Lore:Shadow Dance

Queen Khamira performing the Shadow Dance before the Moon-Gate of Anequina

"ASSURANCE IS MADE TO CHILDREN OF THE BEYOND, whom the Riddle'Thar knew to be coiled in flesh, that in the presence of the holy and triumphant soul will the path to dreaming be known."
—Chronicles of Juha-ri

The Shadow Dance, also known as the Dance of Shadows, was a rite practiced by the ancient Khajiit moon-priests including, famously, Anequina Sharp-Tongue, moon-priestess and queen of the Ne-Quin-al Prides and boon companion to the demigod Khunzar-ri, who she helped imprison the dragon Kaalgrontiid and his followers in the Halls of Colossus.

Described as a rite that involves experiencing moonlight in its distilled form in order to "walk paths that took strange angles" to places "tangential to dreams, but never dreaming", the Shadow Dance allowed the one who performed it to become attuned to the moons. Those attuned to the moons in this manner could "hear the moons sing" and could impact the Lunar Lattice, commanding the moons to move in the sky aided by lunar altars such as those located within the Shadow Dance Temple, the Moon Gate of Anequina, and the temple of Jode's Core. The attuned were also given the ability to "dance through the shadows" or "walk the secret paths", opening portals to both other places and other planes of existence, including Oblivion, the moons such as Jode and the Jonelight Path a realm filled with stars and moonlight and described as the "place between places" where the "liminal forces that bind each here to every there" can be accessed and from where any destination can be reached by those who can walk the path once the point where the "liminal of here touches the liminal of there" is reached. Though anyone who reached the Jonelight Path could use it to travel, only blessed lunar champions such as Khunzar-ri could use it to reach any destination, as normal people could not stay there long for danger of their hearts bursting or their souls being torn asunder due to the realm's conditions. It is said that few places remained closed to those who wielded the Shadow Dance.

Attunement to the moons and acquisition of the abilities of the Shadow Dance could be achieved through the use of the lunar altars within the Shadow Dance Temple, the altars there could recognize the blood of those descended from one previously attuned and "spoke" to them, allowing them to become attuned as well, though the process could also be forced as it was in the case of Cadwell the Betrayer. In addition to attaining the ability to move the moons and open portals to "walk the secret paths", those descended from one previously attuned would become linked to the spirit of their ancestor, acquiring their memories, sensing their emotions, and potentially serving as a vessel for said spirit to act and communicate through, as was the case with Queen Khamira and her ancestor Anequina Sharp-Tongue. Through the use of the Shadow Dance and the lunar altars, those attuned could perform tasks such as opening the Moon-Gate of Anequina or diverting the energies of the moons to recharge Dragonhorns.

The ability of the attuned in the Shadow Dance changed with experience, acquired memories became clearer over time or in places connected to the moons such as Jode's Core, and they grew more effective in commanding Shadow Dance portals, where less experienced users were unable to perform feats such as travelling to and from Jode without the Moon-Gate, more experienced ones could open portals to that destination directly and could open multiple portals in different locations at once, even imbuing the magic into their blade and using it as a weapon in combat. Gaining better understanding of the lunar attunement also allowed the attuned to "smell" magic and identify and track specific magical sources by their "scent". The power contained within the bones of the demigod Khunzar-ri could enhance the ability of one attuned to the moons, allowing them to draw upon it to open portals to the Jonelight Path.

Gazing into the eyes of a master of the Shadow Dance attuned to the moons was said to allow one to perceive the movement of their soul reflecting that of the moons and grant knowledge of it, the one transmitting such knowledge had to take care that only the reflection of the Lattice was glimpsed by the recipient, as witnessing the true glory and horror of the Lattice had driven many mad, despite this it is said that even the reflection allowed one to glimpse the bastion of existence, such that could not be found elsewhere. It was said that the reason the Dance could impact something as enormous as the Lattice was that, in truth, the Dance and the Lattice were of the same size, the movements of the attuned soul performing the Shadow Dance were a near perfect existence, a chaotic and beautiful movement "swelling with reverberations" of fumes of moonlight and the "great and small vertices", the moons mirrored and perfected that form, and so were themselves changed for a time. It is said that witnessing the Shadow Dance and the Lattice within the soul of the attuned directly could allow for true understanding of the Shadow Dance, though only those who'd undergone lifetimes of study could be shown this without risking madness. Some masters of the Shadow Dance such as Juha-ri Sage of the White Sand, were known to perform one final Shadow Dance at the end of their lives, causing them to collapse dead as their soul journeyed to the Sands Behind the Stars and leaving behind their temple acolytes. This last Shadow Dance took place within the vault of the Shadow Dance Temple where Anequina Sharp-Tongue herself danced the Shadow Dance.

