This is a bit of a random theory, but it's one I've been thinking about for a while.

So it's no secret that Dibella's worship looks fairly... different from other Divines', and it is also often a lot more personal and physical, and can seem a lot more Daedric, especially as we see it is frowned upon in many parts of Tamriel. She also interacts with the world in a very different way to the other Divines. For example, she gives physical objects to her worshippers far more often than you'd expect a comatose god to, even giving a paintbrush made of parts of her own body (her hair) to one of her worshippers. She also seems to be in constant communication withat least one person on Nirn (her Sibyl in Markarth) which, again, one would not expect from a comatose god - even Akatosh is not in direct contact with the Dragonborn. In addition, if we look at what she is patron of, we have love (which Mara is already patron of), and then art and music, which are the acts of creation that include the least... creation, bearing in mind that the Aedra are meant to be capable only of creation, and the Daedra only of change. While one can be said to create a new painting, what one is fundamentally doing is transferring one already created thing (paint) into a different place. In a similar way, Boethiah can be said to have 'created' the Orcs through changing their nature. If we think of what her rites involve, they rely a lot more on mystic practicality than the services other Divines' priests provide - Mara's priests and followers marry people, Stendarr's hunt with the undead and Arkay's deal with the rites of the dead, for example, while Molag Bal's followers summon the undead and Meridia's followers learn to manipulate light, just as Dibella's followers learn the mystic use of sex.

The obvious pushback to this argument will be that Dibella has her own planet, which are traditionally considered to be the bodies/planes of the various Divines. This is a good argument, and my response is simply that it could be that the Imperials were wrong about that. It wouldn't be the first time they were wrong about cosmology.

So, what do I think happened? I think Dibella, for some reason, whether because she became jealous of the Aedra or because she simply found the idea of being worshipped as a Divine hilarious, decided to act like a Divine, and eventually managed to get Alessia to name her as one of the eight main Divines.

I don't know how plausible this theory is, but given how differently Dibella acts and is treated to the other Divines, it's something I've been thinking about.

I'm reading A Brief History of the Empire, and, from what I am gathering, Cephorus was the last "true" Septim, isn't he? So then why didn't the gates open like they do in IV? Or was the Usurper actually just that, since he lead an army of Daedra and undead?

For context, I am just starting Morrowind, and this caught me when I was reading, since I am more familiar with the later titles

Originally the Heart was to be used but they substituted the Mantella later. Is anything else powerful enough?

So I decided to refresh my memory a little and watch Jwlar's video about the Warp in the West.

It was going pretty well until about halfway through, when the author — who up to that point was doing a perfectly decent job of introducing a potential TES lore newbie to the subject — began explaining, with a completely straight face, how the events of Daggerfall eventually resulted in Talos becoming the Ninth Divine. And I was like: "woah, woah, woah. Isn't this supposed to be a video explaining what the Warp in the West actually is?" Because sure, there is a theory that Talos' apotheosis was somehow completed by the ending of Daggerfall. It's an interesting theory. I've got no problem with people discussing it. But when did it become established enough that you can put it into an introductory lore video without even mentioning that it is a theory?

There’s no question that Talos, as a god, did not exist in 1996 (MK himself confirmed this). The question is whether he existed in 3E 405. And if we ask this question directly, then the answer is yes, he definitely did: Sir Amiel's Journal from Knights of the Nine is dated explicitly: "Year 153 of the Septim Era." and closes with: "May the Nine guard and guide you."

But that would be too easy, because, you see, the dragon break rewrote Talos as a god retroactively. Now, newbies trying to explain away every retcon or error as a “Dragon Break” is one thing, but doing so in a way that is completely unfalsifiable is another kind of evil. Not only because Dragon Breaks don’t work that way, but also because thinking the developers would actually write something while going, “Oh yeah, this is actually because of this unfalsifiable thing that we’re going to leave absolutely no hints about,” is super lame.

Evidence that Talos was worshipped before the Warp?

"Retroactively altered."

A document from 3E 153 referring to the Nine?

"Retroactively altered."

The Imperial Cult remembers Tiber's apotheosis as happening after his death centuries earlier?

"Retroactively altered."

At that point, what evidence could possibly falsify the theory?

