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Mer question

warg_derpin_gdf
I got into a mental funk while I was thinking about the prefixes for the Mer (Dun, Mao, Chim, etc), which got me wondering why Men don't have any prefixes and that led me to the question I want to start a discussion here for:

I know most of the lore is pretty solid on the Altimer (and therefore most Mer) being directly descended, one way or another, of the various Aedra, but 1) I forget what the lore for origin(s) of Men is and 2) (the main question) are Mer officially considered demi-human in any way or does their coming from Aedra completely set them apart? Bonus crackers: why don't Bretons have a prefix anywhere lol.

My main idea for supporting the fact that Mer are demi-human comes from Men and Mer being able to use magic. I know there are thunderbugs, and probably a ton of other wildlife that use magic also, but I'm saying that, generally, the average Mer is far more proficient at magic then the average Man, but they still both use the same type and perform it in much the same fashion across the board. I think there are and handful of books in TESV that illustrate the inherent structures of magic itself, ect, etc. Also, I don't think there is anything Aedric regarding Khajiit and Argonians, so open forum to any ideas. I'm also going to tend to shy away from dragon magic because it mostly seems that all dragon magic is to suit dragons themselves, ie I'm pretty sure they never learned magic from an outside source they've just always had their own and it is always reflective of the individual dragon.
Karliah, when will you learn?!!
  • Aramithius
    Aramithius
    ✭✭
    1) I forget what the lore for origin(s) of Men is

    They are either remnants/desecendents of the Wandering Ehlnofey, as the mer are remnants/descendents of the Old Ehlnofey, or they were made by the gods if you believe the Monomyth or the Altmeri creation myth.
    2) (the main question) are Mer officially considered demi-human in any way or does their coming from Aedra completely set them apart?

    It's more that men and mer share a common ancestor in the Ehlnofey, rather than mer being a subset of men. Also, the reason I'm using "man" here rather than "human" is because some sources do use the term "human" to refer to both men and mer.
    Bonus crackers: why don't Bretons have a prefix anywhere lol.
    They do, in a way. They have the unofficial one of "manmer", but I don't think that's actually anywhere in universe.

    They don't have an official one because the "mer" terms are terms that the mer made themselves (it means "folk" in a merish language, either Aldmeris or Ehlnofex). The Bretons aren't "folk"(=mer) in the same way, because they're half and half. The term "breton" apparently comes from "beratu", which means "half" in Ehlnofex.
    My main idea for supporting the fact that Mer are demi-human comes from Men and Mer being able to use magic.

    The various cultures' ancestry doesn't affect their ability to use magic. Magic comes from Atherius, most particularly the hole that the god Magnus and his followers ripped in the fabric of Mundus when they ran away from the plane during its creation. The hole that Magnus left is the sun, the holes the rest of his followers left are the stars. Magic falls into Mundus through these holes.
    I don't think there is anything Aedric regarding Khajiit and Argonians, so open forum to any ideas.

    The Khajiit, according to their own myths, are descended from a group of Ehlnofey or proto-mer that could not settle their shape until Azurah helped them. If that's not true, they're from a strain of mer that were similarly unstable, and later became the Khajiit.

    Argonians are lizards that the Hist manipulated and gave souls, manipulating their physical form at the same point. They're the only race that don't have any link to the Ehlnofey in their ancestry.
    Host of the Written in Uncertainty podcast, and regular participant in the Selectives Lorecast.
    Officer of the PC-EU chapter of the Loreseekers guild.
  • warg_derpin_gdf
    Insightful, agree, and awesome : )

    Thank you @Aramithius. The Ehlnofey take straightens it out in my mind. When I think Aedra I think highest tier possible within the realm of creation still possessing differentiation, but the Ehlnofey gives a reason besides Aedra randomishly sprouting Mer all over Nirn with no in between and then the odd, plain man business. It's cool to speculate there is reason for the difference too, whether it became out of habits, necessities, environments, or ability over time. Now I definitely think to include dragons somehow; especially the shout ability, not to mention Elder Scroll use and Alduin.

    Khajiit origin gives me quite a laugh regarding the Chimer/Dunmer. I don't remember the specifics, but iirc they did what they had to but I guess at the time they could all just forget about about form manipulation ha ha ha. Argonian origin puts me at a loss because I can only look to magical flora for further insight. Couldn't it be reasoned that the Ehlnofey cultured magic amongst (amidst, about ? :/:/ ) plants/crops and either directly or indirectly led to the Hist? Altimer have those damn-nific Magus orbs and staffs, and that's probably from where the obsession began rofl.

    On a more informal note, for all their BS, I think I might literally be in love with Azura and Nocturnal at this point.



    Karliah, when will you learn?!!
  • Aramithius
    Aramithius
    ✭✭
    It's cool to speculate there is reason for the difference too, whether it became out of habits, necessities, environments, or ability over time.

    We have a hint at reasons for this, and they're ideological. The Old Ehlnofey (precursors to the mer) want to preserve what came before,* while the Wandering Ehlnofey were defined by their seeking out new experiences.

    *There are different sources that dis agree about whether "what came before" was a previous cycle of the world, or simply them having been Aedra before the world was created.
    Now I definitely think to include dragons somehow; especially the shout ability, not to mention Elder Scroll use and Alduin.

    Well, dragons are something else entirely. They're probably closer to the Ehlnofey than they are anything else. The closest I've come to explaining what they are in the rest of TES' system is fragments that emnated from Akatosh, and stayed that way. They didn't procreate, they were just made from portions of the Time God. Although there's not a lot that's clear on that, so please don't take my explanation here as certain. I could be horribly wrong, or missed something.
    Khajiit origin gives me quite a laugh regarding the Chimer/Dunmer. I don't remember the specifics, but iirc they did what they had to but I guess at the time they could all just forget about about form manipulation ha ha ha.
    Well, the change from Chimer to Dunmer wasn't voluntary, or to help them. So a little different from the Khajiit's experiences.
    Argonian origin puts me at a loss because I can only look to magical flora for further insight. Couldn't it be reasoned that the Ehlnofey cultured magic amongst (amidst, about ? :/:/ ) plants/crops and either directly or indirectly led to the Hist?
    From what we can understand, the Hist come from somewhere beyond Mundus entirely. They're effectively aliens in the setting. The account in the Anuad that has the Ehlnofey coming from a previous version off the world also has the Hist coming from the same place:
    The only survivors of the twelve worlds of Creation were the Ehlnofey and the Hist. The Ehlnofey are the ancestors of Mer and Men. The Hist are the trees of Argonia.

    There are also other accounts from the Argonians themselves that tell a similar tale in a bit more of a convoluted way, that the Hist came from a previous world that has passed away.



    Host of the Written in Uncertainty podcast, and regular participant in the Selectives Lorecast.
    Officer of the PC-EU chapter of the Loreseekers guild.
  • tsaescishoeshiner
    tsaescishoeshiner
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    Altmer would love to have us believe that they're demigods lol. That idea, and in particular the idea that the gods of men have robbed elves of their divinity, are very central beliefs of altmeri superiority factions.

    I love the way that all the TES creation myths come from unreliable narrators. It means that the stories often tell us more about the people writing the stories than the people they're about.
    PC-NA
    in-game: @tsaescishoeshiner
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