If you have any theories/mysteries you think definitely deserve to be in the iceberg, leave a comment so I’ll be sure to get to it. I already have a pretty giant Skyrim mysteries list but I want to make sure everything’s included 🫡

Bros signed his life to being a Skyrim Lord of Lore

Maiq actually does say things of relevance. For example, when he says Skyrim was once a land of many butterflies, he's referrin to a bug in the early stages of Skyrim's production where butterflies would overspawn so much that they'd lag out the game.

“And M’aiq…..IS A LIAR” is probably one of my favorite quotes from all Nate’s videos 😂

The Elder Scrolls are the games themselves. Elder Scrolls are a mix of chronicle and prophesy. They typically detail times when Nirn will face great challenges and the deeds of heroes to overcome those challenges. Before the fulfillment of the prophesy, the Scrolls contain every possible outcome or variation of the future that might be. It is only after the prophesy is fulfilled that the Scrolls become fixed and immutable. But the Scrolls change depending on who reads them. And whatever the reader reads becomes the true history of Tamriel. The dragon Parthuurnax describes them as fragments of creation. When we play the games, we are both reading and writing one of the Scrolls. We are transported to a time and place in Tamriel where a great challenge arises. We follow the adventures of a great hero to overcome those challenges. Whenever we read one of the Scrolls by playing the game, we look into all of the possible futures that might be and create a version of the prophesy that is. And because the Scrolls can change with each reading, anyone who plays the game creates their own version of the prophesy. All of which becomes Tamriel's reality.

I was honestly expecting a mystery on the actual physical icebergs of skyrim and i was entirely ready to watch it

This channel is the definition of quality over quantity, comes back every few months to drop another banger. Keeps my love for Skyrim alive. Edit: I know he used to make a lot more videos a lot more frequently, if that were still the case I wouldn't have commented about quality over quantity. Point is, he doesn't anymore. I say quality over quantity because his source material for content is basically drained and it is probably a lot harder to keep up the quality of his videos now but he somehow has at the cost of his old rate of pushing out videos.

The interesting thing about Saadia is that while the mercenaries claim they intend to bring her back to Hammerfell for a fair trial, if you turn her in to them, you can later track them down to find them heading back to Hammerfell without her. After that you'll find Saadia has an urn dedicated to her in Whiterun's Hall of the Dead.

11:51 Perhaps the letter from a friend was authored by the Ebony Warrior himself? Maybe he wants to see you grow into the hero so that he can have a real challenge when the time is right to reveal himself to you.

About the Ebony Warrior being able to shout; It *is* explained in-game that normal people can shout, but it takes a lot of time and dedication to training. Ulfric Stormcloak can shout as well, and used it when he killed Toryyg.

13:17 i feel like the “friend” is actually the ebony warrior, explains the connection to them being able to shout and knowing where thuum walls are, and maybe he wants to help make the dragonborn stronger so they can become a worthy foe

Has anyone thought that the letter from a friend could be from Hermaeus Mora? Because with his desire for knowledge, and wanting you to overtake Mirraak he could be giving you a message to make you stronger

19:00 In the game "Battlespire," where the Soul Cairn was introduced, you can communicate with the Ideal Masters. In fact, you can communicate with most everyone, including basically all enemies.

I heard "Soul Karen" instead of "Soul Cairn" and now I feel like we missed out on a quest where Valerica demands to see the Ideal Masters' manager

Note for the Ebony Warrior, It's stated in the lore that Shouting isn't just reserved for the Dovahkiin or the Greybeards. Anyone can do it but for a normal person, it'll take YEARS to master ONE shout. Plus the Ebony Warrior isnt the only NPC who can shout that isnt Greybeard or Dragonborn. Ulfric can too and he's neither. He trained with the Greybeards for a majority of his life before moving to lead the Stormcloak Rebellion.

With the black reach dragon, you did mention that a chime goes off. And this is a dwarven ruin. Could it have been a summon with some sort of tonal magic?

