This page details The Fallen main story quest in Skyrim. Includes what happens if you speak to Paarthurnax, Arngeir, or Esbern, how to convince the Jarl of Whiterun, and how to trap the dragon Odahviing.

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The Fallen, Skyrim.

Quest Overview¶

1. Talk to Paarthurnax, Arngeir, or Esbern.

2. Talk to the Jarl of Whiterun.

3. Prepare a trap for Odahviing.

4. Call Odahviing to Dragonsreach.

5. Weaken and trap Odahviing.

6. Interrogate Odahviing.

How to Trap Odahviing in Whiterun¶

Speak with Paarthurnax, Arngeir, and Esbern¶

Now that you’ve learnt the Dragonrend shout and you know that you’re capable of defeating Alduin in battle, you need to find out where he has fled to. To begin that process you can speak with Paarthurnax, Arngeir, or Esbern. If you’re still on at the Throat of the World, you might as well speak with Paarthunax. However, it doesn’t matter ultimately who you speak with, as all three will share essentially the same information.

Regardless of who you speak to, the next task becomes clear: you need to find out where Alduin has fled to, and how to reach him. The best way to do this is to trap and interrogate one of Alduin’s followers, a dragon. It isn’t obvious how you’ll do this, but it’s suggested that you trap a dragon in Whiterun, where there is still a functional trap designed specifically for dragons. To do this, you’ll first need to help Jarl Balgruuf in securing a temporary peace between the Stormcloaks and the Imperials.

If you already completed a civil war quest line, you won’t need to bother with persuading the Stormcloaks and Imperials to agree on a temporary truce. If you haven’t completed a civil war quest line, the process of securing the truce is covered in the Season Unending quest. Note that The Fallen is still an active quest, but you won’t be able to proceed until you’ve completed Season Unending.

How to Trap Odahviing in Dragonsreach¶

After securing a peace between the Stormcloaks and Imperials (or completing a civil war quest line first), you can now proceed with the task of trapping the dragon Odahviing in Dragonsreach, Whiterun. You will have learnt the Call Dragon shout at this stage, with all its words of power - Snow, Hunter, Wing. This is a translation of Odahviing’s name, and can be used to summon him to Dragonsreach, relying on his prideful nature not to refuse a challenge.

To begin the process of trapping Odahviing, speak with Jarl Balgruuf of Whiterun. He’ll ask you to follow him to the trap, where you can use the Call Dragon shout to summon Odahviing. Head to the open air section of the platform and use the shout there. It won’t be long until Odahviing shows up. When he does, rather than attack him you should equip the Dragonrend shout. Use this on him when he hovers, which he’ll do after killing one guard.

After using Dragonrend, Odahviing will soon land on the platform and begin attacking. You’ll need to step backwards toward the inner platform, goading him to follow. When you’re back far enough, the trap will drop and Odahviing will be unable to escape. A new objective will appear: interrogate Odahviing. It turns out that he respects your “low cunning” and is ready to help you. As far as he’s concerned, if you can defeat Alduin it will only prove what he and his fellow dragons have been thinking for some time: that Alduin may not have the most powerful Thu’um after all.

You’ll soon learn that the suspicions of your allies are true: Alduin has indeed fled to Sovngarde, where he intends to devour the souls of the fallen to feed his own power. The portal to Sovngarde is located at a place called Skuldafn in the eastern mountains, and you’ll need Odahviing to fly you there. So begins the next quest.

The Fallen

Complete "The Fallen"

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(1 of 5) You’ll need to use the Call Dragon shout to summon Odahviing.