This is a synopsis of just some of the applicable lore that this game is going to have to end up touching on due to its location and (apparent) narrative. If you aren't familiar with lore and don't want to know it, then this might constitute potential spoilers. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED. Some of this is taken from the Unofficial Elder Scrolls Pages, but it's been paraphrased, clarified, and organized by me. Some of this hinges on my own interpretation, too. (I.e. I may be mistaken about a few things. Please correct me.) Either way, what's clear is that TES V is going to be thoroughly rooted in TES lore and the history of the empire as a whole in a way that I find very exciting and enthralling.


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THE PROVINCE OF SKYRIM AND ITS PRESENT POLITICAL AND CULTURAL CLIMATE:

Skyrim is the northermost province of the empire of Tamriel. It is very inhospitable, largely frozen tundra, mountains, and glaciers. It is the native home of the Nords, one of the playable races in the Elder Scrolls series.

High Elves and Snow Elves originally inhabited Skyrim, until a wave of Nordic immigration from another land, led by the king Ysgramor landed there millenia ago and drove the elves from Skyrim. This was the beginning of the Nordic rule of the province, which has continued more or less to this day. All Nordic kings to this day are descended from Ysgramor.

Over the centuries, Skyrim has expanded and contracted its territorial borders through wars with other provinces. They have made inroads in Hammerfell and High Rock. There, Redguards and Bretons carry on a vigorous resistance against the Nord invaders.

King Thian and the Queen of the nothernmost city Dawnstar, Macalla, rule largely throughout Skyrim. However, in the east, there are areas controlled by immigrants and refugees from the province of Morrowind. And the regions of Hrothgar and Whiterun, in the wake of devastating floods, droughts, and fires, as well as attacks from frost trolls and bandits, have fallen under the control of Jsashe, the leader of a local witches coven and a self-proclaimed priestess of Lorkhan. (Lorkhan, known in the native Nordic tongue as Shor, is the Nordic god of the underworld. In the other provinces, he appears as a trickster and creator god. In Morrowind, his heart was said to have fallen in the crater of Red Mountain, poisoning the mind of Dagoth Ur and driving him to madness and evil, as well as being used by the Dwemer to engineer their own banishment from Nirn.)

Skyrim is home to the second highest peak in all of Tamriel (second only to Red Mountain in Morrowind,) the “Throat of the World.” The legends of the Nords state that mankind was formed on the mountain when the sky breathed onto the land. Many pilgrims travel to the mountain and climb the “Seven Thousand Steps” to “High Hrothgar.”

High Hrothgar is a settlement high atop the highest peak of the Throat of the World. Sitting atop hundreds of massive stone steps, it is home to the Greybeards, an ancient order of priest-like pilgrims who endeavor to become more attuned to the “voice of the sky,” and in so doing, normally remain in complete silence. Unfortunately, Hrothgar is situated in the region now controlled by the aforementioned witch queen, Jsashe.

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DRAGONS:

While the Cyrodiilic empire claims that dragons are benevolent, even making their chief god Akatosh a dragon, and indeed, base the legitimacy of their line of emperors on the amulet of kings, the Nordic interpretation of history is (apparently) quite different. Akatosh is instead called Alduin, and the Nords recall he and all dragons as bloodthirsty, terrifying creatures bent on erradicating human and elf alike from the face of Nirn. Alduin, in the Nordic tradition, was defeated by the Dragonborn, a rare breed of man with Dragon’s blood in his veins.

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ALDUIN’S WALL, AND THE PROPHECY OF THE DRAGONBORN

In Skyrim there exists a structure known as Alduin’s wall. On this wall are a multitude of intricate carvings, the most important of which communicate a prophecy foretelling the return of Dragons to Tamriel, and the rise a lone Dragonborn who might yet stand against them.

The signs indicating the return of the Dragons include events which have played out in the previous Elder Scrolls games, including the breaking of the staff of Chaos, and the opening of the Oblivion gates in Cyrodiil.

The final sign, which is beginning to take place now, is that the sons of Skyrim will spill their own blood, which indicates civil war within Skyrim. This final sign indicates the return of the ancient, world-devouring Dragon, Alduin. Only the Dragonborn can hope to stand against the Dragons.

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This isn't just Nordic lore. It directly links to whatever the reality of Akatosh and his/its relationship to the Imperial line really is. It coluld shake the foundations of what Imperials have believed for ages now, and completely rewrite the truth of Elder Scrolls lore. I for one can't wait!

Yeah. S'gonna be epic.

I'm getting tingles :liplick:

GASP, an Eldeer Scrols game with loads and loads of lore!? Never would have seen that coming.

LOL true. But you know what I mean. This game sounds like it's going to really dig deep into the very, very ancient past of Tamriel. Akatosh is the creator of the world and time, and the first god to spawn from the "beginning place." His return sounds like more than the typical plot twist to me.

I hope you are right.

I hope so. I think oblivion dropped the ball when it came to lore.

I wonder how this witch Jsashe will come into play. Nice summary btw.

Of course when they say that Alduin has the "hunger to devour the world" they are most likely being a bit dramatic. I mean, a dragon large enough to do that would have to be of an immense size... so vast in fact that there would be no hope in the world of defeating such a beast. Other than a very lucky asteroid impacting with Alduin, there would be no way for it to be stopped.

If any of you want to believe MK, Alduin World Eater is quite truthful, he'll literally eat the world in just an OM!

I thought the Nords version of the world being eaten was a Torrent of a wall of Fire cascading across the landscape.

It dropped many balls when it came to lore.

I certainly hope it will actually be in. Cydoiil that we got is veeery far from what you may picture reading the lore about it.

It kicked the many dropped balls into its own goal when it came to lore.

Oh, don't get me wrong. I loved Oblivion's lore (although I still feel Morrowind had more a since of historicity and "lived in-ness" than Oblivion did.) It was at least very lore-based. It dealt directly with the Elder Scrolls themselves, the Septim line, etc. But Morrowind had this interesting thing going for it (for me at least) in that you were bombarded with multiple versions and interpretations of lore. You had the Imperial, the Tribunal, and the original Dunmer versions of events, and there was a lot of mystique and interpretation going on (at least for me there was.)

With Skyrim, it sounds like we're once again dealing with opposing interpretations of long ago events, and in this case, events that - if you believe the lore - deal with the very creation of the world, and the origins of the line that would eventually become the Septims. We could find out that the Imperial version of events is propaganda or mistranslation. We could find out that Akatosh is actually a very destructive force. We may find out a lot more about Lorkhan and his being torn apart in time immemorial. The empire is in decline, just as the Nordic and Imperial interpretations of history seem to be on a collision course. Which, if any will turn out to be the reality? Will we learn something entirely new that we haven't thought of?

Those are the kinds of things I hope the game will delve into (for those who want to actually take the time to read and research within the game world, as we could in Morrowind regarding the Dwemer, etc.)

I doubt you will literally fight Alduin. It's unlikely a god could be stopped by mortal means in any case. Thye had to summon Akatosh (Alduin) to defeat Mehrunes Dagon, if you recall. You'll undoubtedly use some ancient magical means. And he is a god, not just a dragon, so he may very well be able to "devour the world".

That's what's so interesting to me about it. Is Akatosh an anthropromorphisized dragon god? Is Alduin "good" or "bad" or is it above such contrivances? Is it a force of nature, immutable and inevitable in its coming? We know there will be some kind of solution, but what it is we're actually "fighting" and how will be very interesting to see, particularly in terms of the implications for the currently adhered to lore versus whatever the reality ends up being.