Hircine Hircine ( in Daedric script , ) is the main antagonist in and the Daedric Prince whose spirit is the hunt ; the sports of Daedra ; the greatest game and the chase and sacrifice of mortal s . He is known by the titles ' The Huntsman of The Princes ' , ' The Father of Manbeasts ' and ' The Hungry Cat ' to Khajiits . The summoning date of Hircine is the 5th of Mid Year . He is also the creator of Lycanthropy . Background . Hircine the Spirit of the Hunt ' s past leads many to argue . He himself was never mentioned or heard of in the early histories of Nirn . Some scholars believe because of this that Hircine was not one of the original Daedric Princes and is therefore a spawn or offshoot , similar to Malacath . However this is often shunned on account of Hircine creating Lycanthropes , and the disease existing well into the Merethic Era . Hircine also appears within the mortal realm once every thousand years ; but not to destroy , like most princes , but to enjoy a great hunt known as the Bloodmoon Prophecy . Bloodmoon Prophecy . The Bloodmoon Prophecy is a legend of the Skaal , a native group of Nord s from Solstheim . It foretells the Hunt of Hircine , an event which happens every era when the Prince enters Mundus and releases his Hounds upon the land . The Hunt is proceeded by four signs . The first is the coming of the " Hounds , " when werewolves appear on the island . The second is the " Fire from the Eye of Glass , " a pillar of fire which appears on the surface of the frozen Lake Fjalding . The third is the " Tide of Woe , " a horker massacre , the bodies of which then wash up all along the island ' s northern coast . The final sign is the namesake of the prophecy : the " Bloodmoon , " when Secunda turns crimson from the blood of the Hunter ' s Prey . After the four signs is something called the " Hunter ' s Game , " which varies from era to era . The game might involve the hunting of an entire tribe , or just one man . After the hunt , Hircine returns to his realm for another era . The most recent Bloodmoon Prophecy was in 3E 427 . It took place within the Mortrag Glacier . Popular opinion and worship . Hircine is one of the more worshipped or , to a certain degree , accepted daedric prince . Although all daedra are completely shunned by mainstream Imperial society , he is often worshipped in greater numbers compared to other daedra , even though he does not necessarily care for it . He is father to man beasts , and is thusly worshipped by all kinds of lycanthropy - infected creatures such as Werewolves , Wereboar s , Werebear s , Werelion s , and Werecrocodiles . He respects and even praises these creatures if they accomplish something in the hunt , a rare quality for a Daedra . He is often seen as the most honored huntsman to walk any plane of existence , and as such is often looked up to by other hunters , fishers , and trappers . Personality . Daedric Princes are almost always looked on as evil due to their destructive nature . While there is some truth in this , this does not apply to all princes . Some princes respect honor and fairness among their subjects , and are against dishonorable murder . Hircine is typically considered to be in this category . While he cannot exactly be seen as benevolent , he is very honorable and always gives his prey a sporting chance ; he ' s even willing to be congratulatory to those who were deemed as prey if they manage to turn the hunt to their favor and become the hunters in turn . He is not needlessly destructive like many of his Daedric brethren . With those he does not care for he is often neutral in his trades , unless they are his prey . Lycanthropy . Hircine is the patron and creator of the lycanthropic condition . Evidence of this is given when , during the Bloodmoon , Werewolves ( also known as Hircine ' s Hounds ) acted as the hunters while the inhabitants of the Solstheim were their prey . The individual that can defeat the hounds is honored and would receive favors by the Prince himself , and face Hircine ' s aspect in one - on - one combat . He is believed by devotees and Hircine himself to be honored to be the prey of the Prince , though very few have survived this battle . One artifact can suppress the bloodlust suffered under the lycanthropic condition ; Hircine ' s Ring . Sometime before the Warp in the West , this ring was reported resurfaced in the Iliac Bay . The ring makes the Lycanthrope wielder able to turn to beast form or back at will , and suppress the hunger . During the " Bloodmoon " in Solstheim , the enchantment somehow was changed . The ring can allow any person to turn to beast form at will but for lycanthropes the bloodlust is still there . On a side note , the witches of the Glenmoril Wyrd Coven of High Rock are known to be worshippers of Hircine , and they will often perform a summoning for anyone that can pay their price . The witches are also able to cure anyone of