Lore:Satakal

To be the Worldskin is to be everything, and to be everything is to be nothing. — Knowing Satakal

Satakal ouroboros depicted on a Na-Totambu ceremonial gong

Satakal the Worldskin, also called the First Serpent, Serpent God, and the World-Snake, is the Yokudan god of everything, and a fusion of the concepts of Anu and Padomay (Satak and Akel), or the habitable universe resulting of their interaction, also called the Aurbis or "The Gray Maybe". They can be considered analogous to Akatosh in a way, being the first being "born" from the interplay of the original forces. Driven by hunger to eat one world to begin another, Satakal also has much in common with the Nordic Alduin. In Yokudan mythology, Satakal has done (and still does) this many times over, a cycle which prompted the birth of spirits that could survive the transition, notably Ruptga, the first who learned how to do so. These spirits ultimately became the Yokudan pantheon.

Satakal is a popular god of the Alik'r nomads. Redguard creation myth holds that they are doomed to mortality because they are very far away from the real world of Satakal, and the safe haven of the Far Shores is too far away for them to jump from the mortal world.

Origin

To the Yokudans, Satak is the Snake who came Before. All the worlds to come rested in the glimmering scales of Satak. The world is the egg that Satakal laid, and the egg that in time Satakal shall eat. There was nothing except Satak; nothing else had the space to exist. The worlds on Satak's skin put out a call to be saved, and they were heard by Akel, the Hungry Stomach of Satak. Akel made itself known, and Satak gave into hunger and began eating. Soon there was enough room to live in the worlds and things began in this violent time. Pretty soon Akel caused Satak to bite its own heart, and Satak died. The hunger, though, refused to stop, even in death, and so the First Serpent shed its skin to begin anew. As the old world died, Satakal began.

Worship

A priestess of Satakal (ESO)

Priests of the deity believe that Satakal eats himself, and the spirits move to the Far Shores. Satakal's coils control the fate of all Mundus, and reigns over creation, destruction, chaos, and order all at once. Modern devotees are said to shed their skin in gruesome rituals with winding daggers, with a possibility of self-consumption (though this has never been confirmed). Flensing rituals of Satakal were suggested to be more restrained in earlier eras.

Many Redguard groups revere Satakal, albeit to varying extents. Popular with Alik'r nomadic tribes, they believe all dwell upon the serpent, and weave a giant serpent on their maps, presumably as symbolism of Satakal. The Ash'abah use a flower called Satakal's Blossom in antidotes. Hunding believed that under Satakal's ever-changing influence, the sword-singer must cast aside the notions of their destiny to achieve Mastery of Sacrifice. The Pyre Watch, sworn to Tu'whacca, vowed to guard Unhallowed Grave until the Satakal shed his skin.

There exists a group of worshippers of the Serpent God known as the "Satakals", and they proved resistant to transitioning to worship of the Eight Divines. These Devotees of Satakal have been seen rolling in the desert sand sidewinder-fashion in continuous, hundred-mile stretches, from Balhar all the way to the Nohotogrha oasis. The Maormer ruler King Orgnum was a deathless wizard rumored to actually be the Serpent God of the Satakal. Some Maormer worship Satakal specifically, and perceive serpents as his holy animals, however, the exact nature of the possible connection between Orgnum and Satakal is unknown, and not acknowledged by the Redguards. Satakalaam is a city in Hammerfell on the eastern shores of the Iliac Bay which is presumably named after the Worldskin. Some Redguards swear by the By the "thousand Scales of Satakal". Giant snakes are called the Spawn of Satakal and cared for by his followers. Potion openers are decorated with crude depictions of Satakal as a serpent with its fangs exposed.

Recognition of Satakal among controlling factions is varied. High King Ar-Azal's tutor and mentor was the Admiral Zaqeeb, a Priestess of Satakal and a sage of renown. For defecting from Satakal's service to The Serpent's Scaled Court after the Planemeld, a priestess of Satakal had her acolytes executed for treason, for "Satakal's vengeance must be quick as a serpent's strike". At least one Third Era Redguard ruler believed worship of Satakal was tantamount to treason against the Empire.

Gallery

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  A bas-relief door possibly featuring Satakal or Sep (right) and Tu'whacca (left)

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  Satakal's Blossom, rare flower that is extremely hallucinogenic with curative properties

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  To know Satakal, consider a river. As a snake sheds its skin and lives on, so a river sheds its water into the sea, yet is reborn at the source.

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  Possible depiction of Orgnum, Does not the serpent made of sky above reflect the serpent made of the sea below?

Notes

• Satakal was said to be the first Serpent, and the modern-day Redguards often exclaim "By the First Wyrm."
  • Despite this claim, The Monomyth gives the appellation "First Serpent" to Satak (and "Second Serpent" to Sep).
• The French translation of the book The Monomyth claims Satakal is Akatosh. This claim is also present in The Morrowind teaser posted in 1999 on the official forums leading up to the release of TES3:Morrowind (Taken from an official Bethsoft post on The Storyboard 09/07/99).

See Also

• Knowing Satakal — Seven Redguard Maxims
• The Monomyth — A theological book containing the common creation myths
• Varieties of Faith... by Brother Mikhael Karkuxor of the Imperial College — An expansive list of the pantheons and associated divine spirits of Tamriel's dominant cultures