Miraak was a Dragon Priest who set about rebelling against his dragon masters after becoming the First Dragonborn. Related: Why Skyrim's Illusionist Assassin Is A Terrifying Character Build

While Miraak is most certainly a villain, he is perhaps the most sympathetic and tragic villain in all of Skyrim.

Skyrim's Last Dragonborn will only encounter Miraak thousands of years after his imprisonment, and proceed to disrupt his plans to return to the real world and take power. He rebelled against these masters separately from the rebellion occurring in Skyrim and was defeated. Skyrim's Miraak was once a Dragon Priest, back when most of the world was controlled by dragon masters. There is little known about Miraak’s early history, with many different versions and stories of his past actions and how he came to be trapped in the realm of Apocrypha. A letter can be found on their bodies after, which will be the first mention of Miraak that players will encounter in-game. No matter what is answered, the Cultists will accuse the player of being an impostor and attack them. This quest can be triggered when Cultists bearing Dragon Cult masks approach the player and ask if they are the Dragonborn. The Dragonborn DLC was the first in-game content to explore beyond the borders of Skyrimand allow players to travel to the island of Solstheim.