Shadow Dance Temple - Controlling the Moons and implications

ArchMikem · June 2019

We've now been shown concrete evidence of a means to artificially control Masser and Secunda's position in the sky.

This immediately led me to the Void Nights, a 2 year period in the 4th Era between 4E98 and 4E100, in which the Moons mysteriously vanished from the sky. Nothing in the Lore was known about what happened to the Moons, only that after two years they reappeared again and credit for that was taken by the Altmer using "Ancient Magic", thus securing Elsweyr into the 3rd Dominion.

Now we have a new theory to explain the Void Nights which is backed up by concrete evidence. The Shadow Dance Temple is an Adeptorium buried underground and stricken from the Khajiiti Histories. It goes to reason that barely anyone at all in the 4th Era would know of it's existence, so a Thalmor Expedition to it would give the Altmer unobstructed access to a device that directly controls the Moons. And the Khajiiti people would be oblivious.

Eporem · June 2019

I would agree with this theory, though wouldn't the events of this era affect the 4th era...the portal to the Shadow Dance Temple is open though the apparatus used to move the Moons into an eclipse no longer works, so another would have to have been found or created. And didn't Khamira have knowledge to separate the two moons during this quest? which could explain the moons reappearing if they were kept from moving out of an eclipse. I wonder if Cadwell will live long enough to reach the 4th era as well:)

ArchMikem · June 2019

Eporem wrote: »

I would agree with this theory, though wouldn't the events of this era affect the 4th era...the portal to the Shadow Dance Temple is open though the apparatus used to move the Moons into an eclipse no longer works, so another would have to have been found or created. And didn't Khamira have knowledge to separate the two moons during this quest? which could explain the moons reappearing if they were kept from moving out of an eclipse. I wonder if Cadwell will live long enough to reach the 4th era as well:)

We've learned the Sapiarchs are the pinnacle of Magical knowledge, probably just short of the Psijics, and in the 4th Era it's a good bet the Thalmor of that regime have their hands deep into the Sapiarchs. Who's to say the Altmer couldn't have devised a way of repairing the Apparatus? Even if the only hypothetical methods were to take years or decades, the Altmer live long lives, and they're very capable of planning long term. Since the Adeptorium is hidden away underground, they'd have all the time in the world to work undetected.

Cadwell's basically a Daedric creation, and they don't have a typical lifespan. In face the Cadwell we know, his Soul Shriven form is already well over a millennia old since he originally died back in the 1st Era, or whenever it was when Kaalgrontiid was imprisoned. Hell, Cadwell is probably smacking things with a frying pan while we're running around Skyrim as the Dragonborn.