Sovngarde

Sovngarde
Location	Sovngarde
Prerequisite	The World-Eater’s Eyrie
Next Quest	Dragonslayer
Type	Main Quest
QuestID	MQ304

Walkthrough

Introduction

When entering Sovngarde, walk down the stairs, and there will be a Stormcloak soldier. He’ll say that he can’t reach the Hall of Valor due to the deadly mist. In this mist, Alduin hunts for lost souls to gain power. After the conversation, follow the path through the mist. If you chose to help the Stormcloak, he will be devoured. Note: You can clear the mist using the Clear Skies shout.

Note: the soldier does not always start in the beginning, and there is a good chance the soldier will not be encountered until part way through the mist. Do not worry, the mist will not engulf you as you speak with the soldier.

If you have killed Ulfric, his soul will be here, saying “we can’t get anything done in this fog” and will tell you to turn back. Also, Galmar Stone-Fist can be found saying “Dragonborn, even in death you dog my steps?” “How come you’re here? The king of this realm will cast you out – cursed be your name by all sons of Skyrim, with scorn unceasing.”

Conversely, if you followed the Stormcloak quest, Rikke will be here if you killed her.

Also, If you have finished the Companions quests, Kodlak Whitemane will be wandering in the fog. Occasionally, you will also meet Ysgramor in the Hall of Valor.

If you’ve completed the Bards’ College quest Tending the Flames you can see Svaknir, who wrote the verse you retrieved, along your path.

 

Whalebone Bridge

At the end of the path, the Hall of Valor comes into full view. The majestic building is situated at the far side of a great chasm that can only be reached by crossing the Whalebone bridge.

In front of the bridge stands Tsun, the Nordic god of trials against adversity who will begin the following dialogue when approached:

The first two questions give some background about Tsun and his relationship wiith Shor. He also gives some insight into the current situation in Sovngarde:

In the last question, Tsun asks why he should allow the Dragonborn entry into the Hall of Valor. The right of birth will always be available, however the other options will only appear if the respective guild questlines have been completed:

Once he remarks about the Dragonborn’s right of entry, a final question is asked:

This propmts a battle with Tsun. When his health reaches about 60%, he will yield and allow you to cross the bridge to the Hall of Valor. If you try to skip the test, you will die when you walk on the bridge – even if you have god mode on with console commands.

• If you use mist form as a vampire lord during this battle he will yield and allow you to cross

Hall of Valor

Upon entering the Hall of Valor, Ysgramor himself will greet the Dragonborn:

sgramor: “Welcome, Dragonborn! Our door and stood empty since Alduin first set his soul-snare here. By Shor’s command we sheathed our blades and ventured not the vale’s dark mist. But three await your word to loose their fury upon the perilous foe. Gormlaith the Fearless, glad-hearted in battle; Hakon the Valiant, heavy-handed warrior; Felldir the Old, far-seeing and grim.”

He will instruct the Dragonborn to speak to Gormlaith Golden-Hilt, Hakon One-Eye and Felldir the Old – the three heroes who defeated Alduin in the past. Approaching them will initiate the following dialogue:

Gormlaith:“At long last! Alduin’s doom is now ours to seal – just speak the word and with high hearts we’ll hasten forth to smite the worm wherever he lurks.”

Felildir: “Hold, comrades – let us counsel take before battle is blindly joined. Alduin’s mist is more than a snare – its shadowy gloom is his shield and cloak. But with four voices joined, our valor combined, we can blast the mist and bring him to battle.”

Hakon: “Felldir speaks wisdom – the World-Eater, coward, fear you, Dragonborn. We must drive away his mist, Shouting together, and then unsheathe our blades in desperate battle with our black-winged foe.”

Gormlaith:“To battle, my friends! The fields will echo with the clamor of war, our wills undaunted.”

Once their speech is completed, they will ready their weapons and charge outside to face Alduin. This complete the quest and begins Dragonslayer.

