Wood elves eating Humans and Beasts is crossing the line but wood elves eating high elves, dark elves and wild elves is disgusting to the other species.
In my game there's a Bosmer chap that tosses fire tornadoes, teleports around, drinks the souls of dragons and eats the hearts of bandits... sometimes as a wolf thing. In any case is quite friendly to regular folks and always gives to the poor so... ya know... it's a big multiverse I guess. 🙃
Bosmer are definitely my favorite race with Khajiit being a crazy close second. I just adore the reversal of the classic wood elf archetype. Instead of being veggie-eating hippies, they're carnivores and ritualistic cannibals. Never harming the forest itself. I saw someone phrase it as "don't touch my forest or i'll eat you" and I just love that so much. Absolutely fantastic video Drew as always! Thank you for providing more amazing content :)
I think the cannibalism is deterrent to keep the Bosmer from going out of control. It's no doubt the reason why the Bosmer never got 'ambitious' like most other races. Just the thought of being eaten by your own or being an eater is enough to keep any ambitious Bosmer in check.
It's logical. Not based on pacifists misunderstanding, but instead on the brutal beauty of nature. It's violent competition and evolution inducing conditions such as the cold, hunting (be it prey or predator), toxins and more. Few understand nature, myself included. Some serve Life, others, Vøid.
I mean that is not dissimilar to say what the Picts and Celts were in the British Isles. Not sure how cannabilistic they were, but they were very far from being Veggie loving Hippie peaceniks.
From a realworld perspective, a direct connection between Azura and the Khajiit is more on point than a lot of people would realize. Cats are not really nocturnal as commonly thought. More precisely they can be described as crepuscular. Crepuscular means something associated with twilight. Or in other words, dusk and dawn.
@@HareDeLune From what I have read cats have a lower number of cones to the number of rods in their eyes, relative to humans. Giving them more precision in lower light, since the inverse is true, more rods to cones than humans. In return sacrificing some, for lack of a better quick term, depth to their perception of color. More nuance in detail, less nuance in colors, something like this. So in a way you can imagine how a cat eye sees. At night things tend to be more grey than anything, since the rods are more at play in low light conditions. Just imagine seeing that but more of it, more detail, maybe a little better color. But still it would be something resembling what you and I consider low light conditions. This is on top of any other aspect of a cat's eyes go. Though remember another big part of how well a cat can see is simply because their eyes are pretty large relative to their heads. You end up with eyes that are more akin to looking like what a baby has (large relative to head size) when they are fully developed, if you really want another race/species to have eyes that can keep up with a cat's when it counts.
If I recall from his Fudgemuppet days, Bosmer are one of Drew's favorite races, if not most favorite. So you know he took great joy putting this one together. Great work as always, Drew. Thank you for keeping interest in Tamriel alive with your content.
@@Romanticoutlaw no they're not. They're still going. Drew left recently to focus on this, his own channel. (And honestly "recently" could be upwards of like a year. Just can't remember exactly.)
Altmer: "Bosmer are Altmers with Manish wives." Khajiit: "Bosmer are Y'ffre's jealous imitations of Azurah's creation of the Khajiit." Bosmer: "We were Ouze."
Y'ffre really saw the shifting elements of the Old Ehlnofey and said "ya know what, its not a bug, it's a feature". It's cool how Y'ffre used some of the Old Ehlnofey to be his own little part of the Aldmeri stock
The Bosmer/Khajiit story debunks the Thalmor idea that they are the most pure descendants of the Aedra. They are just a different shape than the other orginal elves.
@@badluck5647 Well, not exactly. All the Elves share Ancestry together, the only reason the Altmer aren't Aldmer now is cause of the mortality placed on them. Even the Bosmer are still descendants of the Old Ehlnofey, just that Y'ffre actively caused them to evolve differently. Most all other Mer share many biological similarities, but the Bosmer are shorter due to Y'ffre hopping in and adding his personal touch. Like how the Dunmer and Orsimer too were changed due to the actions of the Et'Ada.
@Thalmor Agent The Thalmor claim that the Altmer are the closest to the Aldmer and everyone else is less pure offshoots of themselves. The Bosmer/Khajiit orgins show that they are direct descendents of the Aldmer too, so Thalmor racial purity is just BS.
@@badluck5647 Fair enough, yeah that's true. The Altmer, Maormer (maybe), Orsimer, Chimer, Falmer, Bosmer, and Dwemer are all descendants of the Aldmer as well. The Ayleids, and perhaps the Maormer, as well as the Direnni may all be offshoots of the Altmer and not directly the Aldmer themselves. Now, depends on how all the Altmer see this. Is it that they're closest to what the Aldmer were, or that the other Mer are less pure offshoots of the Aldmer, or them as Altmer? I'm sure there's debate between Altmer if this as well. But you're right it's something the Thalmor themselves would certainly push
@@thalmoragent9344 Bosmer eat Humans and Beastfolk which is why those two species hate them but they would be disgusted by the wood elves because the Bosmer eat their own species.
I miss Bosmer having horns. I guess you could still find them, deeper inside Valenwood, far from the Imperial border. My love for the little green elves just grew a bit. Amazing work as always, Drewmora, you are a gentleman and a scholar.
The Druids of High Isles and the Bosmer of Valenwood both worship _The Green,_ but in different ways. I wonder what created this contrast from the followers of Y'ffre.
the druids of High Isle and Galen are not children of Y'ffre, they are men who mingled with an offshoot of Aldmer. they worship Y'ffre, study him, venerate him and try to understand him, then use his creations as a weapon or as housing, or as clothing to their own individual pleasing. The Bosmer are another thing entirely. Bosmer respect the creation of Y'ffre, for they are also part of it, without trying to understand it, use it or bend it to their individual will. Y'ffre made no pact with the Bretons and the druids, as he did with the Bosmer, as they were not his creation, simply worshippers. At least that's how i see it.
