Miraak

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"Much of what is known has been lost through the ages. He was Dragonborn, yet he served the dragons. A priest in their order, highly esteemed and very powerful. Then he turned against them, becoming something they feared."

―Storn Crag-Strider

Miraak () is the main antagonist in The Elder Scrolls V: Dragonborn. According to himself, the locals of Solstheim, and Hermaeus Mora, he is the first Dragonborn. One of the infamous Dragon Priests, his name in the dragon language means "Allegiance Guide".

History

"Some tales tell of ancient Nord heroes whose Voices were powerful enough to tame and ride dragons."

―Loading Screens (Dragonborn)

During the period of time when dragons ruled over mortals, Miraak served as a dragon priest on the island of Solstheim. He came into possession of a Black Book which in turn led him to servitude under Hermaeus Mora, the Daedric Prince of Knowledge and Fate, who taught him a means to great power: a dragon shout capable of bending dragons to his will.

With this forbidden knowledge in his possession, Miraak turned on his dragon masters, using it, and his power as a Dragonborn, to devour their souls to become ever more powerful. During the Dragon War, the ancient Nord heroes Hakon One-Eye, Gormlaith Golden-Hilt and Felldir the Old had pleaded for Miraak to use his power as Dragonborn to assist them in defeating Alduin. However, Miraak refused to do so and instead attempted his own rebellion against the dragons. Because of his betrayal, the dragons razed his temple on Solstheim.

His rebellion was unsuccessful and was defeated by another Dragon Priest named Vahlok who was then made his jailer, restraining him to Solstheim. Other accounts mention that just as Vahlok was about to kill Miraak, Hermaeus Mora saved him by transporting him to the realm of Apocrypha. The dragons then appointed Vahlok as ruler of the island, but not before he was compelled to swear an oath of vigilance to watch for Miraak's return, earning him the title "The Jailer".

Meanwhile, Miraak stayed in the realm of Hermaeus Mora until he could amass enough power and influence to return to Solstheim, which he was able to do in 4E 201.

Personality

File:MIRAAAK.jpg

Miraak, as seen in a loading screen.

Miraak is a very arrogant and rash individual, believing that his Dragonborn heritage sets him above his former dragon masters. Upon meeting the Last Dragonborn, he can claim that, (unless the main questline has been completed, in which case Miraak will grudgingly state admiration for the Dragonborn) compared to him, they have only killed a "few dragons" and do not yet know the true power of a Dragonborn, such as himself. He also believes himself above the servitude of Hermaeus Mora. Miraak is also a being that desires power, willing, in the past, to bind himself in servitude to Hermaeus Mora in order to gain forbidden knowledge and power.

Despite, or perhaps due to, his arrogance, Miraak is shown to be a very powerful individual as he was not only able to defy the Dragons he served but he was also able to devour many of them before his defeat as a total of twenty one different Dragon skeletons can be found both around and within his temple.

Miraak proves to be fiercely independent and seems to be motivated solely by his lust for power. This can be seen not only through his initial betrayal of the Dragons at the height of their power but also through his resistance to the effects of Apocrypha as it is said that all those who venture there become prisoners of their own thirst for knowledge and are unable to leave whereas Miraak appeared unaffected.

During his final battle with the Dragonborn, he claims that Hakon and the other ancient Nord heroes wished to use him to slay Alduin, but he chose not to for his own reasons. However, should Alduin have already been defeated upon meeting him, he will claim that he could have killed the World-Eater himself, a further sign of his arrogant nature.

Interactions

Dragonborn

Shortly after the quest The Way of the Voice, two cultists will call out and ask the Dovahkiin if he/she is truly Dragonborn. After the conversation they will attack. After they are killed, a note with orders to kill the "False" Dragonborn in order to please Miraak will be found on one of their bodies. The quest will then be directed to the island of Solstheim.

Once on the island, asking around Raven Rock will cause someone to suggest the Temple of Miraak be investigated. There it will be learned that Miraak has begun taking over the people of Solstheim using the All-Maker Stones.

The Temple of Miraak

Miraak meets the Last Dragonborn.

Miraak himself is met for the first time at the end of this quest. Upon finding the Waking Dreams in the depths of the temple, the Dragonborn will be transported to Apocrypha, the realm of Hermaeus Mora. Immediately, Miraak will strike the Dragonborn to their knees and claim that they do not know the true power of a Dragonborn. He then says that they can await his return like the rest of Tamriel before ordering his seekers to transport the Dragonborn back to Nirn and riding off on a dragon.

After this, should the Dragonborn kill a dragon, either on Solstheim or in Skyrim, Miraak will briefly appear, taunt the Dragonborn, absorb the dragon's soul himself, and then disappear.

At the Summit of Apocrypha

Miraak appears one last time at the end of this quest to kill the Dragonborn and devour their soul so that he may return to Solstheim. Miraak begins with a short monologue as his dragon minions, Relonikiv and Kruziikrel, sit perched upon the nearby arches:

"And so the First Dragonborn meets the Last Dragonborn at the summit of Apocrypha. No doubt just as Hermaeus Mora intended. He is a fickle master, you know. But now I will be free of him. My time in Apocrypha is over. You are here in your full power, and thus subject to my full power. You will die. And with the power of your soul, I will return to Solstheim and be master of my own fate once again. Kruziikrel! Relonikiv! Now!"

