The Elder Scrolls Feats and Discussion

[Stocking Anarchy]

Pete Hines told Greg Keyes that if he was going to write TES novels, they would need to fit into the lore and story of the world, with there being several people (Todd Howard, Kurt Kuhlmann & Bruce Nesmith) making sure that the lore wasn't interfered with.

How Bethesda Made Rogue Warrior More Like Duke Nukem and Got WET with Elder Scrolls Novels - Shacknews - PC Games, PlayStation, Xbox 360 and Wii video game news, previews and downloads

Shack: These will be books that stand alone, but use the Elder Scrolls world as their setting?

Pete Hines: No, actually part of our thing is, if you're going to write it, then it needs to fit into the Elder Scrolls lore and canon.

Shack: So future games will take this fiction into account?

Pete Hines: It's hard to say. Hard to say, because we haven't gotten to future games yet. Certainly the reason that these two key guys--well, three: Bruce [Nesmith], Kurt and Todd are all involved in it--is to make sure that [Keyes] doesn't write anything that messes with the lore. "That race would never do that," or "those guys would never work together"--everything has to fit. But beyond that, we are doing it as if it's part of Elder Scrolls lore and canon.

 

[Stocking Anarchy]

Good news everyone! I have unearthed the Bethesda Podcasts, which include multiple relating to Skyrim. Starting off with the 5th one that's specifically about Skyrim (titled Dawnguard)...Bruce Nesmith says they used Auri-Els Bow as it's an artifact of a principle god they haven't used in a while (though he accidently refers to Auriel's Bow and Auriel as Daedric instead of Aedric).

https://archive.is/Cj4xJ

https://www.listennotes.com/podcasts/the-bethesda-podcast-bethesda-softworks-_PZe-wHNIiX/

4:34

Bruce Nesmith: Then the harder work is "what would be the coolest story we have?" And we started casting about for other things we could hook into it and the whole idea of Auriel and Auriel's Bow to me was kind of an interesting thing because it was a new Daedric artifact, it was a principle Daedric Lord or god that we had not used recently, and it fit really well with the whole vampire story.

Emil Pagliarulo originally came up with the idea that Auriel's Bow would outright destroy the Sun forever, which was a 'little further' than what the others on the creative team wanted. But they still really liked the idea for the most part, so they kept the idea of shooting out the Sun, but now it would be
5:35

Bruce Nesmith: There was also this really nice little nugget that Emil Pagliarulo gave us for a story idea that the vampires were looking to extinguish the Sun. His idea may have gone a little further than what we wanted! It was just gonna go away forever and ever. (Laughs) But we liked the- We liked the general theme of that and that kind of feel with Auriel's Bow. "Hey let's shoot out the Sun!" And...fits with vampires. And all these pieces started to come together.

 

[Regrettable]

don't think this has been posted here but the boss Valkyn Skoria in the Elder Scrolls online can shatter a large metal platform.

(2:16)

 

[Stocking Anarchy]

don't think this has been posted here but the boss Valkyn Skoria in the Elder Scrolls online can shatter a large middle platform.

(2:16)

I don't think anyone has yet actually. Thanks!

 

[Stocking Anarchy]

As part of the Fingers of the Mountain questline in Oblivion, you will find the charred corpse of a halpess soul who tried to cast the spell.

Spoiler

You find the book on a charred corpse among the broken columns.

(Oblivion Prima, page 155)

 

[Stocking Anarchy]

Time for another masterpost! I have seen a common downplay be that magic in The Elder Scrolls is not done via conventional power, but instead via esoteric means; for instance, turning someone to ashes with a lightning spell isn't to do with the power of the electricity but the esoteric nature of magic. Let's dismantle this argument once and for all. Note, I will be mainly talking about fire and lightning magic here, as those are the main forms of Destruction Magic used to disintergrate their target.

Magicka, the power source of magic
Before we get into the effects of magic, we need to look into the source of magical spells, that being magicka. Though you can go into deep depths on what magic is, where it comes from and the different kinds of magic, all interesting topics, but to get to the core of it magicka is magical energy which is used to cast spells. Run out of magicka and you can no longer cast spells (as can be demonstrated via the magicka bar abstraction in just about any TES game).

Morrowind:Generic Dialogue M - The Unofficial Elder Scrolls Pages (UESP)

en.uesp.net

Neverine: (Asks about Magicka)
NPC: A creature's magicka is a measure of its reserves of supernatural energies. Spellcasting creatures expend supernatural energies from their reservoirs when they create magical effects. This reservoir is replenished by resting and by other arcane methods.

Skyrim:Farengar Secret-Fire - The Unofficial Elder Scrolls Pages (UESP)

en.uesp.net

Farengar: There's a tranquility in magic, don't you think? It is simply energy, to be harnessed by those with the will and knowledge to do so.

So the source of spells is energy, and when this energy is expended, they can no longer cast spells. Ergo, wielding magic very clearly requires power, and expending this power means you can no longer cast spells.

Magic
Magic, some say, is the crux of the world of Arena. It is potent, vital, and deadly to the uninitiated. Spells in Tamriel, unlike some other worlds, areextremely unforgiving. They are wielded with no limitations such as memorization, required objects or components, hand-gestures, etc. There are no level limitations, nor are there strictures on what type of spells can be cast or used. A mage need only have the magical energy to cast a spell, and he or she can cast it. For this reason, a Mage is not only highly respected, but greatly feared as well. There over 50 standard spells known throughout the Empire.These spells can be researched and purchased at the Mages Guild. For those who wish, the Mages Guild also allows the creation of spells for a Mage’s personal spellbook. This effectively gives you an unlimited amount of spells to choose from.

(Arena Manual, page 57)

Lawrence Schick says that magic is channeling magicka to change reality, and Mythic entities can change reality in big ways. While I often focus on the bigger stuff in this interview segment, it's also important to note the smaller stuff which the bigger stuff builds on; that magic is done by channeling magicka (energy) to alter reality, and being even more powerful means channeling even more magicka to have an even greater effect (for an example, casting Fireball takes much less magicka than casting Firestorm).

29:20

Lawrence Schick: It's not just Earth with some magic guys casting spells, right. The nature of reality is fundamentaly different in the world of Nirn, because it's based all the natural laws come from the sacrifices that the Aedra made when they made the world. So Akatosh, when he put himself into the world, he made time happen, right, and so forth and so on with all the different gods. So you've got this really seriously interesting mythological background about the nature of reality and how it was created, and how it can be changed, because it's not set forever. It can be further changed by those who can channel magicka and force their will upon it. Right, that's what magic is. Changing reality locally...sometimes locally usually temporarily but you're changing reality, and creatures and characters and beings of mythological levels can change reality in big ways! And that's what happens when you get a Dragonbreak, or a planemeld, or an Oblivion Crisis, or Alduin coming back from the depths of time. You've got reality changing in big ways. At the same time, you've got all of these people who unlike in sorta your standard medieval setting, they look at things in a very logical and scientific and organised fashion. You've got all these sages, you've got the mages guild researchers, you've got the scholars, and they're all breaking stuff down, and it gives a way...

So, we have a few in-game sources (including at least one mage), third person omniscient (via the guides) and word of god all saying magic is done via power and channeling energy. Magicka is energy that can be used on any spell (even a mere lockpicking spell requires energy to perform)

Effects of lightning on a person
So this is the most obvious one, turning your foes to dust, which we can see in at least two of the games. The Disintergrate perk in Skyrim allows you to turn an enemy into ashes with a lightning spell.

DISINTEGRATE

Shock damage disintegrates targets if their health is below 15%.

(Skyrim Prima, page 34)
This is the case with just about any enemy you fight, including larger targets such as mammoths.

In the ESO cinematics, the Altmer Hero of Fates disintergrates an enemy soldier, armour and all (note you can see the armour glowing red as it dissolves away into sparks and smoke).

Now those are the feats, but what is there to prove that this is due to their power? Though there will be more evidence in the following sections, there is something we can post here; during the Oblivion quest Fingers of the Mountain (in which you can optionally learn a powerful lightning spell), we find a charred corpse clutching the Fingers of the Mountain book.

Spoiler

You find the book on a charred corpse among the broken columns.

(Oblivion Prima, page 155)
For more evidence though, we'll have to get into the effects of fire on flesh...

Effects of fire on a person
So, I've seen it be said that of the basic elemental attacks, only lightning can destroy someone and turn them to ashes, which casts this ability into a questionable light. This is outright untrue, as fire has repeatedly demonstrated the ability to disintergrate someone since Arena itself. The spell God's Fire when cast by a high level caster is capable of vaporizing almost any foe.

Gods’ Fire
Cost: 3750 Spell Points
The caster unleashes a bolt of fire that envelopes a single target, doing 100 points of fire damage, plus an additional 100 damage points for every level of the caster. Needless to say, for a high level caster, this spell will vaporize almost any single foe.

(Arena Manual, page 74)

In the third volume of Mystery of Talara, a fire attack causes a huge explosion that turns a person and the horse they're riding into less than vapor. Whatever this spell is, it's noted to be a ball of fire (ingame, this book also serves as a destruction spellbook).

Skyrim:Mystery of Talara, v3 - The Unofficial Elder Scrolls Pages (UESP)

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Gnorbooth saw him first, by the light of the ball of fire that leapt from his fingertips. Later, Lord Eryl was to wonder to himself what the fool had intended to do. Perhaps he was rushing forward to pull Lord Strale out of the path. Perhaps he was trying to flee the path of destruction, and had simply moved left when he should have moved right. Perhaps, as unlikely as it seemed, he was willing to sacrifice himself to save his master. Whatever the reason, the result was the same.

He got in the way.

There was an explosion of energy that filled the night, and an echoing boom that shook birds from the trees for a mile around. On the few square feet where Gnorbooth and his horse had stood was nothing but black glass. They had been reduced to less than vapor. Gyna and Lord Strale were thrown back. Their horse, when it recovered its senses, galloped away as fast as it could. In the lingering glowing aura of the spell's detonation, Lord Strale looked straight into the woods and into the wide eyes of the battlemage.

Turning someone to dust and ashes may be a result of becoming a victim of a powerful fire spell, but fire spells can also char someone.

Hiding in the shadows, stalking your prey, liberating itemsfrom the unworthy. Some call you scoundrel, rogue, thief! Butreally, is it any more civilized to stomp stridently around inclanking platemail armor, swinging your claymore at anythingthat crosses your path, or to destroy a person’s mind with a spell, or to char someone with a fireball?

(Oblivion Prima, page 31)

As with lightning spells, fire spells can vaporise someone/turn them to ashes or reduce them to a charred corpse. This all adds up, but there's something I feel would hammer this home even more furiously. What would happen if someone got hit by a destruction spell and survived?

Injuries relating to fire and lightning
Sometimes, either because the spell is weaker of the person was lucky (or unlucky, depending on the situation) to just get grazed by it, a victim of a destruction spell can survive. These victims can experience burns (including deep burns), boils and charred skin. Very noticably, the effects of magical fire and the treatment of victims is treated as being the same as that of non-magical fire.

FIRE MAGIC
A fireball is a favourite attack by mages, as it is easy to perform and easier to spread. One well-placed fireball can leave a horde of enemies on their knees. This is a good topic to cover, as one can receive burns from nonmagical ways as well.

