The Nightingales
An insider's account
of the Nightingales
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As a Nightingale, I feel compelled to place quill to parchment and record my thoughts regarding my knowledge of our order. If one day the Nightingales should vanish from Tamriel, then let this tome serve as a reminder of what we once were and to dispel any rumor or hearsay about our purposes and our motivations.
Our trinity serves the Lady Nocturnal, the Empress of Murk and the Daughter of Twilight. We believe her to be our patron, if not the patron of all thieves worldwide. We serve her without prayer, without charity and without celebration. Our bond with Nocturnal is in the form of a business transaction we strike known as the Oath. Her terms are simple and binding. As Nightingales we are required to guard the Twilight Sepulcher, the Temple of Nocturnal, against those perceived as a threat. In return, we are allowed to use our abilities as Nightingales to further our own means and the means of the Thieves Guild.
Upon our death, we are bound to the Twilight Sepulcher as guardian spirits until such time as Nocturnal feels our contract has been fulfilled. Our ultimate fate lies within the Evergloam, Nocturnal's realm. There, our spirits become one with shadow itself and we become the cloak which envelops all of our fellow thieves in their endeavors. This is the true origin of the phrase "walk with the shadows" uttered within the Thieves Guild.
The Twilight Sepulcher is more than a temple, it contains a conduit from our world to the Evergloam, a swirling pool of liquid midnight we call the Ebonmere. This is the heart of the Sepulcher, and the source of Nocturnal's influence throughout the world. The Ebonmere can only be sealed by removing a unique key from its lock. This key, which occasionally finds its way beyond the walls of the Sepulcher, is widely known as the Skeleton Key of Nocturnal.
The Skeleton Key is an often misunderstood artifact. Those that seek to possess it tend to use only a fraction of its potential. Most mistake it for a unique and unbreakable lockpick. While this is true, the wonder of this device can only be appreciated once the owner is willing to expand his mind and abstract what defines "unlocking." This action refers to more than simple doors and portals. In the proper hands, the Skeleton Key has the capability to unlock hidden potential and untapped abilities. The extent of this power has yet to be discovered, which is a frightening thought if it ever fell into the wrong hands.
As a member of the trinity of Nightingales, it is incumbent upon us to recover the Skeleton Key if it strays from the Twilight Sepulcher. Why Nocturnal allows the Key to be stolen in the first place is a mystery. Some say she revels in the chaos this artifact causes, others feel she simply does not care, that the petty squabbles of men and mer are beyond her attention. Whatever the case may be, it is our duty to ensure it remains safely within the confines of the Sepulcher.
To say that the Nightingales are a holy order would be doing us a disservice. In our hearts, we are thieves. We enjoy the hunt and delight in the spoils. We might swear our loyalty to Nocturnal and hold some influence within the Thieves Guild, but the greatest allegiance a Nightingale holds is to himself.
As a Nightingale, I feel compelled to place quill to parchment and record my thoughts regarding my knowledge of our order. If one day the Nightingales should vanish from Tamriel, then let this tome serve as a reminder of what we once were and to dispel any rumor or hearsay about our purposes and our motivations.
I will attempt to relate the scant bit of knowledge I have of our history to the best of my ability. It is my hope that in the future, someone else may happen upon this writing and amend it in order to expand the record of our existence.
Our history begins with a well-known tale. The tome "The Real Barenziah IX" mentions that a bard named "Nightingale" tricked Queen Barenziah into revealing the location of an artifact called the Staff of Chaos which he later claimed for his own. The story goes on to reveal that "Nightingale" was a powerful Imperial Battlemage named Jagar Tharn in disguise and that he used the Staff to imprison Emperor Uriel Septim VIII [sic]. His ultimate goal was to assume the form of the banished emperor and sit upon the throne in his stead.
In actuality, the individual identified as "the bard Nightingale" was not Jagar Tharn at all. This master of disguise was a Nightingale thief named Drayven Indoril. Jagar Tharn hired Drayven, one of the greatest master thieves in Skyrim, to seduce Barenziah and coerce her into revealing the location of the Staff of Chaos. After the Staff was given to Jagar Tharn, he attempted to eradicate Drayven, but his Nightingale abilities aided his escape. Jagar Tharn searched for Drayven but eventually had to abandon the pursuit in order to enact his plans involving the emperor.
