Lore:Celestial

The UESPWiki – Your source for The Elder Scrolls since 1995
Jump to: navigation, search
A Nedic tapestry depicting the Guardian Celestials and their foe, the Serpent
The three Guardian Celestials: the Warrior, the Thief, and the Mage

The Celestials are powerful ethereal beings formed by the power of the stars. The most powerful Celestials represent the Constellations. It is unknown if these beings are from Aetherius or if they are mortals who have achieved a state of ascension. [1] When asked if she really was the Thief constellation, the Thief Celestial answered she was, in a way, just as one might look at a picture of the constellation in the stars and identify it from the image, she was the Thief, or "one way of seeing" it.[2] The major Celestials are said to be part of the natural order of the world, and thus even those that cause chaos like the Serpent can only be contained, as their death would cause even greater peril.[3][4][5] Major Celestials are said to possess the power to remake the world, and have been theorized to be capable of altering time in a manner likened to "hiding behind a broken Dragon", traveling the "line" of time and than cutting it to wrap themselves in a "context where none can ever follow".[6][7] Because of this immense power, they can only safely manifest on Nirn through the use of Apex Stones, it is said that should an Apex Stone be destroyed the corresponding Celestial's full power would be unleashed upon the mortal plane, a force Mundus could not withstand.[8]

History[edit]

Merethic Era[edit]

It was theorized that the first Celestial beings were created in the Merethic Era by the ancient Nedic Cult of the Stars. The kings of Skyreach in Upper Craglorn constructed a great laboratory at Skyreach Pinnacle, where they used nirncrux to harness the power of the stars. At first, they created only weak Celestials that mimicked mundane animals and Daedra. These ranged in power from the lowly Celestial Spiders to the fearsome entity known as Aetherion. All of these volatile creatures were bound within the Pinnacle by Nedic wards, and the tower was later sealed by the Yokudan invaders that conquered the region circa 1E 808.[9][1] The origin of the more powerful godlike Celestials that make up the constellations is completely unknown. More established myth claims that the stars were formed by the Magna Ge fleeing Creation and creating holes to Aetherius.[10]

Second Era[edit]

The Mage's Staff
The realm within the Mage's Staff

The Constellations fell from the sky in 2E 582, and took on mortal form. As is his nature, the Serpent used this opportunity to attack the other Celestials by corrupting the Guardian Constellations through their Nedic Apex Stones. The Serpent believed that civilization stifled natural progress and growth, he claimed that the blood of Nirnian creatures, such as Trolls, had "thinned", and viewed their cities as nothing but a "foul crust" upon it. The Serpent sought to escape and return the world to its primordial form which was nearly uninhabitable, which he claimed he'd achieve by waking the fire under the land, making the seas boil, and making the jungles reclaim the land from civilization under his guidance.[11] Quickly establishing a cult known as the Scaled Court, the Serpent gained control of the Mage beneath the city of Elinhir and the Warrior in the Ruins of Kardala. Under his influence, the Mage took control of an army of atronachs that had been summoned to the region recently to repel Molag Bal's Planemeld, an army which the mages had summoned by invoking the Mage's own power in the first place, and created the powerful new Air Monarch and Foundation Stone Atronachs, before being sundered into many aspects scattered throughout Craglorn by the act of the Serpent, who knew her power was too great for him to swallow her whole and so sought to corrupt her divided aspects one by one instead.[12][8][3][4] The Warrior was forced to summon Emperor Tarish-Zi from the past so that he could raise an undead army of Anka-Ra warriors from the many Yokudan tombs in the region, but not before he summoned his own champion, a contemporary Imperial warrior named Titus Valerius.[13] A great celestial obelisk known as the Mage's Staff also crashed to Tamriel at that time. The Staff's impact created a desolate region known as the Spellscar and the great magical energy emanated by it attracted local Atronachs and drove many insane, creating the Spellfiends. The interior of the Obelisk contained a different realm where its magical core was housed. The Staff's core threatened to explode and turn Craglorn into a crater, but was stabilized through the intervention of the Mages Guild.[14][15]

The warped Aetherian Archive
The Warrior wielding his Shehai within Hel Ra Citadel

As the only guardian remaining, the Thief hid her Apex Stone in the ruins of Reinhold's Retreat beneath the city of Belkarth. She then assumed the guise of a blind Redguard woman named Hara, and took control of the Star-Gazers.[16] Recruiting scholars and warriors from across Tamriel, Hara sent the Star-Gazers to search for the missing Guardians and prevent more Anka-Ra from being summoned. With the help of Kelmen Locke, the only surviving summoner of the atronach army, the Star-Gazers managed to locate the uncorrupted aspects of the Mage so that they could overpower the Serpent. The restored Mage subsequently fled to the Aetherian Archive in an attempt to escape, there her presence shattered the magical source that granted the Firstmages their long lives and warped the upper levels of the tower. Many of the Firstmages took to worshiping the Mage. One of the Firstmages theorized the Mage's ultimate plan was to escape by traveling to an unknown time and "cutting the line" behind her, thus making it impossible for anyone to follow, an act described as "hiding behind a broken Dragon".[7][4][17][18][19] Meanwhile, Titus Valerius helped the Star-Gazers return Tarish-Zi to his grave.[20] However, the Serpent soon learned of the Thief's location and attempted to corrupt her, but was prevented by Locke, Valerius and the Vestige.[21]

