Skyrim:Elder Scroll

thumb|left|Reading from an Elder Scroll
The Elder Scrolls are mysterious Aedric artifacts said to contain information on all possible past, present and future events. As such, they are commonly involved in prophecy. Reading from the scrolls can eventually lead to blindness or madness. For more information, see the lore article.

Only one Elder Scroll appears in the base game. Two more are added by the Dawnguard official add-on. Each scroll has a weight of 20, but they are always quest items and weigh nothing in your inventory.
 
Elder Scroll (Dragon)
This scroll appears as Elder Scroll in the base game, or Elder Scroll (Dragon) with the Dawnguard add-on installed. During the quest Discerning the Transmundane, Septimus Signus will help you retrieve it from the Tower of Mzark in Blackreach. After using the scroll during the quest Alduin's Bane, it is possible to sell it to Urag gro-Shub at the College of Winterhold for 2,000 gold.

With Dawnguard installed, the scroll is again required for the quest Unseen Visions. If you have already sold it to Urag, you will need to buy it back for 4,000 gold (or, if you have completed the College of Winterhold questline, for the original 2,000 gold). It can later be sold to Urag after the Dawnguard quests are complete, but only if you had not re-purchased it from him; it can only be sold to him once.



Elder Scroll (Sun)
This scroll is added by the Dawnguard add-on. It is originally carried by Serana when you free her from Dimhollow Crypt during the quest Awakening. You will need it during the Prophet quest—where it will be read by Dexion Evicus, rendering him blind—as well as Unseen Visions. After the Dawnguard questline, if you've sided with the Dawnguard faction, you can sell the Sun and Blood scrolls to Dexion for 6,000 gold. If you sided with the vampires, you can never remove the scroll from your inventory (see notes).



Elder Scroll (Blood)
This scroll is added by the Dawnguard add-on. You will need to recover it from the Soul Cairn during the quest Beyond Death, where it is being held by Valerica. It is needed for the quests Seeking Disclosure and Unseen Visions. After the Dawnguard questline, if you've sided with the Dawnguard faction, you can sell the Sun and Blood scrolls to Dexion for 6,000 gold. If you sided with the vampires, you can never remove the scroll from your inventory (see notes).



Notes
Reading a scroll will render you blind for a few seconds.
The background art of the Elder Scroll is a star map of Earth's southern polar region, containing within it most of the southern constellations. The more famous ones are Scorpius (tail part found at the left hand side), Crux (found at the lower center of the Scroll), and Eridanus (found at the top left hand side, with Achernar as the large patch). It is identical to the background art which appeared on an Elder Scroll in Oblivion.
Three other Elder Scrolls are present in the game data (two added by Dawnguard), but none of them appear in-game.
Reading an Elder Scroll will dispel all your active magical effects, including thralls, conjurations, cloak spells and shrine blessings. If the sun has been blotted out with bloodcursed arrows, this effect will also be dispelled, leaving vampires vulnerable to the sun again.
 With version 1.2.2 of the Unofficial Dawnguard Patch, it is possible to sell the Sun and Blood scrolls to Dexion when playing on the vampire side of the quest.