Where was Paarthurnax when Alduin emerges from the Time Wound?

[LordSarcasm]

So, Alduin might have come out of the time wound as late as a couple of minutes before the the start of the game, maybe even during the player's carriage ride to Helgen. That's based entirely on how fast Dragons fly, but that's not the matter in question.

Where was Paarthurnax when Alduin comes out of the Time Wound? He was probably up on the Throat of the World, so he had to have been there when Alduin emerges from back in time. What happened next? I mean, there is no mention of what happened when they met each other.

[Lachdonin]

Bear in mind that the distance from the Throat of the World to Helgen isn't nearly as close as it is in game. It's close to 100km (I did the calculations while back, based on the Daggerfall scale). So, depending on how long Alduin spent flying around trying to find a settlement (a few thousand years would have dramatically changed the settlement patterns, the only city likely to be in the same place is Whiterun, maybe Winterhold). He could have been there several hours before spotting Helgen.

 

As for where Paarthurnax was... Possibly hunting. Conversing with the Greybeards. Deep in meditation? We aren't even entirely sure how big the Time Scar is, it's possible Alduin actually emerged some distance from where you use the Scroll. He could also be conspiring with Alduin the whole time. Who knows?

[LordSarcasm]

Skyrim's geography seems a bit wacky to me. Riften for example is on a plateau, much much higher than Windhelm but the latter is much much colder. I guess it would have to be a lot farther north than it actually is.

[Madcat221]

Windhelm is also further north, and may also be subject to ocean currents. England is warmer than comparable latitudes due to the warm Gulf Stream, for example.

[ilikecheese1337]

Probably hunting. He still needs to eat, even if dragons don't need to sleep. Perhaps Alduin did meet Paarthurnax, but flew off rather than attack a dragon that the Greybeards would've just Shouted back to life anyway, and then Paarthurnax saw no need to mention it.

Skyrim's geography seems a bit wacky to me. Riften for example is on a plateau, much much higher than Windhelm but the latter is much much colder. I guess it would have to be a lot farther north than it actually is.

 

Bear in mind that the scale of the game Skyrim is way out of proportion to the lore. Winterhold and Windhelm are probably relatively close together.

[Urtel]

You discuss weather? Or dragons?

Alduin was banished somewhat in the first era, so Windhelm, Jorrvaskr and Saarthal he should remember. And also all other dragon cult's buildings. Such as Labyrinthian (sp?). I guess when Alduin rushed off the time wound, he was mad and ready to make sea of ghosts boiling. So i hardly believe, that he was admiring, how far mortals advanced in civilasing the land. So i guess he flew straight down the mountain, and saw Helgen. I'm pretty much shure, that even with different scale, the city is close to the mountain. So... i think our old friend P. was hiding somewhere, not willing to meet A. in his rage. I also can think about one little episode. A. says that he felt a Dovah. And we all consider it was DB. What if he felt P.? That would be funny) Also, remember, when DB opens time wound and A. comes, P. at first hides, and then comes from behind the mountain.

[BrettM]

If you listen to some of the things Alduin says (in dragon language, of course) during his attack on Helgen, it seems as if he is not quite aware of how much time has passed. He was banished in the heat of battle, and may have come out still in battle fury, heading for an area where he might have expected to find some of the rebels of the Dragon War, figuring on getting some revenge. So he taunts his victims with statements about their foolish pride in thinking the scroll would get rid of him, not realizing that the common run of humanity no longer speaks the language or knows anything about what actually happened back then, believing that he's dealing with his enemies.

 

Paarth's whereabouts is a good question, given that he says he took up residence near the time wound specifically to await Alduin's return. Yet he doesn't seem to have had any plan for actually doing anything about it.

[Hyacathusarullistad]

It's impossible to say for sure exactly what physically happened at the Throat of the World, even having witnessed it, simply because we know extremely little about either the Elder Scrolls in general, the specific Scroll used to cast Alduin forward through time, or the nature of the so-called Time Wound itself. All we can do is guess at it, really.

 

I'm of the belief that the so-called Time Wound is much larger than what the Dragonborn witnesses. I'd say that when Alduin was cast forwards through time, the Tongues basically punched a hole in the fabric of the universe and forced Alduin through it. That hole is the Time Wound itself - but when you poke a whole in a sheet of glass, or ice, it rarely turns out as just a hole. The "sheet" of reality cracked outwards from the Time Wound, splintering in all sorts of 4-Dimensional directions. We don't know what the physical experience itself of being forced through the Time Wound would have been like - did Alduin simply disappear through the Time Wound and reappear in Tamriel in the relative blink of an eye? Or did he spend several seconds, minutes, hours, days, etc. in a sort of non-place (maybe even a sliver of Oblivion?), a place between realities or time streams through which he could move, travel, and find a way out through one of the aforementioned cracks? I'm inclined to believe the latter. Alduin was forced out of Time into this sort of void space, and became trapped there for some brief period of time - no more than a few minutes, I'd say. He found his way back to Mundus through a crack caused by the Time Wound, and continued the battle unaware of exactly what had been done to him.

[Urtel]

 

Alduin was forced out of Time into this sort of void space, and became trapped there for some brief period of time - no more than a few minutes, I'd say. He found his way back to Mundus through a crack caused by the Time Wound, and continued the battle unaware of exactly what had been done to him.

 

Generally what you say is very close to what i am personally thinking. But considering the TES universe, it can all be different.

 

Some time ago i started a thread, where was describing my idea of Alduin's nature.

Shortly, after discussion we stated, that from 3 different (physical/magical/astronomical) points Alduin is physical form of a dragon, magically is a part of Akatosh and time, and astronomicaly Alduin is an actual material part of Akatosh(as a planet), an asteroid of some sort. This three different sides mixed together are Alduin.

 

So in my opinion, what we see as a dragon, is in fact a magical cluster. And when Tongues used an Elder Scroll, they simply removed this magical being. Now, im not a master of arcane arts, and don't know how magica flows, but im shure, that Magnus is a source of magic. Also, since Alduin is pure magic, and not a soul, he can not be placed into Void, i guess. Because Void is a place where everything ends its excistence, and it is believed, that souls never return from there. So we dont really know, if Ada have souls, and if they can get into Void. I cant really say, that Alduin can be treated as Ada.

Also, a prophesy is an important aspect, that we all totally forgot.

Eruption of Red Mountain+Civil War in Skyrim+Oblivion Crysis. We need to connect all this events with what we know. I have no idea yet, but will think about it on way home.

[swiftfoxmark2]

Paarthurnax's own role in Alduin's banishment may not have been known. As far as we know, Alduin never knew about Paarthurnax's betrayal since he fought only mortals who learned how to shout. I'm sure he at least suspected that a dragon had aided men in learning to hone their voices but may very not have known it was Paarthurnax.

 

That being said, I am sure that Paarthurnax was present when Alduin returned. It is odd, though, that the writers for Skyrim didn't address this. Paarthurnax clearly states that he stayed at the Time Break in order to await Alduin's return (and to avoid unwanted contact with mortals). But they never addressed what exactly happened, which is a huge plothole in the story.

 

I personally think that they encountered each other and had an "argument." Alduin probably then was able to collect as much information as he could from Paarthurnax about the current state of the world and then spared Paarthurnax's life since he was short on dragons. Or perhaps Alduin felt that no dragon should take another dragon's life and soul without a direct challenge and I doubt Paarthurnax directly challenged Alduin. Maybe Paarthurnax believed that the end times were upon them and simply acknowledged Alduin's authority until the Dovahkiin was revealed to him. Paarthurnax definitely indicated that he was content to have events play out either way.