TREATING SERIOUS BURNS.
Serious burns can be identified by the following signs:

The burn is deep. The deeper a burn is, the more dangerous.
It affects a large area. The area a burn covers is as important as how deep it goes. Any burn larger than a closed fist may require a healer’s care.

The skin is charred. Blackened skin is not a good sign when it comes to either burns or frostbite. The skin may also have large patches of white or brown.

(The Official Survival Guide to Tamriel, page 245)

Protect from further harm. Move the burn victim away from the source of damage, whether it be a campfire or an angry mage.

(The Official Survival Guide to Tamriel, page 246)

Blisters. The skin my blister with even minor burns, but this does not mean that it is serious enough to need a healer’s attention.

(The Official Survival Guide to Tamriel, Page 248)

Leave blisters alone. Do not agitate or break any blisters that have formed. If they are broken, apply a healing salve.

(The Official Survival Guide to Tamriel, page 249)

This is also the case with lightning spells, which can also cause burns, blisters and even for the victim to go into shock.
Similar to fire magic, shock magic can cause burns (just like mundane electricity).

SHOCK MAGIC
Like burns, injury from shock damage does not always require immediate aid from a healer. Here are signs that the victim of a shock spell should be tended to by a professional.

Severe burns. Lucky for you, Ja’dasha has already covered this in a previous section.

(The Official Survival Guide to Tamriel, Page 249)

Care for burns. Shock magic can produce burns just as fire magic can. This one has already covered this topic in detail in a previous section.

(The Official Survival Guide to Tamriel, pages 250 & 251)

In a desperate situation, fire magic can be used to cauterize wounds.

Legends:Cauterize - The Unofficial Elder Scrolls Pages (UESP)

en.uesp.net

Spoiler

From all of the above, we can get a pretty clear image of what fire and lightning are capable of doing to living flesh; a decent spell can cause burns and boils, a more powerful spell can turn the victim into a charred corpse and a very powerful spell can outright turn them to dust.

All of this is impressive of course, but the final category should dispell any and all doubt; what are the effects of destruction magic on inanimate objects?

Effects of destruction magic on inanimate objects
I think all of the above should make painfully clear of the nature of destruction spells requiring power, and being able to damage someone more with more power, but just to destroy this misconception once and for all, what if these spells are cast on something that isn't alive? You cannot make the same excuses for a rock or the likes.

Water, for example, will boil if you hit it with Flames (something which can be done even at level 1; look closely and you can see steam rising from the boiling water, which is instantly brought to boil).

Similarly, casting Sparks on a rock will scar it (even causing the scared stone to glow; again, this can be done at level one).

In Skyrim: The Adventure Boardgame, if you side with the Volkihar vampires, you may get a quest that requires you to melt down a shipment of swords with destruction magic. If you succeed, the swords get melted down into a puddle (if not, you are ridiculed by the other vampires).

Spoiler

Disintergration is one aspect of destruction, but there's another aspect of destruction magic which is criminally overlooked; explosions. For example, Arch-Curate Vrythur destroys half the Chantry of Auri-El in a huge explosion (as I've seen it argued that this isn't an explosion, if the dustcloud that gets kicked up, the flash of light the ground shaking and the sound ringing out to slowly melt back in isn't enough, you can very clearly see that large several ton chunks of ice/stone have already started moving without any of the ice spikes hitting them [full video version]).

But this is, of course, a scripted event. What about a generic spell, like say a fireball ? Those can cause some pretty big explosions. Looking at the development blogs for Oblivion, we can infact confirm that explosive spells such as fireball are an explosive unleash of kinetic energy which will blow away characters, objects and the scenery itself. Lightning is also referred to being 'white-hot.'

The Elder Scrolls

Let’s move to some pure magic goodness – projectiles, the indispensable tools of Mages across Tamriel. This time around, the team wanted to give each projectile type its own flavor, both through unique gameplay perks and cool graphical effects. Cast a Frost Damage spell, for example, and a cloud of icy vapor will issue forth, enveloping the immediate area. This cloud will hang in the air for the duration of the spell, afflicting anything that enters. Try casting a Shock Damage spell, on the other hand, and you are in for a much different experience. There’s no meandering cloud or contained ball involved here; casting Shock Bolt will let loose a white-hot lightning bolt, which rips through the air towards the target and then chains out to anyone unlucky enough to be standing within the area of impact. Even the classic fireball has received some upgrades. A Fire Damage spell will cause the target(s) to burst into flame for as long as the spell lasts. If they’re really unfortunate, it will be an area spell and create a huge explosion, blowing characters, clutter, and scenery back with the all of the kinetic energy stored within. (sidenote: Havok physics + giant explosion + flaming skeletons = I love my job!)

This is something we can outright see in the games themselves; casting an explosion spell in Oblivion will send rock fragments (including fragments bigger and heavier than a person) flying.

(The quality is poor because I had to film it from my phone)

Conclusion
There are more examples (I am once again out of room to post more images and gifs), but I think from here we can make clear the argument, which I have covered from in-game visuals, in-game statements, third person omniscient statements and word of god from various games, guides and people...

• Magic requires energy to use, with the more energy required for bigger spells, and when you run out of magicka (magical energy) you can no longer cast spells
• Elemental Destruction Spells of fire and lightning will cause burns and boils on the victims at low levels, char their skin & flesh at higher levels and outright vaporize them at even more powerful levels.
• The effects of wounds caused by lightning and fire are the same both from a source that was caused mundanely and magically
• In line with the above, increasingly powerful Destruction Spells will cause various effects on inanimate objects, such as boiling water and metal, scaring the ground and causing explosions that can send even solid rock flying

 

[Stocking Anarchy]

don't think this has been posted here but the boss Valkyn Skoria in the Elder Scrolls online can shatter a large metal platform.

(2:16)

And I've made a gif of this!

 

[Stocking Anarchy]

Froki Whetted-Blade anoints you with the symbol of the wolf, the crab and the skeever, which compels the guardian spirits to appear.

Skyrim:Froki Whetted-Blade - The Unofficial Elder Scrolls Pages (UESP)

en.uesp.net

Dovahkiin: What do I need to do?
Froki: I'll anoint you with the symbol of the wolf, the crab and the skeever. This will compel the guardian to appear when you reach his lair. Return when you've defeated the guardian wolf, crab and skeever.

The Guardian Mudcrab Spirit is actually colossal, being bigger than a car.

Spoiler

You can see the remains of the mudcrabs body in life.

Spoiler

Spoiler

In front of the remains of the crab is a skeleton (the crabs last meal? The mortally wounded hero who had originally slain it?).

Spoiler

The Skyrim Prima confirms that these fossilized remains are the same crab as the Guardian Spirit; the giant mudcrab is refered to as 'the King of the Mudcrabs' (which is still miniscule next to an emperor like Skar); the guide finally confirms the nearby skeleton (along with spilled blood, likely from the hapless victim).

Spoiler

(Skyrim Prima, page 867)

 

[Stocking Anarchy]

More examples of using fire spells to send boulders flying in Oblivion.

 

[Stocking Anarchy]

A lycanthropes claws have the same properties as an enchanted blade, and can thus harm creatures that are usually immune to mundane weapons.

Lore:On Lycanthropy - The Unofficial Elder Scrolls Pages (UESP)

en.uesp.net

Werewolves do not revert to their human forms upon death, despite what legends will tell you. I had the opportunity to look at the monster's steaming body out in the snow before it was carried away to be burned. The teeth, clotted with the flesh of the beggars, were horrifying, but the claws shocked me even more. I have since seen live lycanthropes battle golems, atronachs, and other beings not harmed by mundane weapons, and concluded that they act as naturally enchanted weapons.

Lythanthropes include werewolves, werebears, wereboars, werebats, werelions, werevulture and weresharks.

In Black Marsh and southern Morrowind, werecrocodiles stalk the swamps. Black Marsh also shares with the Imperial Province and the wetter parts of Elsweyr the vile presence of werelions. Valenwood's werevultures are not found in any other province. The wereboar has found both the climates of High Rock and Hammerfell amenable. As I mentioned before, the werebear is the most common lycanthrope in Skyrim, and is also found in the northern parts of High Rock, the Imperial Province, and Morrowind. The werewolf can be found in every province. The seventh lycanthrope, which I have never seen but my trusted peers have assured me exists, is a wereshark that roams the oceans around Tamriel.

 

[Stocking Anarchy]

Hand of Decay has a chance to disintegrate the target with a successful strike.

Hand of Decay
Destruction
Low to medium-level chance of disintegrating a target with a successful strike.

(Daggerfall Users Guide, page 65)

Sphere of Negation has a chance to disintegrate any sentient being trapped in its radius.

Sphere of Negation
Destruction
Creates a sphere around the caster which may disintegrate any sentient form trapped in its radius.

(Daggerfall User's Guide, page 68)

 

[Stocking Anarchy]

The other part of the cosmology masterpost I'm working on! This time, for all authorative statements on cosmology, from the size of realms, the number of realms, the nature of realms and the entities which rule over them and the destruction of realms.

Size
First and foremost, my main to-go to evidence for planes of Oblivion being infinite is the Skyrim Prima, which confirms both the seas and the library of Apocrypha are infinite via third person omniscient quite plainly.

An infinite sea of black ooze and thrashing tentacles, the Oblivion plane known as Apocrypha is incomprehensible to mortals who have been lured into its unseen and unspeakable depths. Perched atop this turbulent mire, glistening against the writhing brightness of a green sky, is Hermaeus Mora’s infinite library of forbidden knowledge, where every tome reveals secrets damning and inhumane, catalogued in chaos.

Sithis is formless and infinite as the Void.

Skyrim:Loading Screens - The Unofficial Elder Scrolls Pages (UESP)

en.uesp.net

Mortals often represent Sithis as a skeletal being, to signify His relationship to death. In truth, the Dread Lord is formless, and infinite as the Void.

As stated in ESO Live by Lawrence Schick, Sotha Sils Clockwork City if ‘kind of’ endless, in that it extends far beyond what’s seen and visitable in the game, with there being many layers that only Sotha Sil knows the full extent of, and takes the concept of worlds within worlds and wheels within wheels and makes it manifest directly above your head. This is also a reference to a hierarchy of worlds in official TES media.

General:ESO Live Lore of the Clockwork City - The Unofficial Elder Scrolls Pages (UESP)

en.uesp.net

"Somebody was asking if... where was the question? If the Clockwork City is some sort of parallel universe, and if it's endless."
Lawrence: Kind of. Both those questions are "kind of". Yeah, it's in fact a deliberately parallel universe in that it deliberately parallels Tamriel above. You don't see nearly all of it from what you can see in the game. It has layers and only Sotha Sil knows the full extent of those layers, and what the function of some of the other areas are. Samantha, can you just kind of lean back and look up at the sky for a moment? Look up there. Look at those whirling rings spinning around the world of the Clockwork City. That is the outside of the Clockwork City - or maybe not. That's just what you can see from the Brass Fortress, and you can see that Sotha Sil has taken the concept of wheels within wheels, and worlds within worlds, and made it physically manifest right over your head, so that you're constantly contemplating the fact that the world is a built thing, and therefore it can be reverse engineered, re-engineered, and improved. Look, there's the proof right above your head! So yeah, it's profound as hell. God damn, this stuff is deep.

