Alright... I've heard a lot of talk about "Towers" and I know that Red Mountain, and White Gold Tower are both Towers, but what exactly do they do? Also, what are the other towers?

Not being of the best of minds, I'll just say that they keep Mundus from being svcked into the void of Oblivion. In other words, they sustain creation, as well as some other fun bonus features dealing with myth and culture. I'm in need of a good nap, though, so my answer is lacking detail. While you wait for someone else to flesh all that out, try reading the http://www.imperial-library.info/obscure_text/nu-hatta_nu-mantia.shtml and the notes. It should basically answer your questions.

Have you read the http://www.imperial-library.info/obscure_text/nu-hatta_nu-mantia.shtml?

The towers are imitations of the Adamantine Tower where the gods convened at the convention and Auri-El showed the Altmer how to ascend. However the Elves didn't quite agree on how to imitate this and so they made different towers. That they disagreed can very well be blamed on the Dawn Era.

The Towers gather their energy by harvesting magicka/creatia from Oblivion and they use this to change the world around them by concentrating their power in an an object called a stone.

A good example would be the Oblivion Towers which seem to function in a similair manner. They channel the fire/magika and focus it on the stone, creating a pocket realm. When the stone is removed, the realm collapses.

These towers shouldn't be confused with the concept of the Tower in Vehks teachings, which is a metaphysical symbol for the universal self.

Oh, but I do confuse them. I confuse them much. I see the towers as a physical symbol for the metaphysical symbol for the universal self. There is power in the image of the tower because of what it represents. Gotta' love that totemic magic. Even if the totem is phallic in shape.

So how did White Gold Tower....."change the world around it" with harvested magicka?

While not the Ur tower, the white gold could be considered the perfect tower. The ancient city of Nibenay was built in the image of the wheel. What's more is white gold is the center tower, if you consider the towers themselves as a network of towers. Well...gotta get back to work.

Errmm...okay....that doesn't explain how it "harvests magicka from Oblivion" though......

But if the Zero Tower in the northwest represents Akatosh/Auriel and Red Tower in the northeast represents Lorkhan/Shezarr......then what's up with Crystal-Like-Law in the southwest? Is that supposed to represent Jygallag?

Personally think you're thinking too hard about the relationship of towers to entities. Akatosh/Lorkhan are a very special case: they are the souls of the souls of Anu and Padhome.

The towers are myth-echos of the original tower, Direnni; to me, they stabilize the world in the same way Talos the god stabilizes the Wheel. This alone gives it considerable amount of power, as it mimics what the Direnni tower does. Tlhey gather Creatia from Oblivion because refuse Creatia from Aetherius goes through here, so it's easier to gather it from Oblivion; note that the Stones themselves technically do this rather than the Tower.

They're like to trying to keep it real?

Some humble thoughts of mine: http://www.imperial-library.info/fsg/nalionarticle2.shtml

Can't believe I forgot about your article... :banghead:

But even then, if there is nothing to protect, it would still have the same negative effects then, wouldn't it? If there is nothing to Guard, then black sea can overflow into Nirn, right?

Something else I was thinking about is if a tower is destroyed or just nullified, then this is going to have obvious implications on the area it spreads creatia upon right? If a province has no tower, then it's not going to harvest creatia to sustain itself, right?

edit: Or have I missed something?

Interestingly, Sigil Towers seem to have the opposite effect; they stabilize gates between Oblivion and Nirn.

Nicely done.

I was reading this, and I came across your recounting of the KotN prophet's words:

Now, I just spent some time modding the birthsigns for Morrowind, and what the prophet says reminds me strongly of the signs.

Additonally, Vivec seems to talk about the Signs, too:


I refer you then to http://www.imperial-library.info/obbooks/ffoulke_firmament.shtml. The Warrior, Thief, and the Mage (Wizard) each have their charges.

Warrior: Lady, Steed, Lord
Thief: Lover, Shadow, Tower
Mage: Apprentice, Golem (the Atronach), Ritual

In the CS, the Thief Birthsign is referred to as "Hara." Perhaps she is the original NIRN Thief Guardian?

At any rate... I'm not sure where I was going with this... Right. So, perhaps the birthsigns mimic the roles of the Guardians?

Oh, yes, and the Serpent:

Perhaps the Lords of Misrule, or their representative? As the Prophet said, "Truly this is the Age of the Serpent and the Void that follows!" Where the Void is... Oblivion?

Now, I'm a bit confused as to why the creation model follows a wheel. Does it have to do with the original 8 Aedra that became the Earthbones? And if the tower is the center.... with Lorkhan as the 9th (Talos' enantiomorph) and the center... hmm.... not sure where I was going with that though.

It is interesting what you say here:
It really seems like Azura is a manipulative little rat; two birds with one stone, one step closer to gobbling up the creatia of the Mundus.

Walk-Brass is a golem.... the Atronach sign is also referred to as the Golem. Is there mimicry/parallelism/whatever here, too?

I'm kinda new to lore-ness, so I could be interpreting things crazy.

Well, in response to your wheel statement, in East Indian (and other) religions, there is an idea of a "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wheel_of_time," which represents the cyclical idea of time and how it repeats itself. That probably was a partial basis for that idea.

It can also be seen as the "shape" of the Aurbis, in a sense: Outside of all is the nameless void (Vehk has noted this), but inside of this is Aetherius, which encircles Oblivion, which ITSELF engulfs the Mundus.

Regardless of this, you can read the words http://www.imperial-library.info/obscure_text/vehk_teaching.shtml#3.

Hmm, sounds an aweful lot like CHIM! So, maybe towers are the CHIM telling NIRN that it is more than a figment of a god's dream (or rather, that this is ture, but don't worry it's all cool, please don't zero-sum)? "Keepin' it real" as Knight Mariel said.

But... if it isn't so much the Tower as the Guardian... then do the guardians need to have CHIM? Hmm... no, that doesn't make sense. Maybe someone with CHIM is a tower. That would make Vivec a new tower, right? And his heart is the new stone...

Well, that quote from the teachings is CHIM.

However, the keeping it real part, I don't fully understand it. Well I've been reading Sacred and Profane lately, and well, that's where I'm getting at with towers. But, it's not about god's dream though.

Serjos,

Hath not JHUNAL yet placed the bewilderment upon thee concerning whose "Tower" is the mighty White-Gold....and why now does that person (?) stand yet apart from it? Does he/she/it eschew dwelling within voluntarily, or is this yet another "true purpose" not yet revealed?

Shall the answer come along the chirping of http://www.gamesas.com/bgsforums/index.php?showtopic=754160? Perhaps we, too, shall end up merged with the crescendo of http://www.imperial-library.info/obbooks/pension_ancestor_moth.shtml when "http://www.gamesas.com/bgsforums/index.php?showtopic=639309&hl=#".

I am hoping that JHUNAL has visited thee with the answer, for if He has, then He hath blessed thee more than me.

AE JHUNAL CE ALTADOON


Yours in the Scrolls,


___The Word Merchant of Julianos