Hey everybody. I was just browsing deviantart and I found this.
http://www.deviantart.com/art/The-Elder-Scrolls-Cosmology-432011248
Is this erm... right? I guess that's it really, I found it pretty cool to look at at least.
TES cosmology is weird, because it doesn't function as real planets and whatnot do. That image seems like its trying to bring the abstract nature of the TES universe into a means we can visually understand.
I don't know too much about TES cosmology to know its accuracy. Never did find it appealing enough to actually care about.
It's not bad, but Sovngarde almost certainly isn't in Aetherius. It doesn't really make sense for Shor's realm to be there in the first place-- Shor/Lorkhan is a Padomaic entity so his realm is unlikely to be in the Anuic Everything. Sovngarde is either an Oblivion plane, or like the Aedric plane(t)s, it's Shor's dead body. That would be the moons.
Secondly, the place where Anu and Padomay mingle is Nirn. Nirn is the Grey Maybe between IS and IS NOT. Aetherius is pure possibility, and therefore Padomay has no place in it.
It's extremely pretty, but not very factually accurate. Part of that is because you can't really represent the Aurbis in any kind of meaningful way; it's not designed to make sense. None of the lore descriptions are more than metaphors. It gets credit for showing the Aedric plane(t)s surrounding Nirn, though, rather than in Aetherius.
In this version, Nirn should really be a sword. Yes, it's not accurate geographically, but cosmologically spot on. Particularly when the Adamantine Tower comes into the mix.
Is there an actual explanation for the Shivering Isles/Sovangarde/the Soul Cairn as distinct entities? I thought that the Isles at least were part of Sheograth's daedric realm. I don't know enough about the Ideal Masters to call on what the Soul Cairn is ,and Sovngard is something different altogether.
Love that Monomyth:
The creation of the Mundus made Aetherius and Oblivion exist, and they are both still a mix of the two primal forces in the world. Pure possibility hasn't existed since Anuiel was created, when Padomay first interacted with Anu.
Oops, my bad! I wasn't thinking. Thank you for the catch!