Lore:Blades

Emblem of the Blades

Cloud Ruler Temple, the ancient stronghold of the Blades

"The Blades are sworn to the service of the Emperor, as the mortal representative of the Dragon Blood of the divine Talos." —Jauffre, Grandmaster of the Blades

The Blades, also known as the Imperial Intelligence Service, the Arms of the Throne, and as the Order of Blades, were members of an elite Imperial order dedicated to the protection and service of the Dragonborn emperors of Tamriel. Descended from the Akaviri Dragonguard, who became the personal bodyguard of Emperor Reman I, the Blades have since diversified into many areas of Imperial espionage, military, and diplomacy. Indeed, while a select few were appointed by the emperor to serve openly as diplomats or bodyguards, the majority of Blades agents acted covertly as couriers and spies. Serving as the emperor's eyes and ears, a vast network of Blades have influenced many critical events across Tamriel, such as reassembling the golem Numidium and defeating Dagoth Ur. The Blades were disbanded following the Great War and largely killed off by the Thalmor, but were reformed once again to assume their ancient role as dragon hunters during the return of Alduin.

History

Origins

"It takes a resolute spirit to give everything for a cause. We shed our old skins and arose reborn in the service of his Empire and the coiled-king. I'll shed this skin as well, when it's time for a new beginning." — Chevalier Renald

The group that would one day become the Blades was formed out of one of the several splinter factions of the Akaviri Dragonguard after they disbanded in disgrace following the assassination of Emperor Reman III. Seeking redemption, this remnant would abandon their identities as Dragonguard and would search Tamriel for a potential candidate to take the Ruby Throne, with several seeking different methods of life extension such as vampirism in order to see this mission through. In time, these knights came into the service of Cuhlecain during his conquest of Cyrodiil, but quickly shifted their allegiance to the man who would become Tiber Septim, as he had been the dragonborn they sought out for centuries.

With the ascendance of Tiber Septim, the ancient order emerged from its seclusion and resumed its role serving the new empire. It was under the Septim Dynasty that the organization became known as 'the Blades', as they rose to a greater prominence than the Dragonguard ever had, developing into a continent-spanning intelligence service that worked under the personal direction of the emperor. This network was necessary to accomplish the vital tasks with which the Blades were entrusted, including the recovery of and joining together of the pieces of Numidium ever since it was shattered by the Underking, which took centuries to accomplish and resulted in the Warp in the West. Emperor Uriel Septim VII in particular made heavy use of the Blades, dispatching agents to investigate King Lysandus's death and the Nerevarine prophecies.

Under Tiber Septim

The Blades were known to have deconstructed Numidium after the annexation of Morrowind, and then transported it to the Halls of Colossus in Elsweyr, which was used as a testing ground for Numidium before Tiber Septim used it to demolish the Second Aldmeri Dominion.

Tiber Septim was fatally wounded at a battle at Sancre Tor, where he died and ascended to become one of the Nine Divines. The Blades built a shrine in the catacombs of Sancre Tor, on the spot where he had received the blessing of Akatosh. It then served as a place of pilgrimage for the Blades for many years. The old fortress of Sancre Tor was later corrupted by the Underking, prompting it to be sealed shut by the Grandmaster of the Blades in 3E 36. The four mightiest Blades of the time, Alain, Valdemar, Rielus, and Casnar, never returned from the ruins and were cursed to undeath. There were multiple schisms in the secret history of the Blades after Septim's reign, such as during the War of the Red Diamond when the legitimacy of the throne was in dispute.

Warp in the West

Lady Brisienna

Main Article: Warp in the West

Uriel Septim sent a Blades agent to the Iliac Bay region after the death of King Lysandus in order to investigate the death and why Lysandus' ghost was restless. This agent was tasked with investigating Lysandus and why his ghost stalked the streets of Daggerfall and also another minor task of finding and destroying a letter to Queen Mynisera.

