Hermaeus Mora | The Elder Scrolls Podcast #30

WELCOME to the Elder Scrolls Podcast with FudgeMuppet. In this episode, Scott, Michael & Drew discuss Hermaeus Mora.
MERCH: teespring.com/...
LISTEN ON THE GO:
SPOTIFY: spoti.fi/2ZxiyO7
ITUNES: podcasts.apple...
HELPFUL LORE VIDS:
Dragonbreaks: • The MOST Confusing Con...
Godhead, CHIM & Amaranth: • There is Only ONE God ...
Complete Guide to Gods: • The COMPLETE Guide to ...
SOCIAL MEDIA:
Scott: / newberrycrunch
Michael: / oldberrychew
Drew: / drewberrymunch
Instagram: / fudgemuppets
Facebook: / fudgemuppet
MERCH: teespring.com/...
Patreon: / fudgemuppet

[@jonaseckhoff4300]

The Daedric prince of unskippable dialogue

[@InquisitorThomas]

While speaking.... incredibly.... SLOWLY.........

[@rhett5058]

I usually just do something else while he’s talking, like taxes, or archiving files.

[@samuelgulizia7711]

@@InquisitorThomas read that in his voice 😂😂😂

[@TheBeardedHydra]

AH, ANOTHER HAND TOUCHES THE BEACON!

[@wreath626]

I.........agreee..............he...is......long.. winded.........

[@buckrichards3965]

This has nothing to do with this but I had a revalation. Ik how the courier always finds you. He's probably a low level magic caster and uses clairvoyance to lead him to his goal which is the dragonborn.

[@idipped2521]

Makes sense

[@naji_aka_Tracey]

Nice one 😄

[@KotyandMax9000]

Fuck yes dude. Case closed.

[@aesopbricktop]

Love it.

[@dragonmaster3030]

Then where's his mage robes or at least why don't you ever see the clarivoience path

[@subhuman8945]

ngl, the most immersive playthrough I ever did was an illusion mage named Tai Lopez searching for KNOWLEDGE in Apocrypha a *novice* illusion mage

[@naemek9675]

Lmao, good one.

[@king_kebab2949]

NAAledge

[@KhanCrete]

hermaeus mora harvests my brain and just finds grilled cheese recipes

[@rozu7772]

Valuable knowledge to have. 😀

[@ZeroSeriesMMX]

Crap... Now I'm scared Mora will access my browser history... in incognito mode. XD

[@alpharius2omegaboogaloo384]

@@ZeroSeriesMMX Fool he IS your browser history!

[@SergeantKeeganPRuss]

Harvesting my brain and finding tentacle hentai and questioning when he did it because he doesn't remember when he did it to the girls..

[@HickoryDickory86]

**cut to five minutes later, where we find Hermaeus Mora eating a grilled cheese, humming delightfully to himself**

[@bigode9743]

I like to see The Woodland Man symbolizing the fear that manifests from not knowing something in the woods. In that sense, the pursuit of knowledge could be dangerous as in you could comeback from the woods a wiser being but you could also die from something ambushing you. Building on that, i see Gardener of Men as in he removes the "weeds", or the weak-minded, with the knowledge that he offers. So only those truly deserving of his favor remain sane.

[@martijnvanweele6204]

OOOOOOOOOH! Who lives in a library under the sea? HERMA-MORA! Knowledgeable, eldritch and squid-like is he? HERMA-MORA! If forbidden knowledge is something you seek? HERMA-MORA! Then read a Black Book filled with tentacled freaks! HERMA-MORA!

[@MegaNikos44]

Dankje Martijn, heel gaaf

[@bobbywasabi5982]

This is great. I enjoy this comment.

[@teal_m_101]

Heremeus Mora. The Daedric prince of speaking very slowly so people can understand what you're saying.

[@electricc437]

I would love to learn to talk slowly. The way i talk, i might as well be a contender for the position of The Daedric prince of speaking very quickly so people don't understand what you're saying.😂

[@thefourmoodgroups2589]

Weeeelllll ssssaaaaiiiiiddd.

