you forgot the part where the Jills blotted out the sky undoing the dragonbreak undoing mannimaco's ascension to godhood though a remenent of his god self exists as the revenant moon. FYI the Jills are the female dragons who are tasked to undo dragonbreaks. basically he ascended to godhood in 1 timeline which was then destroyed leaving the main timeline where he remained mortal to a degree and mannimaco was then finally killed for good by the champion of cyrodiil, the revenant moon is a remnent of an alternate timeline where mannimaco became a god. as for the Jills what they did was they destroyed every other branching timeline until only one specific timeline remained in which the blades took possession of the relics of Tiber Septim and it was the actions of Uriel Sceptim VII who finally legitimized Wrothgar and Dragontail mountains as Orcinium and as a legitimate province of Tamriel after orcinium was gifted to the orcs officially as their own kingdom (which is why orcs sometimes will shout for orcinium and dragontail mountains in combat in oblivion) and as for restoring daggerfall and Alik'r regions, Uriel Septim VII did a lot of negotiation and diplomacy in the set timeline. the reason for the Jills and the elimination of the other branching timelines was due to the devs needing a specific canonical end for daggerfall (out of universe) and that fractured timelines seems to hurt Akatosh however as a god before the Jills unmade the other timelines was that powerful a remnant of him still exists as the revenant moon
It would be very interesting if he became the main antagonist for Elder Scrolls 6 where he was the one who formed the Thalmor as his pawns; almost similar to Palpatine from Star Wars where Palaptine became an Emperor by gaining control of the entire courts. It would make sense since Manimarco is a very threatening figure who almost destroyed the Mages Guild in Oblivion and even convinced many to betray the Mages Guild.
Thats the funniest part of TES. Master Mages, Dragons, Immortal Liches and even Gods all fall in a few hits to some maniac in piecemeal armor carrying a sackfull of cheese wheels
To be clear, its mostly understood that the Mannimarco we encounter in Oblivion is "Mannimarco the Pretender", who is a highly powered down aspect/avatar of Mannimarco.
The reason Mannimarco was both around as a mortal and God during the Oblivion crisis was definitely the second theory. Godhood in Tes does not work like you would think. Its been described as existing in a place without time, where every event within the timeline is occurring at the same time. This is also why the seemingly all seeing gods still can be tricked or miss things. As they are quite literally dealing with ALL events through history at the same "time". Their attention is divided amongst countless different events. Being mortal also seems to be essential to having free will (if you want to call it that) The souls of the dead seem to have a completely different mindset Look at the souls in Sovngard who suddenly speak in poems and achieve some odd form of "understanding" about the universe. To the point where even the warmonger Ulfric just admits he was being blind to the real threat if you encounter him in Sovngard. Gods are even worse, as they are completely bound to their sphere of influence, and practically can't think or act outside of those. Look at the Hero of Cyrodiil who ended up mantling Sheogorath. By the events of Skyrim, they no longer look like their original self, race or sex, but instead like a somewhat different but recognizable copy of the original Sheogorath. Whoever they were is mostly covered beneath the role they had to assume, even their mindset is completely warped to fit the role. As such its very likely to assume that goes for Mannimarco too. The God of Worms no longer has any will to undertake independent action. His time is fully devoted to blessing loyal followers with necromantic secrets and ensuring the Shade of the Revenant occurs. And considering there is no proof that Mannimarco (God version) has actually communicated with anyone, (even with this own mortal self). Its safe to assume he did not achieve Divinity as the Daedric princes do, but instead like the divines. He lost his physical form, and so much of his original self that he became more of a unthinking force of nature rather then a sentient being.
this ^ although it likely is a copycat there is nothing to say that said copycat did not in fact intentionally or unintentionally mantle the now god mannimarco. so in a way it was both not mannimarco and an aspect of him.
@@jefthereaper what about the 3 living Gods of the Tribunal? don't they have Free Will? Or is it different because they were mortals siphoning power from the Heart of Lorkhan?
@@PhthaloGreenskin The answer is in the title "living" gods. They have a physical form in the Mundus and are not blocked from retaining their physical form like most other "gods" are. Vivec mentions this somewhere, either in game or outside in Kirkbride written texts that if he leaves his physical form or dies, he will appear in the "god place". There, there is no "time" as we perceive it. He could wait there thousands of years before reviving himself in his mortal form, yet he would always arrive exactly at the same point he died, as if no time had passed at all. Meanwhile, EVERY event that ever was, will be or never even should happen, is happening simultaneously from the perspective of Vivec while in the "god place" Explaining why gods can be tricked or fail to answer their followers. As they are quite literally handling EVERY event in time all at once, including the ones that never happen. Very little else is known about this "god place" But its likely how all other "gods" exist who don't have a physical form like the Daedric Princess or the Living Tribunal. The dream like mental state can also be observed in mortal souls. Look at the Nords who go to Sovngard upon death. Even Ulfric suddenly saw the error of his ways after arriving there, and started speaking in poems. The Mundus somehow grants those who live on it true free will, while being outside of it sends one in a dream like state. The more "divine" and less mortal one is, the stronger the effects it seems.
@@badluck5647 it's complicated. This guy did a video on Mankar. I can't do it justice but the gist is he might have changed his nymic (elder scrolls for true name) and in so doing made himself a high elf.
I got a idea, Mannimarco the god, uses the altmer as a sort of shuttle. We see when he was a Monk that he called necromancy puppetry, he could likely be using a similar form of puppetry on the man we see in oblivion.
@@theemerdareloth Thank you for making 'em dude! I realize the amount of time that goes into them must be nuts, and the viewership niche; so I appreciate all the more for it :)
9 months late, but ... I had always assumed that the "Mannimarco" in Oblivion was an imposter, mostly because the real Mannimarco would have had no trouble at all wiping me out when I rocked up to his cave, as I did the Mage's Guild quest line almost as soon as I escaped the sewers.
Well, Champion of Cyrodiil beat Umaril, Mankar Camoran, and even fcking Jiggalagg. With all respect, Hero of Kvatch is stronger then Mannimarco, especially after Shivering Isles.
