The Book of Love sends you on a matchmaking tour of Skyrim on behalf of Mara, goddess of love. It starts at the Temple of Mara in Riften, in the Rift, where the priestess Dinya Balu tells you that Mara’s blessing must be earned by acting as her hands in the world. Expect a fickle farm girl, a tongue-tied Dwemer scholar and two ghosts who have not quite noticed they are dead.
How to start
- Enter Riften and follow the path on the left towards Mistveil Keep. The Temple of Mara is the entrance flanked by two guards and twin banners.
- Inside, speak to Dinya Balu and ask for Mara’s Blessing. You have to be inside the temple for this dialogue option to appear.
- She gives you an Amulet of Mara and sends you west to Ivarstead.
Walkthrough
Ivarstead: Fastred’s dilemma
In Ivarstead, talk to Fastred. She believes she is in love with Bassianus Axius and wants to leave for Riften with him, but her parents are against it. Next, talk to both parents:
- Boti, her mother, does not mind Bassianus at all and will smooth things over with her husband if the couple elope.
- Jofthor, her father, thinks his daughter changes her mind constantly. Until recently she was smitten with a local fisherman, Klimmek, and he fears she will leave the shrinking village forever.
Now choose one of two paths. Tell Bassianus that Boti will cover for them, and he and Fastred run off to Riften together. Or talk to Klimmek, who realises he has to tell Fastred how he feels – in that case Bassianus moves to Riften alone. Either option advances the quest. Return to Dinya Balu afterwards.
Markarth: Calcelmo and Faleen
Mara’s next target is Calcelmo, the eccentric Dwemer scholar and court wizard in Understone Keep in Markarth. He is smitten with Faleen, housecarl to Jarl Igmund, but has no idea how to talk to her without saying something wrong. He asks you to get advice from her friend Yngvar the Singer, a known charmer.
Yngvar spends nights in the Treasury House and days in the Silver-Blood Inn, and is often found leaning on a rock by the stream opposite the Abandoned House. He reveals that Faleen hides a soft spot for poetry behind her tough exterior, and offers to adapt one of his poems for 200 gold. Pay up and deliver the poem to Faleen.
After reading “Calcelmo’s” poem, Faleen gives you a letter for him. Bring it to Calcelmo and follow him to watch his stumbling confession. Then head back to the Temple of Mara.
Gjukar’s Monument: lovers beyond death
For the final task, Mara wants two lovers separated by death reunited. Put on the Amulet of Mara and travel south-southeast of Rorikstead to Gjukar’s Monument. The spirit of Ruki wanders the ruins searching for the body of her husband Fenrig. Speak with her and agree to help.
There are no bodies at the monument. Head northeast to an open plain: Fenrig’s spirit is south of Greenspring Hollow, across the river. Talk to him and lead him back to Ruki, either by fast travel or on foot. When they meet, the two exchange a few words and rise towards the heavens, pledging eternal love and apparently unaware that they are both dead.
Return to Dinya Balu
Go back to the Temple of Mara and talk to Dinya Balu to receive Mara’s blessing and finish the quest.
Choices and consequences
- Help Bassianus: Fastred and Bassianus elope to Riften.
- Help Klimmek: Klimmek declares his feelings for Fastred and Bassianus leaves for Riften on his own.
Both choices complete the Ivarstead stage; the source does not mention any further difference in rewards.
Rewards
- Agent of Mara: a permanent 15% Resist Magic bonus
- Amulet of Mara
- You can now hand out The Warmth of Mara pamphlets for the temple
Tips and notes
- Do this quest before the civil war questline or Season Unending if you can. Faleen and Yngvar may no longer be in Markarth afterwards.
- If the Stormcloaks hold Markarth, Faleen is on the lower floor of the Blue Palace in Solitude and Yngvar serves the new Jarl in Understone Keep. Calcelmo then has to walk all the way to Solitude, which takes several in-game hours – do something else or wait around four hours until the journal confirms he has spoken to her.
- Even after moving to Riften, Bassianus (and Fastred, if they eloped) still talk as if they lived in Ivarstead.
- Yngvar signs the poem as being from Calcelmo even if you never tell him who the admirer is.
