Okay so I know there's a theory going around on the internet that fallout universe and the elder scrolls universe are the same just separated by thousands of years here is my fun take on the theory
The Core Premise: The Reality Collapse
The Fallout and Elder Scrolls universes are one and the same, separated by thousands of years of "divine" annexation.
The Catalyst: The Great War (nuclear fallout) and the use of the Forced Evolutionary Virus (FEV) didn't just ruin the planet; they shattered the barrier between dimensions.
The Daedric Invasion: When reality tore, interdimensional entities (the Daedra and Aedra) invaded. They didn't create the world; they annexed it while humanity was at its lowest point, posing as "gods" to maintain control and keep humanity in a state of primitive, controlled regression.
Magic as Leakage: "Magic" in Tamriel is not natural. It is the unstable radiation of the Oblivion realm leaking through the scars left by nuclear fire, which the inhabitants of Nirn have learned to manipulate as if it were a natural resource.
The Evolution of Races
I propose that the iconic races of Tamriel are the result of post-apocalyptic biological manipulation:
The Khajiit: Descendants of common domestic felines from the Fallout era that underwent "branched evolution" due to a combination of persistent radiation, FEV, and reality-warping energy.
The Argonians: Originally Deathclaws—the ultimate pre-war reptilian bioweapons—that were captured and "re-coded" by the Hist.
The Hist: An invasive, sentient, extra-dimensional plant life that hitched a ride through the reality-tear and used their neural-linking abilities to "brainwash" and refine the Deathclaws into a subservient, humanoid race.
The Draugr: The ancient, desiccated remnants of Feral Ghouls, frozen in time and forced into a state of "undead" servitude by the new masters of the world.
The Fallen Civilizations
The political landscape of Tamriel is a distorted reflection of the Fallout wasteland:
The Dwemer (Brotherhood of Steel): The Brotherhood's obsession with technology eventually led them to discover the truth about their "gods." Their "disappearance" was an attempt to transcend or overthrow these overseers via Tonal Architecture, resulting in their total erasure from reality.
The Empire (Caesar's Legion): The Imperial Legion is the direct successor to the "LARP" culture of Caesar's Legion. Over millennia, the ritualistic imitation of Roman history solidified into a genuine, functional imperial structure, cementing the cultural regression of humanity.
The "Cage" Narrative
In this theory, the entirety of The Elder Scrolls is a cautionary tale of occupation. Humanity is trapped in a medieval-fantasy "simulated" existence, discouraged from developing high technology lest they realize they are living on a ruined Earth and reclaim their own autonomy.
This framework effectively turns every game in the Elder Scrolls series into an attempt by the world’s inhabitants to either unwittingly serve their extra-dimensional captors or (in the case of groups like the Dwemer or certain mages) unknowingly claw their way back toward the lost technology of the Old World