Wardens: Defenders of the Green and Emissaries of Y'ffre

Mr_Stach · May 2022

Warden is my favorite class in the game as they are really the only class with actual in game lore. (Spoiler: it has nothing to do with Morrowind)

While it's not a lot, there's a lot of connections we can make with it's small Lore Snippet:

"Wardens are defenders of the Green, master storytellers whose nature tales become magical reality. They wield frost spells against enemies and summon animals to aid them."

Y'ffre the Singer, the Storyteller, God of Song and Forest, and Spirit of the Now, is the most important deity of the Bosmeri pantheon, also worshipped by the Bretons, and Snow Elves. Y'ffre essentially created the Green and the Green Pact with the Bosmer, to allow them to shape the trees of Valenwood to build their homes.

As with Y'ffre, Wardens are also Story Tellers and Defenders of the Green, but when we look at the different skill trees we see how much Wardens are intertwined with the Lore of Y'ffre.

Starting with the Bosmer, who are tied to the Animal Companion Tree due to a little something called the Wild Hunt, described as Described as "a flood of horrific beasts, tentacled toads, insects of armor and spine, gelatinous serpents, vaporous beings with the face of gods, blind in fury," or "a pack of shifting forest-demons and animal-gods, thousands strong, which sweeps through the countryside killing everything in its path."

Personally I wish we got some more Wild Hunt-esque Abilities over the Morrowind inspired abilities we have now. Instead of a Bird, a Viper Strike would be awesome.

Next we have the Bretons, the Bretons worship Y'ffre as the god of Songs and "the Now", and is responsible for the Laws of Nature. The Wyrd Sister's especially revere Y'ffre as the God of Nature which is another aspect of Wardens, Nature's Embrace. You could also see the Bosmer Connected to Natures Embrace as the Green Pact provided the Bosmer with the Forest Changing to their needs.

Last we have the more interesting of the two, the Snow Elves of the Merethic Era, the Winter's Embrace is connected to this aspect of Lore but, really the Snow Elves were named such as a connection to the location rather than any special Frost related Abilities. Nonetheless, we have all three followers of Y'ffre connected to all three Class Trees so there's that.

Also, lil snippet is the Khajiit who have a little lore where Y'ffre was chosen by Nirni over Hircine and Hircine got upset, sooooo. Wardens shouldn't be able to be Werewolves, because Hircine hates us.

Last Snippet is connected to the Argonians that left the hist to follow Y'ffre, but they were all hunted down by Shadow Scales because of the whole Blasphemy bit against the Hist.

chessalavakia_ESO · May 2022

If you haven't already read it, in universe they have a book on Wardens

https://en.uesp.net/wiki/Online:Who_Are_the_Wardens?

They also have books that touch on some parts of the other classes such as

https://en.uesp.net/wiki/Lore:Ardent_Flame:_Draconic_or_Endemic?

Mr_Stach · May 2022

chessalavakia_ESO wrote: »

If you haven't already read it, in universe they have a book on Wardens

https://en.uesp.net/wiki/Online:Who_Are_the_Wardens?

They also have books that touch on some parts of the other classes such as

https://en.uesp.net/wiki/Lore:Ardent_Flame:_Draconic_or_Endemic?

I haven't read that one, but it just further backs up what I was laying out on Warden Lore and the Relation to Y'ffre.

Thank you for sharing that.

kaushad · May 2022

chessalavakia_ESO wrote: »

They also have books that touch on some parts of the other classes such as

https://en.uesp.net/wiki/Lore:Ardent_Flame:_Draconic_or_Endemic?

More than there are for wardens in the case of the original classes. ZOS kind of dropped the ball with the DLC class lore, but what lore there is about Y'ffrean mages, including wardens, spinners, wyresses and druids, is better represented by NPCs, whereas nobody really talks about dark magic, dragonknight magic etc outside the books. Although as with other classes, I don't recall any NPC who identifies as a warden. Then there are necromancers, who have been always been in TES, but their class skills haven't been explained much.

Mr_Stach · May 2022

kaushad wrote: »

chessalavakia_ESO wrote: »

They also have books that touch on some parts of the other classes such as

https://en.uesp.net/wiki/Lore:Ardent_Flame:_Draconic_or_Endemic?

More than there are for wardens in the case of the original classes. ZOS kind of dropped the ball with the DLC class lore, but what lore there is about Y'ffrean mages, including wardens, spinners, wyresses and druids, is better represented by NPCs, whereas nobody really talks about dark magic, dragonknight magic etc outside the books. Although as with other classes, I don't recall any NPC who identifies as a warden. Then there are necromancers, who have been always been in TES, but their class skills haven't been explained much.

Well if they continue with the Companions, we'll eventually get a Warden and Necromancer Companion, which could be a unique opportunity to branch out in that degree.

