The Gray Fox

The Gray Fox is a character in Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion - fourth main-installment of the Elder Scrolls video-game series. He is the head of the Thieves Guild of Cyrodiil - center of the Imperial Empire. Many tales are told of him, that he has lead the Thieves Guild for three-hundred years, that he stole the cowl he wears from Noctural, The Daedric Prince (semi-divine arch-fiend) of Night, that he has eye and ears everywhere. Though a thief, he enforces some hard and fast laws for the Thieves Guild having to do with protecting the poor, avoiding blood-shed whenever possible, and a zero tolerance for murder among it's members. If the Hero of Kvatch enrolls in the Thieves Guild (which they canonically do) The Gray Fox will be their benefactor and eventually involve them in the greatest heist of all time.
The Gray Fox is voiced by Wes Johnson for the English release, and Vladimir Antonik for the Russian release.
== Honor Among Thieves ==
There are various Thieves Guilds through-out Tamriel. While the Morrowind Thieves Guild was shown to be self-serving if mostly directed against the wealthy elite, and the Skyrim Thieves Guild would be completely amoral yet subservient to a corrupt business owner, the Cyrodiil Thieves Guild largely exists as a wealth-gap equalizer. The Guild was founded to more or less give those thrown to the bottom of society a means to climb back up by existing outside the Imperial legal-system and subverting it to recover from poverty. The Gray Fox has run the Thieves Guild for three hundred years - while this could be justified if he was a powerful wizard or from one of the elven races, most just use it to claim he is an urban-legend. The Gray Fox is concerned with the beggars especially, and considers stealing from, or hurting those reduced to begging to-get by utterly unthinkable. While the Thieves Guild does not demand it's members be kind to the beggars of the province it will outright sever ties with any of their members who try to prey on those poorer than they. While the Gray Fox sees the personal greed of it's members as a fine trait to have in a thief, he sees to it the Guild as a whole never gives into this mindset. After a major score with all parties being given their fair share, if there is any left over he has it donated to the poor instead of keeping it for himself.
As a result of how the Thieves Guild looks out for them and even helps them out sometimes, the beggars from across Tamriel see the Gray Fox as their personal hero, and will continually spread rumors that he is a fairy-tail, unless they meet someone who they can tell would be an asset to the Guild. Likewise any thieves of the Guild who have a job in a certain county know to donate to beggars while covertly asking them for local info having to do with the security of their target, a system the beggars are more than happy to keep going. This system has seen to it that though most beggars are not thieves, let alone in the Thieves Guild, they are more than happy to function as the so-called "eyes and ears of the Gray Fox". The beggars and residents of the Waterfront district of the Imperial City are especially kept an eye on by the Gray Fox, as the area was originally housed a Guild Hall long ago and those forced onto the Waterfront even as law-abiding citizen have generally had harder lives than most. Though both outlaws, the Thieves Guild refuses to fall into the same habits as the Dark Brotherhood assassins Guild, not simply for moral reason but practical ones. If Thieves Guild members start killing folks, the already considerable legal weight on them would increase dramatically; Aside from this The Gray Fox prefers his thieves rely on stealth skills and not just violence to get away clean. At the end of the day, the Thieves Guild still functions as an institution of crime and acquisition of personal wealth, it just makes sure to do right by those less fortunate than it's own members.
== Thieves Guild Quest-line ==
When the Hero of Kvatch spots posters of the Gray Fox and then befriends, donates to, or charms one of the many beggars around any given town they will be quietly told by said beggar to go to the Waterfront district of the Imperial City at night to look for someone named Armand Christophe; Alternatively if he/she gets sent to jail for a non-violent crime a member of the Thieves Guild will covertly drop off a letter instructed them to go meet with Armand Christophe in the Imperial Waterfront just after midnight if they want to become better thieves. Once there Armand will be meeting with Amusei - a petty pick-pocket caught one too many time who wants to become a proper thief, and Methredhel - an experienced cat-burglar looking to increase her standing by impressing the Guild. The entrance of the Hero of Kvatch, leads Armand to decide a sensible way of weeding out real talent among the three is to turn the job he had lined-up into a contest. The only rule Armand imposes is that the three are not allowed to kill anyone over the course of the caper, rendering it a contest of speed and wits. Amusei is at his wits end for even where to start, but Methredhel confidently declares she will have the object, a diary, by sunrise, before running off. Talking to a near-by beggar will give the Hero of Kvatch the location of the diary right away by learning where the owner lives. Methredhel may or may not get to the diary first, however if she does, the key is to steal it back from her before she can turn it in. Having sussed out real talent, Armand will make the Hero of Kvatch a member of the Guild. Methredhel is still in the Guild but needs to wait to prove herself worthy of advancement and Amusei goes off to try to function as a thief without the Guild - though this will see him get caught by the authorities repeatedly.
