Playing through Skyrim for the unknownth (yes, it's a word) time, I noticed Bethesda's pleasing interpretation of the aforementioned 'Northern Lights' (I believe that the developers did use the term "Northern" during pre-release interviews etc.) shining through the clouds, again for the unknownth time. However, for the first time, a though struck me - does the visibility of the aurora imply that Tamriel is located towards the northern extremes of Nirn? And would this make Atmora somewhat anologous to the Arctic lands of our own mortal plane? Or am I simply reading into this (woefully underused) Nordic cliché too deeply?

Also, as a sidetrack, any thoughts on my chosen thread title? I thought that it was suitably pretentious, personally.

Nah, northern extreme is Atmora as far as i'm aware. Tamriel's pretty smack-dab in the middle of Nirn.

Bear in mind this isn't Earth. The presence of aurorae doesn't automatically mean you're near one of the poles. I actually don't even know what Beth's explanation for aurorae is, and i say that because there's lore explanations for what light and sunsets and nighttime are that are different from real life.