffed at the [Daedric] Princes and the Ancestors;
But the Chimer, the Faithful-Ones,
They alone were faithful to the Princes
And remembered the Traditions of old.

Only Veloth, Ashkhan of the Chimer,
Stood against the blasphemers.
[He was] Saying, ?O Aldmer!
How far you have fallen!
Do you not see? Abandon the Unseen,
And you bring darkness upon yourselves!?

They scoffed at him, saying,
?You are but one Ashkhan,
One tribe out of many Aldmer!
Do you think yourselves wiser than us?
Cling to your superstitions, if you must;
But keep your tongue, and let us be!?

Veloth, knowing not how to answer,
Scowled in anger and turned his back.
But soon the Aldmer and Dwemer
Began chiding the Chimer, [they were] saying,
?Abandon your tales and your superstitions,
For you are uncultured and without knowledge.?

[They were] saying,
?If you do not yield, then,
Verily we shall cast you out,
Along with your bretheren.
Think well of our offer,
Lest you die in your ignorance.?

Veloth panicked within himself,
[He was] saying, ?What shall I do?
I cannot abandon the gods, the Princes,
I cannot abandon the Ancestors gone before!
But what of my people? What right have I
To condemn them all to death??

Then, appeared the great Prince Azura
Robed in splender, and soft in voice,
[She said,] ?Veloth, fear not,
For yourself or your tribe!
For you have been chosen
To herald my Way.?

The Prophet Veloth, shaken,
[Was saying,] ?O Great Prince!
What have I done,
That the Mother of the Rose
Should come to me??
Azura, smiling, showed him the heavens.

[She said,] ?Behold, Veloth, the Princes on High!
These my brothers and sisters in Padomay's blood;
Boethiah, the Decietful: Trust not all he says;
Clavicus Vile, the Pactmaker: Make no deal with him lightly;
Hermaeus Mora, the Seer: Who divines the future;
Hircine, the Hunter: Fall not into his traps;

Mehrunes Dagon, the Destroyer: Dodge his painful axe;
Mephala, the Spinner: Beware of her web;
Meridia, the Wayward: Beware of her charms;
Molag Bal, the Slaveholder: Let him not bind your soul;
Namira, the Spirit: Stay clear of her insects;

Nocturnal, the Night Mistress: Seek her protection at night;
Peryite, the Taskmaster: He will carry your prayers;
Sanguine, the Heathen: Stay away from his debaucheries;
Sheogorath, the Insane: Hear not his madness;
Vaernima, the Dreamer: Let her not enter your sleep;?
(More Azura told him; but too long to sing here).

The Prophet Veloth soon noticed a spirit took hold,
A spirit of rebellion against the blasphemous Aldmer;
He said [to them],
"Keep your damned logic, your reason, your magic;
For mine are the gods, the Princes, and the Ancestors!
We will not be intimidated by your haughty words."

So the Aldmeri said, "So be it, Chimer!"
They sent out their armies to subjugate them by force.
But the Prophet fought back, with his shamans and warriors
They called upon the Ancestors to help them fight,
And the ancestors rose up from Oblivion to assist;
Tens of thousands of them in ranks spreading wide.

The Admeri [were] saying, "Look! Where did they get all those men?
They feared so many spirits coming at them in anger,
So the Aldmeri armies lay down their arms and retreated.
They ran as fast as they could back to their cities;
Trampling down one another as they scurried
Like scribs in the desert, retreating in haste.

Azura said to the Prophet,
?Gather your tribe, I will lead you
To the land of the East.?
So Veloth gathered his kinfolk,
And leaving their houses behind,
The Chimeri set out, Azura leading the way.

Across the great mountains that bear his fair name,
Great Veloth the Prophet, led his people.
He sung many songs that our Fathers knew well,
The songs of creation and of our Ancestors of old.
Weaving great tents out of the hides of beasts,
The Chimeri followed their Prophet and Queen.

The tribes following Veloth, came to halt
On the far side of the Mountains, they set their camp
"Behold, O Veloth," Azura said,
"As far as your eyes can see is for you to settle."
[She said,] "And now I must take my leave of you,
My brother, Boethiah, will guide you forward.

And lo, as quickly as Azura disappeared,
There appeared Boethiah, in splendor and might.
"Behold, O Prophet, behind you afar,
Trinimac and the Orsimer, brothers of the Aldmer;
They come to stop your rebellion,
But they will fail, for I will intervene."

[He was] saying,
"It was I who whispered in your ear that day,
When you said 'I will not be intimidated'
And rebelled against the Aldmer;
Fear not, O Prophet, for I have a plan
That will turn away the Orsimer and Trinimac."

The Orsimer drew closer, with the powerful Trinimac leading,
"Death to the dissidents," their murderous cry.
But Boethiah open his mouth wide, his teeth sharp,
And swallowed Trinimac whole;
[Trinimac] emerged, as a Daedroth--Malacath,
Altered in appearance and nature.

The Orsimer, suddenly, dropping their weapons
Halted their soldiers, and grasped at their faces;
Their skulls were reshapen, their cheekbones made large,
The color of their skin changing before their eyes.
Soon they had changed, into an entirely new race;
The Orcs with deep voices, sharp teeth, and gruff voices.

Boethiah smiled at the Prophet, and sent them on thier way.
All the way to Red Mountain the ancient Ashkhans trod.
They grew many in number, ten thousand per camp;
Yet there was one Ashkhan on all of their tongues,
The Prophet of Azura, Great Veloth, the Brave;
Sing O Chimer, of his magnificent Name.

very very good!

all I can say is... Mephala... not Memphala... not Resdayn since that was what Nerevar and Dumac renamed it.. don't forget Boethiah and Mephala helping out the Chimer... and of the Trinimac-Malacath story... it may change your wording when you mention the Daedric princes...

overall, pretty good... I still can't figure out how to sing it, but I'll figure out a tune...

Thanks . Oh, yes--that's right--I forgot about them not changing the names yet. What was it called before Nerevar? I remember some of the other Princes helping the Bosmer and actually, the Khajit and the Orcs--did other Princes help the Chimer, too? If they did (in the time of Veloth) I might have to add something in the middle. I suppose it could be sung to any tune, maybe to the tune of "A Less Rude Song." Since it's an epic, it might just be chanted (kind of like the Illiad).

Nice! :goodjob:

Very atmospheric and incisive; a perfect book for introducing newcomers to the Morrowind Province interested in learning more about the culture and history of the land.

Thanks! That was my intent, actually. People got thrust into Morrowind, seemingly with almost no background it it's history or culture, and had to learn things as they went along--it was an effective way to make the experience as realistic as possible (being an outlander and all), but it left a lot of unanswered questions.

Wow...that's really good work.I await for some of your books.

Approved with minor corrections.