SSE 24: Azura's Star

On the way back to Winterhold I caught sight of a massive statue on the mountain peak near Winterhold. The shrine of Azura is managed by one lone Dunmer priest. She introduced herself as Aranea Ienith, the last of her group that still tended to the statue. Clad perpetually in snow, the task must be most daunting, and Aranea's faith must be that much more devout... She claimed that my appearance is prophesized by Azura - and that I am her champion, fated to find Azura's Star and return it to her.

That sounds rather convenient, doesn't it? But then again, Azura isn't a malevolent Daedric Prince - more mysterious than malicious... helping her might bring about some worthy reward. Azura communicated directly to me - the stone is obscured from her sight (well, Daedric Princes have no sex - but they do have a preferred form they appear in; and Azura prefers the female one), but she knows that the Star’s fate is tied to the fate of a mage called Nelacar. If I find this mage, he might have a clue as to the whereabouts of the Star.

Nelacar. I've seen him lurking in The Frozen Hearth inn in Winterhold. The mage is still there, so I asked him about the Star. He shared the story of his teacher - Malyn Varen, who had come into possession of the Star in his studies. The Star is a soulstone, unique in that it cannot be expended like a regular stone - it can be filled, emptied, and refilled, endlessly. There was a caveat though - the soul stored in the Star cannot be sentient. This limits its power as a soul stone - the strongest soul stones are harvested from the souls of the powerful.

Malyn however was trying to store his own soul in the Star, in clear violation of its intended use. The act warped Malyn Varen, apparently, and Nelacar is convinced that his mentor is corrupted by it. Nelacar had abandoned his master then, but he had heard that Malyn Varen had gathered others to his side to continue his experiment.

Malyn's little cabal had removed to a sunken imperial fort by the northern shores of the lake in Falkreath, called Illinalta's Deep. Wet conditions and the ever-present threat of becoming trapped in the leaking derelict structure are more perilous than the necromancers that guard it. I had expected a fight with their leader, but instead only find Azura's Star on Malyn's skeleton corpse, along with the mage's journal. The Star seemed dimmed and dulled. The journal's final entry suggests that Malan might have placed his soul on the Star successfully.

Not knowing what else I can do, I brought the Star back to Azura, who confirmed that Malyn had indeed stored his soul in the Star. I must fight him inside the Star to cleanse it... or I can wait a few hundred years for the Star to fade back into Azura's realm and she can cleanse it herself. She said she wanted me to have the Star, but it's useless in its current state. Waiting a few hundred years might also be a problem... 

...so it's really not much of a choice. I agreed to cleanse the Star. Azura sent me into her Star, where Malyn is waiting. I cast Malyn’s soul into Oblivion from the stone once and for all to receive my reward.

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