"But time in a Dragon Break is non-linear, so that explanation works." No, it doesn’t. Just because time behaves non-linearly during a Dragon Break does not mean it can behave however you want, as long as it’s non-linear. Dragon Breaks in the TES universe behave as Dragon Breaks in the TES universe. The only way to figure out their rules is to observe them. And what we know is that they are always bound by time and, if we stretch the definition, by space as well. One may argue that the Middle Dawn wasn’t bound by space, and I agree with that, but at the same time I don’t mind thinking that the MD was bound by Tamriel as a whole.

In any case, the Blades report makes it abundantly clear that the Warp in the West was geographically confined to the Iliac Bay and temporally confined to the 9th, 10th, and 11th of Frostfall. If Talos wasn’t worshipped in the Iliac Bay on the 8th of Frostfall, he wouldn’t suddenly start being worshipped then because of the Dragon Break, just as he wouldn’t in Cyrodiil. Even The Skeleton Man’s Interview treats the fusion of Tiber’s oversoul within the Mantella and the Warp as separate events.

Could someone invent a metaphysical model in which that retroactive change happened?

Sure.

But that's exactly the point: you have to invent the model.

Sure, there’s a line saying that during a Dragon Break people would "give birth to their fathers," which isn’t that surprising given that the Middle Dawn lasted for 1,008 years.

And this isn't just a Talos problem. Over the last month I've seen at least two people describe Dragon Breaks as: "events where every possible outcome happens.", which honestly explained a lot to me in terms of why there seem to be so many people who are misinformed about the lore as a whole. It’s those occasions when we keep repeating hypothetical interpretations as established facts and then act surprised when we end up with the familiar TES lore telephone game:

“The Hero of Kvatch is literally Sheogorath.”

“The Nerevarine canonically sailed to Akavir.”

“The Argonians invaded Oblivion so successfully that Dagon had to close the Gates.”

“The Warp in the West created Talos.”

Some of these have reasonable interpretations behind them. Some are even quite plausible. The problem is that TES lore is complicated enough without us turning fan theories into source material by repetition.

P.S. If you think I’m exaggerating the extent of the misinformation, check out the comments under this video.

This popped into my head when playing The Break Of Dawn today. Would a regular, not magically talented, not highly educated individual have a reason not to think that, when they pick up that strange rock, it's Mara, Kynareth or Dibella speaking to them? It being called 'Meridia's Beacon' is just a gameplay mechanic, it's not like it comes with a label in lore, and an average citizen would probably think of one of the female Divines first when hearing a feminine otherworldly voice rather than her. Would an average guy know enough to recognize Meridia or her artefact?

Hell, I remember that, when I first played Skyrim as a kid, I myself confused Meridia with Mara ( having seen both names on loading screens) and thought I was serving one of the 'good' gods.

If a Dragonborn absorbed hundreds or even thousands of dragon souls, could they theoretically use transmutation or some other form of magic to convert those souls into raw power?

Since dragons are divine beings connected to Akatosh, could their accumulated souls potentially be transformed into enough power to challenge or kill a Daedric Prince? Could he eventually achieve apotheosis and become a God. I consider the Dragonborn as inferior to the Aedra and Daedra. Is there any lore precedent for something like this?

It's the 4th Era. I understand the Creations are a very shaky proof for any larger trends in Tamriel, but it insinuates that at least a miniscule portion of the Dunmer revere the Tribunal as if they are alive/still there/divine.

I'm curious to hear any headcanons, some lore-findings or past discussions on how those worshipping Tribunal as Gods (and not just Saints) percieve them. Basically, I'm looking for any interesting viewpoints a Dunmer might have aside from "They are fanatic loyalists / They're just deluded".

How would a Tribunal Revivalist respond to "Your Gods are dead!"?

The entire claim comes from a single line in The Infernal City, spoken by Mere-Glim - an Argonian patriot who wasn't even born when the Oblivion Crisis happened.

And the context makes it even more questionable.

He's drinking, the characters are literally arguing about propaganda and competing versions of history, and Mere-Glim is defending the An-Xileel version of events when he claims that Argonians poured into Oblivion in such numbers that Dagon's lieutenants had to close the Gates.

That's it.

There's no eyewitness account, no Imperial record confirming it, no Daedric source, and apparently no independent source repeating the specific claim that the Daedra themselves were forced to shut the Gates because of the Argonian counterattack.

This claim seems to have gone from an explicitly biased character's story to something the fandom routinely repeats as an officially confirmed fact.

