Elder Scrolls Lore » Discussions


Artifacts of Tamriel: Auri-El's Bow

  • Member
    June 30, 2014

     

              Auriel's Bow is one of the artifacts held most dear by the ancient snow elves, and by all worshipper's of the Mer pantheon. Created during the beginnings of Mundus and Nirn,it was weilded by their most famous god, Auri-El (for more information on Auri-El, visit here).

    The bow was said to protect its user from lesser attacks, and make any arrow a death blow. However, with the ascension of Auri-El, the bow was forced to draw upon its own power to function, and when the power is depleted, it vanishes to reappear somewhere else. It has the appearance of a simple elven longbow, but its appearances are deceiving.

              Traditionally, it was kept within the Forgotten Vale and the Chantry of Auri-El within it by the Snow Elves. However, it has been known to be in the possession of the Televanni, appeared during the Warp in the West, and multiple heroes throughout the eras, including The Eternal Champion, The Nerevarine, and the Last Dragonborn.

              During the Bow's possession by the Dragonborn, it was an integral part of the Tyranny of the Sun Prophecy, where it was to be used with cursed arrows to allow Vampires to walk freely during the day without fear of the sun. It is not known whether the Dragonborn completed the prophecy or fought against it.

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                Within the games, the bow does have a destructive blow powered by fire magic in the earlier games, and sun damage within Skyrim. In Skyrim it takes a deeper role, as it can be used to blot out the sun so Vampires can roam freely for a short time, or can be used to call down a hail of sun energy upon the wielder's foes in the area.

    Sources of more information:

    UESP Lore article on Auri-El's Bow

    UESP lore article on Auri-El

    Imperial Library article on Auri-El's Bow

    Thank you for reading the second installment of Artifacts of Tamriel! As always, please comment what artifact you would like to see next!

  • Member
    July 2, 2014

    I think this a really good idea for a lore series Premier and I'm truly pleased you have shared it with us  I can't help feel slightly underwhelmed though and think you have missed an opportunity to make a massive contribution with these articles.

    To see what I mean, take a look at Henson's article on Shadow Magic or Vazgen's The Science of Alchemy. These are just two of many articles that are so beautifully presented, succinct and well researched that a trip to anywhere outside the The Skyrim Blog is superfluous - all the info you need is right there.

    Now I'm not saying your work here is bad, but it just leaves me wanting more. You use the term demi-god for example but it's not strictly accurate. Unless you can argue a case for it's use, it could be misleading to somebody wanting to learn about the artefact or god.

    Please don't take this as a slight against your work as the idea is brilliant.

  • Member
    July 2, 2014

    I like the way those articles played out, but, unfortunately, most of these artifacts do not have much backstory at all, or much depth. I might expand Auri-El's Bow to include more of the stuff from Dawnguard, but I am afraid most of these articles will end up being short because they simply do not have much information about them.

    However, you do have a point about the usage of Demi-god, and I might end up just writing a lore article about Auri-El, and just link that instead of trying to explain about it in the artifact articles.

    In the end, thanks for the support! Any artifact you would like to see next? 

  • Member
    July 3, 2014

    I get what your saying about lack of info, that's why I didn't have an issue with Eleidon's Ward. Adding some Dawnguard info to this would help to fill it out, good idea there

    I like your idea about an Auriel article too. Beware, though, it could be a hugely complicated endeavour

    Next artefact? How about the Helm of Oreyn Bearclaw?

  • Member
    July 3, 2014
    Cool idea! More info wouldn't hurt. I know it's common knowledge but you could add in the stats of the bow for Skyrim (weight, damage, amount of charges, etc.). It may be a little much but you could also post the stats of the bow from all the games it has been in so a proper comparison can be made from a gameplay standpoint. Hope to see more of these...(BITTER CUP!!).
  • Member
    July 3, 2014

    I did end up writing the Auri-El article, and my first couple drafts were hugely complicated beasts, so I ended up just slashing out a lot of the creation mythos, and just making it and article explaining the differences between each one. the article

    I might take a short hitasus from making these artifact articles, because I am working on a Atronach/Golem piece that I want to be expansive and detailed