Word of god confirms that the realm of a Prince can be infinite in not only size, but also shape.

Interview: Talking Elder Scrolls Online's Necrom Reveal With Rich Lambert | MMORPG.com

Last week, after the Xbox and Bethesda showcase, Zenimax Online Studios laid out the beginnings of what players can expect in 2023 from The Elder Scrolls Online. A new storyline taking players back to Morrowind, this time to the Telvanni Peninsula, kicks off in March, with things really ramping...

www.mmorpg.com

And one of the beauties of any Oblivion realm, any Daedric realm, is they can morph and shift and change based on the whims of that Prince. The other aspect of that too is they can be infinite in size and shape.

From the Skyrim Prima once again, Apocrypha is said to contain the infinite pages of countless books (via third person omniscient; Mora’s abstract nature is also confirmed, but we’ll get more into that later).

Hermaeus Mora is the Daedric Prince of Knowledge, he who scryes the tides of Fate, weaving his way through the past and future. Always lurking, he is the void and the ever-seeing eyes. He resides everywhere and nowhere but takes glee in tormenting mortals from his realm in Oblivion, the plane called Apocrypha, where the infinite pages of countless books containing all forbidden knowledge are found.

Apocrypha is once again referred to as infinite by third person omniscient, and within the laws of the mortal world have no power.

Amid a black ocean filled with writhing tentacles lies the endless library of forbidden knowledge. This realm of Oblivion is the domain of Hermaeus Mora. Black covered books adorn every edifice. Pages flitter as if pulled by invisible string. And grotesque creatures malformed by Mora stalk the constantly elongating and retracting halls, feeding off the ghosts of those seeking knowledge. The laws of the mortal world hold no power here.

The Endless Archive, just one of the realms that make up the plane of Apocrypha, is infinite in extent.

https://www.elderscrollsonline.com/en-us/news/post/64687

DISCOVER INFINITE ADVENTURE IN THE ENDLESS ARCHIVE

The official Elder Scrolls novel The Infernal City refers to one of the planes visited by Attrebus and Sul to be an infinite palace of coloured glass via third person omniscient.

“Stay together!” Sul shouted. He took a step, and again the unimaginable sensation, and now they were in utter darkness—but not silence, for all around them were chittering sounds and the staccato scurrying of hundreds of feet.
They were in an infinite palace of colored glass.
They were on an icy plane with a burning sky.
They were standing by a dark red river, and the smell of blood was nearly suffocating.
They were in the deepest forest Attrebus had ever seen.

The official description of Necrom Online’s story describes Apocrypha as being endless.

Product Details

account.elderscrollsonline.com

ALL-NEW ZONES - Explore the Telvanni Peninsula, home of colossal mushrooms, arcane magic, rocky spires and the capital city of Necrom, additionally, behold the forbidden books of the endless library of Apocrypha.

The planes of Oblivion are a limitless space which the Daedric Princes can morph and change to their whims.

The Elder Scrolls Online’s Rich Lambert On Trolling Devs, Off-Limits Lore, And Whether A TV Show Would Work

We spoke with ZeniMax Online Studios creative director Rich Lambert about lore, trolling, and what an ESO TV show might look like.

www.thegamer.com

“It's this limitless space where each of the Daedric Princes can kind of morph it and change it at their whim, so there's lots and lots of opportunities to go to other places in the Oblivion Plains.”

The Ideal Masters can call upon endless legions of undead Soul Guards.

The plane is ruled by mysterious beings known only as the ldeaI Masters and is protected by their endless legions of undead Soul Guards.

Even if a realm isn’t referred to as infinite, there are still plenty of references to different planes being astrologically vast. Clockwork City is stated by Lawrence Schick to contain an entire astronomical cosmos within it.

General:ESO Live Lore of the Clockwork City - The Unofficial Elder Scrolls Pages (UESP)

en.uesp.net

Lawrence: Sotha Sil needed the entire astronomical cosmos for his memories, so that's why he's chosen the star fields.

According to Noah Berry, the Mundus contains distant stars and galaxies. These stars exist worlds away and are worlds away, spiraling deep within the cosmos, eventually burning out and giving rise to new stars via solar winds.

The Elder Scrolls

Lastly, as the sun drifts gently downward in the westward sky, and the evening kaleidoscope of pastels fades and diffuses into the deepest of blues, distant stars and galaxies begin to scintillate into view. Here, for the first time, all of the 13 major Elder Scrolls constellations are visible to the player. In order to realistically display the star arrangements properly, a new, fully 3D spherical night sky dome was created. Through the in-game passage of time, the player should be able to track the stars above, as they lazily spiral about the ocular curve of the night sky.
With our world complete, and Cyrodiil fully realized, the player is free to roam this vast and varied landscape to their hearts content. As with our world, Cyrodiil is in constant motion. The trees and grasses sway with the ever-changing wind. Clouds drift hazily overhead and storms amass and fade into the quiet of the morning. Even the very curtain of stars, celestial objects that are worlds away, are never at rest. Even they are always churning and spiraling, deep within the cosmos, forever burning bright until they sigh their last solar wind, giving eventual rise to a new star.

A part of Malacath's realm of the Ashpits is vast enough to contain a multitude of distant spheres, which are 'as distant and pale as moons.'

Their surroundings had changed, too. Around them rose a garden of slender trees, and wound about the trunks were vines festooned with lilylike flowers. A multitude of spheres moved, deep in the colorless sky, as distant and pale as moons. He heard birds chirping, but it was a doleful sound, as if something with a vague memory of having been a bird was trying to reproduce sounds it no longer felt.

An unknown realm of Oblivion is big enough contain a jade moon.

They were on a jagged island in a furious sea beneath a sky half-filled with a jade moon.

Multiplicity
Size is one aspect of scope, but what is the multiplicity of the realms? How many are there? Again we return to the Skyrim Prima, which refers to the existence of countless planes of Oblivion directly.

Among the countless planes of Oblivion, the Soul Cairn has a particularly grim reputation.

In Q&As leading up to ESO’s release, the developers have stated there to be an infinite number of planes of Oblivion.
https://www.elderscrollsonline.com/en-us/news/post/361

I'm a big fan of the Daedric Princes and Princesses. Will there be quests available for all of the Daedric gods or just some of them - and if so, will there be new ones? – By Byron Henderson II

As in the other Elder Scrolls games, the Daedric Princes have a high profile in ESO. They seem to love to meddle in the affairs of mortals. As for whether we will reveal any previously unseen Princes, well – the Planes of Oblivion are infinite.

Rich Lambert in an interview has also stated there are an infinite number of Oblivion worlds.

The Elder Scrolls Online could take players to “the infinite worlds of Oblivion”

The Elder Scrolls Online could one day venture beyond Tamriel and take players to the planes of Oblivion

www.pcgamesn.com

“Tamriel is the giant main continent. There are other continents [and] there are also the infinite worlds of Oblivion that you can go and explore as well”

The planes of Oblivion are infinite in variation, as are their vermin.

https://www.elderscrollsonline.com/en-gb/news/post/26205?Crown-Store-Showcase:-October-2017

The planes of Oblivion are infinite in their variation—and so are their vermin. The Jackdaw Daedrat is a bony Daedric rodent that likes to collect shiny things like your jewelry, and nip and nibble at things it shouldn't. But at least it's cute, right?

Apocrypha alone contains infinite libraries, of which some (such as the Endless Archive) are realms into themselves of infinite extent (see above).

https://www.elderscrollsonline.com/en-us/news/post/64687

Of all the infinite libraries of Hermaeus Mora’s realm, the archive is one of Apocrypha’s most mysterious secrets. However, a malevolent Daedra now threatens to corrupt everything collected within its myriad halls, and Master Malkhest, its custodian, needs your help confronting this strange new foe.

During the time of the Imperial Simulacrum (the events of Arena), the Empire had many societal institutions suspended in pocket universes to achieve a state of ‘immaculate virtual reality.’

During this time, a host of societal institutions were suspended in so-called “pocket universes,” to achieve a state of immaculate virtual reality. One such institution, deep in the ethereal plane of Aetherius, is the Battlespire.

Mehrunes Dagon has many provincial governmental centres across the pocket universes.

This level is one Dagon’s many provincial governmental centers in the pocket universes, and the home of some of the legions of Mehrunes Dagons Daedra.

Your journeys in Battlespire leads you through the myriad pocket worlds of Oblivion.

The Elder Scrolls

This will lead you directly into the enemy's camps and routes of march -- into the myriad pocket worlds that float in the voids of Oblivion.

In terms of different major planes being sub-divided into different worlds, my go to source is the Oblivion Prima, which repeatedly refers to there being several different Oblivion worlds in the Deadlands.

You can enter the gate at any point. It will take you to one of four Oblivion worlds — each well supplied with enemies and each very different from the others. Once the gate connects with a given world, the game remembers the connection and the gate links to that location until it is destroyed.

It’s found in greatest concentrations in the randomly selected Oblivion worlds but also turns up in large amounts in worlds reached through the Cheydinhal, Bruma, and Kvatch gates—the largest cluster being in the Cheydinhal world, about halfway down the southwest face of the mountain atop which you arrive. Moreover, just to complicate things, about 20 percent of the 290-plus spiddals are dead. The dead ones are found largely in the randomly selected worlds but also appear in the Daedric realms from the “Boethia” and “Peryite” quests. In the Boethia realm, all four spiddals are dead. In the Peryite realm, seven of the 10 are dead.

You can enter each gate, explore the red world on the other side (the gates link to the full range of random Oblivion environments), and then close the gate much as you did at Kvatch. But you can’t close it for good. There is always the chance that, if you re-enter that region, the gate will rematerialize—again linking to a random Oblivion world when you enter it.

Embers of Hatred: Major Easter Egg. This world’s second Citadel is slowly becoming one with the lava around it.

Of course torture is a despicable practice, in this world or any other, but in this situation it does happen to be the quickest way to make this fellow spill his guts.

Oblivion Planes

There is a different Oblivion world for different major quests in the main storyline (and sidequests).

As you venture into the Oblivion realms in the Main Quest and certain Miscellaneous quests ("The Wayward Knight” and “Attack on Fort Sutch”) or to close random gates in the wilderness, you’ll build up a library of Sigil Stones.

KVATCH OBLIVION WORLD

Chorrol Oblivion world

Leyawiin Oblivion World

Skingrad Oblivion world

Anvil Oblivion World

Bravil Oblivion World

Cheydinhal, Gate World

Likewise, each Black Book you read on Solstheim links to a different Apocrypha realm (of which there are at least seven.)

You can reach the seven realms within Apocrypha by finding and reading a specific Black Book.

If you are on Solstheim (and not Skyrim), and you aren’t engaged in combat, reading a Black Book will transport you to the book's corresponding Apocrypha realm.

Each book takes you to a specific Apocrypha realm (a dungeon you can explore). While all seven of these dungeons are known as ''Apocrypha,'' they are all distinct areas.

At the end of each Apocrypha realm, you will find a Reward Book. There are large tomes matching the name of the book you read to enter the realm. Interacting with the book opens it, causing three orbs to emerge, each representing a power or ability that the book can bestow.

