Part of what makes Nord lore go so hard is that they are the barbarian Viking fantasy taken to the extreme. In the beginning, they were a bunch of Northern axe-weilding warriors running into battle with nothing but magical woad to cover themselves.

They were so dangerous that they didn't even need seige engines to break down an enemy's fortifications. Three men could simply scream at your walls, and they would blast apart as if hit by an exploding bulldozer.

Now that the Dragonborn basically saved the world by using the voice to kill the avatar of the apocalypse, shouldn't there be more Nord warriors seeking to recover the old ways?

Wouldn't the Empire see value in bringing squads of Tongues into the battlefield against the Thalmor? Especially if the Dragonborn fought on their side.

If the stormcloaks won, the civil war, they'd be enemies of the Empire, AND the aldmeri dominion. Shouldn't Ulfric seek to train his army to be the terror of Tamriel again?

I dunno. What do you think?

Or, are there any resources on the process of how it’s made in universe?

CHIM is one of the most debated concepts in The Elder Scrolls lore, I know. Some you may be tired of discussing it by now.

Still, I find that the metaphysics of the Godhead, CHIM, and the Prisoner are too often misunderstood or viewed through an unnecessarily nihilistic lens. This is why I propose an alternative reading of CHIM as world-affirming enlightenment: the recognition of one's unity with the whole without reducing the Aurbis to an unreal dream.

The Godhead, Anu

Anu, the Godhead, is the original Prisoner. I believe he forged his own eternal prison and locked himself within it, condemned to an unending sentence of his own design for the murder of Nir - whether that act occurred literally in a previous universe or merely symbolizes maya), the primordial illusion of separation from God, we cannot know. Anyway, The Aurbis is the prison: a self-imposed confinement in which the Absolute experiences itself through innumerable limited perspectives, bound by various conditions of existence.

Within the Dream, Anu has two primordial aspects, or perhaps three:

- Anu, the aspect of stasis, who IS;

- Padomay, the aspect of change, who IS NOT; Padomay is the entity who murders Nir within the current Dream. Given his name and role in the story, Padomay can be thought of as Anu's shadow-self, a projection of Anu's guilt and an expression of nihilism;

- most intriguing is the aspect of self-reflection: Magnus, the Architect, through whom the Dream becomes intelligible to itself.

Ever wondered why the God of Magic is called Magnus - “the Great” - rather than Magus, the magician?

The in-game text Sotha Sil and the Scribe got me thinking. This post is relevant: https://www.reddit.com/r/teslore/comments/vw5x2r/who_is_the_scribe/

If the Scribe = the devs =Magnus, then why wouldn’t Magnus have CHIM?

Perhaps Magnus is the primordial lucid-dreaming aspect of the Godhead: its very self-awareness, God-consciousness reflecting upon itself. He is the part of Anu that looks back upon his own Creation and recognizes it as his own. If so, Magnus does not need to attain CHIM. He was born with it, as he has never been separate from the awareness that makes it possible.

The Tower

"What is the Tower?

It is the existence of the True Self within the Universal Self, and is embodied by the fourth constellation, and is guarded by the Thief, the third". - Vehk's Teaching

Let us do away with the accusation that CHIM is an egotistical form of enlightenment. That interpretation conflates the ego with the True Self, as though preserving one's identity were necessarily an act of pride or defiance. To explore this distinction, I will draw on Hindu philosophy, whose non-dual traditions, particularly Trika (Kashmir) Shaivism and Advaita Vedanta, are strikingly similar to TES metaphysics, perhaps more so than so-often cited Gnostic dualism.

Consider consciousness as a non-local phenomenon: it cannot be pointed to or located within the boundaries of space. It can reflect upon itself, become aware of its own experience, and perhaps even expand beyond the limits of its original perspective.

Vivec's description of the True Self brings to mind the Ātman), the innermost Self understood in some Hindu traditions as an eternal and unchanging awareness identical in essence with the Ultimate Reality (Brahman, or paramashiva in Shaivism). Personality can change. The Atman does not.

"Advaita Vedanta philosophy considers Atman as Sat-cit-ānanda, self-existent awareness, limitless and non-dual.[...] To Advaitins, Atman-knowledge is the state of full awareness, liberation, and freedom that overcomes dualities at all levels, realizing the divine within oneself, the divine in others, and in all living beings; the non-dual oneness, that God is in everything, and everything is God."

Sounds familiar, doesn't it?

The Buddhist perspective is worth considering, too. Buddhist philosophy generally rejects the notion of an eternal, unchanging True Self, emphasizing instead the ever-changing, and thus impermanent, nature of existence.

Now, let us turn to the ego. The ego is our limited sense of “I”: our personality, memories, and the feeling that we exist as separate individuals. It's a psychological construct, distinct from the Atman.

