Following the release of yesterday's brief new The Elder Scrolls 6: Sentinel teaser trailer, story speculation is running rampant across communities dedicated to the fantasy series, with fans theorising everything from alternative histories to split timelines.
Yesterday's teaser - which arrived as part of Bethesda's 40th anniversary celebrations and comes amid devastating cuts across Xbox's first-party studios - was minimal. It opened with a shot of desert sand, before revealing the subtitle 'Sentinel' and ending with a quote from an unknown character. It's not much to go on, but is proving just enough to encourage discussion around what may be in store for Bethesda's next RPG.
And a good place to start is that quote. "The scroll offered only a shimmer, a veil thinly lifted to my eyes," it reads. "A future lost. A victory undone. Sands of time scattered by fate." All this is attributed to Yazar, Moth Priest of High Queen Iradne of Hammerfell, , but some fans think the accompanying date - 4E 206 - might be just as significant.
"[Sentinel] likely takes place five or more years after the start of Skyrim," hypothesised Reddit user 04nc1n9. "Hammerfell is a monarchy, it hasn't changed to any other political system after their imperial secession. The monarchy of Hammerfell has a Moth Priest on hand, even though the Moth Priests are generally an Imperial thing. Hammerfell's monarch has access to an Elder Scroll after the Elder Scrolls scattered."
This unexpected link between Moth Priests and Hammerfell's High Queen has created speculation of its own. One theory, combined with the proximity of Sentinel's story to that of Skyrim, has the Thalmor play a key role. "[It's] likely the Thalmor being the antagonists with so little time having passed," wrote user Jonesketi, "and with justifiable knowledge of how to cause great harm with the Elder Scrolls, [this] would've prompted [Hammerfell] to begin their own preparations. [The Thalmor are] also such a fitting antagonist since we didn't get to kick them down in Skyrim, which would offer catharsis if it came in Sentinel."
As for the quote itself, its vague wording has inspired some particularly out-there speculation. Some fans are looking back to previously vanquished forces in the series, in light of the phrase "a victory undone", and are theorising it might refer to a Dragon Break - an in-universe timeline split in which multiple events can all occur and simultaneously be true once the timelines reconverge. In previous games, Dragon Breaks have served as a handy explanation for the multiple endings.
Talk of "undone" events set user Wafelze's mind to the Numidium, a giant mechanical golem whose activation in The Elder Scrolls 2: Daggerfall caused its own Dragon Break. "With how important time is to Skyrim’s story," they speculated, "it wouldn’t surprise me if this story is about time being entirely broken."
"See, I'm thinking it has to do with the creation of Nirn and Lorkhan," wrote Potential Film 7140. "The Altmer hate Lorkhan and men see the creation of the world as a victory. The elves did not ... maybe they'll try to undo what created the divines so they can go back to their original ancestry. Wildly out-there take but that's what my brain tells me."
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