It isn’t just in Oblivion where there are different worlds; this is the case within the Mundus too. There are different shards of the same world (which accounts for the different mega servers of Elder Scrolls Online). This would also imply there are alternate versions of the other planes visited in each shard (such as Coldharbour and Clockwork City).

In order to facilitate having everyone on the megaserver, players are split into shards, or copies, of the same world. This means you may never see your buddies, but forming a group guarantees that everyone remains together. As populations increase, more copies are made; as people log off, players are migrated onto more populated worlds. Because of this migration, the world always appears populated.

This isn’t the only example of the many-worlds interpretation explaining certain gameplay aspects; parallel worlds are also used as the vessel for multiplayer in Shadowkey, with players being able to cross between worlds via shadow magic.

Shadowkey:Multiplayer - The Unofficial Elder Scrolls Pages (UESP)

en.uesp.net

Your death in the shadow realm severs your bond with the magic that allows you to share worlds. You are back on your own.

The Warp in the West was an event in which a Dragonbreak occured, causing multiple different timelines and events to overlap and occur at the same time as linear time broke down. This is confirmed by Kurt Kuhlmann.

GameInformer - The Final Level

Impact? “The game ended with what became known as ‘The Warp in the West,’ with the six possible endings all happening or not happening simultaneously.”

In Necrom, you must walk between realities to uncover a vast conspiracy that threatens multiple worlds.

https://www.elderscrollsonline.com/en-us/news/post/63497

You must seek out lost knowledge deep within the heart of the City of the Dead and walk between realities to uncover a vast conspiracy powerful enough to endanger Nirn and Oblivion alike.

Conjuration is the art of calling upon creatures from other worlds.
Calling on creatures from other worlds and creating items out of Magicka are two of the most beneficial tools a caster has. Because of this, casters of all types make use of the school of Conjuration.

Eld Angvar is an Allied ruin located in a world between worlds.

https://www.elderscrollsonline.com/en-gb/news/post/55787

FIGHT IN A WORLD BETWEEN WORLDS WITH UPDATE 21’S PVP ADDITIONS

In the new Battlegrounds map, Eld Angvar, you and your team face off against your fellow players in the Ayleid world between worlds.

Realms as universes
Now onto the nature of these worlds, how each is it's own universe, as well as the diversity of different natures in different worlds. I have several to go to quotes for these. The first of which is the Introduction to the Lore of The Elder Scrolls Online, which quite clearly uses the term multiverse to describe the cosmology.

Online:Introduction to the Lore of The Elder Scrolls Online - The Unofficial Elder Scrolls Pages (UESP)

en.uesp.net

Unbeknownst to all but a few, Nirn has come unmoored from the fabric of the multiverse, as the mortal realm is drawn ever closer to Coldharbour, the twisted Oblivion realm of the Daedric Prince of domination and enslavement, Molag Bal. The Planemeld, a process in which the two worlds slowly become one, is threatening the existence of all races on Tamriel.

From the Summerset Online Official Guide, the Crystal Tower is the pin that holds the fabric of all realities together, and is believed to exist in all realms and universes, and has been tied with many world-shaking events throughout history (from page 75 of the Summerset Online Official Guide).

Clockwork City is ‘kind of’ a parallel universe, in that it was deliberately designed to parallel Nirn and the Mundus (rather being formed via naturally occurring quantum mechanics).

General:ESO Live Lore of the Clockwork City - The Unofficial Elder Scrolls Pages (UESP)

en.uesp.net

"Somebody was asking if... where was the question? If the Clockwork City is some sort of parallel universe, and if it's endless."
Lawrence: Kind of. Both those questions are "kind of". Yeah, it's in fact a deliberately parallel universe in that it deliberately parallels Tamriel above.

Atronite is a substance from another universe, the plane of Oblivion.

Blades:Atronite - The Unofficial Elder Scrolls Pages (UESP)

en.uesp.net

A mysterious stone literally from another universe - the plane of Oblivion - Atronite is often left behind when an Atronach is defeated or dispelled. It is used in the tempering of high-end weapons and armor.

The timeless dimension Emperor Uriel Septim VII was imprisoned in is a pocket universe.

In 3E 389, the Imperial Battlemage, second in Tamriel only to the Emperor, decided that Uriel VII needed a well-earned “vacation". Casting the most powerful spell conjecturable, Jagar Tharn imprisoned the unsuspecting Emperor in a pocket universe, a timeless dimension, a place of no return.

Likewise, the Battlespire is a megastructure located in its own pocket universe.

Battlespire takes place during the time of Arena (roughly 3E 399) in a majestic tower, if you will, a medieval space needle, inhabiting its own pocket universe.

Battlespire is conquered when the PC escapes from the top level, teleports from the pocket universe, and lands back in the warm glow of Tamriels sunshine.

In an interview with OGR.com, Bethesda once again states that the Battlespire is located within a stable pocket universe (an astral plane void), where the emperor’s elite guards could train. Only those who could master the Battlespire were chosen to become the Emperors guards.

Battlespire

Bethesda: The storyline goes like this: During the time of Arena, the Emperor's personal guards were the greatest warrior-mages of Tamriel. Only those who could master Battlespire were chosen for the guard. Battlespire was the ultimate proving ground used to train the guards. It's located in a secure pocket universe, sort of an astal plane void.

This is also referenced on the old official Bethesda website.

People and Places

Battlespire: Battlespire is a citadel for the training of battlemages. It is located in its own pocket universe and held there by magical anchors. Only the most elite warriors are sent there to train.

The Clockwork City exists outside of space and time in its own interdimensional space, and the miniature replica we see of it both is and is not the actual Clockwork City.

10:34

Jessica Folsom: So you can't actually...walk to Clockwork, right?

Leamon Tuttle: No. Clockwork City exists outside of space & time. ...It gets weird man! It gets way weirder that that! This is basically...the Clockwork City is...for what people think it's a city in minature inside of this snow globe deep under Mournhold.
Jessica: So is that actually Clockwork City are you getting shrunk down like Honey I Shrunk the Kids?
Leamon Tuttle: Yes, that is a super good question. It is and is not the Clockwork City. It's a representation and also like I said the Clockwork City exists in a kind of an interdimensional space. So it's there and it's also not there, it's a lotta crazy questions...that don't frankly have very many answers in the Clockwork City.

The Clockwork City isn't Daedric, and is it's own completely different interdimensional space (from the above video at 16:53).

Gina Bruno: Somebody asked if you can look up at the sky.

Jeremy Sera: Oh yes that's a great idea! You can see the repesentation of the orb that we went into, so that's the thing that we clicked on and then got minaturised. As Leamon says it both is and isn't because this is a Daedric Realm.

Jessica Folsom: And that's why it looks so different from the rest of Tamriel too.

Leamon Tuttle: Yeah...it's a completely different...interdimensional space, it's not even Daedric in nature. It's its own deal.

Jagar Tharn imprisoned Emperor Uriel VII in another dimension, a time period known to historians as The Imperial Simulacrum.

Jagar Tharn imitates Uriel VII. The Imperial Battlemage treacherously imprisoned the Emperor in another dimension and wove an illusionary spell to disguise himself as the Emperor. Contemporary historians refer to this period from 3E 389 to 3E399, somewhat euphemistically, as The Imperial Simulacrum.

Daedra are creatures summoned from another dimension.

Daedra are magical creatures summoned from another dimension.Each has very special skills that aid or impede the PC journeying throughthe Daggerfall story. Daedra can destroy the PC under certain circumstances. Summonings occur at various places throughout Tamriel.

Aetherius is referred as to being an alternate dimension, which Nulfaga can transport you to.

This is the final quest in the Totem series, and most likely the end of the main storyline. Once the Totem has been given to someone, you can visit Nulfaga. Only Nulfaga can transport you to the Aetherius (an alternate dimension) where the Mantella has been hidden.

The realm in which Jagar Tharn traps Emperor Uriel Septim is refered to as an alternate dimension.

The Elder Scrolls

Jagar Tharn, imperial battlemage to the Uriel Septim, Emperor of Tamriel, betrays Uriel by using an artifact called the Staff of Chaos to imprison Uriel in an alternate dimension. Tharn then assumes the Emperor's identity and place on the throne.

The Redguard box says you travel to another dimension (twice).

Oblivion gates are dimensional gates.

A flaming, rippling, dimensional gate stands in front of the city gates.

Nature of the realms
Now, to go over the variety of different realms, such as their natures and laws. To once again return to Apocrypha as described in the Skyrim Prima, Apocrypha is a plane in which the laws of the mortal world hold no power.

Amid a black ocean filled with writhing tentacles lies the endless library of forbidden knowledge. This realm of Oblivion is the domain of Hermaeus Mora. Black covered books adorn every edifice. Pages flitter as if pulled by invisible string. And grotesque creatures malformed by Mora stalk the constantly elongating and retracting halls, feeding off the ghosts of those seeking knowledge. The laws of the mortal world hold no power here.

Apocrypha is incomprehensible to mortals.

An infinite sea of black ooze and thrashing tentacles, the Oblivion plane known as Apocrypha is incomprehensible to mortals who have been lured into its unseen and unspeakable depths.

The story of Arena is to save the Emperor from his prison in another dimension where time flows much slower.

The quest outlined in the introduction is to rescue the Emperor from the dimension in which Jagar Tharn has imprisoned him, by recovering the eight pieces of the Staff of Chaos.

This timeless dimension is a pocket universe where time flows differently.

In 3E 389, the Imperial Battlemage, second in Tamriel only to the Emperor, decided that Uriel VII needed a well-earned “vacation". Casting the most powerful spell conjecturable, Jagar Tharn imprisoned the unsuspecting Emperor in a pocket universe, a timeless dimension, a place of no return.

The eight pieces of the Staff are the only way to open the gate to the world in which the Emperor has been banished.

Similarly, the heroes of Blades spent centuries wandering Attribution's Share, the Realm of Boethiah, when in Skyrim the entirety of the story takes place over a time period of around 40 years (from page 14 of the booklet for the Dawnguard Expansion of Skyrim: The Adventure Boardgame).

Clockwork City is a Manifest Metaphor.

General:ESO Live Lore of the Clockwork City - The Unofficial Elder Scrolls Pages (UESP)

en.uesp.net

Lawrence: There have been various statements in lore about where it is located, but really that's more about ways to get to it, rather than where it can be found. So where it is really? It's in a more metaphorical location than physical, really, because it's a metaphor made manifest. It’s both a reality and a replication of reality at the same time. There, that's clear isn't it?

Hell Hounds and daemonsare entities summoned from the nether planes.

Hell Hounds
These canines are actually from the nether planes, usually summoned by some powerful being to perform a service.

Ghosts
These were once human, but are now trapped between here and the ethereal plane. They exist as spirits only, but have a chilling effect upon those they attack.
(Arena Manual, page 80)

Daemons
These creatures are from the netherworld, often gating themselves into our plane of existence on some errand of their choosing.

The Deadlands is a savage parallel plane, which threatens Tamriel when the barriers are lowered.

The deaths of the emperor and his acknowledged heirs have lowered the natural barriers between Tamriel and the Daedric homeland—a savage parallel plane of existence known as Oblivion—and the armies of Mehrunes Dagon have embarked on a war to claim Tamriel.

Some worlds exist within the minds of others, such as the mind of Emperor Pelagius III. Travel to these worlds is possible via several methods.

