The Elder Scrolls

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My favourite schizo theory that makes no sense is the Thalmor are secretly Lorkhan worshippers.
Think about it, the Heart was freed from Red Mountain, and there have been various aggressive youth cultures among the Altmer who reject traditional Alinor beliefs such as the Beautiful who appeared around this time. What would be the most counter-culture, 'fuck you dad' possible belief for Altmer? Lorkhan worshippers, they're like Elven satanists. They aren't trying to destroy Mundus to return to immortality, but to end the Kalpa, continue the cycle of change.
Meanwhile the Empire has become the force of stasis, as Wulf/Talos foresaw, and have now returned to worshipping Akatosh/Auri-El as their chief divine, all leading to the eventual plot of Elder Scrolls VII: Freaky Fredas.
 
@>IMPLYING

I just now got to read the schizopost itself and actually have a couple thoughts to add about Pelinal specifically:

Dragonbreaks are thought to happen because Akatosh literally "breaks" and loses his control over time. I find it an interesting coincidence, then, that Pelinal is described as having bouts of madness wherein he not only goes apeshit on whatever elves he can find, but also completely erases entire parts of Tamriel from existence and requires the gods themselves to reach into his brain and fix him. A madness described as feeling like "when a dream no longer needs its dreamer."

Also, Pelinal once tells Morihaus, "We are ada, Mor, and change things through love. We must take care lest we beget more monsters on this earth." Which becomes very fun to interpret if we take the angle of Pelinal, Akatosh, and Auri-El all being related.

One of the Aldmeri creation myths says that the Aedra agree to create the world because Shezzar moves them to tears with the idea of becoming mothers and fathers who unconditionally love their children. Unfortunately the Aedra are really disappointed in what they make, and Auri-El is pissed and goes after Shezzar for "tricking" them into it. Auri-El punishes mer by teaching them to suffer and hate man for turning them into the lesser beings they are now. Akatosh and the Eight, on the other hand, thinks Shezzar was right, and vow specifically to teach men and beastfolk to love one another the same way the gods loved them.

Pelinal sure does hate elves. Taking care not to beget more monsters on this earth by being careful who you love, huh?
 
My favourite schizo theory that makes no sense is the Thalmor are secretly Lorkhan worshippers.
Spirit of Nirn, God of Mortals
"Others think that Lorkhan created the world as the testing ground for transcendence; to them the spirit realm was already a prison, and that true escape is now finally possible."
36 Lessons of Vivec, Sermon 21
Look at the majesty [Heart of Lorkhan] sideways and all you see is the Tower, which our ancestors made idols from. Look at its center and all you see is the begotten hole, second serpent, womb-ready for the Right Reaching, exact and without enchantment.
The Monomyth
This Creator-Trickster-Tester deity is in every Tamrielic mythic tradition. His most popular name is the Aldmeri "Lorkhan," or Doom Drum. He convinced or contrived the Original Spirits to bring about the creation of the Mortal Plane, upsetting the status quo much like his father Padomay had introduced instability into the universe in the Beginning Place. After the world is materialized, Lorkhan is separated from his divine center, sometimes involuntarily, and wanders the creation of the et'Ada.
Altmeri "The Heart of the World"
"Anu encompassed, and encompasses, all things. So that he might know himself he created Anuiel, his soul and the soul of all things. Anuiel, as all souls, was given to self-reflection, and for this he needed to differentiate between his forms, attributes, and intellects. Thus was born Sithis, who was the sum of all the limitations Anuiel would utilize to ponder himself. Anuiel, who was the soul of all things, therefore became many things, and this interplay was and is the Aurbis.

"At first the Aurbis was turbulent and confusing, as Anuiel's ruminations went on without design. Aspects of the Aurbis then asked for a schedule to follow or procedures whereby they might enjoy themselves a little longer outside of perfect knowledge. So that he might know himself this way, too, Anu created Auriel, the soul of his soul. Auriel bled through the Aurbis as a new force, called time. With time, various aspects of the Aurbis began to understand their natures and limitations. They took names, like Magnus or Mara or Xen. One of these, Lorkhan, was more of a limit than a nature, so he could never last long anywhere.

