Akatosh

**Akatosh**, the **Dragon God of Time**, is the chief deity of the Nine Divines, the official religion of the varying Cyrodiil empires, such as the Septim Empire and the Reman Dynasty. He represents the qualities of endurance, invincibility, and everlasting legitimacy. Along with Lorkhan, he is one of two deities found in every Tamrielic religion. He is generally considered to be the first of the Gods to form in the  *Beginning Place*. After his establishment, other spirits followed his example, and the various pantheons of the world emerged. *Before the Ages of Man* suggests that he and Auri-El are the same being, but further confirms that after his formation, time began. Akatosh is considered the god-defender of the Empire.

## Places of worship

### Chapels

In the province of Cyrodiil, his main chapel was located in the Cyrodilic city of Kvatch. In addition, he was the most prominent of the gods represented at the Temple of the One in the Imperial City.

The Temple of the Divines, housed in the city of Solitude in the province of Skyrim, contains a Shrine of Akatosh.

### Blessings

At his chapels, Akatosh blesses parishioners with increased magicka and speed. The books Ten Commands: Nine Divines has the following command from Akatosh: Serve and obey your Emperor. Study the Covenants. Worship the Nine, do your duty, and heed the commands of the saints and priests. Temples built in his honor can be seen at the Imperial City, Arboretum, and the Temple of the One, both located in the Imperial City. Arriana Valga, the Countess of Chorrol, is a devout follower.

## Dragon Breaks

A Dragon Break is an event where the timeline of the world of Nirn is suddenly split. They are known as Dragon Breaks because Akatosh, who is symbolised as a Dragon, is the god of Time and thus a break in the timeline can be viewed as breaking the Dragon, so to speak.

Only three Dragon Breaks have been recorded and verified historically as due to their very nature the majority of people would be unaware of their occurrence. The first of these was the arrival of the Aedra. The second of these was the so-called Warp in the West (or the *Miracle of Peace*), which was brought on by the building of Numidium, however, it is mentioned that Akatosh, Mara, and Stendarr were responsible for this event. The third Dragon Break occurred when ancient Nords cast Alduin the World Eater forward in time.

Other examples include the elevation of Vivec, Almalexia and Sotha Sil to Godhood as well as the book *The Dragon Break Reexamined*, since it references events which had not yet come to pass.

## Amulet of Kings

The artifact known as the Amulet of Kings was created by Akatosh. As lord of the Aedra, Akatosh took pity on the plight of Men, who were slaves of the Ayleids, and drawing precious blood from his own heart, blessed Alessia with the blood of dragons. He also made a Covenant that so long as Alessia's generations were true to the dragon blood, Akatosh would endeavor to seal tight the Oblivion Gate for good and deny the armies of Daedra and undead to their enemies, the Ayleids. Akatosh then gave Alessia the Amulet of Kings and the Eternal Dragonfires, which, when lighted, would restrict the Daedra to the realms of Oblivion. The Amulet contains a gem of Alessia herself, and eight other gems, one for each of the Eight Divines.

The *Remanada* mentions the amulet and how it was a symbol of the Reman Dynasty and how it was lost during the Interregnum before being rediscovered by Tiber Septim.