After a brief exploration of the long-unused wing, you're soon whisked away to unfamiliar surroundings-the deceptively verdant mind of Emperor Pelagius lll!

Using special artifacts, it is possible to travel into someone elses dreamworld (this method involves falling asleep and sharing a dream).

Using his Dreamworld Amulet, this obstinate spell- researcher traveled into his own dreams. He created the amulet to see if he could use these dreams as a training ground to help better himself and face his weaknesses head on. Three days later, he’s still in there. You’re to follow him and find out what’s happened.
Getting to Henantier’s Dreamworld is simple: As Kud-Ei instructs, equip the amulet (which she’ll provide) and go to sleep in the adjacent bed. You appear near Henantier in a twisted version of his house—a strange hybrid environment with portals leading to four tests (Courage, Patience, Perception, and Resolve). Your only possessions: the amulet and your spells. But the amulet casts a constant-effect Silence spell on you, so you can’t cast the spells. You can use only those things that you find in this strange place.

If you kill the dreamer of a Dreamworld while you are in the Dreamworld, you will die as well.

Killing Henantier in the Dreamworld will bring about your own demise as well.

Other methods however, are even stranger; to enter someones memories via the dreamstride, one physically vanishes in the present reality to physically enter someone elses memories.

Ignore the battles entirely; you’re here in someone else’s past consciousness to turn
a dream into a wrinkle of a new reality.

You blink into present reality, where the magical barrier blocking the doorway still crackles.

The land of Skyrim brims with wondrous locales, yet some areas cannot easily be linked to any one Hold. In fact, certain areas can't even be said to exist within the confines of reality! From traveling caravans to the mind of a demented Emperor, all unusual and otherworldly locations are covered here, in “Other Realms."

(Skyrim Prima, page 979)
Expect moderate otherworldly incursions as you explore this water logged coastal temple to the Daedric Prince Molag Bal.

(Morrowind Online Prima, page 278)

Nature of godlike entities
Now for the nature of godlike beings. Even though I have posted this above, this quote from the Skyrim Prima is yet another to-go-to for me, in which Herma-Mora is confirmed to be abstract in nature, existing everywhere and nowhere, weaving through the past and future and is the void.

Hermaeus Mora is the Daedric Prince of Knowledge, he who scryes the tides of Fate, weaving his way through the past and future. Always lurking, he is the void and the ever-seeing eyes. He resides everywhere and nowhere but takes glee in tormenting mortals from his realm in oblivion, the plane called Apocrypha, where the infinite pages of countless books containing all forbidden knowledge are found.

The Idea Masters are disembodied entities who exist within a distant Platonic Ideal as revenant spirits.

In the Soul Cairn the old retainers of an ancient Daedric-human alliance serve their necromancer Masters for eternity. The Masters are disembodied entities living in a distant Platonic Ideal; their only connections with the Soul Cairn are small magical gems which provide a channel of communication and sensation with those bound in form to the Soul Cairn. The retainers have long ago undergone a ritual to separate their spirits from their bodies, and to strengthen and organize their spirits to produce a form of persistent eternal consciousness. In short, the retainers and their Masters are revenant spirits.

Sithis is formless and infinite as the Void.

Skyrim:Loading Screens - The Unofficial Elder Scrolls Pages (UESP)

en.uesp.net

Mortals often represent Sithis as a skeletal being, to signify His relationship to death. In truth, the Dread Lord is formless, and infinite as the Void.

Boethia is referred to as an invisible god.

You’ll complete a circuit of nine small, square arenas, linked by gates and arranged in a great circle about a statue of Boethia, with the invisible god himself cast as the announcer and commentator (and rather enjoying himself, we think).

Power of godlike beings - Control over reality
Beings who rule over a plane of Oblivion posses near-perfect control over their realm(s). For example, the Ideal Masters control every aspect of the Soul Cairn, from its fabric to its appeareance.

The Ideal Masters are mystic entities that lord over the Soul Cairn, controlling every aspect from fabric to its appearance. Necromancers believe they are the crystalline structures dotting the Soul Cairn, but Valerica believes they’ve transcended their physical forms. Seek out Valerica for more information.

A Daedric Prince can control their realm to their whims, and these realms can be infinite in size and shape.

Interview: Talking Elder Scrolls Online's Necrom Reveal With Rich Lambert | MMORPG.com

Last week, after the Xbox and Bethesda showcase, Zenimax Online Studios laid out the beginnings of what players can expect in 2023 from The Elder Scrolls Online. A new storyline taking players back to Morrowind, this time to the Telvanni Peninsula, kicks off in March, with things really ramping...

www.mmorpg.com

And one of the beauties of any Oblivion realm, any Daedric realm, is they can morph and shift and change based on the whims of that Prince. The other aspect of that too is they can be infinite in size and shape.

The realm of Clavicus Vile (the Fields of Regret) is not merely a place but a state of mind of Clavicus Vile, with everything here being exactly as Vile wishes it to be, with everything inside it from the trees and water and light and the sky all existing inside his mind, and his own appearance her being how he sees himself in his mind.

Incase you were wondering, Vile’s realm is not exactly a place in the same sense that Stros M’kai is a place. Vile's realm is a state of mind... and the state of mind of a minor godling, at that. Everything here is exactly as Vile wishes it to be. Everything is green and sunny and pleasant, with a babbling spring and a tranquil pond and wide expanses of eternally blue sky. In his mind, Vile is a cheerful, indolent boy basking in the sun with his favorite companion and best friend, a big lovable dog.

Realms of Oblivion are extensions of their masters.

General:ESO 2023 Global Reveal - The Unofficial Elder Scrolls Pages (UESP)

en.uesp.net

CJ Grebb: Realms of Oblivion are extensions of their master. And so Apocrypha is a clearinghouse for knowledge. It's a repository. It is intended to feel like a place where ancient things and ancient ideas can be preserved, perhaps even hidden, but never lost.

Hermaeus Mora rules and controls the realm of Apocrypha.

On the isle of Solstheim, you may come across one of seven Black Books-tomes of forbidden knowledge that transport you into the realm of Oblivion controlled by the Daedric Prince Hermaeus Mora. This realm is known as Apocrypha.

Apocrypha is the plane of Oblivion ruled by Hermaeus Mora, lord of fate and keeper of forbidden knowledge.

The ruler of a plane can decide the very laws of reality for that plane. Apocrypha for example, has different laws to those of the mortal world.

The laws of the mortal world hold no power here.

The Daedric Princes can morph and change the limitless space of the planes of Oblivion to their whim.

The Elder Scrolls Online’s Rich Lambert On Trolling Devs, Off-Limits Lore, And Whether A TV Show Would Work

We spoke with ZeniMax Online Studios creative director Rich Lambert about lore, trolling, and what an ESO TV show might look like.

www.thegamer.com

“You've kind of seen that over the last ten years, right? It's slowly piecing together things. We've done some things off of Tamriel, islands, we've obviously gone to a bunch of the Plains of Oblivion. I think at some point it makes sense, given what we've done.”

It's not just the realms of the Princes either (or even just the realms of Oblivion); everything within the Clockwork City is a direct manifestation of Sotha Sil’s will.

General:ESO Live Lore of the Clockwork City - The Unofficial Elder Scrolls Pages (UESP)

en.uesp.net

"All the Factotum bards crappily playing songs off-key and wheezy for the flute, is that Sotha Sil’s idea of some kind of joke?"
Leamon: Everything that happens in the Clockwork City is a direct manifestation of what he wills, so it follows that probably he wants this factotums to play really bad music.
Lawrence: There's something meaningful there, something significant. Its up to you to tease out that meaning and significance!

From this same source, Clockwork City in many respects is Sotha Sil, so he can control what magic people use within it and can prevent someone using magic he doesn’t like.

General:ESO Live Lore of the Clockwork City - The Unofficial Elder Scrolls Pages (UESP)

en.uesp.net

"You say most of the people in Clockwork seem to be at least above magical and/or tech ability, and everyone seems to hate the nutrient paste for being boring. Illusion magic exists, so if there's a spell to make someone think you’re friends, why isn't there a spell to make some to make someone think the paste tastes like Scrib Jelly?"
Lawrence: You want take this one?
Leamon: Sure. So first to start off, the Clockwork Apostles would probably tell you that illusion magic is profane, and they don't want it in the city. Sotha Sil is interested in truth, and finding the absolute facts of things, so creating an illusion is a ridiculous thing to even consider. Also, there's the very real possibility that Sotha Sil makes it so they have to taste it that way. The Clockwork City is in many respects kind of is Sotha Sil, and there's no guarantee that any magic that an apostle or someone else might be able to use could actually change the taste of the paste if he doesn't want them to.
Lawrence: And he just made darn well be interested in finding out what happens when you feed Clockwork Apostles tasteless paste for decades on end.

Infact, altering reality, even if just temporarily, requires channeling magical energy, and beings on a mythological level can channel power and change reality in big ways (such as a Dragon Break, a planesmeld or Alduin's return). This is because Nirn and the Mundus were created by the Aedra's sacrifice to create the natural laws (such as Akatosh causing time to happen). This is to say, all demonstrations of control over reality is due directly to the sheer power of the one altering reality (regardless if they made the plane(s) in which it's taking place on or not).

29:20

Lawrence Schick: It's not just Earth with some magic guys casting spells, right. The nature of reality is fundamentaly different in the world of Nirn, because it's based all the natural laws come from the sacrifices that the Aedra made when they made the world. So Akatosh, when he put himself into the world, he made time happen, right, and so forth and so on with all the different gods. So you've got this really seriously interesting mythological background about the nature of reality and how it was created, and how it can be changed, because it's not set forever. It can be further changed by those who can channel magicka and force their will upon it. Right, that's what magic is. Changing reality locally...sometimes locally usually temporarily but you're changing reality, and creatures and characters and beings of mythological levels can change reality in big ways! And that's what happens when you get a Dragonbreak, or a planemeld, or an Oblivion Crisis, or Alduin coming back from the depths of time. You've got reality changing in big ways. At the same time, you've got all of these people who unlike in sorta your standard medieval setting, they look at things in a very logical and scientific and organised fashion. You've got all these sages, you've got the mages guild researchers, you've got the scholars, and they're all breaking stuff down, and it gives a way...

The Divines can alter the timeline for both the future and the past

ESO Live Episode 15 - Lore-time with Lawrence Schick (2015) — The Imperial Library

Lawrence puts on a dark red fez and adopts a different voice.

www.imperial-library.info

This is a world of myth. This is a world where reality is actually changeable, where the Divines can change not only what happens going forward, but what has happened in the past/.

The Gloam Night (the Champion of Nocturnal during her assault on the Crystal Tower) is capable of summoning singularities and commanding space and time to form dark matter (from the Summerset Online Official Guide, page 221).

The Psijic Order are masters of the manipulation of time and space, and are the guardians of all things arcane across all realms (from the Summerset Online Official Guide, page 58).

Power of godlike beings - Ability to destroy worlds
Jygalag is confirmed to be able to destroy his Realm, and has done this in the past.

The Lord discloses what you may already have guessed: Sheogorath is Jyggalag. During the Greymarch, the former fades out and the latter fades in. This process can’t be stopped, but your intercession can prevent the god from permitting his darker side from destroying his own Realm.

