40 replies to this topic

[Lachdonin]

I'm not sure that you understand what dragon priests are. All they were was a group of Nords that worshiped the dragons and were thus given the masks as a reward. They were just as human as the Dovahkiin the player controls is now. And in the lore and story it says that there were many dragonborns in the past, but you are the only one that is known of still alive today in Skyrim.

With some additional clairity, the ancestors of the Nords, the Nedic settlers, ALL worshiped Dragons, and we can assume the Nords did as well. Well, they worshiped a variety of animal totems, including the Bear, Skeever, Saber cat etc, but the Dragon was at the top of the totem pole, so to speak.. The Dragon Priests were to them what Cardinals are to Catholics, religious leaders whose dual purpose is to revere and to represent said god(s).

The Dragon Priests in Skyrim are also not the only ones, and likely represent a small number compared to those in the Nedic homeland of Atmora. They also may be the reason the whole Dragon War started, but thats a debate for another time and place (again).

Anywho, the Dragon Priests, as we see them, are no different than Draugr, though considerably more powerful. They certianly weren't always like that. In fact, they probably were a generational priest-class of early humans, and when one, say Moreki, died, another took up the same name to fill the possition. But i digress, the nuances of Nedic religion is poorly developed because the writers are game designers, not anthropologists and philosophers.

One interesting possibility to consider with the Dragonborn (as opposed to the Dovahkiin) however is the fact that, acording to the trailer, he fed on the Dragons he was supposed to revere. Up until now, we've assumed that the Dragonblood is a blessing from Akatosh, but what if it was, originally, something taken rather than given?

[sajuukkhar9000]

With some additional clairity, the ancestors of the Nords, the Nedic settlers, ALL worshiped Dragons, and we can assume the Nords did as well. Well, they worshiped a variety of animal totems, including the Bear, Skeever, Saber cat etc, but the Dragon was at the top of the totem pole, so to speak.. The Dragon Priests were to them what Cardinals are to Catholics, religious leaders whose dual purpose is to revere and to represent said god(s).

The Dragon Priests in Skyrim are also not the only ones, and likely represent a small number compared to those in the Nedic homeland of Atmora. They also may be the reason the whole Dragon War started, but thats a debate for another time and place (again).

With some additional clarity, the Nedes are not "settlers" of anything, the Nedes are unrelated to the Nords, and are humans indigenous to Tamriel. You are thinking of the Proto-Nords.
http://www.imperial-...-kuhlmann-posts

On the origin of Nedes

The usual Imperial arrogance. The hoary old "Out of Atmora" theory has been widely discredited (no reputable archaeologist would publicly support it these days), but the Imperial Geographers continue to beat the drum of the Nordic Fatherland in the best tradition of the Septim Empire. They seem to think that the imprimature of officialdom gives their outdated scholarship added weight -- which, unfortunately, it appears to in the eyes of the ever-gullible public which continues to snap up the latest Pocket Guides along with the rest of their Imperial Certified pablum. (HA)

http://www.imperial-library.info/content/forum-archives-michael-kirkbride

Out of Atmora (07/10/08):

And for the last time (uh huh), Nedes != Atmorans. That's just shoddy scholarship from a bygone regime.

Also the Nordic animal totems were
http://www.uesp.net/...:The_Dragon_War

They deified the hawk, wolf, snake, moth, owl, whale, bear, fox, and the dragon

There was no Skeever, or Sabre Cat, animal god.

Edited by sajuukkhar9000, 10 November 2012 - 02:34 AM.

[Lachdonin]

Yes, quite. Admitedly, i'm working, geting rather tired (which can probably be best expressed by my Lorkhan rant elsewhere), and have a shoddy at best internet connection at the moment, so crosschecking is rather difficult. I'd amend the earlier post, but that would make yours look like gibberish, so i will instead nod and agree with your specifics.

Edited by Lachdonin, 10 November 2012 - 02:45 AM.

[Inquart]

I'm not sure that you understand what dragon priests are. All they were was a group of Nords that worshiped the dragons and were thus given the masks as a reward. They were just as human as the Dovahkiin the player controls is now. And in the lore and story it says that there were many dragonborns in the past, but you are the only one that is known of still alive today in Skyrim.