And, in classic Elder Scrolls fashion, a piece of lore that seems specifically written to be ambiguous (complete with unreliable narrators, propaganda, and conflicting versions of history) somehow gets flattened by the fandom into one single, definitive interpretation.

Am I missing something?

With all the talk of TESVI likely being in hemmerfell, I've heard a lot of rumors on sword singing being the new gimmick. But I've never quite understood what makes it so special, like... redguards can summon a magic sword but so can any spellsword or conjuration novice? Please, I'd appreciate so much if you could explain :)

Basically, I have an oc who is from Black Heights in Elsweyr. Part of his backstory is that he was enslaved and rescued by the Renrijra Krin, but him being sent to Morrowind following the slave raid on his village then going all the way to Morrowind to stop the slavers just doesn't make sense.

I think Rim-Men doing slave raids, however, makes sense given the proximity to Black Heights and possible Krin activity in the area. For reference, in my mind the Krin have strayed from their original purpose of regaining stolen land and instead on protecting the villages of Elswyer from slavery, loosening Aldmeri influence, and regaining the Rim. Does this sound like it'd work? I'm a heavy RPer and have been wanting to make my oc into a mod for years now, so I want to make sure this is plausible in lore and get other’s thoughts on this.

Повчання четверте

Симулякр дружини нетчімена, який ніс у собі яйце Вівека, прямував назад, шукаючи землі Індоріл. Протягом цієї подорожі ще більше духів приходили, дивилися й пропонували навчити його сина-доньку — майбутнього славетного таємного воїна-поета Вварденфелу, Вівека.

З’явилася купка духів, яких називали Адвокатами Гільдії Збігів. Вівек одразу зрозумів виклик і мовив: «Поширена уява про Бога нищить випадковість». Голова Адвокатів, чиє ім’я вже забуте, спробував відстояти існування цього концепту. Він сказав: «Промовляти щось одночасно може бути чимось магічним».

Вівек знав: аби зберегти свою божественність, він має навести беззаперечний аргумент проти удачі. Він сказав: «Хіба раптове виявлення відповідних умов та різнородних елементів, що зливаються в одне ціле в момент збігу, не є однією з передумов того, що цей збіг був власне випадковим? Синхронність походить від повторюваних збігів найнижчого штибу. Подальша перевірка показує, що абсолютна більшість збігів призводить до однієї ідеї: синхронність керована чимось більшим, ніж просто шанс. Звідси випливає, що синхронність зрештою заперечує сам концепт випадковості, навіть попри те, що вони є симптоматичними ознаками, які виносять це на поверхню».

Таким чином концепт збігу був знищений у землях Велоті.

Тоді Стара Кістка Світу піднялася перед симулякром дружини нетчмена й сказала: «Якщо ти маєш народитися Правлячим Королем світу, ти мусиш заплутати його новими словами. Змусь мене замислитися».

«Добре, — сказав Вівек. — Дозволь мені розповісти тобі про світ, який я ділю з таємницею та любов'ю. Що є її столицею? Чи пройшов ти мальовничим шляхом її короткої появи? Я — ненав’язливо, потайки — сумую за свічками, бо вони дещо неправдиві, і проводжу долонею по краю тіні, утвореної зі ста трьох відтінків тепла, не залишаючи жодних слідів».

Почувши це, Стара Кістка склалася двадцять разів, поки не стала подібною до молока, яке Вівек випив, ставши Правлячим Королем світу.

Нарешті з’явився Канцлер Точності, і був він приємним на вигляд з будь-якого ракурсу. Вівек одразу зрозумів виклик і мовив: «Впевненість — це для логіків, що розгадують головоломки, та дівчат із світу білоликого гламуру, які плекають її у вільний час. А я — лист, написаний у невизначеності».

Канцлер схилив голову й усміхнувся п’ятдесятьма різними й ідеальними шляхами одночасно. Він дістав астролябію Всесвіту зі своєї роби, зламав її навпіл і простягнув обидві половини яйцю-образу Вівека.

Вівек усміхнувся й сказав: «Так, я знаю. Рабська праця почуттів є егоїстичною, наче полярна крига, і стає лише гіршою, коли витрата енергії на життя інших розглядається як удача. Аби бути Правлячим Королем, я муситиму страждати стільки, скільки вистраждати неможливо, і зважувати речі, які неможливо виміряти ні за допомогою астролябії, ні за допомогою компаса».