Further confirmation that the Shivering Isles under threat of being destroyed during the Greymarch.

The Elder Scrolls

Within the Realm of Sheogorath, players can explore the two extreme sides of the god’s madness – the sublimely creative and the completely psychotic. Something is happening to the Shivering Isles and Sheogorath himself looks to you to be his champion and defend his realm and its inhabitants from destruction. Do you have the strength to survive his trials, tame a realm fraught with paranoia and despair, and wear the mantle of a God?

The Greymarch involves the total destruction of everything in Sheogorath’s realm, after which he has to start over every 1000 years.

Merci à XCN pour cette interview des petits gars de Bethesda, réalisée à l'occasion de la sortie imminente de Shivering Isles pour Oblivion sur 360. L'extension sera disponible le 27 Mars très exactement, au prix de 2400p sur le Marketplace.

Merci à XCN pour cette interview des petits gars de Bethesda, réalisée à l'occasion de la sortie imminente de Shivering Isles pour Oblivion sur 360. L'extension sera disponible le 27 Mars très exactement, au prix de 2400p sur le Marketplace.

www.gamersyde.com

Can you explain how the Shivering Isles are linked to the plot and world of Oblivion?
Pete Hines: The events in Oblivion take place at the end of the third era, and the end of any era is always a time of big change in the world of The Elder Scrolls. Those changes take places in other places besides Tamriel, including the realm of Sheogorath, the daedric prince of maddness who resides in, and rules over, his own plane of Oblivion and very different from the one ruled by Mehrunes Dagon that you see in Oblivion. The big change taking place in Sheogorath's realm actually happens at the end of every era. It's called the Greymarch and it's basically the total destruction of everything in his realm, forcing him to start all over again every 1,000 years, which he hates. So, in an effort to put a stop to this Sheogorath believes he's found a way to get a mortal champion to help stop the Greymarch and save his realm, which is where you come in.

The Eye of Magnus has the power to destroy the world, which is why the Psijic Order remove it from the world.

Now that the Eye has grown unstable, it may not only destroy the College, but also the entire world! Ancano's actions proved that this world is not ready for such power. Quaranir prepares to secure the Eye. The Psiiic Order will maintain the Eye for now, and he summons his brethren, Gelebros and Tandil, to perform a binding ritual. The monks and the Eye soon disappear from this world.

Killing Mankar Camoran will cause his realm of Oblivion to dissolve.

Mankar Camoran: Your job here is killing him. You canlay into him directly or wait until after he makes his bwa-ha-ha speech. He puts up a good fight—summoning leveled heavy-duty Daedra and healing himself on a regular basis. When he’s dead, the place begins to crumble, like all good bad-guy Citadels, and you’re transported back to Cloud Ruler Temple with theAmulet of Kings.

Ithelia’s return could unravel all of reality.

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A COSMIC STORY - The Prince of Fate holds secrets too dangerous for mortals or Daedra to comprehend. Now hidden yet turbulent powers threaten Hermaeus Mora's realm of Apocrypha and if the Daedric Prince's secret is uncovered, it could unravel all of reality.

With the barriers that protect the mortal world lowered, the mortal plane stands at risk from the Lord of Destruction Mehrunes Dagon.

The “Prince of Destruction” the emperor mentioned is Mehrunes Dagon—one of the Daedra lords who rule the world of Oblivion and a recurring figure in the recent history of Tamriel. (He was an important figure in Daggeifall and had a cameo in Morrowind as well.)
Dagon shouldn’t pose a threat to the mortal world. It is protected from Oblivion by magical barriers. So why did the emperor perceive a threat from Oblivion? Jauffre doesn’t know, but he does seem to have an idea. The grandmaster seems to imply that those Dragonfires themselves are the wards that separate Oblivion from the mortal plane.

Barbas uncovering the Clockwork City is a threat to the entire world.

You must heed the call of a hero and help Vivec - the legendary warrior-poet and Guardian of Vvardenfell - save the world from a deadly Daedric threat.

If Alduin succeeds in his goal, the world will be destroyed and everyone will die.

34:44

Imperial Knowledge: If I may ask, you, say about the world destroying problems that you face, would you say that any of them are on Alduin's level, or are they or are they all on a smaller scale to (Alduin?)?
Juan Echinique: They are different. That's a complicated thing that they are not a on the same... You cannot measure them by the same standard because Alduin wants to literally destroy the world. That's- It's very simple. If Alduin wins, we're gone. And that's it. If the forces that be win in the- In the board game, your people are destroyed, your people are killed, or there's some dark influence in the world that is going to create a new, terrible war in 20 years, or the whole of Tamriel is going to be drawn into chaotic situations that are less easy to perceive. At first glance, it's not like scorched earth. That's why we're talking so much about Daedric Princes, because they are agents of chaos one way or another, and when they get their way, well, bad things happen. But unless you're talking about Mehrunes Dagon, uh, they're generally more subtle in their approach.

Jonah Lobe calls Alduin a ‘world-eating dragon.’

https://www.artstation.com/artwork/XADP0

I was 27 when I created Skyrim’s world-eating dragon, which meant I was young and considered myself damn-near immortal (I still do, but we’ll leave my blood-of-the-innocents diet for another day).

The conspiracy (planned by Vaermina and Peryite against Hermaeus Mora) threatens both Nirn and Oblivion alike.

https://www.elderscrollsonline.com/en-us/news/post/63497

You must seek out lost knowledge deep within the heart of the City of the Dead and walk between realities to uncover a vast conspiracy powerful enough to endanger Nirn and Oblivion alike.

Once again, it is said that the scheme of Vaermina and Peryite threatens to unravel reality itself.

Discover the Dark Elves of the Telvanni Peninsula and investigate a scheme that threatens to unravel reality itself—Hermaeus Mora needs mortal assistance, but can the Prince of Knowledge truly be trusted?

Removing a Sigil Stone from a tower in the Deadlands will set a gate adrift in Oblivion, and cause it to collapse upon itself (whether this destroys just the tower or the entire world the tower is contained in, I'm not sure).

Activate the Sigii Stone at the top. This is the Oblivion Gate’s anchor in the Daedra world. With the anchor gone, the gate is adrift, it collapses upon itself—but not, thank goodness, before depositing you back outside Kvateh 's scorched walls. Your path into the city is clear.

Scope of godlike beings
All this talk about what gods and godlike beings are capable of is cool and all, but what helps further is direct confirmation of intent. Clavicus Vile is immortal and omnipotent (more or less), and can ‘smash you like a bug.’

He's omnipotent and immortal, more or less, and can smash you like a bug.

Now, however, be grateful that omnipotent immortals suffer the common character flaw of underestimating the mortals they scorn.

Molag Bal is refered to as omnipotent by lead writer Wynne MacLaughlin.

ESO: Zenimax Online Writer's Reddit AMA (2014) — The Imperial Library

Hi Reddit!

www.imperial-library.info

Wynne McLaughlin: I think, as with many of the Daedric Princes, Molag Bal (or "Little Mo" as Malcolm McDowall liked to call him), for all his omnipotence, has a great flaw: underestimating the power of mortals. His pride and overconfidence are the very things that can be turned against him.

Omnipotent though, can be somewhat vague and paradoxical (other than 'really really powerful), but thankfully, we have examples of a much more straightforward term being used; cosmic. According to Michael Zenke, Molag Bal keeps Naemon around for ‘cosmic chew-toy status.’

Michael Zenke: You guys are awesome.
The Three Banners War is old enough that Cariel saw action in Cyrodiil, and became fast friends with another Bosmer named Saronor. They eventually became romantically involved. I want to leave the details to your imagination, but the last encounter between Cari and Seyran ended up with Cariel's lover dead. Hence, what you see at Pa'alat.
Naemon is basically one of the 'big bad guys you might have killed' and that Big Bal is keeping around for cosmic chew-toy status.

According to Ted Peterson (one of the three founders of The Elder Scrolls), the Aedra are less interested in mortal affairs and are ‘off doing cosmic stuff.’

Ted Peterson on High Rock and Summerset - Religion | The Imperial Library

www.imperial-library.info

Ted: I wasn’t really involved with that. I think there should be good arguments both ways about the origins of the gods. Like with magic, I don’t think there should be a clear-cut answer. The moment there is one, it loses its power. We wanted to have the Aedra be uninterested in mortal affairs, off doing cosmic stuff while the Daedra are there tempting you to go do awful things. But we tried not to make the Daedra purely bad as it’s really more of a grey area.

Shadow Over Morrowind is described as “Elder Scrolls meets cosmic horror.’

General:ESO 2023 Global Reveal - The Unofficial Elder Scrolls Pages (UESP)

en.uesp.net

Rich Lambert: I'm thrilled for this year. We're going to be exploring a new story and theme centered around the Dark Elves and Hermaeus Mora. The best way to describe this story is "Shadow Over Morrowind." But before I go into any more detail, we've got a great way to introduce you to the mood and feel of this arc. It's Elder Scrolls meets cosmic horror, and I can't wait for you all to see it.

Hermaeus Mora is described has having a cosmic horror aesthetic by Rich Lambert.

Elder Scrolls Online creative director on class design, community feedback & more

An interview with Elder Scrolls Online creative director Rich Lambert on designing a new class, processing community feedback, Necrom, and more.

www.shacknews.com

And we really haven’t explored that so we knew that’s kind of where we wanted to go and then we needed a place to put our story and it just made sense to go back to Morrowind, go to the Telvanni Peninsula because the Telvanni Magisters live there and they’re some of the most powerful mages in all of Tamriel so it was just kind of this good synergistic match between kind of the cosmic horror and Hermaeus Mora, and then Morrowind and the Telvanni.

Rich Lambert says that Mora has a cosmic horror vibe.

Elder Scrolls Online Interview with Rich Lambert – Into a World of Madness and Cosmic Horrors in Upcoming Expansion - GamerBraves

With the recent reveal of Elder Scrolls Online's latest expansion Shadow over Morrowind, we had the chance to speak with Rich Lambert, the Creative Director of Elder Scrolls Online in an interview. We go through the topics of the Necrom, the newest Arcanist class, and the realm of Oblivion -...

www.gamerbraves.com

It also talks about one of my favourite Daedric Princes in Hermaeus Mora in this cosmic horror vibe.

Rich Lambert again refers to Mora and Apocrypha as being cosmic horror.

The Elder Scrolls Online: Necrom Goes All In On Cosmic Horror For Its 2023 Chapter

The new chapter will introduce the game's seventh class and return players to Morrowind, while also expanding on a realm of Oblivion familiar to fans of Skyrim's Dragonborn DLC.

www.gamespot.com

That was a big goal, choosing something that was a little bit more alien, a little bit different. I love the cosmic horror vibe and feel. Everything is just a little bit strange and off. It's something different and unique in Elder Scrolls.”

Yet again Hermaeus and Apocrypha are described as being cosmic horror by Rich Lambert, as well as being Lovecraftian.

Telvanni And Tentacles: How The Elder Scrolls Online Decided On Necrom's "Cosmic Horror Vibe"

We sat down with creative director Rich Lambert to talk all about The Elder Scrolls Online's next chapter - Necrom.

www.thegamer.com

“We landed on the Daedric Prince Hermaeus Mora, this Lovecraftian creature focused on knowledge and secrets, and when looking for a place in the world that would mesh with them, we landed on the Telvanni Peninsula because it’s the home to the most powerful mages in all of Tamriel. We thought those fit really well together, and the aesthetic of Morrowind also fit with this cosmic horror vibe.”

