Hircine is one of the Daedric Princes inThe Elder Scrollsfranchise. Known as “The Hunstman of The Princes” to many, this Daedric Prince is revered amongst hunters and feared by many of Tamriel’s mortals. While the Daedric Prince might seem to be a cruel figure at first, there is much more depth to his history and lore than most know.
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Motives for this Prince are focused more on setting up hunts than killing mortals just for the sake of it. The thrill of the hunt is what drives Hircine to interact with mortals in everyElder Scrollsgame includingSkyrim. From Great Hunts to Daedric Prince competitions, here are ten facts players didn’t know about Hircine inSkyrim.
10Great Hunts
Unlike most Daedric Princes, Hircine has no intention of dominating mortals or manipulating them. He uses Tamriel as a battleground for his Great Hunts.
Every one thousand years, Hircine will appear in the mortal realm and start a Great Hunt. Great Hunts are events where Hircine unleashes werebeasts on Tamriel to complete an objective Hircine determines. The “prey” of Great Hunts can range from any mortal to specific beasts. The last Great Hunt to occur was the Bloodmoon Prophecy inMorrowind’sBloodmoonexpansion.
9Follows A Code Of Honor
Hircine is not associated with unneeded destruction despite his reputation as a master of the hunt. He will always give prey a chance to defend themselves before letting his huntersclose in for the kill.
Sport is the name of the game for Hircine. He will always give credit to hunters and prey alike for their skills. The thrill of the hunt is above all else for him. Even though his games might be brutal, Hircine is easily one of the least cruel Daedric Princes inThe Elder Scrollslore.
8Created Lycanthropy
Werewolfs, werebears, virtually any creature from the Lycanthropy disease exists thanks to Hircine. Various books and legends inThe Elder Scrollslore mention how Hircine can create Lycanthropy versions of virtually any creature he chooses, going as far as making awere-Daedrothduring a competition with Sheogorath.
7Sheogorath Competition
According to “Sixteen Accords of Madness, Book VI,“Sheogorath decided to create a challenge for Hircine to best the Prince of hunting. Not known for turning down a challenge, Hircine agreed. The rules were simple: both Princes had three years to create the most powerful beast imaginable andfight the other Prince’s creation to the death.
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Once the time came for the fight to occur, Hircine arrived with a were-Daedroth—said to be one of the most horrific yet powerful creatures Hircine has ever devised. What did the Prince of madness bring? A bird. Sheogorath’s bird was able to evade the Daedroth’s attacks and peck at its face until the Daedroth clawed itself to death. Hircine might have lost that battle, but this tale goes to show just how terrifying Hircine’s creations can be.
6Partly Responsible For The Rueful Axe’s Existence
Clavicus Vile is one ofSkyrim’sDaedric Princes that grants players an Artifact. In this case, players are tasked with retrieving the axe for the Prince. This axe wouldn’t exist if it wasn’t for Hircine, however.
The Rueful Axe was created by Clavicus Vile to assist a wizard name Sebastian Lort. Sebastian asked the Daedric Prince for a cure to his daughter’s Lycanthropy, a disease that Hircine created. This axe was made so Sebastian could kill his daughter with it. Technically speaking, this did cure her Lycanthropy.
5Sinding’s Ring
Werewolves can get much use out of Hircine’s Ring, a unique Daedric Artifact that bestows benefits to werewolves. Benefits can range from being unaffected by blood moons to having additional transformations. This ring has existed sinceDaggerfalland swapped hands many times, but the way Sinding obtains it inSkyrimseems strange.
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Sinding, who is affected by the werewolf curse, ends up transforming and killing a girl while unable to control himself. He finds and steals Hircine’s Ring to control transformations, but this makes Hircine angry and results in the ring being cursed by the Daedric Prince. Who he stole it from and why they had it is anyone’s guess.
4Hircine’s Hunting Grounds
All mortals that have contracted Lycanthropy can expectan afterlifein Hircine’s Hunting Grounds. Those that die will be brought here in their transformed state to hunt alongside Hircine for all of eternity. Hircine and his posse of werecreatures typically hunt mortals that found a way inside the Hunting Grounds.
3Umbriel Crisis
One example of mortals entering Hircine’s Hunting Grounds is duringthe Umbriel Crisis. Prince Attrebus Mede and Ezhmaar Sul needed a way to travel to escape Umbrial by making a trail to Vivec City in Morrowind. Opting to use an inactive portal from the Oblivion Crisis, both characters ended up entering Hircine’s Hunting Grounds instead. Thanks to the help of a Khajiit clan, they were able to escape Hircine’s hunt in the dead of night by finding a portal out of the realm.
2Glenmoril Witches
Skyrim’sCompanions guild suffers from Lycanthropy thanks to a pact one of their Harbingers made with the Glenmoril Witches well before the events ofSkyrim. The witches offered him great power temporarily in exchange for vowing his servitude to Hircine in the afterlife. He accepted.
For whatever reason, the curse was permanent and has been in the Companion bloodline for many years. The Dragonborn helps the clan cleanse the disease during their questline, during which they must kill the last of the Glenmoril Witch Coven. What might surprise players is just how old they are.
The Glenmoril Witchesdate back as far asDaggerfall, a game that takes place in the Third Era. In that game, players can complete a quest for the Coven to obtain Hircine’s Ring. It seems these witches have such strong ties to the Daedric Prince that they can summon him at will and remove Lycanthropy whenever they desire.
1Origins Of The Savior’s Hide
Should the player side with Hircine during “Ill Met by Moonlight,” they will be given the Savior’s Hide. This item is nothing special in terms of stats, but the origins of this item make for one interesting tale.
According to the book “Tamrielic Lore,“this Daedric Artifactis crafted from Hircine’s own hide. It was granted to the only mortal known to escape the hunting grounds alive. This would explain why the item has such great magic resistance. Some theorize the mortal that escaped was Ezhmaar Sul during the Umbriel Crisis, but the Savior’s Hide has existed well before those events occurred.