Miaq has clearly achieved chim and has just decided to wander the world with his meta knowledge

The fact this series will be multiple parts brings me happiness because it means you’ll be (hopefully) uploading more often

Not really a theory or an answer, but I find it interesting that the Dwemer, who enslaved the Snow Elves and turn them into the blind Falmer, are also interested in decoding Elder Scrolls, which have been known to blind people who view them too much. Maybe they used the Falmer as 'stunt readers' who would read the scrolls, transcribe or dictate the contents, then they were blinded, leaving their bosses the Dwemer with the information, and working eyesight :)

Sybille doesn't have to be evil, she could easily be a neutral vampire much like Janus Hassildor in Oblivion.

23:00 there are some clues as to why sadia is a traitor. Kematu does't attack you first but rather tries to talk and explains fully the story from his side. Sadia will evasively answer the questions as to why she is being chased. The lines that Kematu says at the moment of capturing also suggest that Sadia is a traitor. There is probably more that i forgot, but you get my point.

As was foretold, the return of the hero of Skyrim!

I love how excited everyone gets whenever Nate posts. It's so endearing. We've got a great community.

What if the Heart of Lorkhan had the same properties as Azura's Star, having it's own plane of existence. So instead of what happened to Arniel when he struck the soul gem with Keening, what if when Kagrenac struck it, it sent out a burst of power that trapped all of the Dwemer on Nirn inside.

I just had a thought about Sybille Stentor. Maybe she said that her scrying suggested nothing in the area, not for nefarious reasons, but to protect any soldiers or guards anc explain why she didn't try to hinder the Dragonborn. Maybe she did in fact realize there were necromancers there and lied to Elisif about it to prevent the soldiers or guards from being slaughtered by the necromancers, but figuring someone like the Dragonborn could handle them, so she doesn't try to hinder you when you go to investigate.

At the very end of the iceberg: Nate has just acquired the knowledge of all the elder scrolls and knows everything.

Uurag's description of the Elder Scrolls following that response clarifies how the scrolls relate to the series in a cool way. "They're a record of all possible pasts and all possible futures." In other words, they mirror how the series itself presents an infinite number of possible pasts for whatever characters we make, and an infinite number of possible futures defined by the choices they make. That's why they're the series' namesake. :)

With blackreach it’s quite possible the Dwemer discovered a dragon burial mound and began studying the remains, then when alduin returned the dragon was resurrected and trapped underground. However alduin has to go to the burial mounds to resurrect the dragons so another possibility is the Dwemer learned how to harness the power of the dragon tongue. This would line up with why you have to shout at the “sun” in order to summon the dragon

I'm surprised you didn't mention the oddest thing related to Rorikstead. Unless Ragnar the Red is a newer song, there's no way Rorik could've been the one the town is named after unless he's even older than he appears.

If I remember correctly, Runil's Diary also foretells what is going on when you first enter Falkreach, as when you first enter someone is being buried, like foretold in the journal. I always thought that's the true reason why he wanted it back. So he could go over the dream again. Really compare what would come back to him vs our character.

Little known fact about Sybille: if you clear out Wolfskull Cave before going to the Blue Palace, she'll actually berate the Dragonborn, saying that it would've sorted itself out on its own. Also, her sleeping all the time after that quest is a bug, not a feature.

Not sure if anyone's mentioned this already but in ESO in Crow's Wood you can find a flute which has an inscription saying "A gift from M'aiq to his son, M'aiq."

The Psijic Order is a large part of the main story in the Summerset expansion of ESO from the hidden island of Artaeum. While not given any answer to this Skyrim mystery, it could be implied the Eye of Magnus was something the Psijic Order was hunting for as they are sort of like an Elder Scrolls "X-Files" group searching for mysterious magical artifacts. They were also the precursor to the Mages Guild.

So Paarthurnax says that Elder Scrolls are “artifacts from outside of time. It does not exist, but always has existed. Ray wahlann (Gods of Creation). They are… fragments of creation”. It is a dialog you can get when receiving the quest to get the Elder Scroll.

I always thought the Ebony Warrior was just the Dovahkiin from the future. He's lived a long life, helping the citizens of Tamriel with their problems and he's finally sick of it all, so he uses some Dragon Shout or maybe an Elder Scroll to seek out the only person who could defeat him...himself.

