An idea to write a research from a sage's perspective struck my mind last night, and here it is. The treatise here is a bit of a hint at what new feature might expect readers in later chapters of my Songs of Cinder series.
I hope you'll enjoy. Reviews are welcome!
Sorcery of Murky Waters, Volume I
An extensive treatise on the art of daedric magic and its applications
By Fyhrrec the Sojourner, Sapiarch of Conjuration Arts, Dusk, Isle of Sumurset
2E 581
Daedra.
Whether you are a discerning adventurer or a common city dweller, this word and the thought of these vile denizens of a plane we know as Oblivion is sure to send a shiver down your spine. To a Master of Conjuration, these supernatural beings are as fascinating as they are horrific. The sentient ones in particular, for they hold secrets unknown to mortal men.
It is widely known that the School of Conjuration frequently deals with matters daedric, which typically range from summoning and binding minions to mundane realm to materialising magical armor and weapons. But in this case, I wanted to delve deeper into the past and reveal the ancestry of this fine art of magicka. Of course, the powers of Oblivion are obscure to men and Mer, and will certainly always be, and it would be doubtful, in my own opinion, that our ancestors learnt a way to communicate with the other worlds themselves. My suggestion has it that the Daedra, the infinite and immortal beings of change, decided to pay a visit to Mundus at their will. And when they did, they showed the people of Tamriel what we now know as Conjuration, albeit in its crude, raw and intensely powerful form. A form I shall label as daedric magic.
My research is dangerous and might as well cripple my reputation, as the Altmer of Sumurset generally despise the Daedra and most things associated with them. However, this was yet to be revealed, but I had to proceed with caution. My studies led me outside my homeland thanks to my companion, the High Librarian Alexandre Lacroix, of the Arcane Library of Dusk.
Provinces of particular interest and valuable sources included, but were not limited to, the wastelands of Elsweyr and Morrowind, places where Daedra worship was not entirely outlawed due to Daedric Princes being present in the pantheon of both nations. This is where I was supposed to start my "adventure", but the first documented case of daedric magic, as it turned out, was in the heart of Tamriel, in the Imperial province of Cyrodiil. A place known as Darkstream Hollow, in the Blackwood Forest, was marked on my map in no time, but in the end, the attempt to reach it proved to be counter-productive. The Cyrodilic discovery was quick to get my hopes up: a chalice of unknown black liquid, said to become blood red under light, dubbed by the Darkstream coven as the "Blood of Padomay".
Here, a connection could easily be drawn by those who know the Anuad. Still, the assumption that this Blood of Padomay is somehow related to daedric magic holds no proof. In fact, it remains unknown to me whether this magical substance was the real blood of a deity we know as "the Father of Daedra".
I was able to communicate with the secluded covens of Morrowind. All opinions and speculation aside, from that moment forward I was made sure daedric magic is not a myth, and it indeed exists.
Daedric magic, according to Fablat Humuk, the shaman of the coven Yahkem Lyr, is a form of arcane power drawn directly from the waters of Oblivion. To draw this power, one must make a pact with a sentient Daedra that is unaligned with any Prince. Otherwise, invocation of a Prince's wrath and subsequent punishment is inevitable. To verify that this power stays with the wielder (given that Daedra are powerful tricksters), a special potion must be drank. This very potion is the Blood of Padomay, and here, the link is established. By performing this ritual, the mage is about to become one with the Daedra, as Padomay's blood is what gave birth to these alien races. The ritual and the later continuous use of incantations are maddening, and therefore, extremely dangerous; I've been told very few who undergo the ritual are driven insane, or in some more terrible cases, are killed by the unholy blood. Chalices of blood itself are very rare, and it is unknown how these artifacts came to be after Padomay was cast outside of Time.
Those who are powerful enough, and not afraid to lose their sanity (and possibly their lifeforce and soul) are granted with the ability to draw the powers.
I also agreed to make a pact with those Void Spirits, so that this research was not simple theory written my a mere witness. Luckily, I had the required potential. What came next was far more interesting than you could possibly imagine.
With Padomay's blood in my veins and the energies of Void pumping my magicka, Fablat Humuk was kind to demonstrate the immense power. I was capable of translocation through Oblivion, a practice known to common folk as Teleportation.
This is done by tearing a portal of Darkness that is the passage to Oblivion. Stepping inside leads to a Voidroom. There is one Voidroom per caster. From here, one should choose the destination, which is most commonly a few feet away from the original portal, but even further places, like other provinces (!), are available as well. The larger the distance, the more magicka is drained upon return. The whole process takes a blink of an eye to those on Mundus, and is a valuable asset to those who practice daedric magic. Skilled practitioners and coven shamans are capable of faking omnipresence through control of a large number of portals from a single Voidroom. Fablat Humuk told of devoted shamans who were granted two or even three Voidrooms, extending the possibilities.
