Skyrim gives you the wrong idea about the empire, it's way weirder than you think

[@FudgeMuppet]

I wrote and narrated a novella about the life of Emperor Reman. Link is here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/qH-3foSgeqhpbdk

[@DETHTWUKTAUR]

thank you for revealing the imperial dogs.

[@victoriahayes9997]

@@DETHTWUKTAURreally nice err😢🎉🎉🎉 🎉🎉 🎉🎉 🎉🎉 I 🎉hope you 🎉🎉🎉 🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉 You You are the best io da r😢😢y. M my real life experience mmm this I mthis rmthis this rthis rm The We The We The We We The We We The The m right on on the mthe rmmm mmmmmmmmrmerr😢m😢emotional 😢😢😢😢eereemmmm😢😢😢😢😢😢😢😢mrm😢😢😢😢😢😢😢😢e😢eeeeeee🎉ermmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmwa😢😢😢😢😢 I hope hope 😢😢😢😢 you are😢😢😢😢😢😢😢😢😢 and 😢😢😢😢😢😢 😢😢 😂😂

[@EyeoftheU]

Reminder that Reman was the guy that invited Sanguine, basically the god of hedonism, to his court, and when confronted with Reman's debauchery, Sanguine went: "Holy shit, this guy is a lunatic!" and left again.

[@booshmcfadden7638]

Caligula would be like, "You took it too far."

[@patriciusvunkempen102]

kek, basicly as if slanesh said, "well that's a bit too wild for me" lmao

[@culturecanvas777]

That's why Sheogorath is the one haunting them. Sanguine prefers the smaller taverns of the holds.

[@AnthonyDaFox]

Rakdos from Ravnica would just smiled and clapped.

[@vonfaustien3957]

Based.

[@LightningNC]

"Hey, can I have some of your bread?" "Sure. These two priestesses of Dibella gave it to me." "... I no longer wish to have any of your bread."

[@Your-Least-Favorite-Stranger]

Long as the butter is fresh, we're good

[@culturecanvas777]

🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@C4lmaria]

@@Your-Least-Favorite-Stranger bruh i don't think that's butter

[@everythingsalright1121]

I dont get it why wouldnt you put butter on bread

[@ownhanagames5529]

@@everythingsalright1121 its not butter

[@badluck5647]

*Sybille Stentor:* _"Because the Dominion is a sleeping beast that Skyrim cannot slay alone. Because many Nords are part of the Imperial army even now. Because the food and resources we get from the Empire are important to our people. Because even if we can't openly worship him, Talos the god was once Tiber Septim the man, and this is his Empire. And Torygg wasn't ready to let it fall apart."_

[@madisonsosa21]

I am a big Stormcloak supporter but now I feel the Empire has to be the real winner in the Civil War

[@dickyboi4956]

Says the blood sucking vampire.

[@Bitterman5868]

And this is the hinted to be Lamae Bal post events of Greymoor living in skyrim to keep an eye on the Dark Heart who says that.

[@Dragon359]

@@madisonsosa21 I understand where the Stormcloaks are coming from, but even with some questionable choices that the Empire makes (Maven Blackbriar becoming a Jarl for example), I have to support them overall.

[@etinarcadiaego7424]

​@@madisonsosa21 there are no winners in the Skyrim Civil War aside from the Thalmor who expertly played both sides.

[@MDNGTSHEP]

“Damn Elves, I bet they had something to do with this.”-Ralof

[@mjag2834]

"Drink for the Dirty! Food for the Monkey!"

[@enoughothis]

I love how deep and metaphysical Elder Scrolls lore really is. The surface is easy enough to understand but those who are brave enough to dive deep are rewarded with mind blowing knowledge

[@Saber23]

And the gift of damn near going insane 😂 but we all have fun along the way, that’s what matters

[@enoughothis]

@@Saber23, all knowledge comes with a price

[@HeliodromusScorpio]

Real history is even better tbh

[@lebaguette3354]

This is a seeker of hermaeus mora baiting you with the allure of knowledge. Don’t fall for it

[@pinkfloydguy7781]

Knowledge that is completely useless unless you’re a writer at Bethesda or making an Elder Scrolls tabletop campaign

[@brahmas1685]

My main two takeaways from this are one, Cryodiil's lore is just as wild and out there as any of the other provinces' and anyone who says Imperials are the "boring" race needs to watch this video. And two, holy shit I need Beyond Skyrim: Cyrodiil in my load order ASAP.

[@gregoryhayes7569]

The problem is that Cyrodiil keeps stealing High Rock's lore for some reason, it's really weird.

[@samuelshort327]

King Hrol had that hillock in his “load order”

[@wildfire9280]

@@gregoryhayes7569 High Rock has gotten so much material about it that the other provinces have to take from it to cover their shortages.

[@ElliotKeaton]

_"Then Todd watched The Fellowship of the Ring and mistakes were made."_ -Michael Kirkbride

[@Agustin_Leal]

The real take away from this video is that the Elder Scrolls lore was great and unique until Todd Howard watched The Fellowship of the Ring and decided to turn Oblivion into a generic sanitized rip-off of Lord of the Rings

[@reffa2858]

I think I understand why Bethesda no longer uses Kirkbrides expanded lore. Bethesda: Kirk, write us some lore Kirkbride: ok a king and his soldiers meet a spirit in the woods. Bethesda: ohh, I like it what next? Kirkbride: The king follows the spirit and is inspired to have sex with a mound of dirt and dies. Bethesda: yeah, and...hold up what!? Kirkbride: Yes, and the mound soon grows into a mountain and births a child called Reman but get this, he speaks as a grown man! Bethesda: what is he smoking!? Kirkbride: And his Mother and Auntie are ordered by a God to store his semen and feed it to him on a slice of bread! Bethesda: Security! Kirkbride: (*being dragged out by security*) And Reman ejeculates on all his slain enemies!.....WITH NO HANDS! Muhahahaha!

