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How to Get to High Hrothgar in Skyrim

Last Updated: August 17, 2023

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To learn one of the most powerful shouts in the game, you’ll need to meet the legendary Greybeards and prove your worthiness. The mute monks are located on the peak of Skyrim’s highest mountains, living a life of solitude. Ascending the Throat of the World is an exhausting and perilous trip, with many enemies and hazards along the way. You can reach High Hrothgar after receiving the quest “The Way of The Voice” from Jarl Balgruuf.

Getting to Ivarstead

• The stores in Whiterun can help prepare you for the climb. "Warmaiden's", located near the entrance of Whiterun, has two shopkeepers offering weapons and armor for sale. If you’re an archer, you can buy bows and arrows from Elrindir in the "Drunken Huntsman". For more spells and staffs, you can visit Farengar in Dragonsreach.
• "Belethor's General Goods" has a variety of items for sale each day.
• "Arcadia’s Cauldron" specializes in potions and elixirs.

• If she’s not already following you, you can find her in Dragonsreach (unless you've purchased Breezehome, in which case you can find her there). Talk to Lydia and request that she follow you.

• If you're pressed for time or don't want to make the long journey, you can fast-travel to Helgen (where the game's prologue occurred) and then make a quick walk east to reach Ivarstead. This can be good if you need to quickly get to Ivarstead, but you'll miss out on a lot of locations and opportunities to gain XP.

• Continue on the road east past Horningbrew Meadery and over the White River. You'll see a signpost that directs you towards Ivarstead.

• Head north after when you reach Honeystrand Cave. After crossing another small bridge, you'll enter Ivarstead.
• Pay attention to the signs on the road if you lose your bearings. Follow the signs to Ivarstead.

Climbing the Mountain

• It's highly-recommended that you take the quest to deliver supplies, as you don't have to go out of your way and it earns you some easy gold.

• See the next section for details on all of the shrine locations.

• You can try to sneak past the troll at night.
• You may be able to scale the sides of the gully to avoid it. You can also use ranged attacks from the cliff to do damage without worrying about a counter-attack.
• You can fight the Frost Troll to the death. Having Lydia with you will make the fight a little easier. Use fire attacks for maximum damage.
• Get the troll's attention and retreat back down the stairs. Karita will help you fight the troll.

• The journey should take about 15 minutes total, depending on the enemies you faced.

Finding the Shrines

Community Q&A

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• ↑ http://elderscrolls.wikia.com/wiki/The_Way_of_the_Voice

About This Article

1. Stock up on supplies. 2. Get Lydia to join you. 3. Head east and follow the path around the mountain. 4. Talk to Klimmek. 5. Go up the stairs to fight (or run from) the Frost Troll. 6. Put an offering in the chest. 7. Speak with Arngeir. 8. Find the 10 shrines. Did this summary help you? Yes No

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After players defeat their first dragon outside Whiterun, a booming voice summons the Dragonborn to High Hrothgar on the summit of the Throat of the World. Doing so is a key part of the early main quest line of The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim .

However, reaching High Hrothgar isn't as easy as walking straight there from Whiterun. The isolated monastery is most of the way up a very tall and steep mountain, and players will find it difficult to climb up from any angle even when using the climbing exploits Skyrim is famous for. Fortunately, there's a path up the mountain that any player can climb.

Related: Skyrim Fan Creates Beautiful Painting Of High Hrothgar

Reaching Ivarstead

To reach High Hrothgar, the best place to start is a town called Ivarstead. Players should have an objective marker pointing to this settlement when the quest "The Way of the Voice" is active. One way to reach Ivarstead is to take the cart to Riften and go west along the river.

Players can also get to Ivarstead by walking along the base of the Throat of the World mountain, which may confuse some players who expect a path that leads more directly to High Hrothgar. East of Whiterun is the Ritual Stone , a potential fast-travel location. South of the Ritual Stone is a rough path that leads up the mountain, but instead of leading straight to the peak it eventually reaches a fork where the Dragonborn must turn left or right. Turn left and keep following the path as it goes back below the snow line to eventually reach Ivarstead and the start of the real path up the mountain.

On the west side of Ivarstead is a long stone bridge, and players should find two people talking about the Seven Thousand Steps and how hard it is to climb them. Players can offer to carry Klimmek's supplies up for him , which is an easy way to make 500 gold since the Dragonborn has to visit High Hrothgar anyway.

