Aicantar is a High Elf conjurer living in Understone Keep in Markarth, where he works as assistant to his uncle, the Dwemer scholar Calcelmo. Most of the time he’s a harmless, slightly put-upon helper. During one Thieves Guild job, though, he becomes a small-time villain.
Where to find them
Aicantar practically lives in his uncle’s laboratory near the Nchuand-Zel excavation and never leaves it, except during “Hard Answers”, when he moves up to Calcelmo’s Tower. Like his uncle, he never sleeps.
Quests
Hard Answers – when you sneak into the tower you’ll hear him order the Wizard’s Guards to kill any intruder on sight, and he’ll attack you himself if he spots you. Turn the valve across from the entrance and the room’s old Dwemer defenses wake up, wiping out the guards; Aicantar tends to panic, run straight through the traps and kill himself in the process. You can also simply slip past him – if you return to Markarth later, he will have calmed down and won’t be hostile anymore.
He can also be a target for the radiant job “Enchanting Pick-Up”, which may fail if he dies during “Hard Answers”.
Personality & relationships
Aicantar clearly wants his uncle’s approval and rarely gets it. He hovers around asking if Calcelmo needs anything, only to be shooed away, and tries (without success) to get out of the next season of digging at Nchuand-Zel. He admits half the things in the tower frighten him, and would rather not think about where all those Dwarven Centurion parts came from. His lab journal hints that he’s sad his uncle doesn’t seem to care about him – and sure enough, if Aicantar dies, Calcelmo never mentions it.
Good to know
- He built Aicantar’s Spider, a modified Dwemer spider, and the Spider Control Rod that steers it.
- He shares a voice actor with Marcurio and Faendal.
Also in Markarth
Race, level, class and factions read from the Skyrim game files; story details checked against community wiki articles and written in our own words.
