Lovecraft and all the stories that came after his death has had a profound effect on modern pop and non-pop culture. You can’t swing your arm without hitting something that has been influenced by Lovecraft at least on some level. But let’s be honest here, I was really surprised the other day (well, a few weeks ago) when I stumbled on a forum post (link and names withheld for privacy’s sake) where someone mentioned that Hermaeus Mora in Dragonborn seemed very influenced by Lovecraft. I think my jaw hit the ground right around that point in an “Are you flipping kidding me?!”

For a series called The Elder Scrolls.

The. Elder. Scrolls. Uh, right.

Fact is, the entire damn series screams out to be considered an extension of the greater Lovecraftian works based in, if not another universe, then at least another part of the same universe. We have no idea what the “Outer Realms” in Tamriel mean, after all.

Now, from anyone who has actually read Lovecraft, this might be “Yeah, big deal. I see it too/agree blah blah blah.” Actually, I have never read Lovecraft and I don’t think I’d be a big fan if I did, but I have read up on it. I find the concepts behind the stories fascinating, but also rather frightening. I’ve mostly pursued TV Tropes in the middle of research for my own stories, just so I could get the general gist of what people were talking about when they mentioned Eldritch Abominations. If I, a complete layman save for meta-info and definitions, when it comes to anything Lovecraft, can see all of the connections in TES, there’s got to be something to it. Let’s explore.

Before I really start here, let’s define a few terms.

Lovecraft/Lovecraftian: I use this term to encompass the entire works spawned by H. P. Lovecraft’s original mythos.

Derleth Mythos: specific to works that came after Lovecraft’s death, notably August Derleth’s stories.

Tamrielic Lore: the mythos spawned by The Elder Scrolls video game series and now includes a variety of works. Not the in-game book of that name.

The Gods of Tamriel

There have been attempts at categorizing this fictional group of beings, and Phillip A. Schreffler argues that by carefully scrutinizing Lovecraft’s writings a workable framework emerges that outlines the entire “pantheon” – from the unreachable “Outer Ones” (e.g. Azathoth, who apparently occupies the centre of the universe) and “Great Old Ones” (e.g. Cthulhu, imprisoned on Earth in the sunken city of R’lyeh) to the lesser castes (the lowly slave shoggoths and the Mi-go).
— Wikipedia

Let’s talk about the Aedra for a moment. Unreachable, unknowable, unable to actually walk the world of Tamriel. Sleepers of supposedly benevolent disposition and divine power who went into retirement after creating the world. It sounds a lot like the Elder Gods in the latter Derleth mythos, who act as opposing and balancing force to the Great Old Ones of the same era, considered to be the “Good” forces in the universe and rarely, if ever, stir to interfere in the struggles between men and the Great Old ones.

The Aedra in Tamrielic lore are considered “ancestor spirits” by the mer and “creators” by the humans. The legends have it that the Aedra gave up parts of their essence to form the “Earthbones” of Nirn, and can actually be killed as a consequence of creation. They are unable to actively interfere in Nirn or do more than bless those mortals who follow and worship them. They are very susceptible to the mortal perception of them and have even been changed due to it.

Interestingly, another book you can find in-game tells a different story of the Creation myth of Nirn as Anu and Padomay creating Nir, and Nir preferring Anu, created many different worlds with him, and in jealousy, Padomay destroying Nir (Creation), leading Anu to fight with his brother Padomay and then attempt to salvage Creation by merging all the different worlds into one. Supposedly, the blood from that battle became the Spirits, both Aedric due to the mixing of Anu and Padomay’s blood, and Daedric, who sprung only from Padomay’s.

What is compelling to me is that there are actually planets in Mundus named the same as the eight Aedra. While the mortals living on Nirn, particularly the Dwemer, who advanced the science of astronomy considerably, could have named them thus, it poses an interesting theory of what if it was meant literally, and all the Creation myths are true? That the Aedric spirits in physical form were other planets, and literally gave up parts of themselves to form the planet Nirn. The reference to the Aedra being from a mix of Anu and Padomay’s blood could be a reference to Nir herself, possibly being made from both Anu and Padomay. Of course, the Creation myths in The Elder Scrolls are extremely confusing, but I could see this. In a world where you are granted blessings from constellations where stars are supposedly created by lesser spirits breaking from Mundus into Atherius, why not get blessings from planet-divines? Other evidence supports this, if you read through the lore on the UESP wiki, and some in-game books make allusions that this is technically the case, but then again, there’s about a dozen different creation myths in Tamrielic Lore.

