What is Ysmir? An Answer.
A theory /u/Francois_Rapiste helped me cook up.
So we have two characters to study here. These two are brought together two dueling aspects of creation with very different results.
First is Pelinal. Pelinal, as attested in the Song of Pelinal, is both Shezzarine and Dragonborn in one. This results in a ton of issues for his hardware, because Shor and Aka are brothers, but the kind of brothers who hate one another and contradict each other at every turn, even from the womb. They are the spacetime dichotomy, but refuse to function as one without a bridge. Pelinal is also attested as Ysmir in Before the Ages of Man. This is important, him being Ysmir, remember it.
Then comes Talos, born of three parts.
Wulfharth brought the Shezzarine, but he wasn't Dragonborn as he could not withstand the shouts of the Greybeards. This proves one does not need to be Dragonborn to be Ysmir, as he was Ysmir before this.
Tiber was Dragonborn, this can be proven by his wearing the Amulet of Kings and Lightning the Dragonfires. But Tiber was not a Shezzarine, we've no indication of this. Tiber was Ysmir though, the new Ysmir, he replaced Wulfharth [though Wulfharth kept on using the name] and was named as such by the Greybeards. As I assume most know the two would later merge, as detailed in the Arcturian Heresy.
So, these two merge and it's all good right?
Wrong. If they had merged that would result in another Pelinal, two contrasting halves shoved together with both their old Ysmir-ness squirming around trying to find room. Like Pelinal. It would be bad. So in comes the third piece then, Zurin Arctus. Zurin was the final Ysmir, the final piece that let the three merge peacefully. The proof is in the Arcturian Heresy.
>The Numidium, while not the god Tiber Septim and the Dwemer hoped for (the Underking was not exactly Lorkhan, after all), it does the job. After its work on Summerset Isle a new threat appears -- a rotting undead wizard who controls the skies. He blows the Numidium apart. But it pounds him into the ground with its last flailings, leaving only a black splotch.
Now Wulfharth is gone, he is trapped within the Mantella and only ash remains, and Zurin is dead. But then this undead wizard appears. Who is he? Certainly not the warrior Wulfharth, he isn't a wizard and he is ash, not a rotting corpse, and he doesn't control the skies. This new Underking is Zurin, it's right there in the name of the text.
>The Arcturian Heresy by The Underking, Ysmir Kingmaker
Arcturian Heresy, as in Arctus' Heresy. He is the writer. And the writer's name? The Underking [which is Arctus] and Ysmir Kingmaker [which is Arctus]. He finally becomes a hero, the final sloppy thirds in Ysmir's rounds.
This is important because of what occured in Daggerfall was the endpoint of an Enantiomorph If you know your enantiomorph, you know its Rebel, King, Observer. The rebel betrays the king and the observer watches. Then the rebel and king switch places, the observer is maimed but later returns.
Tiber, the rebel, betrays Wulfharth the king and usurps his place, soul trapping him while Arctus watches. This is fascinating because this enantiomorph is part of what makes Talos so powerful: it copies the creation of Mundus. A dragonborn betrays a shezzarine, just like Auriel betrayed Shor, tearing his heart out. This is what makes Talos Convention 2.0. The part that is often forgotten however, is Zurin's place in this. Zurin, as I mentioned, is the third Ysmir. He is also the observer to the enantiomorph and is maimed by having a hole blasted in him. But he later returns at the end of the Heresy to pull the secret strings of Tamriel to achieve his goals, forever watching. So, if Tiber is Auriel and Wulfharth is Shor, then who is Zurin? Well, Magnus of course. Magnus was the observer, then he leapt away from Mundus by blasting a hole in Oblivion. But he returned, to watch Mundus through the Sun, and to collect knowledge and secrets.
So, this is pretty well-known so far, but is required to for what comes next.
Why is it important that Tiber and Wulfharth and Zurin are Dragonborn, Shezzarine, and Ysmir? Simple enough. Its about shadowplay. Dragonborns are the shards of Akatosh. Shezzarines are the ghosts of Shor. And Ysmirs are the footprints of Magnus.
What do I mean by that? Well, exactly that really. Dragonborn, Shezzarine, and Ysmir are all ways the top three gods interact with the world, and are all inherently connected. Theres a reason why so many of the big heavy-hitters are speculated to be Shezzarines, to be Dragonborn, or to be Ysmir. Because these three things are connected.
Akatosh is Time. Lorkhan is Space. Magnus is Magic. In TES, Magic is equal to what is energy in our world, and out of magic also comes matter. So Magnus is matter and energy. These three gods are what make up the fabric of reality. This is usually known about Akatosh and Lorkhan, that they are two flipside of the same coin, they are the spacetime continuum, the two opposite ends of the aurbilical cord. But I think that the coin metaphor is the best to describe them, because in between them is Magnus, the edge of the coin. On one side is Time, on the other space, and between them magic anon matter and energy. Order, change, possibility. Warrior, Mage, Thief. The three are one, yet seperate.
So it stands that since Akatosh has his shards in the mortal world, and Lorkhan has his Ghosts, Magnus should have something too. His footprints.
Evidence: What are the Elder Scrolls? Here is the relevant bits, quote of MK, but formatted for ease of reading:
>Magnus? He's the one that made the fucker. And now that's why he looks back on it every single day, that's his promise: "When you wake up, I will still listen. I'm sorry I left, but hey, I'm still right up here. And my Mnemoli? They show up every now and then. And collect all the songs you've made since the last time around, the last real moment." The Mnemoli? They're the keepers of the Elder Scrolls. They cannot be fixed until seen. And they cannot be seen until a moment. And you, your hero, makes that moment,
So Magnus is the creator and collector of the Elder Scrolls, used for his Solar Library, as stated in the 36 Lessons:
Sermon 16 >Your appearance is decidedly solar, which is to say a library of stolen ideas.
