Elder scrolls after life questions.

[Osiris]

I know that Nords that die in battle go to sovngarde, but where do other races go when they die in battle?

Besides that, where does a Nord go if they die of natural causes(Old age, sickness, etc).

Also, where do Daedra worshippers go when they die?

Finally, do Daedra worshipping nords that die in battle go to Sovngarde?

 

[perkecet]

well, the plane of aetherius is the generic "heaven" of elder scrolls lore, so most spirits of the deceased end up there. in general those who worship a daedric prince end up in one of the planes of oblivion. for example, werewolves, who follow the daedric prince hircine, live their afterlives in a plane of oblivion called "hircine's hunting grounds" where they constantly hunt prey night after night for all eternity. another example is the fabled group of thieves dubbed "the nightingales", in their afterlives, they must defend the shrine of the daedric prince nocturnal, as ghosts. this can last for enternity, but when nocturnal feels their debt to her is paid, they may leave the mortal plane and live forever in her oblivion plane, called the evergloam. not much is known about this place.

a nordic daedra worshipper who died in battle would go to oblivion. the reason for that is because those in daedric cults will swear their souls to whatever prince they worship. this is different than the way to sovngarde, which is based on your worldly deeds and character. those who worship the daedra have their souls claimed by the daedra, so they will go to oblivion, whether or not they fit the "criteria" to get into sovngarde.

 

[Harperlarp]

That is about as good an answer as you could expect I reckon

 

[Kairee Blackblade]

Nicely explained Perkecet!

 

[perkecet]

Nicely explained Perkecet!

thank you! lol. i'm glad being an obscene lore nerd has at least some use =P

 

[Osiris]

thank you sir, you really know your lore.

 

[perkecet]

thank you sir, you really know your lore.

no prob. if you have any other questions and don't want to create a thread or wait for replies feel free to PM me and i'll see what i can do.

what i find funny is that during the course of the game you can pledge your soul to hircine and nocturnal, while still having a spot reserved in sovngarde for being dragonborn. who knows where you'll end up!

 

[ChiefScalyNipples]

I know that when an Argonian dies, his/her soul is given to the Hist, a sacred sentient race of trees in Black Marsh that created the Saxhleel (Argonian's actual name in their language, it means people of the root), and when an Argonian is going to be hatched, the Hist give that soul to that egg, turning them into a new Argonian. It's basically reincarnation. I guess you could say I'm a nerd, but Elder Scrolls lore, ESPECIALLY argonian lore, is really interesting to me, unlike other lore from other things. I know a little bit about the other races, basically whatever daedra you worship you go to their realm regardless, if you're a nord you go to sovngarde in Aetherius, if you had the misfortune of being soul trapped you go to the soul cairn, ect. But I too have a question, in the loading screens they say it's the nord's belief that they go to sovngarde, is it just what they believe or is it actually true?

 

[The Great Space Hobo]

But I too have a question, in the loading screens they say it's the nord's belief that they go to sovngarde, is it just what they believe or is it actually true?

I never noticed that before. But I'm guessing since you *SPOLIERS* go to Sovngarde to fight Alduin I'm going with it is a real place... or a really good Skooma trip.

 

[perkecet]

But I too have a question, in the loading screens they say it's the nord's belief that they go to sovngarde, is it just what they believe or is it actually true?

i guess you haven't finished the game...

 

[Yukari Yakumo]

Great points, but that opens up another question.
What about people like the Dragonborn who serve multiple Daedric Princes?
I'm a Breton who helped Meridia, and just did Molag Bal and Peryite, where do I go?

 

[Skyrimosity]

Well, the Dragonborn is pretty much excluded as any normal person of Tamriel would only worship a single Daedra because they fear if they worship another then the first Daedra will kill them or make their souls suffer for eternity. So, the Dragonborn is the only person who would dare to worship more than 1 Daedra.

 

[perkecet]

Great points, but that opens up another question.
What about people like the Dragonborn who serve multiple Daedric Princes?
I'm a Breton who helped Meridia, and just did Molag Bal and Peryite, where do I go?

well actually, i've heard quite a unique theory on how this sort of thing works for the dragonborn. someone here came up with it however i do not remember who it was. the general idea was that the dragonborn has both a human soul, as well as the soul of a dragon. he also absorbs the souls of dragons he has slain. this leaves multiple souls when the dragonborn dies, which will satisfy all the daedric princes or anyone else the dragonborn swore his soul to, which leaves him free to enjoy eternity in the hall of valor.

 

[ChiefScalyNipples]

i guess you haven't finished the game...

I have finished the game actually it just is kinda confusing lol.

 

[Skyrimosity]

I have finished the game actually it just is kinda confusing lol.

You realize that you actually go to Sovngarde and see the souls of many Nords who died in battle. How are you questioning it?

