Board Thread:Lore Discussion/@comment-24986094-20140526090540/@comment-69.123.217.197-20150225235307

Eh, to answer this you have to go down the rabbit hole that is Elder Scrolls metaphysics. I'll try to be as concise as possible with this:

Above all, you have Aka, who is arguably the original Time Dragon. From him, by virtue of mythopoeic forces (how mortal beliefs affect and shape the nature of Aedric deities), come then the major aspects, Alduin, Alkosh, Auriel, and others. Note, while all these aspects still represent a part of the Time Dragon Oversoul, they are distinct from one another by virtue of the fact that mortals believe them to be different. Akatosh is a somewhat special case: he is formed from the Marukhati Selectives, a result of mortals creating a new Time Dragon by transplanting foreign (arguably Lorkhanic) ideas in order to create a man-friendly deity. Akatosh is born, but as he is the Time Dragon, when he was born he always was. He retroactively changed the timeline in the moment of his birth, and thus always existed as chief of the aspects of Aka. Thus, Alduin refers to Akatosh as Father, despite the fact that Alduin existed before Akatosh came to be. These aspects are all the Time Dragon, and yet are distinct: they can oppose and conspire against one another, just as Alduin and Akatosh oppose one another in the events of Skyrim.