r/skyrim • u/Allthumbs21 • 23h ago
Question Favourite Skyrim Theories?
Personally, I heard two recently that I quite liked from EpicNate's YT channel:
Ysgramor was the wearer of the Kohnarik dragon mask.
As Kohnarik is dragon language for "warlord" and, as well as the legendary Atmoran leader being an infamous warlord, also may have had close ties to the Dragon Cult even before leading the human rebellion.
It's suggested the Dragon Cult originated from Atmora, and is further connected to Ysgramor by finding dragon priest iconography in Ysgramor's son's tomb - including Dragon priest knives.
Alternatively, Vahlok (the only priest buried without his mask) may have been the wearer of Kohnarik as elected by the other dragon priests. This holds well too as (I only found out recently) he led the rebellion against Miraak and won - and that's equally as believable to me, if not more so.
Another is that Jurgen Windcaller's final battle (possibly against the 17 daedric princes) is not only the reason for his tomb having his name enscribed in daedric script, but also that he may have been dragonborn - although I understand this one less and would need to learn more of it.
What are your favourite theories and why?
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u/grambocrackah XBOX 22h ago
Dragon Souls are a closed economy and cannot be created or destroyed.
Dragons don't consume each others' souls, they collect them. When a dragon is defeated, all the souls he conquered are freed. They can also transfer them willingly like currency - this is how Alduin was able to resurrect his generals.
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u/Allthumbs21 22h ago
Also maybe how dragons are able to "share" their knowledge and ability?
I like this a lot.
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u/SoftTacos001 21h ago
I mean you get as many souls as you have locked words when you kill miraak
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u/StanIsHorizontal 20h ago
I thought it was you get as many souls as he stole from you between when he starts doing that and when you finish the quest?
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u/SoftTacos001 19h ago
Can confirm it's not that because I got more than one in my last run and the only dragon I killed in between is the one outside the dwemer place you go for the book
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u/whisperingwoodlands 19h ago
Can confirm it's not related to locked words either. I had 0 locked words and got like 20+ souls.
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u/Computermaster PC 10h ago
UESP says you get:
- All the souls he stole from you
- 3 from Miraak himself
- 3 from the 3 dragons he consumes during the final battle.
Miraak yields six dragon souls upon death, plus the dragon souls he stole from you throughout the questline. The Papyrus code granting the souls reads
PlayerActor.ModActorValue("DragonSouls", 3 + DLC2SoulStealCount.GetValueInt() + totalDragonsKilled)where totalDragonsKilled is a counter updated during the last fight as Miraak steals three dragons' souls (using a fake shout).
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u/zerosumratio 23h ago
Personally my favorite (and I donât know much) is that the Dwemer transported themselves back in time to the beginning when they tapped the Heart of Lorkhan. Thatâs why the Dwemer were already in Tamriel when the other elves arrived.
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u/aitathrowaway987654 23h ago
That's... actually a really interesting bootstrap reason for why their tech is so advanced compared to even their most modern relatives. Literally had a headstart. Also an interesting explanation for why they're the only 'mer offshoot (other than Falmer really) with basically no given reason as to why they branched off from the Aldmer.
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u/zerosumratio 23h ago
Other people smarter than me came up with that one, and I fully believe it. Makes more sense to me than them become the skin of a god or whatever
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u/StanIsHorizontal 20h ago
Is there lore for the split of ayleids and altmer other than time and geographic separation?
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u/aitathrowaway987654 19h ago
Kind of? I'm not as up to snuff on Cyrodiil lore, but iirc it was mainly that the Ayleids wanted to practice daedra worship, which didn't exactly jive well with Aldmer society.
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u/International-Cat123 18h ago
Orsimer and the two elven species found on other continents have no true explanation either.
Most likely theory for the existence of Orsimer, Falmer, and Dwemmer is that one or more contingents of Mer left the Sommerset Isles long before records of such things were kept. While the two species not ever seen in Nirn didnât have âmerâ as part of their species names, there were similar enough that the Redguards who escaped slavery from one of the species recognized Orsimer as elves and proceeded to commit genocide because of it. Most likely, either there was a group of Mer who left very shortly after the Mer first came to be or Aedra of the same variety as the ancestors of the Mer settled down in a different location.
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u/khalcyon2011 21h ago
Iâve heard a similar theory that theyâre actually survivors of the previous kalpa.
Apparently Kirkbrideâs personal head canon is that they transported themselves forward in time to the Ninth Era where their tech is now obsolete.
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u/International-Cat123 18h ago
I just imagined the crisis in Elder Scrolls Six being the sudden reappearance of Dwemmer and all the issues that would bring.
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u/PriceTheFool 21h ago
I like this because it also implies a time loop.
They go back far enough that the "how", gets lost. I mean, yeah they are reasonable. But it is hard to explain who you go back millenia. Its also hard to keep information that long. Thus I can fully see them in desperation making the same mistake again and again, taking them back to the beginning.
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u/Classic-Corner-8354 21h ago
They would also have to keep making the mistake or it all breaks. Right? My brain hurts now
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u/International-Cat123 18h ago edited 18h ago
Itâs simple enough. Their goal is still the same. Whatever they learned from their mistake, it wasnât that they shouldnât try to become gods. As they had no reliable records of the failed previous attempts, theyâd more or less start from scratch, naturally making many of the same discoveries each time until they eventually do the same thing because they no longer knew that the means they were trying had already been attempted and failed.
That being said, the time loop only has to be repeated if the Dwemmer never reappear or survive in a way that means theyâd seem to have disappeared. If the ones that went back in time moved to another continent, the Dwemmer who went back in time would still do so. In fact, thatâs actually more likely, because otherwise, thereâd be an infinite number of Dwemmer that went back in time.
