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."

- Anonymous in The Rise and Fall of the Blades.

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

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

Origins
The story of Blades begin with Akavir invasion in 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, Akavir forces kneeled down and sweared a fealty to him, whom they called Dragonborn. They later formed the order, that is now known as Blades.

These invading Akavir forces are known by the name of Dragonguard. They are believed to have protected the Akavir rulers and hunted the Dragons in their homeland, which is said to be the original birthplace of Dragons. True reasons of their invasion remains a mystery, it is mentioned, however, that they might have been looking for a new Dragonborn to serve or hunting down the Dragons, who escaped their continent.

Thousands of years later Blades are still known for their Akaviri inspired armor, weaponry and architecture.

Downfall
The Oblivion Crisis marked the beginning of the Blades downfall. With the death of Uriel Septim VII and his son, Martin, the Third Era came to a close with the order fortifying themselves deep within Cloud Ruler Temple, as they waited for a Dragonborn to return when they would be called upon again.?

In the Fourth Era the role of Emperors guard was filled by the Penitus Oculatus. But the Blades continued their secret work, to watch for the Dragonborn and guard against future enemies. The Blades were among the first to see the signs that the Thalmor of the Aldmeri Dominion would not remain isolated within their borders forever. They could do what the Penitus Oculatus, servant to Imperial policy, could not, and thus earned the lasting hatred of the Thalmor.?

On the 30th of Frostfall, 4E 171, the Aldmeri Dominion sent an ambassador to the Imperial City with a gift filled covered cart and an ultimatum for the Emperor Titus Mede II. The long list of demands included disbandment of the Blades and outlawing the worship of Talos. Emperor rejected the ultimatum. The Thalmor ambassador upended the cart, spilling over a hundred heads of every blades agent in Summerset and Valenwood. And so began the Great War.

Late in 4E 175 the Empire and the Aldmeri Dominion signed the White-Gold Concordat, ending the Great War. This meant accepting the previously given ultimatium. Blades were hunted throughout the Great War and hunted down by Thalmor even after the signing of peace.

Members
While most of the Blades died during the Great War, a few managed to escape Thalmor, but are still being hunted down by them. While it is unknown exactly how many Blades are still left alive, there are three known Blades who made it into Skyrim.

Delphine
Delphine is the acting Grandmaster of the Blades, one of the last remaining members operating in Skyrim. She is in her late 50's and is a high-priority target for the Thalmor. During the Great War, she evaded attempts at her life several times. She returned to Skyrim, remaining alert to the surveillance of the Thalmor.

In an attempt to cover up her tracks Delphine now owns the Sleeping Giant Inn in the small town of Riverwood.

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.

As well as other Blades, he is being persecuted by the Thalmor and is very cautious. He is first found hiding in the Ratway sewers beneath the town of Riften.

Acilius Bolar
Acilius is the only known survivor of the siege on Cloud Ruler Temple. After his escape he left for Skyrim hoping to hide from Thalmor. He was, however, cornered and killed in Bloated Man's Grotto. His Oathblade can be found there next to his writ.

Interactions
Upon completing the quest Bleak Falls Barrow for Whiterun's court wizard, Farengar Secret-Fire, the Dovahkiin returned to see his acquaintance, and source of his information about the Dragonstone, a woman named Delphine. Later, during the attempt to retrieve the Horn of Jurgen Windcaller, only a note was found, explaining that the horn had been taken and is being held at the Sleeping Giant Inn in Riverwood. The note-writer went on to say that they may know why the dragons are rising, and they needed the Dovahkiin's help to stop another dragon from resurrecting. At the Inn, it was revealed that it was Delphine took the horn. However, she needed proof that the Dovahkiin was who they said they were, by slaying a dragon and absorbing its soul. They then traveled to Kynesgrove and killed the newly resurrected dragon, Sahloknir.