Before speaking with Mynisera, the Agent received a letter from a Daggerfall noble, Lady Brisienna. The letter told the Agent to see Brisienna in a village tavern. Once face-to-face with her, Brisienna admitted that she was actually a high-ranking member of the Blades and that her position had been compromised and that she was leaving the Kingdom of Daggerfall. Before leaving she informed the Agent about the major powers of the Bay; Sentinel, Wayrest, and Daggerfall and how they would be good places to start the investigation.

At some point during the investigation, a follower of the Underking gave the Agent a letter wishing to meet them. When the Agent met up with them, the follower explained that Mannimarco and his Worm Cult had stolen an item from the Underking, cursed it, and then gave it to the Blades. The Underking wished for no harm to fall on the Blades and so asked the Agent to enter Castle Llugwych near Ykalon, the headquarters of the Blades in the Iliac Bay region, and remove the cursed item.

During the events of the Warp in the West, a number of Blades agents in the Iliac Bay were caught up in the events of it. One Hammerfell agent known as 'Briarbird' was on assignment in the Alik'r Desert, a few miles south of Bergama on the 9th of Frostfall, where he was smashed by a sandstone that had come out of nowhere, once he reached Bergama, he found it had been invaded by Sentinel, he also discovered his walk from sunrise to sundown had not one day, but two, with it somehow being the 11th day of the month, not the 10th. He had lost a day somewhere, and so apparently had everyone else except the soldiers of Sentinel, who somehow were aware of the correct date. Briarbird concluded that they had received advance warning, and so were better prepared to deal with the strange confusion of time and dates associated with the Warp.

A High Rock agent known as 'Graylady' was undercover as a witch in the Skeffington Coven in Phrygias. In order to give her report, she had volunteered for an expedition to gather supplies, which would have allowed her the freedom to reach her contact in Camlorn. She was traveling north-east along the foothills of the Wrothgarian Mountains, on the 9th of Frostfall, when she felt a great heat behind her, but once she turned around her eyes were burned out of her sockets. she moved north, finally reaching a temple in the wilderness where her wounds were healed, she then later made a report of these events to Ulvius Tero, a Blades archivist.

Nerevarine Prophecies

Caius giving information to a Blades agent

Main Article: Nerevarine Prophecy

In 3E 427, Uriel Septim sent a prisoner he believed would fulfill the Nerevarine Prophecies to Vvardenfell. The Blades Spymaster on Vvardenfell, Caius Cosades, was thus tasked with ensuring that the prisoner met the prophecies. After the prisoner was initiated into the Blades by Cosades, he was given many tasks to the end of acquisition of information on the Sixth House and the Nerevarine Prophecies, ranging from bribing informants with artifacts such as a Dwemer Puzzle Box and the skull of Llevule Adrano, to making inquiries with the Ashlanders of Vvardenfell. Cosades then sent the prisoner to clear out a Sixth House base, a task which saw the Nerevarine infected by Corprus disease. The Nerevarine was therefore sent by Cosades to Divayth Fyr to be cured. As the Nerevarine undertook this task, Cosades was recalled to the Imperial City for political reasons. Cosades promoted the Nerevarine upon his return to Operative, making him the highest-ranking member of the Blades in Vvardenfell. Therefore the Blades of Vvardenfell thereafter worked in service of the Nerevarine to the end of fulfilling the Nerevarine Prophecies, the successful completion of which resulted in the death of Dagoth Ur, the end of the Blight and successfully concluded the Blades mission in Vvardenfell.

Blades agents in Vvardenfell were also monitoring and preventing the smuggling of moon sugar, skooma, raw ebony, and Dwemer artifacts along the coast.

The Oblivion Crisis

Main Article: Oblivion Crisis

Emperor Uriel Septim assassinated

In 3E 433, three members of the Blades, Glenroy, Baurus, and Captain Renault were tasked with getting Emperor Uriel Septim VII to safety following assassination attempts on his sons. As part of an escape attempt, they took Uriel through the Imperial Prison where a prisoner was in the cell with the hidden escape route. The Blades told the prisoner to stand back at first, however, Uriel stated that it was the same prisoner that he had prophecized in his dreams and so allowed the prisoner to follow them, although the Blades were suspicious of the prisoner at first and told them to stay at a distance from the Emperor.

