What Makes a Dragonborn? | Elder Scrolls Lore

[@theemerdareloth]

Unintentionally called u/DovahOfTheNorth u/DovahOfTheVoice. Brain rot from Elder Scrolls: Legends - my bad! Hello everyone, I hope that you all walk away form this video having learned something new. The original goals I had when going into this were to clear things up surrounding the issues of Alessia and Dragon's Blood vs Dragon's Soul thing. It eventually turned into a month long research project that incorporated as much Dragonborn lore as possible in order to try to figure out what the deal is with these guys. Ultimately, the answer to "What Makes a Dragonborn?" was not as simple as you may originally think. It's almost inevitable that someone will disagree with my research here or have a problem with the way I did or explained something -- and that's okay. I'd just ask that you articulate your problems with the video for me that way I can address the criticisms to improve my next video. Leaving comments like "This guy sucks" or "Wow. That was stupid," are not helpful lol. If you think this video sucked, tell me WHY. Anyway, please check out Imperial Knowledge's Channel and any of the Artist's whose work I used in this video (links in the description): www.youtube.com/@ImperialKnowledge Thanks for watching, and if you'd like to leave a like, comment, or subscription, that would be great. Thanks, - Dareloth

[@A9hl6fgx5ebisb72op]

peak mentioning peak?

[@denisrivarola2387]

Man I loved the SIr Patrick Stewart picture, great video lml

[@joshalmightyblades]

@@theemerdareloth WAY TO MANY ADDS BRO. UNSUBSCRIBE ✌️

[@gameheathens2480]

We’re not hating on the people in the editors of the video. I haven’t even watched it and I already know that this is a little pretentious don’t you think?

[@20starcombomaker]

@theemerdareloth so many dragon questions still unanswered: • What exactly IS the true power of the dragonborn? Is it just permanently consuming dragon souls? • What exactly is dragon magic that they provided to the dragon priests and their masks that were so special? Did they teach the proto-nords how to extend their lives to become dragur for so long? • what's the difference between the fire of a shout and a destruction spell other than how it's essentially casted? Can each shout be classified into magic schools like destruction and alteration? • what is akatosh's secret of life and the glamoril that shalidor was working on? • why can dragon priests levitate? • so many people are attributing the amulet of kings to shezzar, but why did akatosh come out when it was broken? • why is akatosh depicted with the head of a man when when we see him, he is purely a dragon and also only referred to as such?

[@Mydogatemycomment]

What makes a Dragonborn? Simple. 100 Archery 100 Stealth and FUS RO DAH when things get a little shaky

[@Bigman_Carson]

@@Mydogatemycomment what makes me a good dragonborne? If i were a bad dragonborne I wouldn't be sitting her discussing it with you now would i?

[@underwatersalamander]

@@Mydogatemycomment and an old man's back

[@frostatine]

16 times the dragon, 16 times the born

[@durzoblint3600]

I never understood the stealth archer thing. I always play a battlemage type character.

[@lordtorrhen]

@@durzoblint3600 I agree. I’m always a spell sword type build. Stealth Archers will never have my respect.

[@ImperialKnowledge]

About to watch a banger Edit: thanks for the shout out haha, my video got delayed for a week or two or so due to irl stuff. Sorry about that :(

[@theemerdareloth]

My subs are used to waiting a while for large content, haha.

[@ethanspringer8190]

We will be eager to watch still I’ll be looking for it!

[@shanbruland]

@@ImperialKnowledge I LOOOVVVEEE that you're here

[@paradoxenterprises727]

😮 Omg it's the guy! It's the guy from the thing eer

[@owloko1349]

I love that when Parthunax says dovah kin it feels so different, like his voice has a longing to it, you can feel he is being honest when he says it's a pleasure to speak to one of his kind. Great VA, for the best character in the game

[@pkmntrainerlilly5]

It's the same VA for Mario, the Nintendo character. That man has range.

[@owloko1349]

@@pkmntrainerlilly5 wow really? I heard of that meme before, but didn't know it was true. The man has waaay to much range lol

[@SiegmundXD7]

my favorite meta-take involving the dragonborn is that, as a being blessed by akatosh, something as simple as the save menu you have access to in-game is a direct representation of abilities of precognition and control over fate. There's a precedent for dragonborns having insight and wisdom beyond mortal ken, especially with the septims, the Last Dragonborn just gets lambasted with how they could die in a given situation before doing it right "the first time"

[@adamfighter358]

@@SiegmundXD7save menu and stuff is more about the last dragonborn being a prisoner tho since all protagonists have it.

[@SiegmundXD7]

@@adamfighter358 yeah it doesn't hold up under scrutiny if you attribute it to being dragonborn specifically

[@weir9996]

@@adamfighter358 But not all protagonists are prisoners how does the Agent have save powers?

[@Pandemia616]

​@@weir9996 Chim baby 😎

[@DeviCerberus]

I think all ES protags just have CHIM.

[@rejvaik00]

_'What makes me a good dragon born?' If I was a _*_bad_*_ dragon born I wouldn't be sitting here discussing it with you now would I?_ - Meet the Dragon born

[@jacobnicola5950]

"Dad? Dad, I'm a- Ye- Not a "Nerevarine", dad, I'm a Dragonborn! ...Well, the difference bein' one is a job and the other's a divine sickness!"

[@Galimeer5]

40:24 I beg your pardon, but Miraak uses a super saiyan dragon power up and he transitions between phases by using a four-word dragon shout (breaking the rules of how shouts are supposed to work) to one-shot dragons to absorb their souls which refills his health bar. Miraak is _absolutely_ doing cool dragonborn shit during the boss fight

[@deadsoul7409]

Agreed, I like this guy's videos but his miraak slander is insane. Lol

[@Aerosmith1999-j6h]

Which we don't even have. It totally puts Miraak on a different level from us. And we kill Alduin. I think this was Secret Knowledge given to Miraak by Mora. And at that point, is it really any different, gaining knowledge from Mora, than it is for knowledge to be obtained from a Word Wall? I mean, there are some that give us the entire Shout, and not just parts. They are rare, but do exist.

[@natetaylor9002]

@ 42:35, the 'Dragonborn can see more than regular men' = explains WHY the Last Dragonborn can see Vampires for what they really are (where everyone else seems clueless)!!

[@deadsoul7409]

Maybe dragonborns can see/sense the souls of others? That's much cooler then just being able to see vampire eyes.

[@natetaylor9002]

@@deadsoul7409 Dragonborns see MORE than Vampire eyes...they also see the ugly vampire ridges on their faces....hehe

[@B31NG]

@@natetaylor9002except serana, shes fine asf

[@azzor4134]

@@natetaylor9002 to be fair, those details were added *after* the Dawnguard DLC; before Dawnguard, well-fed vampires were nearly indistinguishable from normal people. So it used to make sense before some dev forgot that vampires were supposed to be wolves in sheep's clothing

[@elderliddle2733]

Remember too, Arengier says “You are Dragonborn, but whether you are the only Dragonborn remains to be seen.” There have likely been more than one Dragonborn in any given age.

