If I remember the lore correctly, the "stars" in the night sky of Mundus aren't giant distant balls of hydrogen but instead portals into Aetherius. The magicka in all living beings is said to flow from Aetherius. What if the Eye is a captured one of those portals? What if some ancient order of magic-users literally pulled a star from the sky and trapped in in a container so they could harness a *much* more powerful flow of magicka than existed in any living being?
The theory I always had was this: The eye is actually a gateway into aetherius, the plane of existence that houses the birth of magic, when Ancano shocking the eye he's actually tapping into its infinite properties of magic and so he's becoming a god by having unlimited magic that he can then use to create the most powerful spells. When we use the staff we're not "weakening" it, we're simply turning off the gateway, shattering the bridge to Aetherius so Ancano will become a mortal again, my next theory is that when we're shatter that bridge WHILST Ancano is actively stealing the magic properties it's actually turning off his link to the eye, which causes that magic he stole to go away or evaporate, if he had simply stole the power then cut the link, he would be fine. I also have a theory that the staff can actually be used to fully open the door and allow you to enter aetherius.
Yep, it's essentially an artificial Elder Scroll made for scrying into all possible futures, but without the destructive effects of real Elder Scrolls. But it's unstable, and while it's working its dumping magic non-stop into Tamriel, hence you need the staff to bleed it off and focus it. If left unchecked, the eye will literally drain aetherius into mundus and cause mundus to revert back into the aetherial plane - destroying creation. Maybe I've just spent too much time with old Herma Mora, I thought everyone knew this.
@@goliathprime well I wouldn't say it would bleed all aetherius into mundus. I think it's just a star. Stars being holes to aethurius. The staff once belonged to Magnus himself, and sealing a breach is well within his an the staffs power. However being so close would offer immense power. Welkynd stones are powerful sources of magic, and they're just shards saturated with star magic. An actual start would be make than look like trinkets.
This theory is obviously more plausible than the robot crap that Kirkbride thought up in one of his fanfics but this does leave a glaring plot hole; assuming it is just a literal gateway to Aetherius, why does that draw people to it, like the Nords, who most likely followed its call from Atmora considering Saarthal is where they decided to set up shop, the Snow Elves that attacked the settlement and started the war, and the Akaviri invasion? Because the stars in the night sky are all distant gateways to Aetherius, yet there isn’t some Lovecraft-esque force causing people to be drawn toward the sky. I’m not saying it’s not something to do with Aetherius, but how do you explain that kind of pull toward it?
@@TheBlackBrickStudios well, the elves, for one, want to escape their endless reincarnation and return to aetherius, which is their entire reason for destroying the Towers. I would imagine if they think its feasible to travel through the Eye and return to aetherius they would jump at the chance
I really like that elder scrolls games have actual historians and scholars in them trying to understand the lore of the game they are in. Definitely adds to the immersion, since most games have a sort of "everything important is already known, but kept secret" style of lore
we need more fantasy world where the cool ancient mysteries are locked behind years of cultural amnesia. and yknow what? fuck it, let's have a game where that's central to the plot, wherein the whole thing is a high fantasy archeology story, in which you progressively learn more about this world
I try to do that in my dnd game. Whenever I write notes, and then a few years later I write new notes that contradict the old ones. I keep both types to try and have them be different interpretations by different npc's on how something happened
I also like how everything known to the player comes from sources of varying reliability. Tales of the world's creation obviously took place before anyone was there to see it and write it down, so of course a bunch of it is going to contradict, you never know if it's truth or some guy making it all up thousands of years ago.
Ah my favorite skyrim history book line "Ysgramor and his boys came back to skyrim and boy did they open a can of whoopass on the elfs" What fine literature
I just wish they would have finished the College of Winterhold's questline and used the Eye of Magnus to restore Winterhold to its former glory, before the great collapse.
Jordan Brendmoen I’m not a democrat, but we’re talking about magic in a fantasy world. There aren’t many similarities between Chicago and a little town in a video game
i think that in 2011 that would have been almost imposible cause when you start playing the game College is how it is and by the end if they were to rebuild it that would mean that the whole look would have to change and stay like that period, i dont think Bethesda had such technology back in 2011, i mean that means that files for Winterhold and College would have to change in your directory so yea....
Also, it might be two people working on one thing not communicating with one another xD Remember - it's Bethesda, there's the same chance for something being a bug or a feature
Not just conflicting sources, conflicting realities. The first game had something like five or six endings. CANONICALLY, they are ALL true. They ALL happened.
it's why it's one of my favorite lore rabbit holes. it's just so insane and in-depth and you get to choose which reality you like best because they technically all happened and didn't happen (according to chim theory)
It's pretty lazy from a story perspective. The conflicting realities/accounts just mean Bethesda doesn't have to pay attention to continuity. Accidentally retcon a character/story/location? Just say there was a dragon break! Much easier than actually keeping track of their own fiction and now they can literally put anything in without any fear of fan backlash because there is no concretely established reality in this universe.
I REALLY like these "theory" or lore videos you've been making to give us a break from the 10 tiny details series. They are really good, and go very in depth. Thanks Nate :)
Something I thought while playing through that questline, when the pieces of the Eye started to "open" during the final fight, was that there was something inside that Ancano was trying to get, so the idea that it could be a container isn't too surprising to me. I think the reason the Psijik Order took it after the fight was because it hadn't come as close to being opened before as it had in that moment. Maybe they were planning on leaving it and just monitoring the situation to see what happens, allowing the younger College to study it to further their own understanding of magic, but then realized during the fight with Ancano that it would be too dangerous to do so. It seems like it has to have something to do directly with Magnus, if the Staff of Magnus, which was supposedly created by Magnus, has an effect on it when nothing else does. I think they might be something like a "box" and "key" set. I'm not exactly an expert on Elder Scrolls lore, but here's an idea. Lorkhan, who was killed by Magnus, had his body split apart becoming the moons and his heart, his "divine spark," fell to Nirn. I assumed that the power in the heart was just a sort of divine essence that made a god, a god, which is why other people who came into contact with it gained immortality and god-like powers. So we know where his body is, and we know where his divine power is, but what about his soul? Physically travelling to planes that people inhabit in the afterlife isn't an impossible feat by any means, so surely if a god was killed and separated from what made him immortal, his soul should have ended up somewhere. Every other piece of him ended up in Nirn (or at least floating above it,) so wouldn't it make sense for the soul of the god responsible for creating Nirn to be present in the world in some way? Containing souls in Elder Scrolls isn't exactly a new concept, and the more powerful the soul is/the bigger the creature it came from was, the bigger the soul gem has to be. To contain a god's soul, maybe something more complex had to be created, and who better to do so than Magus, the original arcane architect? Now going back to the potential alternate name for the Eye of Magnus, the "Ordained Receptacle," we have an alternate interpretation of this; it could be "a container that is holy," or it could be, "a container FOR something holy," as in a container with a god trapped inside of it. It would also explain the near-infinite energy that the College sensed from it; they would be familiar with soul gems, but the power contained in a god's soul would be almost infinitely more powerful than any of the souls they regularly work with. There is conflicting information about Lorkhan's morality, but the interpretation favored particularly by the Dark Brotherhood is that he was actually created by Sithis to destroy the universe. Since one of the stories of how he created Mundus was that he tricked the other gods into helping to create it, and unknowingly give up large portions of their own power in the process, maybe the creation of Mundus was just a means to an end with the actual objective being to weaken and kill the other gods. If the Eye of Magnus is a container for his soul, opening it and releasing that soul could potentially bring about the destruction of the entire universe.
Bro, Magnus fled before he ever got the chance to kill Lorkhan. Auriel had fought Lorkhan, as did Trinimac. Actually, it was Trinimac specifically who "knocked down Lorkhan in front of his armies, and reached in with more than hands to take his heart". Magnus had nothing to do with it. The Eye of Magnus definitely doesn't contain his soul, and the Heart of Lorkhan was grabbed by Auriel and shot across Nirn with his Bow. So the heart ended up creating Red Mountain. The Eye of Magnus is likely just a font of Magica that connects directly to Aetherius, much like how he created a portal in his wake when he smashed through Mundus to get back to Aetherius
I always thought the Eye of Magnus was kind of like the Heart of Lorkhan. Given that the Heart was an Aedric artifact so powerful it caused the entire Dwemer race to vanish, turned the Tribunal into gods, and so on, and it definitely seemed like the Psijic Order feared something of that magnitude.
Correct me if I’m wrong, but wasn’t the Heart of Lorkhan in Morrowind when the Dwemer disappeared, and didn’t the Dwemer extinction happen after the Nords had settled Skyrim, so for it to be the heart, the Dwemer would have to go to that Nord ruin, then use it in Morrowind, then someone else would have to put it back in the Nordic ruin we find it in
@@richardhicks5031 except there's a Khajiit myth saying Boethiah ripped out one of Magnus' eyes and that Azura ripped out the other and keeps it in her realm
Something most people don't notice is the symbols on the Ey of Magnus. They're the same symbols that you see whizzing around your screen when you read an Elder Scroll. Very interesting.
It's because Elder Scrolls, the Nine, and Magnus and his kin share the same roots. The Eye is said to be a piece of Magnus that trailed off as he fled Nirn (the hole he created in time-space also creating the sun in the process). The Elder Scrolls are the remains of similar godly entities from the dawn era, who fell in power in the process of Lorkhan's cementation of Nirn. To put it this way, the Heart of Lorkhan and the Eye of Magnus have similar origins, but one is a piece of the world and the other is a piece of the stars. Elder Scrolls are fragments of sacrificed lesser divines while greater divines came to form the 8
Something I noticed yesterday, is the shape, color and astounding power of the eye. If you’ve done other quests, you may remember Atherium. What if the eye is made of Atherium, and is related to the Dwarven disappearance somehow?
It's been awhile since I've played Oblivion or Skyrim, but I seem to recall a book that said something to the effect that the withdrawal of Magnus from Nirn is what effected the 'cementation'. Magnus was the very essence of Magica. He was it, and it was him. Having THAT much raw transformative power would destabilize the purely physical, the 'Mundus'. He HAD TO GO. The Eye, imo, is some small portion of Magnus that remains bound to the world he helped to create, and as such, it is a conduit that allows Magica(much REDUCED) to exist in the world without utterly destabilizing it. The Prism(s?), I think, were products of the early Merethic period, possibly as scrying stones or possibly Magica storage...??
That is a great observation! I didn't notice. I was gonna say, similar to the Sky Forge, it is something made by a God, but it could be like an Elder Scroll, existing on several different planes of existence and gives incredible abilities.
I'd like to point out that when speaking of electrical systems, a receptacle is "An electrical (or electronic) fitting that is connected to a source of power and equipped to receive an insert" which would at a base level fit the Eye of Magnus perfectly if replacing electrical with magical. This would imply that the Eye itself actually contains no power, it is simply linked to an unfathomable source of power and acts as a type of remote access
To confirm this: Magnus is basically magic itself and Boethiah ripped put his eye in a Khajiit myth. Azura ripped out the other one and holds it in her realm.
1:06 "they nickname it the eye of magnus" weirdly I just did this quest again yesterday on my.. 5th playthrough. It was actually the Auger of Dunlain who resides beneath the college who informs the dragonborn of its name and tells you to find the staff of magnus.
If memory serves the Monk of the Psijic Order who tells you to speak with the Augur already refers to it as the Eye of Magnus, and implies that other mages at the College are referring to it as that as well, so the Augur could just be referring to it as that to avoid confusion.
No, Tolfdir already calls it that before then, saying something like "well we don't know what it is, but it's clearly a big deal so some of the apprentices have started calling it 'the Eye of Magnus'." This conversation actually happens when Tolfdir gives you the quest to find the Auger, the first time you talk to him after Saarthal when you see the eye at the college for the first time.
I think there was a "Star" inside the eye. As Stars from TES are holes in reality leading into Aetherius, from which magicka comes from. Tolfdir himself says it "radiates magicka".
@Calvin Schuster nah theses nothing to suggest that. The magna ge fled, the holes they made became the stars. Stars are just points that the light of aethurius flow from. There's nothing to say one can't fall, or that they may be bottled up as it were.
So, what do you think? Do the Psijic Order members have some way of putting it back in the sky, or is it just to store it away safely, in some kind of warehouse somewhere?
I always just assumed that they where mistaken in naming it after Magnus. I have long believed that all or most of Lorkhan's organs fell to Nirn along with his heart. I mean, if you cut someone in half all the stuff inside is going to spill out, right? Therefore it is my theory that the eye of Magnus is, in fact, Lorkhan's left testicle. The Cat's Eye prism being the right testicle, of course.
The second I heard “ordained receptacle” along with the fact that it’s implied to be a bungled translation, my brain just went “ahhh they’re looking for the holy grail” lol
“Holy Receptacle” could also, and most likely, is a reference to the Dragonborn. Remember, the Akaviri did invade at the start of the Reman Dynasty. And when they found Reman Cyrodiil, a Dragonborn, they ceased their invasion and swore fealty (which also kickstarted the Blades as the bodyguards of the Dragonborn Emperors). The rough translation indicated “something or possibly someone”. Receptacle could refer to the Eye of Magnus, but given their history with the dragons, they were searching for a Dragonborn, the “Holy Receptacle” of their dragons deities.
That was the Tsaesci (and possibly Akaviri Men), not the Kamal. The Kamal are one of the two Akaviri races who don't seem to have any connection to the Dov.
Logan Cornwell In Oblivion, the Blades swords are called “Akaviri Katana”. There was also a two-handed version called the Dai-Katana as well. The Moth Priests also carried Akaviri Katanas then too.
That was a different race however. The snow demons and the Akaviri in the second invasion were different people, with different means and motives. The Akaviri in the second invasion were looking for the dragonborn but it is always implied that the snow demons never gave a **** about dragons, the dragonborn, or Akatosh.
The dovahkin opens the eye in the college quest line during the boss fight when they use the staff on it. We see that inside of the eye is just pure magicka. This leads me to conclude that it was a receptacle for Magnus’ power. This is further supported because the reasoning behind needing the staff was because the Staff of Magnus was said to be the only thing capable of nullifying Magnus’ power.
Counter Theory: the Psijic order are time travelers. The staff and the eye can also be used to manipulate time, and the staff was used to help create the wooden mask.
I think it’s more likely the Psijic Order are going to be the way TES VI go into how the dwemer disappeared, and how the Psijic Order is able to time travel, etc. these things have to be related right?
you are thinking of staff of towers, that's the staff that manipulates time and fate within the event horizon (aka elder scrolls). Staff of magnus absorbs magicka and contain it within like a battery, except this staff has infinite storage.
Issue with that is that, in Elder Scrolls Online, there isn't any mention or hint that Psijics can time travel. Stop time in a rather small area for a few seconds? Yes, and it's really useful, but they can't move through time in ways not intended for. Only those who achieve CHiM can.
The idea that the Eye of Magnus is a container of some sort is quite literally confirmed by the Ancano fight its self. During the battle when you use the Staff of Magnus the plates that make up the Eye separate revealing what appears to be a large glowing stone of some form.
I just love how every player gets this quest the same way: "Hey, uh what are we doing about the giant floating orb of immense power that the teleporting future mages transported to the oldest ruin in Tamriel?" "Oof--Sarthal... Nobody is trying to go there!" "Send that new guy. He knows shit about magic and, according to our vetting, recently escaped beheading by the Imperial authorities for participating in an open insurgency..." "He seems well rounded." "Yea, send the new guy."
