| Blademaster Gaiden Shinji | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Blademaster Gaiden Shinji |
|||
| Race | Redguard | Gender | Male |
| Born | 1st Era |
||
| Died | 1E 970 Old Orsinium |
||
| Resided in | Hammerfell High Rock |
||
| Appears in | ESO | ||
—Gaiden Shinji, 1E 947
Gaiden Shinji was a Redguard hero of the First Era and the leader of the Order of Diagna, who was killed during the Siege of Orsinium.[1][2][3] He also founded the Arena in the Imperial City, and was its original Blademaster.[4][3] He is best known for his famous proverbs such as "the best techniques are passed on by the survivors" or "honor wears the face of your next opponent".[5][3] The combatants of the Arena refer to him in a manner most would reserve for gods, often saying things like "by Shinji", "Shinji be with us", and "for Shinji's sake".[6] He is believed to have taken influence from Akaviri culture, in addition to his own.[UOL 1]
HistoryEdit
Not much is known about Gaiden Shinji's early life. The future commander of the Knights of the Dragon, Lord Trystan, was a squire when he met him. Shinji then was broke, wore ragged clothing, and held only a simple blade, and was starving. Pitying him, Trystan offered a meal in exchange for a simple duel, which then turned to several. Each duel was a loss and lasted no more than three seconds, but Shinji gave the squire encouragement and told him how he could have beaten him each time.[7]
Gaiden Shinji played a crucial role during the Siege of Orsinium. In 1E 948, King Joile of Daggerfall sent him a letter, which proposed a joint attack on the Orc capital city. Agreeing to provide aid, an alliance was formed between the Order of Diagna and the armies of Daggerfall and Sentinel. The armies amassed and began a campaign for the destruction of Orsinium.[8][9] During the campaign, the Breton armies of Daggerfall, the Redguard soldiers of Sentinel, and the Yokudan Order of Diagna invaded the Orc homeland. The Orcs gave much resistance and proved themselves to be fearsome and brutal warriors, just as they did in the past. However, King Joile already planned to betray the Redguards and invade Hammerfell after having destroyed Orsinium. He and his Reachman general, Mercedene of the Winterborn, tricked the Orc hero Baloth Bloodtusk and his Savage Sons, who initially did not take part in the war, to join King Golkarr of Orsinium. Afterwards, he manipulated Shinji into having a duel with Bloodtusk over Orsinium's fate. During the duel, Mercedene ordered Joile's archers to kill both combatants, effectively removing the most powerful warriors of both Orsinium and the Order of Diagna for Joile.[5] Even before Orsinium was finally destroyed in 1E 980, King Joile executed his plan of invading Hammerfell, but he was defeated and killed at the Bangkorai Pass by the Ansei warrior Makela Leki.[10][8][9]
Shinji always wanted to be buried wherever he would fall, so Bloodtusk's brother Rokaug and Shinji's friend Lord Trystan decided to build them both a tomb in western Wrothgar. The tomb became known as Honor's Rest, and was rediscovered in 2E 582 by a pair of scholars, Lozruth the Orc and Sharela the Redguard. With the help of the Vestige, they managed to unseal the tomb, and experienced visions of the last moments of Shinji's life during the Siege of Orsinium.[5]
NotesEdit
- Shinji is also reported as having actually killed King Golkarr of Orsinium, implying that Golkarr must have fallen before Shinji's final duel with Bloodtusk - even though he was alive only shortly beforehand, at the time when both Golkarr and Joile sent letters asking for Bloodtusk's support. Thus, Shinji's defeat of Golkarr must have taken place between his sending the letter and Baloth's receiving it.
- The writer Carlovac Townway (author of 2920, The Last of the First Era) once asserted that Redguard culture and their greatest heroes have been heavily influenced by Akaviri and Tsaesci culture, specifically citing Gaiden Shinji as an example of this cultural exchange.[UOL 1] This is possible, as Akaviri pirates were seen around the Iliac Bay around his time period.[11]
- Gaiden Shinji's name is of Japanese origin. Gaiden (外伝) means "side story" or "tale," used to refer to an anecdote or supplementary biography of a person. 外 (がい, gai) means "outside" or "external," and 伝 (でん, den) means "legend" or "biography." Shinji (真司) is a common masculine given name, which stems from 真 (shin) meaning "real, genuine," combined with 司 (ji) meaning "officer, boss," or 二 (ji) meaning "two." When combined, "Gaiden Shinji" (外伝 真司) can be interpreted as "The real, genuine side story" or "The tale of the genuine officer."
GalleryEdit
-
Statue of Gaiden Shinji and Baloth Bloodtusk
-
Gaiden Shinji's sarcophagus in Honor's Rest
-
Shinji's Quote in the Arena (Oblivion)
ReferencesEdit
- ^ Poison Song I — Bristin Xel
- ^ The Pig Children — Tyston Bane
- ^ a b c Blue Team Gladiator's dialogue in Oblivion
- ^ Loading screens in Oblivion
- ^ a b c The Ashes of Our Fathers quest in ESO
- ^ Dialogue of Arena combatants in Oblivion
- ^ Lord Trystan's dialogue in ESO
- ^ a b Wayrest, Jewel of the Bay — Sathyr Longleat
- ^ a b Pocket Guide to the Empire, 3rd Edition: Orsinium — Imperial Geographical Society, 3E 432
- ^ From The Memory Stone of Makela Leki — Makela Leki
- ^ Wayrest, Jewel of the Bay — Sathyr Longleat
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.