FAQ

Welcome, scholar! This is the Frequently Asked Questions section of TESL Wiki, where we will be discussing multiple topics for your leisure.

Section I: General
What Is Lore? The term "lore" describes a body of tradition and knowledge passed down among a particular group or culture. In the modern day, the term has come to be specifically applied to the information and knowledge that a fictional universe consists of. The Elder Scrolls series has long been known and loved for the depth and breadth of its lore, which has resulted in a huge TES lore community that has thrived for years.

However, The Elder Scrolls lore has attracted its wealth of devotees not only because of its depth, but because of its uniqueness. TES lore is characterized by its tendency to challenge typical tropes and introduce weird ideas, creating a colorful and full environment that separates it from other fantasy universes.

Although the two inherently go hand-in-hand, The Elder Scrolls games and lore are not the exact same. TES games can be seen as windows into TES lore, as while they allow us a means to learn and become familiar with lore, they don't represent the lore as a whole. This could be due to gameplay limitations; developers choosing to dismiss lore for plot convenience; or because lore is so intricate, vast, and weird that it would be too daunting to present to a mainstream audience. Lore retcons and oversights are common in The Elder Scrolls games and are often a cause for frustration among fans, but they are inevitable.

Writers of Bethesda
The lore is a collective effort of many developers at Bethesda Game Studios, constructed through the stories and environments of The Elder Scrolls games, as well as through out-of-game texts and other media. Particularly, those directly involved with worldbuilding (writers and artists) are responsible for the creation of lore. Although earliest lore was obviously established with early The Elder Scrolls games, Arena and Daggerfall, lore as we know it today truly began with Redguard and especially Morrowind, which introduced the bulk of modern lore and deviated from the more cliché examples set by early games.

Although a number of particular developers are prominent enough to have their own sections below, it's important to note that TES lore is a collective result of Bethesda's production, and there are countless individuals responsible for creating and adding to lore over the years.

Michael Kirkbride
Michael Kirkbride -- frequently referred to by his initials, MK -- is a notable contributor of lore. Since working as a concept artist and writer for Redguard and Morrowind (although having started working with Bethesda since Daggerfall), MK has been consistently and heavily involved with the lore community, providing a wealthy flow of lore to satiate and confuse the community. Perhaps his greatest contributions have been the First Pocket Guide to the Empire, which is the foundation for the lore of Tamriel's cultures and lands; and the 36 Lessons of Vivec, which is the foundation for much of TES' metaphysical lore. MK left employment under Bethesda Game Studios before Morrowind's release, and this fact is often used as an argument against the acceptance of his material. However, it is often misinterpreted -- although MK is no longer under employment with Bethesda, he has continued to work closely with them on Oblivion and Skyrim through contract work. He also remains good friends with game designer Kurt Kuhlmann. A better summary of his interaction with Bethesda can be viewed here.

Of Kirkbride, game designer Douglas Goodall said:

"I think he gets a little too weird at times, but without Kirkbride's work, the Elder Scrolls would be indistinguishable from dozens of fantasy games and trilogies. Ted Peterson's stories bring the world of Tamriel to life, and Michael Kirkbride's work makes it unique."

MK occasionally posts on the official forums under the username "Merry Eyesore the Elk" (previously as "MK") and on reddit as /u/MKirkbride.

Ted Peterson
Ted Peterson is a founding father of The Elder Scrolls, and worked as a game designer for Arena and Daggerfall. Although having left employment afterwards, he continued to write in-game books for Morrowind and Oblivion as contract work. It's difficult to estimate Peterson's contribution to TES lore as it is huge, with him having written hundreds of in-game books thus creating a very large amount of lore.

Known as "Tedders" by the fanbase, Ted posted on the official forums under the username "Sheogorath" (as Sheogorath's name is derived from Ted's full name, Theodore), but is now inactive.

Kurt Kuhlmann
Unlike the others, Kurt Kuhlmann's involvement as a developer isn't related to writing or art, but to game design. Kuhlmann's knowledge of lore is immense, and he has much input regarding the lore in the games. When Skyrim writer Shane Liesegang was asked if there was a guide or bible for TES lore, he replied "Kurt's brain."

Kurt goes by "Maturin" on the official forums, but seems to be inactive.