After doing several jobs for the Thieves Guild, including framing a spy for the Imperial watch, stealing taxes excessively collected from the poor, breaking Amusei out of jail for information, continued filling of the Thieves Guild's fences' coffers and getting the captain of the Imperial watch - Hieronymus Lex, transferred to another post to prevent him from his continued quest to catch the Gray Fox, The Hero of Kvatch will be assigned to work with the Gray Fox himself. The Gray Fox is impressed with the Hero of Kvatch's work for them and has a series of special-jobs, he has been undertaking personally until then. The proposition is simple, the Hero of Kvatch runs several jobs the Gray Fox would otherwise need to do personally and they get compensated in gold and infamy within the Guild. The jobs consist of stealing a divining tool, stealing a key that has been formed onto an arrowhead from a wizard and swiping enchanted boots capable of enhancing one's jumping ability from the grave of the original owner. On the quest for the boots it is reveal the original owner is in-fact still alive, and was posing as his own descendant. The owner of the boots was a thief in his youth and got the nick-name Springheel-Jak, but had contracted vampirsim and was still alive three hundred years later, leafing through his diary will reveal this, as well as add in a bit of commentary on the Gray Fox, whom Jak worked with in his youth, seemingly confirming The Gray Fox is over three-hundred years old. Springheel-Jak's diary also adds a twist to The Gray Fox's situation, that he can not recall The Gray Fox's true name or face, he knows he has seen it but is utterly unable to recall it despite having seen and spoken to him, several times without his identity obscuring cowl. Returning with the boots to The Gray Fox sees the master-thief excited about the prospect of having the boots. Confronting him about the accounts of Springheel-Jak leads the Gray Fox to confirm the situation, "The Gray Fox" is a mantle, The Gray Fox Springheel-Jak knew was one of this Gray Fox's predecessors, and the Cowl was in-fact stolen from Nocturnal herself, just as the rumors say. The Cowl is enchanted/cursed, none who see his true face or hear his true name can recall said identity once he puts the Cowl on. The Gray Fox goes further and says that in-fact he has told the Hero of Kvatch this before, along while showing his real face and telling his real name, but he did so while taking his Cowl off, leaving the memory completely forgotten about when The Gray Fox put his Cowl back on. The Gray Fox claims while this makes theft and evading the authorities child's play it has also gravely affected his personal life, not being able to do anything in his own name. But quickly drops the subject to focus on the Guild work after the nature of his Cowl has been confirmed. The Gray Fox tells the Hero of Kvatch to lay-low until his next job, but assures them it will be the greatest of all jobs.
=== The Ultimate Heist ===
The Hero of Kvatch will be contacted sometime later by members of the Guild and told to meet The Gray Fox in the Imperial City. The Gray Fox reveals that the various jobs the Hero of Kvatch had been doing for him personally were all support work for one massive score he refers to as "The Ultimate Heist" - a term he does not use lightly. He needed the divining tool to see a passage into the Imperial palace, a passage only available by activating an ancient artifact that reverts time in a small pocket - creating a passage-in where currently there is no longer one. The key-arrow-head is for activating an ancient secret passage into the palace as to activate it one needs to both put the key in it's slot at the top of a statue and be standing on a platform very far-away both at the same time, requiring the key to be shot into the key-hole from a distance. The boots of Springheel-Jak are for surviving the fall down from the passage to exit as there are no stairs or gradual platforms back down. But what is being stolen is what truly makes the heist live up to it's name, The Gray Fox wishes the Hero of Kvatch to steal... an Elder Scroll! The Scrolls are physical manifestations of fate-itself, those who read and record them go blind and sometimes mad from conveying them as a records to the royal family, they are only used sparingly to divine major events or secrets lost to the past for record keeping as overuse of them drive men mad. In essence the "Ultimate Heist" involves stealing Fate itself.