"As he entered every aspect of Anuiel, Lorkhan would plant an idea that was almost wholly based on limitation. He outlined a plan to create a soul for the Aurbis, a place where the aspects of aspects might even be allowed to self-reflect. He gained many followers; even Auriel, when told he would become the king of the new world, agreed to help Lorkhan. So they created the Mundus, where their own aspects might live, and became the et'Ada.

"But this was a trick. As Lorkhan knew, this world contained more limitations than not and was therefore hardly a thing of Anu at all. Mundus was the House of Sithis. As their aspects began to die off, many of the et'Ada vanished completely. Some escaped, like Magnus, and that is why there are no limitations to magic. Others, like Y'ffre, transformed themselves into the Ehlnofey, the Earthbones, so that the whole world might not die. Some had to marry and make children just to last. Each generation was weaker than the last, and soon there were Aldmer. Darkness caved in. Lorkhan made armies out of the weakest souls and named them Men, and they brought Sithis into every quarter.
Vehk's Teaching
Anu’s firstborn, for he mostly desired order, was time, anon Akatosh. Padhome’s firstborn went wandering from the start, changing as he went, and wanted no name but was branded with Lorkhan. As time allowed more and more patterns to individualize, Lorkhan watched the Aurbis shape itself and grew equally delighted and tired with each new shaping. As the gods and demons of the Aurbis erupted, the get of Padhome tried to leave it all behind for he wanted all of it and none of it all at once. It was then that he came to the border of the Aurbis.

He saw the Tower, for a circle turned sideways is an “I”. This was the first word of Lorkhan and he would never, ever forget it.
What are the spokes of the Wheel?

For ages the etada grew and shaped and destroyed each other and destroyed each other’s creations. Some were like Lorkhan and discovered the void outside of the Aurbis, though if some saw the Tower I do not know, but I know that, if they did, none held it in such high esteem. In any case, some of those that did see the void created its like inside the Aurbis, but each of these smaller voids sought each other out. Void shall follow void; the etada called it Oblivion. What was left of the Aurbis was solid change, otherwise known as magic. The etada called this Aetherius.

Now Lorkhan had by at this point seen everything there was to see, and could accept none of it. Here were the etada with their magic and their voids and everything in between and he yearned for the return to flux but at the same time he could not bear to lose his identity. He did not know what he wanted, but he knew how to build it. Through trickery (“We have made the Aurbis unstable with the voids”) and wisdom (“We are of two minds and so should make a perfect gem of compromise”) and force (“Do what I say, rude spirit”), he bound some of the strongest etada to create the World.

Lorkhan has been "trapped" within the confines of Tiber Septim/Talos for centuries when prior he could freely assume new divine identities and with each change in him came change to the world. So long as he remains branded with the name Talos/Tiber Septim, he is immutable, which he doesn't like (supposedly).

Attacking the empire was effectively replicating Lorkhan's own rebellion against the limitations of his own existence and achieving transcendence through change.
By bringing about a big enough change, the Thalmor are, in effect, attempting to attain a form of transcendence too.

Their attempt to impose order is in fact a disguise to sow chaos, as it produces the necessary change they desire—such as releasing Ulfric into Skyrim—thus replicating the same conditions which enabled Lorkhan to ascend higher than Auri-El and the other gods—though in this case it's the Thalmor/High Elves rising higher than the other races.

It can work, but required some out-of-game material
 
The only thing i remember like that in vanilla skyrim is that one lighthouse with the family being devoured by the murder pillbugs and then you fight a giant one with the half eaten remains of one of the family members.
That has got to be my favorite dungeon in the game. The quest reward is kino too - restoration spells being 20% stronger iirc. One of my friends who plays skyrim still hasn't done the quest somehow, and trying to get him to go to the lighthouse without spoiling the quest has been like pulling teeth.
 