Sermon 17 >He was thrown out of the library of the sun by the power of Magnus.
And the Elder Scrolls collect all the songs and stories that have happened since the last dragon-break. Every event, of every hero.
>"Each event is preceded by Prophecy. But without the hero, there is no Event."
- Zurin Arctus, the Underking
So Magnus is tied to the heroes through the Elder Scrolls. And that's what Ysmir is. To the ancient nords, Ysmir was the Fox god, the spirit of heroism. And heroes are those who decide their own fate, they are the pivotal role in the Elder Scrolls. They have the ability to choose where others follow, yet are bound to something nonetheless, prisoners to their own freedom. The heroes are all Ysmir.
When Magnus leapt to escape Mundus, his maiming was that he left a footprint, the impact into the earth of his leap out of the world, which is a story about himself he never meant to lose. But then he looked back, and he regretted leaving, and he was happy it stayed behind. Ysmir creates Heroes, the Heroes create events, the events are recorded in the Elder Scrolls, and the Mnemoli collect the Elder Scrolls at every Dragon Break.
And Ysmir is only one aspect of it. Has anyone else noticed the similarities between Ysmir and the HoonDing? He's the Make-Way god, but what he does is, of course, create heroes! Cyrus, for instance who was the HoonDing for a time, because the HoonDing was either a sword or a crown. The crown would be Cyrus himself [Crowns versus Forebears] and the Sword would be the blade that carried the soul of Prince A'tor, both heroes in their way.
The Dunmeri Nerevarine? Ohhh yes, the Nerevarine, for Heroes are not always fated, sometimes its a choice. Thats what the Prisoner means: getting free. Thats how the Nerevarine became the Incarnate despite not being born that way. And the Eternal Champion. The Agent who is lost in time. The Champion of Cyrodiil. Reman Cyrodiil. The Last Dragonborn. All great Heroes, tied to the Elder Scrolls, all the footprints of Magnus. And all [with the possible exception of Cyrus] immortals or gods. The Last Dragonborn especially. He has a connection to all three aspects. He is Dragonborn, some think he may be Shezzarine, and he is an Ysmir. He fought Alduin, a shard of Aka, he entered Sovngarde, the realm of Lork, and he dealt with the Elder Scrolls and the Sun itself, tools and works of Magnus. Every Hero tied to an Elder Scroll is tied to Ysmir, often leading to Shezzarine and Dragonborn shenanigans. And Magnus keeps them all, every hero. That thread, Who are the Heroes? Everyone one of those are saved by Magnus in his Library. Everyone's hero is recorded and saved in the sun.
So why do I refer to Ysmir as a footprint? Well in order to tie it to a less well-thought out theory. If you believe Snow-Throat is where Magnus leapt from Mundus back to Aetherius, then, GOOD NEWS. The idea is that Snow-Throat is the Tower left behind by Magnus, being the centerpoint of Ur-Tower [Aka's] and Red Tower [ Lork's]. So the footprint left by Magnus is what makes the peak 'Half-there', because its an impact that shattered the earth and gave birth to a new spirit, to Ysmir, who is the Stone of Snow-Throat. MK called the Stone 'the Cave', which fits for a footprint, a rent in the earth from Magnus' leap out of the world. The Cave-allusion is rather weak itself, but otherwise, nice mini theory hm? How do the Greybeards know whenever Ysmir manifests? Do they hear his Voice? From so far? Perhaps it is because of where they are situated. But this one is just a tacked-on side bit.
TL;DR: [You lazy fuck] Ysmir the Hero is the one who brings about the Elder Scrolls, thats his freedom. He observes and mediates and therefore tips the scales between Auriel and Shor because those two tend to be at the center of most conflict, even if its between just mer and man. Space and time are Spacetime, but they mean nothing without the observer, without Magic, which is energy, which is possibility. Thats what the Heroes are. They are the possibility to do anything, free destiny. All Heroes are Ysmir, all Heroes are the Free Fox.
EDIT: ADDENDUM
It seems I either mispoke or was not clear. Let me one more time:
Magnus is the creator of Ysmir in a similar way to how Aka creates DBs and Shor makes Shezzarines. Ysmir is the part left behind when Magnus escaped, it's his maiming as part of the enantiomorph. While Ysmir derives from Magnus, Ysmir is not Magnus. Magnus is the Observer, he differentiates between the Rebel and the King. But the Prisoner, the fourth bit, is special. Ysmir is either the oversoul of the Capital H Heroes, or the god-spirit that inspires them, or some other idea along that vein, that protects, guides, inspires, or inhabits the Prisoner. Magnus is Magic, the Mage, the Observer. Ysmir is Possibility, the aspect of Magic left behind because Magnus gave up on all the things Mundus could be to go back to what once was. So Ysmir is whats left, and thats what the Prisoner exemplifies. What could be. Free fate, uncertain stars and uncertain parents. His actions are unknowable, they could be anything. Magnus may be the Observer who deciphers between King and Rebel, but the Prisoner is the Fox who may...idk how to phrase it...influence events? It isnt about fate, its about changing things. Like, the Prisoner chooses who is the Rebel and who is the King in the end. The Observer, he distinguishes it, then he records it in the Elder Scrolls. If the Observer discerns the two, without his prescence it would be impossibel to tell them apart, then the Prisoner goes a step further. He isnt just watching, he is choosing.
Ysmir Kingmaker is an interesting title. I could twist it to support my theory: Ysmir the Kingmaker, as in Ysmir [the Prisoner] chooses who is the King and who is the Rebel. After all, whoever the Prisoner helps tends to win.
Multiple lines makes thicker lines. I just learned this, and it's great.