- "What I know is that he sacrificed himself to save us all. As a Blade, I'm proud to have served such a master, if only for a short while."
- ―Baurus on Martin Septim after his sacrifice[src]
Baurus is a Redguard and was the youngest member of the Blades during the last years of the Third Era. He was a key figure in the Oblivion Crisis and a member of the guard set to protect to Uriel Septim VII in 3E 433 during the assassination of the Septim family. Though he failed to prevent the Emperor's death, Baurus would later gain a chance to rectify his failure when Uriel's last surviving heir, Martin Septim, was discovered. Working with the eponymous Hero of Kvatch, Baurus would uncover the identity of the Order of the Mythic Dawn, and would fight alongside Martin and the Hero during the Battle of Bruma as well as the Battle of the Imperial City.
Biography
Baurus' origins are unknown. At some point he joined the Blades, the Emperor's personal bodyguards. He was trained at Cloud Ruler Temple, the fortress of the Blades, a place he came to know as home. In the later days of his service, he was relegated to the personal guard of Emperor Uriel Septim VII.
Personality and Traits
Baurus was an extremely loyal Blade, serving the Emperors with a fierce dedication. The death of Uriel was a severe blow to him, and he felt greatly that he had failed in his duty, in some ways blaming himself alone. He saw Martin as a chance to redeem himself, and thus swore to protect Martin at all costs. In that time, Baurus came to regard Martin even more highly than he had the man's father. Where he had expressed immense sorrow at Uriel's passing, he was joyous after Martin's, feeling honored to have served so great a master.
Due to their role in the Emperor's death, Baurus had a deep-seated hatred of the Mythic Dawn. He expressed satisfaction at any misfortune that befell them. While he never shirked his duty, Baurus did express regret at not being able to pursue them along with the Hero, and he congratulated the Hero after Mankar Camoran's death, saying that he wished he could have been there as well. In terms of the Hero, Baurus felt a great friendship with him, teaching him fighting moves as well as expressing honor to have fought beside him. By the end of the Oblivion Crisis, the two were extremely comfortable with each other, and astonished at how their relationship had begun.
Baurus was a skilled Blade, both with his Akaviri Katana and, to some degree, magic, as he often employed a healing spell in battle.
The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion
The Emperor's Death
In 3E 433, the Order of the Mythic Dawn began their assassination campaign on the royal family, a beginning to their plans to allow the Daedra to invade Tamriel. After the deaths of the emperor's three sons, it was decided that Uriel should be placed under the immediate protection of the Blades. Baurus was a part of the group that would spirit the emperor away from the Imperial City, along with fellow Blade Glenroy and led by Captain Renault. They were to take a secret escape route through the Imperial Prison and out of the City and lead the emperor to Cloud Ruler Temple.
In the prison, the group encountered their first obstacle, but far from their greatest. The cell that housed the escape route was not empty, as it was supposed to be, but occupied by a prisoner. Renault and Glenroy deftly pushed the prisoner aside, but the emperor, having foreseen the events to come, recognized the prisoner as a key figure and bade him to accompany the group. As they proceeded, Baurus showed a trace more sympathy to the prisoner than his Blades counterparts, but remained detached from the individual's fate.
The attempt at secretly orchestrating the emperor's escape had failed, though. In the passage, they were ambushed by Mythic Dawn assassins in a series of skirmishes, during which Captain Renault was killed and Glenroy took point. For a time they were split from the prisoner, but when he appeared again, the emperor, in a clear expression of trust, ordered that he not be killed, despite Glenroy's belief that the prisoner might be an assassin. In light of this, Baurus was lighter and more open with the prisoner.
The group proceeded into the Sanctum, which housed the route to the sewers and escape. There, they were trapped and ambushed once again by the Mythic Dawn. Leaving the emperor under the prisoner's protection, Baurus and Glenroy went to fight off the assassins. Glenroy and Baurus succeeded in killing off the would-be killers (however, sometimes Glenroy may also be killed). But it amounted to little; as the Blades had been occupied fighting off the Mythic Dawn, an assassin had entered through a secret way and killed the emperor before the prisoner could prevent it.
