The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim houses a large world for players to explore at their leisure. From sprawling forests in The Rift to the more snowy regions of The Pale, there is enough variety to keep players engaged for dozens of playthroughs.
Each region of Skyrim contains a capital hold that watches over that region's laws. The Pale houses a remote capital city called Dawnstar. This hold may be small compared to the likes of Whiterun, but what it lacks in scope it makes up for in detail. Mines fight over each other as multiple daedric gods are trying to manipulate the townsfolk. Here are 10 details everyone completely missed about Dawnstar in Skyrim.
10 Controlled By The Stormcloaks
Dawnstar is so remote from the rest of Skyrim that many forget that it is controlled by the Stormcloaks. Stormcloaks want to keep Skyrim independent for the Nords instead of run by the Imperial Legion.
This results in the Stormcloaks needing a lot of soldiers and equipment to stand a chance against the massive Imperial army. Thanks to Dawnstar's abundance of Ore, the Stormcloaks can use this hold as a location to craft armor and weapons for their army, hence why it is a critical location for them in the Civil War questline.
9 Museum Of Dawnstar
Despite the sheer amount of ruins and artifacts Skyrim allows the player to collect, there is only one museum in the entire province.
This museum in Dawnstar houses some bland items that a businessman owns, but he wants to truly impress visitors by having a Deadric artifact. He asks players to collect pieces of Mehrunes' Razor and complete the item to display in his museum. Like any daedric quest, things go horribly wrong and Mehrunes Dagon himself asks you to kill him to claim his dagger as your rightful prize. Aside from modding, this is the only museum you're going to find in any major hold in Skyrim.
8 Dragon Attacks
Dragons are a core part of Skyrim and The Elder Scrolls series. These mythical beasts lay waste to anything they come across, requiring the Dragonborn to absorb their souls to prevent their resurrection.
Those who aren't so fortunate to be blessed with a dragon's soul and blood at birth will have a hard time fighting dragons in any capacity. Unfortunately for the townsfolk of Dawnstar, this hold has an increased chance of spawning dragons. If you need to farm dragon souls, Dawnstar is the place to do so. This also means that NPCs that reside here are more likely to perish as a result of these frequent attacks.
7 Trading
Dawnstar is a remote hold in the middle of a tundra, so it makes sense that few people live here. How does the town make any money to sustain itself, though?
Trading. Dawnstar is located next to an ocean teeming with fish. This hold also houses two unique mines that offer a significant amount of ore, providing enough metal to provide an entire army with armor and weapons. Trading these resources allows Dawnstar to remain a hold instead of a smaller keep.
6 Sells Land
It might be in a location surrounded by snow and deadly creatures, but Dawnstar does allow more adventurous players to purchase a plot of land in the region.
Provided you have the "Hearthfire" DLC installed, you can talk to the Jarl of Dawnstar to purchase a plot of land. Provided you are high enough level and the town doesn't look unfavorably on you, the Jarl can sell you a plot of land to create your own house on. The house you create can include nearly anything you want, including stables for horses, forges for crafting, or even an oven to create new consumable items with strong buffs.
5 Recurring Nightmares
Most residents of Dawnstar will complain that they keep having recurring nightmares. No matter what they do, they dream of something awful happening.
Those who played Morrowind might remember the main story having a similar issue occurring. In that game, the illusive Dagoth Ur was siphoning energy from other's dreams. In this instance, the daedric prince Vaermina is growing stronger from corrupting the dreams of others. You can either work with a priest of Mara to stop her or kill that priest and help Vaermina for a powerful daedric artifact. Whatever you decide to do, the nightmares will cease and the townsfolk will be thankful.
4 Rivaling Mines
Ore is precious in The Elder Scrolls series. The metals that are created from ore found in mines can fund entire armies worth of equipment.
Dawnstar has two mines that are fighting over each other to see who can bring in the most income. Iron-Breaker Mine focuses on mining as much iron as possible to compete with Quicksilver mine, a cave that has plentiful Quicksilver that is much more valuable than iron. The price difference between the two ores results in these two mines being hostile towards each other and refusing to cooperate.
3 Vendor Chest
Vendors are all across Skyrim, selling valuable goods that players can use to make their adventure easier. What many do not realize, however, is that some vendors have hidden chests that store their entire inventory.
Dawnstar has such a vendor chest. Walk towards Iron-Breaker Mine and sneak near a pile of rocks left of the entrance. If you walk close enough to them, you will get an interactive option to open a chest. That chest contains every single item the Khajiit caravan brings when they enter Dawnstar. Sell all of your items to them for gold, then open that chest and take your items back and steal their gear for free.
2 Dark Brotherhood Sanctuary
The Dark Brotherhood is located in the southern quadrant of Skyrim next to Falkreath. They didn't always have a sanctuary there.
Dawnstar houses a Dark Brotherhood sanctuary to the north of the hold. Players who complete the main story contracts for the guild will be given access to this ancient and abandoned sanctuary to use as a home. Delvin Mallory in The Ragged Flagon can upgrade the old sanctuary for you and fellow guildmates as well, as long as you have the gold to do so.
1 Once Under Martial Law
Chest-high walls and ruins surround Dawnstar, which seems to allude to a time where Dawnstar was a much larger hold. This is actually true if you look into the lore of Dawnstar.
In the second era, Versidue-Shaie ruled over the hold and declared martial law in Dawnstar after one of its fortresses was destroyed. This resulted in a complete massacre of the hold's inhabitants and the destruction of many of its buildings. If you ever wondered why this fortress-esque hold is missing walls and more watchtowers, Versidue-Shaie is why.