History

Late Merethic Era

The Shadow Dance Temple

In the late Merethic Era, when Elsweyr still comprised of sixteen kingdoms, the mighty Kaalgrontiid and his rage of dragons flew to that land, seeking to establish their own domain and absorb the power of the moons, an act which Kaalgrontiid believed would allow him to achieve apotheosis as the equal of Akatosh and fullfill the Prophecy of the New Moon. Kaalgrontiid would pursue the realization of his grand ambition from a temple on the island of Dragonhold, his seat of power, where his Khajiit followers would raise a number of tapestries depicting him achieving his desired ascension.

The ambitions of the dragons would be thwarted when the Khajiit hero and demigod, Khunzar-ri, brought together four champions to challenge them: Nurarion the Perfect, Flinthild Demon-Hunter, Anequina Sharp-Tongue, and Cadwell the Betrayer.

After days of terrible fighting where neither side managed to achieve victory, Cadwell the Betrayer, finally came up with a plan to use the dragon's ambition against them. Khunzar-ri and his companions, his Kra'Jun, feigned surrender, and Anequina Sharp-Tongue performed the Shadow Dance to align the moons into an eclipse, opening the Moon Gate of Anequina, allowing the dragons to reach the Plane of Jode and the lunar power they'd been seeking. Khunzar-ri convinced the dragons to not simply absorb the lunar core, but rather combine their own life force with it, claiming that in doing so they'd combine the power of the moons with their own. This resulted in the core imprisoning most of their life force instead and, greatly weakened, the dragons were deceived into entering the Halls of Colossus, lured there by a sliver of life force infused moonlight which Anequina had placed within an urn and so fooling them into thinking they could reclaim their lifeforce by retrieving it, where they'd remain for millenia as the "Demon Weapon" of legend.

After the dragons were imprisoned, Cadwell the Betrayer turned on the Kra'Jun and killed Khunzar-ri, he attacked the Shadow Dance Temple and killed the moon-priests in order to force his attunement to the moons and reach Jode's Core, where he hoped to claim the lunar power for himself and become a god. Cadwell was cornered in the Shadow Dance Temple and killed via decapitation after a last stand before he could achieve his goal, his remains were subsequently scattered across the land and his name was wiped from all records

Cadwell's soul was sent to Coldharbour where he became a Soul Shriven, eventually becoming the oldest among them to not go feral and even developing a personality that was the opposite of his cruel and power hungry living self, phenomena theorized to have been caused by his prior insanity in life and his long stay in Coldharbour.

Sage of the White Sand

Moon-Sentinels standing guard

The sealed portal opened using Anequina's pendant

One Khajiit account the events of which are alleged to have taken place after the deeds of Khunzar-ri and Anequina in the Merethic Era but before the Shadow Dance Temple was closed, tells the tale of Juha-ri the Sage of the White Sand, a revered master of the Shadow Dance, and of a young acolyte who sought his knowledge. The acolyte came to the Shadow Dance Temple and begged to be shown the Shadow Dance, believing an art which could move the moons would surely be beautiful. The Sage explained to the acolyte that he could no more teach him the Dance than one could instruct a snake to walk or an owl to make fire, the soul, however, could become many things, even if it might take lifetimes to do so, a price many deemed too high thus making it impossible for them to learn the Dance. Understanding the acolyte chose to follow and learn, no matter the price.

The acolyte spent years under the Sage's tutelage, until his physical form bore the marks of his age and ascetic life, he'd attained a glimmer of Juha-ri's widsom though it was muddled by his remaining worldliness. The Sage of the White Sand instructed his acolyte on how to form his soul into the shape of a needle so it could heed the wisdom it was to be given. Together they'd experience moonlight in its distilled form in order to walk paths that took strange angles through places tangential to dreams but never dreaming. The Sage allowed his acolyte to glimpse the reflection of the Lunar Lattice within his eyes, allowing him to see only that reflection, as to gaze upon the horror and glory of the Lattice directly had driven many mad. Even so, though he saw only the reflection, the acolyte perceived in its myriad contortions and rhythms the bastion of existence, which could not be found elsewhere. Covered in sweat from the experience, the acolyte asked the Sage how the Dance could influence something as enormous as the Lunar Lattice, receiving the answer that it was possible because, in truth, the Dance and the Lattice were of the same size.

