Through a Nightmare, Darkly

Background
Kud-Ei asks you to help free her friend Henantier, who is trapped. If you agree, you're led to Henantier's house, where Henantier is asleep. The guild mistress explains that Henantier created a "Dreamworld Amulet" that would allow him to enter his Dreamworld; he believed that he would be able to train himself by doing so, as he would control the content of this world. However, he has not awoken for three days. You must wear the Dreamworld Amulet and sleep in the bed next to Henantier's in order to enter the dreamworld and free Henantier.

Inside the dreamworld, you have no inventory (although there are items scattered about which can be picked up and used). In addition, you are silenced and cannot use magic. The dreamworld takes the form of a disheveled version of Henantier's house, in which Henantier is standing in a confused state. There are four exits to the house, each leading to a test. The order in which the tests are taken does not matter. Once completed, a test cannot be revisited.(Note that if the Bravil Recommendation quest is running, Kud-Ei will not give you the amulet until the quest is finished.)

Walkthrough
There is no specific order that you need to do the tests. If you want armor to protect you against the various traps in the other tests you may want to complete the Test of Resolve first.

Test of Patience
The Test of Patience requires your patience to figure out how to best cross some pressure plates. You are transported to a walkway suspended in darkness. In front of you is a reader which contains a Mysterious Scroll. On this scroll are three patterns of Daedric letters. Continuing along the walkway, the player finds a grid of stone pressure plates. Entry is only possible at one point, by stepping onto the first plate (Note: Read the plates from the bottom of each section of the scroll to the top, i.e. the first 'row' encountered on the scroll is actually the last row you will pass for that section).

The first pattern on the scroll conforms to the layout of the pressure plates. The first plate where you enter, will be signified on the scroll by a certain character. You must cross the grid by stepping on each of the plates represented by this character, or will take damage from several traps around the grid. You must then repeat this process for the next two grids of pressure plates, before retrieving the Element of Patience at the end of the walkway. This will teleport you back to Henantier.


 * Note: With a high Acrobatics ability it is possible to jump across the majority of each grid. It is also quite possible to simply sprint across each grid and "wait" out the damage afterward. The traps do far more damage than their real world counterparts, so be sure to grab the healing potions from the container downstairs before beginning the quest.

Test of Perception
The Test of Perception tests your ability to recognize the presence of traps. You are teleported to another floating walkway. The reader in front of you contains a torch, equip it. You must travel along the walkway, avoiding several traps triggered by pressure plates, before retrieving the Element of Perception. The pressure plate traps trigger falling rocks and dropping blades suspended from the ceiling. The pressure plates can be jumped over while the other traps can be run past; or just activate the pressure plate traps and backup, the rocks will fall harmlessly in front of you and the dropping blades will begin their sequence which can then be easily navigated by careful timing. Simply avoid the pressure traps on the last part of the walkway to the element by jumping to the smooth stones.

Test of Courage
The Test of Courage tests your courage while swimming underwater for long periods of time. You'll find a Weak Potion of the Sea (Water Breathing) in the reader, equip it in a hot key. You must swim through a long underwater tunnel, effectively making a "leap of faith" that the tunnel will end before the player runs out of air. There is another water-breathing potion around halfway through the tunnel. At the end of the tunnel is Grotto of Courage that holds the Element of Courage.

Because water breathing causes your air meter to recharge, begin the swim and drink it en-route when your air is getting low. Done that way, you can easily make it to the goal using one potion.

If your character is Argonian, you are still able to breathe water and this test doesn't affect you. This has only been confirmed using the Xbox console and PS3, and may vary.

If you remove all of the armor acquired in the Test of Resolve, the character is able to swim through the tunnels on one of the potions received in the reader.

Test of Resolve
Before entering this test, be sure to take the healing potions in a cupboard to the left of the doorway.

The Test of Resolve tests your strength and power. It takes place inside what looks like the Imperial City Arena (although the yellow team's gate has been blocked). The reader contains a staff, a blade weapon, and blunt weapon (all of which depend on the your level), and full sets of light and heavy armor (also depending on your level).

Once you're equipped and enter the Arena, the gate shuts and two Dreamworld Minotaurs spawn, and must be killed. This is an extremely difficult test; be sure to save your game prior to fighting them. Disarming both of them helps. If you're still having difficulty defeating them through normal combat, the staff seems the most efficient weapon to defeat each Minotaur. Run backwards around the arena so they're unable to hit you while you blast them with the staff. Once both minotaurs have been defeated, stairs raise up from the round and it is possible to complete the Test.

Easy way to beat Test Of Resolve: When the minotaurs spawn, head back down towards the door you came in through. The minotaurs are too big to fit in this hallway. All you have to do now is use the staff to shoot lightning at them as they attempt to run into the hallway. Making it easy to kill them without getting hit once. Be careful though, if you get too close to them, they can sometimes push their way into the hall.

Another easy way to beat them is to take the staff and jump on to one of the sides and just keep shooting at them as they will be below you and unable to hit you

Completion
Once you have completed the four tests and collected each Element, return to Henantier and both of you will be transported out of his dreamworld, and you will receive back your inventory. Your reward will be a few scrolls, such as Heroic Touch, or Fortify Magicka.

Bugs

 * There is currently a bug in the PC version that will prevent Kud-Ei from taking you to Henantier's House in Bravil, so that you cannot start the quest. This has also been reported in the 360 version.
 * In the PS3 and Xbox 360 version of the game, it is possible to complete this quest prior to starting the recommendation one.(Confirmed on PC)
 * If you are wearing the boots of Springheel Jack when you go to sleep for this quest, it will remove them and you get a permanent 50 acrobatics bonus, but you cannot put the boots back on or drop them. So the boots just become obsolete after this quest
 * If you wear ring of the viper eye you will get its attributes permanently added to your stats as well. You will also not be able to equip or drop this item.
 * If you have obtained the quest object 'Honorblade of Chorrol' and have previously hotkeyed it to the item 'wheel', you may use the wheel to draw the Honorblade in the dreamworld and use it in the fight against the Minotaurs. But the lightning staff in that section is much easier to defeat them with anyway.
 * There is another bug, which closely resembles a glitch. If you attack Henantier while he's asleep, he will fall off the bed, wake up, and then go to sleep again. However, in the few seconds he's awake, you can't talk to him.


 * If one were to look on the game's map during this quest, it would show that the character is somewhere deep in the west weald forest. This is the default position to show the player's marker when the PC is located in another "world" separate from the standard "Tamriel" world, that does not have its own world map to load instead like the Shivering Isles does. The shown location is the 0,0 coordinate cell in the Tamriel world.


 * Attempting this quest while in the Shivering Isles may bring up the "I HAVE NO GREETING" glitch. Since there is no way to talk to Henantier, the quest cannot be finished. Returning to Cyrodiil and beginning the quest again will allow you to finish this quest

Trivia

 * The title of this quest is possibly a reference to the passage 1 Corinthians 13:12 in the New King James Bible, which reads as follows: For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known. It could also be a reference to Philip K. Dicks novel, A Scanner Darkly, which is its self a reference to the Biblical Passage .
 * The title of this quest could also be a reference to the episode of Star Trek: Enterprise; "In a Mirror, Darkly" which was released aproximatly one year before . However, the name of the epiosode may also be a referance to the afore mentioned possibillity of reference for the name of this quest.