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Lore:Temple of Two-Moons Dance

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Temple of Two-Moons Dance
Type Temple
Continent Tamriel
Province Elsweyr
Appears in ESO
The Temple of Two-Moons Dance on Khenarthi's Roost circa 2E 582

The Temples of Two Moons Dance are places of philosophical study and martial training that revere the Riddle'Thar,[1][2] the cosmic order deity of the Khajiit, also known as the Two-Moons Dance.[3][4] They also worship the Lunar Lattice, the movement of the moons, known as Jone and Jode to the Khajiit. These temples can be found all over Elsweyr and are typically the most expansive buildings in the settlements, created from the finest materials for longevity.[5]

Further InformationEdit

 
Moonlight Senche-Tiger

These temples are run by the Lunar Clergy,[6] also known as the Two-Moons Clergy.[7] Members of the clergy are known as Moon Priests,[8] with their leader is called the Moon Bishop.[5] They use moonlight senche-tigers as guardians to their temples, ever since the Riddle'Thar epiphanies were revealed. The Moon Bishops claim that these tigers are more aware of things than most beasts.[9] Some of the greatest temples have on display moon pearls, sacred minerals that are said to be blessed by the First Mane himself.[10]

The Moon-Bishops consume moon sugar, considered the holiest substance in Khajiiti society,[11] to attune themselves to the moons and receive visions. The Moon-Bishops regulate their consumption and ingest it, either by refining it into a liquid known as skooma or smoking it. They play a small part in ceremonies.[5][12] Moon-Banners are hung up in the temples and change every night depending on the current phase of the moons.[5]

Many of their temples are famous and important. The temple of ancient Ne Quin-al was still famous by the tail-end of the Third Era.[1] The temple in Torval is likewise famous. For many hundreds of years since the late Third Era, this temple has been known across Tamriel as the finest training ground in Hand-to-hand combat. It taught students of every race the most ancient techniques and their modern variations, jumpstarting many of their famous careers.[3] The one in Jodewood, around the Elsweyr and Valenwood border is known as the Temple of Seven Riddles. It is run by a sect known as the Doubting Monks and deep in its High Lunarium, contains a sealed entrance to the Maw of Lorkhaj.[13][14]

The temple in Dune, known as the Temple of Two Moons Path, is important for aspiring Manes. The Two Moons Path is the final trial, or path, that the Mane candidate must undergo before they fully realize the position. Many generations of Mane and their Moon Hallowed companion have taken this trial in Dune's temple, but the Two Moons Path can be taken in other temples.[15][16] The temple in Rawl'kha, known as the House of the Dance,[17] is perhaps the most important in modern Khajiit theology. It is where the Mane, Rid-Thar-ri'Datta, revealed the Riddle'Thar Epiphany to the people and ushered great change across the province.[18]

Some temples are not explicitly considered Temples of Two-Moons Dance, but worship or are sacred to the moons. The temple of Jode's Light was a sanctuary for monks to commune and philosophize.[19][20] Another temple in Reaper's March is Moonmont, which is sacred to the two moons and harnesses lunar light.[7][21] Scholars have theorized that when the wander-kings of Bruk'ra annexed Leyawiin in southern Cyrodiil, the Great Chapel of Zenithar was converted into a Khajiiti temple. This is based on discoveries of stained glass windows depicting the moons' phases and crafted in the Imperial style.[22]

HistoryEdit

 
Rawl'kha Temple

The Temples of Two-Moon Dance have existed since the days of the sixteen kingdoms.[23] The ancient Kingdom of Dune was known for its scholars and priests, with their leader referenced in the traditional Khajiiti child's chant, "The Sixteen Kingdoms" as the Moon-Bishop of Dune.[24] The town of Rawl'kha and its temple historically fell in the kingdom's borders.[23]

The Claw-Dances, the Khajiiti martial arts, stem from the temples' history in the sixteen kingdoms. When the hunt-lord fiefdoms oppressed the common people, the temples were the only place to keep them in check. Its adepts and Torval clergy also had significant cultural influence. Knowing better than to challenge the temples, the hunt-lords left them alone, but one particularly ruthless hunt-lord, Takanzin the Striped-Death hired criminals to burn down the Rawl'kha temple and drove the adepts out of Dune. The other hunt-lords of northern Elsweyr denounced the clergy for treacherous intentions, enforced a policy of weapon confiscation and the brutal suppression of any religious order that refused to comply.[23]

From then on, the adepts isolated themselves and deeply meditated inward. For the Khajiit, their form of meditation is focused on raw physicality, and combined with their innate nervous energy, the adepts created the Claw-Dances. After years of solitude and brimming with martial knowledge, they spread their teachings across the peasant masses. By the late days of the Merethic Era, the hunter aristocracy was abolished. Within a few hundred years, a new kind of nobility emerged, and to this day, the common folk remember what kind of power they wield in the face of oppression.[23]