The Gray Fox goes over the operation step-by-step, and committing it to memory is key to the Hero of Kvatch succeeding. First the Hero of Kvatch must sneak into the Imperial Council chambers unseen, lest the guards raise the alarm. Then they must find an enlarged hourglass called "the sands of time", and strike it - doing so will temporarily summon a previously covered-over secret passage to the old sewers out of the palace used in previous eras. Next the Hero of Kvatch must make their way through the twisting, by then, monster-infested, ancient sewers to a statue guarded by golem guardians. Dispatching with the golems will reveal that a pressure plate on the far end of the room causes the statue to turn it's shield to the side - a shield blocking it's key-hole, and so the Hero of Kvatch must hit a precise spot in a dark room from several dozen feet away with a single shot. Once the statue has been triggered, a passage up into the otherwise impregnable Imperial Library will be revealed. Going up into the passage will see the Hero of Kvatch arise in a guards' barracks during lights-out, so stealth if of the utmost importance. There are several of the retired blind monks, unable to see but with keen hearing now to compensate for it. The Hero of Kvatch can walk right passed the monks as they can not see them, but they must do so slowly and quietly to prevent them from picking up on his/her presence. The monks will hand off an Elder Scroll to the Hero of Kvatch, thinking them they high-mage who catalogues them, said mage having been arranged distracted by The Gray Fox. The way out is higher up into the tower of the mage, who is still in her room. The Hero of Kvatch must overcome further monk security and then sneak into the high-mages room, likely with her inside - this part can be done with or without being seen as the Hero of Kvatch is just making an exit at that point. The old secret passage out is a major fall just at the start of the secret passage in. While the Boots of Springheel-Jak break the Hero of Kvatch's fall, the boots themselves are broken from the massive pressure of the drop, but the Hero of Kvatch will be out and with an actual Elder Scroll in hand.
== The Gray Fox is gone, All hail The Gray Fox! ==
The Gray Fox is ecstatic at the prospect of the Heist. He takes the Elder Scroll but tells the Hero of Kvatch that what he will pay them will be far more valuable than mere gold, and he will be using the Elder Scroll to facilitate that payment. The Hero of Kvatch is to wait a day, then meet The Gray Fox in the coastal city of Anvil to receive their reward and see what all the thefts were for. Arriving in Anvil will show re-assigned Hieronymus Lex, now working as the captain of the guards for the Countess of Anvil, Millona Umbranox. Hieronymus is disappointed he needed to give up his pursuit of The Gray Fox but aims to make-up for it by seeing to it he will keep Anvil and the Countess as safe as had previously committed to keeping the Imperial City. Further investigation will see to it that The Stranger, a previous briefly seen master-forger is waiting in the County Hall for the Hero of Kvatch on behalf of The Gray Fox. The Stranger walks up to the Countess and states who he is - Corvus Umbranox, the long-lost Count and her husband. Millona is at-a-loose and in tears to see her missing husband back after disappearing years go, asking where he has been, he reveals he has been by her side, visiting her in court every day. He inherited the Cowl of Nocturnal and with it position as The Gray Fox. The first Gray Fox had stolen it from Nocturnal sure-enough, but with it Nocturnal cursed the thief, for his identity to be struck from the minds of all who knew him so he would only be The Gray Fox, and at all other times be but A Stranger, even to those near-and-dear to him. Corvus tells Millona he had cried out to her many times, but she had looked at him as if he were mad, as she did not recognize him and could not trace him back to her husband. Corvus states he is only able be recognized at that point due to a friend, the gesturing towards the Hero of Kvatch. Millona is overwhelmed but then disappointed stating she can not allow The Gray Fox to return as the Count of Anvil, and if he tries to claim the county she will be forced to deny him. Though Corvus claims such an act would be cold, he understands her obligation, and he had accounted for that, before asking the Hero of Kvatch to come before him so he can give her/him their reward - the Cowl of Nocturnal. 
