...And added a summary. Any more words and I think it will become too bloated:

In summary, I believe Xarxes is one part the Woodland Man of Nordic belief who is seen as a Demon of Knowledge by the enemies of the elves. He is deeply rooted in the Nordic psyche and culture as a being who terrorised them in the Elder Wood of Atmora. Xarxes created a wife called Oghma who represents and embodies history in its entirety, and she can be visualised a great Tree of Life. As above, so below, trees in TES could very well be the keepers and preservers of memory by way of the water cycle and transpiration, connecting them directly with the journey of mortal souls.

As with all things TES, though, what is more important than anything above is that which you believe.

Thank you for reading.

......

I'll sleep on it, but I think I'm done.

[blockquote][b][url=/profile/Ilanisilver]ilanisilver[/url] said:[/b] So I finally got through this without getting tripped up on stuff I don’t know—which is most stuff about the Altmer. Like I said the other day, I think my eyes start to glaze over when anything Altmer-related is mentioned. I don’t know why. But this...fantastic. I love the idea that Xarxes is Hermaeus Mora himself, or at least an aspect of him. After all, that guy guards knowledge like Cerberus guards the gates of hell, so who would he trust to write it all down but himself? It’s also interesting to imagine Mora giving “Xarxes” the idea of agency within himself, the idea that he’s real and acting on the world, when in reality he’s only an aspect of Mora’s realm, like any being tied to Apocrypha. Not that this is what you were getting at, but it’s interesting to imagine, Mora’s realm being like it is. And I love the idea of connection, through the trees. The ideal extension of the earth and all the life that flows through it preserving itself in its very bones. Great article, man.[/blockquote]

Thanks for the input Ilani, it hadn't occurred to me that Xarxes would be obscure or that Altmer would be a turn-off. Man, Skyrim really did the elves a disservice. I've taken it onboard and plan to revise it, planning on going for an angle with the article starting with Herma-Mora and exploring the rest from there. Hopefully it will make it more accessible and interesting starting with that familiar figure. Just need to wait to be in a writing mood. You know me, articles sit in the Workshop for at least six months before I finish them :D 

Sorry Phil, kept meaning to get on to more comments earlier but stupid life getting in the way. I'm really interested by some of these new sections, further explanations, new points  I've seen and just the overall construction and idea behind the Article. 

I think one interesting thing this brings to mind is the idea of the Hist Trees. Okay, so I've been trying to construct my thoughts here but I've got something brewing, need some time to research it fully and figure out how to phrase my points, so I'm going to leave it there and come back to this when I've properly figured everything out. Mainly just because I need to delve into my two weakest areas with Bosmer and Argonian lore, why can't the Dunmer have some sort of tree that's important (mostly because it'd probably be another euphemism for Vivec's dick)...

Anyway, focusing on your thoughts. I think the summery was pretty damn excellent, and the following section was probably one of the most thought-provoking and interesting parts of the entire article. 

So where does Hermaeus Mora fit in with? Herma Mora of the Nordic Pantheon, The Woodland Man, could well be an amalgamation of the three merish time gods, Auriel, Xarxes, and Y'ffre. One governs the sphere of knowledge, secrets and record keeping, the other is the woods and trees, as well as the many possibilities of the future, and all of which are part of Time itself. Much like Xarxes is present in Arkay of the Divines along with Orkey an Tu'wacha, I think something similar is going on with the Nordic Herma-Mora. It would explain the link between what we see as a Daedric Prince and Aedric spirits, and possibly why both Xarxes and Hermaeus Mora both have a book called Oghma. For one the book is also their wife in the sense that he is married to it as it holds his life's work. For the other it is an infinite journal, the Oghma Infinium.The names and titles given to Herma-Mora by the Nords, Demon of Knowledge and The Woodland Man, are thus their culturally-coloured names of gods we are familiar with. 

 

Thanks Deebs. It's on temporary hiatus until the tide rolls back in, but after hearing Ilani's perspective and your own, I think the Herma-Mora angle is the best place to start. Like, lead with the question of "where is Herma-Mora in the Merish pantheon? One would think they'd be happy to have him on their side." Then slowly intoroduce the idea that he's already there, a rose by any other name. 

Iirc, the Dunmer do have an important tree and Veloth's temple is built around it. This is ESO... The Forlorn One. In that quest (and been a while since I played it) water plays a significant role, which is fitting with the themes the quest deals with - echoes of the past, memories etc. Also, and maybe not as relevant, 36 Lessons mentions that (I think) the number of Love is the "is the number of birds that can nest in an ancient tibrol tree, less three grams of honest work." No idea what a tibrol tree is, though. But interesting that a tree is mentioned, epecially when considering Oghma and Mara's possible interchangeability.

Anyway, looking forward to your insights after your delve into Hist and Wood Elf lore :)