The Alduin / Akatosh Dichotomy Content . As High Priest of the Akatosh Chantry , I have dedicated my life to the service of the Great Dragon . He who was first at the Beginning . He who is greatest and most powerful of all the Divines . He who is the very embodiment of infinity . I am , quite obviously , a man of deep and unwavering faith . But not blind faith , for I am also a man of scholarly endeavors , and have always valued education and the pursuit of truth , in all its forms . And so , I have had the honor and privilege of making it my life ' s work to discover the truth about Akatosh , in all of our beloved Divine ' s incarnations . Throughout the civilized world ( and I refer not only to the Empire , but to every nation on great Nirn that has embraced the virtues of learning and letters ) , the Great Dragon is worshipped . Usually , the highest of Divines is referred to as Akatosh . But what some may not be aware of is that he is occasionally referred to by two other names as well . The Aldmer refer to Akatosh as Auri - El . The Nords call him Alduin . These names come up repeatedly in certain ancient texts , and in each one , it is clear that the deity in question is none other than he whom we call Akatosh . Yet there are those who believe , even in this enlightened age , that this is not so . That the regional interpretations of Akatosh are not interpretations of Akatosh at all . Rather , they are references to altogether different deities , deities who may or may not share the same aspects or be the Great Dragon at all . Many Altmer of Summerset Isle worship Auri - El , who is the soul of Anui - El , who in turn is the soul of Anu the Everything . But if you ask the high elves themselves ( as I did , when I traveled to Summerset Isle to continue my research ) , the majority will concede that Auri - El is but Akatosh with a different name , colored by their own cultural beliefs . So maybe it comes as no surprise that the real theological dissention lies in Skyrim , among the Nord people - renowned as much for their stubbornness as they are their hardiness and prowess on the fields of valor . When I journeyed to the stark white province , I was surprised to find a people whoe views on Akatosh are almost diametrically opposed to those of the Altmer . The majority of Nord people seem to believe that their Alduin of legend is not Akatosh , but another deity entirely . A great dragon , yes , but not the Great Dragon . Determined to get to the deart of this matter , I consulted with several Nords , chief among them an old and respected clan chief by the name of Bjorn Much - Bloodied . And what surprised me most about those I talked to was not that they believed in Alduin instead of Akatosh , but that they recognized Alduin in addition to Akatosh . In fact , most children of Skyrim seem to view Akatosh in much the same way I do - he is , in fact , the Great Dragon . First among the Divines , preserverance personified and , more than anything , a force of supreme good in the world . Alduin , they claim , is something altogether different . Whether or not he is actually a deity remains in question , but the Alduin of Nord folklore is in fact a dragon , but one so ancient , and so powerful , he was dubbed the " World Eater , " and some accounts even have him devouring the souls of the dead to maintain his own power . Other stories revolve around Alduin acting as some sort of dragon king , uniting the other dragons in a war against mankind , until he was eventually defeated at the hands of one or more brave heroes . It is hard to deny that such legends are compelling . But as both High Priest and scholar , I am forced to ask the most important of questions - where is the evidence ? The Nords of Skyrim place a high value on their oral traditions , but such is the core of their unreliability . A rumor passed around the Wayrest market square can change so dramatically in the course of a few simple hours , that by the end of the day , one might believe half the city ' s residents were involved in any number of scandalous activities . How then is an educated , enlightened person possibly supposed to believe a legend that has been passed down , by word of mouth only , for hundreds , or even thousands of years ? The answer to such a question is simple - he cannot . And so , it is my conclusion that the Alduin of Nord legend is in fact mighty Akatosh , whose story grew twisted and deformed through centuries of retelling and embellishment . Through no real fault of their own , the primitive peoples of Skyrim failed to understand the goodness and greatness of the Great Dragon , and it was this lack of understanding that formed the basis of what became , ironically , their most impressive creative achievement - " Alduin , " the World Eater , phantom of bedtime stories and justification for ancient ( if imagined ) deeds .