While traversing the secret escape route, the Blades, Uriel, and the prisoner were ambushed by assassins of the Mythic Dawn which resulted in the death of Captain Renault. The assassins were successfully fought off but the Blades demanded that the prisoner stay put, they proceeded onwards and locked the door behind them so the prisoner could not follow. The prisoner, however, utilized a side entrance through some caves and met back up with the Blades and Uriel, Glenroy suspected the prisoner of working with the assassins and ordered Baurus to kill them, Uriel stayed their hands as he trusted the prisoner due to his divine visions and told his guards to stand down. The group would continue through the secret passageway, killing assassins along the way, until they came to a dead end. Here, both Glenroy and the Emperor would die at the hands of the assassins, only leaving Baurus and the prisoner.

Baurus standing over a dead Mythic Dawn assassin

Before Uriel's death, he handed the Amulet of Kings to the prisoner and ordered them to find Grandmaster Jauffre. Baurus provided the prisoner with directions and trusted them to deliver the Amulet, since the Emperor had trusted them.

When Grandmaster Jauffre was given the Amulet of Kings he tasked the prisoner with finding the Emperor's illegitimate last son, Martin Septim. Martin was a priest at the Chapel of Akatosh in Kvatch, which had been overrun by Daedra. Martin, however, refused to leave the ruined city until the Oblivion Gate outside of the city had been dealt with. After successfully dealing with the Daedric threat, Martin agreed to follow the Hero to Weynon Priory. The Priory, however, was under attack by the Mythic Dawn, who had come to steal the Amulet of Kings. After Jauffre and the now Hero of Kvatch had taken care of the assassins, the Amulet was discovered to have been stolen. Due to this attack, it was decided that Martin would not be safe at Weynon Priory, and was instead taken to Cloud Ruler Temple.

Blades member fighting against a Dremora

When Martin arrived at Cloud Ruler Temple, the Blades there swore their allegiance to him as he was Dragonborn and vowed to protect him, the Hero of Kvatch was also initiated into the Blades by Jauffre. In the Imperial City, Baurus had discovered that the Mythic Dawn were behind the assassination of the Emperor and that he was in danger himself. The Hero of Kvatch foiled an assassination attempt on the Blades agent, with the assassin carrying a copy of the first book of the Mythic Dawn Commentaries. Tar-Meena of the Mages Guild then assisted the Blades in investigating the mysterious book, with the Hero and Baurus managing to uncover information regarding the recruiting process of the Mythic Dawn. The Blades used this information to infiltrate a recruitment process by the Mythic Dawn to obtain the Fourth Volume of the Commentaries.

By having all four commentaries, the Blades and the Hero of Kvatch were able to discover the main hideout of the Mythic Dawn, which were a set of caverns near Lake Arrius. This hideout was infiltrated by the Hero of Kvatch in order to obtain the Amulet of Kings, while the Hero of Kvatch failed to recover the Amulet, they did obtain the Mysterium Xarxes. The Mysterium Xarxes was given to Martin, who began to study it in hopes of discovering a means of creating a portal to Mankar Camoran's Paradise. Meanwhile, Jauffre had learned of Mythic Dawn spies in Bruma and so the Hero of Kvatch was sent to deal with them. The Hero found the two spies of the Mythic Dawn that were operating out of Bruma and dispatched of them. The Hero also found a set of orders from Ruma Camoran that gave the Blades the knowledge that the Mythic Dawn knew that Martin Septim was at Cloud Ruler Temple and that the Mythic Dawn intended to open a Great Gate outside Bruma in order to destroy Bruma and then Cloud Ruler Temple.