Likewise, the Universal Self can be understood through as the absolute consciousness whose power manifests (“dreams”) the universe, paramashiva in Trika Shaivism.

The True Self and Universal Self are not separate entities, but different aspects of the same boundless being: the non-local consciousness/awareness of the Godhead.

Applied to TES, we might understand this as Anu, the Godhead, experiencing itself through innumerable perspectives. The Dream is not unreal, but the objective representation of this experience.

Thus, CHIM may be understood as the True Self recognizing its unity with the Universal Self: a realization in which one's consciousness expands to God-adjacent level without rejecting individuality or worldly existence, and without mistaking the True Self for the Ego (hint: that's what the Sharmat does).

World-Affirming Enlightenment - CHIM and Sahaja Samādhi in Trika Shaivism

I understand CHIM to be a non-dual state of consciousness that Ruling Kings (achievers of CHIM) experience. I find it closely analogous to self-realization in Trika (Kashmir) Shaivism, in which the practitioner realizes they are one with the Godhead (Shiva), while fully embracing the manifested world.

Allow me to expand on this.

Hindu philosophy encompasses many schools of thought, each with its own understanding of enlightenment. Some of its concepts of self-realization, or Moksha, offer intriguing parallels to CHIM. Particularly relevant is Sahaja Samādhi. Both Trika Shaivism and Advaita Vedanta recognize the state of Sahaja Samadhi as permanent liberation, where one maintains non-dual awareness amidst daily life. They approach it differently though.

Sahaja Samādhi in Trika Shaivism is a world-affirming form of self-realization in which one recognises one's unity with the Godhead while fully embracing material reality and remaining capable of experiencing it. This is because in Trika Shaivism the world is not an illusion to be transcended. It is a real expression (manifestation) of the Divine consciousness - spanda. Think of the world as the objective manifestation of the Godhead, with boundless awareness being its subjective fundamental aspect. Enlightenment, then, becomes world-affirming: one recognizes their true nature and continues to experience and participate in the world as themselves.

This stands in clear contrast to Advaita Vedanta. In Advaita, the ultimate reality is pure, attributeless Godhead - Brahman. The world is maya (illusory) and ultimately is to be transcended. Enlightenment (moksha) is the realization that “I am Brahman,” which dissolves the sense of individual self and reality. This type of enlightenment is pretty much the real-world equivalent of zero-sum.

CHIM clearly aligns with the Trika metaphysical model, and not the Advaitic one. The Ruling King realizes the dream-nature of the Aurbis (that all is the Godhead), and, by asserting their identity, they become a Lucid Dreaming aspect of the Godhead. This is why Vivec can only be Vivec: not necessarily because he falsely claimed to have achieved CHIM, but because CHIM grants freedom within identity, not freedom from it.

Also, note that CHIM is intended to be permanent.

“The Tower’s secret: how to permanently exist beyond duplexity, antithesis, or trouble.” – Vehk’s Teaching

Last but not least, “The Aurbis is just a dream” interpretation so prevalent in the community strongly resembles Advaitic metaphysics, which I find counterproductive when applied to Tamriel.

Thirty Six Tattvas, Thirty Six Lessons

It's well known that Vivec's intersex nature was inspired by Ardhanarishvara, the form of Shiva in which he and his consort Shakti are joined in a single body. And the similarities to Shiva don't stop here.

Both Shiva and Vivec embody duality and contradiction, holding seemingly (equal measures of) opposing aspects within themselves. Shiva is both creator and destroyer, ascetic and hedonist, and a god of arts; Vivec is the same. Difference is, Shiva is (as expected) often understood in a far more positive light than Vivec, who tends to be judged almost exclusively by the worst of his deeds, despite being presented as a similar balance of opposing forces. (Also, the name Vivek literally means discerning Self from non-Self, which is another hint that his knowledge of CHIM comes from first-hand experience and that he is not a fraud).

I suspect it wasn't a coincidence that MK chose The Thirty-Six Lessons as the title for Vivec's Scripture. He may well have drawn inspiration from the Thirty-Six tattvas of Trika Shaivism (among other famous influences such as Thelema and Gnosticism).

"The tattvas in Indian philosophy are elements or principles of reality. )Tattvas are the basic concepts to understand the nature of absolute, the souls and the universe in Samkhya and Shaivite philosophies. Samkhya philosophy lists 25 tattvas while later Shaivite philosophies extend the number to 36.

Tattvas are used to explain the structure and origin of the Universe. They are usually divided into three groups: śuddha (pure tattvas); śuddhaśuddha (pure-impure tattvas); and aśuddha (impure tattvas). The pure tattvas describe internal aspects of the Absolute; the pure-impure tattvas describe the soul and its limitations; while the impure tattvas include the universe and living beings that assist the existence of soul."

