Proof of Cogg Toward's Destruction of Arcane universities Technologies beyond understanding

[Dagoth Scourge]

I, AS A LOYAL AND TRUSTWORTHY STUDENT OF MASTER NELOTH HAVE DISCOVERED PROOF of Cogg Towards GOLDEN SOUL GEM CONSPIRACY: HIDDEN TRUTHS FROM BALMORA’S UNDERCITY
why was levitation, and indepth higher spell and soul gem training REMOVED from cryodiil and Skyrim universities? the following has led to more questions then answers.

Discovered beneath the streets of Balmora, hidden between crumbling scrolls and smuggled Dwemer artifacts, lies a suppressed account of magic’s greatest betrayal—one that shook the foundations of arcane study and rewrote history in secret.
For centuries, Grandmaster Neloth, the revered Telvanni scholar, labored in obscurity, seeking an ultimate feat of soul manipulation—the simultaneous extraction of three souls into a singular, newly conceived artifact: the Golden Soul Gem. This revolutionary breakthrough promised a future where magicka itself could be harnessed at triple intensity, unlocking forbidden abilities—fast travel without restriction, true levitation, layered tenth-tier spellcasting, and enhancements that defied mortal limits.
But all of it—decades of research, tomes of arcane theory, and prototypes steeped in Neloth’s tireless pursuit—was erased in an act of treachery.
The destroyer? A cunning opportunist known as Cogg Toward. Driven by motives still cloaked in shadow, this outlander not only incinerated the lifework of Grandmaster Neloth but systematically dismantled the very foundation upon which such feats of enlightenment had stood. Ancient levitation rites, the speed-walking techniques of Cyrodiil’s lost scholars, the revered layers of tenth-tier spell amplification—all stripped from existence, rewritten into obscurity under the guise of legal decrees.
But whispers within the underworld tell a different story.
Dark Telvanni agents operating in secrecy beneath Balmora have uncovered undeniable evidence—artifacts linking Cogg Toward to the systematic removal of these legendary capabilities across Tamriel’s great arcane institutions, including the Arcane University itself. Manuscripts buried deep within Cyrodiil’s ruins reference veiled transactions, unseen hands moving against the natural progression of magic, ensuring that certain powers would never again see the light of day.
Why was such knowledge destroyed? Who stands to gain from its absence? And most importantly—can these lost techniques be reclaimed?
Those who still seek the truth must tread carefully. The name Cogg Toward is spoken in hushed tones within the deepest corners of Telvanni sanctuaries, and his reach, it seems, has extended far beyond the halls of known academia. The Golden Soul Gem was meant to usher in a new era of enlightenment—yet it lies shattered, its memory fading as fabricated laws conceal the truth.
WHO is this Man and WHY HAS HE DONE THESE ATROCITIES? WE NEED HELP IN DISCOVERING THE ANSWERS TO THIS HORROR
But the underworld never forgets.

[SadPlatty©]

Cool read - obvious answer is blame the Psijic Order as they don't like people "warping the fabric" of spacetime unless they do it.

Less obvious - soul manipulation to the caliber of transcendence I believe would first and foremost irk either Meridia or Azura; Meridia as I feel they don't care much for soul gems being a sort of necromantic thing (stealing a soul for energy vs letting it pass to oblivion), and especially with black soul gems (they hate necromancers). Azura because they are sorta "good" but I feel this would at some point involve Azura's star.

Additionally - Hermaeus Mora would in theory already know this, but likely be incentivized to make contact with the individual due to their literal forbidden tier knowledge.

Then others like Boethia or Clavicus Vile would probably be curious in gaining access to the knowledge to utilize it themselves. A twisted plot about getting a crazy powerful soul-gem into someones hand, and maybe "accidentally" overloading it to nuke a whole province? Cool beans!

Then because I could see most Daedric Princes being interested; the Nine would likely be worried how it could shift the power-balance. We saw what happened with Jyggalag and how being "the biggest bad" got him polymorphed into literal madness.

Jyggalag however was a powerful being and thus needed a powerful answer; humans with forbidden knowledge can still be tricked. Even something as simple as Clavicus Vile sending Umbra over there to smash everything could have happened.

Granted Jyggalag could also be interested on a new shiny rock for his next library of literally everything ever (I wonder if Mora or Jygg has the bigger book fetish )

[Dagoth Scourge]

so you suggest thats why the powers of levitation and Greater spell crafting and hundreds of spells and powers were removed from cryodiil and skyrim and future lands and creatures, peoples, and beings is because ... of the God's?

[SadPlatty©]

Originally posted by short.sheath:

so you suggest thats why the powers of levitation and Greater spell crafting and hundreds of spells and powers were removed from cryodiil and skyrim and future lands and creatures, peoples, and beings is because ... of the God's?

The gods and the Daedric Princes.

Ultimately - they tend to like being in control of a situation; again, like Jyggalag who was single-handily conquering Oblivion until the other Daedric princes effectively had to work together to stop him. Thatn what does he do as Sheogorath? Manage to formulate a plot to free himself back into Oblivion by convincing us to take his mantle as Madgod.

Additionally - Akatosh also flips the table at the end of this game; the Dragonfires originally required a Septim to hold the throne and re-light them each passing of the previous one, and instead of that - Martin ends up becoming the Avatar of Akatosh, stopping Mehrunes Dagon, and then perma-lights the Dragonfires so that we don't even need an emperor anymore to stop invasions from Oblivion (otherwise - us killing the emperor in Skyrim would cause another Oblivion crisis).

Even our MC in each game is more a quill the Divines use to record history that they dictate. Not even the man god Vivec could slay us, as the Daedra and Nine were a little upset with his actions.

So yes - they basically deemed mortals as "non-deserving" of the higher tiers of magic at this time in the same way the King of Worms thought mortals did not utilize the Numidian properly and blew it up.

And at the end of the day - if you can't have something, making sure nobody else can is how you stop them from using it against you. There isn't much lore wise that talks about "space" in TES but we know the sun is a whole in space that bleeds magic into Nirn from "Aetherius" and I would probably not let peons fly if it meant risking their perversion of other realms.

But you know what there is lore wise? A reason that they can breath in space, as the Khajiit actually have a moon base on Secunda. They basically figured that "Space" are other planes and the Aedra there try and convince you that you forgot how to breath, but with a special apparatus (or training), you won't be effected. So they ended up cat towering to the moon because they could.

Now imagine a tower of man and mer into Aetherius and a war on "Heaven" when one of the Daedra climb it. A LOT harder than them learning "true levitate" and flying up there lol

[Dagoth Scourge]

this still holds truth and worth investigation

[jonoliveira12]

Real answer: game was dumbed down because the introduction of fast travel made levitation spells less necessary, and they were too abusable, while also breaking the game as cities are all instances not connected to the actual world map.