The Complete History and Lore of the Elder Scrolls

Aedra

 The Aedra are heavenly beings who gave parts of themselves up for creation. They became the planets that surround Nirn. There are Nine Divines, one of them being Tiber Septim himself after he achieved CHIM. There are Eight original Divines: Mara, Dibella, Akatosh (or Auriel, depending on what you believe in), Arkay (or Ark'ay), Talos, Kynareth (Kyne), Julianos, Stendarr, and Zenithar. Talos worship is outlawed in Tamriel, but we will get to that in one of the later chapters.

 Akatosh is the dragon god of time. He is one aspect of the Mer god Auriel. Akatosh is also the chief deity of the Divines. He is one of only two gods that are worshipped in almost every religion in Tamriel except for the Dunmer religion, because the Dunmer worship their self-proclaimed gods the Tribunal. Akatosh's avatar is that of a dragon. In most religions, he is considered to be the first of the gods to form and is the Ultimate God of the Cyrodiilic Empire.

 There are dozens of cults dedicated to this dragon god. One of the more prestigious and infamous cults is "The Akatosh Chantry." They are completely dedicated to doing anything to please Akatosh. The Chapel of Akatosh in Cyrodiil is in Kvatch. Akatosh is completely nonexistent in CHIMer lore and culture because of his association with the Altmer.

The last time Akatosh was seen was during the Oblivion Crisis when Martin Septim called upon the avatar of Akatosh to defeat the Daedric Prince Mehrunes Dagon and stop the Oblivion Crisis. After the battle, the avatar transformed into stone and is now fashioned very gallantly in the Temple of the One.

Arkay is the god of Life and Death. He is the son of Akatosh, and is worshipped by many of the religions throughout Tamriel. His followers are extreme opponents of necromancy and the undead. According to legend, Arkay was a humble shopkeeper that love reading. After he found a book with strange letters, he dedicated years of his life trying to decipher the writings. He soon grasped that the book explained life and death itself, but he himself was close to death because of a plague. As a dernier ressort, Arkay prayed to Mara to grant him more time to decipher the book completely. Mara answered his prayer and gave him a choice to die or gain immortality as a god charged with maintaining the balance between life and death.

Dibella is the goddess of beauty. In Cyrodiil alone, she has many followers and shrines. Most are dedicated to women and the teaching of erotic acts.

Julianos is the god of wisdom and logic. He is Cyrodiil's god of literature, law, history, and contradiction. Various orders are in existence, many of whom were formed by The Human War Hero, Tiber Septim. Most of these orders are the monastic keepers and guardians of the famous Elder Scrolls.

Kynareth is the goddess of air and sky. She is the strongest of the sky beings. She is also the patron deity of travellers and sailors. Kynareth is called upon for auspicious stars at birth and good fortune throughout daily life. In some folktales, she was one of the first to agree to Lorkhan's trick in creating the mortal plane. She is worshipped in The Pantheon Nine Divines. Kynareth was believed to have created the space of Mundus for things like the planets and moons to fit.

Mara is the goddess of maternity and love. She is in the Pantheon of the Nine Divines. She appears as a human. Mara instructs her worshippers to "Live peacefully. Honor your parents and preserve the peace and security of home and family." The book Arkay the God within the Elder Scrolls universe describes a process in which Mara turns Arkay, an ordinary shopkeeper, into a god. Since it is likely that Mara is the wife of Akatosh, she may be Arkay's mother. However, it is unclear if Mara was Akatosh's wife, Lorkhan's wife, or a concubine of both.

Stendarr is the god of righteousness and mercy. He takes on a physical form of a man. In The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, Vigilants of Stendarr fanatically worship this deity. They claim they formed just after the Oblivion Crisis to combat Daedra, necromancers, and conjurers. Daedra the Vigilants of Stendarr hunt down especially. They sometimes say to the Last Dragonborn when wandering Skyrim, "Stendarr have mercy on you, for the Vigil has none to spare." This is ironic in the fact that they worship the god of mercy.

Zenithar is the god of commerce and trade. Like all of his other Aedric siblings, he cannot directly come into interactions with mortals on Nirn, but he can influence it in his own little special way. Miners, woodcutters, blacksmiths, are a few of what Zenithar thinks is a vital way of living your life. In the Empire, Zenithar's worshippers include businessmen and merchants, so his range of worship in Tamriel is wider than in other places.

Talos is the god of war, governance, and man. Talos is also known as Ysmir, Dragonborn, Dragon of the North, Hjalti Storm-Beard, and the heir to the Seat of Sundered Kings. He is one of the greatest heroes to man, however his worship is now outlawed by the time of The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim because of the Thalmor and the White Gold Concordat signed as a treaty in the Great War in 4E Talos used to be known as the first Septim and the one who founded the Empire. His name before achieving CHIM was Tiber Septim.

Lorkhan is an Aedra, however he is not considered to be a part of the Nine Divines. He is also known as Shor, Lorkhaj, Shezarr, and Sep. He is the most responsible for the creation of Nirn. The other Aedra were trying to decide what to do with him and they almost certainly killed him, and his corpse became the two moons Masser and Secunda. His heart landed in Vvardenfell, creating Red Mountain, which eventually erupted in 4E 5 due to a mortal's decision.

Aedra, much like Daedra, have a sphere of influence. Much unlike Daedra, Aedra can die and cannot leave Mundus.