 

[Osiris]

well actually, i've heard quite a unique theory on how this sort of thing works for the dragonborn. someone here came up with it however i do not remember who it was. the general idea was that the dragonborn has both a human soul, as well as the soul of a dragon. he also absorbs the souls of dragons he has slain. this leaves multiple souls when the dragonborn dies, which will satisfy all the daedric princes or anyone else the dragonborn swore his soul to, which leaves him free to enjoy eternity in the hall of valor.

thats brilliant lol

 

[ChiefScalyNipples]

You realize that you actually go to Sovngarde and see the souls of many Nords who died in battle. How are you questioning it?

I know that I went to sovngarde and I saw a bunch of nord souls it's just, I guess what I meant is like do they go there because that's where they believe they go or is it because they just go there because they're nords? That's what I meant, sorry I have trouble wording what I want to ask sometimes.

EDIT: Sorry, never mind my question. I know nords go to sovngarde when they die, I know it's a real plane/dimension. I confused myself with my own question so just forget I said anything, my bad.

 

[Osiris]

I know that I went to sovngarde and I saw a bunch of nord souls it's just, I guess what I meant is like do they go there because that's where they believe they go or is it because they just go there because they're nords? That's what I meant, sorry I have trouble wording what I want to ask sometimes.

i see what you mean, im kinda wondering this also

 

[perkecet]

it actually exists, i still don't get it... this is a fantasy setting wherein gods actually exist, and even interact personally with mortals. this is not the type of world where a certain part of heaven would be "made up" or created by the mind of someone.

proof is easy enough to provide, though. if all things were equal, 90% of all characters made in skyrim wouldn't be nords. obviously, this number is probably a bit lower in reality due to more people wanting to play the native race. regardless, characters of the 9 other races most likely know nothing about sovngarde until they arrive in skyrim and hear people talking about it.

now tell me, if you were a dunmer and you heard all these nords talking about some great big tavern in the sky that you go to when you die, what would you think? you'd probably think the entire province needs to cut down on it's mead intake, there's really no chance you'd believe such a thing. however, since this dunmer is dragonborn, he will still go to sovngarde. he didn't end up there because he believed it existed, he got there because it does exist, and space has been made for him there.

fantasy worlds are just that, fantasy. what exists, exists on the plane of mundus. sovngarde is just a sort of "district" of aetherius, which is heaven to those in tamriel, it's not a separate thing. sovngarde is ruled by the god Shor, which is just the nordic name for Lorkhan. Lorkhan, or Shor, was involved in the creation of the universe, mundus, nirn, and everything on it. would you expect a god who outranks the nine divines to rule over a place that was thought up, created through desire? i would think not, since this god had a hand in creating EVERYTHING, it seems more than reasonable that one of those things would be sovngarde, the home for those of his people who died honorably.

 

[Dagmar]

well actually, i've heard quite a unique theory on how this sort of thing works for the dragonborn. someone here came up with it however i do not remember who it was. the general idea was that the dragonborn has both a human soul, as well as the soul of a dragon. he also absorbs the souls of dragons he has slain. this leaves multiple souls when the dragonborn dies, which will satisfy all the daedric princes or anyone else the dragonborn swore his soul to, which leaves him free to enjoy eternity in the hall of valor.

There are a few problems with this theory. First, Dovahkiins only have one soul the same as any other creature. To say that a Dovahkiin literally has the soul of a dragon isn't quite accurate. A Dovahkiin has the blood of a Dragon (Dovah Sos):

And Akatosh drew from his breast a burning handful of his Heart's blood, and he gave it into Alessia's hand, saying, 'This shall also be a token to you of our joined blood and pledged faith...So long as the Blood of the Dragon runs strong in her rulers, the glory of the Empire shall extend in unbroken years.'"

Lastly, we come to the question of the true meaning of being Dragonborn. The connection with dragons is so obvious that it has almost been forgotten - in these days when dragons are a distant memory, we forget that in the early days being Dragonborn meant having 'the dragon blood'."

Second, while a Dovahkiin can absorb the soul of a Dragon that still doesn't equate to a Dovahkiin having multiple souls in the sense that they can be conveyed unto another being. The Dragon blood allows a Dovahkiin to absorb and then use the energy of the soul of a dragon for limited purposes, e.g. to receive knowledge of Thu'um.

Third, the pledge of your soul to a Daedric god is for your personal soul not someone else's that you've acquired. One can no more substitute an absorbed Dragon Soul to fulfill that pledge than one can do so by offering a soul trapped inside of a soul gem. In other words, souls are not fungible equivalents.

If you've pledged your soul to multiple Daedra you're basically like Max Bialystock from The Producers overselling your soul. However it resolves itself, it's not likely to end well for you.