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An artistic depiction of Arkān/Anui-El, the Great Avar, under his home moon Secunda.

The Avāra, also known as Avars, Alnuavāra, are a group of six primordial beings that are said to be the avatars of Anu (or Alnu). Manifested in the forms of six unicorn lords associated with the moons Masser and Secunda, the Avāra are believed to be the "breathers" (or 'givers') of the Elder Scroll prophecies. In turn, the Aedra (audrego) receive the prophecies and are responsible for distributing them in Elder Scrolls among the plane of Nirn.

The Mundic names of the six Avars are:

  • Arkān (or Anui-El), the white unicorn lord of light
  • Ajorna, the violet unicorn lord of time and order
  • Borund, the blue unicorn lord of will
  • Jakir, the green unicorn lord of wisdom
  • Baldor, the yellow unicorn lord of knowledge
  • Metra, the red unicorn lord of love

Overview[]

Legends about the Avāra predate written history on Nirn, and it is rare for one to find written records of these legends. Alleged "legends" primarily survive in ancient hieroglyphs and rock art left behind by a prehistoric race of semi-pastoral giants in central Tamriel, known as the Mundari. These giants were people of renown before the start of the First Era, and the Avāra are said to have communicated with Mundari prophets through the giant unicorns (Avārpegoz) that the giants domesticated.

The giant unicorns of central Tamriel were considered by the Avāra to be the purest of creatures on Nirn, untouched and hated by the Daedric Dissenters (Liskari) and their descendants who inhabited Nirn at the time. Being blood descendants of the jealous Padomay (an independent "branch" of the primordial Alnunoh; "Pōdamai" in Mundic), the Daedric Et'Ada (Jāinkari) hated creation and had been trying to corrupt it ever since its conception by the Avāra through the blessing of Anu.

The Alnuavāra created the Aedric from the preexisting Et'Ada after the creation of the universe, but before the birth of Nirn. This was in order to counteract the destructive actions of Padomay's Daedra against the Alnuavāra's creative intentions that would bring about Nirn. In addition, the Aedra would become the direct creators and ancestors of all creatures on Nirn, plant, animal and other flora. The Ehlnofey (proto-humanoids) and their descendants (Mer [including giants] and Men) were to be the crown jewels of the Alnuavāra's creative intentions on and for Nirn, but were claimed by the Daedric Dissenters after a fierce battle in Oblivion between them and Nirn's ancestral Aedra.

After the Daedra had won the war in Oblivion, they took most of the defeated Aedra as prisoners to the depths of the Oblivion plane, mated with them, and killed them after they had given birth to the half-bred offspring. Only eight Aedra were able to escape before the Daedra could apprehend them, and these the Avāra chose to be what are known by both men and mer as the Eight Divines: Akatosh, Dibella, Julianos, Kynareth, Lorkhan, Mara, Stendarr, and Zenithar. Headed by Lorkhan (or "Lurrakhin", in Mundic), these eight were chosen by the Avāra to create a plane of existence that would bring balance to the opposites of time and eternity. In turn, the eternal Anu would be personified in pure, temporal beings through the creative intent of the Alnuavāra, and by the hand of the Aedra.

After their birth on Nirn, Arkān, the eldest of the six Avars, determined that the Ehlnofey would be the ideal mortal beings to personify the glory of Anu. When the Daedric Dissenters had heard the Avars' plans for the Ehlnofey, they communicated telepathically to the descendants of the Aedra they had mated with in order to carry out their corruptive plans. Being blood descendants of both the Daedra and Aedra, the Abominations (Ixkari), as they are called, are in direct communion with each bloodline. By this communion, the Abominations could mate with any of the Aedra's descendants, including the ancestors of the Ehlnofey. These beings committed an act of adultery with pre-Ehlnofey women, thereby corrupting the lineage of the Avars' chosen. The Aedra crowned the already existing dragons to be the rulers of Nirn, in place of the Ehlnofey.

The dragons, like the giant unicorns, were considered by the Avars and the Aedra to be untouched by the Daedrics, but their reptilian nature kept them from receiving the true intent of the Alnuavāra. Also like the giant unicorns, the dragons were an endangered race of beings and thus were immortalized by Akatosh to govern Nirn. He conjured up some of the already dead dragons' bones and souls to create Alduin, whose role was to be the World-Eater at the appointed time.

The blood lineage of the Daedric Dissenters now runs through the veins of all men and mer, contributing to turmoil and strife among themselves and between other races of Nirn. While on Nirn, the Abominations also mated with other humanoid and non-humanoid creatures of that plane, multiplying their lineage even more. As stated above, some of the few beings that the Daedrics left untouched were the avārpegoz, the titanic unicorns domesticated by the Mundaric giants. Before being completely annihilated by the Abominations, the Avāra took all remaining avārpegoz unicorns out of the possession of the giants. The number of unicorns saved by the Avāra was six, corresponding to each avaric manifestation of Anu: Arkān, Ajorn, Borund, Jakir, Baldor, and Metra.

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