The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim was released back in November of 2011, and its popularity has scarcely waned over the past 8 and a half years. DLC, mod support, and next gen releases for Skyrim have all kept the game alive. However, many players who completed Skyrim probably overlooked one thing, Alduin.
If The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim is known for anything, it's probably dragons. Skyrim revolves around dragons and their culture being a prominent feature in the land of Skyrim. Bethesda even put a ton of effort into constructing a dragon language that the player would use in-game, which is also used to produce the main theme for Skyrim, but Alduin is the centerpiece that drives the dragon motif throughout the game.
Who is Alduin?
Alduin as a character in The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim acts as the main antagonist in the game. He is constantly present throughout the main questline of the game, but he doesn't act like most antagonists. Where most villains have a plan and typically have direct run-ins with the protagonist, Alduin is more of a constantly looming threat that hangs in the background. He also doesn't necessarily have a plan like a normal villain would. Instead, he seems to follow the nature of his being which is to end the world, not unlike Jormungandr that Kratos meets in God of War 4.
The history behind Alduin goes back as far as the creation of Tamrie,l and he is said to even be the first-born of Akatosh. Something as destructive as a dragon might have been thought to be created by Daedra, but instead is was the Aedra of Time that was responsible. Alduin's role in creating the world only appears in Nordic mythology, but it also says that he destroyed the last world to build Tamriel. Due to this belief, there was a time where the people of Skyrim worshiped the dragons as gods, and any who didn't were enslaved.
Alduin was eventually betrayed by the dragon Paarthurnax who taught rebellious slaves how to speak the dragon language, which has power in the physical realm. Three Nords were responsible for creating a new word to defeat Alduin and then send him into the future with an Elder Scroll. This eventually resulted in a prophecy that states that Alduin will return in a time where a hero who could permanently beat him exists, the Last Dragonborn.
Why is Alduin Special?
Alduin is an important character in Skyrim for an interesting reason. Alduin is a representation of chaos that lies dormant because of the stability brought on by tradition. Tradition is the foundation for cultures around the world, and it is created by the decisions and people of the past. He represents a latent force that sneaks up on the people who turn a blind eye to it. Without the structure brought on by tradition to combat chaos, everything falls apart and Alduin emerges.
The prophecy itself claims that Alduin will appear when the people of Skyrim become divided and one side of the division explicitly turns its back on the culture of Skyrim. That side is willing to hand over the reigns to the lands of Skyrim to the Imperials of Cyrodiil and in doing so destroying the traditions that they once upheld. Only once the first Nord is beheaded during the intro does Alduin show himself and execute the chaos that he was born to bring in. The Last Dragonborn then represents the order brought on by tradition that attempts to balance out the chaos.
This motif has been a part of real world mythology for ages going as far back as ancient Mesopotamia and the Enuma Elish. Alduin would most likely fit the description of Tiamat from the Enuma Elish as they are both the agents of chaos who form the world. This makes his foil, the Last Dragonborn of Skyrim, into a mirror image of Marduk. This archetypal story surrounding Alduin is what makes him an especially notable character in The Elder Scrolls universe.
The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim Special Edition is available now for Switch, PC, PS4, and Xbox One.