Racialism appears in the PGE first ed and it's an even more recent word. It's probably more acceptable though, as racism probably carries stronger connotations of more modern notions of human rights. Girlfriend too has too many associations with modern life.

As the stories are all translations (especially the Aldudaggas, which even have square brackets showing it to be a translation of a document from an older tongue into Tamrielic and then, presumably, into English), the use of a world like "crap" is meant to emphasise the tale's informal context, as opposed to, say, the more serious works of epic poetry. Translations aren't and shouldn't be limited to an archaic and stiffly formal version of English unless the language used was archaic and stiffly formal for its time.

But who else is looking at this title and thinking of Lorkhan hiding like a certain red and white scarfed traveller in a scene from a Heironymus's Bosch tryptich? Man, I'd buy Where's Lorkhan if it was available.

Definately. But to butcher Orwell: "The modernity of our language makes it easier for us to have modern thoughts." And we see this in Oblivion at times. Bad medicine.

I'm just gonna throw this out there like a grenade, and run away before it explodes. Here's a thought. If the elves are to be believed and they truly do descend from Aedra (that is to say that the original Akatosh truly did become the mortal Auriel, and then ascend once more) then what's to say the same thing, minus the ascension, didn't happen to Lorkhan after the removal of his heart (read: divinity). He (or a great part of him, since there are other pieces of Lorkhan still floating around ) became mortal. Probably even became the progenator of the human species, much like Auriel is to the elves. What I'm saying is humans descend from Lorkhan (I know, I'm not factoring in Redguards, but we're talking about Tamrielic religion, not Yokudan). That is why Shor is considered to be a god hero. Shor was probably mortal once. Upon death, however, the Nords think he became the "lord of the underworld" but I think he was svcked into the dreamsleeve to return many times. That is why there have been so many Shezarines. Pelinal had a soul, and you meet his ghost, but the ghost is far less impressive than the myth. Of course that truly needs no explanation as things are never as impressive as their myths, but I believe the ghost of the man you meet is just that, the ghost of a man. The aspects of Aka and Lork that inhabitted him have already left. That is why Wulfharth was told that it would be another to unite Tamriel and not him. His time had passed since he was already dead. The parts of him that were Shor were gone. All that was left was an undying Underking. Well, now, that's enough before I reveal to all of you how truly Sheogorath touched I am.

That is interesting, and I must say I like that theory. The only thing is that Lorkhan and Auriel are one in the same (as you said later), so would men and elves be in fact the same, just flip sides of the same coin? That the battles between men and elves are just extensions of the schizo battles that the Shor/Aka with himself.

You should expand on this and write a theory.

I may, at some point, do just that. I'm far too busy, currently, to devote the time and effort it would take to work out this theory into any respectable form. The best I can muster is posting half-baked ideas from work. If somebody want to take it and run with it, I won't hold a grudge.

On a side note, I personally believe Auriel and Lorkhan are one in the same, but have been separated since the convention when time became linear. Linearity of time was caused by the separation of space and time into two distinct entities. Any time the two of them are put back together (in the case of Pelinal or Numidium) strange thing happen, like tracts of land disappearing (a spacial error) or time getting screwed up.