Ysmir's Sphere, part II: Dragonborn Boogaloo

In the previous post, I compiled evidence that Ysmir is either the Nordic aspect of the Hero or a being with ties to both Shor and Aka who champions the cause of Man: either the Hero of men, or the hero of Man.

In this essay, I'm going to delve into how Skyrim and the Dragonborn DLC portray how our Dovahkiin befits his title as Ysmir. I alternate male and female pronouns in long posts about TES protagonists, by the way, so sorry in advance for any confusion. This will be split into two parts: First about the Hero-Prisoner themes of the relationship between Miraak and LDB;

Second about the commonalities between Ysmir the mortal and Ysmir the divine.

This is long as hell. If you believe that Ysmir is the Nordic aspect of the Hero, read part 1. If you believe that Ysmir is the embodiment of Nordic awesomeness, lieutenant of Shor, and champion of the cause of Man, read part 2. If you believe both, buckle up.

Part 1: Miraak as the Antithesis

Hermaeus Mora is one of the few beings in the Elder Scrolls series whose mastery over fate approaches that of the Hero. But that's not where the theme of fate ends in the Dragonborn DLC: Miraak's whole goal is to become, in his words, "master of (his) own fate". Other ways in which Miraak talks about fate include:

"You fight valiantly against fate, but I am stronger here."

"You could have been mighty, if fate had decreed otherwise."

"Fate decreed that you had to die so that I could win my freedom."

The Hero can choose whether to be an active part of fate, or not involve herself at all. The Last Dragonborn chose to slay Alduin and Harkon, and so the Elder Scrolls recorded his actions in both of those events. Miraak, on the other hand, did not. I am not sure whether Miraak can be a Hero. On one hand, he chose his path. On the other, he lost the Hero's ability to choose his fate afterwards. He made a choice and then dealt with the consequence of not being able to choose anymore. He is either a Hero who decided not to do the things Heroes are "supposed" to do, or he is the literal opposite of the Hero.

Either way, his being absorbed by LDB is huge. The story surrounding the Hero always begins at a certain point and ends at a certain point, with hardly anything in between those two points being clear. Like an electron, the Hero could be said to take every possible path simultaneously from A to B. My dragonborn never killed the Emperor, but someone did, and Tamriel doesn't know the difference. Every LDB out there is real in the TES verse, and did what they did, but is also rendered fictional by the others. That's true for every Hero. But each and every LDB is a microcosm of this.

When LDB ate Miraak's soul, Miraak became a part of LDB. LDB defeated Alduin, Miraak did not. The oversoul of the two both did and did not choose to be heroic. Observe a dragonborn who joined the Dark Brotherhood, is a Namira worshipping cannibal, killed Paarthurnax, and murdered the entire Dawnguard on behalf of the Volkihar vampires. He is a horrible, depraved killer. By virtue of including Paarthurnax, the oversoul is also a pacifist. This applies to every dragon he ever ate, but especially to Miraak: her antithesis who spits in the eyes of Fate, whereas she decided to create/follow fate along the path laid out by the Scrolls. In the oversoul's opposing aspects of LDB and Miraak, it both has and has not decided to follow "fate", rendering LDB an embodiment of the concept of self mastery.

Whether he knew it or not, Miraak was attempting to become a proper Hero by folding one into his own oversoul. No matter who won that fight, the result would be a quantum protagonist who has walked down both conflicting paths of Fate. Hermaeus Mora, narrow-mindedly considering Fate to be a singular path, would have no hold on the embodiment of the concept of walking two totally conflicting paths.

Being a quantum embodiment of self mastery is the Hero-Prisoner interpretation of Ysmir, but the other interpretation of Ysmir as a cultural hero fits perfectly here as well. Miraak was attempting to resist Hermaeus Mora: resisting a being who attempts to lock Fate down is very Hero-Prisoner Ysmir, but resisting Herma Mora is also very Nordic fox god Ysmir.

Part 2: LDB as the Fox

LDB is Ysmir the (wo)man/(bet)mer. The Fox is Ysmir the deity. She has more in common with the Fox than her name, though. The Fox is the embodiment of the greatest heroes of the Nords. Dragonborns, Shezzarines.

This comment by /u/Doom-DrivenPoster is a perfect description of dovahsebrom (who is the Fox).

According to this Nordic legend, which I think was originally written by Lawrence Schick, Ysmir resists Herma Mora. The Skaal back that up repeatedly in Dragonborn. As linked above, Doom Driven Poster backs her up on that as well.

However, Super Nord (you don't have to be a racial Nord in order to be Super Nord by the way- remember how the Nerevarine was the Super Dunmer even if he wasn't a Dunmer?) is the embodiment of Nordic values, and the Nords have always had a fascinating but unclear relationship with Hircine as well.

First is the frequency of werewolves and werebears, and how great Nord hunters from the Skaal to the Companions to the Frostmoon pack are always tempted by Hircine.

Second is Ysgramor's hunting of the White Stag.

Third is the Reachmen, who though mostly Bretonic share blood with the Nords as well. Notably, you can find hagravens clear into the Rift, which is not even close to High Rock.

Fourth is their hunting centric culture. This is tied to Kyne, but not exclusively.