Tbh, in my last play through when I went to the college I was already a master enchanter and 100 or so in more than one school. My role play was more like "who do we send? Well, new guy can just illusion as well as our own illusion teacher, actually heal people unlike someone in here, and his enchanted gear is so good he takes dragon fire on the chest laughs it off and crushes the dragon's spirit outdoing it in its own native magic language, so... New guy? Yep, new guy."
@Captain CavemanIf you think that mentioning a play through where I went to the college after beating the main quest and most other storylines as part of role playing as a character who chooses to seek magical knowledge at the end of his adventures is an attempt at flexing... you need to stop projecting your insecurities online and go see an actual doctor asap. Not even being sassy, I mean it literally.
@Captain Caveman You're a random troll with insecurity complex projecting 24/7 online to try to feel good about yourself just a bit. What you "think" has no value.
When in the room with the big telescope-thingy, you see the map of Skyrim - and the guy says: "Hey, what's this?" - pointing to the college of Winterhold, "You have an object with a lot of magical power, disrupting the readings" - or something like that. A presence, previously undetected - because there was a field protecting the Eye of Magnus, that same field, could that have been the reason why the Akaviri did not find the orb? - As it was a dampening field? It would explain why the Psijic Order did not directly intervene, they did not know of this field - or they didn't know why the field was there. Only after the dangers were cleared, did they dare to move it. And perhaps your attacks, with the Staff of Magnus, caused damage to the orb, and for safety sake, the Psijic Order removes it, as they knew it was damaged.
The Eye of Magnus contains power, just an extremely powerful font of Magicka. That would explain the naming convention, why/how Arcano becomes invincible upon activating it, why the Snow Elves would launch a raid to secure it (it’s basically the Elder Scrolls equivalent of an atomic bomb). As to its origins, perhaps it’s literally one of Magnus’s eyes, the other being the one associated with Elyswer.
@@alemirdikson I get why some people think Kirkbride's writings are outlandish, but a psychic asteroid mining robot from 5 eras in the future being sent through a rift in time caused by a war between dragons and the Hist is so much cooler than "it's a ball, but it's like, _so_ magical"
@Andrewsad1 I get the impression from the Cats Eye Prism lore that the spheres likely ARE prisons, but the Cat's Eye is fully contained and sealed off whereas the Eye of Magnus is not and the energy of the imprisoned being is still able to radiate out. Absorbing that energy would be how the Thalmor became invincible, and absorbing it ourselves with the staff interrupted his connection and made him vulnerable. Maybe because the staff was made to draw from the artifact instead of an improvised connection? I'm not entirely sure what the imprisoned being could be that would radiate that much magicka, maybe a Magne-Ge like Meridia?
@@Aeyrgran Or it could be that the orb itself channels so much magicka to make sure the being within stays imprisoned. Perhaps the magicka is radiating from the orb because the orb got damaged, the being contained within escaped and the orb does not have anything to focus its power on anymore.
There was a parasite known as the Guinea worm that would live inside peoples legs and arms. It was genocided was that bad? Edit: Also the Thalmor need a good not living forced on them the arrogant pricks.
There's a theory on r/teslore about the Eye. The canon: In the beginning, Lorkhan tricked the gods into creating Nirn by not letting on the fact that the creation of the world would result in them being trapped inside it. Magnus, the architect of the project, found out at the last minute about Lorkhan's trick and left creation, punching a hole into Aetherius (the realm of magic) that we call the sun. The theory: The fact that Magnus creating the sun with his departure was not in the original plans for Nirn means that there must have been something planned to take its place. So therefore, the Eye of Magnus was going to be the seed for a sun equivalent, shining pure energy and magicka down on Nirn. (PS: Another theory for the reason Ancano wanted the Eye, apart from the sheer magical power it would bring him, ties into the Thalmor's stated goal of ascending to godhood by unmaking creation. He would have used it to destroy one of the few anchors still holding creation together, the Adamantine Tower.)
Lorkhan was subsequently torn in pieces. It wouldn't be far fetched for these containers that were meant as something else, being used as containers for Lorkhans soul instead. By keeping them apart, he won't ever be allowed to return. That would also explain why the Psijic monks took the Eye of Magnus, which is most likely the largest container and thus would form the keystone of his return, which cannot be allowed to happen
@@skbartistry2473 ofc another container was the Heart of Lorkhan.. and don't forget the Mantella from Daggerfall. Now that they are gone, there's less and less of the remaining pieces of Lorkhan, which is totally a good thing to the Thalmor
That makes sense to me that could be why the magic barrier formed and was seemingly expanding. The staff of Magnus was probably made to control the expansion of the eyes magical energy or something. If it was supposed to be the sun before Magnus ran off that could be what it was doing. The eye of Magnus was making a sun.
I love that. It's brilliant. They could even base TES6 on the eye. This gives them freedom to make it be almost whatever they want. It could even be the source of power for Magnus. Meaning absorbing it fully would make you as strong as Vivec perhaps, Maybe stronger. Definitely strong enough to be the main enemy in a game.
15:00 Something interesting I found about this boss fight is that if you hold a strong enough ward between you and Tolfdir, you can prevent Ancanno from paralyzing him, making it s that Tolfdir will be able to aid you in defeating Ancanno
@@robertschiek8120 i know that such an interaction and idea is probably entirely unintentional, but it is so amazingly poetic that the very first thing he teaches you is the thing that saves him in the end.
If "Ordained Receptacle" does refer to the Eye, it could be soul stone meant for trapping a god. Perhaps Magnus himself, or a daedra rival. Otherwise the Akaviri were probably just looking for the Holy Grail.
Or it could be deception. I'm too prone to think an Aedra, Daedra or Magna Ge is trapped in the Eye. A malevolent being could communicate with a group of people and present itself as a benevolent god, or influence their actions, so that they find him and let him free. It could explain why races not even knowing of its existance or location were looking for it and were ready to die for it.
"If it is a container, we have no idea what's in it." Except that Ancano opens it up right in front of us, and we can literally see it's containing a massive font or source of power.
@@KorilD or power suply maybe. I like this robot theory it's not like Skyrim doesn't have robots. Heck there was that weird cyborg dwarf robot thing in Morrowind. In fact maybe this explains what happened to the dwarfs as well.
I'm fairly sure the Akaviri were looking for the Heart of Lorkhan. May have been drawn to Skyrim at first because of the strong magical aura emanating from the Eye of Magnus, and realized it wasn't what they were looking for.
Another theory is that they could've been looking for the Cat's Eye Prism, since that has some In-Universe lore suggesting it could've been used for containment of someone/something.
It's possible that the Eye of Magnus being a "container" is meant in more of a metaphorical way. Like instead of literally containing an object, it might contain something more abstract like the essence of a deity or maybe even just raw power. The Elder Scrolls lore is pretty weird already so that makes sense, right?
My assumption is that it's a holy container of pure magicka like not a magical object or anything, just pure magicka like a huge overpowered soul gem of sorts
Magnus is one of the missing gods, the one that designed the world, then left it after it was made, tearing a hole in reality that became the sun. It is theorized that magicka is what remains of Magnus in the world of Nirn... but I think that's not quite all. I think the Eye of Magnus might contain, for lack of a better term, raw divine essence. Not the entirety of divinity, and not necessarily any of Magnus's divinity, but enough to keep a world going... or make a mortal into a being approaching divinity. In essence, I'm betting it's effectively a "lesser" version of the Heart of Lorkharn, possibly even the original plan for the world's heart prior to the decision to kill Lorkharn (who had at that point effectively become the world, with his heart becoming its heart). This makes sense if you view it symbolically. Eyes are said to be "the gateway to the soul", while the heart more directly represents a being's personhood. An Eye could be closed, allowing no more to pass through than necessary, but a Heart is the unrestrained entirety of a being. Channeling the Eye of Magnus would allow one some measure of (presumably, but not necessarily) Magnus's power, but channeling the Heart of Lorkharn would give one the power to effectively become Lorkharn.
"It is theorized that magicka is what remains of Magnus in the world of Nirn" A book in one of the ES games (it's been long enough that I don't remember which) explains that magicka comes directly from Aetherius. The sun, and stars to a lesser extent, are just holes that magicka leaks through into Mundus.
Lorkhan's heart was the heart of the world before it left his body, it did not turn into it after it was ripped out. Also - magic is in Nirn because of "the sun" (the hole that leads into aetherius).
I believe it was Mehrunes Dagon that tore out a hole that is the sun, during the creation of nirn. He escaped before he was bound to it and had lost the power to escape. Through the sun and smaller holes (the stars) magicka seeps into nirn.
Makes a lot of sense initially they had plans to make a artificial heart for Nirn. And maybe just maybe when Auriel killed Lorkhan and used his heart as the heart for Nirn. Magnus said fuck it and bailed out. He wanted to test it but yunno Aury over reacted.
TLDR: the staff reverses the flow of magicka through time while the eye manipulates space like a wormhole and houses a star. We know little about the eye except that it contains a source of near infinite magicka. Magic in the elder scrolls universe comes from the magicka of aetherius radiating to earth through the sun and the stars which are actually holes in the material plane into Aetherius when Magnus and his followers attempted to leave nirn. This magicka affects the "earthbones" (the laws of nature and reality for life on nirn) and allows them to be temporarily altered to perform acts of magic. I believe that the eye of Magnus is actually a "holy vessel" because it contains a star, or rather a hole to aetherius created by the passage of a divine being. Modern physics suggests space and time are intrinsically linked as space-time and they directly effect one another. All events in the elder scrolls universe are happening simultaneously from the perspective of the elder scrolls themselves which can contain any and all information about the past present and future including what could be and what could have been. In fact, lots of fan theories speculate that the game itself is a metaphor for an elder scroll and our playthrough of each game is one of the many potential and existing realities catalogued by the elder scrolls themselves. Labyrinthian has some weird time effects which is the location of the Staff of Magnus and we know time travel is possible through dragon breaks. We also know that spatial manipulation is possible due to the creation of demi-planes and teleportation magics back in Morrowind. We see the members of the psijic order do both by stopping time and teleporting. I believe the eye of Magnus is translocating a point in space to nirn like a wormhole providing ready access to the energy of aetherius by housing one of these tears in reality. It effects space. The staff on the other hand I believe manipulates time and primarily does so by reversing the flow of magicka through time. Because magicka is also "the energy of all living things" this would explain why the staff drains health once it can no longer drain magicka from the target. It was likely made specifically to counter the eye of Magnus which is why they are not stored in the same place as should the eye fall into the wrong hands the staff wouldn't be captured at the same time and could be used to stop them, which is exactly what we see happen in this quest. My guess is that once Arcano activated the eye it distorted space-time so much in the surrounding area that the psijic order (who's magic seems tied to space and time) could no longer directly intervene until you used the staff on the eye and defeated Arcano rendering the eye inert. After which they assessed it was too dangerous and decided to remove it from nirn. They don't take the staff however, which is strange. The staff on its own is not very dangerous (try to use it in combat and you find that out real quick) so I believe that the psijic orders mysticism and space-time magics can directly affect the eye and allow them to contain it without the use of the staff which is why they don't need it. They however couldn't teleport to it once it was active due to it distorting space-time. Why they didn't take it sooner is likely a writing choice, if the psijic order preemptively swooped in and solved problems when it wasn't deemed "absolutely necessary" to do so the player would simply not have a quest and this whole thing would be very undramatic and lacking from a story perspective. Who built these items and for what purpose is still unclear. Limitless magical energy sounds pretty damn cool and any number of beings would want that, yet none are around to stake their claim on it. We also cannot translate the sphere's markings or symbols suggesting that it is not originally native to Tamriel or at the very least had to have stemmed from the dawn era. It was likely buried deep underground to hide it, but from what we are uncertain. Even if we conclude what the sphere and staff are and how they might be used we are still left with a great deal of questions surrounding it's origin and purpose. We may never know but that mystery makes the whole thing so much more enjoyable.
Well, that was an absolute joy to read. This makes perfect sense to me, if stars in The Elder Scrolls universe are gateways you the realm of Magnus, then yes, the Magicka contained inside the Eye would be near, if not completely limitless. Housing a star in a sphere sounds pretty cool to me
27:04 "reasons I won't get into" An excerpt from KINMUNE: But then the Hist-Jilian wars spilled out of a Wheelian rip into the SubSys slice of 'brane-space, and things changed for Kinmune. With the outer colonies separated from Nu-Mundelbright chronoculic sync-net anchors, maintenance of space-time beyond the F-Shores faltered. As the barely-there Hist blink-root-ship armada fired an artillery barrage of 16th-dimensional mathematics at their Jilian enemies, impossipoint detonations stippled across the Ix-Egg and its clutch-satellites like some garish TalOSian hologram, only without the irony. Kinmune's synthetic body, caught in one of the blasts, suddenly found itself in the Ysgramorim, her mind an aggregate of the residual personalities of her last several users. ... I can see why you opted not to get into it Would love to see a series about Kirkbride's radicool insanity though
Kirkbride is a straight up lunatic, thank God he couldn’t get his hands on the story and turn it into a bunch of nonsensical irrelevant garbage where everything is meaningless. A 6 year old playing with action figures comes up with less ridiculous stories than that guy.
The “Ordained Receptacle” could be same thing the Tsaesci were looking for during their invasion. A Dragonborn. A person blessed by Akatosh to house the soul (or many souls) of a dragon.
Maybe, the “Ordained Receptacle” is kinda like a soul gem? Maybe it’s like a soul gem of the gods and can hold a dragon’s soul. And the writing on it is like the writing of the gods but the Dragonborn can learn to read it from an Elder Scroll, learn a shout or two, then trap a powerful dragons soul.. ie Alduin. The “Ordained Receptacle” is a gem set aside for the First Born Dragon’s soul when he’s ultimately destroyed by the Dragonborn.
Nate's interpretation of KINMUNE is based on an older version of the text. There's an updated one at c0da.es/ayrenn and it definitely explains what KINMUNE actually is. That's not to discredit Nate's interpretation however as all views are valid when it comes to TES Lore.
@@Gronglegrowth Only those based on actual lore. The games, and to a lesser extent the books, actually published by or with Bethesda. Anything else you're basing it on is not valid, it's a pipe dream.
@@allenellisdewitt I am aware that there are differing opinions on what's considered lore and even if canon is a thing within TES. I do not want to have that debate again, so I will just say that I personally do not believe that and consider all lore, whether official or apocrypha, to be valid regardless of whether or not I personally accept it into my Elder Scrolls. Everyone's Elder Scrolls experience is different, and everyone's lore experience is different.
@@Gronglegrowth Speaking of Apocrypha, I wouldn't be surprised if the entirety of the Elder Scrolls lore from the very beginning to the very end is found within Herma Mora's realm somewhere, but nobody has ever been able to read it all without going insane...
@@BaronSengir1008 You know... that would make a lot of sense. But by apocrypha I meant fan lore people write, which includes the out of game works of Michael Kirkbride.
Same. It implies he may want to just wipe the slate clean similar to Alduin. But likely for different reasons. My guess is he didn't want to waste time uniting Tamriel to create/bring back the Altmeri promised land (was it Aldmeris?).
Searching for an “Ordained Receptacle” then swiftly and suddenly moving towards Morrowind seems to refer to the Heart of Lorkhan. It’s basically a giant soul stone made out of the body of a dead god.
Kinda agree with this. As the Nords worshiped Old Shor - as aspect of Lorkham - it would make sense to start the search in Skyrim and then pivot to Morrowind when the Heart was really found.
