Is Lorkhan an aedra?

Question

In Elder Scrolls lore, is Lorkhan considered an et’ada or a creation of Sithis or Padomay, similarly to how Auri-El is the soul of Anui-El which is the soul of Anu?

Answer 1

What is an Aedra?

The designations of Gods, Demons, Aedra, and Daedra, are universally confusing to the layman. They are often used interchangeably.

_{–Aedra and Daedra, first appearing in Morrowind}

The people of Tamriel often use Aedra interchangeably with other terms for deities, and there isn't a universally recognized definition of whom they are (although the Eight Divines are usually recognized as Aedra).

I'll focus on the following definition:

Aedra are associated with stasis. Daedra represent change.

Aedra created the mortal world and are bound to the Earth Bones. Daedra, who cannot create, have the power to change.

As part of the divine contract of creation, the Aedra can be killed. Witness Lorkhan and the moons.

The protean Daedra, for whom the rules do not apply, can only be banished.

_{–Aedra and Daedra, first appearing in Morrowind}

If Lorkhan "died", then he's an Aedra

The passage above saying "Witness Lorkhan and the moons" refers to the belief that the two moons of Nirn are the two halves of Lorkhan's corpse.

In short, the Moons were and are the two halves of Lorkhan's 'flesh-divinity'. Like the rest of the Gods, Lorkhan was a plane(t) that participated in the Great Construction... except where the Eight lent portions of their heavenly bodies to create the mortal plane(t), Lorkhan's was cracked asunder and his divine spark fell to Nirn as a shooting star "to impregnate it with the measure of its existence and a reasonable amount of selfishness."

_{–The Lunar Lorkhan, first appearing in Morrowind}

If this is indeed his corpse, and the Heart of Lorkhan isn't truly his heart (see below), then Lorkhan is dead and would meet the criteria of the Aedra.

If he didn't "die", then he's a Daedra

In contrast, Mankar Camoran believes that Lorkhan is not dead, and that he is an agent of change (which is indicative of being a Daedra, not an Aedra). Note that "Daedroth" is the singular form of "Daedra".

Why do you think your world has always been contested ground, the arena of powers and immortals? It is Tamriel, the realm of Change, brother to Madness, sister to Deceit. Your false gods could not entirely rewrite history. Thus you remember tales of Lorkhan, vilified, a dead trickster, whose heart came to Tamriel. But if a god can die, how does his heart survive? He is daedroth! TAMRIEL AE DAEDROTH! "This Heart is the heart of the world, for one was made to satisfy the other." You all remember this. It is in every legend. Daedra cannot die, so your so-called gods cannot erase him from your minds completely.

_{–Dialogue of Mankar Camoran in Oblivion}

We know for certain that the Heart of Lorkhan exists because the hero of Morrowind saw it firsthand. If it is indeed the literal heart of the god, then that would disqualify him from being an Aedra under the definition above.

Unfortunately, we don't objectively know for certain if Lorkhan is alive or not. Are the moons his corpse? Is the Heart of Lorkhan really what it's said to be? We don't know for sure.

Answer 2

Aedra ("our ancestors") are those et'Ada who partook in the creation of Mundus. They were originally tricked by Lorkhan into sacrificing parts of their essence and binding it to the world, so it is ambiguous whether Lorkhan could be counted as one of them, from this point of view.

However, since Lorkhan's essense became also a part of Nirn after he was slain by Akatosh, and he is attributed as the creator of men, and is a member of many pantheons together with other Divines, it is reasonable to count him among the many Aedra.