-Note this thread may contain some spoiler for those who have not yet played through the main quest.


Excuse me if this question has been raised before, but I really can't figure this out. Why was Alduin at Helgen?

We know the Thalmor didn't send him, we know the Stormcloaks didn't send him. Those are the only factions I can think of that would have a direct benefit of Ulfric surviving his execution.

The only other options are his appearance not being about Ulfric, but about the Dragonborn. Alduin himself wouldn't have had to intervene if he wanted the Dragonborn dead, and he doesn't seem to aim for the Dragonborn. He most likely didn't know about the PC even being Dragonborn. Even the Greybeards didn't know until the Dragonborn killed the dragon at the Whiterun watchtower.

The third option is it being a coincidence, but that would be a little lame. Him showing up right when Ulfric and the future Dragonborn were about the be killed seems too unlikely to be a coincidence. Not to mention, Helgen is the only town Alduin burns to the ground. Aside from the attack on Helgen, he doesn't even attack people and settlements at all, he's busy reviving the buried dragons. Why would he care about burning Helgen?

Any thoughts?

A long debated question.

Probably because of the prophecy. That or alduin wanted to BBQ some poor soul

I'm sure he knew about the Dragonborn. The dragon you kill at the Western Tower even calls you Dovahkin as he dies.

Too lazy to post in SPOILERS? New people are always buying this game, you realize. The game isn't even a year old yet.

Thread about this here http://www.gamesas.com/topic/1357751-why-did-alduin-attack-helgen/page__st__30__p__20475200__hl__alduin__fromsearch__1#entry20475200

i wonder this as well. Of all the cities and hamlets and villages in skyrim, why helgen?
And why did he appear when the DB is gonna be executed?

Helgen was Collateral Damage. Alduin was at Helgen because your Character was at Helgen. If you had been out in the middle of the woods being bent over a stump to lose your head, that's where Alduin would have shown up.

This.

So he knew even before the DB learned his first shout?

The dragon you kill at the tower calls you that when you killed him. I always assumed he could sense his soul being drained by the DB, realizing the PC was dragonborn in his dying breath.

Remember, there are two sides to every Prophecy. From Alduin's viewpoint, he needs to destroy the Dragon Borne to bring about his side of the Prophecy. Your job in the game is to learn your place in the Prophecy. The Prophecy on our side tells us that Alduin is coming, on his side it says the Dragon Borne is coming. He has had Millennia to plan and plot and learn the signs of your arrival. You had a Carriage Ride to do the same.

Dragon blood, the Arngeir say's something about your dragonblood and explain's alot IF you keep up the conversation. But I would think that dragon's would be able to sense the Dragonblood in "you".

So as Throat of the World is close, as the dragon fly's, kinda make's sense that he goes to where he senses a "dragon", Plus what CCNA said

I'm not so sure about this, I don't think Alduin knew you were the Dragonborn when he attacked Helgen, I think he probably assumed Ulfric was since he already demonstrated he had the 'voice'.

I always figured the dragon you kill at the watchtower calls you Dovahkin as he dies because he realized, in his last moments of life, that you were the true Dragonborn. Sort of like a eureka moment for him, we thought it was Ulfric but it turns out it's actually you!

^ That sounds pretty reasonable to me. It explains why Alduin destroyed Helgen but didn't seem to follow you.

On the other hand, it makes Alduin sound like a moron because if he had done even a little research on Ulfric he would've known that he wasn't the DB.

I'm sorry but I don't buy this "Alduin attacked Helgen cause he thought Ulfric was dragonborn" thing. Shouts are just shouts. He has no dragon soul and thus there is no way for Alduin to "feel him out".

I haven't finished the MQ yet so forgive me if this sounds completely left field, but is it at all possible that Alduin terrorized Helgen to make sure that the Dragonborn didn't die? He could've been so assured of his victory that he found it amusing to save the puny human who was supposedly destined to slay him. Or maybe he was just sick of humans being a pain in his tush and resolved to take down their hero only after the world had learned of his name, therefore making the Dragonborn's defeat all the more crushing and using him as an example. "Rise against me and your death will be swift regardless of what some prophecy says." That kind of thing. Failing that, he could've been intrigued at the thought of an actual challenge and spared the Dragonborn so that he'd grow in power and become a worthy opponent.

Immersive, non-prophetic explanation:

Yup. I favor this version.

I'm going to repeat what I said on the previous "Why did Alduin attack Helgan" post. Once you finish the MQ you soon realize the mentality of Alduin. He is rather possessive with his prey. Other dragons calls him selfish because he doesn't like sharing his food with everyone. Dragons are quite known to have that dominating behavior, since you will get a lecture from paarthurnax about it.

Alduin probably knew that the dragonborn was there by the scent. The dragonborn most likely have a different blood smell (Since it was his blood that was required to open the blades temple) therefor Alduin was able to sniff him out.

He's was likly able to sense the Dovahkiin, but due to him not being in the 'real world' for several centuries, he didn't recognize the feeling. So he came to investigate. My vote goes toward curiosity. Alduin heard Mirmulnir shout as he died: 'Dovahkiin? No!', and put 2 and 2 together. This would also exlpain how he already knows you're Dovahkiin when you meet up with him as he raises Sahloknir.

Alduin shows up at Throat of the World after being sent into the future by the Elder Scroll and is met by his brother Paarthurnax who immediately rats you out as the dragonborn and tells Alduin where you can be found. That's why Paarthurnax has to die.

He wanted to try some of that mead with jyooniper berries of course.

Funny, when I was a boy, Imperial forts and towers made me feel safe. I guess they never thought a dragon would attack.

He used to be sweet on a girl from there of course!

ROFL!! That 'splains it!