User blog:Croaker227/The Decline of Tamriel

Has anyone else noticed the general decline of Tamriel? For starters (and to me the most noticeable) is the loss of variety in Magicka from game to game. I first started playing with Morrowind. That game was epic in its scope and variety of magical spells. Several were lost by the time Oblivion rolls around, and now in Skyrim we see the loss of an entire school: Mysticism. Yes, some of the spells were rolled into other schools, but not all of them. Feather, Levitate, Jump, Slowfall, Open Lock, Swift Swim, and Water Walking were lost from Alteration. Blind, Night Eye, Silence and Sound from Illusion. Mark, Recall, Reflect, Detect Enchantment, Detect Key, Dispell were lost from Mysticism. The list goes on. A MASSIVE number of Enchantment abilities were lost. We find out in Skyrim that the Mages Guild has dissolved. Granted, now everyone has basic ability in Magic, but the options are depleted.

Beyond the loss of Magical abilities, we see other changes. The loss of the Septims has led to a decline for Tamriel as it struggles to manage the political and economical ramifications of a dying Empire. Skyrim itself is (at the very least architecturally) in decline. The various "forts" which a player must conquer in the Civil war are one and all in states of disrepair, leaving only 9 defendable locations (some of the Hold capitals don't even have walls). Race issues are becoming more pronounced. The island of Morrowind itself is a volcanic ruin, ever since the Ministry of Truth crashed to the earth and demolished Vivec City (further evidence of magical decline). Now the Dunmer are a scattered remnant.

It just seems to me that as the games move forward in time, Tamriel becomes more desolate and unravelled. The olden days of Tamriel were its Golden Years, and now it appears to be falling apart. Maybe I'm the only one who finds this interesting, but it leaves me wondering what we'll see in the next major installment of the Elder Scrolls.