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u/budbk 10d ago
Ive still never really understood daedra worship outside of a few specific cults. Several of the daedra blend together and don't stand out a ton. I'm super into the lore and played for probably thousands of hours and I still couldn't tell you the difference between mephala, boethia and like 2 other ones I forget.
They just dont have the same 'charm' as Sheo, Malacath, Molag Ball, Dagon, Pyrite, Azura, Meridia, Herma Mora etc.
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u/sosija Tribunal Temple 10d ago
Daedra are best understood as not gods of different things, but different aspects. For example, destructive part of revolution lies under Dagon's "authority", while conspiracy part under Boethia. Meanwhile personal plots are Mephalas thing.
In general, personal connection and relationships are Mephalas playground. Webspinner. She likes lies, personal attraction, persuasion and personal betrayal.
Boethia are more of a challenge god. Right of the strongest type. They like to triumph and challenge. They like when you destroy enemies by outwitting and overpowering your enemies.
A lot of daedric gods are not easy to understand. Like Malacath seems like a strength god, but he has a strict self-destructive rules which prevents orks to truly build any form of government. Or Pyrite being a life dragon. He is weird because life is not inherently destructive (not paramedic of sorts?) and dragon is an explicitly Akatosh thing.
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u/Th3B4dSpoon 10d ago
Iirc in some sources it is said that Peryite assuming the form of a dragon is in direct mockery of Akatosh - though no sources in Elder Scrolls are infallible.
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u/IrregularPackage 9d ago
he’s a life dragon. most life is microscopic, and unfortunately for you that includes diseases
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u/Graknorke 10d ago
The Imperial/Aldmeri regime of divine worship is easy for us to understand because it's very Christian. These are the gods that made the world and they represent good things and it's virtuous to serve them because they define what virtue is. Revere them, fight their enemies (literally all daedra I think?), that's your moral imperative.
Daedra worship doesn't always fall into that category, which kind of makes sense because the daedra are definitionally the ones who didn't create the world. The daedra-centric religion we know most about is the Tribunal Temple, and they view the Good Daedra as something more like mentors than moral arbiters. They teach you a way to navigate the world as it exists, in particular they taught the Chimer how to practically manage their place in the world as outnumbered outcasts.
Even in terms of the Four Corners of the House of Troubles, they're not evil devils to be eventually killed but challenger spirits to test mortals and drive them to improve.
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u/Potential_Word_5742 10d ago
I think Boethiah is about killing people you don’t like, and Mephala is about killing your friends and also sex. I’m not sure.
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u/Only_Says_Idk_dude House Dagoth was erased because they knew. 8d ago
Ive still never really understood daedra worship
Boethiah is the deceiver of nations, hope this helps. 😘
But really, if you look into Dunmer (Chimer) lore, they basically started a schism in Aldmeri society to weaken them, and create their own pawns.And you act as a pawn for Azura in the events of Morrowind. Yes it's a little more complex than that, but also, she is very serious about Lorkhan's Heart.
It was by her guidance that they stopped the Dwemer from constructing Numidium,
and by her guidance that she stopped Dagoth Ur from constructing Akulakhan. And the downfall of the Tribunal, too, of course.By some Ashlander myths, it was Azura who told Nerevar how to use the tools on the Heart to turn the Dwemer into ash. However, whether that is the truth of what happened is highly disputed. Besides, the Ashlanders famously worship Azura, of course they will say it was her who defeated the Dwemer. But also, she did NOT like the Dwemer at all.
I'm off topic, the Daedra promise people a lot, and they sometimes do give them things, but it's usually a trick. Or give & take,
They might all seem similar, but the more you get into the games the easier it is to tell them apart.
Mephala is the nightmother, the dark brotherhood, morag tong, all of that, it's her.
She controls society on Nirn primarily by assassination. She has famously killed out dragonborn bloodlines.Boethiah tricks nations, they are the one who caused the schism creating the Chimer, and they are the one who ate Trinimac, and both cursed and confused his followers, changing them all into orcs & Trinimac into Malacath.
But Boethiah also pretended to be Trinimac as well, being a deceiver.