It is interesting to note that history refers to Jagar Tharn as "Nightingale" well after the point Drayven would have vanished from the story. The distortion of actual events is very typical of Barenziah's manipulation. With the pressure of blame falling squarely on her shoulders for Uriel Septim VII's imprisonment, she twisted the truth and created the notion that the "bard" named Nightingale was Jagar Tharn himself. She felt the tale of being enthralled by the master sorcerer held more of a forgiving if not romantic notion than simply being seduced by a master rogue. Some also further speculate that eliminating Drayven from history was her attempt at protecting the reputation of Jagar Tharn, whom she was rumored to have been quite fond of.
Drayven had escaped into Morrowind after Jagar Tharn's pursuit and rejoined the Indoril family who held an estate quite close to the border of Skyrim which allowed him to perform his Nightingale duties at the Sepulcher if the need arose. He remained there for many years until the Indoril family began to lose its power and a war between the houses erupted. Not wanting any part of it, and feeling that Jagar Tharn was no longer a threat, Drayven left his homeland behind and settled in The Rift under the guise of a miner.
Co-currently with Drayven's history, born out of Dravyen's seduction of Barenziah, the Dunmer Queen eventually bore a child. This child, whom Barenziah abandoned with a midwife in an attempt to keep her Nightingale story valid, eventually grew into adulthood and struck out on her own to find her father. Calling herself Dralsi, she overturned every stone in Skyrim looking for any traces of Drayven. After an unknown number of years passed, she finally located him in a small mining community called Shor's Stone. He was quite elderly now... no longer the spry rogue that had seduced Barenziah, but nevertheless he was still Dralsi's father and he treated her as such. In the remaining years of Drayven's life, he imparted the ways of the Nightingale to Dralsi until he finally succumbed to his age.
Dralsi willingly struck the Oath of the Nightingales and performed her duties well in the service of Nocturnal. She eventually took a husband and together they had a child whom they named Karliah. Like Dralsi's father did for her, Dralsi taught Karliah the art of thievery and how to survive in Skyrim living as a rogue. She intended to pass the Nightingale mantle on to Karliah, but had to wait until the time was right to reveal it. When she was old enough, Karliah struck out on her own wanting to ply her trade in a larger city. She eventually found her way to Riften and joined the Thieves Guild under my own leadership at the time.
As Karliah slowly climbed the ranks in the Guild, I watched her progress and saw much of her mother in her methods. After several years passed, I received word that Dralsi had been killed defending the Twilight Sepulcher from a band of mercenaries and so it became time for the mantle to be passed. I traveled to Nightingale Hall with Mercer Frey and together, we inducted Karliah into the Nightingales.
I will relate my own history in my next volume and perhaps, as I uncover more information, the history of Mercer Frey as well
The Nightingale Trinity, usually called simply the Nightingales, are a trio of highly skilled thieves dedicated to the service of Nocturnal. Members are typically chosen from the higher echelons of the Thieves Guild. Although there is no formal association between the two factions and most guild members are unaware of this arrangement, the Trinity is usually very influential on how the guild operates (Nightingales even claim to be the source of the guild's phrase "walk with the shadows").
Members of the order take the Oath: the
Skeleton
Key must remain at the Twilight
Sepulcher, the Temple of Nocturnal, which must be protected
from all threats, even in death, until Nocturnal accepts the
spirit of a Nightingale into the Evergloam,
her plane of Oblivion. In return, Nightingales use the abilities
granted to them for whatever they see fit to do in life.
Contrary to popularized misconceptions, the Oath is considered a
business transaction rather than a religious matter. While most
members certainly take the Oath very seriously, they are not
worshipping Nocturnal as a deity, but respecting her as the
patron of thieves. After their death they continue to serve
Nocturnal as Nightingale
Sentinels.
The Nightingales make their home in Nightingale Hall. The well-being of the Thieves Guild relies heavily on Nocturnal's content or displeasure with the current Nightingales according to Karliah. Even though this is the case, the Nightingales are a faction sworn to secrecy and their existence has purposely been made to seem like a legend by current and past members of the Nightingales. Although very few Guild members know of the Nightingales, many believe in the unquantifiable 'Luck' the Guild possesses.
