Line #42 Literature/TheUutakMythos


1	[[quoteright:278:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/rsz_tumblr_naqtqb11h31rml4zno1_1280_2237.jpg]]
2	[[caption-width-right:278:Concept Art of an Echmer male.]]
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4	->''"When talk dies, it makes a mirror."'' – '''HRAHNDEYL, the Echmer God of Sound'''
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6	The Uutak (pronounced ''you talk'') Mythos is a collaborative writing and drawing community project set within the universe of ''Franchise/TheElderScrolls'' series of videogames. It was originally created by [= IceFireWarden=], a member of ''The Elder Scrolls'' lore community, but has been added to by several notable and fantastic individuals since its conception.
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8	It can be described as a type {{Fanon}}, but in reality is more of a massive world-building project built around the mysterious island of [[http://uesp.net/wiki/Lore:Yneslea Yneslea]] (transformed into an archipelago by the project) in the lore of the games, which has yet to be expanded upon by the developers. It expands upon and adds lore to Yneslea, specifically adding two new races that inhabit the islands:
9	* The Echmer, a race of {{Nay Theist}}ic beastfolk resembling humanoid bats with a {{Steampunk}} society containing {{Mecha Mooks}} and other advanced technology unlike the technology level found in Tamriel. They were accidentally created by the Dwemer, an ancient race of highly advanced Elves, and share many of their ideals and customs. The majority of the Uutak Mythos deals with their history, people, and interactions with the universe at large.
10	* The Hyu-Ket, a race of simple, insect-like goblins that coexist with the Echmer. In a {{Kick the Dog}} moment the Echmer enslaved their race for thousands of years, but eventually freed them when they had a collective {{My God What Have I Done}} moment. Several of their stories interlock with the Echmer stories, making them vastly important to the Uutak Mythos.
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12	There are multiple places online where one can find texts dealing with the Uutak Mythos:
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14	* [[https://en.uesp.net/wiki/General:Uutak_Mythos The UESP article on the Mythos]] gives some information about its development and origins, as well as an overview of the project's lore.
15	* [[https://docs.google.com/document/d/13y6nkaFenfu8BYW4S271k6SVq_3Uw4JmID1FAyTBJPE/edit?usp=sharing/ The Uutak Bible]] is an extensive and comprehensive guide to the Mythos, written by its creator, [=IceFireWarden=].
16	* [[https://docs.google.com/document/d/1h_omyqJ8PwzrtWC4LuG635GfuiF5Fo6h3g3lIhxeILc/edit?usp=sharing/ The Uutak Bible Supplement 1]] is an set of additional texts regarding the Mythos meant to complement the original Bible.
17	* [[http://www.reddit.com/r/teslore/ /r/teslore]] on reddit, the main hub of the creator [=IceFireWarden=], is the 'unofficial' main place where one can find anything dealing with the Uutak project. All you have to do is search for things relating to it in the searchbar.
18	* [[http://tomorrowindtoday.com/ Tommorrowind Today]] is a website that hosts many Elder Scrolls texts, along with several Uutak ones.
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20	[[foldercontrol]]
21	----
22	[[folder:Tropes Regarding The Uutak Mythos]]
23	* {{Early Installment Weirdness}}: Most of the early Uutak Mythos texts have either been {{Retcon}}ned away or adapted later on.
24	* {{Expanded Universe}}: In a sense. It deals with a small pocket of ''The Elder Scrolls'' Expanded Universe (which includes the games, novels, comics, out-of-game texts, and official supplementary material) in the form of the island of Yneslea, an actual place confirmed to exist in the lore.
25	[[/folder]]
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27	[[folder:Yneslea Tropes]]
28	* BigCreepyCrawlies: Myriapods, which are carnivorous centipede-like creatures. They're a major food source to the Entoechi, a sub-species of Echmer who mainly eat insects.
29	* GreenHillZone: The Opal Coast. It's a combination beach and prairie, dotted with palm trees, and is considered the most beautiful part of the islands.
