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So why did Alduin decide to attack Helgen?


stars2heaven

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When Alduin attacks Helgen, he calls you "Dovakiin". It means he knows who you are, perhaps even his brother, according to the lore. He saved you so you could fulfill your destiny.

 

Read all the books you can find and you'll learn that Alduin is possibly much more than depicted in what the characters alive tell you.

 

If you and your brother were part of an eternal struggle between destruction and creation and one of you was about to be executed by mere mortals, ending this round in a fizzle, maybe you'd step in?

 

One thing is for sure intended by the writers, Alduin intentionally saved you from execution. It was not just some incredibly improbable freak accident or major plot whole. Notice he lands exactly before your head chop. A few minutes later, he actually says dragonborn in the dragon tongue.

 

Really?! To be honest, I've never heard him call me that in the opening scene. The way they presented it, first you suspect he came for Ulfric, then when you bust a hole in that it's pretty much over for that chain of reasoning (one that suggests Aludin was there for a reason).

 

That's pretty cool though.

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Hmm, I believe Helgen was near or the actual site where Alduin was banished. After all, the throat of the world was just right next door. If Alduin came out of the dimensional portal at that same instance as the execution, then Alduin would consider the human maggots below as part of the army trying to bring him down. Maybe he was disoriented from the time travel or something. I blame the elder scroll for the whole thing, it threw Alduin right into the Dragonborn's lap(or vice-versa) in order to start the chain of events that would lead up to Alduin's death and the fulfillment of the prophecy.

 

Sorry dude, flaw in your logic there. The location of Alduin's banishment is near the peak of the Throat of the World, specifically where the time wound is, and Parthurnaax is waiting. This is a fair bit nearer to Whiterun than Helgen.

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I thought he went to Helgen to save Ulfric, thus continuing the Stormcloack vs. Empire war. Alduin wants the war to continue so that he can chomp down on souls back in Sovengarde... or something... maybe... :psyduck:

 

Or I'm completely wrong. :biggrin:

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When Alduin attacks Helgen, he calls you "Dovakiin". It means he knows who you are, perhaps even his brother, according to the lore. He saved you so you could fulfill your destiny.

 

Read all the books you can find and you'll learn that Alduin is possibly much more than depicted in what the characters alive tell you.

 

If you and your brother were part of an eternal struggle between destruction and creation and one of you was about to be executed by mere mortals, ending this round in a fizzle, maybe you'd step in?

 

One thing is for sure intended by the writers, Alduin intentionally saved you from execution. It was not just some incredibly improbable freak accident or major plot whole. Notice he lands exactly before your head chop. A few minutes later, he actually says dragonborn in the dragon tongue.

 

Really?! To be honest, I've never heard him call me that in the opening scene. The way they presented it, first you suspect he came for Ulfric, then when you bust a hole in that it's pretty much over for that chain of reasoning (one that suggests Aludin was there for a reason).

 

That's pretty cool though.

 

Yes, really. I was just reading the official wikia (the unofficial one doesn't have much on this) and it also states it twice on Alduin's page. He says a few things during that attack, including "Dovakiin"/Dragonborn. Even if you speculate that he maybe just sensed your presence and was looking for you to kill you but you got away, well, that doesn't jibe later because he never tries to find you again by using that sense. It's only when you're ready and using the Elder Scroll that he comes to you.

 

Hah, did you ever read that one book "The Akatosh/Alduin Dichotomy" found in Skyrim? It adds to the confusion and mystery claiming they are the same deity. Yet Alduin says to your PC that he is the son of Akatosh. Maybe he doesn't mean by birth though since they're deities. It's more like he was created from Akatosh maybe after the creation of the mortal realm or along those lines. So who is your character then? You have the soul of a dragon meaning your like one of Akatosh's children, as well. Which one? Why is your destiny to defend the world of moratals? Lorkhan was the one who gave his body to create the land where mortals live. The heart of Lorkhan is the heart of the world. No, you couldn't be Lorkham. That would be too much. His heart had something to do with the mysterious disappearance of the Dwemer, too, didn't it, after they tried to use like a Holy Grail of great power. I dunno, but it's kewl to think about. Who exactly is your character, given that your soul is that of a dragon and not one of the mortals who came later. And why are you defending Lorkham's remains and the inhabitants?

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I thought he went to Helgen to save Ulfric, thus continuing the Stormcloack vs. Empire war. Alduin wants the war to continue so that he can chomp down on souls back in Sovengarde... or something... maybe... :psyduck:

 

Or I'm completely wrong. :biggrin:

 

The war was part of the prophecy, so that's not bad. The writers did also force the Dragonborn to get the peace treaty before stopping Alduin, so maybe. But that would mean Ulfric is actually Dovakiin also and that Alduin was speaking to him during the attack. He can shout, so it's possible. Shouting can be learned by non-dragonborn through hard study, but perhaps Ulfric didn't have to study hard and is another dragon soul. Hmmm. I don't like this explanation right now because I'm biased against Ulfric. Someone else less biased will need to jump in if it has merit.

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I just thought that Alduin was trying to take down the Dhovakiin early on and just didn't realise that not interfering would have done the work for him.

Good point, he could be aware of the Dovahkiin's presence, possibly able to identify him/her in the group, probably not in the confusion and could not be aware it was to be executed at all.

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Its never truely revealed in the story.

 

Out-of-world-explanation is pretty easy/obvious. Bethesda wanted to begin the game with a bang, so dragon, and the prison/arrival thing allows the player to have no mention worthy past, so its up to the player to form his character. Bethesda never cared too much, to tie this into the story later on, except Delphine who makes wrong suspicions and falsely points you to the Thalmor. In-world its somehow complicated.

 

Facts:

* Alduin never attacks directly any other city himself. So Helgen was somehow special.

* Alduin never interferes another time, so for example to save Ulfric again, once you claim Windhelm.

* Alduin will actually kill you, if you linger too long outside -> he is not there to save you.

* Alduin does not have any human followers, or is able to take a human form (no where hinted at, except the story you make up at the bards college) so he has no idea who Ulric is, and sure not of the political consequences of the event.

* Alduin will not attack you again, unless you lern the Dragonrend much later. So at helgen his not on a kill mission too you. Otherwise he would just pop up again once you leave the cave.

 

What I suppose makes most sense, Alduin gets kicked out of the time warp at the throat of the world, unaware what had actually happened to him. Possibly your presence as dragon born close to the timefracture might have triggered that, but maybe its also just random. For him the 3 guys who just attacked him were puff just gone. He was just mad at the uprising humankind and either just attacked the next village (Helgen is pretty close to the throat) or felt your presence and came to investigate, or supposed what he felt, would be one of them. While attacking the village he realized what happened to him, and that the other dragons are all dead, so from there on he concentrates on resurrecting them instead of attacking. He also observed you and what he felt, and judged you to be too puny to be worth of his personal attention any more.

Edited by faifh
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It's been said a lot (with proof) that Alduin is extremely arrogant. That's because no other dragon could kill him, not even the humans who first sent him forward in time. He does, however, know of the Dragonborn. Thus when he feels your presence nearby, he comes to investigate whether you're a threat or not. He arrives at Helgen, sees you with your head on the chopping block, he even shouts at you to get a reaction but manages only to make you unconscious.

 

Seeing how much of a weakling you are Alduin basks in his self-confidence once more and proceeds to ravage the town while you manage to escape.

 

Later on, in Kynesgrove, he proves his arrogance and that he doesn't consider you a threat by telling you something along the lines of "you can't even speak the dragon language and you call yourself dovahkiin".

 

Only after you learn Dragonrend do you actually become a threat to him.

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