Prior to playing the Thieves Guild questline the Nightingale trinity consisted of Gallus (a former Guild Master), Mercer Frey the current Guild Master, and a mysterious woman by the name of Karliah. Once engaged in the Main questline the Player, as well as Brynjolf, takes an Oath to serve Nocturnal and use the new advantage against Mercer Frey. Upon returning The Skeleton Key to the Sepulcher the Player is given a chance to choose one of three Agent abilities granted to those who serve Nocturnal.
The Nightingales make their home in Nightingale Hall. The well-being of the Thieves Guild relies heavily on Nocturnal's content or displeasure with the current Nightingales according to Karliah. Even though this is the case, the Nightingales are a faction sworn to secrecy and their existence has purposely been made to seem like a legend by current and past members of the Nightingales. Although very few Guild members know of the Nightingales, many believe in the unquantifiable 'Luck' the Guild possesses.
Prior to playing the Thieves Guild questline the Nightingale trinity consisted of Gallus (a former Guild Master), Mercer Frey the current Guild Master, and a mysterious woman by the name of Karliah. Once engaged in the Main questline the Player, as well as Brynjolf, takes an Oath to serve Nocturnal and use the new advantage against Mercer Frey. Upon returning The Skeleton Key to the Sepulcher the Player is given a chance to choose one of three Agent abilities granted to those who serve Nocturnal.
-
Agent of Subterfuge:
The Half-Moon represents this power, Nightingale
Subterfuge, which allows the player to utilize shadow to
cloud the judgment of others. It may be used once a day for 30
seconds in order to make people and creatures on the spell's
area of effect attack anyone nearby.
-
Agent of Stealth:
The Crescent Moon represents this power, the Shadowcloak
of Nocturnal. Once a day for 120 seconds, entering Sneak
Mode grants the player Invisibility.
Just as with invisibility potions or the Invisibility
spell, the effect is canceled when the player attacks,
casts a spell, or activates anything in the environment
(opening doors, operating switches, picking up items, talking,
pickpocketing); however, the Shadowcloak invisibility can be
renewed repeatedly during the 120 second duration simply by
sneaking again.
-
Agent of Strife:
The Full Moon represents this power, Nightingale
Strife, which allows the player to instantly absorb
100 Health points from a target once per day.
Journal
entries noting Mercer Frey's betrayal of the Guild.
Mercer Frey continues to elude my every step. I think he's aware I'm following him, and appears to be taking no unnecessary chances. I'm bringing all of my skills to the forefront in order to deceive him. It still pains me that the deception is necessary. When I became a Nightingale, using my newfound talents against my own was the furthest thought from my mind.
There was a close call today. I was settling down for a night's rest in the cistern when Mercer Frey entered unexpectedly. He was creeping along the wall, but I spotted him immediately. He edged closer to the vault door, making his way carefully around the perimeter of the room, but suddenly stopped and turned towards my hiding place. I froze instantly, even holding my breath for a moment, but my position was already compromised. He abruptly turned and walked back towards the Flagon. What was he doing?
At last, I have a piece of evidence that might explain Mercer Frey's actions. Instead of trying to follow him or break into his manor, I used every loose-tongued source at my disposal to scour the Ratway looking for answers. It took several weeks, but Maul was able to provide an interesting bit of information. Mercer had been spending inordinately large sums of coin on all manner of things unrelated to the Guild. How he was able to afford this was a mystery to me. The vault was impregnable, so what was the source of his coin?
It's been confirmed by my sources. Mercer's been living an unduly lavish lifestyle replete with spending vast amounts of gold on personal pleasures. I have more than my share of evidence to confront him now. He must be stealing from the Guild, but without proof, all I have is baseless accusation. Mercer came from wealthy stock, but the amount of coin he's been spending is immense.
I've been giving it some serious thought. There's only a single way that Mercer could have access to vast amounts of coin. I hesitate to even believe it's possible. How could he possibly desecrate the Twilight Sepulcher? This goes far beyond mere greed and transcends common theft. His actions could represent the failure of the Nightingales, something that hasn't occurred in hundreds of years. Why? Why would he readily throw away everything he believes in? All I need is proof.
