The Thieves Guild's Most Frustrating Mystery - The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim

[@Longshanks1690]

Dragonborn: _Completely fucks up the Thieves Guild entry level test, which was barely even difficult at all_ Brynjolf: I’m telling you guys, there’s something special about him, it’s almost like he just exudes main character energy!!!

[@reddeaddude2187]

Bethesda is so afraid that we'll miss out on one of their shitty questlines that they cannot let us fail. Utterly obliterating the immersion in the process.

[@reddeaddude2187]

@@SunnyBunny148 There's a reason we can save at anytime.

[@windhelmguard5295]

@@SunnyBunny148 the way i see it, he's throwing you under the bus, expecting you to maybe take out a few of the mercs guarding the place before they chop you to pieces after they discover you so he can belittle brynjolf about it.

[@Scowleasy]

That entry quest even gives you a hidden +35 to pickpocketing

[@user-op6kt8pg9y]

​@@Scowleasyyep, always wondered why pickpocketing rarely ever fails in that quest despite having minimum level

[@jondawson7911]

The real most frustrating mystery? What are the important things Brynjolf has to do?

[@Fizhy]

Okay this is the second most frustrating thieves guild mystery.

[@arifhossain9751]

Brynjolf was referring to yo mamma

[@HovektheArtist]

Stuff n thangs

[@michaelheckman3474]

​@@arifhossain9751 got em

[@victoriafelix5932]

Keep his hand on it? ;)

[@KaoruMzk]

He is probably another victim of cut content. My best guess is that he would have a quest tied to those bugs in a jar you can find in specific locations; they all have runes when you examine them and they probably were related to Rune's stone.

[@Fizhy]

And yet it would seem according to the game files, everything about Rune is actually present in game. Perhaps stripped back ideas is a better term than cut content but I didn't even consider the bugs in jars.

[@Practitioner_of_Diogenes]

Helps that we know the bugs in jars are from a cut quest.

[@XSilver_WaterX]

Rune probably wasn't important in his past life, mayhap the heir to a modest trading company in Tamriel but was attacked by mad wizard pirates, which now saying that; that be a great mod! Still, my headcanon wizard pirates used something AKIN to an elder scroll and blanked Rune's old family from existence, but Rune being the only survivor must imply some god is making Rune into some hero?

[@JayBMods]

@Based_Gigachad_001there’s already a mod that does

[@San_Vito]

​@Based_Gigachad_001That's a Bethesda mentality.

[@FTZPLTC]

Rune's parents taking turns wearing a cowl that makes the other immediately forget who they are has... weird kink implications.

[@GelatinCoffee]

i honestly feel like it was more out of duty. like whoever wore it first died, so then the remaining partner put it on to continue the legacy. Like a shared dream they both could make happen

[@Redlegfist]

😂😂😂 “I don’t know who you are but I’m into this”

[@FTZPLTC]

@@Redlegfist Right? They can cheat on each other... with each other.

[@Victoria-vd2li]

One thing that drives me nuts is that we never get to see the stone.

[@alexm.1392]

I wonder if perhaps Rune's parents might have fucked around and found out with an elder scroll? I mean, weird runes, removal from history? Those are things that have been associated with the scrolls before, although how Rune ended up on a shipwreck of all places is still very odd

[@Fizhy]

This is why I like the idea that his story isn't meant to add up, very elaborate, very interesting and clearly crafted in such a fashion that it would be interesting from the perspective of the guild he's joined

[@scoutdnr]

Has anyone considered the possibility that maybe the farmer made the story up? Maybe for whatever reason he didn't want to tell Rune his true origin and so made something up. Might explain why it doesn't make perfect sense as he may not have thought it through entirely. He just wanted Rune to believe his past was an unknowable mystery.

[@emeraldkoala2]

I've never heard the interpretation that Rune made up his backstory, but it makes sense the more I think about it, which I can't really say about the other more well known theories about Rune.

[@MidniteSpectre]

Bugthesda: Write that down!

