Board Thread:Lore Discussion/@comment-26228374-20150321040919/@comment-121511-20150323025546

PrayingSeraph wrote: Okay, so I get that the eight et'Ada have different aspects that are created when different cultures worship/interpret them, and that these aspects can even conflict with one another. We can clearly see this is Auri El and Akatosh, both being from Aka yet both are patrons of two very conflicting races.

Let's use my favorite Aedra, Stendarr as an example. When someone worships him, is he conscious of it? Does he bless those who follow him? I know it's a stupid question as alters/necklaces/symbols of the Aedra do obviously bless those who use worship at or wear them. But I just want this clarified for sure.

I will disagree about the Fourth Era though, as there are no signs that people revere the Aedra any less. There followings are just as big, and as we see in current Tamriel, religious freedom and controversy is at its greatest. The nords are fiercely defending Talos while the Aldmeri Dominion is trying to suppress any worship of him throughout Tamriel. We also know that the Aedra predate all races. I have yet to see any character who denied the existence of the Gods. It is hard to be an atheist in Elder Scrolls lol.

I know Aedra are bound to Mundas, as they gave most of their power in creating it, I just want to know the if they are conscious and viewing the events of Mundas. I get the history, I just want to know a bit of the characteristics of their state.

Keep in mind that Stendarr is not an Aedroth, he is an Aspect: specifically, the Imperial Aspect of the Aedroth whose Sphere is Mercy: his Nordic mirror-brother is Stuhn, though I don't recall the names of any others, if they've been revealed at all. Of the Original Eight Aedra, to my knowledge, only Aka's name is known. Much in the lore is unexplained or unrevealed, making speculation necessary.

At any rate, the question of whether Shrine/Amulet blessings are actually divine gifts is also one whose answer is not entirely clear. By this point in time, due to the fact that the Aspects rarely if ever intervene in mortal affairs, it's difficult to say whether those miracles worked by priests or artifacts claiming/claimed to represent a particular Aedric God are actually such, or if they are simply the result of mortal magic worked to maintain the appearance that the Gods have not abandoned their people. Mind, as well, the blessings do not apply to every man or woman who prays at a Shrine or Altar: otherwise, even the pauper could cure his ailments in minutes. There are likely some Shrines or Artifacts that are legitimately blessed by Aspect-Gods, but who can say where or what they are? As for whether those legitimate blessings are conscious, again, who can say? It's impossible to determine exactly how "awake" the Aspects are, and indeed it likely not only differs between each Aspect and each Pantheon, but also likely fluctuates in accordance with the capricious changes of mortal beliefs.

On the note of Talos, keep in mind that he/they is/are not an Aedroth or an Aspect shed from one. Mythopoeic forces only affect the Aedra and the deities that were shed from their corpses, not Ascended Man-Gods. Considering this, the fact that he achieved CHIM, and the fact that even after Numidium has destroyed Nirn and erased Mankind from the Aurbis, Talos persists, it's plain to see that Talos is wholly unaffected by the beliefs of mortals.

As for the second part of your comment, the signs are quite literally everywhere. Mortal belief affects change in the divine when considering the Aspect-Gods, and the fact that most worshipers believe the Gods "work in mysterious ways", let alone the fact that there are no shortage of people that doubt even the very existence of the Gods (these tend to be social outcasts such as bandits: it's not a widespread notion, but the fact that people can even lack belief is significant), accordingly affects their behavior. In earlier Eras, it was literally unthinkable for anyone to doubt that the Gods existed: Aspects such as Auriel and Trinimac quite literally walked among the Aldmer, conversed with their great leaders and heroes, and led their people. The children or representatives of Aspects also lived among mortals and became great Heroes, such as Morihaus Son of Kyne, who was Saint Alessia's mate and a great hero to the proto-Cyrods of the Tamrielic Heartland. What first caused mortal belief to wane, how it came about, or how gradually it declined, is unknown, but what is for certain is that the Aspect-Gods no longer freely walk the world among mortals anymore, very rarely if at all intervene in mortal affairs even during times of crisis for their worshipers, and indeed can sometimes be considered as comatose as the Eight Aedra themselves.