User blog:Dmahurdle/Shrines, Lore, and Talos

This blog is to present my view on Talos, the Thalmer, and Religion in Tamriel.

Talos was born a nord by the name of Tiber Septim. He did great things for the empire, and united the nations, bringing about peace.

Upon death, some say he ascended to godhood, where he was as highly regarded as the other eight divines.

At the signing of the White-Gold Concordat, which brought an end to the Great War of 4E, the Aldmeri Dominion demanded that the empire stop recognizing Talos as a god, and ban his worship.

Their motive behind this was purely arogant. Talos was a man, and the Altmer believe that Mer (in particular, Altmer) are superior to man in every way. They hated the idea of a Man who became a god, while no Mer had ever done so.

The Nords of Skyrim revere Talos above all others, because he was a Nord, and they are semi-arrogant themselves. This is one of the primary causes of the Civil War.

So, the question I pose to all of you is this: How do shrines work?

Let me elaborate: Shrines must work in one of two ways:

1. The divine of the shrine directly bestowes a divine blessing upon whomever worships/sacrifices at an alter,

or...

2. The shrine is a simple item enchanted by the priests/priestesses of the divine to encourage the worship of the divine they serve.

If it is the first, I can't see any possible way that the Thalmer could claim that Talos is not a god, and get away with it.

If it is the second, I can see no real evidence that Talos is a god.

(Just to clarify, I am not supporting the Thalmer even if there is no evidence. They have no right to dictate whom one may worship just because there is no hard evidence.)

So I ask you, does anyone know of any in-game lore that offers either a description of how exactly shrines work or any other evidence that Talos is a god?

Thanks for your time.