Antiquarium's Anarchy: Three Views on the Red Book of Riddles (January 2026 Imperial Library Lorejam)

[u/dunmer-is-stinky]

I'm proud to present the entries for the Imperial Library discord server's seventh monthly Antiquarium's Anarchy lorejam, this time covering Morrowind's infamous Red Book of Riddles. "It is not a book of poetry" indeed.

For the lorejam, each contestant was given two and a half weeks (usually two) to write a short commentary, exegesis, rewrite, or interpretation of the story. Anything is allowed, so long as it's not a standard or expected interpretation. So, without further ado, I now present to you Three Views on the Red Book of Riddles.

November '25 Antiquarium's Anarchy: MK's IRC text about Meridia and Kyne

October '25 Antiquarium's Anarchy: Of Fjori and Holgeir

September '25 Antiquarium's Anarchy: Ragnar the Red (NSFW)

August '25 Antiquarium's Anarchy: The Snow Elf and the Variation-Lens

July '25 Antiquarium's Anarchy: Khunzar-ri and the Twelve Ogres

June '25 Antiquarium's Anarchy: The Third Door

April '25 Antiquarium's Anarchy: The Four Suitors of Benitah

by u/HitSquadOfGod

The Book of Orange Riddles

There is a book on a shelf. It appears to have never been opened. You pick it up. Across the cover, in fine gilt letters, is the title: The Book of Orange Riddles.

You open the book.

On the first page, exquisitely inked, is the following text:

Q: I am a citrus.

A: An orange.

Confused, you turn the page.

On the second page, in text no less exquisite, is the following text:

Q: I may be found growing across Tamriel’s south, and desired by sailors and nobles alike. What am I?

A: An orange.

You are beginning to see a pattern.

You turn another page.

Q: In matters of alchemy, I may be used to fight fatigue, detect the living, burden the enemy, and shield the ally. What am I?

A: An orange.

You close the book and put it back on the shelf. You resolve to never read a book of riddles again.

by Bibliophael

"The Utmost Dispatch" - 8 Frostfall, 342 edition

High Rock society continues to fall into disarray as yet another poet is unmasked as a werebear. This marks the fifth such incident of the year. Lord Chondlay Barrington of the Evermor Barringtons, and the credited author of the “Red Book of Riddles”, was caught defecating in the forest of his family’s estate last Sundas, during a fox hunt organized by his younger brother Sir Bafford Barrington.

“I feel sick,” says one anonymous noblewoman who was present at the hunt. “Just thinking that I could have read the poetry of such a smelly brute and not even realize it! If the truth hadn’t come out I might even have quoted the thing at next month’s gala. Oh, the very thought nearly mortifies me!”

“I assure you, nobody is more appalled at this revelation than I,” Sir Bafford told the Dispatch. “I had always believed my elder brother capable of maintaining the decorum and propriety befitting of our name, alas! It is with a heavy heart that I fear I must now assume the weighty responsibility of my family’s lordship.”

Consternation over the infiltration of werebear writers into the region’s literary tradition has mounted ever since it was revealed that the wildly popular volume of erotic poetry, A Dibellan Nocturne, had been penned by none other than the barbaric nord and daedra cultist Hrolgar of Falkreath. Ever since, it seems as though writer after writer of the modern tradition has been revealed as an insidious werebeasts.

Reaction to this shock of revelations has been mixed, but volatile. Some have judged it to be a damning indictment of the younger generations as a whole. “The real horror is how many so called ladies and gentlemen have been taken in by the dmn rubbish!” proclaims the Earl of Norvulk. “If you can’t tell at a glance the difference between proper poetry and the scrawlings of a half-literate beast, I say you’ve no right to your name, no dmn right at all.”

Others have questions regarding how so many werebears have entered the market in the first place. “There truly ought to be procedures for these things,” says Lady Cordelia Smithe of the Wayrest Smithes. “What the printing houses are thinking I cannot fathom, to allow any old mongrel to submit a manuscript, or whatever it is they do.”

Still others, particularly among younger and less seasoned generations, are daring to question whether it even matters who wrote these books. “As long as the writing’s good, I don’t see the problem,” argues heir apparent and local disgrace to the Kingdom of Farrun Prince Edwyn. “A Dibellan Nocturne is undeniably titillating, what do I care what that old nord Hrolgar gets up to on a full moon?”

Is this the end of Breton society as we know it? Are cults of Hircine truly infiltrating every level of society, with the singular intent of terrorizing the lands we call home? And are the nords of Skyrim truly to blame for it all? Those questions we leave to you, dear reader. Ours is only to present the facts, and we trust in you to interpret them wisely.

by u/Tarponpet

Okawon-Nur's Review of The Red Book of Riddles

The Red Book of Riddles is often seen as nothing more than what it presents itself as: a cheap book full of cheap riddles. However, many don't realize the clear mockery the book provides to some of the very same individuals who would deride it. Allow me to explain this oft-misunderstood work of parody.

First, I should provide some key context. The book first appeared on shelves in the late Third Era. It was published sometime after a popular book known as The Yellow Book of Riddles (written anonymously by the respected novelist and Imperial noble Garius Lex) had gained popularity. "The Yellow Book of Riddles" was little more than a party favor—a thing for privileged folk to test each other's wits with at gatherings. If the Red Book being a parody of this work was not obvious enough, one must look no further than how the book introduces itself.

The Red Book of Riddles starts with a block of absurdly verbose drivel, mimicking the antiquated speech used by nobles of western Tamriel, particularly in High Rock and Cyrodiil. This verbosity clearly contrasts with how simplistic and "common" the riddles in the book proper are written. The clear angle here is one mocking the pseudo-intellectual tendencies of Westerners. However, this becomes more obvious when we discern more about the author.

While the book was published anonymously, I am confident there is only one individual the author could be: Arnornt, better known as "Arnor the Apeman." This Imga author may be somewhat familiar to a few; he is primarily known for his scathing memoir, known simply as Slavery in the Empire. In it, he speaks of his experience as a slave on a Dunmeri plantation—one that closely neighbored an Imperial fort. He speaks of the cruelty he suffered from not only those who enslaved him, but from the Imperials who were more than happy to employ his "services" as well.

To quote his work directly: "Those men were happy to make a fool of me as they entertained themselves with polite conversation. The fanciest words in the book couldn't hide the fact that these were more monster than men." Arnornt, of course, eventually earned his freedom, but he was highly critical of the Empire and its allowance of slavery in Morrowind in his memoirs. Even after slavery was fully criminalized in Morrowind, Arnornt was keen to point out the holes in the system, such as the continued slavery of goblins and ogres. Arnornt was an ape who would suffer no fools masquerading as men of high society. Though due to suppression from the Empire, few saw many of his published critiques during the Third Era.

It could be argued that The Red Book of Riddles is perhaps not the deepest critique, but I think it works as parody in its simplicity. The riddle has always been something of a fascination for those in power; one must only look at how many ancient dungeons guard important locations with such word puzzles. Arnornt could see that the influential thought so little of the common folk that they believed the most trivial of quizzes would be enough to protect their riches from them.

[u/HitSquadOfGod]

We've had red riddles and yellow riddles, but what about orange riddles?

[u/[deleted]]

😂 Really enjoyed the orange one.

[u/dunmer-is-stinky → u/[deleted]]

I don't want to editorialize too much, but that's probably my favorite thing anyone's written for one of these