Considering that Arcano was taking magic from the eye, in the boss battle it opens up a bit, and when the professor even said he could feel the pure magicka radiating from it. It is more than likely full of pure magic energy
could be a god maker/prison fill it up with energy untill a god or some type of magic entity is born and could be a device to create a body to revive the creater of it have people worship it and pump magic into it for generations actually it could do anything frankly anything that can can generate magic or has that much magic store in it is incredibly valuable
Azhidal The Dragon Priest also had his beginnings at Saarthal. He was instrumental in helping Yggsgramor and his 500 finally defeat the falmer. He was studying magic under both falmer and psijic masters it is believed, when the farmer betrayed the Nords for whatever reason and put Saarthal to the sword. Azhidal lost his entire family and though he escaped he did not flee to Atmore. I believe he even continued his studies under the snow elf mages nursing his hatred and hiding his true intent to facilitate the continuation of his lessons. Only when Yggsgramor returned at the the head of his 500 did Azhidal meet him at the coast and swear to serve him until all the snow elves were dead. After the fall of the snow elves he decended into madness and became a dragon priest on solstheim where it seems the politics were quite different than in skyrim. The Dragon Priests still ruled with absolute power but the dragons may have been less involved here and The Priests more able to act freely. Azhidals decent is a book telling the whole story. I may have gotten bits wrong but that he went mad after the war is undeniable. All the Dragon Priests on solstheim seem to have been a bit off in many ways.
Man just when you think you've discovered everything about the game you walk into some guys cabin and instantly start a quest. Skyrim is humongous and you do a great job of solving it's puzzles and all the contents of it. Keep going you superb lad :)
To me the Eye of Magnus was a gigantic magic amplifier. When Ancano casted a ward spell on it.. it kept exponentially growing the ward around them. We know its a ward spell since it took 3 mages (you one of them) casting destructive spells on it to drop its ward shield the 1st time we try to assault Ancano. The staff of Magnus acts like a magic nullifier. Weakening the Eyes effect. Had Ancano magnified a fireball spell to the eye.. it could of nuked Skyrim outright. Which is why the Psyjic order took over it to avoid anyone detonating a giant bomb.
You are close with the amplifying. the eye of magnus is basically just a giant magic reactor core. To amplifying is to increase and expand in power and magnitude. the ward around the eye was having obscenely large amounts of magical energy pumped into it and making it bigger. However there is a material in elderscrolls universe that can also amplify magical energies and it is called Aeonstone. However the difference between the two is that aeonstone can only amplifying magical energy from external sources whereas the eye of magnus is its own infinite source of power.
@@72marshflower15 I have a bachelor's degree in the creative arts is that enough real life skills? I could paint a painting expressing how backhanded your comment is.
Maybe the Eye contains the known universe within it, including itself. Like the universe box in Futurama that also contained itself. Or maybe the real Eye of Magnus were the friends we made along the way.
I like this explanation better than the one I came up with, which is that the Eye of Magnus is simply a container for a truly massive amount of magicka that is compressed into it, and that if it is all released all at once, it could destroy everything physical in all of Nirn, and the fact that it's "radiating magicka" as Tolfdir puts it, is proof that the container is eroding and leaking large amounts of magicka
The Nords didn't kill all the Snow Elves. They were driven underground into the realm of the Dwemer, where they were basically enslaved, untill the Dwemer disappeared. The current mutated Falmer are what's left of the Snow Elves.
“Kinmune could send distress signals across all of Tamriel” Remember that part in the questline when we end up with a projection of Tamriel on a wall? And there are 2 big ol’ dots on the map which indicate the eye of magnus and the one thing that is known to be able to control it? *hmmm*
@@wisemankugelmemicus1701 Yeah. Hell given the mystery surrounding the Eye, having it containing a robot from the future that later becomes a queen is just....dumb.
Here's the thing if the robot is the sorce of power and apparent escape a few centuries later then the eye of magnus wouldn't hold any power when we get to it. It can't be real. Tho I can see it being a container and why the aliens attacked. This also holds up with the staff most likely the staff is the key to the container. Still I want to know what is inside. Also why did the cigics wait is it possible that what ever is inside was so powerful that they needed more time to contain it and needed us to weaken it first. What the in the hell could be so powerful that time bending mages from another dimension couldn't contain it on their own. Another question is what would have happened if we hadn't stop arcano.
@@TheNameTag Well when it opens during the battle with Ancano, it has a massive ball of energy and what looks like a crystal of some kind behind all of the excessive glow.
Bit of a late point to weigh in, but I'm doing it anyway. It's important to examine the interaction the eye has had that we can glean the most information from, which is its appearance in Skyrim. Its past aside, Ancano made it a priority to seize it without any backup, all alone against the entire college. This means he was confident that the college would be powerless against him if he secured it. From this we can glean that not only does it contain more power than the rest of the college combined (no big shock), but it also contains enough power to elevate him beyond the SKILL of the college, including people like Savos Aren and Tolfdir, who are supremely skilled in their fields. In the encounter at the end, Ancano says "The power to unmake the world at my fingertips, and you think you can do anything about it?" This is often seen as a boast by most casual players, but let's take it at face value. First of all, he says Unmake, not destroy, conquer, or any synonym of those. Why would he pick that word? Either because the Eye has that as its primary ability, or that it was something that was on his mind. When you dig deeper on the overall goals of the Thalmor, it becomes increasingly clear that their actions and dogma line up with a goal of returning the world to its state before creation, in a hope of becoming divine again. While not directly confirmed, the pieces fit. So what if that was it? That the Eye is either powerful enough to undo mundus, or has some connection to its base forces that would allow for the same? The Magnus connection would make even more sense then, seeing as he designed the whole thing. Whatever the answer is, it's worth considering that the Eye might be a power that could scale to the divines or daedra, or only Magnus himself, and that Ancano's intent might have been to undo what the thalmor dogma views as the curse of existence.
Honestly, I think the word unmake has something to do with the Thalmors goal as a whole. To bring back the Mirithic era, think about it. They always say humans are dogs. They want to bring that time back. He wants unmake the world And reconstruct it to where the thalmor reign supreme. They hate anything that smells like mortality. They are the other. And they are going to win in the end. I think he genuinely had this power at his fingertips. It’s just that the dovakin interrupted him before he could complete his plan
A bit late to respond, but when he says "unmake" i feel it's a reference to the Thalmor's goal to destroy the pillars of Tamriel and collapse Mundas, reuniting them with the realm of Aetheriu. Their goal to "reclaim" their position next to the divines. A relic with as much arcane power as this thing may have enough power to let them destroy the pillars.
What if the Psijik order knew about the Eye of Magnus? Maybe Magnus didn’t even create it, the Psijiks may have discovered magic that could return the world to a state before creation and they decided to lock it away. Actually, now that I think about it, how did it wind up so deep underground? It’s not like Saarthal was always there and the only people who lived in Tamriel at the time who could get that deep underground were the Dweomer. That would be an interesting connection, though very unlikely I’d imagine.
if the eye of Magnus has the ability to unmake Mundus, shouldn't it have the ability to unmake more than just that? maybe the godhead dreamt up a killswitch that the inhabitants of Tamriel could activate to end their suffering.. unknowingly.
I always liked to imagine that the eye of magnus is... the eye of magnus. Like literally they eye of the god of magic, manifested as a physical object within the mortal realm, and therefore holding immense magical power.
A little late to the comments but flowing off of the bit about it being a holy lock box we have to assume that since even by the 5th era during the course of Skyrim it is said that conjuration magic is highly unstable and not fully understood. Meaning there was a time before the elves, humans, and beast races had it. Therefore it only stands to reason that there was a time before soul gems. But we obviously have magical items from said time period. Ysgramors axe for example. Meaning they needed a way to enchant and with there being the possibility that there are several more of these containers around tamriel it could be possible that these are just early soul gem like devices capable of more than what modern day soul gems are but a lot more unstable hence the size and amount of power contained within
Ya know I gave J'zargo the Staff of Magnus because he asked for it... When he gave it back, it had hot Cheeto dust all over it. It wasn't that hard to clean off, but FR tho, J'zargo needs to take care of stuff better
Surprised you never mentioned Blackreach and the yellow orb stored there. To me it seems like another one of those magic containers. Since it was on the posession of the dwemer, one of the falmer's greatest enemies, it's possible the falmer wanted the eye of magnus to counter the blackreach orb just in case.
The Dwemer were more mechanical in their use of magic. So I don’t think they imbued an orb with magic. They were in black reach to research aetherium. The orb seems to just be a light or a prison for the dragon that might have been powering the light.
I always thought that was a giant lamp, but that makes sense. I was gonna say, similar to the Sky Forge, the Eye of Magnus was made by a God, but the Yellow Orb could also be a magical artifact acting as source of magical or technology power source.
The biggest barrier for mages reestablishing a viable, scholarly presence in Skyrim was because magic was considered bad juju by the ruling Nords/Priests/Skalds (who were superstitious by course). Nords had their own divine powers derived from their Aedra/gods and thought of aetheric magic as Daedric/evil magic. Still, there were other little hurdles mages still had to overcome after Skyrim was taken into the Empire by Septim. The locals are still hung up about elves, the area is still very difficult to get sufficient supplies to, and there are constant political talking-heads getting involved with "purely scholarly pursuits"... Realistically, it's a miracle Sarthal was unearthed at all.
So what you're saying is, If we collect the Eye of Magnus, The Cat's Eye Prism and one of each of these spheres from the other provinces, we can summon The Dragon and make a perfect wish?
I feel that the eye has more to do with Magnus not being able to leave mundus kind of like Lorkhan's heart. Just thinking about two eyes from the same God leaves me to believe that even tho the Monomyth talks about him leaving mundus I feel like he couldn't and just left open a gate to Athererius (the sun) and everything else related to him are his fragments even magika
He absolutly left. The sun is proof of that. As for Lorkan's heart, it's where it is because he was killed, chopped to bits, and scattered across the world. If you kept looking you'd find all his bits eventually.
RELAXED AND FEELING GOOD, NEXT TIME YOU KNOW YOURE SEEIN HAGRAVEN IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD RIDING IN A HORSE CART SWINGIN THROUGH THE DUNGEONS TAKE A LEFT AT SOLITUDE TAKE YOUR SECOND RIGHT AT WHITERUN ON THE MAGIC SKYRIM CART
Hey Nate, remember how one of the Gauldur brothers was found with the Eye of Magnus in Saarthal, seemingly protecting it? Why was he locked away there, of all places? Do you think the brothers have some relation to the Eye of Magnus? This probably opposes the theories that you presented, but it felt like you completely ignored the fact that a Gauldur brother was buried with the Eye, so I just had to ask.
Maybe a powerful mage at that time connected them both so he can't leave his tomb. Considering the fact that shalidor at that time i wouldn't consider it an impossibility
You forget one important detail and that is Ancano says "i have the power to unmake the world at my fingertips" considering the high elves goal to unmake the world its possible that Ancano was simply in the collage to consolidate power but after discovering the eyes power he concluded that destroying each of the towers wouldn't be the only way to unmake the world and adjusted his plans to these changes.
I think there's something you're leaving out. In the chamber with the eye we find Jyrik Gauldurson, who was sealed in Saarthal (already considered ancient ruins) by Archmage Geirmund in the early 1E. Which means that in the early 1E, a rogue mage and a powerful archmage discovered the Eye of Magnus under Saarthal.
@ThatDamnScottishGuy Well EVERYBODY knows that. The theory posited here is that the Eye, and the structure to hide it in, were there even before the Atmorans were, and the 2nd-4th Era Nords can swear up and down that they were there first, because there aren't exactly copious records of the Merethic Era. A real world analogy would be any of the English settlements in modern-day MA or VA. The native tribes had abandoned many of their settlements in the area, likely due to a plague, and the English chose those spots to settle because there was some semblance of an infrastructure there to use, and then they just sort of ignored the fact there was ever anyone else there before them, since there was no longer anyone around to say otherwise. i reckon much of the lore of the conflicts of man and mer have been inspired by the history of colonialism in our own world.
Plot twist: They were actually looking for potatoes. Akavir doesn't have potatoes. Well, I don't know that for a fact, I'm no ES lore expert, but they shouldn't have had potatoes. Much like Europe, Asia and Africa never had potatoes until we discovered America. PO-TAY-TOES.
Hey - I know you posted this like 2 years ago, but as someone who is just getting back into Skyrim through the VR version, I found this super interesting. Love the videos, please make more!
You know what the tale of how the Nords found the eye reminds me of? It reminds me of the insanely powerful heart that the dwarves found just an insanely powerful relic just buried underground.
Weird, what's the Eye of Magnus doing, just seemingly buried underground? Heart of Lorkhan makes sense, we know it's origin, but why is the Eye of Magnus underground?
My guess is that the Eye is an artifact dating back to the Dawn Era. Records from that time are spotty at best, but I suspect the Psyjiks know more about it.
@@beastwarsFTW I mean, not all Aedric Artifacts are in such spots though. I mean, you'd think it would be under heavy lock and key, or in some Elven Temple, or on top of the Throat of the World, where it's precariously/notoriously difficult to climb... not underground where some random nords would find it and potentially tamper with it. I mean, the Heart of Lorkhan made a Volcano, why didn't the Eye of Magnus make a lake or a crater or something? Saarthal was made on essentially flat Land, and as an Elven Artifact, why would it be just sitting in some random stone work underground? I mean, it wasn't even a cavern, the Eye was inside the Nordic architecture, which means that they would've found it low key just sitting in rubble all the way around, and had to excavate it. Even the Heart of Lorkhan had a chamber that it was in, naturally as a Volcano
I was guessing that the Eye of Magnus was a portal or artifact to or from Aetherius as mentioned with Faralda when you try to go into the college and the dialogue option “I want to unravel the mysteries of Aetherius.” is there. That would explain why Ancano was trying to use the Eye for powers, also considering it is also called "The Immortal Plane" it would make sense that Ancano would be invincible until you stop the Eye with the staff. Aetherius is also said to be the "Source of All Magic" and also the "Source of All Creation" a Plane of Pure Magicka and the Realm where Magicka originates as well. It would make total sense that the Thalmor would want that power for themselves. I don't know much about what I'm talking about, but I think this theory makes sense.
Couple of points -- "Ordained Receptacle" sounds a lot like "Holy Grail" to me. Less a "box to put a robot in" than a power in its own right. Certainly Ancano says he has "the power to unmake the world at my fingertips". Doesn't sound like a box for a robot that escaped a long time ago. Secondly, the Staff of Magnus wasn't sitting in Bromjunaar since Ysgrammor's time, it appeared in other ES games including ESO and the Neravarine recovers it in Morrowind. It can't have been in Labyrinthian for more than 250 years.There's no particular reason to think the ancient Nords used it (though maybe they needed it to manipulate the Eye).
I agree. And we know the staff leaves it's user, much like the rose, to prevent the user from becoming too powerful. And as far as powers to destroy the would... who's power CREATED it? Magnus. The staff also is said to control Magnus' power. The orb contains either a piece of Magnus, or at least some of his power.
Maybe the Eye of Magnus is literally a piece of the aedra Magnus? It would make for an extremely compelling motive for the psyjic order to intervene considering what happened the last time 'mortals' interacted with a piece of an aedra/a god.
maybe the orb itself is really just a lockbox with near unlimited power to keep whatever is inside of it contained, and the nords just haphazardly decided "hey, lets put this future robot in it, because what else are we gonna do", which would've pissed off the few civilizations who knew about it, kinda like if you put chocolate milk in the Holy Grail.....religious leaders wouldn't be too happy with you.
