Alduin was NOT the World Eater.

My first post, be nice.

Many scholars of Alduin state that he is the ender of kalpas and destroyer of worlds, but I would like to examine how this might not be the case. Perhaps Alduin was not the World Eater, but instead one who would one day become the World Eater, just as the Nereverine was not the Nereverine, but became him. Contemporary theory suggests that Alduin is an aspect of Akatosh which devours creation at the end of time. This raises the status of Alduin not only above dragons and mortals, but over the aedric and daedric deities themselves. This status seems inflated.

My thesis is supported by the status and behavior of Alduin and the claims made about him. Firstly, Alduin is stated to come from Akatosh, the king and ruler of Mundus. The problem with this lies in the fact that Akatosh rules by nature, not devours. The destructive nature is manifested in Mehrunes Dagon, not Akatosh. Similarly, Alduin and his dragons do not devour when they enter the scene. Instead, they perch in high places and rule, just as they had during the times of the dragon cult. This business of devouring the world goes against the dragon's Akatoshian nature.

So what is a scholar to do? Disregard these blatant inconsistencies in dragons nature and behavior (as the Nords and many contemporary scholars do)? Or instead, must I disregard the overwhelming amount of lore supporting Alduin as the World Eater? Akatosh forbid! Instead, one must explore the events surrounding Alduin's return and answer two predominant questions:

1. If Alduin's purpose was to eat the world, why didn't he? If his purpose was to not eat the world, what was his motive?
2. If Akatosh wanted the world to end, why bless the Last Dragonborn? If he did not want the world to end, why did he create Alduin? What is Akatosh's motive?

Aduin's Motive: To Ascend via the Walking Ways

It is my belief that Alduin was created in order to rule and preserve Mundus. This role is parallel to that of the stones in the Towers of Tamriel, suggesting that Alduin himself was the stone of Snow Throat. The relationship between stone and king has always been close, and the cataclysm that results in a stone's shattering is always due to a king's loss of control over the stone, followed by a violent retrieval of it. This was manifested in Daggerfall when the underking lost the Mantella, and retrieved it shortly before it's destruction. It was manifested again when Nerevar lost control of the heart of Lorkhan, only to reclaim it through his incarnation shortly before it's sundering. The king, Martin Septim, demonstrated this again, when he lost the Amulet of Kings and reclaimed it shortly before he destroyed it. These prior examples illustrate and insinuate that Alduin was both the king and the stone, who lost himself in the time wound, only to return and reclaim himself before destroying himself ultimately. This was the first walking way.

When Alduin ruled in ancient times, he was confronted by Tongues who had created a forbidden Thuum. This Thuum contained within it the hatred in the hearts of mortals, and made its hearer accept mortality. This was especially violent for the immortal dragons. It is important to examine the nature of this "Dragonrend" however. Like all Thuum, Dragonrend was a type of tonal magic that stems from the heart and self of the shouter. Due to the Lorkhanic nature of the Tongues and their Lorkhanic hearts, combined with the exceedingly Lorkhanic nature of the Dragonrend Thuum (which insists mortality upon the immortal, and which shouts "NO!" at the existence which the immortals placed on the mortals), these tongues recreated the affects of Numiduim upon Alduin during that climactic fight at the throat of the world. This was the second walking way.

The third, and perhaps most important dynamic occurred during the same battle. When Dragonrend proved to be insufficient, the ancient Tongues used an elder Scroll to send Alduin forward in time. This was not an attempt to dump Alduin into the lap of a future generation, but a method used to unmake Alduin himself. Alduin was, by his core nature, a ruler of time. By sending him forward in time without consent, the Tongues forced Alduin to contradict his own nature. This endeavor should have caused Alduin to zero-sum, just as many had when they faced the contradiction of existing within a dream. When faced with such a contradiction, the only way to overcome is through force of will, declaring "I AM" in the face of the contradiction. The fact that Alduin even survived the Time Wound suggests that Alduin was able to achieve CHIM. It is also possible that Alduin used CHIM when he resurrected the other dragons with his Thuum, just as Talos used CHIM through Thuum for his Red Legions in Cyrodil. This was the third walking way.

The fourth way involves the very controversial enantiomorph. Scholars today have a difficult time studying this concept, seeing an enantiomorph in every conflict. It is perhaps important to note here that a proper enantiomorph involves the hopeful ascendant to play the role of Witness, King, and Rebel. While enantiomorphs exist in Tamrielic history, only those who play all three roles reach ascendance (such as Tiber through TALOS and Vivec though ALMSIVI). Alduin played the role of witness at Helgen. Being wounded by the Dragonrend and Time Wound, Alduin witnessed the king dragonborn about to be dismembered by the rebel Empire. Alduin also played the role of King during the ancient battle at the throat of the world. This is why Alduin did not kill the Dragonborn at Helgen or at Kynesgrove, he needed TLDB to use the elder scroll to view the ancient battle (and thereby being temporarily blinded) while he played the role of the witness. Alduin then tried to play the role of the Rebel at the Throat of the world against TLDB and the witnessing Parthanax. This was the fourth walking way.

After the encounter at the throat, Alduin entered Sovengarde to devour the souls of the dead. This was not a way for him to regain lost power, but rather the fifth walking way: soul stacking. Talos was created by soul stacking three Shezarrs through violence, and ALMSIVI was a similar stacking of three souls touched by the heart of Lorkhan (again, through violence). In order to walk like them, Alduin had to devour and absorb the Souls of Shor, found in his followers in Sovengarde. By consuming these souls, we see Alduin walking the fifth way, while also finally changing his nature to the Eater which is his namesake.

Akatosh's Motive: To Absorb Alduin like he did Martin Septim, and expand his influence over Mundus as he did on Nirn.

Like Alduin, Martin Septim also found himself walking several of the ways (perhaps I will discuss this at a later time). At the climax of the Oblivion Crisis, Martin Septim, a Dragonborn, shattered the Amulet of Kings. The Amulet of Kings was a stone containing Akatosh's blood inside a gem that was made of Lorkhan's dried blood. Akatosh's blood inside of Lorkhan's blood, smashed by a mortal dragonborn, alongside numerous dead dragonborn souls which were also housed within. The climax of the Alduin crisis ended the exact same way. Alduin, the aspect of Akatosh was housed inside Sovengarde, the realm of Lorkhan. Then the Last Dragonborn crushed him, alongside numerous dead dragonborn souls which were also housed within.

What happened after this climax is unknown. Perhaps Akatosh was successful in absorbing Alduin, and will someday send him out again to devour the world (although this does not mirror Akatosh's nature). Perhaps Alduin was able to use this shattering as a means to find the sixth walking way of ascension, and is now free to be the World Eater he was destined to be. As the Dragonborn prophecy states, "The World Eater "wakes" (instead of "appears") and the Wheel turns on the Last Dragonborn".

What is known is that the Snow Throat stone has been destroyed, and we see Agnir's warning come to fruition, as those who seek to delay the end only hastened its arrival.