Climbing High

Once players start on the Seven Thousand Steps, it's easy enough to stick to the path since there are always some stone stairs that mark the path forward. Along the way, the Dragonborn will encounter two pilgrims and ten emblems that tell a story if players examine them. A few leveled wild animals will appear along the path, but none of them are quite as infamous as the frost troll .

Related: Skyrim Player Gets 4 Kill Cams in a Row While Fighting Frost Trol

At one point, the path levels out and passes through a narrow ravine. Regardless of the Dragonborn's level, a frost troll is standing on one side of the ravine and will attack if it spots the Dragonborn. Frost trolls are level 22, making this a tough fight for a low-level character. Fortunately, there are several ways to overcome this challenge without having to come back much later:

• The sides of the ravine ahead of the troll are climbable, and players who find an isolated perch can hammer the troll with ranged spells and attacks.
• Trolls, frost and otherwise, are weak to fire damage . Fire damage also stops them from regenerating for a time.
• Players can sneak around the troll by climbing up the left side of the ravine and staying low enough to avoid line-of-sight.
• The frost troll isn't as fast as a character in light or no armor with empty hands. Run for long enough and eventually the troll will give up the chase.

The Graybeards

Once players get past the frost troll, they're home free. The monastery of High Hrothgar is a few flights of stairs ahead, and there should be no random encounters between the ravine and the final destination. Just be sure to drop Klimmek's Supplies in the chest at the base of the monastery before entering.

The Graybeards are friendly enough, and they'll explain to the Dragonborn how to use Shouts, how to gain new Words of Power , and how to make Shouts more powerful. More importantly, the location High Hrothgar will unlock, and so players will never have to climb the Seven Thousand Steps again.

The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim is available now on PC, PS3, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox 360, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.

More: The Best Games To Play If You Like Skyrim

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High Hrothgar (Skyrim)

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High Hrothgar is a monastery that sits at the top of the Seven Thousand Steps to the Throat of the World — the highest point in Tamriel . It is here the ancient Greybeards reside, living in absolute silence to better attune themselves to the voice of the sky. [1]

• 1.1 Etched tablet emblems
• 2.1 Banners
• 3 Courtyard
• 4.1 The Way of the Voice
• 4.2 Climb The Steps
• 4.3 Season Unending
• 8 Appearances
• 9 References

Seven Thousand Steps [ ]

The act of climbing the Seven Thousand Steps holds a spiritual significance for many Nords due to the belief that Men were created by Kyne on this mountain when the sky breathed onto the land. This belief has led to pilgrims from all across Tamriel traveling to the Throat of the World, and several may be encountered along the mountain path either meditating or studying the etched tablets. [1]

The path leading to High Hrothgar begins in the village of Ivarstead —across the main bridge in the northwest side of town. The mountain path itself is treacherous and is host to a multitude of dangerous creatures such as frost trolls , ice wraiths , snow bears , ice wolves , Frostbite Spiders and occasionally dragons .

Etched tablet emblems [ ]

There are ten Etched Tablets along the trail telling of the founding of High Hrothgar. Reading them all will grant the Voice of the Sky passive ability .

• Emblem I – Before the birth of Men , the Dragons ruled all Mundus ; Their word was the Voice , and they spoke only for True Needs; For the Voice could blot out the sky and flood the land
• Emblem II – Men were born and spread over the face of Mundus; The Dragons presided over the crawling masses; Men were weak then, and had no Voice
• Emblem III – The fledgling spirits of Men were strong in Old Times; Unafraid to war with Dragons and their Voices; But the Dragons only shouted them down and broke their hearts
• Emblem IV – Kyne called on Paarthurnax , who pitied Man; Together they taught Men to use the Voice; Then Dragon War raged, Dragon against Tongue
• Emblem V – Man prevailed, shouting Alduin out of the world; Proving for all that their Voice too was strong; Although their sacrifices were many-fold
• Emblem VI – With roaring Tongues, the Sky-Children conquer; Founding the First Empire with Sword and Voice; Whilst the Dragons withdrew from this World
• Emblem VII – The Tongues at Red Mountain went away humbled; Jurgen Windcaller began His Seven Year Meditation; To understand how Strong Voices could fail
• Emblem VIII – Jurgen Windcaller chose silence and returned; The 17 disputants could not shout Him down; Jurgen the Calm built His home on the Throat of the World
• Emblem IX – For years all silent, the Greybeards spoke one name; Tiber Septim , stripling then, was summoned to Hrothgar; They blessed and named him Dovahkiin
• Emblem X – The Voice is worship; Follow the Inner path; Speak only in True Need

Interior [ ]

Banners [ ].