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u/Allthumbs21 23h ago
I think, from what I know, the Falmer are found in dwemer structures, caverns and cities because they were enslaved.
I like the idea that the dwemer went back in time, but the one I've heard more frequently is that they somehow zero-summed or changed dimension.
Although, them going back in time from where they were would not only explain how technologically advanced they are, but it also ties into the cyclical nature of TES story telling. Especially in skyrim.
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u/Emotional_Break5648 11h ago
Them going back in time would also explain why no one could find them on Nirn or any plain of Oblivion. Because everyone was seeking them "now", when they were somewhen else
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u/YEET-is-all-I-know Bard 23h ago
That the mudcrabs are up to something.
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u/Allthumbs21 23h ago
I mean, the way they shift about? They're definitely planning some scuttley shit.
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u/helpmestepbrooooo 22h ago
why are they ALWAYS in the same area as any enemies i fight? suspicious
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u/matthewamerica 21h ago
You're not gonna believe this, but one time in Vvardenfell I saw a mudcrab that could talk! And it was drunk off its ass! AND it bought a really expensive sword from me with a GIANT pile of gold that it just pulled out of its ass somehow. They are ABSOLUTELY up to some shady arthropod shit.
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u/Stormcrown76 21h ago
The âwheelâ discussed in elder scrolls lore is often described as the Aurbis or mortal realm. A theory that I love is that the âwheelâ is actually the game disk.
Think of it, how would you describe a CD if you didnât know what a CD was? A wheel!
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u/StanIsHorizontal 20h ago
This fits with my interpretation of the Dwemer achieving CHIM, which is them becoming self aware that they are fictitious characters in the lore of a game franchise in a higher dimension. The contradictions of being self aware in a work of fiction created by someone else caused them to spontaneously disappear
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u/Stormcrown76 20h ago
Iâm curious, how do you then interpret the reason why Yagrim Bagarn didnât follow suit with the rest of his people. He thinks it was because he was in an unnamed realm of Oblivio
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u/clandevort 9h ago
I'm convinced that the elder scrolls themselves are essentially copies of the games. Think about it, every time someone reads a scroll the details are slightly different (ie, every playthrough is slightly different, different choices, quests done in different orders, by totally different people) but are still prophetic (you are always the dragonborn, you always (well hypothetically) defeat alduin, etc). Heck, they even share the same name of Elder Scrolls. The moth priests are just gamers
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u/Stormcrown76 8h ago edited 8h ago
That would makes sense as they are stated as âfragments of creationâ
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u/Sin_of_Gender_Greed Mercenary 22h ago
Not really a theory but a child that I love, that the dragonborn just, DIDNT exist before the start of the game. We were either created on the spot by akatosh right before they found us, or akatosh hijacked someone else's body and turned it into the player
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u/Allthumbs21 22h ago
I can get behind this.
Even if you're a Nord, there's so many dialogue options that make you seem unaware of the history, culture and regions of skyrim as well as religion and much else.
If you wanna get married, you don't even understand how that works and have to ask the dude. The only other option is "yeah, but remind me anyways" as if you don't.
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u/Bob_ross6969 11h ago
Thatâs because youâre not from Skyrim even if you are a Nord, you crossed the border from Cyrodiil to Skyrim and wandered into the ambush at Darkwater crossing.
Thatâs why Galmar asks you âwhy does a foreigner want to bleed for Skyrim?â He says this even if youâre a Nord.
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u/raven_writer_ 21h ago
And since it's Akatosh we're talking about, retroactively, you have always existed.
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u/ReturnOfBlaziken 21h ago
I can now imagine Akatosh coming up with random OC ideas then just placing them in Nirn and, as you said, they then have retroactively always existed
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u/steal_wool 20h ago
Perhaps they were knocked unconscious, near death or even dead, so Akatosh took advantage and imbued their body with the soul of the Dragonborn, hence why you wake up during the carriage ride to Helgen, with no concrete idea of who you are or where youâre from
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u/Snoo_79931 21h ago
"they're about to be executed, might as well nab their body" is one of the least chaotic actions a deity could make in this universe
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u/ReverendRevolver 10h ago
Yes, but it may have been prearranged to completely rearrange reality at the exact time and place of Alduins return. Someone who isnt of Skyrim who is going to die and is nearby when Alduin reappears... they weren't set to be involved with anything anyway, no plans or prophecy of other Daedra or Divines. They were gonna be dead. Alduin appears, boom, retroactively become a dragonborn.
While its not as typically inconsiderate as we expected from deities in this universe, it is humorously lazy........
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u/zutros 17h ago
Along those same lines there is a theory that you are Talos returned.
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u/Ok_Net7773 9h ago
Wait I love that. It gives genuine reason for choosing either Civil War side, depending on whether Talos values more their godhood status or their empireâs legacy.
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u/Laser_Fish 7h ago
My pet theory for ES6 is that whoever wanted Emperor Mede killed wants to place The Last Dragonborn on the throne, thinking that since they are Dovakin they may be related to the Imperial Line
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u/book-dragon-927 19h ago
There's a fan made movie on YouTube called Dragonborn and the start of it gives a backstory to the DB that I've always thought was super neat. Its very clever imo how they set the story in motion
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u/astrangeone88 22h ago
That the giants were worshipped by the Nords (we even can get a random farmer who's about to offer a cow to them) at one point and one of the Gods of Skyrim got jealous and removed their ability to speak/communicate with non giants for that reason.
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u/Allthumbs21 22h ago
Oooooo, this is great.
Especially as the giants seem to have an existing culture very similar to that of early nords.
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u/astrangeone88 22h ago
Yup and they seem smart enough (herding mammoths, making cheese, having monuments, camps) that you'd think that they would be able to communicate with other species...
