Lore:Divad Hunding

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Divad Hunding
ON-npc-Divad Hunding.jpg
Divad Hunding
Race Yokudan Gender Male
Born 1E 760
Yokuda
Resided in Yokuda
Hammerfell
Appears in ESO

Divad Hunding was the only son of Frandar Hunding, born in 1E 760 Yokuda late in his life by an unknown woman. Although the son of a famous Ansei, Divad rejected the Way of the Sword from early on, leaving his training at age 16 to take the life of a bard instead. He traveled widely for several years, gaining a great deal of fame and recognition for his singing.

Although he officially forsook the sword, it was rumored that he continued to practice the Way known as Shehai Shen She Ru -- the Way of the Spirit Sword. When Emperor Hira began to persecute the sword-singers, Divad was first on his list due to his fame. The emperor sent 100 of his best guards to arrest him, and they arrived while Divad was eating with his elderly mother. They successfully arrested him and had him in chains when one of the guards cruelly struck his mother, killing her. That instant, the spirit of the Way awoke in Divad, and he turned his own chains into weapons, slaying four guards and escaping out of the window. He became a prominent figure in the resistance against Hira, rumored to appear everywhere the emperor's plans went awry. He approached his father as well, and ultimately convinced him to lead the war against the emperor, with Divad as an advisor and soldier.[1]

Divad and Frandar later took part in the great Ra Gada migration to mainland Hammerfell. His father would start a war with the giant goblins who already inhabited the land. Despite their initial success,[2] Frandar was killed during one of the bloodiest battles of the campaign, and Divad rose to take command of the Ra Gada and avenge his father.[3] Frandar would discover the source of giant goblins reinforcements, a rent in space and time known as the goblin gate.[UOL 1] With his band of Sword-Singers, he forged and wielded five mighty magical swords, a mix of Shehai and smithing, to defeat the goblins and close the goblin gate, making the land safe for settlement.[4][UOL 1] By some accounts, he also cursed the goblins who were left behind, diminishing them into their modern-size.[5][3][UOL 1] Despite some modern scholars considering the war with the giant goblins a myth, the victory of the Redguards is still celebrated during the annual Festival of Blades.[2]

For his accomplishments, Divad is considered one of the great heroes of Redguard legend, yet in the epic poem Divad's Chagrin, it is said that he deeply regretted having to leave behind his music and turn to war.[6] Divad's tomb is located in the sacred Hall of Heroes, alongside his father's, but his body was laid to rest in ancestral crypt of the Valley of Blades at some point.[7][8] By the late-Third Era, Divad's interment in a tomb in Antiphyllos was considered genuine.[9]

Companions[edit]

In his battle against the goblins, Divad had a number of allies who were also Ansei:

  • Katrice: A master guardian and one of the old blind Ansei possessed feline grace, becoming very catlike. Divad entrusted her with a master sword, which she guarded in a cave and battled Derik Hallin when he came to retrieve it.[10]
  • Ansei Mabanyeh: Hero of the Crimson Fields, she held the title of First Student of Divad the Singer.[UOL 2]
  • Sabasad the Shield: A warrior who died fighting Goblins, buried in Divad's Chagrin Mine.[11]
  • Yokeda Razul: Fought alongside Divad Hunding, leading the Ra Gada to conquer Alik'r. When the Na-Totambu and the Yokudan nobility came sometime after, Razul made himself Yokeda to cement the power of the Ra Gada. Some remember him as the first Forebear.[12]

Gallery[edit]

  • Statue of Divad on top of his tomb

  • Divad's skeleton

Notes[edit]

  • In an earlier draft of Divad the Singer, Divad Hunding had a daughter named Cinsel.[UOL 1]

See Also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Divad the Singer — Destri Melarg
  2. ^ a b Festival of Blades holiday description in Daggerfall
  3. ^ a b Throne Keeper Farvad's dialogue in ESO
  4. ^ Shrine to Divad Hunding
  5. ^ The True-Told Tale of Hallin
  6. ^ Loading screen in ESO
  7. ^ Events of ESO
  8. ^ Events of the quest Valley of Blades in ESO
  9. ^ Divad E'tept description in Daggerfall
  10. ^ Notes For Redguard History — Destri Melarg
  11. ^ Armin's dialogue in ESO
  12. ^ Ramati at-Gar's dialogue in ESO

Note: The following references are considered to be unofficial sources. They are included to round off this article and may not be authoritative or conclusive.

  1. ^ a b c d Conceptulization for "Notes For Redguard History"
  2. ^ ESO Cut Content
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