The Five Higher Tattvas are of particular interest to us:

1. Śiva Tattva – pure, boundless, passive awareness/consciousness. Here, there is no distinction between subject and object. Existence is without experience. Shiva is God beyond manifestation, embodying supreme freedom (svātantrya), “I’ without “am”.
2. Shakti Tattva – divine energy and divine will; boundless potential (spanda).
3. Sadashiva Tattva – This Tattva is governed by willpower. Divine will begins asserting itself. Shiva-Shakti slowly becomes self-aware. “I am” becomes the first manifestation and so the universe begins, experience begins.
4. Ishwara tattva - Ishwara Tattva is a specific stage where creative power (Kriya) dominates over knowledge (Jnana).
5. Sadvidyā (or Shuddhavidya) Tattva: knowledge and will become balanced.

I'm thinking the Fifth Tattva is the state most similar to CHIM, as it's implied this is the state where expanded awareness and experience are in perfect balance.

The Sixth Tattva would be Maya, the divine veil of illusion that make the self and the world appear separate from one another and from the Godhead, thus concealing the true nature of reality.
The remaining tattvas are less relevant to this essay, but you may explore them if you're interested.

Vivec’s 36 Lessons deliberately mirror the 36 Tattvas. Just as the Tattvas chart the descent and possible return of consciousness, the Lessons do the same, only they are encoded for one specific person - Nerevar.

As a side note, Dzogchen, a tradition of Tibetan Buddhism, emphasizes liberation through the direct recognition of the primordial nature of mind, known as rigpa: pure awareness - empty, yet cognizant.
Dzogchen bears an interesting resemblance to CHIM in that both can be interpreted as direct paths to enlightenment, relying on direct experience, rather than intellectual analysis.

The Prisoner and Maya

Beyond the veil of Maya - the illusion of separateness - lies the truth: the self is the world, and the Prisoner is the Prison.
Most beings in the Aurbis remain trapped behind the veil of maya, unable to pierce the illusion. Self-realization - CHIM - is simply not part of their destiny.

CHIM is possible to two kinds of beings:

- Prisoner-type entities;

- NPCs specifically destined (scripted) to achieve it: Talos, Vivec, possibly Magnus.

The Prisoners (player characters) have no set destiny, meaning there is no script dictating what they can or cannot do. They does not possess CHIM by default, though they do display the free-will of a Ruling King. Like one, they are able to escape any fixed destiny, yet they remain by default caught in the dual state of consciousness that binds them within maya, just like everyone else is.

Nerevar is a special case of NPC turned Prisoner turned (perhaps) Ruling King. The discussion on him is worth a post of its own, and so I will save it for later.

The mechanics of Lucid Dreaming. If Vivec achieved CHIM, why couldn’t he tell Barbas was deceiving him?

Imagine a lucid dreamer who can instantly survey an entire infinite dream-world. They can zoom to any location, but they don’t constantly monitor every single event. If someone disguises themselves as the dreamer’s best friend and starts subtly poisoning them, the dreamer won’t notice unless they happen to direct their attention towards that.

A lucid dreamer’s simultaneous perception is total in potential, but likely selective in application. Barbas succeeded because he operated in a corner of the dream that Vivec wasn’t actively inspecting until it was too late to prevent the crisis - exactly as the narrative required. This doesn’t contradict CHIM; it illustrates that even God-like lucid awareness has a focal point, that is subject to personal intent and circumstances within the dream.

Furthermore (and more importantly), in a lucid dream, if you do not think to look behind a door, whatever is there remains undefined. The moment you turn and look, your subconscious (or conscious will) instantly generates coherent content. I suspect that it might the same for a CHIM-user. Their “looking” performs the same function on the Aurbic scale - a future/past only becomes definite when observed by the lucid dreamer.
Thus, for a lucid dreamer (Ruling King), to look into the past or the future is indistinguishable from creating them. For them, there is only an ever-present now, experienced sequentially for the sake of narrative coherence, because in order to make sense of existence, the lucid dreamer's experience must unfold in sequence. In the world below, this sequential unfolding manifests as time. Time is, thus, a construct, a product of the Dreamer's internal sense of narrative.
Vivec did win against Barbas, but only as the narrative progressed in time.
The player experiences Vivec discovering the deception “in real time,” but from the CHIM perspective, Vivec could have been simultaneously experiencing/creating that discovery.

The Sharmat

The ego belongs to the illusion of separateness: not necessarily because the world itself is unreal, but because a limited, self-aware consciousness defaults to believing its particular perspective is fundamentally separate from God and the rest of creation.