[@jyggalagthedaedricprinceof8459]

I agree. I can never have a proper conversation with him.

[@Antiluls]

part of the perk 'tardspeak'

[@ltloxa1159]

@@jyggalagthedaedricprinceof8459 Why is that? Did he forget about the Oblivion crisis? ;)

[@he77hawk.71]

You guys are easily top 3 channels without you life would be boring love you

[@naemek9675]

You mean top 1

[@he77hawk.71]

@@naemek9675 in my opinion it fluctuates but they are always top 3 and the most important channel I know

[@MJVDragonslayer]

@@he77hawk.71 what’s the other 2?

[@gabenvandenbrink9114]

@@MJVDragonslayer Probably amouranth and belle delphine

[@arandompigeon1031]

I had a thought, could mora’s “tentacles” actually be roots... I will explain... plant roots take In nutrients and water; his “roots” or tentacles could take In knowledge. That would explain some of his names such a the woodland-man. Another example would be look what he did to the elder skald when Mora took the secret from his mind.

[@ltloxa1159]

Secrets are best kept if your talking outlasts the listeners lifespan.

[@EinFelsbrocken]

@@N3KRoM3KHANIKaL That asks interesting questions. Is something a "real" secret as long as only one mind knows about it? Or is a secret something only a few know and would never disclose? Forbidden knowledge implies that someone forbids it; so it also implies that the secret spread a bit too far. Etc; etc; I mean; Im rambling, but its fun to think about :)

[@yigitdemir3723]

My favourite Daedric Prince.

[@sleepingsnorlax9948]

He’s easily my favourite Daedra. I love the idea of his knowledge being infinite and spanning across different time and realities. His realm is the only one I’d actively search for. The idea of wandering the halls and learning of things nobody else possibly could is astounding to me. I love philosophy and I think that it ties into it a bit. He literally has no set time, he can appear to anyone in any time or reality because he is the Prince of Fate, he takes knowledge from things that may have already happened, to things yet to happen, and even in different time lines where something may never have happened. The Black Books being gifts to those who’ve braved his realms, offering infinite knowledge and power is a possibility, there are infinite things to know, as there are infinite realities to learn from. It’s a downward spiral if you can’t separate yourself from the realm’s draw. I’ve always loved him and how he can manipulate people so easily. He knows all. He knows all fate. He knows the Dragonborn will defeat Miraak and replace him as champion even if they don’t ask for it. The Dragonborn can even deny Mora had any hand in it, but no matter how you look at it he did. Fate to him is predetermined, he knows that if he is to lose Miraak or if Miraak wins, Mora will always be a step ahead, he’s seen the movie years before it was made. He can pull any strings he wants to get his preferred outcome, technically having infinite tries to get that outcome. Mora himself is unbeatable. As a Daedra there are stronger and more impressive, but Mora sees all before it is written. How can you defeat a thing that knows what you’ll do before you even have the time to decide? You can’t. No matter how it turns out, he wins. That is awesome to me. Also he’s the only person I can do a good impression of in Skyrim so that’s the cherry on the cake I guess.

[@JohnDoe-nq4du]

So, basically Mora's David Zanitos if he had access to the VHS shelf from Spaceballs.

[@codecixteen]

I think this Prince is an example of an entity achieving a kind of CHIM and choosing to remain in the simulation. Another entity who has achieved that could potentially challenge him but I don't think it would be interesting to them.

[@LandStrider23]

I've seen enough anime to know where this is going.

[@cybus01]

When you were talking about beings that experience past, present and future all at once but still manage to make mistakes and slip up, I remembered a scene from Dragon Ball Super where Whis was using Ultra Instinct- a technique that allows perfect reaction time to incoming stimuli- he still managed to accidentally step in a pile of poop. The point is, perhaps the reason they are able to be tricked and stolen from is that they're so focused on the bigger picture and all the information that it holds to the point that they can sometimes overlook and/or ignore seemingly 'inconsequential' events.

[@jonKowalski3210]

Drew's point at 19:00 is really interesting. Good food for thought.

