In The Elder Scrolls, dark secrets can be found around just about any corner, but no secret hides in plainer sight than the one found on the moons.
The allure of the night sky in The Elder Scrolls is strong, especially considering the two moons and plethora of constellations. The idea of two moons is already strange and alienating, considering the implications it would have on our real world. But on Tamriel, this just means there’s plenty of potential for lore to justify it.
The moons of The Elder Scrolls have always had a great amount of significance, especially to certain races like the Khajiit. But much like many overlooked aspects of the games, it often hides a secret many fans may have not even considered a possibility. The secret of the moons, in particular, has to do with a third, dark moon and a potentially long-dead god.
The Dark Side of The Elder Scrolls’ Moons
It should be noted that various races of The Elder Scrolls have various interpretations for just about everything. Every interpretation typically holds some amount of weight to them, but their contradictory nature with other interpretations often leaves them feeling not whole. But in this case, no interpretation holds more value than The Elder Scrolls‘ charismatic Khajiit. This is because their biological forms are decided by whatever phase of the moon they are born on. Khajiit can be born as house cats, giant tiger-like creatures, and bipedal humanoids that players typically think of. They have a special relationship with the moons that no other race has.
In many of The Elder Scrolls games, players can find a book called “The Lunar Lorkhan.” The author, Fal Droon, asserts the theory that the moons of the night sky are actually the sundered corpse of The Elder Scrolls‘ Lorkhan, the god of mortals. Fal Droon also believes the two halves of the moon also represent the duality of Lorkhan himself, that being things like good and evil, and existence and non-existence. There is even evidence to support this claim found in other games, such as The Elder Scrolls: Redguard.
In The Elder Scrolls: Redguard, the player can find an observatory that houses an orrery that charts the celestial bodies of the universe the planet Nirn finds itself in. The curious part about this is that the player can see other “planets” within the system. These other planets are supposed to represent the Divines, each of which occupies a space in Mundus and surrounding Nirn, which lies at the center. This representation sets a precedent for celestial bodies being the gods and thus gives some credence to the idea that Masser and Secunda are, in fact, the sundered corpse of Lorkhan. It should be noted that this orrery was crafted by The Elder Scrolls‘ enigmatic Dwemer, who has a knack for this kind of research.
The Khajiit believe that Masser and Secunda are unrelated to Lorkhan as a whole and existed before his demise. Instead, they believe in the existence of a third moon to be the actual corpse of Lorkhan. This moon is known by multiple names, such as the Dark Moon and the Den or Lorkhaj. It appears when Masser and Secunda have an eclipse, aligning to reveal the “third moon.” This location can even be visited in The Elder Scrolls Online, during the events of the Reaper’s March storyline. It’s described as a “rotting corpse” by the loading screen that precedes it, making it one of the more bizarre The Elder Scrolls experiences.
As of now, neither theory is fully confirmed and both can be seen as contradictory statements that both hold some amount of truth to them. That is the crux of the lore behind The Elder Scrolls, as no one truth governs everything. The Elder Scrolls franchise has created a world where the truth is up to the individual’s preference.
