Dinya Balu

Dinya Balu is the Dunmer priestess of Mara in Riften, Maramal’s wife, who sends you matchmaking in The Book of Love.
“Visiting Riften? All are welcome at the Temple of Mara.”

Dinya Balu is a Dark Elf priestess at the Temple of Mara in Riften. She sees the city as drowning in sin and has made it her personal mission to spread Mara’s love, ideally with your help.

Where to find them

She lives and works at the Temple of Mara, though she also wanders the marketplace. She can only start her main quest while she is inside the temple, so if she just offers small talk in the market, catch her back at work.

Quests

  • The Book of Love – ask her for Mara’s blessing and she says it is reserved for those who spread love across Skyrim. Accept and she sends you to sort out the love lives of various people, returning to her after each couple for the next task.
  • Spread the Love – hand out twenty leaflets of The Warmth of Mara to different Riften residents. Reactions range from grateful to grumpy, but it changes nothing later. The reward is a levelled potion.

Personality & relationships

Dinya is married to the Redguard priest Maramal. Only two years ago she was wandering the ash wastes, and she believes Mara led her to him. After The Book of Love she is expecting their child, something others thought impossible. She comforts Maramal when patrons at the Bee and Barb laugh at his sermons.

Around town she tries, mostly in vain, to bring people to the temple. She urges Madesi to drop by and pray, offers sympathy to an unimpressed Grelka, talks supply troubles with Brand-Shei, and reassures Marise Aravel that Mara doesn’t care whether you love someone of another race.

Good to know

If she dies after you’ve completed one of her quests, a Letter of Inheritance comes your way.

Also in Riften

Race, level, class and factions read from the Skyrim game files; story details checked against community wiki articles and written in our own words.

Quests featuring this character

Side Quest
Hand out twenty copies of The Warmth of Mara to the people of Riften for Dinya Balu, priestess of Mara, and return to her for a potion.
Side Quest
Earn Mara’s blessing by playing matchmaker across Skyrim for Dinya Balu: settle a love triangle in Ivarstead, help Calcelmo woo Faleen and reunite two ghosts.

Places connected to this character

Riften is the canal city of the Rift – autumn forests, the Black-Briar family, the Temple of Mara and the Thieves Guild beneath its streets.

Factions

Weapons connected to this character

Armor connected to this character

Mentioned on these locations

Temple of Mara in Skyrim: Riften’s temple of love – Maramal’s Amulet of Mara, how marriage works, the Shrine of Mara blessing and The Book of Love quest.
Sources checked: Skyrim game files (NPC records, factions, read 2026-10-11); Elder Scrolls Fandom character articles