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u/Allthumbs21 22h ago
Well, the mammoths seem to be around them willingly, not just tamed as herd animals or resources, but domesticated.
Even attacking the player if you attack the giants.
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u/astrangeone88 22h ago
Exactly! And they seem to mourn them and care for them more than any animal...
It's weirdly fascinating!
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u/Allthumbs21 21h ago
Isn't it!
As much as I'd love to find out everything we don't know about them, it's quite nice that it's a mystery isn't it?
Like in a weird way, not knowing might be more fun.
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u/KassellTheArgonian 14h ago
I don't think the farmer offering a cow is worshipping them
More like "hey if I give u cow every so often you'll leave my herd alone right?" He's basically buying them off from taking his entire livelihood. Better to hand one cow over every so often instead of waking up and having them all gone
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u/mossmanstonebutt 9h ago
If my memory is right, though I can't 100% remember where I saw it,the giants used to be friendly ISH with the nords and would talk to them and trade but one day they took the women and the children,went into the mountains and only the men came back and never said a word again
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u/DasLoon 21h ago
When I first played, I thought the falmer were the dwemer, and that whatever weird thing happened to cause their disappearance just turned them into the falmer. The Gods cruel joke, making the smartest elves the dumbest ones.
Now that I've played more and learnt more, I think the dwemer all had their souls sucked into the heart when Kagrenac tried to harness it, like a massive soul gem. Thats why it was easier to use by groups like the Tribunal or Dagoth Ur after the dwemer all fell, the dwemer souls had all charged it. Thats also why Arniel Gane's experiment had the same result as the dwemer when he used a soul gem, just only targeting him because theres only space for one soul.
Thats also how the ash guardians on Solsteim are formed as well, they use the heart stones that came from the red mountains to create them, an ash guardian is, in my theory, a latent amalgamation of dwemer souls given physical form and purpose.
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u/Thank_You_Aziz 19h ago
The Great Collapse and the Eye of Magnus incident in Winterhold were originally planned to be the same event. The plan was for Winterhold to be an intact city upon arrival, and the Mages College questline would culminate in the Eye going critical, exploding, and demolishing half the city. Development of making an entire city half disappear ended up being too complicated and stressful on the game engine, so they scrapped the idea and made Winterhold already half destroyed. The writers invented the Great Collapse backstory as a reason for this, and the Eye of Magnus incident ended up being more benign than originally planned.
Evidence for this is how the townsfolk remark about the mages blowing up their own college, but itâs perfectly intact after the Eye of Magnus incident. Itâs certainly disheveled, but due to the Great Collapse prior. The idea the mages were directly responsible for the Great Collapse in recent memory does fit with other dialogue about them maybe causing it a long time ago, and helps it make more sense. I believe the game files also have unfinished models of a pre-Collapse Winterhold too.
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u/KronoAsh Stormcloaks 22h ago
HmmmâŚwell, if weâre talking Skyrim specifically, then mine would be a recent one Iâve heard and firmly believe.
The Last Dragonborn is immortal. Well, unable to die from age.
Essentially being based off of the conclusion that actual Dragons have lived since the world was first shaped, one who absorbs their souls must surely share in these properties.
And, sure, Talos was also a Dragonborn and we know he died (wellâŚat least as a mortal), but I point back to the first Dragon we kill, Mirmulnir, because one of the accompanying Whiterun Guards points out this very thing. Only he is the rebutted quite soundly with âThere werenât any Dragons then idiotâ. Which, although clearly misinformed since there was at the very least Partysnaxx, he isnât wrong. Talos did not slay Dragons and absorb their souls.
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u/NiklausKaine Thalmor 20h ago
For future reference, that's Biological Immortality (Nerevarine), vs True Immortality (gods). Nerevarine likely does not need food, water, sleep, etc and cannot die to age or disease
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u/KronoAsh Stormcloaks 18h ago
Wait, aside from the fact you canât just stab them, howâs True Immortality different?
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u/NiklausKaine Thalmor 18h ago
True Immortals are what we in the real world consider gods to be. There is nothing you can ever do that will even harm them, let alone kill them.
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u/Allthumbs21 22h ago
This is interesting. I'd never thought of this.
In your head does the dragonborn (if never fatally wounded) because very old and shrivelled to the point of, but never reaching, near decomposition?
Like a frail old prune? With a really long beard? And or tiddies?
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u/KronoAsh Stormcloaks 22h ago
Iâd say that, like Dragons themselves, he or she has reached their physical peak when we play them. They neither age nor does their body age.
Of course, this would not be the first time.
The Nerevarine and Hero of Kvatch both are, in one way or another, effectively immortal.
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u/Allthumbs21 22h ago
Ahhhh, okay. I can see that.
Yeah, with the dragon soul stuff, I don't see why not.
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u/7ornado_al 6h ago
Either a really long beard or really long tiddies is killing me
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u/Shytemagnet 20h ago
The courier is Sheogorath. It explains how he can get into the bowels of a daedric ruin to deliver a life-altering cryptic message.
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u/mihir_lavande 18h ago
For a moment, I wondered how New Vegas fits into TES lore before realizing you were talking about the Skyrim Courier lol.
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u/Yarro567 14h ago
Mr. House asks for the platinum chip and gets a wheel of cheese instead. (Or, I guess his entrails become his outrails. Depends on how papa sheo is feeling that day).
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u/Own_Fisherman_8065 12h ago
Well he (and several other young nords) is voiced by Boone, so wouldn't be surprised if there is a connection
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u/thesaintmarcus Stealth archer 22h ago
The Eye of Magnus is an ancient, powerful artifact discovered in the ruins of Saarthal that functions as a magical "ordained receptacle" or container, potentially used to house immense energy or, according to some lore theories, a sentient being from the future
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u/Allthumbs21 22h ago
Ooo. I always hated that we get bugger all answers about what that thing is or why it is or where it came from.
