Board Thread:Lore Discussion/@comment-97.81.240.58-20130603234626/@comment-24590102-20140320071629

Dovahsebrom wrote: Smoking.Chimp wrote: Actually, whether Talos, or any of the other "Divines", really are "Divines" is a non-issue because it is a matter of meagre status (i.e. the difference between a king and a highwayman - which, solely, boils down to posession of a crown or other perceived totem). At most, it is a question of language. How is a "Divine" defined and does Talos fit that definition?

As for the Thalmor being correct - their strategy worked and they successfully incited civil war in Skyrim by taking a non-issue and turning it into the most flimsy excuse possible to abuse the inalienable right of people to freedom of thought. Think spark + air/fuel vapour mixture.

Of course, never confuse being correct or even "right" with doing good. Talos is a god as he mantled Lorkhan. The Thalmor even recognize Talos as a god, they just say he isn't to weaken his influence in Mundus. Though the Thalmor probably have created the illusion among lesser AD associates that Talos is a "False-God", as the Thalmor end-game is quite brutal.

The word Divine, when referring to the "Nine Divines" is a titular term at best. Basically all it says is that the god is worshiped in the "Nine Divines" pantheon, it's practically meaningless as the term could be used to refer to any god as long as the Empire wants to worship them in their pantheon. .

Yes, but the same argument that Talos is a "false-god" can be applied to any or all other gods in the pantheon - which is a matter of cosmological interpretation rather than fact. The "Divines" all have their powers and their associated mythology - as do the Daedra who take on a much more visible role in Tamriel. But do such things make them gods or just beings with better toys? In the worldview put forward by the cosmology this may be so, but it doesn't necessarily make it true that such beings are gods because the definition varies with culture, temperament and ideology.

Moreover, there's yet another easter egg here, this time referring to a bit of folklore which I recall was still doing the rounds in the 20th Century and it concerned the faeries at the bottom of the garden which, according to the legend, cease to exist when people stop believing in them. Given the cosmological idea of mantling in the context of this easter eg, I think we are seeing a TES theme which raises the tantalising question as to which of our modern beliefs mantled or replaced those faeries at the bottom of the garden?