Lycanthropy , an ability that is alluded to in the book . The infected person , with the assistance of the witches , must perform a ritual called The Rite of the Wolf Giver . It is a complex ritual of dark magicka , requiring the sacrifice of both flesh and innocence . And certain ingredients , which are petals of a wolfsbane flower and one bunch of ripened belladonna berries , are needed by the witches to concoct a potion for the rite . Artifacts . One particularly famous artifact of Hircine , and the one he is most commonly associated with , is the Cuirass of the Savior ' s Hide . The book " Tamrielic Lore " has this to say about the Cuirass : This artifact has surfaced multiple times , such as in , where it is required to wield the Spear of Bitter Mercy . Another occasion when it was shown was in Tel Fyr , the house of Divayth Fyr . Divayth , an ancient House Telvanni Wizard and also an artifact collector , was once able to procure the artifact . He then invites Thieves to steal them from the Corprusarium . It then later appears in the , as a reward for completing the Hircine ' s Shrine Quest . Another artifact gifted by Hircine is the Ring of Hircine , available in . The ring allows the wearer additional werewolf transformations each day . At the end of the quest , the player must select to side with the werewolf or the hunters . If the player sides with the werewolf then they get the Ring of Hircine whereas siding with the hunters gives the player the Savior ' s Hide . An alternative is to side with the werewolf and to get the ring and then kill and skin him before leaving the grotto . The Rueful Axe was created by Clavicus Vile so the father of a Hircine worshipper could cure his daughter ' s curse by killing her . History . Umbriel Crisis . Prince Attrebus and Sul needed a fast way to travel to Vivec City . Sul had made a trail which ended in Morrowind to escape from Oblivion when he was trapped in Umbriel . They decided to use an inactive Oblivion Gate from the Oblivion Crisis to access such trail , but they ended up in Hircine ' s Hunting Grounds . Hircine and his beasts gave chase to the intruders . Sul knew where the door that would take them out of Hircine ' s realm was , so they mounted the Khajiits from Faashe clan . Hircine wouldn ' t show up until after dark , when he would attack with a pack of werewolves . They eventually heard the voice of a horn sound incredibly deep , Hircine was approaching . They were still fifty yards away from the portal , so Lesspa and the remaining Khajiits sacrificed to buy time for Attrebus and Sul . They fought against Hircine , presumably dying . Quests . In , the Hero of Daggerfall contacted Hircine through the Glenmoril Witches and won Hircine ' s Ring in exchange for hunting a rogue Wereboar . In , the Nerevarine received one of his artifacts , the Spear of Bitter Mercy , as a reward for killing a Giant Bull Netch with the Fork of Horripilation . Although in this case the spear was a reward from Sheogorath , it is more usually associated with Hircine . The Nerevarine fought and defeated Hircine when he attempted to enter the mortal plane in Solstheim . Hircine ' s typical lackeys on the mortal realm Nirn are werewolves , which he directly talks to , gives tasks , and rewards with additional powers . Hircine hosts a great hunt every era , pitting various prey of his choosing against one another . The exact nature of each hunt varies from era to era . Several years later , in , he requested that the Champion of Cyrodiil hunt for a unicorn ' s horn , offering the Savior ' s Hide as a reward . In , it is revealed that the Circle of the Companions are werewolves as a result of Terrfyg , a Harbinger of the Companions , having made a deal with the Glenmoril Witches for power in exchange for Hircine bringing them to his Hunting Grounds instead of Sovngarde upon death . The Witches are slain by the Last Dragonborn , who uses the head of one of them to posthumously cure Kodlak Whitemane , the latest Harbinger , of his lycanthropy so that he can go to Sovngarde instead of the Hunting Grounds . Later on , a Nord werewolf named Sinding stole the Ring of Hircine in an attempt to control his transformations . However , this plan backfired when Hircine cursed the ring , causing Sinding to transform at random , killing a child and ending up in jail . Soon after , the Dragonborn met Sinding , who tasked the Dragonborn to take the Ring and free it from its curse by hunting the White Stag , before escaping from jail . Hircine then requested that the Dragonborn hunt Sinding down and tear the skin from his body . After confronting Sinding a second time , the Dragonborn was left with the choice to kill him in order to receive Hircine ' s favor and the Savior ' s Hide , or to kill the other hunters trying to get Hircine ' s favor and the uncursed ring . Whichever option the Dragonborn chose , Hircine will be pleased with the results .