Dragon Crisis

"The World-Eater wakes, and the Wheel turns upon the Last Dragonborn..."

- Prophecy of the Dragonborn

The Dragon Crisis was a time in recent history when Alduin emerged from the time rift from which he was banished to during the Dragon War. He, along with the many dragons that he resurrected, caused destruction and chaos throughout Skyrim. (The effects of this Crisis on other provinces is not directly stated, although it is clearly present beyond Skyrim.) However, a hero the Dragonborn rose and was able to defeat him as foretold by the Elder Scrolls.

The main questline of prominently features the Dragon Crisis.

Background
During the time of the human rebellion of the dragon rulers, three heroes, with help from the dragon Paarthurnax, were able to defeat Alduin using an Elder Scroll. They were not, however, able to completely destroy him, but rather send him in a time rift through the Elder Scrolls in the form of a Dragon Break.

Sacking of Helgen
Alduin exited the time rift in 4E 201. His first action after his return was to attack the town of Helgen in southern Skyrim. By sheer coincidence, the Last Dragonborn was able to escape execution because of the chaos that resulted from the attack.

Death of Mirmulnir
After the Dragonborn made his way north to Whiterun, a guard reported a dragon attacking the Western Watchtower. The Dragonborn, with a small contingent of guards, was sent to kill it. It was here, after defeating Mirmulnir, that the Dragonborn's abilities was proven real. Soon afterwards, the mysterious Greybeards summoned the Dragonborn to their monastery for training.

Training with the Greybeards
The Greybeards conducted various training exercises with the Dragonborn to train them in the ways of the Voice, and eventually sent them on a mission to retrieve the Horn of Jurgen Windcaller, which was located in the ancient Nordic burial crypt of Ustengrav. However, the Horn had already been taken by Delphine, one of the last remaining Blades, in order to get into contact with the Dragonborn.

Blades
When the two finally came into contact in Riverwood, Delphine revealed to the Dragonborn that she was a member of the ancient and decimated order of the Blades, who renowned for their feats of dragonslaying in the ages past. She also knew about several dragon burial sites located across Skyrim, one of which being at Kynesgrove, in Eastmarch. She believed that the dragons were being resurrected, and that the next resurrection would happen at Kynsegrove, and thus requested that the Dragonborn follow her to one of these sites.

Battle of Kynesgrove
After arriving at Kynesgrove, a massive, black, scaled dragon hovered over the burial site, speaking in the ancient Dragon Language, as another dragon rose out of the burial site. The massive, black dragon that was resurrecting the dragon revealed himself to be Alduin, the World-Eater, the Nordic God of Destruction, who was the leader of all of the dragons on Tamriel during the Merethic Era when they were still alive. The dragon who was being resurrected was Sahloknir.

Alduin then ordered Sahloknir to "slay the mortals," flew away. Sahloknir began to attack Delphine and the Dragonborn, and a battle ensued. Eventually, the Dragonborn and Delphine were able to overcome and slay the dragon.

The Throat of the World
When returning to the Greybeards, the Dragonborn was permitted to meet with their leader, Paarthurnax, who was revealed to be a dragon. After discussing philosophy and history, Paarthurnax then sent the Dragonborn to find an Elder Scroll in the Dwemer Ruin of Blackreach.

After retreiving the Elder Scroll, the Dragonborn read it atop the summit of the mountain. Alduin could sense the power atop the mountain, and appeared in the skies above. The Dragonborn, with the help of Paarthurnax, nearly defeated Alduin during the "Duel Atop the World" by using the newly learned mortal-made shout that was known as Dragonrend—the very shout used to defeat him long ago. Despite their best efforts, however, Alduin managed to escape to Sovngarde.

The Final Battle at Sovngarde
The Dragonborn convinced the Jarl of Whiterun to allow them to use Dragonsreach as a prison for Odahviing, Alduin's second-in-command, in the hopes to learn where Alduin escaped to. After the dragon's capture, he struck a deal with the Dragonborn, which was to free him; but in exchange, he would carry the Dragonborn atop his back to the gate of Sovngarde, located at the Nordic ruin Skuldafn. After reaching Skuldafn, the Dragonborn defeated the Dragon Priest Nahkriin who was guarding the portal, then teleported to Sovngarde. Fighting alongside the spirits of the three warriors who first defeated Alduin, the Dragonborn finally defeated Alduin in the Battle of the Tongues.

Aftermath
In the aftermath of Alduin's defeat, most of the remaining dragons recognized the Dragonborn as a superior, (or, at the very least, as an equal) to them, and agreed to cease their hostilities, acknowledging them for the power of their Thu'um and the defeat of Alduin.

However, if the Dragonborn did not kill Paarthurnax, the Dovah acknowledged them as their king, with Paarthurnax stating his intention to bring The Way of the Voice to all dragons. Alduin's former second-in-command, Odahviing, swore loyalty to the Dragonborn, after witnessing the Dragonborn's power for a second time. In either case, however, some dragons still acted to terrorize Nirn.

Appearances


Drachenkrise