Lore:CHIM

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"CHIM. Those who know it can reshape the land. Witness the home of the Red King Once Jungled." — Commentaries on the Mysterium Xarxes, Book Three

CHIM (/tʃɪm/ chim)[1] has been described as the secret syllable of royalty.[2] Many writings have made vague references to it throughout history, but despite its importance, there's a lack of information. It is best understood as a state of being which allows for escape from all known laws and limitations.[UOL 1] It is the process of reaching some sort of epiphany about the nature of the universe and one's place in it, leading to a simultaneous comprehension of the full scope of existence as well as one's own individuality.[UOL 1] CHIM is capitalized because it is from the Ehlnofex language, the language of the Ehlnofey who are believed to have been the progenitors of the modern races.[3][4][UOL 1] It is an ancient sigil connoting 'royalty', 'starlight', and 'high splendor'.[UOL 2]

CHIM
SR-item-Mysterium Xarxes.png

Mankar Camoran's Commentaries on the Mysterium Xarxes, Book Three, begins with "CHIM" in the Daedric alphabet and deals extensively with the topic. It begins with "The Tower touches all the mantles of Heaven [...] and by its apex one can be as he will. More: be as he was and yet changed for all else on that path for those that walk after. This is [...] the secret of how mortals become makers [CHIM], and makers back to mortals."[5] (Though "the secret of how mortals become makers, and makers back to mortals" is a phrase more indicative of the related concept of Amaranth.) So one who knows CHIM is said to reside atop (or within) the Tower (i.e., Mundus) and possesses incomprehensible power to alter reality.[UOL 1] By knowing CHIM, one experiences an ineffable sense of the godhead, which is what allows for escape from all known restrictions.[UOL 2]

The Walking Ways are six interrelated paths to achieving divinity, or "mantling", of which CHIM is the fifth.[6][UOL 1] All paths seem to require some understanding of the Wheel, the structure of the Aurbis.[5][7] According to Vivec, the first to understand the concept was Lorkhan, whose curiosity and desire for change drove him to the rim of the Wheel and beyond, where he looked back at the Aurbis sideways and thereby learned the name of God: I (as a wheel, observed from the side, is an "I").[7][UOL 1] Lorkhan then convinced the Aedra to join him in building Mundus, at the hub of the Wheel, in a venture to help others know CHIM and thereby escape all laws which constrained them.[3][8][9][10][UOL 1] This attempt at CHIM failed, though why it failed has been the subject of intense disagreement and bloodshed from the dawn of creation to the present day.[8][10][11][12][13][14][15][UOL 1] Some attribute the failure to a mistake, others to Lorkhan's malice; the circumstances are unknown, but Vivec seemed to suspect that the so-called failure only occurred so that others might know how not to fail.[8][10][11][UOL 1] Vivec, who wrote extensively on CHIM, described it as reaching heaven by violence.[6][16][UOL 1] He apparently learned of it from Molag Bal.[2]

Notes[edit]

  • At least one source from the late Second Era thought of Cyrodiil as mostly "endless jungle",[17] yet in TES IV: Oblivion, it is depicted as a land of mostly plains and temperate forests. In that game, Mankar Camoran seems to credit Tiber Septim's use of CHIM with transforming Cyrodiil's climate in order to do away with the jungle.[5] However, Elder Scrolls Online depicts the climate and fauna of Cyrodiil in much the same fashion as the province appeared in Oblivion, yet took place almost three hundred years before Tiber would even be born.[1] Writing in the late Second Era, Phrastus of Elinhir alleged the idea of a climate change in Cyrodiil had arisen in large part thanks to a transcription error, though other scholars of the time who were not ready to write off the whole matter as a myth proposed other theories.[18][19]
  • "Chim" appears in "Chim-el Adabal", another name for the Red Diamond, which is the centerpiece of the Amulet of Kings. In this context, it presumably connotes royalty, though it might also refer to the splendor of the Red Diamond or the Starlight it might have symbolised to the Ayleids as a soul gem.
  • Judging by its introduction, the text Black Book: Waking Dreams apparently discusses CHIM and related concepts.

See Also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b Events of ESO.
  2. ^ a b 36 Lessons of Vivec, Sermon 12 — Vivec
  3. ^ a b Before the Ages of Man — Aicantar of Shimerene
  4. ^ The Annotated Anuad
  5. ^ a b c Mythic Dawn Commentaries — Mankar Camoran
  6. ^ a b 36 Lessons of Vivec, Sermon 6 — Vivec
  7. ^ a b 36 Lessons of Vivec, Sermon 21 — Vivec
  8. ^ a b c Spirit of Nirn, God of Mortals
  9. ^ Plan to Defeat Dagoth Ur — Vivec
  10. ^ a b c Words of Clan Mother Ahnissi — Clan Mother Ahnissi
  11. ^ a b The Monomyth
  12. ^ The Great War — Legate Justianus Quintius
  13. ^ The Talos Mistake — Leonora Venatus
  14. ^ The Changed Ones
  15. ^ The Anticipations — Anonymous
  16. ^ 36 Lessons of Vivec, Sermon 15 — Vivec
  17. ^ Pocket Guide to the Empire, 1st Edition: Cyrodiil — Imperial Geographical Society, 2E 864
  18. ^ The Heartland of Cyrodiil — Phrastus of Elinhir
  19. ^ Subtropical Cyrodiil: A Speculation — Lady Cinnabar of Taneth

Note: the following references are not from official sources. They are included to provide a rounder background to this article, but may not reflect established lore.

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Vehk's Teaching, The Imperial Library
  2. ^ a b More on the Psijic Endeavor, The Imperial Library

External Links[edit]

  • Vehk's Teachings, The Imperial Library - Excerpts from the works of Vivec and an interview where he helped explain some important concepts. Out-of-game work by former developer Michael Kirkbride.
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