Baurus, upon seeing the emperor's dead body, was devastated. He swiftly noticed, however, that the Amulet of Kings was gone from Uriel. The prisoner, possessing the Amulet, explained that the emperor had given it to him, and told him to take it to Jauffre and find the remaining heir. If Baurus was skeptical of this, he didn't show it, placing faith in the trust the emperor had shown in the prisoner. Baurus promptly informed the prisoner where to find Jauffre, the Grandmaster of the Blades, and gave the prisoner the key to leave the sewers. Baurus himself stayed behind to guard the emperor's body and the prisoner's route.
The Mythic Dawn
Baurus presumably met with the Imperial Watch following the emperor's murder, leaving the cleanup in the Sanctum to them. Baurus immediately began tracking down leads on the assassins, succeeding where the Watch failed in discovering the identity of the Mythic Dawn cult. After he relayed this information to Cloud Ruler Temple, Baurus was sent assistance in his hunt—none other than the prisoner. Following the events in the prison, the prisoner had delivered the Amulet to Jauffre and found the emperor's illegitimate heir, Martin Septim. Shortly after the Battle of Kvatch, the official start of the Oblivion Crisis, the Hero met Baurus at Luther Broad's Boarding House in the Imperial City. By this time, the Mythic Dawn had realized Baurus was tracking them, and had in turn set their own agent, Astav Wirich, to track him.
Upon the Hero's arrival, Baurus, knowing that Wirich would follow, ordered the Hero to trail them both into the basement of Luther Broad's. The Hero did so, and the two of them summarily defeated Wirich. The Hero then informed Baurus of all that had taken place prior to their meeting, including the loss of the Amulet of Kings to the Mythic Dawn. Though Baurus was worried by this news, he was overjoyed to hear that Martin was alive, swearing to bring him to the throne. From the body of the Dawn agent, they recovered the first book of the Commentaries on the Mysterium Xarxes, the secret writings of the cult. Baurus recognized this as a lead, and informed the Hero that a scholar at the Arcane University, Tar-Meena, would be able to shed more light on the Daedric cult.
The Hero went on to investigate, while Baurus returned to Luther Broad's. A short while later, the Hero returned, now in possession of two more volumes of the Commentaries, as well as a way to obtain the fourth and final volume in a meeting with a Mythic Dawn recruiter. Baurus, who knew the route through the sewers to the meeting place, led the Hero there. The two of them together took on Mythic Dawn lieutenant, Raven Camoran, and two agents in a quick skirmish, killing all three and recovering the final book. After this, Baurus left the Hero to continue the investigation into the Mythic Dawn's location, while he himself returned to Cloud Ruler Temple.
Guarding Martin
Upon returning to the Temple, Baurus immediately took up a post as Martin Septim's personal bodyguard, never leaving the heir's side. Feeling remorse for having let Uriel Septim die under his watch, Baurus dedicated himself to keeping Martin alive. He would be present for all the meetings between Martin and the Hero, who eventually returned to Cloud Ruler after having successfully raided the Mythic Dawn's secret shrine to their Daedra Lord, Mehrunes Dagon, whose Daedra were now attacking all of Tamriel due to the Dawn's emptying of the Imperial throne. The Hero failed to recover the Amulet of Kings, which was taken by Mythic Dawn leader Mankar Camoran, but did retrieve the Mysterium Xarxes itself, which would allow Martin to open a portal to Camoran's otherworldly Paradise.
In gratitude for the Hero's aid in the Imperial City, Baurus taught the Hero a series of Blades fighting techniques during their time at Cloud Ruler Temple. Over time, the Hero was successful in recovering all the items necessary for Martin's Paradise ritual. The final item however, a Great Sigil Stone, required a major risk—the opening of a Great Oblivion Gate near the city of Bruma. The Mythic Dawn were already planning to open the Gate, and Martin himself was to lead the defense of Bruma. Though both Jauffre and the Hero argued against this, Martin was firm in his determination, and thus so was Baurus in his resolve to protect the soon-to-be-emperor.
Fighting in the Crisis
Baurus accompanied Martin, Jauffre, and the Hero to the War Council with Bruma Countess Narina Carvain, where the final plans were laid for the battle. Then Baurus, Martin, Jauffre, the Hero, and Guard Captain Burd led the army the Hero had assembled to the battlefield, where the first of the preliminary Oblivion Gates was already open. Baurus and Jauffre took up positions higher up on the dip, and Baurus watched as Martin gave a stirring speech to the assembled forces of Cyrodiil; then the first of the Daedra emerged from the Gate and the fight was on.