Eventually, after many more years, the youth became the eldest of Juha-ri's acolytes, himself old and wise. Sensing his death was approaching, Juha-ri called the eldest acolyte to carry him up the steps of the Shadow Dance Temple and to the vault where Anequina Sharp-Tongue had danced her last Shadow Dance. There, the Sage asked the acolyte if he recalled why he'd sought him all those years ago. Upon receiving an affirmative answer, the Sage allowed the acolyte to gaze within his soul and witness the Shadow Dance and the Lunar Lattice directly. Within the soul of the Sage of the White Sand, the acolyte saw a chaotic and beautiful movement which echoed through the lattice, swelling with reverberations of the fumes of moonlight and the great and small vertices and he finally understood. The Shadow Dance was neither demand nor supplication, it was a near perfect existence, a form which the Lattice mirrored and perfected and so was itself changed for a time. Having at last passed on his knowledge, the Shadow Dance of the Sage ended and he collapsed dead, his soul gone to the Sands Behind the Stars, leaving behind his pupil who heeded his lessons well.

At some point following Cadwell's failed attempt to reach Jode's Core, the lunar clergy of the Two-Moons hierarchy chose to close the Shadow Dance Temple, sealing the ruins under guard of the undying Moon-Sentinels, either because they'd become too severe in their strictures of purity or because they hoped to bury the secrets within.. The portal leading to the deeper section of the ruins where the attunement apparatuses were held was sealed behind a portal which could only be opened using a magical pendant that once belonged to Anequina Sharp-Tongue, the pendant, which could point out the location of the Shadow Dance temple on maps of Elsweyr and concealed its holder from all magical detection, protecting them with the power of Jode, was passed down through the royal family of Rimmen, Anequina's descendants.

Second Era

Cadwell the Betrayer stepping through a Shadow Dance portal

The lunar eclipse caused by Cadwell's Shadow Dance

The Soul Shriven Cadwell retained his attunement to the moons and the abilities of the Shadow Dance, using them to explore Coldharbour and becoming respected as a legend among the Soul Shriven. Cadwell's ability in the use of portals was so great that, combined with his deep knowledge of Coldharbour, it made it impossible for the Daedra to keep him in chains, and they eventually gave up trying to capture him entirely. In 2E 582 Cadwell would use his abilities and skills to aid The Vestige in thwarting the Planemeld, assisting the Vestige and Lyris Titanborn in their escape from the Wailing Prison, aiding in the rescue of Abnur Tharn from the Castle of the Worm, helping allies reach the Hollow City, and joining in the assault against both the Great Shackle and the Planar Vortex. During these events Vanus Galerion himself noted Cadwell as a master of portal magic, whose immense ability perplexed even the archmage, causing him to theorize, erroneously, that it was owed to Cadwell's long stay in Coldharbour making him part of it and therefore able to naturally navigate the realm.

Following the retrieval of the Dragonstone and inadvertent release of the dragons from the Halls of Colossus by Abnur Tharn in 2E 582, Kaalgrontiid and his rage of dragons continued pursuing the fulfillment of the Prophecy of the New Moon, the dragon's original plan for godhood, once more. The dragons initially allied themselves with the army of Euraxia Tharn, usurper queen of Rimmen, but soon swayed the Euraxian necromancers to serve them alone, abandoning the queen to be overthrown by the Elsweyr Defense Force.