@@larrycrabcake9025 I'm certainly no expert on Elder Scrolls lore, but I just wanted to say that "chocolate milk in the Holy Grail" is probably the funniest analogy I've heard in a good while.
16:08 Quaranir tells us why, "Ancano's actions prove that the world is not ready for such a thing. We shall safeguard it... for now" it was a test set by the Psijic Order to see what would happen.
@@McPlayer8t im pretty sure you can, thats the college of winterhold questline isnt it? i dont think i did their questline my first or even 2nd playthrough
When wandering all over Skyrim, I had wanted to collect, and later read EVERY book in the game! But, like most, I just got more drawn into adventuring and having a blast. Nate, you have done a fantastic thing to put pieces of obscure lore to stitch the stories into something I had never thought to solve. I commend your skills! Even though the game is well played out, I still start it out again and again, since I fell in love with it years ago, and I can understand many other fans enjoyment as well. Thank you, TheEpicNate315 !!
Oh man one of my fav quest. Felt like a adventure and a magical quest for my magic character. Its like an episode of a show. Starts off simple and slow with suddenly you finding this artifact with insane power.
"This is technically fanfiction" Me: "Well it's from a former Elder Scrolls writer I'm sure it's not the weirdest fanfiction ever" "The Eye of Magnus contains a time travelling future robot"
I mean... The Dwemer had technology to create robots before they disappeared. Remember the animunculi? I don't know what many advancements could be made in this universe if it really gets to the 9th era, if some people manage to study the Dwemer sciences more deeply. Ways of controlling time also exist within the TES universe, with beings such as Alduin existing, so maybe someone could find a way to use that power, too. Why is it so hard to accept that this is actually perfectly plausible in such a far point of the future within this universe?
I find it really interesting how 'The night of tears' is somewhat reminiscent to an event that happened between the Aztecs and the conquistadors: the famous 'La Noche Triste' which translates to 'The Night of Sorrows' where Hernán Cortés, his army of Spanish conquistadors, and their native allies were driven out of the Aztec capital at Tenochtitlan.
The Nords' history seems to be, in general, a parallel to the European conquest and destruction of the Americas. So it's not a stretch to think that Bethesda specifically referenced that event.
The main difference being that the Aztecs were a culture obsessed with war, they needed to gain continuous prisoners to sacrifice to the sun everyday. The snow elves don't seem to be the same.
@@Cemtexify The death of the Aztecs wasn't good or bad based on their culture or anything, it was awful cuz they were wiped out for the sake of a massive imperialist force. Even if the Snow Elves were evil or cruel that wouldn't excuse their genocide
@@annacollins8999 The Aztecs were a massive imperialist force themselves who made a lot of enemies and the Snow Elves committed genocide against the Atmorans first. Nobody is excusing genocide, but you're taking a rather simplistic approach to both cases, which borders on disingenuousness.
bro, what if the eye of magnus was the left/right eye of a bigger robot, like the writer suggested, ig it would kind of be like the right and left eye of the farmers, the ultimate weapon that was never commissioned by the snow elves when they went to war with the nords
I do know a red skinned giant that gave up one of his eyes for greater power from a dark god... Needless to say not one of the smartest decisions my estranged brother did...
I always imagined it as a massive well of Magicka, either some kinda generator or just containing intense Magic energy, that's why using the staff on the eye weakens arcano, you are both drawing from the same source and it basically weakens his connection
Yeah, I was kinda, Very disappointed in what that staff gave, I was half tempted to sell it but I like to keep all unique items I find, but to be the only good thing about the staff is it design. Since the staff was shit I just downloaded a mod that added some master spells and powers.
Yeah because 20 points of magica per second until the target has no magica then it switches to health (20 per second!) Is shit... Fucking hell do you guys think daedric weapons are shit too?
LOL was going to comment basically the same thing. "We figured out the mystery!" answer - Well this fanfic written by someone after the game came out says this, and that's what we think!
@@andrewbugs418 Tell me about it. That story had me cringing and shaking my head. When he said "Enter Michael Kirkbride" I knew we were in for a butchered story.
Small theory, kind of a tinfoil hat situation, but hear me out. What if the Eye of Magnus, contains Magnus himself? Or a fragment of him? If Magnus is THE God of Magicka, and the Eye is exuding "unfathomable amounts of magical energy" then to me, that would make sense. Think about it, the God of Magicka himself would just radiate immeasurable levels of magical energies, as he would be quite literally made of it, and the Eye does the exact same thing, radiates immeasurable/unfathomable amounts of magicka. If you ask me? I don't think there was too much "mystery" behind it, I feel like Bethesda kinda just handed us the answer in such an obvious way, that nobody really saw it.
That's what I was thinking too. It doesn't seem that wild to me that gods/daedra/other incredibly powerful, immortal beings might have their power contained in some object in the mortal world. Some of their power at least
![ATEEZ(에이티즈) - [GOLDEN HOUR : Part.2] Preview](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/X4PfgRPBUVo/mqdefault.jpg)
You said pause the video when can I Continue
You can't. I'm stuck too
There’s an ugly kid in your profile picture.
When Bethesda releases Elder Scrolls 6.
Citizen Cain so never?
Lol
It’s just a magical disco ball. The Order took it for a party they’re throwing with Sheogorath and Sanguine.
Sheo and sanguine sounds like the best and worst duo ever
Sounds about right, and is probably the sickest party ever
Man, eye never get invited to the cool parties. Guess I'll just have to look through the glass again.
Maybe...
I love this! :)
Im more curious about how they got the eye through the small doors
I mean they are wizards, so
MAGIC. *SNORT SNORT*
What if they floated it through the roof ✌
Dragons lube and a ton of WD40
@@rashe4095 XD
If I remember the lore correctly, the "stars" in the night sky of Mundus aren't giant distant balls of hydrogen but instead portals into Aetherius.
The magicka in all living beings is said to flow from Aetherius.
What if the Eye is a captured one of those portals? What if some ancient order of magic-users literally pulled a star from the sky and trapped in in a container so they could harness a *much* more powerful flow of magicka than existed in any living being?
Bruh
Bruuuuhhhh
Holy crap bro
Shit man have you sent your application to Bethesda yet?
That’s a good one
The power of the Eye of Magnus is nothing compared to the sheer power of the ear-splitting shriek of Meridia's Beacon
A NEW HAND TOUCHES THE BEACON
LISTEN. HEAR ME AND OBEY.
Even thought the quest is tedious, Dawnbreaker is really usefull when fighting Potema at low levels.
A NEW HAND FONDLES MY BACON!!! NOT ORIGINAL
LISTEN UP!!!! HEAR ME AND OBEY!!!! THERE IS A MOD TO REPLACE MY VOICE!!!
At least there is on Xbox One
The theory I always had was this:
The eye is actually a gateway into aetherius, the plane of existence that houses the birth of magic, when Ancano shocking the eye he's actually tapping into its infinite properties of magic and so he's becoming a god by having unlimited magic that he can then use to create the most powerful spells.
When we use the staff we're not "weakening" it, we're simply turning off the gateway, shattering the bridge to Aetherius so Ancano will become a mortal again, my next theory is that when we're shatter that bridge WHILST Ancano is actively stealing the magic properties it's actually turning off his link to the eye, which causes that magic he stole to go away or evaporate, if he had simply stole the power then cut the link, he would be fine.
I also have a theory that the staff can actually be used to fully open the door and allow you to enter aetherius.
Yep, it's essentially an artificial Elder Scroll made for scrying into all possible futures, but without the destructive effects of real Elder Scrolls. But it's unstable, and while it's working its dumping magic non-stop into Tamriel, hence you need the staff to bleed it off and focus it. If left unchecked, the eye will literally drain aetherius into mundus and cause mundus to revert back into the aetherial plane - destroying creation. Maybe I've just spent too much time with old Herma Mora, I thought everyone knew this.
@@goliathprime well I wouldn't say it would bleed all aetherius into mundus. I think it's just a star.
Stars being holes to aethurius. The staff once belonged to Magnus himself, and sealing a breach is well within his an the staffs power.
However being so close would offer immense power. Welkynd stones are powerful sources of magic, and they're just shards saturated with star magic. An actual start would be make than look like trinkets.
@@Gorgovoid173 @tisFrancesfault @goliathprime Gentleman, gentleman. Shlongs of Skyrim and HDT all in one vagina, it is all we need to understand.
This theory is obviously more plausible than the robot crap that Kirkbride thought up in one of his fanfics but this does leave a glaring plot hole; assuming it is just a literal gateway to Aetherius, why does that draw people to it, like the Nords, who most likely followed its call from Atmora considering Saarthal is where they decided to set up shop, the Snow Elves that attacked the settlement and started the war, and the Akaviri invasion? Because the stars in the night sky are all distant gateways to Aetherius, yet there isn’t some Lovecraft-esque force causing people to be drawn toward the sky. I’m not saying it’s not something to do with Aetherius, but how do you explain that kind of pull toward it?
@@TheBlackBrickStudios well, the elves, for one, want to escape their endless reincarnation and return to aetherius, which is their entire reason for destroying the Towers. I would imagine if they think its feasible to travel through the Eye and return to aetherius they would jump at the chance
The Eye is actually a giant hamster ball used to power the ESO servers.
Lol
This is true, I was the hamster.
Yeeeeesssss
an obese hampster that is also dead
The Hamster is All the Players Money
I really like that elder scrolls games have actual historians and scholars in them trying to understand the lore of the game they are in. Definitely adds to the immersion, since most games have a sort of "everything important is already known, but kept secret" style of lore
we need more fantasy world where the cool ancient mysteries are locked behind years of cultural amnesia. and yknow what? fuck it, let's have a game where that's central to the plot, wherein the whole thing is a high fantasy archeology story, in which you progressively learn more about this world
I try to do that in my dnd game. Whenever I write notes, and then a few years later I write new notes that contradict the old ones.
I keep both types to try and have them be different interpretations by different npc's on how something happened
I also like how everything known to the player comes from sources of varying reliability. Tales of the world's creation obviously took place before anyone was there to see it and write it down, so of course a bunch of it is going to contradict, you never know if it's truth or some guy making it all up thousands of years ago.
Ah my favorite skyrim history book line "Ysgramor and his boys came back to skyrim and boy did they open a can of whoopass on the elfs" What fine literature
Ysgramor and the boys on their way to "liberate" skyrim 🏃♂️
They smashed the elves with twisted tea💀
"& that's the bottom line cuz ysgramor said so"
would you say that Ysgramor cracked open some cold ones with the boys
brb gonna rename the companions to “the boys”
I just wish they would have finished the College of Winterhold's questline and used the Eye of Magnus to restore Winterhold to its former glory, before the great collapse.
Jordan Brendmoen Seriously, you had to randomly bring politics into a Skyrim theory video?
Chicago is a big city just because of a few bad neighborhoods doesnt make it a hell hole. Every city has rough spots.
Jordan Brendmoen I’m not a democrat, but we’re talking about magic in a fantasy world. There aren’t many similarities between Chicago and a little town in a video game
i think that in 2011 that would have been almost imposible cause when you start playing the game College is how it is and by the end if they were to rebuild it that would mean that the whole look would have to change and stay like that period, i dont think Bethesda had such technology back in 2011, i mean that means that files for Winterhold and College would have to change in your directory so yea....
@@nemdzx i dont think thats the case, would be another file. definitely had the technology. games havent come much further
The Eye of Magnus is a "receptacle", and you interact with it using the Staff of Magnus, a big stick. Obviously the Eye is a big magic pinata.
your comment is perfection
This is my head canon now
slap the big glowy ball with the stick!
i love how there are conflicting historical sources in this game, really shows the detail and effort put into this game
Also, it might be two people working on one thing not communicating with one another xD
Remember - it's Bethesda, there's the same chance for something being a bug or a feature
Not just conflicting sources, conflicting realities. The first game had something like five or six endings. CANONICALLY, they are ALL true. They ALL happened.
@@stargate525 Yeah, can also kind of be due to Dragon Breaks
it's why it's one of my favorite lore rabbit holes. it's just so insane and in-depth and you get to choose which reality you like best because they technically all happened and didn't happen (according to chim theory)
It's pretty lazy from a story perspective. The conflicting realities/accounts just mean Bethesda doesn't have to pay attention to continuity. Accidentally retcon a character/story/location? Just say there was a dragon break! Much easier than actually keeping track of their own fiction and now they can literally put anything in without any fear of fan backlash because there is no concretely established reality in this universe.
I REALLY like these "theory" or lore videos you've been making to give us a break from the 10 tiny details series. They are really good, and go very in depth. Thanks Nate :)
Something I thought while playing through that questline, when the pieces of the Eye started to "open" during the final fight, was that there was something inside that Ancano was trying to get, so the idea that it could be a container isn't too surprising to me. I think the reason the Psijik Order took it after the fight was because it hadn't come as close to being opened before as it had in that moment. Maybe they were planning on leaving it and just monitoring the situation to see what happens, allowing the younger College to study it to further their own understanding of magic, but then realized during the fight with Ancano that it would be too dangerous to do so.
It seems like it has to have something to do directly with Magnus, if the Staff of Magnus, which was supposedly created by Magnus, has an effect on it when nothing else does. I think they might be something like a "box" and "key" set. I'm not exactly an expert on Elder Scrolls lore, but here's an idea. Lorkhan, who was killed by Magnus, had his body split apart becoming the moons and his heart, his "divine spark," fell to Nirn. I assumed that the power in the heart was just a sort of divine essence that made a god, a god, which is why other people who came into contact with it gained immortality and god-like powers. So we know where his body is, and we know where his divine power is, but what about his soul?
Physically travelling to planes that people inhabit in the afterlife isn't an impossible feat by any means, so surely if a god was killed and separated from what made him immortal, his soul should have ended up somewhere. Every other piece of him ended up in Nirn (or at least floating above it,) so wouldn't it make sense for the soul of the god responsible for creating Nirn to be present in the world in some way? Containing souls in Elder Scrolls isn't exactly a new concept, and the more powerful the soul is/the bigger the creature it came from was, the bigger the soul gem has to be. To contain a god's soul, maybe something more complex had to be created, and who better to do so than Magus, the original arcane architect? Now going back to the potential alternate name for the Eye of Magnus, the "Ordained Receptacle," we have an alternate interpretation of this; it could be "a container that is holy," or it could be, "a container FOR something holy," as in a container with a god trapped inside of it. It would also explain the near-infinite energy that the College sensed from it; they would be familiar with soul gems, but the power contained in a god's soul would be almost infinitely more powerful than any of the souls they regularly work with.
There is conflicting information about Lorkhan's morality, but the interpretation favored particularly by the Dark Brotherhood is that he was actually created by Sithis to destroy the universe. Since one of the stories of how he created Mundus was that he tricked the other gods into helping to create it, and unknowingly give up large portions of their own power in the process, maybe the creation of Mundus was just a means to an end with the actual objective being to weaken and kill the other gods. If the Eye of Magnus is a container for his soul, opening it and releasing that soul could potentially bring about the destruction of the entire universe.
I love this explanation, well done
@@MartinSeptimII Thanks, I'm actually surprised anyone read this.
@@spectralumbra1568 I couldn't stop reading it actually lol, super interesting, your theory made more sense than MK's kinmune imho
Well I’m sold.
Bro, Magnus fled before he ever got the chance to kill Lorkhan.
Auriel had fought Lorkhan, as did Trinimac. Actually, it was Trinimac specifically who "knocked down Lorkhan in front of his armies, and reached in with more than hands to take his heart". Magnus had nothing to do with it.
