132 replies to this topic

[BrettM]

Isn't Alduin just trying to kill Dovahkiin? Why the doupts?

Because it doesn't seem possible for Alduin to know that we are dovahkiin at the start of the game. We haven't learned any words, absorbed any dragon souls, or shouted anything more than "ouch" when stubbing our toe.

The counter-argument to that, of course, is that the first dragon we killed recognized us as being dovahkiin just before dying. He seemed very surprised, so he certainly didn't sense it until the end of the battle, but he did somehow do so at that point. If he could, then possibly Alduin is even more sensitive to dragonborn.

It just isn't clear what Alduin's real motive was for attacking Helgen. Even if we were the reason for his presence, was he actually trying to kill, or just testing to see if we were any threat? When we meet him the next time, he seems certain we aren't worth trying to kill and doesn't even try; he insults us by telling us the dragons don't acknowledge any relationship.

There's plenty of room for debate about the meaning of the Helgen attack.

[camsmoker1983]

My theory on this is that General Tullius stole his sweetroll, so he was trying to give Tullius a bad day. Seriously.

[fraquar]

General Tullius is a wuss, more like that Imperial Captain caught a ride to Helgen from Alduin and she stiffed him on the tip.......

[heretikzer0]

Dragons are arrogant as hell.

I had gotten the impression that dragons can actually sense the dragonborn. I remember that the greybeards mentioned that there have been many dragonborn, and that alduin was more or less trying to see for himself what was going on in helgen.. "Oh look, a dragonborn.. I guess I better go say hello."

/destroy helgen with relative ease.

[Vampira12356]

@oldhand But why would he save you to kill him?

[kradus]

It just isn't clear what Alduin's real motive was for attacking Helgen. Even if we were the reason for his presence, was he actually trying to kill, or just testing to see if we were any threat? When we meet him the next time, he seems certain we aren't worth trying to kill and doesn't even try; he insults us by telling us the dragons don't acknowledge any relationship.

Well then, the dragonborn is the only 'dragon' other than him and Paarthurnax at that point, so even if he didn't know about dovahkin he would still feel atracted to his presence. Whatever his motives, the dragonborn is the only beacon at helgen that would justify Alduin arriving there when he did. Exept he only found a bunch of humans, like cattle ready for slaughter.

Edited by kradus, 12 March 2012 - 07:24 PM.

[SubjectProphet]

It doesn't say this in the English version, but in the Russian version, Paarthurnax mentions that he wanted to kill you there.

[Mariohuge9001]

I think Alduin attacked Helgen because of how you were about to be executed. Not that he wanted you to fufill your destiny, no.
Because HE wanted to kill you HIMSELF.

[BrettM]

If Alduin was actually drawn to Helgen by the presence of a dragonborn, he must have been mighty puzzled about what he was sensing. The Dragon War took place during the Merethic era and Alduin was banished into the time stream at that time. The first known mortal with dragon blood was Alessia, in the First Era, long after Alduin was gone. It seems an interesting paradox.

Perhaps it was the strangeness of sensing a soul that was a dragon-yet-not-a-dragon that drew him to investigate. Once he found out what you were, he considered you insignificant, which would explain his insults at the first dragon-resurrection ceremony you witnessed, and why he didn't bother trying to kill you himself but just ordered Sahloknir to do it.

[EnaiSiaion]

Alduin probably sensed the dragonborn from a distance and considered the possibility that he might be a threat, but when he actually arrived on the scene looking for a fight all he saw was a tiny human who ran away from him. So he ROFLed, trashed the place and ignored you.

This, by the way, is one of the cliches in the Evil Overlord List.