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The 36 Lessons of Vivec
The 36 Lessons of Vivec are a series of books that appear in a game called "The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind." Morrowind was released on May 2nd in 2002 for Microsoft Windows and then again later that year in June for Microsoft's Xbox console system.
While Morrowind was the third game in the Elder Scrolls series, it marked a dramatic departure from previous installments in both style and substance. While previous games were somewhat typical "sword & sorcery" fantasy fare, Morrowind took place in a remote volcanic island called Vvardenfell, a departure from typically verdant High Fantasy locales and a harsh environment of ash, heat, and dust. Visually, Morrowind distinguished itself from nearly every other fantasy RPG with its distinctive setting: an island formed by an active volcano surrounded by blasted wastelands and poisonous swamps. Familiar stone wall castles contrasted with towers built from titanic mushrooms and cities built from the hollowed husks of gigantic insects. And the island's native population, the Dunmer, are a race split between the traditional values of their tribal demon-worshiping "Ashlanders" and the new values encouraged by their self-made-Gods, Almalexia, Sotha Sil, and Vivec, who call themselves the Tribunal.
The player is soon told that his character is the reincarnation of Lord Indoril Nerevar, an ancient Dunmer hero who died mysteriously nearly 3,500 years before the game starts. A prisoner of the human-led Empire, the Player arrives in Vvardenfell as the game begins, now free for reasons not yet clear, and finds the island is under attack by a strange and powerful being named Dagoth Ur. As he plays, the Player finds copies of a 36 volume set of religious sermons called "The 36 Lessons of Vivec."
The "Lessons" read less like instruction and more like snippets of ancient Hindu epics like the Ramayana, and at first glance they appear to be possibly fictional stories about the relationship between the student, Nerevar, and his teacher, Vivec. The two seem very close. But when the Player starts to uncover the stories of how his previous incarnation was killed, some of them implicate Vivec himself as the murderer.
And this begins the first question that drags most players into the 36 Lessons of Vivec: "Who killed Indoril Nerevar?" But this murder mystery is perhaps the easiest question to solve, outnumbered by a thousand more puzzling questions about the origins of the Tribunal, the motivations of Dagoth Ur, the nature of life, and the true purpose of the Elder Scrolls universe itself.
While Morrowind was the third game in the Elder Scrolls series, it marked a dramatic departure from previous installments in both style and substance. While previous games were somewhat typical "sword & sorcery" fantasy fare, Morrowind took place in a remote volcanic island called Vvardenfell, a departure from typically verdant High Fantasy locales and a harsh environment of ash, heat, and dust. Visually, Morrowind distinguished itself from nearly every other fantasy RPG with its distinctive setting: an island formed by an active volcano surrounded by blasted wastelands and poisonous swamps. Familiar stone wall castles contrasted with towers built from titanic mushrooms and cities built from the hollowed husks of gigantic insects. And the island's native population, the Dunmer, are a race split between the traditional values of their tribal demon-worshiping "Ashlanders" and the new values encouraged by their self-made-Gods, Almalexia, Sotha Sil, and Vivec, who call themselves the Tribunal.
The player is soon told that his character is the reincarnation of Lord Indoril Nerevar, an ancient Dunmer hero who died mysteriously nearly 3,500 years before the game starts. A prisoner of the human-led Empire, the Player arrives in Vvardenfell as the game begins, now free for reasons not yet clear, and finds the island is under attack by a strange and powerful being named Dagoth Ur. As he plays, the Player finds copies of a 36 volume set of religious sermons called "The 36 Lessons of Vivec."
The "Lessons" read less like instruction and more like snippets of ancient Hindu epics like the Ramayana, and at first glance they appear to be possibly fictional stories about the relationship between the student, Nerevar, and his teacher, Vivec. The two seem very close. But when the Player starts to uncover the stories of how his previous incarnation was killed, some of them implicate Vivec himself as the murderer.
And this begins the first question that drags most players into the 36 Lessons of Vivec: "Who killed Indoril Nerevar?" But this murder mystery is perhaps the easiest question to solve, outnumbered by a thousand more puzzling questions about the origins of the Tribunal, the motivations of Dagoth Ur, the nature of life, and the true purpose of the Elder Scrolls universe itself.