With this new information, Martin Septim sent off the Hero to obtain a set of items to open a portal to Paradise, with the items being a daedric artifact, the blood of a Divine, a great welkynd stone, and a great sigil stone. To obtain the blood of a Divine, the Hero visited Sancre Tor in order to recover the Armor of Tiber Septim, unsealing the ruins with the approval of the Blades. After freeing the four ancient Blades from undeath, their spirits aided the Hero in entering the Reman crypt and recovering the armor. To obtain the great sigil stone, however, a Great Gate was required to be opened outside of Bruma. As such, aid was gathered from around Cyrodiil's cities in order to defend the city, with the Blades fighting alongside the new soldiers. The Hero of Kvatch entered the Great Gate and obtained its Sigil Stone, providing Martin with the final required ingredient.

With all four ingredients, Martin created a portal to Paradise. Here, the Hero of Kvatch fought their way through Daedra until they arrived at Mankar Camoran himself. The Hero of Kvatch was successful in killing Mankar and his children and retrieved the Amulet of Kings. Back in Tamriel, Martin was provided with the Amulet, and an attempt at relighting the Dragonfires in order to turn the tides was planned. However, before Martin could be crowned Emperor and reach the Temple of the One, Mehrunes Dagon himself had entered Tamriel, Martin decided to smash the Amulet, turning into an avatar of Akatosh himself and thus defeated Dagon in combat. After this, the Blades awaited the return of a new Dragonborn to serve.

Post-Septim Blades

The Blades agent Tyr

With the Septim Dynasty sundered, the Blades withdrew to their temples to await the coming of a worthy Dragonborn. Eventually, Titus Mede became the first Emperor of a new dynasty, but he was no Dragonborn and so the Blades did not truly serve him. Rather, the Blades foresaw the threat to the Empire posed by the Thalmor of the Aldmeri Dominion. In 4E 22, the Thalmor overthrew the Altmeri monarchy and seized control of the Summerset Isles, renaming them Alinor. Valenwood fell to Thalmor's control in 4E 29, beginning the third Aldmeri Dominion, and Elsweyr—as the ancient kingdoms of Anequina and Pellitine—in 4E 115.

The Blades thus worked covertly to combat their counterparts in the Aldmeri Dominion, whose focus was breaking up the Empire to ensure Elven Supremacy on Tamriel. Some examples of these actions against the Thalmor were the Falinesti Incident and the breach of the Blue River Prison. Without support, however, these efforts could not last forever, and in 4E 171 on the 30th of Frostfall, an Aldmeri ambassador delivered to Titus Mede II the severed head of every Blades agent in Summerset and Valenwood, sparking the Great War.

During the war, Cloud Ruler Temple was besieged and its centuries-old archives mostly destroyed. The sole survivor, a blade named Acilius Bolar, fled to Skyrim, where he fought a last stand against his Thalmor pursuers.

The Moth Priest Kellen told of another Blade, the knight brother Tyr, who assisted the Forgotten Hero during the Great War. Tyr and the Hero escaped the Dremora Reive, learning of a "Culling" planned by the Thalmor general Naarifin. Tyr and the Hero sought out Laaneth, a sorceress friend of Tyr's well versed in Daedric matters. They were stopped by Thalmor soldiers hunting for Tyr; these Thalmor were dispatched and the duo continued their journey. Eventually they reached Laaneth's house, but discovered that Boethiah cultists associated with Naarifin had already kidnapped her. Tyr and the Hero attempted to steal a ship to reach her, but the Argonian smuggler Swims-at-Night was still aboard. Though Tyr and the Hero initially fought Swims-at-Night for the ship, the arrival of Dominion guards led the smuggler to join with Tyr and the Hero to flee the Dominion. Braving dangers such as Spriggans, pirates, and goblins, the group eventually rescued Laaneth from captivity. She had learned that the cult was secretly led by Lord Naarifin. Having captured the Imperial City, he intended to sacrifice all of its inhabitants to bring about the prophecy of the Culling.