@@mygetawayart A pact that made the wood elves not only eat Humans, Beasts and other species but also their own kind? Which the other species find disgusting. No human race has eat another human race nor has an orc eaten an orc nor has another one argonian eaten an argonian nor has a khajiit eaten another khajiit. A wood elf has eaten a high elf, a dark elf and a wild elf/ayleid and another wood elf, that's cannibalism.
My personal theory is that Y'ffre taking the Ooze and giving it form and Y'ffre becoming first of the Earthbones is one and the same thing. So in truth, by becoming an Earthbone, a law of nature, Y'ffre gave the lesser et'Ada that could still not hold identity and form in the lawless Mundus the ability to do so and become mortals. The only difference between the Bosmer and the other elves is that as time passed on, the other elves forgot the teachings and the sacrifice of Y'ffre, as worship of other powerful Aedra such as Auri-El that still walked Mundus became more popular. So in a way, the Bosmer are more primordial and closer to Aldmer or Ehlnofey than the Altmer, and it could be said that the Altmer are an offshoot of Bosmer rather than the other way around.
Hey Drew, this is gonna be a weirdly specific compliment but I edit video scripts for a living and I want to say that I long for writers who make scripts flow so seamlessly. Even though I could see this video was divided into chapters, the transitions between them were nearly invisible and carried me along the whole way. I know how hard that is to do so I just want to say: someone noticed. :)
Drew I loved listening to the podcast every Sunday. The conversational format works really well for a subject like Elder Scrolls. Hope you would consider doing something like that again in the future :)
What is it with Azura and changing the appearance of the elven people. If it is true that the khajiit are mer, then they are the first out of the two elven people to have their appearance changed by her, the second being the dunmer. The difference really is that for the dunmer, it was a curse, and for the khajiit, it was a blessing
It would be interesting continuing this series with the origins of snow elves and dwemer. It doesn't seem they come from summerset, maybe they were there from the beginning like other beast folk
I can Imagine that one of the undocumented hunts could have been against tiber septim and the Numideum... If the cost of initiating the hunt; is a community of bosmer sacrificing themselves, and the systematic destruction by the giant metal man which was immune to the biological threats of the great hunt resulted in more than one reason why the bosmer forgot about it...
Primordial bosmer ooze doesn’t sound deeply different from hist sap, or chaotic creatia. I am curious if the force is fundamentally Padomeic though, since it’s so chaotic. (Are Valenwood and Black Marsh so different?) And also curious if the wild hunt is an afront to any time gods, or what Hircine would think. Cool vid. Elder Scrolls doesn’t usually get so close to lawful vs chaotic notions.
Mr. Drew, my favorite "teller" of great stories! Another one to make me think hard on what I thought I knew. Good job, Sir. Thank you for the great "telling".
ironically enough, but from an in-universe PoV - seeing how they're widely regarded as thieves and liars - i'm generally inclined to believe more in a khajiit lore or history explanation of a topic than an altmer or imperial one. from their own nature, origins and purpose, to that of their most encountered neighbors/cousins, to the fckin' dragon breaks themselves. don't know why but i get the feeling like they would grasp more of the "truth" down through the centuries and millenia than either elven or imperial official propagandas, kind of like how through oral histories and collective retelling of tales you can often preserve more original intent than through official, censored and managed "written word". oh and great work once again :) you honor the sixth house and the tribe unmourned, sweet loremaster
Your eloquent writing style and narration make every subject a pleasure to listen to, even when it involves cannibalism which kind of makes my stomach turn, LOL. Yours are my favorite Elder Scrolls lore videos!
I love role-playing a Bosmer who leaves Valenwood due to life being so strict in regards to the green pact. Bow Bosmer, Mage Bosmer, Axe and Shield Bosmer; good stuff.
The part of the green pact saying that a Bosmer must eat another Bosmer he has struck? The way it’s worded sounds more like Y’ffre is trying to prevent them from killing each other in the first place.
Something to think about: Valenwood and Elsewyr share a border. Borders are social constructs, sometimes solidified into walls, sometimes having a natural feature such as a river or cliffs overlooking a ravine. When the border concept is removed, the two provinces blend together. Bosmer and Khajiit have competed with each other for space and resources since the beginning. They have similar practices for everyday living and survival, and they have had uncounted border wars and skirmishes. Their cultures are different, but they live next to each other and have their similarities as well.
Hey Drew! I really enjoy your channel. Do you have any plans to continue with the 36 lessons? I've seen other content creators give up on their exploration of the sermons, and hope that you'll see it through. Regardless, I'm going to keep enjoying whatever you make.
@@badluck5647 they were definitely interesting broseph. How you gonna say Vivec’s philosophy of duality isn’t a fascinating subject inside lore and outside?
Gotta say love dropping a tab putting on my insanely modded Skyrim and putting on your hardcore deep dives into the lore shit man. Really puts me in that realm. Keep going I think you got something good going on here. Honestly I would LOVE a narrated TES Books by you too. But don’t like break character bc that kills my trip like no one’s business when I would listen to others and they’d start talking about random stuff or reacting too much. Love the channel been listening to it all day!!
It seems that the Bosmer were not actually bound to all these laws but they were just grateful enough to Y'ffre's sacrifice that they cannot bring themselves to bring harm to his/her foremost creation which is the Green. The canibalism could also be said as their way of valuing all life that killing something must only be for the nourishment of another. They would not seek out wars but if such is inevitable, they would fast before joining the battle so that their kills will not be wasted.
The way the hunt is described, I imagine it's like the part of Berserk when the band of the hawk first meets the godhead. The part when the apostles all transform. And then tear into the band. I think it's a worthy comparison
I’ve been thinking that bosmer aren’t altmer who got into a really deep relationship with the forest god and developed some weird ideas. I think they are actually shape changing ooze whom the forest god told to stick to the “elf” form. And when the altmer showed up, the just assumed that these weird elves must be some kind of lost cousins.
