Nordic Pantheon



The Nordic Pantheon is the main religion of the Nordic people. St Alessia merged this pantheon and the Aldmeri Pantheon to create the religion of the Eight Divines.

This is not to be confused with the Ancient Nordic Pantheon from which this religion originated.

The "Dead" Gods
The Nordic gods that fought and died to bring about the current cycle of the Aurbis. The Nord religion does not erect temples or shrines in their name, as these divinities are believed to already reside within the greatest temple of all—Sovngarde.

Shor
The "God of the Underworld" and the King of the Gods, Shor is the Nordic variant of the god Lorkhan, who took sides with Men after the creation of Nirn. He is the husband of the goddess Kyne and the creator and ruler of Sovngarde, the Nordic afterlife. Atmoran myths depict him as a bloodthirsty warrior-king who leads the Nords to victory over their Aldmeri oppressors time and again. Shor was the chief of the gods, until he was killed by the Elven Gods. These gods ripped out his heart and flung it across the world, with Red Mountain forming where it landed.

If Nords are slain in battle, their souls find themselves in Sovngarde, realm of Shor. There their spirits feast, sing and spar within the Hall of Valor at Shor's side in a state of self-contained euphoria. The souls of the heroes remain in Sovngarde until they ride out one last time with Shor during The Last War, where they will show their final, best worth.

Tsun
The Nordic god of trials against adversity. He is brother to Stuhn and the shield-thane of Shor, and died defending Shor from the Elven Gods. Tsun was sent to Sovngarde and was ordered by Shor to guard the whalebone bridge to the Hall of Valor. He guards the way to the Hall of Valor and tests all who wish to gain entry to the hall by fighting them in a trial by combat, those who succeed in defeating him are able to gain entry.

The Hearth Gods
Nordic divinities who watch over the present cycle. The Nords dedicate temples and shrines to them that are appropriate to their nature; those of Kyne are build on peaks, Mara's are those of important witches, and those of Dibella are the halls of important wives. Unlike Imperial temples, the shrines of the Hearth Gods are always homes to someone, and the highest ranking females of these homes serve as their de facto high priestess.

Kyne
Kyne, "Kiss at the End," warrior-widow to Shor and the Goddess of the Storm, is the Nordic variant of Kynareth and a favored god of warriors and hunters. Supporters of the Old Ways among the Nords dismiss Kynareth as a "pale shadow" of Kyne, and believe she is the one who leads souls of slain warriors to Sovngarde, the realm of her husband, Shor. She is often called the Mother of Men, as Nords believe that the sky exhaled onto the land at the Throat of the World to form them. Nords still refer to themselves as the "Sons and Daughters of Kyne" because of this belief.

She is also known for giving Paarthurnax, the lieutenant of Alduin, the task of teaching mortalkind the Thu'um, thus turning him and other dragons against Alduin.

Mara
In the Nordic Pantheon, Mara is a handmaiden of Kyne, worshiped as the Goddess of Love and Marriage. Mara is the most universal goddess, as she is found in nearly every religion. In Skyrim, a pendant honoring her is worn to court lovers. Citizens know that a man or woman wearing one is seeking a candidate for marriage.

Dibella
Popular god of the Nine Divines, Dibella is the Goddess of Beauty. In Cyrodiil, she has nearly a dozen different forms of worship, some devoted to women, some to artists and aesthetics, and others to erotic instruction.

The Testing Gods
Those gods who threaten the present cycle and the Hearth Gods, and thus are watched. They are not given temples or shrines, but are propitiated at battlegrounds or other sites where they are said to have caused notable strife and discord.

Orkey
Also known as Old Knocker. A loan-god of the Nords, who seem to have taken up his worship during Aldmeri rule of Atmora. Nords believe they once lived as long as Elves until Orkey appeared; through heathen trickery, he fooled them into a bargain that 'bound them to the count of winters'. At one time, legends say, Nords only had a lifespan of six years due to Orkey's foul magic. Shor showed up, though, and, through unknown means, removed the curse, throwing most of it onto the nearby Orcs.

Herma-Mora
Also known as the Woodland Man: Ancient Atmoran demon who, at one time, nearly seduced the Nords into becoming Aldmer. Most Ysgramor myths are about escaping the wiles of old Herma-Mora.

The Twilight Gods
The Nordic gods who will usher in the next cycle. The end of a cycle is believed to be preceded by the Dragonborn God; a god that did not exist in the previous cycle but whose presence means that the current one is almost over.

Alduin
Scholars speculate that Alduin, the "World Eater," is the Nordic name attributed to Akatosh but is only superficially resembles his counterpart in the Nine Divines. One source states that Alduin and Akatosh are very different deities entirely. Because Akatosh's invocation appears as Dragon, he is attributed as their "father." Playing off this, Alduin proclaimed himself as the "First-Born of Akatosh!"

Alduin's sobriquet, "the world eater," comes from myths that depict him as the horrible, ravaging firestorm that destroyed the last world to begin this one. Nords therefore see the god of time as both creator and harbinger of the apocalypse.

Ysmir
Ysmir, "Dragon of the North," is the Nordic equivalent of Talos and is the most important hero-god of Mankind.

As Tiber Septim, Talos conquered all of Tamriel and ushered in the Third Era. He withstood the power of the Greybeards' voices long enough to hear their prophecy. Later, many Nords could not look on him without seeing a dragon. After death, his spirit ascended to the heavens and became divine.

The name Ysmir is in fact a title which means "Dragon of the North," and was christened upon the warrior Tiber Septim when the Greybeards formally recognized him as Dragonborn. Ysmir is a name that has also been attributed to Wulfharth and Pelinal Whitestrake, although the authenticity of these stories is unclear. Though this implies that the name of Ysmir has been given to all Dragonborn, and other heroes of men.

Other

 * Stuhn is the Nordic precursor to Stendarr, Stuhn, "God of Ransom," is the brother of Tsun. Shield-thane of Shor, Stuhn was a warrior god that fought against the Aldmeri pantheon. He showed Men how to take, and the benefits of taking, prisoners of war.
 * Jhunal is the god of hermetic orders, runes, and the Nordic father of language and mathematics is Jhunal. After falling out of favor with the rest of this pantheon, he became Julianos of the Nine Divines. He is absent in modern Skyrim mythology.
 * Mauloch, an Orcish god, troubled the heirs of King Harald for a long time. Fled east after his defeat at the Battle of Dragon Wall, ca. 1E 660. His rage was said to fill the sky with his sulphurous hatred, later called the "Year of Winter in Summer."