Thought on him being the first of the undying liches: all previous liches had to become undead to be immortal, ala the dragon priests and the alyeids. H became the first to have the power and immortality of a lich while still having a living body, not having to sacrifice any of his spirit in the transition. He's always a living being when we see him and doesn't take any effects as an undead would from what I remember in oblivion
See this is quality content. I try to dig into Fudgemuppets numerous videos, but his Dungeon Master voice just tunes me right out for some reason. You use a normal voice, which makes me feel like I'm listening to a conversation vs a bed time story, use illustrations and NPC voiced dialogue to switch things up and keep us attentive. Keep up the good work my friend.
I quite agree. I love their (Fudgemuppet is three, well now two, people) and how it’s more of them being in that world. But I really love this guys content so far, this is the first I’ve seen so far.
Yeah man the one guy from there I think it's Drew? He ads waaaay to many words that do not need to he spoken, like insanely over the top to the point it becomes word salad.
Amazing high quality video Dareloth!! Very nice editing and great story telling! Will be checking in for more content from you as always Hope these videos get super popular, you deserve it!!
I remember one theory on Oblivion Mannimarco was that the Dragonbreak basically split Mannimarco into two beings. One being the Necromancer's moon, and the other being the sort of pathetic wizard you fight in the game.
Wow, man. Your videos are actually some of the best pieces on TES lore I've seen in a really long time. Keep up the good work. I'm sure you'll soon get the recognition you deserve, man.
i remember encountering him for the first time in oblivion when i was a child and subsequently making fun of him alongside all of the other high elf models. then both of us went through puberty apparently and reconvened years later in the ESO live action trailer. sheesh. why did they think that was necessary? my guy used the dark arts to do a hair follicle transplant. i’ve been down bad ever since.
I always took first of the litches to imply that Mannimarco was the first to make himself a Litch. Every other undead previously had to be made by, and thus presumably controubled by someone else
Anyone else feel like Bethesda dropped the ball on the Mannimarco voice actor? Dude sounds like an old ass graybeard lol. The right vo makes a world of difference. Just my opinion tho. Great content man.
I personally really like the option 2 theory on Mannimarco in Oblivion. It to me is a very uniquely elder scrolls thing to have two seemingly paradoxical things to be taking place. It also makes me wonder how does the memories of this Mannimarco we meet in Oblivion work. Is he aware of his Apotheosis, or does he only have the memories of not receiving the stone of Tiber Septum from the agent?
I also preferred #2 as an explanation. It is difficult to justify the appearance of both the Revenant Moon, as well as Mannimarco. To my mind, it's challenging to otherwise explain their simultaneous reincarnations on Tamriel.
Very interesting question. I wish we could see Mannimarco in some sense again in TES VI. Like we pray to the Revenant or something and can interact with him.
Wow! finally YT recommends me something great! TES lore + my favorite ESO content, the original Mannimarco questline! This vid is a gem! 💎 PS. Yep, it's 2024 and I played all major ESO questlines and still think the original line is the best, most coherent and Lore-accurate in the game, too bad it gets easily overlooked by most of the new players.
@testdep Thank you! Totally agree, I feel like each major expansion I've played was worse than the last. I really enjoyed Morrowind, but that may have just been the nostalgia itching at me.
Fourth Mannimarco option: Although he ascended his mortal body was still undead. Thus he would be able to control it and it having the amount of power that he had in life, thus how he could still learn and grow in power despite already being deified. Normally the Aedra and those who have ascended are strictly bound to their Aedric planes. They can appear to mortals and grant boons to them but cannot casually create avatars for themselves and especially not at their full power level. Such things require extraordinary circumstances like with Martin Septim. So although Talos can appear to people I don't think he could go around personally fighting with his full power. If he could then surely he'd go around fighting in every imperial battle.
I see the Manninmarco in Oblivion as a remnant of the Warp in the West. The nature of Dragon Breaks being what they are, can create conflicting and simultaneously correct interpretations of events. While it is a headache for us lore nerds, it does at least give valid reasons for conflicting information.
opinions incoming! 1: i think that the theory about mannimarco being a separate entity from the god of worms due to time splitting stuff from the warp in the west is the most likely one, as the others are a bit unsubstantiated and this one is consistent with how everyone who sought the totem of tiber septim both did and did not achieve their goals. *however*... 2: i'm pretty personally partial to the theory of oblivion mannimarco being an impostor. something that i've noticed while playing arena and daggerfall is that, although the name mannimarco exists in the lore, that name is NEVER used to identify the king of worms, who is the leader of the necromancers, so i believe they may have originally been separate characters. if i recall correctly, there's some lore from morrowind that directly contradicts this, but i still like thinking about it 3: i think that mannimarco's presentation in eso is pretty cool and fitting for a legendary necromancer, however it's not very consistent with his appearance in daggerfall, which is my preferred version of him. in daggerfall he's surprisingly humble and polite, seemingly as a backhanded way to lord the position he feels he holds over everybody. in eso, he's much more flamboyant (and admittedly stylish), and less subtle. the writers made the same mistake with several telvanni characters in my opinion 4: i wonder if the lich that stays by mannimarco's side in daggerfall (and the one he would summon in oblivion if the developers remembered to give him enough magicka for it) is meant to be some historical figure like vanus galerion?
Great video, love the way you go over his whole story! The build up is absolutely perfect in going through the timeline! Personally I don't really agree with the whole 'they say first but don't actually MEAN first' thing however! If it was 'they mean he's the best one' he would simply be 'the most powerful lich' or something similar. I think the real point to look at are what comes next: undying lich. As you said, he's not the first lich, but most people when they give examples, they say things like dragon priests came firsts, but not people who actually have 'lich' in their title. Another option : maybe undying ISN'T just a useless addition, maybe he became a different kind of lich, one far harder to get rid of than the usual sort. Or maybe he was 'undying' in another way not normally used for the dead-gone-undead liches? In which case, 'undying lich' becomes a whole new sort of lich and he does, indeed, become the first undying lich. Though it's a bit far fetched for an example I personally believe it's even more far fetched to say 'he's famously known for one thing but everyone meant a WHOLE other thing'. (( ... and then there's the laaaaaarge chance of course that the writer who gave him the title made an oopsie and forgot other liches existed before, but that explanation, while often the case, just isn't any fun :'D ))
@MoonlitTheft So, in Elder Scrolls online, there are Ayleid liches that predate Mannimarco ascending into one himself, and also Dragon Priests, which are confirmed to be liches in lore. I don't really believe I'm doing anything defiant here in saying that Mannimarco is not the First ever lich here is my point. Here is a link to a Reddit discussion on this very point: www.reddit.com/r/teslore/s/NPXaI2R6Ww Again, I like your thought process here, though, and I appreciate you taking your time to write! Thank you!
