UESP Forums

I'm currently reading up on Talos. It's an interesting subject because of his/its? (are gods here he/she or it? o.o) involvement in TES V Skyrim.
I'm not overly well known about the divines in general. Since this is the case, I have some questions. I've been looking on the lore part of the uesp website also, so I'm not just here to conveniently bother others to answer my questions. XD


1) Was/is Talos an Aedra?
2) Whatever process turning him divine/god, could it be repeated, and could other non Aedra become Aedra?
3) Is it known in the lore if "the god Talos" has ever materialized physically and/or otherwise affected fate/lives/etc?
4) We know that Daedra are fond of messing with mortals and making themselves known and believeable because of their malevolent ways. Afaik, the Aedra do no such things. How is faith in Aedra maintained?
5) Has Talos ever been an actual threat or danger to the Thamor?
6) Silly question. How would Talos feel about the Empire being forced to abandon worship in him/it?
7) Less relevant question. Why do Aedra require worship in the first place?

Daemos Avetorii wrote:7) Less relevant question. Why do Aedra require worship in the first place?

For a great answer to this question, read the book "Small Gods" by Terry Pratchett.

Can't really help with the rest of the questions, sorry.

1) Yeah
2) Sure, if there was a position available to mantle.
3) Wulf and his coin, the Prophet and his blessing, many shrines. Talos has had a real and measurable effect on history and on the faithful.
4) The Divines do act. It's fair to assume faith comes naturally when you live in a world created and maintained by the gods. There are also plenty of mortal institutions dedicated to preaching about their favoured god(s).
5) Talos is Lorkhanic, and Lorkhan's mythic echo is the main thing keeping the world from ending. The Thalmor want to end it, so destroying Talos would probably help.
6) Silly question. Tiber Septim would probably be [&@%!], but the divine Talos is a concept.
7) Without worship and belief, they wouldn't exist. The Divines are just a cultural interpretation of the attendant spirits of Creation who died to form the Mundus. Worship as mortal gods is one way in which these spirits live on. Kynareth and Kyne are the result of mortal veneration; the wind and the grass and the planet in the sky are not.

legoless wrote:1) Yeah
2) Sure, if there was a position available to mantle.
3) Wulf and his coin, the Prophet and his blessing, many shrines. Talos has had a real and measurable effect on history and on the faithful.
4) The Divines do act. It's fair to assume faith comes naturally when you live in a world created and maintained by the gods. There are also plenty of mortal institutions dedicated to preaching about their favoured god(s).
5) Talos is Lorkhanic, and Lorkhan's mythic echo is the main thing keeping the world from ending. The Thalmor want to end it, so destroying Talos would probably help.
6) Silly question. Tiber Septim would probably be [&@%!], but the divine Talos is a concept.
7) Without worship and belief, they wouldn't exist. The Divines are just a cultural interpretation of the attendant spirits of Creation who died to form the Mundus. Worship as mortal gods is one way in which these spirits live on. Kynareth and Kyne are the result of mortal veneration; the wind and the grass and the planet in the sky are not.

Are #5 and #7 OOG? I haven't heard this angle before, and I generally try to keep up with the lore namespace.

I suppose partially. Talos being Lorkhanic is entirely canonical since he replaced Shezarr, but the lore on heroes and Lorkhan's mythic echos is a little fuzzier. Similarly, I don't think the Thalmor plot has been directly outlined in anything official, although why else would they be trying to stamp out worship of Talos in TES V?

As for belief giving power, I can't think of any in-game sources off the top of my head. I guess you could look to the old gods of Yokuda, who seem to disappear when they lose significance.

Interesting. I'm out of my depths, so I won't weigh in, but I should probably look into this before they release TES VI.

MetaCthulhu wrote: Are #5 and #7 OOG? I haven't heard this angle before, and I generally try to keep up with the lore namespace.

They're beliefs that are expressed by both in-game and OOG lore, but as with all beliefs revolving around Tamriel, the Unreliable Narrator is a factor here. The Aedra may rely strongly on belief, or it may only bolster their powers somewhat. Same with the idea that Nirn would dissolve without the Towers. This has also been disputed by in-universe scholars, who claim Nirn has several layers of "glue" holding it together.

What does OOG stand for? *clueless*

Out of game.

Yep. Out of game texts written by devs and ex devs, like Ken Rolston or Michael Kirkbride, are officially considered plausible but not confirmed. They're only confirmed explicitly noncanon if they're directly contradicted by something in the games, which they're usually not because the nature of the story is generally of the type that wouldn't be negated by in-game actions.

It's interesting to me that the Altmer find the idea of Talos so far fetched whilst Phynaester and Arkay were both allegedly once mortal as well.

Though it may be the small detail about him conquering them and using questionable methods to do so (though honestly it might have been the best way to avoid bloodshed on both sides).

Hissien wrote:It's interesting to me that the Altmer find the idea of Talos so far fetched whilst Phynaester and Arkay were both allegedly once mortal as well.

Though it may be the small detail about him conquering them and using questionable methods to do so (though honestly it might have been the best way to avoid bloodshed on both sides).

The point isn't that Septim was mortal, it's that he was Man. The Altmer believe they are the direct descendants of their gods, which is why they view them as "ancestors".

Also, the Arkay creation myth is rather suspect. I think "god of death was once mortal" is more of a metaphorical thing. Arkay is a big planet. But who knows?