The Eye of Magnus definitely doesn't contain his soul, and the Heart of Lorkhan was grabbed by Auriel and shot across Nirn with his Bow. So the heart ended up creating Red Mountain.
The Eye of Magnus is likely just a font of Magica that connects directly to Aetherius, much like how he created a portal in his wake when he smashed through Mundus to get back to Aetherius
I always thought the Eye of Magnus was kind of like the Heart of Lorkhan. Given that the Heart was an Aedric artifact so powerful it caused the entire Dwemer race to vanish, turned the Tribunal into gods, and so on, and it definitely seemed like the Psijic Order feared something of that magnitude.
Except Magnus left before lorkhan died. Magnus and his followers left the material plane in doing so they punched holes in reality creating the stars
Correct me if I’m wrong, but wasn’t the Heart of Lorkhan in Morrowind when the Dwemer disappeared, and didn’t the Dwemer extinction happen after the Nords had settled Skyrim, so for it to be the heart, the Dwemer would have to go to that Nord ruin, then use it in Morrowind, then someone else would have to put it back in the Nordic ruin we find it in
@@landonjamison7332 He didn't say it "was" the heart, but an object that was "like" the heart.
@@richardhicks5031 Holes into Oblivion
@@richardhicks5031 except there's a Khajiit myth saying Boethiah ripped out one of Magnus' eyes and that Azura ripped out the other and keeps it in her realm
Something most people don't notice is the symbols on the Ey of Magnus. They're the same symbols that you see whizzing around your screen when you read an Elder Scroll. Very interesting.
It's because Elder Scrolls, the Nine, and Magnus and his kin share the same roots. The Eye is said to be a piece of Magnus that trailed off as he fled Nirn (the hole he created in time-space also creating the sun in the process). The Elder Scrolls are the remains of similar godly entities from the dawn era, who fell in power in the process of Lorkhan's cementation of Nirn.
To put it this way, the Heart of Lorkhan and the Eye of Magnus have similar origins, but one is a piece of the world and the other is a piece of the stars. Elder Scrolls are fragments of sacrificed lesser divines while greater divines came to form the 8
Something I noticed yesterday, is the shape, color and astounding power of the eye. If you’ve done other quests, you may remember Atherium. What if the eye is made of Atherium, and is related to the Dwarven disappearance somehow?
It's been awhile since I've played Oblivion or Skyrim, but I seem to recall a book that said something to the effect that the withdrawal of Magnus from Nirn is what effected the 'cementation'.
Magnus was the very essence of Magica. He was it, and it was him. Having THAT much raw transformative power would destabilize the purely physical, the 'Mundus'. He HAD TO GO. The Eye, imo, is some small portion of Magnus that remains bound to the world he helped to create, and as such, it is a conduit that allows Magica(much REDUCED) to exist in the world without utterly destabilizing it. The Prism(s?), I think, were products of the early Merethic period, possibly as scrying stones or possibly Magica storage...??
That is a great observation! I didn't notice.
I was gonna say, similar to the Sky Forge, it is something made by a God, but it could be like an Elder Scroll, existing on several different planes of existence and gives incredible abilities.
@@ava4689I believe it to be so.
I'd like to point out that when speaking of electrical systems, a receptacle is
"An electrical (or electronic) fitting that is connected to a source of power and equipped to receive an insert" which would at a base level fit the Eye of Magnus perfectly if replacing electrical with magical. This would imply that the Eye itself actually contains no power, it is simply linked to an unfathomable source of power and acts as a type of remote access
That sounds pretty acceptable to me. Ancano (sir douche) tapped into it. He plugged himself into said energy source
Why should the mashine (if its one) be powered by electrical energy. It could be powered by magicka.
To confirm this:
Magnus is basically magic itself and Boethiah ripped put his eye in a Khajiit myth. Azura ripped out the other one and holds it in her realm.
aaand mirabelle says the staff is thebonly thing that can contain magnus' power. what if the staff was a sort of key?
@@darkproductions8742 wgat is a khajit myth?
1:06 "they nickname it the eye of magnus" weirdly I just did this quest again yesterday on my.. 5th playthrough. It was actually the Auger of Dunlain who resides beneath the college who informs the dragonborn of its name and tells you to find the staff of magnus.
Why is everyone ignoring this.. he also mentions nothing of this. Dude....
If memory serves the Monk of the Psijic Order who tells you to speak with the Augur already refers to it as the Eye of Magnus, and implies that other mages at the College are referring to it as that as well, so the Augur could just be referring to it as that to avoid confusion.
The eye is put into the Augur of Dunlain's magic. The augur is one with the "blue juice" flowing through the college.
His character craves knowledge.
@@chugiakjrtheplaywwright6461 The monk doesn't call it the Eye of Magnus until he takes it away. All he names is the Augur.
No, Tolfdir already calls it that before then, saying something like "well we don't know what it is, but it's clearly a big deal so some of the apprentices have started calling it 'the Eye of Magnus'." This conversation actually happens when Tolfdir gives you the quest to find the Auger, the first time you talk to him after Saarthal when you see the eye at the college for the first time.
I think there was a "Star" inside the eye. As Stars from TES are holes in reality leading into Aetherius, from which magicka comes from. Tolfdir himself says it "radiates magicka".
@Calvin Schuster nah theses nothing to suggest that. The magna ge fled, the holes they made became the stars. Stars are just points that the light of aethurius flow from.
There's nothing to say one can't fall, or that they may be bottled up as it were.
That’s what I was thinking for a good amount of time.
So it's a magicka dyson sphere.
So, what do you think? Do the Psijic Order members have some way of putting it back in the sky, or is it just to store it away safely, in some kind of warehouse somewhere?
I just always assumed it was a fancy container holding a lot of magic.
I always just assumed that they where mistaken in naming it after Magnus. I have long believed that all or most of Lorkhan's organs fell to Nirn along with his heart. I mean, if you cut someone in half all the stuff inside is going to spill out, right? Therefore it is my theory that the eye of Magnus is, in fact, Lorkhan's left testicle. The Cat's Eye prism being the right testicle, of course.
nah.
very dispoprotionate xd
shut up khajiit your obsession with balls will not win this argumen.t
So your saying he had magic balls
Of course
Though Skyrim has aged, it will never get old.
It’s like a fine wine. Gets better with age.
It's like that grandpa who tells awesome stories from his life every time you visit him
-Todd Howard
Its a game that will constantly be remastered. This game is Top 5 all-time.
Unless you play it so many times like listening to a song just this is hundreds of hours long.
The second I heard “ordained receptacle” along with the fact that it’s implied to be a bungled translation, my brain just went “ahhh they’re looking for the holy grail” lol
I know if I scrolled down far enough in the comments I would find someone else who thought of the holy Grail
I am convinced that is the correct translation and is an inside joke...
nope, they've already got one. Oh yes, it's vare-uh nice.
I wonder if their force was led by an Adorable Bro-Con Loli..?
Yeah, I heard and thought the same.
“Holy Receptacle” could also, and most likely, is a reference to the Dragonborn. Remember, the Akaviri did invade at the start of the Reman Dynasty. And when they found Reman Cyrodiil, a Dragonborn, they ceased their invasion and swore fealty (which also kickstarted the Blades as the bodyguards of the Dragonborn Emperors). The rough translation indicated “something or possibly someone”. Receptacle could refer to the Eye of Magnus, but given their history with the dragons, they were searching for a Dragonborn, the “Holy Receptacle” of their dragons deities.
Yea seems more possible
There is an Akaviri sword that is the same model as a blades sword that the moth priest carries.
That was the Tsaesci (and possibly Akaviri Men), not the Kamal. The Kamal are one of the two Akaviri races who don't seem to have any connection to the Dov.
Logan Cornwell In Oblivion, the Blades swords are called “Akaviri Katana”. There was also a two-handed version called the Dai-Katana as well. The Moth Priests also carried Akaviri Katanas then too.
That was a different race however. The snow demons and the Akaviri in the second invasion were different people, with different means and motives. The Akaviri in the second invasion were looking for the dragonborn but it is always implied that the snow demons never gave a **** about dragons, the dragonborn, or Akatosh.
The dovahkin opens the eye in the college quest line during the boss fight when they use the staff on it. We see that inside of the eye is just pure magicka. This leads me to conclude that it was a receptacle for Magnus’ power. This is further supported because the reasoning behind needing the staff was because the Staff of Magnus was said to be the only thing capable of nullifying Magnus’ power.
I think that Acano is opening it, then using the staff on it closes it and allows the dovahkin to pursue the fight.
@SummitDaDragon ... The 'Roman language' being Latin; Magnus basically means "great". I.e. Pompey Magnus, or, Pompey the Great.
So its like a really big soul gem, found in a city whose inhabitants were all slaughtered…
@@Damian_Hacz And apparently visible via dwemer devices (despite having no direct connexion with it) as reveals the quest in Mzulft
@@Damian_Hacz More accurately, if anything, it's a second Heart of Lorkhan...
"Something other than human and elf... a race no has ever seen"
Beast races disliked that.
Redguard as well.
@@ianhall2208 redguards are pretty human
@@shabbii296
Redguards are an alien kind of human from a previous kalpa.
Beast races are "mers"
@@MDR_Nixiam Tell that to the Argonians.
The psyjic order is going to be so pissed off when they open it to find out it's just sheogoraths toilet.
*the forgotten chocolate bar*
CHEESE
“I understood that reference”
Can someone explain
@@yobamagaming4168 you obviously do not play skyrim
Counter Theory: the Psijic order are time travelers. The staff and the eye can also be used to manipulate time, and the staff was used to help create the wooden mask.
I think it’s more likely the Psijic Order are going to be the way TES VI go into how the dwemer disappeared, and how the Psijic Order is able to time travel, etc. these things have to be related right?
i havnt played skyrim in years but i do remember instinctively assuming they were time travellers too
you are thinking of staff of towers, that's the staff that manipulates time and fate within the event horizon (aka elder scrolls). Staff of magnus absorbs magicka and contain it within like a battery, except this staff has infinite storage.
Issue with that is that, in Elder Scrolls Online, there isn't any mention or hint that Psijics can time travel. Stop time in a rather small area for a few seconds? Yes, and it's really useful, but they can't move through time in ways not intended for. Only those who achieve CHiM can.
@@connerschupp4543 and also robots the dwemer had robots so they could have been the leading race in manufacturing robots in the 9th era
The Eye of Magnus is a container that holds all of the lost hopes and dreams that guard had before he took an arrow to the knee.
I should name my next stealth archer Striker of Knees
"What a baby"
I love it ! 🤣🤣
It contains all stolen sweetrolls.
"kneecapper"...
The idea that the Eye of Magnus is a container of some sort is quite literally confirmed by the Ancano fight its self. During the battle when you use the Staff of Magnus the plates that make up the Eye separate revealing what appears to be a large glowing stone of some form.
I'll replay this and confirm it.
Maybe the crystallized blood of the adra
What conduit is saying it's true, i've seen it myself
I've seen this too, the Eye of Magnus opens during the fight
You beat me to it
I just love how every player gets this quest the same way:
"Hey, uh what are we doing about the giant floating orb of immense power that the teleporting future mages transported to the oldest ruin in Tamriel?"
"Oof--Sarthal... Nobody is trying to go there!"
"Send that new guy. He knows shit about magic and, according to our vetting, recently escaped beheading by the Imperial authorities for participating in an open insurgency..."
"He seems well rounded."
"Yea, send the new guy."
Tbh, in my last play through when I went to the college I was already a master enchanter and 100 or so in more than one school.
My role play was more like "who do we send? Well, new guy can just illusion as well as our own illusion teacher, actually heal people unlike someone in here, and his enchanted gear is so good he takes dragon fire on the chest laughs it off and crushes the dragon's spirit outdoing it in its own native magic language, so... New guy? Yep, new guy."
@Captain CavemanIf you think that mentioning a play through where I went to the college after beating the main quest and most other storylines as part of role playing as a character who chooses to seek magical knowledge at the end of his adventures is an attempt at flexing... you need to stop projecting your insecurities online and go see an actual doctor asap. Not even being sassy, I mean it literally.
@Captain Caveman You're a random troll with insecurity complex projecting 24/7 online to try to feel good about yourself just a bit. What you "think" has no value.
@Captain Caveman people are allowed to grind out their stats early in the game dude, why you being salty?
@Captain Caveman ay CAAAAAVEEEMAAAANNN is just mad the milk-drinking mages get all the love. Where's a true battle-brother when you need them?
When in the room with the big telescope-thingy, you see the map of Skyrim - and the guy says: "Hey, what's this?" - pointing to the college of Winterhold, "You have an object with a lot of magical power, disrupting the readings" - or something like that.
A presence, previously undetected - because there was a field protecting the Eye of Magnus, that same field, could that have been the reason why the Akaviri did not find the orb? - As it was a dampening field?
It would explain why the Psijic Order did not directly intervene, they did not know of this field - or they didn't know why the field was there. Only after the dangers were cleared, did they dare to move it.
And perhaps your attacks, with the Staff of Magnus, caused damage to the orb, and for safety sake, the Psijic Order removes it, as they knew it was damaged.
It's more likely the other guy did the damage. You were using the staff specifically designed to interact with the Eye. He was just winging it.
what are talking about.
talking what about are.
Then..... damn that must've been one HUGE dampening spell.... since the eye is said to be able to destroy Tamriel......
BaconNator Ancano fucked with the eye and then you use the staff to fix it
The Eye of Magnus contains power, just an extremely powerful font of Magicka. That would explain the naming convention, why/how Arcano becomes invincible upon activating it, why the Snow Elves would launch a raid to secure it (it’s basically the Elder Scrolls equivalent of an atomic bomb). As to its origins, perhaps it’s literally one of Magnus’s eyes, the other being the one associated with Elyswer.
Could it be part of the dreaming god head?
KINMUNE
@@alemirdikson I get why some people think Kirkbride's writings are outlandish, but a psychic asteroid mining robot from 5 eras in the future being sent through a rift in time caused by a war between dragons and the Hist is so much cooler than "it's a ball, but it's like, _so_ magical"
@Andrewsad1 I get the impression from the Cats Eye Prism lore that the spheres likely ARE prisons, but the Cat's Eye is fully contained and sealed off whereas the Eye of Magnus is not and the energy of the imprisoned being is still able to radiate out. Absorbing that energy would be how the Thalmor became invincible, and absorbing it ourselves with the staff interrupted his connection and made him vulnerable. Maybe because the staff was made to draw from the artifact instead of an improvised connection? I'm not entirely sure what the imprisoned being could be that would radiate that much magicka, maybe a Magne-Ge like Meridia?
@@Aeyrgran Or it could be that the orb itself channels so much magicka to make sure the being within stays imprisoned. Perhaps the magicka is radiating from the orb because the orb got damaged, the being contained within escaped and the orb does not have anything to focus its power on anymore.
"boy, what a can of whoop-ass"
- nate, about genocide
That's funny
@Richard Ljunglund Um, yes it is.
@@szabok1999 So, no genocide against Xenomorphs or any other abomination? Should we hug them?
@@xxvaltielxx1789 or even *shudders* high elves!
There was a parasite known as the Guinea worm that would live inside peoples legs and arms. It was genocided was that bad?
Edit: Also the Thalmor need a good not living forced on them the arrogant pricks.
There's a theory on r/teslore about the Eye.
The canon: In the beginning, Lorkhan tricked the gods into creating Nirn by not letting on the fact that the creation of the world would result in them being trapped inside it. Magnus, the architect of the project, found out at the last minute about Lorkhan's trick and left creation, punching a hole into Aetherius (the realm of magic) that we call the sun.