Kaalgrontiid had Zumog Phoon, leader of the necromancers, restore the life of Cadwell the Betrayer by siphoning the essence of the Soul Shriven Cadwell within the Betrayer's reanimated body, thus causing the Shriven Cadwell to vanish. The resurrected Cadwell the Betrayer, wishing to share in the lunar power and the dragon's rule entered the Shadow Dance Temple, and used the Shadow Dance to force an alignment of the moons and open the Moon Gate of Anequina, allowing Kaalgrontiid the opportunity to travel to the moons and attempt to devour the Core's energies. Cadwell was eventually cornered by the Vestige before the temple's Moon Gate apparatus, despite his legendary swordsmanship and his abilities in the Shadow Dance, which allowed him to imbue his blade with portal magic and slash open multiple portals through which he could attack from any direction, the Betrayer was slain, releasing the essence of the Shriven Cadwell and making it possible for him to reform from Coldharbour. Within the temple, Khamira became attuned to the moons, the lunar altars having called to her due to her ancestry, and attained the Shadow Dance herself, linking her to her ancestor Anequina and granting her access to her memories and emotions. Though she was unable to undo the eclipse Cadwell the Betrayer had caused as he'd locked the Moon Gate apparatus, she was still able to recharge the Anequina Combat Dragonhorn for the Vestige's use using lunar power.

Kaalgrontiid's attempt to absorb the energies of Jode's Core was ultimately foiled by the Vestige, Abnur Tharn and Khamira. In the temple of Jode's Core, Khamira's memories of Anequina became clar, and she managed to use the lunar altars to break the alignment of the moons, causing the Core's energies to flare in response and banish Kaalgrontiid from the Plane of Jode and into the Void. Despite this victory, the dragon had managed to amass incredible power, consisting primarily of the lifeforce of his fellow dragons and a lesser amount of lunar energy, enough to make his way back to Nirn. The end of the eclipse closed the Moon Gate, trapping the Vestige and their allies in the Plane of Jode. Fortunately, however, Cadwell opened a portal between Jode and Nirn, which the group used to leave.

Kaalgrontiid eventually made his way to Pellitine, where he tasked his ally Laatvulon and Laatvulon's chosen Dragon Priest, Ra'khajin, to reconstitute the Order of the New Moon, and set about gathering massive quantities of Aeonstone.

After Laatvulon's defeat Kaalgrontiid, who'd increased his power further by devouring the sacrificed life force of the New Moon cultists amplified by the amassed Aeonstone, attempted one last plan to achieve apotheosis and fulfill the prophecy. Kaalgrontiid performed a great ritual to funnel his amassed energy into an immense quantity of Aeonstone gathered at Dragonhold island, amplifying the power continuously until he achieved apotheosis and ascension to the sky as the New Moon. Seeking to avoid external meddling, Kaalgrontiid encased Dragonhold island in an Aegis barrier that prevented magical and physical interference. During their infiltration of the island, the Vestige and Tharn slew the dragon Joorahmaar and lowered the Aegis, but Kaalgrontiid raised the island to the sky, trapping Tharn within. Khamira, who'd been training with Tharn to better understand the attunement and had acquired the ability to perceive the "scent" of magic, allowing her to track Tharn, sought a way on the island. The solution appeared when Khamira's ancestor, Anequina, took over her body during her meditation, directing the group to the resting place of Khunzar-ri, whose remains contained energy Khamira could draw upon to enhance her ability in the Shadow Dance and enter the Jonelight Path, making passage to Dragonhold possible. Through the combined efforts of the dragon Nahfahlaar and the Vestige empowered by the Mask of Alkosh, Abnur Tharn, Sai Sahan and Queen Khamira, Kaalgrontiid was ultimately slain and Dragonhold was destroyed in a massive explosion unleashed by the concentrated energy, contained to the island through the seeming sacrifice of Abnur Tharn, who stayed behind to prevent the blast from destroying Tamriel itself. As Tharn and Nahfahlaar stayed behind to contain the blast, Khamira opened a portal off the island, allowing for the group's escape.

Gallery

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  A lunar altar within the Shadow Dance Temple

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  The Temple's Moon Gate apparatus

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  Queen Khamira begins to open a portal using the Shadow Dance

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  The Shadow Dance portal opens

Notes

• One of the myths regarding Anequina Sharp-Tongue was that she was able to use teleportation, the nature of this is unknown, but the myth might be describing the abilities granted to Anequina by the Shadow Dance, which allows for the attuned to open portals to both other places and other planes of existence. Skilled users of the Shadow Dance could open one or more portals at once, so seamlessly they could effectively switch location in an instant.

References

Note: The following references are considered to be unofficial sources. They are included to round off this article and may not be authoritative or conclusive.