09-08-2006, 12:53 PM
lol.. nice research
my personal view is that there's nothing wrong with name clashes... it actually makes things more interesting as it presents a realistic view of how terms can be warpped, adapted and spread through language (e.g. say a term used to mean something but over time its meaning also evolved).
In much the same way, I purposely use the term "dragon" to mean quite a few different things : The serpentine form of the gods and a status of divinity and the 9 "mortal" dragon types (which includes Naga). Its a little confusing at first, but isn't that what separates lore-masters from the common farmer?
Just some more background, the use of "Naga" in the context of my lore is actually proper. Naga is a sanskrit term which literally means "dragon". In buddhist script, Naga, along with 7 other races (Yaksa, Ghandarva, Diva, Mahoraga, ... recognized them?? They are the base models I'm using for the other "demi-immortals" LOL) are the guardians. So if there is to be a name conflict, I think our Akavir version has the superior claim. Tell Bethesda to change theirs... lol....
More seriously, I think there is nothing wrong. when we think about "Naga", we shouldn't think about one uniform race with same features and colour (just like when you talk about asians or caucasians, you don't expect all within the same group to look that similar, though a member from one group may probably find it hard to tell members of the other group apart, just like a tamriel human will find it hard to tell that two Naga are from different tribes, though to the Nagas, it is as plain as black and white). We COULD potentially work out something with the argonians being related to the Naga. In the current lore I am working on, the Tsaesci killed/conquered/enslaved the Naga over 5000 years ago. It is highly probable that some Naga escaped. And 5000 years is enough for a culture to be reshaped almost totally, especially when the Naga faced such extreme circumstances.
(btw, I'm grouping the Chinese Dragon Kings as a clan of royalty among th Naga. wikipedia will have more info)
of cos, it's just my opinion
my personal view is that there's nothing wrong with name clashes... it actually makes things more interesting as it presents a realistic view of how terms can be warpped, adapted and spread through language (e.g. say a term used to mean something but over time its meaning also evolved).
In much the same way, I purposely use the term "dragon" to mean quite a few different things : The serpentine form of the gods and a status of divinity and the 9 "mortal" dragon types (which includes Naga). Its a little confusing at first, but isn't that what separates lore-masters from the common farmer?
Just some more background, the use of "Naga" in the context of my lore is actually proper. Naga is a sanskrit term which literally means "dragon". In buddhist script, Naga, along with 7 other races (Yaksa, Ghandarva, Diva, Mahoraga, ... recognized them?? They are the base models I'm using for the other "demi-immortals" LOL) are the guardians. So if there is to be a name conflict, I think our Akavir version has the superior claim. Tell Bethesda to change theirs... lol....
More seriously, I think there is nothing wrong. when we think about "Naga", we shouldn't think about one uniform race with same features and colour (just like when you talk about asians or caucasians, you don't expect all within the same group to look that similar, though a member from one group may probably find it hard to tell members of the other group apart, just like a tamriel human will find it hard to tell that two Naga are from different tribes, though to the Nagas, it is as plain as black and white). We COULD potentially work out something with the argonians being related to the Naga. In the current lore I am working on, the Tsaesci killed/conquered/enslaved the Naga over 5000 years ago. It is highly probable that some Naga escaped. And 5000 years is enough for a culture to be reshaped almost totally, especially when the Naga faced such extreme circumstances.
(btw, I'm grouping the Chinese Dragon Kings as a clan of royalty among th Naga. wikipedia will have more info)
of cos, it's just my opinion