» Wed Dec 14, 2016 10:31 am Hey there, I wanted to share a little theory of mine that I got, when reading about the fates of the respective heros of the main series. Would it lore-wise be possible that all of them were in fact the same person?
The events from Arena to Oblivion only span 44 years. If we include Skyrim, this unifying hero would have to be either a Mer, whose lifespan easily fits that time, or a powerful wizard. Vampires are unlikely candidates. Personally, my money would be on a Dunmer character. Here's my take on their story:
This time only six years pass, before you get word of a new danger to the realm. Despite a troubled past, you feel obliged to undertake this one last effort to save your former sovereign and travel once more to the Imperial City. Here you want to use your first hand knowledge about the secret tunnels leading out of the prison and meet the Emperor with the rest of his bodyguards. His mind clouded by old age and the recent loss of his sons, Uriel seems almost unable to reckocnize you, only 'recalling your face from a dream' he had. When in his last moment of life clearity finds him again, he entrusts you with the fact that there is one heir left. Not having been able to save him, you take it upon yourself to find this person and deliver the Amulett to Jauffre. The latter of course is willing to trust you, as he still recalls you from past days when you both were still active in service of the Blades.
Spoiler
Arena - Eternal Champion - 3E 389 to 3E to 3E 399
You are a student of Ria Silmane, who in turn was the apprentice of Battlemage Jagar Tharn in the Imperial City. When Ria attempts to spoil his plans of overthrowing the Emperor, she is killed and you are thrown in jail. Long story short, you break out, go on a quest that is decisively harder than any the protagonists of the later games will have to face and ultimately free Uriel Septim VII from Obilivion to be named his 'Eternal Champion'.
Daggerfall - The Agent - 3E 405 to 3E 417
The transition to Daggerfall is still quite easy to explain. As the Eternal Champion you are arguably the most skilled and loyal subordinate to the Emperor. Thus you are his first choice to be sent on another mission of great importance: Find out about the murder of king Lysandrus and retrive a letter which contents could very well decide the fate of all of Tamriel. In light of these implications the Emperor needs someone he can trust to be loyal to the end.
However, this time something goes awry. As the exact details of the events concerning 'The Warp in the West' are not known, we can't say for sure who the Agent wanted to have the Totem, only it was most likely not the Emperor. My guess would be that after seeing the horrifying outcome of Tharns tyrannic rule, The Agent wanted to resolve the matter as peacefully as possible and gave the Underking his long desired rest. The Emperor however perceives this as betrayal and has you arrested as soon as you report back to him. Since The Agent is rumored to have died after retrieving the Mantella, and that furthermore the nature of your quest was one of secrecy to begin with, it is only natural you are not mentioned after the events of Daggerfall.
Morrowind - Nerevarine - 3E 427
After your alleged betrayal of the Emperor, he gladly would have put all thoughts about you aside. It is only 10 years later that he learns about the prophecy of the Nerevarine. It is no fully known whether he himself truly believed in it, but at any rate it, it seems a unifying hero is just the balm this troubled province on the brink of riot could need. And who would stand a better chance at fulfilling these tasks than you, who has already saved all of Tamriel once?
Oblivion - The Hero of Kvatch/ Saviour of Bruma - 3E 433
Skyrim - Dovakhin
Well this one is kind of a no-brainer. You are the Dragonborn. Because why not.
Seriously storytelling is not Skyrims strong suit, however there's no reason a long living character would not eventually have found their way to Skyrim as it's impossible to tell what happened in those 200 odd years.
Now of course I know this was never Bethesdas intention, that the real purpose of the vagueness on past heroes is to grant you the freedom to create your own backstory and that there might still be more evidence dismantling than supporting this theory. Even so, it's fun to speculate and might explain some oddities such as
- Why would Jauffree, Grandmaster of the Blades, who had a small army of highly skilled warriors of known loyalty at his disposal, entrust you, an ex-prisoner he has known for 5 minutes tops, to find the last heir to the Emperor, the last hope of Tamriel? One possibility would be that he knew about your background and how you have served the empire before.
- Why was the Eternal Champion never heard of again, why the fate of the other Heroes was at least faintly speculated on?
- Whether he truly believed in the prophecy or not, who, in the eyes of the emperor, could be a more logical choice for the role of Nerevarine, than the person who had already saved all of Tamriel before?
At least up to Oblivion I think this theory it kinda holds up. Glad to hear your thoughts on that, whether it's approval or more evidence speaking against it.
