Interview with a Master Swordsman

Author's note - This interview was conducted in the Mosque of the Black Knight in Rihad during the reign of the Akaviri Potentate in the Second Era. The subject is one Melchior at-Belkarth, of the Order of the Rose. The authorship is unknown, but this appears to be the second in a series of similar interviews all apparently conducted by a single Colovian male.

I'd like to thank you for taking the time to sit down for this interview with me, kind sir. For the edification of the readers back home in Anvil County, can you please give a brief introduction?

"I am Melchior at-Belkarth. I am a warrior-priest from the small settlement of Shady Grove. I now train and meditate with the members of my Order here in Rihad."

Let's talk about your Order for a moment. You're a member of the Order of the Rose, as the insignias on your armor and sword clearly indicate. Can you tell me a bit about your Order?

"Certainly. We venerate the God of War, Reymon Ebonarm. We emulate his mastery of the martial arts of swordsmanship and horsemanship as well as the chivalric arts. We behave as a synthesis of Knight and Priest, being proponents of our mighty Ancestor, and representations of him here in the mortal Arena. Isn't our Mosque beautiful?"

I must confess, it is beautiful indeed. Such craftsmanship and attention to detail is rarely seen in my native Anvil, and it's not so very far away from here. Breath-taking. I must confess my ignorance and confusion on the subject of your chosen deity, however. Isn't Ebonarm a Nord?

"Perhaps where you're from, such things matter. Here, they do not. You'll see Knights of the Rose wearing the skin of Ra'ga, like me, or even the ashen skin of the Dunmer, or the pale skin of you Colovians and your Breton cousins. It matters little what flesh you were born into. Your Ancestors are the ones who light a fire in your heart. Never forget that, young man. The gods can unite people across racial and economic barriers. All things are possible through the veneration of the Divines, and the Sword is the instrument of Proper Worship."

Can you tell me a bit about your views on swordsmanship and worship? And how to they relate to the mythical powers of the Ansei, or Sword-Singers of old?

"Ah, this scholar has done his homework, it seems. My Order is not a direct continuation of the Ansei. Indeed, no such Order exists any more. Their teachings are lost in this Era, although ours have something in common. The Shehai was a deeply personal thing. It didn't just represent the soul of the warrior who summoned it. It was the soul of the warrior. It could cut the unseen - straight into the strands of the world. That was its power, and its danger. My Order reveres our Swords similarly, although they are baser things of wrought steel. They still symbolize our connection to the Divine. The Sword represents past, present and future. With sword in hand, the Knight exists here in the now, but he defends the idea of the past while cutting a path to the future. Such violent imagery may seem shocking to an Anvilman like yourself, who prefers softer gods like Dibella, but there is an art to swordsmanship, my friend. There is spirituality here."

Your sword seems to be made from exceptionally pure steel, at least to my untrained eye. The only comparable steel I've seen was from the Skyforge, in Whiterun. I realize you're not a Smith, but I've read that most Redguard swordsmen are present for the forging of their sword. Can you give me some insight on the superior metallurgy of Rihad?

"Am I supposed to be flattered, that you compared this holy symbol to those pale imitations from Skyrim? Nordic swords are crude things, are they not? They're not even curved. I fail to understand how one could stand to wield such a clumsy and inelegant weapon, but I digress. You wish to know of the metallurgy of our people? I know little. I am a warrior-priest, as you know. I can tell you that much of our society was transplanted intact from Yokuda, including our Smithing traditions. As our weapons were superior in every way to the mongrels who opposed us on arrival, it can be surmised that either the spirit of the wielder or the composition of the steel was superior. Probably both. What an age we live in that even unenlightened Easterners like yourself can look upon this beautiful sword in a non-combat situation. Pray that the political climate remains thus. Nobody has ever defeated us on our own soil."

I suppose I'd better ask you a few things about swordsmanship itself, as you are a Master of that craft. What makes the sword a superior weapon to all others, in your view? What are the prevalent styles or schools of swordsmanship in Hammerfell? What does it mean, to you, to be a swordsman?

"Fine enough questions, for a foreigner. The sword is superior in its very form. It is the Middle, the Center. When Onsi taught my ancestors how to pull their knives into swords, it was more than a physical act. He was teaching us how to become more than we are, by lengthening the roads we travel. These roads are never straight. They often curve, and are wrought with dangers and uncertainties. Thus do our weapons mirror this. The sword represents hard work, and danger. Anyone can use a sword, but only a Master can become one."

"Second question...sword styles, you say? There are as many styles as there are grains of sand in the mighty Alik'r. A true swordsman does not confine his thinking to a rigid style or set of responses. He is fluid, like water. He adapts to any situation. That is why he trains his mind and body vigorously and on a daily basis, in conjecture with the Book of Circles, so that his fighting spirit may perceive the trickery and weakness of his enemies, and so that he may use all the correct cuts to slice through these deceptions."

"To be a swordsman means to become one with the sword. Ebonarm was his sword. The man and the weapon were inseparable. To truly pick up a sword is a type of marriage. You become One. You are naked and incomplete without it. Thus does it become your Ancestor, and thus does it speak riddles to you. It is the honor and duty of a true swordsman to endlessly write and solve riddles with his soul."

What types of enemies does your Order face regularly? I know of savage Orc and Goblin tribes who raid out of the deserts, and local monsters like sand trolls and giant scorpions. Do you ever have to vanquish the Undead?

"Outsider, we Ra'ga do not harm the bodies of our sacred Ancestors, even if they rise to harm us. That is not our way. To do so is to dishonor our family heritage, and that brings us eternal shame. We hate Necromancy and other false sciences here in Hammerfell. Conjuration is often demonic trafficking. We Knights will gladly strike down Daedra and the wicked lady-wizards who summon them. We will also gladly disembowel Necromancers, but we will not strike the bones or animus of our Ancestors. There are certain spells and enchantments which keep them at bay, but we won't harm them. The Sword represents them, so how could it be turned against them?"

Fascinating philosophy. So if, say, a horde of zombies were running loose in Rihad right now, the proper response would be to run away, or rely on incantations? That hardly seems reasonable.

"Ah, but you see, Rihad also contains warriors of many other races. It is not against our laws and customs for an Imperial like you to slay our animated dead. We simply do not do it ourselves. The gods love irony, and loopholes. Why worship somebody with no sense of humor?"

Last but not least, I must comment on the Redguard aversion to Conjuration magic. Surely, the sacred shehai itself was very similar to a bound weapon in composition and intent? And isn't a spiritual connection with one's ancestors a sort of Conjuration in and of itself?

Melchior throws his head back and laughs heartily, sincerely, and claps me on the back.

"Colovian, that's what I love about you Imperials. Always eager to dissect and over-classify everything. I'll tell you what. If you want to know more about Conjuration, why not find a witch and ask her?"

That's the next step in my journey, actually. I thank you again for your hospitality, kind sir. One more thing - what does the red rose stand for?

"The red rose stands for the death place of a true warrior, who died valiantly for a true cause. It is one of Ebonarm's holy symbols. According to some legends, there is a great Tower in the center of all Creation, and it sits in a field of red roses, for one cannot reach the mind of the Divine without cutting a path in blood. Through Violence we reach the Far Shores. Only there may we lay down our swords at last. Contemplate this, in your own heathen way. I must attend to my meditation now."