Quaranir is a High Elf sorcerer and the face of the Psijic Order during the College of Winterhold questline. He is calm, polite and cryptic in the way only an ancient secretive monk-mage order can manage, and he turns up exactly when things at the College are about to go badly wrong.
Where to find them
You first meet him in the Arch-Mage’s Quarters during the College questline. After that talk he can also be spotted at The Frozen Hearth in Winterhold, though he won’t chat there. He shows up one last time in the Hall of the Elements for the finale.
Quests
In Good Intentions you come back to the College with your research on the Eye of Magnus, and Ancano grumbles that a Psijic visitor is asking for you by name. Upstairs, Quaranir stops time around Savos Aren and Ancano so the two of you can speak in private. He explains that the Order’s visions could not reach you because of the Eye, that the danger grows the longer it stays, and that you set all this in motion at Saarthal. The Order won’t step in directly, but he points you to the Augur of Dunlain. When time snaps back, he plays innocent with Ancano and leaves.
At the end of The Eye of Magnus, once Ancano is beaten, Quaranir returns with Gelebros and Tandil to take the unstable Eye away for safekeeping. Before vanishing, he names you the new Arch-Mage.
Personality & relationships
Quaranir is patient and kind, but very aware he is bending his Order’s rules – his words suggest he came without his superiors’ blessing. He shrugs off Ancano’s suspicion with polite confusion, and explains that the Thalmor resent the Psijics because the Order refuses to be controlled.
Good to know
- While he has time frozen, nobody reacts if you steal – a cheeky chance to grab some potions and ingredients.
- He is immune to all attacks and can’t be found with Detect Life, Detect Dead or Aura Whisper.
- His Psijic robes cannot be obtained in normal play.
Quick facts
- Race: High Elf
- Gender: Male
- Level: 4
- Class: Sorcerer
- Status: Essential
- Found in: college-of-winterhold
- Base ID: 0002BA3C
Also in college-of-winterhold
Sergius Turrianus, Tandil, Velehk Sain, Arniel Gane, Arniel’s Shade, Augur of Dunlain, Colette Marence, Drevis Neloren, Nirya, Phinis Gestor.
Race, level, class and factions read from the Skyrim game files; story details checked against community wiki articles and written in our own words.