Thinking about how history with confused different gods so easily, you ever noticed how most of the Nord stones have the snake the whale and the hawk. Why those three
You post a video on my birthday, the day can’t get any better!! Thank you so much for your passion of video making and sharing it with everyone Edit: Bosmers are my favorite race💪
I had a very hard time following what was being told in this video, as the names kept making my mind wander in what, who and where that was. Last video I watched gave a little side note that "Bos" in Dutch meant "Forest", helping me equate the Bosmer to Wood Elves. A video like this is easier to follow for those that already have a good understanding of the Elder Scrolls setting.
This videos are so well done. You’ve sent me into a deep dive into TES lore which has given me a new appreciation for a franchise I’ve loved for so long.
Given the connection to Y'ffre, the world bones and the primordial Ouze, as well as their shapeshifting abilities, I'm beginning to wonder whether the Bosmer are actually the closest thing to the original Aldmer and the Altmer are just imbred perversions of this originally perfect form :P
Are the knark (tree like creatures) from oblivion changed bosmer? I heard it referenced years ago that they were so I'll just want to know if that was true or not
I started to love Bosmer after seeing them in Eso with horns! Easily my second favorite race behind the Dunmer. You have been killing it with these videos lately and your story telling is amazing!
I dunno how many times I've had to correct this in other lore vids your group does, but the Khajiit as azuraspawn are literally an old merric piece of propaganda used in getting the ancient khajiit to be subservient/abate hostilities towards the colonizing elves. the khajiit *are* beastfolk. notes on racial phylogeny comments their anatomical structures being like that of men rather than mer, and theres ample evidence through all other lore sources to validate the existence of a strong and unified ancient khajiiti empire that once stretched over elswyr. the very same empire that the old mer had trouble with when trying to colonize tamriel and the very same one they broke via secretly unleashing a magical plague on the catfolk to cripple them. the mer later come in with a cure to endear themselves and fill their heads with honeyed lies; old khajiiti lore is scattered and marred by this interference by ancient elves. this drives me nuts, it really does. *not everything is elves and men*.
The Bosmer having an actual "back before we were elves" story at all always kind of makes me think the Bosmer are the origin of elves, actually. The Wood Elves wandered off to a pleasant, unchallenging series of islands and became the Aldmer after a time, giving them stories of an idyllic homeland they could never return to, giving them the first inclinations of being trapped on Mundus and a sense of loss of their godhood. Or something like that. It's not perfect, but it's always been an idea kicking around in the back of my head that the High Elves aren't all they talk themselves up to be, and there the Bosmer are right there, just casually being better...
I’ve held the Bosmer as my favorite race for years ever since I first played Oblivion back in the day, and for about a year now I’ve been slowly forming a theory that I’m eager to share. I apologize if this is a long comment. My initial goals were to connect the Bosmer to the Khajiit and Argonians to dispute the idea that they’re related to elves while also linking the three races based on the inclusion of “Shapeshifting” (In regards to the taboo towards shapeshifting with the Green Pact, the variation in Khajiit forms based on the Lunar Cycle, and the Argonians being altered by the Hist) alongside the significance of either consuming or avoiding the consumption of religiously important plants. The current theory begins with the idea that Y’ffre, as a Nature deity, inherently exists within Nature as a part of her domain. Early on in the existence of the world, Y’ffre was charged with establishing and sustaining Nature. She began by taking the form of a massive migratory tree that would allow for the growth of plant life in its presence. However, as Y’ffre traveled, the plant life left behind quickly withered and died. To solve this issue, Y’ffre created the first of her children. Acorns released and planted in the wake of the goddess Y’ffre would soon grow to become the Tree Children; a race of sentient trees capable of holding their own domains on behalf of their mother and sustaining plant life within these domains. However, the plant life would soon flourish and threaten to overwhelm the fragile energies of the Land. Thus, Y’ffre would again create, this time taking from her sap to form life as beasts who would feed upon the lesser plants. When these herbivores began to overwhelm the plants she again drew from her sap and formed beasts that would feed upon the herbivores. When the carnivores inevitably began to threaten the extinction of the herbivores she drew from her sap one final time to create the Forest Folk; a race of shapeshifters who would act as Shepards of the beasts and would feed not on the animals or lesser plants but on the sap of Y’ffre and her Tree Children. Doing so would sustain them, and form a connection between them and the Sentient trees. Unfortunately, formless creatures are inherently more susceptible to corruption by external forces. The Daedric Prince Azura recognized this flaw, and understood that were she to corrupt a handful of Y’ffre’s Tree Children then the Forest Folk linked to them would be hers to shape as she pleased. Thus did Azura claim the Tree Children found in what is now known as Elswyr and warped them into sugarcanes that channeled the light of the moons. The Forest Folk that consumed the Moon Sugar were then warped into the Khajiit, and their forms were bound to the cycles of the moon through the Moon Sugar. More importantly though, in the absence of the Tree Children plant life quickly began to perish and Elswyr was stricken with desertification. Mortified by this, Y’ffre altered the Forest Folk in her proximity to solidify their forms as the Bosmer and keep them from suffering a similar fate to the Khajiit. They would be quick to evolve naturally, with their appearance matching that of elves soon after they first appeared on Tamriel, though they would relatively safe from Daedric Corruption so long as they didn’t feed on the Sap of Y’ffre and her Tree Children. To ensure this was avoided, Y’ffre banned the harming of plant life in general so as to prevent the consumption of sap while also hiding the importance of the sap so that her people would hopefully forget the means of returning to their true forms. Furthermore, Y’ffre would sacrifice much of her divine energy to create a system in which the lesser plant life would be capable of sustaining itself without her children. As of the modern age, Y’ffre remains on Nirn as the Green Sap Tower. But outside of the Bosmer there were countless other Forest Folk bound to their respective Tree Children. To the east of Elswyr, the Tree Children who directly witnessed the horrific warping of their siblings became disillusioned with the Will of their mother, and cut themselves off from her and the rest of their siblings. These would become what we know as the Hist Trees, who would elect to rely not on the Forest Folk for protection, but on the lesser beasts who could be altered by their Sap and shaped into obedient slaves. Lastly, and most recently added to the theory is the consideration of the remaining Forest Folk. Within this week I’ve started to consider that they may have evolved naturally on their own to become Spriggans. They’re said to be servants of Kyne formed by “The breath of Kyne through the branches of trees” and I’ve also started to consider that Y’ffre’s association with Songs may be meant to hint at a connection with Kynareth. (Kyne’s affiliation with Breath was enough to warrant her having the ability to involve herself in mortals obtaining the Thuum. It doesn’t seem like a far leap from Thuum to Song if Breath is the starting point)
Bravo! This ties up a few loose ends, such as the oft neglected Bosmeri name for themselves of "Tree Sap People". It's also a good narrative that has internal logic and consistency. Better than Bethesda's efforts.
have you ever played ck3 total conversion mod elder kings 2? whats your thoughts on the lore of the mod where it consists of plenty of new religions introduced to the universe such as Reman mystery, the bull cult, Iron orc and much more diversity to the universe?
