The world of Skyrim is rich with lore. However, most of it isn’t exactly shoved right into your face. Hidden inside books or in dialogues with meaningless NPCs, it’s very easy to miss out on some of the most incredible and interesting stories and backgrounds designed for the locations, people and species of Skyrim.
There’s a ton of books to read in Skyrim, and not all of them are centered around lore. Some will tell fictional tales and others will be simple poems or songs. Patience in reading each and every one of them will however be rewarded, due to the helpful information and clues you might find. Here are 10 hidden facts you might not ever find out about unless you open up a book in Skyrim.
10 Hierarchy Among Daedra
Daedra are generally considered demonic entities in the Elder Scrolls universe. Players will best know them from Daedric quests which often sends them off to do the bidding of Daedric Lords. These Lords are often mysterious, violent and sometimes even downright evil beings with selfish endeavors compared to Aedra.
According to the book Varieties of Daedra, Daedric Lords sometimes have a strong hierarchy among their Daedra followers. This depends on which Lord we’re talking about, though. Mehrunes Dagon is especially infamous for having an extremely organized hierarchy of servants, which is unexpected from a Daedric Lord obsessed with chaos and violence.
9 Origins Of The Labyrinthian
The Labyrinthian is one of the biggest dungeons in Skyrim and is a major part of the College of Winterhold quest line. From the outside, it appears absolutely massive, with tons of different minor buildings and levels carved into its stone. However, few know the real background of what this place once used to be.
A long time ago, the Labyrinthian was built as a temple for the dragons, which were once worshiped as deities by mankind. It was known under the name of Bromjunaar, and some say it may have even been a capital city at the time. One thing is for certain, however: Dragon Priests would often come here and talk politics.
8 The Evil Queen
Even if the player never reads any of the numerous Wolf Queen books, a few quests develop the theme tackled in them: the infamous Queen Potema of Solitude. Her story is an incredibly interesting one, tainted with drama and political intrigue. Since her birth, she was described as a wolf-like woman, and she certainly lived up to her name.
Potema grew up to be a charming manipulator, highly ambitious and incredibly evil. Even as a child, she would often blackmail people around her to gain power and notoriety, to the point where she even filled the Blue Palace with Daedra to defend herself against the war. It’s believed it was her that drove Pelagius III to insanity.
7 Liches Or Elementals?
One of the most unique enemies in the game is the Wispmother. She appears in the form of a wispy woman in white, surrounded by tiny hovering fires. According to The Wispmother book, there’s been a lot of speculation about what or who the Wispmother actually is. One school of thought claims that these women are actually liches from the First Era.
Once powerful mages, they’ve managed to reach an immortal state. Another theory is that they are just manifestations from Nirn, meaning elemental creatures much like Spriggans and Ice Wraiths. The difference is that they look strikingly like actual mortals. Some even suggest they might be the ghosts of Snow Elves.
6 Another Kind Of Elf
In Skyrim, we’re introduced to three types of playable elves: High Elves, Wood Elves and Dark Elves. In the DLCs and in some of the lore, we also hear about Snow Elves, an extinct species of elves that was once defeated in war. However, there’s actually a fourth type of elven species mentioned in the book The Wild Elves.
These creatures are known as Ayleids, which are a highly reclusive and technologically traditional species compared to others. They’ve dismissed modern civilization in favor of their own tribal ways of life, which is the topic of many scholars and researchers. Even their language, Old Cyrodiilic, shows that they live in another time altogether.
5 Karliah’s Ancestors
Karliah is first introduced in the Thieves Guild quest line as a potential antagonist. However, once it’s discovered that Mercer has been stealing from the Guild all along and is actually behind all the malicious stuff that has been happening, Karliah becomes an ally and recruits the Dragonborn into the Nightingales.
If we study books like Barenziah and The Nightingales, it’s revealed that Barenziah, a royal Dunmer from the House Ra’athim who once had an affair with Tiber Septim, is actually Karliah’s ancestor. Much like Karliah herself, Barenziah was incredibly beautiful and talented. She was a master in spells, speech and thievery, making her a powerful and cunning woman.
4 The True Story Of Falmers
While the Falmer might appear as disgusting, evil creatures who only exist to hunt down those foolish enough to wander into their territory, their true story is actually quite sad. According to the book The Falmer: A Study, the Snow Elves that lived in Skyrim a long time ago once faced the Nords in battle. After they were defeated, the remaining Snow Elves fled underground and were taken in as refugees by the Dwarves.
Unfortunately, the Dwemer were not known for their kindness. They fed the Snow Elves toxic fungi, which caused them to turn blind. Then, they were forced into slavery under the rule of the Dwarves and subject to horrible treatment, which turned them into the Falmer they are today.
3 Why Necromancy Is Forbidden
There’s plenty of schools of magic to choose from in Skyrim, but one remains a big taboo even after years: necromancy. In The Black Arts On Trial, an interesting debate between several mages of the Mage’s Guild can be found concerning whether or not necromancy should be allowed for study.
The roots of this stigma go all the way back to the times of the Psijic Order, which initially banned necromancy due to its own belief system. Since the order believed in the existence of holy and unholy ancestor spirits, practicing necromancy would have been an insult to its religious beliefs. However, even as the Order crumbled, this stance has remained persistent over the years.
2 The Misunderstood Forsworn
There’s a lot of misconceptions going around about the Forsworn. For one, it’s said that they once organized a violent uprising to take back their native lands around Markarth and that it was Ulfric Stormcloak who brought peace back into Skyrim by defeating them. The truth, as detailed in The Bear Of Markarth, is different however.
The Forsworn during their short rule of The Reach were mostly peaceful and even tried to create lasting relations with Cyrodiil. Ulfric on the other hand simply walked in and executed just about anyone, using his success to blackmail the Empire to approve the worship of Talos in Skyrim. To this day, the Forsworn remain misunderstood.
1 What Draugr Do When No One’s Around
Should the player wander into any Nordic dungeons, it’s likely they’ll come across these undead creatures known as Draugr. While they might look like typical zombies, the book Amongst The Draugr tells a slightly different story. According to its research, Draugr may have actually been buried alive, and then have withered over the years in the confines of the dungeon.
They were often buried with their Dragon Priest masters. As they sleep, they charge a bit of their life force and then perform a routine-like ritual where they transfer some of their own life force into the sarcophagus of the Dragon Priest they guard. They also keep the tombs meticulously clean and scare off intruders.
NEXT: The 10 Best Skyrim Legendary Skills, Ranked