Once more, Rich Lambert refers to the story of Necrom as cosmic horror.

Interview: Talking Elder Scrolls Online's Necrom Reveal With Rich Lambert | MMORPG.com

Last week, after the Xbox and Bethesda showcase, Zenimax Online Studios laid out the beginnings of what players can expect in 2023 from The Elder Scrolls Online. A new storyline taking players back to Morrowind, this time to the Telvanni Peninsula, kicks off in March, with things really ramping...

www.mmorpg.com

It’s that kind of cosmic horror vibe which seems to have gone off exceptionally well in the community.

Brian Wheeler says that as the Arcanists are connected with Hermaeus Mora, they have to also have a cosmic horror aspect to them.

Interview: Talking The Arcanist With Elder Scrolls Online's Combat Lead Brian Wheeler | MMORPG.com

With a new trailer showing off the Arcanist's combat abilities, The Elder Scrolls Online's Combat Lead Brian Wheeler answered our questions about the new Arcanist class coming in Necrom.

www.mmorpg.com

That being said we also know that Hermaeus Mora can be a pretty scary entity, so there had to be some amount of Cosmic Horror there.

Mora’s realms of Apocrypha are described as being cosmic.

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What truths are best left hidden? Discover Necrom and the forbidden secrets of Apocrypha. From the Telvanni Peninsula in Eastern Morrowind to the cosmic realms of the Prince of Fate - fight to uphold reality and unlock the runic power of a new Class – the Arcanist!

From the same source as above, the official description of Necrom Online’s story describes it as a cosmic story, and that Mora’s secret (Ithelia) could unravel all reality.

A COSMIC STORY - The Prince of Fate holds secrets too dangerous for mortals or Daedra to comprehend. Now hidden yet turbulent powers threaten Hermaeus Mora's realm of Apocrypha and if the Daedric Prince's secret is uncovered, it could unravel all of reality.

If Mannimarco gets his hands on the Numidium, he uses the power of the Mantella to make himself a god.

If the King of Worms wins, he will use the power of the Mantella to make himself a god.

These words are repeated verbatim on the old TES website.

The Elder Scrolls

If the king of Worms wins, he uses the power of the Mantella to make himself a god.

Cosmic hierarchy
Now, for cosmic hierarchy, such as levels of existence and and the structure of the cosmos. For the former, this is a concept that's mostly fleshed out in the deep lore, but there's some references to it from official sources. The most straightforward of these is how within the Clockwork City exists many layers which represent the concept of 'wheels within wheels and worlds within worlds' made manifest directly above your head.

General:ESO Live Lore of the Clockwork City - The Unofficial Elder Scrolls Pages (UESP)

en.uesp.net

"Somebody was asking if... where was the question? If the Clockwork City is some sort of parallel universe, and if it's endless."
Lawrence: Kind of. Both those questions are "kind of". Yeah, it's in fact a deliberately parallel universe in that it deliberately parallels Tamriel above. You don't see nearly all of it from what you can see in the game. It has layers and only Sotha Sil knows the full extent of those layers, and what the function of some of the other areas are. Samantha, can you just kind of lean back and look up at the sky for a moment? Look up there. Look at those whirling rings spinning around the world of the Clockwork City. That is the outside of the Clockwork City - or maybe not. That's just what you can see from the Brass Fortress, and you can see that Sotha Sil has taken the concept of wheels within wheels, and worlds within worlds, and made it physically manifest right over your head, so that you're constantly contemplating the fact that the world is a built thing, and therefore it can be reverse engineered, re-engineered, and improved. Look, there's the proof right above your head! So yeah, it's profound as hell. God damn, this stuff is deep.

The Daedra have many hierarchies, with there being Daedra Lords near the top, beings who are incredibly powerful, but not as much as the Princes. Some manage their own spheres and realms, while others serve a Prince and govern a sub-sphere. This includes the Lord of Fishing.

General:ESO Live Funny Lore Bits with Lawrence Schick and Zach Bush - The Unofficial Elder Scrolls Pages (UESP)

en.uesp.net

Lawrence Schick: So, ah, let me just speak a bit to this point. A lot of people just think...they have a simplistic view...Oblivion and...you've got the Daedric Princes up here and zillions and kajillions of lesser daedra beneath them. It's more complicated than that in most cases. You've got many, many hierachies, of different daedra, and up near the top you've got the very powerful daedra that are not as powerful as the Princes, but they're called the Daedra Lords. And some of them have their own spheres...their own realms of Oblivion that they handle, that they rule. And others are minions of the Daedric Princes and manage sub-spheres of the Daedric Princes greater spheres. Now Hircine is one of the latter. Hircine has Daedra Lords who report to him and manage other areas, and one of those Daedra Lords is the Lord of Fishing! However, that's all I'm gonna tell you about him, or her, because I don't want to reveal any spoilers. Because we've got plans, for the Lord of Fishing.

Sovngarde exists beyond time and space.

Skyrim:Call of Valor - The Unofficial Elder Scrolls Pages (UESP)

en.uesp.net

Call of Valor - The valiant of Sovngarde hear your Voice, and journey beyond space and time to lend aid.

Planes such as Oblivion are known also as the Outer Realms.

SCHOOL OF CONJURATION
Conjuration summons magical items and beings from the outer realms to serve you.

SUMMON CREATURE
Summons a creature from the Outer Realms.

The Atronach Forge transforms mundane items into relics from beyond Oblivion.

This is the Atronach Forge, an arcane device capable of converting mundane items into various relics from beyond Oblivion.

Celestial bodies
Finally, there is the question of celestial bodies in the different planes of the Aurbis, and their natures. Here things will start to contradict each other the most, as there’s direct evidence of multiple different kinds of celestial bodies, even in the same plane of existence. During the final major quest of Elswyer Online, a quest directive tells you to leave the plane of Jode, which confirms that the moons of Nirn are actually planes of existence (backing up the out of game text Cosmology).

Online:Jode's Core (quest) - The Unofficial Elder Scrolls Pages (UESP)

en.uesp.net

Leave the Plane of Jode

However, the Mundus also houses distant stars and galaxies which exist deep within the cosmos; said stars exist worlds away, and when they eventually burn out their solar winds will eventually give rise to new stars.

The Elder Scrolls

Lastly, as the sun drifts gently downward in the westward sky, and the evening kaleidoscope of pastels fades and diffuses into the deepest of blues, distant stars and galaxies begin to scintillate into view. Here, for the first time, all of the 13 major Elder Scrolls constellations are visible to the player. In order to realistically display the star arrangements properly, a new, fully 3D spherical night sky dome was created. Through the in-game passage of time, the player should be able to track the stars above, as they lazily spiral about the ocular curve of the night sky.
With our world complete, and Cyrodiil fully realized, the player is free to roam this vast and varied landscape to their hearts content. As with our world, Cyrodiil is in constant motion. The trees and grasses sway with the ever-changing wind. Clouds drift hazily overhead and storms amass and fade into the quiet of the morning. Even the very curtain of stars, celestial objects that are worlds away, are never at rest. Even they are always churning and spiraling, deep within the cosmos, forever burning bright until they sigh their last solar wind, giving eventual rise to a new star.

We see there are myriad stars and nebulas located at non-equidistant locations within the Mundus, and then zoom in on one, which turns out to be Nirn (from the Legends: Heroes of Skyrim cinematic).

In relation to the stars within Clockwork City, Lawrence Schick says that Sotha Sil wasn’t inspired by the Celestials, but the concept of constellations themselves and the organisation of stars. He goes on to say that Sotha Sil needed the entire astronomical cosmos for his memories (this is in line with the in-game book The Memories of Sotha Sil saying that Seht has an entire galaxy in his memories).

General:ESO Live Lore of the Clockwork City - The Unofficial Elder Scrolls Pages (UESP)

en.uesp.net

"Why did Sotha Sil design his memory storage after foreign gods, by which he means the Constellations, the Warrior, Mage, and Thief Constellations."
Lawrence: Okay, well if you think about it, it's not so much that these are references to the animated versions of the constellations that you meet in Craglorn, for example, but that the concept of Constellations themselves, a constellation is a memory device, it's a way to think about that organization of stars, and what does that represent, and how can you use that as a mnemonic. So constellations are actually, in themselves, a device for memory, and so using them as an application occurred to Sotha Sil, as a method of storing his own. It's kind of similar to the medieval memory mansion approach to just storing memories mentally by conceiving of this mansion that has different rooms, and you put different memories in different places in these different rooms. Sotha Sil needed the entire astronomical cosmos for his memories, so that's why he's chosen the star fields.

Malachath’s Realm of the Ashlands contains a plane which contains a multitude of spheres as distant and pale as moons.

Their surroundings had changed, too. Around them rose a garden of slender trees, and wound about the trunks were vines festooned with lilylike flowers. A multitude of spheres moved, deep in the colorless sky, as distant and pale as moons. He heard birds chirping, but it was a doleful sound, as if something with a vague memory of having been a bird was trying to reproduce sounds it no longer felt.

An unknown realm of Oblivion contains a jade moon.

They were on a jagged island in a furious sea beneath a sky half-filled with a jade moon.

The constellation of the Serpent constantly moves around the heavens, and is invisible to most mortals.

The only thing is, Hayle was born under the Sign of the pent, a constellation of stars that constantly moves around in the heavens. Furthermore, the constellation is invisible to most mortals, and Saban is too busy with her Song to use her magic to find the Serpent, too.

The Warrior protects his Charges from the Serpent, and when he does so it means that it is his season.

What it means is this: right off the bat, you know all you have to worry about is the Warrior and his three — charges (Steed, Lady, Lord). He wouldn’t be in season if one of his Charges wasn’t being threatened by the Serpent. So, to find the Serpent, we’ll have to “look where he looks.”

From Artaeum, it’s possible to gaze at the Firmament (from the Summerset Online Official Guide, page 209).

Julian LeFay mapped the astronomical movements of all the bodies in the solar system which Nirn resides in for the skies of Arena.

The UESP: arena/arenacon.txt

(12-69,Charles Miles)
Walking around outside at night I've noticed all sorts of cool...planets, moons, and stars...do these follow any pattern (can you navigate by them) or are they just purty window dressing? GA

(12-21,Bethesda Softworks)
Yes, Julian actually created a full orbital pattern for... the solar system that this planet is on... You could navigate by the stars... (pretty cool, huh?) GA

Space travel
Last but not least, the various peoples of Tamriel have been known to travel and even settle other worlds in the Mundus and Oblivion and beyond. To start with, there is literally an entire game dedicated to this premise.

During this time, a host of societal institutions were suspended in so-called “pocket universes,” to achieve a state of immaculate virtual reality. One such institution, deep in the ethereal plane of Aetherius, is the Battlespire.

The Battlespire is described as a ‘medieval space needle’ which is located in its own pocket universe (this is during the 3rd Era).

Battlespire takes place during the time of Arena (roughly 3E 399) in a majestic tower, if you will, a medieval space needle, inhabiting its own pocket universe.

