Runil’s Dark Past is a piece of cut content: a quest in Falkreath Hold that was written but never finished, and it cannot be started through normal play. It would have had the Dragonborn dig into the past of Runil, the elderly Altmer of Falkreath, whose friends have noticed that something is weighing on him. What survives in the game files is enough to reconstruct the story, even if it leads nowhere.
How to start
In the intended design, any of Runil’s friends would raise the subject: Indara Caerellia, Mathies or Kust. Each of them has noticed Runil seems deeply troubled and asks the Dragonborn to find out why. In the finished game this setup is never triggered.
Walkthrough
Talk to Runil
When confronted, Runil is reluctant. He fears what you will think of him once you know what he has done. If pressed, he reveals that he was once a gifted wizard whose power drew the attention of the Thalmor – an honor in the Summerset Isles. During the Great War he served as a Thalmor battlemage against the Empire and, by his own account, destroyed whole villages without sparing anyone.
He still dreams of those days, watching himself from the outside and trying in vain to stop what happens. What haunts him most is that many of the Imperial troops were Nords – some possibly from the very region he now calls home.
Keep the secret or reveal it
The planned ending was a simple choice:
- Keep his secret – promise Runil you will tell no one. He thanks you and asks Arkay’s blessing on you.
- Tell his friends – go to one of his friends and reveal that Runil fought for the Thalmor. They react with sad, reluctant acceptance, admitting they knew he was troubled but never suspected this.
Choices and consequences
The dialogue for both choices exists, but no rewards or lasting consequences were ever attached to either one.
Rewards
- None – the quest was never completed by the developers.
Tips and notes
- The quest’s journal stages are all empty and have no objectives, so there is no way to complete it even if it is forced to start.
- The leftover dialogue adds a lot of depth to Runil, whose quiet life as a priest in Falkreath looks very different once you know what he is atoning for.
- Runil’s confession is a rare look at the Great War from a former Thalmor soldier’s side.