Dragon Breaks are the dumbest and yet genius plot elements to me. You can boil it down to calling them cop-outs to cover plot inconsistencies, but it males the world more mysterious and fun to speculate on!
@@Warpded I really like Dragonbreaks as an idea, and I think Daggerfall executed it fairly well. If it becomes a plot device for more game going forward though, we may have issues haha.
This was incredible! 🙏 Gotta sub. Very interesting character mannimarco is, I really wish they made him look like the badass he is in oblivion instead of giving him this dorky elf look, from what I know that’s the last we see of him physically and I wanted him to look menacing as always, ah well hope we see more of him in elder scrolls 6 if that ever comes out 😂
I'm actually pretty on board with your theory about Mannimarco in Oblivion not being the real guy. Especially given the level of cult activity in Cyrodiil at that time. And like you said, the one from Oblivion is significantly less powerful than the version we see in other games. Heck, I haven't even played those two other games and it was blatantly obvious to me how one is significantly more powerful than the other. But going back to the active cults of Cyrodiil at that time, we have: Mythic Dawn, Necromancers, Dark Brotherhood, the villagers of Hackdirt, and one could make a case for the Blackwood Company as well. Now the Necromancers as we know them in Oblivion are mainly there as a counter reaction to Hannibal Traven's extreme policies against the practice of necromancy. Therefore, I don't think that it's that far of a stretch that the most powerful amongst said necromancers (who may or may not have had a deeper transcendencial connection to the ascended aspect of the real Mannimarco), claimed the name 'Mannimarco' for himself (as a sort of reincarnation) and used it as a means of giving the cult of necromancers a more fearsome presence. Neatly playing into the fear that is already present in most of Cyrodill's citizens. Their emperor is dead and gates to Oblivion are opening everywhere, they have every reason to be scared and to fear even worse threats, regardless of where they come from.
I think Vivec both lived his mortal life and killed the Nerevarine, and lived a divine life as god who didn't kill him because mortals can't become gods, therefore time had to be broken to allow it. In the same logic, I'd think the undying Mannimarco's existance continued, and the god Mannimarco likely experienced a divine life from birth as Vivec did. In this case, the timeline where Mannimarco's mortal form existed continues and merges with the godhead timeline, whereas the the timeline with the mortal Tribunal ends in the Red Moment. That's why i think the Red Moment is different than a dragon break, a timeline ended and was surplanted by another (but the events of the original timeline were still valid up till it's end) wheras a true dragon break splits then merges multiple timelines back into a single whole.
I think the 3rd Option might actually be the most reasonable, especially with the point of him being so significantly differing in character. It's a favorite trick of DM's when the Big Bad Dies too early, by the by. In a Story, it's also within the lines of acceptable writing, especially if good room is left for it to occur.
I assumed that during the dragonbreak in which he ascends as the necromancer's moon there were two versions of him, one that was successful and one that failed. it was the parallel version that was successful that ascended because of the dragonbreak making it so both possibilites were reality. so while he was successful he also didnt get to experience that success because the version that didn't ascend continued on nirn which lead him to his participation in the oblivion mages guild questline and explains why he was physically on nirn again.
If option 2 happened wouldn't it make sense to assume that Manimarco split in two? One is a god and the other is heavily weakened from having been defeated by the player.
Before necromancy meant raising the dead, it meant communicating with the dead. A lot of people practice it. Prayer is a pretty word for "summoning spell". Praying to Jesus is an attempt to earn eternal life (double necromancy). The New Testament is the glorified story of a human sacrifice. Not trying to offend anyone. Just calling a spade a spade. Moses never talked to the dead or asked spirits for eternal life. All that was added in the reboot.
@@similaritiesendhereYou live in America ? It's always fascinating how slavers and genociders can think even for a moment that God would be on their side if he was real 😂
@@Ron_Jambo_ I'm an educated, immigrant atheist living in America; watching christo-facism take over the world's most dangerous nuclear arsenal. I was 7 years old when I asked my parents why Jesus wanted us to drink his blood and eat his flesh (necromancy)? Who do you think you're dunking on?
I think blood selected for magicka just means he had genetic potential since in the elder scrolls theres only so much that mages can accomplish from study and that a major factor is actual genetic pre disposition to magical forces
Mannimarco in oblivion may be an avatar of Mannimarco. A mortal takes on the identity and is invested with some of a gods abilities. (Its a cross between explanation 2 and 3) A weaker form of what happened to the hero of kvatch when he embodied what's his name in the shivering isle DLC. Why can't I remember him? Edit Shagorath.
I'd guess that his Altmer body might be some sort of an avatar of Mannimarco, in form of his former self, thus he is quite weak but also has some essence of Mannimarco
I don’t think oblivion mannimarco has to be anything too complex, the gods are known to have avatars, and mannimarco being of nirn originally should have no trouble creating one to meddle. I don’t think manni himself should appear again, unless he’s the primary antagonist of a TES game, but he could fill a role similar to a Daedric prince. He is a god after all, he should be seeking to expand his influence and reward his followers.
I feel like ES6 should definitely find a way to bring him to the forefront if not as a main story big bad but some form of dlc cause I feel like there’s a lot they could do with his lore/character
Imagine being the Mannimarco that didnt ascend to godhood, I can see him looking up at the necromancers moon and cursing at the version of him that made it while he's stuck on this shitty rock
Manimarco Is probably my favourite character next to molag bal hes underated imo hes tes equivalent to the night king or the witch king of angmar he should come back tes 6
I've always figured that the Mannimarco in Oblivion is a Mannimarcoine. Like, he could just incarnate himself all over the place whenever he wants, even outside of chronology. Similar to a Shezarrine, but it's Mannimarco instead of Shezarr. He's no lich or powerful warlock like he's supposed to be, because he's just an incarnation and not even a very good one. Mannimarco just retroactively added some dude to the timeline a few centuries back who does little to nothing until it's time for him to become the protagonist of his own story, but said dude also just kinda sucked.
Bit of a question here, wouldn’t it be possible for Mannimarco as a god, to manifest an avatar of himself? Its been done before by the divines, Mara Stendarr and Talos from what i know, show up in physical form in Morrowind. Talos as an old man, before the final boss in a fort by the ghost fence, Mara in the tribunal expansion in the same cave as a lich boss, and Stendarr i can’t remember. Talos gives you a coin then disappears, and Mara gives you a dress if you give her a certain potion then dissappears.