I still like to think that the ebony warrior is Tsun, based on the conversation you can have with him in Sovngarde. And the pen pal is Partysnax. He's the one meditating on the words, on their power. He knows best what damage they can do - and what good can be achieved. He helps the dragonborn to meditate on the words und understand how to navigate the path to knowledge. I am fascinated with the frequency of things happening that you mention. M'aiq is a "normal" sight for me, has not even that extended dialogue; the assassins come at least 3 times before I kill Astrid (I wonder if it has to do with me being on Switch, there are SO many things that never happen on my playthroughs, that happen on PC). Given that the Kahjiit have a "Dragonborn" storyline as well, he could maybe be the embodiment (and might be the mysteries friend!) from that part of the Elder Scrolls. Argh! I need to stop watching your videos - they always spiral me into a rabbit hole!

I've always thought that the "Letters from a Friend" were written either by, Miraak, or more likely, the Ebony Warrior. I lean more towards the Ebony Warrior, due to the fact that, after you've presumably found all the Shouts and have accomplished everything, he comes and challenges you. With that said, it then makes sense that, Miraak is the one performing the Black Sacrament and wanting the Dovakiin dead, considering he believes himself to be the True Dragonborn and everything about him is all about getting rid of you.

I found the Black Reach dragon my very first playthough back in 2011. I saw the big hanging sun thing, and wanted to see if it would swing if I shouted at it. The dragon spawning into the poorly lit underground cavern was terrifying

40:20 For anyone wondering. The Draugr enemy Curalmil who was introduced in the Skyrim Ae Addon is actually a normal Draugr. He only appears as a dragon priest when your character had a high level. As a dragon priest they used a standard model so he does not have a mask. But hes only a dragon priest when hes scaling with your level so technically nate is right and the Jailer is in fact the only dp without a mask

"yeah that's the SCP we keep in the attic, wanna see it?" had me spitting out my drink

Could miraak's mask be vahlock's. Miraak may have stolen it and hermuas mora might hive corrupted it, which could explain why miraak's mask looks like a dragon priest mask but with tentacles

0:00 - Intro 2:18 - Dwemer Disappearance (Tier 1) 4:24 - Bugs In Jars (Tier 1) 6:49 - The Ebony Warrior (Tier 1) 8:38 - The Town of Winterhold (Tier 1) 10:13 - The Village of Rorikstead (Tier 1) 11:50 - Letter From a Friend (Tier 1) 13:30 - What Are The Elder Scrolls (Tier 1) 15:15 - Dark Brotherhood Assassin's Note (Tier 1) 17:13 - The Ruler of Soul Cairn (Tier 1) 19:31 - What Exactly Happen To The Falmer (Tier 1) 21:46 - Curious Case of Saadia's Identity (Tier 1) 23:40 - M'aiq The Liar (Tier 1) 27:08 - Blackreach Dragon (Tier 1) 29:29 - Transition from Tier 1 to Tier 2 30:01 - Curious Case of Sybille Stentor (Tier 2) 33:17 - The Skyforge (Tier 2) 35:35 - The Eye of Magnus (Tier 2) 39:08 - Vahlok The Jailor (Tier 2) 41:33 - The Night Mother (Tier 2) 44:19 - The Greybeards' Age (Tier 2) 45:38 - Runil's Journal (Tier 2) 48:54 - The Lost Continents (Tier 2) 51:55 - The Ancient Dragonborn (Tier 2) 52:57 - Nirnroot (Tier 2) 54:42 - Sun's Death Event (Tier 2) 56:26 - Heimskr's Home (Tier 2) 57:22 - Sleeping Tree Camp (Tier 2) 1:00:24 - Eternally Lit Candle In Windhelm's Candlehearth Hall (Tier 2) 1:01:52 - The Blank Word Walls (Tier 2) 1:03:30 - Outro

As for the ruined word walls, it could be that Alduin purposely destroyed them to protect his meteor shout.

Questing in a foreign realm of Oblivion is slang for, "I was in the shitter when it happened."