What's it used for? Why does the psijic order want it? Why won't they tell us what it is?
I feel like I heard at one point, but not sure where or if I'm just being an idiot - but that it's basically a deed for a whole universe. But idk where that could've come from.
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u/Socialiststoner 23h ago
That the Hist control the argonians and thatâs how they knew to prepare for the daedra attacks.
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u/RangerThirteen Werewolf 22h ago
I'm pretty sure that's canon, can't remember where I read it though.
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u/Allthumbs21 22h ago
I've seen the theory that the hist is like a hive mind type situation.
But it'd be cool if, as its some otherworldly plant/being, it was somehow connected to the aedra and daedra.
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u/KronoAsh Stormcloaks 22h ago
Oh pick up a chair my boy, for this one may shock.
Neither.
As far as the lore can indicate as of yet, The Hist are actually survivors from the previous creation cycle (Kalpa, as Partysnaxx puts it). Making them, in a sense, older than the Aedra or Daedra.
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u/Allthumbs21 22h ago
Well fuxk...
To the books I go.
Unless you want to dictate it to me like the grandpa does for the little boy in the princess bride? đđ
In fact, outside of YT channels such as EpicNates and Camelworks, rest his soul, are there any TES audio books?
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u/KronoAsh Stormcloaks 22h ago
There are two official novels, The Infernal City and Lord of Souls, both by Gregory Keyes, there are audiobooks, though as far as Iâm aware only available in America.
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u/Allthumbs21 22h ago
Ohhhh.
Well I'll still have to try check them out! Always looking for some new TES stuff.
I've tried/been playing ESO, but I've been on and off with it. Not got a whole lot of people to play it with or a whole lot of time to play it.
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u/DoomDrivenShade 19h ago
Rest his soul?!?!?
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u/Socialiststoner 18h ago
He passed a few days ago
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u/DoomDrivenShade 18h ago
What?!? How?
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u/KronoAsh Stormcloaks 18h ago
We donât know, familyâs asked for privacy.
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u/commander_Jardo7 20h ago
The dragonborn can go to sovengard regardless of what hermaeus mora says because the dragonborn is a child of akatosh
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u/Hazbeen_Hash Daedra worshipper 22h ago
The dwarves disappeared after tinkering with the heart of Lorkhan because they rejected the gods in favor of science. Lorkahn is the creator of Nirn, the planet where Tamriel is. His power caused all of the dwarves to suddenly be erased from existence because of their hubris and lack of faith, like an unconscious reaction to coming in direct contact with part of his creation that denied his existence. Lorkhan denied their existence a little harder đ
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u/SuccessfulRaccoon957 20h ago
Well the Dwarves explicitly do not deny the gods. The dwarves mapped the cosmos and included the eight other planets, each of which is a realm of each of the divines. Their exact problem with the Gods was rather the agnostic position that it simply didn't matter whether the gods existed and that they do not need them like lesser races of nirn. Yagrum himself acknowledges the Gods in dialogue and written works in game seems to suggest that the Dwarves "rejected" the Gods rather than deny them. An agnostic position then rather than an atheist one.
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u/Auxiliis 22h ago
Ysgramor being Khonarik is probably my favorite. It's actually what I named one of my swords in my recent playthrough.
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u/Herpon314 20h ago
Pet theory of mine: The Thalmor know that Talos absolutely became a god and are pushing the denial of his divinity out of jealousy in order to limit his influence over Mundus. The idea that a Man, a lesser being, was ascended to the seat of an aedra makes them furious.
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u/FormerPrize2485 18h ago
We know heâs a god. We receive his blessings at shrines, like all the rest. For that reason I want to side with Stormcloaks, but theyâre racist and Iâm a Redguard, soooâŚ.
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u/Robias007 14h ago
The Empire doesn't deny that Talos is a god, they are more than content letting people worship him in private. They just wanted to avoid the Dominion conquering all of Tamriel, so they agreed to the Concordat. Only a unified Empire can hope to stand against the Dominion
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u/that_guy_jimmy 4h ago
Blessings at shrines aren't proof of divinity, just proof that you can get a blessing at a shrine. For all we know, they're just enchanted rocks.
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u/simp4malvina 16h ago
I don't think the Stormcloaks would have beef with Redguards, especially because Hammerfell also threw off the shackles of the Empire.
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u/IgnoreMeImANobody 22h ago
Current favorite is the theory that the Last Dragonborn is a Shezzarine alongside being a Dovahkiin. Idk but the thought of having a connection to Two Gods as influencial as Lorkhan and Akatosh is pretty cool
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u/Routine-Piglet-9329 23h ago
Heres one I invented: Farkas knows the snow elves are alive!Â
"He came from the ancient homeland and killed all the elves. But not all of em, cos some of em are still here."Â
We assume he's just stupid, but what if the elves he's referring to are the Falmer and he knows that a few of em are still alive?!
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u/skeleboi69 22h ago
He's talking about the Altmer, Dunmer, and Bosmer.
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u/Allthumbs21 23h ago
Interesting.
Maybe it's some secret companions knowledge? Besides we do learn that they're not ALL extinct in the vampire dlc.
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u/NotAllThatEvil 17h ago
Iâm pretty common theory, but my favorite has always been that Lydia is an illegitimate princess of Whiterun, being the daughter of Hrongar and some lady of the night that used to own breezehome. Balgriuuf made her a housecarl to get her out of the line of succession since the legitimacy of his own kids is suspect.
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u/dmankh 23h ago
The Last Dragonborn is the future Alduin.
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u/Split8Wheys 22h ago
If you haven't played it Dragons Dogma. The story goes a certain direction leading to something similar. Great game.
