I didn't notice when I cleared out the Dungeon leading up to the Soul Cairn portal, but now that I'm making a mod to spruce up Castle Volkihar (clearing the passage from the main hall to the courtyard etc) I have to make sure to take note of everything, as I can't have floating furniture and the like as it makes the whole idea pointless.

There is a chapel in the dungeon leading up to the Soul Cairn, and this dungeon was built by Valerica herself (at least, that's the impression I got), and just outside the chapel is a toppled over statue to Lady Mara... In a dungeon... Belonging to a vampire... Who supposedly worships Molag Bal...

Now, if she doesn't worship Mara, why did she keep it/put it there in the first place?

Its hinted that the previous owners of castle volkihar were mara worshipers, lets not forget valerica tells you in the MQ of dawnguard that she worships molag bal.

Hmmm, I must've missed that, where/when is it hinted at? And it still begs the question why keep it then?

With your mod, make sure the path to the courtyard is still blocked and leave the courtyard itself untouched.

Serana tell you about the sun/moon dial and said she did not know why her mother kept the sun dial. That is where you find that the castle had previous owners and why the other vamps did not know about her lab.

Oh, I must have completely blanked that bit of dialogue XD


You're a little late, but why would I do that anyway? Clearing the passageway means I don't have to go through the undercroft every time I wanna get to the courtyard for something (ie. beta-testing the mod).

The passageway already gets cleared when you talk to Feran Sadri after you complete the Vampire side. You don't need to clear it. And the courtyard gets fixed up as well.

I understand for modding purposes but it's going to leave a loop-hole when you have to do the quest to get to the Courtyard.

Mods like this are best installed after completing all quests related to the changed environment anyway, just to be sure you avoid conflicts.

Wish we new a bit more about the previous owners but I guess that's the mystery with it

There are several explanations during the DG questlines that relate to the castle. Both Serana and Valerica refer to it. They aren't the original builders/owners.

Wonder what happened to the previous owners.

Well, I doubt they were handed an eviction notice

My hunch:
I'm inclined to believe that it was a part of the original structure before Valerica and Harkon moved in. Since Mara is the goddess that binds marriage, makes sense that it was in the chapel.
It's also entirely possible that they moved in prior to becoming vampire lords.

I don't remember anything about her building that part of the castle, but she did plant ('build") and maintain the garden of the courtyard. It seems reasonable that if they were there prior to becoming vamps that she would have toppled the statue afterward in reverance to Molag Bal. If there moved in after becoming vamps then they might have done the same thing.

It could also have been Harkon that toppled it. Seems to me that Valerica (even as a vamp) would have appreciated art and beauty. If that area reminded him of her I'd think that Harkon would have torn the place apart before sealing it off.

Harkon didn't know that section was there, else he'd have known about the Soul Cairn and would have immediately used Serana's blood to go in after Valerica.

But if the game already has the objectives already taken care of as the end of a quest, why do you need a mod to give you the same effect?

The Vampire Radiant quests allow you to reopen and cleanup the passageway to the courtyard, and the courtyard itself. Why do you need a mod to do this?

Well, I deleted the mod cos it kept causing ctd errors with the soul cairn portal and i was only moving benches and torches around, so yeah... And if you play on the Dawnguard side you don't get the option to reopen that passageway (why Valerica can't give you that option is beyond me, but oh well).

Ah, well I'll have to re-familiarize myself with the chapel area.
It was my understanding that if he knew about the garden courtyard, then he would have know about the rest of the castle you have to crawl through. Valerica's place was hidden at the top of a tower behind a false wall made to look like a fire place inside an innocent-looking room where she "worked" on sculpting Gargoyles. It seems to me that this area would have been frequented more by Valerica than Harkon, and with her betrayal he sealed off the courtyard, access to all the other areas, and thus sealed away everything that would have reminded him of her.

He apparently didn't know about the alternate entrance...or maybe didn't think enough to cave it in.