Lore:Z'en
Z'en (or Xen) is a God of Toil, vengeance, agriculture, and payment in kind worshipped by Bosmer. Although he is the god of agriculture, he is rumored to have a larger realm of influence than just crops and cattle. Studies indicates his mythology originates from both Akaviri and Argonian cultures.[1] Like Y'ffre, Z'en is a god of the Green.[2]
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Worship[edit]
Some Bosmer would wear a special cap in honor of Z'en, to show their devotion to fulfilling a desire for vengeance, even to the point of renouncing love while the cap was worn. Sometimes the cap was seemingly worn only as a joke.[3]
Z'en was supposedly the chief deity of the Kothringi,[4][5] and scholars speculate that it was introduced into Valenwood by Kothringi sailors.
In Altmeri folklore he is called Xen, and is an aspect of the Aurbis like the other Aedra.[6]
Z'en is often compared to the Imperial god of commerce Zenithar, with Zenithar considered the more refined of the two.[1] Z'en is used as a name for Zenithar as the patron deity of the Resolution of Z'en, temples erected to worship and praise Zenithar.[7]
Z'en is believed to be an entity of much higher cosmic order than simply agriculture. This line of thought is reinforced by the Emissary of Z'en, who claims Z'en wishes for balance, as "one must discard what makes the scales tip".[1][8]
History[edit]
His shrines once spanned the whole of the Valenwood before the Knahaten Flu decimated his faithful, believed to be the work of Argonian Shadowscales infiltrating his worshippers and spreading the disease.[9] The last of his dedicated followers were a clan of Bosmer in the Bloodtoil Valley, who had long been at odds with the Wood Orc Drublog Clan, who revered Mauloch.[10][11] A war soon broke out among them in 2E 582 with casualties on both sides, and Z'en, growing impatient the world, sent his emissary to deal with his follower Mathragor, a Bosmer who threatened to unleash a curse upon the Drublog.[8] The Vestige may have persuaded him to not unleash the curse, but it is unknown what course of action he took.[12] The Stags of Z'en were a Bosmeri force who exacted punishment upon the wicked in the name of the Green. They revered Z'en as the god of toil and vengeance.[13] Circa 2E 582, the Stags were sent by Elden Root to face the dragon Maarselok in the Tenmar Valley, but they were infected with Azureblight and had to be rescued by the Undaunted.[14]
By the end of the Third Era, the use of Z'en (or Zen) as a short name for Zenithar[15] had developed around the Iliac Bay, where the Resolution of Z'en temples worshipped Zenithar.[16]
Notes[edit]
- The Ghost of the Green is a folkloric assassin that is sometimes called "Z'en's avenging champion", and was believed to have operated in Russafeld around 2E 582.[17]
- The Z'en's Whitefish is a fish found in Malabal Tor that is named after him.
References[edit]
- ^ a b c Varieties of Faith... — Brother Mikhael Karkuxor of the Imperial College
- ^ Allanwen's dialogue in ESO
- ^ Z'en Vengeance Kiss-Me-Not Cap description in ESO
- ^ Shaman Chirah's dialogue in ESO
- ^ Shaman Chirah's Devotion Shovel description in ESO
- ^ The Monomyth
- ^ Daggerfall User's Guide
- ^ a b The Emissary of Z'en's dialogue in ESO
- ^ Mathragor's dialogue in ESO
- ^ The Founding of Bloodtoil
- ^ Drublog Shaman's Journal — Drublog Shaman
- ^ Events of Payment In Kind in ESO
- ^ Crafting Motif 77: Stags of Z'en Style — Gwaerelos, Greenblessed Master of Arms, Elden Root
- ^ Lair of Maarselok Azureblight Infected in ESO: Scalebreaker
- ^ Rumors in Daggerfall
- ^ Shrines in Daggerfall
- ^ Events of Old Wounds in ESO: Summerset
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