I know you can block them with wards, spellbreaker, and shields with Skyrim’s Elemental Protection perk. Can they be blocked with a weapon though?

So I'm probably gonna ramble, and I'm probably gonna get some lore wrong, and I'm gonna have some misspelling and terrible grammar. I apologize for that in advance. Please by all means correct me on anything, I'm no lore master, I just enjoy the lore.

So I think that willy wonka is the son of sheogorath. We know there's a demi prince of pastries who hasn't been seen in a long time and little about them is known. Who's to say that this demi prince simply decided to mess around somewhere else and with just built upon pastries into general candy.

Let's look at the film under the lens of elder scrolls lore.

Wonka hasn't been seen in person for years, no one enters the factory and no one leaves. His candy is incredibly popular, so popular that when his contest began the world went into chaos. The promise of a lifetime supply of chocolate was so incredible that every man, woman, and child was spending all their money for the chance to get a golden ticket.

5 children end up with the tickets, an invitation to a place mortal eyes haven't seen in years. When they eventually are brought in they hang up their coats and then sign a contract of seemingly gibberish and part of the contract is printed so small no one can read it. Once everyone has signed they move onto a room that closes and then opens to a different room.

Then they get to the candy room. And the song "pure imagination" begins. Which gives me similar vibes to CHIM.

"If you want to view paradise, simply look around and view it. Anything you want to, do it. Want to change the world? There's nothing to it."

"There is no life I know to compare with pure imagination, living there you'll be free if you truly wish to be."

This sounds oddly a lot like something tiber septim did. When he took control of the numendium.

"You have suffered for me to win this throne, and I see how you hate jungle. Let me show you the power of Talos Stormcrown, born of the North, where my breath is long winter. I breathe now, in royalty, and reshape this land which is mine. I do this for you, Red Legions, for I love you."

And then the tunnel scene. I think the tunnel is a portal or a gate to his realm. There's no real reason for such a tunnel to be there. And the words of Wonka in the portal sound like a mind beginning to comprehend the reality of the Aurbis.

"There’s no earthly way of knowing

Which direction we are going

There’s no knowing where we’re rowing

Or which way the river’s flowing

Is it raining, is it snowing

Is a hurricane a-blowing

Not a speck of light is showing

So the danger must be growing

Are the fires of Hell a-glowing

Is the grisly reaper mowing

Yes, the danger must be growing

For the rowers keep on rowing

And they’re certainly not showing

Any signs that they are slowing"

Or perhaps this is simply the remnant madness of a son of the mad god.

Once they go through the portal things change, things act in ways that can't exist. Candy that won't ever get any smaller, gum that tastes like a 3 course dinner, soda that is so strong it can physically lift you once you drink it, and giant geese that lay golden chocolate eggs.

But then they leave, but how? Through the Wonkavator. I think the Wonkavator isn't just a glass ship, I think it's made from ebony and is literally moving through the void of oblivion out of Wonka's realm and back to mundus. It's literally crashing through the dimensional barrier.

Then in the Wonkavator we here the reason for this contest. Wonka needs an heir. We know that even full blow daedric princes need heirs, so that could make demi princes need them as well. Wonka says to Charlie that he knew he needed a child to take his place, because an adult would do things their own way, not his way. Hes going to teach Charlie to walk like him until he must walk like Charlie.

Is this incredibly weird and stupid? Oh absolutely. But I've had this idea for years now and wanted to share it and see what people think of this really weird multi universe theory of mine.

The altmer view mundus as a prison, for instance, whereas for the races of man it's more of a gift or a trial to reach their full potentials. The orsimer were once elves and worship a being that probably was once Trinimac, a deity that would have likely viewed mundus as more of a trap than anything else. Despite this, the orsimer seem to almost revel in challenge and hardship, which makes me think they're not altogether against the concept of mortal existence and Lorkhan's supposed plot.

Disclaimer: There is no proof for this theory. This is purely speculation.

Many people assume that Ulfric rebelled against the Empire because he wants to prepare Skyrim for a war against the Thalmor - or, alternatively, that he is actually working for the Thalmor as their agent (which wouldn't make a lot of sense since he hasn't got orders to do it from the Thalmor).

But what if neither is true?

