So I talked to Paarthurnax to learn the shout to call Odahviing. It might be lucky I have a save in front of this to experiment with, because the questline continues to call Odahviing at Dragonsreach... but the trick is, I don't actually learn the shout.

I've completed scores of side quests without a hitch. I'm level 55, leader of the Winterhold College, Thieves Guild, Companions and Volkihar. I have just about every daedric artifact I can think of. There's just one more hold to take back for the empire. But now I run into a situation where the main quest might be dead in the water? Just... wow.

Any ideas?

What do you mean you didn't learn the shout? It's not highlighted in your shouts menu? It stands to reason that you can't use the shout until the scripted sequence at the Great Porch (or whatever it's called) and then not again until you advance the MQ to a certain point.

I mean, I get past the dialogue with Paarthurnax where I learn the shout to call Odahviing. The questline for it also tells me to procede to Whiterun to call Odahviing. But no such shout exists in my menu. That's a dead end, right?

The only thing I can think to do is reload my save from before the dialogue with Paarthurnax and experimenting for a way around this.

I'm currently at the point where the Blades want me to kill Paarthurnax, and I told Greybeard Whatshisname that I haven't decided on it yet. I've also tried talking to Paarthurnax with and without Dawnguard installed.

...You're not saying that the Odahviing shout only shows in the menu when the main quest needs to advance???? I don't recall that from my first playthrough.

Not meaning to insult your intelligence but just in case you didn't see it... the shout is called Call Dragon, not Odahviing. You don't have that in your shouts list?

You went through the Elder Scroll scene where you see the Nord heroes fighting Alduin?

That I couldn't say.
Any chance you have "Season Unending" hung up because of your progress in the Civil War?

This is a mistake I have made more than once.

Sorry about my confusion, but isn't Esbern the one who teaches you Call Dragon? Or is that only if you do Season Unending?

You're right, I was thinking of Dragonrend.

Yeah, something like that. OP, you might PM a mod and ask them to move your thread to the spoilers section.

Did you spend a soul to unlock it?

I had that problem on my first playthrough..didn't know I had to manually do it.

He shouldn't need to. There are a few shouts that unlocks automatically, Call Dragon is one of them.

I lol'd.

It's the equivalent of tech support asking you if the computer is plugged in. It's a question that has to be asked no matter how irritating it is to hear.

No, I think he means the part he underlined.