Nate, I have been playing Skyrim since it came out, and your videos are outstanding. It literally boogles my mind the information you have covered in the books, but I digress and can just say, I am always happy to see you name attached to a new topic! Thanks!!

My favorite theory about the greybeards living so long is that they are pseudo dragon priests to Paarthurnax thus granting them longer lives.

Maiq is in reference to developer issues. Every one of Maiqs quotes deal with something in the game. For example when he says how he doesn't care where the snow goes, it's probably in reference to how snow doesn't melt it just sits. The other part he talks about is all the butterflies. At one point earlier and development it was easier to have more butterflies around the player but due to limitations they were cut. At some point he also talks about how there's no more calipers. All the calipers were removed from the game going from Oblivion to Skyrim.

I like the theory that M’aiq is actually a Kajit trickster deity called “The Cat Who Walks”. It would explain the immorality, including the shifting appearance, as well as the wandering and lying.

love these videos. I took a long break from Skyrim, around 2 years (that’s pretty long for me) I remembered Nate’s channel yesterday and man and I’m happy I found him again. he’s my go to guy for lore and Skyrim videos. he hasn’t disappointed me yet. keep it up Nate !!

I have an interpretation of the blank word walls: they're blank memorials. Almost all of the word walls in the game are epitaphs written to honor the loss of someone important. It's likely that these blank ones are walls that where built, but never filled in because no one of import died before the dragon war ended. Tldr: It's a tombstone that someone reserved

I love how Nate was looking at the wrong candle the entire time during the Candlehearth section, she literally says "above the fireplace" and you see the actual candle at 1:01:51.

I thought due to the fact that I have watched every single of your videos and also a lot of other skyrim/TES KZfaqrs contents on mysteries, there couldn't be anything in the top 2 sections, that I at least haven't heard of. But the whole tree sap thing and the flying city (does anybody else find it weirdly suspicious that the island and this mysterious sword connected to the ebony warrior share the same name? no? just me?) was entirely new to me! I somehow never encountered this thing in all my hundreds of hours in skyrim (alas I usually keep from giant camps as far as I can so...) and I also never read those books... and you also refreshened my memory of some of the other mysteries. Great video!

regarding the "letter from a friend" mystery, my head canon is that it's the ebony warrior, helping you get stronger so you'll be more of a challenge later on

you know it's gonna be good when the first 2 tiers of an iceberg is an hour long

14:23 Paarthanax actually did explain why the Elder Scroll was needed. It was that Elder scroll that was used to fling Alduin into time. That created a rip in space, where Alduin emerged from several thousand years later, and that the Dovakin using the same scroll can briefly look back in time to those events.

Another interesting coincidence about how dragon shouts are related to tonal magic and the dwarves! With the dragon aspect shout you're basically conjuring this ancient dragonborn. And this is not the only time this happens. In Sovngard, you also learn the "call hero" shout to have a nord hero to come and aid you. Now it seems to me that the first nords were much closer with the dwemer than what we know. And the dragon cult's presense even in blackreach seems to emerge concidering you meet that dragon down there.

Finally getting round to fully watching these Iceberg videos and I am already so in love with them. Awesome work as always Nate! 👌

In ESO, if you travel to the zone "Stonefalls" and enter the public dungeon "Crow's wood", which leads you to the daedric evergloam realm, you can find a flute(?). When you examine it you can read that it is apparantly "a gift from M'aiq to his son, M'aiq". So this is another example of father and son being called M'aiq.

26:53 To mention from ESO, there's a flute once belongs to a M'aiq in the dungeon Crow's Wood, activated reads "A gift from M'aiq to his son, M'aiq." M'aiq's name is probably a family traditional name, compared to the Johnny family name from the Metal Gear franchise.

SCP note. That was the cherry on top of this video! Love it! Your videos are fantastic and your voice personality is on point, sir! Keep up the amazing work! Thank you for doing so much work to produce these!

this guy is a legend he was the one that got me into skyrim lore and now i want to learn more by watching his videos. what a legend

I think my favorite interpretation of what the Elder Scrolls are is the theory that they are, in essence, an in-universe version of the TES game discs. They contain every possible scenario, past, present, and future, that could occur within a certain span of time; in other words, they’re the data of the game itself. Paarthunax allowing you to visit the past with one could almost be seen as him briefly loading up a save file from another (nonexistent in our world) Elder Scrolls game.