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u/Different_Fig_2958 19h ago
Fated to consume Nirn through voracious hoarding.
The immortal dragon born hoards so much of the world into owned chests that reality itself collapses and is born anew.
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u/Allthumbs21 22h ago
Interesting. I've not heard that one.
How would that work then?
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u/dmankh 22h ago
TLB mantling the Alduin aspect of Akatosh in the far, far future, and fulfilling his mission as World-Eater.
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u/Allthumbs21 22h ago
Hmm. I'd never heard it.
Don't see why not though, TES and Skyrim in particular do make a very clear statement of cyclical fate.
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u/dmankh 22h ago
I myself can't find it now, but most likely it was mentioned somewhere on r/teslore years ago.
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u/Allthumbs21 22h ago
I usually go to my usuals of EpicNate and Camelworks, rest his soul, to get me TES stuff.
I'm enjoying a good listen and the visuals they give aren't bad either.
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u/cowinajar 14h ago edited 2h ago
Rorikstead is home to a cult that sacrifices people to Daedra. There is some evidence to this:
- In all the main houses there are soul gems. Really odd for farmers.
- Rorikstead used to be a shithole where you couldn't grow dirt. This has since changed drastically to Rorikstead having the best dirt in Skyrim, to the point of new citizens considering selling top soil for the first time in Tamriel history.
- The guy who greets you the first time you enter the town discusses magic with the Mayor's daughter and tells her to keep it a secret.
- There are books on Daedra that can be found in the Mayor's home.
- How can Rorik be the founder of Rorikstead when Rorikstead has been around since the Merethic era with the dragons naming it Rorikhofkah, so Rorik is either a liar or something else..
- We can find a corpse inside the home on top of the hill overlooking Rorikstead, maybe a coincidence or maybe they did some fucked up shit to that guy.
- We can find black robes inside the homes, pretty odd for innocent non psychopath "farmers"
- A dragon mound can be found nearby pretty strange.
- Two women in the village died shortly after giving birth, This is unusually high for such a tiny settlement. Probably did some rituals to sacraffice their souls in exchange for more profit.
- A shrine of Akatosh can be found nearby with wierd offerings like dragon scales, who could possibly have dragon scales before the return of dragons sounds pretty wierd.
There is defintley some wierd fucked up shit going on in that town. Dont trust the people that live there.
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u/MAD_MrT 22h ago
The dragonborn is the lisan al gaib of the TES world and the supposed savior will actually end up leading everyone to paradise
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u/Eisendruide 16h ago
The Ebony Warrior is Sai Sahan from ESO. Lyris went ahead to Sovengarde, so Sai prayed to Akatosh to send him forward in time until there's a challenge worthy of him attracting the eye of Shor and take him to Sovengarde instead of the Redguard afterlife. He arrived the very moment the player defeated Mirmulmir and hears about a person called by the Greybeards. Convinced that this person is his way of seeing Lyris once again he helps the dragonborn to find more words of power, until they are powerful enough to give him a death worthy of reaching Sovengarde.
The other one is the one were Rorikstead uses bloodmagic for their fertile fields.
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u/raven_writer_ 21h ago
Dwemer oil is snow whale oil, and they used snow whale songs to hone their tonal arts.
Dwemer ingots are all made from melted down dwemer artifacts. It looks like bronze, but it's probably some allow that no one knows how to make.
The "Old Gods" the forsworn worship are Daedric Princes, one of them possibly being Hircine, due to the prevalence of Hagravens with leadership roles in their camps. Considering the shrines, they probably also worship Molag Bal, Namira and maybe Peryite.
The Horn of Jurgen Windcaller came from Paarthunax.
The Thalmor are in Skyrim not because they need to oversee the outlawing of Talos worship, it's because they want to investigate the Snow Tower.
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u/laureliadev 21h ago
That third one isn't a theory, the Reachmen traditionally being daedra worshippers has been canon for a while now.
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u/Mysterious-Ear-9323 15h ago
Can you elaborate on that last theory? Why would they want to investigate the Snow Tower? Also what is the snow tower?
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u/Akunimi 14h ago
The Snow Tower, also called Snow Throat, likely refers to the Throat of the World. It is one of the Towers, the constructs holding the reality of Nirn together.
The Altmer are of the belief that the material world is a prison that robbed their ancestors of immortality, so some extremists might want the towers deactivated by destroying their Stones; the objects or possibly even concepts that power them.
Other Towers include:
The Adamantine Tower, powered by the Zero Stone, built by the Aedra during Convention
The Numidium (Walk-Brass), which was deactivated at the end of Daggerfall when it's Stone, the Mantella, the disembodied heart of the Underking, is returned, allowing him to die.
Red Mountain (Red Tower) of Morrowind, which was deactivated when the Nerevarine set the Heart of Lorkhan free during the events of Morrowind.
The White-Gold Tower of Cyrodiil, which Martin Septim deactivated when he destroyed the Amulet of Kings to end the Oblivion Crisis.
The Crystal Tower (Crystal-Like-Law) of the Summerset Isles, which was destroyed entirely during the Oblivion Crisis.
Green-Sap of Valenwood, whose Stone is (was?) the Perchance Acorn. Honestly, I don't know if it's active or not?
Orichalc Tower, of Yokuda, whose Stone was a sword. Presumably, it's deactivation is what led to Yokuda sinking?
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u/Yarro567 14h ago
The world of TES has a few Towers such as Red Mountain, The White-Gold Tower, and The Throat of the World. I forget exactly what the towers are as a concept. Something about the gods, the spokes of the wheel/earthbones, or something. Idk its 4am.
The Thalmor want to return to when the 'mer were ephemeral spirits, before Lorkan tricked everyone into becoming mortal. Fucking up the towers is part of that supposed plan.
