UESP Forums

I started playing this game not long ago. I'm a fan of playing older, popular games well past their release.

Anyway, when I play RPG's like this I like to start as many quests as possible and play them as I naturally explore the land. That being said I did not start the Greybeard quest until 70+hours into the game. During this time I have killed five dragons and learned nearly ten words of power.

My question is why have I not unlocked any shouts. I thought once I did the Greybeard they would open up, but they're still unavailable. It said I have to absorb dragon souls for the words to work, but absorbed five and have no shouts to show for it. Were those five dragons I killed all for nothing (soul-wise) or do I have to continue the Main Quest for these to open up? Thanks in advance!

Absorbing souls does not automatically unlock shouts. You have to actively unlock each word yourself. If you go to the 'Shouts' section in your menu, you then have to press X to unlock one word at a time.
It will say how many souls you have, and one soul gets used up each time you unlock a word.

OK, thank you!