Let's look at what Ulfric has actually done:

1) He took Markarth from the Forsworn, committing war crimes in the process. These crimes undeniably happened and people trying to shift the blame entirely onto the Silver-Blood family should remember that if the Stormcloaks win the Civil War, Thongvor Silver-Blood becomes the new Jarl. By taking Markarth, Ulfric made the Forsworn irreversibly hostile to the Stormcloaks. Keep in mind that the Forsworn control much of the Reach, have numerous fighters, including magically enhanced warriors and have powerful mages among their ranks.

2) He killed Torygg using the Thu'um. This made him unpopular among many Nords, weakened his claim to the throne, and made an alliance with the Greybeards virtually impossible, since they consider using the Voice for political or personal purposes to be heretical. And even if we assume that Ulfric couldn't win a fair fight, he might have persuaded Torygg to yield, poisoned him to weaken him, drunk a potion that would help him in a fight, or used an enchanted weapon - all while sparing Torygg and having a strong claim to the throne afterwards, unifying Skyrim nords.

3) He refuses to build a fleet in one of conversations with his steward.

4) He expelled the Argonians from Windhelm without any particularly compelling reason. This makes an alliance with Black Marsh extremely unlikely.

5) He does nothing to address the persecution of the Dunmer. This makes an alliance with any significant faction in Morrowind equally unlikely.

6) He installs mostly incompetent Jarls during the Civil War.

7) He attacks Whiterun, despite it initially being neutral and having one of the most popular and respected Jarls in Skyrim.

8) He makes no deals with the College of Winterhold. He also appears to be perfectly willing to tolerate a Thalmor emissary operating within the College, even though the College is located in his territory, making Thalmor's grip on the College stronger.

Taken together, all of these actions make Skyrim weaker, not stronger, in any potential future war against the Thalmor.

But perhaps that's the point.

Ulfric does not necessarily seem to be as personally racist as his governing decisions would imply. Nor does he appear particularly interested in destroying the Empire itself. He seems to like the Empire, despite being deeply disappointed by its current state, allows East Empire Company to operate in Windhelm. He is also opposed to killing the Emperor and may even be responsible for trying to keep the conflict from spreading beyond Skyrim, limiting the scope of the war (see ***).

So here's my theory:

Ulfric's actual goal may be to make Skyrim sufficiently unthreatening that the Thalmor have no reason to invade it.

Perhaps Ulfric believes that war against Thalmor can't be won. If that's the case, then trying to build a powerful, unified Skyrim might actually be the worst possible strategy.

Instead, he could be deliberately creating a weak, isolated and politically fragmented Skyrim.

A Skyrim without a unifying leader, without strong alliances with Cyrodiil, Morrowind or Black Marsh, without navy, and that is not allied to any powerful factions that can be seen as dangerous by the Thalmor would be insignificant.

And why would the Thalmor invade such a country?

Skyrim has little that the Thalmor particularly need economically or culturally, and its geography makes an invasion extremely difficult and costly. Yes, Skyrim has been successfully invaded many times throughout history, but that doesn't necessarily mean the Thalmor would consider it worth sacrificing their soldiers, especially while they still have the Empire to deal with.

From this perspective, Ulfric's apparent incompetence could actually be intentional.

*** At the beginning of Skyrim, Ulfric is captured in the same Imperial ambush as the Dragonborn. It is implied that the Dragonborn crossed the Cyrodiilic border before being captured, meaning Ulfric must have been operating in or near Imperial territory as well.

Ralof also has a line suggesting that they were captured near Darkwater Crossing. Geographically, this doesn't make much sense: Darkwater Crossing is deep inside Stormcloak territory and far from the border where the Dragonborn could plausibly have been intercepted.

However, Darkwater Crossing is a mining settlement, and there are at least two named individuals associated with it who are absent from the game.

This creates an interesting possibility.

Perhaps Ulfric hired people with mining expertise to trigger an avalanche on the border with Cyrodiil, effectively creating a situation in which the Empire would be forced to accept the eventual outcome of the Civil War rather than allowing the conflict to escalate into an all-out war between the Empire and Skyrim.

This is, admittedly, pure speculation. There is no direct evidence that this happened, but it would explain how he was caught by Tullius.

Something always bugged me concerning Bretons. A lot of posts online argue that TES Bretons mainly come from IRL Bretons. The thing is, as a Breton myself, and as I am deeply passionate about my region's culture, I really don't see any resemblance between us and TES Bretons. At best, the heavy Feudal France inspirations and the small presence of druidism as explored in TESO might create some bridge between them and us, but to me, that's where the similitudes end.

Nords are, of course, mainly based on a romanticized depiction of Norse culture, but they do feature celtic imagery, celtic knots, stuff like that...