[@edd4131]

Haven’t finished the vid, but man the Skyrim theme song still fucking slaps as the day I first heard it. 😅

[@theemerdareloth]

It's so good. I feel like I didn't appreciate it for a long time, but it is such an iconic track.

[@edd4131]

@@theemerdareloth bro I feel the same way, like hearing it in your video made it just click for some reason. Like oh yeah, this song is classic.

[@dinckelman]

One thing i find fascinating is that every generation of the Blades has historically been loyal guards to the Dragonborn, but in TES5 you somehow become their underling

[@stevemccann4166]

@@dinckelman Having them telling DB to kill PartySnax being a prime example. I got the parthanax Dilemma mod and told Delphine that I wasn’t having the tail wagging the dog or words to that effect.

[@MediumChungus223]

I think Delphine makes it fairly simple. She says "We are returning the Blades to their roots: Dragon Slayers." The Dragonborn is the ultimate Dragonslayer, being able to permanently absorb their soul and destroying it. However, mortals are perfectly capable of killing dragons, because they already drove all Dragons to extinction thousands of years ago. The Dragonborn absorbing souls is important, because otherwise Alduin can keep resurrecting them. So, if Delphine wants to return to being Dragonslayers, the Dragonborn is merely a useful ally, and not their lord. If the Dragonborn does not want to help them kill Dragons, then the new Blades have no use for them.

[@VintageNarwhal]

@@MediumChungus223why would you want the Dragonborn if you just want to go back to killing dragons? Wouldn’t making it to where aldrin can’t resurrect them bring them to a state where there’s no point in being dragon slayers?

[@LostProblematique]

Ive always enjoyed the idea that being a dragonborn is not exactly unique when looking at the history of both Tamriel and Mundus a as a whole. Both the Imperials and the Nords have histories filled with dragonborns that seem to be entirely independent from each other, and the way Ive understood it the Akavir most likely had their own Thu'um and dragonborn equivalent since they not only killed all dragons there but also recognized the "voice" of Reman and his status as Dragoborn. I like to think that in a world as vast, old and weird as Nirn there will be many rules and many exceptions, and I do think having so many confirmed dragonborns not directly related to each other makes the world feel bigger. Hard agree people underestimate imperial lore. Pelinal was out here literally wiping pieces of land from existence, Reman had giant bio-engineered moth spaceships and I personally like to think Morihaus was a demigod in the form of a literal talking bull bc something like that is as elder scrolls as it gets. If anything, the games are simply not giving us the super out there lore they deserve.

[@theemerdareloth]

They definitely hold themselves back way too much. There's some bits of the crazier lore that I'm not a fan of, but I wish they'd embrace more of their wild ideas because, honestly, Skyrim and Oblivion are fairly generic looking to a lot of outsiders (Skyrim just looks like Vikings to people, for example).

[@nolankanski9116]

Moth spaceships?? Where can I read about these?

[@LostProblematique]

@@nolankanski9116 look up the Megalomoths, mananauts and the Reman space program

[@Priceluked]

@@theemerdarelothI think that a lot of the super out there lore stuff is mostly people drawing too heavily on Kirkbride’s fanfiction really. Stuff I never liked such as the idea that Pelinal Whitestrake was some cyborg sent into the past, mainly draw from Kirkbride’s unofficial stuff. The Kirkbride stuff that did make it into the official sources is no doubt very good, but people take his unofficial ideas as gospel too readily.

[@alost4076]

The Dovahkiin is GOATED with the Dova sos.

[@Wodferd]

"Akatosh has final say in who gets to be dragonborn" has some funny implications for Mankar Camoran being able to stay Dragonborn after editing himself

[@Priceluked]

@@Wodferd Akatosh has final say unless he gets overpowered by metaphysics like the ones used by Camoran.

[@Aerosmith1999-j6h]

Divines are weaker than Deadric Princes. The only reason Akatosh's avatar won out in the end, was cuz Mehrunes wasn't in his realm. Princes maintain full power when in their realm. This can also work for inherent abilities/blessings.

[@regarded9702]

Hi, I'm the guy from your last video who was asking why the Skyrim Dragonborn had to be the last Dragonborn. After watching this video I can now see why he *could* be the last dragonborn, but I still don't think it is certain enough to actually call him 'the last Dragonborn.' The only requirement for there to be another Dragonborn is for Akatosh to care about something happening on the mortal plane. Considering at the time of TES 5: Skyrim there is the chance we may be about to enter an era of elven dominance, that might not be too far away.

[@theemerdareloth]

Right. TLD doesn't have to be the Last Dragonborn. That's simply just what the prophecy calls him.

[@octavianpopescu4776]

I was wondering about that for a long time. How to interpret the "last", as in "there will be no others" OR "the most recent"? Although I'm inclined to think it's "there will be no others". Why? Correct me if I'm wrong, but this term comes from prophecy. I would think that if there were others following, then prophecy wouldn't have used that word "last". Imagine if you were a prophet in year 1500 and you make a legit prophecy regarding World War I (since the Last Dragonborn prophecy is legit, I know prophecies can be iffy, but this one is legit). Would you refer to it as the Last War? Knowing there would be another, since you can see into the future? It's not absolute evidence (maybe the prophet could only see some things into the future), but I'm inclined to think Akatosh wanted this power given to mankind also to deal with Alduin, his rebellious teenage son. Now that that's done... why would there be another? I'm also thinking that Akatosh wasn't operating on 1000% altruism when he gave humans that ability. He had a goal in mind, beyond simply feeling merciful.

[@Aerosmith1999-j6h]

What about that Emperor who is in Akavir amassing power to reclaim his throne? Wasn't he a Septim? I'm? Also positive he could be a manufactured Dragon Born. Just like that Tiger Dragon. I don't think Akaviri tiger people would have a name for Dragon Born. I could be misremembering, but I'm positive they see the abilities that Dragons have, but are still mortal. And who knows what type of Magic is in Akavir.

[@marthdaeglin]

Wait wait wait, Mankar Camoran used a daedric artifact to re-create himself as he desired and he chose to be Altmer!? Bigoted jokes aside, it's quite convenient that St. Alessia couldn't absorb any of the many dragon souls she encountered. To borrow the words of that one nameless guard, "I never heard of Tiber Septim absorbing any dragons" either.

[@anthonym840]

@@marthdaeglin altmer kinda consider themselves ( most, not all) better than all races. So theres that.

