Board Thread:Lore Discussion/@comment-85.74.137.231-20130605091958/@comment-3322638-20130726174910

I spend not my time reading everything. I state this.

Dragonborn is a mortal with the divine gift of Akatosh, who is represented as a dragon. Basic stuff.

However, being Dovahkiin is a special type of Dragonborn. A Dragonborn can be made, a Dovahkiin is born with the blood and soul of a dragon. He almost literally eats dragon souls, and is considered the ultimate dragon killer.

Dovahkiin may be from hereditary, but I doubt it. More like a sudden gift of Akatosh. Just like the Nerevarine can be any race, the Dragonborn destined to kill a Nord god can be from anywhere.