Shor

Shor is the Nordic representation of the god Lorkhan, who after the creation of the mortal realm of Nirn took sides with the forefathers of Men during the Ehlnofey Wars of the Dawn Era. He is considered the husband of the goddess Kyne and the embodiment of the Nordic afterlife of Sovngarde.

Legend and lore
According to Nordic legend, the "Elven Giants" (i.e. the Meri pantheon), harboring bitterness against Shor for his creation of the mortal plane of Nirn, conspired against Lorkhan and brought about the god's demise at Red Mountain in the Dawn Era, dooming Shor to the underworld. Storms and rainfall, natural phenomena associated with the goddess Kyne, are said to first have begun to occur in the world after these events of legend.

Ancient Atmoran tradition depicts Shor as a bloodthirsty warrior-god, who led the descendents of the Wandering Ehlnofey (the Men) to victory over their Old Ehlnofey (the Mer) oppressors time and again. Due to this close association with the races of Men, Lorkhan is sometimes also referred to as the Children's God. Before his doom, Shor was called the King of the Gods, a title which has only been attributed to one other divinity; Akatosh.

Together with Akatosh, Lorkhan is one of two deities that are mentioned in the religious traditions of all cultures in Tamriel. Universally recognized as the divinity most responsible for the world's creation, interpretations of Shor vary widely between the cultures of Men and Mer in particular: The former often view him as a fallen hero-god to mortal kind, whereas the latter uniformly vilify him as a trickster or a demon-god, responsible for having separated their immortal essence from the spirit world.

Beliefs involving Shor
The afterlife of Sovngarde is believed by Nordic cultures to be a divine covenant that exists between Shor (Lorkhan) and descendents of Wandering Ehlnofey who fought at Shor's side during the Dawn Era (most commonly, the Atmorans and their own descendents, the Nords). This ancient belief holds that those among Men, who are linked through blood to these Wandering Ehlnofey, will upon their deaths have the worth of their soul judged not by the manner in which they have lived, but by the manner in which they have died. Hence, the souls of such mortal men and women who die bravely in battle or fall while fighting for their beliefs are granted passage to the afterlife of Sovngarde per Shor's decree, where in Lorkhan's own image, they earn a place within Sovngarde's Hall of Valor, among the rest of the heroes of Men.

Shor may be considered the de facto ruler of this afterlife of Sovngarde, as other divinities who hearken back to the Dawn Era, such as Tsun, appear to reside there and they refer to Lorkhan as their sovereign. This is a surprising revelation, as Shor's continuing active agency in his realm runs counter to Lorkhan's status as a "dead" god. This may be due to the fact that the Aedra can be killed as part of the divine contract of creation, meaning they too may have access to an afterlife of their own making, unlike the Daedra.

Among many Nords of present-day, as well as other mortal men and women who trace their lineage to Wandering Ehlnofey who stood at Lorkhan's side, Shor often is still held in great reverence. Venerated as a Chief-God alongside Akatosh despite his status as "deceased", and as the noble Lord of Sovngarde, many Nordic characters are heard to swear by Shor, and his name is often invoked in Nordic expressions involving great emotion. On several of the Word Walls that were erected by the ancient Nords during the Merethic Era, references to Lorkhan are inscribed in the Dragon Language, in which Shor is referred to as the "hoar father". Tellingly, one such inscription upon the World Walls translates as follows:

" Noble Nord, remember these words of the hoar father: Fear not the specter of death, for he is the herald of glory and your guide to great Sovngarde. "

Shor's Tongue
Shor's Tongue was the first song of King Wulfharth; dating back to 1E 500. After the defeat of the Alessian army at Glenumbria Moors, where King Hoag Merkiller was slain, Wulfharth of Atmora was elected by the Pact of Chieftains. His thu'um was so powerful that he could not verbally swear into the office, and scribes were used to draw up his oaths. Immediately thereafter, bards scribed the first law of his reign: a fiery reinstatement of the traditional Nordic pantheon. The edicts were outlawed, their priests put to the stake, and their halls set ablaze. The shadow of King Borgas had ended for a span. For his zealotry, King Wulfharth was called "Shor's Tongue", and Ysmir, Dragon of the North.

Axioms

 * "Shor's bones(!)" is a common exclaimation amongst Nords, generally used to express surprise or shock.

Trivia

 * Shor's Stone, a small community in, is named after him.
 * Shor's Watchtower also bears his name.