Mercer Frey has requested I meet him at Snow Veil Sanctum today. He sent a note by courier so I can only assume he's already there. All my senses tell me it's a trap, but I have no choice. His message indicated the meeting was of the utmost urgency and involved Guild business, so I'm obligated to go. I can't risk bringing anyone else with me, but I'm almost certain Karliah will disobey and follow.
Dissertation
discussing whether a mysterious group of thieves actually exists
Mention the "Nightingale" to any thief worth his salt and he'll laugh in your face. He'll tell you that the supposed avengers of the Daedric Lord Nocturnal are nothing but fictional characters who live nowhere else but within tales designed to scare young footpads into doing what they're told. But are they fictional or simply misunderstood?
While it's true that most scholars would scoff at the notion of a holy sect appearing within the normally unethical and unorganized rabble that is the Thieves Guild, evidence suggests that such a group existed at one time within the borders of Skyrim. One hundred and twenty years before the publication of this tome, a corpse was discovered wearing a strange suit of armor that was described as "forged midnight." The tattered armor bore a crest of some sort, the symbol of a bird embracing a circle of undetailed [sic] blackness. The remains and the armor was taken to the College of Winterhold for study, but mysteriously vanished only a day after it arrived.
The crest from this armor was circulated around Skyrim for years but identification proved almost impossible. Then the most unlikely of sources, a prisoner incarcerated within the mines of Markarth, claimed that it was the mark of a group of thieves who called themselves the Nightingales. When pressed for more information, the prisoner claimed that the Nightingales were warriors of Nocturnal and performed her bidding without question. He claimed his source was someone he knew within the Thieves Guild of Skyrim, but he refused to identify them by name, so his story was quickly dismissed.
The second piece of evidence pointing to the existence of the Nightingales exists to this day just outside of Riften. Discovered at the terminus of a short pathway off of the main road stands a stone of unidentified blackened material. Carved into its face is the same avian symbol previously found on the dark suit of armor. To those that subscribed to the existence of the Nightingales, this was thought to be some sort of a meeting place. To others, this symbol was once again dismissed as a hoax or simply a diversion created by the Thieves Guild.
The final, and most controversial sample of evidence is a passage found scrawled on the inside of a cell wall in Whiterun. The cell had previously been occupied by a Dunmer named Lorthus was incarcerated for murder and was set for execution. After the deed was performed, and Lorthus's cell was examined, the following was found etched into one of the stone blocks:
"Take my hand Lady Nocturnal, for it's my will to serve you. As a Nightingale, I'm born anew. Let my past echo our triumph."
This is the first and only time that a solid connection between Nocturnal and the Nightingale has been made. The unusual nature of the passage, the religious connotations towards Nocturnal made by a career criminal, kept discussions lively for years regarding the possibility of this group actually existing. Sadly, since not a single piece of evidence beyond this has surfaced to date, this exciting discovery faded into obscurity and the debate subsided.
With these scant samples of evidence, conclusions are difficult to formulate. All we're left with are more questions than answers. Can religion and thievery coexist? Does the Daedric Lord Nocturnal have active agents roaming Skyrim with a no-doubt nefarious purpose? Does the Thieves Guild have extensive knowledge of the Nightingales, but remain sworn to secrecy? Perhaps one day the answers to these questions will be revealed, but at present it falls to you, the reader, to decide whether the Nightingales are fact or merely fiction.
Nocturnal, who is also known as the Night Mistress[1][2][3] among other titles[nb 1], is a Daedric Prince, or rather "Daedric Princess",[4] whose sphere is the night and darkness.[1][2] She is frequently depicted accompanied by jet-black ravens, which are said to have the power of speech.[5]
Nocturnal possesses several realms throughout
Oblivion.
