Lore:Pelinal Whitestrake

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Pelinal Whitestrake was a legendary warrior^[1] who fought alongside his companion Morihaus as the champion of the slave-queen Alessia in the First Era's Alessian Rebellion.^[2] During his life, Pelinal alternated between periods of lucidity and stretches of homicidal madness, during which he slew indiscriminately and took a toll on the very landscape itself.^[3]

He served the revolution by slaying the Sorcerer-Kings of the Ayleid city-states in single combat. Towards the end of the war as rebellion forces began moving closer to White Gold Tower, it was Umaril the Unfeathered who challenged him to a duel. Outraged by other rebellion leaders' hesitation to attack White Gold Tower, he went in alone to confront Umaril. However, upon his arrival Umaril first weakened Pelinal by sending in soldiers whom he had been saving for this moment, knowing full well they would die. It was only after the Whitestrake was bleeding and wounded did Umaril finally come down to fight him. Pelinal slew Umaril nonetheless but his victory was shortlived. The other elf kings descended upon him and cut him into eight pieces.^[4]

Described by Morihaus as an ada or 'spirit,' Pelinal plays the same role as a long line of avatars sent by Shor to champion the cause of mankind. Pelinal, however, is an exception, as he exhibits significant bonds to Akatosh as well, who is hostile to Shor. He also carries strange weapons and armor gifted by the Eight Divines. His reputation varies widely. Among Imperials, he is a hero who helped free Cyrodiil from oppression. Among mer, he is the vicious warlord who led the Elven Pogrom. He is also reviled by the Khajiit, because he mistook them for another type of Aldmeri and killed many before his mistake became apparent.

[edit] His Names and Titles

The name Pelinal is a corruption of Pelin-El, which means "Star-Made Knight." He was referred to in many different ways during the Alessian Rebellion, and was known as Pelinal Insurgent, Pelinal the Bloody, Pelinal the Blamer and Pelinal the Third. This last moniker, 'Pelinal the Third' suggests a relationship with other supernatural champions of mankind- Harrald Harry-Breeks and Hans the Fox. Altmeri sources suggest that he is one and the same, although it is unlikely that this is the whole story, given his more alien characteristics and persona, and the fact that he cannot easily be described as a king or sorcerer. Another theory on his title of "the Third" is that it comes from him being the third vision received by St. Alessia in her prayers to the gods for mankind's freedom from the Ayleids. In Oblivion he is often referred to as the Divine Crusader.

[edit] See Also

• For more information, see the Oblivion Pelinal Whitestrake article.
• The Adabal-a
• Shezarr and the Divines
• The Song of Pelinal
• The Last King of the Ayleids

[edit] References

1. ↑ Before the Ages of Man
2. ↑ The Song of Pelinal
3. ↑ The Song of Pelinal, Volume 6: On His Madness
4. ↑ The Song of Pelinal, Volume 7: On His Battle with Umaril and His Dismemberment