J
Jeremius
Guest
Dragonborn is a descriptor. It descibes a state of being (i.e. being born with the blood and soul of a dragon). You either are or are not born that way. So you either are or are not Dragonborn. In this case, you are.
It does not rely on knowledge or acceptance to be true.
But if you never know that you are, are you truly what you claim to be?
Again, it would be like me being born good at the piano, but never actually playing one. I am not naturally good at the piano IF I never play one. Same thing here. I never have the power of Dragoborn if I do not unlock that power, so being born the dragonborn is meaningless.
Yes, even if you never know what you are, you truly are that. I already gave you two examples of this:
Martin Septim was capable of lighting the Dragonfires even though he never knew (or believed) that he was dragonborn. He was dragonborn without knowing it, even before he used the power it granted him. He used the power because he was dragonborn, he didn't become dragonborn because he used the power. Even if he had never been recruited by the blades and had lived his entire life without knowing he was the son of the emperor, he could still have lit the dragonfires at any time.
The second example is you, as a human, being descended from apes. Even if you're never taught this in school, it's still true. If someone developed a virus to target every being descended from one of the ancestors of humanity, you will get hit by that virus whether you know or believe that you are descended from apes.
And about your piano argument. If you are born with the ability to play the piano, you have that ability even if you never touch a piano. You could go your whole life and not play a piano, ever, and you would still have the ability to do if you wished.
Using an ability/power isn't what determines what you are, it's having the power. If you're a natural at playing the piano, you're a natural at playing the piano, even if you don't do it.
But again, this is irrelevant in this context, because absorbing dragon souls isn't the power that defines the dragonborn. The power that defines the dragonborn is being born with the soul of a dragon, and you cannot get around that fact in any way.
None of it means anything, though, so you can that the character is all you want, but not doing the main quest makes being born the Dragonborn pointless as then it means nothing.