Skyrim is full of wildlife that would be familiar to most players, but it is also home to some unique and unusual creatures that often leave fans with more questions than answers. While exploring Skyrim's wilderness and delving deep into its many caves and ruins, players are likely to encounter many of these strange beings.
The upcoming release of The Elder Scrolls 6 and future Elder Scrolls Onlineexpansions like Necrom may shed more light on these puzzling creatures, but while fans wait for more insights it is worth reflecting on what is already known about some of Tamriel's various mysterious monsters.
10 Ice Wraiths
Ice wraiths are a type of translucent snake-like creature inhabiting the icy, snow-covered regions of Skyrim that tend to gather around old stone monuments. In Nordic tradition, young men would often spend weeks in the mountains hunting ice wraiths as a rite of passage, and if Skyrim players wish to join the Stormcloaks they are tasked with a similar mission at Serpentstone Isle.
What exactly these creatures are, and their origins, remains a mystery. They appear to be formed of ice by nature magic, but are not entirely incorporeal, as they can inflict disease and leave behind teeth when slain.
9 Briarhearts
Briarhearts are a common boss in Forsworn-infested dungeons, and can make for challenging foes. Quests around the Reach explore the lore behind these unusual enemies, and The Elder Scrolls Online elaborates on their nature further.
Briarhearts are created when skilled warriors undergo a gruesome ritual typically performed by Hagravens, in which their own heart is cut out and replaced by a seed from a Briar Heart tree, imbued with an ancient magic. They give their lives for this transformation, and are reawakened as powerful, fearless warriors driven by rage - their sole purpose being to violently defend their clan.
8 Spriggans
Spriggans are a mysterious type of nature spirit, often found inhabiting forests and groves throughout Tamriel, acting as guardians over natural spaces and the creatures that dwell within them.
Spriggans are often associated with Kynareth, and they are revered yet dangerous creatures. Yet despite their hostility, they are not evil and live only to protect the wilds, and may live in harmony with those who respect nature and keep their distance.
7 Seekers
Seekers are a type of Daedra inhabiting Hermaeus Mora's realm, so fans of The Elder Scrolls Online can look forward to these creatures featuring in the Necrom chapter to be released in 2023.
Seekers roam the halls and libraries of Apocrypha, guarding the endless shelves of knowledge. Although they have the appearance of tentacled monsters, they can in fact communicate with one another through speech, and are highly intelligent. However, not much else is known about their society and culture, nor their true motivations.
6 The Ideal Masters
Many Elder Scrolls fans would have been introduced to the Ideal Masters in the Dawnguard DLC, but they actually featured earlier in the 1997 Elder Scrolls spin-off Battlespire. They have no true physical form, but they often appear as large crystals, and they rule over the Soul Cairn where those who have their souls trapped in a soul gem reside for eternity.
The Ideal Masters were originally necromancers from the earliest days of Tamriel, who became so powerful they eventually transcended their mortal existence and created their own realm in Oblivion, where they keep souls granted to them by enchanters in exchange for power.
5 The Reaper
Not much is known about the Reaper or his origins, but Skyrim players can summon and fight him while visiting the Soul Cairn during the Dawnguard DLC quest line. He is a ghostly being dressed like an executioner wielding a heavy axe, and he can be a formidable foe.
He has his own lair in the Soul Cairn and serves the Ideal Masters, but his purpose is shrouded in mystery. He may in fact be some form of Daedra, due to the fact he drops a Daedra heart when he is defeated.
4 Wisps & Wispmothers
In Skyrim, wisps often indicate the presence of a powerful wispmother, a type of feminine spirit shrouded in icy mist that uses frost magic to viciously defend any who trespass in their territory. They are some of the toughest enemies in Skyrim, but their true origin is unknown. One theory suggests, however, that wispmothers are a type of lich from an ancient culture similar to Dragon Priests, or perhaps the remnants of the Snow Elf people who lived in Skyrim before Ysgramor's people drove them out.
Another theory proposes that they are elemental spirits of snow, ice, and mist, similar in nature to spriggans. However, this theory may be debated due to the fact that not all wisps and wispmothers are encountered in snowy regions. In Valenwood, the appearance of a wisp is said to foretell rains, and is taken as a good omen.
3 The Pale Lady
The Pale Lady is a named, unique wispmother encountered by the player in Frostmere Crypt. She is no different from other wispmothers besides her name, but she is spoken of in the in-game book Lost Legends, which theorises that she may potentially be a Snow Elf sorceress called Aumriel, an enemy of Ysgramor's heirs sealed away long ago.
If true, the Pale Lady's origin would lend support to the theory that wispmothers are the remnants of an ancient First-Era civilisation - the liches or spirits of powerful Snow Elf mages.
2 Falmer
The grotesque, goblin-like monsters found in Skyrim's Dwemer ruins were once a proud race of Snow Elves inhabiting Skyrim - but when Ysgramor and his Companions came from Atmora with a lust for vengeance, the Snow Elves were forced out of their homes and taken in by the Dwemer, who enslaved and blinded them with a toxin. How they became the twisted forms of their old selves commonly encountered in Skyrim, however, is a mystery.
A large statue depicting the Falmer's original form can be found in Irkngthand, and two uncorrupted Snow Elves can be met in Skyrim's Dawnguard DLC. One of them hints at the possibility that other isolated conclaves of Snow Elves exist throughout Tamriel, but none can be found in Skyrim, leaving fans with questions that may only be answered by The Elder Scrolls 6.
1 Dwemer Animunculi
Deep within Skyrim's many Dwarven ruins, unusual machines still work despite the disappearance of their Dwemer masters. Some exist to maintain and repair the old ruins, while others defend them against any intruder.
Dwemer constructs may appear to be something out of a sci-fi game, but they are in fact magical creatures, powered by soul gems. That they are powered by souls makes one wonder how conscious these robotic creatures actually are, and future Elder Scrolls installments are likely to reveal more about them.