Apocrypha is the Oblivion realm of Hermaeus Mora, the Daedric Prince of Fate, Knowledge and Memory, first visited in Skyrim through the Dragonborn expansion. You can only get there by reading one of the Black Books while you are on Solstheim, and the main questline drags you here whether you like it or not. Think of it as the galaxy’s largest library, run by a librarian with far too many tentacles.
What you’ll find
- An endless, ever-shifting landscape: a churning sea of poisonous liquid, islands of weathered stone, cathedral-like halls and bridges of greasy black metal that bend and move on their own.
- Books everywhere – towering stacks rising from the sea, shelves crammed to bursting, heaps on the floor and even whole buildings made of them.
- Seekers (including High Seekers) and Lurkers in several ranks, acting as the realm’s security. Dragons, Sahrotaar and Miraak also appear.
- Separate regions for each Black Book, split into chapters linked by teleporting books. A larger book at the end of each region grants its secret knowledge and sends you home.
- Loot containers called pods and vessels, and wall-mounted fonts of Magicka and Stamina for quick top-ups.
Quests
The main quests The Gardener of Men and At the Summit of Apocrypha both take place here, as do the Black Book quests Filament and Filigree, The Hidden Twilight, The Sallow Regent, The Winds of Change and Untold Legends. The seven Black Books are Epistolary Acumen, Filament and Filigree, The Hidden Twilight, The Sallow Regent, The Winds of Change, Untold Legends and Waking Dreams; many are tracked down during Lost Knowledge. Two of them sit in Kolbjorn Barrow and Benkongerike.
Notable items
- Word Wall for Dragon Aspect.
- Black Soul Gems and several skill books.
- Spell tomes for Conjure Ash Spawn and Conjure Seeker once your Conjuration reaches 40.
Tips
Stay out of the liquid – it kills in seconds, and tentacles lash out at anyone standing too close to the edge. In dark patches you take steady damage, so hop between lit areas, or carry light with you: Candlelight is ideal because it follows you hands-free, though Magelight, torches and the floating lanterns help too. Become Ethereal protects you from the sea but not the darkness. A Vampire Lord (Dawnguard) can hover over the liquid safely. Followers cannot come along, but summons such as atronachs and Dremora work; Call Dragon and Summon Durnehviir do not. Seekers clone themselves, turn invisible and teleport, while Lurkers hit hard – especially at low level. Never stash gear here: everything resets every 10 in-game days.
Good to know
“Dying” here simply drops you to your knees and sends you back to Solstheim. Reading a Black Book anywhere in Skyrim only shakes the ground and teases you with a vision of the island. The Doors of Oblivion describes the realm as an endless library of untitled black books holding all forbidden knowledge, and the name itself comes from the Greek for “hidden”.
Map position and editor ID read from the Dragonborn game files; details checked against community wiki articles and summarised in our own words.
