Thu-um

For ages, the Nords have considered the breath and voice of one to be their vital essence. By tapping into a long-practiced spirtual form of magic known as "The Way of the Voice", or summoning one's "Voice", Nords are able to cast a thu'um, or a shout. Using the thu'um, a Nord can shake down walls, sharpen blades, and even strike foes from a distance. Nords who master the Voice (such as the Greybeards) are called Tongues, and are immensely powerful. Thu'um is powerful enough in Tongues that they can act as human siege engines, can call to people over vast distances, and even cast themselves over vast distances, landing where their shout does.

Many in Tamriel's past were masters of thu'um. Tiber Septim, the famous founder of the Cyrodiilic Empire, was skilled in thu'um until his throat was slit, rendering him incapable of using the Voice.