Skyrim – the land of Nords, mead, and no shortage of bothersome characters that players secretly wish to be rid of. One needs to look no further than Whiterun's Nazeem to know just how annoying NPCs in Skyrim can be. While most players tend to ignore these unsavory individuals, others decide to do something about it – with revenge fantasies varying from efficiently simple to frighteningly elaborate. However, not all characters can be killed due to the fact that their continued existence holds the main story together.
Delphine is one of those essential characters, as she leads the Blades in Skyrim. Along with her senior colleague Esbern, she represents a beloved Elder Scrolls faction in a rather contentious light. To put it bluntly: she wants to slay the Dragonborn's dovah mentor, Paathurnax, for the atrocities he committed against mankind in the Merethic Era. Remorseful for his actions, Paarthurnax spent the rest of his life following Alduin's defeat secluded atop the Throat of the World as Grandmaster of the Greybeards.
In a video by Reddit user walter-fring, Delphine's request to slay Paarthurnax is countered in the most excessive way imaginable – utilizing her essential NPC status to torture Delphine with a bombardment of spells, holding her in place to be mauled by a conjured werebear, scorched by Paarthurnax's dragonfire, before throwing Delphine off the Throat of the World.
True to Skyrim's essential NPC system, Delphine survives the gruesome ordeal, and it starts all over again. Delphine shows up atop the Throat of the World during the "Season Unending" main quest, which made dragging her before Paarthurnax a simple matter. With the help of an exploit, walter-fring was able to use Vampiric Grip outside the Vampire Lord form and conjure a werebear acquired from the beast totem on Solstheim.
Whether Delphine deserves the player's ire for her zealous viewpoint on Paarthurnax as Grandmaster of the Blades is a source of debate among fans. The consensus seems to be that players primarily take issue with her bossy, presumptive, prejudiced attitude rather than the request itself. The narrative disconnect between the Blades seemingly existing to serve the Dragonborn, and Delphine ordering the player around with ultimatums proves too tiresome for most Skyrim players.
The Blades have played a significant role in every mainline Elder Scrolls game since Daggerfall. Though their depiction in Skyrim left a lot to be desired, a chance for redemption is not impossible should the next Elder Scrolls title choose to keep this tradition alive.
Skyrim is currently available for Nintendo Switch, PC, PS3, PS4, PS5, Xbox 360, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.