While the Nine Divines and several other deities in the Elder Scrolls series reside within the realm of Aetherium, this is only one of many divine realms that the mortals of the series have tried desperately to reach for various reasons. The most prevalent and recurring of these is the realm of Oblivion, which is divided into various planes.
Even though Oblivion is generally seen as a single realm, it is actually made up of multiple different planes that are inhabited by various divine and mortal beings, the most notable being the Daedric Princes. The Daedric Princes created their respective plane using pieces of their own bodies, which has made each plane of Oblivion vastly different from one another. However, they are all equally alien when compared to Nirn.
16 Azura - Moonshadow
Azura is the Daedric Prince of Dusk and Dawn and the patron deity of the Dunmer. Azura’s plane, Moonshadow, is said to be a large garden of roses that houses a city made of silver, with fresh winds and waterfalls that carry the scent of perfume in the air. Moonshadow is supposedly inaccessible from Nirn, though there have been claims that mortals have entered the plane during meditation, specifically the mage known as Morain Zenas. While Azura’s plane of Oblivion is clearly beautiful, it is also said to overwhelm any mortal who sees it and makes them half-blind as a result.
15 Boethiah - Attribution’s Share
Also known as Snake Mound, the plane of Oblivion belonging to Boethiah is a very different world from Moonshadow. The plane has been renamed by Boethiah many times over the centuries and is said to be made up of many maze gardens and towers designed to confuse any who enter the realm. It is also the home of the Tournament of the Ten Bloods, a Hunger Games-style battle royale between one member of each of the races of Tamriel. The victor takes home Goldbrand, one of Boethiah’s most infamous artifacts.
14 Clavicus Vile - Fields of Regret
It’s certainly a fitting name for the realm of Clavicus Vile, the Daedric Prince most often associated with granting Monkey’s Paw wishes. The Fields of Regret are just as beautiful as they are horrifying. While being a lush landscape of fields and flowers somewhat similar to Moonshadow, the air smells equally of both perfume and rotting flesh, and several places are twisted beyond recognition. While the Fields of Regret aren’t visited in the mainline series, players can enter the plane in Elder Scrolls Adventures: Redguard. The protagonist, Cyrus, has to find the soul of his sister after it’s given to Clavicus Vile by N’Gasta.
13 Hermaeus Mora - Apocrypha
Apocrypha, the plane of the Daedric Prince Hermaeus Mora, had been mentioned and described in past titles. But it wasn’t until the Dragonborn DLC for Skyrim that players were able to explore the plane themselves. Reflecting the ever-changing form of Hermaeus Mora, Apocrypha doesn’t hold a distinct shape for very long and is constantly changing around its inhabitants. What is constant in this realm, however, is the endless green ocean of toxic fluid that holds strange, tentacled creatures that attack anyone who gets too close, protecting the vast hoard of knowledge that Hermaeus Mora has accumulated over the centuries.
12 Hircine - Hircine’s Hunting Grounds
Although not the only plane of Oblivion that is known for taking mortal souls after death, Hircine’s Hunting Grounds are less of a source of endless torture and serve mainly to allow those who worship Hircine to hunt at their own pleasure. Unfortunately, this only applies to those who were werewolves in life, as any human who didn’t have lycanthropy will be hunted down should they find themselves in Hircine’s Hunting Grounds.
The grounds themselves are said to be made of dense woodlands and vast plains perfectly suited for those who embraced their wolven forms to roam free and hunt prey whenever they please, though it is much less inviting to those who are brought against their will for the sake of the hunt.
11 Jyggalag/Sheogorath - Shivering Isles
Also known as the Madhouse and made most famous by the Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion expansion of the same name, the Shivering Isles are made of three separate locations: Mania, Dementia, and The Fringe, each appearing vastly different and reflecting a side of Sheogorath’s madness. At the end of every era, an event known as Greymarch occurs, where Sheogorath reverts into their previous form (Jyggalag, the Daedric Prince of Order) and rebuilds the Shivering Isles to reflect his new state. Once Greymarch is over, Jyggalag reverts back to his cursed form of Sheogorath and the Shivering Isles once again become a realm of madness.
10 Malacath - Ashpit
Of all the realms of Oblivion that can be reached by mortals, Malacath’s plane, known simply as Ashpit, is one of the most inhospitable and difficult to survive. Being made entirely of dust, ash, and smoke, it is impossible to traverse the plane, let alone survive without sufficient skills in certain magical spells. Specifically, levitation and the ability to breathe where there is no atmosphere are absolute musts. According to Sheogorath, the backbone of Ashpit — the element that keeps the plane from falling apart — is a literal backbone. But considering Sheogorath’s madness, this may not be entirely accurate.