[@Sam-lf3hn]

@@marthdaeglin your character in skyrim isn't dragonborn, simple as. It's nothing more than a giant retcon with numerous internal inconsistencies.

[@deadsoul7409]

​@@Sam-lf3hn no? This is one of the few retcones that actually make sense, every dragonborn had a specific purpose and they were shaped to fullfil these purposes. And besides, there was a source claiming that Tiber septim absorbed the souls of dragons before his ascension.

[@philswiftdestroyerofworlds1988]

@@Sam-lf3hn God you're media illiterate Literally incorrect and a garbage take The Last Dragonborn (AKA the player character in Skyrim) is fated to exist via prophecy in various elder scrolls You learn the Thu'um as naturally as blinking as it's in your very being Your Dragonborn blood opens the door to Skyhaven temple And users of the Thu'um such as the ancient Nord heroes, the Greybeards, and dragons themselves upon sight recognise you as Dragonborn Even Clavicus Vile and Sheogorath himself recognise you as Dragonborn You 100% are Dragonborn (literally the entire point of the main quest)

[@philswiftdestroyerofworlds1988]

​​​@@Sam-lf3hn Akatosh The god of Time and Dragons himself, blesses those he deems fit with the gift of the dragon blood Skyrim and Cyrodil both have seperate and entirely unique cultures in regards to Dragonborn And those countries have reasons for needing Dragonborn heroes/Emperors just as unique as those cultures An Imperial Dragonborn Emperor waltzing on over to Skyrim and becoming a Nord-esque Hero or even High King of Skyrim would be incredibly out of place And the Last Dragonborn/Miraak/Ancient Nordic Dragonborn strolling on over to the Imperial City and casually naming themselves Emperor of Cyrodil would be out of wack too They both stick to their seperate regions And on both sides of the fence have a reason to be where they are

[@ChrissieBear]

The fact that the draconic word for blood is "sos" is hilarious to me. Sounds like sauce. xD

[@XKathXgames]

Well if you have the spicy sos you can shout and absorb dragon souls

[@Purrczak]

@@ChrissieBear sos means sauce in Polish

[@LiquidfirePUA]

Sos, is a colloquial term in The Netherlands for cocaine 😂

[@LiquidfirePUA]

😂

[@littleeusbee]

Dragonborn are a complicated topic, and I think you did a good job at covering the bases :). But there is another complicated topic glued onto dragronborn and that's Akatosh himself. In the ancient Nordic animal totem religion their version of Auriel/Akatosh is the Dragon, and iirc that dragon was specifically Alduin. So therefore the First Born of Akatosh not only predates Akatosh the god (who was 'created' as part of the Imperial Cult by Alessia) but is Akatosh. So then in Skyrim Akatosh sends a dragonborn to kill a part of himself. And once you kill Alduin, you don't get his soul, it goes up into Sovengard. I'd like to posit that this means that Shor absorbs Alduin's soul. Or in other words, the trickster Lorkhan (who is Shor) plays one final trick on Auriel from the grave. And that's not even getting into Dragon Breaks, which are a whole other can of worms.

[@mars-he2hu]

oh man you itched my brain

[@deadsoul7409]

I wouldn't say shor absorbed Alduin's soul, Alduin probably returned to akatosh or maybe he went back to his slumber. Untill it's time to eat the world and start ANU (see what I did there?)

[@icefarrow7959]

Akatosh was never "created" by the Imperials, he is no more real or fake than the Auriel that the Elven races worship. The gods of the Elder Scrolls have no true form or identity, they merely become what the people decide. Hence why the Thalmor banned Talos worship, as everyone forgetting him would effectively "kill" him. Hell, they're not even truly alive, as they can be mantled. Not only that, many of the Daedra and Aedra share certain spheres of influence depending on what religion you follow. Alduin is nothing more than an aspect of the being collectively known as Akatosh/ Auriel etc (like Clavicus Vile and Barbas), and when you defeat him in Sovngarde he merely returns to Aetherius until the time for him to destroy the world anew arises. Funnily enough, him referring to himself as "first-born of Akatosh" is an oddity, as he existed before time itself according to some sources, and was first defeated during the Metheric Era, well before the Imperial Pantheon was even conceived of. So either the Imperial worship is affecting him since he is an aspect, or he decides to use more recent names so you understand him (unlikely given how much he prefers the old ways). Basically what I'm saying is Akatosh/ Auriel does not task you with killing part of himself, but instead tasks you with having part of himself rejoin his whole. Alduin is destined to swallow the world, that will never change, and Shor will never try and stop that. Sovngarde's other dead god, Tsun, tells you as much.

[@HeimskrV]

​@@icefarrow7959Because the so-called Emperor is a coward! That's right, I said coward! Oh yes! He agreed to banish the worship of Talos at the tip of an Aldmeri sword. They called it the 'White-Gold Concordat.' Well, I call it blasphemy!

[@Discipleofmora]

Gothryd is said to be a direct descendant of tiber septim so imperial records are likely skewed when it comes to the septim dynasty

[@Discipleofmora]

Not even death can hide a true descendant of Tiber Septim from the Underking. King Lysandus did not die in the battle of Cryngaine. He was slain by treachery before it.

[@deadsoul7409]

​@@Discipleofmora the underking is the ultimate hater, second to only pelinal whitestrake 😂

[@HeimskrV]

​@@DiscipleofmoraIn southern lands, he was known by the name Tiber Septim. Here in Skyrim, we honor him by his proper Nord name. If you want to know more, I'm sure you can find any number of tomes on the subject.

[@Priceluked]

@@HeimskrV”Tiber Septim” was no Nord, nor is he a god. Rather, the Nordo-Breton that he was, Hjalti Early-Beard, was a brilliant strategist and a cunning trickster, who together with the true Nord warrior Wulfharth and his battle mage Zurin Arctus together makeup the entity referred to as Talos.

[@HeimskrV]

@@Priceluked Well, let me tell you something, friend. Cyrodiil is a long way from here, and in Skyrim, we will never forsake mighty Talos!

[@Discipleofmora]

Lariats are related to the septims you can read about it in a breif history of the empire

[@Discipleofmora]

Uriel IV's reign was a long and difficult one. Despite being a legally adopted member of the Septim Family, and despite the Lariat Family's high position -- indeed, they were distant cousins of the Septims -- few of the Elder Council could be persuaded to accept him fully as a blood descendant of Tiber.

[@katiewilly]

@Discipleofmora one of my favorite tes youtubers watching a video of one of my other favorite tes youtuber nice

[@theemerdareloth]

Gotcha, I'll have to check that out!

[@theemerdareloth]

I must've missed that line. Just checked it out, and it says: ..."Despite the Lariat Family's high position -- indeed, they were distant cousins of the Septims." It's still odd to me that Katariah's own bloodline wouldn't have been enough to satisfy. I figure if the Dragonfires were lit, who cares haha?

