Lore:Sithis

This article is about the god. For the book, see Sithis (book).

Statue of Sithis

Sithis, also known as Padomay, Akel, Is-Not, El, Ixtaxh-thtithil-meht (meaning Exact Egg-Cracker), the Dread Father, Night Lord, Raj-Sithis, Serpent of Chaos, Unmaker, First Creator, Final Destroyer, and Bringer of Ends, is a representation of the one primordial state of chaos. Sithis is most often associated with the Dark Brotherhood, an assassin organization dedicated to his worship. He is often associated with serpent-like imagery, and small aspects of Sithis have even been known to reveal themselves in the form of ghostly serpents.

Despite being revered as a god, Sithis is neither Aedric nor Daedric, but the embodiment and personification of chaos and change. He is also sometimes equated to the Void, a realm of nothingness beyond Oblivion and Aetherius. The Dark Brotherhood believes that the souls of those killed in the name of Sithis will be sent to the Void upon death as well. One of their faithful servants, Lucien Lachance, was known to have gone to the Void after death. His spirit claimed to feel disturbances in the Void when the Dread Father was displeased.

Origin and Creation

Depiction of Sithis (Tarot Card)

The skeletal remains of the Night Mother, and the children she bore with Sithis

It is said that the name "Sithis" is a corruption of the elder term for Padomay, "Psijii", which itself was a corruption on Padomay's ancient Ehlnofex (or Aldmeris) name, "PSJJJJ". Many of the Daedric characteristics of Sithis are also said to have originated from the teachings of Mephala, gifted to a Nihilist sect of the Chimeri Exodus, whom would go on to found the Morag Tong

Variations on the story of Sithis exist in many Tamriellic Pantheons. In most of these, Sithis is related in some way to a version of Anuiel, the personification and embodiment of order and stasis, and ends with him creating the god Lorkhan so that he can in turn create the Mundus. According to a supposed account of Vivec, Sithis is the soul of Padomay, mirroring Anuiel's nature as the soul of Anu.

In the Altmeri mythos, Sithis was created as 'the sum of all limits' by Anuiel, the soul of Anu, so that Anuiel could create borders and define himself. As Sithis isn't an active being in this story, Anuiel instead has the role of creating Lorkhan, who is created when Anu creates the soul of his soul, Auriel, and time begins. Lorkhan, again, tricks the gods into becoming trapped in the mortal world, full of limitations like himself, which was then known as 'the house of Sithis'.

The Dunmer believe that the birth of Sithis was the start of creation, as the everlasting stasis of Anu meant nothing could ever change. Sithis broke the nothing and creating ideas that ebbed and flowed out of it. Anuiel, the demon, came later and created the Aedra in order to counter him by building 'everlasting, imperfect worlds'. To counter this, Sithis begat Lorkhan, who created the mortal world and allowed things to once again decay by trapping the other gods within. The Dark Brotherhood, having split off from the Dunmeri organization known as the Morag Tong, seems to share this belief, as this story can be found in many of their hideaways.

Worship

Guilds

Dark Brotherhood stained glass depiction of Sithis

Despite being recognized in most Tamrielic cultures, Sithis is rarely publicly worshiped. Instead of priesthoods, many of the organizations dedicated to Sithis act as assassin guilds first and foremost.

The Dark Brotherhood is one such organization, and has ties all throughout Tamriel. Their worship of Sithis involves multiple intermediates. The lower ranking members of each branch answer to a Listener, who in turn communes with the supposed bride of Sithis, known as the Night Mother. To get in contact with a member of the Dark Brotherhood, one only needs to construct an effigy of the intended victim and pray to the Night Mother, and a representative of the Dark Brotherhood will soon contact you. Though brutally effective assassins, their method of worship is extremely macabre. Their effigies to Sithis often incorporate bones or organs of some kind, and even their telltale symbol is a bloody handprint.

The Morag Tong is yet another assassin organization that's dedicated to Sithis, though unlike the Dark Brotherhood their organization is both legal and an accepted part of Dunmeri society. Instead of relying on gory rituals, they take writs of execution from the various Houses, committing the political assassinations out in the open. Within the Morag Tong, the act of murder is considered an eternal re-enactment of the murder of Nir originally commited by Padomay. Because of this, the act of assassination is considered the purest celebration of joy or living. Unlike the Dark Brotherhood, they're no more obsessed with gore and death than the rest of Morrowind, and instead have a hall similar to any other guild you may come across. They lack a Night Mother entirely and instead worship the Daedric Prince, Mephala, one of the three Reclamations in Dunmeri society. Indeed, some have come to the conclusion that 'the Night Mother' herself is some version of Mephala because of this missing connection, and the fact the Dark Brotherhood initially splintered off from the Morag Tong without a Night Mother.

In Black Marsh

Gaze of Sithis

"We worship the change which it wills to be! Once, we thought to shield ourselves from this blessing by becoming stone. We built monuments to Sithis, not out of reverence, but out of fear. "Do not change us!" we cried. "Do not let us die!""
—Nisswo Uaxal

Ancient Argonian sacrificial altar to Sithis

Argonians are one of the only cultures in Tamriel to openly revere Sithis, which they have done since at least the Merethic Era. In Black Marsh, priests of Sithis are referred to as "Nisswo".

