Overview
The Elder Scrolls are artifacts of unknown origin and quantity, being simultaneously archives of historic, past and future events. They often tell of events that require a Hero to resolve them, although the Scrolls themselves do not select such individuals. They are also known as the "Aedric Prophecies," suggesting that they may have been created by the Aedra , although this designation may be inaccurate. For most, the Elder Scrolls cannot be read without extreme side-effects, among which are blindness and insanity. They are also the namesake for The Elder Scrolls series.
Nature
The Elder Scrolls are said to "exceed both Aedra and Daedra ," implying that neither group of deities created them. Until the events each Scroll describes comes to pass, they contain information about possible events in the future, with each viewing containing a possible version of events. Once a prophecy contained in an Elder Scroll is enacted in Tamriel , the text of the parchment becomes fixed. After that time, all readers ingest the same divine message, creating a historical document declaring the unequivocal truth of a past event. The contents of a scroll, once solidified, cannot be altered by any known magic. The Scrolls have some relation to time, and offer a view through a fixed point in time to the flow to time itself. However, they appear to be dependent on the flow of time in order to function; events which alter the linearity of time, known as Dragon Breaks , cannot be recorded or predicted by the Elder Scrolls. Dragons are the children of Akatosh , the time god. As such, they are uniquely attuned and vulnerable to the flow of Time, which may explain how an Elder Scroll could banish Alduin into the future by casting him adrift on the currents of Time, and create the Time Wound at the location of his banishment. The Elder Scrolls can affect all possible futures, and they can be used to bind entities to specific ones.
Reading an Elder Scroll
Reading an Elder Scrolls correctly takes time, preparation and training. It is said that those with no ability see only unknown etchings and runes, often claiming to recognize constellations and birth signs. With increasing levels of knowledge a reader can gain insight, but also risks both their sight and their sanity. True insight into the divine contents comes at a price as each new foretelling and interpretation strikes the reader with blindness that gradually increases with each reading, while simultaneously granting them a broader view of the scroll's contents. Ultimately, the reader, having engaged in frequent acts of prophecy, is left bereft of their vision, forever after removed of their right to read the scrolls. By time-honored tradition only those of the Cult of the Ancestor Moth may read from the scrolls, the younger members caring for the elder as they gradually lose their sight for eternity. The loss of sight for the reading of an Elder Scroll is described as "a price," probably for the learning of what the Elder Scroll chooses to reveal to the reader. Some go insane from reading an Elder Scroll because it is too much knowledge for some to handle. The Dwemer were so technologically advanced that they were able to develop a device, called a Lexicon , which allowed someone to read an Elder Scroll without going blind or insane.
Ritual of the Ancestor Moth
The Ritual of the Ancestor Moth is a rite performed by Moth Priests in order to read an Elder Scroll. It usually takes place within one of the many secluded Ancestor Glades scattered across Tamriel . Usually Moth Priests take months to prepare themselves for reading an Elder Scroll as only the most resilient of the Moth Priests can read an Elder Scroll with this ritual and it takes years to interpret the harmony. As such, only a few get the chance to perform this ritual. The voice of the Ancestor Moth has always been an integral part of reading an Elder Scroll. They maintain a connection to the ancient magic that allows a Moth Priest to decipher them. Moths within an Ancestor Glade emanate a soft harmonious trilling that when amplified tap into a form of primal augur. This allows the moths themselves to become a conduit for deciphering the scrolls. By having the moths close to the Moth Priest, they can utilize the conduit and share the moth's augury. The ritual itself involves carefully removing the bark of a Canticle Tree with a traditional tool called a draw knife which in turn attracts the Ancestor Moths. Once enough moths are in the vicinity, they grant the reader with the second sight needed to decipher the scroll.
Opinions of the Scrolls
The exact number of Elder Scrolls itself cannot be counted, as was proven by the Cult of the Ancestor Moth. Each attempt to quantify their number or even location causes the scrolls to change place and number, for no discernible reason. The Greybeards consider seeking and studying the Elder Scrolls to be a blasphemy. The dragon Paarthurnax describes the scrolls as being "artifacts that exist outside of time" as well as "fragments of creation."
Merethic Era
During the Merethic Era , the remaining Snow Elves who had not been massacred by the Atmorans or had fled to the Dwemer for help had fallen back to the Forgotten Vale as a new safe haven for them. The Snow Elves who had gone to the Dwemer for help had been enslaved by them, and had been forced to ingest a toxic fungus which blinded them. Over time, those Snow Elves had evolved into the Falmer . At some point, a large group of the Falmer had discovered the Forgotten Vale, and they began to massacre all of the Snow Elves in the Vale. Ironically, the genocide the Falmer were committing was against their own former brothers and sisters, who had not been affected by the actions of the Atmorans and Dwemer. Early before when one of the initiates came before Arch-Curate Vyrthur and bit him turning him into a vampire despite the fact that he was supposed to be protected by Auri-El . In revenge, Vyrthur created the Tyranny of the Sun prophecy foretold in three Elder Scrolls. In the end, Vyrthur and his brother, Knight-Paladin Gelebor , were the only known survivors of the attack, and the Tyranny of the Sun prophecy would continue to be unfulfilled until the Volkihar Clan discovered the prophecy and began to uncover it. During the Merethic Era, Alduin led the dragons in a war against all of the people of Tamriel . Atop the Throat of the World , the Tongues , three Nord heroes, fought against Alduin and his dragons. When Alduin arrived, the Tongues used the Dragonrend shout to face him. After Alduin killed one of the Tongues and proved too strong for the heroes to defeat, the others decided to use an Elder Scroll to defeat him. Alduin was banished by the scroll, and returned to Skyrim in 4E 201. The usage of the Elder Scroll broke time and resulted in the formation of the Time Wound.
Second Era
During the Three Banners War , the Elder Scrolls were an important aspect of the battles waged in Cyrodiil . The three factions would steal each other's scrolls back and forth, and as such power shifted between them. Varen Aquilarios , the Emperor prior to the Soulburst , had begun studying with the Moth Priests and read the scrolls. He gained a significant amount of knowledge, but had soon lost his sight.
Source: Elder Scrolls on Elder Scrolls