A Description of the Sword-Singers

For many people across Tamriel, from scholars to commoners, the tales of the Sword-Singers are the stuff of legends. However, these almost mythical and definitely legendary warriors of Yokuda and Hammerfall are real, and the stories do not exaggerate. I will try to briefly familiarise the reader with these magnificent swordsmen and -women.

How or why the order of the Sword-Singers was created is unknown. What is clear however, is that they were of great influence to Yokuda and later Hammerfell. At some point it was even stated by law that the only people on Yokuda who were allowed to wear a sword had to be Sword-Singers (it is unclear how much these warriors were involved with politics, seeing their reputation of scouring the deserts). Their influence was also in a negative way, as they are most likely the ones responsible for the destruction of Yokuda (out of revenge or out of necessity is still up to debate).

The ancient Sword-Singers were not only fabled as distinguished warriors, build also as artists. Indeed, it is not hard for someone with basic knowledge of the Yokudans and Redguards to imagine swordmanship being regarded as a art form in its own right, and not just as a martial technique. It was even possible for some of the Sword-Singers to support themselves and their families financially with performing in crowds. Frandar Hunding, for instance, was already skilled enough at the age of 14 to fully support his family this way.

The order was composed of both men and women, who were recruited, often out of the richer families of Yokuda, at the age of eleven. How the selection procedure worked, is unknown, however, it is assumed the future “Brother of the Blade” or “Maiden of the Spirit Sword” (as males and females in the order are referred to, respectively), could feel the “calling” or the “Song of the Sword”, and were subsequently picked. These young children would spend the following years in a Hall of the Virtues of the War, as the buildings of the Order were known. There, the younglings would hone their skills, and practise the crafting of swords. When a student is deemed good enough in the Way, he or she is send on the Walk About, a recreation of Frandar Hunding’s legend, which sees the Sword-Singer acting as a vigilante.

Some of the Sword-Singers are talented enough to form a Shehai, or Spirit Sword. This sword is a manifestation of pure will and concentration, while still requiring at least a small shimmer of magicka. Not all Sword-Singers are able to conjure a Shehai out of free will (one’s Shehai abilities are amplified in a situation of immediate danger), and even fewer are able to conjure one strong enough to effectively use in combat. As a result, they are mainly used in situations of live and death, or in ceremonies. Only a handful of Sword-Singers throughout recorded history are able to conjure a Shehai at will strong enough to fight with, including the fabled Yokudan hero Frandar Hunding, and possibly his son Divad.

It is a common misconception that all Sword-Singing techniques were based around the Shehai. Indeed, not even most Ansei were capable of using the Shehai for combat. Instead, the Sword-Singers resorted to more mundane tools, namely metal swords. This did not make the swordsmanship mundane, though. Firstly, the swords were of excellent craft, made with hundreds upon hundreds of years of knowledge, passed down through the order. Besides these swords, the Sword-Singers are also trained in many different grips and positions, each with a distinct purpose, as well as being able to magickally enhance their sword techniques, being able to cut inhumanly fast, and even apply the Pankratosword technique, which can cause widespread destruction.

A Singer who is able to conjure a Shehai can earn the title of Ansei, meaning “Saint of the Sword”. While there are many gradients under the Ansei, they are all allowed to start their own Sword-Singing school.

The Sword-Singers worship the many war gods of the Yokudans, and some unknown to the population of that continent. In more recent years (after the relocation to Hammerfell), these gods are referred to by the Sword-Singers themselves as the “Unknown Gods of War”. How this veneration is done exactly is unknown, but it is likely that the Sword-Singers used some display of swordsmanship as a way of honouring the gods.

Despite their fabled and legendary past, the order of the Sword-Singers has fallen into obscurity and simplicity in recent years. With many of the Memory Stones (magical rocks, used to store someone’s memory) now lost, and with a preference towards a simpler form of war (large, undertrained armies), many of the ancient knowledge of the order is now lost. With their crafting techniques lost, their grips and positionings forgotten, and their most skilled Ansei only able to conjure a week shimmer of energy, barely resembling a sword, the once prestigious order of the Sword-Singers is now nothing more than a shade of its former self.