Birth & Death

Birth, Death, and Rites of Passage in Tamriel

Birth and death are not mere biological events in Tamriel — they are spiritual thresholds where mortal and divine meet. Every race interprets these transitions through their metaphysics: some see them as renewal, others as reward, punishment, or transformation. What follows is a compendium of how each race marks the beginning and end of life, and the symbolic crossings that define maturity within their cultures.

I. Imperials of Cyrodiil — The Cycle of Empire

Birth:
Imperial births are overseen by priests of Mara or Akatosh, depending on the family’s faith. Newborns are washed in consecrated water symbolizing time’s flow, their names recorded in temple and civil registries alike — a bureaucratic sanctification of existence. Nobility often hold the Naming Feast, presenting the child before ancestral portraits while oaths of lineage are spoken.

Rites of Passage:
Adolescence brings the Civic Oath, where youths pledge loyalty to the Empire and temple. In noble families, this coincides with martial or academic apprenticeship. For the peasantry, apprenticeship to craft or legion substitutes formal ceremony.

Death:
Imperials practice cremation or burial with epitaph, the ashes stored in family crypts or Imperial ossuaries. Funerals are public, dignified, emphasizing the continuity of legacy: “One stone falls, the wall remains.” Priests of Arkay bless the remains to prevent necromantic desecration, and the deceased’s estate passes through the Imperial Codex of Inheritance.

II. Nords of Skyrim — Birth in Frost, Death in Flame

Birth:
Newborns are wrapped in wolfskin and shown to the hearth fire — symbolizing the blessing of Kyne and the warmth of clan. At the Naming Moot, elders lift the child skyward, declaring them under Shor’s watch. Gifts of iron, wood, and mead mark the trinity of life: strength, craft, and spirit.

Rites of Passage:
Nordic youth come of age through the Trial of Winter — a solitary hunt or survival ordeal. Success marks entry into adulthood, earning the right to bear weapons and oaths. Mead feasts follow, with the young warrior toasted as kin grown strong.

Death:
To die in battle is to ascend to Sovngarde, so funeral pyres are both sacrifice and offering. The dead are burned with their arms and shield, their ashes scattered on mountain winds. Songs of valor are sung for three nights; the louder the song, the surer the spirit’s path. Those who die dishonorably are buried in silence, without fire or song.

III. Bretons of High Rock — Life as Contract, Death as Release

Birth:
Breton infants are presented at both temple and hall: blessed by priests of Mara or Julianos, then registered by the family herald. Nobles commission enchanted cradles to protect their heirs from daedric influence. The Bond of Naming ceremony marks social identity; godparents (usually family allies) swear oaths of guidance.

Rites of Passage:
At age sixteen, a Breton youth declares their First Pact, formalizing apprenticeship, guild entry, or marriage arrangement. Magical aptitude is tested by local mages — those who manifest power are bound by law to Guild supervision.

Death:
Funerary practice depends on class. Nobles are entombed in marble crypts with heraldic carvings; commoners are buried in communal grounds. Priests of Arkay oversee the Last Covenant, a ritual sealing the soul from necromancy. Eulogies are legal as much as emotional, reaffirming property transfer and status of heirs.

IV. Redguards of Hammerfell — The Flame of Birth, the Sword of Death

Birth:
New life is greeted with the Sand Blessing — a priest sprinkles desert sand and water from the Abecean upon the child, symbolizing balance between endurance and purity. The name is chosen by the eldest grandparent, believed to channel the ancestors’ will.

Rites of Passage:
At maturity, Redguards face the Sword Trial — an initiation where youths must forge or master their own blade. Upon success, they receive an ancestral tattoo and their first true name. Marriage and inheritance follow only after this rite.

Death:
Bodies are wrapped in white linen and burned at sunset, the ashes scattered into the desert winds. Warriors’ blades are broken upon their pyres, “freeing the spirit of steel.” Ancestors are invoked by sword chants, promising that courage never dies but returns in bloodline and desert song.

V. Dunmer of Morrowind — Ash to Ash, Spirit to Ancestors

Birth:
Dunmer children are anointed with ash mixed from family hearths, binding them to ancestral spirits. The newborn is carried through the family tomb, introduced to the spirits in solemn procession. The Temple blesses the child with fire and salt, symbols of endurance and faith.

Rites of Passage:
At adolescence, Dunmer undergo the Pilgrimage of the Seven Graces, proving their devotion to the Tribunal or New Temple. Completion grants full citizenship within House and Temple. Nobles may also face ancestral trials — dream-visions judged by priests.

