The Talos Mistake

Main article: Books (Skyrim)

Summary

This book is a treatise written by Leonora Venatus, the Imperial Liaison to the Aldmeri Dominion, which repudiates the worship of Talos and views the Empire's prior acceptance of his worship as the Ninth Divine to be a "mistake".

Known locations

Angeline's Aromatics, Solitude, atop a bookshelf in a room on the first floor.
Can be bought from Urag gro-Shub in The Arcanaeum.
Blue Palace in Solitude.
Bryling's House, Solitude, atop a bookshelf.
On a shelf in Castle Volkihar.^DG
Dragonsreach - Farengar Secret-Fire's Chambers.
Fellglow Keep Dungeons.
Fort Amol on a book shelf.
Fort Greenwall - Inside the Fort, on a small pedestal.
Nightcaller Temple, in the very first chamber on a shelf in the pedestal sitting in front of the pews.
Niranye's House, in Windhelm, on a shelf.
Thalmor Embassy - Elenwen's Office.
Valthume, inside an adept-locked door.
Drelas' Cottage, inside the end table on the second floor.

Content

As citizens of the Empire, all are of course familiar with the deeds of Emperor Tiber Septim. But it is the Emperor's ascent to godhood, as Talos, that is the subject of this work.

Until Tiber Septim's death, there had been Eight Divines: Akatosh, Dibella, Arkay, Zenithar, Stendarr, Mara, Kynareth, and Julianos. These gods were, and are, worshipped throughout the Empire. And while some may have different names in the varying provinces (for example, Akatosh is known as "Auri-El" to the Aldmer; and Arkay is sometimes known as "Ar'kay"), all are recognized and revered by all races and cultures of Tamriel.

But when Tiber Septim passed to Aetherius, there came to be a Ninth Divine - Talos, also called Ysmir, the "Dragon of the North." The man who was so loved in life became worshipped in death. Indeed, it can be argued that Talos, the Ninth Divine, became even more important than the Eight that had preceded him, at least to humans. For he was a god who was once just a man, and through great deeds actually managed to ascend to godhood. And if one human, could achieve such a feat - couldn't it be done again? Couldn't all humans aspire to achieve divinity?

So we thought, we humans. And so we continued to worship Talos, and revere him as the ultimate hero-god. But that was then. This is now. And now, we know the truth:

We were wrong.

As citizens of the Empire, we all experienced the sorrows of the Great War. And it was not until the signing of the White-Gold Concordat, the treaty between the Empire and the Aldmeri Dominion, that we once again knew peace. One of the most important stipulations of that treaty, as every Imperial citizen is well aware, is that Talos can no longer be worshipped as a god. This edict shook the very foundations of the Empire. There were those who rebelled against the law. Indeed, some still do.

But the citizens of the Empire must know this: the Emperor did not agree to outlaw the worship of Talos because it was demanded by the Thalmor, the ruling body of the Aldmeri Dominion.

The Emperor agreed to the outlaw of the worship of Talos because it was the right thing to do.

Today, the Emperor, and indeed the Empire itself, recognizes that allowing the worship of Talos was a mistake. For by doing so, by allowing the worship of Talos as a Divine the Empire actually did its own people a great disservice: for this only succeeded in weakening the memory of the man Tiber Septim and his many extraordinary (though mortal) deeds; and pushing people away from the Eight Divines, the true gods, who do deserve our love and reverence.

And so, the Empire admits it was wrong. The Talos Mistake will not be repeated. May we find centuries of peace and prosperity with our new Thalmor friends, and continue to share a spirituality that binds together all the cultures and races of Tamriel.

Reliability

There is a high probability that the book was written to appease the Thalmor. The reliability of this book is in question, since it is contradicted by several sources, including, but not limited to:

General Tullius, who claims that he's not so sure about the peace with the Thalmor.
The Great War, which states that the Empire's only chance to defeat the Dominion is by standing united with Hammerfell.
Legates, who claim that the Legion will be called to arms in a not so distant future.
Vittoria Vici, who claims the Empire has little love for the Thalmor.
Titus Mede II, since he did not ban Talos worship prior to the signing of the Concordat, despite him thinking it was the right thing to do according to the book.

Appearances

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim

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