The Shrine of Azura is a giant statue of the Daedric Prince Azura standing high in the mountains to the south of Winterhold. You’ll spot it from a long way off, which is just as well, because the climb up is long and winding. People come here for one thing: the priestess who tends the shrine has a vision to share, and it leads straight into one of Skyrim’s best Daedric quests.
What you’ll find
- The huge statue of Azura, holding a star and crescent moon aloft over the valley.
- Aranea Ienith, a Dunmer priestess and the shrine’s only resident. She keeps watch over the statue and has a vision she is eager to share.
- A long mountain path to the top, and a dragon that frequently hangs around the area.
Quests
The Black Star begins here. It revolves around Malyn Varen, a mage who was thrown out of the College of Winterhold long ago for his shady experiments with soul gems. Malyn hoped to cheat death by sealing his own soul inside Azura’s Star, and now the artifact needs rescuing. How you finish the quest decides what happens to the Star and to Aranea.
Followers
If you cleanse Azura’s Star and return it to its rightful owner, Aranea becomes available as a follower. She is a mage who handles Destruction, Restoration, Illusion and Conjuration, so she can throw fire at enemies and patch you up afterwards. Handy, and she brings her own sense of destiny.
Tips
Travelling on foot is the risky part. A dragon often patrols the area, so arrive with full health and a bow or ranged spells ready, or you may spend the climb dodging fire breath on a narrow staircase. Once you’ve visited, the shrine becomes a fast travel point, which saves a lot of legwork when you come back with the Star.
Good to know
Aranea says the shrine was raised by a group of Dunmer faithful to Azura who left Morrowind after visions warned them of the coming eruption of Red Mountain and the slave uprising that followed. If Serana (Dawnguard) is with you on your first visit, she may walk up and pray at the shrine much like Aranea does.
Nearby
Closest places covered on TamrielSaga: Sightless Pit, Whistling Mine, Mount Anthor, Journeyman’s Nook, Stillborn Cave.
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.