Lovely. I've always wanted to hear a deep dive from you into why in Oblivion the calendar begins with the Camoran Dynasty. There are few events in TES which I think need explanation more than this? Why was this event chosen for the END of the MERethic of all eras? What really happened? I find it hard to believe it was simply unification of Valenwood, I think the Camorans may have created the real first Empire, holding hegemony over the Ayleids and other parts of Western Tamriel, albeit short lived. The subsequent collapse of such an Alexandrine Empire could easily be a reasonable explanation for the independence and rise of the Ayleids states.
I would've given every Thalmor agent inside the Skyrim embassy to have Malborn do a Wild Hunt on the assassins chasing him, preferably outside Windhelm, past the farms, and after the Khajiit caravan denounced the assassin near their usual post.
The thing is, he wouldnt be able to turn back. So a tragic end to yet another unsung hero. Might've been cool tho, as you'd almost certainly have to fight him as a mini boss.
@@lazilycatharticone4191 yeah, I've considered that, but Malborn was going to de-spawn at the northeast border, anyway... And I'd think the Thalmor won't be stupid enough to send just one assassin. Boy, I'd love to see a Wild Hunt lunch party. 🤣
@@ZeroSeriesMMX The Thalmor are that stupid. They're willing to blow up Nirn and perhaps Mundas itself in an attempt to get back an immortality they never really had.
One of my favorites. Thank you so much, lord Drewmora. It’s like my prayers were answered. I offered a like to seek favor. My ardent wish is for more Breton videos.
*Looks at Faendel(Bosmer) from Riverwood* *Smiles as wide as Patches(Dark Souls) is treacherous* "Hey Faendel! I need your help in the creation of a new Conjuration spell. I just need you to come with me deep into the forest and look away from me."
This is probably a thing noticed plenty of times, but just wanted to point out, the first bosmer you ever meet in skyrim chops wood for a living😂
And uses a wooden bow? AND lives in a house furnished with wood. With a thatched roof lmao
Yes, but it's okay since he isn't doing it in Valenwood apparently.
@@moralityisnotsubjective5 True but it's still a fun thought
@@tiggyvolts9076 It's certainly ironic.
heretic
Bosmer in books: Dangerous cannibals that can turn into beasts
Bosmer in games: Me hunter, me likes woods and hate Thalmor
In my game, a relatively kind loner hunter that occasionally dines on bandits.
Wood elves eating Humans and Beasts is crossing the line but wood elves eating high elves, dark elves and wild elves is disgusting to the other species.
In my game there's a Bosmer chap that tosses fire tornadoes, teleports around, drinks the souls of dragons and eats the hearts of bandits... sometimes as a wolf thing. In any case is quite friendly to regular folks and always gives to the poor so... ya know... it's a big multiverse I guess. 🙃
BY AZURA BY AZURA BY AZURA!
Bosmer are definitely my favorite race with Khajiit being a crazy close second. I just adore the reversal of the classic wood elf archetype. Instead of being veggie-eating hippies, they're carnivores and ritualistic cannibals. Never harming the forest itself. I saw someone phrase it as "don't touch my forest or i'll eat you" and I just love that so much. Absolutely fantastic video Drew as always! Thank you for providing more amazing content :)
I think the cannibalism is deterrent to keep the Bosmer from going out of control. It's no doubt the reason why the Bosmer never got 'ambitious' like most other races. Just the thought of being eaten by your own or being an eater is enough to keep any ambitious Bosmer in check.
It's logical. Not based on pacifists misunderstanding, but instead on the brutal beauty of nature. It's violent competition and evolution inducing conditions such as the cold, hunting (be it prey or predator), toxins and more.
Few understand nature, myself included.
Some serve Life, others, Vøid.
I mean that is not dissimilar to say what the Picts and Celts were in the British Isles. Not sure how cannabilistic they were, but they were very far from being Veggie loving Hippie peaceniks.
From a realworld perspective, a direct connection between Azura and the Khajiit is more on point than a lot of people would realize. Cats are not really nocturnal as commonly thought. More precisely they can be described as crepuscular. Crepuscular means something associated with twilight. Or in other words, dusk and dawn.
It makes me smile that Khajiit, like real world cats, are possibly subject to the 3am zoomies...
@@HareDeLune From what I have read cats have a lower number of cones to the number of rods in their eyes, relative to humans. Giving them more precision in lower light, since the inverse is true, more rods to cones than humans. In return sacrificing some, for lack of a better quick term, depth to their perception of color. More nuance in detail, less nuance in colors, something like this.
So in a way you can imagine how a cat eye sees. At night things tend to be more grey than anything, since the rods are more at play in low light conditions. Just imagine seeing that but more of it, more detail, maybe a little better color. But still it would be something resembling what you and I consider low light conditions.
This is on top of any other aspect of a cat's eyes go. Though remember another big part of how well a cat can see is simply because their eyes are pretty large relative to their heads. You end up with eyes that are more akin to looking like what a baby has (large relative to head size) when they are fully developed, if you really want another race/species to have eyes that can keep up with a cat's when it counts.
@@wtfisthisnonsense lmao!