@@theemerdareloth Maybe because its a form familer to him and thus requires less effort, to make and maintain? Just theory, i don't have anything to back it up, so im likely wrong on some points.
@@theemerdareloth Just to note, Jennifer Hale (The VA of Lyris Titanborn) has said on Twitter that she does not condone the use of AI with her voice. Not a big deal, but I thought I'd bring it to your attention
@Fulcrum96 I appreciate you letting me know, I could totally understand from a voice actors' perspective that people generating your voice is unsettling.
Mannimarco: I created black soul gems, so now people can be soul trapped! Meanwhile in Morrowind: **Casually soul trap one of the Tribunal in an every day soul gem**
I assumed it worked similar to gods in DnD. If you ever fight a "god" in DnD, you're not really fighting them actually. They can't/aren't allowed to manifest in the world themselves, but they can create an aspect of theirself to act on their behalf. While usually still incredibly powerful, they're nothing compared to their actual godly power
It could be something like that. In Elder Scrolls, there is no figure like Ao in DnD, though, to enforce the rules and make the god-like entities stay in check. The Coldharbor Compact is a sort of limitation on a select few Daedra, but outside of that, I don't think there are any hard set rules about how the God's can manifest, it's kind of loosy-goosy.
@theemerdareloth yooo, got a reply! Great vids btw, longform content yapping about various nerd stuff is my jam while at the factory. Lemme go sub actually
How do the Dragon Breaks last a specific number of years if time doesn't flow linearly within them?😅 How do they even know what year it is when one ends? I need to learn more about Dragon Breaks apparently but that just seems funny to me
Mannimarco seems petty enough to come back as a man to fight the mages guild. If we make the stretch to say that perhaps his habit of raising powerful mages is a bit more personal than he lets on, especially considering how the venn diagram between his targets and enemies is almost a circle the idea that he'd descend to the mortal realm to personally destroy the guild and raise its headmaster seems entirely reasonable
Well ... System Shock ripped off real ghosts. Which are more a fantasy than science fiction thing in the first place, so idk, but even if they did, I can't fault them.
...im sorry i have to ask but are those AI voices in this video? It was hard to tell with Mannimarco but the second woman's voice soundsblike a really stilted ai
Yes, they were AI voices. I've stopped using them going forward. Originally I thought they were a fun way to break up the video and let people hear the character who purportedly wrote the words I was reading actually say them, but again, I've stopped using the AI voices in all future content. I used them in this video, and my Miraak one.
Elder Scrolls Legends Tie-In Deck: ua-cam.com/video/1J9QdTjRFEQ/v-deo.htmlsi=__5fPLKP5yTNKaSI
you forgot the part where the Jills blotted out the sky undoing the dragonbreak undoing mannimaco's ascension to godhood though a remenent of his god self exists as the revenant moon. FYI the Jills are the female dragons who are tasked to undo dragonbreaks. basically he ascended to godhood in 1 timeline which was then destroyed leaving the main timeline where he remained mortal to a degree and mannimaco was then finally killed for good by the champion of cyrodiil, the revenant moon is a remnent of an alternate timeline where mannimaco became a god.
as for the Jills what they did was they destroyed every other branching timeline until only one specific timeline remained in which the blades took possession of the relics of Tiber Septim and it was the actions of Uriel Sceptim VII who finally legitimized Wrothgar and Dragontail mountains as Orcinium and as a legitimate province of Tamriel after orcinium was gifted to the orcs officially as their own kingdom (which is why orcs sometimes will shout for orcinium and dragontail mountains in combat in oblivion) and as for restoring daggerfall and Alik'r regions, Uriel Septim VII did a lot of negotiation and diplomacy in the set timeline. the reason for the Jills and the elimination of the other branching timelines was due to the devs needing a specific canonical end for daggerfall (out of universe) and that fractured timelines seems to hurt Akatosh however as a god before the Jills unmade the other timelines was that powerful a remnant of him still exists as the revenant moon
It would be very interesting if he became the main antagonist for Elder Scrolls 6 where he was the one who formed the Thalmor as his pawns; almost similar to Palpatine from Star Wars where Palaptine became an Emperor by gaining control of the entire courts. It would make sense since Manimarco is a very threatening figure who almost destroyed the Mages Guild in Oblivion and even convinced many to betray the Mages Guild.
Mannimarco is a deity of Necromancy at that point, so why couldn't he just puppet his own body as he did so many others?
Mannimarco sure accomplished a lot for someone who goes down in one hit from Umbra.
Thats the funniest part of TES. Master Mages, Dragons, Immortal Liches and even Gods all fall in a few hits to some maniac in piecemeal armor carrying a sackfull of cheese wheels
To be clear, its mostly understood that the Mannimarco we encounter in Oblivion is "Mannimarco the Pretender", who is a highly powered down aspect/avatar of Mannimarco.
Your difficulty is low
@@AvengerAtIlipa thats why I dont play oblivion without Mannimarco Revisited mod.
Someone I have been wanting to learn more about. Thank you for this. Subscribed.
Thank you! Hoping to make more Lore videos in the future. I also have one on Ulfric Stormcloak as well if you would be interested in seeing that!
the algorithm has been blessing me with quality lore channels lately.
The reason Mannimarco was both around as a mortal and God during the Oblivion crisis was definitely the second theory.
Godhood in Tes does not work like you would think.
Its been described as existing in a place without time, where every event within the timeline is occurring at the same time.
This is also why the seemingly all seeing gods still can be tricked or miss things.
As they are quite literally dealing with ALL events through history at the same "time".
Their attention is divided amongst countless different events.
Being mortal also seems to be essential to having free will (if you want to call it that)
The souls of the dead seem to have a completely different mindset
Look at the souls in Sovngard who suddenly speak in poems and achieve some odd form of "understanding" about the universe.
To the point where even the warmonger Ulfric just admits he was being blind to the real threat if you encounter him in Sovngard.
Gods are even worse, as they are completely bound to their sphere of influence, and practically can't think or act outside of those.
Look at the Hero of Cyrodiil who ended up mantling Sheogorath.
By the events of Skyrim, they no longer look like their original self, race or sex, but instead like a somewhat different but recognizable copy of the original Sheogorath.
Whoever they were is mostly covered beneath the role they had to assume, even their mindset is completely warped to fit the role.
