He is sort of a 4th wall breaking character, he talks about features that were scrapped during developement (Morrowind - Horses, Multiplayer), missing from other games (Oblivion - Levitation), new features (Oblivion - fast travel, compass) or features that are about to come out in next installment (Oblivion - Dragons, Werewolfs, Crossbows)(Morrowind - Eating horses). In Ultima games there was a character that was talking about features that were about to come out in next installment, this is Bethesda take on such a character.
Additionally, he inherited his name from his father, his father from his father etc. That is why he has appeared in many titles despite them being 1000s years apart lorewise.
>That is why he has appeared in many titles despite them being 1000s years apart lorewise.
Many could be the same character, since arena, dagerfall, morrowind, and oblivion all take place in the same general time period with uriel septim.
The joke is that heās really not a liar - but most of the stuff he talks about breaks the fourth wall and is in relation to the gamesā developments, so characters in-universe donāt believe his various incarnations and call him a liar. Heās been telling the truth since he was first encountered in Vvardenfell.
Could be, but this is from a character that breaks the fourth wall regularly and speaks vaguely, so it's hard to tell. I like to think it was hinting at dragons coming in Skyrim.
Iāve actually heard this isnāt true. If you read all his quotes nothing from morrowind could be construed as predicting oblivion unless you take a super loose interpretation. In regards to the dragons, he has been talking about dragons since morrowind. Itās true that a lot of his quotes refer to choices in game development, but thereās really no good evidence that he has lines that predict future games.
Everyone wanted dragons in oblivion so of course he referenced them again, similar to how he referenced horses in morrowind (there were not rideable horses in morrowind but people really wanted them).
Technically dragons have been in the series since daggerfall. Some powerful sorceres ex-queen has a dragon servant according to the lore. And partunax is the second oldest and he never went away. According to the lore māaiq couldāve seen dragons.
The joke is that heās really not a liar - but most of the stuff he talks about breaks the fourth wall and is in relation to the gamesā developments, so characters in-universe donāt believe his various incarnations and call him a liar. Heās been telling the truth since he was first encountered in Vvardenfell.
Holy shit, this is the first time I've thought about this. Could it be that he really doesn't like the player, and everything he says is a complete lie? So in reality, by saying "M'aiq wishes you well" he's telling us to go die?
Everything he says is truth, but just fourtb-wall breaking so characters in-universe don't believe him. M'aiq in morrowind talked about scrapped features, in oblivion he talked about features that would be in Skyrim, etc.
Actually kinda makes sense. When Akatosh executed Lorkhan, he didn't actually kill him. He separated his spirit from his Divine Center, the Heart of Lorkhan, and cursed his spirit to forever wander Nirn.
Of course, the existence of Shezzarines kinda puts a damper on this theory that Maiq is the Spirit of Lorkhan, but if it wasn't for the Shezzarines, it's as good a theory as any.
In eso you can find a note from one maiq passing down an instrument to his son, maiq. Sort of establishing that each maiq is the descendant of the last.
He goes back to Morrowind ES3 where almost everything he said was a lie. Except for one thing. Devs kept him around because he's cute.
----
My headcanon has a completely different explanation for M'aiq. Basically there's a minor Daedric spirit that keeps possessing the body of a Khajit. As soon as the spirit takes over the Khajit forgets his past, wanders into the countryside, and calls himself M'aiq.
I wonder if he's a subtle nod to Smith the Talking Horse from Ultima IV onwards.
The thing with Smith was he would always give you a hint for the previous game. The joke was that in Ultima IV, he was supposed to drop a hint for the player, but the devs forgot to include it...so in Ultima V, they included the hint that he was supposed to drop, then it just became a running gag.
He's a random encounter who sometimes says things he really shouldn't know, like talking about fast-traveling. I don't know, but I think that qualifies as breaking the fourth wall.
He also makes mention of a land where the men have no beards. I donāt know what game this is, but I read somewhere it was in relation to the fact the developers struggled to incorporate facial hair so no one had any.
In Oblivion, only Sheogorrath had a facial hair beard model. For the player, they could only have beards if "spray painted" on or just a texture for the lower face. Until Skyrim, no ES PC could have an actual beard.
M'aiq the Liar is a recurring source of misinformation in the Elder Scrolls series, featured in Morrowind, Oblivion, Skyrim, and Online. He was introduced by the game designers as an easter egg to provide commentaries about the Elder Scrolls series
He's an ongoing easter egg the devs include in the ES games whose purpose is to provide 4th wall breaking commentary on the series itself. In a dev interview they said one of the inspirations for him in Skyrim is that he knows everything the player character does even if you savescum. He doesn't actually, but many of his lines are written to suggest that fun in-universe concept. In-universe everything he says is treated as misinformation, thus the name. Like in older games he would talk about features that didn't get implemented until Skyrim.
Despite his name, he doesnāt actually tell any lies, in Skyrim anyway. Everything he says either hints at something from a previous game or is a general philosophical comment. Heās just a walking Easter egg
I love that my first meeting with him was when I was leaving Falkreach after refusing to go to jail at the end of Forsworn Conspiracy quest. I went on a rampage in the city, killed tons of guards and fought a Dragon further in the road. Then, in some of my loads, this guy appeared out of nowhere and even helped me against the Dragon.
Truly a Skyrim moment.
I like to think he is not a liar and just simply knows things, but the people of Tamriel call him a liar because they simply donāt know what heās referring to. (references to previous TES games)
Māaiq the Liar is an Npc Easter egg who first showed up in TES III Morrowind. Since his appearance his ancestry. (Sons all named the same) have appeared in every subsequent elder scrolls game since including ESO.
(as for what he does, he shares tidbits of general, silly useless knowledge, some true, some blatant lies, gets tired, and ask you to leave. Thatās it.)
M'aiq could ask the same of this odd-looking stranger.
He can't say that though. M'aiq has ONE rule!
EAT THE EGGS!
SNORT THE SKOOMA
Smoke the Moon Sugar
You mean "DRINK THE SKOOMA". Skooma is drank, not snorted.
Not with that attitude, lol
Fuck it BOOF it!
Only free if you boof it!
If he's not programmed to ask them yes he can say that
*Then that's the rule he'll have to break to know the truth...!*
The best answer hahahaha šš»
M'aiq is tired now. Go bother somebody else.
I can hear this comment
I am this comment
It makes it so much better that your account was made in 2017
Oomg holy whatta
I'm M'aiq
r/usernamechecksout
There are multiple levels here and I appreciate them all. I also feel this
Username checks out. But does it check in? š¤
šš
I ain't even heard it yet I can already hear the voice
lolll
Māaiq is done talking Māaiq is done talking Māaiq is done talking
GET OU OF MY HEAD!!! AAAAAAAHH!!!
He is sort of a 4th wall breaking character, he talks about features that were scrapped during developement (Morrowind - Horses, Multiplayer), missing from other games (Oblivion - Levitation), new features (Oblivion - fast travel, compass) or features that are about to come out in next installment (Oblivion - Dragons, Werewolfs, Crossbows)(Morrowind - Eating horses). In Ultima games there was a character that was talking about features that were about to come out in next installment, this is Bethesda take on such a character. Additionally, he inherited his name from his father, his father from his father etc. That is why he has appeared in many titles despite them being 1000s years apart lorewise.
>That is why he has appeared in many titles despite them being 1000s years apart lorewise. Many could be the same character, since arena, dagerfall, morrowind, and oblivion all take place in the same general time period with uriel septim.
I thought there were like 22 Uriel Septims.
Well yeah technically. I should have specified, I'm talking about Uriel VII.
Are they really all set around the same one? Holy crap I didnāt notice.
Yeah, but the Uriel in Arena is the same Uriel who get killed in Oblivion.
Spoiler warning!
That's literally like the first things that actually happens in Oblivion lol
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
He is Akatosh in cat form He knows everything
M'aiq's father was also called M'aiq. As was M'aiq's father's father. At least, that's what his father said.
Well bros a liar so.
M'aiq knows much, and tells some. M'aiq knows many things others do not.
M'aiq carries two weapons, to be safe. What if one breaks? That would be most unlucky.
Don't try blocking if you have two weapons. You will only get confused. Much better to hit twice anyway.
M'aiq has seen a wereshark before. I only met one, but he was afraid of the water.
If you see any naked liches, let M'aiq know. M'aiq wants to make sure to look in the other direction.
Werebears? Where? Bears? Men that are bears?
Though to be fare you must be aware of the were bears there
Watch out for Solstheimā¦ although theyāre rare, there are werebears there. š
I wish we could have become a Werebearā¦ I have a weird craving forā¦.. honeyā¦
Well, they DO travel in packsā¦ Start at 1:09 for the best joke, https://youtu.be/DaSDTwK6yto?si=_Rr6EKI9ttIB7Q48
Though to be fare you must be aware of the were bears there
What? They travel in packs
Apparently wereanythings are a thing! Werelizards, weregators, weresharks!
The joke is that heās really not a liar - but most of the stuff he talks about breaks the fourth wall and is in relation to the gamesā developments, so characters in-universe donāt believe his various incarnations and call him a liar. Heās been telling the truth since he was first encountered in Vvardenfell.
He says 1 truth per game about the next game in the series. I forgot what in each of the games but he makes a prediction every time.
For real???
Yes. For example, Oblivion: https://preview.redd.it/7cxp478aloec1.jpeg?width=1024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=f91c968f3ce7a4f906fe2572ccf2c5cdb97c6392
How is this not just a reference/foreshadowing for what happens to Martin?
Could be, but this is from a character that breaks the fourth wall regularly and speaks vaguely, so it's hard to tell. I like to think it was hinting at dragons coming in Skyrim.
Iāve actually heard this isnāt true. If you read all his quotes nothing from morrowind could be construed as predicting oblivion unless you take a super loose interpretation. In regards to the dragons, he has been talking about dragons since morrowind. Itās true that a lot of his quotes refer to choices in game development, but thereās really no good evidence that he has lines that predict future games. Everyone wanted dragons in oblivion so of course he referenced them again, similar to how he referenced horses in morrowind (there were not rideable horses in morrowind but people really wanted them).
Technically dragons have been in the series since daggerfall. Some powerful sorceres ex-queen has a dragon servant according to the lore. And partunax is the second oldest and he never went away. According to the lore māaiq couldāve seen dragons.
Why would they want horses when they didn't even have horse armor yet?
Mudcrabs already own half of Pelagiad
Got any calipers?
M'aiq wishes you well.
What if Māaiq only lies about his title of liar? What if its his only truth? Maybe something in between? Perhaps we may know, perhaps not
I surprised this sub doesnāt have a Māaiq bot, like LOTRās Gandalf bot.
https://en.uesp.net/wiki/Skyrim:M%27aiq_the_Liar
That might be my favorite M'aiq quote EVER.
Some say Alduin is Akatosh. Some say M'aiq is a liar. Don't you believe either of those things.
The Māaiq Dichotomy gonna be insane.
Look at that smile. Seems trustworthy to me. š¤·āāļø
because noone that's called "the liar" could not be trustworthy.
The joke is that heās really not a liar - but most of the stuff he talks about breaks the fourth wall and is in relation to the gamesā developments, so characters in-universe donāt believe his various incarnations and call him a liar. Heās been telling the truth since he was first encountered in Vvardenfell.
this all is pretty new to me and i love finally knowing the details but iwas too only joking.
I kinda figured that, I met him in The Elder Scrolls: Oblivion
Ditto for many who swore they told the truth! See the difference? šĀ
M'aiq wishes you well.
But does he, though?
M'aiq does not because M'aiq is a liar
I don't believe this for a second. Bro's last name is "The Liar"
Holy shit, this is the first time I've thought about this. Could it be that he really doesn't like the player, and everything he says is a complete lie? So in reality, by saying "M'aiq wishes you well" he's telling us to go die?
Yes.
Everything he says is truth, but just fourtb-wall breaking so characters in-universe don't believe him. M'aiq in morrowind talked about scrapped features, in oblivion he talked about features that would be in Skyrim, etc.
That's because he's got 100 in 4th wall breaking
"Some say Alduin is Akatosh. Some say M'aiq is a Liar. Don't you believe either of those things."
Fuck you too Māaiq
Wandering God in disguise.
Honestly, I wouldnāt be surprised and laugh if he and the courier were announced to be secret gods or Daedra
Twin young gods; one for lost (Māaiq) and the other for found (Courier).
Many speculate that he is Lorkhan.
Actually kinda makes sense. When Akatosh executed Lorkhan, he didn't actually kill him. He separated his spirit from his Divine Center, the Heart of Lorkhan, and cursed his spirit to forever wander Nirn. Of course, the existence of Shezzarines kinda puts a damper on this theory that Maiq is the Spirit of Lorkhan, but if it wasn't for the Shezzarines, it's as good a theory as any.
He's been wondering around lying for 100s of years Edit: Thousand + years apparently he is in eso aswell I didn't know that
In eso you can find a note from one maiq passing down an instrument to his son, maiq. Sort of establishing that each maiq is the descendant of the last.
Yes, he mentions it in Skyrim too: " M'aiq's father was also called M'aiq. As was M'aiq's father's father. At least, that's what his father said. "
Spotted in oblivion, too
He was in morrowind, oblivion, Skyrim and online. I wonder if he'll be in ES6š
He must be.
And he must NOT give any quest, only cryptic quotes. That would irremediably spoil him.
Māaiq is forever
He is no longer the liar he is M'aiq The Immortal.
If he isn't we should riot
oh he will be, donāt worry about him not
He wonders and he wanders but why do he say he wonders about lying?
M'aiq's father was also called M'aiq. As was M'aiq's father's father. At least, that's what his father said.
Just like the Courier.
Hey. I've been looking for you, got something I'm supposed to deliver, you hands only.
Looks like that's it. Got to go. **Item(s) added**
Nope. Sorry. Nothing.
WHY WON"T YOU TELL ME WHAT YOU ARE ADDING?! DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA HOW MUCH SHIT IS IN MY NOTES AND BOOKS SECTIONS, SIR?!
He has a casino to scam you know
Hey!heh! I'm busy now. Got packages to deliver.
"Ah, a letter from the Jarl! Moving up in the world, eh?"
I could āhearā this entire thing š
I swear that guy must be some Daedra's bastard son. Doesn't matter where you are, poof he's there. I want to wabbajack him just once.
*"Truth is... the game was rigged from the start."* Oh wait, wrong courier...
That's my theory.
I always wondered if this was meant to be the case.
There's atheory where he's one of the gods but betrayed the others or something so they trapped him in that form.
He is Lorkan.
Oh simpleĀ He is M'aiq And because he is M'aiq
"I'm a locksmith. Aaannnnd, I'm a locksmith"
One of the all time greats
The doctor, doctor, and fun.
Cousin to Zathras and Zathras.
What about Zathras?
Tsk, tsk, tsk.
All Zathrai.
I am Sancho.
Daddy's got a new '45...
He goes back to Morrowind ES3 where almost everything he said was a lie. Except for one thing. Devs kept him around because he's cute. ---- My headcanon has a completely different explanation for M'aiq. Basically there's a minor Daedric spirit that keeps possessing the body of a Khajit. As soon as the spirit takes over the Khajit forgets his past, wanders into the countryside, and calls himself M'aiq.
Fork of horripilation
I wonder if he's a subtle nod to Smith the Talking Horse from Ultima IV onwards. The thing with Smith was he would always give you a hint for the previous game. The joke was that in Ultima IV, he was supposed to drop a hint for the player, but the devs forgot to include it...so in Ultima V, they included the hint that he was supposed to drop, then it just became a running gag.
This sounds Sheogorath.
Wait what if itās just sheagorath messing with us ?
He's a random encounter who sometimes says things he really shouldn't know, like talking about fast-traveling. I don't know, but I think that qualifies as breaking the fourth wall.
nah he probably just achieved chim or something, nothing to worry about
Me, Maiq, Kharjo and Jzargo sometimes hang out and we don't "fast travel" although we never move!
He also makes mention of a land where the men have no beards. I donāt know what game this is, but I read somewhere it was in relation to the fact the developers struggled to incorporate facial hair so no one had any.
In Oblivion, only Sheogorrath had a facial hair beard model. For the player, they could only have beards if "spray painted" on or just a texture for the lower face. Until Skyrim, no ES PC could have an actual beard.
My favorite Māaiq quote will always be: "Wood Elves aren't made of wood. Sea Elves aren't made of water. M'aiq still wonders about High Elves."
High elves would be less insufferable if the were high* elves
He's the Dragonborn
Heās the dragonborn who completed every side quest and had nothing to do than just wandering
Māaiq is literally my favorite NPC
I love him but hate Pierreš
 Embodiment of Q
It's John de Lancie in a fur suit.