Everyone Else

During the years of earlier The Elder Scrolls titles, the developers of Bethesda were highly active in the community and their creative process was very transparent. They would post lore texts (that would often go on to be in-game texts) on the official forums, engage in roleplaying with other members, and gather ideas from the fans. Over time, this created a unique culture in the TES lore fandom -- fans not only interpret and learn existing lore, but they engage with it by creating their own lore. The lore community celebrates original content and fan construction. The best of this content is called monkey truth.

What is monkey truth?
Monkey truth is basically a fancier way of saying "pretend truth" or "might as well be true". Temple Zero, an old group dedicated to writing monkey truth, defines it:

"'Monkey truth' is a particular aesthetic which recognizes the world's inherently fictional nature. Though the 'lore' has often been treated as if it were the record of some actually existing universe being recorded by these texts and images, a 'monkey truth' creation will above all attempt to present a world which is profoundly beautiful and magical. In such an aesthetic, internal consistency takes a backseat to marvel, which is far more important.

A monkey truth creation therefore is one which is successful in achieving the sense of an alien and exotic universe, avoiding standard fantasy genre conventions to achieve an overall sense of alterity, while still containing a successful narrative.

The term itself is at least a decade old, though it became a commonplace descriptor after writer and game developer Michael Kirkbride applied it to al Bede's "Orc Creation Myth". It has been summarized to mean "a story so good it should have been included in the game."

Converse to the concept of monkey truth is "BATW" -- Boring And Therefore Wrong. Lady Nerevar, librarian of The Imperial Library and prominent community figure, explains the difference between "good" and "bad" lore:

"Good lore evokes wonder, subverts cliche, and breaks stereotype."

Since Daggerfall the lore of the Elder Scrolls has been getting more alien and more complex. Concepts found elsewhere in fantasy - evil dark elves, hippie wood elves, Scottish dwarves - have no place in the modern concept of lore. They have been replaced with unique societies and new concepts. TES lore has its own set of symbols and meanings that is separated from both cliche fantasy and from the real world. It evokes wonder by pushing our idea of what is possible and what is real, all the while suspending our disbelief. Glass, which is fragile in reality, makes some of the best armor around. Blind priests go clothed in moths carrying the spirits of our ancestors. Swords cut atoms and brought about the fall of a continent.

BATW, meaning Boring and Therefore Wrong, is the exact opposite of good lore. It is cliche or stereotype, and it relies on what we already know as opposed to what we can imagine. Giving the Bosmer art nouveau type architecture is BATW because it is expected, and because we have seen it in a dozen other depictions of elves. Likewise, attributing the fall of Yokuda to a natural earthquake is BATW due to its everydayness. Having it break asunder because of a sword move which is the equivalent of a nuclear bomb, on the other hand, is unusual and pushes our imagination.

Monkey Truth is good (unique, imaginative) lore created by fans. Much like the Obscure Texts, it is meant to fill in gaps or expand existing lore. While it does add in wholly new elements, its main purpose is to expand what is already there. You will likely not encounter it in your initial studies, but threads on undeveloped subjects sometimes turn to the creation of monkey truth.

Recently, there have been movements to further define the concept of monkey truth by creating a relative definition, "Apocrypha", which is lore-constructive writing. As dinmenel of The Editorial Initiative explains:

"Apocrypha is a term we use to describe the writings of fans designed to expand upon the lore of the Elder Scrolls universe. It denotes those fan creations executed with technical skill and a dedication to the creation of an organismic, living Tamriel."

The term could be thought of as part of the 'textual taxonomy' of the Elder Scrolls. Anything written by a fan of the Elder Scrolls is termed 'fan fiction,' but only those fan fictions aimed specifically at expanding the lore and creating a living world are included within the term 'Apocrypha,' and only those Apocryphal texts which successfully "[achieve] the sense of an alien and exotic universe, avoiding standard fantasy genre conventions to achieve an overall sense of alterity, while still containing a successful narrative," do we call Monkey Truth.

How do I learn more about lore?
Add The Imperial Library to your bookmarks. TIL is an archive of all in-game texts, out-of-game texts, game storylines, developer interviews, and other resources that make it the answer to all of your lore needs. It has existed almost as long as The Elder Scrolls series has, and has been endorsed by Bethesda. Greg Keyes acknowledged The Imperial Library as an "invaluable resource" when writing The Infernal City.

