The UESPWiki – Your source for The Elder Scrolls since 1995

This page is currently being rewritten as part of the Skyrim Quest Redesign Project.

The page is being rewritten and checked in several stages. All users are welcome to make changes to the page. If you make a change that is relevant to the project, please update this template accordingly, and make sure you have observed the project guidelines.

Detail Walkthrough: written by Beezer1029, not checked

Reward: written by Neondrmr, checked by Beezer1029

Quick Walkthrough [ edit ]

Locate and bring three suitable followers to Delphine. Induct these followers into the Blades. Ask Esbern about dragon lairs to start the repeatable quest Dragon Hunting.

Detailed Walkthrough [ edit ]

Help Wanted [ edit ]

Delphine inducting Lydia into the Blades

After completing Alduin's Wall, you may notice that the Blades' mission of ridding Skyrim of dragons may be rather daunting for just two people. Ask Delphine about her apparent staffing shortage and she will reply, "The Thalmor hunted us down, remember? It wasn't exactly great for recruitment. But we have a headquarters of a sort now. We'll rebuild the Blades. Someday." As you are the Dragonborn, and the Blades are sworn to protect you, you might be inclined to help Delphine find new recruits. When you offer, she will say, "If you find anyone you think would make a good recruit, I can certainly take a look at them. Remember, though, being a Blade is a lifelong commitment. Their loyalty has to be with us once they're in."

Recruiting [ edit ]

To recruit a follower into the Blades, simply bring your new recruit to Delphine in Sky Haven Temple for introductions. Since being a Blade is binding, Delphine will ask you for confirmation: "Are you sure? I'll need to ask them to take an oath to leave their old life behind and stay here from now on." Confirm your selection and Delphine will agree. She will then give the oath to your first recruit:

Delphine: "You there. The Dragonborn wishes to give you the chance to join the lost guardians of Tamriel. The dragon slayers. The Blades. Do you wish to become a Blade?" Follower: "I do." Delphine: "Are you willing to trade away all claims and titles of your former life? To live here and devote yourself to protecting Tamriel from danger?" Follower: "I do." Delphine: "Then by my right as acting grandmaster, I name you a Blade, with all the privileges, rights, and burdens that brings. Godspeed."

Happy Hunting [ edit ]

You can bring two more recruits to Delphine for the oath taking. After the third, she will say "That's enough recruits for now. Ask Esbern about the dragon lairs he's been studying. We'll have the recruits do some hunting with you." Speak to Esbern to complete the quest and begin the Dragon Hunting repeatable quest.

Notes [ edit ]

Bugs [ edit ]

Any armor given to Blades inductees prior to their induction may be removed from their inventory. This bug is fixed by version 2.0.5 of the Unofficial Skyrim Patch. Due to this bug, it appears that dragon priest masks are also lost. This renders the quest in Bromjunaar Sanctuary impossible to complete.

When dismissing Blade followers who were formerly housecarls, they will say "I will be back at your house if you need me, Thane" , though they will actually return to Sky Haven Temple.

, though they will actually return to Sky Haven Temple. Sometimes, followers recruited into the blades will travel back to where you recruited them, even though Delphine accepted them. A possible fix could be to load before recruiting the previous Blade (only possible if this wasn't the first follower you introduced to the Blades), recruit that previous Blade again and try again with your second one.

Esbern may be unavailable when you try to talk to him. There is no dialogue option and he just says 'Did you say something?'.

Followers may attack one another killing one of your blades members.

Quest Stages [ edit ]

Rebuilding the Blades (FreeformSkyhavenTempleA) Stage Finishes Quest Journal Entry 10 Objective 10: Bring a follower to Delphine 20 Objective 20: Bring a follower to Delphine 30 Objective 30: Bring a follower to Delphine 40 Objective 40: Ask Esbern about dragon lairs

The following empty quest stages were omitted from the table: 50.