Board Thread:Lore Discussion/@comment-31082174-20170329222809/@comment-24144336-20190322152301

A mortal is eligible for entry into Sovngarde when they're linked by ancestry to the Wandering Ehlnofey who fought at Shor's side at the end of the Dawn Era. It's these Ehlnofey and their mortal descendants who Shor has accorded the afterlife of Sovngarde to. The "first generation" of those descendants were the Atmorans: offspring of the Wandering Elhnofey who showed an heroic bravery when they made a last stand against the Aldmeri Pantheon alongside Shor.

Ages later, the "second generation" emerged as the Nords: a distinct group that resulted from the Atmorans gradually interbreeding with the native Nedes of Skyrim--the same Nedic peoples the Atmorans liberated from the dominion of the Snow Elves during The Return. As Nords are able to gain entry into Sovngarde just as their Atmoran forefathers, the likely explanation is that access to the Nordic afterlife continues to be available across both time & interbreeding to all those who can trace bloodlines directly from father's side to Shor's Elhnofey warriors.

Should Nords in turn give rise to a derivative lineage through interbreeding, as the Atmorans have, the individuals of that hypothetical "3rd generation" in the North's lineage will have access to Sovngarde just as the Atmorans and Nords did. So it goes on, across oceans of time, until The Last War. But two criteria must be met before the souls of Men find themselves in Sovngarde: 1) their paternal ancestry must trace back directly to Shor's Ehlnofey champions as an unbroken road and 2) they must have died deaths that speak of courage and of defiance--echoing the heroic bravery of their ancient Ehlnofey ancestors.

If both indeed are met, then in their death Shor will see them, and he will know and recognize them; and those souls of Men too shall earn the right to join the "blessed feasting" until The Last War commences.