Tamriel is a land brimming with magic and wonder, where the simple act of taking a walk
through the woods can lead to extraordinary adventures and new things to discover. All
that magical scenery comes with a dark side though, The Dark Brotherhood resides in that
darkness. For generations, the brotherhood has stood as an agent of chaos in Tamriel.
At the head of the group is a mysterious and probably long-dead figure...
The Night Mother plays a big role in recent Elder Scrolls games, but her real-world inspiration
may come from a much older source. Some believe The Night Mother to be based off of Lilith,
Adam’s first wife in Jewish folklore. According to most interpretations of the story, Lilith
refused to obey Adam and as a result was cast out of the garden. Then, according to some
versions of the tale, she went on to mate with demons and even give birth to a few little
monsters of her own. In ancient Hebrew texts, the term “Lilith” or “Lillit” translates
to “night monster” and “night hag”. So there’s the “Night” but where’s
the “Mother”, well that word has come up in association with Lilith as well. In
Arabic folklore that can be traced back to famous Muslim occult writer Ahmad al-Bundi
in the 11th century, Lilth is a demon known as the “The Mother of Children”. Combine
these two mythologies, and it is easy to see how Lilith might have influenced the creation
of The Night Mother. In true Hidden History fashion though, the connection goes a bit
deeper than that. In Jewish Folklore and modern occultism, there are many rituals that try
to communicate with Lilith and ask for her favor or trap her. The most famous of these
rituals involve an incantation bowl, which was supposed to help call Lilith. This parallels
the Black Sacrament in Skyrim, where the invoker supposedly spoke directly to The Night Mother
through the magic ritual. According to the Sacred Witness, a book that
can be found in Skyrim, The Night Mother was once a member of the Thieves Guild and a pretty
terrible one at that. She found it a lot easier to kill the occupants in their home rather
than remain unseen. This also parallels many versions of the Lilith story, where she was
known to break into homes at night to steal and murder children, usually leaving the parents
dead as a result as well. Speaking of The Night Mother, you know who
can’t get enough of this dead lady? The Dark Brotherhood. We’ve covered a few things
about The Dark Brotherhood in previous videos but this week we wanted to touch on something
that hasn’t been mentioned yet: a theory behind the organization’s name. As most
of you probably know, Bethesda tends to have a thing for a few authors that keep coming
up over and over again. Chief among these writers is H.P. Lovecraft. So where does The
Dark Brotherhood come into this? Well, some believe the group is named a Lovecraft short
story called “The Dark Brotherhood”. While the story is not about a group of assassins,
it is about a Dark Brotherhood of mysterious beings who disguise themselves as Edgar Allan
Poe, another writer that comes up all the time in Bethesda games and who heavily influenced
the darker side of Tamriel. If you’re a Lovecraft fan and you haven’t
heard of “The Dark Brotherhood”, that’s not surprising. Published in a collection
well after his death in 1937, “The Dark Brotherhood” is a “posthumous collaboration”
with Lovecraft’s friend August Derleth. a controversial figure amongst Lovecraft fans,
many claim Derleth wrote almost all of the stories himself and tried to pass them off
as original Lovecraft tales. Still, Derleth’s collaborations with Lovecraft still have big
fans in the Cthulhu fan community. So, did this story actually inspire the name of The
Dark Brotherhood? We’ll leave that for you to decide.
Alright, now it’s time to bring back the Comment Showcases! You thought we forgot about
you didn’t you? Well don’t worry, because we’re back to give you the best (and the
weirdest) of your comments...back to you...I guess. So first up is a great comment from
King Nazaru who believes that the Daedric Prince Mephala was inspired by the Sisters
of Fate, also known as the Moirai. The parallels between them is certainly there. Mephala was
one of three good Daedra of the Dunmer, along with Azura and Boethiah. This is similar to
the Sisters of Fate, Clotho, Lachesis and Atropos, who are also a trio of deities. Of
the three, Mephala has the most in common with Clothos. Both are known as “spinners”
or “webspinners”. Who see mortal life as a web or tapestry. In Greek, “Clothos”,
actually means “spinner”. This could have influenced Mephala’s role as the master
of the Spider Daedra. Oh, also we should mention that there is a small chance that Mephala
is The Night Mother, but you guys can debate that...iiiiit’s some pretty confusing stuff.
Now it’s time for the first Bad Comment Showcase of 2016, which honestly is dead on
this week. Ese-Lil-Joker 5150 answered our trivia question saying, “It’s a reference
to something nerdy. Now pay me.” Hey...he’s not wrong. Your check is in the mail, sir.
Well that’s all for this week. Be sure to like, share, subscribe and stick around to
answer our Elder Scrolls trivia! So last week we asked you our first Shoddycast-centric
question and many of you hardcore fans got it right! The answer was A, RaedonGaming.
And, actually, the channel still exists, and you can watch some really, really early Josh
and Kyle vids there. Do it. Make them squirm. This week we have a deeply nerdy Morrowind
question: while adventuring through the Urshilaku Burial Caverns in the Ashlands, you may come
across a room called the Kefka Burial. This is confirmed to a reference to the antagonist
of what game?