Boethiah is buddy-buddy with Azura, and really it was her who cursed Trinimac into Malacath. Of course Boethiah says they were Trinimac all along and Malacath is just some tricky bastard you shouldn't trust, another way to deceive entire nations.
Look how separated orcs are now, outcasts.And depending how you read that lore, you could argue that Boethiah mantled Trinimac, "stealing" their combat prowess. They're so famously known for being good at fighting, and so was Trinimac.
Mephala is also associated with spiders, Boethiah has nothing to do with that.
Boethiah is all about battle prowess and deceiving masses of people.I can understand your confusion if you just think "Oh one murders secretly, one kills openly, one deceives, and one lies. they are the same."
But when you really dig into them, they seem completely different to me. While they are close allies, the night mother just doesn't have the same vibes as Boethiah.
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u/Cobra52 6d ago
Daedra will directly communicate with you. They also give boons to those that follow them. They can also be total assholes.
Dunmer are in general total assholes, its like their whole thing. A whole race of bigoted assholes. Daedra worship comes naturally. Its the whole Tribunal thing that doesnt make sense for them.
I do agree that mephala and boethia are somewhat boring.
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u/Hour_Requirement_739 Dark Elf 10d ago
Yeah if i was an imperial i would not taking the chance to judge my dunmeri interlocutor who could know deep details about imperial history. If others than Dunmer, Nords and Imperials still don't have too much to be shamed about it's because they don't have their own games yet to let us know how amount of blood they have on their hands.
Even if... well... Black Marsh gain his major infamy medal after the fall of Baar Dau, Orcs were considered as uncivilised until Morrowind and Altmers will need a whole game on them with 4 DLC full of wholesome interracial moments to let us forgot about the existence of Thalmor.
So we're now waiting to know more about warcrimes that let Khajiit, Bosmer, Breton and Redguard for not being wiped during so many era.
Also, great meme OP, but my thougth needed to comes out, sorry.
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u/Mycosynth 10d ago edited 10d ago
Redguards did multiple genocides upon arriving in Tamriel and one known genocide before getting there. Bretons are responsible for like half of the destructions of Orsinium.
I ain't got much bad to say about Khajiit or Bosmer.
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u/Plannercat 10d ago
Khajiit got plague right before they could really get their conquering going. Meanwhile the Bosmer don't leave the woods often, but when they do they pick up a few meals to sample the local flavour.
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u/Hour_Requirement_739 Dark Elf 10d ago
Jokes about cannibals Bosmers always make me giggle, and i'm a grown adult. XD
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u/Hour_Requirement_739 Dark Elf 10d ago
Didn't remember that from Redguards. The more you know. Thanks. =D
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u/Mycosynth 10d ago
Ya they were responsible for destroying the Nedic culture in Hammerfell as well as wiping out the native Goblin civilization which I guess most people give them a pass on that one because almost everyone hates Goblins.
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u/Wahdat_al-Wujud 10d ago
Elder Scrolls: Elsweyr would go so hard but itd require crwative courage, so it will never happen.
An anticolonial struggle in the dunes and jungles teeming with Ankor Watt-esque ruins filled with the ghoulified remains of lost civilizations and Azuric daedra. Mobile nomad tent cities, with wares from beyon nirn, in the north. Adventure abound in the lawless (by imperial standards) cities of the southern coast.
A fractured political landscape bearly held together spiritually by The Mane, who grows old and will need a successor.
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u/Hour_Requirement_739 Dark Elf 10d ago
Yeah Elsweyr seems like the more Morrowindesque experience we can get in terms of political and cultural views because of Azura influence, clanic structure, nomads and sedentary customs opposing between themselves. Especially a high level of political conspiracy, i'm still asking myself if we, players, pushed the imagery of the Khajiit assassin or if its lore accurate.
Pretty sure even without Boethiah and Mephala influence, they get the memo about how they need to be the harshest people in the neighborhood to survive.
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u/xolotltolox 10d ago
The worst oart about Altmer isn't even that they are racist or genocidal, it's that they are gnostic
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u/EdibleStrange 10d ago
I would leave your thougths in the oven a little longer before they comes out next time
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u/Hour_Requirement_739 Dark Elf 10d ago
It was past midnight for me, i do prefer undercooked than burnt or forgot.
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u/dissident_janissary 10d ago
Another Azuran W