[@SrChr778]

Easiest explanation: an individual who possesses the blessing of Akatosh, a blessing that runs in their bloodline, and with it when they slay dragons, they take their souls and awaken & strengthen their Voice. And yes, it *is* that simple. Everything else is just adding layers & layers, like putting more cheese in a ham sandwich.

[@Knemak]

@@SrChr778 I fucking love cheese

[@mindtrait0r879]

@@Knemak I fucking hate cheese

[@Assmaholic419]

@@mindtrait0r879 I am fucking neutral about cheese

[@Knemak]

@@mindtrait0r879 understandable, have a nice day

[@ethan9071]

Cheese is ok🧀

[@aurielissonofauriel3009]

4:44 I mean, I always figured it was pretty much implied that being Dragonborn meant you have both the blood and soul of the dragon, at least in my experience. Guess not everyone caught onto that. You know, considering we basically eat dragon souls, and the blood seal did work as you brought up.

[@TheThinWhiteDukestar]

dude the editing on the intro was sick! imo kirkbride and his out of lore stuff whether it's his reddit amas or stuff he's written since leaving bethesda are completely valid for one's own *headcanons* i.e. for your own personal interpretations of the lore. however in discussion of what is actually canon these works - as interesting as they are - are not official canon. i think where this causes friction is because of people who like kirbride's lore, official and otherwise, and see those who consider his work post bethesda as not real lore an attack on kirkbride's work as whole. all that to say i agree with your stance lol. the pause at 14:40 is hilarious lmao impressive work once again, there were a few other things i was going to comment about that i thought you forgot only to realise you ended up covering it anyway - you've clearly done your research

[@theemerdareloth]

Yeah, MK's thoughts and opinions about lore he had a hand in writing are definitely valid to take into account. Thanks as always, man

[@Discipleofmora]

I always headcanoned that katariah just had her sons light the fires and she was just regent

[@theemerdareloth]

Interesting. I've never seen it that way. Katariah's official reign begins in 3E 153 and ends in 3E 200. That's a 37-year period in which Katariah had reigned. Cassynder was born in 3E ~150, so it's possible he had become corronated as a Dragonborn heir at this time, but I find it unlikely seeing as he wouldve been 3 years old and likely unable to grasp the ritual he was undertaking with the Amulet of Kings.

[@Discipleofmora]

@theemerdareloth it's quite a shame we will likely never see the ritual process maybe if there's a prequel spin off game or an adaptation be it animated or live action of the alessian rebellion or some other plot surrounding dragonborns like the war for the red diamond

[@theemerdareloth]

​@Discipleofmora Totally agree. Thank you for the thoughtful comments btw.

[@MaliciousMollusc]

I like to think of Dragonborn-ship as a license given by Akatosh to do certain tasks. Depending on the task, the license and its privileges can be adjusted.

[@FallingEastward]

Cool video, but kinda weird choice to yell "Dragons!" at the audience then wait in silence for 49 minutes and 19 seconds

[@SleepingMonarch]

Here from Imperial Knowledge channel, I quite enjoyed the vid. Subscribed

[@bronzemcalloy]

15:50 i have a minor nitpick with this: aeneas was an ancestor of romulus and remus, not their father. aeneas is a figure from the trojan war, specifically a prince of troy and son of aphrodite. the trojan war is tentatively dated at the 12th century BCE, and the homeric iliad, the main work covering the trojan war, is dated to the 8th BCE. virgil’s aeneid (29-19 BCE) is the work that ties aeneas to the royal line of the city-state of alba longa, which eventually gave rise to romulus and remus, sons of the god mars, who as the founders of rome would have lived approx. 750 BCE. the attempt by the caesars to legitimize themselves as rulers by tying their lineage to the monarchs of rome was also generally just a bad idea, because two of them were legendary figures, two were okay (aside from how the one got smote by jupiter), and two were so bad that they inspired the civil war that created the republic and then their entire family line was exiled from the republic. augustus caesar calling himself “first citizen” instead of any kind of monarchical rank was specifically because the last king of rome were so legendarily bad that the word “king” was an insult.

[@Jay-mx6bg]

Imperial lore really is my favorite right behind the nords and all subsections of elves

[@magicalman5067]

Something I find interesting about the last dragon born is they didn’t seem to know they were till the absorbed a dragons soul, same for the greybeards. I wonder if akotash blessed the last at that very moment or if they already were

[@darthsol658]

No Akatosh blessed the last dragonborn when he was on his way to Helgen. Alduin attacked Helgen cause he could sense that the dragonborn was there. If you stayed longer in the place where Ralof and Hadvar meet, you'd know that Alduin would land in the area and kill the dragonborn

[@deadsoul7409]

​@@darthsol658 TLD was probably created with the soul and blood of a dragon at his birth just like every other dragonborn, TLD doesn't have to be related to other dragonborns to be one.

[@alrightletsgo5715]

@@magicalman5067 welll akatosh probably planned it right. sketchy mf akytosh..

[@seanpoore2428]

Referring to the dragon priests as "some guy" is alittle strange considering they were somewhere between warriors, mages, emperors and the pope.....but the rest of the video rocks

[@crashman1344]

Cousin is sometimes used for a relative of vague relationship.

[@RogerRoger556]

So Miraak is John Hanson. Got it. Jokes aside, great video on as always. Really makes me smile that lore dives on this franchise still continue years after the release of Skyrim. Though Todd's constant reminder(read: shameless rereleases) might have contributed to that.

[@alexanderbabski3241]

fanart of Mankar and other Oblivion characters make them look way more cool than they are in game.

[@theemerdareloth]

Agreed, that's why I always try to avoid in-game screenshots and gameplay whenever it's possible.

[@GamerEnthusiast3188]

Only concern I have is that we need to keep in mind that Akatosh was quite literally created by Al-Esh as she wanted to combine the Ayleid deities with that of the Ancient Nords' deities. She did that as the Nedes were in bondage for so many generations that they had accepted and only knew the deities of the Ayleids, while also wanting to keep the Nords united and feeling accepted by her newly formed empire. Therefore, speaking of Akatosh (instead of Mara) as the one speaking with Al-Esh or being around way back in the days of Miraak is like saying Talos was around with Shor/Lorkhan.

