As with any good fantasy saga, the Elder Scrolls series of games gives a diverse pantheon of deities to oversee its realm. Each Daedric Prince has a series of quests, intriguing characterization, and terrifying power. One of the breakout characters of the pantheon would be Hermaeus Mora, the Prince of forbidden knowledge.
Out of all of the Princes, few are as alien as Hermaeus. Throughout the series, he was an enigmatic keeper of knowledge who offered unique quests for his powerful relics. Furthermore, he would play a central role in Skyrim’s DLC. Here is a breakdown of Hermaeus Mora and his role in the Elder Scrolls series.
The Character of Hermaeus Mora
Hermaeus Mora is the Daedric Prince (god) of fate, forbidden knowledge, and memory in The Elder Scrolls. While none of the Princes are human, he takes the form of a mass of eyes and tentacles before mortals instead of a humanoid. Wes Johnson, best known for voicing the series’ resident god of chaos, Sheogorath, voices Hermaeus. Wes gives a deep, echoing performance that captures the character’s wisdom.
Since his Cthulu Mythos first gained popularity, many creators have been inspired by H.P. Lovecraft’s cosmic horror. However, few writers have captured his themes better than Bethesda through the character of Hermaeus Mora. This applies not only to his design’s many eyes and tentacles but also to his cosmic scale and themes of forbidden knowledge that drive humans insane. Throughout the lore, everyone from the Nords to the advanced Dwemer sought his power.
His Relics and Domain
Each Daedric Prince from The Elder Scrolls possesses a powerful artifact and a realm of Oblivion. His relic is the “Oghma Infinium,” a tome that players read to boost their statistics massively. Infamously, Skyrim featured a glitch where players can reuse the relic ad infinitum to max out their stats. However, Bethesda caught wind of this and removed it in later editions.
His realm of Oblivion is known as Apocrypha, a realm thoroughly explored through the Dragonborn DLC for Skyrim. The realm is simultaneously a vast swamp and a library filled with forbidden knowledge. Squid-like seekers and hulking lurkers populate the realm to guard it. During the DLC, players could locate “Black Books” that would lead to Apocrypha and hold special rewards.
His Elder Scrolls Roles
Hermaeus Mora has made various appearances and assisted player characters throughout the series. His first appearance was as a brief cameo during Daggerfall, where his quest was a simple assassination of a noble. In Oblivion, players who visited his shrine were tasked with collecting one soul of every race in return for the Oghma Infinium.
In Skyrim, his artifact quest is tied to the main questline, as he haunts the hermit Septimus Signus during the player’s search for the Elder Scroll. Afterward, players had to collect the blood of every elven race to open a vault. Most recently, Hermaeus appeared in The Elder Scrolls Online. On top of several smaller missions, he hosted an entire questline through the Dunmer city of Necrom to stop rival Prince Vaermina from invading his realm.
His Dragonborn Role
Of course, when fans think of Hermaeus Mora, they know him best for his role in the Skyrim DLC Dragonborn. Players learn from the DLC that the first Dragonborn, Miraak, gained his powers by bargaining with the Daedric Prince. In return for his service, Miraak was granted the power to wield the voice of the Dragons. Now, he seeks to return and conquer Skyrim.
Throughout the map, Miraak uses his power to corrupt the All-Maker Stones scattered throughout the island of Solstheim. However, by overcoming the first Dragonborn’s machinations, reaching the peak of Apocrypha, and defeating Miraak once and for all, Mora redacts his support for the latter and dubs the player his champion.
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