Dragon Shouts

Dragon Shouts (Thu'um in the Dragon language) are an arcane form of magic prominently used in Tamriel long ago, but has gradually become obscure; in Skyrim there are few who retain the ability to perform these Shouts. The Dragonborn (Dovahkiin) is able to use the language of the dragons to great effect due to his/her ability to absorb the souls of Dragons. A minority of non-player characters also have the ability to use dragon shouts. There is a small group of mages, known as the Greybeards, who reside in the fortress of High Hrothgar, at the Throat of the World, the highest mountain in Tamriel. These mages are able to use Dragon shouts as well but they had to learn and teach themselves unlike the dragonborn who has a natural ability for it.

There are twenty Shouts in the game. Each shout is performed by the vocalization of specific words of power. Shouts are learned on the Word Walls of old ruins, and are unlocked with Dragon Souls. There are a select few however, that are unlocked for you by simply completing quests for the Greybeards along the main storyline. Dragon Souls are gained by slaying dragons and absorbing their souls. Each Shout consists of three words of power, and each word of power requires one Dragon Soul to be unlocked. Hence, each shout requires three words of power and 3 Dragon Souls to be used at full power.

These shouts have powerful effects and provide the user with a variety of abilities. For instance, one shout sends foes hurling away from you, another shout allows you to sprint a short distance almost instantly, and yet another lets you conjure forth spells of ice or fire, doing heavy damage. A player with only a partly unlocked shout (only one or two words unlocked) can use it, but the shout grows stronger by every word. The second and third words will also usually increase the recharge time of the shout, limiting the use of the shout.

Here |Here can be seen the location of most dragon shouts.

Significant Events involving Dragon Shouts

 * Kynareth was the one who granted the power to use the Thu'um to the mortal races of men. Paarthurnax was then the first to teach mortals to use the Thu'um.
 * The Nord heroes Felldir the Old, Gormlaith Golden-Hilt and Hakon One-Eye contrive the Dragonrend shout and use it and an Elder Scroll to partially defeat Alduin by casting him adrift in time, marking the turning point in mankind's favor during the Dragon War.
 * The Greybeards study shouts and are the primary institution for studying the Thu'um among mortals.
 * Akatosh first facilitated the creation of dragon souled and blooded mortals, mortal dov (dragonkind), or dragonborns, by granting the Alessian bloodline the power of the Dragons (i.e. the ability to use the Thu'um naturally, to steal the power of a dragon by absorbing it's soul as it dies).
 * After the great Nord army defeat against the Dunmer at red mountain Jurgen Windcaller converted to pacifism and founded the way of the voice to be therafter practiced and taught by the Greybeards.
 * General Talos was known to have been dragonborn, possessing the natural ability to use shouts.
 * Ulfric Stormcloak studied and then used the power of Shouts (Thu'um) to disable the previous High King of Skyrim in order to kill him. This was part of Ulfric's effort to show that the empire was unfit to rule, supporting the cause of the Stormcloaks, the Nordic rebel force named after him. He also used Shouts to retake Markarth from the Forsworn who had taken control during the Great War.
 * The Dragonborn hero of Skyrim defeated Alduin and was recognized by the other dragons as the dominant dov in Mundus.

Learning Dragon Shouts
Once a new shout has been discovered, a Dragon soul is required to unlock it, which allows it to be used.

Access the Shouts sub-menu from the magic menu. Locked shouts are grayed out. In the bottom right corner of the menu is the number of Dragon Souls available to use. These accumulate as you kill dragons.

According to the Greybeards, a Dragonborn absorbs the knowledge of the words from the dragon's soul. Unlocking a shout consumes three dragon souls. In order to learn new shouts, The Player must slay a dragon and absorb their souls.

To unlock the shout press the X-(xbox360)/[]-(PS3)/R-(PC) button while hovering over it.

On the PC, use the "Space" key, ("Ready/Sheath Weapon" by default). If you have remapped this key, use the newly bound key. (for some reason "R" still works when transfering items to storage/companion, but the customised key must be used to drop items from the inventory, crafting items, and unlocking shouts)

Dragon Shouts
Before beginning "The Throat of the World " quest, Arngeir can be asked where to find a Shout by asking "Have you located any Words of Power?" The location will be added to your map and a Miscellaneous quest will be added to your journal. He can also direct you to Word Walls after the main storyline has been completed.

After shouting in a populated area, a courier may hand you a Letter From A Friend, which reveals the location of a nearby Word Wall, although it may be a location you have already been to.

The first word of the shout is always the first to learn, so traveling to the default location of a shout's second word, will only learn the first word, and the locations will differ. All three locations will hold all three words, but it isn't always precisely that word if one is already known.