[@Indeside]

Michael Kirkbride's an amazing author, but he is absolutely bat shit insane

[@Yuki_Ika7]

Stuff like that is one reason why I love Kirkbride's work lol

[@booshmcfadden7638]

Wait until you hear about Vivek!

[@Your-Least-Favorite-Stranger]

Kirkbride is the loremaster we need

[@TheBlueDino0ne]

Sounds like real life myths

[@danielsatterfield733]

Anyone else notice how over the last couple years Scott's voice has sounded more and more like a classic college professor? Top shelf content as always.

[@squidmanfedsfeds5301]

He is a very good narrator you can tell he’s put time and effort into perfecting that

[@grandmasteryoda6717]

Drew's influence

[@Nehauon]

@@grandmasteryoda6717 definitely

[@owenziegler307]

I used to like it, but now I find it a little too dramatic. Even without Drew, I wish they still did the podcast or some kind of casual discussion so I could hear them speak in their natural voices.

[@ciaranmck4469]

​@@owenziegler307 I don't mind like the dude is narrating a video about a game not making a guide on math so he can put a bit more effort into how he speaks

[@nicholasdaniel2778]

Strangely, the fact of Akatosh telling Dibella to tell two of her disciples to forget their duties and have sex with Reman while he was still just a kid, and them turning his sperm into bread for him to eat is disgustingly funny, I guess him saying "I am Cyrodiil come", literally means that he's saying he's solidified divine baby batter. 😆

[@nbmoleminer5051]

😡🤢🤮

[@josephpercy1558]

Indeed, the fertility of the land is of paramount importance.

[@killingyoursoul22]

Dibella worshippers not beating the degenerate allegations.

[@alpacalover0]

Y'know, maybe the Daedra aren't so bad after all...

[@mmyr8ado.360]

It's more that he's just saying what he's made of when he sat upon the Ruby Throne.

[@Loreweavver]

It's got to be weird living in tamriel as reality itself is subject to the scrolls. Any historical continuities are bound to have contradictions.

[@jansonshrock2859]

the real elder scrolls are the lines of code

[@KrutchesRDH]

​@@jansonshrock2859just like the Matrix

[@debbiegilmour6171]

History class at school would be a nightmare :(

[@Loreweavver]

@@debbiegilmour6171 I think there are examples of that in game... Mage college maybe? I know there are contradictory history books we find that are all considered true.

[@Agustin_Leal]

The elder scrolls are just the excuse for Bethesda's lazy writing, lore sanitizing and ugly retcons.

[@cedarfawkes]

"The Empire is boring" meanwhile the empire: snake men, hill moms, semen bread, and more

[@theprinceofinadequatelighting]

Kirkbride: "Weird? What do you mean? That's just an average Tuesday night."

[@neoqwerty]

@@theprinceofinadequatelighting that man was like one bad exam result on his ancient religions classes shy of a college student breakdown with sleep deprivation and LSD when he wrote the mythology he added in and by the gods it's glorious. Also he, and I shit you not, named Nerevar Mora "Anti-Satan". No, I'm serious. If you take the translations he gave for the elnofex we have from him? it breaks down into "Not-Light-Cast/Speak Knowledge", where the "speak/cast" word is specifically for spells, aka herma-mora, forbidden knowledge. Dude named his Chimer Jesus "I'm not the Lightbringer" and then threw his reincarnation in a second coming story where he kills the dunmer anti-Christ.

[@platinumchromee3191]

​@@theprinceofinadequatelightingi want whatever Kirkbride was smoking

[@tora9915]

@@platinumchromee3191just cigarettes, then

[@MeepChangeling]

@@theprinceofinadequatelighting Honestly if you read mythology Kirkbride just drew pretty much evenly from the well of human beliefs for everything he did.

[@rvawildcardwolf2843]

This video is a better sign of progress for Beyond Skyrim than anything the team themselves have put out.

[@windingroadelven]

Maybe because they are all hard at work building the game for free for people like you…..

[@Argornash]

Personally, I agree haha, but that's partly on purpose. On Cyrodiil, we have been trying to keep many things under wrap in order to prevent promising anything we weren't ready to show off. So, the fact that this collaboration happened should indeed show that, yeah. These are a rare occurence, though, so hopefully it keeps that effect for when we do more in the future ;) Love Fudge Muppet, and happy to collab with them on this. Videos like this make it worth it.

[@Pyromaniac77777]

⁠​⁠@@ArgornashI think the commenter didn’t imagine his words would be read by someone who was actually involved. Was probably a flippant remark, we all appreciate what you guys do. Great response and good points made btw

[@thalmoragent9344]

Lmao, OOF

[@Shitockiful]

@@Argornashworth the wait, still no good video games in 2023. Put in some OT! 😂

[@Naruku2121]

I won't lie if it wasn't for the mod VIGILANT I'd be lost on the cruelty of the Alessian Order, the Marakahti Selective and the prophet Maruhk etc. It might get flak for trying to be Dark Souls, but it goes HARD on deep cut Elder Scrolls lore like this.

[@Alignn]

I only wish I had seen this video before playing VIGILANT, would have put a lot of things into perspective for that first playthrough.

[@deadsoul7409]

Fr like the mod author actually understand the lore. I bet Michael kirkbride himself would give him a thumbs up

[@squidmanfedsfeds5301]

I am loving the depictions of the ancient needs and imperials, such interesting armor and aesthetics

[@alexinfinite7142]

It really helps me better conceptualize the history

[@squidmanfedsfeds5301]

@@alexinfinite7142 yeah I get that Makes me wish elder scrolls actually cared about the progression and technological advancement for armor Seems they already have plate armor basically at the start of time which makes some sense, aedra walked the world they’d probably already have the most advanced armor possible

[@muramasasedge5443]

Nedes*

[@squidmanfedsfeds5301]

@@muramasasedge5443 no I “need” you to say something that adds to the conversation

[@justme0910]

Only this franchise's lore can truly match how absolutely bonkers real life mythology is. "Our godking was born because some guy splooged into some mud after having ghost sex with a saint and literally impregnated the land" sounds exactly like the bizarre Freudian fever dreams our ancestors came up with while tripping on shrooms and/or dying of tuberculosis.