[@burgessballenas9332]

Kept having nightmares about Hermaeus, always after I beat his questline. He always tells me to never cheat him.

[@EinFelsbrocken]

I once dreamt abt Herma Mora too; years ago in my first playthrough; but in my dream he was just one smol tentacle on the ground and I squished it.. 😐

[@lolosh99]

@@EinFelsbrocken interesting

[@fatgirl92876]

I was watching this while cleaning my room and right when my mom walked you guys said he has a tentacle in every hole that was an interesting conversation

[@jouzelfeather-pelt7686]

Herma Mora’s wagging tongue! -A curse said by Nords

[@Alpha1200]

When I think about people going insane in Hermaeus Mora's realm I think about something like this: You are a powerful wizard who's sister died when she was young but you never found out who did it. This has haunted you for your entire life. So you go to Mora's realm to find the answer. You search and search and search through the book cases and eventually you find a book with your dead sister's name on it. You read through it and it all seems to be complete jibberish. Random signs and symbols strewn throughout, breaking apart the words. But eventually you realize something. If you count the dot on every "i" and the strip of every "T" it's morse code. So you find out there's a message in the book that translates to morse code. And it spells out a phrase in a language you've never seen before. So you go search throughout the library more and more, you find a gigantic section containing dictionaries of all languages ever spoken. And you search. And eventually you find a book with words you recognise as some of those translated from the morse code. You become excited, you'll finally know what happened to your sister. You translate the morse code and it says "Her existence was one with barat and barat takes all that is his." The word barat is untranslatable. So you figure it might be a name or a realm of Oblivion or something. So you start searching through more and more books until you find a book full of phrases about barat. But you still don't know what it is. So you try to decode the sentences of that book. What it might mean. And so on and on and on. And every time you figure out one of these riddles it just brings you to a new riddle. And no matter how many hundreds or thousands of years you search you will only find riddle after riddle after riddle and never actually figure out why your sister died, even though every time you figure out a riddle you'll feel like you're "so close" to finally uncovering it. I think that's what it's like.

[@kuyt7504]

I'm glad I read this. It really helped me understand. Thank you.

[@EinFelsbrocken]

Hmmmh; hasnt this been done in any legend or book or similar already? It sounds like a fun 30 page story or so to write. Have some recurring symbol that turns out to be nothing but an indicator of being caught already; have Mora fade in and out in the skies, leaving the character to believe in some kind of divine guidance; have some kind of friendly-ish librarian/bookkeeper daedra that appears to be helpful; but really only helps the character fall deeper into eternal madness...etc etc. Seems like it could be interesting. Im just thinking about what the resolution of the whole thing should be. If we just leave it at "character is now forever caught in Moras realm" its a bit lame and obvious. Maybe the character DOES find out who killed his sister; against all odds; and accidently mantles Mora by managing to complete an unfeasible task? Maybe the character transforms into one of those creepy fuckers from Moras realm? Or he finds out that in truth his sister killed him as a sacrifice to Mora; and that he is just a soul wandering in a realm of oblivion? Ehhh; idk

[@thalmoragent9344]

@@EinFelsbrocken Well, wouldn't his sister be dead, the whole reason he went to Mora in the first place?

[@WilliamNobleBonnin]

Was expecting to be Rick rolled or to lose the game or something at the end of this. What a let down

[@awendigowithinternetaccess4400]

@@EinFelsbrocken Now I want to try and write this.

[@joshadams5709]

"Eating red pills like cereal" I spit out my Froot Loops at that LMAO

[@Mary_Beth_Reimer]

I really hope your parents are proud of you guys! I am proud to say I raised two kids who still game as adults, & are even raising the next generation of gamers! ❤️💜💙

[@RebelInTheF.D.G]

Scott's haircut makes me wanna watch Titan A.E.

[@bovrar2nd861]

And here fellas, we see a man of culture.

[@brandonzero07]

My bad for my ignorance but is Titan A.E?

[@silentsigma2917]

@@brandonzero07 an animated movie made in the early 2000 if i remember well.

[@brandonzero07]

@@silentsigma2917 ohh ok, what's the full name? What dies A.E stand for?