In the wake of the Elsweyr Confederacy's formation in 2E 309, Mane Rid-Thar-ri'Datta revealed the Riddle'Thar Epiphany at the House of the Dance in Rawl'kha[18] and brought a great shift in Khajiiti theology and power structure within the province. One that saw power shared equally between both sides of society based on the Lunar Lattice.[11] Organizations like the Torval Curiata formed as well to uphold the Riddle'Thar.[25] The Temples of Two-Moons Dance replaced other preeminant places of worship across Elsweyr, such as Sunspire in southern Anequina.[26]

In 2E 582, Mane Akkhuz-ri became corrupted by the Dark Mane. After the battle that severed them, he resigned from his position and left his two Lunar Champions, the twins Khali and Shazah, to partake the Paths in Reaper's March.[27] This was the first time in history that twins were chosen to walk the Paths as potential Manes.[28] With their Moon Hallowed companion, the two partook in the second trial, the Trial Path in Rawl'kha's temple[29] but with the threat of the Dark Mane still present, the two left for Moonmont. While one sacrificed themselves to contain the Dark Mane,[30] the other continued with the Two Moons Path in Dune's temple.[31][32]

Around that same time, Moon-Bishop Sizenza of the Two Moons Temple in the Tenmar borderlands received a vision that foresaw the dragons' return in Elsweyr, among others. She sent the priest, Haduras, to inform the Mane's Speaker Gharesh-ri. But trying to focus on these visions, she ingested moon-sugar and allowed herself and her priests to succumb to the madness of Skooma Cat, Sheggorath. After Haduras returned to find the temple's state, he asked an adventurer to help the Moon-Bishop and restore the temple. Skooma Cat planned to anchor the temple and pull it into the two moons' shadow until the dragon threat was dealt with. But while the adventurer saved a couple of moon-priests, they encountered Skooma Cat and distracted them enough to save the Moon-Bishop and the temple.[33]

GalleryEdit

  • Dune Temple

  • A Temple of Two-Moons Dance in the Tenmar borderlands

  • A Khajiiti stained glass window crafted in the Imperial style, depicting the phases of the moons

  • The province of Elsweyr

  • Moon Pearls are displayed in temples

See AlsoEdit

BooksEdit

ReferencesEdit

  1. ^ a b Pocket Guide to the Empire, 3rd Edition: Sugar and Blood: the Cats of the South — Imperial Geographical Society, 3E 432
  2. ^ Inisashu-jo's dialogue in ESO
  3. ^ a b Master Zoaraym's Tale — Gi'Nanth
  4. ^ Varieties of Faith... — Brother Mikhael Karkuxor of the Imperial College
  5. ^ a b c d The Improved Emperor's Guide to Tamriel: Elsweyr — Flaccus Terentius, 2E 581
  6. ^ Shazah's dialogue in ESO
  7. ^ a b Moonmont loading screen text in ESO
  8. ^ Moon Priests in ESO
  9. ^ Moonlight Senche-Tiger in ESO
  10. ^ The Rid-Thar's Moon Pearls in ESO: Thieves Guild
  11. ^ a b Pocket Guide to the Empire, 1st Edition: The Elsweyr Confederacy — Imperial Geographical Society, 2E 864
  12. ^ Moon-Bishop Sizenza's dialogue in ESO: Elsweyr
  13. ^ Vazshara's Journal — Vazshara
  14. ^ Maw of Lorkhaj in ESO: Thieves Guild
  15. ^ Kauzanabi-jo's dialogue in ESO
  16. ^ Old Ri'jhaad's dialogue in ESO
  17. ^ The March Explored, Chapter VII — Fenlil the Wayfarer
  18. ^ a b Rawl'kha Temple loading screen text in ESO
  19. ^ Jode's Light loading screen text in ESO
  20. ^ Fable of the Dragon
  21. ^ Rid-Thar-ri'Datta's dialogue in ESO
  22. ^ Stained Glass of Lunar Phases antiquity codex entries in ESO: Greymoor
  23. ^ a b c d Origins of the Khajiiti Martial Tradition — Tendwuayne, Sapiarch of Foreign Customs
  24. ^ The Sixteen Kingdoms
  25. ^ Inquisitor Sabannar's dialogue in ESO
  26. ^ Sunspire loading screen text in ESO: Elsweyr
  27. ^ Rid-Thar-ri'Datta's dialogue in ESO
  28. ^ Moon-Bishop Hunal's dialogue in ESO
  29. ^ The First Step story quest in ESO
  30. ^ Motes in the Moonlight story quest in ESO
  31. ^ The Moonlit Path story quest in ESO
  32. ^ The Den of Lorkhaj story quest in ESO
  33. ^ The Lunacy of Two Moons quest in ESO: Elsweyr
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