Tamriel Data:On Daedric Design

Book Information On Daedric Design
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On Daedric Design

by Nelos Llothri

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Contrary to the beliefs of so-called "Daedric scholars", the architecture of Daedric shrines is not designed to instill fear in passers-by. Neither is it a mortal mimicry of the buildings found in Daedric realms, a mockery of the fabled facades of Aldmeris, nor an echo of the rocky pillars found in the caverns which were our earliest temples. In truth, the forms of Daedric ruins are not merely architecture: they are instead a divine form of mathematics. A device inscribed upon the bones of the world, bending the Mundus towards the supranatural and enabling the worshippers to lay physical hands on the metaphysical bodies of their gods.

The power of temples, shrines, and relics to channel prayer has, of course, long been established, both through scholarly experiment and through endless anecdotal evidence. However, while the effects of the temples of the dead Eight and dying One, as well as the lesser Eighty-Two, stem largely from mortal belief and ritualistically conjured echoes, the power of a Daedric shrine comes from its design.

Communion with the Anticipations, particularly Boethiah in the aspect of the architect-teacher, allowed our ancestors to build temples that would purposefully, not just accidentally, draw their gods' attention. Each curve of a pillar, each angle, each niche is designed to not only capture but echo and amplify the sounds and motions of prayer, and to direct them as a metaphorical beam to a Void between the stars. In time, a well-built shrine would function even in the absence of supplicants, for its walls keep any whisper alive for generations. The chanting heard by scholars and adventurers within abandoned temples is precisely this.

Some "Daedric scholars" go so far as to draw parallels between Daedric shrines and Dwemer ruins, reaching for superficial parallels between architect-pupils and tonal architects. The less this blasphemy is committed to paper, the better.

The theurgic geometries of a shrine's construction are deceptively intricate, and, as should be self-evident, highly volatile. No one should undertake the construction of a new shrine uninitiated, for modern stonecutters with the requisite skill and sublimation are all but unheard of, and the slightest geometric imperfection invites disaster. Even the most experienced adventurer would be wise to avoid the more deteriorated surviving shrines, such as Ald Balaal and Ald Sotha.

When a shrine has been abandoned, the echoing effects vary wildly, depending not only on layout and integrity of the remaining structure, but also the favor and dedication of the faithful and most importantly, the Daedric Lord to whom the shrine is devoted. In a fully-intact shrine dedicated to Sheogorath, an untrained scholar can expect to feel confused within minutes; mania, dementia, paranoia, hysteria, schizophrenia, obsession, or hallucinations set in within the hour. Visitors to shrines of Mehrunes Dagon typically report feeling contrarian, enraged, spiteful, and violent. Shrines to Azura compel feelings of complacence, anticipation, inadequacy, and lethargy.

These lingering effects are due to the thinning of the barrier between Mundus and Oblivion that were established and -- pardon the pun -- enshrined during the shrines' building and active phases. One who wishes to explore an abandoned Daedric ruin in relative safety is advised to carry talismans of Almsivi, whose pacts with and wars against the Daedra provide some measure of protection.

Even with such mighty protection, every right-thinking scholar ought to realize that the old shrines and their echoes are wonders of an age long past, built to capture the attention of selfish gods, and are not to be explored by the unprepared and whimsical. In the modern age, our gods walk by our side and we do not need to reach out to them by mathematics and architecture anymore. But we must acknowledge and understand the works of our ancestors and their worship of the Anticipations, or else their echoes and prayers will be lost with crumbling stone, no better off than the prayers cast in the feeble shrines of the Western spirits.