Sender of Letters from a Friend Revealed

Wouldnt this theory be proved/falsified by killing her and observing whether the letters stop coming in?

The friend is clearly the courier. He always knows where you are, never attacks you, and will run across bandit infested areas to simply give you a letter.

It's worth bring up that Mara had a appearance back in morrwind where she appeared as a normal imperial women stuck in a cave with monsters if you give her a scroll she will disappear and give you a skirt of Mara So gods pretending to be human isn't a new idea in elder scrolls

I always thought it was the Ebony Warrior sending the letters. Method: He knows the Thuum, so he could easily tell you where he found the words he knows, and maybe some others he didn’t learn. Motive: He not only wants an honorable battle with you, he wants you to kill him so he can go to Sovngarde. To achieve both those goals, he would want you to be as strong as possible. Logic: In a no-cheating playthrough, you would normally have learned every word there is to learn by the time you reach level 80, which is when the Ebony Warrior approaches you, therefore, his death would not influence the letters since, at that point, there would be no letters to send anyway.

Not entirely sold on Karita being A Friend, but you did open me up to the aspect of Kyne idea and I gotta say I’m pretty convinced of that. I remember encountering Karita on one of my first playthroughs and I’ve been curious ever since, especially why she disappears and only shows up during the greybeard quest. The fact she wore a circlet seemed important; NPCs generally don’t wear those unless they’re nobility or the like, and it could be symbolic of her divine status. If this is all true, then Karita and the Voice of Kyne reward from the tablets (note the statue of Talos at the final tablet) near perfectly mirrors the aspect of Talos NPC from Morrowind. The fact that both these NPCs also “manifest” at World Towers could also support this theory.

I've seen a lot of theories - Delphine (she her letter from the horn was adressed with "a friend") - Paarthurnax and the greybeards - Sheogorath (having fun in his weird ways and because it would never be weird to have Sheogorath, the whole madness thing) - the Dragonborn themselves from the future - Hermaeus Mora (training a new dragonborn to replace Miraak) - the Ebony Warrior (to get a proper fight) - the courier - a bunch of unrelated people who just happen to write the same kind of letter

When you fight mirmulnir, the guard inside the tower says "Kynereth save us, here he comes again, he also uses the nord voice.

Klemek or whatever his name is might be the middle man. He is the only person to frequently go up the mountain. Has more respect for the graybeards than anyone in my opinion. He goes all the way up there. To deliver food and supplies for nothing in return and has never even seen the graybeards. I'd imagine the mountain of Kyne wouldn't kill Kyne. Is basically her shine. He had probably noticed her there never leaving and there for knew she is a supernatural entity

Now I'm wondering whether or not having an amulet of mara when you speak to her will trigger a marriage option

Damn, I wonder if there are incarnations of other divines in the game and if so, who? Karita disappearing like the wind is also a bonus point.

The sender is just the courier himself. He is just sick of having to run around extra to avoid dragons. Hes practically been everywhere and hears rumors all the time so he knows where the words of power are. He has to anonymous because if he just told the dragonborn it would be a breach of duty as a courier to share information that wasn't his to share.

I am definitely sold on Karita being Kyne, but not as certain that she's sending the letters. She may just have wanted a glimpse of you and placed herself on the mountain as you climb. Great video all round though, thanks for sharing an interesting theory.

This makes even more sense, if you remember that the Graybeards themselves call High Hrothgar the "blessed mountain of Kynareth". Makes sense she would appear there. Also if you read the shrines story it says that Kyne was the one who gave the voice to humans with the help of Pharthurnax. Giving the voice is literally teaching them shouts. If you add the fact that the "friend" knows where you use the Thu'um, even if its on the most isolated and mystical places; it suits an all seeing goddess.

The answer is Farengar. He's male, a "friend" by Skyrim standards, and he clues you in by writing the word with a capital F. The anonymity can be explained by the persecution the Blades (and anyone associated with them) are suffering. Ironically he wears a cloak and carries a dagger. He also conducts research on dragon history and the dragonstone, so it's not that farfetched to imagine he knows about word walls and some of their locations.

Personally I assumed it was possibly the Ebony Warrior, as he seeks a foe with potential to be stronger than himself and a full strength Dragonborn well could be that final challenge. Never something I put an ounce of thought into tho. Interesting theories all around on this channel, always a good time and better thought out than my passing assumptions

Love the video! I've always looked at Karita and wondered what story there was there. I went looking online for any theories anyone had come up with but found nothing. No one really seemed to care about Karita, but I'm glad you did!

I've seen so many theories on the the "Friend" and yours is one of the more original, I really like it

I can't say I'm convinced, but I do appreciate the detective work. Karita being an avatar of Kyne/Kynereth certainly is interesting, and while I don't think it's the case literally speaking, I can buy that the character might have been inserted with the intention to nudge the attentive player or someone interested in RP into thinking of the goddess in an immersive way at least. In that regard, she is, in a way, an avatar of a divine... It can't be denied that she was put in the player's path with only matters of Nordic faith to consider.

Makes sense to me. I've watched numerous lore related videos on Skyrim and you covered the points one could bring up about "the friend". Very convincing.

While I do agree that these hints can point towards Karita being Kyne, I think there are way more likely reasons for all the hints you mentioned: - First of all it seems very much you arrived at this conclusion because you were looking for „Who is the „A Friend“ person that writes all of these letters about Dragon word walls. This can be a source for false conclusions, because just like „When you have a hammer everything starts to look like a Nail.“ When you are looking for a specific conclusion, everything starts to hint at this conclusion. - She is presented as a Pilgrim of probably the most tiring Pilgrimage location in all of Tamriel. So she is pretty dedicated. And this pilgrimage is very much about the history of the Nords (the shrines tell the story of the first rebellion against the dragons). - So her having books about other Parts of Nord history only shows that she is interested in history. If I wanted to hint at Karita being Kyne I would not choose books that perfectly fit with her persona of being a Nord Pilgrim.  - Same thing goes for her Name, it is not a direct link to Kyne by for example translating to Wind/Strom, Warrior-Wife, Mother of Men , … but instead only links to a very indirect role she has in relation to Shor. Beloved also fits as a Name simply given by loving parents, to Dibella (fits also better for her), Mara (fits better to her as well), … and seems again like an odd choice if you wanted to hint at an NPC being Kyne. So I liked this video and your conclusion I just think you could have reached a more convincing one by asking: Is there a simpler solution as to why this would be here? and If I had to job to hint at this conclusion, would I do the same? If the first one is no and the second one is yes,  then you have a strong case for your hint being what you think it is.