Skyrim is a land filled with mysteries and questions that still remain unanswered to this day. Despite being released ten years ago, there are numerous phenomena in the world of Skyrim: Special Edition that have baffled players.
From finding items used in Daedra worship in NPC's homes to finding jewelry from the corpse of an animal, there are several sinister or confusing events that can be observed throughout Skyrim. But thanks to some fan theories, players are now in a position to answer some of the questions that they may have wondered about.
10 Items Looted From Creatures Belong To People They Ate
Throughout Skyrim's wilderness, wild creatures will attack the Dragonborn. After killing them, players can loot the corpses for items. Most such items include pelts and other parts, such as bear claws or sabre cat teet. In some cases, though, players will also find some random items and gold, which don't make sense for a creature to carry.
Reddit user "SnailCase" theorizes that these items belong to the people these creatures killed and ate. When the Dragonborn loots bears and wolves, these items are most likely found in their stomachs.
9 Items Looted In Dungeons Belong To Dead Adventurers
Skyrim players will often find themselves in crypts or a dungeons where they face waves of Draugr that they need to dispatch. As they clear these dungeons, they will often find food and potions, which seem unlikely for the undead to have made considering their condition.
According to Reddit user "LairdOpusFluke", these items actually belong to the adventurers that lost their lives to the Draugr. After they were killed, the Draugr stored these items away in the dungeons, where the Dragonborn finds them later
8 The Aedra & Daedra Will War Over The Dragonborn's Soul
The Dragonborn can join several factions in Skyrim, including some that are sponsored by or worship Daedric Princes. Each of these Daedra plans on acquiring the Dragonborn's soul after their death, as do the Nine Divines of Tamriel.
Reddit user "OrickJagstone" suggests that when the Dragonborn dies, a major conflict will break out between the Aedra and the Daedra over who claims the Dragonborn's soul. They will use the billions of souls that have pledged service to them as their armies in a potentially never-ending conflict.
7 The Dwemer Transferred Their Souls Into Automatons
The Dwemer and their sudden disappearance remain one of the long-standing mysteries of Skyrim, a highly advanced culture that disappeared with no explanation. However, Reddit user "KapnK3" theorizes, that the Dwemer are still present in Skyrim, just in a different way.
According to this theory, the Dwemer transferred their souls into soul gems, which were then planted in the automatons that players come across while raiding Dwemer ruins. When players destroy and loot a Dwemer automaton, they often yield filled soul gems, offering some weight to this theory.
6 Grelod Is Preparing Kids For The Harsh Land Of Skyrim
The frigid land of Skyrim is a harsh place for its inhabitants. The dragons have returned, there is a civil war underway, and dangerous creatures roam the land. In order to survive, one needs to be able to fend for themselves. According to Reddit user "InfinityClover", the head of the Honorhall Orphanage, Grelod The Kind, is preparing the orphans for the harsh life outside the walls of the establishment by intentionally being severe with them.
This old woman has lived beside the Black Briars, the Thieves Guild, and the occasional Dark Brother involvement. She is tired of seeing the children under her charge die because they were unprepared for the dangers that await them. This is why she is harsh with them, trying to bolster them through tough love.
5 Paarthurnax Is Using The Dragonborn As A Pawn
During their journey, the Dragonborn will meet the dragon Paarthurnax, who wishes to help players get rid of Alduin. However, some fans believe that Paarthurnax may be using the Dragonborn to overthrow Alduin and take his place. According to one Reddit user, Paarthurnax will take over as soon the Dragonborn dies, as they are the only being that could threaten Paarthurnax.
The theory is supported by Paarthurnax's name, which translates to "Ambition Overlord Cruelty" in the dragon language. Moreover, when players meet their dragon companion Odahviing, he hints that Paarthurnax may try to take Alduin's place with his "Tyranny of the Way of The Voice."
4 Narfi Is A Werebear, And Killed His Sister
Ivarstead is a sleepy town whose main purpose is to aid pilgrims going up the seven thousand steps. There's not much going on around the village, except the curious case of a mentally ill beggar named Narfi, who's searching for his sister. Players can find her corpse underneath the bridge, and can return the necklace to Narfi to offer him some sort of closure, but not a lot of information is given as to how she died.
Reddit user "Norman_Normal" suggests that Narfi could have been a werebear who lost control during one of his transformations, killing his sister. Ivarstead has an abundance of bears around its outskirts, yet they never seem to attack any of the town's inhabitants, despite their in-game description painting them as animals to do so. This may be due to the presence of a powerful werebear, Narfi himself.
3 Falion Serves A Daedric Prince
Falion from Morthal is a powerful Conjuration wizard and somewhat shady character. He offers to cure the players' vampirism, should they choose, in exchange for a Black Soul Gem. The townsfolk treat him with suspicion, accusing him of eating the hearts of the dead and killing children, which he denies. YouTuber "FudgeMuppet" suggests that while these might simply be rumors, Falion may be serving a Daedric Prince such as Molag Bal or Vaermina.
A Morrowind book by the name of "Galur Rithari's Papers" describes a procedure to cure vampirism, similar to the one which Falion uses, and attributes the procedure to Molag Bal. This Daedric Prince is responsible for creating vampirism, which may provide some weight to the theory. When players talk to him, Falion claims to have met the Dwemer, who have been gone for hundreds of years. It would be near impossible for him to have done so unless Falion himself was a vampire, and therefore could not age. Alternatively, he may have served Vaermina and drank a special potion called Vaermina's Torpor, which allows the drinker to experience and take part in past events during a dream-like state.
2 Rorikstead Sacrifices People For Fertile Soil
Rorikstead is counted among the more mysterious locations in Skyrim. Eavesdropping on a conversation or checking the buildings in town will make any player suspicious of the village and its happening. According to YouTuber "ESO", the town has a sinister secret. He suggests that the town may have had a long history of Daedric worship. Throughout its existence, its inhabitants have worshipped Daedra and offered sacrifices in exchange for fertile land. Players can find several signs and hints of the practice in the game's events.
By talking to the town's healer and the "chief," Rorik, they will learn the town's soil wasn't always fertile but has become so recently. Moreover, three women in the village have died during childbirth despite there being a dedicated healer in the town. ESO suggests the women died or were killed as sacrifices, after which the town's soil turned fertile.
1 Saadia Is Killed After The Player Hands Her To Kematu
At certain points, players may see a pair of Redguard travelers confronting a Redguard woman out on the road, or being kicked out from Whiterun. Upon approaching them, they will ask the Dragonborn if they have seen a Redguard woman around and to tell them if they have. The woman they are looking for is Saadia, a barmaid in Whiterun. Their leader reveals she's a member of the royal family who has escaped and must be returned to Hammerfell to stand trial for war crimes; meanwhile, Saadia claims they are bounty hunters who want her dead.
If players hand Saadia over to the Redguards, they will put her under a paralyzing spell and promise to take her away. However, if players check the Hall of the Dead at a later time, they will find an urn with some of Saadia's belongings inside. YouTuber "TheEpicNate315" suggests, Kematu and his gang lied to players and killed Saadia instead.