Lore:Azura

Azura, the Queen of Dawn and Dusk,  also known as Azura of the Crimson Gate,  the Mother Soul,  Moonshadow, Mother of the Rose, Queen of the Night Sky,  and the Rim of all Holes,  the Cosmic Severer,  and called Azurah by the Khajiit,   is a Daedric Prince whose sphere is dawn and dusk—the magic in-between realms of twilight —as well as mystery and magic, fate and prophecy,  and vanity and egotism.  Azura is one of the few Daedra who maintains the appearance of being "good" by mortal standards, and reportedly feels more concern for the well-being of her mortal subjects than other Daedric Princes. It is said she wants their love above all else, and for her worshippers to love themselves; it pains her when they do not. This attitude leads to an extremely devoted following.  She is also one of the few Princes who constantly maintains a female image, and is perceived accordingly.  In Khajiiti creation myths, Azurah is credited with introducing moon sugar to Khajiit,  and this belief is also told within tales aimed at Khajiiti children. 

The Five Songs of King Wulfharth claims that   is the immortal son of Azura.  While Azura is considered one of the "good" Daedra by the Dunmer of Morrowind,  elsewhere she has been known to be allied with Molag Bal,  who is known to the Dunmer as one of the Four Corners of the House of Troubles.  The people of the Iliac Bay region believe that Azura bewitches some of her followers to become her "lovers" and "virtual slaves".  Her followers acknowledge that she is "cruel but wise". 

In addition to being one of her many sobriquets, "Moonshadow" is also the name of Azura's realm in Oblivion. Azura's Star, the Twilight Star, is visible at dawn and dusk low on the horizon below the constellation of the Steed.  She is considered an enemy of Ebonarm and Nocturnal.  Her summoning day is Hogithum, a festival on the 21  of First Seed.   

Worship
thumb|left|Azura's statue in the Cavern of the Incarnate
Anticipation and Reclamation
The Dunmer of Morrowind believe that Azura is their god-ancestor, who taught the Chimer how to be different from the Altmer (though some of her teachings are occasionally attributed to Boethiah).  These tales often portray her as more of a communal progenitor  or "cosmic force" for the Chimer rather than an ancestor or a god.  They refer to her as The Twilight,  Lady of Twilight, Goddess of Twilight,  Goddess of Dusk and Dawn  (or Dawn and Dusk), and Mother of Roses. 

After the apotheosis of the Almsivi in the First Era, Azura was recognized as one of three "Good Daedra" who swore allegiance to the new gods. The Temple dubbed these three the Anticipations, as they were "the early ancestral anticipations of the loving patronage of the Tribunal".  Azura became the Anticipation of Sotha Sil, female to his male.   However, Azura and the other Good Daedra (Boethiah and Mephala) continued to be venerated by the nomadic Ashlanders. 

Azura sees into the Twilight of the future, and guides her followers through it. Those who were faithful to Azura were given a vision that led them away from the island of Vvardenfell before calamity struck,  which was soon set in motion after  , the Red Year. A massive eruption of Red Mountain wiped out much of Vvardenfell and devastated the mainland as well.   This, combined with the apparent disappearance of the three Tribunes at the end of the Third Era   caused a schism in the Temple, which ultimately resulted in the (former) Dissident Priests seizing control.  The "New Temple" that arose from this declared worship of the Tribunes a "result of misguided teaching". It also declared the triad of Azura, Boethiah, and Mephala to be the "true way". Thus, having reclaimed their status, they are now worshipped in Morrowind as the Reclamations. 
 

Azurah
thumb|right|Depiction of Azurah as an amalgamation of Khajiit, Mer and Human
In Elsweyr, Azura is a (nearly) wholly separate entity, the goddess Azurah, the Mother of All Khajiit,  She Who Sits at the Precipice  and the Favored Daughter of Fadomai.    Azurah carries the burdens of the Khajiit's ancestors; her spheres are Magic, Beauty, and Prophecy, and she is the "keeper of all gates and keys, all rims and thresholds".  The goddess is credited with making the Khajiit out of the "forest people" (some of whom became the Bosmer) living on Nirn  and binding them to the Lunar Lattice, (or Ja-Kha'jay)   though other sources say the Khajiit were made out of "Altmeri stock".  It is said that Azurah knows the names of all the Khajiit that will ever live, and knowing her is the first step on their Path.  Azurah's is the "twilight path" to love and redemption. The Khajiit believe Azurah oversees the Gates of the Crossing behind the Lunar Lattice, a twilight realm between death and the afterlife. 

