Striking at the Heart

Not to be confused with Striking the Heart.

Striking at the Heart is a quest available in The Elder Scrolls Online.

Background[]

The Shade of Prince Naemon has seized control of Hectahame where he is corrupting the Heart of the Valenwood. I must assist Queen Ayrenn and Indaenir in defeating him.

Quick walkthrough[]

Talk to Indaenir
Enter the Shadow Wood with Indaenir.
Talk to Indaenir
Enter the Hectahame Grotto
Search for the Shade in Hectahame
Talk to Indaenir
Retrieve and Place the Keystones x3
Wait for Indaenir to Unseal the Door
Enter Valenheart
Obtain the Staff of Magnus from the Shade
Talk to Indaenir
Wait for Indaenir to Heal the Heart
Talk to Mane Akkhuz-ri
Witness the Ritual
Talk to Indaenir
Talk to Queen Ayrenn
Allow Queen Ayrenn to speak to Indaenir
Talk to Queen Ayrenn

Walkthrough[]

Upon completing "Shades of Gray," Queen Ayrenn will tell you that the Shade of Naemon is here in Hectahame and is using the Staff of Magnus to suppress the wards that prevent necromancy here. He is also corrupting the Heart of Valenwood, which would corrupt all of Valenwood. Any soldiers the Dominion would send in would turn feral, so Ayrenn tells you to go and speak with Indaenir.

Indaenir is at the gates. Talk to him and he will tell you that while what is going on here is similar to the corruption in Verrant Morass, it is much worse, and you and him would not be immune this time. To get past the corruption, he suggests using his connection to the Green to enter into the Shadow Wood and bypass the corruption through there.

Once you are done talking, Indaenir will thrust you into the Shadow Wood. Talk to him again once you are there and he will tell you to head through the gates and onward into the Grotto. On the road there, you will see a great many corrupted spirits of Bosmer, though these will not be hostile. You will have to face off against some corrupted Imps, Lurchers and Spriggans though. Once you have made it through to the other side, enter the Grotto and begin your search for Naemon's Shade.

Approaching the door across from the entraance will cause Indaenir to realise that it has been blocked with magic, but that the pedestals in the room are still active. Talk to him and he will tell you that this is the door to the Valenheart, the heart of Valenwood. Naemon sealed it with ancient Ayleid magic, but if you retrieve the keystones that go along with the pedestals, you will be able to unseal the door.

The Armory Keystone is through the hallway to the north, in the armory. It is at the end of the furthest hallway. Take it, and you will be taken out of the Shadow Wood and back into the regular Hectahame; the spirits you have been seeing so far that were non-hostile will become hostile Veiled Heritance members. Fight your way through, back to Indaenir, and place the keystone on its pedestal. You can now talk to Indaenir to return to the Shadow Realm so that you can look for the other keystones there. The Ritual Keystone is in the Ritual Chambers to the east, and the Arboretum Keystone is in the Arboretum to the south. Both are all the way at the end of the hallways, and both of them will cast you back out of the Shadow Realm; Indaenir will pull you back in.

Once you have placed all three keystones, Indaenir will unseal the door. Head in and you will find the Shade of Naemon in there, ready for battle. He is quite powerful, and will summon Lurchers and Skeletons to his aid, so be prepared. Once he is dead, take the Staff of Magnus from his body and then speak with Indaenir. He will say that while the Shade is gone, the corruption in the Heart still remains, and may well infect parts of Valenwood. He will try to cure it by drawing the corruption out of the Heart and into himself. This will work, but Indaenir will die in the process.

After Indaenir's death, Mane Akkuz-ri and Cariel will show up. Speak with the Mane and explain what has happened. As you are doing so, something strange will happen to Indaenir's body; the Green is bringing him back to life. Cariel will exclaim that this means Indaenir has been chosen; he is to be the new Silvenar. Talk to Indaenir about all this and he will accept his new role. You should now go outside and inform the Queen of this. You can also talk to Razum-dar in the Grotto, as well as to the Mane, who has headed to the Queen's side. Once you talk to the Queen, she will take the staff or magnus from you. Indaenir will show up just as you tell her of this new role; a conversation will follow where Ayrenn bows down to Indaenir and recognises him as the new leader of the Bosmer people.

Speak with Ayrenn again to finish the quest and start the next one, "To Velyn Harbor."