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| “ | The Forgotten are free to wallow in their misery. | „ |
| ~ Namira |
Namira also known as The Lady of Decay, is a Daedric Prince in the Elder Scrolls series. Daedric Princes are god-like archfiends worshiped as an alternative to the gods, though they are lesser than gods, they are still far enough above mortals to seemingly control every aspect in their sphere of influence. Namira is the Daedric Prince of Wretchedness, Decay and Hunger.
She is heavily associated with vermin, darkness, hunger and cannibalism. While the Princes all claim morality is a flawed concept that cannot apply to them, her deeds at the very least tend to associate her with the wicked.
She is voiced by Mozhan Marno in The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim.
Background[]
Daedric Princes[]
Daedric Princes are primordial entities once worshiped as gods before they were eventually rejected for the more noble Divines - true-gods. Daedric Princes are considered flawed gods, manifestations of flawed concepts left-over from the forge of creation. The elven races are some of the eldest societies in the world and the word "Daerdra" is of elven origin. Conservative elven religion states elves are descended from gods, and can return to that state with a collectively purified life-style, as and as such the elven word for "gods" is "Aedra" - meaning "Our Ancestors", and "Daedra" means "Not Our Ancestors"; In essences the term "Daedra" means "Other Gods" or "Not of the Gods".
Daedra are a vast race of fiends manifesting from Oblivion, the realm outside structured reality, the eldest of these Daedra are called "Daedric Princes", the term "Prince" not indicative of gender but rather of place in the cosmos - lesser than Kings/Gods but close enough to where it should not matter to a lowly mortal. There are sixteen/seventeen Daedric Princes and each is not only powerful enough to warp reality in various ways, but has in-fact become one with a section of Oblivion which re-shapes according to their whims and the worship the receive - making each realm look different even though in essence all are primordial chaos only held together by the will of their Princes.
The Daedric Princes made a pact with the Divines, and though Namira was not originally one of them, she later complied, as did all of them eventually. As the Divine can out-class the Daedric Princes, the Princes agreed not to physically manifest on Nirn (physical mortal reality) or destroy it, but being tricksters of varying levels, the Daedric Princes find various ways to toy with mortals without physically appearing on Nirn or destroying the rules governing it. Namira is one of the Daedric Princes most preoccupied with the world despite keeping her presence unobtrusive.
Following[]
Namira is patron of all whom would disgust society. She sponsors paupers, the sick, the socially maladjusted, barbarians and cannibals. Namira is one of the patron deities of the Forsworn, natives of "The Reach" - a treacherous mountain range between the countries of Skyrim and High-Rock. Most Forsworn are Bretons (Human-Elven high-breds), but the tribes accept all who would champion their cause of retaking their region, and also includes Hags and a few Orsimer (Orcs).
Hags in-particular seem to flock to Namira, she has taught them how to turn still human followers into "Briarharts", by carving out their hearts, replacing them with thorny magical fruits called briar hearts and letting the magic absorbed by the plants push the newly created Briarhart to super-human levels of strength, endurance and speed. The Forsworn always worshiped Namira as a primal goddess, but turned to her particularly once they were cast out of their land by the imperialist Nords of Skyrim, and the gentrifying noble families of High-Rock. Forsworn myths say that Namira came-about when the heart of Lorkhan (primordial god of creation), was flung to the planet (Lorkhan having scarified himself to see the world created), and Namira was the regrets within Lorkhan as his consciousness leaked out of his physical body.
Namira has next to no love for the Forsworn or their cause, she sponsors the tribes solely because they happen to be opposing organized society, and as such are hated by the civilized people, and that puts them squarely in Namira's house of interest; Furthermore the Forsworn realize this but gladly feed the Queen of Decay their misery, and enemies, in-exchange for her boons.
Outside of the Forsworn Namira tends to take in all cast-out by polite society, she has a fondness for beggars and rustic hermits. Those who are filthy, half-mad-with-grief, socially maladjusted and live in darkness are said to be in the embrace of Namira. Namira is largely used as a metric to show how much of ones' figurative humanity has been lost, those so far gone they are on the verge of a mental/emotional meltdown or over the line therein, are those now firmly under Namira's influence. For Namria's part she sees this as a mutually beneficial arrangement - the wretched and forgotten get solace in knowing they are free from the judgment of society and she gets to feed on the faith of those ready to accept her into their lives.