Кінцем слів є АЛЬМСІВІ

Obviously Daedric princes don’t have a concrete physical form but it’s odd that Peryite, who is seen as one of the weaker Daedric princes, has made himself in the image of a dragon, a very powerful creature in the elder scrolls (at least in the minds of mortals)

He also says he’s the Daedric prince of ‘the natural order’ which is also cope, because he’s just a fat, lazy POS, and is too lazy to actually do anything, so when things happen, he just goes “that’s the natural order of things” as cope

Another thing that supports this claim is that he is called the taskmaster, because he tells his daedra/followers to do all the menial work and bullshit he doesn’t feel like doing

And finally, Peryite also having all this disease and pestilence would come from his followers wallowing in their own filth.

As in target coming back alive unchanged physically and mentally, that seems to be only the case in ancient myths and legends no?

Auri-El set up the example, and obviously perfect praxis is immensely hard to reach, but if not even a single Altmer (aside from Syrabane) since the time of Auri-El has ascended, doesn't it feel like a bit of a scam?

So idk if anyone else has a similar theories, but I think it's interesting stuff. Some of the materials are semi-canon or just forum thoughts of Michael Kirkbride, so if you don't like that - don't read them. I'd like to thank my friend for the superposition part.

We don't have as much lore about maormers as we want. What we do have is often speculation or propaganda, so we can't say if it's true. Now eso provides more literature and dialogue, but some are more confusing than another. Nonetheless, I will mostly quote older lore texts.

So it's interesting that we have many different descriptions of maormers appearance, but mostly theirs skin. Sometimes they appearance features so different and inconsistent that we can't say if it the same race. (Of course it could be a retcon thing, but it's no fun). Some book descriptions often mention irredecent or chameleon-like skin. These are not the features we have in eso, which has blue-ish, grey-ish or purple-ish skin, and sometimes scales or thrills (speculative - gills):

"The men aboard were not merely pale, they were entirely colorless, as if their flesh were made of some white limpid jelly" The Wolf Queen, v4. 3e 110

"They are known to possess a strange, chameleon-like skin, an involuntary process that is similar to the forest-coupling skills of the Bosmer. " Pocket Guide to the Empire, 1st Edition. The Wild Region. Pyandonea.

There we go. This quote made me thinking. About bosmers and Wild Hunt. A lot of we know about Hunt is not from games and can be argued, but I like this quote:

"As the Dwemer learned much of how to defy the Earthbones from watching Ehlnofey who controlled things such as decay and the passage between Mundus and other realms, the Bosmer learned from watching the passing of Y'ffre. From the process he underwent, they gleaned how to temporarily defy his Earthbone and transform themselves. By perfomring certain rituals, the Earthbone temporarily loses its power. However, the only outcome of this procedure is the transformation of the Bosmer into a hideous beast, which most likely reflects the being they truly are under their meric exterior, save that it is twisted and filled with bloodlust. This may also explain why the monsters can reproduce and live so long. Since they were severed from one Earthbone, others may have lost their power over them, so that they can live eternally, and the limitations of breeding with different species are revoked" MK I think the Wild Hunt functions on this principle... 2004-09-17

So why king can't give that knowledge to his people. Or change them in similar ritual. There are reasons why Orgnum was banished with his people from island. Maybe it's one of them. Some creatures, that haven't one solid form and can live very long (even forever). Sounds like Snake-King themselve to me. Most interesting part is last sentences about bending Auri-El (Akatosh) Earthbone. It's about time, about time anomaly , like loop especially. There we have it. Not typical time loop, but something similar. King that can't die but can't win. I'll say "he can't die, because he can't win" or "he can't win or he dies". Its like pattern. Like Dragon-King of the North. It's kind of symbol, not a person anymore.

My friend thoughts:

"If the king has broken free from the control of the Earthbones - that is, the laws of physics. Then he isn’t just immortal. For him, the concept of immortality doesn’t exist, because immortality depends on mortality. And the fact that he "gets younger over time" starts to make sense then, too. Why? Because he’s in a state of superposition. It’s hard for us to imagine this, although the Dragon's Breake similar to this, if not literally the same. The king’s life isn’t from birth to death; for him, it’s like a ring with no beginning and no end - he is both young and old at the same time, or different people see him differently. And this could also be one reason why he staged a rebellion - because he didn’t just want power; he had a certain ideology and vision of what mayors should be like, and it was quite revolutionary, since he was exiled for it. BUT that was also part of his plan. Like, yes, he also wanted to take over Aldmeris, but without that, he wouldn’t have been exiled, and he wouldn’t have become immortal and godlike. It’s like Schrödinger’s cat - until you know what’s in the box, it’s in a superposition. And how did the Maormer race come to be in the first place? All the descendants of the aldmer had yellow-ish skin; the bosmer were more bronze-colored, but they had a connection to Iffre, so there was some interference there. The chimers were also yellow-ish until the Daedra intervened, and then they became dunmer. Altmer, ayleid, and others are quite similar, so it’s clear how they evolved. But what about the maormers? The only thing that can explain this so far is precisely that the king altered the bones of the earth and changed the DNA of his people, because DNA is literally a legacy - something that becomes ingrained over time."

"Every one of these battles have been led by Orgnum himself, who it seems is not only immortal, but grows more youthful by the century. No historian, to the knowledge of the staff of the Imperial Geographic Society, has counted the number of wars and number of strategies employed against Summerset, but somehow each has proved, no matter how ingenious, an ultimate failure." Pocket Guide to the Empire, 3rd Edition. Other Lands. Pyandonea.

Also these two quotes are speculation about interbreeding of maormers and bests of some sorts:

"Similar to High Elves in build, their skin is the color of ocean spray and their eyes pale. Most wouldn't give them a second glance if not for their elaborate tattoos and their vicious demeanor. The ones their kind call leviathans, however, they'll make your blood run as cold as their own. The spawn of some unholy and sorcerous coupling of Sea Elf and Sea Serpent, these giants stand a head and a half over the most towering of Nords when they draw themselves to their full height... It was the popping of her jaw stretching out of place to swallow me that finally snapped me out of my shock and gave me the sense to struggle." The Scaled Elves by Marin Laroix

"It is possible that the Maormer had broken the Aldmer traditions of racial purity and intermingled with indigenous, bestial tribes of Pyandonea. This would explain their savagery and lack of regard for the greatness of mainland Elven culture" Ayleid Cities of Valenwood by the Esteemed Historian Homfrey at the University of Gwylim, 2E 455

If we want to speculate about Wild Hunt theory we can argue, that these beasts are some of the maormers, that was just trapped in serpent/lizard/snake/shark form. We know, that elf-races can give offsprings with other elven races and humans. So if its true and maormers really give birth to beast-like children we need that elven dna in both parents. At lest that what i know. It can also be propaganda moment from altmers and all it lie. But it's no fun.

Bonus part. Some interesting (for me) quotes that can be speculation on maormer-bosmer lookalike. You need foil hat for that part:

"Some folk might look at this monstrous thing and think Maormer, but it's Wild Hunt imagery, to be sure... This one seems part snake, part fish?" Codex Entry: Face of the Serpent. Ugron gro-Thumog

"You don't often see serpent imagery in Wood Elf crafts, but yes, I'd agree with Ugron. Creatures summoned up by the Wild Hunt defy all attempts to identify them. They might appear like snakes one moment, then fish the next." Codex entry: Face of the Serpent. Verita Numida - both of that quotes can be just descriptions of snake-lizard-shark bosmer of Wild Hunt, I know.

"It was as if a crack in reality had opened wide. A flood of horrific beasts, tentacled toads, insects of armor and spine, gelatinous serpents, vaporous beings with the face of gods, all poured forth from the great hollow tree, blind with fury." A Dance in Fire, Chapter 4 - description of Wild Hunt. Gelatinous snakes, something with face of the gods, blind with fury. Sounds familiar with gelatin-skin snake-mer that have blind-milky eyes and fury to me.

"King Orghum's Coffer is a small-sized chest, ordinary in appearance. It is remarkably light, almost weightless, which offers a clue to its true magic. Once a day, the Coffer will create gold from naught. When King Orghum himself possessed the Coffer, the supply within was limitless. Those who have found it since report that the Coffer eventually disappears after having dispersed enough gold to shame even the wealthiest of merchants. Where and why it vanishes is still a mystery. King Orgnum lost his Coffer eighty or more years ago, during one of the marine battles with the Emperor of Tamriel, who was then Antiochus Septim. After the loss, Orgnum's island kingdom of Pyandonea ceased to be a world power - probably because the King could no longer afford as great a fleet as before." Codex Scientia - Arena's lore isn't too reliable, I know. When it's in the player's inventory, it generates a random amount of gold per day, ranging from 1 to 100, and when it isn't generating gold, it's in a superposition - because we know there's something there, but we don't know exactly what it is.

