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Elder Scrolls

For other uses, see Nelacar.
"I left Winterhold for some time, and returned to stay here at the inn."
―Nelacar[src]

Nelacar is an Altmer mage exiled from the College of Winterhold for "bad research." He resides within The Frozen Hearth inn.

Background

The innkeeper Dagur and his wife, Haran, tolerate Nelacar and his experiments, in contrast to most of the citizens of Winterhold who generally distrust mages - most notably Jarl Korir, who frequently complains about Dagur letting mages stay at his inn and others from the college (such as Enthir and Arniel Gane) go to the inn at night to drink.

To keep his identity cloaked, he is referred to as "an elven mage who studies the stars." This nods to his involvement with Malyn Varen's unlawful research into Soul Gems and Azura's Star.

Interactions

The Black Star

After finding the Shrine of Azura and speaking with Aranea Ienith, the sole priestess found there, the Dragonborn can either go to the Inn directly and ask Nelacar about his involvement with the artifact, or ask Faralda at the College of Winterhold if she's heard of the "elven mage who studies the stars." Slightly shocked that the Dragonborn came to this knowledge, she directs them to the The Frozen Hearth where an Altmer named Nelacar is encountered. Requiring a bit of persuasion, intimidation, or gold, Nelacar reveals that a Dunmer necromancer by the name of Malyn Varen stole Azura's Star from the Daedric Prince and retreated to Ilinalta's Deep, where he sought to achieve a measure of immortality by trapping his soul within the contraption.

Aftermath and rewards

After recovering the star, he can transform the Broken Azura's Star into The Black Star, an unlimited Black Soul Gem. Thence forward, Nelacar becomes a spell tomes merchant.

Some Light Theft

Malur Seloth desires to keep up his appearance as a mage for the Jarl of Winterhold, and asks the Dragonborn to steal Nelacar's Staff of Arcane Authority.

Quotes

  • "I don't deal with any College applicants these days, so don't bother asking."
  • "My days at the College are long behind me, but I prefer to stay close by."
  • "Dagur and I have an understanding. He gives me privacy, and I make sure my experiments don't blow up his inn."
  • "Greetings, Arch-Mage." - After the Dragonborn becomes the new Arch-Mage of the College
  • "Who sent you? Was it the College? The Jarl? We agreed there would be no more questions." - When asked "Is there an elven mage who studies stars?"
  • "Right. Now tell me the one about the Argonian maid and lusty baron." - Persuasion attempt failed
  • "These cracks and fissures aren't encouraging. Malyn must have been getting desperate after he left the College." - When taking the Star to his room to examine it
  • "He did it! He actually managed to trap his own soul inside, but its falling apart. It needs more and more souls to sustain itself." - Examining the star
  • "Malyn's enchantments are broken. Hold on. I'm going to pull your soul out of there. Brace yourself." - When talking to the player when they are inside the Star
  • "You keep it. I'd rather put this chapter of my life behind me. Congratulations. You've changed the fate of a Daedric artifact and lived." - When giving the Black Star
  • "I'm glad that whole business with Malyn is over with. What do you need?" - After "The Black Star," and taking his path
  • "I don't like doing business with Azura's faithful. Make it quick." - After "The Black Star," and went Aranea's path

Conversations

Accidental aroma

Nelacar "I'm sorry, could you describe the smell?"
Dagur "Like some horrible monster was turned inside out, and then exploded. What did you do?"
Nelacar "It was a minor miscalculation. I've already corrected it for future experiments."
Dagur "This, this is why people have a problem with your college, Nelacar."

Animosity and accommodations

Dagur "Is everything well, Nelacar?"
Nelacar "Oh yes, quite fine. My accommodations here continue to be just what I need."
Dagur "And there haven't been any...problems?"
Nelacar "Are you refering to your other customers? No, everything is quite alright. I expect a bit of animosity now and then."
Dagur "I see. Well, let me know if things get out of hand."

Silent explosions

Nelacar "I say, you didn't hear any loud noises last night, did you? No, ah...explosion sounds?"
Dagur "[chuckle] No, I certainly didn't. [pause] Is there a reason you're asking me?"
Nelacar "No, certainly not. A small experiment may have gone awry, but clearly with no discernable consequences."
Dagur "I...see. And is this something I'll need to worry about in the future?"
Nelacar "Oh, I certainly hope not! That would be quite unfortunate for my research."

Trivia

  • If a persuasion attempt on him failed during The Black Star, he will make a reference to the book The Lusty Argonian Maid.
  • When entering The Frozen Hearth for the first time, Nelacar will be in conversation with Dagur about one of Nelacar's failed experiments.
  • If the College's main questline is completed before talking to Nelacar, he will refer to the Dragonborn as "Arch-Mage" during their first conversation.
  • If Faralda is asked about him during the start of "The Black Star," she will call him a "poor thing," because he lives in the Inn.

Bugs

This section contains bugs related to Nelacar (Skyrim). Before adding a bug to this list, consider the following:

  1. Please reload an old save to confirm if the bug is still happening.
  2. 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.
  3. 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.
  •  360   Even if the Speech skill is boosted to over 100 (via jewelry and/or potions), the persuasion option will not work to convince Nelacar to talk about the Star. This is because of a bug where the game checks Nelacar's Speech skill rather than the player's. The gold and intimidation options are not affected.
  •  PC   360   Nelacar may already be a merchant before completing "The Black Star" in his favor, although he is only supposed to be a merchant after doing said quest for him.

Appearances

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