Blades (Skyrim)

"There are those that say the Blades still exist around us, in hiding from the Thalmor. Waiting as they have done time and time again, for a Dragonborn to return. For one to protect, for one to guide them."

- The Rise and Fall of the Blades.

The Blades are a faction of former protectors of the Emperors of Tamriel. In the First Era, however, the Blades took the role of Dragon hunters. After the return of Alduin and beginning of the Dragon Crisis, the Blades took on this role again.

After the events of Oblivion Crisis and the Great War, the order of Blades had fallen into a great disrepair. The few remaining remnants of this once glorious order have gone into hiding and are being hunted by the Thalmor after their near extermination by the Aldmeri Dominion.

Origins
The story of the Blades begin with the Akavir invasion during the First Era. After the Akavir forces had fought through Skyrim and reached the Pale Pass, they were met by Reman Cyrodiil and his forces. It is said that after hearing the Emperors voice, the Akavir forces knelt down and swore fealty to him, whom they called Dragonborn. They later formed the order that is now known as the Blades.

The true reasons for their invasion remains a mystery, it is mentioned however, that they may have been looking for a new Dragonborn to serve or hunting down the Dragons who escaped their continent.

Downfall
The Oblivion Crisis marked the beginning of the Blades downfall. With the death of Uriel Septim VII and his sons, the Third Era came to a close. With no Dragonborn ruler to serve, the order fortified themselves in Cloud Ruler Temple.

The Blades' role as the Emperors guard was taken over by the Penitus Oculatus. The Blades continued to work in secret, watching for a new Dragonborn and guarding the Empire. The Blades were among the first to see the growing threat of the Thalmor and the Aldmeri Dominion. Unlike the Penitus Oculatus, the Blades were not bound to Imperial policy and could operate freely, and thus earned the lasting hatred of the Thalmor.

Late in 4E 175 the Empire and the Aldmeri Dominion signed the White-Gold Concordat, ending the Great War. One of the requirments of the Concordat was the disbandment of the Blades, thus ending the order's public face and forcing them into hiding.

Headquarters
Throughout the history Blades were known to have their headquarters in Cloud Ruler Temple, in Cyrodiil. Unfortunately, sometime during the Great War, the temple was destroyed by a Thalmor siege and nearly all members of the defending Blades were slain.

During the Dragon Crisis the remaining members of Blades in Skyrim found refuge in the Sky Haven Temple. It was there where the rebirth of the order began.

Sky Haven Temple was built by the Akavir themselves. It served as an outpost during the Akaviri invasion during the late First Era. After the war, the temple was visited by Reman II himself, In the presence of all the Dragonguard created a blood seal to seal off the temple. With the seal, the doors of the temple could only be opened by another Dragonborn.

Members
While most of the Blades died during the Great War, a few managed to escape the Thalmor. While it is unknown exactly how many Blades remain, there are three known Blades who made it into Skyrim.



Delphine
Delphine took the role the of Grandmaster of the Blades, as she was one of the last remaining members operating in Skyrim. She is a high-priority target for the Thalmor. During the Great War, she evaded several attempts on her life. She returned to Skyrim to hide, remaining alert to the surveillance of the Thalmor.

Esbern
Esbern is a Blade Archivist. He has been monitoring the ancient prophecies of Tamriel and had predicted the return of the Dragons under Alduin, the Nordic God of Destruction, whose return would lead to the destruction of Nirn. As an Archivist, he knows a great deal about the nature of the Dragon threat in Skyrim.



Acilius Bolar
Acilius was a Knight Brother and the only known survivor of the siege of Cloud Ruler Temple. After his escape, he left for Skyrim hoping to hide fromthe Thalmor, but was cornered in Bloated Man's Grotto where he was killed. His Oathblade can be found there, next to his writ.

Main Quest Line

 * Bleak Falls Barrow
 * The Horn of Jurgen Windcaller
 * A Blade in the Dark
 * Diplomatic Immunity
 * A Cornered Rat
 * Alduin's Wall
 * Season Unending

Side Quests

 * Paarthurnax
 * Recruit Followers

Radiant Quests
Radiant quests are reoccurring and can be completed unlimited times.
 * Kill the Dragon

Interactions
As the loyal servants of the Dragonborn throughout the ages, Blades play a vital role in the main quest line of The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim.

