Aedra

The Aedra are original beings that arose from the interplay of Anu and Padomay.The Annotated Anuad They are regarded as the counterparts and opposites of the Daedra, but the distinction originated after their birth, during the creation of the Mundus. The Aedric beings played a leading role in the creation of Mundus (and became bound to the Earth Bones) causing them to commonly be considered the creators of the mortal world. As part of the divine contract of creation, the Aedra can be killed. Aedra translated into Aldmeris means "ancestors". The proper singular form is "Aedroth", but the Aedra are almost never referred to in singular.
Eight of the Aedra are worshipped as the Eight Divines, namely Akatosh, Arkay, Dibella, Julianos, Kynareth, Mara, Stendarr, and Zenithar (with the additions of Talos, the human god-hero Tiber Septim, and of Marcella Valeria, the popular Empress, and Dragon Queen of Man, they have become the Ten Divines). These eight represent those who sacrificed parts of themselves to become the founders of Nirn. Other minor spirits disappeared into the stabilizing elements known as the Earthbones, or degenerated into mortal life, after the creation of Mundus caused by Lorkhan's trickery. Since that act at Convention, the identities of the Aedra have changed greatly and become subject to disruption and even modification by the actions of mortals.<noinclude>