2. While I haven't read the rest of your post, this stuff about Icarus is kinda irrelevant, as you still gave the wrong definition of a myth. Even if "based in fact" was meant to be extremely vague and therfore applicable, that would make basically all fiction "myths".
3. I don't get this. Yes, I did realise that your previous post was sarcastic. Wasn't that clear in my response where I was defending my use of caps?

Who me? Im fine.

:gun: Discussion of myths

I wasnt directing that at you broseph. Lets just try not to stray too far off topic. :thumbsup:

Aurora Borealis? Yeah, it'd make sense to be implemented. We saw in Shivering Isles how they could move colors and scenery across the night sky, why not do the same for some northern lights? ... Marlon Brando, Pocahontas, and me! :whistling:

Have a fishy stick.

Everything is based in fact. And some things aren't. Like cheese.

Also, nevermind.

I like you though. You entertain me with your serious commentary.

Aurora's are cool. There's nothing in the lore that says they don't exist on Nirn. The end.

A myth is a religious fantasy.
A fairytale is a non religous fantasy.
A religious tale with roots in history is a legend.
A non religious tale with roots in history is a saga.

There you go, thats the definition I had to learn in my literature class.

Of course we are talking elder scrolls here, and myth and reality are more or less interchangable.
In Tamriel, if one tells a tale long enough, it becomes reality.
(The walking way is an example.)

Hate to bring logic into this, but it depends on where Skyrim is in relation to the poles of Nirn. Aurora's only occur at the ring of the magnetic filed as it intersects a planet, which is very north. And seeing as though Atmora, the Nord's ancestral home, was north of Tamriel, i dare say it wouldnt make snese, but who knows, maybe nirn is a super earth and has a huge area for lands to see aurroras

I can't believe that people are making a big deal about whether the aurora borealis is specific to earth, like that should matter if it were implemented in Skyrim....seeing how there's also, you know....magic, dragons, and vampires....

Seriously people, lighten up.

No.

As tympanocryptis above me said, Skyrim is a northern province of the continent Tamriel, but Tamriel is not a northern continent. Aurora Borealis, as others have said, is not caused by cold weather but proximity to the poles and magnetic fields. The lost continent of Atmora in the TES world would fit this addition, not Skyrim.

It is sad, because in many ways I would love to see it in the game, but it just wouldn't fit if we compare it to the factors of our world. Now, if the devs put it in and say it has a magical basis, then maybe I can deal with it .

Nirn's unusual celestial situtation gives them an opportunity to make a unique explanation for them anyhow, so it could be something that allows them to be more southly. Skyrim is Elder Scrolls' "icy northlands" game, even if it isn't actually farther north than Vvardenfell, and I don't think they're going to redo that theme again any time soon, so if they wanted to do auroras to contribute to that feeling they'd probably do it now. I think the other continents are more there for world completeness and history rather than places we're likely to go to.

This is ridiculous. If you were to extrapolate from the size of Cyrodiil in OB, you would see that Tamriel isn't a continent at all! At a mere 10 (or so) miles in diameter, it's little more than a small-ish island. And even the highest mountains in Skyrim are probably less than a mile in height. So really, the climate should be the same everywhere.

Or, maybe you could get off your high horse and just let Beth do something because it's cool.

I agree. And Im not riding a horse.

Your logic is flawed.
Daggerfall was twice the size of great Britain, and thats just a small part of Tamriel.

What we see in the games is merely a representation of the 'real' (lore) Nirn.
Do you honestly think there are less than 100 people living in the Imperial city?
Or that villages in the Imperial province really consist of half a man and a horsehead?

We only see in the games what is relevant to the player.
A condensed and slimmed down version of the 'real' thing.

Tamriel is a continent.

Besides, all this is moot anyway.
The Azura Borealis is beautiful and therefore cannot be wrong.
It should be in Skyrim, if the graphics have advanced to the point where they can do it justice.

The dragon god of time is about to eat us. I'd be surprised if there wasn't extra magic seeping into Tamriel causing the sky to react with different colors. Maybe time is starting to bend, causing magicka to enter the atmosphere at a different angel causing it to work against the magnetic poles of Nirn, in which colors are created as some of the magic burns up.

