Frandar Hunding Frandar do Hunding Hel Ansei No Shira , commonly known as Frandar Hunding , was a Redguard hero . He was born in 1E 720 , in the region of High Desert , on the continent of Yokuda . He grew up in a period of constant turmoil , the civil war in Yokuda , and led his people from the annihilation they faced to their new home in Hammerfell . He is also famous as being the father of his son , Divad . History . Growing up . Frandar belonged to the Sword - Singers . This faction , initially loyal to the Yokudan Empire , originally came from the high - class members of society . They devised training called the " The Hall of the Virtues of War . " Frandar was a master Ansei ( the most skillful of the Sword - Singers ) at the height of the turmoil of Torn ' s death . Many Ansei had hung up their swords and became master artisans instead . Some , however , like Hunding , sought true enlightenment through the dark times . In 1E 734 , Hunding ' s father died in one of the many uprisings in revolt of the death of Randic Torn , leaving him to look after his four brothers and mother , which he did through his knowledge of the sword . He was in great demand as a guardian and escort , but his reputation preceded him , and multitudes awaited to face him in battle , as they would gain instant fame through defeating him . By 1E 750 , Frandar has fought and won more than ninety duels . Nearly invincible with the sword , he gained such prestige and mastery that he eventually stopped needing to use real swords . He created , and began to use , the Shehai , or " Way of the Spirit Sword . " He started using this around his ninetieth duel . During this duel , he had fought the evil Lord Janic and his seven Lich es in the process . The Shehai . The Shehai is a magical mastery whereby the image of a sword is formed from pure thought . All sword singers eventually learn this " through the intense training and devotion to the gods of war and the way of the sword . " The Shehai is able to concentrate and create the sword , and it takes shape in his hand , usually as a " pale thing of light , misty and insubstantial , a thing of beauty perhaps , but no weapon . " Those Ansei of the highest level , and those of sensitivity and talent in magic , can in times of great stress , form a Spirit Sword . The Shehai , which is far more than mere light and air , but rather , an unstoppable weapon of great might , and a weapon which " can never be taken from the owner without also taking his mind . " This , then , is what Frandar was able to use . Retirement . After he was satisfied that he was , indeed , invincible ( See " Behind the Scenes " below for the time this occurred ) , Frandar turned his thoughts towards the philosophy of the " Way of the Spirit Sword . " He wrote his learning down in the " Book of Circles " whilst living as a hermit in a mountains of high desert in 1E 780 In that year , after having enlisted in , and fought , many battles of the empire ( and winning all of them ) — had thought himself ready for death , and retired to the cave in order to write his strategy and mystical visions to share with the other Sword - Singers . After completion of this scroll , the Singers , one of them his own son , Divad sought him out , as they urgently needed his help . Army of the Circle . Torn ' s Sword - Hunt had separated the Singers from the common people , and the rise of the " Last Emperor of Yokuda " created strife in the desert empire . The Emperor Hira , and his consort , Elisa ' s effort to take control of the empire , and put a stop to the insurrection , was to destroy the Sword Singers . He vowed that he would " search out every Singer " with his Brigand army , which was composed of Orcs and castoffs of the wars of the Empire , and to " scourge them from the face of the planet . " The Sword Singers , being peoples from the desert , were not particularly numerous , as the harsh landscape kept births few , however " growing up in the unforgiving wastes eliminated all but those of iron spirit and will . " Thus the final strife which became known as the " War of the Singers , " and these people were unprepared and unready to join together their individually great skills into an army that could defend their homes and lives . Due to his legend of being invincible on the battlefield , he was sought out , and without a choice in the matter , he was given command of the Singers . It is lucky for them that he had time to write down his years of accumulated wisdom , strategy , and ways of the Shehai , because his people fled to Mount Hattu , the " Father of the Mountains . " He was able to form the remnants of the Singers into the Army of the Circle , named after his book , and the people learnt