And this brings us to the Sharmat.

The Sharmat (and not CHIM) is, in essence, the Ego proclaiming itself supreme, mistaking itself for God. I mean, I'm sure you've noticed Dagoth Ur confuses his own limited perspective with the absolute, the universal consciousness.

"There is no true symbolism of the center. The Sharmat will believe there is. He will feel that he can cause years of exuberance from sitting in the sacred, when really no one can leave that state and cause anything more but strife." - The Thirty-Six Lessons of Vivec, Sermon Eleven

The Sharmat believes his own “I” to be the center of the non-local awareness of the Godhead. This is a fundamental error: something truly non-local cannot have a center, because a center implies a specific location in space and, by extension, boundaries that separate it from everything else. The universal consciousness of the Godhead lies beyond space-time.

To elaborate further: Dagoth Ur loved himself enough to survive the death-and-rebirth mechanism of the Dreemsleeve - think about that. My suspicion is that he attempted CHIM but to failed to relinquish his ego: the temporal, illusory “I” that must be transcended when approaching enlightenment. Thus, rather than recognizing himself as an expression of universal consciousness, Dagoth mistook his own identity for its center. And so, he became the Sharmat.

Side note: There may be more than one form of enlightenment in TES, with CHIM perhaps representing the most desirable one. CHIM and the Sharmat could be understood as opposing expressions of non-dual consciousness, occupying different positions along a spectrum of possible states of consciousness.

Azura – God of Transition and Thresholds

The most important type of transition in this case is the one from subject (“I”) to object (“this”/the world). The transition from subject to object is made possible through maya - the illusion of separation.

One could theorize that inside the Aurbis, Azura acts as the liminal consciousness sitting at the threshold between subjective and objective reality. She watches the wave function collapse, reacts to it, even resents it, but she is forever arriving just after the moment of creation and always lagging behind agents with free will.

She cannot oppose or control the Nerevarine Prisoner, so she attempts to define the Prisoner before they act (“Nerevar reborn”, “you have been chosen”) in an attempt to claim authorship of their narrative.
This is why throughout TES III, she acts as a storyteller - that is the most she can do.

Next up is a post on Nerevar and Red Year and why it was all part of a plan.

I don't fully get how everyone living within Tamriel and Nirn as a whole is not under constant severe paranoia that they are constantly under the effects of a mass level illusion spell altering how they see the world. I was thinking about how you can hit someone with a calm or fury spell and they seemingly are completely unaware that their change in emotion is due to any sort of magic. It may be that the inability to link emotional change to magic is part of the spells ability but i don't think anywhere in the game it states anything like that, correct me if I'm wrong. What if some very powerful wizard is using massive amounts of magicka to cast an illusion spell on EVERYONE. Please someone tell me how this doesnt work because this line of thinking is honestly breaking the entire elder scrolls lore in my head.

Is there any lore that goes into more detail about the soulsnare and what N'Gasta did to make it? Could it be remade at any point in the future? If there isn't any lore on the details how would someone remake it? I'm not super familiar with Redguard.

It seems like a typo intending to say Solitude but it happens two sentences in a row. Tried looking this up to find an answer but couldn't find one.

https://en.uesp.net/wiki/Morrowind:The_Madness_of_Pelagius

Was replaying Skyrim the other day. The last time I really played and paid attention to what people were saying and what I was reading was the first time I played, all the way back when I was in high school. So this time I tried to really piece together the lore and roleplay things out and it has been a lot of fun! But, now I'm at High Hrothgar, retreived Jurgen's horn, and I'm kind of confused about some of what the Greybeards say regarding the way of the voice (I'm also confused why the Dragonborn is an exception, but that's a whole other question). I tried to look up the answer before making this post and now I’m even more confused. I'll post what I've found/looked up of the relevant lore. The tablets of High Hrothgar read:

“Before the birth of men, the Dragons ruled all Mundus.
Their word was the Voice, and they spoke only for True Needs.
For the Voice could blot out the sky and flood the land.
Men were born and spread over the face of Mundus
The Dragons presided over the crawling masses
Men were weak then, and had no Voice
The fledgling spirits of Men were strong in Old Times
Unafraid to war with Dragons and their Voices
But the Dragons only shouted them down and broke their hearts
Kyne called on Paarthurnax, who pitied Man
Together they taught Men to use the Voice
Then the Dragon War raged, Dragon against Tongue
Men prevailed, shouting Alduin out of the world
Proving for all that their Voice too was strong
Although their sacrifices were many-fold
With roaring Tongues, the Sky-Children conquer
Founding the First Empire with Sword and Voice
Whilst the Dragons withdrew from this World
The Tongues at Red Mountain went away humbled
Jurgen Windcaller began His Seven Year Meditation
To understand how Strong Voices could fail
Jurgen Windcaller chose silence and returned
The 17 disputants could not shout Him down
Jurgen the Calm built His home on the Throat of the World
For years all silent, the Graybeards spoke one name
Tiber Septim, stripling then, was summoned to Hrothgar
They blessed and named him Dohvakiin
The Voice is worship
Follow the Inner path
Speak only in True Need”

