Shivering:Vitharn Ghost Soldier

The Vitharn Ghost Soldiers are ethereal beings that once served as the main defense of the city of Vitharn. When Fanatics attacked the settlement many years ago, the soldiers failed in their duty and were slaughtered by the attackers. To punish them for their cowardice, Sheogorath cursed them to relive their final moments for all eternity. Some the soldiers will be found in the Bailey, constantly dying and resurrecting as wave after wave of fanatics breaks through the gates. Others are found outside and within Vitharn. Once you complete the quest Ghosts of Vitharn, they will all be released from their curse and disappear.

There are three main varieties of Ghost Soldier: the Soldier, the Defenders, and the Generic Defenders. All ghosts are part of the Vitharn Citizen faction, and all but the Soldier are part of the SE32Defenders faction. None have spells apart from an effect which gives them their ghostly look. A test NPC also exists, although he is actually called Vitharn Soldier.
 
Vitharn Ghost Soldiers
Soldier
 
The Soldier is the leader of the ghost soldiers, as he will always be the last man standing and will take it upon himself to battle the leader of the fanatics, and to be thus perpetually slain at his hands. He wears a full set of iron armor and also carry a patched vest, a pair of breeches, and a pair of rough leather shoes. In combat, he relies on an iron shortsword.

Unlike his fellow ghost soldiers, he possesses quite a few lines of unique dialogue, and seems to have an obsession with ritual dancing. When first talking to him, he will curse: "''The invaders are breaking through! I danced for the rain, but it isn't helping." He will also attempt to raise the morale of his troops randomly by shouting, "I'm ready for them!''" 

After witnessing the individual faults of Althel, Desideratus Annius, and Hloval Dreth, he will offer information that will help you to overcome them:

:"''Bat gro-Orkul is so stingy with the armory. He should dance today. He may cost us our town today. Then we'll see who dances!"
:"Desideratus is a little too attached to that doll, if you know what I mean. They don't like to dance. It gives me the creeps."
:"Hloval dances a little too close to Sheogorath, if you know what I mean. Those born with stunted magicka shouldn't become priests and healers."

Once you have talked to him about any one of three, you will be able to ask him about the siege: "Althel brought us the news of the invaders. I ran to the wall to see for myself. That's where I danced for the rain. I saw them enter the sump and reservoir. I tried to warn the guards to bar the doors to the reservoir, but I wasn't in time. The Fanatics caught us by surprise, attacking out of the Reservoir, killing the rear guard and opening the main gates. Now I do the dance of death.''"

 
Defenders
 
Defenders all wear a full set of iron armor and also carry a patched vest, a pair of breeches, and a pair of rough leather shoes. Two defenders wield an iron war axe, one wields an iron shortsword, and the forth an iron mace.

 
Male Generic Defenders
  thumb|left|The other male Generic defender
Of six generic defenders, four are male. They all wear a chainmail cuirass and helmet. Two of the males wield fine steel longswords, while the other two employ fine iron maces. They also carry a patched vest, a pair of breeches, and a pair of rough leather shoes.

 
Female Generic Defender
 
The two remaining generic defenders are female. They both wear an almost complete set (no boots) of chainmail armor and also carry a patched vest, a pair of breeches, and a pair of rough leather shoes. In combat, they rely on a fine steel shortsword.

 
Vitharn Soldier
 
This test NPC can only be met by using the console to reach the test cell TestJoel, where you are likely to find him fighting a test Fanatic. He wears a full set of iron armor and also carries a patched vest, a pair of breeches, and a pair of rough leather shoes. In combat, he wields an iron war axe. Unlike the other soldiers, he is not actually ethereal in form as he lacks the relevant spell.

 
Related Quests