Tyr being held at knifepoint by Reive with Naarifin

Seeking to warn the Emperor, the group met up with Legate Cassia to reach him. The emperor was horrified to hear of Lord Naarifin's plan; but, because the Dominion was able to predict the Empire's every move, knew an attack on the Imperial City was futile. The Forgotten Hero volunteered to infiltrate the city to discover the source of this ability. The group decided to pose as gladiators to enter the City. Thus the Hero, Tyr, and Cassia fought in the Arena, proceeding to sneak into the White-Gold Tower via tunnels after the conclusion of their match. The three reached Lord Naarifin's study and discovered that the Orb of Vaermina, which Naarifin was using to track the Legion's every move. However, Reive managed to sneak up on Tyr and it is unknown whether Tyr survived. Due to Tyr's assistance, the Hero was able to destroy the Orb of Vaermina and thus the Battle of the Red Ring was an Imperial victory and prevented the Culling.

When the war finally ended with the White-Gold Concordat in 4E 175, the Blades were formally disbanded and worship of Talos outlawed. This gave the Thalmor free rein to hunt down Blades agents wherever they were found. Their role as Imperial bodyguards and spies was taken over by the new-founded Penitus Oculatus, who were too constrained by Imperial policy and diplomacy to take the kind of offensive action against the Thalmor the Blades had taken before the Great War.

Blades Holdouts

Henrik Seven-Swords

After the disbanding of the Blades, there were plenty of Blades that went into hiding and managed to evade the Thalmor hunting them. Two such Blades were The Warrior and Henrik Seven-Swords. The Warrior managed to evade the Thalmor and return to their hometown of Rivercrest circa 4E 180, only to find it ablaze and reduced to rubble. The destruction of the town's Elder Statue caused an undead Ayleid Sorcerer-King named Celemaril Light-Bringer to be released from his ancient bindings in the Ayleid ruins beneath town, and the Warrior set out to rebuild the town and save all of Tamriel from the reawakened Ayleid Lich.

During the investigation of what had caused the fire in the first place, members of the Thalmor lead by Justiciar Aranande arrived in town, where they stated they were investigating for Blades agents. Henrik and the Warrior worked to hide their identities by leading the Thalmor on suicide missions and giving them false leads, with creatures such as bears and undead Ayleids killing Thalmor soldiers as they fell for these tricks. The Thalmor were also tipped off on the location of a temple of Talos and intended to kill the worshippers there, however, the Warrior discovered the location of the Talos worshippers and warned them before the Thalmor could get to them. After this, the Warrior also managed to kill a Thalmor messenger before they could rely information on who the hidden Blades were. Eventually the Thalmor discovered the identity of Henrik and had him killed, but the Warrior avenged him by killing Justiciar Aranande.

Azzin, another Blades member, met up with the Warrior in Rivercrest and had a duel in the local arena. Azzin noticed the similarity of the Warrior's fighting style to his own and revealed himself to also be a Blade. He explained that he had decided to return to the roots of the Blades, taking after the Dragonguard by hunting down any remaining dragons. He had a vivid dream that he was in Akavir, fighting a dragon, with the dragon killing him and then flying off to the camp where the real dragon was asleep, and laid down. When he awoke, Azzin felt an irresistible pull to the north. This dream proved true and he encountered the Dragon in a cave in Hammerfell. Azzin then attacked the dragon, but it flew off to the Bloodfall kingdom, where he had managed to track it. The Warrior and Azzin then worked together in tracking the dragon down.

Resurgence

When dragons began reappearing in Skyrim in 4E 201, a few surviving Blades took action, working with the Last Dragonborn to bring the order back from extinction. One of these Blades was Delphine who, during the Great War, had evaded three attempts on her life by the Thalmor, in one case killing an entire assassination team. Delphine went into hiding thereafter, avoiding contact with other fugitive Blades for her own security, proving to be extremely alert to Thalmor surveillance. She retired as the innkeeper of the Sleeping Giant Inn in the quaint town of Riverwood, evading the Thalmor for decades.

