Lore:Almalexia
- This article is about the god. For the city, see Almalexia (city).
- "Ayem threw down her cloak and became the Face-Snaked Queen of the Three in One. Those that looked upon her were overcome by the meanings of the stars." - The 36 Lessons of Vivec, Sermon 36
| Lady Almalexia | |||
 Lady Almalexia as seen in Legends |
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| Race | Chimer | Gender | Female |
| Born | 1st Era | ||
| Died | 3E 427 Clockwork City |
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| Resided in | Mournhold | ||
| Appears in | Tribunal, ESO, Legends | ||
Almalexia, also known as Almalexia the Lover, Almalexia the Warden, and Ayem, was one of the three God-Kings who constituted the Tribunal, or Almsivi, along with Vivec and Sotha Sil. She was very popular among the Dunmer, who called her "Healing Mother", "Lady of Mercy", and "Mother Morrowind". They knew her as the source of compassion, sympathy, and forgiveness, the protector of the poor and weak, and the patron of teachers and healers. She resided in the temple city of Mournhold within the city of Almalexia, the capital of Morrowind, and was closely associated with House Indoril. She was also the most personable of the Tribunal and was well-known for walking among her people. As a mortal, she was the wife of Lord Indoril Nerevar, First Councilor of Resdayn. As a living god, she became the Consort of Lord Vivec, who associated her with the stars. Her other titles include Face-Snaked Queen of the Three in One and Most Blessed Lady Almalexia.
Originally the counsellors to Nerevar, the Tribunal came to power among the Dunmer following her husband's death at the Battle of Red Mountain circa 1E 700. Before his death, they swore oaths to Nerevar upon Azura that they would never use the Tools of Kagrenac on the Heart of Lorkhan in order to steal its divine essence for themselves. A few years later, Almalexia and her fellow Tribunes broke that oath to become living gods. This led to the transformation of the Chimer into the Dunmer, and the Tribunal became their immortal protectors, leaders, and gods. The truth of how they gained their divinity was covered up; according to the Heirographa, the orthodox public teachings of the Tribunal Temple, their divinity was a more spontaneous result of their supernatural virtue, discipline, wisdom, and insight. The power of Almalexia and the other Tribunes declined during their struggle with Dagoth Ur throughout the Third Era, and Almalexia eventually lost her mind along with her power. During the time of the Nerevarine Prophecies in 3E 427, she killed Sotha Sil and then died in a failed attempt to kill the Nerevarine.
Contents
- 1 History
- 2 Personal Life
- 2.1 Personality
- 3 Artifacts
- 3.1 Hopesfire
- 3.2 Mask of Almalexia
- 3.3 Mother Stones
- 4 Gallery
- 5 Notes
- 6 See Also
- 6.1 Books
- 7 References
History
Little is known of Almalexia before she became Nerevar's wife. Temple myth holds that on Mount Assarnibibi, Molag Bal oversaw the ninety-nine lovers of Boethiah who gave birth to her. She hailed from one of the Great Houses of Morrowind. Vivec's prose suggests she was already a ruler when she met Nerevar, who was working as a guard for a merchant caravan at the time. Though Nerevar was a generation older than her, they eventually got married. The Dwemer king Dumac, who had become Nerevar's close friend, presented them with twin blades of the highest Dwemeri craftsmanship. Almalexia's was known as Hopesfire. Sources conflict on how her husband met his demise. Most attribute it to wounds he received during the Battle of Red Mountain. The Ashlanders, who rejected Tribunal worship, believe that Almalexia and her fellow Tribunes murdered her husband so he would not interfere with their plan to take divine power.
As soon as the Tribunal stole power from the Heart, Azura appeared and cursed them. The Daedric Prince issued the prophecy that the Nerevarine would return to punish them for breaking their oaths. When Sotha Sil waved off her omens, the Dunmer were created, and Azura gave a final prophecy: that the Dunmer would share the Tribunal's fate until the end of time. Though confused at first, the Dunmer (with the exception of Ashlanders, who know her as the "Mad Wife") did come to accept the Tribunal as their new gods. Theological concerns gave rise to the idea of the "Anticipations", the "Good Daedra" the Chimer had worshipped before the Tribunal's apotheosis (so while the Tribunal had once been mortal, and non-existent before that, their Anticipations were said to have guided the Chimer in their stead). The Good Daedra are those Princes of Oblivion who apparently acknowledged the Tribunal's authority over the Dunmer (as opposed to the Bad Daedra, spirits who did not accept the Tribunal). The Anticipation of Almalexia was Boethiah, Prince of Plots.
The Lady of Mercy
Almalexia wielded her divine power for the protection and benefit of the Dunmer for thousands of years. Sotha Sil largely remained aloof and mysterious, but Almalexia and Vivec both took very active roles in leading their people throughout the First and Second eras. Her acts of amazing power and kindness are countless. Her blessing was said to do extraordinary things, like protect a person infected with Corprus from suffering the disease's effects. Saint Felms the Bold is said to have been inspired by the voice of Almalexia in his head. The Hands of Almalexia were her personal guard, and were often called the greatest warriors in all of Tamriel. Like Vivec, she wrote extensively, though she focused on children's fables and similar works meant to nurture the morality of her people rather than Vivec's more cerebral, spiritual guidance.
Personal Life
Personality
Almalexia showed a great amount of compassion and sympathy for her people, and was known as a protector of the poor and weak. She also had exceptional political skills.
Artifacts
Hopesfire
Hopesfire, or the Blade of Almalexia, is a one-handed Dwemeri sword from the early First Era. Hopesfire and its twin, Trueflame, represented the pinnacle of Dwemer craftsmanship. The twin blades possessed unearthly fire enchantments. They were presented as wedding gifts to Lord Indoril Nerevar and Almalexia by the Dwemer King Dumac.
Mask of Almalexia
The Mask of Almalexia is the Daedric ceremonial War Mask (also known as a killing mask) of the Tribunal god Almalexia. It features serpentine aesthetics, fitting of the goddess's title of the Face-Snaked Queen.
It is one of the Masks of the Tribunal, the other two being the Mask of Sotha Sil, and Vivec's Ash Mask.
Gallery
Notes
- Michael Kirkbride stated its always been an intention of his to write "Almalexia’s Pillowbook", her equivalent of the 36 Lessons.
- Almalexia and Sotha Sil were intended to play a bigger role in TES III: Morrowind before the game was cut down to just Vvardenfell. According to Kirkbride the plan was always supposed to be that she'd go crazy, though he was not a fan that this happened to the Tribunal's only female member. When creating her, Kirkbride explained that Almalexia was an exploration into his fear of evil mothers.
- Almalexia supposedly gave a lock of hair as a sign of her favor, though the color was known to fade for unknown reasons.
See Also
Books
- 2920, The Last Year of the First Era by Carlovac Townway — A fictional series of books about historical events involving Vivec and the Empire
- The 36 Lessons of Vivec by Vivec — Words of wisdom relating to Vivec Almalexia and the Mudcrab — A traditional Dunmer homily
- The Anticipations by Anonymous — Overview of the members of and the relationship between the Tribunal and the Daedra
- Blessed Almalexia's Fables — Books of fables
- Homilies of Blessed Almalexia by Almalexia — A series of children's fables, each with its own moral
- The Reclamations by Thara of Rihad — An account of changes in the Dunmer religion following the end of the Tribunal
- Varieties of Faith... by Brother Mikhael Karkuxor of the Imperial College — An expansive list of the pantheons and associated divine spirits of Tamriel's dominant cultures