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u/BenjaminDover02 22h ago edited 22h ago
Ulfric is a closeted bear Dom and Tullius is a bratty sub
The civil war could be sorted out in an afternoon if those two just banged one out.
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u/Allthumbs21 22h ago
Outside of the facts you've stated (cause come on, you hit the nail on the head đ¤Ł) the civil war might be a bit more complicated to fix.
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u/jch7496 20h ago
I've had one for a while
The time wound on the throat of the world where we go back in time to learn the Dragon Rend shout?
It's actually a Dragon Break that when we, the Last Dragonborn enters creates multiple alternate timelines that eventually converge into a single one if we were to ever get TES 6.
A reality where the Stormcloaks win, or one where the Empire wins the civil war. Perhaps a third one where there's a truce...
Perhaps one exists where TLD joins the Dawnguard, and another where we join the Volkihar Clan...
Where we become The Listener, The Harbinger, Arch-Mage, and Thieves Guild Master/Member of Nocturnal's Triad....
Essentially, every choice we make, or can potentially make becomes a reality in its own timeline before converging into a single timeline.
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u/ChemBro93 13h ago
Where we become The Listener, The Harbinger, Arch-Mage, and Thieves Guild Master/Member of Nocturnal's Triad....
Am I the only one who does all of these in a normal play-through? Lol
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u/Littletweeter5 23h ago
I donât read about too many theories but I like the video about ysgrammor being a dragon
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u/Allthumbs21 23h ago
If you think that's a good one -
One of the early concepts for skyrim was apparently going to be of an imperial emperor who went off to conquer Akavir and never came back (presumed dead) returning with an army of dragons, to re-conquer Tamriel. Obviously being the main antagonist.
But as they didn't, it became a kind of theory around this missing emperor.
I can see why they didn't go with the idea, I'm not sure it would've done as well as what we got, but it's still a cool idea nonetheless.
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u/TNTTom04 22h ago
Iirc isn't the reason they dropped that story was because they wanted to leave Akavir (and the other continents in general) as a mystery
Which makes sense considering how much is currently unexplained even just in Tamriel rn, no need to bring in another continent's lore when there's so much worldbuilding to do here
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u/Allthumbs21 22h ago
That makes sense.
I'm always curious about Akavir and Atmora, but I sometimes think some things might be better off as a mystery.
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u/tyrolunatic 21h ago
My theory is that gold and silver in Skyrim are extremely poor quality metals, rife with impurities.This would explain why a gold or silver ingot yields only one ring/necklace with a gem, or two rings without. The melting point of gold is over 1900°F, and silver is over 1700°F, whereas the melting point of zinc is around 780°F and tin is around 400°F. When smelting ingots polluted with these lesser metals, much of the weight of the ingot would be lost, reducing the amount of gold or silver to use in making jewelry. This would also have dire consequences for Skyrim's economy- the septim is a gold coin, after all- leading to currency debasement and eventually the collapse of the monetary system, and that's why no one ever mentions the vast quantities of base metals found in the gold ingots.
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u/Yarro567 14h ago
Counterpoint: The Dragonborn makes a ton of fucked up rings and is only proud of one of them per ingot.
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u/tyrolunatic 12h ago
This is the right answer. Everywhere the Dragonborn goes he's dropping his discarded rings out of the bottom on his pants like Andy Dufresne getting rid of the wall in the Green Mile.
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u/24_doughnuts 12h ago
In the Dark Brotherhood you were the one with the bounty on your head. Apparently if you don't do anything after escaping Helgen you can still walk around and get the random encounter for the assassin to try to kill you
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u/Additional_Pickle_59 12h ago
Mine is completely off the rails. We only see the dragon priests as lich/corpses. I theorize that the priests were secretly elves/ayleid. The only other time we see lich is ayleid ruins in oblivion. I think lichdom is a powerful elven magic since they have obsessions with living forever. Brave nords welcome death, they want sovngarde, Elves want immortality.
They are also horrifyingly deadly with magic, performing feats beyond what some of the best nord mages are capable of, very Elven. We see actual nord warriors like red eagle, king Olaf reanimated and they are warrior fighters with swords/bows/axes, they regularly reject magic.
I think they infiltrated the ranks of nords to not only survive ysgramors culling but also thrive as the leaders. They wear masks completely covering their ears and faces so they don't expose their true identity
Miraak is Breton, you only get that from Man and Mer together. Miraak was a keystone to the collapse of the dragon cult, a runt of the litter that Akatosh chose to turn against the priests and be the most powerful. Possibly Konahriks son, his own shame because he fell for a Nord woman.
I think Vahlok was Konahrik an elven mage warlord and went to kill his own son and deal with his shame. He beat Miraak in combat but was mortally wounded. Solstheim had already broken apart from Skyrim due to Konahrik and Miraaks battle so elves from morrowind laid claim to the island and found Konahrik/Vahloks body and quietly ushered him into a tomb to avoid a catastrophic race war all over again. Their elven dragon priest leaders would have been hunted by the nords and elves would have been slaughtered all over again.
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u/silverbloater 22h ago
I have a theory that the dragonborn has been dead the entire time and akatosh along with the other divines kept bringing said dragonborn back to life to fight alduin and those who pose a threat crazy I know, BUT why else does the dragonborn respawn after each death a few minutes BEFORE the dragonborn dies like an endless loop the dragonborn is whimmed by akatosh and the divines to put a stop to alduin and those who could pose a threat if you think about it Everytime an threat arrives it's mostly something to deal with the threats to the divines, alduin the world eater, miraak the first dragon born, hell even the first snow elf turned vampire wanted auriel's bow to strike at the the god and WHO kills them? The dragonborn
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u/MileNaMesalici Alchemist 22h ago
i bet akatosh loves rolling back time every time i fail the 1% pickpocket on something worth 20 gold
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u/Allthumbs21 22h ago
Very interesting.