When the dragon Alduin returned, Delphine worked with Farengar Secret-Fire to uncover the Dragonstone from Bleak Falls Barrow and use it to locate the dragon burial mounds across Skyrim. When the Last Dragonborn retrieved it, Delphine acquired it from Farengar and created a map of the burial mounds. Upon hearing of the Dragonborn, Delphine stole the Horn of Jurgen Windcaller to lure them to Riverwood and see who they truly were, revealing the operation she had in the basement of her inn. Delphine and the Dragonborn traveled to Kynesgrove in an attempt to prevent Alduin from resurrecting another dragon, Sahloknir. The Dragonborn slew Sahloknir and absorbed their soul, proving to Delphine that they were truly Dragonborn. Delphine then tasked the Dragonborn with infiltrating the Thalmor Embassy, as she was convinced the Thalmor were related to the return of the Dragons, however, it would turn out the Thalmor knew nothing about the return of the Dragons but that they were searching for Esbern, a Blades loremaster who was an expert in the dragonlore of the Blades.

Delphine training a new recruit

While the Dragonborn was searching for Esbern in Riften the Thalmor dispatched units in order to find and capture Esbern, as well as kill the Dragonborn. When the Dragonborn found Esbern he was initially paranoid due to the threat of the Thalmor, however, the Dragonborn eventually convinced Esbern that they were the Dragonborn of prophecy, and Esbern followed them to Delphine. As the two left the sewers of Riften, they were attacked by Thalmor agents but the two managed to dispatch them.

Once Esbern and Delphine and the Last Dragonborn met up, Esbern shared his knowledge regarding Sky Haven Temple and Alduin's Wall, with him hoping that Alduin's Wall would provide the Dragonborn with the required knowledge to defeat Alduin. At the Wall, it would be discovered that a shout was needed to defeat Alduin. Due to the Blades not knowing which Shout was needed, the Last Dragonborn went to the Greybeards to learn it. The Dragonborn learned that the Greybeards didn't know the shout either and that they had to find an Elder Scroll in order to learn the shout that was used. With the knowledge of this shout, the Dragonborn defeated Alduin atop the Throat of the World, but Alduin fled to Sovngarde after being defeated to regain his strength. After this, Esbern proposed the usage of Dragonsreach in order to capture a Dragon to bring the Dragonborn to Sovngarde. Jarl Balgruuf of Whiterun agreed to this after a temporary truce was put in place between the Imperial Legion and the Stormcloaks. The plan to trap a dragon in Dragonsreach was a success and the Last Dragonborn managed to reach Sovngarde where they defeated Alduin.

After the defeat of Alduin, the Blades set to work on rebuilding the Order in Skyrim, with Delphine recruiting new members from across Skyrim with them reoccupying Sky Haven Temple, reforming the order of the Blades to their original purpose as dragonslayers. However, some dragons still remained, and so the Blades continue the ancient Dragonguard's task.

Culture

An ornate chest with Blades imagery

Swords hanging in Cloud Ruler Temple

Having been formed out of a splinter faction of the Akaviri Dragonguard, the Blades inherited the arms, armor, architecture, and customs of the old order, most famously their distinctive Akaviri katanas and ceremonial armor. The swords of each Blades member are treated with respect and honor, with members of the Blades in Cyrodiil having their swords hung in Cloud Ruler Temple if they were slain.

The Blades are also closely linked with the Order of Talos, with many members of the Order also being members of the Blades. Chapterhouses of the Order, like Weynon Priory, provide safehouses for traveling Blades as well as their more public religious functions. Blades who are too old for active service often join the Order as lay brothers.

Magnus was rumored to have had dealings with the Blades, going as far to entrust them with a map to his staff.

Some Blades members are known to have a scar above or on their right eye to denote their alignment with the Blades.