The theory: The fact that Magnus creating the sun with his departure was not in the original plans for Nirn means that there must have been something planned to take its place. So therefore, the Eye of Magnus was going to be the seed for a sun equivalent, shining pure energy and magicka down on Nirn.
(PS: Another theory for the reason Ancano wanted the Eye, apart from the sheer magical power it would bring him, ties into the Thalmor's stated goal of ascending to godhood by unmaking creation. He would have used it to destroy one of the few anchors still holding creation together, the Adamantine Tower.)
Lorkhan was subsequently torn in pieces. It wouldn't be far fetched for these containers that were meant as something else, being used as containers for Lorkhans soul instead. By keeping them apart, he won't ever be allowed to return. That would also explain why the Psijic monks took the Eye of Magnus, which is most likely the largest container and thus would form the keystone of his return, which cannot be allowed to happen
@@skbartistry2473 ofc another container was the Heart of Lorkhan.. and don't forget the Mantella from Daggerfall.
Now that they are gone, there's less and less of the remaining pieces of Lorkhan, which is totally a good thing to the Thalmor
That makes sense to me that could be why the magic barrier formed and was seemingly expanding. The staff of Magnus was probably made to control the expansion of the eyes magical energy or something. If it was supposed to be the sun before Magnus ran off that could be what it was doing. The eye of Magnus was making a sun.
Thanks for sharing this theory, really like it and it seems plausible
I now understand why firing blood cursed arrows into the sun does what it does.
The thing about bethesda is: They don't know either.
Don´t know and don´t care either.
I think it's mainly just the programmers who don't care. Granted stuff gets lost as the writers get replaced.
They just as surprised as you! 😄
I love that. It's brilliant. They could even base TES6 on the eye. This gives them freedom to make it be almost whatever they want. It could even be the source of power for Magnus. Meaning absorbing it fully would make you as strong as Vivec perhaps, Maybe stronger.
Definitely strong enough to be the main enemy in a game.
@@prankmonkeyxs650 Yeah. Do they have a series 'bible'? Because if they don't, they should, to keep track of what is what.
15:00 Something interesting I found about this boss fight is that if you hold a strong enough ward between you and Tolfdir, you can prevent Ancanno from paralyzing him, making it s that Tolfdir will be able to aid you in defeating Ancanno
So what you’re telling me is that tolfdir teaching wards your first day of class actually came in handy?
@@robertschiek8120 yes, yes it did
@@robertschiek8120 (And also cause a lesser ward can block dragon's breath)
@@hazeltree7738 I didn't even know, that shit would be hella useful on survival mode
@@robertschiek8120 i know that such an interaction and idea is probably entirely unintentional, but it is so amazingly poetic that the very first thing he teaches you is the thing that saves him in the end.
If "Ordained Receptacle" does refer to the Eye, it could be soul stone meant for trapping a god. Perhaps Magnus himself, or a daedra rival.
Otherwise the Akaviri were probably just looking for the Holy Grail.
Or it could be deception. I'm too prone to think an Aedra, Daedra or Magna Ge is trapped in the Eye. A malevolent being could communicate with a group of people and present itself as a benevolent god, or influence their actions, so that they find him and let him free. It could explain why races not even knowing of its existance or location were looking for it and were ready to die for it.
@@BrickleYourFrickle This did seem pretty obvious. Don't need a 30 min vid for that.
@@Adahn99 reminds me of Star Trek V: The Final Frontier. It’s basically that exact plot. “What does God need with a starship?”
@@BrickleYourFrickle Your explanation is 1000x more concise and makes 1000x more sense. How'd you learn this?
@@BrickleYourFrickle so basically a mini godhead?
"If it is a container, we have no idea what's in it."
Except that Ancano opens it up right in front of us, and we can literally see it's containing a massive font or source of power.
Lol, right? Maybe that’s the robot soul!
Phinis just flat out says it contains the entire Mundus
@@KorilD or power suply maybe. I like this robot theory it's not like Skyrim doesn't have robots. Heck there was that weird cyborg dwarf robot thing in Morrowind. In fact maybe this explains what happened to the dwarfs as well.
It's just a typeface file, encrypted in an analog format 😂
Could be some kind if item at the center emitting said energy.
Counter Theory:
The Akaviri invasion packed up and left Skyrim while starting another war because it was controlled by Hearts of Iron AI.
Nice to see a fellow Hearts of Iron player in the Comments lol
@@johnzmasta i am a hoi4 esports player
a crossover I never imagined
Ah yes the German Hoi 4 ai
Didn't the emperor shout and they all backed off
I'm fairly sure the Akaviri were looking for the Heart of Lorkhan. May have been drawn to Skyrim at first because of the strong magical aura emanating from the Eye of Magnus, and realized it wasn't what they were looking for.
Agree. Also, the heart is holy and contains divine power. I think the invasion is a refence to the search for the holy grail.
This fits a lot better than what I was thinking, which is that they were looking for the Eye, and couldn't find it, and looked in Morrowind instead
@@SuperNomegaDivine Receptacle... Holy Grail... Goddammit
Another theory is that they could've been looking for the Cat's Eye Prism, since that has some In-Universe lore suggesting it could've been used for containment of someone/something.
It's possible that the Eye of Magnus being a "container" is meant in more of a metaphorical way. Like instead of literally containing an object, it might contain something more abstract like the essence of a deity or maybe even just raw power. The Elder Scrolls lore is pretty weird already so that makes sense, right?
A Tamrielic Matrix of Leadership?
I kind of assume it's a prison.
My assumption is that it's a holy container of pure magicka like not a magical object or anything, just pure magicka like a huge overpowered soul gem of sorts
Maybe it contains between 5 and 967 elder scrolls (numbers vary depending on time, location and people in the room)
I interpreted it as a magic battery honestly. Stores magical energy, and Ancano was siphoning some of it off
Magnus is one of the missing gods, the one that designed the world, then left it after it was made, tearing a hole in reality that became the sun.
It is theorized that magicka is what remains of Magnus in the world of Nirn... but I think that's not quite all. I think the Eye of Magnus might contain, for lack of a better term, raw divine essence. Not the entirety of divinity, and not necessarily any of Magnus's divinity, but enough to keep a world going... or make a mortal into a being approaching divinity.
In essence, I'm betting it's effectively a "lesser" version of the Heart of Lorkharn, possibly even the original plan for the world's heart prior to the decision to kill Lorkharn (who had at that point effectively become the world, with his heart becoming its heart).
This makes sense if you view it symbolically. Eyes are said to be "the gateway to the soul", while the heart more directly represents a being's personhood. An Eye could be closed, allowing no more to pass through than necessary, but a Heart is the unrestrained entirety of a being. Channeling the Eye of Magnus would allow one some measure of (presumably, but not necessarily) Magnus's power, but channeling the Heart of Lorkharn would give one the power to effectively become Lorkharn.
"It is theorized that magicka is what remains of Magnus in the world of Nirn"
A book in one of the ES games (it's been long enough that I don't remember which) explains that magicka comes directly from Aetherius. The sun, and stars to a lesser extent, are just holes that magicka leaks through into Mundus.
Big brain
Lorkhan's heart was the heart of the world before it left his body, it did not turn into it after it was ripped out. Also - magic is in Nirn because of "the sun" (the hole that leads into aetherius).
I believe it was Mehrunes Dagon that tore out a hole that is the sun, during the creation of nirn. He escaped before he was bound to it and had lost the power to escape. Through the sun and smaller holes (the stars) magicka seeps into nirn.
Makes a lot of sense initially they had plans to make a artificial heart for Nirn. And maybe just maybe when Auriel killed Lorkhan and used his heart as the heart for Nirn. Magnus said fuck it and bailed out. He wanted to test it but yunno Aury over reacted.
Last time I was this early, Psijic Order wasn't missing yet
... And the Guards didn't hitting Skooma yet
Sounds like someone's been hitting the Skooma themselves
@@rebelgaming1.5.14 He got lost in the sauce.
Mmm you cant go getting lost in the sauce
I've played and beaten Skyrim and Fallout many times. Your lore videos have made me want to replay them once again. Phenomenal work, my friend.
TLDR: the staff reverses the flow of magicka through time while the eye manipulates space like a wormhole and houses a star.
We know little about the eye except that it contains a source of near infinite magicka. Magic in the elder scrolls universe comes from the magicka of aetherius radiating to earth through the sun and the stars which are actually holes in the material plane into Aetherius when Magnus and his followers attempted to leave nirn. This magicka affects the "earthbones" (the laws of nature and reality for life on nirn) and allows them to be temporarily altered to perform acts of magic.
I believe that the eye of Magnus is actually a "holy vessel" because it contains a star, or rather a hole to aetherius created by the passage of a divine being. Modern physics suggests space and time are intrinsically linked as space-time and they directly effect one another. All events in the elder scrolls universe are happening simultaneously from the perspective of the elder scrolls themselves which can contain any and all information about the past present and future including what could be and what could have been. In fact, lots of fan theories speculate that the game itself is a metaphor for an elder scroll and our playthrough of each game is one of the many potential and existing realities catalogued by the elder scrolls themselves.
Labyrinthian has some weird time effects which is the location of the Staff of Magnus and we know time travel is possible through dragon breaks. We also know that spatial manipulation is possible due to the creation of demi-planes and teleportation magics back in Morrowind. We see the members of the psijic order do both by stopping time and teleporting.
I believe the eye of Magnus is translocating a point in space to nirn like a wormhole providing ready access to the energy of aetherius by housing one of these tears in reality. It effects space. The staff on the other hand I believe manipulates time and primarily does so by reversing the flow of magicka through time. Because magicka is also "the energy of all living things" this would explain why the staff drains health once it can no longer drain magicka from the target. It was likely made specifically to counter the eye of Magnus which is why they are not stored in the same place as should the eye fall into the wrong hands the staff wouldn't be captured at the same time and could be used to stop them, which is exactly what we see happen in this quest.
My guess is that once Arcano activated the eye it distorted space-time so much in the surrounding area that the psijic order (who's magic seems tied to space and time) could no longer directly intervene until you used the staff on the eye and defeated Arcano rendering the eye inert. After which they assessed it was too dangerous and decided to remove it from nirn. They don't take the staff however, which is strange. The staff on its own is not very dangerous (try to use it in combat and you find that out real quick) so I believe that the psijic orders mysticism and space-time magics can directly affect the eye and allow them to contain it without the use of the staff which is why they don't need it. They however couldn't teleport to it once it was active due to it distorting space-time. Why they didn't take it sooner is likely a writing choice, if the psijic order preemptively swooped in and solved problems when it wasn't deemed "absolutely necessary" to do so the player would simply not have a quest and this whole thing would be very undramatic and lacking from a story perspective.
Who built these items and for what purpose is still unclear. Limitless magical energy sounds pretty damn cool and any number of beings would want that, yet none are around to stake their claim on it. We also cannot translate the sphere's markings or symbols suggesting that it is not originally native to Tamriel or at the very least had to have stemmed from the dawn era. It was likely buried deep underground to hide it, but from what we are uncertain. Even if we conclude what the sphere and staff are and how they might be used we are still left with a great deal of questions surrounding it's origin and purpose. We may never know but that mystery makes the whole thing so much more enjoyable.
Well, that was an absolute joy to read. This makes perfect sense to me, if stars in The Elder Scrolls universe are gateways you the realm of Magnus, then yes, the Magicka contained inside the Eye would be near, if not completely limitless. Housing a star in a sphere sounds pretty cool to me
How you gonna give a TLDR: AND THEN INCLUDE A MASSIVELY LONG EPIC FOR PEOPLE TO READ 😂😂😂🤦♂️
Damn dude you made that comment your bitch! 👌🏻
so what's the tl;dr for this?
@@aimarlangley4156 the first little paragraph, the rest is an explanation as to why that's the case.
At 6:44 I burst out laughing when I saw what you chose to represent Yscramor. I needed the laugh, thank you :)
I didnt notice since I was more listening than watching
Man am I glad I read the comments from time to time
@@roonkolosdude same, lol
18:16 is another one that made me laugh tbh
You see sully in there as the kamal
Chad doge is legendary , but not as Chad Yscramor
Ysmgramor was like: "you attack my whole base, I attack your whole race!"
Right😂he did just kill they army’s he kill THEM! killing elves just wearing normal shit like basketball shorts,flips flops and tank tops.
@@Tmob29 Ysgramor is the biggest Chad in TES
Make skyrim grate again! 🥴
Gas the elves! Race war now!
He deadass just went "Two cities for a harbour" on them
27:04 "reasons I won't get into"
An excerpt from KINMUNE:
But then the Hist-Jilian wars spilled out of a Wheelian rip into the SubSys slice of 'brane-space, and things changed for Kinmune. With the outer colonies separated from Nu-Mundelbright chronoculic sync-net anchors, maintenance of space-time beyond the F-Shores faltered. As the barely-there Hist blink-root-ship armada fired an artillery barrage of 16th-dimensional mathematics at their Jilian enemies, impossipoint detonations stippled across the Ix-Egg and its clutch-satellites like some garish TalOSian hologram, only without the irony. Kinmune's synthetic body, caught in one of the blasts, suddenly found itself in the Ysgramorim, her mind an aggregate of the residual personalities of her last several users.
... I can see why you opted not to get into it
Would love to see a series about Kirkbride's radicool insanity though
Bro wrote an essay 💀
Good job though
Wouldn’t be the first robot sent back in time. (Stares at pelinal whitestrake)
Weaponised maths in an elder scrolls game, when?
@@Bearcat_499 what are you talking about? They're quoting a short story. The short story about KINMUnE, the story they talk about.... IN THIS. vIDEO.
Kirkbride is a straight up lunatic, thank God he couldn’t get his hands on the story and turn it into a bunch of nonsensical irrelevant garbage where everything is meaningless. A 6 year old playing with action figures comes up with less ridiculous stories than that guy.
"And so Ysgramor and his boys opened up a can of whoop-ass on the Elves" -TheEpicNate315 - 4E 201
The “Ordained Receptacle” could be same thing the Tsaesci were looking for during their invasion. A Dragonborn. A person blessed by Akatosh to house the soul (or many souls) of a dragon.
That was my first thought too
Maybe, the “Ordained Receptacle” is kinda like a soul gem? Maybe it’s like a soul gem of the gods and can hold a dragon’s soul. And the writing on it is like the writing of the gods but the Dragonborn can learn to read it from an Elder Scroll, learn a shout or two, then trap a powerful dragons soul.. ie Alduin. The “Ordained Receptacle” is a gem set aside for the First Born Dragon’s soul when he’s ultimately destroyed by the Dragonborn.
He got so close to saying it.. "Holy Container" YOU MEAN THE "HOLY GRAIL" ?
@@UncontestedV2 lol
@@UncontestedV2 The holy grail? Pfffft. No interest in that. We just want a shrubbery. Ni!
"Enter Michael Kirkbride..."
Jeez, here we go again...
Nate's interpretation of KINMUNE is based on an older version of the text. There's an updated one at c0da.es/ayrenn and it definitely explains what KINMUNE actually is.
That's not to discredit Nate's interpretation however as all views are valid when it comes to TES Lore.
@@Gronglegrowth Only those based on actual lore. The games, and to a lesser extent the books, actually published by or with Bethesda. Anything else you're basing it on is not valid, it's a pipe dream.
@@allenellisdewitt I am aware that there are differing opinions on what's considered lore and even if canon is a thing within TES. I do not want to have that debate again, so I will just say that I personally do not believe that and consider all lore, whether official or apocrypha, to be valid regardless of whether or not I personally accept it into my Elder Scrolls.
