Board Thread:General Discussion/@comment-1486547-20130805224453/@comment-25936854-20170503202840

I apologize in the off-chance this annoys anyone or "rustles their jimmies".

You haven't specified that we'd be born into the Elder Scrolls universe, which I will use for an excuse for my answer:

I for one would stick with- or, if I'd forgotten, hopefully "re-discover"- monotheism, and worship a/the hidden, yet ever-present and ever-acting God. Above the Aedra, above the Aedra, above even Anu, Padomey, and Nir, and even above whatever's above them, and so on.

I apologize, but while the gods of the Elder Scrolls universe are interesting and many even likeable, I don't think I'd want to worship any of them; A subtle, invisible, Great Spirit makes more sense in my opinion. I know this is ridiculous, but this occupies my mind and describes how I feel even when I let myself get fully sucked into Tamrielic adventuring.

Of course, considering how the Elder Scrolls characters, and in particular cults, tend to be, I like to think I'd have to sense to keep this to myself and not go around insulting anyone or spouting my beliefs.

___

Now, that being said, I do, as I said before, like some of the gods and goddesses in the Elder Scrolls universe as symbols, mythological figures, and as characters, and strongly identify with several of the things that they represent.

So, while I wouldn't worship any of them, I do like to think that I would want to allow tribute to some of them. I apologize; these are based on potent, subconsciously-rooted values of my simple little mind. I know that if my ridiculous preaching in the past two paragraphs didn't make you cringe or roll your eyes, this probably will; I apologize in advance.

Here are the ones I like to think I would tip my hat to and maybe give a grateful word to the soonest:

Of the Aedra:

-Mara, for her emphasis on love and compassion and, supposedly- if the scene in Riften with the priest in the bar is to be trusted- abstention from indulgence. Moreover yet, her command to honor our parents. I don't know about you all, but I love my Mama and Papa in real life, and that, kind of like my monotheistic silliness, follows me wherever I go, including into the seas of code that are video games, and including among them even the Elder Scrolls games.

-Kynareth, due to her connection with Nature, which I for one love- I cannot overstate the degree to which this is the case- including its meteorological component, which is among my favorites of it. I'd also be grateful to her for her purported eagerness to help make Mundus. This, of course, is in case it is indeed true that she was the first to willingly agree with Lorkhan's plan and provided the space.

...Also, why lie? I've got a fanboy crush on the Spriggans and Stamina's my favorite of the three base stats. Pavlovian psychology at its most obvious, I know.

The rest of the Aedra's expressed values (with the exception of Dibella, and in some regards Akatosh), I can, and do, strongly agree with, and give kudos for their championing, for which I like to think I would indeed tip my hat to them and donate to an altar for or the like, but inexplicably they come to me as mere afterthoughts compared to the first two goddesses.

OH YES! I just remembered one more:

-Lorkhan. I know that he's not usually counted among the Aedra, but I'd argue he is one. After all, he's the one who first came up with the idea of a mortal realm and put its creation into motion. If he hadn't gotten that idea, Nirn wouldn't exist, and this hypothetical would have warped me into a block of space where my head would explode.

<p style="font-weight:normal;">__

<p style="font-weight:normal;">I never thought I'd say this when I was first getting into The Elder Scrolls, but there is actually one Daedra I would honor and give my earnest regards to: Malacath.

<p style="font-weight:normal;">To be honest, in real life as well as in the Elder Scrolls universe itself, I see a lot of ostracization, disrespect, and even outright mistreatment of people who, at least in my opinion, don't necessarily deserve it. I apologize for how self-pitying this probably sounds, but I have to admit that I've had a couple of rough experiences with the vaster cloth, too.

<p style="font-weight:normal;">Of course, in the Elder Scrolls universe, which of course I'm being transported to in this hypothetical scenario, this is far more severe and obscene than in any real-life experiences I've had. I know this is obscenely self-righteous, for which I apologize, but seeing injustice on the level of extortion, murder, and forbiddance of food and shelter, like we see in many Elder Scrolls games, would probably push my sanity to the brink. I'm gutless; I don't think I'd be able to handle seeing all that in front of me, at least on my own devices.

<p style="font-weight:normal;">Malacath would probably be my go-to Daedra for comfort. I like to think that I would take comfort in knowing there to be an entity in this world who fights for the oppressed, the wronged, and the downtrodden.

<p style="font-weight:normal;">Unfortunately for me, I'd probably get myself killed. I'd go on to try to set Malacath onto whoever I thought was unjust, and while I realize Malacath himself wouldn't care, his followers would probably take offense and I'd get a nice Orcish Dagger in the back.

<p style="font-weight:normal;">___

<p style="font-weight:normal;">Finally, before I get backstabbed as described, I like to think I would express gratitude to Anu for creating this world and all its entities and inhabitants and allowing it and its denizens a chance to exist. T his would be in sincere reverence.

<p style="font-weight:normal;"> Well, that, and I want to chip in in giving the fellow (?) ample reason to not wake up. He's supposed to dreaming, after all; for that I assume he's sleeping. I'm not sure if Anu's relationship with the Elder Scrolls universe is the same as Azathoth's with the Lovecraft universe, but I'd be in no rush to edge us closer to finding out. A good dream probably keeps Anu sleeping, which in turn lets him keep sleeping, which keeps us corporeal- and every person who gives him thanks probably helps to buy us an iota of time, by making the dream more pleasant and giving him reason to want to keep dreaming.

<p style="font-weight:normal;">That's a bucket I'd like to chip in with. Even a fat loser teleported in from another universe thanking him might be an iota better than not.

<p style="font-weight:normal;">At any rate, it's one person who *isn't* driving Anu to point of saying, "%#*k this, I'm getting up", and washing Nirn's existence away with a shower and a cup of coffee.

<p style="font-weight:normal;">___

<p style="font-weight:normal;">Well, that's my answer. Basically, I don't think I'd want to *worship* any of them, but I would be willing to afford them some degree of reverence, and perhaps give them tribute, orally and/or in item.

<p style="font-weight:normal;">Thank you for this prompt. I have enjoyed it.