Military Cults of the Imperial Legion, Vol 1: Cyrodiil

Cults of the Nibenese

In the Nibenay (where the Legion is known colorfully as the Dragon-Tribe of the Emperor), there exist untold thousands of cults and folk religions venerating everything from animal gods, Daedra, and even the River Niben itself. A full list would not be possible here and so the author has chosen to represent the most famous of the cults found within the Nibenese Legions. For a more thorough exploration of the faiths of the Niben, the author recommends Prosentius' book, Land of a Thousand Cults: Religion Along The Niben.

Legionaries who belong to the local Nibenese Cult of the Godbeasts paint their faces to better resemble their bestial patrons.

The Cult of the Snake go into battle wearing green, scaly face-paint and clad in newtscale, weapons poisoned with venom. The Cult of the Snake emphasizes cunning and trickery, members often serving the Legion as scouts and assassins. Poison is sacred to the cult, initiates drinking a concoction of snake venoms and hallucinogenic herbs. The poison brings about an epileptic fit, the initiate saved from the brink of death by an attendant healer. The visions seen during a venom trance are considered messages from the Snake God himself and are diligently recorded by the presiding shaman for interpretation.

The Cult of the Jaguar paint their faces black-spotted orange and are often drawn from the deep jungles of the Nibenay. These ferocious warriors file their teeth into points as part of their initiation, giving the cultists an unnerving smile. Jaguar cultists are known for their signature martial art style which incorporates the use of their filed teeth, likely adapted from earlier Khajiit fighting styles.

The Cult of the Eagle practices haruspexy and necromancy, the battlemages manipulating the spirits of the dead to do their bidding. The Eagle God is all-seeing, his vision extending through all worlds and all time and in exchange for sacrifice, grants a measure of his omniscience to his followers. As the Eater of the Dead, the Eagle God rules over all ghosts and gives his followers power over them. The Cult of the Eagle goes into battle with their faces painted white, their robes clattering with tribal fetishes, feathers strung through their tangled hair.

The Cult of the Bull prizes strength and indomitability. The Bull God holds the world on his back between his shoulder-blades, the sun between his horns. Some commentators have drawn connections between the Bull God and Morihaus the Man-Bull, consort of Empress Alessia. Cultists wear horned helmets and carry heavy maces and axes, going to war girded in the heaviest armor. Bull warriors train by carrying heavy baskets of stones on their backs, their shoulders growing broad from exertion. Their flesh is hardened by ritual scarring and thick callouses, some observers mistaking the brutal tribesmen for orcs.

The most famous of the Nibenese cults, the Cult of Emperor Zero, sometimes called the Cuhlecainite Sect after the eponymous Cuhlecain, forms the spiritual backbone of the "civilized" Nibenese legionaries. Founded by Tiber Septim himself in honor of his king and mentor, the Cult of Emperor Zero honors Culecain as the original founder of the Third Empire. Emperor Zero is an example of a barbarian civilizing himself through conquest, transforming from a powerful chieftain into the founder of the greatest force of civilization on Tamriel. A variant of the Cult of Emperor Zero exists amongst the Reachmen who dwell in the Jerrals near Bruma. This cult (which also maintains the Arcturian Heresy as their holy book) believes that Cuhlecain was one of the Reachmen. Therefore, say the cultists, the origins of the Empire can be found in the Reach.

In the Nibenay (where the Legion is known colorfully as the Dragon-Tribe of the Emperor), there exist untold thousands of cults and folk religions venerating everything from animal gods, Daedra, and even the River Niben itself. A full list would not be possible here and so the author has chosen to represent the most famous of the cults found within the Nibenese Legions. For a more thorough exploration of the faiths of the Niben, the author recommends Prosentius' book, Land of a Thousand Cults: Religion Along The Niben.

Legionaries who belong to the local Nibenese Cult of the Godbeasts paint their faces to better resemble their bestial patrons.

The Cult of the Snake go into battle wearing green, scaly face-paint and clad in newtscale, weapons poisoned with venom. The Cult of the Snake emphasizes cunning and trickery, members often serving the Legion as scouts and assassins. Poison is sacred to the cult, initiates drinking a concoction of snake venoms and hallucinogenic herbs. The poison brings about an epileptic fit, the initiate saved from the brink of death by an attendant healer. The visions seen during a venom trance are considered messages from the Snake God himself and are diligently recorded by the presiding shaman for interpretation.

The Cult of the Jaguar paint their faces black-spotted orange and are often drawn from the deep jungles of the Nibenay. These ferocious warriors file their teeth into points as part of their initiation, giving the cultists an unnerving smile. Jaguar cultists are known for their signature martial art style which incorporates the use of their filed teeth, likely adapted from earlier Khajiit fighting styles.

The Cult of the Eagle practices haruspexy and necromancy, the battlemages manipulating the spirits of the dead to do their bidding. The Eagle God is all-seeing, his vision extending through all worlds and all time and in exchange for sacrifice, grants a measure of his omniscience to his followers. As the Eater of the Dead, the Eagle God rules over all ghosts and gives his followers power over them. The Cult of the Eagle goes into battle with their faces painted white, their robes clattering with tribal fetishes, feathers strung through their tangled hair.

The Cult of the Bull prizes strength and indomitability. The Bull God holds the world on his back between his shoulder-blades, the sun between his horns. Some commentators have drawn connections between the Bull God and Morihaus the Man-Bull, consort of Empress Alessia. Cultists wear horned helmets and carry heavy maces and axes, going to war girded in the heaviest armor. Bull warriors train by carrying heavy baskets of stones on their backs, their shoulders growing broad from exertion. Their flesh is hardened by ritual scarring and thick callouses, some observers mistaking the brutal tribesmen for orcs.

The most famous of the Nibenese cults, the Cult of Emperor Zero, sometimes called the Cuhlecainite Sect after the eponymous Cuhlecain, forms the spiritual backbone of the "civilized" Nibenese legionaries. Founded by Tiber Septim himself in honor of his king and mentor, the Cult of Emperor Zero honors Culecain as the original founder of the Third Empire. Emperor Zero is an example of a barbarian civilizing himself through conquest, transforming from a powerful chieftain into the founder of the greatest force of civilization on Tamriel. A variant of the Cult of Emperor Zero exists amongst the Reachmen who dwell in the Jerrals near Bruma. This cult (which also maintains the Arcturian Heresy as their holy book) believes that Cuhlecain was one of the Reachmen. Therefore, say the cultists, the origins of the Empire can be found in the Reach.