Is it It better to live with fear, hope and wonder, or to know what is to come? For most people the unseen future is a frightening prospect, like walking into the darkest of nights without a torch. Yet surely stepping into the light can be just as daunting as the dark. For if we knew all the consequences of our own actions would we still have the courage to fulfil our destiny?

The Temple of the Ancestor Moths in the White Fall Valley of north-eastern Cyrodiil, is home to the Cult of the Ancestor Moth, a priesthood dedicated to the practice of divining the Elder Scrolls. The Scrolls are said to archive all of Tamriel’s history and future simultaneously. The process however extracts a heavy price upon the augurs, rendering them blind of both sight and clarity; they do say that to light a candle is to cast a shadow. Our eyes however can only see what our minds can comprehend, so surely these augurs are but slaves to their perceptions, their minds denying knowledge in order to rationalize their faith and bias. They also tell us the information they reveal is never absolute, and that our destiny is our own to craft; only once a foretold event is carried out does it become fixed. So I have to ask, what is the point to their practice?

Many of these Elder Scrolls were stored within the Imperial Library at the White-Gold Tower, but when the Dark anchors fell upon the city and the capital was lost, the Cult moved them, hiding many around the grounds of the Temple of the Ancestor Moths. Eventually however Banner’s soldiers discovered the scrolls and stole them, building their own temples across Cyrodiil to house them close to the battlefield, thus bestowing the Scrolls’ supposed blessings upon their troops. Any experienced General will tell you that it is not numbers or strength that bring the victories in war, it is having stronger morale then your adversaries.

Moth Priest Crassius Viria who leads what is left of the Cult of the Ancestor Moth has sent emissaries to reason with the alliance leaders, although none have yet returned. Ironically if the Scrolls were to be returned then perhaps the augurs might divine the path of this seemingly endless war. Such potential knowledge is perhaps more powerful than any sword or spell. But then what would sap an army’s morale more, fear of the darkness, or fear of the light?

S.K