[@deadsoul7409]

I mean if a god of time was created at a specific point in time, wouldn't he exists at all points in time? Because akatosh quite literally is time. And maybe it was auri-el that blessed miraak? Perhaps he wanted his Nordic twin (alduin) to be destroyed or maybe it was akatosh from the future? Heck maybe it was hermues mora. This is the thing about the elder scrolls, the answer is always "maybe"

[@GamerEnthusiast3188]

@@deadsoul7409 Interesting point of view. Best answer I could provide offhand, is that based upon actual "historical canon" we know that the Atmorans their spirituality and cult existed prior to the 1st Era. We also know that the Aldmer (precursor race to the Altmer, Direnni and Ayleids) were connected to Auri-El. The text of the 2nd era makes certain claims of what Al-Esh witnessed and experienced upon her deathbed in the 1st Era. My thoughts are this, while she was reigning did she serve Kyne, Mara and Alduin? Most likely she felt more kinship to the deities her and her fellow Nedes served all of their lives, the elven pantheon. We have to understand that after her time, there were systematic campaigns designed to remove the elven influences along with pushing out the Ayleids who actually sided with the Nedes in their rebellion, etc.. So, a composite deity called Akatosh would supplant Auri-El and the Nords understood Alduin was not one to serve or worship as a benevolent deity. They knew Alduin at best was necessary, but not inherently good or evil. So, the Nords would never feel comfortable speaking Alduin's name or having any banners bearing his visage. Thus as I understand it the Select Collective fully embraced the "new" dragon time god Akatosh to keep the superstitious Nords from freaking out. Those times and later Dragon Breaks are what retconned and made Akatosh the Chief Deity. So, again I prefer lore prior to the so-called Dragon Breaks that were created after the Daggerfall game. But, Bethesda made it so that the Dawn, Merethic, 1st and 2nd era will hopelessly and purposefully remain contradictory. As the Time Dragon supposedly broke apart later becoming Akatosh.

[@CyrodiilCome]

​@@deadsoul7409is auriel the sun god not a time god? What better marks the passage of time then the day and night cycle

[@deadsoul7409]

@@GamerEnthusiast3188 yeah, akatosh as a whole is a very complicated topic. Especially considering how different each iteration of him is, all of them are real and functional in the 4th era. The best way someone could explain all these versions (and what you said in your comment) is by using the "aka theory" Which is filled with plot holes but that's the best way to make sense of it.

[@deadsoul7409]

@@CyrodiilCome yeah that's correct, it's his actions that are strange. For example: why did he creat the first dragonborn? Why did he bless Alessia to rise up against the ayleids (elves) why did he bring pelinal of all people into this timeline? Why did he start an empire of men?...etc We know that auri-el hated lorkhan and his creation, perhaps this is his way of "asking for retribution/forgiveness" from lorkhan. Well that's a good question, a very good question....

[@Celestia282]

My interpretation of the lore is that the hereditary aspect of being a Dragonborn is exclusive to the Cyrodiilic Emperors. There was something unique in the pact between Alessia and Akatosh that ensured all her heirs (both literal and figurative) would be Dragonborn so as to maintain the Dragonfires. The fact that there is zero mention of Dragonborn heritage outside of the Emperors is a point that really needs to be made. Sometimes, a lack of evidence can be just as important as evidence, itself. This theory also fits with a lot of the weirder aspects of the history. For example, the period between the Alessian Empire and the Reman Empire seemingly had no Dragonborn rulers. Why? Because the Amulet of Kings was missing, meaning none of them could be rightful heirs. Why was Katariah a Dragonborn despite having no blood relation to the Septims? Because she married into the family and had the Amulet of Kings, making her a rightful heir despite her lack of blood. The important part seems to be the Amulet, itself, not the actual heritage. I think you're right about there being some sort of ritual involved, but I believe that it's mostly ritual. The blood relation seems to be secondary.

[@Celestia282]

Another point to consider, if we're bringing real-world logic into the discussion, is gene flow. I'm sure you've heard the trivia fact that 8% of modern Asians are descendants of Genghis Khan. He left a rather sizable genetic footprint after just 800 years of successive generations. Meanwhile, the Dragonborn of the Merethic Era lived *thousands* of years before the modern day. If the children of Dragonborn are also Dragonborn, then it's likely a majority of the modern Nordic population would be Dragonborn, yet that is clearly not the case. The player is the only one, and as you pointed out in the video, it is implied that your parents were not Dragonborn. I don't think there is any inheritance involved with Dragonborn outside of the Emperors.

[@twZera413]

Two things worth adding here, first I think the explanation regarding Katariah is simply that the Dragonflames don't go out until the emperor dies, and by the time Pelagius III was dead, he had a living heir. Presumably she took her kid to light the fires during her reign. Second, regarding the Creation Club note on the nature of the dragonborn, it relates to larger lore on the nature of Akatosh. A god considered to be divided and broken. This dates to the Marukhati selectives causing the first Dragon Break by tearing the elven parts out of Akatosh, and is a whole other mess. It is widely believed the all dragons, the jills, Akatosh, Auriel, and all of those are part of a greater Aka-being, often referred to as Aka-Tusk (Mentioned in one of the MK posts you quoted).

[@skipperxiv9401]

My personal favorite theory, based on a comment on JustBackgroundNoise's channel, is that Dragonborn are Aedric vampires, specifically those of Akatosh. In essence, the "platonic ideal" of a Vampire is a mortal who has been granted some essence of a Daedra, and acts as an extension of that Daedra's will and power on Nirn. There are of course the bloodsucking variety who are Molag Bal's creation, but by that definition, werewolves also classify as vampires, serving Hircine.

[@besteirolnerd2615]

Imperial Knowledge brought me here

[@AngelTwelveScoop]

Another video of absolutely amazing quality. Thank you for this. Skyrim still lives on so long after release!

[@corvifred]

Man your videos are so underrated. The detail you put in here is crazy, thanks for the upload!

[@theemerdareloth]

I appreciate that!

[@richter6699]

I love how I can come back to a 13 year old game after a 5 year break and the lore channels are still going strong 😁

[@dantereinhardt6911]

If you do not believe that Reman Light of Man was born from King Hrol and the spirit of Alessia, and burst out of the ground at Sancre-Tor, you are as crazy to me as someone that thinks the earth is flat.

[@KittensLeftFoot]

Love it! Such well explained, easy to follow, video essay with relevant context on screen. Also really great atmosphere, your voice is super pleasant to listen to. More please!

[@greenflame070]

On Mankar Camoran: Fully agree with the nymic stuff but I think it would be interesting if he turns out to have turned himself into an Aldmer instead of an Altmer

[@MajinMattPlays]

Just for fun, gonna comment before watching to see how much my ideas coming in hold up: I think there is a distinction between the Line of Alessia and Dragonborn like Miraak and The Last Dragonborn, and I think the distinction is more about how they received their powers. Alessia's line was blessed by Akatosh, and while this blessing was purposeful, it was more of a long-standing blessing as it is passed down their family line. Meanwhile, Miraak and The Dovahkiin's blessings seem to be much more purposeful, their power was granted to them with a singular, specific goal in mind. So while I don't believe there are two distinct Types of Dragonborn, I think there are two "Types" in the sense of two ways to be Dragonborn. To be born with Alessia's blessed blood, or for Akatosh to grant you the soul of a Dragon, the former pretty much never had any Dragons to fight so it makes sense we don't have records of them doing that job, but when Akatosh's kids get a little too rowdy, he seems to send a Dragonborn who is purpose built to kill Dragons to deal with them before they cause too many issues.