[@nitrowarrior-lj5ip]

​@@MidniteSpectreConsidering one of the lead developers does not believe their games needs any writing I doubt they will 😂

[@valentinemiller8680]

One thing that doesn't make sense to me with this theory though is why someone would be hired to find his identity, if he made it up and knows it's a fiction? It seems like a waste of time to do so, and even if we suggest that he left it there to further support the idea he was looking for his past, that is still part of a huge effort he would have to do in order to keep up appearances that he really was Rune and that he was searching for his past. If he's just a guy who wants a book to write, putting in all that effort is going to be a huge distraction from writing his second book.

[@suckersupreme4380]

I like the interpretation that his adopted father wanted to tell him a more interesting backstory to potentially help mitigate trauma, and a young Rune has spent his time on a wild goose chase - honestly I would love to interact with Runes father, if just to get some little insight.

[@Fizhy]

Welcome to another episode of me faking knowing what I'm talking about until I actually do, please enjoy!

[@z-herb8006]

Man would love to see a fallout video if you like those games and would like to do the video, obviously

[@Fizhy]

@@z-herb8006 I like Fallout games, however I do like to laser focus on topics as and when I get round to them.

[@z-herb8006]

@Fizhy cool, love your videos regardless, always a must watch in my opinion

[@jackrebble]

I've never watched a video of yours that didn't interest me, whereas the topics themselves of course can't always be as appealing to me as another. My point is: no matter what material you cover, you always do a great job. Keep it up :)

[@mr.coffee5220]

@@Fizhy Minecraft lore perhaps?

[@BNK2442]

Perhaps Rune's real origin were the friends we made along the way.

[@Zalazaar]

I thought it was just a Thief reference. Main character Garret pickpockets a Keeper just like Rune's story and those keepers performs magic through glyphs, which kinda look like runes. The character even kinda looks like Garret.

[@victort2]

Wouldn’t they name him something like garry then..? Wait.. Also i lov thief..need to play the older games

[@MusicLifeOP]

Probably is considering it's thieves Guild 😅

[@Zalazaar]

@@victort2 Wouldn't work with the Norse theme ig and maybe too on the nose as well. You should, 1 and 2 are imo some of the best stealth games.

[@Mckadow]

I can't wait for Riften's sequel. Rift Eleven.

[@spiritdetectived6006]

I love this lmao

[@samreddig8819]

Can't wait for Dalinar to burn the rift.

[@Bethgael]

./slow clap. laughs, hates self for laughing. Tips McKadow because, okay, I'll pay that one.

[@TheRedRobin96]

I hate to be that guy but don't you mean Rif eleven?

[@karolynemuniz4054]

I don't know if I hate or love this comment

[@strictdugong1392]

I think it could have been a side quest in early stages of Skyrim's development, as the options of dialogue with Rune point to it. The Dragonborn tells him he'll keep an eye out for a clue about his past, just like Brand-Shei asks the player to. And Brand-Shei actually gives us the quest to fetch him a journal (in a shipwreck too!). Also, I believe that the developpers cut some things about Saphire, too. Or they didn't want to further extend the dialogue options with the Dragonborn, as the last possible option leaves us with "Maybe I'll tell my real name, someday"

[@TheMaabusAdmiral]

We at least know Sapphire is the daughter of Devin Malloy's brother

[@eggboye5346]

as a kiddo, I spent hours searching the shipwrecks of the coast of Skyrim and I was upset I could never help Rune. I even searched the wrecks farther from Solitude just to make sure and still came up with nothing 🥲 justice for Rune!!!! i need closure! 😂

[@Sanguivore]

I absolutely did the same thing for ages. >.< I was sad when I never found anything; he was really intriguing to me.