There are banners hanging throughout the interior of High Hrothgar. Despite how many hang, there are only two separate phrases written on them and the positioning when they are first encountered seems to indicate they are meant to be paired. In the picture, the one on the left reads "LOK BO" and the one on the right reads "THuuM TuuM." Unfortunately, a complete translation cannot be made as not enough of the language is known to translate it from simply 'reading into it'. We do, however, know that LOK is 'Sky' and THuuM (Thu'um) is 'Shout' or 'Storm Voice'. Therefore, it is likely that the banners translate to the phrase that Arngeir frequently speaks to the Dragonborn after they engage with or leave conversation with him: "Sky above, voice within."

Courtyard [ ]

The courtyard of High Hrothgar can be accessed from within the temple. The courtyard itself is relatively sparse, with only a few trees and stone pillars. A large double gate is off to one side where the Greybeards practice the Whirlwind Sprint shout. A large tower dominates the opposite end, where Arngeir occasionally meditates at the top. Occasionally, one of the Greybeards will meditate by the cliffside—he will stand up to shout at the sky, then continue meditating.

The path to the summit of the Throat of the World is also accessible from the courtyard, but will initially be blocked by a powerful wind barrier. The only way to disperse the barrier is with the Clear Skies shout.

The Way of the Voice [ ]

After the completion of Dragon Rising , a powerful shout will be heard from the mountains close to Whiterun . Upon talking to Jarl Balgruuf , it is revealed that the shout was uttered by the Greybeards , summoning the Dragonborn to High Hrothgar.

Climb The Steps [ ]

Season Unending [ ]

The Dragonborn must get Ulfric Stormcloak and General Tullius to negotiate a truce before either Balgruuf or Vignar Gray-Mane (whichever one is Jarl) will help them stop Alduin.

Gallery [ ]

• This location is inaccessible until the Dragonborn starts the associated quest.
• The wind barrier in the courtyard deals 25 points of frost damage per second, making it impossible to pass unless the Clear Skies shout is used.
• On the path to the Throat of the World, the fog effect is called " Oppressive Cloud/Fog: The fog slows your progress and dulls your senses " under the active effects menu.
• In an interview, Todd Howard jokingly mentioned that he would count all the steps leading up to High Hrothgar to make sure it's seven thousand, [2] however it appears that there are actually only seven-hundred forty-eight steps. [3]
• When walking, it takes approximately 2,403 footsteps from High Hrothgar to reach the base pathway. Walking the entire 7,000 footsteps from High Hrothgar, however, will actually bring the Dragonborn to the town center of Whiterun.
• Hrothgar was a legendary Danish king who lived in the early 6th century. He plays a role in the epic poem  Beowulf , composed by an Anglo-Saxon poet. A significant portion of the poem takes place in Heorot, Hrothgar's mead hall.
• Residents of Ivarstead , except for Narfi , can be asked what they know about High Hrothgar.
• According to Balgruuf , High Hrothgar is neutral territory in regards to the Skyrim Civil War .
• The Greybeards can occasionally be found in the courtyard during the day practicing Shouts.
• The dressers behind the beds have been placed so that when opened, the drawer clips through the bed's headboard.

Appearances [ ]

• The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
• The Elder Scrolls Legends: Heroes of Skyrim

References [ ]

• ↑ 1.0 1.1 Pocket Guide to the Empire, First Edition: Skyrim
• ↑ Special Edition Podcast: Todd Howard Skyrim Q&A - Gameinformer.com
• ↑ Reddit.com
• Elder Scrolls
• 1 Marriage (Skyrim)
• 2 Console Commands (Skyrim)
• 3 Stones of Barenziah

Skyrim:Season Unending

Quick Walkthrough [ edit ]

• Talk to Arngeir to get the Greybeards to host the negotiations at High Hrothgar .
• Talk to both General Tullius in Solitude and Ulfric Stormcloak in Windhelm to get them to attend.
• Return to High Hrothgar for the negotiations.
• Take your seat at the negotiating table.
• Make a series of decisions about the terms of the truce.

