Miraak was Never The First Dragonborn (Probably) | A Historical Study

Hinzugefügt: 2026-05-09

[00:00:02]And so the first dragon born meets the last dragon born at the summit of Apocrypha.

[00:00:25]Mirra is supposedly the first dragon born. But what exactly does that mean?

[00:00:30]For older subscribers to the channel, you may be familiar with the Manamarco lore video that I did back in Halloween of 2023.

[00:00:37]In that video, we discussed how Manamarco is referred to as the first of the liches, but the moniker of first is not meant to imply chronology in this instance. Dragon priests, for example, are liches, but they predate Manamarco's ascension into one himself. Rather, when we call the Worm King the first of the liches, it's to grant him an heir of significance. It's an honorary title meant to imply importance. My position here with Mirra is that while it is possible that he was referring to himself as the first dragon born in a chronological sense, it's just as likely, if not more likely, that he was using it in an honorary sense, much like Manamarco. And perhaps there's even a secret third usage. I understand that this is perhaps a fringe theory, but I would like to present you with my reasons for believing it if you would be kind enough to follow through with me.

[00:01:24]If you enjoy content like this, please consider leaving a like, comment, or even subscribing so you don't miss out on further videos such as this in the future. I generally don't ask for stuff like this, but these lore videos take a lot of time and research. So, with that preface out of the way, please allow me to show you how I reached my conclusion.

[00:01:47]That's a claim. And so, a claim isn't evidence. Evidence is when you try to substantiate the claim. Once you recognize that, then you have to develop criteria for how you decide what actually did happen and what didn't happen. It's true of every figure from the past. How do you go about establishing that somebody actually said and did what they're recorded saying and doing? If you have sources with that in mind, what you look for are materials that are found in multiple sources that are independent of each other.

[00:02:15]>> That was a clip of Dr. Bartman on Alex Okconor's podcast, Within Reason. Dr. Man is a scholar and analyst of the biblical New Testament and is a very wellrespected member of his field. The clip is from a very interesting discussion and I thought it fit very nicely here in framing the main historical issue with Mirak's claim.

[00:02:33]I'll post the full discussion in the description. The first and most apparent problem with Mirra as the first dragon born in a chronological sense is that there is just nothing backing this claim up in game. Mirra states that he is the first dragon born. Yes, but there is not a single other source that corroborates this claim in the timeline outside of that one quote.

[00:02:54]You see, historically speaking, it's improper to just take a claim at face value like that. Otherwise, we would have to believe everything that historical documents state. And if we did that, we would have no actual basis for the factual reality of the past.

[00:03:07]Take Herodotus for example. Heroditus is widely acclaimed to be the world's first western historian. His work known as the histories is a compilation of stories that Herodotus collected during his lifetime from throughout the Greek world. His work is insurmountably important, but that's not to say that it's entirely correct. Herodotus frequently gets numbers wrong in his work, overestimates army sizes, and at certain points seems to heavily imply the existence of mythological creatures.

[00:03:34]This is where archaeology and science can enter the equation and verify the truth of the matter asserted so we can figure out what Herodotus was correct and incorrect about. And this is the process of history. When I was in college, I frequently had to find multiple sources backing up the same conclusion when writing historical papers. Otherwise, the professor would simply not accept my work. And I think the same process of verification needs to be applied here.

[00:03:57]>> Nice argument, Senator. Why don't you back it up with a source?

[00:04:00]>> My source is that I made it the [ __ ] up.

[00:04:03]>> But wait a minute, you may say, this is no historical document we're talking about. This is a direct quote from Mirra himself. I would be happy to grant you this. Yes, we are receiving a direct assertion from Mirra that he is the first. But I would again remind you that this is nothing more than a bold assertion and the same criteria for analyzing the histories must be used in analyzing Mirak. We have no confirmation on his direct usage of the word nor evidence to corroborate him in a chronological sense. So what this all boils down to is that we cannot trust that Mirra is the first chronological dragon born just because he says so.

[00:04:45]To further complicate things, let's look at the era Mirra was from. Mir lived during the Morathic era and worked as a dragon priest. We know it had to be the Martha era because it is the agreed upon timeline where inin the dragon cult presided over Skyrim.

[00:05:00]Mirra was specifically around in fact during what would appear to be the late Martha era making him a contemporary with other Nordic figures such as Honi Azidal and Valok the Jailer also known as the guardian.