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First published January 1, 2002
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
April 3, 2020
Surprised this floated its way into Goodreads. Formative. Start with Sermon of the City if you need persuading.
June 11, 2023
I was gifted an incredible leather-bound copy of the 36 Sermons. Did a full re-read today.
“The temporal myth is man.
For I have crushed a world with my left hand he will say. But in my right hand is how it could have won against me.”
AE CHIM CE ALTADOON. These are the words of ALMSIVI. Vivec wrote this.
“The temporal myth is man.
For I have crushed a world with my left hand he will say. But in my right hand is how it could have won against me.”
AE CHIM CE ALTADOON. These are the words of ALMSIVI. Vivec wrote this.
July 11, 2021
Changed my entire life forever. I'm forever grateful for this book and lord Vivec.
5/5
5/5
Read
December 10, 2023"The waking world is the amnesia of dream. All motifs can be mortally wounded. Once slain, themes turn into the structure of future nostalgia. Do not abuse your powers or they will lead you astray. They will leave you like rebellious daughters. They will lose their virtue. They will become lost and resentful and finally become pregnant with the seed of folly. Soon you will be the grandparent of a broken state. You will be mocked. It will fall apart like a stone that recalls that it is really water.
"Keep nothing in your house that is neither needed or beautiful.
"Ordeals you should face unimpeded by the world of restriction. The splendor of stars is Ayem's domain. The selfishness of the sea is Seht's. I rule the middle air. All else is earth and under your temporal command. There is no bone that cannot be broken, except for the heart bone. You will see it twice in your lifetimes. Take what you can the first time and let us do the rest.
"There is no true symbolism of the center. The Sharmat will believe there is. He will feel that he can cause years of exuberance from sitting in the sacred, when really no one can leave that state and cause anything more but strife.
"There is once more the case of the symbolic and barren. The true prince that is cursed and demonized will be adored at last with full hearts. According to the Codes of Mephala there can be no official art, only fixation points of complexity that will erase from the awe of the people given enough time. This is a secret that hides another. An impersonal survival is not the way of the ruling king. Embrace the art of the people and marry it and by that I mean secretly have it murdered.
"The ruling king that sees in another his equivalent rules nothing.
"The secret of weapons is this: they are the mercy seat.
"The secret of language is this: it is immobile.
"The ruling king is armored head to toe in brilliant flame. He is redeemed by each act he undertakes. His death is only a diagram back to the waking world. He sleeps the second way. The Sharmat is his double, and therefore you wonder if you rule nothing.
"Hortator and Sharmat, one and one, eleven, an inelegant number. Which of the ones is the more important? Could you ever tell if they switched places? I can and that is why you will need me.
"According to the Codes of Mephala, there is no difference between the theorist and the terrorist. Even the most cherished desire disappears in their hands. This is why Mephala has black hands. Bring both of yours to every argument. The one-handed king finds no remedy. When you approach God, however, cut both of them off. God has no need of theory and he is armored head to toe in terror."
- Sermon Eleven
"Keep nothing in your house that is neither needed or beautiful.
"Ordeals you should face unimpeded by the world of restriction. The splendor of stars is Ayem's domain. The selfishness of the sea is Seht's. I rule the middle air. All else is earth and under your temporal command. There is no bone that cannot be broken, except for the heart bone. You will see it twice in your lifetimes. Take what you can the first time and let us do the rest.
"There is no true symbolism of the center. The Sharmat will believe there is. He will feel that he can cause years of exuberance from sitting in the sacred, when really no one can leave that state and cause anything more but strife.
"There is once more the case of the symbolic and barren. The true prince that is cursed and demonized will be adored at last with full hearts. According to the Codes of Mephala there can be no official art, only fixation points of complexity that will erase from the awe of the people given enough time. This is a secret that hides another. An impersonal survival is not the way of the ruling king. Embrace the art of the people and marry it and by that I mean secretly have it murdered.
"The ruling king that sees in another his equivalent rules nothing.
"The secret of weapons is this: they are the mercy seat.
"The secret of language is this: it is immobile.