The Voidroom is generally located on the wastes of Oblivion which are not part of any plane or sphere of a Prince, though cases of Voidrooms on other planes of Oblivion are said to exist. These act not only as wayshrines during translocation, but also as the ultimate source of power which the caster draws upon. The next application that involves Voidrooms was demonstrated shortly, dubbed "Soul Siphoning". The soul of a target is banished to Oblivion, where it is consumed, giving the caster strength needed to maintain the balance of powers. An alternative I find more useful is to bind a soul to one's will before banishment, known as daedric Possession.
Arcane Possession is not limited to the bound souls; summoned Daedra (where practice is known as daedric Bond), animals and even humans can be subject to this spell. I don't know of any sectarians who were able to possess humans, however, possessing a Dremora may prove to be even more helpful, especially in combat.
Possessed can be banished immediately when the effect wears off, thus connecting Possession to Siphoning should the wielder so decide. Clever use of these incantations is truly an art if one has an extended mana supply.
Fortunately, Yahkem Lyr was not the only source of daedric knowledge. The Jeb Hefhed sect of Vvardenfell showed me the way to forge armor and weapons of daedric metal via an incantation and the process of magically coalescing the prized and expensive ebony pieces with the heart of a Daedra. Shaman Quhan Magalar revealed the Daedric Curse, a powerful incantation, which can either be used as raw power, placed upon an unlucky foe, or when forging daedric armor in a complex ritual I intend to tell you, my dear reader, later in this volume. Cursed daedric wares are of incredible value, and provide a questing adventurer, eager to lay hands on this arcane treasure, with the nastiest of tricks, be it a health-draining touch or a wild Dremora attacking from behind. This is fairly the same as lesser curses placed upon valuables in dungeons, but is a hundred times more potent and flexible. The effects of Daedric Curse are a matter of personal preference.
Quhan Magalar regaled me with a tale of forging the cursed daedric armor and weapons, where irony was mistress; many smithing guides, while filled with more speculation than actual guidance regarding working on daedric metal, state that the armor should never be crafted during an eclipse, be it solar or lunar. A secret known to few daedric sects, though close to be considered a myth, is that daedric armor forged under an eclipse (preferably the solar one) is rendered cursed. This is one of the ultimate principles of daedric magic. Cursed daedric armor is known to defy the laws of its standard counterpart, being either light or heavy, but always supernaturally sturdy. A solution of fine-cut Void Salts can be used to purify the cursed wares, giving them an additional edge.
The only cursed thing I know of is the bow. A cursed daedric bow in possession of Quhan Magalar, the enchantment of which banishes all Daedra that feel its arrows' bloody touch. The bow feeds on the banished, becoming stronger with each black soul. It felt like it had a mind of its own. It was maddening to even look at this bow.
My attempt to communicate with the covens of Elsweyr was a successful one as well; the only sect I encountered told me that messing with the Dro-m'Athra, the dark spirits of Khajiiti religion, and the ones the native people never talk about, is more dangerous that I could imagine. This was Yahkem Xayah, a coven once led by the long-lost wise woman Fadomai-Jihhri, the clan mother of tribe Jamanni. The very first example of payment for power for me, Fadomai-Jihhri mysteriously disappeared during the Soulburst that raged when I was in Morrowind. My suggestion is, the Void Spirits are hungry for the lifeforce of those who pledged themselves to daedric magic, and used the weakened barrier between Mundus and Oblivion to banish Fadomai-Jihhri. It becomes obvious that magic is strong when this barrier is weak, and vice-versa.
Perhaps the most impressive spell was told to me by the Yahkem Xayah. One can reach an apex: Daedra-like immortality. By sacrificing a daedric artifact's power, the master can shape his own pocket plane of Oblivion, complete with personal daedric races and creatures. Voidrooms can then be placed there for greater convenience. However, this statement is a myth, and might remain this way. Even though tales of Kefheddi Celog, who claims he was summoned to one of such realms, are interesting and bloodcurdling, nothing is written here without some kind of proof.
In the end, daedric magic still remains a large mystery to me, and perhaps I shall uncover more and return with the second volume, dear reader.
Arcane knowledge is dangerous power.
AE BOETHIAH ALTADOON PADHOME UDHENDRA DAEDRA AE AI.