Detailed Walkthrough [ edit ]

Triggering the quest [ edit ].

This quest starts early in the concurrent quest, The Fallen , but only if the Jarl of Whiterun ( Balgruuf or Vignar ) insists that a truce must be negotiated before allowing Dragonsreach to be used to capture a dragon. If either side of the Civil War controls at least eight of the nine holds of Skyrim, a truce can no longer be negotiated, and this quest will automatically be bypassed.

If you wish to receive a reward for completing this quest, you must have joined either the Imperial Legion or the Stormcloaks . Furthermore, it is best to do this quest soon after choosing a side in the civil war. As you complete more of the Reunification of Skyrim or Liberation of Skyrim quests, it becomes more and more difficult to negotiate a treaty that favors your faction and thus elicit a reward.

Organizing a Peace Council [ edit ]

The Greybeards are the only group who command enough respect to broker a truce in the civil war. Therefore your first task is to travel to High Hrothgar and convince Arngeir that you need his help to stop the war. He is initially reluctant, but the fact that a peace council is necessary to defeat Alduin changes his mind.

You then need to convince both Ulfric (at the Palace of the Kings in Windhelm ) and Tullius (at Castle Dour in Solitude ) to attend the truce negotiations. You can talk to the two leaders in either order, using the dialogue option "I have a message from the Greybeards" (if this dialogue option is missing, see the notes ). They will each provide a variety of dialogue options, depending upon the progress of the civil war and whether or not the other leader has already agreed to attend the council. Each has one persuasion option, which is fastest way to convince them; however, any selection will eventually lead to an option confirming that they will "come to the peace council" . Starting by talking to Ulfric is somewhat easier, because he can be successfully persuaded as long as your Speech skill is at least 25; Tullius requires a Speech skill of 50 to be persuaded.

When you return to High Hrothgar, Arngeir and the other Greybeards will be waiting in the main hall of High Hrothgar, where they have been welcoming everyone to the negotiations. Beside the Greybeards, the attendees consist of:

• General Tullius: head of the delegation
• Legate Rikke : his advisor; provides more colorful reactions to the negotiations
• Jarl Elisif the Fair of Solitude: also provides more colorful reactions
• Elenwen : the Thalmor ambassador to Skyrim, and not a welcome addition to the council
• Ulfric: head of the delegation
• Galmar Stone-Fist : his advisor; provides more colorful reactions to the negotiations
• The Jarl of Whiterun, either Balgruuf the Greater or Vignar Gray-Mane : plays only a small role; however, he is the primary beneficiary of the truce

The arrival of Delphine and Esbern provokes a small scene because of the mutual dislike between them and the Greybeards, but in the end they put aside their differences for the duration of the council.

You can talk to any of the attendees to get their various reactions to being at High Hrothgar or their expectations for the negotiations. Once you are ready to start the council meeting, you will need to talk to Arngeir — although he will forcibly start the discussion if you avoid him for too long. His dialogue reveals the meaning behind the quest's name: "Season unending" is the ancient Nord term for war, and thus reflects Arngeir's ongoing pessimism about the usefulness of the truce.

Once you take your seat at the table you will be unable to get up for the duration of the meeting and the negotiations will start.

The Negotiations: Overview [ edit ]

The end result of the negotiations is always that the two sides (the Imperial Legion and the Stormcloaks ) exchange control over one or more holds — the government (most notably the governing Jarl) in any exchanged hold is replaced. Your role in the negotiations is to make a series of decisions about which holds are exchanged, and other terms of the truce. Regardless of your choices, a truce is always signed at the end of the quest, but the terms of the truce affect subsequent gameplay, and control whether or not you get a quest reward.

The holds initially controlled by each side are dependent upon your progress in the Civil War , meaning that the available options during the negotiations can vary substantially. The primary factor influencing the quest is which side you have joined (if any) in the Civil War; this alters the overall options, as well causing more subtle changes to various dialogues. Therefore, the exact dialogue you hear may differ slightly from any provided quotations.