[@erickbullard2066]

Thank you for sharing this with us, deep insight into some of my favorite lore of all time.

[@jonpradini6555]

Just as a little nugget of extra info, in spanish "biblioteca" would be translated as "library", correct, but there is a case of false friends in the same family, as "librería" would be "book store". "Biblioteca"s, both private and public, are just collections (-teca) of books (biblio) for consultation and reading, big or small, you could call the books on your livingroom a "biblioteca". On the other hand a "Librería" is a dedicated book selling store.

[@ethanspringer8190]

I may be wrong, I have not done the first bit of the story in a while or talked a master Angier more than the story in a while. That being said, I do believe he tells us that man does not know how it works, but Akatosh alone is responsible for and the only one who can understand the gift I. It’s entirety. (I’m paraphrasing what I remember) I think the conversation is able to be had with Angier after bringing the horn back to them. I remember hearing something to your point in chapter two from the graybeards. I’d love to hear if I am right or wrong while I try to go back and find that conversation on a new character. Time for play through 100 and something let’s go!!! In seriousness, this is the first video of yours I have seen and I’m very impressed I’ll be subscribing and filling along in the future. Keep up the great work!

[@theemerdareloth]

Honestly that sounds about right, I must've missed that line when I was gathering research and footage and what not! Thank you!

[@Ölorg3926]

The intro to Skryrim gives me chills every time

[@MatthewSmith-qd6du]

one thing i think which may apply to characters like miraak for being "the first dragonborn" would be how did they find out they were dragonborn, it stands to reason from playing in skyrim that your powers and even ability to use the thu'um rely upon killing dragons, so miraak as the first dragonborn as a title could be valid if he was the first to start slaying dragons and rebel against the dragon cult, which allows his ancestors to be dragonborn but having never realised their potential, how either miraak or his ancestors came to become dragonborn is still a mystery,

[@Radical_Rainbow]

4:46 You can really hear the Wario come out in Charles' voice when Paarthurnax goes, "Aaah, yes!"

[@derskalde4973]

Never actually made such a connection, as in the german translation of the game, they translated "dragonborn" as "Drachenblut" (dragon blood). 21:10 min You could argue, that there was nothing wrong with the dragon fires during her reign, since technically, although not physically sitting on the Throne, the dragonborn emperor still was alive. This wouldn't explain what followed, but I felt like it's worth a thought.

[@theemerdareloth]

Well Pelaguis III did die at the beginning of her official reign technically

[@derskalde4973]

@@theemerdareloth He did?! Well, there goes my logical explanation. Thank you for letting me know.

[@denisrivarola2387]

Yeyy the one we've been waitin' for, cool as hell to go with a tea ♪ Ty so much

[@Galimeer5]

A very good video👍 Very well-researched too. I thought that quote about Alessia having different powers from Miraak was from Pete Hines, not Michael Kirkbride, but upon looking it up again, I couldn't find it so I must've been mistaken. Still, the idea that Alessia is considered the first dragonborn because of what boils down to Imperial centricism is a pretty good explanation. Bringing in actual history to corroborate the theory is also a plus. The one thing you didn't touch on is that there are actually two ways to translate _dovahkiin:_ _Dovah Kiin_ meaning Dragon Born -- the more conventional translation, but also _Dov Ah Kiin_ meaning Dragonkind Hunter Born. Dovahkiin can be used as a dragon name just like Odahviing -- Winged Snow Hunter. Dovahkiin would then be something to the effect of "one born to hunt dragons" or more simply "dragon slayer."

[@Farsquad1821]

I assume that all Dragonsborns can absorb the souls of dragons, but the issue is that the power is useless when there's no dragons to absorb.

[@silentnight6810]

15:50 Little correction Aeneas was the ancestor of romulus and remus through their mother Rhea Silvia. The actual father of the 2 according to myth was the Roman God of War Mars.

[@GamingYooler]

A lot of creation club stuff is actually made by Bethesda devs,. It's likely canon, as of the Anniversary Edition (Which updated a lot of them to be more lore friendly) this is not the case for the newer verified creations made entirely by third party modders.

[@BergweinGaming]

This is becoming my favorite channel atm. :)

[@theemerdareloth]

Thank you!

[@generalpenultimo6502]

Firstly, I lived the video, you have a very calming voice and your content does educate about the elder scrolls lore very well ❤️ Secondly, I have two theories I'd like to share. As Miraak first was introduced to me as the first dragonborn I, as many do, assumed, that this means he was chronologically the first men or mere ever blessed with the dragon blood/soul. But the more I thought of it, the less it made sence in the lore. Then I looked up, what the word "first" by definition could also imply. That is where I found my answer, because the phrase can also be used instead of "the greatest" or "the best" or "most powerful". In my headcanon Miraak was never the first dragonborn, but the most powerful/influential of his age, which granted him the title "first". The other theory of mine I have forgotten right now, I might come back to this comment later if I remember wtf I wanted to talk about 🤷🏼‍♂️😂

[@generalpenultimo6502]

Ahh yes, second point I wanted to make is about Camoran not doing any crazy dragonblood shit in oblivion. This could simply be a result of the fact that he just recently became dragonblooded and didn't have anything figured out yet and also had no education in the way of the voice whatsoever. He was like a toddler wielding the infinity gauntlet, he might have had a lot of powers available to him, he just didn't know how to use them yet

[@neotheresa]

Sometimes I forget how absolutely batshit insane Imperial lore is

[@snek4288]

Another thing to comment is that the Dovahkin is called "Dragon Blood" in Spanish by literally everyone (at least on all the missions I did before changing the language to English), so being an official language translation in wich the Dovahkin is never called Dragonborn could also help on this lore theory of this video.

[@indrys7719]

Dareloth, I would love if you could explain not just the heresy, but Talos in general! I’m trying to wrap my head around 3 souls in one, but also being different, when Tiber was also called Talos without being Talos in the 3-in-1 combo meal deal.

[@theemerdareloth]

We'll get there one day!

[@deadsoul7409]

Well I have one word for you friend, the enantiomorph.

[@HeimskrV]

In southern lands, he was known by the name Tiber Septim. Here in Skyrim, we honor him by his proper Nord name.

[@deadsoul7409]

@@HeimskrV meh, Talos is a fraud

[@HeimskrV]

@@deadsoul7409 A true son of the Empire would never have turned his back on our greatest hero, not at any price. In mortal life, Talos was a Nord possessed of unmatched tactical skill, limitless wisdom and the power to see into men's hearts.