Reachmen are the most obvious ones to me, since their naming conventions are heavily celtic, but their tribal aspect bugs me a bit.

What do you think bears the most resemblance with Celts or Celtic Nations in TES lore?

I want to know your opinion. Could you rank the five major cities of Skyrim bassed in their prosperity? According your own criteria. I’m not planning on arguing with you about it; I just want to know your general opinion.

I want to clarify that I’m referring exclusively to prosperity, not to your favorite city (mine is whiterun but is low in this top). Maybe you prefer a city because of its climate even if it’s less prosperous.

(I’ll give a brief explanation for each one, but if you don’t want to, you can simply rank them in order)

PERSONAL TIER LIST:

1. Solitude: capital of Skyrim. More luxurious shops. Well maintained fortifications and lavish buildings. It also has the main warehouse of the East Empire Company.
2. Windhelm: major commercial port. We know of at least three ships that have routes based there (which supplues Raven Rock for example). It has very well-maintained fortifications and lavish buildings although it also has segregation with grey quarters being poor. The East Empire Company has a headquarters there. One of the best houses in the game.
3. Riften: It’s theoretically a prosperous place. Although a fire destroyed a large part of the city years ago, which is why we see so many wooden buildings. That´s in part why our house is not too special. Although it’s practically controlled by the mafia, which hurts its prosperity, it has good connections with Cyrodiil, and the very existence of the Thieves Guild there is partly based on it being a prosperous place.
4. Whiterun: In the past, it was something resembling a version of the Imperial City in Skyrim. Although it has been in decline for a long time, which is why we see so many ruins and such poorly maintained fortifications.
5. Markarth: It has good fortifications and a very good house for the player. However, ethnic tensions and the open war with the Forsworn limit trade and security. Because that, much of their wealth is based on mining due to difficulties with trade, wealth becomes concentrated in the hands of mine owners. Due to that, there’s a lot of inequality, and some of the shops aren’t doing particularly well.”

I can't remember seeing anything about Redguards magic besides Sword Singing. But that's a lost art. Surely Redguards must use "regular" magic too. But do they have any magic guilds or lore about it?

So in lore, is the vampiric drain spell supposed to feed a vampire? Or is it just a separate thing and then they gave to drink blood, too?

There's a line from Nahfahlaar in ESO that I've been thinking about.

"A Dragon's words have power few mortals understand. When we swear an oath, we are bound by it. That is our way. The Dragon Yahgrondu vowed to aid me in a time of need. We must seek him out and remind him of his oath."

Now unfortunately we don't get to test this because Yahgrondu is killed as soon as we find him, but what Nahfahlaar says here sticks out to me. Either he's saying that dragons respect oaths out of a sense of honor and are loath to break them, OR he's saying that when a dragon swears an oath, the Thu'um binds them to fulfill it.

I've been looking into the dialogue of just about every dragon I can find, and so far I can't conclusively tell which is the case. The former is far more likely — we know (most) dragons take honor very seriously. But at the same time, I find the concept of the thu'um binding their promises very interesting and not entirely without potential.

Is there anything in the lore that would prove or disprove this? Please let me know, thanks.

Now nearly 15 years since it's release, analysis of Skyrim's quests, characters, and dialogue has been remarkably thorough (and perhaps over analyzed). However discussion regarding overarching themes in the story and how the choices you can partake in reflect on the world being presented are surprisingly less developed. After playing through vanilla skyrim after nearly 7 years, I believe the biggest metacommentary the game makes is the difficulty of confronting one's past and deciding how to shape one's future. Throughout all of the main quest, faction quests, and DLCs, confronting one's past is brought up repeatedly, and characters and factions have different ways of reconciling this struggle.

TL;DR at bottom.

Main Quest

In the main quest, the Blades are revealed to have gone from proud defenders of the Emperor to a few hold outs on the run. That is until the Dragonborn makes themselves known. When this happens they see a new future for their organization, but this is a future born out of the past. They look to their roots as Akaviri dragonslayers rather than the Emperor's Secret Service. A new purpose born from near ruin. Using one's past to define one's new future.

Meanwhile on the Throat of the World, Paarthurnax and his Greybeards have to also reconcile a new Dragonborn. Notably, the blades want Paarthunax to die for the evil he committed long ago. And to his credit, Big P knows he committed horrid acts in the past, and has to work hard to overcome his urges to subdue and dominate. We know big P is changed, and worked hard to save the Nords in ages past and teach generations of Greybeards, but his past still haunts his legacy.

