I was reading http://www.imperial-library.info/content/why-were-dwemer-considered-great-house when I noticed something.

"Had I been a walking soul in the time of the Dwemer, I myself may have found and adopted their Way and become one of their own. Alas, I am in the present and they are of the past." - Divayth Fyr

Surely this is some kind of inconsistency, Fyr is over 4000 years old and would definitely have been alive during the Dwemer's existence and disappearance. Or does this indicate that he is not that old?

A walking soul may refer to a soul yet to be born, implying that Davayth believes that he may have chosen to be born a Dwemer

or he may mean that he is a wandering soul now, and may not have had the power, or urge to join the dwemer when he was younger and not a wandering soul

EDIT: Or, since he is settled down now, he may have already been settled in the Telvanni house, and that he never wandered around

No, he's saying if he had been like the dwemer during their existence, he would have joined in their attempted at becoming a god. However, he was very, very, very late to the party. You see, DF had been studying the dwemer extensively, namely their beliefs and such. Remember, DF used to be a Psijjic, who follow the "Old Ways." To DF, the dwemer practiced the "New Ways."

In short, he's lamenting of how late he was late to the party, and that he believes the dwemer were truly up to something.

EDIT: Even shorter, hindsight is a female dog.

I get the feeling that Divayth would have no interest in seeking godship. He has over 4000 years of experience and was a Psijjic. It is likely he could grant himself some form of immortality anyway if he wanted it.

Bizarre - I was asking myself this question just a day ago. I found a rough timeline at UESP and from my rough calculations and given that at the time of Morrowind ie the the time of Nerevar returning the Battle of Red Mountain, which occurred in 1E 700 means it happend just under 4000 years before the return of Nerevar. This means that, if we assume Dark Elves have the similar child->advlt cycles as we do then Divayth could very well hav eonly just been born and thus "walking" may refer to the fact that he was just a baby.

More accurate calculations are need but here's the first era timeline link. The other eras are links at the top of the article:

http://www.uesp.net/wiki/Lore:First_Era

Hrmm..I calculated that DF was born either at 200 or 400 1E. I still stand by my statement!

http://www.imperial-library.info/content/sotha-sils-last-words suggests that Divayth Fyr was very much walking at the time of the Battle at Red Mountain, as he mentions remembering being changed into a Dunmer:

"Azura punished them, and their peoples (yes, including me!). The dark skin and fiery eyes is a visible and alarming reminder."

By this assumption, Hellmouth's calculations would better make sense. I'll make some calculations myself.

EDIT: I reached the same conclusion Hellmouth did. Assuming Fyr is exactly 4000 (which is unlikely, but it's the best we have), he would have been born in 1E 244. He is apparently over 4000, which would put him somewhere earlier than that.

I just calculated it according to the timeline given at UESP and given that the only reference we have to his age is "over 4000" then we have some leeway. By my calculations the Battle of Red Mountain was 3500 years before the time of Nerevar's return ( the setting fro Morrowind ). That means that Divayth Fyr was most definitely alive and had been for at least 500 years.




I agree now but his exact age can't be known. If he was at least 500 years old at 1E 700 ( Battle of Red Mountain ) then that puts his birth at at least 1E 200. Just what Hellmouth said.


Edit: ninja'd again.

This is my calculation. Either way, Divayth Fyr was definitely an advlt by the time of the Battle, which rules out the infancy theory.

Agreed. So I wonder what it means then - perhaps a metaphor for the period of one's life one goes through when they haven't any specific faith. I imagine Divayth Fyr could have gone through a period of following the Telvanni way in his ( relative ) early years. Perhaps walking refers to one's heart wandering in the search for a way in the same sense as a Tao is a "way".

Dyviath Fyr was a Psijjic before, and obviously left (due to now being a dunmer). He knows about their philosophy and "The Old Ways" if you talk to him in game, and mentions he is studying "The New Way" or what the dwemer's philosophy, ideas, goals, etc. that passage confides that with his research, he came to the conclusion that hindsight is a [censored], as he learned about the dwemer's goals and religion waaaaaaay too late. In essence, he's saying "Damn it, if I learned about this earlier, I would have joined them. Alas, I was too late, and now I am stuck here, while they're partying as the Numidium."

I think Hellmouth nailed it - a "walking soul" could mean someone who is open-minded and curious, similar to the Dwemer. He could mean that if his ideals and interests were like they are now, he would have joined them in their studies.

"I am in the present and they are of the past" could refer to his interests being like the Dwemer's far too late. Those ideals for him are now, but the people that he could share them with were long ago. He laments at his missed opportunity, and at the fact that he believed the Dwemer had caught onto something that he can't be a part of because of his lateness. Perhaps his current obsession with investigating the Dwemer is so he can find out exactly what he missed.

There are interesting speculations in this thread. Something that just occurred to me is that the Divayth Fyr that the player encounters in "Morrowind" may be a different mer than the one who lived during the time of the Dwemer. In other words, I wonder if there's a limit to how many memories someone can accumulate. Would a 4000 year old mer really be able to remember his life, or would memory be limited to a century or two at best.

In TES 6 he will try to create a new Heart and bring back the Dwemer. The player will choose who to support.

Shor's heart is Shor's heart, you can't recreate it. Plus, the dwemer are the Numidium, and it routinely defies the dragon of time. Face it, they're not coming back.

No, they are coming back, but we are coming forward and so shan't be passing them by again.

Okay, you nailed the technicality, "Face it, they're not coming forward."