Hunding ' s Way , of his strategy and visions , as written in his Book of Circles , and his vision for a master stroke of victory , for the War of the Singers . War of the Singers . Frandar then formulated a plan , to be fought in a total of seven battles , to lead the Armies of Hira further and further into the wilderness , to the foot of Mount Hattu , where the final battle was to be fought . This plan he called the " Hammer and the Anvil . " With each battle , the Army of the Circle , the untrained , undisciplined group of warriors that was his people , would learn more about his strategies and tactics , and grow stronger in the use of the Shehai , and be ready to defeat Hira ' s forces by the seventh battle . The battles progressed , and neither side was able to claim victory or defeat , but only able to slow down the progress of Hira ' s forces , with his large force advancing on the smaller army of Hunding . Though outnumbered thirty to one , his forces never faltered , and continued with his plan , and when his army maneuvered to the base of Hattu Mountain , the " Hammer " blow was delivered . The battle began , and many singers died , but Frandar Hunding knew , that , although few of his army would survive the battle ( due to impossible differences in numbers ) , if successful , Hira and his army would not survive . Aftermath of the Battle . In the aftermath of the battle , fewer than twenty thousand Singers survived , but there was no army left to pillage and murder . There were more than 300 , 000 dead that day on the battlefield . Of the survivors , they were no longer an organized band of bandits . The Singers , though , mourned their losses and followed Hundar to the great port city of Arch , in the province of Seawind , where Hunding had a flotilla of ships waiting . Knowing that they could no longer live in the desert empire , they left their homeland in search of a new one . The acts of Hunding , the Singers of Shehai , the Book of Circles and much more was unappreciated by the people , and thus they left their homeland . From there , the people left their homeland , of Yokuda , vowing to learn new ways as they travelled across the ocean . The vowed to adopt a new name , but to still honour the past . In honour of their final battle on Yokuda , they named the new land Hammerfell , and they adopted the name Redguard s , as the Yokudans saw them as blood - red peoples , and they had guarded them from the evils of Hira . In honour of Hunding , the great " Warrior - Prince , " each household in Hammerfell reportedly has a place by the hearth with an alcove big enough to hold the scroll known as the Book of Circles . Legacy . There is no understating his legacy in Tamriel . Without him , the Sword Singers would never have defeated the Armies of Hira , and would never have left their homeland of Yokuda , as they would all have perished . They would never have arrived in Hammerfell , and thus the many accomplishments on Tamriel that have been achieved by the Redguards , and any involvement in any event or battle , would not have occurred . He also passed down a wealth of knowledge about swords and sword - fighting . As quoted by Lady Benoch , in Words and Philosophy : " " " Frandar Hunding , " she says . " Lists thirty - eight grips , seven hundred and fifty offensive and eighteen hundred defensive positions , and nearly nine thousand moves essential to sword mastery . The average hack - and - slasher knows one grip , which he uses primarily to keep from dropping his blade . He knows one offensive position , facing his target , and one defensive position , fleeing . Of the multitudinous rhythms and inflections of combat , he knows less than one . " On Stros M ' kai , a city named Port Hunding was settled , the Statue of Hunding Bay was erected and Hunding Bay were all named after him . Divad . Frandar ' s Son , Divad ( also known as " Divad the Singer " ) , was born in 1E 760 . Like his father he also learnt at the The Hall of the Virtues of War . He is believed to have secretly studied the Shehai Shen She Ru — the Way of the Spirit Sword , or simply the Shehai ) . The Emperor Hira attempted to assassinate him but was unsuccessful , and , the Sword Singers , under siege from this Emperor , beseeched Divad ' s father , Frandar Hunding , for help , climbing his Mount Hattu retreat . Initially , Frandar refused , but , eventually , relented , and devised the strategy known as the Hammer and the Anvil . Frandar has by this stage completed his magnum opus , the Book of Circles which then became compulsory reading for the Redguard peoples . Divad supposedly became increasingly famous , however , what he did to increase his stature over that of his father is not known .