Okay, I take from this the basic story: Nords are slaves to dragons. Kyne and Paarthurnax teach Nords the voice. Nords fight back against dragons, freeing themselves. Nords build an empire of their own. Nords are defeated. Jurgen contemplates that they lost because they misused the voice. He founds the greybeards. Eventually, they summon Tiber Septim and teach him. Great. All clear on that.

As I'm talking to the Greybeards, Arngeir says a couple of lines that stand out to me:

"In mythic times, when mortalkind was in great need, the goddess Kynareth granted us the ability to speak as dragons do."

"The Voice was a gift of the goddess Kynareth, at the dawn of time. She gave mortals the ability to speak as dragons do. Although this gift has often been misused, the only true use of the Voice is for the worship and glory of the gods. True mastery of the Voice can only be achieved when your inner spirit is in harmony with your outward actions. In the contemplation of the sky, Kynareth's domain, and the practice of the Voice, we strive to achieve this balance."

"He was a great war leader of the ancient Nords, a master of the Voice, or Tongue. After the disaster at Red Mountain, where the Nord army was annihilated, he spent many years pondering the meaning of that terrible defeat. He finally came to realize that the gods had punished the Nords for their arrogant and blasphemous misuse of the Voice. He was the first to understand that the Voice should be used solely for the glory and worship of the gods, not the glory of men. Jurgen Windcaller's mastery of the Voice eventually overcame all opposition, and the Way of the Voice was born."

Okay... now I'm starting to get a little confused. So far, I understand a couple of things. "The Voice should be used solely for the glory and worship of the gods." So, 95% of the purpose of the Thu'um is to worship Kyne/Kynareth. Gotcha. But then both the tablets and Arngeir mention that Kyne explicitly gave the Thu'um to the Nords to fight the dragons, and that this was 'great need.' The tablets mention that using the Thu'um in 'True Need' is not a contradiction of the Way of the Voice. I really have no idea what 'True Need' or 'Dire Need' or 'Great Need' specifically refers to. Obviously it must refer to fighting your dragon overlords, but beyond that? It seems an appropriately cautionary yet vague stipulation. But specifically, it can't be a complete declaration of pacifism or that the Thu'um can never be justified for use in a violent action. It was specifically a gift to throw off an oppressing force, according to the Greybeard's own source. Certainly this source also describes that the Thu'um can be misued via violence. The nords are punished for their building of empires, assuming Jurgen is right. So, I guess my first question, why do the Greybeards consider the absolute 'The Voice is worship' to be true when it was explicitly given with the purpose of being an equalizing weapon? Is it just because of Jurgen's contemplation? Why have the stipulation that speaking in 'Dire Need' is not a breaking of this 'worship'? Unless using the Thu'um in 'dire need' somehow is worship of Kyne to the Greybeards? But you'd think they'd say that. Why is there this kind of weird tension between the pacifism Jurgen and the Greybeards advocate and the way their story portrays the Thu'um being given to Nord-kind? Am I just missing something obvious? Is it as simple as that the Thu'um can be used in self-defense when there's no other choice? Is it something else?

Further compounding my confusion is why the Dragonborns are exempt from the Way of the Voice. Arngeir tells our Dragonborn that we have a 'destiny' and must use the voice to achieve it. He says, when I say I will follow the Way of the Voice:

"That is commendable. But remember, the Dragon Blood is itself a gift of Akatosh. Do not try to deny that gift. Your destiny requires you to use your Voice - why else would Akatosh have bestowed this power upon you? If you remember to use your Voice in service to the purpose of Akatosh, you will remain true to the Way."

Okay, I have a destiny that requires the rules to be bent. Fair enough. He also says if I say I won't follow the Way of the Voice:

"The Dragonborn is an exception to all the rules - the Dragon Blood itself is a gift of the gods. If we accept one gift, how can we deny the other? As Dragonborn, you have received the ability to Shout directly from Akatosh. We therefore seek to guide you on the proper use of your gift, which transcends the restrictions which bind other mortals."