[@arwanrhys5186]

Titan A E is the name of the anime, A E stands for [spoiler] After Earth

[@darkpurpleinsanity9461]

A question I came up with during this podcast was, is Hermaeus Mora even a Daedric Prince, or was he originally one? Yes, I know, it sounds tin-foil hat-ish, but hear me out. He may be considered a Daedric Prince, and how he interacts with mortals and even other Daedra may make him seem like one, but one of the big Lovecraftian themes is that the horror is outside context. Is Mora even originally from that reality? Is he like Meridia, and started off as something else before becoming a Daedric Prince? Because looking at his spheres, Fate and Knowledge, he doesn't seem able to control either very well. He isn't all powerful or all-knowing, despite supposedly being in control of FATE and KNOWLEDGE. And he collects forbidden knowledge. Forbidden to mortals, or forbidden to him? After all, the secrets of the Skall weren't forbidden to the Skall, they were forbidden to Mora. What if he came into the world from another dimension (or something similar) and then proceeded to collect a bunch of forbidden knowledge, get mistaken for a god, proceed to gain a cult, get attached to the idea of having a bunch of mortal followers get him stuff he'd have to actually work for otherwise, and over time people just assumed he was a Daedric Prince of knowledge because, well, what ELSE would he be? tl:dr, What if Hermaeus Mora wasn't actually a god but an eldritch horror who lied on its resume and got the job anyway

[@gabenvandenbrink9114]

I don't think he's from a different 'dimension'. Imo that wouldn't really make sense in the Elder Scrolls universe. I've never read any claim or theory about a different dimension existing. I think he does fit in with the creation story of anu and padomay. What could be though, that instead of being a daedric prince, he is one of the Magna-ge that came back to mundus to gain more knowledge. It also fits him as a follower of Magnus, him being the source of magic on mundus in the first place.

[@whatgamesweplay]

so basically old herma mora is an ongoing dragon break that never ends

[@alpharius2omegaboogaloo384]

Yesn’t

[@leek.3671]

@@alpharius2omegaboogaloo384 😂

[@thefourmoodgroups2589]

I mean I admit I gave it a like before watching because it was uploaded seconds ago, but who would give it a dislike before watching it? Damn.

[@saerbhreathach540]

I had mastered the ogham infinum glitch to the point where I could chug out a level 81.5 character in under 8 hours. 😁

[@LadyCoyKoi]

Yeah that glitch isn't possible with the Switch. 😥

[@TJFaller]

My dad laid this gem on me at a young age, "Son, you don't know what you don't know". And I take that to heart to this day. Out of all the things I've learned, and all the things I haven't learned... there is a far more vast and expansive universe of things that I couldn't possibly even start to imagine, to even picture. To be able to understand something, it has to be an idea first. There are things that we have yet to encounter and we may never encounter in our time on this Earth or in this universe... and we may never know what they are.

[@aslandarklion8094]

The fear of the unknown... HP lovecraft in the Hermeus Mora video sounds about right.

[@gaminreasons8941]

My favorite Daedra. Without question.

[@birdiepitchfeather63]

Oh yes, mine too

[@jonKowalski3210]

I think an interesting discussion could have been had over the connection between souls and fate. In Oblivion, the HM cult needs souls to perform their divination and Azura, who deals woth prophecy, has her artifact as an infinitely usable soul gem. If there is a connection between souls and fate, it might give more of a motivation for Mora to want followers and trapping people in their library.

[@Lojeb44]

Scott, the word you're looking for is Avon, which meant river in Celtic

[@jefthereaper]

By far the most interesting character for myself in the entire Elder Scrolls Universe. Considering the vast knowledge he has, you can't help but wonder how much he really knows about the actual workings of the Aurbis as a whole. The real question here is, considering the wacky lore of the TES universe, are all of his followers really going insane? or are some of them like Septimus, seemingly talking in riddles, while in reality they are simply trying their best to describe the crazy unknowable machinations of the Aurbis in mere mortal words? As trying to explain all that in mortal terms is near impossible.

