Dragon War The Dragon War was a war fought in the Merethic Era between Dragons and Men . Background . After Ysgramor and his followers settled in Skyrim during the Merethic Era , they brought the religion of Atmora with them . Known as the Dragon Cult , the followers of this religion worshipped numerous animal totems , namely the hawk , wolf , snake , moth , owl , whale , bear , fox and , most importantly , the Dragon , as avatars of the gods . It is believed these totems were in fact early Atmoran interpretations of the Divines . The Atmorans regarded the Dragon as head of their pantheon , and considering Dragons existed in vast numbers across Tamriel and Atmora , it would eventually change into outright worship of living Dragons , Alduin being chief among them . The Dragons themselves were only too happy to encourage this practice . They believed that as children of Akatosh , they were naturally superior to both man and mer . The fact that they held immense power over mortals led them to the conclusion that power equals truth . This gave them the justification that their rule over mortals was only natural . Dragons embraced their role as god - kings over men , but rather than deal with the actual ruling itself , they granted small amounts of power to Dragon Priests in exchange for absolute obedience . In turn , the priests ruled men as equals to kings . The priests set down laws and codes of living that kept peace between Dragons and men , but to do so they demanded tribute . Their system of rule was corrupted , however , and the priests began to rule with an iron fist , making slaves of the rest of the population . History . Alduin ' s peers considered him the most acclaimed creation of Akatosh . Alduin basked in arrogance at these accolades . In favor of conquering Mundus for himself and his fellow Dragons , he forsook his " proper role " as World - Eater . Eventually , man rebelled against the great cruelty of Alduin and the Dragons and the Dragon War began . At first , mankind was woefully outmatched , and was easily defeated by the Dragons and their Voice . Divine intervention . Kyne intervened and sent Paarthurnax to assist mankind . Paarthurnax , originally the first lieutenant and brother of Alduin , betrayed his kin and taught the power of the Voice to mankind , creating the first Tongues . Several other Dragons sided with Paarthurnax . Dragonrend . Mankind created a shout , known as Dragonrend , built on the hatred of the Dragons ' tyranny and oppression . It forces the concept of mortality onto the Dragon , something that is impossible for it to understand , and temporarily forces it to land . The war reached its climax when the ancient Nord heroes , Hakon One - Eye , Felldir the Old and Gormlaith Golden - Hilt , fought Alduin at a battle at the summit of the Throat of the World . After Gormlaith was killed and Hakon severely wounded , Felldir used an Elder Scroll to banish Alduin from the flow of Time , creating the Time Wound . This victory , however , was only temporary , as he would re - emerge in the Fourth Era and begin the Dragon Crisis . Aftermath . The surviving Dragon Priests were overthrown , and the survivors of the Dragon Cult scattered and hid in various places throughout Skyrim . They entombed the remains of the Dragons that died during the war within Dragon mounds , with the belief that Alduin would one day return and resurrect the faithful . However , other sects within the cult believed only those who ascended to the priesthood would be granted a second life . One of the last remnants of the Dragon Cult , lead by Rahgot , was found by Skorm Snow - Strider in the secluded monastery of Forelhost high in the Jerall Mountains in 1E 139 . After weeks of battle , the fort was breached , but Skorm and his fellow soldiers found all of the cultists within dead from mass suicide .