The COMPLETE Guide to GODS in the Elder Scrolls - Elder Scrolls Lore

In our latest Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim video we create a complete guide to gods & religion in the Elder Scrolls.

TIMESTAMPS:
The Story of Creation: 2:08
The Types of Gods: 9:00
The Different Pantheons Explained
- The Imperial Pantheon: 12:30
- The Nordic Pantheon: 15:06
- The Elven Pantheon: 19:56
- The Yokudan Pantheon: 24:56
- The Khajiiti Pantheon: 28:42
Power of Worship & the Unconscious Aedra: 32:04
Dragonbreaks & Changing the Past: 39:41

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The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim is an open world action role-playing video game developed by Bethesda Game Studios and published by Bethesda Softworks. It is the fifth main installment in The Elder Scrolls series, following The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, and was released worldwide for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 on November 11, 2011.

The game's main story revolves around the player character and their quest to defeat Alduin the World-Eater, a dragon who is prophesied to destroy the world. The videogame is set two hundred years after the events of Oblivion, and takes place in the fictional province of Skyrim. Over the course of the game, the player completes quests and develops the character by improving skills. The game continues the open world tradition of its predecessors by allowing the player to travel anywhere in the game world at any time, and to ignore or postpone the main storyline indefinitely.

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[nonamesorry]

I think it's kinda sweet that the aedra just overhear some group of mortals talking about that cool after life place they just imagined for themselves and they just go "okay babies we got you" and they literally create each afterlife for all the different people

[erickgarcia]

I believe Mike, scott, and drew are different interpretations of the same concept of a nerd... at the same time

[witchywoman]

Whoever actually wrote this entire backstory for the Elder Scrolls deserve medals. This is so impressive. To create an entire religion and write in all the different interpretations is genius.

[Maplie]

I love how I spend hours learning the deep lore of the game only to come to the conclusion: the world is a game and your headcanon is reality. Literally mind-blowing

[windhelmguard]

"...but there's nothing simple about an Elder Scroll. It's a reflection of all possible features and all possible pasts. Each reader sees different reflections through different lenses, and may come away with a very different reading. But at the same time, all of it is true. Even the falsehoods. Especially the falsehoods."
-Urag gro-Schub

[Julian-vlvn]

Auriel: [*exists*]
Alessia: Akatosh has graced our course with the Amulett of Kings to drive the elves away!
Auriel: [*becomes Akatosh*] [*changes team*]
Elves: *excuse me what the fuck*

[Xersama]

A god is like a gem, hanging in the sky.
The Nord is standing in Skyrim, looks up and sees a facet with the shape of a dragon and names it Akatosh.
The Elf is standing is Aldmer and sees a warrior with a bow firing a heart into the sea, and calls it Auriel.
The Redguard is standing on the corpse of a Left-Handed Elf, and sees Tall Papa.
This is how the gods in TES work.

[jefthereaper]

Here is my theory:
In most instances when it comes to Gods, they are described as "sleeping" or "dreaming".
Meanwhile if you see the souls of the dead in any afterlife, they seem somewhat disconnected, as if half asleep.
A prime example of this in Sovngard, where all the souls who roam there suddenly start speaking in poems, and have let go of their mortal desires and thoughts.
Much like how Ulfric was suddenly able to rise above his past motivations the moment he died, seeing the error of his choices.

On the other side you have the Daedra, incapable of originality, and always obsessively focusing on just their sphere of Influence.

I feel this is the reason why Lorkhan created Mundus, why he wanted the other spirits to invest and live in this world.
Those that exist do not necessarily "live".
They are all stuck in a dreamlike state, unable of true free will, of true feelings and experience.

The Mortal races on the Mundus however are capable of free will, truly experiencing all the good and the bad of life.
While no longer as powerful as gods, they have been given the ability to truly "live".

Look at Mannimarco, he ascended to godhood, but has not acted ever sinds, this is likely that after ascending, he also got stuck in this dreamlike state, only doing what his sphere is focused around, but nothing else.
No further originality, no plans or schemes, not even an attempt to return as a god with mortal avatar's on the Mundus.
Instead just like the others, he is stuck serving the purpose his sphere encompass, and he is likely not even aware of it.

EDIT: I believe this might be crucial to the process of CHIM & Amarant.
The "spirits" might know about such things, but not understand or engage in them, due to being stuck in their "dreamlike thinking"
They know but cannot take action towards achieving it.

To escape the Godhead, to become one, spirits have to sacrefice all, even that knowledge, while submitting themselves to the wheel of life, death and rebirth in another Kalpa.
Over and over again untill they relearn, and this time are capable of understanding "the dream" in order to escape it.

By shedding their power and knowledge, they become a vestle for limitless pottential, to one day surpass, and become masters of their own dream.

(My brain hurts just from trying to properly write this)

[zachhenslee]

We can all agree though that M'aiq the Liar is the one true god

[WhaleofDreams]

*It is 3:50am, but the divine call of the Fudgemuppet bros beckons me.*
Hail to the tribunal

[revenevan]

I absolutely *love* that the mythology of the elder scrolls universe was written such that we can never be sure what the nature of reality within the elder scrolls actually is. I've always loved how trippy elder scrolls lore gets! This video takes it to the final level and gets to the core of how it's trippy, it's so kind of recursive and pokes at the nature of it being a story, of being written, and of being potentially fully encased within a universe one layer true-er as a story. 🤯

[jackccurbs]

I'm fascinated by the Breton version of Lorkhan, Sheor. As a god of pestilence and hardship, I like to think that some Bretons see him as a bringer of challenges to be overcome, which aligns with the Breton "quest obsession" and culture of open possibilities.

[soloxcan]

"Love can't save you padame, only my new powers can" said a sith(is).

[meganward]

I love deep lore like this. It's fascinating to see just how deep the writers have gone into creating this world, and you guys are able to explain it so well!

[dovapunk]

0:01 Everytime I hear elder scrolls music especially the ones that set the tone for exploration I gotta remind myself im hear in this moment and not 10 years ago when I played Skyrim for the first time. It evokes such powerful nostalgia

[YanzerTheRagdoll]

It almost seems like mortals are unknowingly giving back magic energy through worship and that the gods themselves have pieces of themselves inside all mortals. Mortals' interpretations of those gods morphs their piece of divine magic and when it is given back, the very thing explained happens where the gods change depending on which worship is dominant.

Although, it is possible that gods like Auriel and Akotosh are more than just the same entity but interpreted different, but rather they have developed into twins that both act in unison and possibly don't know of one another's existence.

[israelmunoz]

That's one thing I like about The Elder Scrolls: The fact that every different culture in the game has it's own interpretation of reality and their own beliefs, and you can find similarities and variations between them. It's just like the real world.
I really hope they don't do an official explanation of the gods ever. It's part of the magic and mistery in TES lore.

[underweenie]

I love listening to these videos as I play my 903rd play through of Skyrim. This time I'm a simple farmer joining the Imperial Legion

[lukaphoenix]

I'm proud of myself for understanding far more of this than I expected

[robsturgeon]

It disturbs me that I know more about Elder Scrolls than real life history.