Daedric alphabet are found all around Nirn, mostly in ancient books like The Bible of the Deep Ones and The Tome of Unlife. Also, the Dunmer people of Morrowind seem to use Daedric symbols in some of their writings, often as names of locations written on banners.

There is no Daedric language, a common misconception, only the letters of English words substituted for their Daedric equivalents, some may refer to it as a font but most Daedric letters are too dissimilar to be associated with. Neither are they symbols, runes, glyphs etc.

Contents 1 Alphabet 2 History and origins 3 Writing customs 4 Character set 4.1 X, Y and Z 4.2 Pervasiveness of the "O" symbol 5 On box art 6 Other appearances 7 External links

Alphabet

AYEM A	BEDT B	CESS C	DOHT D	EKEM E	HEFHED F
GETH G	HEKEM H	IYA I	JEB J	KOHT K	LYR L
MEHT M	NEHT N	OHT O	PAYEM P	QUAM Q	ROHT R
SEHT S	TAYEM T	YOODT U	VEHK V	WEB W	XAYAH X
		YAHKEM Y	ZYR Z

History and origins

Daedric alphabet is the written form used by the Daedra and Dunmer of Tamriel. The alphabet is strongly affiliated with magicka. Daedric letters are often referred to as sigils, with various scrolls and tomes, such as the Mysterium Xarxes, written in the Daedric alphabet. The exact source of the alphabet is unknown, it is believed to be the creation of the Daedra themselves, then passed down to the mortal realm. Various symbols have Daedric glyphs, as it is the dialect of change.

The PC versions of Morrowind and Oblivion were shipped with a Daedric True Type Font.

Writing customs

In Morrowind, the Dunmer peoples often write words in a cluster form, instead of the standard left to right. Though in Oblivion, none of the Daedric writings seen in the game are written in cluster form. It would seem that the word cluster is a Dunmer custom, thus being found prominently throughout Morrowind.

Character set

The Daedra use their own calligraphy, but the underlying language is closely similar to the Modern Cyrodilic language. The following is the best known Daedric character set.

Some letters, such as Doht, Hekhem, and Jeb, have alternate forms. This is due to inconsistencies of these letters throughout the video game series. A possible explanation is cultural differences between the provinces of Morrowind and Cyrodiil, the two areas of Tamriel Daedric writings are seen most. The naming convention of the Daedric lettering strongly resembles that of the real-world Phoenician alphabet.

X, Y and Z

Officially there was no x, y or z in The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind, yet some veterans may have noticed the y was used in "Tel Fyr", in all other words the y was just omitted. The letters x and y are used on several occasions in The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion such as in the Mysterium Xarxes and on the Mages Guild seal yet the y is omitted in the Mysterium Xarxes and on the Gray Cowl of Nocturnal: "shadow hide ou".

Pervasiveness of the "O" symbol

The symbol for Oblivion and Oblivion Gates, both in concept art, and on the in-game map is the Daedric letter for "O". The "O" appears again on the hilt of Mehrunes Razor, as well as on Spell Tomes and Skill Books associated with the school of Conjuration in The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim.

On box art

• The Oblivion box cover, as well as the Mysterium Xarxes, reveals plot information about the game. Along the sides of the box, repeated along the border, it says, in Daedric, starting at the top left corner:

"For Lord Dagon forever reborn in blood & fire from the waters of Oblivion."

• The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind box art has daedric writing on it. On the triangle are the daedric letters A, S, and V, representing Almalexia, Sotha Sil, and Vivec, respectively, or the Tribunal. On the borders of the box are the six great houses of Morrowind: House Redoran, House Hlaalu, House Dres, House Indoril, House Dagoth, and House Telvanni.

Other appearances

• The Grey Cowl of Nocturnal has the phrase "Shadow Hide Ou" scribed on the nose piece. The "Y" was omitted.
• The popular webcomic Homestuck of mspaintadventures.com employs aspects of the Daedric Language.

External links

• Translation of the Daedric alphabet

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