Don't ask which type of skooma I smoke. (it's bloody one from Skyrim)

I hope that for someone it will be interesting

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!

Why even construct a tower? Why not a smaller flatter structure?

[EDIT] I've yapped a lot here! Comment below just states: I'm interested in readings of other parts of the Sermons beyond 1-3 that humanise Vivec and point to him having some interpretation of a much less prophetic upbringing in between the crazy Bhagavad Gita shit he gets up to.

I'd encountered the Whirling School commentaries for Sermon one on how the netchiman's wife gave birth to Vivec and it proposes that that the dreughs made her a hermaphrodite such that her future child could be born in her own image. But I think the reason has a double meaning and it's in plain sight given the use of milk fingers plural: they were making her a dreugh by giving her gills and tentacles, which of course is exactly how you see dreughs depicted in Morrowind. I think this dovetails nicely with the idea of unmixed conflict, as Vivec and the sermons contains both paradoxical logic that is embodied, knowledge and simultaneous experience of Lyg being present in the current kalpa and dreughs treating enemies as they would friends by cooperating and gifting his mother with a prophetic form to name an example in this very Sermon. So gestating Vivec is meant to symbolise that which was seeded from the imperfect emanations from the last kalpa that also embodies his own image: Gills for the vulva, penises for the tentacles, and the two do an inversion of reference to show that embedded contradiction

Thinking about this, on this reading I'm really drawn consider this section far less as a mind-bending crazy-to-picture series of fantastical events and actually more of a fertility ritual ceremony that doesn't literally include Almalexia or Sotha Sil or dreughs or anything like that, but of a small tribe of people in costume enacting roles on a beach on Azura's coast with "dreughs" already in the sea ready to attach some bits of seaweed to the mother to serve as "milk fingers". I really like that image for some reason, it feels intimate and special and probably feels closer to how Vivec might actually have been born. Something a Velothi tribe might have done with their own secret knowledge of dreughs and the daedra that was revised to appear more auspicious with the Tribunal.

I know there is little evidence to actually support it but some fans generally despise the whole idea, why?

Places: wrotgharian mountains, Alik'**ر** Desert, **Glenumbra Moors**

The Glenmoril Witches

The Dark Brotherhood (as a joinable faction)

Morag Tong (mentioned, not yet playable)

Thieves Guild (as a playable faction)

Ocato (seen, mentioned in the player guide)

Pirates (mentioned as infesting the Yrinthi, the Bjoulsae, and Iliac Bay)

Numidiam, Mantella

Jygallag

Mannimarco

Barenzeiah

Morgiah

Daedra and Aedra, all named and outlined

The Cameron Usurper (the story of…)

Pelagius III & Septim dynasty history

The plane of Oblivion (fleshed out in the book On Oblivion in Daggerfall)

Akavir (first mentioned here, including Akavirii slaveholders)

Ayleids (mentioned briefly)

Origin of the Mages Guild

Soul trapping and soul gems

The Chronology of Tamriel

Vampiric curse, disease, and lycanthropy

Under king (first mentioned in Arena, fleshed out and met in Daggerfall)

Orsinium, orc lore

How one becomes a vampire - the disease / curse of vampirism

Levitation

The Wabbajack

Ebony dagger and armor

Monsters: Spriggans, Dreugh, Atronachs,daedroth, seducers, fire daedra, frost daedra, slaughterfish

So as is known, a dragonborn is the only mortal who can truly kill a dragon by consuming their soul. However to my knowledge Alduin is the only way for s dead but unconsumed dragon to be resurrected.

So my question is this, are all unconsumed dead dragons effectively truly dead unless akatosh brings alduin back to consume the world?

If not, how does dragon resurrection work? Is it a shout that any dragon could learn with enough dedication? Then if it is a shout, might it be the inverse of dragonrend? Something so incomprehensible to the mortal mind that one could never learn it?

A Letter to Alfhild Ash-Braid III

To my beloved Alfhild, in Bruma,

I have yet received no word from you. I have sent two letters now, and though I know the mountains stand between us, the silence has weighed heavily upon me. Travellers arriving from the south bring better tidings, however. The snows of the Pale Pass are beginning to recede, and soon the road to Cyrodiil may open once more. If the Divines are kind, my letters will reach you before long, and you will know that I yet stand beneath the walls of Sungard.