Since Azura is also a very selfcentered prince and represents egoism or self-love it fits. Because Cats and Khajiit are not that humble 😅
I just imagined Azura as a grumpy single woman in her 40s with a ton of cats 😂@@nick0197
If I recall from his Fudgemuppet days, Bosmer are one of Drew's favorite races, if not most favorite. So you know he took great joy putting this one together.
Great work as always, Drew. Thank you for keeping interest in Tamriel alive with your content.
wait, the fudgemuppet days are over? UA-cam's been blasting me his old content nonstop lol I'm not caught up on the lore
@@Romanticoutlaw no they're not. They're still going. Drew left recently to focus on this, his own channel. (And honestly "recently" could be upwards of like a year. Just can't remember exactly.)
@@Romanticoutlaw They ended their podcast series also.
@@Romanticoutlaw Yeah, well thats what happens when Drew does 80% of the work but has to split the conquest 6 ways
@@youtubecensorship842I've noticed a down tic of content since he left
Altmer: "Bosmer are Altmers with Manish wives."
Khajiit: "Bosmer are Y'ffre's jealous imitations of Azurah's creation of the Khajiit."
Bosmer: "We were Ouze."
Other elves: "we're the truest of elves"
Bosmer: "we goop"
From now on I’m calling Bosmer “Goopbois”
@@flurnsdale3929 official unofficial head cannon confirmed!
Humans and Beasts would be disgusted by the fact that Wood Elves eat other elves.
@@Super50ldier Tell that to the cannibal Nord cult living in Markarth.
Y'ffre really saw the shifting elements of the Old Ehlnofey and said "ya know what, its not a bug, it's a feature". It's cool how Y'ffre used some of the Old Ehlnofey to be his own little part of the Aldmeri stock
The Bosmer/Khajiit story debunks the Thalmor idea that they are the most pure descendants of the Aedra. They are just a different shape than the other orginal elves.
@@badluck5647
Well, not exactly. All the Elves share Ancestry together, the only reason the Altmer aren't Aldmer now is cause of the mortality placed on them. Even the Bosmer are still descendants of the Old Ehlnofey, just that Y'ffre actively caused them to evolve differently. Most all other Mer share many biological similarities, but the Bosmer are shorter due to Y'ffre hopping in and adding his personal touch. Like how the Dunmer and Orsimer too were changed due to the actions of the Et'Ada.
@Thalmor Agent The Thalmor claim that the Altmer are the closest to the Aldmer and everyone else is less pure offshoots of themselves. The Bosmer/Khajiit orgins show that they are direct descendents of the Aldmer too, so Thalmor racial purity is just BS.
@@badluck5647
Fair enough, yeah that's true.
The Altmer, Maormer (maybe), Orsimer, Chimer, Falmer, Bosmer, and Dwemer are all descendants of the Aldmer as well.
The Ayleids, and perhaps the Maormer, as well as the Direnni may all be offshoots of the Altmer and not directly the Aldmer themselves.
Now, depends on how all the Altmer see this. Is it that they're closest to what the Aldmer were, or that the other Mer are less pure offshoots of the Aldmer, or them as Altmer? I'm sure there's debate between Altmer if this as well. But you're right it's something the Thalmor themselves would certainly push
@@thalmoragent9344 Bosmer eat Humans and Beastfolk which is why those two species hate them but they would be disgusted by the wood elves because the Bosmer eat their own species.
I miss Bosmer having horns. I guess you could still find them, deeper inside Valenwood, far from the Imperial border.
My love for the little green elves just grew a bit. Amazing work as always, Drewmora, you are a gentleman and a scholar.
The Druids of High Isles and the Bosmer of Valenwood both worship _The Green,_ but in different ways. I wonder what created this contrast from the followers of Y'ffre.
the druids of High Isle and Galen are not children of Y'ffre, they are men who mingled with an offshoot of Aldmer. they worship Y'ffre, study him, venerate him and try to understand him, then use his creations as a weapon or as housing, or as clothing to their own individual pleasing. The Bosmer are another thing entirely. Bosmer respect the creation of Y'ffre, for they are also part of it, without trying to understand it, use it or bend it to their individual will. Y'ffre made no pact with the Bretons and the druids, as he did with the Bosmer, as they were not his creation, simply worshippers. At least that's how i see it.
@@mygetawayart A pact that made the wood elves not only eat Humans, Beasts and other species but also their own kind? Which the other species find disgusting. No human race has eat another human race nor has an orc eaten an orc nor has another one argonian eaten an argonian nor has a khajiit eaten another khajiit. A wood elf has eaten a high elf, a dark elf and a wild elf/ayleid and another wood elf, that's cannibalism.
@@mygetawayart The Druid King has made a pact with Y'ffre. That is why the nature spirits have symbolic relationships with the druids.
The mini story Drew wrote at the start of the video is amazing
My personal theory is that Y'ffre taking the Ooze and giving it form and Y'ffre becoming first of the Earthbones is one and the same thing. So in truth, by becoming an Earthbone, a law of nature, Y'ffre gave the lesser et'Ada that could still not hold identity and form in the lawless Mundus the ability to do so and become mortals. The only difference between the Bosmer and the other elves is that as time passed on, the other elves forgot the teachings and the sacrifice of Y'ffre, as worship of other powerful Aedra such as Auri-El that still walked Mundus became more popular. So in a way, the Bosmer are more primordial and closer to Aldmer or Ehlnofey than the Altmer, and it could be said that the Altmer are an offshoot of Bosmer rather than the other way around.
Its Sunday. You know what that means, gather round and let us lend our ears to Prophet Dreloth.