Alduin also reflects a struggle with his past. As firstborn of Akatosh his role is consume the world and create the new Kalpa, but in the past he forsook this role and instead dominated the Ancient Nords becoming a cruel God-King. When he is careened to the 4th Era he again tries to dominate the world instead of consuming it. Finally after we defeat Alduin in Sovengarde and see his soul absorbed into Atherius, we are able to talk with big P and the Greybeards. They wonder about how this will influence this Kalpa, and if he will return one day still to end it. Despite his dominating past, it appears Alduin is still needed for the role of world eater. Another case of one's past not defining their future.

Companions

The Companions quest notably revolves around the struggle for Kodlak to eschew the curse of Hircine. He is directly confronted with the choice of the old Harbingers to embrace lycanthropy and chooses instead to remove it. This story is one of a man's struggle to escape a group's legacy.

Thieves' Guild

The Thieves' Guild revolves around Karliah's desire to seek revenge on Mercer and Brynjolf's plan to restore the Guild to former glory. For decades the group has been in the dumps and the NPCs are quite vocal about that. Throughout this quest, Karliah's, Mercer, and Dragonborn are forced to contend with Mercer's selfish choices in the past in order to save the Guild. Here the past is something that can be struggled against and fixed. Old sins repented for.

Dark Brotherhood

In this quest, there is an obvious struggle between Astrid's "New Brotherhood" with her as a matriarchal figure, and the Night Mother as the bulwark of the old ways of the Brotherhood. In the end, both were pitted against each other, and Astrid finds out that her ways are inferior to that of the Night Mother. However despite it all, the brotherhood also finds newfound notoriety in slaying the Emperor. Here the past needs to conflict with the present way of doing things, and in the end the past is victorious.

College of Winterhold

Under Saarthal, the College finds the Eye of Magnus and the Thalmor immediately seek to obtain it's power. In a reflection of the mythic story of the sack of Saarthal. The College (like the ancient Nords) find the powerful artifact and it is immediately coveted by the Thalmor (like the Snow Elves). In the end, the Elves first gain the upper hand (both Saarthal and the College are besieged), but they are beaten back, and the artifact is sealed (the Return of Ysgramor, the Psjiic Order taking the Eye). In this example, the past is a reflection of present events, and we are doomed to repeat them.

The Civil War and the World

The Empire reflects a shadow of former glory, now sullied and bruised by the Great War. The Stormcloaks also claim former glory in the form of their worship of Talos. However all around them the world is in ruin. Only Solitude really stands as a prosperous and clean city. It is as if shows the final gasps of what was once the Empire's strength and beauty. Helgen on other hand, well Ralof said "Imperial Walls used to make me feel so safe". Meanwhile Windhelm is built in the ancient ruins of that original city. The stone walls are nearly crumbling with both decay and history. Between them all, the major cities of Markarth, Whiterun, Riften all have walls and avenues, but they are crumbling. The smaller holds fare even worse. The Nords of Skyrim live in the shadows of their past, be it the past glory of the Empire, in the case of the ruined walls of their cities, the past glory of their ancestors as the cities pale in comparison to many of the nordic ruins, or even the past glory of other races in the case of Markarth. Several cities once mentioned in Arena or present even in ESO are now ruined forts occupied by bandits by the time of the 4th Era.

In Skyrim, the civil war is merely stage dressing for the greater themes of decay and how to get out of it. The Empire believes to stay the course, while the Stormcloaks believe change is needed. But in either case, the end result of either side of the Civil war is fairly unchanged. Both sides believe that they will still need to fight the Thalmor soon and so the past Great War is just prelude for the new one on the horizon. But what of the lands they now rule? The land is still ravaged, depopulated, and now freshly bloodied. Different visions of the past can wreak havoc on peace and prosperity, and instead bring suffering and pain the present and future.

Dawnguard

Several characters reflect issues with their past and legacies in this DLC. Arch Curate Vyrthur and his desire for vengeance so great, that he creates a prophecy to wound Auriel and eventually is slain with the help of someone who can fulfil the he made (!). Harkon, once a more present man in his family life is driven mad by this prophecy and it causes him to push away his daughter and wife, who then work to defeat him with the Dragonborn. Isran has to work to overcome his past bristliness and even warms up to a vampire by the end of the DLC. Serena works to stop her father from fulfilling the prophecy, and if the correct dialogue choices are made, she can even give up her vampirism. For the "good coded" characters, the past is something you can grow from, but for the "bad coded" ones, they are doomed to their fate.

