The Soul Cairn is a special realm inside of Skyrim’s Dawnguard DLC, which allows you to meet a new cast of characters and battle a bunch of new spectral enemies. There are also a lot of things that you can easily miss about this location, including characters, enemies, spells, and even lore.
The Soul Cairn is one of the most interesting locations in the entire game, and you will soon understand why after experiencing the realm in all its glory. With such a giant realm, there will always be something hidden around every corner in the Soul Cairn for you to discover and explore.
Updated November 14, 2021 by Michael Caruso: Skyrim is a big region to explore on its own. However, each of the two major expansion packs for Skyrim has unique zones that contain new characters and quests. The Soul Cairn is one of the most important locations you encounter in the Dawnguard DLC, and although it’s crucial for the main plot, there are also many side activities to complete in this area. There are a few extra things you should know are hidden inside the Soul Cairn that you will only encounter if you search the realm closely.
13 The Soul Cairn Conjuration Spells
Bethesda added many new spells into Skyrim with the Dawnguard DLC, including a group of Conjuration spells that you can only obtain inside the Soul Cairn. These spells allow you to conjure the enemies you encounter inside the Soul Cairn, including the Boneman, Wrathman, and Mistman.
This is a unique selection of enemies that you can summon, and it’s particularly fun if you like their designs. The Conjure Boneman spell is on a shrine with a soul gem brazier, the Conjure Wrathman spell is on a podium in a square building, and the Conjure Mistman spell is on top of a pedestal east of the Boneyard.
12 Valerica Can Leave The Soul Cairn
Serana’s mother, Valerica, is one of the most fascinating characters in the Dawnguard DLC, and you encounter her during the main plot. However, you may not be aware that Valerica can leave the Soul Cairn after you defeat Harkon.
Once you defeat Harkon and finish the Dawnguard DLC main questline, you can return to the Soul Cairn and speak with Valerica, which will then allow her to leave the realm and take up residence inside Castle Volkihar. This option provides more dialogue with Valerica, so it’s a nice piece of side content if you like her character.
11 Many Souls Have A Backstory
It may seem as though many of the souls that you can encounter throughout the Soul Cairn aren’t relevant to the plot and don’t even have a backstory. However, you can learn a lot about them if you pay attention to what they say while you’re near them.
The souls often explain how they got to the Soul Cairn, and a few of them even reference previous Elder Scrolls games, such as the soul that refers to the “A Brush With Death” quest from Oblivion.
10 Souls May Be A Type Of Currency
The souls in the Soul Cairn have been mysterious ever since Skyrim introduced this area in the Dawnguard DLC, and you may still wonder why new souls enter this location.
One of the main theories for this is that souls are a type of currency for the keepers of the Soul Cairn and that there could be some sort of exchange happening between immortal beings. Although the fanbase may never know for sure, this is one of the leading theories, and the most likely reason souls are collected.
9 Arvak
Arvak is a conjurable horse, and it is one of the most important things in the Soul Cairn that you may have missed. You can summon Arvak using a spell that you learn once you collect Arvak’s skull while adventuring throughout this realm.
Arvak is a very interesting horse, and you can summon it multiple times, so you won’t have to worry about it dying. It’s especially useful because you can conjure it anywhere and anytime, as long as you are outside.
8 Followers Are Unable To Enter Into The Soul Cairn
Other than Serana, companions of any kind are not allowed in the Soul Cairn. This means that you will not have any extra aid in the form of animal companions or regular followers when you travel to this realm.
Serana can enter because she is a vampire. However, other creatures that are considered alive are unable to enter the Soul Cairn at all. This is why you have to become a vampire or entrust your soul to a soul gem to enter the Soul Cairn.
7 The Dragonborn Can Regain Part Of Their Soul
After the main quests involving the Soul Cairn are over, you can return to this realm as much as you want and even retrieve part of your soul if you put it inside of a soul gem to gain access to the Soul Cairn.
You can follow a quest and regain that part of your character’s soul, which will make you more powerful in the Soul Cairn and allow your character to be whole again.
6 Every Plant In The Soul Cairn Is Dead
You may have missed all of the foliage that covers the Soul Cairn. However, there are actually a bunch of plants that used to be alive within this realm.
The main reason you may miss all these trees and bushes is that they are all dead, presumably due to the unlivable conditions of the Soul Cairn. It’s interesting to see all of the plants once you take notice of them, and it makes the realm feel much more realistic than it otherwise would.
5 There Are A Lot Of Daedra Hearts In The Soul Cairn
Daedra Hearts are common in the Soul Cairn, and you can find them throughout the realm in various chests. There are a bunch of chests to loot throughout the different ruins in the Soul Cairn, and as such, you should thoroughly explore all of them if you want to get this powerful alchemy ingredient.
Daedra Hearts are unfortunately very expensive and hard to obtain in the base game of Skyrim, and the Soul Cairn is one of the best places to farm them because of all of the chests that you can find this ingredient in.
4 Cracks In The Ground Can Fill Your Soul Gems
You may not be aware that you can fill soul gems up very quickly by traveling around the Soul Cairn and interacting with the cracks in the ground. These fissures contain souls, and they will fill up the highest-tier soul gem that you have in your inventory.
It’s easy to miss this mechanic completely, and it, unfortunately, went unnoticed by many travelers even though it is such a huge help while you are trying to farm filled soul gems.
3 There Is A Word Wall Inside Of The Soul Cairn
There is a secret Word Wall inside of the Soul Cairn that only extra observant adventurers will ever find. Rubble partially covers this word wall, and as such, it’s even more difficult to spot than an average word wall.
Nobody is completely sure what this word wall is. However, it makes fans question how many shouts there are that didn’t make it into the final game. It would have been nice to see three Word Walls located around the Soul Cairn that you could use to obtain another unique shout, but unfortunately, that didn’t happen.
2 The Reaper Fight
The Reaper fight is one of the most difficult fights in the entire game of Skyrim, and it is, without a doubt, one of the hardest challenges that you can face in the Dawnguard DLC. The Reaper is very powerful, and you can only fight it after finding its lair.
The Reaper carries a spectral battle axe that it can use to attack you. It also has a ton of health, so you should bring potions and your strongest weapons if you intend to defeat the enemy.
1 Jiub
Jiub is a character that first appeared in Morrowind, and you get a chance to interact with him during the first scene in the game. Jiub is an interesting character, and he made a surprise appearance in the Soul Cairn.
Jiub entrusts you with the task of tracking down the different pages of his autobiography, which he, unfortunately, lost in the Soul Cairn. You may have missed this quest while exploring the Soul Cairn, and the reward is a special locket that grants you an extra 50 points of stamina and 50 extra pounds of carry weight.
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