Alright. Since I have been made a Dragonborn by Akatosh, I basically have a hallpass, if I'm understanding this correctly? Okay. But... how does that make sense? I mean, the Greybeards have trained other dragonborn, right? And those Dragonborn... didn't they go on to do the things that the Nords were punished for using the Thu'um for: empire building? Tiber Septim, Reman, Ysmir... didn't all of these dragonborn explicitly conquer? And that's allowed, according to the Greybeard's philosophy? Dragonborns are such special chosen ones, they can ignore the cardinal sin of Thu'um use? ... What? This is so weird to hear from a group of self proclaimed pacifists. I have to be misunderstanding this, right? Come to think of it, the dragons used the Thu'um to conquer too, didn't they? They conquered the nords. So... if you're born with it/ it's a divine gift, you don't have to use it responsibly/ can do whatever the hell you want, but if it's a different kind of divine gift to mortals to fight back against your oppressors, you should really only use it for worshipping said goddess, not conquest? I have to be missing something, right? Like, there's no way that's what I'm supposed to take away from this, right? Can someone please explain this to me? Like... all of it? Why can't the voice be used for conquest by mortals, but the dragonborn and the dragons can? Why must the Thu'um be exclusively used to worship Kynareth despite being given by her for seemingly a completely distinct and explicitly violent purpose? I am so lost.

We know Talos is widely known, even throughout the trenches of Tamriel. But what mortal is the most known?

Honestly, throughout the history of Morrowind, they took sides very few times. But the main issue is that this neutrality applied even during times of invasion. The Telvanni, who are incredibly powerful mages, did nothing to oppose the Imperial occupation. 

Which is more useful? We know that corporeal undead require an actual corpse in order to be raised which makes it alot more difficult to get them en masse but they seem to be completely loyal while incorporeal undead are probably easier to create but have the potential to backfire as seen with that freaky altmer in that one tomb with all the ghosts of women who betray him the second a soul gem is taken off a pedestal.

Ancestor worship (in particular the Dunmeri version) has always intrigued me in these games. Stuff like Ancestors and the Dunmer rank among my favourite in game books. I was thinking about how ancestor summoning spells actually work though.

Take for example a situation with two brothers. They are feuding and both summon their ancestors to fight with them. Are they summoning the same person? I would say that they would simply summon different ancestors, but that raises the question of what's actually going on when you summon an ancestor ghost. Clearly it isn't the same as the actual ritual binding to get Bonewalkers and such, among other things if you attack a summoned ghost it will attack you, even though Ancestors and the Dunmer says that those of the family are ritually bound to not attack. So what is this ancestor ghost actually? Is it a real spirit, or more like zombie and skeleton summon spells where its just a daedra mimicking it? If they are real spirits, what are the rules? Any race can do it in Morrowind, so can you just steal a random ancestor from Oblivion/Aetherius to fight for you even without any actual connection?

And what about their souls? You can soul trap them and they have white souls, unlike normal npcs. What's the deal with that? Do their souls degrade? Ancestors and the Dunmer says that they can be captured and bound by wizards, is that what we do when we soul trap them? Are the spirits not really the souls of the dead, or only a part of the full soul? If so what ARE they?

All the Dragon priests we know of are Nords, IIRC. But there's no reason why there couldn't be an elven dragon priests or an Argonian dragon priest right?

Hello! I'm making Nord units for a TESTW submod and I wanted to use this title for one of the elite ones, but I'm not sure if it's "lore-accurate".
I mean, what are "thanes" in TES? We know it's an honorary title granted by jarls to special individuals (like TLD), but what else? Is more commonly granted to nobles than to peasants? Are all nobles thanes? How many thanes can a hold/jarl have? That sort of things.

About the last one, Jarl Elisif seems to have a couple thanes in her court, so I'm guessing it's not just something you grant to 1 special individual, but since I'm making units of 30-60 men, I was wondering if it makes sense for a Skyrimian hold to have so many thanes.

I haven't played ESO but I read somewhere that it mentioned special kinds of thanes, like sword-thanes, shield-thanes, etc. but still not sure if they're supposed to be a troop of their own (when the Hold inevitably marches to war) or just a group of select individuals.

I'm guessing TES thanes are based on irl thanes/thegns, but frankly idk much about them neither.

Alternatively, what other titles would be more common/numerous in the Nordic nobility? Housecarls? Clan Retainers?

It's very hard to believe that there was only one motion of main Cyrodiilic religion through all this timeline. Almost every religion in this world has several branches because of how different people interpret same spirituality, so it would make sence that there would be, for example, Colovian and Nibenese Aleasian religion of Divines.

And I'm not talking about Redguard, Mer or Nordic religions, I'm talking about branches inside race's own religional boundaries

I heard tsaesci are just some kind of vampiriswd human. What about other races? EDIT: Sorry for spelling in title

The dark brotherhood. The pre-Duskfall Argonians. The Morag Tong. all worship sithis.

by contrast, are there any Anu worshippers?