[@paulgrattan3885]

I believe the Dragonblood isn't just hereditary it can also be directly given. In Skyrim you can ask Arengir why help them learn the voice when you don't follow their philosophy. He explains the Dragonborns are an exception to the rule. You have received your gift DIRECTLY from Akatosh implying Akatosh singled you out and bestowed it to you probably at birth. Akatosh can probably make anyone a Dragonborn if he chose.

[@HorizonSilver]

Great video! I'm going to ignore Kirkbride's non-canon statement that Alessia could not absorb dragon souls myself. I do also agree, ultimately, with you that there is no difference between having the soul of a dragon and the blood of a dragon. Looking forward to your future videos!

[@theemerdareloth]

Thank you!

[@naji_aka_Tracey]

The Lore is interesting. No matter how many videos I watch or how much teslore I read, I remain confused 😅 Though I will never loose interest. Great video.

[@Rangersquad4417]

Bro amazing video so far. That intro was sick

[@theemerdareloth]

Glad you liked it

[@ErueraSnowling]

Woo love the art work man absolutely fantastic

[@totallytubular618]

30:29 Gonna elaborate on this whole section here, even though I understand your point. The way you've articulated it isn't entirely inaccurate but there are a lot of misconceptions about John Hanson so I don't think this analogy entirely works. John Hanson was the first President of the Congress of the Confederation. The term "president" here meant something completely different and is entirely unrelated to the POTUS position invented when the Constitution was ratified. "President" in this context meant John and his successors "presided" over Congress ceremonially as a discussion moderator - at this point, the U.S. had *no* separate executive branch. The modern day successor to this role is the "President of the Senate," a title which is officially held by the Vice President but delegated to a person known as the "President pro tempore of the Senate."

[@firedbones11realvids]

About the Ysmir bit, Wulfarth actually failed to become one due to being blasted by the greybeards the moment they began talking. Afterwards, and assuming the heresy is true, he then cheated his way by probably possessing Hjalte who was supposed to be the chosen ruler. So my personal head canon is that there is only three true Ysmir's total in tamriel history (although Goldbrand is said to be forged by dragons of the north, it remains unclear if there was an ysmir in atmora or is was actually made with ehlp from the dov.)

[@eclipseslayer98]

18:00 They were loyal agents and bodyguards until Delphine The Dim, who tried to overthrow and control the rightful Dragonborn Emperor. 22:32 Actually.... There's REAL phenonemon where a mother can obtain cells from their offspring that can effectively become a small part of their own body. So while it's not a super-crazy amount of cells that are transferred, mothers can technically inherit a tiny amount of cells from their offspring. Considering the supernatural magic of TES, it's not an impossibility that a couple of rogue dragon-blood cells were inherited by Katariah while she was pregnant.

[@Nemenon]

I like the idea that Mankar was able to figure out how Akatosh creates Dragonborn and did it to himself. Even if the Dragonborn blessing is hereditary it starts somewhere, so Akatosh literally just changes your proto-nymic to fit a dragons, right? Would also make sense why TLD is able to activate Remans Door despite more than likely have no actual blood link to Reman himself. Mankar had to go through great lengths to recreate himself, but I would imagine Akatosh wouldn't even need to lift a finger to do it, especially if you subscribe to the theory that TLD didn't become Dragonborn until after he killed his first dragon, or sometime around Helgen for some reason.

[@prophetchosen862]

Just realized something. Allesia and Morihaus, would have their son Behlazra, the first Minotaur and second emperor. This means that Minotaurs are Dragonborn for they have the dragon’s blood.

[@ignarskjolvjentski7809]

Would be really interested to hear your take on the threefold trinimac theory. There’s several threads on reddit that go into some really good detail, and I don’t think the idea gets nearly enough coverage. It ties into M.K’s “shor son of shor”, but has enough dawn era meta implications on it’s own that has me wondering (hoping) that the orsimer may have the potential to play a larger role in future elder scrolls installments. Think of it as a Mer’s Arcturian Heresy with more allegory.

[@GamerEnthusiast3188]

Really looking forward to checking out further lore videos from you. Again I do think more lore need to be fleshed out further by Bethesda. Considering that prior to Al-Esh, Paravant, or Emperess Alessia that there was no deity existing as Akatosh. The ancient Atmora worshipped their time deity Alduin, whereas the Aldmer/Altmer worshipped Auriel their time deity. Al-Esh made up Akatosh to appease their new Nordic friends of Skyrim and to keep the newly freed Nedes united for her Empire. The Nedes believed in the same deities as their Ayleid oppressors through the centuries of slavery. Therefore, we should be more precise when speaking of figures prior to Al-Esh. Also the Amulet of Kings story first speak of Akatosh gifting Al-Esh but that is upon her deathbed. Thus Akatosh was most likely added in via Imperial propaganda after her death.

[@larryortega8382]

Biblioteca: Place where you read and lend books, usually its a public place own by the goverment, free Library: place where you buy/sell(you usually only buy) books, its usually a private own place, you usually cant read the books there because they have a plastic film wraped around them Isn't the same word, its a nice analogy tho, im new to the channel btw and im suscribing!

[@Riever_the_SmUwUg]

Love the Content! I'm always looking for more Elder Scrolls Content!

[@primalarcart]

My interpretation, based on the Dragonborn being a dragon's soul in a mortal body angle, is that it's just a thing that kind of happens sometimes. Death, souls and rebirth is another one of those complicated and confusing topics in TES (I see you, Dreamsleeve) and it wouldn't surprise me at all if souls just end up in the 'wrong' place sometimes. I like to think that Alessia is the first intentionally blessed by Akatosh so as far as the Empire is concerned the first that matters 🙃 It also helps to rationalise to me that someone who sounds like he was basically the Dragon Priests' janitor became at least a bit of a badass after finding out about his nature, even if he wasn't causing Dragon Breaks left right and centre like Talos. But this is all very much my own interpretation so that my head hurts less thinking about it.

[@MoonlitTheft]

Amazing video as always, a very pleasant listen!! I always figured when Akatosh gave the dragonborn their powers, with keyfigures he took into account what those powers would be used for - hence not all of them being a copy/paste when it comes to abilities. Kind of like Uriël Septim and Alessia had foresight, because their 'roll in fate' required them to have that more than it required them to have the voice / ability to draw out souls. Because they were key figures in starting off important events (( VERY important, in Alessia's case she was also bestowed a knight and a demi God to aid her, and thus didn't need to shout anyone to pieces herself, and so other powers had more value for her roll )) With Mannimarco claiming he knew how to make Varen a dragonborn, I always thought that it wasn't so much based on how Mankar Camoran did it, but that it had been a lie/ploy from the start and that it was never possible for Varen to begin with

[@xxyoshidaxx9239]

Great video, I would really love a video about the Arcturian Heresy

[@ysmirwulfharth4012]

Also will you do a video about which main protagonist is truly the strongest in the Elder Scrolls?