Despite the variations in the quest details, the negotiations always follow a fixed overall pattern:

• Ulfric objects to having a Thalmor representative at the table. You get to decide whether she stays or leaves.
• One side demands that they be given a major hold ( The Reach or The Rift ). The requested hold is predetermined, and cannot be negotiated.
• The other side requests a hold in exchange. In most cases, you are given the choice between two possible holds (a major hold or a minor hold).
• Following phase one, one of the two sides usually balks at the terms, threatening to walk out of the negotiations. Esbern needs to intercede with a speech reminding everyone about the threat posed by Alduin before negotiations can resume.
• A series of offers is made to appease the side that warned the congregation that they would leave. You are given the choice of whether to accept or refuse each of the offers. These offers continue either until the truce is balanced (neither side is favored by the overall truce) or until all options have been exhausted.
• Arngeir reviews all the terms of the treaty, and the two sides agree to them.

Throughout these negotiations, the game maintains an internal score reflecting the currently agreed-upon terms. A net score of zero means that the truce is balanced and does not favor either side. A positive score means the treaty currently favors the Imperials, whereas a negative one favors the Stormcloaks. The scores associated with each choice in the negotiation are summarized in the tables in the following sections, for the Imperial and Stormcloak variants of the quest. Scoring System Details further explains the scoring system and the negotiation options, for those interested in a more thorough understanding of the quest.

If the final score is not zero, the side favored by the treaty is pleased by the results. If you have joined that side's faction you will receive as reward one leveled enchanted weapon. If instead your side is left at a disadvantage, you are accused of betraying your side, but there are no permanent repercussions. (This was not always meant to be the case—see the Notes section for details.) If you do this quest late in the Civil War it may be impossible to negotiate a treaty that favors your faction and therefore impossible to receive the reward.

Allied with the Imperials or Neutral [ edit ]

The following table summarizes the options available during negotiation if you have joined the Imperial Legion or if you have never joined either side.

In this scenario, Whiterun is considered to be controlled by the Imperials. Therefore the aim of negotiations is for Ulfric to agree to not attack Whiterun, causing him to start negotiations by demanding that Markarth (and its hold, the Reach ) be given to the Stormcloaks.

Allied with the Stormcloaks [ edit ]

The following table summarizes the options available during negotiation if you have started Joining the Stormcloaks .

Tullius begins negotiations by demanding that Riften (and its hold, the Rift ) be given to the Imperials.

Scoring System Details [ edit ]

This section explains the source of the numbers and options listed in the tables in the previous two sections. If you are simply interested in completing this quest as quickly as possible, this section probably is not of interest.

The status of the negotiations is tracked internally by a score, which ideally totals zero at the end of the discussion. If the score is greater than zero, the treaty favors the Imperials, and the Stormcloaks will ask for more concessions (if possible). The reverse holds if the score is negative. Factors that contribute to the score are:

• Major holds are holds that contain a walled capital city — The Reach and The Rift are the only two that can be traded during the truce
• Minor holds are holds whose capital city is not walled — Falkreath Hold , Hjaalmarch , The Pale , and Winterhold
• Whether or not Elenwen is allowed to attend the council meeting counts for one point.
• There is recorded dialogue present in the game files. This indicates there were originally plans to make it possible for both sides to be asked to pay compensation for a massacre which could have happened at variety of possible locations. Only the alleged Stormcloak massacre at Karthwasten was actually implemented into the game upon release.

The options presented during the truce are controlled by who owns which holds in Skyrim. The initial sides for each hold are as follows:

The ninth hold is Whiterun Hold , which is originally neutral. It is not part of any trades in Season Unending because it is implicitly at the heart of the negotiations: the primary goal of the truce is to get the side that does not currently control Whiterun to agree to cease attacks on the hold.

The opening demand is always made by the side that is opposed to the Dragonborn's allegiance. The demand is that they be given a major hold. This means that the opening demand is always for The Reach (if being made by the Stormcloaks) or for The Rift (if being made by the Imperials). Even if the civil war has started, these holds are guaranteed to have their original affiliation: the winning side is being asked to give up a hold, and the winning side has also never lost any of its original holds.

The options get more complicated with the counter-demand. Now the side that is winning the civil war is asking the losing side to give up a hold — but the losing side may have already lost one or two of its original holds. Normally, you get to choose between the losing side's major hold and one of its minor holds. However, the major hold may have already been lost in the civil war, in which case it cannot be traded. A minor hold is always available (once both minor holds have been conquered, the winning side controls eight holds and Season Unending will not start).

