Mehrunes' Razor

Mehrunes' Razor as seen in The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim.

"You found my razor. Good. Can you feel its hunger? Can you feel its..Frustration? Now I will make it again what it once was, what it shall always be. Draw a line of blood across the land in the name of Mehrunes Dagon!"

―Mehrunes Dagon

Mehrunes' Razor, also known as the Dagger of the Final Wounds, Bane of the Righteous and Kingslayer, is a Daedric Artifact associated with the Daedric Prince Mehrunes Dagon. It is a unique dagger said to have the power to take lives with only one blow.

By game

• Mehrunes' Razor (Daggerfall)
• Mehrunes' Razor (Morrowind)
• Mehrunes' Razor (Oblivion)
• Mehrunes' Razor (Plug-in) (Oblivion)
• Unearthing Mehrunes' Razor (Oblivion)
• Mehrunes' Razor (Skyrim)
• Mehrunes' Razor (Blades)

History

Second Era

The Argonian Trouble-Finder may have briefly came into possession of the dagger from a merchant in Ebonheart prior to 2E 582, before tossing it into a river after being chased by cultists of Mehrunes Dagon. Shatter-Shard of Mehrunes' Razor can be found, noting that the Razor was broken at some point.

Third Era

Yagrum Bagarn in his work Tamrielic Lore states that no bearers of Mehrunes' Razor have been recorded. The Dark Brotherhood has coveted the powerful artifact for generations and the decimation of its ranks during a vicious power struggle is believed to have involved the Razor.

Despite this statement by the renowned specialist the bloody trace of Mehrunes' Razor may be followed over the centuries. One of the earliest sources hints that it may have been in the possession of Master Neloth for a while. Neloth, a powerful mage and Councilor of House Telvanni on Vvardenfell in Morrowind, used the dagger to improve the performance of his otherwise cowardly troops in a conflict with Master Gothren, another Telvanni Councilor. According to the source, he lost the dagger to a group of gifted acrobats. It is not known whether the thieves ever returned the weapon to its former bearer.

At the close of the Third Era Mehrunes' Razor lay rusted and forgotten inside Alas Ancestral Tomb in the Molag Mar region on Vvardenfell. According to Mehrunes Dagon himself an unworthy bearer, possibly one of the above-mentioned acrobats, had been in possession of the artifact prior to his or her death. An unnamed hero said to have been the Nerevarine won Mehrunes' Razor by retrieving it from the depths of the tomb and having it returned to its former glory by the Daedric Prince himself.

The next trace occurs only a few years later in eastern Cyrodiil. The Telvanni mage Frathen Drothan has gathered the Drothmeri Army and headed towards the ancient Ayleid city Varsa Baalim where he believed Mehrunes' Razor was to be found. He planned to retrieve the epic artifact and use it to free Morrowind and its Dunmer people from the reign of the Empire. His plans were frustrated by the Hero of Kvatch, however, who entered the ruin to claim the weapon for themselves.

The Nefarivigum as seen in The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion.

The Ayleid city of Varsa Baalim itself was according to scholars built around the so-called Nefarivigum, a construct erected by Mehrunes Dagon in order single out worthy pilgrims to whom he would award his artifact. The labyrinthine city of Varsa Baalim should protect the Nefarivigum and hinder any adventurer who seeks the dangerous weapon for themselves.

Fourth Era

About two centuries later the Razor has shattered into pieces and in the possession of three different people within Skyrim. The Last Dragonborn was sent by the Mythic Dawn devotee Silus Vesuius to retrieve the pieces from the Nord Jorgen in Morthal, the Hagraven Drascua at Dead Crone Rock, and the Orsimer Ghunzul inside Cracked Tusk Keep. After gathering the remnants of the mighty blade the Last Dragonborn offered them to the Daedric Prince Mehrunes Dagon. They were faced with the choice to either kill Silus Vesuius in return for the restoration of the blade or to spare his purchaser's life and thus abandon the chance to wield the Razor. It is unknown whether the hero claimed the weapon by killing the innocent or whether the pieces of Mehrunes' Razor still await the day of their reunion.

Powers

Mehrunes' Razor has the power to slay an enemy with only one blow. Its chances to do so are around 1.98%. It is said that Mehrunes Dagon himself can claim the souls of those it strikes.

Appearances

• The Elder Scrolls II: Daggerfall
• The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind
• The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion
• The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
• The Elder Scrolls: Blades