Everyone's Elder Scrolls experience is different, and everyone's lore experience is different.
@@Gronglegrowth Speaking of Apocrypha, I wouldn't be surprised if the entirety of the Elder Scrolls lore from the very beginning to the very end is found within Herma Mora's realm somewhere, but nobody has ever been able to read it all without going insane...
@@BaronSengir1008 You know... that would make a lot of sense.
But by apocrypha I meant fan lore people write, which includes the out of game works of Michael Kirkbride.
I always found Ancano's line about "the power to unmake this world" very telling
Same. It implies he may want to just wipe the slate clean similar to Alduin. But likely for different reasons. My guess is he didn't want to waste time uniting Tamriel to create/bring back the Altmeri promised land (was it Aldmeris?).
Searching for an “Ordained Receptacle” then swiftly and suddenly moving towards Morrowind seems to refer to the Heart of Lorkhan. It’s basically a giant soul stone made out of the body of a dead god.
no.. the heart of lorkhan is literally just his heart. his body is the two moons
Kinda agree with this. As the Nords worshiped Old Shor - as aspect of Lorkham - it would make sense to start the search in Skyrim and then pivot to Morrowind when the Heart was really found.
Giant soul stone ? So it could collect all uncollected souls
@@ryanhahn9576 The heart of lorkhan isnt actually a soul stone, he was talking nonsense.
Buckle Your Fuckle yes! You’re right! That makes a lot more sense. Thanks!
Considering that Arcano was taking magic from the eye, in the boss battle it opens up a bit, and when the professor even said he could feel the pure magicka radiating from it. It is more than likely full of pure magic energy
Well to be fair, if it is an actual creation of THE GOD OF MAGIC I would kind of hope it would be
could be a god maker/prison fill it up with energy untill a god or some type of magic entity is born and
could be a device to create a body to revive the creater of it have people worship it and pump magic into it for generations
actually it could do anything frankly anything that can can generate magic or has that much magic store in it is incredibly valuable
Why are so many people in this comment section calling him Arcano
@@bbbbbbb51 Sorry mate Arcane Studios, that's his name
so what you're saying is it's just magic uranium in a box
Nords: oh wow there’s a giant orb we’re not gonna temper with it cos we didn’t build it.
Falmers: haha sword go swing swing
Ysgramor: aight bet axe go swing swing
@@Dreager141 Falmers: NOO!!!1 Dwemer help us fite this chad! Dwemer: Gimmie ur eyes
>->
College: Ok boiz, that be dangeroos, be careful when getting it in and NOBODY TOUCHES THE BIG BLUE BALL!
Ancano: Hehe Eye go Bzzzzt!
Azhidal The Dragon Priest also had his beginnings at Saarthal. He was instrumental in helping Yggsgramor and his 500 finally defeat the falmer.
He was studying magic under both falmer and psijic masters it is believed, when the farmer betrayed the Nords for whatever reason and put Saarthal to the sword. Azhidal lost his entire family and though he escaped he did not flee to Atmore. I believe he even continued his studies under the snow elf mages nursing his hatred and hiding his true intent to facilitate the continuation of his lessons.
Only when Yggsgramor returned at the the head of his 500 did Azhidal meet him at the coast and swear to serve him until all the snow elves were dead.
After the fall of the snow elves he decended into madness and became a dragon priest on solstheim where it seems the politics were quite different than in skyrim. The Dragon Priests still ruled with absolute power but the dragons may have been less involved here and The Priests more able to act freely.
Azhidals decent is a book telling the whole story. I may have gotten bits wrong but that he went mad after the war is undeniable. All the Dragon Priests on solstheim seem to have been a bit off in many ways.
No one ever talks about Azhidal
Man just when you think you've discovered everything about the game you walk into some guys cabin and instantly start a quest. Skyrim is humongous and you do a great job of solving it's puzzles and all the contents of it. Keep going you superb lad :)
What did you find? The hunting of super animals for a Kyne's blessing or something?
Aaaannnndddd.... I'm in blackreach again.
@Imlerith, general of the Wild hunt I don't trust them
To me the Eye of Magnus was a gigantic magic amplifier. When Ancano casted a ward spell on it.. it kept exponentially growing the ward around them. We know its a ward spell since it took 3 mages (you one of them) casting destructive spells on it to drop its ward shield the 1st time we try to assault Ancano. The staff of Magnus acts like a magic nullifier. Weakening the Eyes effect. Had Ancano magnified a fireball spell to the eye.. it could of nuked Skyrim outright. Which is why the Psyjic order took over it to avoid anyone detonating a giant bomb.
You are close with the amplifying. the eye of magnus is basically just a giant magic reactor core. To amplifying is to increase and expand in power and magnitude. the ward around the eye was having obscenely large amounts of magical energy pumped into it and making it bigger. However there is a material in elderscrolls universe that can also amplify magical energies and it is called Aeonstone. However the difference between the two is that aeonstone can only amplifying magical energy from external sources whereas the eye of magnus is its own infinite source of power.
Not to sound harsh, where the West is going these days, I hope you guys have some real life skills.
That is a fun theory.
@@72marshflower15 I have a bachelor's degree in the creative arts is that enough real life skills? I could paint a painting expressing how backhanded your comment is.
@@72marshflower15 You clearly don't :)
Maybe the Eye contains the known universe within it, including itself. Like the universe box in Futurama that also contained itself.
Or maybe the real Eye of Magnus were the friends we made along the way.
Or maybe the real Eye of Magnus were the friends we made along the way.
Like ancano?
@@p.samedi2473 made him dead! .... I’m bad at friends....
I like this explanation better than the one I came up with, which is that the Eye of Magnus is simply a container for a truly massive amount of magicka that is compressed into it, and that if it is all released all at once, it could destroy everything physical in all of Nirn, and the fact that it's "radiating magicka" as Tolfdir puts it, is proof that the container is eroding and leaking large amounts of magicka
The eye is just a unlimited source of magic from the realm of aetherius. Seems like the magic version of a nuclear reactor.
The Nords didn't kill all the Snow Elves. They were driven underground into the realm of the Dwemer, where they were basically enslaved, untill the Dwemer disappeared. The current mutated Falmer are what's left of the Snow Elves.
There are surviving normal falmer. A couple show up in Dawnguard.
@@novasolarius8763 one does, to be specific. his brother is a vampire, therefore not alive, therefore not surviving.
@@thalmorjusticiar1 technically none survive then if you side with the vampires,
@@thalmorjusticiar1 what if his vampirism was cured?
@@creeperizak8971 then there would be two
“Kinmune could send distress signals across all of Tamriel”
Remember that part in the questline when we end up with a projection of Tamriel on a wall? And there are 2 big ol’ dots on the map which indicate the eye of magnus and the one thing that is known to be able to control it?
*hmmm*
As much of a genius as Kirkbride is, that's so fucking bizarre, out of place and unsatisfying in the context of Elder Scrolls that I lowkey hate it.
@@wisemankugelmemicus1701 Yeah. Hell given the mystery surrounding the Eye, having it containing a robot from the future that later becomes a queen is just....dumb.
Here's the thing if the robot is the sorce of power and apparent escape a few centuries later then the eye of magnus wouldn't hold any power when we get to it. It can't be real. Tho I can see it being a container and why the aliens attacked. This also holds up with the staff most likely the staff is the key to the container. Still I want to know what is inside. Also why did the cigics wait is it possible that what ever is inside was so powerful that they needed more time to contain it and needed us to weaken it first. What the in the hell could be so powerful that time bending mages from another dimension couldn't contain it on their own. Another question is what would have happened if we hadn't stop arcano.
@@TheNameTag Well when it opens during the battle with Ancano, it has a massive ball of energy and what looks like a crystal of some kind behind all of the excessive glow.
@@wisemankugelmemicus1701 sounds like every other story in the Elder Scrolls
Bit of a late point to weigh in, but I'm doing it anyway.
It's important to examine the interaction the eye has had that we can glean the most information from, which is its appearance in Skyrim.
Its past aside, Ancano made it a priority to seize it without any backup, all alone against the entire college. This means he was confident that the college would be powerless against him if he secured it. From this we can glean that not only does it contain more power than the rest of the college combined (no big shock), but it also contains enough power to elevate him beyond the SKILL of the college, including people like Savos Aren and Tolfdir, who are supremely skilled in their fields.
In the encounter at the end, Ancano says "The power to unmake the world at my fingertips, and you think you can do anything about it?"
This is often seen as a boast by most casual players, but let's take it at face value. First of all, he says Unmake, not destroy, conquer, or any synonym of those.
Why would he pick that word? Either because the Eye has that as its primary ability, or that it was something that was on his mind. When you dig deeper on the overall goals of the Thalmor, it becomes increasingly clear that their actions and dogma line up with a goal of returning the world to its state before creation, in a hope of becoming divine again. While not directly confirmed, the pieces fit.
So what if that was it? That the Eye is either powerful enough to undo mundus, or has some connection to its base forces that would allow for the same? The Magnus connection would make even more sense then, seeing as he designed the whole thing.
Whatever the answer is, it's worth considering that the Eye might be a power that could scale to the divines or daedra, or only Magnus himself, and that Ancano's intent might have been to undo what the thalmor dogma views as the curse of existence.
Honestly, I think the word unmake has something to do with the Thalmors goal as a whole. To bring back the Mirithic era, think about it. They always say humans are dogs. They want to bring that time back. He wants unmake the world And reconstruct it to where the thalmor reign supreme. They hate anything that smells like mortality. They are the other. And they are going to win in the end. I think he genuinely had this power at his fingertips. It’s just that the dovakin interrupted him before he could complete his plan
Wow what a great read! Totally makes sense too. I know I'm late LOL but very awesome explanation
A bit late to respond, but when he says "unmake" i feel it's a reference to the Thalmor's goal to destroy the pillars of Tamriel and collapse Mundas, reuniting them with the realm of Aetheriu. Their goal to "reclaim" their position next to the divines.
A relic with as much arcane power as this thing may have enough power to let them destroy the pillars.
What if the Psijik order knew about the Eye of Magnus? Maybe Magnus didn’t even create it, the Psijiks may have discovered magic that could return the world to a state before creation and they decided to lock it away. Actually, now that I think about it, how did it wind up so deep underground? It’s not like Saarthal was always there and the only people who lived in Tamriel at the time who could get that deep underground were the Dweomer. That would be an interesting connection, though very unlikely I’d imagine.
if the eye of Magnus has the ability to unmake Mundus, shouldn't it have the ability to unmake more than just that? maybe the godhead dreamt up a killswitch that the inhabitants of Tamriel could activate to end their suffering.. unknowingly.
I always liked to imagine that the eye of magnus is... the eye of magnus. Like literally they eye of the god of magic, manifested as a physical object within the mortal realm, and therefore holding immense magical power.
That's what I thought at first too. Now though I think the Eye is actually an Elder Scroll or has the power of one inside.
It's that whole "Go with your first instinct thing." "We called it that as a joke, but then, it turned out to be true!"
Yeah, gods are weird, so there’s no reason why it couldn’t be!
@Zelda Henson Spinning around in a boring cave no less.
Magnus: "Ugh why is one of my eyes stuck in that damn cave? So annoying"
Yeah, it could be a container of magic. I'm pretty sure Tolfdir says at one point that it radiates magicka.
A little late to the comments but flowing off of the bit about it being a holy lock box we have to assume that since even by the 5th era during the course of Skyrim it is said that conjuration magic is highly unstable and not fully understood. Meaning there was a time before the elves, humans, and beast races had it. Therefore it only stands to reason that there was a time before soul gems. But we obviously have magical items from said time period. Ysgramors axe for example. Meaning they needed a way to enchant and with there being the possibility that there are several more of these containers around tamriel it could be possible that these are just early soul gem like devices capable of more than what modern day soul gems are but a lot more unstable hence the size and amount of power contained within
Kinda like how our computers were massive back then
Skyrim takes place during 4E 201, not the 5th era. No official lore has come from the 5th era.
Nate is gonna love it when tes 6 comes out and I'll still be here 10 years later watching 10 facts and mystery videos
"Ah Yes, it is J'Zargo who will be victorious "
You only think it is not a race because you are losing so badly you cannot see it
J’zargo’s trying new things, tight things. these pants will make Jzargo’s hard-on stand out
@@htf5555 That's a big fat butt!
Ya know I gave J'zargo the Staff of Magnus because he asked for it... When he gave it back, it had hot Cheeto dust all over it. It wasn't that hard to clean off, but FR tho, J'zargo needs to take care of stuff better
Plot twist, the robot is actually liberty prime.
Embrace democracy or you will be eradicated
🤣🤣🤣☺️ yes
Destroy communist elves
Better dead than elf
@@georgehouliaras7239 Better quelled than elf.
Surprised you never mentioned Blackreach and the yellow orb stored there. To me it seems like another one of those magic containers. Since it was on the posession of the dwemer, one of the falmer's greatest enemies, it's possible the falmer wanted the eye of magnus to counter the blackreach orb just in case.
The Dwemer were more mechanical in their use of magic. So I don’t think they imbued an orb with magic. They were in black reach to research aetherium. The orb seems to just be a light or a prison for the dragon that might have been powering the light.
I always thought that was a giant lamp, but that makes sense. I was gonna say, similar to the Sky Forge, the Eye of Magnus was made by a God, but the Yellow Orb could also be a magical artifact acting as source of magical or technology power source.
the eye of Magnus contains all the missing sweet rolls.
FIMMION!
Suuure, that's where the sweet rolls are.
*[lol they're in my inventory, losers]*
I find odd that no one, especially the College being so close, ever explored Saarthal until 4E 201.
Obviously they were waiting for the Dragonborn.... duh! XD LoL!
It was buried, and only recently excavated. In Night of Tears, it states that Saarthal was lost.
@@jebodeiasque Yeah, now I remember.
The biggest barrier for mages reestablishing a viable, scholarly presence in Skyrim was because magic was considered bad juju by the ruling Nords/Priests/Skalds (who were superstitious by course). Nords had their own divine powers derived from their Aedra/gods and thought of aetheric magic as Daedric/evil magic. Still, there were other little hurdles mages still had to overcome after Skyrim was taken into the Empire by Septim. The locals are still hung up about elves, the area is still very difficult to get sufficient supplies to, and there are constant political talking-heads getting involved with "purely scholarly pursuits"... Realistically, it's a miracle Sarthal was unearthed at all.
@@meshuggahlad7 Bro, it's a RUclips video. Don't lose your shit.
So what you're saying is, If we collect the Eye of Magnus, The Cat's Eye Prism and one of each of these spheres from the other provinces, we can summon The Dragon and make a perfect wish?
The dragon only conjures pizzadinosaurs
No no no we’d get a bitchin Pokémon battle
Andrevus Whitetail Yea. I’d wish for Atmora to be a living continent again
The eyes are blue. You'd summon Syn Shenron
....... ok so does that mean we have to race the DBZ/DBS team?
I feel that the eye has more to do with Magnus not being able to leave mundus kind of like Lorkhan's heart.
Just thinking about two eyes from the same God leaves me to believe that even tho the Monomyth talks about him leaving mundus I feel like he couldn't and just left open a gate to Athererius (the sun) and everything else related to him are his fragments even magika
He absolutly left. The sun is proof of that. As for Lorkan's heart, it's where it is because he was killed, chopped to bits, and scattered across the world. If you kept looking you'd find all his bits eventually.
Nate: 8:04.