I am shocked how much content you can make on one game's mysteries. Respect 👍

whats crazy is ive had skyrim since it came out on 360.... and just now in january 2023, i finally visited falk firebeard and realized there was a dungeon for potema under solitude. all these years, and i missed that. made me think of you and your channel... miss your videos. wish you were more active again, i might just rewatch all of your videos. lol

I don’t watch you as much, but I hope this career has you set real good you definitely deserve it, I was there a long time ago on other accounts and I always loved your videos. Great work man

To add more to the M'aiq iceberg: he is actually a very meta character. M'aiq's dialogue relates directly to some aspect of the game development or consumer criticism or even the fandom (his most famous, on the nose example probably being his fishy stick line in Oblivion). The channel Ghostcharm made a really great, in depth video on it, I'll link it here if anyone is interested kzfaq.info/get/bejne/fq11g72ntJaVaYk.html

The Eye of Magnus was probably an artifact from Aetherius, given that it's covered in the same sort of glyphs that the Elder Scrolls are covered in. Ancano probably contacted the Thalmor back in Alinor, and they told him what it was, as their magical knowledge is far more advanced than those of the Nords, and the Psijics seem to know what it is, too. The line about "the power to unmake the world at my fingertips!" is the goal of the Thalmor, who- copying real-world Gnostic beliefs- think the material world and its makers were evil and wish to see the world undone to that the elves will supposedly resume their alleged divinity in a timeless, immaterial realm of pure ideas. The Thalmor are trying to destroy the world, as they believe this will free them and grant them divinity, erasing the material plane forever. They've shut down or destroyed a number of towers the world of Nirn needs to remain stable, and after Skyrim, it seems as if the very last operational Tower is the first; the Adamantine Tower (or Direnni Tower) of High Rock. The Eye of Magnus can destroy the world, if the Psijics are correct. It might have been seen by Ancano as a way of speeding up the goal of the Thalmor.

Seriously!!! I appreciate what you do!!! All of it. I've watched and listened to everything!! You are the Epic Nate

Thanks Nate, It's Always a treat to see a new video on your channel!

Septimus signus was meant to be gone for years and years... It turns out he's just hidden in a cave in the sea north of winterhold for years and years searching for the answers to unlock knowledge given by hermaeus mora... I honestly think one of the sacrifices septimus made was to destroy winterhold... At the expense of innocent lives and sacrifice comes the greatest reward of all... Knowledge... And we all know hermaeus mora has ties to a lot of important events throughout the majority of the elder scrolls series and loves to use his powers as a daedra to manipulate people and events in nirn

I’ve always loved the bugs in jars cause I got to have a butterfly in my house but I found out recently that if you get the anniversary pack the houses they give you from the quests also allow you to store them there on the shelves as collectable, along with the masks and different amours and weapons from quests

Dude Skyrim has so many interesting things in it wtf. Thank you for making this series, Nate. This is the absolute perfect vid for someone like me cause like this is all super interesting, and I know it took weeks to make this series. So yeh, thanks man, big appreciation for our boi

I absolutely love the dedication you dudes do, says 3 videos, comes out to be 4 in total!!!!!!!❤

The everburning candle thing is probably a reference to the inexplicably-lit candles found in the dungeons.

I actually love the bugs in jars, I collected a bunch of them without even knowing about the symbols. Genuinely more precious to me than gems.

Welp, since I just watched the last episode of this series, I felt it was time to go back and see how it started. Worth a rewatch.