Corvus states that he altered the Elder Scroll and with it, fate itself. An Elder Scroll is one of the only things that even Daedric Princes like Nocturnal are subject to. He altered the name of the one who stole the Cowl, leaving it ambiguous, and indicating whoever wears the Cowl, stole the Cowl. As he is no longer wearing it, and there is no assigned person for Nocturnal to curse, the curse of the Cowl is nullified and can be worn by anyone, who can then resume their normal lives whenever it is not in use. The Cowl and role as The Gray Fox is the Hero of Kvatch's ultimate reward. Corvus aims to go back to his long severed life as Count of Anvil, reuniting with his wife, and he can think of no finer person to replace him than the one who pulled off The Ultimate Heist, handing them the Cowl. Corvus also states that a butterfly-effect has taken place, that if the Cowl was never cursed the Thieves Guild would not have fallen on as much misfortune as it had and there should now be a formal, yet hidden, Guild Hall in the Imperial City, on the Waterfront, where the Hero of Kvatch first met Armand. Going back confirms it and the Hero of Kvatch is the new Gray Fox, with all the members of the Guild treating him/her as if they have always been The Gray Fox, and their glorious Guild leader. Amusei is waiting for them as well, saying in-between the last few thefts he reapplied and got in, but will always be loyal to The Gray Fox for giving him a new lease on life as a professional thief over a small-time-crook. Corvus resumes his life as Count of Anvil happily with his wife to live out the rest of his days.
== Personality ==
All The Gray Foxes were concerned with keeping the poor from being taken advantage of, though some more than others. Corvus, in-particular made keeping the poor safe and at least rich enough not to starve to death. When met as A Stranger, he is grumpy and to the point, not wanting to talk about the Gray Fox and just get to practical concerns. A will for one of the hide-outs near Anvil the Hero of Kvatch can inherit, indicate a previous Count Umbranox was a pirate benefactor, so Corvus's ties to the criminal underworld may well have existed before he inherited the Cowl of Nocturnal. Corvus's insistence that the poor not be harmed is a sign of kindness for the less fortunate, but his aversion to killing is utilitarian; If the Thieves Guild was known for completing it's jobs by killing witnesses, then the Imperial guard would have come down with the full force of the government very quickly and Hieronymus Lex would have been far from the only member of the Imperial Guard obsessed with bringing-down the Thieves Guild. Corvus could see that Hieronymus was a good, honorable and duty-bound man, which is why he arranged for him to be transferred to Anvil specifically - removing him from the Guild's main place of operation and giving his wife a stoic true guardian, and himself when/if he was able to acquire and Elder Scroll. Corvus may be kind but he still sees greed as a good quality to have for a thief, it denotes motivation, and he encourages it in his Guild-mates, just never at the cost of the less fortunate. Upon returning to his wife and the Oblivion crisis coming into full effect as part of the game's main plot - with portals to the Hellish Oblivion opening up all over Tamriel, including near Anvil, Corvus is dead set on keeping it safe along with his wife and not willing to give up his returned old life to the Daedra. After the Hero of Kvatch closes the Oblivion Gate near Anvil, Millona and Corvus instantly turn over the Anvil county guard to the Hero of Kvatch to use as an army to fight the forces opening such gates at their source.
== Trivia ==
* Though many parts of the game are optional, joining the Thieves Guild and completing the quest-line is cannon, according to Sheogorath as encountered in Skyrim. 
* A Gray Fox is encountered in Elder Scrolls Online, implied to be the first Gray Fox, to have stolen the Cowl.
*The symbols on the Cowl of Nocturnal are written in the series's internalized alphabet of Daedric - they translate out to "Shadow Hide You" - a common blessing among Thieves Guild members. "The Shadow" is a celestial birth-sign, said to bless those born under it with the ability to briefly hide in plain sight.
== Navigation ==
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