Sovngarde (Location)

Sovngarde is the Nordic afterlife created by Shor that exists in Aetherius.Entries during "Sovngarde" in The Road to Sovngarde"Death" of Morphotypical Entities Nords who have died valiantly in honorable combat arrive in Sovngarde after death.Sovngarde, a Reexamination Fleshly pain and maladies evaporate upon entering its Hall of Valor. Spirits here enjoy mead-drinking and contests of physical prowess. Kodlak Whitemane once had a prophetic dream of Sovngarde, where he saw all the past Harbingers of the Companions ascend to the realm, ending with the werewolf Terrfyg.Kodlak's Journal Henantier the Outsider and Cirroc the Lofty, a mer and Redguard respectively, ruled before Terrfyg,Great Harbingers and thus ascended to Sovngarde per Kodlak's vision. This vision was proven to be at least partially accurate, as it correctly predicted the arrival of the Last Dragonborn and their role in curing Kodlak of his lycanthropy.Kodlak Whitemane's dialogue in .
==Legend versus reality==
 
Stories of Sovngarde have been told since the late Merethic Era. Since then, scholars have attempted to study Sovngarde, looking for tangible evidence of its existence. Many more paradise-seekers sought an entrance to Sovngarde other than the traditional mode—death. One such explorer, Rolf the Large, failed to discover Sovngarde after a lifetime of searching. Defeated, he returned to Skyrim, where he was slain by giants. After passing into Sovngarde, he wrote letters of correspondence with a psychic medium named Felga Four-Fingers, detailing the existence of this Nordic paradise of drinking and merriment. The letters were discovered in the medium's residence in Cyrodiil.
==Interactions==
===The Dragonborn and Odahviing===
The Dragonborn enters Sovngarde in the Fourth Era after setting Odahviing free in the quest "The World-Eater's Eyrie." In return, Odahviing carries the Dragonborn to Skuldafn, where a portal guarded by the Dragon Priest Nahkriin is found leading to Sovngarde.
===Entering Sovngarde===
Once inside Sovngarde, the Dragonborn discovers that Alduin laid a mist where he hides and feeds upon trapped souls to gain strength. The Dragonborn needs to gain entrance to the Hall of Valor by defeating Tsun, the Nordic god of trials against adversity, positioned there to test those who wish to enter the hall by challenging them to a battle.
Once the Dragonborn gains entrance into the hall, they meet with the three heroes who the Dragonborn saw in a vision of the past that showed the last defeat of Alduin during the Dragon War. The heroes, Gormlaith Golden-Hilt, Hakon One-Eye, and Felldir the Old are then permitted by Shor, the chief deity of the Nordic pantheon, to join the Dragonborn in the battle against Alduin.
===Alduin's fate===
The Last Dragonborn finally kills Alduin in Sovngarde alongside the three other heroes of Sovngarde, Hakon One-Eye, Felldir the Old, and Gormlaith Golden-Hilt. Thus, Alduin is banished from the world forever, although Arngeir and Paarthurnax theorize he may return in the future to fulfill his destiny as the World-Eater.
===Werewolf spirit===
Kodlak, the Harbinger of the Companions, dies as a werewolf and does not go to Sovngarde. The Dragonborn is able to mend this by killing the Wolf spirit within him after breaking the spell that made him a werewolf.