One such realm, Shade
Perilous, was once accessible through the Battlespire,[6]
but has since been isolated due to the Battlespire's
destruction.[7]
The Twilight Sepulcher is the temple dedicated to Nocturnal
which houses the Ebonmere,
a conduit to the Evergloam,
which is guarded by the Nightingales.[8]
The cowl is inscribed with the phrase "Shadow hide [y]ou" written in the Daedric Alphabet, though as is common in the daedric alphabet, the letter Yahkem (Y) is omitted from the inscription. The phrase is also used as a code between thieves, either as a form of praise to Nocturnal or a literal expression of hope. The Nightingales of Nocturnal believe the true meaning of the phrase is a reference to their fate after death, when their souls journey to the Evergloam and become one with the shadow, the cloak that covers their fellow thieves. The Office of the Unseeing Eye, a section of the Cult of the Ancestor Moth, expressed a desire to find the cowl in order to see if the curse does exist, and research further on how to remove it.
After having been stolen by Emer Dareloth, the cursed cowl was handed down from one guildmaster to the next in the Cyrodiil branch of the Thieves Guild. This forced the guildmasters to work under the persona of the Gray Fox. Thought to be a myth by most members of the public, the identity of the Gray Fox came about over the course of three hundred years, as the guildmasters lost their individual identities and became known only as the bearer of the Cowl. Legends propagated around the mysterious master thief, who was thought to possess immortality and supernatural thieving abilities. He was viewed as a hero by the beggars and the lower classes of Cyrodiil, but he was hated by the nobility and the Imperial Watch. The curse was broken in 3E 433, when Count Corvus Umbranox, the contemporary Gray Fox, organised the theft of an Elder Scroll from the Imperial Library in the Imperial Palace. Umbranox used the Scroll to rewrite history and remove Nocturnal's curse. Without the curse, the past guildmasters were able to work openly, and the Thieves Guild became more prosperous. Umbranox regained his identity and his title as Count of Anvil, and the Cowl was passed on to a new guildmaster. Even without the curse, the Cowl still had the ability to cloak the true identity of the wearer, and it was still identified with the infamous Gray Fox. By 4E 201, the Gray Fox remains a revered character among thieves.
The first supposed wielder of the Key was the thief Arrovan. After disappearing, the Key always chose inaccessible places to hide, and for the benefit of historians Arrovan made a list of the various resting places. The Skeleton Key was uncovered during the Imperial Simulacrum by the Eternal Champion in either Valenwood or Summerset Isles (reports vary) while following rumors of the Key having appeared in one of the known dungeons. In the events leading up to the Warp in the West, an unknown agent of the Blades was tasked by Nocturnal to kill a mage in his stronghold. The agent was then gifted the Key by a worshipper of the Prince. The Key later came into the possession of Gentleman Jim Stacey, leader of the Thieves Guild in Vvardenfell. The Key was passed on to the Nerevarine in 3E 427, although how Stacey came to lose it is unclear: some say it was in return for killing Sjoring Hard-Heart, the Master of the Vivec City Fighters Guild, while others say the Nerevarine took it by force.
Circa 3E 433, an artifact known as the Eye of Nocturnal was stolen from Nocturnal's shrine in Cyrodiil's Blackwood region. Nocturnal tasked the Champion of Cyrodiil with recovering it. The thieves, an Argonian couple in Leyawiin, hid it in a flooded cave in Topal Bay. The Champion returned it to Nocturnal and was rewarded with the Skeleton Key.
Some time before 4E 201, the Key was stolen from the Twilight Sepulcher by Mercer Frey, a corrupt Nightingale. Its long-term loss resulted in a decline of the Skyrim branch of the Thieves Guild due to bad luck without Nocturnal's influence. The guild's influence declined until their only presence was in the Ratways beneath Riften. Mercer used the Key to bring himself luck, but he was eventually confronted by the Nightingales beneath the Great Statue of Irkngthand. Mercer was killed, and the Last Dragonborn brought the Key back to the Sepulcher, reopening the Ebonmere.
Near the end of the Third Era, the Bow came into the possession of a necromancer named Goris the Maggot King. In 3E 427, the Nerevarine killed Goris and his accomplice Luven in the Venim Ancestral Tomb, a tomb in the Grazelands of Vvardenfell which Goris used as a lair. The Nerevarine then retrieved the Bow. Later that year, the Bow was sold to Torasa Aram and put on display in her Museum of Artifacts in Mournhold.