By accepting misery rather than trying to rebuild oneself from reaching metaphorical rock-bottom, Namira's followers eventually come-to-peace with it, and find solace in their wretchedness. At lowest stages of destitution, the forsaken fully embrace Namira, to the point that her followers will outright reject those offering them food, light, or the opportunity to be rehabilitated and actually recoil from those showing them compassion.
The Beggar Prince[]
According to the in-game book, The Beggar Prince, an heir/heiress named "Wheedle" once came upon Namira. Wheedle was the thirteenth in line of succession to their father, the king of Valenwood (home of the Wood-Elves), but rather than try to compete with their siblings, or be killed as potential rival in the event of their father's death, simply packed up their things severed ties with the throne and went off to find independent fortune.
One day Wheedle came upon a homeless woman who crossed their path. Recoiling in disgust, Wheedle asked the name of the wretch, the homeless woman quite plainly admitted to being Namira in mortal guise. Wheedle was well read and knew no mortal would get away with making such a claim even in jest, so savvy to the nature of Daedric Princes immediately showed admiration for her. Namira was pleased Wheedle was not the average arrogant mortal to reject such a concept and went on her way, but as she was leaving, Wheedle asked for a boon.
Namira ignored Wheedle and kept walking. For thirty-three days and thirty-three nights Wheedle followed Namira praising her and begging for her blessing until finally she complied. Pleased at Wheedle's devout supplication to what appeared to be a mere beggar, Namira gave Wheedle three blessings, the gift of disease, the gift of pity, and the gift of disregard; With Disease Namira said from that day forth Wheedle could chose to have any disease they wished but they would always at-least have one, but Wheedle could chose and shift it as long as the symptoms were visible, With Pity Wheedle could beg anyone for money and out of shear pity for their loathsomeness they would be assured to toss Wheedle at-least a few gold, With Disregard they could make their presence ignored as long as they did not directly try to get attention.
Wheedle at first felt he/she was cursed, but soon found they could get as much gold as they could carry, give themself manageable illnesses that only elicited pity but did not hinder him/her and that he/she could overhear the secrets of others as he/she was beneath their notice when they wanted to be. Wheedle became rich, well informed and well traveled. It is said that they served as the paragon for all future beggars, and if you want to know something, offer a beggar a few coins and inquire about local gossip and you too can benefit from Namira's blessing.
Personality[]
Unlike many other Daedric Princes, Namira is very protective of her followers. She sees herself as the only one willing to reach-out to the miserable, a very literal example of the phrase "Misery loves company". She is said to gnaw at the bodies of the dead and is used to explain how rotting occurs. Ceremonies to Namira usually involve cannibalistic rites, as Namira's totems are those of insects, rats, vultures and other carrion creatures.
She is one of the more ill-tempered Daedric Princes and like her followers rejects any who would sit in moral judgment over her. Namira rarely socializes with the other Daedric Princes except for when they all teamed up to defeat their common foe, the Prince of Order Jyggalag, also according to Sheograth - Prince of Madness, she still attends Daedric Parties and yet is still more well liked than Malacath - Daedric Prince of Outcasts and patron of the Orcs.
Though she is openly exploiting the Forsworn, she claims they are trying to exploit her too, and sees the relationship as symbiotic - parasites praying to a parasite, who is preying on them. She is anti-social and prefers isolated dark burrows where she can wallow in the collective misery she has accrued.
Quotes[]
| “ | You dare approach my shrine, child of the light? You, who walk this plane basking in the light of the warm, cruel sun? Prove to me that you deserve my favor. In Anga, my forgotten have lived in peace for many years. They worship me from the dark, basking in their misery and filth. | „ |
| ~ Namira |
| “ | Don't bother to tell me your name. You won't need it if you continue to trouble me. | „ |
| ~ Namira |
| “ | Who am I? You could not comprehend my true nature, filth. | „ |
| ~ Namira |
| “ | The desire for power gnaws at the gut, does it not? I can see it does. Excuse my informality, but I feel like I know you, I recognize your craving as if it were my own. You want to control, and the thought makes you slaver like a starving wolf. I can fill your belly, but first I need to know. Will you kill in order to fill this void? | „ |
| ~ Namira |
| “ | If I thought you were being cruel, I could respect it. But I suspect that you are actually stupid, which I cannot abide. | „ |
| ~ Namira |
| “ | Take my ring. Let it bring pain to others who would wish it upon you. | „ |
| ~ Namira |
| “ | Mortal worm get away from there! | „ |
| ~ Namira |
External Link[]
Namira on the Elder Scrolls Wiki.