After phase one of the negotiations, two holds have been exchanged, and the score can range from -2 to +2. In phase two, the game effectively tries to change the score closer to zero. In negotiation terms, the side that is unhappy with the existing terms is demanding concessions, and is not willing to give away any more land. Only minor holds can be traded in phase two. Furthermore, only minor holds that have not previously been traded in the negotiations are available — the minor hold (if traded) at phase one is never offered.

The Negotiations: Details and Dialogue [ edit ]

Elenwen [ edit ].

Before Ulfric sits down at the council table, he insists that the Thalmor representative, Elenwen , be removed. Either Tullius or Ulfric (depending upon your affiliation) will ask you to decide what should be done. Although you may have to go through an extra round of dialogue if your decision is unpopular, your decision is always obeyed. Having her stay makes the Imperials happier with the overall truce, but causes Galmar to nearly storm out. Conversely, her departure makes the Stormcloaks happier, but angers Rikke. Other than this incident, she has no real role in the negotiations.

Phase One [ edit ]

Even after everyone sits down, there are more delays, with a short speech from the side that is not in control of Whiterun emphasizing their reluctance to be participating in these truce negotiations. Nevertheless, Arngeir is able to convince everyone to get down to business, at which point the opening demand is made: that a major hold ( the Reach or the Rift ) be given up. The other side thinks the demand is outrageous, but eventually gives in to the request. You have no say in this part of the negotiations — and in fact you can't do anything other than listen to everyone else.

However, when it comes time to make a counter-demand, everyone turns to you: you are asked to suggest which hold should be exchanged for the Reach/Rift. As detailed above, there are multiple options for the counter-demand, but normally you are able to suggest either a minor hold or a major hold. The major hold (the other of the Reach or the Rift) is always the choice that is favored by your side, and is immediately accepted. If you instead suggest the minor hold, your side will question the decision, and give you another chance to opt for the major hold. You can change your mind, or else persuade your side to go with the minor hold. Should your Speech skill be at least 75, you are able to convince your side that the minor hold has some small advantage. If you fail the persuasion check you instead have to fall back on "You asked my opinion. I gave it to you," which forces a reluctant acceptance of your decision.

The large range of possible holds under discussion means that there are many possible dialogues during this discussion. In particular, each hold has a different set of dialogues detailing the advantages to controlling that hold.

Esbern's Speech [ edit ]

With an exchange of holds now on the table, the two sides of the negotiation take stock. The side that is currently getting the worse end of the deal announces the terms are completely unacceptable and threatens to walk out. (If the deal is even, neither side will stand up and issue this warning that they will leave, with Esbern's speech being preceded by other arguments.)

Before the entire truce is abandoned, Esbern intervenes with an impassioned plea reminding everyone about the importance of these negotiations. In particular, he emphasizes that any soldiers killed in the war end up strengthening Alduin, because the dragon feeds on their souls. Fortunately, his speech is enough to persuade everyone to sit back down and resume the talks.

Additionally, if you allowed Elenwen to stay, she will begin to respond to the speech, but either Tullius or Ulfric will interrupt. The person who responds is determined by whoever has gotten the shorter end of the negotiations so far.

Phase Two [ edit ]

The side that was about to walk out is now given the chance to suggest additional truce terms to appease them and even out the overall agreement. These options can include asking to be paid reparations (e.g., an undisclosed sum of gold) for a massacre that took place or asking to be given one or more minor holds. In each case, you get to decide whether to agree to the additional term.

If additional terms are accepted and it evens out the treaty, then negotiations end. Otherwise, the disgruntled side continues to complain about the unfairness of the treaty, and then come up with another suggestion. If there are no remaining options, this unhappy faction will abruptly switch from refusing to accept the truce to instead conceding that it's the fairest deal they are likely to get.

The Completed Treaty [ edit ]

Once the negotiations have reached their conclusion, Arngeir will summarize all of the terms that have been agreed upon so far, and confirm those terms with each of the parties. Tullius and Ulfric will both agree (albeit with some grumbling), and the meeting will adjourn.

The side with which you are affiliated will talk to you and tell you their opinion of the treaty. If the treaty favors them, they will be happy and give you a reward. If the treaty is neutral, they will be "disappointed," believing that "You gave too much away. More than was necessary to secure this truce." If the treaty goes against them, they will say that your actions "were a disgrace" and will accuse you of betraying them at every turn. If you are an Imperial soldier, and the treaty is against them, Tullius will claim you are not loyal, saying "You swore an oath of loyalty to the Emperor, do you remember that?" You have a choice of possible responses, but there are no repercussions, even if you respond with "I thought you needed to be taken down a notch."