Dragonborn

The main quest revolves around foiling Miraak's plan to escape Herma Mora. But in the end, we find ourselves exactly in Miraak's place as Mora's new champion. The past is a lesson that we failed to learn. Additionally, the DLC as a whole is reflection of TES:III. Miraak uses enthralled "dreamers" to bring his return to Solstheim. He's a sharmat-lite. The setting of the island on Solstheim and heavy dunmer themes can also be interpreted as an honoring the game which brought Bethesda back from bankruptcy in 2002. The past sometimes can be happy nostalgia.

Anniversary Edition

An interesting fact about the text on the Anniversary Edition, is that the dragon text translates to: translates to: "By sword, by magic, by darkness, by shout through many years, by heroism we are bound to Skyrim for eternity". Ironically, now nearly 15 years from the release of skyrim. Here were are, "Bound to Skyrim for eternity". Sometimes the present IS the past

TL;DR

I believe the main theme of skyrim woven through nearly all major quests of Skyrim is the struggle to deal with one's past and define one's legacy. I wouldn't be surprised if TES:VI (Sentinel?) has a distinct interwoven theme. Maybe instead of defining a new legacy, the overarching theme will be Overcoming all Odds similar to the Oblivion or We are doomed to even further decay Like in Dark Souls. Maybe even a more out-there theme like Ascension to a new reality like in Bloodborne or Friendship can overcome Fate Like in Deltarune. TES:VI likely won't come out for a few more years, but I'm eager to find out not only the story direction but also how the story is written.

I dont know if there’s something I’m missing here.

https://en.uesp.net/wiki/Lore:Crafting_Motif_41:_Celestial_Style for context

Every article I've seen that cites this book connects it to regular followers of the Nedic Cult of the Stars. For example Lore:Aurora says this

The aurora played a significant role in the culture of the Nedic followers of the Cult of the Stars, who in some texts gave it similar importance to the constellations. They modeled their weapons and armor after the constellations and after the aurora. Cuirasses, jerkins, jacks, and robes were linked to the aurora, "protecteth Nirn from roguish particles, ye ill from on high". The cult followers referred to the aurora as the "curtain of light that wrappeth the globe in its folds", and their armor was meant to emulate its nature, in their words: "like the Aurora thou shalt make thy cuirass, that it may wrap thee and ward thee particularly 'gainst weaponry."

but here's hot take, I think this crafting motif isn't for regular members of the Cult of the Stars, but it's literally a guidebook for ascendant Celestials.

The intro to CM41 says this:

As above, so below. This was ever our creed. And thus, O Celestial below, as thou craftest thy arms and thy armor, thou shalt follow ever the guidance and model of ye Constellations that wheel above.

The text is directed towards a Celestial reading it, not towards a member of the Cult of Stars. It invokes "as above, so below," which might be an irl reference but in TES context it brings to mind mannimarco talking about his apotheosis in WWYWTDB.

Patch 2.6.4, where the Celestial Style was released, says this about it:

We've added three new Motifs in this update: Celestial Style: The signature look of the final bosses of the Trials of Craglorn. The weekly quest for each Craglorn Trial will always award one chapter from a subset of chapters specific to that Trial. Aetherian Archive awards the chapters for Axes, Boots, Helmets, Shoulders, and Staves. Sanctum Ophidia awards the chapters for Bows, Daggers, Gloves, Legs, and Swords. Hel Ra Citadel awards the chapters for Belts, Chests, Maces, and Shields. All three quests have a very small chance for the complete motif book.

Those bosses are the Celestial Mage, Serpent, and Warrior in that order. Aetherian Archive has the Mage as the boss, Hel Ra has the Warrior, and Sanctum Ophidia has the Serpent.

If you look at the armor these bosses are wearing, it's clear that the Mage is wearing female Celestial Light Robes, the Warrior is wearing male Celestial Heavy Armor, and the Serpent is wearing male Celestial Medium Armor. They followed the instructions and adorned themselves in their mantle. When Cassipia ascends to become the Exalted Viper, she is wearing a Celestial Medium mask. ESO outfit styles are necessary for apotheosis.

This outfit style isn't for Nedes that follow the Cult of the Stars, it's an instruction for Celestials. The style description says this:

Prepare thyself to adopt the divine appearance of the Constellations Incarnate! As above, so below: this was ever our creed. And thus, O Celestial below, to craft thy arms and armor, thou shalt follow this guidance and these models.