Love this
Hey Drew, this is gonna be a weirdly specific compliment but I edit video scripts for a living and I want to say that I long for writers who make scripts flow so seamlessly. Even though I could see this video was divided into chapters, the transitions between them were nearly invisible and carried me along the whole way. I know how hard that is to do so I just want to say: someone noticed. :)
3:00 I’d have said, “Tossed their sweet rolls,” but you masterfully painted a scene in my mind with your words. That’s what keeps me coming back 😀
Drew I loved listening to the podcast every Sunday. The conversational format works really well for a subject like Elder Scrolls. Hope you would consider doing something like that again in the future :)
What is it with Azura and changing the appearance of the elven people. If it is true that the khajiit are mer, then they are the first out of the two elven people to have their appearance changed by her, the second being the dunmer. The difference really is that for the dunmer, it was a curse, and for the khajiit, it was a blessing
I think it goes further since the Chimer were taught how to wear their skins by Azura so she also had a hand in how they looked compared to the altmer
It would be interesting continuing this series with the origins of snow elves and dwemer. It doesn't seem they come from summerset, maybe they were there from the beginning like other beast folk
Maybe they come from a previous kalpa? An explanation for the dwmer incredibly developed technology
I can Imagine that one of the undocumented hunts could have been against tiber septim and the Numideum...
If the cost of initiating the hunt; is a community of bosmer sacrificing themselves, and the systematic destruction by the giant metal man which was immune to the biological threats of the great hunt resulted in more than one reason why the bosmer forgot about it...
Primordial bosmer ooze doesn’t sound deeply different from hist sap, or chaotic creatia. I am curious if the force is fundamentally Padomeic though, since it’s so chaotic. (Are Valenwood and Black Marsh so different?) And also curious if the wild hunt is an afront to any time gods, or what Hircine would think.
Cool vid. Elder Scrolls doesn’t usually get so close to lawful vs chaotic notions.
Mannn I love Drewmora. This is what I go straight for every time I’m on UA-cam.
Mr. Drew, my favorite "teller" of great stories! Another one to make me think hard on what I thought I knew. Good job, Sir. Thank you for the great "telling".
A Jiub-free Morrowind? Do not speak of such horrors
ironically enough, but from an in-universe PoV - seeing how they're widely regarded as thieves and liars - i'm generally inclined to believe more in a khajiit lore or history explanation of a topic than an altmer or imperial one. from their own nature, origins and purpose, to that of their most encountered neighbors/cousins, to the fckin' dragon breaks themselves.
don't know why but i get the feeling like they would grasp more of the "truth" down through the centuries and millenia than either elven or imperial official propagandas, kind of like how through oral histories and collective retelling of tales you can often preserve more original intent than through official, censored and managed "written word".
oh and great work once again :) you honor the sixth house and the tribe unmourned, sweet loremaster
I love this take on Bosmer origins. Thanks for another awesome video Drew!
your prose is so, sooooo good. The pictures you painted of the wild hunt are just so visceral and tactile
Still hanging out for that next episode on the 36 Lessons 🙂
Your eloquent writing style and narration make every subject a pleasure to listen to, even when it involves cannibalism which kind of makes my stomach turn, LOL. Yours are my favorite Elder Scrolls lore videos!
Man, I gotta rewatch this just for the soothing visuals! :)
I love all the bosmer using wooden bows in this video.
Another wonderfully interesting video! Great work Drew!
I love role-playing a Bosmer who leaves Valenwood due to life being so strict in regards to the green pact. Bow Bosmer, Mage Bosmer, Axe and Shield Bosmer; good stuff.
Just started a Bosmer playthrough, so this video is a very welcomed surprise. Thanks Drew!
You need to write a book! Your story telling is next level.
The part of the green pact saying that a Bosmer must eat another Bosmer he has struck? The way it’s worded sounds more like Y’ffre is trying to prevent them from killing each other in the first place.
Something to think about:
Valenwood and Elsewyr share a border. Borders are social constructs, sometimes solidified into walls, sometimes having a natural feature such as a river or cliffs overlooking a ravine.
When the border concept is removed, the two provinces blend together.
Bosmer and Khajiit have competed with each other for space and resources since the beginning. They have similar practices for everyday living and survival, and they have had uncounted border wars and skirmishes.
Their cultures are different, but they live next to each other and have their similarities as well.
My 2 favorite playable races are Argonion & Bosmer! Therefore, a video posted about the Bosmer I of course click.
Hey Drew! I really enjoy your channel. Do you have any plans to continue with the 36 lessons? I've seen other content creators give up on their exploration of the sermons, and hope that you'll see it through. Regardless, I'm going to keep enjoying whatever you make.
The first few lessons aren't that interesting, so I hope he gets to the more juicy ones eventually.
id love this too
@@badluck5647 they were definitely interesting broseph. How you gonna say Vivec’s philosophy of duality isn’t a fascinating subject inside lore and outside?
The best elder scrolls content
Gotta say love dropping a tab putting on my insanely modded Skyrim and putting on your hardcore deep dives into the lore shit man. Really puts me in that realm. Keep going I think you got something good going on here. Honestly I would LOVE a narrated TES Books by you too. But don’t like break character bc that kills my trip like no one’s business when I would listen to others and they’d start talking about random stuff or reacting too much. Love the channel been listening to it all day!!
It seems that the Bosmer were not actually bound to all these laws but they were just grateful enough to Y'ffre's sacrifice that they cannot bring themselves to bring harm to his/her foremost creation which is the Green. The canibalism could also be said as their way of valuing all life that killing something must only be for the nourishment of another. They would not seek out wars but if such is inevitable, they would fast before joining the battle so that their kills will not be wasted.
About the Ooze. The version of the legend I know features a battle between four turtles, a human, a wolf, and a snapping turtle.
Some say meat is for eating, others suggest meat is for beating, but Bosmer ask a simple question: why not both?
"Hey, you. You're finally awake. *New Drewmora video."*
The way the hunt is described, I imagine it's like the part of Berserk when the band of the hawk first meets the godhead. The part when the apostles all transform. And then tear into the band. I think it's a worthy comparison
I’ve been thinking that bosmer aren’t altmer who got into a really deep relationship with the forest god and developed some weird ideas.
