Corpus Tamrielicum - The Imperial Library

[43] Of Jephre
[43] OF JEPHRE
Of Jephre
by Anonymous
When the elven folk walked the land alone and sang songs of power amongst the trees and
stars, Jephre the Singer walked with them. Jephre gave heed to the nature of the forests and
delighted in the gurgling streams and brooks. It was Jephre who taught the birds to sing their
songs of the seasons and He that taught the streams the tinkling ethereal tune. The very trees
are said to have moved close to hear him sing on the warm summer nights of those elder days.
It was in this time that the first great ballads of the elves were made, crafted from the songs
that Jephre taught to the sylvan youth who frolicked to his lively tunes and ballads of nature
and the unspoiled forest. In truth, He is worshipped as god of song and forest.
In Valenwood, Jephre is considered one of the Major Sylvan gods with temples and altars in
the deep woodland places. Elven tradition holds that children with a gift for song have been
blessed by Jephre himself. Legend has it he blessed the Wood Elves with a natural affinity for
nature and particularly the forest. Most Wood Elven Rangers worship Jephre.
It was his great eagerness for natural beauty that led him to the Isle of Sumurset. He taught
the great sea birds to sing and molded the crash of wave against beach into a song of whispers
and power It is said by the high elves that Jephre hears and sees all within distance of water,
whether it be beach, brook, stream or fall. It is further said that the very birds keep watch for
Jephre, in repayment for the songs he taught them. It is fruther said he blessed the high elves
with a beauty to match the beauty of their island home.
The dark elves have a legend that Jephre walked the earth before the first day, and in the light
of the stars weaved a song so beautiful that the very stars moved to its sway. Some of the stars
to this very day still wink and blink in memory of the song of night and darkness. Due to his
influence most if not all Elven Bards pay homage to Jephre.
The natural order of things is the basis for Jephre's temples in Valenwood and the Sumurset
Isle. The one thing Jephre will not tolerate is the harmful manipulation of the natural order of
things.
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