The Battle of Bruma was one of the largest conflicts of the Oblivion Crisis. Baurus, for his part, was one of the most impassioned fighters, slaying Daedra with a great ferocity, yet never straying too far from Martin. When the Great Gate at last opened, the Hero charged inside, intent upon reaching the Sigil Stone before the Daedric Siege Crawler could emerge to destroy Bruma, as it had Kvatch. Baurus and the others held the line while the Hero traversed the plane of Oblivion and breached the Daedric defenses, recovering the Stone and destroying the Great Gate, as well as the Siege Crawler, winning the battle.
Baurus returned to Cloud Ruler Temple along with Martin and Jauffre, and was present to see Martin open the portal to Camoran's Paradise and to watch the Hero enter that realm; Baurus felt a bit of resentment that he could not be there as well, bringing about the end of the Mythic Dawn. While the Hero fought Mankar Camoran at the seat of his power, Martin sent Baurus to the Imperial City to inform High Chancellor Ocato of events, as well as Martin's claim to the throne. Baurus met up with Martin, Jauffre, and the Hero when they arrived in the City, once again bearing the Amulet of Kings. Baurus remained outside the Palace as Martin met with Ocato, and thus he was one of the first to encounter the Daedra as they launched their assault on the Imperial City, one final gambit to stop Martin from ascending to the throne and lighting the mystical Dragonfires, sealing the Gates of Oblivion.
Baurus fought to keep Martin alive during the Battle of the Imperial City, going with him from the Palace District to the Temple District, where the Imperial forces came in contact with their greatest foe to date—Mehrunes Dagon himself. The Daedric Prince of Destruction's appearance was an indication that the barriers between Tamriel and Oblivion were now entirely gone, and that lighting the Dragonfires would do nothing now. Martin and the Hero pressed on anyway, and Baurus watched as they entered the Temple of the One—and marveled as, moments later, a vast flaming dragon burst from the Temple to battle Dagon one-on-one. In that great duel, the Daedra Lord was defeated and cast back into Oblivion, ending the Oblivion Crisis; the great dragon turned to stone. Shortly after this, Baurus learned that the dragon had been Martin, giving his life to stop Dagon and the Daedra.
After the Crisis
Baurus, although Martin had died, was glad to have served him, calling him one of the greatest emperors the Blades had ever protected. Baurus also paid tribute to the Hero of Kvatch, who had witnessed firsthand the duel between the two titans, and who was now to be proclaimed the Champion of Cyrodiil due to their service as Martin's own champion. Baurus congratulated the Hero, marveling at how their adventure had started with sending an escapee off with the Amulet of Kings. After the battle, Baurus returned to Cloud Ruler Temple. His fate following these events is unknown.
Quests
- Deliver the Amulet
- Path of Dawn
- Light the Dragonfires
Quotes
- "We've failed. I've... failed. The Blades are sworn to protect the Emperor, and now he and all his heirs are dead." - After the Emperor Uriel Septim VII 's death.
- "For the Empire!" - When fighting.
- "If you want to help, get back and protect the emperor!"
- "Die, you scum!"
- "The Amulet, where's the Amulet of Kings? It wasn't on the Emperor's body."
- "Strange. He saw something in you. Trusted you. They say it's the Dragon Blood, that flows through the veins of every septim. They see more than lesser men. The Amulet of Kings is a sacred symbol of the Empire. Most people think of the Red Dragon Crown, but that's just jewelry. The Amulet has power. Only a true heir of the Blood can wear it, they say. He must have given it to you for a reason. Did he say why?"
- "Jauffre? He said that? Why?"
- "Nothing I ever heard about. But Jauffre would be the one to know. He's the Grandmaster of my Order."
Trivia
- Baurus is one of the first characters to be met in the game, and follows all the way to the end.
- It is actually possible for Baurus to die anytime after the "The Path of Dawn" quest, starting with the fight in the sewers. Depending on the player's level, it is possible that he will die either in the Battle of Bruma, or the final battle in the Imperial City, along with Jauffre. To hear all of his dialogue throughout the questline, the player must make an active effort to keep him alive.
- If he dies he will drop his katana.
- Throughout the course of the main plot, Baurus and the Hero of Kvatch develop a strong friendship with one another.