Board Thread:Lore Discussion/@comment-31082174-20170329222809/@comment-24144336-20190322152301

A mortal soul is eligible for entry into Sovngarde only if they're linked by ancestry to the Wandering Ehlnofey who fought at Shor's side during the end of the Dawn Era. It's these Ehlnofey and their descendants to whom Shor accorded the Nordic afterlife. The "first generation" of those descendants were the Atmorans: mortal offspring of the Wandering Elhnofey who demonstrated heroic bravery when they made a last stand against the Aldmeri Pantheon in defense of Shor without hope of victory.

Ages later, the "second generation" of descendants emerged as the Nords: a distinct group that resulted from Atmorans interbreeding with the Nedes of Skyrim--the same Nedic people the Atmorans liberated from the dominion of the Snow Elves during The Return. As Nords are able of entering into Sovngarde just as their Atmoran forebears were, a likely explanation is that the Nordic afterlife remains available across time & interbreeding to those who trace their bloodline from their father's side directly to Shor's favored Elhnofey.

Should the Nords, in turn, give rise to another derivative through gradual interbreeding, as the Atmorans did with them, the individuals belonging to that "third generation" of descandants would have access to Sovngarde just as Atmorans & Nords. And so on, across the ocean of time. But two criteria must always be met: 1) the paternal ancestries of these mortal men & women must trace back to Shor's chosen Ehlnofey like an unbroken road and 2) they must have died in ways which speak of courage or defiance--echoing the timeless bravery of their distant Ehlnofey ancestors.

If both of these criteria are indeed met, then Shor will see them in their death, and he will know & recognize them; and these souls of Men too earn the right to join in the "blessed feasting" until The Last War. That is the nature of Sovngarde.