The Gray Cowl of Nocturnal[edit]
The Gray Cowl of Nocturnal is a daedric artifact that once belonged to Nocturnal. It takes the form of a dark leather cowl, which obscures the face of the wearer. Nocturnal is revered as a god by thieves across Tamriel. Her reputation as the Mistress of Shadows has sometimes led thieves to attempt to steal an item from her to prove their greatness. As Nocturnal is usually depicted wearing a cloak and a cowl, it is around these two items that legends have arisen. The story of the theft of Nocturnal's cloak is probably fiction, as is at least one story of the theft of the cowl, but the cowl is known to have left her possession. It appears to have been stolen by a thief named Emer Dareloth, the first guildmaster of the Thieves Guild, although a curse bestowed upon the cowl by Nocturnal meant that the name of cowl's owner is lost to mortal memory. "Whosoever wears it shall be lost in the shadows. His true nature shall be unknown to all who meet him. His identity shall be struck from all records and histories. Memory will hide in the shadows, refusing to record the name of the owner to any who meet him. He shall be known by the cowl and only by the cowl." This curse was broken when history was rewritten through the use of an Elder Scroll.The cowl is inscribed with the phrase "Shadow hide [y]ou" written in the Daedric Alphabet, though as is common in the daedric alphabet, the letter Yahkem (Y) is omitted from the inscription. The phrase is also used as a code between thieves, either as a form of praise to Nocturnal or a literal expression of hope. The Nightingales of Nocturnal believe the true meaning of the phrase is a reference to their fate after death, when their souls journey to the Evergloam and become one with the shadow, the cloak that covers their fellow thieves. The Office of the Unseeing Eye, a section of the Cult of the Ancestor Moth, expressed a desire to find the cowl in order to see if the curse does exist, and research further on how to remove it.
After having been stolen by Emer Dareloth, the cursed cowl was handed down from one guildmaster to the next in the Cyrodiil branch of the Thieves Guild. This forced the guildmasters to work under the persona of the Gray Fox. Thought to be a myth by most members of the public, the identity of the Gray Fox came about over the course of three hundred years, as the guildmasters lost their individual identities and became known only as the bearer of the Cowl. Legends propagated around the mysterious master thief, who was thought to possess immortality and supernatural thieving abilities. He was viewed as a hero by the beggars and the lower classes of Cyrodiil, but he was hated by the nobility and the Imperial Watch. The curse was broken in 3E 433, when Count Corvus Umbranox, the contemporary Gray Fox, organised the theft of an Elder Scroll from the Imperial Library in the Imperial Palace. Umbranox used the Scroll to rewrite history and remove Nocturnal's curse. Without the curse, the past guildmasters were able to work openly, and the Thieves Guild became more prosperous. Umbranox regained his identity and his title as Count of Anvil, and the Cowl was passed on to a new guildmaster. Even without the curse, the Cowl still had the ability to cloak the true identity of the wearer, and it was still identified with the infamous Gray Fox. By 4E 201, the Gray Fox remains a revered character among thieves.
The Skeleton Key[edit]
The Skeleton Key (also called the Skeleton's Key) is a Daedric artifact created by the Daedric Prince Nocturnal. In appearance it doesn't always take the form of a key, and sometimes manifests as a lockpick instead. In its key form, it can be used to unlock any lock. As a lockpick, it is nigh unbreakable and can get past even the toughest locks. The two limitations placed on the Key by wizards who sought to protect their storehouses were that the Key could only be used once a day and it would never be the property of one thief for too long, eventually disappearing. The artifact functions as a tool for "unlocking" all things, including portals, hidden potential, and other unknown possibilities. Its ultimate function, however, is to unlock and hold open the Ebonmere, a portal to Nocturnal's realm, Evergloam, located in the Twilight Sepulcher of Skyrim. The Nightingales are tasked with guarding the Sepulcher and retrieving the Key should it be stolen. Unfortunately, the Prince is said to allow the Skeleton Key to be stolen or lost periodically, whether by purpose or apathy.The first supposed wielder of the Key was the thief Arrovan. After disappearing, the Key always chose inaccessible places to hide, and for the benefit of historians Arrovan made a list of the various resting places. The Skeleton Key was uncovered during the Imperial Simulacrum by the Eternal Champion in either Valenwood or Summerset Isles (reports vary) while following rumors of the Key having appeared in one of the known dungeons. In the events leading up to the Warp in the West, an unknown agent of the Blades was tasked by Nocturnal to kill a mage in his stronghold. The agent was then gifted the Key by a worshipper of the Prince. The Key later came into the possession of Gentleman Jim Stacey, leader of the Thieves Guild in Vvardenfell. The Key was passed on to the Nerevarine in 3E 427, although how Stacey came to lose it is unclear: some say it was in return for killing Sjoring Hard-Heart, the Master of the Vivec City Fighters Guild, while others say the Nerevarine took it by force.
