The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrimis filled with different factions, each including a unique questline for the player to experience. Two of these factions are the Companions and the College of Winterhold. Though their questlines may seem detached, there was an opportunity to have the factions meet, which is arguably a missed opportunity on Bethesda’s part.
Many in theSkyrimcommunity have voiced their problems with the Companions and the College’s questlines. Both seem a tad too rushed, with the Dragonborn becoming the leader of both organizations after a few dungeon dives. Moreover, nothing seems to change in the world after the player takes on said leadership roles, apart from a few lines of dialogue. That said, perhaps intersecting the two questlines could have added for more depth and characterization with these factions.
RELATED:Skyrim: How Maven and the Black-Briar Family Rose to Power
Saarthal Is a Potential Point of Connection
Saarthal is a Nordic ruin found to the west of Winterhold. Way back in the Merethic Era, it was the Nords’ first city, where they took refuge after arriving in Skyrim from Atmora. There, they also supposedly unearthed the Eye of Magnus: a mysterious artifact that held great magical power. Though the Nords tried to keep it hidden,the snow elves who roamed Skyrimlearned about its existence and sought to take the Eye for themselves. This resulted in the Night of Tears, wherein the snow elves stormed Saarthal and slaughtered nearly all the Nords there.
Ysgramor and his two sons were said to be the only survivors of the slaughter. They sailed back to Atmora to gather an army and exact vengeance on the greedy snow elves. Then, they sailed back and killed the snow elves before they could take the Eye of Magnus. Ysgramor and his army alsorebuilt Saarthal as it would be seen inSkyrimbefore others left to explore the land. Thus began the reign of the Five Hundred Companions.
The city likely flourished in the years after it was rebuilt. However, during the Interregnum in the Second Era, it was lost to time. Only in the Fourth Era was Saarthal found again, this time by mages from the College of Winterhold. Eventually, they would uncover the Eye of Magnus, which acts as the driving force inSkyrim’s College of Winterholdquestline.
Missed Opportunities in The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim
After the player digs around in Saarthal for the College of Winterhold, they may hear an NPC say, “What business do college mages have in a place like Saarthal anyway? It’s a place for Nord dead, not your weird experiments!” The localsaren’t happy with theseSkyrimmagespoking around their ancient city. This could have set alarm bells ringing among the Companions, since they should know that Saarthal was the ancient city Ysgramor rebuilt.
While the members of the College were digging around for magical artifacts inSkyrim’s ancient city, the Companions could have traveled there too, demanding that the members stop desecrating Ysgramor’s first city. If the player is a member of both factions, they could be forced to make a decision: Side with the mages and push for their magical research, or side with the Companions and preserve the sanctity of the ancient city.
There could even be a third alternative, wherein the Dragonborn speaks toKodlak Whitemane about his lycanthropyand posits that the Eye of Magnus could help cure him, thus bringing the two factions to an uneasy truce. When Ancano tries to take the Eye of Magnus for himself, the Companions and the College could work together to stop him. The joint questline then ends with the College researching a way to cure lycanthropy as thanks to Kodlak and the Companions. Overall, a narrative like this would likely have made for a more interesting storyline compared to the vanilla game linear quest progression for each faction individually.
The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrimis available for PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
MORE:Why Oblivion Won’t Be Forgotten Even After The Elder Scrolls 6’s Release
