In order for this to be possible, it must first be established that time is not necessarily linear in daedric realms. This is because Alduin is trapped in mundus, and so doesn’t control what happens outside of mundus. Sheogorath himself says, “Time is an artificial construct. An arbitrary system based on the idea that events occur in a linear direction at all times.” Before the Symbols of Office quest. This cancels the counter argument of "but arden Sul came before the Champion of Madness."

There are conflicting views within the Shivering Isles about who Arden Sul is/was. Zealotry of Sheogorath explains that “They [Zealots] believe Arden-Sul, Who Reads the Winds in Our Entrails, was the mortal aspect of Lord Sheogorath, and will come again to cleanse the Realm.” and also “...not just a man of mysterious and wondrous powers, but a living god.”

As Heretical Thoughts says, “Our Lord, Sheogorath, is but a man... Years of dabbling in foul magic and consorting with Daedra have driven him mad.”

Both viewpoints could be said of the Champion of Madness after the completion of the Shivering Isles. He is a man (or mer or beast) of mysterious and wondrous powers to common people, and is a mortal aspect of Sheogorath. Also, The Champion of Madness consorts with Daedra – Golden Saints, Dark Seducers, and Sheogorath himself.

The Prophet Arden Sul claims that manics and demented are divided over how Arden Sul died. However, both believe that he was their duke. This mimics the way that previous TES heros were treated; somebody who might have been the hero did every possible activity, and the hero did at least the main quest. So because in the Shivering Isles main quest the player can become either duke of Dementia or Mania, Arden Sul can be remembered as either.

“he [Sheogorath] is 'born' when Lorkhan's divine spark is removed. One crucial myth calls him the 'Sithis-shaped hole' of the world” (Varieties of Faith in the Empire) so Shor’s death is tied to Jyggalag’s curse. We know that Shor wakes periodically, and that Jyggalag is set free periodically – and although it is suggested this is every 1000 years, since time is not linear outside of Mundus, this means nothing. Perhaps these occasions occur at the same time. The Greymarch occurs within the same timeframe as the Knights of the Nine, and so Jyggalag is set free while an avatar of Shor – possibly the Divine Crusader – exists on Nirn. Since the Divine crusader may be the Champion of Madness, it shows that he might stop the greymarch for "thousands of years" as Arden Sul did.

Arden Sul also was an avatar of Shor. Both tales of his death suggest that his heart was removed from his body after or during death. The demented view coincides perfectly with the monomyth; it was cut out of him by those who thought him a traitor – that he thought himself a traitor is evidence still, since Shor and Alduin are constantly switching enantiomorphic roles. The Maniac view that his heart exploded and was later collected still shows the removal of his heart.

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If you have anything you want to correct or refute, go ahead. that's the point of this post: refining.

http://www.gamesas.com/index.php?/topic/1096021-arden-sul.

Looks like we came to similar conclusions.

Same conclusion, different wording. I just fancy the term "enantiomorph"

My instinct, although known to be wrong, tells me ol' Doom Drum and Sheogorath are linked, but the same or exact opposites they are not.

What'd be interesting to hear is whether or not Arden Sul was technically not actually any man, but is simply the term given to the path of ascension walked by the four previous Avatars of Sheogorath. That'd then imply, though, that Arden Sul is the mechanism from which Jyggalag is kept leashed and the whole ending of SI was a farce. In an era the CoC would turn all Jyggy again too and another'd have to walk the Arden Sul. Interesting, but not likely.

WHat I'm suggesting is that there aren't "four previous Avatars of Sheogorath" but that they are all actually the same person.

Yep, I know. I'm just improvising off of you. It's how my creative brain works, you give me something and I mull it over until I spit out something else.