Whales and Snakes in Skyrim?

Post » Fri May 31, 2013 2:56 pm

I had some random thoughts while playing Skyrim... Regarding the puzzle totems found in nordic ruins, there are usually Whale and Snake pictures.

Is there any lore regarding Whales or Snakes in the elder scroll world? Why didn't Bethesda create whales or snakes to interact with. (Or maybe they did, but decided to leave them out for the final release of Skyrim). I personally think it would be cool to be swimming around and encounter a whale, or encounter a giant snake in a cave.

Discuss

User avatar
Emma louise Wendelk
 
Posts: 3385
Joined: Sat Dec 09, 2006 9:31 pm

Post » Fri May 31, 2013 12:35 am

never thought of this

maybe they just forgot?

User avatar
Lucky Boy
 
Posts: 3378
Joined: Wed Jun 06, 2007 6:26 pm

Post » Fri May 31, 2013 1:20 am

http://www.uesp.net/wiki/Lore:Nord#The_Nordic_Pantheon
scroll down to- the old ways.
Spoiler
User avatar
lolly13
 
Posts: 3349
Joined: Tue Jul 25, 2006 11:36 am

Post » Fri May 31, 2013 2:09 pm

For lore read the book on Fjoli and Holgeir related to the Anvislund quest.

User avatar
Beast Attire
 
Posts: 3456
Joined: Tue Oct 09, 2007 5:33 am

Post » Fri May 31, 2013 10:03 am

Ah! Now I know who the Greedy Man and the Adversary represent.

User avatar
Leonie Connor
 
Posts: 3434
Joined: Mon Mar 12, 2007 4:18 pm

Post » Fri May 31, 2013 3:40 am

The Serpent is synonymous with Lorkhan, who in turn is also Shor. Its a mirror to the Dragon, if you will. The Whale meanwhile is representative of Tsun. You'll note the giant whale bone bridge you see him guarding in Sovngarde.

Restrictions to what can be represented in game most likely. They exist, but we can't encounter them due to some restraints. Now, Sky whales on the other hand...

User avatar
Damien Mulvenna
 
Posts: 3498
Joined: Wed Jun 27, 2007 3:33 pm

Post » Fri May 31, 2013 10:05 am

If the next game is in Hammerfell then i demand snakes. and dancing ones at that.

User avatar
Julia Schwalbe
 
Posts: 3557
Joined: Wed Apr 11, 2007 3:02 pm

Post » Fri May 31, 2013 12:00 am

I think the whale bone bridge is from snow whales that the nords use to hunt.
User avatar
Ellie English
 
Posts: 3457
Joined: Tue Jul 11, 2006 4:47 pm

Post » Fri May 31, 2013 11:45 am

New head canon:

The whales are emblematic of the Snow Whales, who have now gone extinct or are in hiding due to the return of the dragons.

The Whale Bone Bridge is actually Tsun's corpse, his form when he was an et'ada, a giant snow whale.

User avatar
Nicole M
 
Posts: 3501
Joined: Thu Jun 15, 2006 6:31 am

Post » Fri May 31, 2013 4:17 am

Whales: deep inside the northern sea I suppose. Snakes: evolved to dragons in some dark era.

User avatar
Skrapp Stephens
 
Posts: 3350
Joined: Mon Aug 06, 2007 5:04 am

Post » Fri May 31, 2013 3:59 am

I'm waiting for Shadow Titan to flame the OP for stealing his avatar. :P

But I'm pretty sure having snakes in Skyrim would make no sense, as snakes would not thrive in Skyrim's cold climates. Correct me if I'm wrong.

User avatar
Antony Holdsworth
 
Posts: 3387
Joined: Tue May 29, 2007 4:50 am

Post » Fri May 31, 2013 3:32 am

Snakes are symbolic of Lorkhan/Shor.

And there could always be snow snakes.

User avatar
Lauren Graves
 
Posts: 3343
Joined: Fri Aug 04, 2006 6:03 pm

Post » Fri May 31, 2013 2:21 pm

They could live fine in the places where there is not snow all year long.

User avatar
des lynam
 
Posts: 3444
Joined: Thu Jul 19, 2007 4:07 pm

Post » Fri May 31, 2013 5:15 am

They are probably there but snake are usually shy creatures so are hard to spot (especially in cold climates where most are unable to live due to being cold blooded)

Whales are probably further out to sea in deeper waters (they like the cold)

User avatar
Mandy Muir
 
Posts: 3307
Joined: Wed Jan 24, 2007 4:38 pm

Post » Fri May 31, 2013 3:02 pm

There are garter snakes in Canada... and Sweden as well, I believe. They only come out for a few weeks in the summer, and the rest of the time is spent in caves http://www.myamazingearth.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/garter-snake-mating-ball.jpg

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-bB4jFkQ_jBk/T70ipuyFn6I/AAAAAAAAAOE/cnbxI03ve0Y/s1600/snake_pile_2crop+by+Tracy+Langkilde.jpg

User avatar
Lizzie
 
Posts: 3476
Joined: Sun Nov 19, 2006 5:51 am

Post » Fri May 31, 2013 4:35 am

There's this in http://www.uesp.net/wiki/Morrowind:The_Hope_of_the_Redoran

User avatar
Sweets Sweets
 
Posts: 3339
Joined: Tue Jun 13, 2006 3:26 am

Post » Fri May 31, 2013 5:21 am

Hammerfell has one weird ass Snake cult that worships the serpent god Satakal where the people go naked and pretend to be snakes and sometimes lash out at passersby. Some of them have been trained to slither for hundreds of miles in the burning desert. Apparently they sometimes shed their skins too. Crazy stuff

http://www.imperial-library.info/content/pocket-guide-empire-first-edition-hammerfell

Whales well you got the skeletal bridge in Sovngarde.

User avatar
brenden casey
 
Posts: 3400
Joined: Mon Sep 17, 2007 9:58 pm

Post » Fri May 31, 2013 5:09 am

Ohhh god, should not have clicked, should not have clicked...
User avatar
Matt Bigelow
 
Posts: 3350
Joined: Sun Sep 30, 2007 6:36 pm

Post » Fri May 31, 2013 1:34 am

Since Lorkhan/Shor is considered the "Missing God," would it not make sense for his totem animal to be missing, too? Same goes for Jhunal. I've not seen any owls. As for Tsun, he is regarded as an "extinct god" in Varieties of Faith. I'd throw him in the same boat.
User avatar
Nuno Castro
 
Posts: 3414
Joined: Sat Oct 13, 2007 1:40 am

Post » Fri May 31, 2013 12:23 am

http://www.imperial-library.info/content/fight-three-snow-whale-and-dirtbird

User avatar
Tiff Clark
 
Posts: 3297
Joined: Wed Aug 09, 2006 2:23 am


Return to The Elder Scrolls Series Discussion