Video summary

Hermaeus Mora Doesn't Make Any Sense - Elder Scrolls Lore

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Key takeaways

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Overview

The video is a lore deep-dive into Hermaeus Mora, framing him as a “simple” but wildly contradictory Daedric Prince whose only real goal is knowledge—yet whose portrayals vary across different games, cultures, and even specific stories.

Main Plot / Progression

1) Intro comedy + nameplay

The narrator jokes about Hermaeus Mora’s many aliases (including absurd ones like “Tentacles McGee”) and sets up the core question:

  • What’s his deal, and why do his portrayals contradict each other?

2) What a Daedric Prince is (and why power levels are inconsistent)

The video clarifies that Daedric Princes aren’t universally “stronger” than the Aedra. Power depends on the specific figures and the story being told.

Examples given:

  • Akatosh beating Dagon
  • Peryite being portrayed as weak
  • Boethiah defeating/transforming Trinimac

3) Mora as a “warlock patron”

Mora is described as transactional: he gives knowledge in exchange for other unique information.

  • Example from Skyrim: the Bend Will Shout
  • Matched against Mora’s interest in the Secrets of the Skull

4) Big lore complication from ESO

The video shifts to Elder Scrolls Online and introduces:

  • An additional Daedric Prince: Iffilia
  • A powerful fate-altering device: the “Loom of the Untraveled Road”

Mora responds by:

  • recruiting allies (Azura, Boethiah, Mephala)
  • imprisoning Iffilia to prevent reality from breaking

This reframes Mora as more than a passive book hoarder—he’s a schemer who can take decisive action.

5) Religion / worship survey across Tamriel

Mora’s “beware” reputation is mapped across pantheons:

  • Nordic: testing/antagonizing the “Woodland Man”
  • Khajiit: a worldly spirit connected to libraries and danger
  • Bosmer: cult-like worship with odd overlap
  • Cyrodiil: acceptable blaspheme in certain eras
    • The video later ties this to the chaos of the Oblivion Crisis

6) Sea / Davy Jones-style angle

The narrator leans into Mora’s association with the sea:

  • Apocrypha
  • sunken ships
  • captains fearing “the Tide King”

This expands into two organizations:

  • Cyphers of the Eye: scholars who live in Apocrypha to sort caretaker knowledge
  • Scribes of Mora: field agents documenting secrets while staying hidden

Highlights and Notable Jokes

  • The recurring “Kalamari King / Octopus” gag (and broader tentacle humor) frames Mora as Lovecraft-ish, but the narrator emphasizes:

    • Mora is more than tentacles—he’s a knowledge machine with a personality.

  • Bosmer + Nord overlap punchline: Both cultures call him “Woodland Man.” The video jokes that you can’t have that name and it not be the same entity.

  • Atmoran myth story (comic parable):

    • Young Ysgramor hunts with a sentient bow string that moans.
    • He’s tricked by a hare that lures him with giant-eared guidance.
    • The hare is revealed as Hermaeus Mora’s trick, serving as a warning:
      • don’t trust the Woodland Man’s lies, or you’ll end up “like the enemy elves.”

  • Running meta-humor about other lore channels / documentaries:

    • The Scribes of Mora are compared to a BBC nature crew.
    • Later, the narrator jokes whether Mora is like David Attenborough or BBC Earth, based on how “documentary” it sounds.

  • Critical Role reference:

    • Mora’s D&D-ish bargains are compared to Critical Role moments,
    • with a light-hearted wink about Bethesda/Todd “copying” someone (not meant seriously).

Skyrim / Dragonborn DLC Core Segment (Key Narrative Focus)

Apocrypha summit moment

In Dragonborn, Mora appears with puppet-master energy:

  • slow, tentacled
  • eye-heavy
  • still fundamentally driven by knowledge

Miraak relationship emphasized as weirdly one-sided

The video stresses that Mora and Miraak rarely communicate directly, except at the end, when Mora essentially “replaces” the situation by trapping/assimilating Miraak (described humorously as making him into a skeleton and collecting his souls).

Miraak as trophy / job title confusion

Miraak is called the First Servant, implying responsibility—yet:

  • the details of what he actually does remain unclear
  • his main described behavior is trying to escape Apocrypha

“What does Mora want from us?”

The proposed answer:

  • Mora likely doesn’t just want to win.
  • He wants the knowledge the Last Dragonborn represents, since Dragonborns are “too loud” to remain a secret, and their unique understanding of the Thu’um makes them valuable.

Closing Takeaway

The narrator concludes that Mora is compelling because he’s a paradox:

  • simple in objective (collect all knowledge)
  • complicated in behavior, morality, alliances, and interpretation across games

He’s portrayed as:

  • a scholar/collector
  • a trickster/diplomat
  • a jailer
  • a sea-haunting curse tied to Apocrypha’s deeper mysteries

Personalities / Characters Mentioned (As Referenced)

  • Hermaeus Mora
  • Miraak
  • The Vestige (ESO player character reference)
  • Azura, Boethiah, Mephala (Mora’s recruiting trio in ESO)
  • Iffilia / Itheria (the fate/fate-machine plot figure)
  • Ysgramor
  • Shor / Lorkhan (revealed in the Atmoran myth framing)
  • Hircine, Sanguine (grouped under the Khajiit “worldly spirit” angle)
  • Tiber Septim (religion/blasphemy historical context)
  • Davy Jones / David Attenborough / BBC Earth (humor analogies)
  • Azmuth and the Omnitrix / Dragonborn (late pop-culture/meme moment)

Original video