Lore:Mantling

Mantling, also known as mantle-taking or apotheosis, is the process of attaining godhood through the use of one or more of the esoteric methods known as the Six Walking Ways. Summarized with the phrase "walk like them until they must walk like you", the concept of mantling entails reenacting the Mythic patterns established by the Et'Ada until their power is surrendered to the mantler. In the process, the mortal and the deity become metaphysically synonymous with one another, allowing the mortal to claim the office and sphere of the mantled deity for themselves, reshaping them in the process. This is explicitly juxtaposed with Incarnation, another kind of Apotheosis where the mortal is born with an existing divine mantle (as opposed to lacking one) and knowingly or unknowingly acts in the manner of the god they embody.

As the Tower touches all Mantles of Heaven, mantling falls under the concept of the Psijic Endeavor, which defines Divinity as attaining the Tower and suggests the end goal of mantling to be mantling the Godhead itself.

Known Examples

• Sheogorath is a Daedric Prince with many associations with the concept of mantling. He himself speaks to the concept of different individuals encompassing his godhood. The Khajiit interpret these events as Sheogorath being a dead god who has been replaced by something Other.
  • His chamberlain Haskill claimed to be a Vestige of a Breton man who mantled Sheogorath in the past.
  • Arden-Sul was a Prophet who resided in the Shivering Isles. He was considered the personification of Sheogorath's mortality by some denizens of the Isles (particularly Zealots), seemingly attesting to Arden-Sul as one of his past mantlers.
  • The Hero of Kvatch entered the Shivering Isles and became the champion of Sheogorath at the end of the Third Era. Sheogorath prepared them to succeed him as the new Prince of Madness and despite a setback that saw Sheogorath unable to give the Hero his staff, the Hero was able to create a new staff with the assistance of Dyus and mantle the Madgod. The Hero of Kvatch also achieved something that other participants in the prior Greymarches had not, he defeated Jyggalag in combat ending the Greymarch cycle and fully separating Jyggalag and Sheogorath from one another.
• The Wilderking was a deity residing in Valenwood. Despite claims that there were many Wilderkings and Wilderqueens over the course of Valenwood's history, only two are known.
  • Ostion was an Altmer who had the power to shape the land ever since he was a young boy. Powerful individuals in his homeland of Summerset learned of his unique abilities and sent him to Valenwood. Ostion and Valenwood would become one and he was known henceforth as the Wilderking.
  • Aranias was an Altmer who, much like Ostion, displayed tremendous power over the land at a young age. Originally being part of a contingency that was to assassinate the Wilderking, Aranias eventually realized her true destiny and replaced the dying Ostion's station, becoming the Wilderqueen.

Ambiguous Examples

• The Missing God Lorkhan and his various aspects have a strong association with mantling, tying back to the narrative that the Mundus was created as a means of transcending the divine:
  • Pelinal Whitestrake was an Ada with heavy ties to Lorkhan and his various aspects. He was referred to as the Shezarrine, and likened to Shor while also sharing physical characteristics with these figures such as having a gaping chest with no heart. It is thus possible Pelinal mantled this figure.
  • Upon the mortal death of Tiber Septim, he was said to have ascended to Aetherius, transforming the face of the Divine, making the Eight become Nine. According to some sources, Tiber Septim achieved this apotheosis by mantling Lorkhan through the Fourth Walking Way.
• The Dragon God Akatosh has numerous ties to mantling:
  • When Martin Septim shattered the Amulet of Kings and rose up as the avatar of Akatosh to banish Mehrunes Dagon he was said to have achieved apotheosis, namely by mantling the God of Time himself.
  • The Ka Po' Tun Emperor Tosh Raka managed to transform himself into a Dragon, supposedly the largest one in the world. Some sources suggest this process actually involved Tosh Raka mantling Akatosh and becoming a rival mirror-brother of Akavir.
  • The Dragon God-King of Skyrim, Alduin, is suggested to possibly be an attempted mantler of Akatosh, taking the role of his mirror-brother of the Nords. Paarthurnax claims Alduin tried to claim the Lordship that properly belongs to Akatosh. Similarly Khajiit myth claims Alkhan ever hungers for Alkosh's Crown.
• The Yokudan Make-Way God HoonDing, bears connections to both mantling and incarnation:
  • When Cyrus the Restless freed Stros M'Kai from occupation by the Third Empire, it was said he may have been a manifestation of the HoonDing, accidentally mantling the Spirit by fulfilling its' role.
  • Within the same conflict as Cyrus, it has been claimed Prince A'tor also became a manifestation of the Hoonding, in the form of a sword.
• The Tribunal, also known as ALMSIVI, all have individual ties to mantling:
  • Within the apocryphal events of his Trial, Vivec claims ALMSIVI to have taken on mantles upon Apotheosis, springing from the basis of their Anticipations. However Vivec also clarified the Tribunal never fully claimed the Mantles of the Good Daedra, due to the latter's unwillingness to fully relinquish their realms.
• The God of Life and Death Arkay appears to demonstrate both mantling and incarnation:
  • According to High Rock myth, the god Arkay was originally a shopkeeper by the name of Ark'ay, who is said to have discovered a tome detailing the secrets of life, death, and the purpose of existence. After devoting his life to studying it, he ascended to godhood on his deathbed as Arkay, the God of Life and Death. This myth is corroborated by Runil, an Arkayn priest in the Fourth Era who teaches that Arkay was once mortal and gave up that existence that mortals might better understand the vagaries of life and death.
• The Necromancer God Mannimarco has attempted mantling twice:
  • Mannimarco attempted to use the Amulet of Kings to soul trap Molag Bal so he could mantle his station and take his place among the gods.
  • Mannimarco would later on achieve apotheosis by finding his Mystery, "As Above, So Below,", attaining a Mantle from Above, bringing it Below. He claims this is how Apotheosis is done.

Notes

• The phrase "As Above, So Below" is often used by various sources to describe mantling and the duality of mortals and gods as a whole. This quote is a paraphrase of a lengthier verse from the Emerald Tablet, a real-world esoteric text which describes the principles of hermetic alchemy, with the second verse in particular explicating the connection between the microcosm and the macrocosm.
• According to developer Ted Peterson, the myth of Ark'ay describes the god Arkay intentionally incarnating as a mortal in order to experience his sphere of Life and Death firsthand, before reascending to godhood to take his rightful place.

References

Note: The following references are considered to be unofficial sources. They are included to round off this article and may not be authoritative or conclusive.