It was not just the Empire who traversed and settled other worlds; the Khajiit built lunar colonies on Massar and Secunda, which we can see with Jode's Embrace, and the temples seen within Jode's Core.

Online:Jode's Embrace - The Unofficial Elder Scrolls Pages (UESP)

en.uesp.net

Few adeptoriums can match the hallowed majesty of Jode's Embrace. Rumor has it that the temple's worthiest occupants can peer into the sacred realm of Jode itself. Just keep an eye out for Dragons overhead!

Online:Plane of Jode - The Unofficial Elder Scrolls Pages (UESP)

en.uesp.net

The Moon Gate of Anequina can be used during a lunar alignment that can be used to reach the core of Jode itself.

Online:Jode's Core (quest) - The Unofficial Elder Scrolls Pages (UESP)

en.uesp.net

Objective: Enter the Moon Gate

Objective: Reach Jode's Core

The plane(t) of Baan Dar has also been settled by individuals of various races (mostly Bosmer and Khajiit).

Eld Angvar is an Aylied ruin located in a world between worlds.

https://www.elderscrollsonline.com/en-gb/news/post/55787

In the new Battlegrounds map, Eld Angvar, you and your team face off against your fellow players in the Ayleid world between worlds.

In the 4th Era, a magical sattelite fell in a small village near Eastmarch, which contained scrolls talking about Boethiah (from Skyrim: The Adventure Boardgame, card 295).

Misc
To finish, a few more quotes that I found about that I'm not sure where to place but are still worth noting. Magic is a fundamental part of the world of Tamriel, which exists everywhere and in everyone.

Magic is an integral component of the world of Tamriel. To the people of the Imperial province, magic is not a matter of faithbut an undeniable truth. Magicka flows through everything and everyone. Most warriors and adventurers wield some form of magic, either from their own essence or through the Magicka of another embedded in their equipment. It will be an essential tool during your time in Tamriel.

The school of Mysticism can be used to unravel the mysteries of the Universe.

The school of Mysticism can unravel the mysteries of the universe if properly applied. It can also tell you what is around the nextcorner, lying in wait for a hapless adventurer to wander by.

The Infinite Archive is a multi-dimensional dungeon.

UESP:ESO Collectible Item -- Delver's Mora Deck Fragment

Found occasionally by exploring the multi-dimensional dungeon that is Infinite Archive.

The Prophecy of the Tyranny of the Sun involves blocking out the Sun, as confirmed by Matt Carofano.

Spoiler

Was there ever a consideration to add another guild to the game?
Well the story of the Dawnguard is about the size of one of our faction quests, so we sort of view it as “Hey you can join the Vampires or the Dawnguard!” If you decide to help the Vampires you can end the tyranny of the sun–you know block out the sun–so they can come out at night and be more powerful. Or you can join the Dawnguard and become a vampire hunter. You’ll be able to build up the Vampire hunters’ base as you recruit new members, build crossbows and even get an armored troll to come along with you to fight against the vampires. So you get both sides of it that way.

Dagail is attuned to the mystic nature of the world.

Dagail is attuned to the mystic nature of the world and needs you to help restore the balance.

 

[Paxton]

God damn you went off with all this

 

[Stocking Anarchy]

As part of your backstory, the hero of Daggerfall uses a staff to block a brigands sword, which results in both weapons shattering (this happens if you're a mage, spellsword, healer or battlemage).

Daggerfall:Background History - The Unofficial Elder Scrolls Pages (UESP)

en.uesp.net

As you joined them, you were attacked by brigands who had been lying in wait in the woods along the road. One of the brigands raised his short sword to strike you. In a natural reflex, you tried to deflect the blow with the staff your father gave you. As the sword struck the staff, a great bolt of lightning erupted from it and both weapons shattered. The brigands and the travelers all stopped and stared at you. As the thunder subsided, the brigands ran back into the woods.

 

[Stocking Anarchy]

Your background history if you are a sorceror in Daggerfall has you turning a brigand to ashes by deflecting their spell back at them (also, the flame spell is turned into a shock spell).

Daggerfall:Background History - The Unofficial Elder Scrolls Pages (UESP)

en.uesp.net

As you rushed to help, one of the brigands, obviously a Mage, raised his staff and cast a spell at you. Your ears roared as the flame bolt hit you, but you absorbed the magicka and let fly a very powerful shock spell. When the bolt struck the brigand mage, he erupted into a column of flames and was reduced to a pile of ashes.

 

[Stocking Anarchy]

From Lord of Souls, using Umbra Sul impales Vuhon (a dunmer sorceror which the entity Umbra uses as a meatsuit), but the the second attack Umbra/Vuhon blocks after enhancing his durability. Attrebus then swings his sword at Vuhon's leg, but the sword just bounces off again. This is the second person in the novel who's been empowered by a Daedric Artifact or Daedric entity to the point of being swordproof (the first being Elhul).

The Dunmer’s eyes arched in surprise and his mouth opened, but before he had a chance to say anything, Sul had already stabbed him with Umbra; the blade went in deep.
Vuhon vented an odd little gasp as Sul yanked the sword out and cut at his head, but the Dark Elf caught the blade with his hand, which burned with a steely blue light.
Attrebus swung Flashing at the joint of Vuhon’s leg; the blade struck, but it felt as if he’d hit iron. Vuhon ignored him in favor of striking Sul with his other hand, sending the sorcerer staggering back.

Soon after, Attrebus swings his sword hard at Vuhon's neck, and this time is able to slice it just a bit (enough to reach an artery). Attrebus then notes that Vuhon is weaker and he was able to cut him just a little bit (this is because Annaig has poisoned the Umbra-Hist).

He got within five unsteady strides before Vuhon seemed to notice him. Attrebus swung hard at his neck, nothing fancy. The sword struck, and this time bit a little. Not much, but it cut the artery. Vuhon slapped his hand over the sudden spurt of blood.
Then a glowing cable caught Attrebus by the ankle and another wrapped around his neck. He slashed as best he could at it,but in an instant his sword arm was immobilized as well. The cables passed him away from Vuhon, then began drawing himslowly down into them.
Sul was back up. Attrebus saw him glance at Umbra, which lay between him and Vuhon, then back at him. Even from tenyards away, Attrebus could see his companion shaking as if with palsy
“What have you done to me?” Vuhon exploded. “Tell me, or he dies immediately.”
Sul took another step toward the sword.
“I cut him, Sul,” Attrebus yelled. “He’s weaker. Something’s wrong with him—”
The cable tightened on his neck and he couldn’t breathe.

 

[Stocking Anarchy]

The Synod had attempted two more times to invade Umbriel by air, both of which failed.

“How long before it gets to the walls, you think?” she asked, jabbing her tusks toward the flying city.
“Hours,” he said, “unless the Emperor has some tricks to try still.”
“I heard from that rat-face, Solein, that they made two more tries to invade by air.”
“We’re not supposed to spread it around, but yes, both just as unsuccessful as that first one. But the wall might be a different matter; the Synod and the College of Whispers will give it all they’ve got, you can be sure of that. And they’ve had a long while to prepare defenses.”

(From Lord of Souls)

 

[Stocking Anarchy]

An Elixir of Growth will instantly age a child into an adult.

Spoiler

 

[Stocking Anarchy]

From Lord of Souls, Hierem does something to Colin to make it so that Colin is forced to remember the man he killed, giving him traumatic flashbacks whenever he attempts to attack him. When Letine attacks Hierem with her dagger, his protective wards shatters her blade.

Hierem appeared and Colin struck from behind, cupping his left palm to the minister’s forehead and thrusting his knife toward the base of his skull.
“No!” Hierem shouted. He sounded exactly like the man on the bridge, before Colin had stabbed him.
Colin flinched. He dropped the knife and shifted his grip to a choke hold.
“What are you doing?” Letine yelled, lifting her own dagger.
“No, don’t kill him,” Colin said. “We still don’t know what he was up to. We need to—”
“You don’t understand,” Letine said, stepping up to deliver the blow.
It never landed. The blade hit something an inch from Hierem’s throat and exploded in a blinding flash of light.Letine shrieked and fell back. Colin tried to tighten his grip, but suddenly Hierem was as slippery as an oiled snake, slithering free of his grasp as if from a child.
“You really don’t understand,” Hierem said.
Colin dropped and got his knife, but as soon as he touched it, he again remembered the man he’d murdered, and all those corpses by the road, like broken dolls. He took a deep, shuddering breath, but he knew it was pointless. It didn’t matter what happened here today. It didn’t matter what happened anywhere, ever, because in the end there was nothing. He looked at the knife and felt a sob heave up from his chest. Then he slumped down to the floor.
“You really don’t understand,” Hierem said.
“I can’t imagine what you think you’re up to, Arese,” Hierem said, stepping toward the woman. Her eyes looked blind, unfocused.
“Colin?” she shouted.
“He’s not much use to you, I’m afraid,” Hierem said. “He’s a bit glum right now.”

Letine then summons a daedra (from the sounds of it a clannfear or a daedroth), and Hierem sends it flying with some kind of magic. Hierem fails to fully deflect the daedra second attack however, and it slices through his chainmail which he is wearing beneath his robe. Hierem then strikes the daedra with an encumbrance spell which causes it to weigh several more tons that usual.

A sharp report rang from the walls in the room, and suddenly something appeared, something shaped a bit like a man but covered in black scales, with three scythelike fingers on each hand. It hopped, birdlike, toward Hierem, and Colin noticed it had sickles on its feet, too—one on each foot.
Hierem jabbed his fist at it, and although he didn’t hit it, the thing went flying back into the wall. It bounced up and came back at the mage.
“He’s done something to you, Colin,” Letine shouted. “Overcome it!”
That was probably true, Colin thought, but it didn’t matter. There was no redemption. His hands were never going to be clean.
The daedra attacked again, but this time Hierem failed to deflect it completely; it skittered by, and one of its foreclaws caught the minister across the chest. His robe ripped with an oddly metallic sound, and Colin saw he had on some sort of mail beneath. That had torn, as well, and the mage started to bleed.
Snarling, Hierem turned, struck the daedra with his hand, and it collapsed. It wasn’t dead, but didn’t seem to be able to move, as if it suddenly weighed a few extra tons.

 

[Stocking Anarchy]

From Lord of Souls, Annaig can make poisons of a 'more than physical nature,' and plans to use this to poison Umbriel/the Umbra-Hist.

She might have tried to poison Umbriel, but she knew in her gut that any such attempt would fail, and she’d lose any chance she had of accomplishing anything. But if Attrebus was right, if Umbriel, the ingenium that kept it aloft, and the Histlike trees Mere-Glim had discovered were all connected by a flow of soul-force, then she ought to be able to poison the whole system. Lord Umbriel was likely untouchable; she knew where the ingenium was, but Glim hadn’t found any way to reach it other than through the apparently deadly connexion at the bottom of the sump.
But the trees—them, she could reach.

So while she hadn’t made much in the way of poison, it came as naturally to her as cooking or concocting tonics to allow flight or breathing water. And in learning how to use the stolen souls that pulsed through the cables of Umbriel, she now had the knowledge to create a venin of a more than merely physical nature. She could blacken the whole system if she did things right. And she could make gallons of it—tons, maybe—before anyone questioned what she was doing, now that the kitchen was hers.