Skyrim:Apocrypha

Worldspace: Apocrypha (lore page)
# of Zones	7
Respawn Time	10 days
Level	25
Occupants
Lurkers, Seekers
Console Location Code(s)
DLC2ApocryphaEnd01, DLC2ApocryphaEnd02, DLC2ApocryphaEnd03, DLC2ApocryphaEnd04, DLC2ApocryphaEnd05, DLC2ApocryphaEnd06, DLC2ApocryphaEnd07, DLC2ApocryphaEnd08, DLC2ApocryphaEnd09, DLC2ApocryphaEnd10, DLC2ApocryphaEnd11, DLC2ApocryphaEnd12, DLC2ApocryphaEnd13, DLC2ApocryphaEnd14, DLC2ApocryphaEnd15, DLC2ApocryphaEnd16, DLC2ApocryphaOrigin, DLC2ApoIslandA01, DLC2ApoIslandA02, DLC2ApoIslandA03, DLC2ApoIslandA04, DLC2ApoStart02, DLC2ApoStart03, DLC2ApoStart04, DLC2ApoStart05, DLC2Book01DungeonEnd01, DLC2Book01DungeonEnd02, DLC2Book01DungeonEnd03, DLC2Book01DungeonEnd04, DLC2Book01DungeonEnd05, DLC2Book01DungeonEnd06, DLC2Book01DungeonEnd07, DLC2Book02DungeonExterior
Location
Oblivion

Apocrypha

Apocrypha is Hermaeus Mora's plane of Oblivion.

It is an endless library where all forbidden knowledge can be found, with stacks of books reaching towards the glowing green sky. You can enter the plane via Black Books found in dungeons and other locations throughout Solstheim. According to Neloth, the Black Books are of unknown origin; he claims that some may have been written long ago, and others could be from the future.

The realm is inhabited by Daedra called Seekers and Lurkers. Tentacles constantly breach the acidic dark waters and sometimes whip at you, causing a significant amount of damage if they manage to hit you. The acidic waters with the tentacles are also corrosive and cause damage if stepped in. Some areas of Apocrypha, specifically Filament and Filigree and The Sallow Regent, are covered in a consuming darkness that will inflict continuous health damage if you enter it; to avoid damage, you must either create or seek sources of light, such as the plane's floating Wisp-Lanterns.

Some areas are divided into "chapters"; to progress, you must find the book to access the next chapter. Every chapter does not necessarily need to be accessed in turn in order to reach the end of a book, as certain chapters in some areas may be skipped entirely or accessed out of numerical order.

There are seven accessible areas of Apocrypha, each associated with a Black Book:

• Epistolary Acumen
• Filament and Filigree
• The Hidden Twilight
• The Sallow Regent
• The Winds of Change
• Untold Legends
• Waking Dreams

The location and reward of each Black Book is detailed on the respective location pages.

For historical information on Apocrypha, see the lore article.

Related Quests

Dragonborn Main Quest

• The Temple of Miraak: Uncover the source of Miraak's power in the Temple of Miraak.
• The Gardener of Men: Travel to the realm of Hermaeus Mora to learn the rest of Bend Will.
• At the Summit of Apocrypha: Confront Miraak at the summit of Apocrypha and defeat him once and for all.

Side Quests

• Black Book: Filament and Filigree: Learn the Black Book's hidden knowledge.
• Black Book: The Hidden Twilight: Learn the Black Book's hidden knowledge.
• Black Book: The Sallow Regent: Learn the Black Book's hidden knowledge.
• Black Book: The Winds of Change: Learn the Black Book's hidden knowledge.
• Black Book: Untold Legends: Learn the Black Book's hidden knowledge.

Notes

Word Wall in Apocrypha

• The Black Books will only transport you to Apocrypha if you are currently in Solstheim. If you use a Black Book while you are in Skyrim, the ground will briefly shake, and the message "A vision of Solstheim swims before your eyes and then is gone." will appear on the screen, and you will not be teleported to Apocrypha.
• You cannot normally die in Apocrypha. If you lose sufficient health, you will fall to your knees in a fashion similar to essential characters and the message "You can't continue fighting." will appear, after which you are removed from the realm and returned to the location in Solstheim where you used the book. The exception to this is the final battle with Miraak.
• You can also return to Solstheim from within the realm by reading any Black Book inside Apocrypha; the book does not have to be the same one you used to enter the realm.
• Apocrypha features unique activators and containers. "Scryes" open gates and extend staircases, while "fonts of magicka" and "fonts of stamina" may be used to restore your magicka and stamina, respectively. Pods and vessels contain a variety of loot.
• There is an abundance of valuable books, scrolls, and soul gems in Apocrypha, found on shelves and tables, in pods and vessels, and dropped by seekers and lurkers upon death. This includes skill books, as well as spell tomes you might not be able to acquire otherwise based on your current level or skills.
• Followers cannot accompany you into Apocrypha. However, you can still summon reinforcements using abilities such as Conjuration spells and the Summon Spectral Assassin power. The Call Dragon and Summon Durnehviir^DG shouts will not work here, however.
• Only one reward per Black Book can be active at a time. You can change your reward at any time by reading the Black Book where it originated from. The only exception is Waking Dreams, which grants a permanent reward.
• When first reading a book, the "Return to Solstheim" option only appears after choosing one of the rewards. The following times, the option is directly available and, since the return to Solstheim takes several seconds, you can activate it first and then choose a reward.
• The Become Ethereal shout will protect you from the corrosive black water, but not the dark areas.
• If you wear Ahzidal's boots of Waterwalking to walk over the black water, you will still take damage as if you were swimming in it. In addition, upon touching the water, you'll be applied with a unique effect for a few seconds: you'll be surrounded by neon green smoke and you'll take on a ghostly appearance, albeit in the same neon green glow. The same can happen if you hover above the water in Vampire Lord^DG form.
• It is impossible to see when in the black water of Apocrypha: while the water isn't that deep and does have a bottom, it is opaque black, and no light source (such as Candlelight) or game setting (such as turning the brightness all the way up) will allow you to see anything, even your character if you dive (or fall) into the water in third-person. Because of this, it is extremely easy to get lost in the water and die unless you swim in first person.

Bugs

• You may be unable to go back to Solstheim using either the Black Book or the activator at the end, instead receiving the message "You are unable to concentrate on what you're reading."
  • Disable Survival Mode if you have it enabled.
  • Step into the black water in Apocrypha or, if available, a dark area that causes damage. When you lose all your health, you'll be transported out of the book.
  • Use the coc command to move to another location, (e.g., coc DLC2RavenRock01).
• You may continue taking damage after dying in a dark area, even though you're no longer in Apocrypha or in darkness.
• Upon returning to Solstheim the sky may still be set to the swirling green sky effect for Apocrypha.
  • Fast-traveling to any Solstheim location will remove the effect.
• Masser and Secunda may appear in the sky, even though you aren't supposed to be in Tamriel. This is especially noticeable at night. ^?