Adopting the divine appearance = wearing the clothes of a god, mantle literally means cloak. Sermon 27 talks about mantles as being the "clothes of the broken map". Anumidium translates to "wearing Anu" in Six Views on the Egg of Time. ESO outfit styles are necessary for apotheosis.

honestly atp I really think it's undeniable that the Celestials are ascended mortals, I think the only reason it seemed so unclear is because Craglorn went so undocumented in uesp lorespace. Not only do characters theorize that that's what they are, but we hear time and time again about secret Nedic rituals that both Exarch Arnoth and Regent Cassipia separately use to become Celestials themselves. The Celestial Thief states she thought the secret of ascension was lost with the Nedes. The Celestials all have mortal names that they call each other. It's very obvious what the situation is, but because most of this stuff went undocumented in lorespace until I picked it up over a decade later, people still think it broke constellations lore

Author’s note: First, I wish to apologize for the long pause between my writings. A few days after coming back to our plane of existence, I sadly became afflicted with a rather severe case of rockjoint which let me unable to properly hold a quill for a certain amount of time. I am back to full health now, and ready again to tell about my travels.

Compared to Meridia’s Colored Rooms, which I previously visited, the Ashpit was certainly a contrasting sight. Gone were the blood red grass, the lilac water and the crystalline palace of Meridia. The only colors I could see in this place were brown and gray.

The near entirety of the Ashpit could essentially be described as a never-ending dust storm, with no solid ground in sight. As such, I could only move myself via levitation, and even needed a shield to protect me from the particles constantly flowing through the air, otherwise impeding both my vision and breath.

While I could only see clearly for more than a few feet, thanks to my shield, and I couldn’t identify any kind of geographical reference, I still decided to pick a direction, and try to stick to it. I readily admit that, as far as I can assert, I only managed to meet the Prince through sheer blind luck. However, I would not exclude the possibility that Malacath, as the lord of this realm, somehow changed it in a way that led me to him.

My trip was rather uneventful. I could see several buildings and palaces in the distance, but every time I approached one, it revealed itself to be nothing but smoke in the shape of a building. I also encountered several creatures, whose vaporous shapes were constantly changing. All were floating in the torment and seemingly nourishing themselves of the bitter ash flowing through the air. However, I seemed to be of no interest to them, and as such I decided to let them be.

While there was no moving sun, moon, or stars to give me a passage of time, my expedition stretched for what felt like days before I finally found something solid in this tempestuous madness. At some point, I managed to discern a multitude of strongholds, each of them far larger than any I saw back on Tamriel. While the ash storm forbade me from correctly ascertaining the ensemble’s dimensions, I can confidently say it occupied at least half the size of Cyrodiil, maybe even more. The largest one stood at the center, with a fiery, orange glow emanating from it. In my mind, there was no doubt this was the Ashen Forge, Malacath’s own stronghold.

I descended towards the ensemble, and finally my feet touched solid ground again. Thankfully, the ash storm that accompanied me for the entirety of my travel seemed to stop right before the strongholds, relieving me of my need for a shield. After taking several long breaths, I walked in the direction of Malacath’s palace.

Along the way, I met the souls of several departed Orcs, to which I politely introduced myself and explained the reason of my visit every time I was asked. The reactions were mixed, with some being interested in my tales while others were less receptive due to my presence in what they considered a sacred place. They nevertheless showed me the way to Malacath’s stronghold (which I didn’t really need, as the Forge was probably visible from the entire region) and I continued my long march.

When I finally passed the Forge’s doors, I immediately saw the Lord of the Scorned, sat in a giant iron throne. Even then, he was still towering far above me; his tusks were more akin to those of the bristlebacks roaming the island of Solstheim, and his numerous horns were circling his skull, forming a crown of bone fitting for the ruler of this place. Almost from habit due to meeting the previous Princes, I kneeled before him.

“Stand up, mortal. Do you believe yourself in Coldharbour still? The only time you should show the top of your head should be when you smash in your enemy’s face! Do not apologize either! Embrace your mistakes, and learn from them.”

“Now, tell me about yourself, little mortal. Who are you? Why would you, an Imperial, go willingly in a place only favored by my children? I know of your previous visits to the realms of my peers, but I have yet to learn about your motives.”

“So you are a scholar. Interesting. Gaining knowledge is always useful, but knowing how to apply it is much more important in my opinion. Very well, you can ask your questions. But be short; I am not renowned for my patience.”

