There are a lot of ancient wars in Tamriel history that helped to shape the events ofSkyrim, but none had a greater impact than The Dragon War. This ancient war marked the end of Alduin’s first rule over the humans of Tamriel and directly led to the events ofSkyrim’smain story.
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As such, The Dragon War is one of the few ancient events in the game that gets a significant amount of explanation and screen-time during the story.Plenty of other historical events are chronicled, but they usually have to be sought out in books or accounts, or long and boring conversations with NPCs.
6It Took Place In The Merethic Era
Tracking time inThe Elder Scrollsis a matter of looking for the right era, which is how segments of history are defined in Tamriel. All the events of every game take place between the First Era and the Fourth Era, with the events ofSkyrimand its DLC expansions being the most recent in the timeline.
However, there were two more eras before the First Era. There was the Dawn Era, which details the events surrounding the creation of the universe, and how man came to be on Tamriel. Most of this involves a lot of conflicting mythology. Then there is the Merethic Era, sometimes referred to as the Mythic Era, which is the 2,500 years when civilization as it is known today first formed.
5The Dragon Cult Was The Majority Religion Of Atmora
The Dragon War stems from the religion of ancient times, which is that of The Dragon Cult. Followers of this religion worshipped totems of various animals, but the most important was the Dragon. Eventually, this evolved from worshipping totems of Dragons toworshipping actual Dragons, as they were commonplace across the continents of Atmora and Tamriel.
When the Atmorans, now known as the Nords and Imperials, migrated to Tamriel they brought The Dragon Cult with them, and Dragons assumed their place as rulers of humans. Chief among them was Alduin, who threw off his duties as the World-Eater to instead rule over the world.
4The Dragons Ruled Indirectly Through Dragon Priests
One of the toughest enemies that can be found inSkyrim,the Dragon Priestswere the highest members of the Dragon Cults. Whilst the Dragons liked being worshipped, they didn’t care for directly ruling over humans themselves, so the Dragon Priests were appointed to rule on their behalf.
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This granted the Dragon Priests immense power, both in terms of ruling other humans, and magical power beyond regular human ability. As seems inevitable, though, these Dragon Priests eventually became corrupt, ruling not for the good of their Dragon masters, but instead ruling for themselves, essentially enslaving the population.
3Paarthurnax Betrayed Alduin To Side With Humans
When the humans first rose up against the Dragons, the humans were absolutely slaughtered. They had no power against the Dragons, and the Thu’um would tear them apart. However, thanks to intervention on Kyne’s part,Paarthurnax turned his back on Alduin.
Paarthurnax endeavored to teach humans the way of the voice, which allowed humans to use their own Thu’um to fight back against the Dragons. This significantly turned the tide of the war, allowing humans to slay Dragons for the first time in history.
2Humans Invented Dragonrend
The key shout that the Dragonborn must learn on their quest to defeat Alduin is that of Dragonrend. Paarthurnax explains that this shout cannot be learned by a Dragon, as its very nature is designed to temporarily cripple them.
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Born out of fear, hatred, and a desire to be free, Dragonrend was a shout invented by humans to overcome foes as powerful as Alduin. In the game,this shout forces Dragons to land, which makes them a lot easier to fight. However, when it comes to lore, it is much more powerful. This shout imposes the concept of morality onto a Dragon, something that a Dragon’s mind cannot comprehend, and this is why it cripples them so heavily.
1Alduin Was Banished Into The Fourth Era
Players ofSkyrimget to see the final battle of the war play out in front of them when reading the Elder Scroll. When the three heroes fight Alduin atop the Throat of the World, they crippled him with Dragonrend, before banishing him with the Elder Scroll.
In their time, this ended the war. The remaining Dragons were either killed or fled this plain of existence. The Dragon Priests were overthrown for good, and the remaining members of the Dragon Cult went into hiding. Unfortunately, this didn’t solve the problem forever, however, as Alduin was merely sent forwards in time. When Alduin attacks Helgen at the beginning ofSkyrim, for him, it has been just minutes since that final battle, even though it has been thousands of years for the rest of the word.
The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim Special Editionis available on PC, PlayStation 4 and 5, and Xbox One and Series X/S.
