Who Is Paarthurnax In Skyrim?

Posted by By our-little-miss-is-home February 12, 2025 3 Views 8 Min Read
Who Is Paarthurnax In Skyrim?
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The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim takes you on a grand, epic adventure where you must fulfil your destiny as the Last Dragonborn. When Jarl Balgruuf recommends you travel to the Greybeards at High Hrothgar, the last thing you would expect is for the leader of the Greybeards to be a dragon.

Miraak appears before the Dragonborn.

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Sitting on a Word Wall at the Throat of the World, Paarthurnax is a being of wisdom and intelligence who guides you in harnessing the power of the Voice. By simply speaking to him, you’ll soon realise that Paarthurnax is an important figure among both mortals and dragons, with a colourful past that we will delve into.

The History Of Paarthurnax

Merethic Era

A still shot of Paarthurnax at the Throat of the World.

Before becoming the head of the Greybeards, the Paarthurnax of the Merethic Era was everything that the Greybeards stood against. Paarthurnax is the younger brother to Alduin, The World Eater, and he is likely to have been born during the Dawn Era, making him one of the oldest dragons in the world. This suggests that he was one of the first dragons created by Akatosh and relates to Paarthurnax’s moniker of the ‘Old One’, with the ancient dragon even referring to Akatosh as ‘father’ in the in-game dialogue.

During the Dragon War, Paarthurnax served as Alduin’s lieutenant and right-hand man, and it was during this time that he committed atrocities out of loyalty to his brother and their cause. Although it is not known what caused Paarthurnax to turn against Alduin, he nonetheless joined the rebellion.

According to Paarthurnax himself, he was the first dragon to betray Alduin and teach mortals the Thu’um. He imparted his knowledge to the Ancient Nordic heroes Felldir the Old, Hakon One-Eye, and Gormlaith Golden-Hilt, creating the first ancient Tongues, otherwise known as the mortal practitioners of the Voice.

In the final stages of the Dragon War, the Nordic heroes, unable to defeat Alduin even with the Dragonrend Shout, use an Elder Scroll to displace Alduin in time. Knowing that his brother would reappear, Paarthurnax chose to settle on the most sacred mountain in Skyrim, the Throat of the World, as it was also where Alduin was cast into the future to await both Alduin and the Dragonborn’s coming.

Fourth Era

A still image of the Dragonborn.

By the time we get to the original timeline in the Skyrim game, Paarthurnax has established himself as the master of the Greybeards. He spends his time meditating on the Way of the Voice, and based on in-game dialogue, rarely entertains visitors. He posits that the Dragonborn was his first visitor and student in more than a century, and becomes a mentor figure, teaching you more Dragon Shouts and giving advice.

how many items are in skyrim, featured image, with the dragonborn promotional artwork and a mage reading a book

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Along with the Dragonborn, Paarthurnax fended off Alduin’s attack and recommended a way for the Last Dragonborn to journey to Sovngarde. After Alduin’s defeat, Paarthurnax becomes more motivated and determined to spread the Way of the Voice among other dragons, although Odahviing is noted to be sceptical of the success of Paarthurnax’s crusade.

The Way Of The Voice

All Greybeards standing together in the hall.

Interestingly, the philosophy of the Way of the Voice was not created by Paarthurnax himself. It was initially borne from the mind of Jurgen Windcaller, a Nordic hero from the First Era and founder of the Greybeards. As one of the Tongues, Jurgen was able to use the Thu’um to great effect and did so in battle.

However, after Jurgen and his army were defeated at the Battle of Red Mountain, he was baffled as to how the practitioners of the Voice lost the fight. At some point after the battle, Jurgen concluded that the reason his side lost was that they had used the Thu’um for the wrong reasons and thus believed that it should not be used in battle to kill others.

Instead, he stated that the power of the Thu’um should only be used to venerate the Gods, which is the basis of his pacifist ideology, the Way of the Voice. Jurgen was able to win followers to his cause after defeating 17 Tongues by proving his superior mastery of the Thu’um.

Although the Way of the Voice was created in the First Era, its philosophy fit with Paarthurnax’s view of the Thu’um and the ancient dragon adopted and lived by its creed.

The Fate of Paarthurnax

The Dragonborn And Paarthurnax stand side by side in The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim.

After saving the Blades members Delphine and Esbern and helping them settle at Sky Haven Temple, they essentially commanded you to kill Paarthurnax as punishment for his war crimes as Alduin’s lieutenant. If you don’t do this or refuse to do it, Delphine basically states that there’s nothing further to talk about until the deed is done, making her one of the most hated characters in the game.

Skyrim - Paarthurnax on left, Astrid on right-1

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Of course, there are consequences for either sparing or killing Paarthurnax. Killing Paarthurnax will endear the remaining Blades to you, while the Greybeards will hate you for the rest of their lives for doing so. However, Paarthurnax himself doesn’t shy away from what he did during the Dragon War and is extremely understanding of the Blades’ motives.

The decision over Paarthurnax’s fate is entirely up to the Dragonborn, but we all know what most of you would choose.

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