Sanguine (in Daedric script, 
) is the Daedric Prince of debauchery. He also has domain over the darker natures of man, such as lust, sin, sloth, gluttony, and greed. He is the patron deity of sinners and is often seen with a bottle of wine or beer (ale) in his hand. Sanguine enjoys playing pranks on others, one such example being a spell that removes the clothing of everyone within the spell's radius. Although a joker, Sanguine prefers to drag mortals down to sinful lifestyles by means of temptation and humiliation.
History
Shrine to Sanguine in Oblivion
Sanguine was once asked by Mephala for twenty-seven tokens to give to her devoted followers. The Dark Brotherhood stole these tokens from the Morag Tong. According to Morag Tong members, Mephala eventually arranged for them to return to the guild. The Nerevarine systematically killed the members of the Dark Brotherhood one-by-one and retrieved the tokens from them.
Oblivion
Sanguine can be called upon at the Shrine of Sanguine, whose name does not fit the common pattern of "(Daedra Prince)'s Shrine." The summoning date of Sanguine is 16th of Sun's Dawn. Sanguine can also be summoned in his shrine, if the summoner offered Cyrodilic Brandy.
There is a shrine in Cyrodiil which bears the appearance of Sanguine. Upon completing the related quest, Sanguine will give the Sanguine Rose, a strange staff shaped like a twisted and thorny black rose. When the energy within the Sanguine Rose is cast at a target, one random Daedric servant of Sanguine is summoned to do battle. This staff has very little charge, between 10-30 uses, depending on Conjuration skill level, and must be recharged often.
When the Champion of Cyrodiil visited the Shrine of Sanguine and summoned him, sometime during the Oblivion Crisis, Sanguine tasked the Champion of Cyrodiil to join the royal dinner party of the Countess of Leyawiin, Alessia Caro. Sanguine believed that the Countess of Leyawiin was too stuffy, and wanted the champion to do something about it. The champion should sneak into the castle undetected and cast the spell of Stark Reality on her and her guests. When the champion cast the spell all the guests and the Countess herself were stripped, it brought chaos to the party, but Sanguine was pleased. When the champion returned to the shrine, Sanguine rewarded his Sanguine Rose to the Champion of Cyrodiil, a staff that has the capability to summon a lesser Daedra to "supposedly" fight for the wielder of the staff. The same artifact was also rewarded some decades before to the Hero of Daggerfall, and also to Martin, the last of the Septims. Martin in his youth was one of the followers of a Daedric Cult, and he somehow retrieved Sanguine's Rose - probably after some odd task.
Skyrim
The Sanguine Rose.
Sanguine appears in Skyrim disguised as Sam Guevenne, who offers a friendly drinking competition with his "special" brew for his staff with the Dragonborn. If the Dragonborn accepts, the quest A Night to Remember will start. After the Dragonborn accepts and drinks three mugs, Sam, impressed, will give the staff and offers to show the Dragonborn a place "where the wine flows like water." After that they go out to commit drunken pranks in Skyrim, and eventually the Dragonborn awakes at the temple of Dibella and sets out to correct the pranks pulled while drunk. The Dragonborn then heads to Morvunskar where a portal to Sam's location is found. Going through the portal reveals Sam in the Misty Grove, where he reveals his true identity as Sanguine, commenting that he hadn't had that much fun in a hundred years and rewards the Dragonborn with his staff.
It has been reported that, upon completion of the quest A Night to Remember, Sanguine has randomly appeared in Morvunskar, fighting against the conjurers that make the tower their home. When activated, Sanguine will say "Need something?", "I don't owe you money, do I?" or "What are you starin' at?" The cause of this is his voice type, which is used mostly by beggars and drunks, who say exactly the same thing when they have nothing else to say. He has also been confirmed fighting mages at Ilinalta's Deep. Attempting to pickpocket Sanguine at any of these times results in Sanguine saying, "You trying to hide? 'Cause I can see you plain as day."
During his appearance in Morvunskar, if the Dragonborn attempts to kill him, swords and arrows pass right through him. Spells will hit him but to no effect. Oddly enough, even though swords and arrows pass through the Daedric Prince, any common object will hit him like any other person.
It is possible to turn Sanguine hostile by commanding a follower to attack him. However, arrows, melee weapons and spells will still continue to pass through him and he cannot be damaged. Sanguine will simply attack repeatedly for very meager damage with what appears to be a dagger of some sort. This will at least yield a few more lines of dialogue while he attacks.
Sanguine in Daggerfall
Trivia
- In Skyrim, Sanguine is taller than any Dragonborn, even an Altmer.
- At the end of Tending the Flames quest for the Bards College in Skyrim, Rorlund, High Priest of the Nine Divines, comments that Sanguine himself would appreciate the festivities.
- Sam Guevenne is a play on his own name, Sanguine: San = Sam, Guine = Guevenne
- Sanguine (sanguin) means "blood" in Latin, and bears similar meaning to the same word in French. In English "sanguine" can be an adjective meaning "optimistic" or "positive," or a noun meaning a blood red color. Both are fitting for the Daedric prince, given his demeanor, outlook, and love for drinking (a drunk person's face is often flushed in appearance). In medieval medicine, when the "Four Humors" theory still prevailed, a person with blood as the predominant humor would be marked by sturdiness, high color, and cheerfulness, traits often shared by drunkards.
- Also, in ancient in medieval folklore, "bloody" could describe someone who is prone to jokes and laughter, thus being a fitting name for a trickster.
- If "A Night to Remember" has been completed, Sanguine may be found at the end of Morvunskar.
Appearances
Sources
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