The Elder Scrolls 6 is one of the most anticipated RPG games of the coming generation. Bethesda, however, has released little news since its first teaser trailer was announced in 2018. On the other hand, Skyrim casts a long shadow even as it approaches its 10-year anniversary, leaving many fans to speculate as to how the next game plans to live up to that legacy.
The Blades are a returning faction through several Elder Scrolls game, though they have taken on different forms. With Oblivion and Skyrim launching the world of The Elder Scrolls and the Blades into a new era, some fans will likely be wondering what the implications will be for the group in The Elder Scrolls 6, including how – and why – the Blades might make an appearance.
The History of the Blades
The Blades have gone through several important transformations in the Elder Scrolls lore. Founded in the Second Era, Skyrim reveals that the Blades began as dragon hunters in service of the Dragonborn. When the dragons were defeated and the Dragonborn Tiber Septim founded the Septim Empire, the Blades became the Imperial Intelligence Service, serving the Dragonborn and his descendants in a more secretive but equally central role.
This is how the Blades appear in Oblivion, where the last of the Septim bloodline, Martin Septim, is destroyed when he uses the Amulet of Kings to merge himself with the God Akatosh to defeat Mehrunes Dagon during the Oblivion crisis. The Blades would not find another Dragonborn to serve until the events of Skyrim. Many believe when Tiber Septim died he became the god Talos, who is in turn the patron deity of the Blades. With all of this history in mind, the Blades could have a very interesting role to play in The Elder Scrolls 6.
The Blades Without a Dragonborn
The main Elder Scrolls games have generally moved forward through time, with each subsequent game being set at least a few years after the previous one. Skyrim’s 200-year jump is by far the biggest in the main series, with the events of Oblivion taking place under 40 years after the events of The Elder Scrolls: Arena.
It’s likely, therefore, that The Elder Scrolls 6 will take place some time after Skyrim. This is made more likely by the fact that setting the game during the Septim Empire would undermine Oblivion’s dramatic end-of-an-era finale. The Blades, therefore, will likely not return in their capacity as an intelligence service. After Skyrim, it’s also unlikely that players will see another Dragonborn for the Blades to serve, with Skyrim's PC dubbed the Last Dragonborn. However, while there may not be an Empire or a Dragonborn, there’s one big reason the Blades might still be around.
As the Empire fractures during the Mede Dynasty, the Third Aldmeri Dominion is shown in Skyrim to be trying to eliminate the worship of Talos, the Blades’ patron deity. The High Elves perceive the deification of a human to be blasphemous. By the time The Elder Scrolls 6 takes place, the protection of Talos worship from elimination by the Dominion might be the closest thing the Blades have to protecting the Dragonborns and their legacy.
This depends, of course, on the time period in which the next game is set. With Tamriel increasingly fractured, however, and the Aldmeri Dominion implied to be slowly overwhelming the Mede Dynasty, the worship of Talos will likely be more threatened than ever. This is especially true as even the Empire itself moves further away from the end of the Septim bloodline.
The Blades could return as resistance fighters within the Dominion, combining their past roles as an intelligence service and as warriors. No matter the outcome of Skyrim’s Civil War, the Altmer’s goal to wipe out Talos worship will likely still be progressing. After all, if the Empire wins the Civil War, then the Altmer can force further concessions from them in places like Skyrim where Talos worship is the most common.
Similarly, if the Stormcloaks win the Civil War, the Empire is even more fractured than before, allowing the Aldmeri Dominion to extend its influence further across the continent. While Talos worship would likely be preserved in Skyrim itself, it is extremely unlikely that the next Elder Scrolls game would take place in that province.
The Future of Tamriel and The Elder Scrolls
The political landscape of Tamriel is shown to be changing as the human dominated Empire begins to factionalize and the High Elves become increasingly powerful. It would make sense for Bethesda to further realize this trend in The Elder Scrolls 6, especially if it wants to give players an experience that feels familiar but fresh. Only by doing this will the next game be able to step out of Skyrim’s shadow.
The Blades are an adaptable organization, and the fact that they survived for the 200-year period between Oblivion and Skyrim without a Dragonborn makes it likely that they will survive and continue to adapt to their new surroundings long after the events of The Elder Scrolls 5. Even if the Dragonborn wiped out the Blades in Skyrim, there are likely more across the continent at places like Cloud Ruler Temple.
The Blades’ subterfuge led to some of the most fun quests in Skyrim, particularly the infiltration quest Diplomatic Immunity, in which the player has to sneak into the Thalmor embassy while disguised as a guest. The supremacist Thalmor are one of the least likable factions in the entire game, and not having an opportunity to mess with them on the Blades’ behalf in The Elder Scrolls 6 would likely be a missed opportunity.
There is still little that fans know about The Elder Scrolls 6, and with many fans now turning to Obsidian Entertainment’s upcoming Avowed as Skyrim’s spiritual successor, the next Elder Scrolls game will have to feel fresh while still including the elements that helped Skyrim achieve its unprecedented critical and commercial success. Reuniting with the Blades and seeing how they have adapted to the changing face of the continent would help do just that, and many fans will be hoping for the faction's return.
The Elder Scrolls 6 is in development.