[@jordahnnelson9926]

Yep that's what I was thinking it sounds "out there" now but it's tame to a lot of real life ancient mythologies and customs bahahaha

[@Your-Least-Favorite-Stranger]

Ergot, ayahuasca, mushrooms, peyote, san pedro, etc Our ancestors did love their hallucinogens

[@gregoryhayes7569]

There's actually an RPG setting called Glorantha that has similarly bonkers lore. It was a big influence on TES.

[@Sneakyboson]

We are all mudcum.

[@andrefilipe9042]

​@@gregoryhayes7569Boy! Finally someone that also knows about Glorantha.

[@mesektet5776]

The legacy of Alessia - Snakemen, Minotaur paladins, man-seed bread, disappearing jungles, monkey monks and Holy Soul-Gem Crown Jewels; Gods Save The Queen.

[@kingdavey90]

Monkey Monks!

[@Linki8uu]

You forgot doom guy Demi god

[@FudgeMuppet]

Thank you so much!!

[@MorphineDoffein]

@@FudgeMuppetilove u

[@danielnathanael5370]

Can't wait to play BS Cyrodiil myself!

[@Zepimo123]

gonna be like 2045 lol

[@Linkinpurk]

@@Zepimo123 stil before TES VI

[@Zepimo123]

@@Linkinpurk for real lmao

[@mjag2834]

"You know whats wrong with Cyrodiil these days? Everyones obsessed with SEX!!!" - Jon Bottle-Blonde.

[@kinidiosodlosios6892]

whats BS ?

[@josephpercy1558]

Such beautiful footage to compliment a wonderful timeline of colorful narratives! Inspires me to start an Imperial playthrough in Skyrim. I'm a real-world metaphysics nerd, and noticed so many parallels between Cyrodiilic religion and the Greco-Roman/Hellenic real-world equivalent, in many ways. You've got the Minoan/Mycenean Bull/Minotaur worship, Platonic metaphysics of "the One," with the dogmatic restrictions/persecutions of early Roman Christianity, which developed out of Neoplatonic/Gnostic metaphysics (so much potential for development in TES, btw). Marukh the Clever Ape, who always reminds me of C.S. Lewis's Shift the Ape in _The Last Battle_ -- the finale in the Narnia series. All of this rich, colorful tapestry cries out for the further development of their cultural competitors, the Altmeri culture -- who deserve just as much praise for providing context in helping to define Cyrodiilic culture.

[@wolfi9933]

Sadly the persons who were mostly responsible for the well thought out cosmology and metaphysics in the ES series are no longer part of the team. At least mostly.

[@Mephilis78]

I have a weird feeling this is Beyond Skyrim... Fudge seems to have more access to Cyrodill than we do, as the video specifically about Beyond Skyrim seems to suggest. We can only go to Bruma atm, but he has footage from all over the gold coast and colovia.

[@josephpercy1558]

@@Mephilis78 I'm aware of this 😉

[@jansonshrock2859]

Even the concept of mantling in the elder scrolls, where a divine being creates a mortal avatar of themself on nirn, or gifts their authority and power to a mortal being, making them 100% mortal and 100% diety. It's a very abrahamic judeo-christian concept when you think about it

[@josephpercy1558]

@@jansonshrock2859 Actually, it's an ancient pagan concept. Christianity simply modified certain aspects.

[@Yuki_Ika7]

Kirkbride is wild, but that is part of the reason many of us like his work

[@thalmoragent9344]

Allesian Order was so off the rails that the Direnni Elves, the last, moslty unharmed and sophisticated Elven civilization the Continent, and the Nords, fresh off their slaughtering and conquering of Elven lands, joined forces to drive them back.

[@tada-kun982]

When the Nords think you're too racist, you best listen

[@ericdane7769]

Great stuff Scott, and much honour to the Beyond Skyrim team. But I'd say, do give a special shout out to Daniel Ran, as his music adds so much depth and emotional charge to the video.

[@albeleivahorka8875]

I was scrolling down the com section to find this info, about who made the music, thank you !!

[@emilybroderick2421]

No way Alessia actually spoke to Marukh, of course, but now the question is: who did? Vigilant says Molag Bal, which I would believe, but it could have been a number of other Deadric princes. I'd believe Hermaeus Mora, Mephala, and maybe even Boethiah or Mehrunes Dagon as part of a long-con plan to destroy the first empire.

[@etinarcadiaego7424]

Or the apeman was either a paranoid schizophrenic who hallucinated the vision or a narcissist that made it all up to take power. So basically, just like all real life prophets.

[@neoqwerty]

Molag Bal is VERY fond of dominating Empires (to the point he's out of lore stated to *be in Talos' head* and in-lore he's backed Vivec, even though what ALMSIVI did to Nerevar should usually be in Boethiah and Mephala's realms). I'd say Vigilant is probably guessing right on this one, and it's at least true in MK's C0DA (the fancy word for people's personal TES headcanon that we're all encouraged to have and share).

[@cathemeraltheenby6840]

The most plausible option is Lorkhan (Shor/Shazaar etc). Remember that he led the Wandering Ehlnofey against Aurial and the Old Ehlnofey in the Ehlnofey Wars. If any deity hated elves to the point where they would help create an anti-elven genocidal Order, it would be him.

[@deadsoul7409]

​@@cathemeraltheenby6840well , after the first rebellion shezzar had to change he could no longer be elf hating war lord of old , he had to change. Wich implies that shezzare/lorhkaj/lorkhan/shor did change to be better for his people (mortals) so in my humble opinion I believe it wasn't lorkhan who spoke to marukh

[@MurthorOathstone]

Alessia had freaky kinks it seems. in regards to her choice of lovers and the off-spring that resulted from it.

[@somerandomguy7235]

The ayleid armor looks so great

[@jeffdroog]

Your mom looks so great.