Most of the parties will head back to their respective cities, but the Greybeards, the Blades, and the faction currently controlling Whiterun, the Empire if neutral will remain to talk with you about how to proceed with trapping a dragon, thus automatically leading back to the quest The Fallen . Esbern will teach you that the names of dragons are always three words of power, and inform you that while you were preparing the negotiations, he retrieved a scroll listing the names of many of the dragons slain by the Blades. Cross-checking it with Delphine's map of Dragon Burials, he discovered that the next dragon's name is Odahviing . While he won't be compelled to come when called, dragons are, naturally, arrogant creatures, and he will not ignore this challenge. More notably, your recent victory in the previous battle against Alduin will make him even more likely to respond to your Voice. Esbern will then teach you the shout to call Odahviing . In addition, Delphine will walk up and demand that you kill Paarthurnax , if the quest hasn't already been given.

Once Season Unending is complete, the Civil War will be on hold until the Main Quest is complete.

• With the addition of the patch, on speaking to Esbern he will confront you about Paarthurnax, before giving you the word Odahviing starting the Paarthurnax quest.

Notes [ edit ]

• If you have not yet joined either the Imperial Legion or the Stormcloaks, and you have not talked to Ulfric and/or Tullius since Helgen, you will be forced to first talk to them about Helgen, at which point they will suggest that you join their side of the conflict. To proceed, simply finish and exit the first dialogue, then start a new discussion, at which point the option will appear.
• If you joined the Stormcloaks, you cannot continue with Season Unending until The Jagged Crown is complete. This is necessary to prevent the possibility of changing allegiance from Stormcloaks to Imperials after completing Season Unending. If this is the case, complete The Jagged Crown. As of the latest Unofficial Skyrim Patch (Legendary or Special Edition), the same appears to be the case if you have started the Jagged Crown quest for the Imperials: the quest needs to have either been completed, or not started, no matter which side you start it for, or complete it for.
• If you have been given the quest Joining the Legion by Legate Rikke , Tullius will refuse to speak to you until you complete her assignment. Similarly, Ulfric will refuse to speak to you if you have been given the quest Joining the Stormcloaks by Galmar Stone-Fist , until you complete his assignment.
• During Message to Whiterun ( Imperial or Stormcloaks ) and Battle for Whiterun ( Imperial or Stormcloaks ), progress in Season Unending is intentionally disabled because a truce is impossible while Whiterun is actively under attack. If this is the case, complete the Battle for Whiterun before trying to proceed with Season Unending.
• If completing the Battle for Whiterun after starting Season Unending causes Vignar Gray-Mane to replace Balgruuf as Jarl, Vignar will simply appear in Season Unending in place of Balgruuf — the quest proceeds identically, even though Vignar was not part of the original agreement.
• If you have a talkative follower, they may continue to talk to you during the negotiations, making it hard to follow what is going on. Take them outside the conference chamber and ask them to wait before you take your seat.
• You will skip this quest altogether if you've already completed The Battle for Windhelm or The Battle for Solitude . You will also skip it if either aforementioned city is the only one left to be taken.
• The dispositions of the original affected Jarls, Stewards, and Housecarls will drop to below 0, while the dispositions for the new Jarls, Stewards, and Housecarls will rise to above 0.
• After the truce is complete, any bounty you originally had in either affected Hold will be cleared immediately.
• The developers considered several other options for this quest that were not kept in the final version of the quest. Most notably, there are options to have you kicked out of your chosen army if the negotiated truce favors the other side. You would then be able to switch to the other side.
• After the truce has been negotiated, Delphine will attempt to talk to you and tell you to kill Paarthurnax .
• It is possible to bypass this entirely, however, if you leave High Hrothgar quickly enough.
• This quest may make it impossible to get the War Hero achievement . You may want to wait until you've completed The Battle for Fort Greenwall (Imperial) or The Battle for Fort Sungard (Stormcloaks) in order to be sure you get this achievement.
• If you complete this quest before completing the Civil War quest line, it is safest to have the Rift (Riften) and the Reach (Markarth) controlled by opposing factions. Ensuring the Imperials take Riften and the Stormcloaks take Markarth will mean that one of the holds is always available to take by your chosen faction and the trophy will unlock without an issue from either side.
• There is an alternative method to obtaining this achievement as well as this quest, but you have to join the Stormcloaks in order for this to work. First, finish the quest Joining the Stormcloaks , but do not start the quest The Jagged Crown . Without that quest being active, you can then schedule the peace conference. Because you are technically allied with the Stormcloaks, Tullius will make the opening demand for Riften. When Ulfric demands something in return, give him Morthal rather than Markarth. This will allow the Reach to remain open for Stormcloak invasion when you resume the Civil War quest.
• This quest allows you to skip the normal prerequisite quests for becoming Thane for any holds that change hands during this quest, regardless of what side you're on, with the exception of The Rift. You will be allowed by the new jarl to buy property in holds that change hands if the hold is one that has property available, including Hearthfire properties if you have Hearthfire installed. You will still have to initiate the Thane quest with the new jarl, and help either 3 or 5 citizens of that hold as well as buying property in holds where that is a requirement in order to become Thane, as per the normal requirements. You will only be allowed to buy Honeyside if Maven Black-Briar is installed in The Rift; you will not be able to skip the normal requirements in that hold to be made Thane.
• If you have started the quest The Forsworn Conspiracy , but not completed it, handing over the Reach to the Stormcloaks in the negotiations (which always happens if you are Imperial or unaligned) will end the quest. If you have completed that quest but have not started No One Escapes Cidhna Mine , then handing over the Reach will remove your bounty in the Reach and prevent you from starting the Cidhna Mine quest.

