Like the Dunmer, the Bosmer have strict traditions and religious practices. Besides the classical Elven Ancestor Worship, the most famous is commonly known as the Green Pact.
It all started when Y'ffre, the forest deity spied upon Azura and Fadonai and heard Fadonai's secrets. {
See Words of Clan Mother Ahnissi} Y'ffre made the creatures of the forest into Elves {
which he named Bosmer} instead of them remaining a beast race like the Khajiit and Argonians. The Bosmer made the Green Pact with Y'ffre for protection and patronage. {
See Pocket Guide to the Empire, 3rd Edition: The Wilds Remain: Valenwood}
Basically, the Green Pact means that:
- You cannot use any wood or plant matter from
Valenwood as construction material OR for personal betterment
- Logging of trees in Valenwood by anyone is very illegal. Yet other cultures can use branches to perform woodworking, or the crafting of bows and arrows. {
confirmation needed}
-The Green Pact also includes another interesting little tidbit the Meat Mandate
Because of the Green Pact the Bosmer have learned to make extraordinary bows out of bone, as well as pipes, and alcoholic beverages made from fermented milk. {
A Dance in Fire, Chapter One} Strangely they drink ale. {
The Dreadful Theft of the Sun's Dusk Ale} If they must, Bosmer will import wood and other materials from other provinces. While they could learn to use stone, Wood Elves seem to have too short of an attention span to have the foresight to properly use stonework. Bosmers are strictly carnivores as well. {
see The Aldmeri Dominion}
Which brings me to the Meat Mandate. It's really just the outline of a Bosmer's diet, due to the Green Pact. To explain it best, I decided to quote from
The Aldmeri Dominion.
- Quote :
- They are exclusively and religiously carnivorous. They cannot, or will not, eat anything that is plant-based. They eat game, beastfolk, each other, or meats imported from other regions. This part of the Green Pact is known as the Meat Mandate, and, among its other rules, it requires that a fallen enemy must be eaten completely before three days pass. The family members of the warrior that slew the enemy may help him with his meal.
So now we know about the charming truth of a Bosmer's diet. Meat and ale. It seems, {
to quote A Dance in Fire} that "
These Bosmeri would rather eat each other than touch the fruit of the vine or the field."
Another odd ability Bosmer have is the ability to shapeshift. Quoting
The Aldmeri Dominion,
- Quote :
- They [Bosmer] can resort to animal shapes if they need to, or water.
The Bosmer believe that every monster has come from their strongest and most terrible transformation, which is called the Wild Hunt. Only the Shamans of Valenwood know how to perform this technique. It is also because of the Green Pact that Bosmeri can live among other beasts, {
such as Centaurs, Orcs, and Imga} and easily gain the companionship of animals in the wild.
Curiously, I have found nothing on the use of the Green Pact in the other provinces of the Empire. To wrap this up though, I have a cautionary thought for you all. The next time you see the Adoring Fan, Glarthir, or even Fargoth - just think of the things they may have done,
or eaten.
Mon May 25, 2020 11:13 pm
Subject: The Green Pact and the Meat Mandate 
Tue Nov 08, 2011 3:11 am
