The Mages Guild questline in Oblivion Remastered is every bit as tedious and interesting as the original. Likewise, some players often get stuck in the Conjurer promotion stage, namely Vahtacen’s Secret. A notorious puzzle with four pillars often impedes players as it requires in-game lore punditry. Well, we’re here to provide you with the answers to the Vahtacen’s Secret quest for Oblivion Remastered.
Solving Vahtacen’s Secret Puzzle in Oblivion Remastered
Remember to save the game manually before attempting this. The four pillars with the inscriptions are Ayleid text, and each translates to the following, along with their corresponding magic type:
| Pillar Inscription | Meaning |
| av molag anyammis | From Fire, Life (Fire Spell) |
| av mafre nagaia | From Frost, Death (Frost Spell) |
| magicka loria | Magicka Darkens (Damage Magicka Spell) |
| magicka sila | Magicka Shines (Fortify Magicka Spell) |
So what you’ll want to be doing is have those spells ready and hit the pillars with their corresponding spells (cast on self does not count, by the way). Fire and Frost spells are the most obtainable ones, but you can obtain Sever Magicka and Elevate Magicka scrolls from the chest near Denel, the mage you encounter inside Vahtacen.
If you’re having trouble with the Frost spell, then the Bruma Mages Guild or the Skingrad Mages Guild has scrolls for it. Once you have the spells or scrolls, it’s important to cast them in the correct sequence and correct pillars (clockwise from the door):
- av molag anyammis – Fire spell
- av mafre nagaia – Frost spell
- magicka loria – Damage Magicka spell
- magicka sila – Fortify Magicka spell
If you get it wrong, the pillars will kill you. Once you’ve activated the pillars correctly, a stairway will be revealed, and you can finish the Vahtacen ruin easily afterward. Your reward for this would be Promotion to Conjurer rank at the Mages Guild and a complementary Robe of the Conjurer.
Correct Quest Progression in Case of a Bug
Now, sometimes quests can get bugged or won’t progress if you rush the progression stages. It’s typically rare in this quest, but just in case, you can reload the game to the previous manual save we recommended and follow this progression sequence instead:
- Initiate a dialog with Denel, and he’ll ask you to look for Skaleel for clues.
- Go back to Skaleel, and she should provide you with the “Ayleid Inscriptions and Their Translations” book.
- Give the book to Denel.
- Try out the spell sequence on the pillars.