Azurah is said to be more beautiful than any other spirit, save for her sister, Nirni. She killed the dark spirit Varmiina in the underworld, which is why Varmiina haunts the dreams of the Khajiit.  Some say she often walks the halls of Hermorah's library, sharing in his knowledge.  Khenarthi is Azurah's messenger, and ferries the dead Khajiiti souls to her for judgment. Azurah tends the lanterns lit by Khenarthi in the eyes of Jone and Jode, their stillborn brothers, when they burn low. 

A Khajiiti story describes her Khajiiti form as lithe, with eyes that shined like the moons, and wearing a silken dress of purple and gold when clothed. 
 

Mythology
Khajiit Myth
Azurah was born from the third litter of Ahnurr and Fadomai, after the twin Moons and their Motions, and Nirni. Nirni and Azurah immediately began fighting for their mother's favor, but soon an angry Ahnurr struck Fadomai, and she fled into the Great Darkness with her children for protection. There, a dying Fadomai birthed her youngest, Lorkhaj, and bestowed gifts upon the rest. One by one the children received their gifts and departed, until only Azurah and her mother remained. Fadomai then left Azurah her greatest gift, three secrets—instructions on how to create the Khajiit. 

Much of what comes after are known in pre-ri'Datta Khajiiti stories. They state that Azurah wept as her dying mother told stories of love, war, and undreamed dreams; the names of all gates and thresholds, of all the spirits, and of all the Khajiit that would ever live. Azurah wept so much that the moonlight reflecting off her tears "became one with the Lattice" as Fadomai died. Azura remained within the Great Darkness for some time, consumed by her grief. 

Azurah and Lorkhaj
right|thumb|The Dark Heart (ESO)
Sometime later, Nirni needed a place to bear children. Lorkhaj tricked his siblings into creating the World to satisfy her desire, and many of Fadomai's children died in its creation. The survivors killed Lorkhaj  and tore out his heart.  Or so they believed, for the Great Darkness in his blood filled the hole where his heart had been.  He sought out Azurah for help.  Meanwhile, Azurah remained within the Great Darkness, mourning Fadomai's death. In time, the light from her tears and the Lunar Lattice dispersed the darkness, and she found herself in a "place of moonlight and shadow". Azurah then tried to return to her mother's side, but her tears had created a great sea, and beyond it stood a black gate that opened into darkness.  And there stood Lorkhaj, his chest gaping, a shadowy imitation of his heart beating steadily, dripping black blood. But Azurah knew the names of all of the spirits, so she recognized the Great Darkness for what it was.  Azurah was able to rip the Dark Heart—and all the Darkness—out of her brother before it could consume him.   She cast it beyond the sea, into the Void, where it became the Moon Beast, the first of the dro-m'Athra,   and Lorkhaj perished within Azurah's embrace. Azurah made a funeral pyre for her brother before the gate, and lit it with the Twin Lanterns of Jone and Jode.   Her tears fell upon the pyre and the ashes scattered across the Lattice.  As a result, it is said Azurah (and Khenarthi) can call upon the "true spirit" of Lorkhaj to appear. 

The spirit Noctra was born from the black blood of Lorkhaj at the steps of the Void Gate. Boethra was able to defeat the spirit and took her to Azurah for judgment. Azurah was merciful, and allowed Noctra to live if she agreed to serve Azurah and the Lunar Lattice. But Noctra stole one of Azurah's keys and fled into the Void. So Azurah summoned the true spirit of Lorkhaj after her, and now Noctra aids the Khajiit when she is called upon. 

It is also said that an unnamed "spirit of vengeance" was born from Azurah's grief after the deaths of her mother and brother. It has no will of its own, and can only be summoned by Azurah, Boethra, and Mafala, or by those who know its true name. Tales describe its appearance as a black panther, a warrior in ebony armor, or a hidden sword. 

The Khajiit
Because of Lorkhaj, Nirni could now make children. But she was sad because the forest people, her favorites, were "torn between man and beast" and did not know their shape. So Azurah came to Nirni and tricked her into allowing the creation of the Khajiit, offering a "gift" of new people. She spoke Fadomai's First Secret, and the Moons parted for her. She took some of the forest people and made them many shapes, for every purpose, called them the Khajiit, and put them in the best forests and deserts on Nirni. Azura told them the Second Secret and made them Nirni's secret defenders, and bound them to the Lunar Lattice. And she spoke the Third Secret, and "the Moons shone down on the marshes and their light became sugar". 