[@maxgoss5653]

My favorite daedric prince In the elder scrolls , bc as little finger once said on GOT , “Knowledge is power.”

[@lastrare2276]

Not gonna lie, you guys have passed shoddycast as my favorite tes channel :)

[@Lennette20th]

Isn’t it easier to think of the deadra in relation to time in a similar way to the Doctor. Existing outside the flow of time does not mean that a being isn’t a singularity. Linear to the participant, but not the observer.

[@baileybevan2651]

I was really confused by that idea because if they were in the future and past simultaneously they would know everything, but thinking about it like this makes so much sense.

[@Ho0pxr]

Vicns mod really made a great connection between jhunal and mora that I can't get over and feels completely right.

[@Seifiros]

Need more of Black Books, specifically the ones that would contain all of Michael Kirkbride's writings. Seems fitting.

[@RWNetworkEX]

You guys a perfect example of when your friends like the same things you like so you can talk about it

[@austincorreia53]

Nothing better than a lazy Sunday and a new episode of my favorite podcast!🤘🤘🤘

[@markuswelander8551]

If they develop different languages and symbols and such in ES6, an interesting artifact from Hermaeeous Mora could be something that allows one to dispense with illusions prevalent in the material world.

[@chuckchuckerson5364]

Lol the Buffalo Wings thing made me laugh. Buffalo, New York is indeed where the name comes from, which is obvious as an American, but understandably confusing for people elsewhere. This perfectly fit the point you were making. 😁👍

[@TheMooseOnTheLeft]

Buffalo sounded a bit mythical the way they were talking about it at first. Is it a place? Is it a person's last name? Are we actually taking about a real buffalo? I had a good laugh.

[@crandleberrysadie]

Oh... This is the one I've been waiting for! TY guys! 🙏

[@DoDDz1lla]

43:32 It is a runic compass from Scandinavia, its a protective symbol to help the wearer not get lost and find their way back.

[@jonKowalski3210]

That's really interesting, considering in the Bosmer mythology, Mora sorta does the opposite of that, tricking people and losing them in the forest.

[@Chu8rock]

It's actually icelandic and is Christian in origin.

[@DoDDz1lla]

@@Chu8rock I didn't know it was Christian? Could you point me to some sources so I can learn for next time. Wouldn't Iceland be considered a part of Scandinavia?

[@Chu8rock]

@@DoDDz1lla Technically it isn't Scandinavia. The Vegvisir shows up as early as 1880 in Iceland. Arith Härger here on KZbin has a good video on it.

[@DoDDz1lla]

@@Chu8rock Thank you, I'm always looking to improve my knowledge

[@PrinceVega]

Scott, you're rocking those glasses. They look great on you! 👍

[@chrisbritt4266]

Buffalo wings come from a sauce originally invented in the City of Buffalo New York and it became so popular there that it became I think near worldwide phenomenon over time

[@ferristhered1401]

Ah, just how I like to start my Sunday morning. Though, because time zones . . . good evening, guys!

[@slurmsmckenzie1390]

Deadric Prince of Tentacle Hentia Monsters here we go! lol

[@josephrbidenjr9508]

Im from Buffalo in the United States. The “buffalo wings” are chicken wings cooked in our buffalo style, typically with hot or spicy “buffalo sauce” which originated at the Anchor Bar- which isnt as good these days as they used to be.

[@donkilla1589]

Ayyyyy fellow Buffalo inhabiter

[@brandoncoulter-peterson7201]

At 43:38 the image on the left of the Oghma Infinium looks very similar to the layout of the imperial city with the prison and arcane university being the smaller circles.

