Where do mithril armor & weapons come from? : The Elder Scrolls Series Discussion

» Thu Sep 09, 2010 3:05 am

He's referring to this:

Yea but just because there IS elvish mithril and argonian silver, doesn't mean that's all there is... for instance if I say "Chinese noodles and Hungarian meatloaf, devour I can" - it doesn't mean there aren't other types of noodles and meatloaf.

» Thu Sep 09, 2010 4:59 pm

It's stated in numerous sources that a lot of Imperial culture was copied from Aldmeri High Culture, including language, architecture, the arts, trade habits, institutions..the list goes on and on. It stands to reason that many aspects of weapon and armor design were copied from Aldmeri culture as well, no?

» Thu Sep 09, 2010 7:03 am

We've always been adding in our own interpretations of things with the lore. Just what is the problem about calling Mithril silk armor? Why can't silk in TES be vastly different to it's real-life counterpart, ala Glass?

Glass just means a material with no natural long-range order in the positioning of the atoms, and has been ordered by outside forces (Volcanic eruption, comet impact, a furnace, etc.) The volcanic glass shaped into armor isn't nesicarily what we commonly refer to as "glass", especially since that appears in TES in Windows and wine bottles.

» Thu Sep 09, 2010 4:35 pm

Glass just means a material with no natural long-range order in the positioning of the atoms, and has been ordered by outside forces (Volcanic eruption, comet impact, a furnace, etc.) The volcanic glass shaped into armor isn't nesicarily what we commonly refer to as "glass", especially since that appears in TES in Windows and wine bottles.

I always assumed that they make the distinction in the Proper Noun in Tamriel.

There's glass, which you make bowls and bottles out of, and there's Glass which is the blood of Lorkhan.

» Thu Sep 09, 2010 1:35 pm

Wait, I thought Ebony was the blood of Lorkhan?

» Thu Sep 09, 2010 8:05 am

Ebony is only called gods' blood, but ebony is glass that's been under pressure, longer.

Glass

(1) (Raw Glass) Raw glass is similar to raw ebony, but less well-known. Ebony is jet black, while glass is a milky translucent green. Less durable, but much lighter and more flexible than ebony, glass is used primarily to make the distinctive, elegant glass armors and weapons of High Elven design.. (2) (Glass Weapons) The light and elegant Glass weapons of High Elven design feature extravagant use of rare metals and cutting edges made from rare crystalline materials. Duelists and assassins appreciate the delicate balance and sinister sharpness of glass weapons.

Besides the little, ebony spiel, looks like we can juxtapose mithril and glass. The presence of glass makes mithril a moot subject, as glass belongs to Tamriel, while mithril does not.

Glassblowers must be highly esteemed - perhaps having their own secretive, priest-like caste - as they seem to be the favored smiths and architects of the Sumursets. The story behind its arrival on the mainland must be quite a yarn.