Aedra vs Daedra - What's the Difference? - Elder Scrolls Lore

Word salad. Ugh. I got no answers. I legitmately hate when tons of words are spoken or written down but no answers are given. I hate this "Its beyond our comprehension" nonsense 😅😂.

Daedra represent change and the aedra the opposite

Many deadra call themselves deadra unprompted when they introduce themselves so I wouldn't say haskil speaks on all deadra's behalf.

Also one thing all deadra have in common that aedra don't? They are native to oblivion. Easy enough definition

Well, there's one key difference between them: the Aedra don't seem to intervene directly in the lives of mortals, but the Daedra do.

Aedra: developers

Daedra: modders

But at the same time Merida also is a Daedric goddess and she doesn't seem evil. In her quest we go to her shine and read that shrine of necromancers and retrieve her sword which is very useful against the undead. So I can't say that I would only follow Mara I would also utilize meridia's principles as well because they see to oaralell each other even though ones an Aedric Goddess and the other is a Daedric Goddess... They seem to be opposites but working for the same purpose because meridia and Mara seem to align in imterests and purposes... Perhaps their ideals are slightly different but align in some perspective. Let me know if I'm even in the same ballpark.

Aedra vs.Daedra the only difference is the "D" is missing . . . "Aedra" are Directly and Indirectly Responsible for the Creation of Mundus (The Mortal Realm) when I say that, "the only difference is that the D is Missing, I mean that both types of beings work indirectly behind the curtain to affect events that happen and outcomes they so desire in the mortal realm by communicating to those they deem worthy of their favor. Essentially they pull the strings. The only difference is what's really in the heart and in the intentions and the motives. Mara is the being of which my Dragonborn build will faithfully follow, for she seems all too worthy of solid unwavering devoutness... Shall I brave the dark corridors of those ancient burial tombs, Her Favor Most certainly aids the Dragonborn while cleansing those foul tombs with powerful restoration magic, silver weapons enchanted with holy fire and the power of the th'um! Mara seems like the only deity's that is wholly innocent. All the others seem like they have something up their sleeves or they have hidden motives that aren't good.

Is Akatosh superior to Magnus?

I’ll hand it to the Elder Scrolls. They didn’t do some Star Wars bull crap. The Resistance should’ve been destroyed Day 1 by the Empire. The Resistance won despite being weaker. Unlike Star Wars, it is clearly shown throughout Elder Scrolls history that the Divines (the good guys) are just so much stronger than the Daedric Princes (the bad guys).

Dwemer went to lyg and dominated it.

"It's a name based on location, created in response to one insignificant decision made by entities that have existed since the universe began." Sometimes we place much more significance on others than they place on us. I think it's interesting how one-sided this video makes the relationship between the aedra/daedra and the mortal plane seem. The mortal world owes its existence to these beings but will exist for the smallest fraction of their existence.

It's so wild how well this can be mapped on the tree of life and the qilpoth

for all i care they all can rot adera and dedara alike, hell if i'm a charcter in the universe i'll start my own quest freeing people from their influences ones and for all i didn't play oblivion buti heard that martin did something similar yet the dedara still has influences, i had to mod skyrim to be able to have some dignity and refuse their shit i wish i could just destroy their shrines but i settle with refusing

"Did the divines give yiu this cool armour and unique magical artifact? Thats what i thought."

Damn, this lore feels as indepth as the Lord of the Rings lore

Aedra vs daedra? You misspelled cringe vs swag

Will we ever speak to a major Aedra like Arkay or Akatosh? I hope.

By talos tell me the mod that lets the shrines of the 9 divines look so good 😍

I've known the lore for years, but shamefully only now a line from "A children's Anuad" has me doubting my entire understanding of the spirits in The Elder Scrolls.
While that book is somewhat of a grey area as its, like all creation stories in elder scrolls, just one facet of the full truth based on just the outlook of one group (and rewritten for children at that)
It specifically notes that among the Et'Ada, the Daedra were born from the blood of Padomay.
However, the Aedra were NOT born from just the blood of Anu, but the intermingled blood from both, meaning that the Aedra are just like mortals, capable of both good and evil. (considering the original Aedra did eventually devolve into the mortal races, that does make a lot of sense)
However it also alludes to another faction that was born from purely Anu's blood, and are supposedly pure harmonic, referred to as "the stars"
Likely being the Magna Ge.

(Originally I was under the impression that Aedra were pure Anu's offspring, and the Magna Ge were just Aedra under a different name that abandoned creation)

This is interesting as the Daedra stayed behind with a great interest in Nirn (mortal realm and place of change) (chaos)
While the Magna Ge fled, never to return as they went to Aetherius (want nothing to do with mortals and rather reside in a realm of stasis) (order)
And the Aedra are bound to both worlds, eventually either sacrificing themselves to become part of Nirn, or devolving into the mortal races we know as Elves and Mankind, first named Ehlnofey. (mix of chaos and order)

So in essense, Mankar Camoran had a point, Aedra are "false gods" as unlike the Magna Ge and Daedra they don't have most of their power left.
The Divines are lesser Et'Ada who sacrificed most of their power and contentiousness to become a safeguard for Nirn, protecting it from exterior influence's.