I think they are actually shape changing ooze whom the forest god told to stick to the “elf” form. And when the altmer showed up, the just assumed that these weird elves must be some kind of lost cousins.
quality writing and presentation - i feel like ive watched the coolest anthropology lecture ever
Just as I'm about to go to sleep. Drewmora you legend 🙏
Thinking about how history with confused different gods so easily, you ever noticed how most of the Nord stones have the snake the whale and the hawk. Why those three
It must be more than 15 years have passed, since i once read these ancient words. Found in dark place i nolonger remember. Thanks for the reminder ✌️😎
So in order to conquer Valenwood, you bacically have to burn it all to the ground. Or have a giant robot.
"Some would call it murder some would call it aggressive foreign policy" - Dremora 😂😂😂😂😂😂 i love that line 21:50
"a Juib free Morrowind" is a truly horrifying idea
Congratulations on hitting 25k, Drew!
Fantastic video again Drew, I appreciate your work!
You post a video on my birthday, the day can’t get any better!! Thank you so much for your passion of video making and sharing it with everyone
Edit: Bosmers are my favorite race💪
Happy Birthday, Solis!
What a lovely video, good work!
I had a very hard time following what was being told in this video, as the names kept making my mind wander in what, who and where that was. Last video I watched gave a little side note that "Bos" in Dutch meant "Forest", helping me equate the Bosmer to Wood Elves. A video like this is easier to follow for those that already have a good understanding of the Elder Scrolls setting.
“as abundant as cliff racers in a Jiub-free Morrowind”.
lol.
I love the wood elf lore. Well done Drew!!!✨
This videos are so well done. You’ve sent me into a deep dive into TES lore which has given me a new appreciation for a franchise I’ve loved for so long.
Drew please do more of the 36 lessons of vivec ❤️
Woodelves are easily my favorite ES race, tho I really wish they rocked the small antlers more often
Bosmer bussy.
Whenever I hear the Ooze, I think of Ivan Ooze from the Power Rangers movie. 😂
Given the connection to Y'ffre, the world bones and the primordial Ouze, as well as their shapeshifting abilities, I'm beginning to wonder whether the Bosmer are actually the closest thing to the original Aldmer and the Altmer are just imbred perversions of this originally perfect form :P
Also, Ouze = Aldmeris perhaps?
Thalmor - "Shut up with your lies! The Altmer are the true Aldmer! We'll destroy Nirn to prove it!"
Are the knark (tree like creatures) from oblivion changed bosmer? I heard it referenced years ago that they were so I'll just want to know if that was true or not
I started to love Bosmer after seeing them in Eso with horns! Easily my second favorite race behind the Dunmer. You have been killing it with these videos lately and your story telling is amazing!
Drew of Atmora brings us another piece of ancient lore. Talos be praised.
Drew has a great audiobook voice
I would rather have had Valenwood, or Blackmarsh than Hammerfall
Imagine if one day we got to see the wild hunt in-game...
Probably will never happen, but it'd be cool if it did.
I almost exclusively play Bosmer or Dunmer, so this video is certainly welcome :D
Ty for another amazing video man, really appreciate your time n effort you put to it, love from Iraq!
It makes sense for the Bosmer to have been created from Khajiit. Cats are almost entirely carnivorous.
Holy sh*t i didn't know the Wood Elves could be so metal
I dunno how many times I've had to correct this in other lore vids your group does, but the Khajiit as azuraspawn are literally an old merric piece of propaganda used in getting the ancient khajiit to be subservient/abate hostilities towards the colonizing elves. the khajiit *are* beastfolk. notes on racial phylogeny comments their anatomical structures being like that of men rather than mer, and theres ample evidence through all other lore sources to validate the existence of a strong and unified ancient khajiiti empire that once stretched over elswyr. the very same empire that the old mer had trouble with when trying to colonize tamriel and the very same one they broke via secretly unleashing a magical plague on the catfolk to cripple them. the mer later come in with a cure to endear themselves and fill their heads with honeyed lies; old khajiiti lore is scattered and marred by this interference by ancient elves.
this drives me nuts, it really does. *not everything is elves and men*.
"By the eight! A new drewmora video!!" Your awesome dude one of my mount Rushmore channels
Thalmor - "Bosmer of Valenwood you will surrender or be wiped out!"
Bosmer- ". . .time for a history lesson."
I'm still going to pronounce Jephre as "Jeffrey" because it's much more funny that way
I like to pronounce it 'Jeffery' as well.
Maybe there are other Eartbones called Zyppay, Boongal and Gyorrg....?
My name is Jeph
Excellent video sir!
The Bosmer having an actual "back before we were elves" story at all always kind of makes me think the Bosmer are the origin of elves, actually. The Wood Elves wandered off to a pleasant, unchallenging series of islands and became the Aldmer after a time, giving them stories of an idyllic homeland they could never return to, giving them the first inclinations of being trapped on Mundus and a sense of loss of their godhood. Or something like that. It's not perfect, but it's always been an idea kicking around in the back of my head that the High Elves aren't all they talk themselves up to be, and there the Bosmer are right there, just casually being better...
I’ve held the Bosmer as my favorite race for years ever since I first played Oblivion back in the day, and for about a year now I’ve been slowly forming a theory that I’m eager to share. I apologize if this is a long comment.
My initial goals were to connect the Bosmer to the Khajiit and Argonians to dispute the idea that they’re related to elves while also linking the three races based on the inclusion of “Shapeshifting” (In regards to the taboo towards shapeshifting with the Green Pact, the variation in Khajiit forms based on the Lunar Cycle, and the Argonians being altered by the Hist) alongside the significance of either consuming or avoiding the consumption of religiously important plants.
The current theory begins with the idea that Y’ffre, as a Nature deity, inherently exists within Nature as a part of her domain. Early on in the existence of the world, Y’ffre was charged with establishing and sustaining Nature. She began by taking the form of a massive migratory tree that would allow for the growth of plant life in its presence. However, as Y’ffre traveled, the plant life left behind quickly withered and died.
To solve this issue, Y’ffre created the first of her children. Acorns released and planted in the wake of the goddess Y’ffre would soon grow to become the Tree Children; a race of sentient trees capable of holding their own domains on behalf of their mother and sustaining plant life within these domains.