[@thalmoragent9344]

Ayleids are a favorite part of the Lore for me

[@jeffdroog]

@Thalmor Agent Your mom is personally my favorite part of the lore.

[@hazeltree7738]

​@@jeffdroogWell your mum is ayleid lore

[@jeffdroog]

@@hazeltree7738 And proud of it!

[@nbmoleminer5051]

I was disappointed the Nords largely gave up their own pantheon.

[@josephpercy1558]

There's a new mod called _The Old Ways - Nordic Religion_ on the SSE Nexus if you're interested. Seems well done, in my opinion.

[@brahmas1685]

That was part of the Imperialization of Skyrim that also was a factor in the civil war. The traditionalist nords were also disappointed. They forsake their beliefs for a dying Empire that could no longer afford to care about it's people. Cutting out Talos was just the last straw that made them see it that way. And it made them ashamed that they let it get so far that the Empire saw it as acceptable to dictate what the nords can and can't worship. So I imagine they feel so strongly about reclaiming his worship because that represents a major step to returning to what their culture should be. The Thalmor actually fucked up because them getting Talos worship banned strengthened not only the nord's desire to worship Talos but most likely all of the old nordic pantheon in the long run. That domino falls no matter who wins the war. Stormcloak win means they're free to reestablish the old pantheon and probably put Talos as the chief deity both to honor his role in their independence and as a message to the Thalmor: this god of man is strongest because man is strongest so don't try your shit again. And if the Imperials win then the Stormcloaks are martyrs for Talos worship and the rift between Skyrim and Cyrodiil deepening. Talos gets more worship both ways.

[@dutchpatriot17]

@@brahmas1685 You are aware that Talos is not a Nord deity, right?

[@TristenSarelvun]

@@brahmas1685 Eh, not really. It's a retcon Bethesda purposefully made. The Nords in TESV aren't fighting for their own religion - they're fighting to keep an Imperial god. What you're explaining is essentially fan fiction made to explain away Bethesda's change. An acceptable and plausible fan fiction, but fan fiction nonetheless. All the evidence I've seen for it is stuff like "but bandits use the old gods' names" which is leftover from early development where Beth was actually planning on using the Nords' own totemic religion. I guess they just didn't want to write out and expand another pantheon when they had the Nine Divines everyone was already familiar with. Edit: just want to make this clear: this is a theory, a plausible one, and one that makes a lot of people happy with the change, and that's cool. I just don't like people talking about stuff like this as if it were fact, especially without giving sources, because there's a _lot_ of misinfo about these games based on theories and misremembering and exaggeration, etc.

[@josephpercy1558]

@@TristenSarelvun Well, the names of Talos and/or Tiber Septim were eventually tied up with Ysmir Wulfharth, an ancient warlord and semi-mythical figure of the ancient Atmorans. You can call this an "Imperial god" because his legend slightly overlaps with the ambitions of the Third Empire (Septim), but he is a deeply Nordic hero. His conflation is likely due to Imperial propaganda, but it has been around for so long that Nords like Jarl Balgruuf, for example, confidently believes in the Talos/Wulfharth/Dragonborn identity or interchangeability. When asked, _"What's it mean to be Dragonborn?"_ he may reply, _"Wulfharth was Dragonborn. Talos, too - the founder of the Empire, back in the good old days."_ This is further supported by Arngeir, who states the title "Ysmir", the "Dragon of the North" is traditionally given to Dragonborn who come to High Hrothgar. All of this is to say that "Imperialization" has been around far longer in Skyrim than we're led to believe based on what it's like to live as a Nord in the Fourth Era. Anything truly "Nordic" actually needs to be equated with the Atmorans. But of course, it can also be argued that the early Nedes (proto-Imperials) originated from Atmora.

[@jhm5497]

its nuts that modern mythology is being made via video games

[@squidmanfedsfeds5301]

There are truly some great world building minds out there Elder scrolls team and Tolkien for example

[@YoUtUbEhAnDlEsArEgReAt]

Gaimen toppled the empire

[@jonathanpilcher337]

Read up on lovecraft's work if modern myth interests you

[@therexbellator]

I mean... not to deflate your enthusiasm for Kirkbride's lore, but so much of it is borrowed from Eastern/Near Eastern mythology. Read up on the Epic of Gilgamesh and Tiamat and Babylonian pantheon; the mixture of epic adventure and salacious sexual themes are reminiscent of Kirkbride's mythology. I think this is why he's tried to inject some more wackiness into the mythology in his meta-commentary, like Pelinal being a cyborg/construct, precisely because his background for TES lore is pretty mundane compared to ancient mythology.

[@jhm5497]

@therexbellator well yeah, most writing is inspired and readapted from other sources. The Lion King is basically hamlet with cats, but its still a modern masterpiece

[@sethleoric2598]

Biggest problem with Imperials is that they've only ever been presenting them as the "all rounder familiar" faction, when they're just as weird and pagan as everyone else in the verse. Colovians and Nibenese imo show this, they were meant to be relatively distinct but now the distinctions are rather vague and only present in names, i'm pretty sure Morrowind shows more distinction between Colovians and Nibenese culturally compared to every other game indirectly.

[@MeepChangeling]

Correct! That's because Todd wasn't in charge to kneecap anything he didn't like (which is everything that isn't generic as hell). I hope he retires before ES6 or the series might die out from lameness before he does, and we'll never get to have anything interesting again.

[@userequaltoNull]

I love this style of narration. It's way easier to follow than your typical highly rythmic style. Also allows better differentiation between your words and any quotes/citations.

[@crystaldrieu6024]

I only have one small correction. The Ancestor Moths are not Gypsy Moths... They are a type of Silk Moth, most likely based off of the real world Atlas Moth, or possible the smaller Polyphemus Moth. Other then that, awesome video as always!!! 😊❤❤❤

[@neoqwerty]

I thought they were a kind of sphinxmoth, don't those fit the pattern?