Magnus returns
Magnus: oh, that's where I left my spare light-bulb.
Magnus the red or Magnus god?
@@JIMT412 Both.
"Can this be a normal field trip?
"With the Frizz?! No way!"
*CRUZIN ON DOWN IN MORTHAL-*
RELAXED AND FEELING GOOD, NEXT TIME YOU KNOW YOURE SEEIN
HAGRAVEN IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD
RIDING IN A HORSE CART
SWINGIN THROUGH THE DUNGEONS
TAKE A LEFT AT SOLITUDE
TAKE YOUR SECOND RIGHT AT WHITERUN
ON THE MAGIC SKYRIM CART
Hey Nate, remember how one of the Gauldur brothers was found with the Eye of Magnus in Saarthal, seemingly protecting it? Why was he locked away there, of all places? Do you think the brothers have some relation to the Eye of Magnus? This probably opposes the theories that you presented, but it felt like you completely ignored the fact that a Gauldur brother was buried with the Eye, so I just had to ask.
Maybe a powerful mage at that time connected them both so he can't leave his tomb. Considering the fact that shalidor at that time i wouldn't consider it an impossibility
Emperor Magnus Septim ll Gauldur was also immune to any damage at the start of the fight so he was somehow harnessing it’s power
And Gaulder’s staff does a very specific damage type. Tapped into the ‘eye’ for sure.
You forget one important detail and that is Ancano says "i have the power to unmake the world at my fingertips" considering the high elves goal to unmake the world its possible that Ancano was simply in the collage to consolidate power but after discovering the eyes power he concluded that destroying each of the towers wouldn't be the only way to unmake the world and adjusted his plans to these changes.
I think there's something you're leaving out.
In the chamber with the eye we find Jyrik Gauldurson, who was sealed in Saarthal (already considered ancient ruins) by Archmage Geirmund in the early 1E.
Which means that in the early 1E, a rogue mage and a powerful archmage discovered the Eye of Magnus under Saarthal.
So the Nord settlement of Saarthal was likely built on top of an earlier settlement.
@ThatDamnScottishGuy Well EVERYBODY knows that. The theory posited here is that the Eye, and the structure to hide it in, were there even before the Atmorans were, and the 2nd-4th Era Nords can swear up and down that they were there first, because there aren't exactly copious records of the Merethic Era. A real world analogy would be any of the English settlements in modern-day MA or VA. The native tribes had abandoned many of their settlements in the area, likely due to a plague, and the English chose those spots to settle because there was some semblance of an infrastructure there to use, and then they just sort of ignored the fact there was ever anyone else there before them, since there was no longer anyone around to say otherwise. i reckon much of the lore of the conflicts of man and mer have been inspired by the history of colonialism in our own world.
@ThatDamnScottishGuy But then why let the Nords settle there in the first place? For them to built what they have over the Eye.
@@carrionwithout_me likely didn't know the object was there until it was found by the Atmorans.
@@jamcam9 seems strange that the Falmer didn't find it first then.
“Has never been mapped” *shows a map*.
It's not an official map though. Probably some fan art.
Maybe that map had never been mapped before.
The coastline is mapped, but no ones knows what the inner regions are
@@randomcancername5402 Yeah it is fanart going off of educated guesses based on lore.
This summarizes so much of mediocre fantasy I read throughout the years where the group or person wanders into totally unknown lands.
Plot twist: The akaviri were actually looking for Meridia's Beacon.
They should have been sacking more bandit camps and fewer cities, all along!
Plot twist: They were actually looking for potatoes. Akavir doesn't have potatoes. Well, I don't know that for a fact, I'm no ES lore expert, but they shouldn't have had potatoes. Much like Europe, Asia and Africa never had potatoes until we discovered America. PO-TAY-TOES.
@@PiousMoltar POTATOES POTATOES
ANOTHER HAND TOUCHES THE BEACON
No, they were here for the Sweetrolls.
Hey - I know you posted this like 2 years ago, but as someone who is just getting back into Skyrim through the VR version, I found this super interesting. Love the videos, please make more!
You know what the tale of how the Nords found the eye reminds me of? It reminds me of the insanely powerful heart that the dwarves found just an insanely powerful relic just buried underground.
I feel it's similar, in that it's likely a sort of engine that can reshape the world, at least in part.
Weird, what's the Eye of Magnus doing, just seemingly buried underground? Heart of Lorkhan makes sense, we know it's origin, but why is the Eye of Magnus underground?
My guess is that the Eye is an artifact dating back to the Dawn Era. Records from that time are spotty at best, but I suspect the Psyjiks know more about it.
@@thalmoragent9344
You know how the the protocol for disposal of nuclear waste is to seal it in a mineshaft?
@@beastwarsFTW
I mean, not all Aedric Artifacts are in such spots though.
I mean, you'd think it would be under heavy lock and key, or in some Elven Temple, or on top of the Throat of the World, where it's precariously/notoriously difficult to climb... not underground where some random nords would find it and potentially tamper with it.
I mean, the Heart of Lorkhan made a Volcano, why didn't the Eye of Magnus make a lake or a crater or something? Saarthal was made on essentially flat Land, and as an Elven Artifact, why would it be just sitting in some random stone work underground?
I mean, it wasn't even a cavern, the Eye was inside the Nordic architecture, which means that they would've found it low key just sitting in rubble all the way around, and had to excavate it. Even the Heart of Lorkhan had a chamber that it was in, naturally as a Volcano
I just started playing Skyrim for the first time ever in 2021 😳😅 I’m late to the party but so glad to be here! lol
Welcome to the club then! Get comfortable, you’ll be here a good long while.
Same here bro!!!!
its never too late to enjoy a game! hope youre having fun :D
If you want to get a good pickaxe to grind on exp and help you to upgrade smithing go to the top of the Throat of the World. Its really cool
I wish I could harbor your innocence.
Pretty soon you’ll have an overwhelming distaste for Nazeem like we all do.
I thought Ysmgramor was gonna be another arrow, I didn't expect the "dog back then and the dog now" meme
I was guessing that the Eye of Magnus was a portal or artifact to or from Aetherius as mentioned with Faralda when you try to go into the college and the dialogue option “I want to unravel the mysteries of Aetherius.” is there. That would explain why Ancano was trying to use the Eye for powers, also considering it is also called "The Immortal Plane" it would make sense that Ancano would be invincible until you stop the Eye with the staff. Aetherius is also said to be the "Source of All Magic" and also the "Source of All Creation" a Plane of Pure Magicka and the Realm where Magicka originates as well. It would make total sense that the Thalmor would want that power for themselves. I don't know much about what I'm talking about, but I think this theory makes sense.
So that's where Tzeentch tossed the Primarch's sacrifice.
I see, you're a man of culture as well
Ah a fellow member of the merchant's guild well met!
I though that was prosthetic ordered by Magnus, and was lost on the way to Prospero. You know, adress not found after Space Nords visit.
Lol 'the cabal' 'snow demons' there's a lot of burning of prospero in this 🤣
I knew the wizards guild was amuck with *FOUL PLAY!!!!* Hahahahahahhahahahahaha
Couple of points -- "Ordained Receptacle" sounds a lot like "Holy Grail" to me. Less a "box to put a robot in" than a power in its own right. Certainly Ancano says he has "the power to unmake the world at my fingertips". Doesn't sound like a box for a robot that escaped a long time ago. Secondly, the Staff of Magnus wasn't sitting in Bromjunaar since Ysgrammor's time, it appeared in other ES games including ESO and the Neravarine recovers it in Morrowind. It can't have been in Labyrinthian for more than 250 years.There's no particular reason to think the ancient Nords used it (though maybe they needed it to manipulate the Eye).
I agree. And we know the staff leaves it's user, much like the rose, to prevent the user from becoming too powerful. And as far as powers to destroy the would... who's power CREATED it? Magnus. The staff also is said to control Magnus' power. The orb contains either a piece of Magnus, or at least some of his power.
Maybe the Eye of Magnus is literally a piece of the aedra Magnus? It would make for an extremely compelling motive for the psyjic order to intervene considering what happened the last time 'mortals' interacted with a piece of an aedra/a god.
maybe the orb itself is really just a lockbox with near unlimited power to keep whatever is inside of it contained, and the nords just haphazardly decided "hey, lets put this future robot in it, because what else are we gonna do", which would've pissed off the few civilizations who knew about it, kinda like if you put chocolate milk in the Holy Grail.....religious leaders wouldn't be too happy with you.
@@larrycrabcake9025 I'm certainly no expert on Elder Scrolls lore, but I just wanted to say that "chocolate milk in the Holy Grail" is probably the funniest analogy I've heard in a good while.
It very well could be that the Eye of Magnus, contains Magnus' literal eye, and his eye alone contains immense power
16:08 Quaranir tells us why, "Ancano's actions prove that the world is not ready for such a thing. We shall safeguard it... for now" it was a test set by the Psijic Order to see what would happen.
@Calvin Schuster Except the Dragonborn can totally just skip past the whole Mage's Guild quest and still bring the hammer down on Alduin.
Calvin, no I don’t think so, because you can beat Alduin before starting that quest.
@@McPlayer8t im pretty sure you can, thats the college of winterhold questline isnt it? i dont think i did their questline my first or even 2nd playthrough
When wandering all over Skyrim, I had wanted to collect, and later read EVERY book in the game! But, like most, I just got more drawn into adventuring and having a blast. Nate, you have done a fantastic thing to put pieces of obscure lore to stitch the stories into something I had never thought to solve. I commend your skills! Even though the game is well played out, I still start it out again and again, since I fell in love with it years ago, and I can understand many other fans enjoyment as well. Thank you, TheEpicNate315 !!
The Falmer when Ysgramor returned with his boys: 👁👄👁
The Eye of Magnus is actually a ball used in Rocket League, and the Falmer were jealous of the Nords because they wanted to play the game too
Yes!! You solved it😍
The Nords knew the falmer couldn't air dribble or defend so they said hell nah
😂😂😂
“ordained receptacle” sounds a lot like the holy grail
Came to the same conclusion. Bunch of foreign crusaders looking for a holy object.
Holy Trashcan
Sounds like a polite way to call someone a slut.
Could also be one of the many 'Hero' characters, 'ordained' to save the world...
And by that you mean the ark of the covenant...know what ur saying before you speak silly human
Oh man one of my fav quest. Felt like a adventure and a magical quest for my magic character. Its like an episode of a show. Starts off simple and slow with suddenly you finding this artifact with insane power.
"This is technically fanfiction"
Me: "Well it's from a former Elder Scrolls writer I'm sure it's not the weirdest fanfiction ever"
"The Eye of Magnus contains a time travelling future robot"
I haven't watched the video but let me guess, michael Kirkbride is off his face on paint and dmt again
One that became a QUEEN, mind you.
I swear that guy likes time travel WAY too much lmao
@@TheRandomshite123 I'd be dispointed if he wasn't, mans a mad genius or something
I mean... The Dwemer had technology to create robots before they disappeared. Remember the animunculi? I don't know what many advancements could be made in this universe if it really gets to the 9th era, if some people manage to study the Dwemer sciences more deeply. Ways of controlling time also exist within the TES universe, with beings such as Alduin existing, so maybe someone could find a way to use that power, too. Why is it so hard to accept that this is actually perfectly plausible in such a far point of the future within this universe?
I find it really interesting how 'The night of tears' is somewhat reminiscent to an event that happened between the Aztecs and the conquistadors: the famous 'La Noche Triste' which translates to 'The Night of Sorrows' where Hernán Cortés, his army of Spanish conquistadors, and their native allies were driven out of the Aztec capital at Tenochtitlan.
The Nords' history seems to be, in general, a parallel to the European conquest and destruction of the Americas. So it's not a stretch to think that Bethesda specifically referenced that event.
The main difference being that the Aztecs were a culture obsessed with war, they needed to gain continuous prisoners to sacrifice to the sun everyday. The snow elves don't seem to be the same.
@@Cemtexify The death of the Aztecs wasn't good or bad based on their culture or anything, it was awful cuz they were wiped out for the sake of a massive imperialist force. Even if the Snow Elves were evil or cruel that wouldn't excuse their genocide
@@annacollins8999 damn elf sympathiser
KILL ALL ELVES
GLORY TO YSGRAMOR
PRAISE TALOS
SKYRIM BELONGS TO THE NORDS
@@annacollins8999 The Aztecs were a massive imperialist force themselves who made a lot of enemies and the Snow Elves committed genocide against the Atmorans first. Nobody is excusing genocide, but you're taking a rather simplistic approach to both cases, which borders on disingenuousness.
When I found out that it was called the eye of magnus I thought that it might have been the eye of a giant
Left Eye of the Falmer.
bro, what if the eye of magnus was the left/right eye of a bigger robot, like the writer suggested, ig it would kind of be like the right and left eye of the farmers, the ultimate weapon that was never commissioned by the snow elves when they went to war with the nords
I do know a red skinned giant that gave up one of his eyes for greater power from a dark god...
Needless to say not one of the smartest decisions my estranged brother did...
I always imagined it as a massive well of Magicka, either some kinda generator or just containing intense Magic energy, that's why using the staff on the eye weakens arcano, you are both drawing from the same source and it basically weakens his connection
Nate: "The Nords claim that they are native to Tamriel, but this is untrue."
Ulfric: "SKYRIM BELONGS TO THE NORDS!!!"
Well, saying that “Skyrim belongs to the Nords” does not imply automatically that they are natives as well.
Nords are super racist
@@tompettri3901 Agreed! 🤣
@@tompettri3901 all the races are pretty racist
Ulfric Trump is the TRUE high President of America
By the gods staff of magnus is the most powerful staff, legendary artifacts.
What we got : a glowing blue staff that cast draining magica spell.
*_20 points a second_*
maybe it powerful when use with the eye?
Well it’s a damn sight better than any other staff except for the wabbajack.
Yeah, I was kinda, Very disappointed in what that staff gave, I was half tempted to sell it but I like to keep all unique items I find, but to be the only good thing about the staff is it design. Since the staff was shit I just downloaded a mod that added some master spells and powers.
Yeah because 20 points of magica per second until the target has no magica then it switches to health (20 per second!) Is shit...
Fucking hell do you guys think daedric weapons are shit too?
title: we figured out mystery" 25:10 we actually dont know. Great content, as always
LOL was going to comment basically the same thing. "We figured out the mystery!" answer - Well this fanfic written by someone after the game came out says this, and that's what we think!
Thanks! I had to scroll through a lot of comments before getting the actual answer. No way was I going to waste more time than necessary on this.
@@sully51 wonder why this guy doesn't work at bethesda anymore. XD
@@andrewbugs418 Tell me about it. That story had me cringing and shaking my head. When he said "Enter Michael Kirkbride" I knew we were in for a butchered story.
Small theory, kind of a tinfoil hat situation, but hear me out. What if the Eye of Magnus, contains Magnus himself? Or a fragment of him? If Magnus is THE God of Magicka, and the Eye is exuding "unfathomable amounts of magical energy" then to me, that would make sense. Think about it, the God of Magicka himself would just radiate immeasurable levels of magical energies, as he would be quite literally made of it, and the Eye does the exact same thing, radiates immeasurable/unfathomable amounts of magicka. If you ask me? I don't think there was too much "mystery" behind it, I feel like Bethesda kinda just handed us the answer in such an obvious way, that nobody really saw it.
That's what I was thinking too. It doesn't seem that wild to me that gods/daedra/other incredibly powerful, immortal beings might have their power contained in some object in the mortal world. Some of their power at least
It cant. Magnus left Nirn. That's why the sun exists.