==Known inhabitants==
Name 	Note 	Condition
Felldir the Old 	Ancient Nordic hero 	Always present
Gormlaith Golden-Hilt	Ancient Nordic hero 	Always present
Hakon One-Eye 	Ancient Nordic hero 	Always present
Jurgen Windcaller 	The Greybeards' founder 	Always present
Olaf One-Eye 	Former Jarl of Whiterun 	Always present
Torygg 	Skyrim's former High King 	Always present
Tsun 	Nordic God of Trials who guards the whalebone bridge 	Always present
Ysgramor 	Atmoran warrior and Companions' Harbinger 	Always present
Erlendr 	Turned to stone by Grimkell while on a quest to find Sovngarde	Always present
Nikulas 	Turned to stone by Grimkell while on a quest to find Sovngarde	Always present
Hunroor 	Turned to stone by Grimkell while on a quest to find Sovngarde	Always present
Ulfgar the Unending 	The hero who defeated Grimkell 	Always present
Ancient heroes 	Generic warriors and mages wearing random armor or clothes 	Always present
Stormcloak soldier 	Generic male Stormcloak 	Always present
Imperial soldier 	Generic male Legion member 	Always present
Ulfric Stormcloak 	Leader of the Stormcloak Rebellion 	The Legion won the Civil War
Galmar Stone-Fist 	Second in command of the Stormcloak Rebellion 	The Legion won the Civil War
Legate Rikke 	Chief Lieutenant of the Imperial Legion in Skyrim 	Stormcloaks won the Civil War
Froki Whetted-Blade 	Male Elder 	Killed in his home
Svaknir 	Bard to Olaf One-Eye 	"Tending the Flames" is completed
Kodlak Whitemane 	The Companions' former Harbinger 	"Glory of the Dead" is completed
Alduin 	Nordic God of Destruction 	Temporary
Last Dragonborn 	The Last Dragonborn 	Temporary
==Trivia==
*Projected across the sky of Sovngarde are the three constellations: The Thief, The Mage, and The Warrior. They appear in the sky exactly as they appear in the Skill Menu, circling around a great ball of light.
*Spirits of Nord soldiers from the Stormcloak Rebellion and the Imperial Legion are seen to make the journey to the legendary Hall of Valor, signifying that Shor shows little interest in the earthly cause a Nord fought for; only in the bravery they demonstrated in their final moments.A Dream of Sovngarde
*Fast traveling to another place is not possible from this location. Entry and exit are entirely scripted and cannot be done more than once.
*Using the map while in Sovngarde shows the map centered on Riverwood.
*The statues of hooded and bearded men found all over the area will change their orientation to face the player when the player isn't looking directly at them. Furthermore, if Alduin dies close enough to one of them, it will crumble into large chunks of rubble.
*Sovngarde has many similarities to Asgard and Valhalla in real world Norse mythology.
*"Søvn" or "sov" in several Scandinavian languages means "Sleep" (as a noun), and the closest translation of "Gard" (gård in the Scandinavian languages) is yard, farm(stead) or garden. "Sovngarde" thus roughly translates into "a place for sleep," "yard/garden of sleep" or "resting place."
*Much like werewolves of Nordic origin find their souls belong to the Daedric Prince Hircine, Nord members of the Nightingales discover they are barred from entry into Sovngarde; as they are sworn to serve Nocturnal and guard the Twilight Sepulcher and Evergloam upon death. This is verified in dialogue options with Tsun, in which the Dragonborn states they are a Nightingale. Tsun will respond with contempt, proclaiming that for a Nord to have died while attempting thievery is not an honorable right of passage to Sovngarde, and that the Nightingales' "contract" binds their souls to the Evergloam. Similarly, Nords in the time of the Oblivion Crisis who swore themselves to Mankar Camoran find themselves in Paradise and not in Sovngarde.
*The phrase "Victory or Sovngarde!" is only used by Nords voiced by Michael Gough.
*Four of the Ancient Nord Heroes in the Hall of Valor (1 male and 3 females) reveal that they too are Dragonborn and are happy to see another Dragonborn in Sovngarde.
==Gallery==
Sovngardeconcept3.jpg|Sovngarde concept art.
Sovngardeconcept2.jpg|Concept art for the bone bridge leading the Hall of Valor.
Sovngardeconcept.jpg|Hall of Valor concept art.
Sovngardehallconcept.jpg|Hall of Valor interior concept art.
SovngardeSky.png|The Sovngarde sky.
==Appearances==
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==References==
ru:Совнгард
es:Sovngarde
nl:Sovngarde
de:Sovngarde (Ort)
it:Sovngarde (Posizione)
fr:Sovngarde
pl:Sovngard
Category:Lore: Locations outside Tamriel
Category:Culture of Skyrim
Category:Religious Realms
Category:Lore: Locations