9 Mehrunes Dagon - Deadlands
Considering how inhospitable the Deadlands seem, it should have come as no surprise that Mehrunes Dagon would try to invade Tamriel and leave his plane during the Oblivion Crisis. Being made up of lava, molten rock, and with the skies being constantly torn apart by storms, there are few places in the Deadlands that are suitable for habitation, even to the Dremora that live there. However, some forms of sentient beings and plant life are able to thrive here in spite of this.
8 Mephala - Spiral Skein
Also known as the Spider’s Web or simply Mephala’s Realm, Spiral Skein is said to be the most intricate of all the planes of Oblivion, being woven together like a spider’s web and centered around a tower known as the Pillar Palace of Mephala. This structure apparently has a secondary name that is too terrible for people to speak of. The tower itself has eight spokes that jut out from the structure, each of which leads to a different part of the Spiral Skein and represents a different sinful act that Mephala rules over.
7 Meridia - Colored Rooms
Unlike other Daedric Princes, the majority of which have only a single realm of Oblivion, Meridia instead has a series of interconnected realms known as the Colored Rooms. Not a lot is known about this realm despite the fact that the Vestige visits it during the events of the Elder Scrolls Online shortly before getting their soul back. What is known is that Meridia isn’t fond of visitors to her realm, particularly Molag Bal.
6 Molag Bal - Coldharbour
As the father of vampires and the Lord of Domination, Molag Bal’s realm of Coldharbour is unlike many other planes of Oblivion. This is because it is modeled after Nirn rather than being a reflection of the Daedric Prince themselves. While some aspects of Coldharbour are recognizable between both it and Tamriel (such as the Imperial Palace being present in both realms) Coldharbour is something of a perversion of the mortal realm and is known for inflicting suffering on the inhabitants, who are known as the Soul Shriven.
Fans of the series most notably explore Coldharbour in the Elder Scrolls Online, where Molag Bal is the main antagonist of the story and the player takes the role of a Soul Shriven known later as the Vestige.
5 Namira - Scuttling Void
Known as The Dark Behind the World to the Khajiit, Namira’s plane of Oblivion is named the Scuttling Void to the rest of Tamriel. Aside from its name, not much else is known about Namira’s plane, as no man, elf, or beast has ventured there and returned to tell about it. But in Khajiit mythology, a sect of their race known as the Dro-m’Athra was created in the Scuttling Void after their souls were claimed by the Daedric Prince.
4 Nocturnal - Evergloam
One of the more bizarre realms of Oblivion, Evergloam seems to have some strong connection to the thieves of Tamriel, specifically their innate luck, and explains why Nocturnal is often viewed as the patron deity for thieves guilds. Although Evergloam was a large focus for players during the events of The Elder Scrolls Online, it also appeared in the spin-off title Battlespire, which sees the player navigate the titular tower that intersects with Nocturnal’s realm at several points in the game.
3 Peryite - The Pits
Despite their appearance as dragon, the Daedric Prince of Pestilence, Peryite, is seen by the majority of scholars and the other Daedric Princes as the weakest of them all. However, this doesn’t make their plane of Oblivion, The Pits, any less dangerous to mortals who find their way into it. During the Oblivion Crisis, five mages tried and failed to summon Peryite to Nirn. Instead, they managed themselves to The Pits and force the Hero of Kvatch to retrieve them and show the player its true form, being something of a cross between Morrowind and the Deadlands.
2 Sanguine - Myriad Realms of Revelry
Like Meridia, Sanguine is one of the few Daedric Princes who holds dominion over multiple realms of Oblivion rather than a single plane. Their personal pleasure house, known as Myriad Realms of Revelry, is made up of thousands of smaller planes. Unlike other Daedric Princes, Sanguine doesn’t rule over their plane with an iron fist and will instead welcome any visitors to their plane to indulge their every desire, as shown in The Hangover-style side quest A Night To Remember in Skyrim.
1 Vaermina - Quagmire
Also known as Dreamstride, Quagmire is the realm of the Daedric Prince Vaermina, who holds dominion over nightmares, psychological torment, and terror. Like Apocrypha, Quagmire is an ever-changing landscape that shifts whenever lightning strikes. Mortals who find themselves stuck in the realm are driven mad by the visions they see. During the events of The Elder Scrolls Online, Vaermina captures High King Emeric and imprisons him within their realm, though the Vestige later recovers the king and thwarts their plans.
