Summary
While it is hardly the most well-regarded of professions, there should be no doubt that all assassins require an almost supernatural level of strength, skill, and wit just to survive. By blade or by magic, Tamrielic assassins have had a hand in too many major events inThe Elder Scrolls' blood-soaked history to count, usually in Sithis' name. Ranking assassins fromThe Elder Scrollshistory is tricky because part of the job description is literally getting away with murder. This usually means keeping a clean name before and after the act.
King-killers and emperor slayers are mentioned in lore. (For example, Tiber Septim’s grandson was murdered by the Dark Brotherhood, but none could name the killer). While there have been brutish assassins and crazed mass murderers in Tamriel, being a strong assassin means surviving long enough to kill another day, whether that means remaining in one piece or striking from beyond the grave. As they can choose any path,the protagonist of each Elder Scrolls gamecannot be counted, despite any deeds they may or may not have performed. Beware of some spoilers lurking in the shadows ahead.
5Cicero The Jester
Kept Alive By The Music Of Madness And The Dance Of Bloodshed
Many would look upon the acts of the Dark Brotherhood as madness. If there is any truth to that, then Cicero embodies it. Skyrim, of all places, is not known for humoring eccentrics, especially nothigh-pitched, hyperactive clowns. Cicero’s act is part smokescreen and part authentic. While working his way up from a lowly assassin, he witnessed the fall of the Dark Brotherhood and, over the course of eight years, went mad as the Night Mother’s sole protector and became the “Fool of Hearts.”
If nothing else, Cicero is a survivor. Where all the other members of his family perished in Cyrodiil, only he survived. When war fell upon Cheydinhal before the events ofSkyrim, he brought the Night Mother to safety, and after a member of the Falkreath Sanctuary insulted her, he attacked the Brotherhood but managed to survive. Cicero even managed to defeat a Brotherhood werewolfbent on taking revenge. Only the Last Dragonborn is capable of killing him. However, by sparing him, they make a powerful assassin ally.
4Corda Of The Morag Tong
The Legendary Emperor Slayer Of The First Era
The work of this assassin ushered inthe beginning of the Second Era, for her final target was none other than Emporer Reman Cyrodiil the Third and his son. A Redguard woman named Rijja once served as the emperor’s mistress before his paranoia took control. After imprisoning Rijja on false charges, Reman threatened to replace her with her sister, Corda, a suggestion for which Rijja took the emperor’s eye. In response, Reman had her executed.
One month after her sister’s death, Corda arrived in the Imperial City and began training with the Morag Tong (an assassination guild that preceded the Dark Brotherhood). According to the legend, Corda ended the emperor’s life by slitting his neck with a parchment given to her by the empress, who had been imprisoned by him many years earlier. After the deed, she consorted with the Night Mother and absconded to an island off the coast of Morrowind to retire.
3Naryu Virian
The Deadly Enforcer Of Morag Tong Justice
While most will associate assassins with the Dark Brotherhood and their overflowing bloodlust, another organization in Tamriel’s history, the Marog Tong, showed how the art of assassination could be used to further and sustain order (in a manner of speaking). The greatest agent of this group, at least according to all evidence, is Naryu Virian.
The exploits of the assassin are difficult to recount, considering their usual methods. However, Naryu Virian’s exploits, as seen inThe Elder Scrolls: Online, are hard to ignore. From eliminating corrupt leaders to dismantling dangerous conspiracies and giving serial killers a taste of their own confectionary, Naryu operates with a combination of stealth, charm, and deadly professionalism. She hasa body count in the thousands, a number she achieved in direct fights and through stealthy wetwork.
2Lucien Lachance
Dedicated To Sithis In Both Life And Death
InOblivion, this eerily-voiced assassin was not only a high-ranking and respectedmember of the Dark Brotherhood, even by the Night Mother herself, but also a talented killer and a master of stealth. Despite his high position as a member of the Black Hand, the Brotherhood’s inner circle, he enjoyed being out in the field and completing jobs by his own hand, whether that meant inviting potential recruits into the fold (from just about anywhere in Cyrodiil with a bed) or wringing the life out of those condemned to die by the contract of the Black Sacrament.
While Lucien Lachance met his grizzly end at the hands of his beloved family for his perceived betrayal of the Brotherhood duringOblivion, his hateful spirit stubbornly remained in the mortal plane, eager to feed more souls to the hungry void. InSkyrim, his ghost can be summoned to assist in a murder, contracted or otherwise. As well as bloodshed, Lucien offers his macabre thoughts on the player’s actions and tends to revel in treachery and malice.
1The Vampire Babette
The Merciless Killer With The Face Of An Innocent
While this “little girl” may look like a pushover, she has taken the lives of hundreds or even thousands of victims. Because she contracted Sanguinare Vampiris at the age of ten, three hundred years before the events ofSkyrim, she never physically aged. She uses her appearance to her advantage both when on a Dark Brotherhood contract orhunting for blood in the wild.
With around three centuries of experience, she could out-assassin any of her brothers or sisters if it ever came to that, whether through her deceptive talents or through straight-up strength or skill, thanks to her dark gifts. InSkyrim’s Dark Brotherhood questline, once the Falkreath Sanctuary is attacked and destroyed, she is one of the few survivors.