As such its very likely to assume that goes for Mannimarco too.
The God of Worms no longer has any will to undertake independent action.
His time is fully devoted to blessing loyal followers with necromantic secrets and ensuring the Shade of the Revenant occurs.
And considering there is no proof that Mannimarco (God version) has actually communicated with anyone, (even with this own mortal self).
Its safe to assume he did not achieve Divinity as the Daedric princes do, but instead like the divines.
He lost his physical form, and so much of his original self that he became more of a unthinking force of nature rather then a sentient being.
this ^ although it likely is a copycat there is nothing to say that said copycat did not in fact intentionally or unintentionally mantle the now god mannimarco. so in a way it was both not mannimarco and an aspect of him.
@@jefthereaper what about the 3 living Gods of the Tribunal? don't they have Free Will? Or is it different because they were mortals siphoning power from the Heart of Lorkhan?
@@PhthaloGreenskin The answer is in the title "living" gods.
They have a physical form in the Mundus and are not blocked from retaining their physical form like most other "gods" are.
Vivec mentions this somewhere, either in game or outside in Kirkbride written texts that if he leaves his physical form or dies, he will appear in the "god place".
There, there is no "time" as we perceive it.
He could wait there thousands of years before reviving himself in his mortal form, yet he would always arrive exactly at the same point he died, as if no time had passed at all.
Meanwhile, EVERY event that ever was, will be or never even should happen, is happening simultaneously from the perspective of Vivec while in the "god place"
Explaining why gods can be tricked or fail to answer their followers.
As they are quite literally handling EVERY event in time all at once, including the ones that never happen.
Very little else is known about this "god place"
But its likely how all other "gods" exist who don't have a physical form like the Daedric Princess or the Living Tribunal.
The dream like mental state can also be observed in mortal souls.
Look at the Nords who go to Sovngard upon death.
Even Ulfric suddenly saw the error of his ways after arriving there, and started speaking in poems.
The Mundus somehow grants those who live on it true free will, while being outside of it sends one in a dream like state.
The more "divine" and less mortal one is, the stronger the effects it seems.
By Ysgramor, all these antagonists are High Elves. First Mannimarco, then Mankar, and then the Thalmor. Pelinal didn't do enough.
Pelinal is cuck now. He is ready to give all his powers to altmer Divine Crusader in Oblivion.
I thought Mankar was a bosmer who just looked like an altmer.
@@badluck5647 it's complicated. This guy did a video on Mankar. I can't do it justice but the gist is he might have changed his nymic (elder scrolls for true name) and in so doing made himself a high elf.
@@Lancefh_ENV be careful… noticing patterns is racist, chud
@@Lancefh_ENV If I was a Bosmer I would also un-bosmer myself at the first opportunity.
I got a idea, Mannimarco the god, uses the altmer as a sort of shuttle. We see when he was a Monk that he called necromancy puppetry, he could likely be using a similar form of puppetry on the man we see in oblivion.
That's an interesting viewing
Naw. Todd ain't no Miyazaki
@@InfamousRafe Fan theories being attributed to Todd in any sense is an insult to the fans.
I love these vids; I'm here after having seen both the Mythic Dawn one, and the Dragonborn. Absolutely love seeing these.
Glad you're liking them!
@@theemerdareloth Thank you for making 'em dude! I realize the amount of time that goes into them must be nuts, and the viewership niche; so I appreciate all the more for it :)
9 months late, but ... I had always assumed that the "Mannimarco" in Oblivion was an imposter, mostly because the real Mannimarco would have had no trouble at all wiping me out when I rocked up to his cave, as I did the Mage's Guild quest line almost as soon as I escaped the sewers.
Well, Champion of Cyrodiil beat Umaril, Mankar Camoran, and even fcking Jiggalagg.
With all respect, Hero of Kvatch is stronger then Mannimarco, especially after Shivering Isles.
I would say its more so that he was never able to reach his apotheosis.
I'm digging your lore focused character dives! Keep them coming!
Mannimarco is "I'm on my nefarious shit" in videogame character form.
Love, love, love this stuff! It opens whole new ways to look at (and play) the games. Great stuff!
Thank you!!
Thought on him being the first of the undying liches: all previous liches had to become undead to be immortal, ala the dragon priests and the alyeids. H became the first to have the power and immortality of a lich while still having a living body, not having to sacrifice any of his spirit in the transition. He's always a living being when we see him and doesn't take any effects as an undead would from what I remember in oblivion
See this is quality content. I try to dig into Fudgemuppets numerous videos, but his Dungeon Master voice just tunes me right out for some reason. You use a normal voice, which makes me feel like I'm listening to a conversation vs a bed time story, use illustrations and NPC voiced dialogue to switch things up and keep us attentive. Keep up the good work my friend.
I quite agree. I love their (Fudgemuppet is three, well now two, people) and how it’s more of them being in that world. But I really love this guys content so far, this is the first I’ve seen so far.
its cuz his voice sounds alot like Ryker from star trek TNG. good narrator voice
Yeah man the one guy from there I think it's Drew? He ads waaaay to many words that do not need to he spoken, like insanely over the top to the point it becomes word salad.
@@I-HAVE-A-BOMB It’s because he’s basically role playing an in-universe scholar.
@@Prodigi50 It's done horribly like a moron trying to sound smart
I wasn't expecting the sudden Talisien Jaffe appearance as Galerion in ESO.
Amazing high quality video Dareloth!!
Very nice editing and great story telling! Will be checking in for more content from you as always
Hope these videos get super popular, you deserve it!!
I remember one theory on Oblivion Mannimarco was that the Dragonbreak basically split Mannimarco into two beings. One being the Necromancer's moon, and the other being the sort of pathetic wizard you fight in the game.
I cant fathom why theres so few videos on this guy.
Yeah I was surprised by that as well
Cos he doesn't get a lot of screen time. And thematically he's just the evil guy
Of course the lich PFP wants to see more discussion about the most heretical necromancer in history. Figures. /s
@OnTheBackOfBullets I have an obsession and it's probably not healthy.
@@alanolex3962 Clearly not, you're all bones. I get it though, I'm secretly a necromancer in every dnd campaign i play
Wow, man. Your videos are actually some of the best pieces on TES lore I've seen in a really long time. Keep up the good work. I'm sure you'll soon get the recognition you deserve, man.
i remember encountering him for the first time in oblivion when i was a child and subsequently making fun of him alongside all of the other high elf models. then both of us went through puberty apparently and reconvened years later in the ESO live action trailer. sheesh. why did they think that was necessary? my guy used the dark arts to do a hair follicle transplant. i’ve been down bad ever since.
