Alright, probably a weird and certainly a useless question about Skyrim. Say you've got a soul trapped in a soul gem. What happens to the soul after the gem is consumed? Is the soul consumed as if it never existed, or is it then free to move on to whatever afterlife or Daedric plane (or whatever) its owner believed in? What about enchanting armor: the enchantments in armor never need to be recharged...does that mean the soul is "trapped" in the garment for all time?

Doesn't matter really, it is just a game, but I'm wondering if it's explained in the canon anywhere. I've searched most of the books in Skyrim having to do with enchanting and conjuring, and can't find anything about it on the internet. Anybody able to shed light on this?

I think they just turn the soul into raw energy and the soul is 'gone' as soon as you use it for a purpose.
They're all happy dangling in your backpack before that moment however, which is a fun thought.

The soul is condemned to a unique fate based on what enchantment (or enchantments) you turn it into. Make a fire enchantment, the soul burns for the rest of eternity. Frost, it freezes. Etc.

Firstly, the planes of Oblivion are not the afterlife of the TES series.

Secondly, animal souls (white souls) are continuously in existence, so yes the souls are used as raw energy and their 'essence' or 'lifeforce' is released to become a new animal. But, men, mer and beast have 'black souls' which are temporary things but are much, much more powerful. It's why you need a black soul gem to hold them, and once you use them I don't think they're 'released', probably destroyed.

I always found that really dark. You're taking this dude's soul to enchant your weapon, taking his entire afterlife for some bonus damage. And people are selling these things, they are selling souls to you.

@Jason_Bourne: They really seem like they should be some kind of hot, black market item.

@TEHMAXXORZ said:

Firstly, the planes of Oblivion are not the afterlife of the TES series.

Secondly, animal souls (white souls) are continuously in existence, so yes the souls are used as raw energy and their 'essence' or 'lifeforce' is released to become a new animal. But, men, mer and beast have 'black souls' which are temporary things but are much, much more powerful. It's why you need a black soul gem to hold them, and once you use them I don't think they're 'released', probably destroyed.

So as I understand what you're suggesting, for example, even if he has earned his place in Sovngarde, if you've capture a Nord's soul and then use it to recharge a weapon, then oh well, no Sovngarde for him. Is that what you're saying?

I never really thought about that until I read this thread. It would be interesting to read the lore behind it.

@EODTech said:

@TEHMAXXORZ said:

Firstly, the planes of Oblivion are not the afterlife of the TES series.

Secondly, animal souls (white souls) are continuously in existence, so yes the souls are used as raw energy and their 'essence' or 'lifeforce' is released to become a new animal. But, men, mer and beast have 'black souls' which are temporary things but are much, much more powerful. It's why you need a black soul gem to hold them, and once you use them I don't think they're 'released', probably destroyed.

So as I understand what you're suggesting, for example, even if he has earned his place in Sovngarde, if you've capture a Nord's soul and then use it to recharge a weapon, then oh well, no Sovngarde for him. Is that what you're saying?

Maybe. I'm not entirely sure though. I know animal souls are permanent and eternal, and that a man, mer or beast soul isn't eternal, but I'm not sure whether or not it's destroyed or sent to an afterlife.

This is worse than the time I found out Jelly Babies had names.

Because vidya gaems.

I don't generally think about it, though I like this answer the best:

@TEHMAXXORZ said:

Firstly, the planes of Oblivion are not the afterlife of the TES series.

Secondly, animal souls (white souls) are continuously in existence, so yes the souls are used as raw energy and their 'essence' or 'lifeforce' is released to become a new animal. But, men, mer and beast have 'black souls' which are temporary things but are much, much more powerful. It's why you need a black soul gem to hold them, and once you use them I don't think they're 'released', probably destroyed.

With this answer, capturing animal souls doesn't hold as many moral issues as capturing the souls of men. Granted, it's iffy no matter how you put it, but this isn't bad. For animals, it's like hunting for food and using their furs on coats and stuff so they still have a use, plus here they are reborn somewhere else and for humans - well, it's a good reason to make sure that trapping humans is still a more evil act.

Off-topic: I asked this very same question about Full Metal Alchemist's

@Vampir said:

@Jason_Bourne: They really seem like they should be some kind of hot, black market item.

This is from the Elder Scrolls wiki:

"They are generally regarded as unethical, and their use is prohibited at The College of Winterhold, despite the institution's lenient stance on the practice of Necromancy. Soul Trapping humanoids is considered a crime in many of Skyrim's Holds."

@Panpipe said:

@Vampir said:

@Jason_Bourne: They really seem like they should be some kind of hot, black market item.

This is from the Elder Scrolls wiki:

"They are generally regarded as unethical, and their use is prohibited at The College of Winterhold, despite the institution's lenient stance on the practice of Necromancy. Soul Trapping humanoids is considered a crime in many of Skyrim's Holds."

Yet every court wizard has them.

@Jason_Bourne: Maybe they sell them for "animal soul use only", like those shops that sell lots of tie-dye and glass pipes for "tobacco enthusiasts".

I always wondered that too, but I was just like oh well...I need my fire sword to do more fire!

I always found that really dark. You're taking this dude's soul to enchant your weapon, taking his entire afterlife for some bonus damage. And people are selling these things, they are selling souls to you.

I imagined the souls getting trapped in the gear you enchant with them, though I don't think I've found any books in any of the games on the matter. But that would seem consistent with how the Dwemer used them?

@Panpipe said:

@Vampir said:

@Jason_Bourne: They really seem like they should be some kind of hot, black market item.

This is from the Elder Scrolls wiki:

"They are generally regarded as unethical, and their use is prohibited at The College of Winterhold, despite the institution's lenient stance on the practice of Necromancy. Soul Trapping humanoids is considered a crime in many of Skyrim's Holds."

Yet every court wizard has them.

@EODTech: Your question seems to have been answered, but there is actually some official lore (as in books) to the nature of souls/soul gems (see link). It doesn't answer your question specifically, but it is interesting nonetheless http://uesp.net/wiki/Lore:Souls,_Black_and_White

Just completed a Daedric quest that relates to your question. POSSIBLE SPOILERS BELOW.

In the quest you must remove the soul of a demented mage from a Daedric artifact known as the Black Star, an infinite soul gem. Since the soul gem is infinite and cannot be depleted, the mage viewed storing his soul in the artifact as a way of achieving immortality. However if you succeed in removing his soul from the gem, the person who helps you remove his soul says something like "at least now his soul will know peace, even if that peace is nonexistence."

So there you go, apparently as soon as a soul leaves a gem it ceases to exist.

Thanks fetchfox (et al) for the info. Funnily enough, only a couple of hours after posting my original question, I stumbled across a Skyrim book which discusses soul gems. Didn't really answer my question but was close enough that it was amusing. I am reading all the books of Skyrim in one huge ebook on my Nook, and this just happened to be the next book after I created this thread. Unfortunately I don't remember the name of the book...like I said, it's every book in Skyrim in one huge file.

@EODTech: You're welcome duder. I have the same collection on my iphone (ibooks I think), genius on public transport or similar. Who knew Argonian lore could be that interesting.

@fetchfox said:

@EODTech: You're welcome duder. I have the same collection on my iphone (ibooks I think), genius on public transport or similar. Who knew Argonian lore could be that interesting.

Yeah, reading those really makes me hope that a DLC or maybe a future Elder Scrolls game takes place in Elseweyr and/or Blackmarsh. Both of them sound fascinating and beautiful.

@EODTech: In Elder Scrolls online, all regions will (supposedly) be open to you. But it's far to early to say anything about the games quality.