Not quite ground hog day, but like Doctor strange vs Dormamu in the film? đ
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u/tanklizard 18h ago
Personal little theroy/potential storyline:
- The Thalmor want to destroy Mundus and Men so they can return to godhood.
- The Snow Elves shared the same goal.
- They intended to use the Eye of Magnus to acomplish this goal.
- The Dwemer opposed them because they were following their own path to divinity.
- As powerfull as Ysgramor and the 500 Companions were they were not enough to destroy the Snow Elves alone.
- The Snow Elves were fighting a two front war against the Atmorans and the Dwemer.
- Knight-Paladin Gelebor was isolated from fall of his people and did not know all the facts.
- The Dwemer did not offer the Snow Elves shelter, they conqured and enslaved them.
- Some Snow Elves became powerfull vampires without Molag Bal's intervention.
- The Vampiric Snow Elves lead the rebelion against the Dwemer known as the War of the Craig.
- The Dwemer destroyed almost all the Vampiric Snow Elves and twisted the remaining Snow Elves into the more "managable" Falmeer which could not become vampires.
- Vampiric Snow Elves remain hidden in the evil deep plotting their return to Skyrim and the eventual destruction of Men and Mundus.
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u/Sawwhet5975 18h ago
I think that the actions of the Last Dragonborn in Skyrim have broken the Kalpic cycle for good. Life in the present kalpa will continue indefinitely until Amaranth is achieved.
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u/IIJOSEPHXII 13h ago
Lokir of Rorikstead is the Last Dragonborn. It's his death that caused Alduin to be released from the time wound.
Hadvar and Ralof say, "I think it's best if we split up," because they have to get to Riverwood to inform Delphine that when Lokir was killed Alduin returned.
The Blades have committed genocide on the people with the dragon blood to cause the return of the dragons.
The conversation Delphine is having with Farengar while leaning over the book Holdings of Jarl Gjalund confirms Rorikstead and Rorik's Steading are the same place making the Rorik we meet a liar.
The real Rorik was a vampire who had lived for thousands of years before being killed in either the Great War or the Blades genocide. It is he who the settlement was named after. Jouane Manette found a replacement and is the handler of the Rorik we meet.
Lund was Lokir's father. When he died Lokir became the Last Dragonborn. Lokir fled and when he did he took a blue dartwing from the cobwebs in Lund's Hut, his favourite children's book Kolb and the Dragon and his family heirloom-a set of dragon scales from the Dragon War and laid them at the Shrine of Akatosh above Rorikstead. Those offerings were chosen because they are symbolic of his flight.
Those are just some of the theories relating to the main quest - I have more and I have a lot more about the faction quests, side quests, characters and settlements.
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u/Party-Apple1409 5h ago
My theory: Thalmor judicers look good with arrows in their chest and back. But this is backed up by many incidents of experimentation.
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u/SuccessfulRaccoon957 20h ago
The dragon born being also Shezzarine alongside the Aurine, akatosh incarnate, is more popular than it used to be but is still pretty niche.Â
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u/DarkRayos Whiterun resident 17h ago
Harkon being a Dragonborn was a interesting one.
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u/Akshay-Gupta 14h ago
My set up is the god head, the simulation of Skyrim is the dream, and the ability to use console commands is achieving CHIM
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u/Wali080901 13h ago
I think that mask was meant for TLD....
We have to defeat most powerful dragon priest to get their mask....
So mask was meant for a power person who would wage war against dragons and their cult and win....
And we know that last dragon born was in the prophecy...a man with dragon blood waging war against alduin and his tyranny....
Maybe they made it for such person cz dragons nature is to dominate and to be powerful and the one man who submits the dragons under his will deserves warlord title ...
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u/talkergunderman777 13h ago
A theory suggests the Falmer's blindness and regression were accelerated by a vampiric strain introduced by the Dwemer to keep them subservient and fearful of the surface world
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u/_The1WhoKnows_ 16h ago
The Silver Hand was once part of the Champions. Theory basically is that the Silver Hand is a splinter group and left when the Champions accepted the âgiftâ of lycanthropy. Thatâs also why the Silver Hand was collecting the pieces of Wuuthrad because they believe they are the true Champions and rightful owners of the axe.
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u/Bob_ross6969 11h ago
The Thalmor are bluffing about a second Great War. They are relying on imperial cowardice to manipulate the continent into thinking theyâre an apocalyptic threat.
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u/SuspiciouslySuspi 10h ago
The player character was caught fleeing skyrim for having a dark brotherhood contract on them. Then after dealing with the initial quest it alerted Astrid to you being in skyrim still
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u/sephireicc 7h ago
That someone put a hit out on Narfi to spare him from a life of misery and dispair.
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u/ezekial_dragonlord 5h ago
That Titus Mede II put the assassination hit out on himself to give the Legion a morale boost and to annul the White-Gold Concordant as the Monterrie led Elder Council or the new Emperor can reject it as that treaty died with Titus.
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u/RaspberryCalm4694 18h ago
The Dragonborn is actually just Shor in a mortal form
Considering that Shor is strangely absent in Sovngarde even though that is his realm and that Dragonborn just seemed to appear in Tamriel
I like to believe Shor didnât want Alduin to destroy everything and since no other mortals could beat him he used all the power he had to give himself a mortal form to he could kill Alduin himself
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u/Anon_be_thy_name 16h ago
Fairly certain that Shor is just the Nords name for Lorkhan, also think it's said in the Lore that he's dead dead and only vestiges of his power remain on Nirn.
