Meet the Skyrim fan who finally reached High Hrothgar after role-playing a guard for years

The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim
(Image credit: Bethesda / u/WhiterunGuards)

Nordique Arrow-knee, known on Reddit as the diehard Skyrim guard role-player u/WhiterunGuards, has been roaming the fields of Skyrim for over two years now. Just last week, he finally reached High Hrothgar looking to answer a question that all guards ask themselves: "Maybe I'm the Dragonborn, and I just don't know it yet?" 

finally_made_it_to_high_hrothgar from r/skyrim

Sadly, fate had other plans for Nordique. Not one to wallow in shock or disappointment, our hero quickly descended Hrothgar and wound up in a bar in Whiterun with "a nice fellow named Sam." It was at this point I was lucky enough to flag him down for a brief chat about his latest adventures and his big realization. 

GamesRadar: It's been a few days since we've heard from you! What have you been up to? 

Nordique Arrow-knee: I've been trying to make heads or tails out of what happened. One second I was having a drinking contest with Sam and the next thing I remember is waking up on the other side of Skyrim. Until I figure out what damage I caused I thought it best to remain silent on the matter.

GR: I see. It sounds like that'll make a memorable story once you can put it all together. 

It's my understanding you reached a big realization shortly before meeting with Sam. How have the events at Hrothgar affected your plans and ambitions for the future?

NA: Ah yes, the 7,000 steps and High Hrothgar… truth be told I had no idea what I'd do if I were the Dragonborn of legend, so in a way I was relieved that I wasn't, as my adventuring days were long behind me and I've since followed in the footsteps of my father and my forefathers by becoming a guard.

GR: The city is lucky to have you. By the by, were you aware that your efforts were acknowledged by a higher power of sorts?

NA: Yes, it was brought to my attention and I've been quite ecstatic since I saw. It makes me wonder if I've achieved CHIM like that Vivec fellow.

GR: I can't think of anyone more deserving. Tell me Nordique, what wisdom have you gained in your multi-year journey that you'll carry into your new post as a guard?

NA: I've learned many things, but arguably one of the more important is that Skyrim may belong to the Nords, but it's the people (be it Man, Mer or Beastfolk) that make it what it is.

GR: Wise words, to be sure. To close, can I ask what you would say to guards or even aspiring heroes who are wondering if they might be Dragonborn?

NA: Invest in some good knee protection otherwise you'll be joining the guard sooner than you'd like. 

Skyrim players continue to do cool stuff: meet the VR enthusiast who spent $15,000 to make the game as immersive as possible.

Austin Wood
Senior writer

Austin has been a game journalist for 12 years, having freelanced for the likes of PC Gamer, Eurogamer, IGN, Sports Illustrated, and more while finishing his journalism degree. He's been with GamesRadar+ since 2019. They've yet to realize his position is a cover for his career-spanning Destiny column, and he's kept the ruse going with a lot of news and the occasional feature, all while playing as many roguelikes as possible.

Read more
A screenshot of Elden Ring boss Godfrey, the first Elden Lord
Meet Elden Ring's new community hero, the Elder Lord, a 72-year-old gamer with over 700 hours and New Game+7 beaten: "It was impossible, but I did it anyway"
Using archery to kill someone in Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2
Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 sees Skyrim's iconic guards and raises them a guy with an arrow in his head: "To the knee? That's nothing. You could go dancing the next day with a scratch like that"
Sneaking behind a guard at night in Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2
I underestimated Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 and now I've got to find 2,000 groschen or live as a criminal forever – all because of a stupid lute
Skyrim
New Skyrim lore just dropped, and it only costs $49 in the Bethesda store
Bethesda
Skyrim's foremost geographer uses weather stats to explain how it actually feels to live in each of the iconic RPG's cities
MTG
30 years later, Fallout creator Tim Cain is searching for a legendary D&D player who cheesed an entire competitive dungeon with a lightning-fast Monk build
Latest in The Elder Scrolls
The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion
While Bethesda celebrates The Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion's 19th birthday with a "Happy Anniversary" post, fans of the RPG had more in mind: "It would be perfect to... announce something"
A dragon blasts a man with a shield in Skyrim
"Even if The Elder Scrolls 6 is great," Skyrim veteran thinks Bethesda developers will face harassment and "death threats" anyway
The Elder Scrolls' Oblivion's most annoying fan holds a torch
Oblivion remake leaks suggest Skyrim's cooler sibling is making a comeback, but I'm worried a modern makeover could bulldoze over the weirdness that makes it great
Skyrim
Skyrim is still an all-time great for asset reuse: this hunk of human flesh could be some poor guard's glute, or probably just a piece of repurposed beef
The Elder Scrolls 6
The Elder Scrolls 6 NPC auction raises $85,000 as mystery bidder snags the win from a dedicated group of RPG enthusiasts
Modder leading 13-year effort to remake Oblivion in Skyrim isn't worried about an official remake: "The fact Skyblivion is nearly in a releasable state is a miracle"
Latest in News
Vampire The Masquerade Bloodlines 2
Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2 "is done," but it's been delayed again to October for "bug fixing, stability, and performance"
Ben Affleck in Air
Ben Affleck isn't in The Odyssey, but he plans to visit the set anyway to watch Christopher Nolan work: "He's one of the greatest filmmaking architects to ever live"
GTA 6 trailer screenshots showing lucia in an interview room
"GTA 6 is basically a huge meteor, and we will just stay clear of the blast zone": Publishers are in a frenzy over when to release their games to avoid Rockstar
Ben Affleck in Zack Snyder's Justice League
Ben Affleck reflects on the "excruciating experience" playing Batman in the Zack Snyder movies: "A lot of it was misalignment of agendas, understandings, expectations"
Assassin's Creed Shadows
Assassin's Creed Shadows has been the series' best launch since Valhalla, but that was "a perfect storm we may never see again," says Ubisoft
Monster Hunter Wilds
Monster Hunter Wilds' first major update rights its greatest wrong by adding a proper Palico cooking animation, and it's letting you change Alma's glasses