Redguard "Sword Singing" what is it?

Grandchamp1989 · August 2022

Any lore buffs out there who can lead me to what exactly this sword singing is?

I sounds really cool and I want to learn more.

psychotrip · August 2022

I assume it's a form of tonal architecture: a form of magic that works a bit differently from traditional magicka based magic. My understanding is that you're using sonic energy to change the "music" (basic fabric) of reality.

The Dwemer used tonal architecture in addition to traditional enchantments. I've never heard this explicitly stated, but I always assumed The Voice was tonal architecture as well.

FluffyBird · August 2022

You know, when you put a ruler on an edge of a table, lift one end, release, and it goes "twaaannnnnnnnnng"? Same, but with a sword.

CP5 · August 2022

Many races have sound based magic, like the dwarves tonal architecture or the bosmer spinners. From what I remember offhand, sword singers could conjure blades with their own brand of sound magic, impossibly sharp and able to be wielded even if the singer's arms were removed. From the UESP page that your question got me to look back up.

"The greatest among the sword-singers were known as "Saints of the Sword", or Ansei in Yoku. Ansei had the ability to manifest a sword from their very soul, known as a Shehai or "Spirit Sword". By sheer force of will, an Ansei warrior could create this ethereal sword of pure thought and it would take shape in their hand."

"--disarming such an Ansei could only be done by severing their head or taking their mind."

https://en.uesp.net/wiki/Lore:Sword-singers

So basically, like nords can shout flame by imbuing their soul into their voice, redguard sword singers could form magic swords. That uesp page has a lot of the information and references to where their information was gathered if you wanted to read heavily into it.

KilianDermoth · August 2022

Ingame there are one class and one set that can utilize something similar and probably are some leftovers of the redguard sword singers.

The sorcerer: bound armaments. Literally up to 4 summoned swords that you can command with your mind.

The morkuldin set: summons a sword (counts as pet).

Its a pitty that such a cool set has some severe flaws which makes it a bad set and not worth using at all:
1. can miss (enemy moves)
2. has no cleave (pure single target).
3. it does only "ok" damage (if it hits, and to less for a pure single target set).
4. the speed (= the damage) of the swings is inconsistent.
5. the first 2 lines of the set are garbage (especially for magicka users but arent great for stamina users either).

Beffagorn · August 2022

Grandchamp1989 wrote: »

Any lore buffs out there who can lead me to what exactly this sword singing is?

I sounds really cool and I want to learn more.

As others have explained, it's some form of magic that grants the user some control over reality through sound, which they use to manifest incredibly potent and dangerous blades

How potent and dangerous? In "Lord Vivec's Sword-Meeting With Cyrus the Restless" by Kirkbride, Cyrus states the following:

"When we fight, our swords can kill the laws of nature itself. Yokuda is as you see it because our hira-dirg swords can cut the atomos, the uncuttable, and we did."

Kirkbride's stuff isn't canon for the most part, however in this case it is referenced ingame by The Warrior in Hel Ra Citadel when he states that "The Shehai of a first rank Ansei sank Yokuda"

Which pretty much means a Shehai might be able to cause a thermonuclear blast by cutting atomos or something cataclysmic enough to sink a continent

NordSwordnBoard · August 2022

psychotrip · August 2022

Beffagorn wrote: »

Grandchamp1989 wrote: »

Any lore buffs out there who can lead me to what exactly this sword singing is?

I sounds really cool and I want to learn more.

As others have explained, it's some form of magic that grants the user some control over reality through sound, which they use to manifest incredibly potent and dangerous blades

How potent and dangerous? In "Lord Vivec's Sword-Meeting With Cyrus the Restless" by Kirkbride, Cyrus states the following:

"When we fight, our swords can kill the laws of nature itself. Yokuda is as you see it because our hira-dirg swords can cut the atomos, the uncuttable, and we did."

Kirkbride's stuff isn't canon for the most part, however in this case it is referenced ingame by The Warrior in Hel Ra Citadel when he states that "The Shehai of a first rank Ansei sank Yokuda"

Which pretty much means a Shehai might be able to cause a thermonuclear blast by cutting atomos or something cataclysmic enough to sink a continent

THIS.

THIS is peak Elder Scrolls right here. I wish ESO had more cool lore like this.

KilianDermoth · August 2022

This reminds me to pirates of the caribean, where people told how bad the pirates from the black pearl are and that they leave no one alive. Then Jack just asked something like this: "but from where do you know all this, if the pirates are so bad and dont leave anyone alive?"

So if there was a sword singer able to cut atoms and cause a thermonuclear blast, there would be really no one left alive, because no one could survive this, even kilometers away, probably even not a daedric prince. So if that would be true, there would be no one able to tell this story and if there is someone able to tell it then there might never have happend something like a thermonuclear blast.