During the battle, the dragons circle the summit. Each time Miraak is near death, he will call down one of the dragons, devouring its soul to replenish his health. Once all three dragons have been devoured, he can finally be defeated.

Upon his defeat, Hermaeus Mora appears, impaling him with a tentacle and expresses his disappointment. Then Miraak disintegrates, leaving just a skeleton. Hermaeus Mora then transfers his status to the Last Dragonborn. The Dragonborn then absorbs Miraak's soul, which yields between five and ten dragon souls, plus any that Miraak may have stolen.

Miraak's Mantra

This mantra is repeated by people found working on Miraak's shrines surrounding the All-Maker Stones. They will each say one line when spoken to. In addition, if an All-Maker stone is activated, Miraak's disembodied voice will repeat a variant of the mantra.

"Here in his shrine
That they have forgotten
Here do we toil
That we might remember
By night we reclaim
What by day was stolen
Far from ourselves
He grows ever near to us
Our eyes once were blinded
Now through him do we see
Our hands once were idle
Now through them does he speak
And when the world shall listen
And when the world shall see
And when the world remembers
That world shall cease to be."

Combat

Miraak has proven to be an exceptionally powerful individual. Naturally, as a Dragonborn, he is able to utilize several dragon shouts in battle. The shouts that he is shown to have knowledge of are as follows:

• Fire Breath
• Frost Breath
• Bend Will
• Dragon Aspect
• Become Ethereal
• Cyclone
• Whirlwind Sprint

Like most Dragon Priests throughout Skyrim and Solstheim, Miraak is a very capable mage, able to cast powerful lightning bolts, generate wards, and use healing spells. He will also make use of his own personal staff that allows him to summon fields of writhing tentacles that can cause severe poison damage. He also possesses his own personal sword, which allows him to drain his victim's stamina in the form of a giant tendril. 

During his battle with the Last Dragonborn, whenever his health reaches a critical level, Miraak will use the Shouts Become Ethereal and Whirlwind Sprint to become immune to damage and flee back to the center of the arena. There he will call down one of the Dragons under his control and use a unique four-word shout to instantly kill it, absorbing their soul and restoring his health. He will also sometimes begin the battle by using the Dragon Aspect shout, greatly enhancing his abilities, and will frequently use Fire Breath, Frost Breath and Cyclone to attack the player in addition to his weapons and magical abilities.

Miraak also has a few unique abilities that the Dragonborn does not have access to. He is able to use Bend Will to control several dragons at once and is able to command them from afar. Whenever the Last Dragonborn slays a dragon after meeting Miraak, there is a chance he will appear and absorb the dragon's soul for his own, this usually happens when the Last Dragonborn possesses one or more dragon souls, indicating his power to absorb dragon souls is slightly stronger. This also shows that Miraak, even when not at full power, possessed the ability to temporarily travel between Tamriel and Apocrypha, though in a somewhat incorporeal state. In this state he is also immune to all sources of damage.

Immunities

• Full force Unrelenting Force (Briefly staggering is the only effect)
• Paralysis
• Wabbajack
• Mehrunes' Razor instant kill
• Decapitation
• Reanimation, such as Dead Thrall.
• The damaging liquid pools found on the summit of Apocrypha.

Perks

• Augmented Shock
• Bladesman
• Critical Charge
• Fighting Stance
• Magic Resistance
• Recovery
• Reduce Damage
• Respite
• Savage Strike
• Extra Damage 2

Equipment

• Miraak
• Miraak's Staff
• Miraak's Gloves
• Miraak's Robes
• Miraak's Boots
• Miraak's Sword

Dialogue

Quotes

• "Send him/her back where he/she came. He/she can await my arrival with the rest of Tamriel!"
• "And so the First Dragonborn meets the Last Dragonborn at the summit of Apocrypha."
• "May he/she be rewarded for his/her service, as I am." (Final words after Hermaeus Mora impales him)

When taking a dragon's soul

• "Not this time, Dragonborn. This one's mine."
• "It takes a strong will to command a Dragon's soul, perhaps you aren't as powerful as you think"
• "Do you ever wonder if it hurts, having your soul ripped out like that?"
• "This dragon's soul belongs to me"
• "Thank you for your help. We will meet again soon."
• "I grow ever stronger, Dragonborn."
• "One step closer to my return."

