Gods Magic Guilds History Monsters Geography Tamriel Main |
World of Tamriel Books - Divad the Singer |
Links People Credits Society Dictionary Downloads UESP Main |
by Destri Melarg
Divad The Singer is in one body, two unique and distinct
people. Divad is the most well known of the Redguard heroes.
Frandar Hunding's son, probably the most accomplished Ansei
who ever lived. Yet early in his life, Divad appeared to
thoroughly have rejected The Way of the Sword.
Divad was the only son of Frandar Hunding, and was born
late in Hunding's life (2396 in the old way of reckoning,
probably about 1E 760 by the Tamrielic calendar), when he
was away most of the time fighting the last of his duels and
engaging in the many battles and insurrections of the
period. At eleven, Divad entered the Hall of the Virtues of
War and began training, but at 16, he finally let his anger
at growing up essentially fatherless get the better of him.
Divad broke his swords and left the Hall to become an acrobat
in a traveling circus.
The life in the circus was unsatisfying to Divad, and
after two years, his innate artisan heritage drove him to
become a musician and finally a Bard. For two more years he
traveled, singing in the cities of the empire -- gaining no
small amount of fame and recognition for his stirring and
popular songs and music.
Although Divad had publicly forsaken the Way of the sword,
it would appear that he continued to practice the
compulsory forms of training he was taught in the Hall. He
carried no sword, but in the late evening, bright lights
could be often be seen in his tent (my source says nothing more
about this, but it may be assumed that the writer was
suggesting that Divad was practicing the form of the Way
known as Shehai Shen She Ru -- the Way of the Spirit Sword, or
simply the Shehai).
Divad was very popular with the people of the empire, and
his music and concerts were well attended. Still he could
not escape his heritage of the sword. When the Last Emperor
ascended to power and began to persecute the sword-singers,
Divad was among the first to attract his attention.
Once the Emperor Hira and his consort decided to go to war
with the Singers for control of the empire, he moved swiftly
against those Singers who were visibly a part of empire
society. Most he had killed, but Divad's music and fame were
so wide spread that he sent a team of his personal guards to
arrest him.
The Emperor's men were either very lucky or very unlucky
depending on how you choose to view it. Being no fool, Hira
sent 100 of his best guards, for even an unarmed Singer was a
very dangerous foe. The luck was that they were able to
capture Divad and place him in chains, for they came at him as
he sat dining with his elderly mother. The disaster was that as
he surrendered, they rashly struck the pleading old woman.
Too hard, it would seem, for she fell dead with that single
blow.
That single thoughtless deed, as is often the case in war,
was the one pivotal factor causing their eventual defeat.
That act ignited in Divad the spirit of the Way. Up until
that careless stroke, Divad was an ordinary artisan, no, an
artist, a great artist, but no warrior.
The moment of her death, Divad rose from his seat, took his
chains between his two hands and began swinging the heavy
chain in a deadly arc. He slew four of the guards, gaining
enough space to run and dive through the window and into the
river He disappeared into the night.
From that point, Divad was spotted many times and told of
in many more rumors all across the empire -- far more places
than a mere mortal man could have ever been. At every point
where Hira's men gathered to do mischief, the resistance was
attributed to Divad.
As Hira moved against the Singers and began forming his
army to invade High Desert, it was Divad who carried the news
to the Singers. Divad was among those who climbed Hattu to
find Hunding in his cave. What is not well known is that
Hunding, at first refused to take leadership of the Singers.
The first attempt to interrupt him at his death poem cause
him to drive the elders from his cave, he even formed the
Shehai in his anger. It was Divad who reentered the cave
alone to speak with Hunding. To this day, no one knows what was
said, what happened in that cave. Scribes of the time
reported bright flashes of light and angry voices. Five
long hours came and went, then both emerged from the cave,
Divad, at Hunding's side. The rest, as they say, is history ...
Divad, who had not completed training in the Hall of the
Virtues of War, became an adviser to Hunding and spent his
time reading the newly completed Book of Circles, but his
role in the Hammer and Anvil strategy was as a simple
sword-singer and fighter. It was not till the Singers fled
their native empire and landed In New Land that his story
truly begins.
If you have any problems, suggestions or comments on this page or website, please feel free to use the Contact Form to send a message to the WebMaster.