Aranea Ienith is a Dunmer priestess who keeps watch over the Shrine of Azura, high in the mountains outside Winterhold. Her people worshipped Azura long before Red Mountain erupted, and she greets you as someone the Daedric Prince has been expecting for a very long time. No pressure.
Where to find them
You’ll find her at the shrine itself, dressed in blue mage robes and boots, tending to Azura’s altar.
Quests
Aranea opens the Daedric quest The Black Star. She claims Azura showed her a vision of you climbing the shrine steps before you were even born, and that you are meant to be the Prince’s champion. Her cryptic directions point you to an elven mage in Winterhold who can turn the brightest star black, which leads you to Nelacar.
The quest ends with a choice. Bring the broken Azura’s Star back to Aranea, and she asks Azura to restore it, after which you go inside the Star to deal with the souls trapped there. Give it to Nelacar instead, and Aranea will call you a blasphemer and order you off the shrine on pain of death.
If you choose Azura’s Star, Aranea receives what Azura tells her is her final vision. Without the foresight that has guided her since she fled Morrowind, she feels lost, and offers to travel with you to give herself a purpose.
Follower & marriage
Aranea becomes a follower only if you hand the Star to her rather than Nelacar. She is an offensive mage: she usually opens a fight with Oakflesh, then summons a Flame Atronach, or a Frost Atronach if the enemy shrugs off fire. She throws Lightning Bolt and Ice Spike at single targets, Ice Storm at crowds, and heals herself. She can pick Expert locks too.
She prefers her own robes over most gear you hand her. She can also be inducted into the Blades.
Personality & relationships
Aranea is calm, devout and serenely fatalistic: everything has been foreseen and everyone must play their part. She speaks of the Dunmer as children of the Twilight and calls you guardian once you have proven yourself. In battle her composure slips a little, and she has been known to cry out for Nerevar.
Good to know
Aranea has zero tolerance for crime. If you have a bounty, she may attack on sight and refuse to back down, which can block The Black Star. Paying off the bounty and approaching her again, waiting three days, or using a calming spell on her sorts it out.
Quick facts
- Race: Dark Elf
- Gender: Female
- Level: levels with you (x1)
- Class: Fire/Frost/Shock Mage
- Status: Protected
- Found in: Shrine of Azura
- Base ID: 00028AD0
Race, level, class and factions read from the Skyrim game files; story details checked against community wiki articles and written in our own words.