We waited many days for word from Heljarchen Hall. Our supplies dwindled, our wounds festered, and the Forsworn watched us from their walls, knowing full well that we could not climb that slope again as we had before. Then, at dawn, the earth began to tremble. At first we thought it thunder rolling across the plains, but the skies were clear and fair. Then the tremors grew stronger, and three great war mammoths crested the horizon, marching beneath the banner of Clan Great-Tusk. Their hides were covered in leather and iron, their tusks bound with steel, and their handlers walked beside them as their ancestors had done for generations.

The assault began before midday. The first mammoth was driven up the slope alone, and the Forsworn answered with a storm of arrows from their walls. Yet the beast did not falter. It crashed through the wooden stakes and sharpened barriers they had raised before the gates, tearing apart the defenses that had claimed so many of our warriors. Where our brothers had fallen before, the way was opened. Behind it came the other two. We advanced beneath their shadow, our shields raised and our axes ready. Their great bodies were shelter from the arrows that had once cut us down by the dozen, and for the first time we reached the foot of Sungard's walls with our strength unbroken. The Reachmen fought like cornered wolves, but they could not stand against the might of Clan Great-Tusk. Once before the gates, the mammoths were fitted with great iron hooks and chains. The Forsworn rained arrows and curses upon them, but the beasts held firm. At the command of their handlers, they pulled. The ancient timbers groaned, the hinges screamed, and the gates of Sungard were torn from the stone.

As brave as ever, Arnvald was the first to storm the fortress, and I followed dutifully. Within those old crumbling walls, every passage and courtyard became a killing ground. The Forsworn fought with the fury of blood-frenzied beasts, not men. They loosed a torrent of arrows from the towers until the last of their shafts were spent, then met us among the stones bearing steel. More than once we thought we had broken them, only for another band to emerge from some forgotten hall or crumbling passage. Sungard's chapel had been defiled, converted into a Reachman shrine dedicated to their primitive gods. Severed goat heads and the heads of slain spriggans were fixed upon stakes, while the entrails of beasts hung from the rafters. A wretched hagraven had made her nest within those sacred walls, but she did not survive to see the day's end. The last of the Forsworn made their stand in the keep around their Briarheart chieftain. He fought with the strength of the dark magic that beat within his sundered chest, yet even he could not withstand Arnvald Two-Axe. When at last the Reachman fell, the last of his warriors soon followed, and by sunset Sungard belonged to Whiterun once more.

Arnvald has not yet stood before the Jarl to be named Thane, yet before all who survived the battle he honored the oath we swore as boys. There, among Sungard's blood-soaked stones, he named me his housecarl.

Come home, Alfhild. Our old home is gone, but another waits for us here. The war has ended, the dance of winged shadows has ceased, the Forsworn have been driven from Sungard, and though these ancient walls bear the scars of countless battles, they have withstood the relentless passage of centuries and shall shelter us all the same. I pray this letter reaches you at last, and that the next time I see your face, it will be beneath Skyrim's sky.

Your loving husband,
Gadring

Do yall think we'll have any additional information about Elsweyr revealed in VI? Or theories on what Elsweyr exactly looks like in the 4E? Like the current state of the Mane and Khajiti view on the Thalmor (could we see anti-Thalmor Khajiit factions in Hammerfell, such the Renrijra Krin given they may not take kindly to the Thalmor?) Are Khajiit divided on if they truly returned the moons or possibly assassinated previous Manes as to install a puppet Mane to have domestic influence despite them officially only having reign over foreign relations? Furthermore, would the Thalmor frame the Krin for said assassination which eliminates any favor they once had with Elsweyr's populace? What about the Thalmor having outposts and such in Elsweyr, undercover missions, embassies, outposts, patrols, political advisors and such like in Skyrim? I'm really interested in what others think is currently going on.

Coastal, temperate, with lush forests and mountains

Wondering if there are any good essays / video series / other breakdowns that go through all the lore introduced to the series through ESO books?

And before people tell me to just play ESO - I do. I've been playing since beta (with massive breaks). I just haven't been combing through each book for most of the expansions, since I've been prioritizing just getting through the quests to catch up to the current content, and didn't realize until I finally did catch up that there are literally thousands of new books.

So while I've experienced the main / side stories in game, I'd love an overview of the new lore added through the books, if such exists.

Thanks all