Yes, I know all that and I understand what the Dragon Priests were once and what they are now, just as I know there were many other Dragonborns earlier with our Dovahkiin being the last as of now (not the last generally). What I wanted to say there was that this Dragon Priest on Solstheim comes back to life first and foremost as a Dragon Priest (just as Hevnoraak or Vokun did), who somehow happened to be Dragonborn, thus his case doesn't have to mean that there is always more than one Dragonborn at a time.

However, that really doesn't matter here. I wonder now if during their rule, the Dragons gave that Dragon Priest power over Solstheim out of fear, after some kind of negotiations or if he rather grabbed that power by himself, knowing that he can defeat the lizards permanently by absorbing their souls if need be.

[Lachdonin]

However, that really doesn't matter here. I wonder now if during their rule, the Dragons gave that Dragon Priest power over Solstheim out of fear, after some kind of negotiations or if he rather grabbed that power by himself, knowing that he can defeat the lizards permanently by absorbing their souls if need be.

Without knowing the specifics of the, as yet, unlreleased story, i would say it is most likely that he started AS a Dragonpriest, then discovered he actually had power over his masters, and turned against them. Its sometimes hard to remember, but Tamriel is a big place. A full, running retreat, complete with horses, from Skingrad to the road circling the Imperial City is something like 5 days. Solsthiem is, at least, several days voyage from Vardenfel. If the Dragonborn were to topple the Dragons which ruled there, the others could ahve gone through months, years or even decades without knowing, or even caring.

It could also be that the actions of the Dragonborn in Solsthiem gave rise to the Dragonpriests in Skyrim demanding ever greater tribute (while only offering the same to the Dragons and keeping the rest), which caused the Dragonwar.

We don't know enough about the timeline in question to really judge exactly how the Dragonborn came to power in Solsthiem, or if he came into his... gifts, after comming to power.

[Inquart]

You're right, Lachdonin. Well, I guess we'll know all about that mysterious Dragon Priest once the DLC is out.

[luzburg]

What I'm trying to say here is that I think - but that's only my opinion - the Dragonborn we control in Skyrim is the only "human" Dragonborn out there, while the one on Solstheim was rather a Dragon Priest with some Dragonborn powers (maybe he was some kind of fallen Dragonborn or other abomination?)
I hope you understand what I mean

I'm not sure that you understand what dragon priests are. All they were was a group of Nords that worshiped the dragons and were thus given the masks as a reward. They were just as human as the Dovahkiin the player controls is now. And in the lore and story it says that there were many dragonborns in the past, but you are the only one that is known of still alive today in Skyrim.

Well they were initially. They are lichs now I guess, some kind of undead anyway.

[justwannaddl]

I wonder if Dragonborn are capable of transforming into dragons themselves. In Akavir, Tosh Raka, king of the Ka Po' Tun (cat folk), transformed into a divine dragon not long after dragons went extinct in his lands after he tried to defend the black dragons from the Tsaesci and their red dragon slaves. Before Skyrim, I thought it was just alchemy or freakish magic but if he was a dragonborn, it wouldn't be surprising if he absorbed a massive number of souls with the dragon extinction event and somehow used it to become an immortal dragon himself.

[samuraiche]

But i digress, the nuances of Nedic religion is poorly developed because the writers are game designers, not anthropologists and philosophers.

Oh, oh! I'm studying anthropology as a major. I wonder if developers would ever bother hiring one as a consultant or writer? I can only dream *stares off into space wistfully*

[sajuukkhar9000]

I wonder if Dragonborn are capable of transforming into dragons themselves. In Akavir, Tosh Raka, king of the Ka Po' Tun (cat folk), transformed into a divine dragon not long after dragons went extinct in his lands after he tried to defend the black dragons from the Tsaesci and their red dragon slaves. Before Skyrim, I thought it was just alchemy or freakish magic but if he was a dragonborn, it wouldn't be surprising if he absorbed a massive number of souls with the dragon extinction event and somehow used it to become an immortal dragon himself.

Tosh Raka turned into a Dragon because he mantled Akatosh, similar to how Martin turned into Akatosh at the end of Oblivion. You don't have to be a Dragonborn for that to happen though.

Akavir is Tamriel's mythic opposite, which is why Tosh Raka is RAKA-TOSH, or better known as AKA-TOSH.

Edited by sajuukkhar9000, 11 November 2012 - 05:03 AM.