Eporem · May 2022

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Afx94AEo_k

In this video there is a Redguard Warden who I believe is Boldekh - one of the only wardens whose identify has been made public - according to this:

https://en.uesp.net/wiki/Lore:Wardens

there is also a Dunmer who wears Ashlander armor, and a Nord I think? in this video

so I do wonder a bit what their connection to Y'ffre would be - attuned to Nature maybe...

also too when following the link of Narya;s Journal this was said by the Redguard Warden:

https://en.uesp.net/wiki/Lore:Naryu's_Journal/Vvardenfell,_Before

I never understood before that Sotha Sil is your nature god. I thought you didn't have one."

so would the followers of Sotha Sil believe him to be the Nature God... and what of the Nords, who would be known as their nature god.

Could the skill tree of the Warden be connected as well to the different races of Wardens and what these races might believe to be their nature gods.

Eporem · May 2022

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tub8R8b2elc

There is this other video - in it I liked what he suggests about the Warden and their skill line - that it was a chance to mix and match the other skill lines into it to make an individual type of Warden. One how you see or imagine would be a Warden of Elder Scrolls.

Some of the skills in the other lines like the Undaunted skills would match a Warden type character I think - and skills from the Mages Guild, Fighters Guild, Pysiic Order, or any of the other skill lines and their ultimates - how well they would do in PVP, probably not so well, but it would be interesting to see if it was possible.

The animal companions can be matched as well to what your Warden knows how to summons from his travels - though a bit limited since the Cliffracers are only seen in Morrowind I think, the Shalk are seen in Morrowind, Stonefalls and Glenumbra, the Fetcherflies in Morrowind and in the Tenmar forests. The Bear all over (though not sure of this) but his print is on the Warden Rune.

then there is this video that shows what Naryu thinks is a Warden's true nature:)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EdftIM4tld4&t=2s

Oakenaxe · June 2022

I wish their skills weren't so focused on the Morrowind fauna. In order to express a connection with Y'ffre they could have some Valenwood fauna design as well.

Chell_N7 · June 2022

kaushad wrote: »

More than there are for wardens in the case of the original classes. ZOS kind of dropped the ball with the DLC class lore, but what lore there is about Y'ffrean mages, including wardens, spinners, wyresses and druids, is better represented by NPCs, whereas nobody really talks about dark magic, dragonknight magic etc outside the books.

In fact, Shadow Magic already was in TES Travels Shadowkey. But very few people have heard about this spin-off, and even less have played it. And Nightblade has been a class since, well, Arena.

But I agree that it would be nice to have more lore information about classes in ESO.

kaushad · June 2022

Chell_N7 wrote: »

In fact, Shadow Magic already was in TES Travels Shadowkey. But very few people have heard about this spin-off, and even less have played it. And Nightblade has been a class since, well, Arena.

But I agree that it would be nice to have more lore information about classes in ESO.

I'd argue that nightblades in ESO aren't the same as nightblade 3rd Era TES games. 3rd Era nighblade are are people who combine magic with mundane sleight of hand. ESO nightblades are shadow magic specialists. Plenty of ESO nightblades are also 3rd Era style nighblades, but some of them don't have any significant aptitude in stealth and are rather robe and stick mages, battlemages, spellswords or even healers. Whereas hardly anybody uses shadow magic in the late 3rd Era and nightblades are no exception.

There's a similar point to be made about crusaders, "crusaders" and templars.

Tryxus · June 2022

While Bosmer do have an innate ability to command the animals of the wild, some of them are Greenspeakers who can commune with the Green itself and shape it their needs. I think this is actually referenced in the Secluded Grove ultimate, as you can hear a whispering song or incantation whenever this ultimate is used.

Then there are the Bretons. They have their origins in Druidism, but some of the later Wyrd covens worship the more primal aspects of nature. Bretons are also expert conjurers, so summoning animals is child's play to them.

Y'ffre is a part of the pantheon of the races you mentioned, but I wouldn't tie those 3 races to just 1 of the Warden's skill trees when there is so much about them than just that 1 aspect.

I would rather look at the Warden's abilities as an echo or reflection of Y'ffre himself. In the book Who are the Wardens it is said that the Warden's magic is based on both Alteration and Conjuration.

Green Balance would probably be Alteration rather than Restoration. While the spells are primarily used for healing, Wardens are shaping the world around them to grow trees, plants and mushrooms. And it's those that have the healing properties, not the spells themselves.

Animals Companions is Conjuration ofc, Wardens are summoning the actual animals whereever they are.

"Wardens are defenders of the Green, master storytellers whose nature tales become magical reality." - From their class description.

Wardens are storytellers, similar to their patron who is THE Storyteller. I believe that they use their Alteration/Green Balance spells to shape the world around them, growing forests and plants to create the setting or a background for one of the scenes from their stories and then populate those with the actors, the creatures that they summon with their Conjuration/Animal Companion spells. That is how they tell their nature tales and how it becomes magical reality.