[00:05:12]>> They wanted to use me to deal with Aldwin Hon and the rest. I chose otherwise.

[00:05:20]>> Now we know that it was during the late Marathic era because Hon was one of the Nord heroes who banished Aldwin which ushered in the end of the Dragon War.

[00:05:28]And because Mirak and Hon are men whose lifespans are slim, this would place Mirak around this time. The Morathic era is a complicated time. However, history is somewhat muddled during this period.

[00:05:40]The Dragon War, for example, has no start or end date that we are precisely aware of. So, it makes things confusing when Mira states that he is the first dragon born because there is not much recorded properly during this time. I will point out that there are no other examples of dragon borns predating Mirk, but this is not sufficient evidence or evidence at all actually that proves his claim. An absence of evidence is not evidence of an absence is an adage I'm sure we're all aware of and it applies here perfectly.

[00:06:18]It is very important to note here that dragons are known to have hailed from two places outside of Tamriel, Admora and Aavir. Akavir has been referred to as dragon land in many sources and Adora is known to have had dragon priests who established a certain order between dragons and the Atmoran protoords.

[00:06:35]The Akaviri dragon guard of the first era are said to have come to Tamreel in search of a dragon born. When greeted with the voice of Reman Siridil during the events of Pale Pass, they surrendered on the spot. And it's the reason behind their surrender that we're interested in here. They surrendered because they apparently had been searching for Reman. The exact quote that the Airi say to Reman in the book The Rise and Fall of the Blades is, "We have been searching for you." This is widely considered to mean that the dragon guard were searching not for Reman specifically, but for a dragon born. The book of the dragon born adds to this stating that the Akaviri soldiers were the first people to even proclaim Breeman to be a dragon born.

[00:07:14]Because of this, what I really want to touch on here is the possibility of dragon borns from Aavir. Unfortunately, not much is known of Aavir's history as the central location for the Elder Scrolls series has always been on Tamreel. Because of this, I don't think we can wholesale throw out the idea of there being dragon borns from Averir.

[00:07:33]However, we are also not allowed to assume Averi dragonborns on this principle alone. All we can do is infer that the dragon guard in some sense knew what a Dovakin was. Whether this was from a firsthand experience, divine revelation, or some secret third thing, we may never know, but it is an interesting topic to discuss. And of course, then there's Adora. that Mora does not boast any knowledge about dragonborns before Mirak, but it does have information about a dragon cult, which I think is important because Mirra was of course a dragon priest in his life before his service to Hermes Mora.

[00:08:08]So, it leads to a natural question. Is there a connection between being a Dovakin and being a dragon priest?

[00:08:14]Perhaps due to one small sentence in a lore book from the Dragon Born DLC.

[00:08:28]His story is as old as Soulstein itself.

[00:08:31]He served the dragons before their fall from power as most did a priest in their order. But unlike most, he turned against them. He made his own path and his actions cost him dearly. The stories say he sought to claim Soulstein for himself and the dragons destroyed him for it. In the guardian and the traitor, the story of Mirra's banishment from Soulstein is told. The guardian identified as Valac the Jailer and the traitor Mirra are both dragon priests.

[00:09:03]When Valac discovers Mirra's allegiance to Hermes Mora, the two face off in a battle. And this is the interesting part. The two fought a mighty battle that lasted for days, each hurling terrible arcane energies and th shouts at the other. Now, the power of the voice is not an exclusive ability to the dragon born. The graveyards are a testament to this. But it is worth discussing that Valok's th was able to not only stand his own ground against Mirak, but beat him so decisively that Hermes Mora was forced to shelter Mirra in Apocrypha to save him from death.

[00:09:34]This power of the th could have been gifted to Valok as a power from his dragon patron. Or it is possible that simply through his own study, he was able to learn powerful shouts. Or is it possible that his power came from within? Does his victory against Mirk perhaps point to Valac being a dragon born himself?

[00:09:54]More than likely, the answer is no. But it is an example of another Nord who has the ability to shout with power equal to or exceeding that of a known dragon born. One final note about Valok the Jailer is that when faced in the Elder Scrolls 5, he actually knows no shouts.

[00:10:09]This can lead us in two directions.

[00:10:11]Direction one, this is canon and proves that the original story was lying when it referred to Valok's shouting. Or direction two, Bethesda didn't add in the ability for him to shout because it would have forced them to make additions to the base Dragon Priest abilities and this was considered too much work. Now, am I implying that Bethesda would cut such corners? Perhaps the world will never know.