During battle

• "I know things the Greybeards will never teach you."
• "Felling Alduin was a mighty deed, and I thank you for it. He would have proved troublesome to me." (if Alduin was defeated)
• "They wanted to use me to deal with Alduin - Hakon and the rest. I chose otherwise."
• "You have no idea of the true power a Dragonborn can wield!"
• "Fate decreed that you had to die so that I could win my freedom."
• "The Greybeards taught you well."
• "You could have been mighty, if fate had decreed otherwise."
• "You are strong. Stronger than I believed possible."
• "You fight valiantly against fate, but I am stronger here."
• "Hermaeus Mora is laughing at us, you know."
• "This cannot be. I am master of my own fate!"
• "Yol... Toor Shul!" - Fire Breath shout
• "Fo... Krah Diin!" - Frost Breath shout
• "Ven Gaar Nos!" - Cyclone shout
• "Kruziikrel, zii los dii du!" - Kruziikrel, your soul is mine to devour!
• "Relonikiv, zii los dii du!"
• "Sahrotaar, zii los dii du!"
• "Hiding is beneath you, Dragonborn." - If invisible.
• "Join the last Dragonborn in his/her destruction." - When fighting Sahrotaar.
• "So, you use my own Shout against me. You learn quickly." - When using Dragon Aspect.
• "Ha, it seems you failed"

Trivia

• To address the confusion that arose from the existence of a Dragonborn predating Alessia, Michael Kirkbride, former writer at Bethesda, revealed "Alessia didn't have the power to absorb dragon souls. Hers was a much more nuanced power: to dream of liberty and give it a name and on her deathbed make Covenant with the Aka-Tusk.
• If Miraak's mask is removed via console commands, he appears as a Nord whose face and hair are randomly generated.
• Miraak is tied with Arngeir as the highest level NPC in the game.
• Much of Miraak's dialogue seems to have been cut. Game data reveals the Dragonborn and Miraak converse longer before the battle at the Summit of Apocrypha takes place. Some of these lines include "I grieve that you must meet your end this way but necessity demands it.", "You..You are the true Dragonborn.." and "Well fought, Dragonborn, but I'm afraid this is not over. I shall return and take what is mine." This suggests that another battle was to take place or Hermaeus Mora does not kill Miraak and he escapes.
• Most of Miraak's clothing and weapons seem to be influenced by Hermaeus Mora. His robes and weapons make refereneces to Hermaeus Mora due to their tendril effects, his mask also seems to resemble a mass of tendrils.
• In the official pre-release trailer and artwork, Miraak's robes are purple but in-game they appear brownish green.
• Miraak was voiced by Peter Jessop.

Bugs

This section contains bugs related to Miraak. Before adding a bug to this list, consider the following: Please reload an old save to confirm if the bug is still happening. If the bug is still occurring, please post the bug report with the appropriate system template  360  /  XB1  ,  PS3  /  PS4  ,  PC  /  MAC  ,  NX  /  PS5  ,  XS  , depending on which platform(s) the bug has been encountered on. Be descriptive when listing the bug and fixes, but avoid having conversations in the description and/or using first-person anecdotes: such discussions belong on the appropriate forum board.

Click to show

PC   360   If a dragon is disintegrated from Dragonborn Force, (or the Disintegrate perk [unconfirmed]) Miraak is unable to absorb the dragon's soul. Also after slaying a dragon, if its corpse falls into a body of water, Miraak will be unable to steal the dragon's soul.  PC   360   If Miraak appears after a dragon has been killed and the dragon does not release its soul, he may say nothing and become stuck in the ethereal form. While he is in this form, the quest "At the Summit of Apocrypha" cannot be completed. The Dragonborn reads the Black Book, is transported to Apocrypha and cannot move, cast spells, access menus or even change into first person.  PC   360   PS3   If too much damage is dealt to Miraak in the final battle, he will be unable to fully replenish his health and will be stuck in ethereal form, unable to be attacked or killed and thus unable to be defeated. This can happen at any of the three times he replenishes his health using a dragon's soul. The easiest way to avoid this is to restart the fight and use a less powerful weapon to chip away at his health. Turning invisible and waiting until you are hidden forces ethereal to end as it only works if he is in combat. Another fix to this, is to get back on Sahrotaar after getting off in front of Miraak. Then attack the dragons flying around instead of him. This will force him to absorb them when they reach zero health, and thus stop him from taking the ghost form. After both dragons are dead, start attacking Miraak. At some point, he'll absorb Sahrotaar after forcing him to land. There will be a small drop to the ground, but only of a few feet. the Dragonborn will get back up and can finish him off.   PC   360   After killing Miraak his body disappears and can not be looted.  PC   Using the console command TCL may reveal his skeleton under the podium of the Black Book.   PC   After Miraak is defeated, he does not get impaled by Hermaeus Mora, and gets stuck under the map.  PC   After Miraak is impaled by Hermaeus Mora and Apocrypha is re-entered, Miraak's body disappears, making the Dragonborn unable to get his armor and weapons.  360  If you stay on the dragon Sahrotaar during the majority of the fight, after Miraak absorbs the other 2 dragons souls he attempts to absorb Sahrotaar but is unable to because the player character is riding it. This causes him to stay in ethereal form. If you get off of the dragon and start to fight he stays in ethereal form, stuck in an eternal battle with Sahrotaar

Appearances

• The Elder Scrolls V: Dragonborn

References

Notice: The following are unlicensed references. They are not copyrighted by a ZeniMax Media company, but can still be considered part of The Elder Scrolls lore and are included for completeness.