Bormahu Aka-Tusk

Father of the Dovah

I am Alduin, First-Born of Akatosh

This sentence is probably one of the most controversial lines in Skyrim in regards to the lore and many people use this line to show that Bethesda no longer cares for TESlore and that Skyrim "ruined the lore of TES". So, in response to these people I propose an explanation/misinterpretation of the Alduin/Akatosh/Auri-el/Aka-Tusk/Bormahu dichotomy.

The biggest problem that arises from the aforementioned quote is

  • How is Alduin, the child of Akatosh when Akatosh is a mixture between Auri-El and Alduin?

And in answer to this I propose the idea of Bormahu also known as Aka-Tusk, the Time-God and true father of the Dovah.

“Happy? No, I am not happy. Zeymahi lost ont du’ul Bormahu. Alduin was once the crown of our father Akatosh’s creation.”

— Paarthurnax

“His doom was written when he claimed for himself the lordship that properly belongs to Bormahu — our father Akatosh.”

— Paarthurnax

“You will eat nothing here, aspect Ald,” said the Aka-Tusk, sensing trouble. “Do not forget that it was Heaven itself that shed you from me.”

— Aldudagga

These are the best quotes out there in regards to the true nature of the Time-God. Upon taking a look at the first quote we see 2 sentences, one in Dragon Language and the other in normal Cyro-English. They basically say the same thing except for one word and that is Akatosh; in Dragon Language Paarthurnax says "Zeymahi lost ont du’ul Bormahu." which roughly translates to “Brother was once the crown of our Father’s” whilst in Cyrodiilic he says “our father Akatosh”. The difference here is that in the Dragon Tongue Akatosh is never mentioned and that is very significant. Therefore we can gleam from this that Bormahu is the Father of the Dragons which is a title that men commonly ascribe to Akatosh thus giving us the reason why Alduin chose to say that he is the First-Born of Akatosh since that is the translated name of Bormahu.

So does that mean that the Akatosh of the Eight + One Divines is the same as Bormahu? Yes and No. No, because Akatosh was created during Alessia’s reforms and itself was a mix of Alduin and Auri-El and yes, because the new Akatosh of Alessia took the place of Bormahu.

Who are Aka-tusk, Auri-el, Alduin and Alkosh?

  • Aka-Tusk is another name for Borhamu and therefore Akatosh.
  • Auri-El is the creation aspect of Aka-Tusk. One of the Tusks of Aka.
  • Alduin is the destructive aspect of Aka-Tusk. Another of Aka’s tusks.
  • Alkosh? Enlighten me, reader :)

I hope this helped/confused you.