The Elder Scrolls series is one that has more than its fair share of deities. Whether it’s the Nine Divines or the Daedric Lords, any of these beings, divine or wicked, leave a lasting impression on the plane of Nirn. Some are regarded with adoration and worship, others with trepidation and fear, even among their own ranks.

This may seem impossible, especially among the daedra, but even a race of notoriously chaotic and unpredictable beings can show wariness, trepidation, and even fear to those who have earned such. Among the Daedric Princes, there is one who is more chaotic and unpredictable than anyone. Their name: Sheogorath.

Sheogorath is the Prince of Madness

Chaos and Mania Incarnate

Known as the Prince or God of Madness, Sheogorath is one of the sixteen Daedric Princes of The Elder Scrolls series, and arguably the most notorious. He is one whose goals cannot be discerned, whose choices cannot be predicted, whose actions have no direction or purpose, and whose animosity and disfavor can be gained on the basis of a whim. Chaotic, disorderly, unpredictable, nonsensical; all can be used to describe the Daedric Prince of Madness, yet even these words are too gross a simplification when it comes to the ‘character’ of this entity.

Sheogorath is a being that’s driven solely by, if anything, his curiosity, his interest. This single trait is one that he shares with his fellow princes, along with his tendency to meddle in the affairs of the mortal plane. But that is where the similarities end, for while the other princes do so for a goal or purpose, Sheogorath does so out of whim or impulse.

• Sheogorath is the Daedric Prince of Madness
• He is a prince who has no semblance of order, predictability, or logic

Where the other princes’ drives are domination, ambition, divinity, or greed, Sheogorath’s is chaos. He has or rather does not need, any excuse to intrude into mortals’ affairs save his own sense of curiosity. If there is any reason that could explain his purpose for doing so, it would likely come down to one word: boredom.

As one who thrives in unpredictability and revels in chaos, one thing that the Prince of Madness can never abide is boredom. He is the sole enemy of the routine, mundane, or orderly. Such words have no place in his actions or his realm, and he will not abide such in his presence.

He will do all in his power to erase their existence, and such actions can range from turning a man into a chicken to flinging him from the heights of the heavens to fall in an unceremonious, albeit humorous death. Perhaps the greatest example of his ‘ambitions’ is his own personal realm of Oblivion: The Shivering Isles — a realm that can only be described as the antithesis of all things normal and routine.

Sheogorath is the Most Chaotic of the Princes, and Arguably the Most Powerful

A God Feared By Other Gods

It should be known that all the Daedric Princes, no matter how major or minor, are all powerful in their own right. Even those that do not have much of a presence or pose as much of a threat to the world, such as the likes of Molag Bal or Mehrunes Dagon, all have their own spheres of influence and their own unique means of inspiring admiration or terror among their followers and victims. Yet even so, there are few princes that hold as much influence or inspire such fear as Sheogorath. Despite his actions and nature, don’t be mistaken in thinking that his reputation was earned on a whim.

Sheogorath is regarded as the most chaotic and unpredictable of the princes, and one of the most powerful ones at that. In places like Morrowind, the Dark Elves regard him as one of the Bad Daedra or one of the Four Corners of the House of Troubles. These are regarded as four of the most problematic of the Daedric Princes, responsible for much of the country’s strife and confusion among the land and its people. In Khajiiti society, he is regarded as a dangerous troublemaker, one who continuously inspires doubt and chaos in the cat folk when it comes to their own beliefs and actions.

• Sheogorath’s reputation is known well throughout the lands of Tamriel
• He is known as one of the most chaotic, unpredictable, and powerful princes
• He possesses numerous artifacts, which reflect the nature of his chaotic being

Sheogorath’s reputation as a manic god has grown well across lands and cultures. In fact, the majority of Tamriel regard him with both trepidation and fear and have discouraged any form of reverence or worship of the prince, labeling such acts as taboo. Yet even so, there are shrines dedicated to the Daedric Prince found among the provinces, and with them a sect of followers that not only worship but encourage his antics. Some of the most loyal of these followers can earn the mad god’s ‘favor’, or perhaps it would be more accurate to say his interest.

This interest, however long or brief, can earn them substantial rewards, which include his daedric artifacts. While he may have some of the most numerous of artifacts among the other princes, it should be said that their effects can lie much in the same vein as their creator; that is to say, chaotic and random. The biggest example of such would be the Wabbajack, a staff that can place a random effect on whatever it targets, from harmless transfiguration to instant death; an artifact that is the personification of Sheogorath’s unpredictable nature.

Sheogorath is Also Feared For His Counterpart, Jyggalag

The Order Born From Chaos

However, with all the chaos and mania that he is known for, Sheogorath is in truth, only one-half of his being. The other comes from another entity, one whose power and nature are equally feared as him, even more so. That entity’s name is Jyggalag, the Daedric Prince of Order — the antithesis of everything Sheogorath is. Where Sheogorath represents chaos, unpredictability, and mania, Jyggalag represents order, logic, and deduction. He is literally, the exact opposite of the Daedric Prince of Chaos, and yet he is a part of him nonetheless — the originator of his being even.

Before there was Sheogorath, there was Jyggalag, and his power was so great, so grand, that even the other daedric princes feared him. Because of this, they all placed a curse upon Jyggalag, one that condemned him to an endless prison of chaos, disorder, and mania. This was the birth of Sheogorath, the Prince of Chaos whose inception was caused by his fellow princes. Yet even still, Jyggalag was not erased from existence.

Once every one thousand years, at the end of an era, the Prince of Order manifests, freeing himself from the mania of Sheogorath. This event heralds the beginning of the Greymarch, a crusade of order meant to retake the Shivering Isles and stamp out all the chaos and madness of Sheogorath.

• Jyggalag is the prince of order, logic, and deduction
• He was cursed into becoming Sheogorath by the other princes
• Jyggalag and Sheogorath are cursed into an endless battle between order and chaos

Upon its completion, however, Jyggalag regresses back into his counterpart Sheogorath, who then returns his realm back to the chaos and mania it’s known for. Such is the basis of the curse: an endless cycle of order against chaos, an infinite battle with no true victor, and no definitive outcome.

Whether as a being of chaos or one of unwilling order, the being known as Sheogorath is a plague upon every house of Nirn, every plane of Oblivion, and the bane of almost everyone he comes across, whether they’re his followers, his enemies, or even his fellow princes.

His entire existence, actions, and purpose are the definition of chaos, an unpredictable yet all-too-powerful force that few have any true defense against. He is the god driven by whim, the chaos born from order, the bane of both mortal and daedra alike. He is Sheogorath, the Daedric Prince of Madness.

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  The Elder Scrolls: Arena
  

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  The Elder Scrolls II: Daggerfall
  

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  The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind
  

  The protagonist travels by Morrowind, eastern province of the Septim Empire in Tamriel. He/she can save it from enslavement or explore for personal purposes.

  Developer(s)

  Bethesda Game Studios

• 

  The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion
  

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  , PS3
  , Xbox 360

  Developer(s)

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  Publisher(s)

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  The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
  

  The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim is a single-player role-playing video game developed by Bethesda Game Studios and published by Bethesda Softworks.

  Platform(s)

  PC
  , PlayStation 3
  , PlayStation 4
  , PlayStation 5
  , Nintendo Switch
  , Xbox 360
  , Xbox One
  , Xbox Series X
  , Xbox Series S

  Developer(s)

  Bethesda Game Studios