"The ruling king is armored head to toe in brilliant flame. He is redeemed by each act he undertakes. His death is only a diagram back to the waking world. He sleeps the second way. The Sharmat is his double, and therefore you wonder if you rule nothing.
"Hortator and Sharmat, one and one, eleven, an inelegant number. Which of the ones is the more important? Could you ever tell if they switched places? I can and that is why you will need me.
"According to the Codes of Mephala, there is no difference between the theorist and the terrorist. Even the most cherished desire disappears in their hands. This is why Mephala has black hands. Bring both of yours to every argument. The one-handed king finds no remedy. When you approach God, however, cut both of them off. God has no need of theory and he is armored head to toe in terror."
- Sermon Eleven
June 4, 2019
Последние пару месяцев я провёл за изучением мира серии игр The Elder Scrolls. И если кто-то спросит у меня зачем - я не найду ответа для них. Но мне было интересно. А потом я захотел убедиться в том, что в отрыве от игрового контекста этот текст померкнет.
Так оно и произошло.
Хотелось бы ошибиться, потому что я питаю слабость к таким маргиналиям и желаю разделить радость тайного знания с теми, кто тоже "шарит".
Настойчивые фанаты уже сто раз разобрали этот текст по кусочкам, где нашли массу интересностей, вроде намёков на ломку четвёртой стены (игровой персонаж описывает функцию сохранений, критикует некоторые внутренние механики) и всем известное тайное послание. А вся значительная часть фанатских спекуляций по поводу мира игры берёт начало именно из 36 уроков.
Но вся магия этих уроков исчезает, как только мы посмотрим на них как на литературный текст. И тогда читать его становится как-то... неловко. Попытка сымитировать Бхвагаватгиту (или Рамаяну) вышла небрежной и скорее походит на черновик, чем на финальный вариант. Чарующая ненадёжность рассказчика, вокруг которой так много всего завязано на понимании игровой истории, здесь почти не находит места. Местами затемнённость текста - это самоцель, а не приём.
Главный и самый существенный плюс касается не самого текста, а авторского угара и увлечённости этим текстом. Киркбрайд - это автор, которому не наплевать, которому находиться и разбираться в мире игры настолько же интересно, как и фанатскому сообществу.
На фоне претензий, которые сейчас выдвигают авторам больших и популярных произведений, это особенно ценно. Упрёки нынешним создателям "Звёздных войн" и финальных сезонов "Игры престолов" строятся именно на том, что вместо авторской индивидуальности они предпочитают стандартные голливудские ходы. Зрелищность вместо целостности, эффект вместо следования канону.
Киркбрайд уже со времён Morrowind не числится работником Bethesda, но и после ухода продолжал что-то писать о мире The Elder Scrolls как для самих игр серии, так и за их пределами, как автор фанфиков. Morrowind вышел в 2002-м году, а в 2015 Киркбрайд решил поставить точку в том, что хотел сказать и выдал C0DA, где описал, чем всё по его мнению закончится (спойлер: всё закончится как в "Космической Одиссее 2001"). А мир всё это времяThe Elder Scrolls развивался в ключе классического фэнтези, без того очаровательного безумия, которое придумал для Morrowind в том числе и Киркбрайд.
Так оно и произошло.
Хотелось бы ошибиться, потому что я питаю слабость к таким маргиналиям и желаю разделить радость тайного знания с теми, кто тоже "шарит".
Настойчивые фанаты уже сто раз разобрали этот текст по кусочкам, где нашли массу интересностей, вроде намёков на ломку четвёртой стены (игровой персонаж описывает функцию сохранений, критикует некоторые внутренние механики) и всем известное тайное послание. А вся значительная часть фанатских спекуляций по поводу мира игры берёт начало именно из 36 уроков.
Но вся магия этих уроков исчезает, как только мы посмотрим на них как на литературный текст. И тогда читать его становится как-то... неловко. Попытка сымитировать Бхвагаватгиту (или Рамаяну) вышла небрежной и скорее походит на черновик, чем на финальный вариант. Чарующая ненадёжность рассказчика, вокруг которой так много всего завязано на понимании игровой истории, здесь почти не находит места. Местами затемнённость текста - это самоцель, а не приём.
