Summary
If there’s anything thatSkyrimand the previousThe Elder Scrollsfranchise games have taught its players, it’s that there are no moral absolutes. Despite being oppressed by the Thalmor, some ofSkyrim’s Nords are quite cruel to their Dark Elf neighbors in Windhelm. While the Altmer have a penchant for supremacist ideals, some High Elves like Calcelmo don’t share the same beliefs and are quite nice and helpful to everyone. There are also characters going through a journey of redemption, with a great example being the Arkay priest Runil.
The main conflicts ofThe Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrimare the impending return of apowerful dragon known as Alduinwho threatens to destroy the world and the civil war caused in part by the decades-long ban on Talos worship. The first is more straightforward, as the Dragonborn needs to side with humanity and prevent the apocalypse. It’s more difficult to pick a side in the Civil War storyline, as both sides have done some morally dubious actions before and during the conflict. Runil’s story shines a light on such issues.
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The High Elf Priest Runil May Be Hiding a Dark Past
Falkreath is one of the more picturesque towns inSkyrim, as it’s filled with lush greens that aren’t covered with snow. However, like any other city inThe Elder Scrolls, there’s more to it than meets the eye. The city is home to a large cemetery, which houses the graves of hundreds of combatants who died onFalkreath’s grounds. This is mostly because the town’s territory has been the battleground for countless wars throughout multiple eras. Its current keeper is named Runil, an Altmer priest of Arkay.
Runil is hundreds of years old and is reaching the twilight of his life. As such, he often relies on his assistant Kust to keep the cemetery’s grounds clean and presentable. When the player takes a look at Runil’s journal, they’ll find that he dreamed of the Dragonborn’s arrival in response to the dragons’ return. More intriguingly, he also wrote that he’s been dodging theThalmor, who have extended their reach toSkyrim. This indicates that he moved to the province some time ago and has been keeping a low profile to avoid being detected by the militarist regime.
The Clear Link Between Runil and the Thalmor Lies in Skyrim’s Game Data
Data miners found that Runil has an unused quest called “Runil’s Dark Past.” Here, the groundskeeper’s friends are worried about his emotional state, so they send the Dragonborn to ask him about his recent troubles. Runil tells the player that they’re worried about what they’ll think if he tells them about his past. With the Dragonborn’s insistence, the groundskeeper recounts his past as a powerful wizard in his youth. He was a battlemage for the Thalmor during theGreat War inSkyrimand other provinces. He confesses to destroying villages of men who worshiped Talos. No man, woman, or child was spared from his wrath.
After telling his story, Runil tells the player that he’s afraid of his friends finding out about his dark past. This is because most of the empire’s troops were Nords, and so were the majority of the civilians the Thalmor slaughtered. He even ponders if the people he’s killed had roots in Falkreath. The Dragonborn can either assure Runil that his secret is safe with them or tell his friends all about his story.
The empire went to war against the Thalmor to protect its citizens’ rights to worship their god. They ended up yielding and bannedTalos worship inSkyrimto achieve peace but at the cost of dealing with a rebellion-turned-civil war a few decades later. Runil is ashamed of his involvement in this outcome and has devoted the rest of his life to honoring the Nords’ fallen soldiers as a groundskeeper. Whether this is a true rebirth brought about by his devotion to the god of life and death, Arkay, or just a way to wash his hands, is up to the players’ interpretation.
The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrimis available now on the Nintendo Switch, PC, PS3, PS4, PS5, Xbox 360, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
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