The Black Star quest in Skyrim will require you to go a bit out of your way to find the Shrine of Azura. The quest is a must for players who want to enchant their gear. There are two different paths for this quest, and depending on the one you choose, you can get a slightly different reward.
One path will also give you access to a new follower, Aranea Ienith — an elemental mage. To help you tackle the quest, the guide below will tell you where to find The Shrine of Azura and walk you through the process of completing the quest.
Updated November 15, 2022 by Nicolas Ng: This article has enhanced with the rest of our walkthrough, featuring new images and tips to keep you entrapped within Skyrim.
Starting The Black Star
To start the quest, visit the Shrine of Azura. You can visit it of your own volition or get a miscellaneous quest from an innkeeper by asking for rumors. You can find it by heading to Winterhold and going south. The Shrine of Azura is located on top of a mountain and can easily be seen from the ground by most players.
There is a dragon location nearby, so follow the path and steer clear of any extra battles. Once at the shrine, climb up the steps to speak with Aranea Ienith, who will give you a vague description of an elven mage.
Though the quest marker brings you right to Nelacar, you can ask staff members from the College or the local innkeeper about him. They will give hints about his backstory if asked.
Head back to Winterhold to find Nelacar at The Frozen Hearth. Nelacar will be reluctant to tell you about the Azura's Star, so you will need to persuade him using speech, gold, or intimidation. After he finally speaks to you, he will tell you to visit Ilinalta's Deep near Riverwood.
Finding Azura's Star
When you reach Ilinalta's Deep, you will notice it's partially underwater. Follow the marker arrow and use the hatch to gain entrance. Once inside, the path is pretty linear, but there are a ton of necromancers and skeletons lurking in the halls.
Be extremely careful, as some enemies will be raised from the dead by alerted necromancers. Focus on killing the necromancers as quickly as possible to keep this from happening.
You will eventually get to a room with a raised bridge — jump in the water and find the steps that lead up to the other side. Here you will find a necromancer, defeat him and pull the chain on the wall to let the bridge down before proceeding forward.
The dungeon is full of potions and enchanted items, so make sure to collect items as you progress. There is also an Alteration Skill Book behind a waterfall.
Keep proceeding through the dungeon until you reach the final room with Malyn Varen's skeleton in a chair. Directly below the skeleton will be the Azura's Star — pick it up and head back to either Nelacar or Aranea Ienith.
Bringing The Star To Aranea Or Nelacar
The outcome of the quest changes depending on who you bring the Star to. They will treat the Star based on their different motivations, leading to two outcomes.
|
Aranea Ienith |
Gives you Aranea as a follower and Azura's Star, an unbreakable soul gem that can trap white souls. |
|---|---|
|
Nelacar |
Gives you The Black Star, an unbreakable soul gem that can trap white and black souls. |
Nelacar will tell you that the Black Star will only hold Black Souls, which is untrue. Like a Black Soul Gem, it is capable of capturing black souls as well as white souls.
Black souls are captured from sentient beings such as the ten playable races and are equivalent to Grand Souls. The use of black soul gems is taboo and is even banned at the College of Winterhold. They are, however, a convenient source of potent enchanting souls.
No matter who receives the Star, you will have the final task of battling Malyn Varen and his three Dremora. If you wish to complete the task quickly, simply killing Malyn will complete the quest and allow you to exit the Star.