I interpreted it more as they got a glimpse of something incomprehensible and it was very uncomfortable. I'd imagine something similar would be what would happen if we understood infinity. We cannot understand infinity. When you look out into space, you see darkness punctuated by pinpoints of light. You can comprehend that somewhere out there is a ball of plasma burning, but it's really hard and almost uncomfortable to understand that what you are looking at isn't limited by anything. You are, in fact looking at 180 degrees of Everything.* Now imagine having that realization forced into your head while you are hunting or, if you aren't the hunting type, at the grocery store.

*Yes you aren't actually looking at half of the Universe when you look up at the night sky because dust and relativity limits things. Be quiet.

Nice explanation, MD

Well, that's how I interpreted Dragonrend from the very beginning. I see it as more of a psychological trauma than anything else. Like the Last Unicorn, the dragons of Skyrim too would be driven mad if exposed to Dragonrend for so long. But then this goes right back to where we started...that if the dragon survived...they'd understand mortality more than before. Even if only a little more. With each Dragonrend they are subjected to, they understand mortality a little bit more. Similar to one's experience when attempting to read an Elder Scroll when you are untrained in the art.

Come to think of it, I have a hard time understanding what "mortality" means in Aurbis.

I was going to say that "mortality" doesn't mean much if "mortals" have immortal souls which can take tangible forms -- then I realized that it's not so clear that souls are immortal, or what souls are at all. For instance, enchantments are powered by captured souls -- and those souls are apparently used up. Is there some law of the conservation of quintessence, or are those souls actually consumed and destroyed?

Souls can be used as batteries. And while this may have been retconned, but in Daggerfall, if an item that was enchanted broke, whatever was seal in escapes and becomes VERY angry.

While it doesn't appear in any of the games, we do have the spirit that was trapped in Azura's Star escaping when the star is broken during the Trial of Vivec. Slightly more recent precedent.

And the soul of an enchanter living in the Black Azura Star in the game.

Which was a death sentence if your ancient lich enchanted sword broke and you didn't have shalidor's mirror at the ready.

Was that a book series? I feel like I read the first one back when I was a kid. And holy crap! There's a character named Schmedrick?!? It's a Yiddish insult that means "idiot" or something, but my dad always equated it with "slimeball" or "a$$hole".

I'm guessing that character isn't exactly a hero?

Hahaha that was funny.

There outta be a Dr. Dummkopf too.

He's basically a good-hearted fool.

Or a bad-hearted fool.I would say that he will become with the DLCS the "Mr.Wazuup".So fearsomed that when always when he see bandits he says "WAAAAAAAAAAAAZUUUUUUUUUUUP" and they run.

Well, what about unicorns? Dragon-kin or magical beast? How does one prefer their own unicorn?

Speaking of mortality and such, and feeding that to dragons via Dragonrend, I had a case of the opposite. I was thinking a few months back. It was late at night and I was pondering the concepts of immortality, eternity and infinity. I came to a conclusion about it, and the very thought of it made me dizzy and I had to throw up. I can relate to how the dragons must feel with Dragonrend. Also, I'd like to see a unicorn get stabbed in the throat with a crochet needle.

The Virgin-Harem of Morihaus.

But as for Dragon-Rend, what do think Perrif and the Selectives were up to with their divine tinkerings?

I wonder about the power of Dragonrend. A shout that essentially forces anything to be limited and mortal could do so much more than slay a dragon. I wonder what would happen if you spoke it to an Aedra, Daedra, Numidium or the Heart of Lorkhan.

It doesn't force anything to be mortal, it's just a shout which forces the concept of mortality upon the target, causing severe disorientation.

Japanese animes have pretty much the same effect on me.

Or a rock?

I figure the shout's limit of working only on Dragons will be justified as, "Dragonrend was created out of sheer hatred for dragons. Thus, this hatred for the dragons is what fuels its effect; and since it runs on hatred for dragons, it only works on dragons." It might be a little imbalanced to start shouting down Daedric Princes.

Although, if you suffuse ENOUGH hatred for dragons with it, could you put a strain on the Dragon and maybe not break, but play around with Time?

You needed to create another shout.BUt to create a shout that can do the "same feeling" on a Daedric Prince,it's going to be probaly the most powerfull shout ever created,this shout would probaly make the "Soul of the Daedric Prince unable to return to it's realm".What happens after?i don't know.I my opnion,If we find a way to trap it's soul on Mundus for some time,we could invade his realm at some way and use the "Power of the World Eeater" to destroy it.

I think the soul is just bond into the object. It isn't used up or destroyed.

I really liked a quote that Achillies said in Troy, it made me think a little: The gods envy us. They envy us because we're mortal, because any moment might be our last. Everything is more beautiful because we're doomed. You will never be lovelier than you are now, and we will never be here again.

Dose this ring true with gods/ devine beings in TES i wonder?

it would probably depend on the god, then again that was a quote from a movie by mortals and we mortals understand mortallity about as much as immortals who have never expierienced it do. bassicaly an immortal and a mortal could be pondering this for an eternity.(well the mortal until he died)