Amongst the Draugr Amongst the Draugr is a study on the behavior of draugr authored by Bernadette Bantien of the College of Winterhold . Bantien notes that she spent several months observing the draugr , carefully describing their hostility , language , and worship of dragon priests . Content . It wasn ' t until my seventh month with the creatures that they seemed to accept me . Well , " accept " isn ' t really the proper word , but they seemed to have decided that I posed no threat to them and gradually ceased their attacks . Though more than capable of fending them off ( a combination of fire and turning spells are generally sufficient ) , I admit that I tired of having to be ever vigilant in their presence . I ' ll never know whether there was some sort of agreement communicated among them , for the only utterances they make seem to be in that heathen tongue that I can ' t even pronounce , much less transcribe . In time , I learned more of their intentions towards me from their general movements and tones rather than specific words . Hostility in any creature is easily read , but in these most peculiar of the living dead , with such variations in gait and speed , what amounts to a hostile charge in one may simply be casual movement in another . The eyes seem to be key to their intent , and I will confess to more than one dream haunted by the glowing pinpoints in the darkness . I had always wondered why the ancient priests of the dragon cult insisted that their followers be buried with them . It seems the height of pagan vanity to drag your conscripts to their death along with you , but as I integrated into their presence , I began to observe the reasons . Every day , a different set of draugr would awaken , shamble their way to the sarcophagus of their priest , and prostrate themselves before it . Several hours of this , followed by a meticulous cleaning of the area . It would appear that the adherents of the dragon priest continue their worship of him in death , which would also explain the ferocity with which they defend his chambers . It took several weeks before I felt comfortable approaching the dragon priest ' s resting place , myself . Inch by inch , until the snarling draugr around me seemed to tire of fending off my timid presence . I was able to set some simple scrying spells around the tomb , that I might get a sense of what magical energies resided there . When the next group of draugr came to pay homage to the priest , I noted a sort of transferral happening . A distinct flow of life force between the adherents and the master . It was here that I finally understood the dragon cult ' s notion of resurrection . The second eternal life was only promised to those who ascended to the priesthood , but the lesser functionaries contributed their life force to sustaining them for eternity . I don ' t know what sort of eternal wellspring they draw from , but it ' s clear that each draugr carries only the barest whisper of life in it , and rekindles it nightly while resting in its niche . I now believe that the grotesque forms that we see in the barrows were , in fact , buried fully as men and women , and only over the thousands of years that have passed withered into the wretched things we know . If we had visited a barrow directly after its construction , we might not have even known any of its inhabitants were dead ! These discoveries and extrapolations excite me , and my mind aches to return to the barrows . I have only paused here at the College to transcribe these notes and gather further supplies for a more extended stay . My new hope is to learn some rudimentary way of speaking to them , for imagining what they could tell us of the early mists of time is staggering .