Wayshrines consist of a circle of white columns located in the wilderness. The wayshrines will not show up on your compass and do not have map markers. Each wayshrine is dedicated to one of the Nine Divines. Akatosh and Julianos have four wayshrines, the other divines each have three. Activating the wayshrine will bestow a blessing consisting of healing (restore health 200 pts, restore attributes, cure disease) and a 600-second (10 Minute) duration spell that fortifies one or more attributes. There are a few benefits to be had from visiting each of nine Wayshrines, including being granted a particularly powerful spell once all have been interacted with. See the Notes section for specific information.
The Knights of the Nine plug-in includes a quest, Pilgrimage, which involves visiting one of each of the Divines' wayshrines. Additionally, your character's Infamy is cleared and you become a member of the Nine Divines faction.
Map of all Wayshrines or view all wayshrines on the Oblivion map.
Wayshrine | Spell Name | Attribute(s) Fortified | Locations |
---|---|---|---|
Akatosh | Jaws of Akatosh | Speed +10 pts |
|
Arkay | Breath of Arkay | Health +10 pts | |
Dibella | Dibella's Kiss | Personality +10 pts |
|
Julianos | Scales of Julianos | Intelligence +10 pts Magicka +10 pts |
|
Kynareth | Kynareth's Way | Agility +10 pts |
|
Mara | Wisdom of Mara | Willpower +10 pts |
|
Stendarr | Heart of Stendarr | Endurance +10 pts |
|
Talos (Tiber Septim) | Fist of Talos | Strength +10 pts |
|
Zenithar | Zenithar's Ear | Luck +10 pts |
|
The Pilgrimage of the Nine Divines: Suggested Tours
Below are two relatively efficient tours. One mostly on-road and safe, and one very quick making good use of fast traveling to prediscovered points. They may be particularly useful for low level characters who wish to acquire the benefits of a powerful greater power, namely Pilgrim's Grace (see Notes). However, this list is by no means the only possible way to visit all nine wayshrines.
Road Tour
Part I: The Imperial City Circle
- Julianos: Start at the Chestnut Handy Stables outside of the Imperial City. Head toward the "Grand Bridge" and take the first right turn before the bridge. Head north, sticking to the shore of Lake Rumare until you reach the wayshrine. (map)
- Dibella: Backtrack and head west across the "Grand Bridge". Take the first left and head south on Red Ring Road past Fort Virtue to the wayshrine. (map)
- Zenithar: Continue southeast on Red Ring Road; beware of the usual bridge bandits. Take a right onto the Green Road toward Bravil. At a fork in the road, bear right (southwest) onto what the map represents as a dead end. In the distance on the right is Faregyl Inn and on the left the wayshrine. (map)
- Stendarr: Backtrack from Faregyl Inn to the Red Ring Road or go cross country to the "Long Bridge" across the Upper Niben River. Stay on the Red Ring Road until you are north bound and pass the burnt out business All Things Alchemical, then turn left and head west to the shore of Lake Rumare. Follow the coast line north to the wayshrine which is right on the shore of the lake. (map)
Part II: The Skingrad Circuit
- Kynareth: Start at the lower east gate of Skingrad (or make your way down from the upper one, which is the one marked on your map). Head east on the Gold Road to the first intersection (if there's a signpost and a cemetery at this intersection, you've gone too far). Head southeast up the steep slope to the top of the hill, where you will find the wayshrine (if you have progressed far enough in the Main Quest, an Oblivion Gate will open on top of this wayshrine but it can still be activated; see notes). (map)
- Arkay: Return to the intersection at the bottom of the hill. Follow the road heading south and then east until it eventually leads to the Ayleid ruin Silorn. From the eastern-most part of the ruin, head south (uphill) until you reach the wayshrine. (map)
- Akatosh: Head back to Silorn. This time, head east until you reach the wayshrine. (map)
- Mara: Return to Skingrad, and exit through the west gate. At the flowery round-about head northwest toward the Cursed Mine and its occasional bandit. On the other side of the mine's hill continue northwest in the meadow toward the wayshrine. Look under the "S" in the word Skingrad. (map)
- Talos: Return to the Gold Road past the Mine, continue west on the Gold Road. Follow it until you reach a stone bridge. Make a right and head north off-road toward the wayshrine. (map)
Fast Tour
Part I: The Imperial City Circle
- Stendarr: From the Imperial Prison Sewer where you begin the game, head south along the coast past Sideways Cave. The Wayshrine should come into view on the other side of the lake.