Prior to Duskfall, the Nisswo were the ruling class of Black Marsh. These Nisswo are referred to in modern times as the "Nisswo-Kings". The old Nisswo believed that Sithis was a malevolent destructive force, and placed great emphasis on appeasing it to avoid destruction. They developed a number of rituals to appease Sithis, including live blood sacrifices. This order of Nisswo declined during Duskfall, clinging to the old ways and refusing to change.

After dusk fell, the Nisswo-Kings were eventually succeeded by a loose coalition of Sithis preachers known collectively as the Clutch of Nisswo. The Clutch now revered Sithis as a force of change rather than a purely destructive force, just as the Hist revealed before Duskfall. Modern Argonians are more conscientious of this cycle of change that Sithis embodies, and seek to overcome what is known as "shunatei"—feelings of regret and loss caused by that which has come to pass. An example of a change brought about by this shift in perception of Sithis is how Argonians tend to build homes with mud or reeds, which are easily replaceable. The Argonians recognize that their structures will be destroyed in time, and so instead of dwelling on the loss of a hut destroyed by a storm, they rebuild it.

Argonian society also honors Shadowscale, an order of assassins dedicated to serving Black Marsh. Traditionally, Argonians born under the sign of The Shadow would be given to the Dark Brotherhood to be trained as one. Shadowscales are honored as ku-vastei, those who bring about the needed change. They are respected as instruments of Sithis's will. The nisswo view the Shadowscales' training by the Dark Brotherhood as a necessary evil, but urge the Shadowscales to turn away from the Brotherhood's view of Sithis when their training is complete. Indeed, many do leave the Dark Brotherhood in order to serve as arbiters and peacekeepers within Black Marsh. Shadowscales declined from prominence along with the Dark Brotherhood itself. Following the closure of the training ground in Archon and the death of the last known living Shadowscale in 4E 201, the fate of this organization has been left unknown.

In Cyrodiil

Shrine of Sithis in Deepscorn Hollow

The ancient ruins within Deepscorn Hollow are believed to have been a First Era temple devoted to Sithis. Its subterranean halls eventually fell into ruin and sank into the boggy southern coast of Blackwood, although various vile cults were known to have taken shelter within Deepscorn over the years. One such cult was the Unmakers, a Second Era group led by the self-styled "Daughter of Sithis", an Imperial woman named Lalais. Originally a noblewoman from Leyawiin, Lalais gave herself eagerly to the darkness she found within Deepscorn Hollow, and used its power to bewitch others into joining her. The cult carried out ritual sacrifices within the ruins until Lalais was confronted and killed circa 2E 582.

Greywyn Blenwyth later converted Deepscorn Hollow into a vampiric lair. Following the Purification of the Crimson Scars, Greywyn retreated to Deepscorn and constructed an altar to Sithis to seek his forgiveness for Greywyn's betrayal of the Black Hand. Sithis eventually spoke to him and demanded that Greywyn cure his vampirism, but he was ultimately tracked down by Dark Brotherhood assassins and killed while praying at the shrine before he could cure himself.

Artifacts

Blade of Woe

Blade of Woe

The Blade of Woe also known as the Night Mother's Kiss is a ritualistic dagger associated with Sithis and the Dark Brotherhood. Anyone who is slain with the dagger supposedly has their soul sent straight to the Void. Its name is directly associated with the dagger the Night Mother used to slay her own children. It takes the form of an Ebony dagger and can, at its most lethal, instantly kill its target and can shroud the wielder from view. It is also known to damage or drain health, deplete magicka and willpower, and demoralize anyone struck by it. The blood spilled by the blade may become tainted, and it has also been known to completely incinerate targets marked for ritual execution.

Fangs of Sithis

The Fangs of Sithis are a set of pre-Duskfall weapons, taking the form of either two large eggs, or a set of dual daggers. The Fangs were gifted to the Night Mother by Sithis, the Dark Husband, who in turn gifted them to the Shadowscales. It is said that a single Shadowscale wielding the Fangs could lay waste to entire cities not just via mass killings, but also by causing crop-failures and famine. However, most are unable to safely wield the Fangs, as they feed upon the wielder's mind and soul, causing the weak-minded either to go mad, or become mindless agents of Sithis who are devoid of free will.

Gallery

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  Aspect of Sithis (ESO)

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  Wrath of Sithis (ESO)

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  Wrath of Sithis (Legends)

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  Argonian Sithis relief

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  Shrine to Sithis

Notes

• The word for "relating to Sithis" is "Sithian".

See Also

Books

• Fire and Darkness by Ynir Gorming — The history of the Morag Tong assassin guild
• Greywyn's Journal by Greywyn — The history of the Crimson Scars
• Lies of the Dread-Father by Nisswo Xeewulm — A poem regarding Sithis from the Clutch of Nisswo
• The Monomyth — A theological book containing the common creation myths
• The Night Mother's Truth by Gaston Bellefort — A thesis on the Dark Brotherhood and its spiritual leader
• Prayer for a Shadowscale — A prayer to Sithis
• Sithis — Text detailing an apparent connection between Sithis and Lorkhan
• Speakers of Nothing by Nisswo Xeewulm — A poem regarding the Nisswo

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.