The Break of Dawn The Break of Dawn is a quest available in . This quest is started by visiting the Statue to Meridia , or , after reaching level 12 , by finding the radiant quest item Meridia ' s Beacon in random chests . Overview . Upon obtaining the beacon , which is a large gem with no value , Meridia commands the Dragonborn to take the beacon to the shrine located west of Solitude , directly north of the Haafingar Stormcloak Camp . Once there , Meridia will tell the Dragonborn that there is a powerful necromancer named Malkoran defiling her temple , whom the Dragonborn must destroy . Detailed walkthrough . Beholding the Beacon of Light . This quest is started in one of two ways : Once the beacon is obtained , Meridia will speak to the Dragonborn every day as she becomes increasingly alarmed at their lack of interest in helping the Solar Daughter . This can be avoided by simply going to the shrine , as the beacon will randomly appear . Note that this effect is removed by update 1 . 6 or later . Meridia ' s Beacon . Upon approaching the shrine with the beacon , a voice is heard commanding that the beacon be placed at the feet of Meridia . The Dragonborn is then whisked into the clouds where a glowing orb of Meridia ' s light appears . She describes a necromancer named Malkoran planning to raise the dead of Skyrim to wage war on the living , using the energy of a powerful artifact in her shadow - filled shrine . The Dragonborn is to enter her shrine and direct a beam of light throughout the dungeon . Shining Light on the Dark Temple . Upon entering , there is a desecrated corpse on the first flight of stairs . Throughout the entire interior there are an abundance of them , each one with a handsome amount of coin , which makes this quest very profitable ( between 3000 and 5000 is available ) . In addition , there are a large number of traps , and two locked doors that , once picked , reveal levers that open nearby gates with treasure on the other side . There are a total of three pedestals to be activated in the temple to direct Meridia ' s light . The first large room has the first pedestal . Further down is a second room with several Corrupted Shades and the second pedestal . Once activated , the beam of light drains health and magicka if the Dragonborn steps into its path . At the top of the steps , the beam of light can be seen shining through some debris that cannot be breached ; the path continues down the steps and through the hallway to the south . The hallway contains several more corrupted shades , then several doors and eventually a chest with random loot . The room with the third pedestal had several more shades ( one immediately by the entrance ) . There is a lever locked room on the north side of the area , along with an Arcane Enchanter . After activating the pedestal , the door at the top of the wooden ramp against the south side will be open , which leads outside to the Kilkreath Balcony . The balcony contains an expert - locked chest with leveled loot . Up the stairs is a door that leads to the Kilkreath Ruins . Up some stairs is a fairly large room with more Shades , plus three more pedestals . Activating the pedestal at the top of the wooden ramp opens a door on that same level to the east . Through the short hallway , there will be four burial urns to the left , a chest , a hallway to the north , and a wooden door against the north wall . The door is trapped , but the trap can be disarmed . Behind the door is a small room with some loot . Before entering the next hallway , there is a tripwire around the corner to the left that sets off some swinging axes . There is a lever on the floor in the corner which turns off the axes . Through the caged walkway is a platform from which the Dragonborn can jump over the gap to another pedestal on the left . After jumping back over , a ramp leads to good treasure in the northwest corner . A door on the west wall that was just unlocked allows the area to be left . Next there will be a dimly lit room with a second level on either side . The ramp up to the left ( against the west wall ) leads to a regular pedestal with a potion that , if taken , triggers a spike trap . The other side will lead the Dragonborn through another short hall to the very top of the main room and to the third pedestal to activate . Once complete , the door to the south on the first floor will open , which leads to a door to the Kilkreath Catacombs . A hallway leads to a room with the final pedestal . Activating it opens a set of double doors against the east wall . There is one chest here to the right of those doors . Through the doors and down more stairs , Malkoran can be seen performing some sort of ritual . ( Going through the Dungeon can be avoided by walking right of the Statue and going through the entrance to the second part of the Dungeon , to Malkoran ' s ritual . ) Destroy Malkoran . Malkoran is accompanied by eight or more corrupted shades . A quick way to get the upper hand is by using a bow or Beast Form to kill Malkoran off first , and to then move back up the steps shooting the shades . The shades strategy is to get behind the Dragonborn before attacking , but a follower can be helpful . If the Dragonborn stands in the doorway to the chamber , the follower will stand behind them making it impossible for the shades to get around . They will only attack if the Dragonborn moves too far forward , so using magic or a ranged weapon to hit them at point blank range will avoid this . Malkoran is reluctant to move from in front of the altar so he can be worn down from the doorway with a bow . If has been completed , the Bend Will shout can be targeted directly at Malkoran as the Dragonborn walks into the chamber . He will turn against the shades and quickly dispatch them . Once the shades are gone , it is possible to sneak behind him and land many critical hits so as to avoid dealing with his powerful frost spells . If he is killed fast enough , Malkoran ' s Shade will emerge but still be under the effect of Bend Will , so it can be hit and it will not hit back . Topping off the Dragonborn ' s health / stamina / magicka before the Dragonborn delivers the killing blow to Malkoran will make it easier to survive him , as his shade will rapidly appear and continue throwing frost bolts . It is possible that he will use powerful flame spells instead of frost spells . When Malkoran and his corrupted followers are finally dead , Meridia tells the Dragonborn to retrieve Dawnbreaker . Note that there will not be another chance to come back to this room after retrieving Dawnbreaker , and simply taking it will transport the Dragonborn from the room . There are a large number of desecrated corpses , each having 20 – 125 , so there is great profit to be made if they are looted before taking the sword . Once the Dragonborn takes Dawnbreaker , they will be whisked back to the heavens for one last conversation and a great view .