Circa 3E 433, an artifact known as the Eye of Nocturnal was stolen from Nocturnal's shrine in Cyrodiil's Blackwood region. Nocturnal tasked the Champion of Cyrodiil with recovering it. The thieves, an Argonian couple in Leyawiin, hid it in a flooded cave in Topal Bay. The Champion returned it to Nocturnal and was rewarded with the Skeleton Key.
Some time before 4E 201, the Key was stolen from the Twilight Sepulcher by Mercer Frey, a corrupt Nightingale. Its long-term loss resulted in a decline of the Skyrim branch of the Thieves Guild due to bad luck without Nocturnal's influence. The guild's influence declined until their only presence was in the Ratways beneath Riften. Mercer used the Key to bring himself luck, but he was eventually confronted by the Nightingales beneath the Great Statue of Irkngthand. Mercer was killed, and the Last Dragonborn brought the Key back to the Sepulcher, reopening the Ebonmere.
The Bow of Shadows[edit]
The Bow of Shadows is a Daedric artifact that, according to legend, was forged by the Daedric Prince Nocturnal. The legendary ranger, Raerlas Ghile, was granted the Bow for a secret mission that failed. The Bow was lost, though Raerlas is said to have used it to take scores of his foes down with him. The Bow is said to grant the user invisibility and increased speed. Many sightings have been reported; it is said that the Second Era Dunmer assassin Dram once wielded it. Dram likely used the Bow during the Battle of Hunding Bay, when he shot Prince A'tor with the poisoned arrow that eventually killed him. Dram also made use of the bow during the rebellion of Stros M'Kai, led by the Restless League, most notably in battle against Cyrus the Redguard.Near the end of the Third Era, the Bow came into the possession of a necromancer named Goris the Maggot King. In 3E 427, the Nerevarine killed Goris and his accomplice Luven in the Venim Ancestral Tomb, a tomb in the Grazelands of Vvardenfell which Goris used as a lair. The Nerevarine then retrieved the Bow. Later that year, the Bow was sold to Torasa Aram and put on display in her Museum of Artifacts in Mournhold.
The
Skeleton Key
is a Daedric
artifact acquired after killing Mercer
Frey. The Skeleton Key is an unbreakable lockpick, making it
rather useful to enterprising thieves.
The Skeleton Key also has a secondary, less known function as being used to keep Ebonmere, a well from which luck flows into the world, open. You are tasked with returning the key to Ebonmere in the Twilight Sepulcher to restore luck to the Thieves Guild. Until then, you may retain the key indefinitely for your own use.
Despite being a Daedric artifact, the Skeleton Key does not count towards the Oblivion Walker achievement, because it is not acquired through a Daedric quest.
The Skeleton Key also has a secondary, less known function as being used to keep Ebonmere, a well from which luck flows into the world, open. You are tasked with returning the key to Ebonmere in the Twilight Sepulcher to restore luck to the Thieves Guild. Until then, you may retain the key indefinitely for your own use.
Despite being a Daedric artifact, the Skeleton Key does not count towards the Oblivion Walker achievement, because it is not acquired through a Daedric quest.
The
Twilight Sepulcher
is the location of the Pilgrim's Path and main entrance to
Nocturnal's
Ebonmere portal, resting place for the Skeleton
Key. It contains two zones: Twilight
Sepulcher and Twilight
Sepulcher Inner Sanctum.
It is found to the west of Falkreath, due south of Knifepoint Ridge.
It is found to the west of Falkreath, due south of Knifepoint Ridge.