[@crystaldrieu6024]

@@neoqwertySphinx Moths look similar pattern wise. But they would be more closley related to Hummingbird Moths than Silk Moths. They like the Hummingbird Moth fall under the "Skipper Moth/Butterfly classification". Verses Silk Moths are considered true moths. They all do produce a type of "silk" when making their cocoons/chrysalis. But Silk Moths are known for their production of high quality and quantity silk.

[@Ancikristus]

Cigan

[@CULater000]

The Remanada sounds like it’s written in the style of Egyptian mythology (e.g. battle of Seth and Horus and their conflict over each other’s ‘seed’)

[@passingrando6457]

To quote Seth, consume the cum cabbage.

[@neoqwerty]

Given that MK basically raided the Septuagint (and the oral torah stuff) for the Chimer/Dunmer, you're probably bang-on. Everything I've found so far that involved MK writing lore for used: Islamic (dwemer), Jewish (Chimer/Dunmer), Roman, Greek, and Egyptian motifs, though I haven't specifically delved into the Reman mythos he contributed to. Did catch the Redguards using barely changed Miyamoto Musashi's Book of Five Rings for their Book of Circles, though, so I'm expecting to spot zen buddhism that matches proto-Kendo Zen Buddhism philosophy and Shinto beliefs there.

[@CatastrophicDisease]

Cyrodil comes across as a Roman, Indian, and medieval European hybrid, which makes it a fascinating culture.

[@SorcererKing94]

Hardly anything Indian about Cyrodiil, and this is coming from an Indian such as myself. If your looking for a race with inspiration from India, look no further than the Khajiit.

[@SyrWhitestrake]

​@@SorcererKing94 I'd say Kajight are closer to Egyptians in my opinion.

[@SorcererKing94]

@@SyrWhitestrake That would be the Nords, with their Dragon Cult, megalithic ruins and burial customs. Play ESO, Khajiit are straight up influenced by South Asian culture and architecture.

[@dutchpatriot17]

@@SyrWhitestrake The Khajiiti architecture is very similar to that typically seen in India and south Asian countries.

[@siruristtheturtle1289]

@@SorcererKing94 The confussion comes from the fact that Cyrodiil did had Asian influence, but it wasn't indian: As presented by the 1st PGE, Cyrodiil was a warm, in some instances even tropical, highly urbanized region with extensive rice paddies and a still noticeable akaviri (and thus east-asian) influence. In that text the Empire is described as an strange hybrid between roman/hellenic nations and a east-asian civilization, specially those that lived in the Niben. The "weird lore" of Cyrodiil, say, Alessia, Pelinal, Moriheaus and the related wars were based on this take. Later on however the jungle was NOPED out of existence and Cyrodiil presented as an straight medieval, a bit romanesque realm, and this still dominates the presentation during Skyrim.

[@TrickyDryad]

This video is a really well made synopsis of the empires history, doesn't dive too deep into anything to send the viewer into befuddlement. Great work fellas!

[@JamesHatfield49]

Yeah, a lot of people support the Mede Empire of Skyrim because they automatically think it’s the same entity as the Septim Empire they loved in ES4 Oblivion. Not saying I hate the 4th Empire of Cyrodiil, just it’s merely a shadow of its former self.

[@badluck5647]

*Sybille Stentor:* _"Because even if we can't openly worship him, Talos the god was once Tiber Septim the man, and this is his Empire. And Torygg wasn't ready to let it fall apart."_

[@heyyoadrian]

​@@badluck5647me: how compelling now face the wall vampire

[@dutchpatriot17]

It is literally the same Empire.

[@LordMortanius]

Which is kind of ironic, given that the Septim Empire wasn't even that great either.

[@nestorgamer9746]

​@@LordMortanius they had a lineage of magic emperors Uriel VII saved the continent 3 times by sending the right person to the right place Could be much worst

[@shibbyk355]

hope you guys are in contact with the beyond Skyrim guys, there could be some pretty sick quests they could make with the lore knowledge you guys have.

[@Tamanstormwind]

IMO the thing in Elder Scrolls which best explains the strange history/lore of the games is the Skyrim quest and event "The Burning of King Olaf"; specifically the bit where you have to [ahem] repair the verse to present it to Jarl Elisef. Olaf was Numinex in human form? Cool. Almost as cool as Reman Cyrodiil's father being a Colovian noble and his mum was a pile of dirt that temporarily embodied the long-dead Empress... somehow... alegedly. See where I am going with this? History in the game world much like it is in real life is not written by the victors. Nor the survivors. It is written by the Bards. No one remembers dry dusty records or unembellished tabulated accounts of the past, they remember the emotion-inspiring stories that underpaid creatives try to tell about those things in pursuit of their next meal. So I tend to see Elder Scrolls lore for what it really is; a mostly-fiction within the definitely-fiction of the games. And its all pure comedy.

[@falcon9983]

What is Ironic, is that we loosely associate the Imperials with the Romans but, the name Elissais closest to, Elicia who is the fabled founder of the city of Carthage. Carthage being Romes greatest adversary

[@quinnbuffet3825]

Bretons are what you get when good Nedes fall for that sweet Aldmeri Taint

[@bolsahueca]

Abominations?

[@Apt23-v8u]

do you know that it was against their own will?

[@JWhisp]

I’ve put thousands of hours into the elder scrolls and somehow there’s still so much I don’t know… great video! 👏

[@rjjacob101]

Same here, I have over 1500 hours and I haven't even read most of the books, I really need to but I always get distracted with the world itself lol. I find new things even to this day either threw playing or watching videos like this.

[@Nachocheese2892]

Same, i have 2200 hours on skyrim alone and i still dont know most of this

[@EngCenturion]

At the end of the day regardless of what side your pick in the Civil War. The Thalmor win this round, but the war with them is just beginning.

[@brahmas1685]

Best bet is shattering into their separate provinces on good terms so the thalmor can't use internal strive as easily. Being a huge, single political entity made up of dissimilar regions with their own unique needs and cultures is a major weakness when you lack the influence and resources to properly unite them. Especially when you have an enemy that's skilled in espionage. You get an empire tearing itself apart for the enemy before the war even starts. That's harder to do when each of the nations that make up the whole govern themselves but cooperate towards a common goal.

