The Elder Scrolls IV: Shivering Isles Game Guide/Walkthrough
Quest: Ritual of Accession
If you report to Sheogorath (he may appear in the pews of the Sacellum after you light the flame), he’ll tell you to become the sovereign of either the House of Mania or the House of Dementia. Speak to both of the priests in the Sacellum to learn their specific rituals of Accession. For Mania, you’ll have to get Thadon to eat three pieces of a poisonous substance named Greenmote; for Dementia, you’ll have to cut out Syl’s heart. Whichever task you perform, you’ll need to bring an object from the body back to the Sucellum to complete the ritual. You can only choose one of the two options; when you do so, speak to Sheogorath to get the party started.
Mania: Taking Down Thadon
If you speak with the priest of Mania, he’ll point you towards Wide-Eye, one of the women who works for Thadon. If you speak to her, she’ll relatively easily spill the beans…some of them, anyway. If you pursue all of her conversation options (this might require a bit of bribery or persuasion), she’ll tell you that she performs a special errand each day at noon.
Wide-Eye should be marked on your compass, so wait around until it’s almost noon, then follow her into the Palace Grounds. She’ll flip a secret switch on one of the statues here, then descend into the Greenmote Silo. You need to follow her down in order to steal some of the Greenmote that you’ll use to overdose Thadon.
Now, being caught in the Silo is a bounty-laden offense, and there are Golden Saints sneaking about, so this isn’t necessarily the safest place to be if you haven’t been increasing your Sneak skill at all. If you still have them, or ever obtained them at all, equip items like the Ring of Khajiiti or the Gray Cowl of Nocturnal (or even the Raiment of Intrigue, if you obtained that) to increase your ability to move around down here without being spotted, and be sure to take off any heavy or light armor boots that you’re wearing to deaden the amount of noise that you make. Stick to the shadows, reach the interior of the silo, and grab a few Greenmotes from the large pile there before making your way back to the Palace Grounds.
Doctoring Dinner
Keeping your stealth equipment on, move into the House of Mania and enter the Duke’s Quarters. More Golden Saints patrol here, and in tight quarters as well, so if you had a hard time sneaking around before, you might want to bring some kind of invisibility spell or something along for the ride. Sneak past the Saints and doctor Thadon’s Wine, which is the large bottle on the shelves, and his Meal, which is on the table. Both of these are found in the northeastern room here.
With that done, return to the ballroom, wait until 8 PM, then watch Thadon keel over. Search his body for his blood, and don’t forget to loot him to obtain the Diadem of Euphoria, which will improve your Speechcraft, Fortify your Magicka, and let you Resist Magic to a small degree. Bring the blood back to the Sacellum and place it in the altar to become the Sovereign of Mania.
Dementia: Carving Up Syl
If, on the other hand, you want to take down Syl, the priest of Dementia will refer you to Anya Herrick and Kithlan, two of her advisors. You can speak to either of them, as you like. Kithlan will require some persuasion or bribery to get him to a point where he’ll agree to talk with you about replacing Syl. He’ll give you a House Dementia Key, which will let you enter the areas of the House that are off limits to you. If you can repeat the process of Anya, she’ll agree to clear out the interior gardens of a couple of the Elite Dark Seducers.
Equip yourself in whatever stealth equipment you have, and you might be able to sneak past the Seducers and reach Syl’s quarters; if not, you’ll probably have to fight them. Regardless, get into Syl’s quarters and examine the body on the dead. Looks like someone got here before you?
The Chase
Well, not really. Kithlan will appear and tell you that the body is simply a decoy, and that Syl is escaping through some hidden tunnels outside in the gardens. Loot the room thoroughly before heading out, then turn left from the door and click on the bust of Sheogorath in the gardens to find a hidden tunnel system. Xirethard is going to be the sight of a few challenges, including some Dark Seducer ambushes, but if you make your way through the tunnels, you’ll eventually reach the Depths.
In the depths, move into the circular room with the two archers and kill them. There’s a pushbutton on one of the small pedestals here, near the urn; find it and hit it. Keep moving on through the hallways from there until you find a metal door; Syl lies beyond. Kill her and the two Royal Guards here, then loot Syl’s heart from her corpse. She drops Nerveshatter, a hammer that hits with both shock damage and imbues its target with a weakness to shock damage.
You can escape either by backtracking, or exiting through the Subterrene section of the ruins here. Regardless, return to the Sacellum and place Syl’s heart on the dias there. That will let you become the Duke of Dementia.
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