Ildari Sarothril Ildari Sarothril is a Dunmer necromancer who once served as an apprentice of Neloth , the Telvanni wizard who lives at Tel Mithryn on the island of Solstheim . She is encountered in Highpoint Tower during the quest Old Friends . Background . The Telvanni wizard Neloth had been planning for many years to enhance his magical abilities by replacing his own heart with a Heart Stone , similar to how Forsworn Briarheart s replace theirs with Briar Heart s . Ildari , his apprentice , volunteered to be his test subject before he underwent the operation himself , but she was accidentally killed when Neloth performed the operation incorrectly , a death he describes as " most annoying . " At least , that was what he believed — the Dragonborn found her empty sarcophagus , and this led Neloth to suspect she was kept from dying by the Heart Stone still embedded in her chest . From her journals , it becomes apparent during the quest Old Friends that Ildari survived , and greatly resents Neloth ' s bungled operation — mentioning that he promised her power and glory but gave her only great pain — and that she plans to get her revenge by necromantically raising an army of Ash Spawn to destroy Tel Mithryn . After escaping her grave , Ildari travelled to Highpoint Tower and was taken in by a group of miners , who believed she was badly injured and nursed her back to health . Through the Heart Stone , Ildari noticed that she had become stronger , could feel the " bones in the ash " calling to her , and had learned how to " bind the spirits to bone and ash and raise a servant to do [ her ] bidding " ( according to volume II of her journal ) . But , she also started to become paranoid from constantly hearing the bones ' voices in her head . The voices told her that the miners wanted her Heart Stone for themselves . Raising her Ash Spawn from the ground , she killed the miners ' leader and then imprisoned the others as her own test subjects , though it is unknown what experiments she conducted on them . Highpoint Tower thereby became her base of operations where she could plot her revenge upon Neloth undisturbed . Ildari ' s journal in Fort Frostmoth ( unrelated to the three volumes found in Highpoint Tower ) details her successful attempts at re - animating General Falx Carius from the dead , to use him as a puppet in her plan to get revenge on Neloth . Interactions . March of the Dead . Her former presence in Fort Frostmoth is attested to by a journal of hers found in the fort ' s underground crypt during the quest " March of the Dead . " Old Friends . Tel Mithryn is under attack by an unknown force . Ash Spawn killed Neloth ' s previous steward Varona Nelas , and part of his tower mysteriously withered . After Neloth assigns to the Dragonborn the task of finding him a new steward , and after the withered part of Tel Mithryn is repaired , a third attack causes Neloth to reveal to the Dragonborn his suspicion that the attacks are organized - the same suspicion that Captain Veleth has about the attacks on Raven Rock . Neloth gives the Dragonborn the task of discovering the source of the attacks . After a while , it turns out that Ildari is behind the attacks , in search for revenge . Combat . In hand - to - hand combat , Ildari mostly uses a Staff of Lightning Bolts and Shock spells . Unless it is " defused " beforehand , she is also aided by a Magic Caster that shoots fireballs at attackers ( a soul gem on a plinth that can be dislodged by a successful ranged attack or by hitting it with a melee weapon ) . When her health is depleted , Ildari will go down like essential characters , showing how she is kept from death by the heart stone . This is stopped when selecting Ildari , causing a unique animation where the Dragonborn rips out her heart stone .