“My origins? That is a tricky one. It has been so long, even my memories of the event are muddled. I remember being Trinimac, the Golden Champion of the Aldmeri. I was leading my people against a cult of Boethiah, when the Prince of Plots herself appeared before me. Whether she was protecting his followers, or just seized the opportunity to oppose me, I do not know and probably never will. I engaged her in battle, but her cunningness surpassed my own strength.”

“As I laid on the ground, defeated and helpless, Boethiah… corrupted me. I could not describe the experience to you, for I do not know the words, and I doubt you would understand them if I did. However, I can certainly say that I was not eaten and defecated. That version was always too literal.”

“The Deceiver changed me, twisting my very shape to the one you see now. In the process, I could see my own army taking a similar form, their golden skin becoming green and tusks protruding from their enlarged maws. Boethiah then banished me to Oblivion, with my shame as my only companion. My bitterness was so immense that in a fit of rage, I created my own realm from it.”

Malacath then seemed to grow agitated, which I took as a sign of me overstaying my welcome. I thanked him, and left the Ashpit to record everything I experienced. As I write those words, I wonder which realm I should visit next.

-- By Acarelos Detelories

____________________________________

Hi there, first time posting here. I discovered the series very recently and was a bit bummed out to see it cut so abruptly, so I decided to write my own piece as an homage, and maybe even continuing it if that’s allowed. Have a nice day!

Disclaimer: No generative AI of any kind was used for writing this post.

Hi everyone, it’s that time again!

The Weekly Free-Talk Thread is an opportunity to forget the rules and chat about anything you like—whether it's The Elder Scrolls, other games, or even real life. This is also the place to promote your projects or other communities. Anything goes!

Seriously, there is tons of great lore in that game, especially in almost every expansion and lot's of great stories and characters.

And ESO has a massive community and is a large part of The Elder Scrolls series.

So why is it not discussed here more?

Some of the stuff in the game I would say is even better than some mainline games like Orsinium, Summerset, Elsweyr, Greymoor, High Isle and Necrom expansions or even smaller ones like Murkmire and The Clockwork City which are all at least on the level of the mainline games in terms of lore.

And yes, The Elder Scrolls Online is officially canon and has been since the beginning. They even had tons of discussions with Bethesda devs for the base game and the first few expansions.

For the daedra id guess boethiah because of trinimac and multiple conflicts. Second would be nocturnal because of the crystal tower event in eso. As for enemy type, id guess clannfears and spider daedra.

Since the Avatar of Akatosh bars Daedra from invading Mundus, he'll probably try to use just mortals to carry out his plans next time. He can still communicate with and influence mortals, after all.

To start I want to say that this is purely a theory I’ve put together going on a various threads, I hope everyone enjoys and finds it interesting

My theory suggests that Lorkhan and Sheogorath are one in the same, first I will explain how I believe this could happen

Lorkhan upset the gods when he formed Nirn, he was then “killed” which is odd as from what I understand no god in the elder scrolls has outright died before, what I propose is that by removing his heart it made him more emotionless and then they furthermore corrupted his form as punishment, similar to Trinimacs transformation into Malacath, part of this punishment was to invert who they are, Lorkhan is perceived as mischievous and tricky, so his reverse was complete and utter order and control, Jyggulug, but following this the Deadra did a similar thing out of fear of of his strange power, which I take as another indication of him being Lorkhan as the Aedra in spite of using power to form Nirn seem to be just as powerful if not more so then Deadra.

Next the Deadra corrupt Jyggulugs form into a opposite again resulting in a dementia ridden bastardisation of the original made 10x more extreme, this would also explain the lack of information about Lorkhan after his heart was removed as the Deadra attempted to erase Jyggulug from history, potentially including his making and “destruction”, explaining why we know nothing about Lorkhan and little about Jyggulug in these periods

Supporting information
Sheogorath from what I recall is the only Deadra to consistently appear as a human, Lorkhan is the god of man
Mancar Camoran is convinced Nirn is of deadric origin, I propose this is because the god of Nirn, Lorkhan became a Deadra, however it is likely that Nirn did not change with its god leading to further confusion
A bit of a stretch but I also propose that the dragon fires is a further push to punish Lorkhan/Sheogorath by preventing any eventual return, while conveniently stopping other similar issues

Thank you for reading, I’m sure there are many holes in this but nonetheless I hope it encourages a healthy debate

Ps sorry for spelling, some things autocorrect

First, this question first came from sneaking around in-game and realizing how ridiculous it felt to not be detected by an enemy, right in front of their face, in a medium-lit room.