Organization and Equipment

While a few elite warriors and diplomats served openly in royal courts, the majority of Blades agents were distributed across Tamriel to conduct their covert business. The only people who knew all the activities of the organization were the Grandmaster, the supreme leader of the Blades, and the Chronicler, who was tasked with knowing, but never revealing, to ensure the Blades' knowledge would never be lost. Each regional temple was led by a Master, and staffed with Archivists who maintained the lore of the order, with works in the archives stretching back to the days of the Dragonguard. Field agents were supervised by Spymasters assigned to each province of the Empire, and lived incognito among the citizens to perform their work. Blades are known to carry badges which can be used to identify the wearer as a Blade. The Watchers were Blades agents specializing in undercover operations who gathered intelligence by observing, wearing their own distinctive armor when called to combat and rumored to be present in all the major capitals of Tamriel. Agents were of every race and they were of various backgrounds such as merchants, thieves, craftsman, mages, and warriors.

The order operates a number of secret strongholds across Tamriel which serve as headquarters and sanctuaries, the most well-known being Cloud Ruler Temple in Cyrodiil. Other known strongholds include Castle Llugwych and Sky Haven Temple in Skyrim.

The Order made good use of the Dragons they killed, making armor and arms out of their bones and scales. Scales were also used to create potions that aided in killing dragons.

Notable Members

The Great Knight

Throughout the group's long history, various grandmasters have served as leaders of the Blades:

• Lord Magnessen (circa 3E 405)
• Jauffre (circa 3E 433)
• Grand Master (circa 4E 175)
• Delphine (circa 4E 201)

Other notable members also include:

• Brisienna Magnessen (circa 3E 405)
• The Agent (circa 3E 405)
• Caius Cosades (circa 3E 427)
• The Nerevarine (circa 3E 427)
• Baurus (circa 3E 433)
• Hero of Kvatch (circa 3E 433)
• Tyr (circa 4E 175)
• Sheathed Blades (circa 4E 175)
• Moivva Karnai (circa 4E 175)
• Henrik Seven-Swords (circa 4E 180)
• The Warrior (circa 4E 180)
• Azzin (circa 4E 180)
• Esbern (circa 4E 201)

Gallery

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  An undercover Blades agent (Morrowind)

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  Grandmaster Jauffre (Oblivion)

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  The ghost of an ancient Blade (Oblivion)

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  Blades Lookout (Legends)

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  Alduin's Wall, a pictorial repository of ancient Akaviri dragonlore (Skyrim)

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  Blades Guardian (Legends)

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  Blades Defender (Legends)

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  Blades in the Imperial City circa 3E 433 (Legends)

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  Watcher's helmet and blade

Notes

• The Blades was originally the name of a gladiatorial team in Dune which was to be featured in The Elder Scrolls: Arena. However, the gladiatorial concept was scrapped in development, and the name repurposed.

• Divayth Fyr was quite acquainted with the Blades, with them guarding him to the Morrowind border after he had met with Uriel Septim VII. He also received a letter from a Master Blades member that had spoken to Baurus, explaining the situation after Uriel had been killed by the Mythic Dawn, and requested that Fyr come to Cyrodiil to assist however he could, however the Elder Council overruled this requesting that Fyr stay in Morrowind to help prevent any unrest that might occur.

See Also

• For game-specific information, see the Arena, Daggerfall, Morrowind, Oblivion, Skyrim, and Blades articles.

Books

• Annals of the Dragonguard by Brother Annulus — Chronicles of the Dragonguard in the late First Era
• Remanada — Fragmented, mythical recounting of the conception of Reman and the return of the Chim-el Adabal with the people of Tamriel
• The Rise and Fall of the Blades by Anonymous — On the Blades' origins and their fate
• The Warp in the West A Report Compiled By Ulvius Tero — Reports from Imperial Blades concerning the effects of the Dragon Break on the Iliac Bay region

References

Note: The following references are considered to be unofficial sources. They are included to round off this article and may not be authoritative or conclusive.