In Egyptian mythology, it is said that the God of Scribes, Thoth, has a scroll, sealed away in a vault in the heavens. In this scroll, everything that exists is described in detail, every event of the past is recounted, and all deeds and occurrences that are to be also are there. This is, at least in my mind, the clearest real life parallel to an Elder Scroll, and seems to be supported by the speculation in setting. Moth Priests are said to be able to sacrifice their sight to read the scrolls and their predictions from the scrolls always come true. Through the scrolls we see into the past as well, with perfect detail. Hell if memory serves me Alduin even acts as if we are present in that replay of time, either in the actual encounter or in the final boss fight. It could also be that, given the right situations, such as what the Dwemer were doing with the one they had, it might be possible to rearrange the factors of the scroll in a more Neoplatonic sense, and that the scrolls simply provide a definition to things like "What is a rock" or "What is causality" or "How do various principles and things interact with each other" that is mechanistic enough that it looks like prophecy, because there are a limited amount of realities that can play out given those factors arranged in that way. Ultimately tho, my money is on the Elder Scrolls being some sort of in universe microcosm of the in universe macrocosm of everything that is true in Elder Scrolls.

7:35 i thought anyone can use the shouts if they trained hard enough though, not entirely unique to the DB or Grey Beards... I mean.. Ulfric shouted Highking Torryg to death, and when pressed about it he definitely did not deny shouting.

I think Paarthurnax describes the elder scrolls as fragments of creation. I figure they’re just objects of immense power that were probably shaped by some long forgotten deity.

The air-guitar riff at the end is the cherry on top of this lovely video sundae

1:01:47 "Oh yeah, that's the SCP we keep upstairs!" Oh? I see Nathan is a man of culture! *NOICE.*

I just started my ever Skyrim play through last week and this game is fucking huge! I’ve barley stuck to the story only getting to the quest where I speak to the grey beards. I’ve found that doing the other side missions and exploring the world has been pretty fun.

Your back after so long I have seen your past videos but finally!

Bethesda and rockstar games secrets and Easter eggs still intrigue and unnerve me to this day there’s just something about them that get to me

I’ve been watching you since you started the tiny details hearing you say “half a decade” Is insane. Love your content always watch your Skyrim and fallout vids

I love how this is just like a massive "details you may have missed in Skyrim" video, awesome work nate.

"Oh yeah that's the SCP we keep upstairs wanna see it" had me cracking up! LOL

"It would take a month to explain to you how that very question doesn't even make sense." I am 100% using this whenever someone asks me some stupid-ass question.

I love the theory that part of the quest involving the Eye of Magnus was cut, which would have resulted in you going back to the time of the Great Collapse with your battle with Ancano. That the eye actually caused this whole deal with the city of Winterhold.

Nate's out here doing the lords' work man. So glad to see another video from you

So much effort put in this game series.

Hold up. On the disappearance of the sun, the sun is not an object but a hole in a barrier torn by Magnus when he left this plane of existence. Could the hole have been blocked by the dwarves as they left this plane when their leaders finished their spell?

I always assumed that the collage had magical materials protecting itself from all the damage. That’s always what I’ve assumed since first I heard it.

The disappearance of the Dwarves is pretty well expanded in the books and especially the work of Arniel Gane in the college who does to himself what the Dwarves did. It is almost certain that the mage guild quest was supposed to involve traveling through time and finding out what happened with the collapse (and possibly even preventing it) but it was too big and expensive to get done in time, so the quest got cut short.

Something that may be addressed in later videos about the Eye is the Draugr that sits with it. Like, this guy is a known character, the son of a former Archmage, who has a Writ of Sealing on his body. Other mages found this place, or at the very least he and Archmage Geirmund, and they sealed him in along with it. Like, that feels worth mentioning at least.

I feel like the Ebony Warrior is just a way to say "here's you once you complete the game, tricked out with nothing left to do. This is your fate."

I personally think that the assassin's sender is probably some sort of follower of Alduin, as he is the only living thing that could have known of your power at that point and the letter is specifically set out to kill the Dovakin, and not the player name, which makes me think that it couldn't have happened before the player was caught at the border.

I just love how we're still talking about all these mysteries after many years. Skyrim is one of the greatest . The games that we can just keep talking about forever. There is soo much to say; just like the game. The previous games were also great all in their own way. I've played only 3,4, and 5 but even the early elderscrolls were original. It's honestly something made for us.

Man, I used to go to your videos for trivias, tips or just purely for entertainment. I've been playing again and I'm glad to watch your videos again.

That ending 😂 glad your back Nate!