#ithelia

First, Her Sphere

From the get-go, critics offer the view that there is no need for Ithelia to be introduced. From arguing Hermaeus Mora's place as the Prince of Fate, and acting as though Ithelia copied Jyggalag's homework in designing her Daedra, to even a contradiction about the very nature of Daedric Princes.

In the case of her position as a Prince of Fate, one could argue that Hermaeus Mora stole that portfolio from Ithelia.

Reasoning on why Ithelia's Daedra look oddly similar to the Knights of Order. There is possibly an interaction here that goes unconsidered. For this argument, I suggest that Jyggalag's punishment was meted out before Hermaeus Mora turned his attention toward Ithelia. Although there is no clear evidence to suggest this, the interaction I propose is that Ithelia bore witness to Jyggalag's fate. Where he might have seen perfect crystaline order, Ithelia probably saw infinite possibility in the kaleidoscope of reflections that lingered in shattered glass. Perhaps even, she pitied Jyggalag and thus wished to unchain everyone from the shackles of fate imposed upon them. In Ithelia is infinite possibility, and in her Daedra are the near-innumerable shattered reflections of the same world.

And continuing on the notion of an interaction between Jyggalag and Ithelia, UESP even notes how Ithelia remarks to the player that 'not even Daedric Princes can change', whereas Sheogorath says the opposite in the Shivering Isles DLC of Oblivion. A simple explanation would be that Sheogorath was being much more literal, whereas Ithelia speaks on a more metaphysical level. Consider the case of the Hero of Kvatch, who 'mantles' Sheogorath. Even Jyggalag, when addressing the HoK, muses that in time the HoK will settle into their station. This certainly reinforces Ithelia's claim that Daedric Princes are immutable. Even if they wanted to, they could never change what they are. And that makes Ithelia that much more tragic.

Second, Her Design

A common trend I saw were people decrying her 'human' design and others offering up 'redesigns' of Ithelia, followed by others declaring that 'this is what she should have been'. I will reiterate that I am not refuting these ideas-- some of them are quite fantastic and should be considered as different forms Ithelia could take. But I am here to argue in support of the choice to have Ithelia appear human-like, as well as point out fallacies.

The most obvious fallacy is the argument that her design is boring because she is just human. One hardly needs to look further than another female Daedric Prince: Meridia. There is perhaps even a reason Ithelia has wings of crystal, similar to Meridia's wings of (I presume) light, that lends credit to the idea she is a Star Orphan. Most conventionally, Meridia appears as a Lady of Light, which isn't exactly the most creative design. In that case, Ithelia already has one up on the Mistress of Infinite Energies.

But another thing to critically consider is why Ithelia chooses to appear as human (crystal wings not-withstanding). Of the few things Daedric Princes can choose, they can (within reason) choose to appear as whatever they wish. Lest we forget that Clavicus Vile commonly appears as a man and his dog, and he does so with purpose in mind: people are more inclined to make a deal with a man who has a loyal companion beside him.

In Ithelia's case, it's less so a matter of accomplishing any ulterior motive and more a matter of yearning. During Gold Road, she remarks to the player that she envies them. This is the point where she comments on the immutability of Daedric Princes, and says to the player that they are blessed because they have the freedom to choose what they wish to do and who they want to be. Ithelia appearing human is very much evocative of that wish to have the same freedom.

Third, Her Place

Finally, I want to address a criticism that I, myself, partially hold. What's the point of Ithelia? At the conclusion of Gold Road, we see Ithelia come to a realisation that she cannot stay in that reality without destroying it. Thus, she exiles herself to a reality without magic and collaborates with Hermaeus Mora and the Vestige to ensure she cannot make her way back and that she is forgotten.

Realistically, this is the only direction they can go from a continuity perspective.

It is tragic, because we can look back and see that actions taken by others lead Ithelia to the point of no return. Hermaeus Mora imprisoning her and the Vestige shattering the Loom of the Untraveled Road. Before these critical events, Ithelia has not an ounce of malice in her.

So I really like the original Ithelia design, but the more I thought about it the more it confused me that she wasn't a bosmer or ayleid or at leats ambiguously elven given the focus of the chapter, so at first I thought itd be fun to draw her as one, and things spiraled from there

I never liked how the "female" Daedra looked like mostly just normal human and elven women, and then so many of the male daedra got to look wild looking. And im not opposed to some of them looking human obviously, I think it makes sense for some of them, Like Azura looking like a Dunmer is really good for example, but it just seems silly that the only "female" daedra that looks crazy is Namira kinda. Honestly I would have gone more wild with this design but I wanted her to still have some resemblance to her real design