The Unofficial Elder Scrolls Pages is a game information resource -- and a great one at that -- but it's not recommended that you use it for lore reference. Much lore is often misinterpreted or not featured on UESP, and its nature as a wiki means that you cannot get a well-rounded perspective.

If you haven't played The Elder Scrolls games -- more than one or two, that is -- you should obviously do that. The games contain a wealth of world information and are just plain fun. You don't need to be picking up every in-game book you see, of course. You can be familiar with the basics of lore just by enjoying the games, and the best books can be read outside of the game on The Imperial Library.

Nigedo's Elder Scrolls Lore FAQ, although rather outdated now, is a good read to grasp the basics. Lady Nerevar's How to Become a Lore Buff goes further in detail, and covers a broad range of topics which links provided to help you go further into what interests you.

Once you've got a grasp on the basics, just pursue whatever interests you. As topics become deeper and branch off into others, you'll find you have a solid grasp on many areas of lore. You shouldn't tackle all lore at once with the intention of knowing it all, it would be very difficult and probably quite boring.

Section II: Lore
This section briefly answers lore questions that are commonly asked in the community, so this section does actually resemble an FAQ.

What happened to the Dwemer?
"I will tell you the truth, because you will believe none of it. The Brass God is Anumidum, the Prime Gestalt. He is also called the divine skin. He was meant to be used many times by our kind to transcend the Gray Maybe.

The first to see him was the Shop Foremer, Kagrenac of Vvardenfell, the wisest of the tonal architects [Mechanists - MN]

''Do not think as others do that Kagrenac created the Anumidum for petty motivations, such as a refutation of the gods. Kagrenac was devoted to his people, and the Dwarves, despite what you may have read, were a pious lot-he would not have sacrificed so many of their golden souls to create Anumidum's metal body if it were all in the name of grand theater. Kagrenac had even built the tools needed to construct a Mantella, the Crux of Transcendence. But, by then, and for a long time coming, the Doom of the Dwarves marched upon the Mountain and they were removed from this world."'' -- Xal, Skeleton Man's Interview with Denizens of Tamriel

This quote is at the core of what we know of the Dwemer's disappearance.

An abridged way of putting it is that the Numidium (the Brass God) was Kagrenac's attempt at transcendence for the Dwemer people. They used the Heart of Lorkhan to create the Numidium, which, as we all know, was the cause for the Battle of Red Mountain. During the battle, where the Dwemer were on the losing side, the Heart was manipulated in what is presumed to be an act of desperation. The Dwemer were pulled into the Numidium, completing it. Whether Kagrenac's plans were a success or not is unknown.

For further reading and a much better understanding, it is urged that you read the Final Report to Trebonius by Luagar. Morrowind players may remember Trebonius Artorius, the eccentric Arch-Mage of the Mages Guild who dismissively tasks the player with finding out what happened to the Dwemer as the first quest he gives you. Luagar's text is written as a scholar who clearly left the Mages Guild in frustration, but who finally delivered an incredibly well-researched report to Artorius and actually provided an answer to his seemingly impossible question. It deals with some more in-depth lore topics, but guides you through them all in a digestible way.

What are the lifespans of the races?
The races of humans in The Elder Scrolls -- Imperials, Nords, Bretons, and Redguards -- age exactly like humans in real life, though Tamriel's standard of living should be taken into consideration. Some posit that Bretons live longer than other humans due to their part-elven origins, but this is unconfirmed.

Mer are capable of living much longer than humans. Altmer are believed to live the longest, followed by Dunmer and then Bosmer (although we don't know this for sure). Although a commoner is unlikely to live for a long time (dying at 80-200, depending), those with a high standard of living are able to live for hundreds or even thousands of years.

The exception to this are Orcs, who have a shorter lifespan than even humans. A Nordic legend claims that after Orkey tricked the Nords into having short lifespans, Shor fought Orkey and transferred the curse onto Orkey's people, the Orcs. Orcs live to around 40-60, though they commonly believe they should die after their prime is over, and seek an honorable death.

It's unknown how long Argonians and Khajiit live for.