Gallery

Trivia

Sovngarde resembles Asgard in Norse mythology while the Hall of Valor resembles Valhalla, a giant eating hall reserved for warriors who had died valiantly.
When encountering the Stormcloak Soldier in the mist the player has the option of leading him through the mist to the Hall of Valor. But halfway through the mist, Alduin can land and grab the soldier, and throw him – seemingly killing him (again).
​The Stormcloak Soldier is technically dead as soon as Alduin touches him, made apparent by the fact that he is lootable if activated immediately (tested PC only).
There is a Dragon Wall along the path through Sovngarde. It is blocked off with stone rubble, however, it is smaller than normal ones and even after Alduin’s defeat, it appears to be inactive and unreachable.
The player will recognize some of the characters they meet in Sovngarde from either hearing about them or knowing them before their death in the story. Some examples of this are Ysgramor, Kodlak Whitemane (If the Companions storyline is complete), Ulfric Stormcloak and Galmar Stone-Fist (if the Civil War questline is complete and the player sided with the Imperials), and Legate Rikke (If the Civil War questline is complete and the player sided with the Stormcloaks). Other named characters inside the Hall include High King Torygg, Jurgen Windcaller, Olaf One-Eye, Ulfgar the Unending, Erlendr, Nikulas and Hunroor.
Other characters, all labelled “Hero of Sovngarde”, will be wandering around the great feast hall remarking upon the food and mead, boasting of heroic deaths, and will particularly note that their god is absent, as his light would blind the player (who is still valiantly mortal). The food in Sovngarde can be taken or eaten by the player, the god’s throne sat upon without incident, and the Ox Head at the feast can be taken as well (although it’s not actually edible).
There are references to Bloodmoon’s quest Betrayal at Brodir Grove. The character you kill to grant him entrance to Sovngarde in that quest is Ulfgar the Unending, who is one of the NPC heroes in the Hall of Valor. Erlendr, Hunroor, and Nikulas, are the three standing stones at Brodir Grove.
Out of all the characters that can be found in Alduin’s mist Kodlak Whitemane and Ulfric Stormcloak (or Legate Rikke, depending on the dragonborns side in the war) will be seen after Alduin is defeated. This indicates that the other souls were likely to have been devoured by Alduin.
If you freed Svaknir during the Bards’ College questline, Olaf One-Eye will speak to you about your deed. “You freed Svaknir, a fool of a poet, but an honest enemy who has earned my respect.” “Sadly, he’s now lost in the soul-snaring mist – defeat Alduin, and his doom avert – I hope to greet him in this Hall as a friend.”
If the player finished the guild questline for the Companions, College of Winterhold, Dark Brotherhood, Nightingales, the Blades, or the Thieves Guild, the player can tell Tsun that he/she wants to cross the bridge to the Hall of Valor for a different reason other than being Dragonborn.
If returning to The Hall of Valor during the fight with Alduin, the entrance has been locked.
Sovngarde’s sky resembles the Skills menu, as the scenery displays the Warrior in Red, The Thief ‘in’ Green, and the Mage in Blue. You will not see your Perk trees though.
If you try to get to the Hall of Valor before fighting Tsun you will be killed either by lightning strikes or by instant death when reaching the end of the bridge.
After acknowledging Tsun, if the player jumps from the bone bridge, the player will have an instant death at half way (this will happen even if the player uses “Become Ethereal” shout)
Before completing The Companions quest line, Kodlak Whitemane can be heard saying “Sometimes I dream about the mists of Sovngarde”, a reference to this mission.
There is a unique soundtrack during this quest, which resembles the chanting of the Dragonborn Theme, only darker and slower. However, there is no unique battle soundtrack.
At the end of the quest, before Tsun sends the Dragonborn back to Skyrim, he says, “Perhaps one day we will meet again, and I will bid you join the feasting.” He says this regardless of the Dragonborn’s race, even though Sovngarde is reserved for Nords. This could be due to the fact that the Dragonborn just defeated Alduin.

Bugs

PC   Tsun might be ‘invincible’ at some versions of the game, e.g. He’ll be bending down on the verge of death with a few strikes but does not yield.
PC   Solution: use console command setstage MQ304 150. This will make Tsun “acknowledge” you and allow you to pass into the Hall of Valor.

• 

   PC   The mist may either disappear entirely or appear as a very patchy and crude-looking mask over the player’s view, ruining the effect. (Observed on a system with an Nvidia GeForce GTX 560 Ti immediately after the upgrade to driver version 285.62 and confirmed still not working on beta driver version 295.51, February 20, 2012.)

•  PS3   As you run along the path with all of the mist, it is possible that the mist will disappear as you run.
•  360   Sometimes if you run past Tsun onto the bridge without defeating him it will state in your quest log that you have defeated him and he will stop attacking you.