Warning – There will be spoilers discussed in this article for all the Elder Scrolls main games. If you have not yet played the games and do not wish anything to be spoiled for you, then do not read further. Otherwise, let us continue onward to the main point.
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The Elder Scrolls is an amazing series from Bethesda that has had a major influence on gaming for decades. It combined storytelling with excellent gameplay, and always found a way to innovate the way we play, as well as the tropes we experience in a story. One thing I often hear praised about the games, is how they play with conventional fantasy elements and how the third game in particular, Morrowind, messed with the idea of a chosen one. The thing is though, that Morrowind is not the only game in the series that has done this. In one way or another, all the main series entries have played around with the idea of the chosen one to an extent.
In the first game in the series, you play as The Eternal Champion, which sounds like the name of a chosen one, but in truth its a title given after being earned. The protagonist was simply one of the survivors of Jagar Tharn’s purge, rescued from prison and sent to rescue to emperor. It is possible the champion was a chosen one, especially given the events seen in Skyrim, but there really isn’t anything in game that suggests it. In other words, the game completely ignores the possibility and it simply is not a major concern at all.
The second game however, is where the subversion began. The Agent, the protagonist of Daggerfall, is explicitly not a chosen one. The Agent is simply what their title suggests, an agent of the emperor sent to deal with an issue. In many ways however, the Agent serves another role, namely that of the chooser of the chosen one. The ending has you choose whom to give the totem of Tiber Septim to, but should the agent attempt to use it themselves, will learn what happens when you are not the chosen one.
Morrowind is often praised for its playing with the idea, even though it was really just furthering something introduced in Daggerfall ( like many other things with Morrowind). You may be the chosen Neravarine, the reincarnation of Nerevar who will be the savior of the Dunmer people, or you may just be someone who sort of met the requirements…..or both. The game introduced the possibility that by fulfilling what the chosen one was supposed to do, you became the chosen one. Admittedly it was an interesting exploration of a tired concept.
Oblivion, returned to Daggerfall’s subversion but in a different way. Like with Daggerfall, you are not the chosen one, that honor goes to Martin Septim. Instead, you serve as Martin’s right hand man/woman and do what need to be done so he can save Tamriel. Having the protagonist be the sidekick to the chosen one is another nice twist on RPG conventions, but what was also interesting is that the DLC shows a different story. The Shivering Isles DLC shows you were a chosen hero, just the chosen hero of another story, namely bein the one who would save the Shivering Isles and become the new Sheogorath.
And then we come to Skyrim. It seems at first that this game plays the chosen one idea straight, with the protagonist being the prophesized Dragonborn of legend, until the dlc that is. The DLC brings up how choice can affect a person’s path. Miraak was supposed to be the chosen one, but became corrupt and instead, you fulfilled the task generations later. This may not seem like a big thing compared to the other games, but it really is. In fantasy, there is the idea of the refusal of the call to adventure, but the hero eventually does answer the call. Miraak not only disregarded the call, but became a menace himself. This was a path the Dragonborn could have fallen down, but did not. Choosing to follow the path instead made them a hero. It is a subtle take on the trope, but a good one still.
The series has never played things normally when it comes to narratives and hopefully never will. I loo forward to seeing what they do in the next game.