Varieties of Faith : The Nords Content . The Eight Kyne ( Kiss at the End ) : Nord Goddess of the Storm . Widow of Shor and favored god of warriors , she is often called the Mother of Men . Her daughters taught the first Nords the use of the Thu ' um or " Storm Voice . " Mara ( Goddess of Love ) : For the Nords , Mara is a handmaiden of Kyne and concubine of Shor . As the goddess of fertility and agriculture , she ' s sometimes associated with Nir of the " Anuad , " the female principle of the cosmos that gave birth to creation . Dibella ( Goddess of Beauty ) : Popular god of the Eight Divines . She has nearly a dozen different cults , some devoted to women , some to artists and aesthetics , and others to erotic instruction . Stuhn ( God of Ransom ) : Nord precursor to Stendarr , brother of Tsun , shield - thane of Shor . Stuhn was a warrior god who fought against the Aldmer i pantheon . He showed Men how to take ( and the benefits of taking ) prisoners of war . Jhunal ( Rune God ) : God of knowledge and hermetic orders , precursor of Julianos . Never very popular among the mercurial and warlike Nords , his worship is fading . Shor ( God of the Underworld ) : The Nord version of Lorkhan , Shor allied with Men after the creation of the world . Foreign gods ( that is , Elven ones ) conspired against him and brought about his defeat , dooming him to the afterlife , Sovngarde . Atmoran myths depict him as a bloodthirsty warrior king who led the Nords to victory over their Aldmeri oppressors time and again . Before his doom , Shor was the chief of the gods . He is sometimes called the Children ' s God ( see " Orkey . " ) Considered a " dead god , " Shor has no priesthood and is not actively worshiped , but he is frequently sworn by . Orkey ( Old Knocker ) : God of mortality , Orkey combines aspects of Mauloch and Arkay . He is a " loan - god " for the Nords , who seem to have taken up his worship during Aldmeri rule of Atmora . Nords believe they once lived as long as Elves until Orkey appeared ; through heathen trickery , he fooled them into a bargain that " bound them to the count of winters . " At one time , legends say , Nords only had a lifespan of six years due to Orkey ' s foul magic . Then Shor showed up and , through unknown means , removed the curse , throwing most of it onto the nearby Orcs . Alduin ( The World - Eater ) : Alduin is the Nord variation of Akatosh . He only superficially resembles his counterpart in the Imperial Eight Divines . For example , Alduin ' s sobriquet , " the World Eater , " comes from myths that depict him as the horrible , ravaging firestorm that destroyed the last world to begin this one . Nords therefore see the god of time as both creator and harbinger of the apocalypse . He is not the chief of the Nord pantheon ( in fact , this pantheon has no chief ; see " Shor " ) but its wellspring , albeit a grim and frightening one . Alduin destroyed the last world to enable the creation of this one , and he will destroy this one to enable the next . Alduin was once worshiped by the long - dead Dragon Cult , but that has been outlawed for centuries , so Alduin has no admitted worshipers . Testing Gods Herma - Mora ( The Woodland Man ) : Ancient Atmoran " Demon of Knowledge " who nearly seduced the Nords into becoming Aldmer . Most Ysgramor myths are about escaping the wiles of old Herma - Mora . Unlike his Bosmer i adherents , the Nords don ' t deny his Daedric nature . Mauloch ( God of Orcs , " Mountain Fart " ) : Clearly identified for the Nords with the Daedric Prince Malacath , Mauloch tests them through warfare . Mauloch troubled the heirs of King Harald for a long time . Fleeing east after his defeat at the Battle of Dragon Wall , ca . 1E 660 , his rage was said to fill the sky with his sulfurous hatred , earning that year the sobriquet " Year of Winter in Summer . " Dead God Tsun : Extinct Nord god of trials against adversity . Died defending Shor from foreign gods .