30	* OurTrollsAreDifferent: A terrifying version known as "Bruorl." They're dark red in color and share some characteristics with lizards. They've been known to threaten Echmer Urbs by burrowing into them.
31	* PortTown: Port White-Gold, constructed during Emperor Uriel V's occupation of the islands. It is currently used by both the natives and foreigners alike as a major hub city on the surface of Yne.
32	* RuinsForRuinsSake: Justified with Dwemer ruins, as they once occupied the island before their disappearance thousands of years ago. The Echmer have taken to carefully preserving them.
33	* SlippySlideyIceWorld: The Hae’macrin Mountains. It is the only place that snow and ice can be found in the entirety of Yneslea, and is considered the least hospitable of all biomes.
34	* {{Unobtanium}}: Two forms unique to Yneslea.
35	** Solarite: A light, glassy, silvery metal which forms only in areas where sunlight is in "unnatural abundance." The Echmer refer to it as the "tears of the sun" and have perfected crafting into weapons and armor which rival ebony, one of the highest quality metals in ''The Elder Scrolls''.
36	** Euphrite: An unnatural metal which can only be created by the Echmer using "Echolalia Fantasia," tonal architecture learned and adapted from the Dwemer in ancient times. It is a hard, heavy, metal that is milky-white and aqua in color. It is virtually indestructible by normal means and is resistant to elemental damage, but can be [[WeaksauceWeakness dissolved by acids]]. The Echmer use it in their constructs, ranging from their "urbs" (cities) to their "Auralmata" (automatons.)
37	* WickedWasps: Burrow Wasps, which are highly aggressive blue/green wasps whose stingers contain a paralyzing poison.
38	[[/folder]]
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40	[[folder:Echmer Tropes]]
41	* {{Animal Motifs}}: Bats of course.
42	* {{Arch Enemy}}: The Kamal of Akavir, who attempt to annex the Ynesleaic archipelago into their kingdom every few years or so. The Echmer have kicked their collective ass time and time again, however.
43	* {{Badass Army}}: They have one of the strongest fighting forces on the face of Nirn. They were able to defeat much of their opposition – both foreign and domestic – for over a thousand years until the Twelvemonth War with the Tamrielics, where they finally found a {{Worthy Opponent}}.
44	* {{Badass Normal}}: Because of their strong dislike for magicka, nearly the entirety of the Echmer race (especially the military) have to be this.
45	* {{Badass Bookworm}}: Echmer spend most of their lives studying the laws of physics. They then spend the rest of their lives using what they studied to rewrite said laws of physics just for fun and have on several occasions.
46	* BenevolentPrecursors: The Dwemer to the Echmer. After accidentally creating the Echmer as a side effect of using their [[RealityWarper tonal architecture]], the Dwemer took in the newly sentient Echmer and taught them. After the disappearance of the Dwemer, the Echmer reverse engineered much of the Dwemer's technology for their own use.
47	* {{Binding Ancient Treaty}}: In ancient times when the modern Echmer society began to emerge after the Dwemer disappeared a group of Echmer acoustineers used primal tonal architecture to bind the entirety of the Echmeri race permanently to a mystical creed they call ‘the Law’. Every Echmer to this day is born knowing the full mandates of the Law, and while it can be broken, that sends up a red flag to the rest of the race on who broke it and a severe punishment is handed out accordingly.
48	* {{The Clan}}: Echmer families are known as ‘Sects’, and are very close due to familial relationships being a major custom amongst the bat elves.
49	* {{Cessation of Existence}}: Something that sets the Echmer apart from the other races on Nirn is that instead of their souls moving on to Aetherius, the Dreamsleeve, Oblivion, or some other TES afterlife after death they instead enter the Void – the realm of utter nothingness. Because of this their souls cease to exist, not staying in an afterlife or reincarnating. This makes it almost impossible for Echmer souls to come back as ghosts, undead, or other related things (but it is possible). This does bring up the question where their souls actually come from…
50	* {{Clock Punk}}: Their technology utilizes aspects of this style and SteamPunk and makes them even more unique by adding in literal sound/music elements into the mix.