Bugs [ edit ]

• Speaking to the participants in the Peace Council, 'moving' them into the Council Room (either via the console or by using Unrelenting Force), or waiting for 24 hours may fix this. If not, just reload a previous save.
• Completing Dragonslayer seems to cause everyone affected to return to their normal schedule.
• Liberating at least one hold in Liberation of Skyrim seems to resolve the issue.
• If you are unable to complete The Battle For Fort Greenwall due to a glitch where your troops never spawn, the negotiations will end shortly after you either allow or send away Elenwen. This leaves the negotiation unable to reach an internal balance of zero and one side will be favored no matter your intent. Additionally, no holds change hands at all. However, the Battle For quest will disappear from your quest log after this occurs. ?
• Without the patch, it is best to complete Season Unending before starting any of the Civil War quests. This means you must refrain from talking to either party about joining their army. As soon as you do and confirm you want to join, you have started that quest line.
• Most other bugs can be resolved by completing one or more Civil War quests — either through to the end of The Jagged Crown ( Imperial or Stormcloaks) , or to the end of Battle for Whiterun ( Imperial or Stormcloaks ).

Quest Stages [ edit ]

• The following empty quest stages were omitted from the table: 0, 1, 5, 6, 7, 8, 20, 30, 50, 52, 70, 80, 81, 82, 85, 90, 100, 105, 110, 120, 130, 140, 141, 142, 143, 150, 151, 152, 160, 170, 180, 181, 182, 190, 191, 192, 195, 196, 199, 200, 201, 202, 205, 206, 209, 210, 260, 265, 280, 281, 282, 285, 290, 320, 340.
• Any text displayed in angle brackets (e.g., <Alias=LocationHold> ) is dynamically set by the Radiant Quest system, and will be filled in with the appropriate word(s) when seen in game.
• Not all Journal Entries may appear in your journal; which entries appear and which entries do not depends on the manner in which the quest is done.
• Stages are not always in order of progress. This is usually the case with quests that have multiple possible outcomes or quests where certain tasks may be done in any order. Some stages may therefore repeat objectives seen in other stages.
• If an entry is marked as "Finishes Quest" it means the quest disappears from the Active Quest list, but you may still receive new entries for that quest.
• On the PC, it is possible to use the console to advance through the quest by entering setstage MQ302 stage , where stage is the number of the stage you wish to complete. It is not possible to un-complete (i.e. go back) quest stages, but it is possible to clear all stages of the quest using resetquest MQ302 .
• Skyrim-Quests-Main Quest
• Skyrim-Quests
• Skyrim-Confirmed Bugs
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• Skyrim-SRQRP-Walkthrough Written
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• Skyrim-SRQRP-Reward Written
• Skyrim-SRQRP-Reward Not Checked

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