The World-Eater's Eyrie in Skyrim: All Skuldafn Puzzle Solutions and Nahkriin

Updated October 2026. The World-Eater's Eyrie is one of the last main quests in Skyrim. Odahviing flies you to Skuldafn, an ancient dragon temple, and you have to fight through it and solve three puzzles to reach Alduin's portal to Sovngarde. Below are all three puzzle solutions and how to beat the dragon priest Nahkriin.

Set Odahviing Free

In Dragonsreach, talk to the Whiterun guard on the upper floor (up the stone stairs near the Jarl) and he releases Odahviing. If the guard is dead or stuck repeating a line, pull the chain yourself. Tell Odahviing you are ready and he flies you straight to Skuldafn.

Skuldafn Courtyard

You land among draugr and two dragons. Fight them or sneak past to the temple. The North and South towers only have minor loot and don't lead anywhere.

Puzzle 1: The Three Pillars

Inside the temple you reach three rotating pillars, each showing an Eagle, a Snake or a Whale, with a lever in front of two doors.

• Turn the west pillar to Whale and the east pillar to Snake so they match the pictographs on the walls next to them.
• The door with a Snake above it leads on; the Eagle door is a dead end with a chest.
• With your back to the lever you should see Eagle, Snake, Eagle. Pull the lever.

Only one door can be open at a time, so close the Eagle door first if you opened it for the chest.

In short: the outer pillars face their matching wall pictographs, and the middle pillar shows the Snake towards the doors.

Puzzle 2: The Upper Platform

After a room of draugr and some frostbite spiders, you reach a second puzzle room. The solution is Whale, Snake, Eagle: upper level left, lower level middle, upper level right. The first and third answers are carved above their pillars and the second is behind the platform, where there is also a chest. Pull the lever to lower the bridge. You can also skip it with Whirlwind Sprint from the platform.

Puzzle 3: The Diamond Claw Door

Watch out for pressure plates and the oil slicks with hanging lanterns along the way; you can lure draugr into them. Before the big claw door, a draugr or dragon priest carries the Diamond Claw. Take it and set the rings to Fox, Moth, Dragon from top to bottom (the combination is also shown on the claw in your inventory).

Behind the door is a word wall with a word for Storm Call. Just before the exit, a side room has a pot on a shelf with a flawless emerald, a ruby and a diamond.

Nahkriin and Alduin's Portal

You come out on a high platform above where you landed. Clear the draugr, then climb to the portal guarded by the dragon priest Nahkriin and two perched dragons. Attack him straight away: he does not fight until he pulls his staff out of the portal, and his staff hits hard with shock damage, so shock resistance helps. You can also knock him off the ledge.

After he dies, take his mask and staff, put the staff back into the Dragon Seal to reopen the portal, and step through to Sovngarde. If you kill him before he grabs the staff, you can walk straight in.

Common Problems

• Odahviing turns hostile: this happens if you talk to the guard before Farengar finishes. On PC, select Odahviing in the console and type stopcombat.
• Guard won't release him: pull the chain yourself.
• Pillars or rings won't turn: for the second puzzle you can use Whirlwind Sprint to reach the platform instead.

Video: Skuldafn Puzzle Solution

Frequently Asked Questions

Quest details checked against the UESP Skyrim wiki in October 2026.