[00:10:40]So, we've of course discussed all types of topics from the necessities of historical evidence to the Akabiri dragon guard to even Mirra's own foundational story. What I would like to touch on next entails Mirra's downfall at the hands of the player character from The Elder Scrolls 5 Skyrim's last dragon born. Now, the last dragon born is referred to with this title due to the prophecy of the dragon born. This prophecy is stated to hail from an Elder Scroll itself and be Averiri in origin.

[00:11:06]It goes as follows. When misrule takes its place at the eight corners of the world. When the brass tower walks and time is reshaped.

[00:11:16]When the thrice blessed fail and the red tower trembles.

[00:11:20]When the dragon born ruler loses his throne and the white tower falls. When the snow tower lies sundered, kingless bleeding.

[00:11:30]The world eater wakes and the wheel turns upon the last dragon born.

[00:11:36]Quite a lot to digest all at once, but for avid fans of the Elder Scrolls series, some of the meanings of this prophecy may be clear. Each line seems to denote an event which is paramount to one of the plots of the mainline games.

[00:11:48]When misrule takes its place at the eight corners of the world is a reference to the first game in the series, Arena, wherein the staff of chaos is spread across the provinces of the empire. When the brass tower walks and time is reshaped is a reference to daggerfall and more specifically the warp in the west which is the end result of the main quest. When the thrice blessed fail and the red tower trembles hearkens back to the tribunal of Morowind, the events of the Elder Scrolls 3 and the red year.

[00:12:16]When the dragon born ruler loses his throne and the white tower falls is a reference to the Oblivion crisis killing the dragon born rulers of Siridil and the great war of the fourth era that would follow.

[00:12:28]When the snow tower lies sundered kingless bleeding refers to High King Tori's death and the Skyrim Civil War.

[00:12:36]And lastly, the Worldeater wakes and the wheel turns upon the last dragon born is our final line which describes the events of The Elder Scrolls 5. The Worldeater is of course Aldwin. The wheel refers to the Orbus aka the universe and the last dragon born then seems to be a direct reference to the player character from Skyrim.

[00:12:56]So, why did I just bring all of that up?

[00:12:59]Well, I wanted to show where the information about the last dragon born comes from. It's from the prophecy of an Elder Scroll, which I should remind you are subject to change. Elder scrolls are not fixed until the events they foretell are carried out. Just an interesting point. Also, the prophecy is littered with poetic style descriptions of events. Things are not laid out clearly is my point, despite our ability to interpret the scroll. So, how do you know here that last dragon born is also in reference to chronology? The short answer, we don't. It would be reasonable to assume that they're talking about a temporal usage of the word last, but how exactly can we know? Is it really accurate to say that the player character from Skyrim is the last being that Ackatosh will ever grant the dragon blood to? I don't know. Which may sound like a copout, but I think sometimes admitting when you don't know is the most honest thing you can do. I think it would be foolish for Bethesda Game Studios to cut off the possibility of ever seeing a Dovakin again, but that's not really anything to do with the actual in-game lore. Routing back to first and last though. First and last to do what exactly?

[00:14:15]My fellow ciphers, I am sorry. I have been a fool.

[00:14:20]I sabotaged choir's wind at the first servants's bidding. It started with small favors, retrieving books no one would miss in exchange for gold or receiving help with my own ambitions.

[00:14:33]But the first servant trapped me, drew me deeper into his plots until I could refuse nothing he demanded of me. I cannot escape now. Those cursed scrolls he made me hide drove the Dra into a mad rampage.

[00:14:50]They will find me soon enough.

[00:14:52]I did not know the harm I was causing by helping that dragon-faced monster.

[00:14:59]But I should have Sabinius.

[00:15:04]This is really the lynch pin here. This dialogue comes from Elder Scrolls Online's Nekron chapter, which allows you to venture into Apocrypha once more.

[00:15:12]In Apocrypha, there is a delve known as Choir's Wind, which holds this note.

[00:15:18]This note is fascinating to me because it does something truly incredible. It gives us some context for what first might actually be in reference to.