Главный и самый существенный плюс касается не самого текста, а авторского угара и увлечённости этим текстом. Киркбрайд - это автор, которому не наплевать, которому находиться и разбираться в мире игры настолько же интересно, как и фанатскому сообществу.
На фоне претензий, которые сейчас выдвигают авторам больших и популярных произведений, это особенно ценно. Упрёки нынешним создателям "Звёздных войн" и финальных сезонов "Игры престолов" строятся именно на том, что вместо авторской индивидуальности они предпочитают стандартные голливудские ходы. Зрелищность вместо целостности, эффект вместо следования канону.
Киркбрайд уже со времён Morrowind не числится работником Bethesda, но и после ухода продолжал что-то писать о мире The Elder Scrolls как для самих игр серии, так и за их пределами, как автор фанфиков. Morrowind вышел в 2002-м году, а в 2015 Киркбрайд решил поставить точку в том, что хотел сказать и выдал C0DA, где описал, чем всё по его мнению закончится (спойлер: всё закончится как в "Космической Одиссее 2001"). А мир всё это времяThe Elder Scrolls развивался в ключе классического фэнтези, без того очаровательного безумия, которое придумал для Morrowind в том числе и Киркбрайд.
April 26, 2025
Sermón 8 traducido a mi lengua autóctona:
Me he ido pillando purpos para que estuvierah avisao' del cano de los fulleros, los lolailos, pero fuera aprendio' mucho por er camino y ya no ma'petece. La hembra del pastor de los ayuelos peios que ves en el vado de los tajos e una navaja y una señal, y hay una intervención divina en su interior. Me fuera disho que, como ella, tenemos que ser durante un tiempo como es él y, como pueblo, tapar a nuestros antiguos enemigos y utilizar zus máquinas zin vergüenza ni desidia.
Aquí el original
Me he desviado de mi camino para advertirte del engaño de nuestros enemigos, los dwemer, pero he aprendido mucho durante el viaje y he cambiado de opinión. La esposa del pastor de netch que ves a mi lado es una espada y un símbolo, y hay una profecía en su interior. Me dice que, como ella, debemos ser durante un tiempo como es él y, como pueblo, encubrir a nuestros antiguos enemigos y utilizar sus máquinas sin vergüenza
Me he ido pillando purpos para que estuvierah avisao' del cano de los fulleros, los lolailos, pero fuera aprendio' mucho por er camino y ya no ma'petece. La hembra del pastor de los ayuelos peios que ves en el vado de los tajos e una navaja y una señal, y hay una intervención divina en su interior. Me fuera disho que, como ella, tenemos que ser durante un tiempo como es él y, como pueblo, tapar a nuestros antiguos enemigos y utilizar zus máquinas zin vergüenza ni desidia.
Aquí el original
Me he desviado de mi camino para advertirte del engaño de nuestros enemigos, los dwemer, pero he aprendido mucho durante el viaje y he cambiado de opinión. La esposa del pastor de netch que ves a mi lado es una espada y un símbolo, y hay una profecía en su interior. Me dice que, como ella, debemos ser durante un tiempo como es él y, como pueblo, encubrir a nuestros antiguos enemigos y utilizar sus máquinas sin vergüenza
September 30, 2025
Absolutely brilliant piece of in-game lore from TES Morrowind. A philosophy jewel discussing morality, duality and cosmogony, while retaining secrets of its own that come to light only when cross-referenced to other TES books and lore.
October 1, 2021
pretty good nonsense right here
February 27, 2022
Good lord daddy Vivec thank you for your teachings 😁😁😁😁
January 4, 2025
The wording of the words is ALMSIVI, Vivec killed Nerevar, and Dagoth Ur—the god not the building—was right.
August 16, 2024
It’s a shame Seht blew the lid off the whole thing and revealed that he’s making these up & both believes them and doesn’t believe them, because they’re really great.
I think he’s in Akavir with the Nerevarene being like, “well, I had a good run.”
But who knows, the ending of the words is ALMSIVI after all.
I think he’s in Akavir with the Nerevarene being like, “well, I had a good run.”
But who knows, the ending of the words is ALMSIVI after all.
November 28, 2022
I AM AND I ARE ALL WE
May 23, 2023
Superb, life changing, enlightening, and also very gay.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews