Highlights
- M'aiq The Liar is a beloved and iconic character in The Elder Scrolls, despite being a recurring NPC with little impact on gameplay.
- M'aiq is known for his random conversations and witty remarks that often reference game mechanics, past games, or unused content.
- M'aiq's abilities and past remain a mystery, with hints of him being exceptionally powerful and having a mysterious family lineage. His enigmatic nature adds to his appeal as a character.
M'aiq The Liar is a well-loved character in The Elder Scrolls despite the fact that most details about him are still a mystery. The enigmatic Khajiit is one of the most recognizable characters that players can find roaming Tamriel, becoming something of an icon for The Elder Scrolls. M'aiq has never been any more than a recurring NPC, and most of the games he appears in would barely be any different if he hadn't shown up. However, there is something about M'aiq The Liar that takes him from a side character to an Elder Scrolls fan favorite.
As one of the iconic NPCs of The Elder Scrolls, M'aiq The Liar is well-known by a majority of the fanbase. He has not always behaved the same way, though. While his first appearance in Morrowind saw him living on a small island, his more well-known role is roaming the land, appearing as a random encounter along the road in pretty much any area of the map. One thing that has remained consistent about M'aiq is his chattiness. Whenever he's encountered, he's always up for a short conversation, typically involving random, unprompted topics. Regardless of how aimless his conversations are, M'aiq is entertaining to talk to.
M'aiq The Liar Is a Mysterious, Entertaining Member of The Elder Scrolls Universe
Ever since M'aiq's debut as an NPC in The Elder Scrolls 3: Morrowind, he has had a penchant for making comments that refer to game mechanics, past games, or even cut and unused content. For example, his line in Skyrim about carrying a spare weapon in case one breaks references how Skyrim's weapons never break, unlike in Oblivion. While he still has a few relatively random quotes, most of them reference something either in the current game or a previous one. This makes him an unusual presence in the world since no other character shares any insights similar to M'aiq's comments about Tamriel.
Interestingly, there are some implications that M'aiq may be as strong as Skyrim's protagonist, the Last Dragonborn. In Skyrim, sometimes M'aiq will spawn near the corpses of enemies, which can include a dragon, implying that he is capable of fighting one on his own. That's not the first instance of him showing remarkable abilities, either. In Oblivion, M'aiq can run incredibly fast, like a horse galloping at a full sprint. Putting these details together makes M'aiq's power seem downright supernatural in scale. However, despite these implications, M'aiq generally acts like a normal NPC in-game, adding further intrigue to his actual abilities.
After four games, M'aiq has only divulged a small amount of information about himself, making his past one of The Elder Scrolls' most enduring mysteries. The most that players get is the fact that, in Skyrim, M'aiq says that his father and grandfather were both named M'aiq. With this information, there's a good chance that the M'aiqs that players have met in the games were different members of the same family. M'aiq also claims to have been sent to the Soul Cairn once and escaped, which is either a lie or another sign of absurd power. With no concrete confirmation of anything, M'aiq's past remains an enigma.
Admittedly, part of what makes M'aiq work as a character is his air of mystery. Wherever the player travels in the provinces of The Elder Scrolls' Tamriel, there's a chance that they'll find this talkative Khajiit somewhere down the line. It's clear that the developers probably had fun writing his lines, which are full of in-jokes and commentary on the series, and that makes him a fun character to encounter in-game. M'aiq The Lair is a good character not just for being one of The Elder Scrolls' more mysterious figures, but because it's always worth seeing what he'll say next.