Omens are powerful, malicious Daedra who seek to spread chaos on Nirn. They are among the most powerful minions of the Daedric Prince Vaermina,[2] and can be found in her realm Quagmire.[1][3] Omens enter people's dreams to influence them, driving them to make decisions they would otherwise consider poor or objectable.[4] Their influence persists in the waking world, and an Omen may whisper to its victim or torment them by showing them horrible visions or forcing them to relive their worst memories.[5] An Omen's victim may be driven to murder those they love, incite bloody conflict, or betray those close to them.[6] They dwell in dreams, and must be slain in their victim's dream in order to eject them from Nirn forever.[4] Followers of Vaermina believe that Omens, are directly sent by the Daedric Prince herself. These Omens have the power to ordain death among Vaermina's devotees, with the belief that those who excel in serving the cult may be reborn in Quagmire, the realm of Vaermina, to further aid Omens in their "holy" work.[7] The exact nature of Omens is unknown. They can assume various shapes such as Watchers,[8][9] Dremora,[10] Wispmothers,[11] as well as disguise themselves as mortals.[12] Vaermina named her mortal lover Galthis the Omen of a Hundred Prophecies. Although he was originally a Breton,[13] he assumed the form of a monstrosity resembling the Bone Colossus.[14] Despite being an Omen, his nature was different from those who are proper Daedra.[15] Among the most elusive of these Omens is the Omen of Deception, whose true name is Ykal. He seeks to wreak havoc by spreading lies and driving Nirn's inhabitants to distrust and betrayal. Ykal can be summoned by cultists who perform a specific ritual. It involves lighting four braziers, slaying a human sacrifice, and speaking his true name; the caveat is that the sacrifice must be dead when Ykal arrives, or he will be summoned in a weakened state. He was slain by the Vestige in 2E 582 after the Supernal Dreamers called him to Tamriel.[3] The Omen of Betrayal has been encountered by mortals across Tamriel during the First and Second Eras. The inhabitants of Summerset knew it as "The Gray Sleep", the Argonians referred to it as "the Egg-Terror", and the Orcs called it "The Visiting Breton".[16] It was also responsible for the obsessions plaguing Gavaudon and desecration of the Azura's Shrine.[17][18] Sometime during the Second Era, Omens aided the cult of Supernal Dreamers. They were instrumental in helping the cult, figures of power influenced by them included Sir Hughes, who was the leader of the Knights of the Flame at the time, and General Godrun of the Daggerfall Covenant, both had their dreams affected by the Omen of Fear and Omen of Betrayal respectively. Another Omen, Omen of Blood assumed the form of a Redguard noble, lady Adima. Through the manipulation of dreams, she was able to seduce Count Hosni and twist him and his organization to her Mistress' ends. Those influences led to the death of Duchess Lakana in Alcaire and almost caused Godrun to betray Emeric and attack Wayrest, with the latter being stopped by the Vestige with the aid of followers of Azura situated in Pariah Abbey.[19][20][12] Despite their power, the success of the Omens was never critical for Vaermina.[21] Ultimately, however, her plot was foiled.[22] Supposedly one of the methods of summoning Omens used by the Supernal Dreamers involved the usage of the Omen Cards. The ornate set of cards was believed to provide aid in calling forth those Daedric spirits.[23] Known OmensEdit
GalleryEdit
NotesEdit
See AlsoEdit
ReferencesEdit
|
