Dragonborn (Lore)



"[...] But... there is one they fear. In their tongue... he is 'Dovahkiin' - Dragonborn!"

- Esbern

A Dragonborn is someone who is born with the soul of a dragon, meaning that they have been given a gift by the gods.

Skyrim
The Dragonborn (or Dovahkiin, in Dragon Tongue), is the player character in The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim. At the start of the game, the Dragonborn is a prisoner who is sentenced to death for crossing the border of Skyrim. However, the Dovahkiin's captors likely have no idea that he is the one the The Eleder Scrolls prophet to save Tamariel from th return of the dragons.

In the teaser trailer, Esbern mentions the reawakening of the Dragons. Immediately after, he mentions that they fear the one they call "Dovahkiin"-- Dragonborn. Dragonborn, in the Dragon language, is actually a combination of the words "dovah", meaning "dragon", and "kiin", meaning "born".

Previous Games
In the Elder Scrolls universe, the term Dragonborn is used to refer to the descendants of Emperor Tiber Septim, founder of the Septim Dynasty of Tamriel. Most of past Dragonborn have been of the Imperial race; however, Dragonborn can be of any race, as the abilities and title are given by the Nine Divines to favored subjects.

It also may refer to the Nerevarine, the main character from Morrowind, who is referred to as "Dragon-born" in the Lost Prophecy. The issues have since been cleared up, with Game Developer Todd Howard revealing that the "Dragonborn" of Skyrim will be different to those in previous games.