[@SuperSky9]

Wrong, Siding with the Stormcloaks COMPLETELY REMOVES THALMOR FROM SKYRIM. MEANING, Hammerfell and Skyrim being independent province with 0 Thalmore presence. And, with a Thu'um Army under Ulfric, The nords can free Morrowind and then start shreding everything all the way to Summset Islands.

[@nestorgamer9746]

​@@SuperSky9 yeah the Graybeards aren't teaching anyone without a Dragon soul after what Ulfric did Also free Morrowind from what ? There's barely Dunmer there this days

[@timtaylor9298]

@@SuperSky9 Bro you've literally got that all wrong. There won't be a thu'um army because it takes too long to master for anyone that isn't a dragonborn. Ulfric trained for years and barely knows any shouts. Also Skyrim's manpower gets heavily depleted by the civil war, so they're not staging any offensives in the near future and possibly even longer if Skyrim destabilizes as it's prone to at this point.

[@passingrando6457]

​@@timtaylor9298near future is a relative term, with different degrees of relativity between man and mer. No matter which side wins, they can reasonably expect to repopulate within a man's generation or two. Problem for the Thalmor is that one man's generation is a fifth of a mer's generation, with the birthrate to match. I'm still a little mad that they wrote out all the unique magics the Nords possessed other than the Thu'um pre-Skyrim, though.

[@Dinoenthusiastguy]

New mind-bending Fudgemuppet video? This pleases my concept-organ

[@kylesprenkel680]

really cool mods in the background. Always like what other people think the "bronze age" of elderscrolls looked like. Maybe one day ill finish my rimworld mods that do just the same.

[@harringtonmartin]

Beautiful video. You guys are a big reason why I keep coming back to KZbin. Keep up the great work.

[@maxbiddulph3286]

The shear effort and density of these long form videos is acc amazing this is the peak of elder scrolls content imo

[@ShadaOfAllThings]

Concept: The people who are closest to the gods are just bug fucking nuts and that's why they are like that. Vivec wasn't even all that close in reality and he was fucking like that, as were the others. And we all know that Pelinal was basically being used as a sock puppet by something that wanted to kill a lot of elves. Why are they like that then? Well that's because gods, or at least Aedra, aren't people, at least not anymore. They are what they are and they do what they do, they don't really adapt so much get interpreted by mortals. And what are mortals? Horny, Murderous and Weird. Makes me wonder what Huna and Pelinal got up to honestly. Probably some stuff even the ancestor moths don't wanna record out of sheer shock. You can do a lot of weird shit when you have a reality breaking flood of magicka at your disposal.

[@Dadsgotnoclue]

This has made elder scrolls blades so much deeper for me. So many Alysian references.

[@nataliehughes4258]

Your channel is the best! Thank you guys for creating such in depth videos! I became pregnant with my husband and when that first child turned one, the very next day our second child was born! During that time and still today, I’ve listened to all your videos during my time as a stay at home mom who loves The Elder Scrolls! Love you guys!

[@beausbones5946]

marukh confirms that save scumming is canon, the main characters goals are so strong not even forgetting to buy potions before going in that cave can hold them back

[@sevenheavens-gj9qq]

Wonderful upload as usual. Despite playing it so many times, Skyrim has such great replayability that it’s awesome every time, what I wouldn’t give to play it for the first time. Even now, I still use my horse to mountain goat up the Throat of The World instead of taking the 7000 steps.

[@TheSorrydod]

You posted this 10 minutes after a 40 minute video was posted.

[@sevenheavens-gj9qq]

@@TheSorrydod so?

[@LilithSaenz-ju6fo]

I have never said "what the f*ck" more sincerely than when hearing the recounting of Kirkbride's Reman smut. That is WILD.

[@Galimeer5]

You get to play through a lot of these key moments of Alessian history in the Skyrim quest mod Vigilant (by Vicn). Of course, most of it is recontextualized to show that Molag Bal was the driving force behind the atrocities committed, so it's not 100% lore-accurate, but it still does a good job bringing the poetic ramblings and purple prose to life.

[@King-Arveleg]

Fascinating! Absolutely fascinating! We hope to see more about the Empire from you. Thank you, Scott. 👍🏻

[@firstnamelastname5612]

Nothing beats the shock of doing the 12 trials of vivec pilgrimage on morrowind, walking into a temple ram by the empire, speaking to a deadra guard and being hit with "i will rape your dead body"😂 Or visitng all morrowing house factions, getting to telvani, meeting the an omnipotent, wildly powerful, matriarchal leader who is calling me a dirty wet-back argonian. Then speaking to her unusually naked slave who is the only slave in the game who has given up any chance of escape and just says "there is no hope for me" I don't know what that old dark elf sorcereress did but i coukd see the pain in the khajits pixelated eyes.

[@DanTheIsh]

I love how Vigilant, the mod, sparked such a love for the history of the empire in me

[@Alexis-of-aldmeris]

If anyone wants a nice big dose of first era cyrodiil while they wait for Skyblivion or more beyond Skyrim, play the Vigilant mod for Skyrim. It’s final, and by far largest and most detailed, chapter has tons of cool Alessian lore stuff.

[@cptn_n_cola]

The script, storytelling and voice variation in your videos have gotten so good. Seen this channel grow so much. Proud of you Muppet.

[@Mary_Beth_Reimer]

Are the minotaurs from Beyond Skyrim?! Awesome!

[@Argornash]

Yes, you can see them in our release of Bruma actually!

[@Mary_Beth_Reimer]

@@Argornash Oh! I have Bruma! I haven't been playing for a while, but I think I need to go back now! 😀💜

[@flintsrevenge]

I miss the podcast lads, i've rewatched them all several times now

[@VLarraechea]

Oooo, the kings of ES lore return with another masterpiece! Time to pay attention once more.