First Contact
The first contanct with the Blades is made when the Dragonborn tries to recover the Horn of Jurgen Windcaller. Instead of the horn, there is a note, asking the finder to rent a room in the Sleeping Giant Inn. Once it is done, they are met by Delphine, who had previously taken the horn to lure the Dragonborn here. This was done so she could see if the rumor of a new Dragonborn was a trap laid by the Thalmor.

Dragonslaying
After Delphine met the Dragonborn, she remained unconvinced of his abilities and revealed that she had seen the Dragonstone, recovered earlier by the Dragonborn. Translated by Farengar, the stone had given Delphine a location of a dragon burial site, where another Dragon could have been arisen. To test Dragonborn's abilities she decided to investigate the site near Kynesgrove, inviting the Dragonborn to come with her.

After the site has been reached and the Dragon slain, Delphine witnessed the Dragonborn's ability to consume Dragon Souls. After being convinced that this was a true Dragonborn, she returned to the Sleeping Giant Inn where she revealed that she is one of the last surviving Blades.

Saving the Archivist
Not knowing the cause of the Dragon Crisis, Delphine sent the Dragonborn to infiltrate the Thalmor Embassy. With the help of a servant, dark elf, Malborn, the mission succeeded. The Embassy, however, held no information on who is to blame for the Dragons return. Fortunately, a document was recovered stating that an old Blades archivist, Esbern, is alive and hiding in the Ratway, sewers beneath the town of Riften.

Surprised that the old man is still alive, Delphine sent the Dragonborn to rescue him. Slaying a Thralmor search party, the Dragonborn saved Esbern just in time and convinced him to follow, to meet with Delphine back in the Inn.

New Home
After Esbern met Delphine, he told of an ancient Akarvir temple located in Skyrim. The temple is said to contain the Alduin's Wall, showing an ancient prophecy of Alduin's return. After this story both Blades and the Dragonborn began a journey to the temple. Facing a resistance of Forsworn in the Karthspire the group fought their way through and finally reached the door to the Sky Haven Temple.

The temple, however, is sealed. Esbern made a guess that only Dragonborn's blood could open the door, and this proves to be true. The Dragonborn's blood opens the lock. After the door to the temple is opened, Delphine and Esbern allowed the Dragonborn to have the honor of entering it first. After a quick examination of the wall Esbern revealed that the Dragonsreach was originally designed to capture and house a Dragon.

Esbern decided to remain and study the Wall thoroughly and Delphine took on the role of acting Grandmaster, expressing her wish to restore the order and repair the temple.

Peace
If the Civil War quest line is not completed, Blades will be invited to participate in signing a peace treaty between Stormcloaks and the Empire. Fed up with arguing, Esbern will give a speech about how both sides are putting their lesser conflicts before the great danger of the Dragon problem. This calmed everyone and rendered signing of the truce possible.

After the completion of the main quest line, the Blades will ask that the Dragon Paarthurnax, leader of the Greybeards be killed. Fulfilling this request is optional, but the Blades will stop any co-operation with the Dragonborn until Paarthurnnax is dead.

Recruits
After arriving at Sky Haven Temple, Delphine will offer to help with restoring the Blades. Up to three followers may be brought to Delphine to have them inducted into the Blades. The recruits will receive a complete set of Blades Armor and a Blades Sword.

Most followers can join the Blades once they are taken to Delphine. When they have joined the order, they will move into the temple and make it their new home.

After three followers have been inducted into the order, Delphine will send the Dragonborn to Esbern, who will provide the locations of Dragons to hunt.

Archivist's Services
Esbern will offer an option to hunt Dragons. The new Blades recruits will always help with this quest and spawn nearby the Dragon's location.

After completing the first Dragon hunt, Esbern will exchange Esbern's Potion for one Dragon Bone and Dragon Scales. This potion will give Dragonborn the pemanent ability, Dragon Infusion, which will reduce melee damage received from Dragons by 25%.

Through dialogue, Esbern will also offer Dragonslayer's Blessing, an ability that grants a 10% increased critical hit chance versus Dragons for 5 days.

Trivia

 * Fultheim may be another Blades survivor. He is found in Nightgate Inn and is seen carrying a Blades Sword.

Bugs

 * Quest "Kill the Dragon" may be impossible to complete if the given location have already been cleared. Blades recruits will become stuck there.