Lore:Delphine

Grandmaster Delphine
	Grandmaster Delphine
Resided in	Cyrodiil; Skyrim
Reign	4E 201-;
Appears in	Skyrim, Legends

Delphine is one of the few surviving Blades of the Great War and the Grandmaster of the order when it was reformed during Alduin's return.^[1]

Delphine is thought to have been born between 4E 145 to 4E 147.^[2] As an agent of the Blades, Delphine knew their loremaster Esbern. In her younger years, the leaders of the Blades became obsessed with the Thalmor threat. They believed that if and when they'd found the Dragonborn, they would need to protect them against the Thalmor. The Blades had ended up fatally underestimating the Thalmor, who decimated them during the Great War.^[3] Delphine was a high-priority target of the Thalmor during the Great War, for both operational and political reasons. She was directly involved in several of the most damaging operations carried out by the Blades within the Dominion. While the Thalmor had identified her and slated her for the initial purge of the Blades, she was recalled to Cyrodiil just before the outbreak of hostilities. During the war, she evaded three attempts on her life, in one case killing an entire assassination team. Delphine went into hiding thereafter, avoiding contact with other fugitive Blades for her own security, proving to be extremely alert to Thalmor surveillance.^[2] She retired as the innkeeper of the Sleeping Giant Inn in the quaint town of Riverwood, evading the Thalmor for over decades.^[1]

When the dragon Alduin returned in 4E 201, Delphine worked with Farengar Secret-Fire to uncover the Dragonstone from Bleak Falls Barrow and use it to locate the dragon burial mounds across Skyrim. When the Last Dragonborn retrieved it, Delphine acquired it from Farengar and created a map of the burial mounds. Upon hearing of the Dragonborn, Delphine stole the Horn of Jurgen Windcaller to lure them to Riverwood and see who they truly were, revealing the operation she had in the basement of her inn. Delphine and the Dragonborn traveled to Kynesgrove in attempt to prevent Alduin from resurrecting another dragon, Sahloknir. The Dragonborn slew Sahloknir and absorbed his soul, proving to Delphine that they were truly Dragonborn. Delphine enlisted the Dragonborn to retrieve Esbern from the Ratway of Riften before the Thalmor located him, and together they reoccupied Sky Haven Temple, reforming the order of the Blades to their original purpose as dragonslayers.^[1]