Nightcaller Temple, also called the Tower of Dawn, is a ruined fortress on a mountaintop looming over Dawnstar from the east. Erandur calls it a ruin within a ruin: it started out as a military fort, was later taken over by worshippers of the Daedric Prince Vaermina, and fell apart both times. If the people of Dawnstar can’t sleep without nightmares, this place is why.
What you’ll find
- Orcish Invaders and Vaermina Devotees, frozen in a magical sleep since an ancient battle – and very much awake (and very confused) once you break the seal.
- Skeevers inside; outside you may meet snow bears, a snowy sabre cat, frost trolls, ice wraiths or frostbite spiders.
- A small shrine to Mara that Erandur sets up in the entry hall.
- A library, a laboratory with three alchemy labs, and an arcane enchanter through a short passage east of the chain that released the Miasma.
- A moonstone ore vein on the western outside wall.
Quests
Talk to Erandur, a priest of Mara, at the Windpeak Inn in Dawnstar to start Waking Nightmare. He leads you here to deal with the Skull of Corruption, which feeds on dreams and memories for Vaermina. Finish the quest without killing him and he stays at his little shrine, ready to join you as a follower. The temple’s mix of Orcs and devotees of various races also makes it a good place to collect blood samples for Discerning the Transmundane.
Notable items
- The Skull of Corruption, a Daedric artifact.
- Alchemy skill book Mannimarco, King of Worms on a ruined table beside the southeastern alchemy lab.
- Sixteen Accords of Madness, Book VI and The Firmament in the library.
- Ingredients in the lab: two Daedra Hearts, three Fire Salts, Void Salts and Hagraven Feathers.
- Several chests of varying lock levels, plus one on the roof’s north side reached by hopping across blocks on the east side.
Tips
Followers can’t enter the temple, and that includes summons and permanent thralls, so you’ll be doing this one with Erandur only. The Miasma’s long sleep has scrambled the sleepers’ minds, so Orcs and priests attack anything in reach – including each other – which you can use to your advantage. Don’t miss the two Daedra Hearts on the shelves just down the steps as you walk into the lab – they’re among the rarest ingredients in the game.
Good to know
Long ago, when Orcs stormed the tower, the priests released the Miasma, a gas that put everyone inside into an unbreakable, preserving sleep. A Dawnstar loading screen calls it the Tower of Dawn and says it’s rumoured to be cursed, and some fans think it may be the old fort of Dawnstar destroyed long ago.
Nearby
Closest places covered on TamrielSaga: Dawnstar, Winterhold Imperial Camp, Dawnstar Sanctuary, Yngvild, Windward Ruins.
Location data (hold, map position, editor ID) read from the Skyrim game files; details checked against community wiki articles and summarised in our own words.