- Julianos: From Chestnut Handy Stables, head north along the road.(map)
- Dibella: Fast Travel to the Waterfront. Head southwest past the Shack for Sale and swim across Lake Rumare. The Wayshrine should be on the opposite coast. (map)
Part II: The Skingrad Circuit
- Kynareth: From Castle Skingrad, head across the bridge and then east. The Wayshrine is on top of a small hill (if you have progressed far enough in the Main Quest, an Oblivion Gate will open on top of this wayshrine but it can still be activated; see notes). (map)
- Arkay: Fast Travel to Grateful Pass Stables and head south. The Wayshrine is on top of a hill on your right.
- Talos: Return to the Grateful Pass Stables and head directly west, off the road, past Meridia's Shrine and Cursed Mine on your right. It should be a little on your left. If you reach Miscarcand, you've gone too far. (map)
Standalones
- Akatosh: Fast Travel to Cheydinhal's west gate, and circuit the city counter-clockwise. The Wayshrine is across a pond on the south wall.
- Zenithar: Fast Travel to Bay Roan Stables outside Bravil and head north. The Wayshrine should be in plain view to the north.
- Mara: Fast Travel to Horse Whisperer Stables outside Anvil and head northwest (if you have progressed far enough in the Main Quest, an Oblivion Gate will open on top of this wayshrine and it can't be activated; see notes).
Notes
- Once a wayshrine to a given divine has been visited, a similar but weaker blessing can be acquired by activating that divine's altar in any chapel (fortify +5 pts for 300 sec).
- Completing the Pilgrimage of the Nine Divines (visiting one wayshrine for each of the nine divines, i.e. nine different wayshrines) will grant you the Greater Power Called Pilgrim's Grace (fortify all attributes +10 points for 300sec).
- The behavior of all wayshrines is altered if you install the Knights of the Nine official plug-in.
- Without the plug-in, wayshrines to a given divine can only be used once at a given level of Fame. In other words, to use that divine's wayshrines again, you must increase your fame. However, wayshrines can be used even if your character has Infamy or a bounty.
- With the plug-in, wayshrines can be used as many times as you want, but only if your character's Infamy is 0 and you are not wearing the Gray Cowl of Nocturnal.
- With the plug-in, visiting a wayshrine for each of the divines becomes a quest called Pilgrimage and clears your character's Infamy. You will only receive the Pilgrim's Grace greater power if you have zero infamy when you do the pilgrimage; otherwise you will need to redo the entire pilgrimage (without gaining any new infamy) if you want to receive the Pilgrim's Grace power.
- The particular sample tour above is a little more efficient than that given in Anvil by The Prophet's map.
- The plug-in also renames all of the "Wayshrines to Tiber Septim" to "Wayshrines to Talos"
- Characters with Spell Absorption may absorb the wayshrine's spell. This is one way for characters with the Atronach birthsign to restore their magicka.
- PC Only This bug is fixed by the Unofficial Oblivion Patch.
- Two Oblivion Gates appear directly on top of wayshrines. One gate appears on top of the wayshrine of Kynareth just east of Skingrad (shown in the image); this wayshrine becomes half-buried, but can still be activated. Another gate appears on top of the wayshrine of Mara north of Anvil, and completely destroys the wayshrine. In both cases, the Oblivion Gates are fixed gates that will always appear as soon as the Dagon Shrine quest is completed.
- Two additional wayshrines can be found, but neither of these can be activated. One is west of Chorrol (map), the other is far east of Bravil (map).
- Horses can also receive blessings at wayshrines. For more information, see this page.