Lorkhan

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Lorkhan is one of the primary gods from The Elder Scrolls fictional universe. Lorkhan can best be perceived as the Creator of Nirn, but the act of creation wasn't done by him alone.

This is what Monomyth says about Lorkhan:

Lorkhan (The Missing God): This Creator-Trickster-Tester deity is in every Tamrielic mythic tradition. His most popular name is the Aldmeri 'Lorkhan', or Doom Drum. He convinced or contrived the Original Spirits to bring about the creation of the mortal plane, upsetting the status quo-- much like his father Padomay had introduced instability into the universe in the Beginning Place. After the world is materialized, Lorkhan is separated from his divine center, sometimes involuntarily, and wanders the creation of the et'Ada. He and his metaphysical placement in the 'scheme of things' is interpreted a variety of ways. In Morrowind, for example, he is a being related to the Psijiic Endeavor, a process by which mortals are charged with transcending the gods that created them. To the High Elves, he is the most unholy of all higher powers, as he forever broke their connection to the spirit plane. In the legends, he is almost always an enemy of the Aldmer and, therefore, a hero of early Mankind.

In Oblivion, near the last parts of the main quest, Mankar alleges that Lorkhan was actually one of the Daedric Princes and that Tamriel is really the mortal name given to Dawn's Beauty, the Princedom of Lorkhan and therefore actually a Daedric realm of Oblivion. Whether this is true is never confirmed.

[edit] The Heart of Lorkhan

According to the creation myths of Nirn, Lorkhan's heart was ripped out by the Dragon-god of Time, whose exact nature and name changes from culture to culture. This was supposedly done as punishment, because the Dragon-god felt betrayed by Lorkhan after finding out that his agreement to help Lorkhan construct Nirn, the mortal plane, left him and the other participating spirits weakened. In fact, most of the spirits ended up dying.

After being torn out, the Heart of Lorkhan landed in what would later become Morrowind, forming its famous volcano, Red Mountain. Its exact role is unknown, but there are some suggestions that it is somehow essential to the continued existence of Nirn, the Altmeri creation myth calls it "The Heart of the World" and suggests that is cannot be destroyed without destroying, or at least severely destabilizing, Nirn [1].

A great time after the Creation, the Heart resurfaced again. Specifically, it had been found by the Dwemer, and had become a part of the plans of the Magecrafter and High Priest of the Dwemer, Kagrenac, to bring the Dwemer to a state he believed to be greater than their current one, though the exact nature of the plans and how well known they were among the Dwemer is debated. When the old enemies of the Dwemer, the Chimer, found out about the Dwemer's tampering with the divine, the War of the First Council broke out, ending an over two hundred year peace in which the Chimer and Dwemer had lived together in a nation they called Resdayn.

Exactly what happens during this time is unclear, other than that the Dwemer disappear, the Chimer become the Dunmer, and councilors to the leader of the Chimer, Lord Indoril Nerevar, use the power of the Heart of Lorkhan to make themselves gods. Calling themselves the Tribunal, they rule Morrowind for well over three thousand years, the source of their power unknown to the Dunmer. Another friend of Nerevar, Voryn Dagoth, also gives himself godlike powers and becomes known as Dagoth Ur and the enemy to the Tribunal.

At the end of The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind the player character must destroy enchantments upon the Heart of Lorkhan. This fulfills a prophecy that leaves Dagoth Ur dead and the Tribunal mortal once again.

[edit] See also

• Pantheons of Tamriel
• Nirn

[edit] External links

• The Imperial Library - Library of lore and legends of the series.

The Elder Scrolls lore
Artifacts | Battle of Red Mountain | Corprus | Daedric Artifacts | Lorkhan | Major regions | Nirn | Pantheons of Tamriel | Septim bloodline | Tamriel | The Third Era | War of the First Council

Characters of The Elder Scrolls
Almalexia | Dagoth Ur | Jagar Tharn | King of Worms | Lorkhan | Mankar Camoran | Martin Septim | Nerevar | Numidium | Sotha Sil | Tiber Septim | Uriel Septim VII | Vivec
See also: Daedric Princes | Morrowind characters | Oblivion characters | Pantheons of Tamriel | Septim bloodline