User blog:Tholanar/Thoughts on the nordic pantheon.

Hey there TES-fans and wikians!

After a bit of thought-weaving and speculating, I have come up with some musings on the ancient nordic pantheon.

Shor: The legendary warrior who led the charge in the great Elhnofey wars against the Aldmeri pantheon. Represented by a snake, to symbolize his clever words when he tricked the other gods into giving up their power for his grand design. His heart was sent to Nirn, and thus, his divine plane(t), Dawn's beauty, or Tamriel in elvish, was also mixed with Nirn, becoming the great continent which we live and breathe on. But how did he end up in Sovngarde?

I like to believe, that the Old Elhnofey (The Aldmeri pantheon), did not only execute him by tearing out his heart (Only known way of killing a god), they also trapped his soul. As a Padomaic spirit, what we today would call a Daedra, his home would naturally lie in Oblivion. So the Aedra chose to trap his spirit in his own personal afterlife, in the realm of his enemies: Aetherius. Much like a soul trap, I believe. Dead, and unable to reach beyond his eternal prison in the Anuic realm. Quite a harsh punishment.

Tsun: Lorkhan (AKA Shor or Shezzar) is known as the only dead god. But is that really true? If it was, what explains Tsun's presence in Sovngarde, when his brother Stuhn (Stendarr) is flying around as one of the Divines and one of the planets on Nirn's skyline? Was Tsun maybe so loyal to Shor, that he chose to journey with him to the eternal prison? We know from TES V: Skyrim that traveling to Sovngarde is possible without being dead. But maybe, just maybe, he was slain on the battlefield as well? Executed in a similar manner while his brother Stuhn was spared? Is it possible that Shor is not the only dead god?

Stuhn: And Stuhn. He and his brother Tsun served as Shield-Thane's to Shor, likely his top lietenants as well. Known as the god who taught man to take prisoners of war, and we also know that he is the god of mercy (Stendarr and Stuhn are one and the same). As I already stated, it is quite odd that he wasn't killed like Tsun (possibly) was. He was apparently permitted to live. Mercy to the god of mercy.

Jhunal: The esteemed Julianos who we today know as the god of Logic and Wisdom. I believe this guy to be the reason for the nord prejudice against magic. According to Tsun, the nords once respected it. It was possibly Jhunal who taught the nords magic, and it was probably also his disappearance from the modern nordic pantheon that caused the nords to forget their 'clever craft', which their ancestors had once held in as high regard as the art of warfare.

Kyne: The Warrior-Goddess of the storm, wife of Shor, and kind mother of men. Not very many theories about her, except for this one: that it was perhaps she who taught the nords healing magic, as the temple of kynareth in Whiterun is nothing short of a hospital. Perhaps she and Mara, when they were not fighting (If Mara did fight at all), was responsible for patching up Shor and the others. The Stormcloak Battle-Maiden class is most likely invented by her.

Mara: Handmaiden of Kyne, Mother Goddess and goddess of love and family union. As said before, she isn't excactly a warrior goddess, and she was most likely just aiding Kyne in patching up the other gods in the calm pauses between the battles among the stars.

Ysmir: Now this is a strange one. According to lore, he is the nordic aspect of Talos. However, that may not be true. First of all, because Talos is what the nords called, and is still calling, him. Second, because Ysmir has, according to lore, been part of the ancient nordic pantheon from long before Talos was born. He is the aspect of the dragonborn, and all dragonborn can be classified as Ysmir. But Ysmir seems to be older than the greybeards. He was present in the atmoran pantheon, from before the greybeards and the dragon war of Skyrim. So who is the original Ysmir? I have a possible answer to that: Maybe Ysmir is Miraak, the first dragonborn ever? I believe Miraak is the only Dragonborn old enough to have lived on Atmora, so who else could it possibly be? Also, Miraak's connection to Hermaeus Mora may be the cause of Mora's appearance in the nord mythology, as the 'demon of knowledge'.

Dibella: Well, no special thoughts on her.

Alduin: The God of Destruction and lord of the dragons. Alduin was originally meant by Akatosh to carry out the end of time at a certain point, most likely as soon as possible so those arrogant Old Ehlnofey and their children (the aldmer) could have their power and immortality back, and ruin Shor's creation. No wonder the nords saw him as just as evil as the rest of the Old Elhnofey. He probably chose to rule the nords instead of destroying the world, because he found much fun in tormenting the children of his enemies, the Wandering Elhnofey.

Herma-Mora: While not god being worshipped per se, he still holds a place in nord mythology. Again, I believe the reason the nords dislike him was because his involvement with Miraak. Heck, they probably blame Herma-Mora for making Miraak abandon his destiny to destroy Alduin, their great enemy. Can you imagine it? Dragons, children of the ancient enemies of Shor, rule the nords with an iron maw(?), finally a hero that can combat the beasts arise, and then a foreign demon from another dimension come and manipulate him with power and knowledge, turning him away from his destiny and leaving the nords to suffer. No wonder they call Mora a demon.

Most of this is speculation, most of it is not really important, but I just felt like I wanted to share this with somebody.

May Kynareth watch over you!