Exacly, its just random, and "no one" really sends it, bethesda called it friend when really its the courier stalking you lolz but anyways... Why does this "friend" have knowledge of al the shrines locations? Maybe he's esbern secretly writing letters to you... Even though he didn't know there was a dragonborn untill you met him.

The letter is signed with an "E" at the end... I can only assume it's:

I followed one of the notes during last nights play session, I was feet away from the word wall and ended up falling through a trap door into some crazy warlock's cage. It was pretty sweet lol.

Oh well. Like I said, it was only an assumption. I'd like to think that was the case for RP purposes, but I guess I'll have to look elsewhere for the true answer myself.

What is your alternative?


Blades Chick? I left Paarth alive so she does not talk to me and I still get those letters.


Greybeards are your friends, if you left Paarth alive. So, Friend would apply to either party.

If it's "none of the above", what would be your theory?

Best bet, a person who left the Graybeards, but would not cooperate with the Blades. She is a pure scholar and has spent her life studying the Dragon Lore. The ultimate goal of her research has always been thwarted, which is to see the effects of the ancient words of power. Your character comes along, the first in eons to be able to use the power and she gives hints to the locations so that you can learn the Shout and demonstrate it's effects to her. She then documents the effects for a book that she will write. This is why I always try to use a new Shout after getting it.

If TES6 takes place in the years following this game, I hope to see that book as loot somewhere.

That's an interesting way to see it. Your theory adds more mystique to it all.

But I can't agree with waiting 4-6 years just to read it in an in-game, TES VI book. Without deraling this into a separate topic, I think a DLC involving your version of the "mystery friend" with a nice 20+ hour chunk of content behind your idea would be more like it. Otherwise we might sit back and ask why something like this wasn't implemented as added content when, at the time, we had the setting to do so.

But until then, I guess all we can do is speculate on who this "friend" truly is.

That's because the main character IS Uriel Septim VII. When he goes back in time to become Emperor he then writes those letters.

These are all deep thoughts and all of who it could be.. but the devs didn't even think of it themselves since the letters are just an obivious way of revealing word walls to the players.

Impossible. He would have to be born over 200 years before Skyrim. Travel to the future to defeat Alduin, then go back in time again to be Emperor, where he could simply shout his way to avoid being assassinated, thus eliminating the very possibility of Alduin returning because the gates of Oblivion would've never opened. In fact, by time travelling forward, it would be as though Uriel Septim VII just disappeared for over 200 years, creating an entirely different timeline where the gates of Oblivion never opened because the Emperor couldn't have possibly been assassinated.
Backwards time travel is impossible because of such paradoxes and forwards time travel always creates an alterate timeline where you disappeared then reappeared and everyone assumes you died.

A more likely possibility is someone in every populated town is someone who wants to see the Dragonborn advance. It doesn't have to be the same friend every time.

No, he clearly wasn't born 200 years ago. Your character doesn't know he's Uriel VII in Skyrim, OBVIOUSLY! He only finds out about it much later, when he's caught in a time vortex and wakes up in the past. As for shouting, well, strong voices go weak if used too much. Clearly his voice goes weak long before his assination.

This also explains how Uriel VII knows whom he can trust with great tasks. He read it all in books 200 years after he made his decisions.

You don't really need to shout in town, any town or interior area will do, I even got ones for shouting in Blackreach and the Midden.

The only conditions seem to be "Not in Skyrim worldspace" and "quest not currently active"

my guess is Alduin.

he would be very interested in my character getting stronger for the very same reason he saved her... to do his dirty work.

from what i can gather he believes that he is untouchable. because she has to go into the past to kill him.

Anyone considered it may be messages from the "divines". The daedric princes love to meddle in the affairs of mortals, who is to say one of the aedra is not trying to guide the player without overtly revealing anything about the author of the message. They could easily just "create" a message and have it sent, or they could have a priest or worshiper who is in tune with them and use them as a vessel to channel the message through them and in to a written message for the player.


Yeah, far fetched but what aint in Skyrim?

Could it be Ulysses? He is after all a courier.

Sarcasm.

I thought the 3 options would've highlighted it, but text doesn't convey the same thing that inflection does.

P-nax could be the one sending letters as well, or the Greybeards, but just struck me as something Delphine would do because of the horn of Jurgen Windcaller scenario.

Its anyone's guess really, could be the Liar... Mehrune... or just some completely innocuous character.

Obviously it has to be the grey beards...they even told you that they'd help you find words of power if you went up to them.

That chap in Whiterun that's always going on about his working for Belathor seems a bit too keen on telling me his day job, I wonder... Is he maybe stalking me? He's always outside my house when I leave. Maybe it's him? Not all the Blades were killed and not all the Blades are keen to go around telling people they are Blades. He's a Blade isn't he? He's a Blade and he's always watching me. That's it isn't it?

"I work for Belathor at the general goods store" Lets see... B is there. L is there A is there D is there E is there. That's an anagram for something to do with Blades. HE is the mystery friend. He's trying to tell us something. Anyone good with anagrams?

Its from Delphine, if you hand in the dragonstone the first time you meet the court wizard you will get the letter from her. But if you do not have the dragonstone tablet when you first meet the wizard she will be there talking to him when you turn the tablet in for the quest and you will not recieve the letter.

I simply can't suspend disbelief enough to make the letters from Delphine. No matter what the wiki says (which, after all, is NOT canon and truth - it's only what players state/edit....)

I think it's the couriers. Notice how they're the only ones nearby when you shout? But they're too shy to admit it's them, the poor adorable things.

Especially the naked ones....

if i give them another letter they'll blow my clothes off again. woopee