However, the plant life would soon flourish and threaten to overwhelm the fragile energies of the Land. Thus, Y’ffre would again create, this time taking from her sap to form life as beasts who would feed upon the lesser plants. When these herbivores began to overwhelm the plants she again drew from her sap and formed beasts that would feed upon the herbivores. When the carnivores inevitably began to threaten the extinction of the herbivores she drew from her sap one final time to create the Forest Folk; a race of shapeshifters who would act as Shepards of the beasts and would feed not on the animals or lesser plants but on the sap of Y’ffre and her Tree Children. Doing so would sustain them, and form a connection between them and the Sentient trees.
Unfortunately, formless creatures are inherently more susceptible to corruption by external forces. The Daedric Prince Azura recognized this flaw, and understood that were she to corrupt a handful of Y’ffre’s Tree Children then the Forest Folk linked to them would be hers to shape as she pleased.
Thus did Azura claim the Tree Children found in what is now known as Elswyr and warped them into sugarcanes that channeled the light of the moons. The Forest Folk that consumed the Moon Sugar were then warped into the Khajiit, and their forms were bound to the cycles of the moon through the Moon Sugar. More importantly though, in the absence of the Tree Children plant life quickly began to perish and Elswyr was stricken with desertification.
Mortified by this, Y’ffre altered the Forest Folk in her proximity to solidify their forms as the Bosmer and keep them from suffering a similar fate to the Khajiit. They would be quick to evolve naturally, with their appearance matching that of elves soon after they first appeared on Tamriel, though they would relatively safe from Daedric Corruption so long as they didn’t feed on the Sap of Y’ffre and her Tree Children. To ensure this was avoided, Y’ffre banned the harming of plant life in general so as to prevent the consumption of sap while also hiding the importance of the sap so that her people would hopefully forget the means of returning to their true forms. Furthermore, Y’ffre would sacrifice much of her divine energy to create a system in which the lesser plant life would be capable of sustaining itself without her children. As of the modern age, Y’ffre remains on Nirn as the Green Sap Tower.
But outside of the Bosmer there were countless other Forest Folk bound to their respective Tree Children. To the east of Elswyr, the Tree Children who directly witnessed the horrific warping of their siblings became disillusioned with the Will of their mother, and cut themselves off from her and the rest of their siblings. These would become what we know as the Hist Trees, who would elect to rely not on the Forest Folk for protection, but on the lesser beasts who could be altered by their Sap and shaped into obedient slaves.
Lastly, and most recently added to the theory is the consideration of the remaining Forest Folk. Within this week I’ve started to consider that they may have evolved naturally on their own to become Spriggans. They’re said to be servants of Kyne formed by “The breath of Kyne through the branches of trees” and I’ve also started to consider that Y’ffre’s association with Songs may be meant to hint at a connection with Kynareth. (Kyne’s affiliation with Breath was enough to warrant her having the ability to involve herself in mortals obtaining the Thuum. It doesn’t seem like a far leap from Thuum to Song if Breath is the starting point)
Bravo!
This ties up a few loose ends, such as the oft neglected Bosmeri name for themselves of "Tree Sap People".
It's also a good narrative that has internal logic and consistency. Better than Bethesda's efforts.
have you ever played ck3 total conversion mod elder kings 2? whats your thoughts on the lore of the mod where it consists of plenty of new religions introduced to the universe such as Reman mystery, the bull cult, Iron orc and much more diversity to the universe?
ive NEVER been this early for a youtube video without notifications. 😭 Drewmora youre a king!
I’ve been on a lore binge. These vids are so good!!
Lovely. I've always wanted to hear a deep dive from you into why in Oblivion the calendar begins with the Camoran Dynasty. There are few events in TES which I think need explanation more than this? Why was this event chosen for the END of the MERethic of all eras? What really happened? I find it hard to believe it was simply unification of Valenwood, I think the Camorans may have created the real first Empire, holding hegemony over the Ayleids and other parts of Western Tamriel, albeit short lived. The subsequent collapse of such an Alexandrine Empire could easily be a reasonable explanation for the independence and rise of the Ayleids states.
I would've given every Thalmor agent inside the Skyrim embassy to have Malborn do a Wild Hunt on the assassins chasing him, preferably outside Windhelm, past the farms, and after the Khajiit caravan denounced the assassin near their usual post.
The thing is, he wouldnt be able to turn back. So a tragic end to yet another unsung hero. Might've been cool tho, as you'd almost certainly have to fight him as a mini boss.
@@lazilycatharticone4191 yeah, I've considered that, but Malborn was going to de-spawn at the northeast border, anyway... And I'd think the Thalmor won't be stupid enough to send just one assassin.
Boy, I'd love to see a Wild Hunt lunch party. 🤣
@@ZeroSeriesMMX The Thalmor are that stupid. They're willing to blow up Nirn and perhaps Mundas itself in an attempt to get back an immortality they never really had.
Great topic, great storytelling, how nice a video to wake up to after a night shift
One of my favorites. Thank you so much, lord Drewmora. It’s like my prayers were answered. I offered a like to seek favor. My ardent wish is for more Breton videos.
Please hit us with some Morrowind/Tribunal content! Thank you Drewwwww
Awesome content
Love the content you put out feels very high quality hope to see a Ysgramor video soon
Are you going to continue making Elden Ring lore videos? They were really awesome!
you should write metal songs, you got a good vocab for it lol
Id like to know which monsters came into existence from past wild hunts.
*Looks at Faendel(Bosmer) from Riverwood*
*Smiles as wide as Patches(Dark Souls) is treacherous*
"Hey Faendel! I need your help in the creation of a new Conjuration spell. I just need you to come with me deep into the forest and look away from me."
Ever since reading the accounts of imperial GIGACHAD Decumus Scotti I was suspicious of the Bosmer...
Hey Drew... You make fantastic content bud. Keep it up.
Whispers *_"Ritual cannibalistic gorging."_*
have you ever done the septimus cave quest? "Harvest bosmer blood for Septumis". Unless the Khajiit have ties to the dwarves
Thank you for being you.