At the behest of the Celestial Thief I have travelled to a secluded valley in upper Craglorn known as the Howling Sepulchers. It is about as pleasant as its name suggests. The Sepulchers are an ancient Nedic burial grounds set into the foothills of the Dragontail mountains, whilst the Howling refers either to the winds that blow unrelentingly across its jagged rocks and crags, or to the wailing laments of the undead that roam these grounds seemingly unbound by the usual etiquette of quietus.

But there is something else strange about these undead, other then that they are up and walking about. They look very much like the draugr usually found in Skyrim. Indeed, as I look about the valley the architecture is all very reminiscent of Nord tombs. It appears whilst this may well have originally been a Nedic site, later on Nords took over the burial grounds and built their tombs on top. In one such tomb I discover a draugr actively awakening other draugr from their sarcophagi.

Another strange phenomenon I observe of these draugr it that many of them appear to be standing guard, and it is not until I reach the last tomb of the Sepulchers that I discover why. There on the central dias of a grand burial chamber I find the dragon priest Akiirdal performing some foul ritual. Surely there is no way that this lich has remained hidden away here all this time like some Dwemer Animunculi? I can only surmises that he has been, somewhat unwisely, resurrected by necromancy.

The dragon priests, like the dragons themselves, are now thankfully thought to be a thing of the past in Tamriel. The only reason I recognised his vestments is because I have seen them once before during the Mad God’s insidious tormenting of the Mages Guild. I was sent back in time to retrieve a relic from Vuldngrav, where I was to do battle with the dragon priest Korthor.

If left unchecked this resurrected dragon cultist who draws strength from his draugr servants, can only mean certain trouble for Craglorn. Especially for the potential restoration of Elinhir, to whom the roads of Upper Craglorn provide not only vital access to the stone mines, but also a trade route directly to Dragonstar.

S.K