[@aidanabbott3686]

As a Buffalonian, I can confirm that Buffalo wings originated here, are our only source of local pride, and if you call them “Buffalo wings” here you’ll get a lot of dirty looks lmao

[@marieseide6722]

I use to play Skyrim on my Xbox 360, my Xbox was very old but it managed to work for years before and after my mom bought it for me when I was little, a few days ago when I tried to turn it on it wouldn’t turn on, I remember my mom told me this day would come where it would eventually break down and shut off forever, I keep it in my room as a memory

[@teawrecks4140]

I always personally wanted Hermy to have some kind of artifact that enabled the user to "absorb" the knowledge and memories of someone they've killed (something like a ring or sword etc) Dunno how we could game-mechanic it in... but that's Bethesda's job 😂

[@mistermidenight]

killing a necromancer levels conjuration? that kind of thing might work, you get better at what they were good at

[@MidoriOfTheShuinsen]

@@mistermidenight just one more reason to murder literally everyone in game

[@jefthereaper]

As for what happens when you are "in a black book" Going from whatever lore and dialogue I found on the topic, you basically become this spectral transparent being holding the book with the tentacles wrapped around you. Nobody seemingly is able to interact physically with you, meaning its likely somewhat the same as the effect seen when using "Mora's Grasp" power. (its description also stating you trap an enemy between Mundus and Oblivion for the duration of the power) So while your body is physically frozen in Mundus, completely unaffected by time and physical intervention, your soul will be in Apocrypha. However, your soul will be unable to be "killed", as it will be drawn back to your body via the book if you come close to dying. (wherever soul trap would work on you or would sever the connection is a different question altogether) Miraak's knowledge and power were great in that regard, considering he was capable of teleporting you back to his "arena" on top of the tower if you tried to jump off. Not sure if you can actually die during that battle, but if it was then its likely due to Miraak being a Dragonborn, who's natural ability to absorb a Dragon's Soul would take the Last Dragonborn's instead of allowing it to return to its body via the black book.

[@adamthompson6669]

Thanks again team ❤️ great work as always.

[@TheTaylorSmart]

Been waiting for this episode for a long time😍

[@baileybevan2651]

With the language thing, it reminds me of how welsh places sound to english people (i’m welsh) because a lot of places have “llan” as a prefix which means church in welsh because they’re basically “area surrounding church at x place” in welsh but in english they just sound like a unique word. For example there is a place called Llanishen (spelt Llanisien in welsh) which just means “church of St Isien”

[@morrigankasa570]

It is more like the Daedra/Aedra see all futures, pasts, and presents but cause there is so many they can't tell which future will happen until it happens. A total Multiverse.

[@kohuta4242]

Bet, someone from Bethesda watches FudgeMuppet and it turns out this channel influences what ES6 will turn out.

[@Chu8rock]

There was a guy on Google+ that got a job there, wouldn't be surprised.

[@Azure_VT]

In my opinion since oblivion has different time when books move threw time from mora’s realm He’s not allowed to collect them. And princes have restriction when it come to time their rules they have not allow them

[@socallednedjmax]

oh boy 55 minutes, here we go wait it's over already???

[@DavidAGroves]

Shout out to the Eckhart Tolle reference “the power of now.” Such a great book.

[@DavetheNord]

Drew's contribution...a knob joke! Brilliant!!! xD My Drogonborn ends up joining the Greybeards btw!

[@yoube9575]

Loved his quest in oblivion .

[@themischeifguide]

I was looking forward to this, Ol' Herma Mora is my favorite.

[@trevinwhiteley2730]

In Capn’ Dugal’s Journal Part II, Dugal refers to throwing his old captain, who was killed in a mutiny, over board, as tossing him “to the depths for Herm’us Mora to feast on.” I think that’s a sick connection to the aquatic view the Khajiit have of him, and makes him feel more like a god associated with the oceans depths if pirates are using that as slang.

[@timothy8428]

Not 'if' Hermaeus Mora harvests our brains, but 'when'. Oh God!

[@mildlydazed9608]

Oh wow another week has passed. Herma Mora is one of the more interesting princes can't wait to wake up while getting some Elder scrolls knowledge.

[@LaylaSpellwind]

In the black book where you die in the light. Magelight keeps you alive. ^_^ Grow your own angler fish lantern!

[@Blue6R505]

My favorite Daedric prince, he reminds me of the elder God from the game Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver. I would love to see and elder scrolls game revolve around he and his followers. Giving you, the character, the option to become his champion or work against his plotand eventually work towards defeating him

[@The_Petrichor]

I saw the title... "I have returned home, father. Home to Apocrypha."