Smh, he wanna frot with the First Lich. 😔
Love lore videos, good job covering everything from all the games he's been in and the stuff in between
I always took first of the litches to imply that Mannimarco was the first to make himself a Litch.
Every other undead previously had to be made by, and thus presumably controubled by someone else
Thanks for the vid. Manimarco may be my favorite TES character. Always love a good necromancer.
Anyone else feel like Bethesda dropped the ball on the Mannimarco voice actor?
Dude sounds like an old ass graybeard lol. The right vo makes a world of difference. Just my opinion tho.
Great content man.
I personally really like the option 2 theory on Mannimarco in Oblivion. It to me is a very uniquely elder scrolls thing to have two seemingly paradoxical things to be taking place. It also makes me wonder how does the memories of this Mannimarco we meet in Oblivion work. Is he aware of his Apotheosis, or does he only have the memories of not receiving the stone of Tiber Septum from the agent?
I also preferred #2 as an explanation.
It is difficult to justify the appearance of both the Revenant Moon, as well as Mannimarco.
To my mind, it's challenging to otherwise explain their simultaneous reincarnations on Tamriel.
Very interesting question. I wish we could see Mannimarco in some sense again in TES VI. Like we pray to the Revenant or something and can interact with him.
I hope they bring Mannimarco back, he makes my skin crawl every time he pops up.
Yes! So glad I found this amazing lore channel! Very well done!!! Subscribed!!! ❤
I discovered your channel today and I m amazed. Really good content
Really appreciate that. Thank you.
Really enjoyed this! I hope you do one for Molag Bal one day
Thank you!
That nifty little enchanted ring. Such a useful yet trifling thing. And yet it is the beginning link to necromancy and the king of worms.
Really good presentation. Mannimarco is one of my favorite characters in all TES. Subscriber gained!
Oblivion did him dirty. They messed up his stats so he cant cast his spells
I got this guy confused with Mankar Camorun the other day and my son almost hit me for mixing them up 😭
Hope your son doesn't see this comment either... you misspelled the name
@@jesseleeshoemakerjr5461 I know right. Curse my Tennessee education 😭
I haven't thought about this man in 20 years 🤴🏼🪱🧟♂️
Great video, good editing and love the use of dialogue as quotes
Wow, no other video made me understand TES more, at least for a long time.
In my d&d campaign I made Mannimarco a daedric prince. And he kept his mortal body to further his influence on Tamriel. He's the BBEG in my campaign.
Wow! finally YT recommends me something great!
TES lore + my favorite ESO content, the original Mannimarco questline!
This vid is a gem! 💎
PS. Yep, it's 2024 and I played all major ESO questlines and still think the original line is the best, most coherent and Lore-accurate in the game, too bad it gets easily overlooked by most of the new players.
@testdep Thank you! Totally agree, I feel like each major expansion I've played was worse than the last. I really enjoyed Morrowind, but that may have just been the nostalgia itching at me.
Fourth Mannimarco option:
Although he ascended his mortal body was still undead.
Thus he would be able to control it and it having the amount of power that he had in life, thus how he could still learn and grow in power despite already being deified.
Normally the Aedra and those who have ascended are strictly bound to their Aedric planes. They can appear to mortals and grant boons to them but cannot casually create avatars for themselves and especially not at their full power level. Such things require extraordinary circumstances like with Martin Septim.
So although Talos can appear to people I don't think he could go around personally fighting with his full power. If he could then surely he'd go around fighting in every imperial battle.
Wait till Maxximarco shows up.
I like the idea of altmer necromancers using mannimarco's name to build a following or maybe he can possess bodies
it's hilarious watching mannimarco's idiot friend realizing that he's obviously evil and always was
I see the Manninmarco in Oblivion as a remnant of the Warp in the West. The nature of Dragon Breaks being what they are, can create conflicting and simultaneously correct interpretations of events. While it is a headache for us lore nerds, it does at least give valid reasons for conflicting information.
I love how much you're using the art from elder scrolls legends
opinions incoming!
1: i think that the theory about mannimarco being a separate entity from the god of worms due to time splitting stuff from the warp in the west is the most likely one, as the others are a bit unsubstantiated and this one is consistent with how everyone who sought the totem of tiber septim both did and did not achieve their goals. *however*...
2: i'm pretty personally partial to the theory of oblivion mannimarco being an impostor. something that i've noticed while playing arena and daggerfall is that, although the name mannimarco exists in the lore, that name is NEVER used to identify the king of worms, who is the leader of the necromancers, so i believe they may have originally been separate characters. if i recall correctly, there's some lore from morrowind that directly contradicts this, but i still like thinking about it
3: i think that mannimarco's presentation in eso is pretty cool and fitting for a legendary necromancer, however it's not very consistent with his appearance in daggerfall, which is my preferred version of him. in daggerfall he's surprisingly humble and polite, seemingly as a backhanded way to lord the position he feels he holds over everybody. in eso, he's much more flamboyant (and admittedly stylish), and less subtle. the writers made the same mistake with several telvanni characters in my opinion
4: i wonder if the lich that stays by mannimarco's side in daggerfall (and the one he would summon in oblivion if the developers remembered to give him enough magicka for it) is meant to be some historical figure like vanus galerion?
5:03 he's edging
Great video, love the way you go over his whole story! The build up is absolutely perfect in going through the timeline!
Personally I don't really agree with the whole 'they say first but don't actually MEAN first' thing however! If it was 'they mean he's the best one' he would simply be 'the most powerful lich' or something similar.
I think the real point to look at are what comes next: undying lich.
As you said, he's not the first lich, but most people when they give examples, they say things like dragon priests came firsts, but not people who actually have 'lich' in their title.
Another option : maybe undying ISN'T just a useless addition, maybe he became a different kind of lich, one far harder to get rid of than the usual sort. Or maybe he was 'undying' in another way not normally used for the dead-gone-undead liches? In which case, 'undying lich' becomes a whole new sort of lich and he does, indeed, become the first undying lich.
Though it's a bit far fetched for an example I personally believe it's even more far fetched to say 'he's famously known for one thing but everyone meant a WHOLE other thing'.
