Mythopoeic Effects on The Races of Tamriel, Hero Gods, Incarnations, and AEs

There has been a long standing question of why the various races of Tamriel have the archetypes they do-the smooth talking Imperials, the Redguard Swordsmen, the Nordic Warriors, and the other racial archetypes. Some of this can be attributed to culture and history, but there may be more to it than that.

MareloRyan's recent theory on AEs and turokman's suggestion on the Stone of Snow Throat might provide a deeper, more metaphysical answer.

One very bizarre thing about Tamriel is that the nations inhabiting it don't change that much. Sure, there is the worship of the Nine Divines and other various cultural changes caused by the Empire, but the fundamentals stick around. The Nords have always been brutish warriors. The Redguards have always been expert swordsmen. The Khajiit have always been drug addicted thieves. Why is this? The nations of real life Earth have changed significantly over the course of history in comparison. What keeps the cultures of Tamriel the way they are?

The answer may be in AEs and souls.

Look at the nations whose underlying culture has changed the least- The Redguards, the Nords, the Altmer, and the Khajiit. The others I will cover in just a moment. What is the common denominator?

They each have a Hero God. The Redguards had a whole host of them, ranging from Leki to Frandar Hunding. The Nords venerate Shor. The Altmer, likewise, worship Auriel. The Khajiit had the Mane. All of these cultures hold these heroes in high regard.

With so many people having so much faith in their culture's hero, this would cause a mythopoeic effect. This mythopoeic effect provides members of that race inclinations towards certain skills, giving a natural talent towards them.

This mythopoeic effect is tied to their AEs. The more strongly these cultures believe in their Hero Gods, the more powerful their affinity becomes.

I'll use the Nords as an example. The Nords revered Shor. Even though he died, he lives on in their hearts and minds. When the Nords revered Shor and their totem gods the most, they became epic warriors with many Tongues. When they forgot about Shor, they grew soft under the security of the Empire. Likewise, they grew strong again when rallied under the Stormcloak banner, a banner dedicated to Talos who is Lorkhan who is Shor.

There are of course other factors involved in that. Paarthunax and Kyne certainly enabled the Nords to Shout. But I don't think it is a coincidence that the warriors in the Dragon rebellion were able to learn the Thu'um so quickly. Think about how long it typically takes to learn a single shout. Now remember that some Tongues by the period of the Dragon rebellion knew more than one. It wouldn't be feasible to learn Shouts that quickly, especially when under the tyrannical rule of the Dragon Cult. Having a mythopoeic affinity to Shouting, however, would likely help the process.

This also helps explain why the cultures of Tamriel haven't shifted that much. I think the Dreamsleeve is not 100% effective at removing AEs from souls. As a result, some of the previous AE gets shoved back into the place where it came from-reverence for Shor to Skyrim, pride in the Hoon Ding to Hammerfell, longing for Aldmeris to the Summerset Isles. This reinforces the existing culture so that it does not break apart as easily as it would in real life. The same beliefs are literally passed down from generation to generation.

This is not a perfect system, however. The belief can die and the strength of the mythopoeic effect can wane as a result. Forgetting about Shor means no one cares about learning the Thu'um anymore, and thus the mythopoeic effect is weakened. The Cyrodilic Empires have had this effect several times, most strongly under the Third Empire.

But let's take it even further than that. Suppose that people strongly believed that one day, their great hero would be reborn, as is the case with the Nerevarine. So many people believe it that as they die and their AE enters the Dreamsleeve, it may connect with other similar AEs. Eventually this snowballs and the belief shapes the AE as it is coming out of the Dreamsleeve and into a new person. The AE has been reinforced by belief so much that it is nearly identical to that belief, and thus you have an incarnation.

Sometimes the AE may not be fully formed, and it only has the potential to be an incarnation. This is my theory for the Nerevarine. The Nerevarine had a significant portion of Nerevar's AE, but not enough. Therefore he had to complete the trials to complete his AE's shift to Nerevar's, thus becoming the Nerevarine.

Such is the case with all incarnations. Things start to get bad, and people begin praying that their hero will come back. The Empire takes over Stros M'kai and people start praying under their breath for the Hoon Ding to save them. Dagoth Ur is on the brink of victory and the people start believing the Nerevarine will return. The Nords see the Thalmor taking over the world and pray that Shor or Talos will come and save them.

Alone, these prayers are empty. Together, they add up. It starts to affect the Dreamsleeve, and the Dreamsleeve begins to produce an AE according to the people's prayers.

The pattern is clear. People grow desperate, they pray or create prophecies, and then they believe in those prophecies so strongly that mythopoeia produces a Hero with a myth associated with that culture.

This effect should not be considered the sole reason why racial cultures are the way they are, nor the only reason why someone behaves a certain way. It is one of the many factors that help determine who someone is or how they will act. However, I believe it is a factor, and shouldn't be ignored.

What about the other races? They are a special case. The Bosmer had Y'ffre to create their mythic presence. The Green Pact likely has a significant effect on their AEs. The Orcs were followers of Trinimac, so when his AE changed, so did theirs. This is strong evidence that ties to a Hero God have effects on followers, so it is plausible that worshippers of Leki are better swordsmen as an example.

The Dunmer once more are the odd man out. They didn't have a Hero God to speak of, since they became devout Daedra worshippers. The closest thing they have is Nerevar Moon-And-Star, but for all his strength, he was still mortal. Most of them probably don't go to the Dreamsleeve either, considering that their souls would be gathered by their Daedric masters. Despite this, they have one of the most resilient cultures in Tamrielic history. Why is this? The primary reason is ALMSIVI. These three gods served as a cultural center point for thousands of years. This extra reinforcement allowed Dunmer culture to survive their fall on pure cultural inertia.

However, we see that even this is not as effective as the Hero God Belief AE system is through C0DA. The Dunmer culture is all but destroyed by the time they settle on Masser.

There are many factors to take into account when studying why Tamriel's cultures are the way they are, but it likely isn't purely a matter of history. There are metaphysical reasons for why things are. Hero Gods provide a metaphysical measure of cultural stability in Tamrielic cultures by passing shared beliefs down through the Dreamsleeve AE system. In addition to this, they pass down skills to their culture and set the framework for a Hero to come. AEs, the Dreamsleeve, and Hero Gods are metaphysics more intertwined with history than we might think.