Ooh, nice idea for a thread. Subbed! Don't forget
The Imperial Library for some good lore stuff.
So... what happened to Vivec (the god, not the city) after the volcano eruption?
And regarding the Thalmor, that rumour of they wanting to "destroy the world" instead of conquering it was just fanwank or what?
Vivec disappeared before the Red Mountain erupted. Either he was killed by the Nerevarine, or he just departed Tamriel, sources are unclear. Whatever the case, it's his disappearance that actually caused the eruption: it was his power holding the Ministry of Truth (the giant floating rock above Vivec City) in place. In old times, that was a rock hurled at the city from Oblivion, and Vivec stopped it with magic. With him gone, the rock slowly started to resume its descent towards the city.
The Dunmer initially built a device to keep the Ministry afloat. That machine, called an Ingenium, required souls to function, however. Eventually one Dunmer rebelled against the usage of the machine, sabotaged it, and caused the rock to crash into the city, completely leveling it. The shockwaves of that impact caused the Red Mountain to erupt, and, presumably, caused the Great Collapse so many years later as well.
Those events are further explained in the two TES novels that have been released. Definitely read them if you haven't already.
As for the Thalmor, they don't want to destroy the world, they want to return it to the way it was in the Merethic era. In that time, Elves were immortal and time flowed in practically every direction at once, putting the Elves in almost direct contact with the gods. The Aldmeri Dominion's motive in its purest form is simple: a return to those times. In order to do that, they have to get rid of humans, and what better way to start than with the human that ascended to godhood: Talos.
What are all your thoughts on the idea of Amaranth? Have any of you read Michael Kirkbride's
Loveletter?
I was gonna post about the Loveletter, as it's probably one of the more interesting things out there, canon-wise, right now. Michael Kirkbride is an evil, insane genius. The letter is pretty much unintelligible, so many people have read so many different things into it. I've read stuff about the disappearance of magic, among other things. I really don't know what to make of it, myself. It could be about the impending end of the world, as it's Mundus destiny to be 'recycled'. This is touched upon in Skyrim, actually, because Alduin supposedly has to destroy the world, fulfilling his destiny as World-Eater, but he strayed from that path a long time ago.
The letter refers to some of the things established in the early fourth era, like the area around the ruined Vivec City now being called the Scathing Bay.