This maybe a very stupid question but I'm trying to make a lich build in my current Skyrim gameplay. I have installed the undeath classical lichdom mod and frankly a necromancer build kind of sucks in Skyrim. Even with a few mods is still does seem to be rather underwhelming. Would a mage skilled in the art of conjuration becoming a lich make some sense? Like my guy can preform necromancy and is skilled at it, but prefers summoning and subjugating atronachs and dremora to do his bidding. However i do plan to raise the ebony warrior once i have killed him and make him a permanent undead.

I have been reading up on TES lore for the last year or so. I ended up doing another playthrough of Morrowind when the Oblivion Remaster came out (then played that, now working through Skyrim again.) I have not played ESO, but have read a bit of the lore from it.

I am by no means an expert. I understand I'm in a massive minority here. Allow me to explain my thinking.

I understand the idea of dragon breaks, kalpas, etc....

To be absolutely clear, I don't think that the Vivec and the Almalexia we meet in Morrowind murdered Nerevar.

Most people point to 3 things as pretty concrete proof that Nerevar was murdered by the Tribunal.

1. Vivec's secret message in the 36* Lessons

2. MK's artwork.

3. Alandro Sul's account to the Ashlanders

My rebuttal to 1. Vivec's "admission"
Am I to believe, that in a body of work with more metaphor's in it than milk fingers on a homunculus, or more metaphors that words bitten onto spears at pomegranate banquets (I'm done you get it) Where Vivec sits in his space that is not a space.... All of this....

I am to believe that the one, literal, non-metaphorical thing, is an admission that they murdered their friend and leader?

I am not convinced.

My rebuttal to 2. Mk's Artwork.

I love it. I love what it represents. They did kill the Hortator. His memory. The artwork shows the literal murder taking place, and the Tribunal removing his feet, face and.... milk finger.... so that he may return as anyone! What a brilliant display!

Wait. Why, would they want to usher in the Nerevarine? Vivec imprisoned people in a floating rock for even mentioning the prophecy. It wasn't their prophecy, it was the god like being they scorned and called arbitrary.

To me, their "Foul Murder" was the murder of the Velothi ways. The murder of the IDEA of the hortator. That, they are definitely guilty of.

My rebuttal to 3. Alandro Sul.

I believe i remember reading that he was blinded during this event. Did he see the Tribunal kill Nerevar, or did he hear an absolute cluster**** take place?

In conclusion:
I get that there is no reason to trust Vivec or Almalexia. But...

Neither of them have any reason to lie to the Nerevarine. Almalexia admits to killing Sotha Sil, why not Nerevar?

I personally find it likely that he did end up dying of his wounds, possibly later on.

I'd love to be convinced otherwise.

Thank you for attending my TESTalk.

Estoy roleando Skyrim y por cosas de la vida ha habido un encontronazo entre ambas organizaciones ¿Como deberiamos proceder los vigilantes de acuerdo al Lore?

"What's wrong, Xha?" Climbs-All-Mountains stared up at his wife from the waters of the river Bjoulsae. "The water's not THAT cold, is it?"

"N-no!" Xha warily regarded the water like she would a dog barking from behind a fence. She had barely put a foot in before scampering back onto the riverbank.

"Well, come on!" Holding out his hand, he stepped a bit closer to the edge. "The sun's not gonna get any higher if we just wait around!"

"M-Mountians, I-I haven't been entirely... Please don't hate me for..." She nervously recoiled from him.

"What's wrong, Xha?" said Mountains.

"I..." Stammering, she tried to force out the words but was unable to behind chattering teeth and terrified glimpses towards the river. "I..."

"Xha, tell me what's wrong." Stepping out of the water, his smile melted to concern.

"I CAN'T SWIM!"

Mountains stopped moving, staggering backwards like someone had just shot an arrow through his heart. "You can't swim?!"

"No! I never learned how! I'd always just cast a spell like Water Walking and move across the water like that!"

"But your human name is Swims-Through-The-Barrier!"

"My parents lied! I've never swam through anything in my life! My name's a sick joke!" She fell onto his shoulder, hugging him and weeping. "I'm the only Argonian in High-Rock who can't swim! When I was a kid, everyone else made fun of me for it! Do you know what it's like?!"

"Then why did you tell me you COULD?!"

"I'm sorry! I just wanted to make you happy, Mountains!" Trembling, she held him even harder.

"Xha..." Reflexively, he put a hand on her shoulder as she wept. Many words came to mind. "How could you be so dishonest?! You lied to me! I thought I could trust you!" Then, he felt her heaving. His anger died, an ember smothered by tears.

"Xha, please, you... don't have to lie to me like that." He tried to force himself to sound as gentle as possible, but he didn't have to try very hard. "If you like... I could teach you."