No, I wasn't trying to appear smarter, are you?... :read: and I don't think it's silly at all as I was saying something completely different. Let me clarify. What I meant is that it doesn't have to have historical basis in fact (in other words, pertaining to events, not laws of physics or whether certain things actually exist). It simply must be a story that contains elements of fiction that can't be verified historically or scientifically, yet still believed to be true. What I got from your post was that it HAD to have a historical basis in fact specifically pertaining to events, when in reality, it's optional. This confused me because I found that your original post and now your explanation above, as I understood them, seemed obvious and vague as they also pertained to your definition of parable and fable which you claimed made them different from myths. The only possible distinctions I see are that parables and fables may be seen as untrue (although I'm not sure on this point) and often come with a moral lesson depending on the definition used, while myths do not. They all however contain some factual elements as outlined in your post above. Either way, that is where I got confused. So I just assumed you meant "they must pertain to factual events historically to be considered myths" which would have been incorrect. It's fine, I may have just misunderstood your meaning, and I apologize for that if that's the case. Also, having Reread my post,:deal: I can see how my point wasn't made very clear, so sorry about that dude. :vaultboy:



This is not true as verifiable evidence could surface for many myths today. For example, there are myths that speak of creatures currently roaming the Earth, such as big foot. Although admittedly unlikely, empirical evidence for that creature's existence, such as a body, could be found today or next week. As soon as it's historically or scientifically validated it would cease to be considered a myth and would not require vast leaps in time. :shocking:

Anyway... we're getting way off topic with this mythology stuff. I'm not saying you shouldn't respond in anyway, I just think we should try to wrap this up. Agree?.... In any case, it would be awesome wandering the mountainous regions of Skyrim and seeing aurora, so I hope they put it in. I also want to travel great distances into the future where the Wii is out... wait.... :sadvaultboy: I mean Skyrim.

EDIT: Merari, don't know if you'll see this, doesn't matter I suppose, but "myth" seems to actually have several definitions if you look it up. The one you provided is simply one of them according to the dictionary and just happened to be applicable to the subject of your class I imagine.

im pretty sure its already in

http://media.pcgamer.com/files/2011/02/The-Elder-Scrolls-V-Skyrim-Magic-Skill-Tree.jpg

that is the sky in the background of the menu isnt it?

because you see the stars each school of magic is connected to

You're proving my point. I was merely demonstrating that using any 'argument from physics' to rule out auroras is absurd because it's ultimately inconsistent.




No, that's not proof of anything. First of all, that's the menu background, not the sky. Second, that's a nebula, not aurora.

Does no one on this forum actually even know what auroras look like?

Well isn't it true Nirn is quite similar to Earth?
There's no good reasons to NOT have Aurora Borealis.
It's so beautiful.

Count me as another who believes that aurora should occur and that its explanation should be based on the mytho-magical nature of the world - not on advanced physics.

My explanation is this. During the day the sky and world are given colour by the main flood of magic from Aetherius via Magnus, the sun. At night the flow of magic is reduced, limited to the small amounts from the stars. Since the flow is lessened it only gives slight colour to the upper reaches of the sky where the magic sheets in. Makes sense to me anyway.

It really depends on the location of Atmora, which we do not know. If it's close enough to Skyrim, then Aurora Borealis can still occur there. If it's not and the Nedes sailed halfway around the world (think Columbus's discovery of the Americas), then there could be a good chance of the South Pole being in Skyrim and the North Pole being in Atmora, or vice-versa. There are northern lights as well as southern lights Wulfgar.

I don't see the point in trying to rationalize it scientifically though. I mean, how do you explain how vastly different enviroments are so close to eachother on one continent? Nirn is part of Mundus and Mundus is just a Daedric realm full of magic things that don't make much sense in general.

Agreed, which is why I said what I said at the end regarding a magical basis. I also didn't deny there existing southern lights, but since that is in the opposite direction of Skyrim, it really doesn't need mention.

I was directing that at the discussion as a whole on this thread. :happy:


Skyrim is the most northern part of a continent but who's to say that tip of Tamriel isn't located around the South Pole?

If it was I'd have expected the weather of southern Cyrodiil to be pretty cold to reflect this.

THANK YOU!!!!