51	* {{Culture Chop Suey}}: Echmeri culture is inspired by various Real Life cultures, but is even more unique due to how the bat elves are separated into different cultural groups.
52	** Dweech Echmer live underground in the Dweech (a gigantic cavern system that runs underneath the whole of the Ynesleaic archipelago) in vast mechanical cities they call Urbs and are much more technological than their aboveground brethren. Their lifestyle and customs combine aspects of Roman, Greek, Babylonian, Mediterranean, Arabic, and German cultures together.
53	** Exul Echmer live on the surface of the islands in the archipelago in more primitive villages and have farming, hunting, and fishing oriented lifestyles but still have access to the technology of their belowground brethren. Their customs are influenced by Romani, Chinese, Indian (actual), and Greek cultural aspects.
54	** Moru Echmer, having been separated from the rest of the Echmer cultures accidentally on one of the islands in the Ynesleaic archipelago, have a nomadic society that takes influence from Native American, Mongol, and Egyptian societies.
55	* {{Deadpan Snarker}}: Because of their unique perspective on the universe (see the Fantasy Kitchen Sink below) the Echmer are constantly cynical and sarcastic about life no matter what happens.
56	* {{Did You Just Flip Off Cthulhu}}/{{Did You Just Scam Cthulhu}}: They do this on frequent basis to the appall of the Tamrielic races. Unlike the denizens of the Starry Heart, the Echmer (rightly) believe that the Aedra and Daedra are Above Good And Evil, and have no qualms conversing with (or scheming with/against) them. Interesting, the various et’ada seem to admire this at best or are greatly annoyed at worst.
57	* {{Empowered Badass Normal}}: However, despite the above about the Echmer disliking anything dealing with the arcane, the unique Echmer mages of Mustikos’arcere and the renowned Echmeri acoustineers (who use Echolalia Fantasia, a variant of tonal architecture which in itself is a type of reality warping sound magic) are definitely this.
58	* RankScalesWithAsskicking: Echmer in senior positions, no matter age or occupation, are often far more skilled than those that work underneath them.
59	* {{Servant Race}}: Initially, to the Dwemer.
60	* {{You Are A Credit To Your Race}}: The Bat Elves are naturally disdainful towards foreigners of all kinds, but will eventually begin to treat individuals who surpass their general outlook on "aliens" in this fashion, deeming them to be "Echmer in spirit if not of shape".
61	[[/folder]]
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63	[[folder:Hyu-Ket Tropes]]
64	* ArrangedMarriage: A very simple form. They will decide who an infant is to "marry" at birth and raise them side-by-side.
65	* CultureChopSuey: Nomadic and live in yak skin yurts, reminiscent of the Mongolians and some Native American tribes. They also have shamanistic priests and have totemic worship as part of their religious practices, similar to prehistoric hunter-gatherer humans.
66	* DyingRace[=/=]EndangeredSpecies: Centuries of slavery (and, in some cases, being used as a food source) by the Echmer have reduced their numbers to a mere 2000. Before this, it was said that their numbers rivaled the amount of Orsimer (Orcs) in Tamriel.
67	* NobleSavage: Of the "perceived" as savage variety. They are quite peaceful in general, and live simple, nomadic, hunter-gatherer lifestyles.
68	* OurGoblinsAreDifferent: Insectoid, in this case. They're also stated to be more intelligent than the Goblins which inhabit Tamriel and Akavir.
69	* RacialRemnant: Only about 2000 remain, and they haven't recovered as well as many thought they would after being freed from slavery by the Echmer. Those who have survived carry on their ancestors beliefs and traditions.
70	* SlaveRace: Formerly one to the Echmer. They were freed early in the 3rd Era but have still not recovered centuries later.
71	* {{The Native Rival}}: To the Echmer; they had been living in the Yneslean archipelago for centuries before the Echmer even evolved. If not for their primitive culture, the Bat Elves may have never surpassed them and taken their spot as the dominant species of the microcontinent.

Context Literature / TheUutakMythos