Interestingly enough, not much seems to be known from the Magna Ge, let alone what they look like and what they mostly do (aside from not caring one bit about Nirn)

The only one we can possibly reference to is Meridia (if she even is a Magna Ge like the story's would like to say, rather then a Daedra)
Then it would mean the Magna Ge are exactly like the Daedra, but just mirror them in their vieuw's, they care not for morally right or wrong but only about what their sphere of influence encompasses.
Meridia's goals are "harmonic" as she wants to erase all unnatural beings like undead (going against the sphere of Arkay) and bathe the entirety of Nirn in the light of day from Aetherius instead of the darkness of night from Oblivion, but just like the Daedra, without a care for consequence or moral.
Forcibly and without mercy brought to light and death.

Meaning the mixed blood of Anu and Padomay really was crucial, while the Aedra and Ehlnofey are always at conflict with themselves due to the mixed vieuws, they are unlike Daedra and Magna Ge, capable of true free will and creation.


It actually shames me that it took me this many years to puzzle that together, and even now I'm not 100% sure it holds up completely, or is just a theory with many holes I'm not seeing atm.

Bro you talk to damn much, just get to the point

Dam I came here thinking I would learn but just got told I'm a dumbass

I think I've heard about it in Interesting NPCs, their take on Daedra and Aedra:

"Aedra are the agents of stasis and order and the Deadra are the essence of change and chaos and that when the two are in balance time progresses at its natural flow."

Sort of like a Yin Yang kind of deal.

aedric armor would be sick

Virgin Aedra vs Chad Daedra vs Thad Fargoth Ur (the one true god)

Im torn. It sounds fancy, but honestly, I just wanted a simple video stating the differences rather than an excerpt from a gothic novel. I just started getting lost because of the overly dramatic writing. But it sounds fancy….maybe I need a guide on where to start in elder scrolls lore because I felt utterly lost like I was missing some major elements that were explained in another video. I figured aedra and daedra was a good place to start, to learn about the “gods”.

What mod was used in that opening scene?

I believe that Aedra are not as good as they seem they are, remember when Arkay abandoned Lamae (a devoted follower) because Molag turned her into a vampire unwillingly?
I think that they "look" good because their spheres are part of Mundus creation and mortals are "designed" to live according to their spheres of influence.
If everything was swapped (if daedra were aedra, and if current aedra were daedra) perhaps mortals would see them as good gods (they might see Molag as the aedra of rulers, kings or smt like that, and Akatosh could be the daedra of greed and domination. After all, domination is part of dragon's nature right?).
If Dagon is such a bad god for seeking destruction, then what does that say about Akatosh who created Alduin just to destroy everything over and over?
Perhaps we don't see their REAL personalities because they can't intervene like the daedra do

Great im laying in my bed at 3 am watching lore about fictional gods and demons

I love my life

the D makes the difference

But Mehrunes Dagun sucks ✌️😚✌️

what is this dude talkin about?

I understand some of these words

I just thought they were standard angelic beings vs demonic beings

Interesting video! Thanks for uploading!

You guys should put these ES lore vids on the podcast!

gotta say this is the most confusing and convoluted explanation, and ive played every game since morrowind, i still don't know the difference.

also what the hell were the aedra or divines doing in morrowind getting stuck in random caves needing a scroll... if they are supposed to be maintaining reality or whatever

Akatosh wasn't the first God! He was just the first one according to his timeline because he invented time!

Plot twist: Todd Howard is god

So there's nothing that defines a difference between the 2

So does this mean that the Hist is Aedra for the Argonians?

So for those parallel places, is it the same Lorkhan or a parallel version?

Fodder. A lot of mystery and alliteration and little else.

The leaders of our realm need more Stendar

which one of them are good and bad

Been playing SkyrimVR as my first Elder Scrolls game ever, and wow; just wow...

And here I am always forgetting how to pronounce Aedra and Daedra...

this was genuinely such a good video THANK YOU!!!

Mortals for mortals, I say! The Dwemer had it right. They realized that Nirn, maybe even Aurbis itself, tis a silly place with fickle powers and rules where evil outsiders constantly "mod" the universe at their whim or reset it. Kagrenac said, "We out!", and they got out of the insane asylum.

One thing I don't like about the Deedra is how they keep telling us how our understanding of them is utterly wrong and dumb, but they don't bother to correct it. They like to stay smug and arrogant and aloof over us mere mortals. It's very annoying.