(( ... and then there's the laaaaaarge chance of course that the writer who gave him the title made an oopsie and forgot other liches existed before, but that explanation, while often the case, just isn't any fun :'D ))
@MoonlitTheft So, in Elder Scrolls online, there are Ayleid liches that predate Mannimarco ascending into one himself, and also Dragon Priests, which are confirmed to be liches in lore.
I don't really believe I'm doing anything defiant here in saying that Mannimarco is not the First ever lich here is my point. Here is a link to a Reddit discussion on this very point: www.reddit.com/r/teslore/s/NPXaI2R6Ww
Again, I like your thought process here, though, and I appreciate you taking your time to write!
Thank you!
Most excellent dive!
Thank you!
@@theemerdareloth You're very welcome!
Manimarco having something like a daedric prince quest would be way better than another physical appearance in es6 in my opinion
Dragon Breaks are the dumbest and yet genius plot elements to me. You can boil it down to calling them cop-outs to cover plot inconsistencies, but it males the world more mysterious and fun to speculate on!
@@Warpded I really like Dragonbreaks as an idea, and I think Daggerfall executed it fairly well. If it becomes a plot device for more game going forward though, we may have issues haha.
Great video, subbed right after
This was incredible! 🙏
Gotta sub.
Very interesting character mannimarco is, I really wish they made him look like the badass he is in oblivion instead of giving him this dorky elf look, from what I know that’s the last we see of him physically and I wanted him to look menacing as always, ah well hope we see more of him in elder scrolls 6 if that ever comes out 😂
I've got a new lore video planned to come out soon. Next week or so 🤞. Thank you for subbing!
@@theemerdareloth
Can’t wait 👍
Happy Halloween!
It's November 1st.....
its not halloween
I'm actually pretty on board with your theory about Mannimarco in Oblivion not being the real guy. Especially given the level of cult activity in Cyrodiil at that time. And like you said, the one from Oblivion is significantly less powerful than the version we see in other games. Heck, I haven't even played those two other games and it was blatantly obvious to me how one is significantly more powerful than the other. But going back to the active cults of Cyrodiil at that time, we have: Mythic Dawn, Necromancers, Dark Brotherhood, the villagers of Hackdirt, and one could make a case for the Blackwood Company as well. Now the Necromancers as we know them in Oblivion are mainly there as a counter reaction to Hannibal Traven's extreme policies against the practice of necromancy. Therefore, I don't think that it's that far of a stretch that the most powerful amongst said necromancers (who may or may not have had a deeper transcendencial connection to the ascended aspect of the real Mannimarco), claimed the name 'Mannimarco' for himself (as a sort of reincarnation) and used it as a means of giving the cult of necromancers a more fearsome presence. Neatly playing into the fear that is already present in most of Cyrodill's citizens. Their emperor is dead and gates to Oblivion are opening everywhere, they have every reason to be scared and to fear even worse threats, regardless of where they come from.
I agree that makes the most sense
I think Vivec both lived his mortal life and killed the Nerevarine, and lived a divine life as god who didn't kill him because mortals can't become gods, therefore time had to be broken to allow it. In the same logic, I'd think the undying Mannimarco's existance continued, and the god Mannimarco likely experienced a divine life from birth as Vivec did. In this case, the timeline where Mannimarco's mortal form existed continues and merges with the godhead timeline, whereas the the timeline with the mortal Tribunal ends in the Red Moment. That's why i think the Red Moment is different than a dragon break, a timeline ended and was surplanted by another (but the events of the original timeline were still valid up till it's end) wheras a true dragon break splits then merges multiple timelines back into a single whole.
I think the 3rd Option might actually be the most reasonable, especially with the point of him being so significantly differing in character. It's a favorite trick of DM's when the Big Bad Dies too early, by the by. In a Story, it's also within the lines of acceptable writing, especially if good room is left for it to occur.
I assumed that during the dragonbreak in which he ascends as the necromancer's moon there were two versions of him, one that was successful and one that failed. it was the parallel version that was successful that ascended because of the dragonbreak making it so both possibilites were reality. so while he was successful he also didnt get to experience that success because the version that didn't ascend continued on nirn which lead him to his participation in the oblivion mages guild questline and explains why he was physically on nirn again.
If option 2 happened wouldn't it make sense to assume that Manimarco split in two? One is a god and the other is heavily weakened from having been defeated by the player.
Excellent video. I'm partial to the imposter theory as the most credible -in lore- explanation. Out if lore, someone at Bethesda just messed up 😁
Necromancy is forbidden for a reason. At the very least Stephen kings pet cemetery was a good example on why.
Before necromancy meant raising the dead, it meant communicating with the dead. A lot of people practice it.
Prayer is a pretty word for "summoning spell". Praying to Jesus is an attempt to earn eternal life (double necromancy). The New Testament is the glorified story of a human sacrifice.
Not trying to offend anyone. Just calling a spade a spade. Moses never talked to the dead or asked spirits for eternal life. All that was added in the reboot.
@@similaritiesendhereJust calling a spade a spade as if it's not just all bullshit 😂
@@mrcroob8563 I usually get attacked when I try to explain to people how toxic this shit is.
@@similaritiesendhereYou live in America ? It's always fascinating how slavers and genociders can think even for a moment that God would be on their side if he was real 😂
@@Ron_Jambo_ I'm an educated, immigrant atheist living in America; watching christo-facism take over the world's most dangerous nuclear arsenal.
I was 7 years old when I asked my parents why Jesus wanted us to drink his blood and eat his flesh (necromancy)? Who do you think you're dunking on?
Manimarco took the capital of the alesian empire. What a fool for doing so.
I just replayed this questline and thought it was strange that he was a much easier opponent than some of his necromancer underlings
Yeah, he's really not too difficult as a boss fight in ESO or in Oblivion tbh.
Wizards may be powerful but are nerds, punch them in the face and the crumple
I think blood selected for magicka just means he had genetic potential since in the elder scrolls theres only so much that mages can accomplish from study and that a major factor is actual genetic pre disposition to magical forces
A necromancer is just a healer that was late and doesn't give up prove me wrong 😂
Mannimarco is inevitable
Mannimarco in oblivion may be an avatar of Mannimarco. A mortal takes on the identity and is invested with some of a gods abilities. (Its a cross between explanation 2 and 3) A weaker form of what happened to the hero of kvatch when he embodied what's his name in the shivering isle DLC. Why can't I remember him?