[@ChubbyFunster-YT]

FYI, there is a Skyrim inspired setting for ShadowDark called ShadowRim where you can have a party of Dragonborn if you want.

[@azwadchoudhry4235]

Never thought I would be watching a 50 min Skyrim vid in 2024 but here I am😅

[@jaymes8132]

I personally enjoy the theory that Dragons/Dragonborns are fragments of the soul of Aka, the original time god. It would explain the absorption thing. Fragments of a larger soul simply come back together after one body loses its life, and its grip on the fragment. Also remember how Akatosh "reclaimed" Alduin's soul upon his death, similar to Miraak showing up and stealing your kill. I imagine it being as if the larger soul fragment has a greater gravitational pull, if you will, thus taking priority. Miraak has presumably killed many more dragons than you at the time the story takes place.

[@n8dagr828ng]

Mankar Camoran from Oblivion was Dragonborn (as he could wear the Amulet of Kings) while systemically assasinating a Dragonborn lineage. That strange contradiction never seems to come up.

[@tylerainsworth4542]

Minotaurs=Dragonborn!? Love it

[@blinkrush6101]

Cousins can be WAY more distant than that. The child of your great great great great granduncle’s great great great great grandson is still a cousin.

[@theemerdareloth]

Yeah. That's not how I've defined cousin personally, but I do agree that you can use it that way.

[@blinkrush6101]

@@theemerdarelothfair enough - fantastic video though

[@GirtmanRL]

The way I see it is there are three different ways of becoming Dragonborn: 1) Being bestowed with the Blessing of Akatosh, either directly [Miraak, Alessia, Reman] including Shezzarines [Penial, Talos, TLD] 2) Being a direct hereditarily descendant of a Dragonborn [DB Emperors] 3) Ritually joined/married/adopted into/by a Dragonborn line [Katariah, Mankhar] 3 Requires 1 and/or 2. 2 Requires 1. 1 is distinct and independent of all others.

[@liamwaddleton]

Regarding dragonborn powers - I think that being dragonborn allows an individual to take their own abilities to their absolute peak. For example - Potema would have been a regular necromancer instead of one of the most powerful of all time because of her dragon blood, the player character in Skyrim can max out all skill trees, etc.

[@VitriolicVermillion]

Regarding Mancar Camoran as Dragonborn, proved by wearing the amulet: The Aedra, tricked by Lorkhan, are bound to Nirn. If Akatosh needs to be present for that amulet's properties to hold, then Camoran wearing it in Paradise wouldn't necessarily mean much.

[@VitriolicVermillion]

By the way, the name "Lorkhan" looks and sounds a lot like "Lore Khan," meaning "Lore King." What that means, I don't know.

[@mdhunter93]

I love how Dragons see the Dragon born and just view them as another dragon 😂

[@cossakrose]

First they fricked a Bull, then a Mountain, Miraak at some point probably fricked a fish or a squid, and lastly The Last Dragonborn fricked a Hagraven. Having the blood of a dragon gives you some weird kinks and fetishes.

[@20minutegamer43]

I'd love a video on the arcturian heresy!

[@azidal3755]

I'd point out a major difference between Miraak and the last Dragonborn versus All the others that we know of is that dragons were a lot rarer therefore they likely didn't learn much of the dragon tongue to use the voice.

[@Person-bo7ol]

1 possible reason miraak wasn’t all spectacular is that he might not have known many words or absorbed many souls and without those things he is just a guy

[@kenplamont-diumenti4752]

See... dragonborn lore is so tricky, but so interesting at the same time. I like to think most of TES lore (MK ramblings mostly) to be like Star Wars Legends; It's canon until it's not. So basically headcanon. Canon: Dragonborn is a being with the soul of a dragon, and having the ability to absorb another dragons soul. Headcanon: "Dragonborn" is a term which means "someone with the soul/blood of a dragon". Dragon being the focal point, someone with the "blood/soul" of a dragon, is someone who inherited said blood/soul. Alessia/Reman/Septim are all inheritors, either partially or fully, up to debate, of THE dragon, the father of all dragons, Akatosh. Whereas every other Dragonborn, are inheritors of dragon souls in general. Vessels. However, the power of the dragonborn can differ between the two, where they may be similar in scope, but different in action. Imagine it like Resident Evil. Alessia would have the T-Virus, and The Last Dragonborn would have the G-Virus. Now this is where Amulet of Kings falls into play, and my own personal theory/headcanon shows up. Canon: Only a dragonborn can wear the Amulet of Kings. Headcanon: It's also believed that the Amulet can only be worn by those of damn near close Aldmer/Ayleid blood. You could call it a theory, but Mankar Cameron is a big piece of evidence, with it being proven that the crystal was used by Ayleid Kings (known as Chim-el Adabal, just being the crytal). To what extent or purpose, unknown. My somewhat based theory is that "Dragonborn" is someone with a soul that has a close connection to the et'Ada. And that "shouts" are a form of original raw creation magic. Other souls are so diluted, it's impossible for them to be able to harness that type of power. Alessia, and all her descendants, were able too harness this power and wear the amulet because her soul was imbued fully/partially with Akatosh, with the modern (Post Alessia Death) use of the Amulet to keep her soul, and what ever form of Akatosh, "together" (similar to the Mantella. Mankar was able to wear the Amulet because of his lineage. He could wear the Amulet, just not harness it's power, sure, the CRYSTAL can be worn by someone with strong aleyid blood, but cannot be used for it's purpose because the AMULET was specifically made for the blood of Alessia, and in turn, Akatosh. As for the other "Dragonborns", the whole idea of reincarnation has been introduced already, so it wouldn't be a far fetch to say that alot of the dragonborn / thuum users are just reincarnations of original souls. It is important that both MK and TH have brought up the idea of "different bloodlines" and "different powers". Possibly meaning Dragonborn could be a loose term, instead of it being a perfect definition.

[@Foolzoid]

The random one-off Dragonborns seem like how the mark of the outsider works in Dishonered. Just anyone who seems interesting and is given something to exacerbate that interest. In TeS 6, I'm really hoping we learn that there's random Dragonborns again due to dragons being back

[@b_is_alive]

idk what Camoran did, we are just lucky he did not do shouts

[@stoned_kitty]

I think Maiq is in front of fort Amol right now, guys.

[@kristian1545]

My theory for the dragonborn in skyrim is that Akatosh simply blessed the first mortal to lay eyes on Alduin after his return.