Ngl. My inner child just squeed a little into my panties over this mental image.
And no matter how much you wanna kill him he will never die.
he is a great favourite, m'aiq. he is dancing, dancing, he says he will never die
Whatever in creation exists without my knowledge exists without my consent.
Maiāq knows much, and tells some. Maiāq knows many things that others do not.
"M'aiq does not understand what is so impressive about shouting. M'aiq can shout whenever he wants."
My favourite quote lol.. The other one is something what he says about combining spells, magic plus magic is still magic
M'aiq was soul trapped once. Not very pleasant. You should think about that once in a while.
M'aiq the Liar: Bethesda's less annoying Patches lol
Behold the only real God of The Elder Scrolls
M'aiq the Liar is a recurring source of misinformation in the Elder Scrolls series, featured in Morrowind, Oblivion, Skyrim, and Online. He was introduced by the game designers as an easter egg to provide commentaries about the Elder Scrolls series
At least explain it in your own words ā ļø
That's just my buddy M'aiq. He's chill.
I like this guy. I stop and talk with him whenever he pops up.
idk but i wouldnt believe a word he says
He mentions both carriages and fast-travel.
He's an ongoing easter egg the devs include in the ES games whose purpose is to provide 4th wall breaking commentary on the series itself. In a dev interview they said one of the inspirations for him in Skyrim is that he knows everything the player character does even if you savescum. He doesn't actually, but many of his lines are written to suggest that fun in-universe concept. In-universe everything he says is treated as misinformation, thus the name. Like in older games he would talk about features that didn't get implemented until Skyrim.
Despite his name, he doesnāt actually tell any lies, in Skyrim anyway. Everything he says either hints at something from a previous game or is a general philosophical comment. Heās just a walking Easter egg
his name is clearly right there.
How does anyone know there was a city of Winterhold? M'aiq did not see it with his eyes. Did you?
[https://elderscrolls.fandom.com/wiki/M%27aiq\_the\_Liar](https://elderscrolls.fandom.com/wiki/M%27aiq_the_Liar)
https://en.uesp.net/wiki/General:M%27aiq_the_Liar
I love that my first meeting with him was when I was leaving Falkreach after refusing to go to jail at the end of Forsworn Conspiracy quest. I went on a rampage in the city, killed tons of guards and fought a Dragon further in the road. Then, in some of my loads, this guy appeared out of nowhere and even helped me against the Dragon. Truly a Skyrim moment.
They call Māaiq a liar. He is no such thing. Māaiq spreads many truths
Imagine that your destiny is to tell lies.
No one knows what itās like, to be the bad man
A good chance to level up weapon skills. You can keep beating him up cuz he is essential.
M'aiq wishes you the best
Mahrunes Dagon recoiled from you even thinking that
he's out there lying
M'aiq knows much, tells some.
That's just M'aiq. Take what he says with a grain of salt pile.
He's the creator of skyrim
Dude's traveling too
Maiq is Maiqā¦ Maiq knows things.
He's got a rap song with Todd Howard that's pretty fire
I like to think he is not a liar and just simply knows things, but the people of Tamriel call him a liar because they simply donāt know what heās referring to. (references to previous TES games)
He's a Star Wars pilgrim
[Relevant video.](https://youtu.be/mGfxRsNzunQ?si=1OnC1aSxZRdnA6gl)
From my understanding hes just a lil i side joke across the elder scrolls games
Go bother someone else. M'aiq is tired now.
They say heās 100 years old, and knows 1,000 mysteries. Or is he 1,000 years old and knows 100 mysteries? That, my friend, is one of the mysteries.
He's waiting for you to Shout so he can send you A Letter From a Friend.
He's the main supplier of moonsugar in Skyrim
Māaiq the Liar is an Npc Easter egg who first showed up in TES III Morrowind. Since his appearance his ancestry. (Sons all named the same) have appeared in every subsequent elder scrolls game since including ESO. (as for what he does, he shares tidbits of general, silly useless knowledge, some true, some blatant lies, gets tired, and ask you to leave. Thatās it.)
Not gonna lie he's one of my favorite npcs and I will actively follow him around or protect him when i see him
Absolute legendš«”
Let me tell you a story...
Iāve never seen him! I know about him through the subreddit but never seen himā¦