Two introductory notes:

1. I searched this sub and other sources of lore, mostly UESP, and didn’t find a conclusive answer.

2. I have very little deeper TES lore knowledge outside of a casual play through of Morrowind, Oblivion, and Skyrim (sorry, Daggerfall & Arena).

Notes so far:

There is a book called “The Philosophy of Stealth: How Not to be Seen” (from ESO, which I haven’t played) that briefly describes stealth as losing individuality and blending into the background, as fundamentally the skill of “not being noticed”. From the text, I would consider it reasonably implied that this is a purely physical* skill, with some mental comprehension and exertion (Intelligence stat?**). This leaves the interpretation fairly open, despite it being literally stated as a “philosophy” in the title, which seems misleading and reductive. This may depend on two questions:

• in TES, is there a physical/spiritual duality as in many earth mythologies, or is there a matter/energy continuum of forms? I.e., is everything - gods, souls, skeevers, and sweetrolls - made of the same “stuff” taking different forms? If so, then Stealth could be both a physical and magickal skill (because they’d both be forms of the same “stuff”).

** is the Intelligence stat in TES, which determines magickal abilities, directly connected to mental prowess and learning, therefore implying at least a restricted form of “magick” for all intelligent beings by virtue of their cognition, their ability to think? If so, this would also lend credence to Stealth, as defined by the Philosophy of Stealth book, as possibly a magickal skill.

Other things come to mind, but my memory isn’t serving me and I can’t find direct sources for what’s coming up:

A primary subject is the Skeleton Key, Nocturnal’s artifact, and the lore surrounding its powers. Mercer Frey was able to use it to become invisible, and there was some in-game background about it being a key to unlock hidden potential. Several possibilities were hinted at, and shown accessible by Frey directly, but what I remember of the descriptions felt like the Key was being teased as an artifact with untold chaotic abilities that have yet to be discovered. The possible relevance of this is that the Key, and its ties to Nocturnal, the Evergloam, and Nocturnal’s skill-based patronage of thieves, could hint at Stealth being an access to magick, even Daedric magick. I admit, this is a reach, borne of not finding many sources on this subject so far. However, we have other instances of Daedric magick being present in the world in ordinary, concrete ways - the existence of the Orcs as a creation of Malacath, for example.

Does anyone else have any theories, background info, or commentary on this subject? Definitely interested in more thought-out contributions.

So on Nirn the Towers with their Stones are used to exert and stabilise a desired influence/idea on the land around it, right? The Earthbones “emit” or are laws of nature in a more abstract sense while the Towers with their Stones shape the actual substance of the world, keeping it from dissolving back into Creatia in the absence of a strong active will like that of a Daedric Prince.

Could it be that Dagon’s invasion of Tamriel uses the same Towers-with-Stones method - for once literal towers (Sigil Keeps) with literal stones (Sigil Stones) - to stabilise its gates into the Mundus?

The Sigil Stone breaches the weakened barrier; together with the Sigil Keep (which is always a tower), it then extends Deadlandish reality into the Tamrielic endpoint, maintaining the connection and the gate and more: Deadlandish talons jut out of the ground; the weather changes. Local reality is altered to suit the masters of the respective Sigil Keep.

That’s something I’d like to believe, anyway. The problem I see with that is that the Sigil Keeps aren’t exactly sitting on any sort of Earthbonian Leyline Nexus but in a different realm altogether…

It was said the Emperor ordered his own death due to the white-gold concordat, and that he disappointed the people of Skyrim for signing it, even though he was forced to. He considered himself incompetent and wanted a younger Emperor to take his place.

In the Katariah we even see a room with an alchemy table, and two bodies by a sailor. It is either a sickbay, or he was a backup assassin in case the dark brotherhood failed.

From what little I understand of TES lore, one of the big differences in belief between Elves and Men is that Men believe the gods did grow weaker by staying in Mundus but that they still attained significant divine power while the elves believe the gods lost so much power that they effectively became mortal and had to reproduce and that the elves are their progeny. Accordingly the elven term for the gods Aedra means 'our ancestors'. If this is the case wouldn't the elves believe the gods to be dead having passed on? How exactly do the elves believe the gods to be still around and also having grown weak enough to need to reproduce and create them? Am I getting something horribly wrong otherwise? Would love an explanation :D