So, Soul Cairn isn't a Plane of Oblivion? : The Elder Scrolls Series Discussion

» Wed Jul 11, 2012 6:36 pm

That still only makes it an outer realm, and not a realm of Oblivion, for the same reason that the Mundus is not a realm or plane of Oblivion.

The Aurbis is that section where two infinite spheres touch.
The Mundus with Nirn at its heart is the centre of it all.
It is surrounded by Oblivion, which houses the planes of Oblivion, ruled by their Daedric princes.
Surrounding Oblivion is Aetherius, though that is not quite the correct terminology, but the best one can do when describing nestling infinite spheres.

Anything that is not described above is an outer realm, such as the pocket dimension that housed the Battlespire, the Soul Cairn and the Atronach planes.
They float inside Oblivion, yes, but also in Aetherius and the Aurbis at the same time.

This is a handy http://fc06.deviantart.net/fs71/f/2010/007/0/3/Cosmo_of_Nirn_by_MagusVerus.jpg. The outer realms are not depicted in it, but can easily be imagined as points on the line between Aetherius and Oblivion.

So, everywhere I looked for info about the Soul Cairn (the various elder Scrolls wiki's, along with the Imperial Library) they said the Soul Cairn was either a Plane of Oblivion, or a Realm of Oblivion. But with Merari revealing that interesting bit of info, that doesn't appear to be the case?

So, what do we know about the Soul Cairn? And these other 'outer realms'?

» Wed Jul 11, 2012 11:58 pm

So, everywhere I looked for info about the Soul Cairn (the various elder Scrolls wiki's, along with the Imperial Library) they said the Soul Cairn was either a Plane of Oblivion, or a Realm of Oblivion. But with Merari revealing that interesting bit of info, that doesn't appear to be the case?

So, what do we know about the Soul Cairn? And these other 'outer realms'?

It was always a in a pocket realm.

» Wed Jul 11, 2012 8:56 pm

To me it's a matter of definition. Merari defines a plane of Oblivion as a plane in oblivion created and ruled by a daedric prince. Thus, the Soul Cairn, despite being in oblivion, created by some unknown means, possibly by the Ideal Masters does not fit that definition and isn't a Plane of Oblivion according to it.

In my opinion Outer realm is merely a wider definition, referring to any plane outside mundus, whether it be independent like Soul Cairn or ruled by a prince, or located in Oblivion or aetherius like the Mantellan Crux.