[@bavarian995]

i got goosebumps when "masters of fate" start playing in the background. just as i got it when i entered that god forsaken ayleid ruin in the Bruma Mod. one of the best themes ive ever heard

[@angrybitternerd1832]

Love the weird and obscure lore and aside from the dark elves the imperials are my absolute favorites

[@quaidens]

2012: Todd Howard is riding high as High King of RPGs as Skyrim sales soar. Then he is informed that Michael Kirkbride wrote some new Reman Cyrodiil lore.

[@Kernwadi]

“Water is like liquid elevator music.” -Bilbo Baggins

[@louieburnham8090]

Reman as manifestation of the life of the land sort of echoes Arthurian legend wherein the King, while not a direct product of the land (he is in as much he comes from the people which shape and are shaped by the land), takes on the life of the land as a sort of avatar. Wounded king tropes wherein the land sickens, dies or loses its virility as the King does (the loss of virility tending to come from a wound to the “thigh” which can be read as an old euphemism for the genitals) tend to follow from this.

[@JasonOfArgo]

I'm not sure how people can see Elder Scrolls as a "mundane" setting when absolutely wild stuff happens even in canon, from the madness of the Tribunal to the horror of the Daedra to the resurrection of dragons who cast magic by shouting really loudly. It's pretty clear we're meant to take a lot of the "mythical" stuff to be literally true more often than not, simply by virtue of how crazy the setting is to begin with. It's not like Elder Scrolls ever sat down and tried to make its magic a scientific fact that can be rationalized.

[@wod5203]

You forgot about the Emperor, who on his death bed outlawed death, and the Daedra who visits him inside his long decayed brain... not weird at all... :)

[@brothers_of_nod]

This was some truly fascinating lore, makes the Empire more unique.

[@thegamingpigeon3216]

31:45 [me, this video playing in the background while I play a game, barely following along] *"Excuse me, what!?"*

[@Mary_Beth_Reimer]

Thank you Scott! I hope you & your family are well 😊

[@jamestaylor3805]

"Bird men" = men who are higher than others, like birds. Or potentially the men who worship "birds" or things that fly in the sky like dragons. It was the dragon cults who were the bird people. A descriptive word taken literally and handed down for generations afterward.

[@i20coyote85]

Dancing causing a dragonbreak just sounds hilarious to me

[@neotheresa]

I can really appreciate how the TES designers wanted the empire to be more than just “fictional bootleg ancient Rome” and went absolutely insane with its’ lore

[@Doopliss666]

I’m excited for es6. Cause this channel is gonna be at the moon when that happens

[@ewanhastie3843]

I love videos narrated by Scott. He's seriously talented.

[@azadisoleil6319]

Skyrim is misleading about many things. They say the atranoch stone decreases your magic regeneration but I swear it LOOKS like it’s regenerating faster 😂

[@16bursonk]

If memory serves doesn't it also add a chance for spell absorption? That could play into making it appear to regenerate faster despite the nerf to base regeneration.

[@jeffdroog]

Their Hames are fundamentally broken,despite having released skyrim in like 6 different iterations,they're all fundamentally broken piles of shit.

[@WorldElderScrolls.]

Hands down, one of the best RPG games ever made.. I'm glad I was a kid with a lot of free time when this game came out.

[@gensteps923]

Most definitely. I first played the game when it came out 11/11/11, got stuck on a bug on both Parthurnax not dying and the esburn door which killed my runs back then. Despite all of that, not finishing and not playing for years, I never stop thinking about this game, and how good it is. I recently bought the game on my steam deck, I been away too long, I needed to re experience it. Now I'm deep into my playthrough, loving every damn moment of it, experiencing amazing mods for the first time, and just basking in the greatness that is this game. All games should strive to be like this. Delivers a experience like no other, and satisfies me in nearly every way. Sure it has its flaws, but what it does right, and it does so much right, overshadows those flaws. Elder Scrolls 6 if it can take everything about Skyrim to the next level cranked up to 11, it will deliver on surpassing this game and cementing it's place as the new greatest game ever made

[@ismailalom8936]

@@gensteps923 I think if ES6 incorporates the best parts of ES4 and ES5 it will go down as one of if not the greatest rpg ever

[@gensteps923]

@@ismailalom8936 agreed I can't wait to see what they do with it. Have high hopes and expectations but if anyone can deliver it's the elder scrolls team. And if at all nothing else, the amazing talented fan base who creates Mods will fill in any gaps that Bethesda leaves out. I know I've heard the criticisms that Bethesda let's their fans finish their games blah blah blah It never really mattered to me, they do their job they bring the game to fruition, modders only improve, add to, and enhance it, and I don't see anything wrong with that. It's due to the combined efforts of Both Bethesda and the modders, that makes their games go above and beyond.

[@sentinelkevin7375]

@@gensteps923 Finally, someone who understands the importance of both the Bethesda team and the modders. Bethesda makes the base game and the tools and features that come along with it. Then the modders improve it beyond imagining and we have the pleasure to enjoy the result. It's practically a team effort. Not some tribalistic competition most people make it out to be.

[@obnoxiouspedant]

Morrowind better game

[@julianvergara5501]

This is probably my favorite video on this channel.

[@LyranVega]

Awesome video Scott.. When will our man Sulan Dres get back to his thieving duties?? 😂😂

[@p.samedi2473]

Oh god I need all those whacky kirkbride- sketches. Pure art.

[@SuperSky9]

Cyrodill's Lore is like a crazy modder's province who installs everything from a trending page except for anything actually Lore Friendly or any Bikini Armor 🤣🤣

[@tedrpz]

It’s possible the god worship by the alessian order was the human understanding of Anu-el that would explain the connection to akatosh since in the elven religion Auri-el proceeds from anu-el akatosh would proceed from the human version of anu-el

[@jaggidfire]

The Minotaur Emperor goes so freaking hard.

