Ok, so I spent this weekend catching up with some of the mythology in TES, and particularly the influence which Shor/Shezzar seem to have had through their chosen champions, the Shezzarines. Now, this whole bit about the Shezzarines and how they are avatars of Shor/Lorkhan which are supposed to help humanity was a bit confusing, but it does tie into individuals such as Tiber Septim, Pelinal, Alessia etc. But then some people went on as to speculate that many of the "chosen of Shor" were also simultaneously "dragonborn," or blessed by Akatosh himself. And here the speculations and real confusions begin.

Although much of this might not be codified into the "official" mythology, still I have a burning desire to try to understand one of the biggest arguments people make about these enigmatic individuals - that these champions of humanity share blessings from both Lorkhan and Akatosh. And some people then went on to speculate - the two deities share the same soul. In a sense, they were implying they were almost like two parts of the same deity. And here I got really confused.

So, if Lorkhan and Akatosh really are two sides of the same coin, or, perhaps, two coins that share a side, then where does Auri-El come into the equation of it all? Remember, in elven myths Auri-El battles Lorkhan, they are enemies. Auri-El is the soul of Anuiel, who is the soul of Anu, while Lorkhan is derived from Sithis, whose origin is Padomay. With that kind of cosmology, we see a clear separation between the two gods, one of them who is now dead and whose spirit is said to roam Nirn. But if Lorkhan and Akatosh are actually more intimately related, theen.... is Akatosh Lorkhan AND Auri-El at the same time? Are these two fragments of Akatosh? Are they parallel deities with power equal to Akatosh? Is Akatosh aligned with Anu, or Padomay? Seeing that Akatosh values order, time and stability, he very clearly aligns himself with the principle of Anu, but Lorkhan is Padomay... And we know that Lorkhan, Shor and Shezzar are the same thing anyway.

And my last, and most painful question is - is Auri-El just a minor fragment of Akatosh? Did the Altmer got it completely wrong, and the Imperials got it right? Champions of mankind appear throughout the ages as Shezzarines, they kill and vanguish elves and help mankind. They are very, VERY clearly men-aligned, which is one of the reasons why TES is so human-centric. In the Imperial myth it is said that Akatosh himself was pleased with creation, and he was not angry at Shezzar. If Akatosh and Lorkhan do share a soul, then again - Akatosh loves humanity, and is indifferent to elvenkind.

So, what happened to Auri-El? Where are the "mer" champions? Did the Altmer really lose the theological argument right here? Is their beloved Auri-El just a minor, vengeful aspect of Akatosh who rebelled, while the rest of the Aedra were more than comfortable with Lorkhan's plan? If that is the case, which I think is heavily implied my Michael Kirkbride, then.... the elves really did get it wrong.... which is an awful, awful treatment to the Altmer if you ask me.

So, what do you guys think? A lot of speculation, but also a lot of dangerous implications for the validity of the Altmer race as a whole, because their very racial identity rests completely on their traditions, religion and reverence for Auri-El.

It isn't one god, many faces. It's many gods, one soul. Akatosh, Auriel, Alkosh, etc. are all part of the Time Oversoul. They are the Time AE. Shezarr, Shor, Lorkhan, etc. are the Space Oversoul, or the Space AE.

Time and Space are linked. Originally, there was Auriel, the Time Eagle and Lorkhan, the Space Serpent. Merging the two creates a winged-serpent called a dragon, who is Akatosh. The Time Dragon was therefore Auriel who had been infused with Mannish aspects of Lorkhan, creating a Time God who was for Man instead of for the Elves.

There isn't a clear separation. Just as Aka and Lorkhan are two sides of the same coin, so too are Anuiel and Sithis, and Anu and Padomay.

Auriel and Akatosh and all the other dragon gods are all fragments of the Original Time God. On this forum, "Akatosh" can either refer to the Imperial Dragon God, or to the Original Time God, which is often the source of great confusion. I personally use "Aka" to refer to the Original Time God, in order to make the distinction.

For the "mer" champions, well there used to be Trinimac who was Auriel's champion. He kinda mucked things for Auriel when he first tore out Lorkhan's Heart, and then when he tried to stop the Chimer instead of just letting them go peacefully.

Ok, that makes sense I guess. So Akatosh is just a humanized blend of Auri-El and Lorkhan? That makes sense, definitely when considering the Time Oversoul and Space Oversoul aspects. And this definitely explains why the Divines are pretty much in favour of humanity and pretty indifferent to the elves. Thanks a lot guys! Hopefully we will get some mer love in future TES games, and we will see an expanded elven mythology and more intricacies!

Akatosh is a blend of Auri-El and Alduin. Essentially, he was humanized.

Shezarr is a blend of Lorkhan and Shor. Essentially, he was altered to be more elf-friendly.

But, yes they are aspects created by men and so they favor men. Though, it's not like the other aspects just ignore their peoples.

Any different from Sheogorath vs. Jyggalag? And even he says "I'm him, he's me".