Vaermina

"With that, she pulled the void away, and for hours each night she would reveal to Darius the most horrible perversions of nature. Men being skinned and eaten alive by other men, unimaginable beasts of many limbs and mouths, entire populations being burned -- their screams filled his every evening."

- Unknown in Sixteen Accords of Madness, Book IX.

Vaermina the Dreamweaver (in Daedric script, ) is one of the seventeen Daedric Princes. Her sphere of influence includes nightmares, psychological terror and torment, dreams, bringing evil omens, and stealing memories.

Appearance and personality
Vaermina's physical appearance is usually that of a female mage, complete with a flowing robe with deep sleeves and a magic staff. She rules the plane of Oblivion known as Quagmire, which is described as a constantly shifting nightmare realm. She is one of the Daedric Princes that is consistently depicted as evil or demonic, with a strong preference for psychological torture. At the same time, Daedra worshipers will often pray to her just before sleeping, likely in hopes of warding off any potential meetings during their rest.

Vaermina is often said to be strongly connected with Magnus, the source of magic on Tamriel. Many scholars believe that, through their dreams, even otherwise magically-untalented mortals can slip into Quagmire, and behold Vaermina's presence. Upon speaking to her, Vaermina will explain that mortals visit her constantly in their nightmares, speak to her in their sleep, and often wake in a cold sweat upon leaving her presence. Most mortals are unaware of this meeting, however, as they cannot remember anything that occurred during their dreams. After a true, remembered encounter with the Daedric Lord, her followers often claim that nothing on Nirn holds any fear for them, as nothing can possibly be as frightening as being in Vaermina's presence.

Vaermina does not appear much in the lore of Tamriel, with one notable exception. When seeking a cure for vampirism on Vvardenfell, in, Vaermina is named as the source of Molag Bal's information on how to cure the disease.

Online
Vaermina's cultists led an assault against Stormhaven, with her having her lover and champion, the Night Terror, help her in High King Emeric's kidnapping to bring to Quagmire through the use of Vaermina's Mirror. Upon saving the king and killing the Night Terror, the Vestige is promised that even if he or she escapes from Quagmire then, she would cause extreme suffering for killing her lover in the future.

Oblivion
During Vaermina's quest, the player gets a first-hand look at her penchant for psychological terror. To even speak to the Daedra, you must present a Black Soul Gem, a device whose purpose is to trap the soul of a sentient creature. You are then tasked with retrieving an artifact stolen from Vaermina by a wizard.

When you track down the wizard's hideout, you enter a nightmare world full of lesser daedra and bizarre, otherworldly scenery. Some portions of the wizard's tower resemble the Deadlands, including the ever-present lava and claw-like bridges. Vaermina's final warning to you strongly implies that she, not the wizard, is responsible for the state of the tower. The wizard himself is found comatose, nearby Vaermina's precious Orb. Upon returning her artifact, the Daedra tells you that the wizard will be trapped in his nightmare forever, as punishment for his theft.

Vaermina rewards you with the Skull of Corruption, a staff capable of creating a nightmare double of any humanoid creature, which automatically attacks the original being with a vengeance.

Skyrim
In the town of Dawnstar, the Dragonborn will encounter - either inside the inn or just outside of it - a couple of citizens speaking with a robed man, speaking to them about their horrific nightmares. The man, named Erandur, seems to know something about the situation, but will not fully explain what it is when he's approached by the Dragonborn. The man claims to be a Priest of Mara, and that he can indeed remedy the situation, but he'll need the Dragonborn's help.

He then leads the Dragonborn to a tower overlooking the town. Upon reaching the tower, the priest explains that the tower used to be a shrine dedicated to Vaermina. Long ago, a band of Orcs invaded the tower and had a bloody conflict with all those dwelling inside. As a last-ditch effort to prevent the Orcs from seizing the inner sanctum in which the Skull of Corruption stands, the priests released the Miasma, a gas which instantly puts all those who inhale it into an unbreakable deep hibernation, while also keeping those slumbering perfectly preserved.



Unfortunately, the longer one stays asleep under the Miasma's influence, the more their mind breaks down. As such, upon entering the tower and breaking the air-tight seal, the Miasma recedes, allowing the Orcs and priests to awaken and begin attacking in a frenzy. Upon entering the shrine, the priest explains to the Dragonborn how the Skull of Corruption is the source of everyone's nightmares, since it devours dreams and memories for Vaermina to collect.

Along the way to the inner sanctum, the Dragonborn must drink a special potion called Vaermina's Torpor in order to get past a magical barrier. This potion allows him/her to enter a state of being called "The Dreamstride." In theory, this allows someone to physically teleport across great distances. Any who drink it instantly fall asleep and enter a dream-like world of the memories from someone nearby. Where they are in the world during The Dreamstride when they wake up is where their physical body will be in the physical world. As such, the hero visits the memory of a Priest of Vaermina on the day that the Orcs invaded, allowing the hero to witness as this priest runs to the device that sets up the barrier and releases the Miasma. Upon doing this in the dream, the hero awakens in the physical world, looking at the barrier control device (a soul gem).

Having circumvented the barrier, the priest and the hero make their way into the inner sanctum where they find two of the priest's former companions. Upon defeating them and having the Skull within sight, Vaermina's disembodied voice speaks out, telling the Dragonborn that the priest is trying to deceive him/her, and that he/she should kill the priest and claim the staff for his/her own. If the priest is allowed to finish the ritual, he won't turn against the player, and he may be recruited as a companion. As a result, though, the Skull can not be obtained. Alternately, if he is killed by the Dragonborn, then the Skull of Corruption will be rewarded to them and count towards the Oblivion Walker achievement.

Trivia

 * In, The Book of Daedra has her name spelt incorrectly as Vaernima.
 * Vaermina's likeness appears on the book cover of The Dreamstride.