Personally, I think they’re all true. Even the ones that are not. Especially the ones that are not.

Anyway, digressing is getting off track, and I hadn’t meant to start out on my own theories, but there is plenty of evidence so far to support the connection to Lovecraftian lore with just the Aedra. Aetherius, the plane in which the Aedra dwell after the creation of Nirn, also has a connection to Lovecraftian lore where some authors, wishing to apply elemental connections, coined the term aethyr to distinguish from mundane every day elements. It’s not that strong of a connection, and Aether is more likely to be the contributing factor here, but still, thought I should mention it.

Stay tuned for Part 2.

Maybe one of these days I’ll write up a series on all my lore theories.

 The Daedra, Daemons or Oblivion-spawned

As Lovecraft conceived the deities or forces of his mythos, there were, initially, the Elder Gods… [T]hese Elder Gods were benign deities, representing the forces of good, and existed peacefully…very rarely stirring forth to intervene in the unceasing struggle between the powers of evil and the races of Earth. These powers of evil were variously known as the Great Old Ones or the Ancient Ones…
—August Derleth, “The Cthulhu Mythos”

The Daedric Princes; powerful gods or abominations, depending on the local view in Tamriel. Each has a separate sphere of influence, and whose interference in the affairs of mortal men almost always leads to mortals suffering for it. TES Lore and meta-lore refer to the Daedric Princes with that definition. What people who are not familiar with Lovecraft’s work, that is also the definition of the Great Old Ones in Lovecraftian mythos, originally started by Derleth.

There are many parallels between the Daedra and the beings depicted in Lovecraft, from the ancient, unreachable tentacle monsters so terrible that even a vague concept of them drives men mad. Azathoth in particular is viewed this way in several of the stories put out in the original Lovecraftian lore, being the unreachable one at the center of the universe whose name instills a feeling of dread in mortal men. Hermaeus Mora, the Daedric Prince of Knowledge and Fate, is often depicted much like Azathoth. In Dragonborn, and you’re going to be seeing some spoilers here if you don’t stop reading right now,

 

you see the affect that the Black Books of Hermaeus Mora have on mortals unable to understand or not powerful enough to withstand the onslaught of the “slimy black finger’s secrets.”

In another way, you could classify the Daedric Princes as eldritch abominations, unknowable and incomprehensible to mortals. They certainly have a complete disregard for the natural laws of Tamriel’s universe. They are often introduced in the games with unexpected twists to their story, particularly the more interesting ones like Sheogorath, whose back story lead to the entire storyline of The Shivering Isles expansion for Oblivion, and in which he enlists a mortal to take his place as the MadGod. I suppose, looking back at the creation myths documented in Tamriel itself, you could argue that because of the Daedra’s refusal to participate in creation, they exist outside the natural laws of Mundus as well.

The Daedra also have a sort of fascination for the mortals, though exactly why is up for debate, but they thoroughly enjoy meddling in Tamriel. Some are more diabolical than others, and some, like Azura, even actually seem concerned for those who worship them. The story of Morrowind is a good example for this, starting with the discovery of Lorkhan’s heart and the subsequent abuse of it by the Dwemer and the Tribunal. Azura was ultimately responsible for predicting the return of Nerevar, who was a favored of Azura, and setting in motion the events that led to the correction of the abominations of Dagoth Ur and the Tribunal. And also as an side effect, probably led to the destruction of most of Vvardenfel when Baor Dau was released from Vivec’s influence and finished its descent, causing the eruptions when it smashed into the face of the planet with all the power it had before Vivec stopped it. As a result, the Dunmer people suffered, even when the meddling was meant to be beneficial. As a last point, not many mortals on Tamriel know much about the Aedra, the sleeping “Elder Gods,” yet know quite a bit of the Daedra, or at least have more access to knowledge of the Daedra, which also seems to parallel Lovecraft.

This has been rather shorter than I expected, but the parallels are so blatant here.

For cripessake, Mehrunes Dagon and Dagon the Lovecraftian God share a name.