Kodlak Whitemane

Kodlak Whitemane is the Harbinger of the Companions, the old warrior at the head of the table in Jorrvaskr, Whiterun. The Harbinger doesn’t give orders – but when Kodlak speaks, the whole mead hall listens, and his word carries weight across all nine holds.

The Harbinger’s burden

Kodlak has led the Companions for twenty years. Like the rest of the Circle, he carries the blood of the beast – and that is exactly what keeps him up at night. A werewolf’s soul goes to Hircine’s hunting grounds after death, and Kodlak wants Sovngarde instead. Old, weak and ill, he spends his days poring over old texts in search of a cure.

Shortly before you arrive he dreams of a stranger who saves his soul from his own wolf spirit. When he meets the Dragonborn, he recognises that stranger – which is why he lets you join.

In the questline

Kodlak is the one who accepts you as a Whelp and later welcomes you into the Circle. The Companions’ questline revolves around his wish to be cured. Finish it, and you become the next Harbinger.

Sovngarde

Look for him among the lost souls in the mist of Sovngarde during the main quest – if you have completed the Companions’ story.