Delpine went on to explain that she was one of two surviving members of the Blades within Skyrim, herself and a man Esbern, the Blades Archivist, a tome keeper and dragon expert for the Blades prior to the downfall of the Blades and destruction of its records by the Aldmeri Dominion. After the completion of the storyline and the slaying of Alduin and optionally, Paarthurnax, Esbern will continue to inform the Dovahkiin of dragon sightings that need to be investigated. However, if the Dovahkiin chooses not to kill Paarthurnax, they will not be able to remain an active member of the Blades.

Restoring the Blades
After completing the quest to kill Paarthurnax, talk to Delphine and she will speak about restoring the Blades. She will ask the player to recruit three followers to join the Blades. Note that this is possible even if the player completes the main quest without killing Paarthurnax, which causes the Paarthurnax Quest to disappear from the menu, and then kills Paarthurnax after the ending. The Paarthurnax Quest will reappear with talking to Delphine as its next objective. She will also give the quest once Sky Haven Temple has been found.

The player may bring a maximum of three followers to Delphine to have them inducted into the Blades; they will receive Blades Armor. As more followers are recruited into the order, the temple slowly upgrades as people begin to populate the area. After recruiting all three Blades members, the player gains the opportunity to hunt dragons with a selectable party. Speak to Esbern to get the miscellaneous quest to hunt a dragon. Esbern can also give the Dragonborn the Dragonslayer's Blessing effect.

Members inducted into the Blades may still be followers. Membership in the Blades is more beneficial for some than for others. Take into account that all Blade Armor is heavy armor.

Generally it is a good idea to recruit individuals with existing talents in these disciplines in order to maximize their potential. The various Housecarls all make excellent recruits if the player can stand to have their default armor replaced with Blades Armor. Correspondingly, stealthy followers such as are generally not the best to recruit. However, at least one good archery follower is recommended as much dragon fighting is done with a bow and arrow.

Once three new members have been inducted into the Blades, Delphine will say to speak to Esbern, who has been studying ancient Dragon burial grounds. He will occasionally give the player and the three Blades that were recruited a quest to hunt a dragon at one of the burial grounds. After the first such mission, the Dragonborn gains the option of giving Esbern a dragon bone and dragon scale in exchange for a potionthatwillgivetheuserapermanent25% resistance to damage inflicted by dragon melee attacks.

Related Quests

 * Bleak Falls Barrow (Quest)
 * The Horn of Jurgen Windcaller
 * A Blade in the Dark
 * Diplomatic Immunity
 * A Cornered Rat
 * Alduin's Wall
 * Season Unending
 * Paarthurnax (Quest)
 * Recruit followers (Quest)
 * Kill the Dragon-Recurring

Recruits
Recruits will be moved to the Sky Haven Temple. They may be used as followers at any time. This can be useful for followers like Kharjo who wander around Skyrim and do not stay in a fixed position, when not following the Dragonborn. Same goes for followers, who live in hard-to-reach places like Erandur who lives in Nightcaller Temple — spawn place for Frost Trolls and Ice Wraiths.

The player can invite up to three Followers to the Blades. Once the last recruit is accepted by Delphine, the Dragonborn will receive a Miscellaneous Quest from Esbern that requires him/her to kill a Dragon, using the help of other Blades. It should be noted that most, although not all Followers can be recruited to the Blades.

Trivia

 * Upon recruiting Mjoll the Lioness, Aerin will also be moved to the Sky Haven Temple. While he doesn't become a Blade, he does wander around the temple. His dialogue is unchanged.
 * If the Dragonborn has quests for the College of Winterhold and recruits any of the mage apprentices (J'zargo, Onmund, or Brelyna Maryon) to the Blades, they will have their questline-related dialogue in place of the Blades dialogue. This persists through quest completion.

Bugs

 * Should any of the three recruits die, they cannot be replaced.
 * Esbern will give the player miscellaneous quests to go dragon hunting with fellow Blades members, but the quest will be impossible to complete if the dragons in these locations have already been killed and the Blades members will just become stuck there. They may be able to return after the dragon is killed as they are waiting for it to be killed.