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Hermaeus Mora, the Daedric Prince of Fate, goes by many cognomens including the One Who Knows, the Lord of Secrets, and the Master of the Tides of Fate. This latter appellation always intrigued me, so I decided to dig deeper into the origins of that particular title for the Keeper of Forbidden Knowledge.
I suppose the question begins, what exactly is fate? That depends on the philosophy you follow, of course, but the predominant viewpoint describes fate as the development of events as determined by a higher power. While the nature and identity of that power remains in contention, it is clear that Hermaeus Mora has dominion over at least some aspect of fate. As the ever-seeing eyes, he constantly scrys the tides of fate to determine what is destined to happen next. Hence, he is called the Master of the Tides of Fate.
As far as I can tell, the One Who Knows does not alter or direct the way fate unfolds. He does, however, observe where the threads lead and follows them to their inevitable conclusion. Forgive me for mixing my metaphors, but describing fate can be challenging. Some see fate as a loom, constantly spinning out threads of destiny. Others construe it as a vast ocean, with currents and tides that ebb and flow forever into the future.
So, where does the name Master of the Tides of Fate originate? I believe it comes from those followers of Mora who see knowledge and fate as a vast and fathomless ocean. They imagine Mora as suspended above or within this ocean, constantly peering into its depths to track the currents of fate. He is the master, not because he controls destiny, but because he knows every possibility and outcome intimately.
Indeed, there are regions of Mora's realm of Apocrypha that resemble nothing short of an endless sea, holding secrets and forbidden knowledge beneath its surface. In the end, who can say which actually came first? The idea of Hermaeus Mora as a vast entity cataloging the tides of fate, or the image of the great Prince hovering above an ocean in Apocrypha and peering into its depths? Perhaps one is just a reflection of the other.