Daedric quests are some of the most exciting in the game. They are often bizarre and long, and powerful artifacts await you in the end. Those quests are often more complicated and require you to do some not-so-simple errands. One such quest is “Discerning the Transmundane.” The quest requires you to harvest the blood of all elven races in Skyrim. Orcs, Wood Elves, and Dark Elves are pretty easy. Just visit a bandit camp, and the chances are you’re going to run into at least two specimens of the mentioned elven races. Falmers are even easier if you are near ancient Dwemer ruins, but what about high elves? It turns out it’s the hardest blood to harvest, so we decided to put together this guide. Let’s see where to find High Elf blood in Skyrim.
- Article Breakdown:
- You can harvest High Elf blood from the corpses of dead Altmers that can be found in the following locations: Pinewatch, Fort Greymoor, Redwater Den, Fort Dunstad, and Halted Stream Camp.
- Suppose by any chance you’re looking for live specimens of High Elven races. In that case, you can always find them at the following locations: Thalmor Embassy, Nortwatch Keep, Northshore Landing, Yngwild, Hob’s Fall Cave, Uttering Hills Cave, and Abandoned Lodge.
- Keep in mind that at most of those locations, the NPCs will likely be aggressive toward you, so you will not earn a fine when you dispose of them.
How do you start Discerning the Transmundane quest?
You can start the quest Discerning the Transmundane quest at any moment, but you will not be able to complete the quest until you’re at least level 15. The easiest way to start the quest is to wait for the Elder Knowledge quest. That’s part of the main story. This quest will ultimately send you toward Septimus Signus Outpost, and this is where you’ll meet, well, Septimus Signus.
Septimus Signus is a crazed hermit studying a giant Dwemer cube in great depth. Unfortunately for him, he can’t seem to get it open. Fortunately for you, he will employ your help to open the cube and provide you with everything you need to reach the Elder Scroll that you need to continue the main story.
Once you start the quest, he will give you two items, Attunement Sphere and Dwemer Lexicon. Attunement Sphere is needed to complete Elder Knowledge, and Dwemer Lexicon is needed to complete Discerning the Transmundane.
Once you make your way to Alftand and ultimately reach the Tower of Mzark, you will be greeted by the Dwemer Oculory. That’s sort of a puzzle that you need to solve. Place the Lexicon on the pedestal to start solving the puzzle. To solve the puzzle in Discerning the Transmundane, follow these steps:
- Press the second button from the right four times. Enough time should pass between each press so that the Oculory can re-align itself properly. It can be tedious to wait, but it’s something that can’t be skipped. If you’ve done everything right, the third button from the right should be revealed.
- Press the newly revealed button twice, again giving enough time to Oculory for re-alignment. If this step is done properly, the last button, the one on the far left, should be revealed.
- Press the last button to the left only once. The Oculory should re-align itself one more time and then reveal the Elder Scroll to you. Grab the runed Lexicon from the pedestal and Elder Scroll from its holding place.
Now, all you need to do is return to the Septimus Signus, and he will have another task for you.
Once you’ve reached Septimus Signus with a fully charged Lexicon, he will partially reveal his plans to you. He plans to emulate Dwemer blood by collecting the blood of every single elven race in the game. He will give you an item called “Essence Extractor,” and you need to find Orc, Falmer, Dunmer, Bosmer, and Altmer blood.
It’s easier said than done, especially if you want to complete the quest quickly without much hassle. Sure, you can always visit one of the cities and slay the first High Elf that comes your way, but this brings several other guard-related issues that are best avoided, at least in this case.
Where to find High Elf blood in Skyrim?
You have several locations at your disposal when it comes to finding Altmer blood; you can either harvest the blood from already dead High Elves, or you can “catch” a live specimen. It doesn’t matter as long as you have a High Elf NPC on hand. Generally, High Elf blood can be found in the following locations:
- Pinewatch
- Fort Greymoor
- Redwater Den
- Fort Dunstad
- Halted Stream Camp
- Thalmor Embassy
- Northwatch Keep
- Northshore Landing
- Yngwild
- Hob’s Fall Cave
- Uttering Hills Cave
- Abandoned Lodge
The first four locations are best if you’re trying to avoid combat since they contain corpses of High Elves. Every single location on this list is a guaranteed source of High Elven blood, and Thalmor Embassy is a location that you will visit during the main story, so it works if you plan to delay finishing Discerning the Transmundane.
There’s always a chance you will run into a Thalmor patrol along the way, as they are among the random encounters you can meet by traveling on foot via roads connecting holds and cities.
Should you give Septimus the Lexicon?
You should give Septimus the Lexicon since it’s the only way to finish the quest and claim your prize. After you deliver the Lexicon to Septimus, Hermaeus Mora will appear. After a short cutscene where Septimus ultimately dies, you will gain access to Oghma Infinium. Oghma Infinium is a powerful book that can boost magic, combat, or stealth-oriented skills by five whole levels.
It’s an extremely powerful boost if you time it well. It’s best to use the books when you’ve reached a high level, and skills are a bit more difficult to level up. The book is activated by reading it like any other in the game.
And that’s about it: everything there is to know about acquiring High Elf blood and solving Discerning the Transmundane quest. If you’re interested in more quest-related guides, check out our guide on finishing Bound Until Death bounty-free.
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