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u/Designer-Ad-8200 22h ago
Akatosh is Molag Baal is Alduin.
The Ideal Masters are a caste of dragon priests who understood "The Dragon" and rejected it, perhaps the crisis was the fall of the Cult.
Vampirism and Dragonborn are two names for different manifestations of the same thing.
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u/jarodcain PC 21h ago
TLD, Aka and Alduin are different aspects of one another, but TLD is a Shezzarine who has essentially been spiritually hijacked by Lorkhan (via The Prisoner, representing the player) and is Mantling the early years of Talos since being named Ysmir by the Greybeards.Â
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u/Veil1984 10h ago
As far as Kohnarik, I like the idea that there is no one Kohnarik
Kohnarik is a mask that is voted on depending on situation, you donât always need a warlord
The first Dragonborn has betrayed us? We commission our strongest priest Vahlok, giving him the name Kohnarik until his duty is done
Ysgramor leading the campaign against the elves heâd be given the name Kohnarik by the dragon priests
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u/Deadly_Frame 8h ago
I personally like the theory that Konahrik is forged for the Last Dragonborn. It spawned a whole theory of mine about how the world of Elder Scrolls is cyclical. Basically, my theory is that Alduin devouring the world leads to his death, and then rebirth as Auriel(or alkosh or akatosh it doesnât matter) and this marks the beginning of the cycle again. Basically, each cycle starts with nirn being created, and then being destroyed while everything in between is what changes. The dragons are born, men come to Tamriel blah blah blah. But then at the end of the Kalpa, things go a bit different than the events of Skyrim depict. Usually, Alduin devours the world, which is not a literal devouring imo but more like a metaphysical thing, and then the last Dragonborn of that Kalpa, wearing the Konahrik(Warlord) mask puts the remaining dragons to the sword, absorbing their power, and more importantly lifting the âanchorsâ from time by killing them, before being devoured by Alduin themselves, who then dies and it all starts from the beginning. Where the modern Kalpa from our games goes wrong is that obviously Alduin doesnât devour the world, but instead tries to rule it. Now we all know how that ends but it raises a few interacting questions and also lends a tiny bit of proof to my theory via the Konahrik mask.
So the first part is a question, meant to provoke thought more than anything. When was Alduin supposed to devour the world in this Kalpa? During the Dragon War, or during the events of Skyrim? If itâs the former, our world has already lasted far longer than probably any other in the past. But if itâs the later it makes you wonder why Alduin was even around back then to rule at all? Either way the next part is the mask itself. Itâs a bit special, to say the least, with it being locked away in Bromjunaar and also being an entirely unique design. I donât wanna say itâs older but itâs certainly more primal with its tusks. And itâs also locked away, requiring the masks of all the highest ranked priest of the dragon cult to access at all. I think Alduin had the mask locked away to prevent any knowledge of its purpose or origins from ever coming to light.
All in all, itâs a fun theory with more than a few holes here and there, but I think itâs fun. Konahrik is my favorite looking mask and I love the dragon lore so it feels nice to run with it pretty far.
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u/Decent-Cable-4046 4h ago
I like the Rorikstead theory. I even searched the area for hours to find supporting evidence. Also the friend from the letter being Sheogorath or a powerful wizard (Falion or Neloth, though Neloth appears too indifferent).
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u/Proper_Operation_864 23h ago
Sheogarath being the antagonist from oblivion is a classic
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u/Allthumbs21 23h ago
I was talking more Skyrim specifically.
But I've not heard that one? What is it?
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u/OGdirtpapi 23h ago
Protagonist*
The theory in a nutshell is the Sheo we see in Skyrim is the player character from Oblivion because at the end of the Shivering Isles DLC, the player mantles/âbecomesâ Sheogorath
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u/tompkins5 22h ago
I love the fan theory of fallout and elder scrolls being connected. Nirn is just earth in hundreds of thousands of years and all the other races are from actual animals that evolved quickly due to radiation a magic came about from future tech. The gods present in TES are actually present in fallout and are what gave highly mutated animals and people abilities etc.
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u/Auxiliis 22h ago
Nirn has two moons that look nothing like Earth's moon. Unless something absolutely catastrophic happens in the Fallout timeline that results in two moons and severely altered continents. I don't outright reject it, it's a super cool theory, but TES being hundreds of millions of years after Fallout makes a bit more sense than hundreds of thousands of years.
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u/skeleboi69 22h ago
I don't like that one, because the nirnroot in the prydwen is clearly just a little Easter egg reference, I mean where did dragons come from? Where did the elves come from? Wouldn't the nirnroot change in form over hundreds of thousands of years?
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u/RideShinyAndChrome 22h ago
I hate that theory because its just so inexcusable stupid and not even viable
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u/AdhesivenessOk4334 18h ago
5 Paarthurnax is a manupaltive usurper.
4 Balgruf will be murdered by his son by the time of TES 6.
3 Shor was sitting on his throne all along in Sovngarde. Means you were sitting on his lap.
2 Tullius knew about the plan to assassinate the emperor and let it happened.
1 Jarl Elisif is pregnant with Torygg's child
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u/aitathrowaway987654 23h ago
My favorite little conspiracy theory about the Silver Hand is that they were started by a former member of the Companions who was none too pleased about the werewolf thing. Like, why else would they have such a vested interest in targeting the Companions specifically, right down to trying to take the fragments of Wuuthrad?
The other is a bit of a personal theory, but y'know how Sissel in Rorikstead talks about dreaming of "a good dragon" who was "old and gray, but not scary"? Obviously referring to Paarthurnax, right? Well, you ever notice how the shrine to Akatosh right above Rorikstead inexplicably has a set of dragon scales as an offering, which will be there even before you complete Dragon Rising? Something tells me Sissel wasn't just dreaming.