Valerica Valerica is the estranged wife of Lord Harkon , leader of the Volkihar Clan . They have a daughter named Serana , whom Valerica kept hidden in a tomb for centuries to protect her from her father . Lord Harkon plots to end the Tyranny of the Sun , but to do so he requires Auriel ' s Bow and Serana ' s blood for a ritual sacrifice . Background . She , along with Harkon and Serana , were once devout followers of Molag Bal . Tradition of their cult dictated that the females be offered to Molag Bal on his summoning day . Being selected as an offering was considered to be an honor that was not rejected lightly . Few survived the ordeal and those who did emerged as pure - blooded vampires . Such confluences were known as the " Daughters of Coldharbour . " As such , both Valerica and Serana underwent this horrific and degrading ritual . Prophecy . Sometime before the events of , Valerica fled her home of Castle Volkihar with two Elder Scrolls after Harkon became obsessed with the Tyranny of the Sun prophecy . She believed that vampires should stay in the shadows , otherwise it would bring too much attention and ultimately lead to their extinction . She locked Serana and one Elder Scroll in Dimhollow Crypt for her protection and escaped to the Soul Cairn with the other . Outraged by this betrayal , Lord Harkon immediately ordered everyone within his court to find her , but they unfortunately failed , and centuries later , he eventually gave up looking for her . He did however , say that if she returns on her own or if someone within his court finds her , she will have to answer deeply for that betrayal . Ideal Masters . When she entered the Soul Cairn , she intended to strike a bargain with the rulers of the realm , the Ideal Masters . She requested refuge , and in return , Valerica would provide them with the souls that they craved . The Ideal Masters had other plans , as they valued Valerica ' s soul much more . They sent their Keeper s to kill her , however , she was able to retreat into a fortress and keep them at bay . This , however , turned into a stalemate as neither side had the upper hand . The Ideal Masters constructed a barrier around the fortress that could not be breached in order to contain Valerica and decided to wait . As the passage of time has little meaning in the Soul Cairn , the waiting game continued for thousands of years . Interactions . Beyond Death . The Dragonborn may travel with Serana to the Soul Cairn to confront Valerica and obtain an Elder Scroll . She explains that the Elder Scrolls are merely a means to an end , and that Serana is the key to the Tyranny of the Sun prophecy . It ' s revealed that Serana ' s scroll tells of Auriel ' s Bow , and the scroll in Valerica ' s possession declares that " " The Blood of Coldharbor ' s Daughter will blind the eye of the Dragon . " " She offers her scroll to the Dragonborn if the Keeper s , located at the tallest spires in the Soul Cairn , are defeated . She also warns that a fearsome Dragon named Durnehviir is roaming this plane and is charged with overseeing the Keepers . Once Durnehviir is slain she will remark about how she thought she would never see the death of that dragon , but realizes that his physical form is just displaced . Though Serana spent a lot of time with her mother before her exile , Serana comes to realize , in the Soul Cairn , that Valerica is as bad as her husband in the sense that she uses her daughter to further her plans . Kindred Judgment . After the Dragonborn kills Harkon , it is possible to travel back to the Soul Cairn and tell her Harkon is dead . She will return to her study about a day later . After Valerica returns to the castle , she will plant new herbs in the garden in the courtyard , provided Garan Marethi is asked to repair the corridor that leads there . The Corridor cannot be repaired if the Dragonborn sides with the Dawnguard . The Dragonborn can ask her to make Bloodcursed Elven Arrow s , but she replies that even though Harkon is dead , she wants to stay as far away as possible from completing the prophecy that Harkon envisioned .