I wish Nords had a bit more magic flavor in this series, there's something intriguing about being a frost warlock of the north that bethesda dropped the ball on. Not everyone has to be Conan
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All this Lore talk really hammers down how Dagoth Ur is probably the only serious villain portrayed in the games, a shame his final Battle sucks.
This is why I'm sick of the Thalmor in general, it's not that I mind them being pure evil but they should at least be able to argue for themselves. We're told Altmer are the most intelligent and long-lived race of Tamriel with the most consistent culture yet the only one in the series not to be treated as a joke or one-note villain is Mankar Camoran and he's just a Kirkbride relic stranded in Oblivion's main quest and still ends up with less personality than Dagoth Ur.
The only thing i remember like that in vanilla skyrim is that one lighthouse with the family being devoured by the murder pillbugs and then you fight a giant one with the half eaten remains of one of the family members.

I still remember it clear as day, walking to it expecting some lame ass NPC's without anything interesting and being surprised at how well executed everything in the dungeon was, from the bug sounds to the set dressing to the giant bug monster lair, is a shame that the game never does anything like this again. It was this mission and a random dead caravan near falkreath that i theorized they would make a DLC centered around entirely on the falmer, alas they are just pale goblins in the bin of missed oportunities together with the reachmen.
A friend of mine (in the context of tabletop RPGs) was telling me how effective water is as an obstacle in dungeons. It's cold, noisy, hard to move in, hard to see through. You really feel how horrifying Falmer are and how miserable hunting them down would be in that cave.
 
Sometimes I wonder if the reason the Altmer have been blueballed as hard as they have is because a lot of their goals and characterization draws from the Kirkbride stuff and Bethesda is hesitant to admit that pretty much all of it is hard canon because that'd mean all the batshit insane things in it are also canon and now they have to genuinely consider the lore implications of shit like the Eye of Magnus being a mining robot from thousands of years into the future and reman cum crackers.
 
I wish Nords had a bit more magic flavor in this series, there's something intriguing about being a frost warlock of the north that bethesda dropped the ball on. Not everyone has to be Conan
View attachment 9690821View attachment 9690824
Idk, i got the profile near those frost warlocks are esentially north Bretons.
My only disconform of Skyrim is getting more of the shouting.

Isn't a book in Morrowind telling Skyrim had more warriors who shouting? Is magic after all.
 
And Lorkhaj said, "Lorkhaj makes a place for children and Lorkhaj puts you there so you can give birth." But the Heart of Lorkhaj was filled with the Great Darkness, and Lorkhaj tricked his siblings so that they were forced into this new place with Nirni. And many of Fadomai's children escaped and became the stars. And many of Fadomai's children died to make Nirni's path stable. And the survivors stayed and punished Lorkhaj.

The children of Fadomai tore out the Heart of Lorkhaj and hid it deep within Nirni. And they said, "We curse you, noisy Lorkhaj, to walk Nirni for many phases."
This Creator-Trickster-Tester deity is in every Tamrielic mythic tradition. His most popular name is the Aldmeri "Lorkhan," or Doom Drum. He convinced or contrived the Original Spirits to bring about the creation of the Mortal Plane, upsetting the status quo much like his father Padomay had introduced instability into the universe in the Beginning Place. After the world is materialized, Lorkhan is separated from his divine center, sometimes involuntarily, and wanders the creation of the et'Ada.
Lorkhaj is Ma'iq the Liar
1791673400007.png
 
Idk, i got the profile near those frost warlocks are esentially north Bretons.
My only disconform of Skyrim is getting more of the shouting.

Isn't a book in Morrowind telling Skyrim had more warriors who shouting? Is magic after all.
According to morrowind the Thuum was more about making sounds like whistles or screams to bend reality rather than a language (basically casting with your mouth) and yes there should still be voice users around during the Nerevarine era since the Game iirc doesnt explicity mention the magic dropping out of fashion like in Skyrim but something only elite clans of nords in the deepest parts of Skyrim can do.

So yeah technically there should still at least be some ashlander type tribes but for nords in Skyrim still using It as a weapon/worship tool even if city nords became faggots.

Is a shame that in the final Game the voice is whatever, figthing other humanoids that know different types of the voice and friendly ones helping you by spell crafting by mix and matching words could have been cool, thankfully mods exists but It shouldnt be the case.
 