[@berilsevvalbekret772]

I think the reason gods can be tricked is like you touched is both ever changing nature of the future and perhaps the princes limit their perceptions as well. I mean they don't force their will or mind control the mortals or constantly read their minds either. Boredom is a constant of the prince's lives if you can call it that. Knowing too much of the future might screw with their fun.

[@mikebolt7048]

Hermaeus should get a staff with a literal brain and spine attached to it. It could sap intelligence and magicka, boost magicka and increase the speed of learning skills.

[@gabibourgeois6654]

best daedric prince. he isnt as evil as some of his fellow princes. he really just loves to learn and collect knowlege.

[@elijahebbert6884]

a bit too much

[@naji_aka_Tracey]

Love the podcasts. I start my week with the most recent. Great work. Much appreciated.

[@EJDubbz]

28:30. The brain in jar, even the "I do not like those urns..." are ideas and tones directly taken from Lovecraft, e.g. The Whisperer in Darkness

[@austinhathaway182]

I have this cool thought about the last dragon born reaching out to different dragon borns from different timelines and realities in apocratha with the books. ElderScrolls multiverse of madness!!

[@phoenixjklin]

At 43:30 the symbol in the middle of the right picture is called "Vegvisir". Translated it basically means "Shows the way" but also "signpost" and "wayfinder", like a compass. It's an icelandic magical stave "intended to help the bearer find their way through rough weather". I'm definitely curious why they decided to use it in the context of the Oghma Infinium. The symbol depicted in the Oghma Infinium seems to be rotated, and some minor differences exist, but I've also seen many variations of the symbol, and it's most definitely, absolutely, undeniably STILL identifiable as the Vegvisir. Again, I'm really curious so if anyone knows more about why they used it please feel free to enlighten me. :)

[@Jimmyinvictus]

Seeing how Hermaeus Mora would handle Schrodinger's Cat and elements of quantum mechanics would be entertaining! Also, I love his visual appearance in Skyrim; I've read that Cthulhu (an entity that moves in higher dimensions) doesn't really look like a fat dinosaur/dragon with an Octopus for a head. That's how our perceptions and brains, which are used to operating in three dimensional space, process Cthulhu's appearance. Mora almost certainly is existing in TES's version of higher dimensions and his shifting amorphous form we perceive is our poor mortal brain struggling to comprehend what we're seeing. ("Flatland" presented a simplified version of this where one dimensional creatures could only perceive a three dimensional creature as a constantly changing shape as it passed through the single dimension of Flatland; Carl Sagan had a great presentation demonstrating this.

[@LadyCoyKoi]

Here is what I had concluded about the "male" Daedric Princes. Hermaeus Mora is that guy you go to to help with your homework and makes paranormal investigations interesting (learning about the unknown is fascinating). Sheogorath is that guy that helps you escape the pains of reality and embrace your flaws. Sanguine is that guy that shows you that life isn't all that bad after all. Malacath is that guy that shows you the right way of doing things. Mehrunes Dagon is that guy that tells you you can overcome your obstacles, rebel and do better. Hircine is that guy that shows you how to be self reliant and live by and with Nature. Clavicus Vile is that guy that warns you to be careful what you wish for. And Molag Bal is that guy you never want to come across with or meet ever.

[@PrecisionPony]

Hermaeus Mora might not be able to look into the future to obtain information he doesn't have, like in the case with the Skaal, if him obtaining that information is dependent on mortals that would be strong enough to resist his influence. The Dragonborn for example has the option to deny being Hermaeus' new puppet after killing Miraak.

[@YagrumBagarn69]

Kinda dumb of Mora to oust his mightiest champion simply for the knowledge of an esoteric Nord clan. Even more so when you realize he has no actual way of keeping you as his champion, lol I dumped his books off in a volcanic pit after the dlc. The mod where you can save Mirrak also make Mora look weaker and even less all knowing.