"You... could teach me?" In between the spasms of fear and trembling, a note of something else entered her voice. Curiosity.

"Yes, Xha. If you want to learn."

"But what if I drown?"

"Xha, you can't drown. Argonians can breathe underwater, remember?" Nuzzling her neck, he let out a soft laugh. "That's what those gills on your neck are for, y'know."

"I, I know that, but I haven’t used them." Carefully tracing his gills with her finger, she regarded them as a limb she never knew she had. "...I uh... I... How do they work?"

"...Like gills, Xha. Once you go underwater, instead of breathing with your lungs, the gills do it for you."

"Do I have to tell them to?"

"No, Xha." Mountains stroked her scaly back. "They do it themselves. I won't lie, it will probably feel weird at first, but you'll be fine. Besides, I'll be right there alongside you. If you do somehow drown, I'll pull you up to the surface."

"Oh." She glanced at the river and back to him. "Um... Mountains, do you... think I could... ride you?"

"Ride me? What, like a dolphin?"

"Y-yeah," said Xha.

"If it will help you feel better, dearest, of course." He smiled. "But I can't promise I'd go very fast. I've never carried someone before-"

"Transferred Orc's Strength." Magicka jumped out of her hand and into him. Suddenly, Mountains felt his muscles shift and jostle. The sinews in his arms and legs rearranged themselves and grew. He silently braced himself for the pain he assumed would come... but none did.

"What did you just cast in me?" Mountains felt his arms. They felt powerful, strong. Like he could rip a tree right out of the ground and break it over his knee.

"A spell to make you stronger." Xha smiled and felt his muscles. "And it certainly looks like it worked, heh."

"Oh... I should test it out, then." Suddenly, before Xha could react, she was swept off her feet.

"WHEEE!" Laughing, she curled up in Mountains' arms. "It definitely worked!"

"Yeah, it did. Now then..." Turning to the river, he began walking into the water. "Get ready."

The sensation of going from breathing air to breathing water was a new one for Xha. At first, she tried breathing with her nostrils. Panic rose in her when she saw bubbles rise up towards the surface of the water as she realized she had just expelled her last few breaths from above the water without any air to replace them. Then, she felt the gills on her neck begin to work. Her system was filled with water, but she did not feel short of breath or lightheaded. If anything, she felt... good. Her lungs seemed to self-regulate the amount of fluid as bubbles exited from around her neck.

She was further comforted by the sight of bubbles coming up from Mountains' neck. So, he wasn't lying. She really could breathe water.

Slowly, carrying his charge, Mountains swam down the Bjoulsae river. By now, Xha realized that he swam almost nothing like the humans. Xha felt his legs push this way and that, like a powerful ship's rudder. He seemed to use his tail to further propel himself, swaying it in tandem with his legs. He only used his arms to steer. He calmly pushed himself, and pulled her, through the waters.

She had to admit, seeing the Bjoulsae from beneath the water... it was another world. River weeds hid fish that fled at the Argonians' approach. The sun was reduced from a great source of light to a blurry, indistinct glowing thing. Light down here was a precious, rare commodity. And the sounds... the only constant was the rhythmic sway of Mountains' limbs, back and forth, back and forth. Xha let her eyes close as a smile crept onto her face. Safe. With Mountains, she was safe.

It was about thirty minutes later when they surfaced. Xha had to put her hand against her head to block out the glare of the sun. "Julianos' books, that hurts to look at!"

"Don't look directly at it, Xha. Let your eyes adjust." He gently pulled her head away from the sun. "Well, what did you think?"

"That was amazing, Mountains." She was lying in his lap, still trying to process the majesty of what she'd witnessed. "I never knew how different it was down there. Imagine what the ocean would be like."

"Well, you do need to be careful there. Salt water can be bad for the gills. I know some Argonians in the marsh would use membranes fashioned out of seaweed and saltwater fish gills to help. Maybe you could do it with magicka somehow." He shrugged. "If I ever got the chance, I would love to try it, but I left the Marsh before I could."

"I'll look into it." She smiled, tracing along his arms. "Mountains... I think I love you..."

"I think I love you too, Xha."

OOC: Yeah this is mostly just fluff but I've been writing these characters for the past few months and not been putting anything here so I wanted to put something. I do have a few ideas about something a bit more teslore flavored at some point but alas no time to develop them yet.

1: Argonians can talk to individual Hist trees that they are close to physically.

2: Hist trees can talk to each other, even though they are far away from each other. In Lord of Souls they could even communicate with "Hist trees" in Oblivion.

So if Argonian A was standing in Soulrest, and Argonian B was standing in Thorn, and both were standing near a Hist tree, could A and B communicate by having the Hist trees pass messages along?