Edit Shagorath.
Mannimarco was also in marrowind as well if i remember
Mannimarco is suxh a dope name
I'd guess that his Altmer body might be some sort of an avatar of Mannimarco, in form of his former self, thus he is quite weak but also has some essence of Mannimarco
I don’t think oblivion mannimarco has to be anything too complex, the gods are known to have avatars, and mannimarco being of nirn originally should have no trouble creating one to meddle.
I don’t think manni himself should appear again, unless he’s the primary antagonist of a TES game, but he could fill a role similar to a Daedric prince. He is a god after all, he should be seeking to expand his influence and reward his followers.
I feel like ES6 should definitely find a way to bring him to the forefront if not as a main story big bad but some form of dlc cause I feel like there’s a lot they could do with his lore/character
Love your vids bro need discord 😁💯
5:02 missed opportunity to phase in an image of the rock with one eyebrow up
I would have liked his order to be a joinable faction. I also prefer the necromancer robes in Oblivion over Skyrim.
They definitely looked cooler in Oblivion
I’m not trying to victim blame here, but why did Varen trust someone WITH A SKULL STAFF?!
No, no, you have a point hahaha
Imagine being the Mannimarco that didnt ascend to godhood, I can see him looking up at the necromancers moon and cursing at the version of him that made it while he's stuck on this shitty rock
Manimarco Is probably my favourite character next to molag bal hes underated imo hes tes equivalent to the night king or the witch king of angmar he should come back tes 6
Cool name by the creators , macromanni Germanic tribe as name inspiration, I see a trick im gonna use on some character creation
He got told he can become whatever he wants and decided to become the Moon
I've always figured that the Mannimarco in Oblivion is a Mannimarcoine. Like, he could just incarnate himself all over the place whenever he wants, even outside of chronology. Similar to a Shezarrine, but it's Mannimarco instead of Shezarr. He's no lich or powerful warlock like he's supposed to be, because he's just an incarnation and not even a very good one. Mannimarco just retroactively added some dude to the timeline a few centuries back who does little to nothing until it's time for him to become the protagonist of his own story, but said dude also just kinda sucked.
Bit of a question here, wouldn’t it be possible for Mannimarco as a god, to manifest an avatar of himself? Its been done before by the divines, Mara Stendarr and Talos from what i know, show up in physical form in Morrowind. Talos as an old man, before the final boss in a fort by the ghost fence, Mara in the tribunal expansion in the same cave as a lich boss, and Stendarr i can’t remember.
Talos gives you a coin then disappears, and Mara gives you a dress if you give her a certain potion then dissappears.
I suppose that's true. I just don't understand why Mannimarco would choose... THAT form haha.
@@theemerdareloth Maybe because its a form familer to him and thus requires less effort, to make and maintain? Just theory, i don't have anything to back it up, so im likely wrong on some points.
ESO Mannimarco is best Mannimarco.
Small point but it was not necessarily the Hero of Kvatch who defeated Mannimarco in tesIV
True. I myself don't like the idea that it was the HoK, but I think most people consider it canon so that's why I included it.
7:39 wow how did you make such high quality voice acting? one on one like in game
It was a voice synthesizer.
Did you have AI voice read some of the lorebooks?
Yeah, I synthesized the AI voices based on the character who wrote the book.
@@theemerdareloth Just to note, Jennifer Hale (The VA of Lyris Titanborn) has said on Twitter that she does not condone the use of AI with her voice. Not a big deal, but I thought I'd bring it to your attention
@Fulcrum96 I appreciate you letting me know, I could totally understand from a voice actors' perspective that people generating your voice is unsettling.
Mannimarco makes me question my sanity, I'm weak
But his voice on ESO tho 💀
We all out here talking like TES6 is really coming out one day
Calling him basically Mini Marco was such a weird design choice 😂😂
Mannimarco: I created black soul gems, so now people can be soul trapped!
Meanwhile in Morrowind: **Casually soul trap one of the Tribunal in an every day soul gem**
who's the Worm?
Necromancy - not even once
I assumed it worked similar to gods in DnD. If you ever fight a "god" in DnD, you're not really fighting them actually. They can't/aren't allowed to manifest in the world themselves, but they can create an aspect of theirself to act on their behalf. While usually still incredibly powerful, they're nothing compared to their actual godly power
It could be something like that. In Elder Scrolls, there is no figure like Ao in DnD, though, to enforce the rules and make the god-like entities stay in check. The Coldharbor Compact is a sort of limitation on a select few Daedra, but outside of that, I don't think there are any hard set rules about how the God's can manifest, it's kind of loosy-goosy.
@theemerdareloth yooo, got a reply! Great vids btw, longform content yapping about various nerd stuff is my jam while at the factory. Lemme go sub actually
17:50 why is he dancin'!?
He's just hanging out.
How do the Dragon Breaks last a specific number of years if time doesn't flow linearly within them?😅 How do they even know what year it is when one ends? I need to learn more about Dragon Breaks apparently but that just seems funny to me
Wait is eso manimarco mobius from old world blues !?! I swear i can hear it a little
Edit : I checked it isn't
Mannimarco seems petty enough to come back as a man to fight the mages guild. If we make the stretch to say that perhaps his habit of raising powerful mages is a bit more personal than he lets on, especially considering how the venn diagram between his targets and enemies is almost a circle the idea that he'd descend to the mortal realm to personally destroy the guild and raise its headmaster seems entirely reasonable
ESO ripped off the System Shock/Bioshock narrative ghosts? The only surprise here is how easily my willful ignorance seems to have failed me
Well ... System Shock ripped off real ghosts. Which are more a fantasy than science fiction thing in the first place, so idk, but even if they did, I can't fault them.
Ok but why did they make him hot?
Molag Bal is not the god of schemes. He is the god of domination. Beothiah is the Daedric Prince of plots/schemes.
@opticalraven1935 Yes. Lyris Titanborn refers to him as the God of Schemes, though. It's one of his titles.
Best mace
...im sorry i have to ask but are those AI voices in this video? It was hard to tell with Mannimarco but the second woman's voice soundsblike a really stilted ai
Yes, they were AI voices. I've stopped using them going forward. Originally I thought they were a fun way to break up the video and let people hear the character who purportedly wrote the words I was reading actually say them, but again, I've stopped using the AI voices in all future content. I used them in this video, and my Miraak one.