Considering the Imperial occupation and the fact that even Ulfric is an Altmer asset, I always saw it as Nordic history and culture having been completely obliterated by the Thalmor/Empire to force them to assimilate. It might not be dev intended, but I think it explains a lot without feeling like too much of a cope. Similar things have happened IRL like with indians (feather) and the inuit where children were legally required to only be taught english and everything from clothing to professions to historical documents were outlawed and destroyed until most of them knew nothing about their own culture except what The Powers That Be deemed benign. The Thalmor has made worshipping Talos (a codified god in the imperial pantheon) a punishable offense -- you think they'd let anyone even remember that Ysgramor the Elf Genocider even exists if they had the choice?

I feel like that's kind of the whole point with the Skall. The only reason they still have their histories and traditions is because they told everyone else to fuck off and live isolated in the mountains.
as @Jose Beaner Luna points out the Nords have been a core territory of the Third Empire for hundreds of years by TES5 and was part of the Second Empire before. Moreover, in TES4 you can talk to priests of Talos who bitch that the local Nords refuse to worship the Nine. I grant that Nine worship would have seen a boost after the fucking avatar of Akatosh appeared and also possibly as a result of a smaller and weaker Empire trying to increase cohesion and tightening its grasp on what it has left and the societal breakdown of the Oblivion Crisis. But the Nords are a very traditional people who take enormous pride in ways and wisdom of their forbears. I just don't see a dying empire converting 99% of the followers of a religion that has lasted practically unwavering for over four and a half thousand years, worshippers, who belong to a race known for being obsessed with the importance of ancestral reverence to the point of retardation, in 200. I think it makes more sense (and would have been cooler) if the Imperialised Nords of Solitude, Falkreath etc. are mostly Imperial Cult, a practice that began as a way of integrating oneself into Imperial society and/or through the high amounts of exposure to Imperial customs, but has by now turned into genuine faith and see Trad Nords as backwards Trogs and the Trad Nords in Windhelm etc, who see Imperial Cult Nords as race-traitors. I also agree with Zaric Zhakaron (RIP) that it would made more sense if the White-Gold religion ban was focused on Shezarr/Shor rather than Talos.

Also imo the "Ulfric is an Thalmor asset/agent" is often overexaggerated in online discussion. First of all we don't know to the extent that he was cooperating, how willing he was and it seems to be he isn't at all by the time of Skyrim. Secondly it seems to imply that they cooperated purely because they both don't like the Empire and the Thalmor had pysop-ed him. Ulfric is an intelligence asset in the same way Osama bin Laden was one to the CIA and Lenin was to the German Empire. They all had common enemies (the USSR, the Tsarists, the Empire). The Thalmor want Ulfric's rebellion to drag on as long as possible, wasting the lives and resources of the races of Man. He is far from some secret Thamlor puppet who is acting on orders to subvert the traditions of the Nord people.
 
Did Skyrim even have any weird moments with any amount of teeth at all even?
Rescuing a child from the Forsworn and delivering her to be the leader of a sex cult is pretty fucking out there. At the Thalmor Embassy you can find out resident Solitude Douchebag Erikur rapes women in his free time. He comes onto a waitress and if you tell him she's not DTF he calls her a slut and sends her off to get tortured. Last thing I can think of is that vampire seduced a guy, tried to turn his child into a vampire, then killed her and his wife and burnt his house down.
 
Rescuing a child from the Forsworn and delivering her to be the leader of a sex cult is pretty fucking out there. At the Thalmor Embassy you can find out resident Solitude Douchebag Erikur rapes women in his free time. He comes onto a waitress and if you tell him she's not DTF he calls her a slut and sends her off to get tortured. Last thing I can think of is that vampire seduced a guy, tried to turn his child into a vampire, then killed her and his wife and burnt his house down.

I thought it was the other person the vampire vampirized/enthralled that did the burning and child stuff. I think the OG vampire complains about it because of how visible it was...

Though that vampire isn't even the original vampire for that questline, that's the guy from Immortal Blood or whatever who lives in a nearby cave.
 
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