[00:15:27]Finally, after nearly 15 years, we've been given some potential clarity. I think this passage shows that Mirra is not the first dragon born to ever have existed, but the first dragon born to ever serve under Hermes Mora. Cipher Sabinius is very clear to mention two times the phrase first servant rather than first dragon born. And then we also have these two letters as well written by Mirraak to Cipher Sabinius. Cipher Sabinius, the time has come for you to demonstrate your loyalty. I have a small task for you. See it through and I promise you will be richly rewarded. You will stand beside me as one of my acolyte priests when I come into my own.

[00:16:07]Take these four blank scrolls to choirs wind and leave them in suitable spots among the stacks and holes. As you set each scroll in place, speak the incantation I taught you. Do not linger close by the scrolls once you have done this. I am sure you would not want to be caught. Do not be surprised if nothing seems to happen after you speak the incantation. The effects are subtle and will be delayed for some time. But when the spell I concealed within the blank scrolls takes hold, the seekers of the wind will be drawn to my scrolls and influenced to incorporate them into black books. Do your work properly and I will be summoned out of Apocrypha when an altered book is read in Narn. But if you fail me, Sabinius, I will still be here and I will be very angry about that. Long ago, the Admorans betrayed me. Then they dared to name me traitor.

[00:17:00]With your help, I will finally teach their descendants the error of their ways, the first servant. So there we have it again. Mirak himself referring to himself not as the first dragon born, not even as Mirak, but as the first servant. And really, I'm not stating here that this is the absolute truth of the matter asserted, but I want to showcase how it is just as likely that Mirak is the first servant of Hermes Mora as it is that he is the first dragon born of all time. To me, this is very telling that someone on the ESO writer staff was aware of the fact that Mirak's claim in Dragon Born is unsubstantiated. So, they decided to throw an old crotchety lore beard like me, a bone. Mirra was roped into Hermes Moa's schemes early in life, and throughout the dragon born DLC, he is attempting to be free from the drich prince. Mora takes this opportunity to get his tentacles around the player character. And when Mira dies, Mora states that he now has a new dragon born to serve him, pointing to the last dragon born being the last dragon born to serve Mora, which I think is far more likely than them being the last dragon born ever.

[00:18:08]>> I have found a new dragon born to serve me.

[00:18:20]May he be rewarded for his service as I am.

[00:18:27]>> Mirror, harbor fantasies of rebellion against me.

[00:18:35]Learn from his example.

[00:18:39]Serve me faithfully and you will continue to be richly rewarded.

[00:19:01]In conclusion, I think that the titles of First and Last have room for interpretation in this community. We've gone over a ton in this video. We analyzed Mirra's claim from a historical lens, examined the timeline, looked to other nations for dragon born evidence, reviewed Soloulstein's founding myth, scrutinized a prophecy, and finally reviewed a couple notes that tied it all together. In my eyes, it is just far more likely that Mirak is the first dragon born to serve under Hermes Mora, not the first ever. Is it possible that he was the first to be blessed by Akatasha's blood? Sure, but I don't buy it. Even him being the first dragon born is a retcon in and of itself as the first dragon born used to be a title that was granted to Allesia.

[00:19:43]If you still do after this video believe that Mirra is the first dragon born, please comment below and tell me why. If there's anything that I missed, please also point that out to me. And of course, if you enjoyed the video, a like or subscription or share would mean quite a bit. But before I fully go, I should mention that this is a remaster of an old video that I did a couple of years ago. And the reason for that is that there were a couple of things that I wanted to clear up in the original script. Namely, that there was one other note that uh Mirra read in relation to Cipher Sabinius. Also, I really wanted to clear out an old AI voice that I used to read the note for Cipher Sabinius. I put a message on screen that it was an AI synthesized voice. And some people cared about it, some people didn't. But as time has gone on, I um I have just felt very uncomfortable about having done that, especially since I've grown as a creator over the past couple years.

[00:20:38]And I've um my stance on AI has gotten harsher.

[00:20:44]Uh and I just don't want to be I I don't like that. That's one of my most popular videos and it has me using AI in it. So, I wanted to go back and do um an ethical a more ethical recording of just me uh reading it because I can and I'm more confident as a YouTuber now these days.

[00:21:01]So, that's uh pretty much the reason for the remaster. I also updated a couple visuals when I was doing this, but I tried to keep it very very similar to the original video. So, anyway, uh thank you guys all for joining me on this journey and I will hope to see you guys in the next one. So, peace out. Talk to you later and have a good day. Shadow Hiou.