[@alienmode-s]

Your videos are so comforting man

[@zJoriz]

You gotta give props to the TES lore masters for not just creating loads of bs origin stories, but making sure many of them directly contradict each other, as they would irl if different cultures or even subcultures are involved. I've seen heated arguments erupt over lore details, with both parties calling the other dumb for not 'seeing the truth' -- again, just like irl. On a side note, thanks for your notes on the Dragon Break. I always interpreted it as "a dragon broke something" or "a dragon broke free", but from your description it sounds more like people were trying to "break the [influence of the] dragon[-related beliefs]", right?

[@egoalter1276]

No. Its more that people broke the dragon (god of time), thus breakimg linear time.

[@zJoriz]

@@egoalter1276 Thx. But honestly, that sounds even stranger. How did people 'break the god of time'?

[@RichyArg]

the empire is actually better divided into several more periods, at least 7 clear ones: 1-The Early Alessian, where the worship of the 8 first became the state faith. 2-The Later Alessian, when the Alessian order took over as state faith and political power and the emperors were basically puppets of the order. 3-The first Interregnum, a span of nearly 3 centuries between the collapse of the alessian empire from widespread rebellion against the order and the rise of reman cyrodiil. 4-The Akaviri Potentate, when the Reman Line ended and the akaviri regents ruled over the empire as emperors in every way but name, with the empire slowly decaying over almost 4 centuries of their rule. 5-The Second Interregnum, which was another period of chaos after the colovian rebellions sucessfully overthrew the last potentate, in this period lot's of men claimed the title of emperor, but few managed to control all of cyrodiil, less managed to rule until their natural death, and even fewer managed to create a dynasty of more than a generation. 6-The Septim dynasty that arose from the Conquests of Talos during the Tiber wars, the first time Tamriel was ever fully unified and also the first state to grant relative equality, at least in paper, to the 8 major races of sentient folk, when the 8 became 9 after the apotheosis of Tiber Septim. 7-The 3rd Interregnum/Mede Dynasty, after the death of martin, the power vacuum was filled by the medes in a couple of decades, and they were mostly a cultural and legal continuation of the septims, but having to deal with the political aftermath of the oblivion crisis they oversaw a period of decay, and with the great war and the white-gold concordat the continuation of Septim legalism was severed.

[@samuelevans1399]

What I'd like to know is, what came first, the star or the gem? Azuras star is a soul gem right? Or is a soul gem a copy of Azuras star? Did the ideal masters steal the idea from her or did she steal it from them? If they stole it from her does that mean there was a different way to enchant weapons other than sending souls to the masters?

[@zacariuswolf8385]

Love that your still making Skyrim content I watched all your build videos ❤

[@Forced2DoThis1]

Bottom line for me. Remen DID ignite the DRAGON FIRES!!!! Therefore that part of the lore must be partially true.

[@darthtatersalad2308]

Honestly, after seeing what happens in some Mesopotamian and Egyptian mythology I don't think the weird Reman sex stuff is exactly that far out there.

[@sinistran2221]

Hey guys, love your content to bits, so well done :) Just a question if I may, which armor mod did you use for the ayleid armor seen in the video? Thanks!

[@RoastGorilla439]

Beyond Skyrim: Cyrodiil

[@domgifford7061]

IDK what I enjoyed more, the beautiful lore and story telling OR the sneak peak into the Skyblivion assets!

[@adamthompson6669]

Showcase soon team we made it to June, 7 days and Fudgemuppet doing the Gods work again, legends keep at it. Another incredible video. Thank you Scott 🎉🎉🎉❤❤❤

[@danielkubicek1323]

Me at the beginning of the video: Oh yeah, the bull stuff and that it was once a jungle. I know this stuff. Me at the end of the video: Reman was born from a what!? And did what!? WYF Kirkbride!?

[@A_Minus007]

As a newbie to Elder Scrolls the style and cadence is HARD AF to keep up with. I've hit rewind so many times 😅

[@jhm5497]

ive been playing since the hay day of oblivion. It still confusing, seriously what other game has a background lore this deep. its as deep as many real cultures. we need a college course.

[@passingrando6457]

​@@jhm5497that's because one of the older lore writers got his college degree in Comparative Religion and Theology.

[@medievalknyght313]

I played a mod for skyrim "the vigilant" and that story made more sense after this.

[@PhilMihaly]

Rule 34 Alessia x Minotaur when?

[@carsonnesbit1178]

Still finding a way to make TES videos, I respect that haha

[@slinkyslink5161]

Man Elder scrolls lore is really awesome but the games are painfully bland and trope-y in comparison. Like, a battle between two dragonborn was what broke solsteim off the mainland to become its own island. Meanwhile in skyrim i can use the mighty voice to push somebody to the ground once every 30 seconds. They have so much amazing lore but if you play the game you just see the empire as "not-rome" and the nords as "not-vikings" when there is just SO much more to them than that.

[@luisenriquelealramirez4181]

Skyrim gives you the wrong idea about de High Elfs

[@alau5643]

Wdym

[@madisonsosa21]

High Elves yes. Thalmor, no.

[@luisenriquelealramirez4181]

@@madisonsosa21 Someone said Thalmor??

[@rjjacob101]

@@madisonsosa21 I think that the thalmor have just as much reason as the companions did to do what they did. They're both groups of racist assholes who murdered a bunch of innocent people for their narrow-minded traditionalist views.

[@badluck5647]

Other the Psijic Order, there isn't much representation of Thalmor opposition in TESV

[@KasirRham]

I suppose it makes sense we don't quite see the full essence or detail of the Empire in Skyrim. Skyrim is not the empire's seat, and the Dovakiin has other concerns. But as always, I watch these videos and instantly want to play Skyrim again.

[@VRatajv]

It's incredible how on surface TES lore is full of poetic heroes and epic conquests, but when you get deeper it become fucked up mix of porn, horror and dark comedy. Beside Reman eating his own semen formed into bread after ejaculating with help of adoptive mother and aunt, creatures like minotaurs or tsaesci ruling over Tamriel and bloody zealots trying to rip apart space and time, there are daughters of coldharbour turned into vampires after being raped to death by Molag Bal and Argonian females which have boobs most likely because Hist forgot their function while altering entire race to look like human and mer. And there is still much more...