The Hope of the Redoran Content . One of the few magical arts the Psijics of Arteum have kept to themselves , away from the common spells and schools of the Mages Guild , is the gift of divination . Despite this , or perhaps because of it , omens and prophesies abound in Tamriel , some of substance , others of pure folly , and still others so ambiguous as to be unverifiable . There are still other prophesies kept secret , from the prophesies of Dro ' Jizad in Elsweyr and the Nerevarine in Morrowind , to the Elder Scrolls themselves . The Nord nobility have a tradition of having omens read for their children . In general , these readings are of the obscure variety . One of my acquaintances told me that her parents were told , for example , that their daughter would have her life rescued by a snake , and so gave her the name Serpentkin in a special ceremony . And this young lady , Eria Valkor Serpentkin , was indeed saved by a snake many years later , when an assassin creeping on her stepped on a danswyrm viper . Occasionally , omens seem to be almost purposefully misleading , as if Boethiah had crafted them as traps . I recall one particularly . Many , many years ago , a male child was born into House Redoran . It was a very difficult birth , and the mother was delirious and near death by the time it was over . She chanted just as her son came into the world and she passed from it . The boy , named Andas , was indeed extraordinary . He never was ill and never suffered so much as a scratch all through his childhood . He was also quite intelligent and strong , which , combined with his invulnerability , caused many to call him , after his mother ' s omen , the Hope of the Redoran . Of course , any one who is called the Hope of the Redoran will eventually develop some taint of impertinence , and it wasn ' t long before he had enemies . His worst enemy was his cousin Athyn , who had borne much abuse at the hands of Andas . Primary among the grudges was that Athyn had been sent to Rihad to complete his education at Andas ' s insistence . When Athyn returned from Hammerfell , it was because of the death of his father , who had also been a councilor of the House . Athyn was old enough to take his seat in the Council , but Andas claimed the seat as well , saying that his cousin had been gone too long from Morrowind and didn ' t understand politics as he did . The majority of the House agreed with Andas , wanting to see the Hope of Redoran rise quickly . Athyn exercised his right to combat his cousin for the seat . No one thought he had any chance of winning , of course , but the battle was scheduled to commence the following morn . Andas whored and dined and drank with the councilors that night , confident that his place in the House was secured and the hopeful new dawn of House Redoran was rising . Athyn retired to his castle with his friends , Andas ' s enemies , and his servants he had brought from Hammerfell . Athyn and his friends were discussing the duel morosely when one of his old teachers , a warrior called Shardie , came into the hall . She had grown quite proud of her student over the years in Hammerfell , proud enough to accompany him across the Empire to his family ' s lands , and wanted to know why they had so little confidence in his odds in the battle . They explained to her Andas ' s uncommon blessings and the nature of his mother ' s omen . “ If he can ' t be harmed by disease , poison , magicka , and his blood can never be spilled , what hope have I of ever besting him ? ” cried Athyn . “ Have you remembered nothing I taught you ? ” replied Shardie . “ Is there no weapon you can think of that will slay without blood ? Are swords and spears and arrows the only items in your arsenal ? ” Athyn quickly realized the weapon Shardie was speaking of , but it seemed absurd . Not only absurd , but pathetic and primitive . Still , it was the only hope he had . All that night , Shardie trained him in the art and techniques , showing him the various swings and stances her people had developed in ; counter - attacks , feints , and blocks imported from Yokuda ; the classic one and two - handed grips for the most ancient weapon in history . The cousins faced one another the next morning , and never have two combatants looked so unevenly matched . Andas ' s entrance brought a great cheer , for not only was he much beloved as the Hope of the Redoran , but as his victory was a foregone conclusion , most wanted to be in good standing with him . His shining mail and blade drew admiration and awe . By contrast , Athyn drew a gasp of surprise and only a smattering of polite applause . He appeared costumed and armed like a barbarian . As Shardie had suggested , Athyn allowed Andas to attack first . The Hope of the Redoran was eager to finish the battle and take the power he deserved quickly . The blade pushed by Andas ' s mighty arm slashed across Athyn ' s chest , but shallowly , and before it could be counterswung , Athyn knocked it back with his own weapon . When Athyn attacked and wounded Andas , the Hope of the Redoran was so surprised by being hurt for the first time in his life , he dropped his sword . The less said about the end of the battle , the better . Suffice it to say that Athyn , wielding a simple club , battered Andas to death without spilling a drop of blood . Athyn took his father ' s seat as councilor , and it was then said that the hope in the omen referred to Athyn , not Andas . After all , had Andas not tried to take the councilor seat away from his cousin , Athyn , being not very ambitious , might have never tried to get it . It can certainly be argued that way , I suppose .