[@podtherod9304]

Scott’s right, Buffalo wings are named after Buffalo, New York

[@aggressivenipples8391]

Ya know maybe the fact that you don't die in Apocrypha is that the book summons you to Apocrypha in the same way that a conjurer summons a dremora to Nirn. And like when a dremora summon is killed, they just get banished back to the deadlands. Likewise when the LDB dies in Apocrypha, he gets banished back to Nirn.

[@zarrg5611]

It is said that he has enslaved a Demi-prince named Mhann-ei, a strange ape like creature with long flowing hair, looking almost like a twisted version of a nord. Herma Mora sets him menial tasks: cleaning Apocrypha, serving him the finest wines brewed by Sanguine, and dealing with visitors to his realm seeking rare books of lore. Despite Mhann-ei's efforts, he receives nothing but abuse from his master, who always wants more of him. He is however treated well by Mephala when she visits the realm to converse with Hermaeus Mora.

[@midshipman8654]

the word and language conversation was very interesting.

[@joedoe6472]

Man, Checks time - see it's 11:58pm Me: Time for a little nap before work Fudgemuppet: Woah Woah Woah, let's not be to hasty here. By Namira this is perfect timing

[@jameshchilds]

Fun fact, that book where the seeker talks to the brain in the jar is what happens inside of the lovecraftian book "the whisperer in darkness". The monsters are Mi-Gos who can take the brain from a human, put in inside of a jar, and make them be able to "live" inside of said jars. They still retain all of their senses, including speech, but being inside of these jars makes them immortal in a sense, and can travel to different dimensions and all of that fun jazz. So cool reference to hear after you just read about it the day before lol

[@aberami6090]

That’s a solid conjecture to say That Herma Mora isn’t omnipotent because he’s constantly distracted with affairs of the physical domain; you guys are so wise =]

[@AshleyIsArtsy]

Very fitting that Hermaeus Mora's podcast is the one with a huge (and interesting!) linguistic theory discussion

[@shirtlessbanditc3268]

Lmao the Buffalo wing dialogue 😂

[@blazedgamingkr1438]

( *looks at Scott* ) How did you guys get Johnny Depp on your podcast?

[@Jason-fv4rg]

Watching 2 Aussies and a Brit figure out the origins of buffalo wings made my day. The term refers mostly to the sauce used on the wings, which you can make at home by combining a whole-ass bottle of Tabasco Sauce with 2 sticks of butter and heating it up. Bake or fry some chicken wings and toss them in the fatty, spicy goodness and boom... buffalo wings.

[@Dylpickle1122]

Scott was right about the Buffalo wings. The sauce was named after Buffalo, New York where the sauce was from!

[@faroosiexe]

I love this channel

[@AJsFigures]

In the dragonborn DLC Mora's aesthetics and vibe is very Lovecraftian and I love it

[@jyggalagthedaedricprinceof8459]

His looks have always been very unique.

[@Heyec]

I like the idea that Hermaeus Mora chuckling at learning: Buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo.

[@DeathWard187]

Psychics stay vague so your direct knowledge doesn't manipulate the future, but instead changes your subconcious ability to navigate and alter the future if you have a better idea of whats going to happen. Knowing exactly what happens in the future could alter it.

[@seanhayden893]

I live about 90 minutes from Buffalo NY and I can confirm the buffalo wing lore.

[@SirknightDevoir]

Very fun to see this episode after suggesting it on Twitter a while back. Favorite daedric prince by far.

[@jyggalagthedaedricprinceof8459]

Ó╭╮Ò

[@Bpowers313]

I know many people believe that Mora claims the last Dragonborn and he becomes his champion, but my head cannon will always be that Akatosh has final claim on the Dragonborn’s soul. Since the Dragonborn’s soul is essentially a part of Akatosh, it makes sense that he would have first dibs whenever the Dragonborn dies. I have a feeling that Bethesda will keep it open ended and will just do a “Last seen on Solstheim” kinda thing

[@thegoggle823]

I wonder if his ties to "fate" are just a consequence of his hunger for information. The more he knows, the more he can extrapolate the future. Sort of the idea that if you knew the position and direction of every particle in the universe you could extrapolate into the past and the future.