Skyrim is a game that, despite its premiere being 13 years ago, still enjoys recognition from players and is a title they gladly return to.
It attracts them with its rich lore, beautiful locations, and the fact that despite the passage of time, Skyrim manages to surprise, offering players something new with each play through!
About the Skyrim Phenomenon
Skyrim is the fifth full instalment of The Elder Scrolls series, developed by Bethesda since the 90s. Each of these titles has enjoyed great playability and a legion of fans.
Games in this series offer vast, open worlds, a lot of freedom in gameplay, huge possibilities for character building, great storytelling, and enjoyable, catchy music.
Many hardcore players still enjoy revisiting titles like Morrowind or Oblivion even today, but many agree that Skyrim is the best part of The Elder Scrolls franchise.
Even the basic, original version of TES V (without any mods) has a lot to offer. The vast world of Skyrim offers a plethora of secrets, Easter eggs, and mysteries waiting to be uncovered. Have you discovered them all during your 13-year adventure with Skyrim?
Today, we’ll present you with the most interesting and biggest secrets of The Elder Scrolls V, hidden stuff, interesting bosses, and much more. And of course, tips on how to find them!
Best Secrets and Easter Egg Surprises
Dragon in Blackreach
Few people know that in the Dwemer ruins, the most dangerous boss is not the Dwarven Centurion Master, but… the dragon – Vulthuryol! Interestingly, considering the game’s storyline, this dragon must have spent over 1000 years underground, whole and healthy (after all, it didn’t resurrect from the grave like others, thanks to Alduin).
During the storyline-related quests, sooner or later, you’ll come across Blackreach. In one of the gigantic caves of this kingdom are the ruins of Silent City, full of Falmer, over which hangs a huge, sun-like lamp.
If you use the Unrelenting Force shout towards this lamp, you’ll awaken Vulthuryol, who will start attacking all nearby characters. After defeating him, you’ll find quite a nice loot waiting for you.
M’aiq the Liar
The character of the wise Khajiit in priest robes is a running joke in The Elder Scrolls series, appearing in games since Morrowind.
M’aiq travels all over Skyrim, so you can literally meet him anywhere. He is a neutral NPC, whose interactions with your character are limited to a brief conversation and a few interesting facts about Skyrim, as well as the entire world of Tamriel and… previous games (which storyline-wise happen long after the events of TES V).
M’aiq the Liar is thus an interesting, fourth-wall-breaking Easter egg intentionally placed by the creators.
Hidden Chests
There are many mods and scripts allowing you to slightly break the game and access merchant’s and blacksmith’s chests hidden under the textures.
Although, there are several chests hidden in plain sight in Skyrim, the opening of which does not require crashing the game!
- Dawnstar – head to the town and walk down the main road to the mine, next to which is a smelter. Right at the entrance to the mine, on the left side, there are a few rocks and pine trees. Approach them, go between two stones, look down, and slowly walk towards the third stone until you see the sign “Search chest”.
- Salvius Farm – the chest is not hidden on the farm itself but slightly next to it – precisely by the bridge, next to which stands a sign post showing the directions of larger cities. Right next to the sign post is a stone wall. Just go behind it, look down, and walk slowly along the wall until you come across a buried chest.
- Solitude – this chest is also not hidden behind the city gates but right before them. Standing with your back to the Solitude gates, go down the road. Go under the arch and look to the left – you’ll see several pine trees and rocks again. Stand on the bigger one, between the small stone and the tree, and walk towards the large boulder, looking down. A few steps, and you’ll see the sign “Search chest”.
Paragons
You’ll find this secret if you have the Dawnguard add-on. During one of the missions of this DLC, you’ll come across a location called Forgotten Vale, where numerous bosses – Frost Giants – await you. After defeating them, you’ll be able to loot mysterious stones called “Paragons”.
Collecting all five of them will unlock the Paragon Platform, behind which hides a small room and in it, besides useful gear, a powerful, hidden artifact – Auriel’s Shield.
Leap of Faith
Anyone who has played the Assassin’s Creed series knows perfectly well what a Leap of Faith looks like. Interestingly, the creators also placed the possibility of performing such a jump in TES V.
Visiting Bard’s Leap located southeast of Markarth (for example, to get rid of Forsworns or find the Dragon Stone), at the very top of the location, right next to the Hagravens altar, you’ll find a small platform placed just above the waterfall.
A brave jump from this platform will be rewarded. At the very bottom, a Redguard bard ghost will be waiting for you. He will congratulate you and add 2 points of Speech to your skills.
Voice of the Sky
One of the first major adventures in Skyrim is the journey through the Seven Thousand Steps leading to the Graybeards’ headquarters in High Hrothgar. During the climb, you’ll encounter pilgrims meditating in front of mysterious tablets.
Reading all these tablets will explain the origin of the Voice and unlock an interesting passive ability – Voice of the Sky, which allows you to calm any nearby animals once a day.
Calixto’s House of Curiosities
The museum founded by (SPOILER ALERT) the twisted murderer from Windhelm is an Easter Egg itself. Calixto collected various curiosities and unusual objects there, which we can view for a small fee.
Among the fascinating exhibits, we can find Ysgramor’s Soup Spoon, which, well, is a fork. “Well, my friend, you did not know Ysgramor”! Calixto’s collection also includes a flute resembling a fairy-tale Ratcatcher. Another captivating exhibit is a “picture” made of a cut cheese wheel and several garlic heads, deceptively reminiscent of… Pacman!
Summary
And that concludes our list of secrets of Skyrim. We’ve mentioned just a few of them because the game hides many more, and players, even after years, constantly discover new ones!
Did you have the opportunity to find something we didn’t mention? Or maybe our findings motivated you to play this great title for the first time? If so, don’t wait any longer, just add Skyrim to your library!