Shalidor’s Maze is a walled labyrinth inside the ruins of Labyrinthian, the ancient Nordic city once called Bromjunaar. Its entrance lies directly east of the Bromjunaar Sanctuary. Arch-Mage Shalidor built it in the First Era as a test for would-be Archmages, and finishing it still pays off: a Dremora duel, a fine magical circlet and a word for the Dismay shout.
What you’ll find
- The riddle – a charred corpse at the entrance holds a soul gem and a Tattered Note with four cryptic lines. Approach it and four staves rise from slots in the ground.
- Four sigils – Alteration, Destruction, Illusion and Restoration, each opened by a projectile spell of that school. The staves provided (Magelight, Firebolts, Fear, Repulsion) do the job, but your own spells such as Magelight, Paralyze, Firebolt or Calm work too.
- Shutters – little hatches in the corridors work like containers and let you peek through the maze.
- A sliding stairway that acts like a lift back to the start.
- The Trials of Conjuration – with all sigils activated, a portal takes you to a leveled Dremora. Fight it and you’re both pulled back to the start, where leveled flame, frost or storm atronachs join in.
- Other enemies – skeevers and one ice wraith.
- The Word Wall at the back of the maze.
Notable items
- Diadem of the Savant from the Dremora – spells cost 5% less Magicka.
- Conjuration skill book Liminal Bridges.
- Spell tome: Heal Other.
- A Centurion Dynamo Core behind one of the shutters.
- A leveled mace and shield on a high ledge, reached by climbing the left side of the stairs and jumping across.
- Ingredients: deathbell, nightshade, red and blue mountain flower, dragon’s tongue, plus salts from the atronachs.
Tips
Restoration is the tricky sigil: Healing Hands and Heal Other don’t fire projectiles, so they won’t work, while Repel Lesser Undead does – and a Destruction spell like Ice Spike reportedly opens it as well. Don’t one-shot the Dremora in the trial room; let the fight move back to the maze so you can loot the Diadem. Leave followers outside, as they’re notorious for getting stuck here. Only after the Word Wall? You can simply walk around the outside of the maze to reach it.
Good to know
It’s a unicursal maze – only one path, no dead ends – and seen from above it looks like an hourglass. One shutter hides a severed head with a gold coin in its mouth, a nod to the old custom of paying the ferryman. The book A Minor Maze offers a deeper guide.
Details checked against community wiki articles and the Skyrim game files, summarised in our own words.
