Second warning: spoilers for the Nocturnal quest below, no spoiler tags used.

So I've been working with the Thieves' Guild to track down a traitor. We've pretty much got him pinpointed, and then one of us says hey, let's go hang out in a secret cave. So a few of us go and she says OK, we need the power of Nocturnal on our side to kill the traitor. Ready to perform the ritual?

And I'm like, What ritual?

And she's all, Oh, just a ritual where you pledge yourself as a slave guardian to this cave both in life and death. So basically you're giving up your immortal soul for an eternity of haunting a dank cave, nbd. And Nocturnal will boost your abilities a little! Ready?

So I'm standing there, already suited up in the Nightengale armor, with the other two just waiting for me to say, Of course! Immortal soul, who cares? We really wanna go kill this one guy.

Somehow I'm finding myself reluctant to say that.

I'm actually a little tempted to throw the armor on the ground and walk out of there and pretend none of it ever happened. It would be a pretty sad ending to that questline, though, don't you think?

Why stop there? Try killing them.

Does that work?

It really doesn't seem like a good deal.. But then again, when is dealing with immortal beings EVER in your favor?

Sheogorath treated me pretty well. I did get a lot of cheese.

I thought as Dovakhiin, Akatosh (?) had first dibs on your soul, so it doesnt really matter who else you pledge to?

Being a refined Caucasian gentlemen I greatly appreciated his offer and indulged myself thoroughly.

I do love good cheese so.

Coinciding with my personal views, I felt an odd sense of comfort at the thought of becoming one with the shadows of the world, a more refined sense of oblivion. Honestly? Works for me.

This is exactly how I saw it. I agreed to this "Oath" to Nocturnal - readily.

Tsun told me I have a place in Sovngarde, straight from the mouth of Shor's right hand. So you know Shor signed off on it!

Who needs the luck of a master thief in Sovngarde? =P

You are dragonborn so you will go to

I was a werewolf, so I actually wanted to do that just to see who would actually get my soul.

Thats how I see it as well. You're not any mortal with a "normal" soul, you're Dovahkiin and have the soul of a dragon and thus you are a descendant of Akatosh. And I don't think he'll give you up so easily... Remember when he kicked the ass of Mehrunes Dagon back in Oblivion. This indicates that he cares about mortals and since you are kind of his child he'll definitely care even more about you.

Fight between Nocturnal, Hircine, and Akatosh? I can dig it.

Oh yeah, so awesome.

So I decided to go ahead with it, not because of anybody else who might have a claim (my character doesn't know anything about the Dovahkiin yet), but just to see about the oath. I figure I can still walk away before promising anything directly to Nocturnal. Telling my buddy I'm ready for an oath isn't the same as taking an oath. So then I step onto a rock, and my buddy talks to Nocturnal and makes the oath on my behalf! I never said a freakin word. I never signed anything. I figure I at least have a case if I want to keep my soul after I die. Nocturnal would probably respect me trying to weasel out of it, at least.

I remember Nocturnal asking me questions directly about why I was doing and if I was willing. :shrugs:

Ya I too have been told that I have a place in Sovngarde. I guess there will be a fight between Sithis, Nocturnal, and Shor.. and probably between all of the other beings/Daedra that I became the champion of.. haha

Why would you be reluctant to be a Nightingale? That's like... the Skyrim Batman.

My Nord came to the part where the deal is explained, and the only option that became available was "Yes, I'm ready"..... I stared at the screen for a few minutes thinking "NOPE!, no way, Sovngarde and eternal glory for me.... [censored] scantily clad daedric princeses......

being dragonborn over rides every other deal you make involving your soul. the Aedra might not be able to [censored]-all in the mortal realm, but souls are their specialty.

Akotosh!
Take meeeeeee

Hm! Interesting to know. That part may still be coming up.

Glad to hear that I'm not the only one who was conflicted. But sorry to hear you kinda got stuck too

Pretty sure Batman didn't have to pledge his eternal soul to Satan in the afterlife, or even Satan's little brother. Of course the series is totally about earthbound morality and doesn't really touch on religion, but if Bruce were religious in some way, I would think that more than anything he would look forward to being with his parents after death, not still stuck haunting an empty Bat-Cave.

I won't go into full detail but I'll tell you a little bit about what happens if you agree:

You'll eventually meet face to face with Nocturnal and she will give you three options:

Agent of Stealth- able to turn invisible

Agent of Subterfuge- kind of hard to describe but it's something like controlling people's minds. I have yet to try it

Agent of Strife- gaining health from fallen enemies.

Nocturnal mentions something about calling you when she needs you but it doesn't happen. You can change between these options by going back to the temple to step on the other "moons". But once you step on one, you have to wait a full day before you can change again.

Hope this helps.

For more detail before you decide, go to:

http://elderscrolls.wikia.com/wiki/Nightingale_(Skyrim)

Ummm... when you die, you go start again from your most recent save. I dont think there is an after life in Skyrim.

immersion, guy, immersion