An Historical Examination of the Dragonborn

Little is known of what it is to be Dragonborn. Most treatises on the subject dwell near-exclusively upon the well-known and recorded Dragonborn Emperors of Cyrodiil. I raise an opinion in opposition to my fellow scholars when I say this: the weight of history bears witness that Saint Alessia was not the first Dragonborn.

I first became interested in this subject when I journeyed to Skyrim, and heard the legends and sagas sung by Nordic poets. They speak of Dragonborn heroes, able to slay dragons and gain their potency. As all know, dragons have not been seen on Nirn since the Merethic Era, and Saint Alessia did not make her covenent with Akatosh until the third century of the First Era. Plainly, therefore, these sagas cannot refer to the Imperial line.

I have spent many years in Skyrim, listening to the most learned loremasters, delving into ancient tombs, and studying what fragments of written record still remain. And I have uncovered the smallest shreds of a rich history heretofore lost to time.

It is a matter of (scanty) record that when men still dwelt on Atmora, the Dragon Cult had primacy in governance, in the name of dragons as god-kings over all. The Atmoran Dragon Cult were mostly benevolent rulers, if strict and inflexible, and there was little civil unrest under their aegis. For unknown reasons, the Dragon Cult that spread to Tamriel with men was very different - hard and cruel, rapidly becoming tyrannical. I know not if Dragonborn existed on Atmora, as virtually no record of that time exists, so I shall constrain my treatise to the Dragonborn of Tamriel.

The Dragon Cult's attitude to Dragonborn was curiously mixed. I believe that, initially, Dragonborn were venerated highly, considered near living saints by virtue of their blessing directly from Akatosh Himself. Later references to the Dragonborn name them vile and hated, however, and I believe I have managed to uncover the reason for this dichotomy.

I have found vague references to someone named only as "The Traitor". I believe that this was a Dragonborn, and potentially also a high-ranking Dragon Priest, who turned against the draconic god-kings and attempted to seize power for himself. His rebellion was unsuccessful, and his name stricken from the record, but this seems to have tainted all Dragonborn in the Cult's opinion, and they made some effort to stamp them out.

This essay would not be complete without an examination of the period known as the Dragon Wars. The tyranny of the Dragon Cult grew too much for men to bear, and they staged a second rebellion - more successful than the Traitor's. It is known that some few dragons sided with the rebels, loathing what the Cult had been doing in their name. I have heard one saga that claims that a few minor sects of the Dragon Cult may also have stood with these rebel dragons, but if they did then no other evidence of this has survived. What is more certain, however, is that Akatosh gave His divine blessing to the rebellion. Most Nordic sagas of Dragonborn come from this time, and I feel safe in making the claim that Akatosh was empowering heroes in order to better fight His errant children. Indeed, without these dragon-blooded heroes of saga and song, the rebellion may have failed, and Tamriel might still be under draconic rule today.