Death:
Death is return. The dead are cremated, their ashes placed in family urns within ancestral tombs. Spirit-binders preserve souls through ritual, allowing continued communion and guidance. Desecration of tombs is among the gravest crimes, punished as both heresy and treason. For fallen warriors, the Ceremony of the Ghostfence binds their spirits to protect the living, ensuring eternal service.

VI. Altmer of Summerset Isles — Birth of Purity, Death of Perfection

Birth:
Altmer births are ceremonial, presided over by Sapiarch midwives. The infant is examined for purity — physical and magical. Defects are hidden, sometimes erased. The Rite of Naming is performed at dawn before crystalline altars, aligning the child’s soul with the light of Aetherius.

Rites of Passage:
Adolescents undergo the Rite of Ascension, a test of magical discipline and genealogical study. Those who fail may be re-educated or exiled to prevent dilution of bloodlines. Marriage follows only after this rite, ensuring “perfection continues.”

Death:
Funerals are immaculate: the body is laid upon marble plinths under starlight, surrounded by crystal song. The Rite of Dissolution transmutes the body into dust or crystal, symbolizing purification and return to the divine. Mourning is subdued; grief is seen as imperfection.

VII. Bosmer of Valenwood — Birth of the Song, Death of the Pact

Birth:
Bosmer births are joyful, celebrated through music and storytelling. The child’s first cry is said to harmonize with the forest’s song — the Spinner records this sound in tribal lore. The Feast of First Meat introduces the child to the Green Pact: a small piece of animal flesh shared as sacred covenant never to harm plant life.

Rites of Passage:
Adolescence brings the Hunt of Becoming — a ritual in which the youth must track and kill a beast unaided, proving worth to the tribe and the Green. Upon success, they are permitted to bear a bow and take a life-name woven into song.

Death:
When a Bosmer dies, the body is consumed by kin in the Rite of Return, fulfilling the Green Pact. Their story is told aloud by the Spinners, weaving their life into the tribe’s eternal narrative. The forest remembers them not through graves, but through roots nourished by flesh.

VIII. Khajiit of Elsweyr — Birth Under Moons, Death in Sand

Birth:
The moment of a Khajiit’s birth determines their furstock — a reflection of Jone and Jode’s phase. Midwives, known as Moon Mothers, record the moons’ alignment and whisper the newborn’s celestial name. Offerings of moon sugar are burned to attract divine favor.

Rites of Passage:
At the first full twin moon after reaching maturity, Khajiit perform the Moon Dance, symbolizing their soul’s rhythm with the heavens. Warriors fast beneath the desert sky, traders embark on solitary pilgrimages, and mystics commune through dreams with Azurah.

Death:
The dead are wrapped in linen scented with moon sugar and buried in sand facing the rising moons. Priests chant the Prayer of Soft Paws, guiding the soul through the Lunar Lattice to its next form. Death is not an end but a change of fur; reincarnation is sacred truth.

IX. Argonians of Black Marsh — Birth from the Hist, Death to the Roots

Birth:
Argonian eggs are placed within Hist pools, absorbing sap that shapes the hatchling’s mind and soul. When they emerge, the tribe gathers to witness — a form of baptism and naming by the Hist itself. The caretaker’s role ends once the sap accepts the child.

Rites of Passage:
At adulthood, Argonians undergo the Dreaming, where they drink diluted sap and commune directly with the Hist. Those who return changed — sometimes physically — are considered fully Saxhleel. Those who do not return are said to have joined the roots forever.

Death:
When an Argonian dies, their body is placed at the roots of their Hist tree, where it decomposes naturally. Ritual cremation is rare; the Hist reclaims the soul through dream absorption. Death is simply a return to the great root system — no sorrow, only continuation.

X. Orsimer (Orcs) — Birth in Iron, Death in Blood

Birth:
Orcish births occur within the Stronghold Forge-Hall, where the newborn’s first cry is drowned by the sound of hammers. The infant is smeared with forge soot and presented to Malacath’s shrine. Naming follows the clan’s tradition — a blend of the mother’s tongue and the Chief’s word.

Rites of Passage:
The Trial of Strength marks adulthood: lifting the clan anvil or surviving a solo hunt in cursed mountains. Success grants the right to forge one’s first weapon — the true sign of adulthood.

Death:
An Orc who dies in combat is celebrated with the Feast of Ash and Iron, where comrades drink molten mead (ale with hot metal chips) and chant war songs. The body is burned with armor and anvil, its ashes mixed into the forge clay for the next generation’s steel. To die peacefully is considered shameful unless as a revered elder.