The
Evergloam
is a realm of Oblivion,
created and ruled over by Nocturnal,
the Daedric
Prince of Shadow. It is a realm of perpetual twilight, and
the "cradle of shadow". The Evergloam has several
pocket realms, including the Shade
Perilous and the Crow's
Wood.
The Ebonmere is a portal linked to the Evergloam, which acts as Nocturnal's conduit on Tamriel. It is located in the Twilight Sepulcher, an ancient temple in Skyrim. The Ebonmere is held open by the Skeleton Key, although the artifact has often been stolen from the Sepulcher by mortals. The Nightingales are a secretive subgroup of the Thieves Guild, who pledge their souls to Nocturnal and guard both the Ebonmere and the Skeleton Key. When a Nightingale dies, it is believed that their soul becomes one with the shadows. As long as the Ebonmere remains open, the souls of dead Nightingales can "walk with the shadows" and bring luck to thieves. As Agents of Nocturnal, Nightingales are permitted to "drink" from the Ebonmere and obtain powerful abilities.[1]
The Ebonmere is a portal linked to the Evergloam, which acts as Nocturnal's conduit on Tamriel. It is located in the Twilight Sepulcher, an ancient temple in Skyrim. The Ebonmere is held open by the Skeleton Key, although the artifact has often been stolen from the Sepulcher by mortals. The Nightingales are a secretive subgroup of the Thieves Guild, who pledge their souls to Nocturnal and guard both the Ebonmere and the Skeleton Key. When a Nightingale dies, it is believed that their soul becomes one with the shadows. As long as the Ebonmere remains open, the souls of dead Nightingales can "walk with the shadows" and bring luck to thieves. As Agents of Nocturnal, Nightingales are permitted to "drink" from the Ebonmere and obtain powerful abilities.[1]
The Shade Perilous is a pocket realm of the Evergloam coveted by many Daedric clans for the harvestable darkling mana present. It was taken by the armies of Mehrunes Dagon during his invasion of the Battlespire during the Imperial Simulacrum. Dagon's protégés, Faydra Shardai and Xivilai Moath, became overzealous and, instead of simply obtaining passage by negotiation, took the Shade Perilous by force. The clanless Seducers who inhabited the realm betrayed the Nocturnal Lieutenant Jaciel Morgen and the lesser Nocturnal Deyanira Katrece, claiming the area for Dagon. The Shade Perilous was left to the Fire Atronachs and Frost Atronachs, although the two enemy clans fought over ownership. An apprentice battlemage from the Battlespire, following the retreating Daedric armies, helped to partially liberate the Shade Perilous, although it is unknown whether or not the Nocturnals regained control of the area. It is likely that Imago Storm relinquished Clan Dagon's hold on the realm after assuming control following Dagon's banishment.[2]
The Crow's Wood is an uncanny pocket realm of the Evergloam. It was made to resemble a nightmarish forest, although it is a poor imitation compared to Tamriel. It is inhabited by the feudal Blackfeather Court, sentient crows who view themselves as the realm's rulers. Other inhabitants include giant bats, ghosts, wolves, spiders, wisps, wispmothers, bears, and soul wraiths. The realm was once ruled by a powerful soul wraith called Ghyslain, although he was banished under unknown circumstances. A hagraven known as the Crow Mother then came to rule the realm as the head of the Blackfeather Court.
Sometime
in the Second
Era, a Dunmer
member of the Mages
Guild named Rulantaril Oran discovered the Crow's Wood in
his search for powerful forgotten spells. He created an
enchanted chest to open a portal to the realm, and hid it in a
small cave near the city of Davon's
Watch in Morrowind.[3]
He attempted to gain favor with the Crow Mother by confessing
his love for her. However, his trickery failed, and the hagraven
imprisoned him in her tower. His son, Telbaril, entered the
realm in search of his father in 2E
582. Groups of adventurers, enticed by the chest, began to
enter the Crow's Wood as well. Telbaril asked for help in
searching for his father, but it is unknown if Rulantaril or the
Crow Mother survived the ensuing hunt. Ghyslain was also
summoned back to the realm, but he was destroyed by the
adventurers.[4]
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