It's important to note that powerful mages can prolong their lifespan somehow (presumably with restoration). Divayth Fyr, a very powerful sorcerer, is the longest living mortal at over 4000 years old (likely a combined result of his expert sorcery, elven nature, and noble status).

Where does one's soul go after death?
The typical soul is sent to the Dreamsleeve, where it is recycled and used again in a newborn child. The exact nature and location of the Dreamsleeve remains unknown, but some believe it is located in Aetherius due to the common perception among mortals that one's soul goes to Aetherius after death. However, if one devotes themselves to a Daedric Prince, their soul will go to the plane of Oblivion that corresponds to that Prince. This is also true for the Aedra Shor, and the soul of one who worships him will go to his realm of Sovngarde (it's a misconception that only Nords go to Sovngarde).

This leads to confusion regarding the Last Dragonborn, the protagonist of Skyrim. As the Dragonborn, it is said that their soul will go to Akatosh after death. However, Tsun claims that the Dragonborn will return to Sovngarde after death. It is also possible for the Dragonborn to declare allegiance to Nocturnal via the Thieves Guild questline, become a werewolf in the Companions questline and thus going to Hircine after death, and become a vampire which presumably promises oneself to Molag Bal.

The only thing the Last Dragonborn certainly does is Skyrim's main questline. All other possibilities are up to the player. Because of this, it is essentially up to the player to decide where their character's soul goes. The Last Dragonborn's soul will most likely go to Akatosh, as Akatosh holds the greatest claim as the origin of the Dragonborn's soul in the first place.

What is CHIM?
CHIM, meaning "royalty" in the Ehlnofex language, is a certain knowledge that enables a state of enlightenment. When an individual learns that existence is the dream of a figure known only as the Godhead, they will come to one of two realizations -- either that they're simply a minuscule figment of imagination and therefore don't exist, or that they're still themselves regardless and therefore do exist (not unlike Descartes' "cogito ergo sum". Upon the former thought process, the part of the Godhead's dream that is that individual will "wake up" having become aware, and will simply fail to exist. This is called "zero-summing". However, upon the latter thought process, the individual has retained their sense of individuality despite all circumstances. By taking the paradox head-on and saying "I am" in the face of "You are not", the individual transcends and becomes one with the Godhead. They gain omniscience and reality becomes malleable just as in a lucid dream.

Only two individuals are known to have attained CHIM -- Vivec and Tiber Septim. Vivec's various teachings (notably his 36 Sermons) convey vital information about how to know CHIM, and he displayed it himself when he utilized CHIM to disappear after he banished Azura. Septim displayed his achievement of CHIM when he utilized it to change the topography of Cyrodiil from dense tropical jungle to temperate grasslands.

Which real world races are the races of The Elder Scrolls inspired by?
Countless facets of countless cultures -- real and fictional -- can be detected in Tamriel's races, but they are ultimately far too unique to have single parallels drawn to them without cherry-picking specific cultural traits. Any parallels made (and there are many across the internet) are superficial deductions.

Which questlines and events are considered "canon"?
Across The Elder Scrolls games, there are many quests that enable the player's character to profoundly interact with the world. However, these events only occur if the player chose to set them in motion, leaving it vague which events actually happened "officially", or whether they even happened at all.

Each game's main quest is always considered canon, and the individual that fulfills a main quest is generally assumed to have fulfilled the quests of that game's expansions (the Nerevarine slew Almalexia and participated in Hircine's Hunt, the Champion of Cyrodiil became Sheogorath, etc.). "Main characters" are always given titles for reference, but details are not revealed so the player's image of their characters is protected. Faction quests are always considered to have been performed by somebody, but again, details of the individuals are not given.

There are sometimes events with multiple possible outcomes, relying on the player's choices. Examples are Daggerfall's seven-pronged ending, Morrowind's "Back Path", and Skyrim's Civil War. Typically, such as with the Back Path, these situations are handled by leaving them vague so the player can decide for themselves. Daggerfall's ending, however, was explained by a Dragon Break causing all seven outcomes to be true at once. The Skyrim Civil War won't have its outcome revealed either because the next TES installment will be set in a time or place where it is irrelevant, or because a greater event will overshadow it (all bets are on the Thalmor).

Is there a summary of all Elder Scrolls lore?
No.