A desolate Tamriel, a place and time where the Serpent briefly transported his enemies
The Serpent before its Apex Stone

After being forced to reveal her true identity, rumors of the Thief's appearance in Belkarth drew the attention of the Undaunted. Groups of Undaunted launched an assault on the Aetherian Archive and Hel Ra Citadel to free the Mage and the Warrior from the Serpent's influence. Regardless of this, the Serpent continued his attempt to raise armies, planning to return Nirn to a primal state. However, the Scaled Court was betrayed from within by Cassipia, the Regent of Serpentine Stratagems. Along with her companion Little Leaf, Cassipia secretly worked alongside the Vestige in stopping the Court's creation of mantikora and dismantling the Iron Orcs' attempt at raising an army of primal, nirncrux-infused trolls. Cassipia's true motives were revealed when she subsequently declared herself the Exalted Viper and sought to usurp the Serpent's place in the sky. She briefly succeeded in becoming a Celestial, but was killed in battle against the Thief and the Vestige.[22] The Undaunted later entered the Scaled Court's stronghold of Sanctum Ophidia and defeated the Serpent, returning him to his Apex Stone, with a renewed seal which the Mage claimed he'd be unable to break even with the blood of a thousand mortals.[3][4][23]

The wards at Skyreach Pinnacle were also broken by the Scaled Court that year, but were quickly resealed before the Celestials could escape.[24] Other minor Celestials were known to have appeared on Tamriel around this time. Celestial Rams became notorious for wandering the rocky terrain of Craglorn, as they sometimes entered gardens and ate everything that had been planted.[25] Nebulous Star-Born Steeds were Celestial horses that originated in Spellscar,[26] a magically polluted area created when the Mage's Staff fell to Tamriel.[14] Starchaser Senches also appeared at this time; these creatures resembled senche-cats composed of floating onyx shards similar to stone found at Spellscar.[27] Many Tamrielic folktales spoke of Celestial Lynxes, describing the creatures as either stalking their prey across the night sky, or serving as agile companions for worthy hunters prowling the darkest nights.[28]

The fallen Constellations later reassumed their place in the sky.[3]

Gallery[edit]

  • The Celestial Warrior

  • The Celestial Mage

  • The Celestial Mage

  • Valla, an aspect of the Celestial Mage

  • The Celestial Thief

  • The Celestial Serpent

  • The Serpent's snake avatar

  • The Celestial Lady

  • The Celestial Lord

  • The Celestial Steed

  • An Apex Stone

  • The Exalted Viper

  • Aetherion, a Celestial in the form of a Daedric Titan

  • Lazonthagish, a Celestial in the form of a Watcher

  • A Celestial Lynx

  • Starchaser Senche

  • A Celestial Ram

  • An Anka-Ra channeling Celestial energy

Notes[edit]

A champion who has taken on the mantle of the Warrior
  • It is said that when the Warrior constellation shines brightly, those born under its sign are assured of victory in battle. Individuals who seek to win through force of arms are thus said to take on the mantle of the Warrior himself in times of great crisis, with their form being transformed to resemble that constellation.[29]
  • The Celestial Mage referred to the Serpent as "Malazar", and he referred to her as "Valla", a name also used by one of her aspects, suggesting the greater Celestials might have names beyond their titles.[30]

See Also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b Mederic Vyger's dialogue in ESO
  2. ^ The Thief's dialogue during The Star-Gazers in ESO
  3. ^ a b c d Dialogue between the Serpent and the other Celestials at the end of The Oldest Ghost in ESO
  4. ^ a b c d The Mage's dialogue in ESO
  5. ^ The Thief's dialogue during Assaulting the Citadel and Aetherian Archive in ESO
  6. ^ The Thief's dialogue during Dawn of the Exalted Viper in ESO
  7. ^ a b Coming of the Learned One
  8. ^ a b Valla's dialogue during The Shattered and the Lost in ESO
  9. ^ Skyreach Explorer — Reginus Buca, Historian, University of Gwylim
  10. ^ Exegesis of Merid-Nunda — Phrastus of Elinhir
  11. ^ The Serpent's dialogue in ESO
  12. ^ The Thief's dialogue during Elemental Army in ESO
  13. ^ The Celestial Warrior's dialogue in ESO
  14. ^ a b Sara Benele's dialogue during Critical Mass in ESO
  15. ^ Spellscar loading screen in ESO
  16. ^ The Thief's dialogue during The Missing Guardian in ESO
  17. ^ Firstmage Anirwen's dialogue in ESO
  18. ^ Firstmage Earil's dialogue in ESO
  19. ^ Firstmage Arnure's dialogue in ESO
  20. ^ The Warrior's Call in ESO
  21. ^ The Missing Guardian in ESO
  22. ^ Dawn of the Exalted Viper in ESO
  23. ^ The Oldest Ghost quest in ESO
  24. ^ Uncaged in ESO
  25. ^ Celestial Ram mount in ESO
  26. ^ Nebulous Star-Born Steed mount in ESO
  27. ^ Starchaser Senche mount in ESO
  28. ^ Celestial Lynx description in ESO
  29. ^ Warrior Starskin description in ESO
  30. ^ The Mage's dialogue during The Shattered and the Lost in ESO
Nedic Religion
Four Parents
Constellations
Other
Retrieved from "https://en.uesp.net/w/index.php?title=Lore:Celestial&oldid=3226381"