However, Y'ffer overheard Azurah speak the First Secret and told Nirni what Azurah had done. So Nirni made the lands of the Khajiit inhospitable, and allowed Y'ffer to change the forest people into elves—the Bosmer. And Y'ffer shouted the First Secret across the heavens so all the original spirits could cross the Lattice, but Azurah ensured that neither Ahnurr nor Lorkhaj could hear the Secret.  Y'ffer was corrupted by the Namiira sometime after Lorkhaj's death, and murdered Nirni. Hircine, Azurah and Khenarthi slew him in retaliation for the deed, then built a cairn for Nirni using his bones. 

Sometime before the Khajiiti people's "first memory", Azurah, knowing that the false Lorkhaj, the Moon Beast, would one day covet her children, used the Twin Lanterns to summon Lorkhaj's true spirit  to be a sky-guardian.  As the third moon, Lorkhaj shined his light upon the Khajiit, choosing the purest of heart to be part of the "Litter of the Hidden Moon", to learn the way of the Moonlight Blade.  And from then on, on nights of the Ghost Moon, Azurah opens the Void Gate, and the Moon Beast will challenge mortals until banished.  Modern Khajiit have fallen away from this belief, instead interpreting the Ghost Moon as the corpse of Lorkhaj which was flung to the moons after Convention, and forced to follow Jone and Jode forever as punishment.  

Magrus' Eye
It is said that Magrus serves as a reminder of Azurah's wrath.  The Sun God once fought Boethra and Lorkhaj, and Boethra plucked out one of his eyes.   Half-blinded, Magrus fell into the Moonshadow, where Azurah judged him too fearful to rule a sphere, and tore out his other eye (though other stories say he gave Azurah the eye willingly). Azurah took the eye and fashioned it into the Aether Prism, a stone that reflects the Varliance Gate, and opens from Dawn to Dusk. 
 

History
thumb|right|Seryn, possessed by Azura
Second Era
In  , Azura asked the Vestige to help free the soul of one of her servants from the clutches of Molag Bal, and to free her Oracles from pocket realms of Oblivion. 

Azura involved herself in the affairs of mortals once more when a plot concocted by Barbas threatened to destroy the island of Vvardenfell. She assisted the Vestige and her new champion Seryn in defeating the false Nerevarine and brother of Seryn, Chodala, and begrudgingly helped return Lord Vivec's power so that he could stave off the meteor Baar Dau's collision. 

Third Era
Some time around  , Azura charged an agent of the Blades with killing a monk who had offended her. The Blade was given Azura's Star for completing the task. 

In  , Azura took notice of a prisoner sent from the Imperial City to Morrowind in the hopes of being a prophesied hero, the Nerevarine, the reincarnation of Azura's First Era champion, Lord Indoril Nerevar.   She helped guide the prisoner into fulfilling the prophecy, becoming the Nerevarine, and freeing Morrowind from the threat of Dagoth Ur. The Nerevarine was also given Azura's Star, as a reward for helping her win a bet with Sheogorath. 

In  , the Champion of Cyrodiil received the Star for putting down some of Azura's worshippers who had inadvertently been turned into vampires while in her service. 

Fourth Era
Faithful priests of Azura were given a vision that led them away from Vvardenfell before the eruption, and the Dunmer built the shrine of Azura in Skyrim after the Red Year as their thanks to her, so that none would forget that she watches over them all. Azura's further visions tested the faith of the priests, who gradually left the shrine afterwards as they were afraid to know their own future. 

By  , Azura's Star was in Skyrim, in the hands of a dying mage. He had corrupted the artifact, allowing it to trap black souls and placing his own inside it. Azura sent the Last Dragonborn to retrieve the artifact, though when found, it was broken. The Dragonborn entered the Star and destroyed the mage's soul, though whether or not this was done with Azura's help is unclear. 

Artifacts
thumb|right|150px|Azura's Star (Skyrim)
Azura's Star
 
 

thumb|right|150px|Moon-and-Star (Morrowind)
Moon-and-Star
 
 

thumb|right|150px|Moonlight Blade (ESO)
Moonlight Blade
 
 

Ring of Azura
This ring was bestowed upon the Nerevarine in   upon killing Dagoth Ur. It possessed a few magical enchantments.  
 

thumb|right|150px|The Skyrim:Skeleton Key|Skeleton Key (Skyrim)
The Skeleton Key
 
 

Moonshadow
 

See Also
For game-specific information, see the Daggerfall, Morrowind, Oblivion, Skyrim and ESO articles.

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Gallery
 

References