Fifth is the Fox's role in that story. He hunts the rabbit as a wolf would, and also encourages Ysgramor to hunt the White Stag.

The Fox, then, can be said to possess these qualities:

  1. Does battle with any child of Time (be they the Aldmeri children of Auriel or the draconic brother-aspects of Alduin) who oppresses or attacks the races of Man.

  2. Resists Herma Mora.

  3. Hunts with Hircine, hunts against Hircine, or resists Hircine. We're not really sure.

The Last Dragonborn can do all this during the events of Skyrim.

A. LDB fighting Elves and Dragons

Fairly straightforward. He either supports the greatest or second greatest enemy of the Thalmor during the base game's biggest side quest. He joins the Blades, actively screws with Thalmor intelligence, and possibly works with the Penitus Oculatus. If he kills the Emperor, he killed the wuss that signed the White Gold Concordat, which may or may not be a bad thing for the Thalmor. She possibly opposed them during the Winterhold questline.

For the dragon part of it, I should quote the Five Songs of King Wulfharth:

"Shor's own ghost then fought the Time-Eater on the spirit plane, as he did at the beginning of time, and he won."

This should sound familiar enough.

B. LDB resisting Herma Mora

With Miraak dead, and with his power and knowledge absorbed, the Dragonborn has no reason to serve Herma Mora other than all those nice black books you find scattered about. LDB has all the knowledge and power necessary to escape apocrypha since Miraak's knowledge and their combined power were the prerequisites. Mora is also no longer capable of being all "This pissed off dragonborn is going to really screw up Solstheim and possibly all of Tamriel unless you help me eat this Skaal's brain."

Like the Princes always do, Mora gives a campy speech about how great he is at the end of Dragonborn. He threatens and tries to tempt LDB, but offers her a portal back to Solstheim because she'd just break out if he didn't. Given their weirdly equal relationship, LDB is capable of resisting Herma Mora. Your LDB succeeded or failed to resist the Greedy Man's tempting knowledge and power depending on whether you think he or she succeeded or failed.

C. LDB and Hircine

Ysmir's relationship with Hircine is unknown. But Hunting is a really big theme for the Dragonborn.

  1. The alternate meaning for his name as "Dragon Hunter Born". Go figure, pretty great double entendre there.

  2. Remember the Hircine quest? Hircine is happy with you regardless of whether you take sides with hunter or hunted. You were apparently the true hunter either way, since you won.

  3. The Dawnguard questline. Vampires are built to be superior nocturnal predators hunting the most dangerous game of all. They're true hunters, children of Bal maybe, but they also fall within Hircine's sphere. Superior physical and magical strength, night vision, superior stealth capabilities- Harkon even repeatedly compares vampires to wolves hunting farm animals. Just like in the Hircine quest, you can be the hunter or the hunted. But you're the hunter either way, since you won.

  4. The Companions. You become a werewolf, you cure werewolves. If the Fox ultimately resists Hircine, then this quest is perfect for a proper Super Nord. If the Fox ultimately gives in to Hircine, this quest is still perfect for our Super Nord.

  5. The Forsworn. You can be their boogeyman, or you can bump fists with their leader in Markarth.

  6. Other details include the Glass Bow of the Stag Prince, the Frostmoon pack, and arguably hunting.

Just as the Fox's relationship with the Stag is pretty unclear, so is the Dragonborn's. Might not be a coincidence that all of the endings to these quests are ambiguous. Hircine is confusing like that, in any case- he tried to show his admiration for Lord Nerevar by attempting to kill him.

Either way, LDB can become the Ysmiriest Ysmir. If she has both chosen and not chosen to slay Alduin, then she may be the living embodiment of the freedom of choice and of the quantum pluri-fated nature of the Hero. He has had glorious, Nordic victory over the Time-aligned enemies of Men, and is a great Hunter, filling two of three known qualities of the Fox. It all depends on the third quality of the Fox: whether she can resist Hermaeus Mora. If Mora fully and successfully addicts LDB to knowledge and power, then LDB loses as both the self-determining Hero and the Mora-resisting Fox and is unworthy of the title of Ysmir. That's why Apocrypha may be the last and hardest challenge of the Last Dragonborn: Dovah crave the knowledge of power, and LDB has to conquer that addiction or else Mora will succeed.

But what if Mora fails? Then the Last Dragonborn becomes something pretty interesting. As the Dovahkiin, he is an ada from birth. Due to her dragon hunting achievements, she may have attained a divine tier subgradient through the soul stacking of draconic creatia. And, if he resists Herma Mora as the Fox does, then he may become the greatest living embodiment of a concept important to the mind of the Amaranth (the Hero, the Fox, or both). An upper-gradiated ada who embodies an important concept. Sounds a wee bit like the Divines.

TL;DR: The events of Skyrim set up a narrative by which the Last Dragonborn not only takes the title of Ysmir, but also walks the path of Ysmir/Dovahsebrom/the Hero/ the Fox. If this path is fully followed, LDB becomes the greatest embodiment of the concepts the Fox is all about, taking up the AE of Ysmir as opposed to just the name.

This all only makes sense if you believe that Ysmir is the Atmoran Fox-god. If you don't, there goes my theory.