[@Robertedwinhouse38]

Even if you found nothing, your effort did shine on your character which didnt go unappreciated m8

[@YourWaywardDestiny]

I always thought his parents were probably Blades agents on the run, not settling down in one place for long to avoid getting off'd by the Thalmor and the rune stone has zero magical application, but is a signal or a code of some sort intentionally made to be frustrating. See, if his parents somehow got separated from Rune (they had to leave him in someone else's care due to danger, or they got nabbed and managed to escape, or a disaster occurred) they could eventually be reunited. A boy looking into strange runes carved on a stone is a good piece of gossip, and the Blades know how to deal in information gathering at least.

[@cnut7383]

perhaps some akaviri script on the rune. like a kanji instead of a norse rune

[@Krejii05]

I always spent time dumping jems and shit in the vault because it never updated with your progression, i wish it did honestly. One of the few things i cant “forgive or defend” in my favourite game.

[@Tracker947]

It's a minor and inconsequential detail. I can agree that it would absolutely be better if it did, but it is absolutely not something worthy of "can't defend, can't forgive".

[@TheMaabusAdmiral]

​@Tracker947 it's the thieves guild bro. If being a thief doesn't add to your plunder pile, what's the point?

[@jonathangriffith4189]

It adds to your plunder pile.

[@z-herb8006]

Going to sleep:👎 Watching a New Fizhy Video at 2am in the morning: 💪

[@Sanguivore]

Literally me as we speak. 🥹

[@TheMichael5833]

I've had that has xbox 360 profile picture for over 12 years now

[@apocalypticpioneers2116]

"Erasing themselves from history" leads me to an entirely different conclusion. Zero sum. Also, him being an Imperial and nobody in Tamriel makes me think he's not from Tamriel at all, but in fact Akavir. Uriel Septim the 5th went to Akavir and it's possible some Imperials were unable to retreat and weren't slain.

[@st.anselmsfire3547]

It would actually be kind of cool if Rune turned out to be a spy. It would also explain why he starts sucking up to you so quickly. He probably knows you're going to be the big boss soon.

[@jacobrperry]

I always imagined it had something to do with the psyjic order. They live on a magical island, definitely have the power to make someone forget things, and probably have rune systems unknown to the people of Tamriel. Perhaps Rune's family were casualties of some magical calamity no one knows about. After the psijics ended it, they just wiped his memory, gave him a gift, and sent him back to Tamriel. I really like your theory! The only evidence againts it is him paying the best investigators he can find to solve the mystery. Either he payed them off for their results which is risky or he forged them. Otherwise he would just be paying for his true identity to be revealed.

[@Redster3]

I feel terrible for Rune. Sapphire was able to have some closure because you are able to discover Glover Mallory is her father. But Rune? Bethesda shamefully denied him a resolution.

[@Aerosmith1999-j6h]

I have a feeling we will see Rune, in ES6.

[@lordedmundblackadder9321]

My theory is that Rune is an Atmoran, a native of the continent of Atmora far to the north of Skyrim. We have never seen Atmora in any Elder Scrolls game, and know next to nothing about it, but it was the homeland of the ancestors of the Nords, so it makes sense that they would use runestones. Though we’re told that most Atmorans sailed to Skyrim in the First Era as their homeland gradually became unliveable due to increasing cold and the growing number of hostile Draugr. However, again, we don’t know if there are still settlements on the continent. Edit: didn’t know he was an Imperial, that puts a bit of a hole in the theory. Of course, we have to consider that Atmoran is not a race in the game, and if I remember my lore, the Atmorans and the Nedes - the ancestors of the Imperials - are at least tangentially related, both being wandering Ehlnofey.

[@Patoriiii]

This has always been my theory too. I feel like his Imperial race was just a placeholder, especially since I recall that technically all humans come from the same origin. I may be misremembering, but this is the most interesting/fun theory to me (:

[@honestkyn718]

While that might be a gameplay thing (nord would be better for it though) but Atmora was frozen long before 4th era

[@isaac_marcus]

Not sure if this is another word for Nedes (not _that_ deep on the lore) but aren't the Imperials also pretty closely related (at least in appearance) to the Akiviri humans? I know the Akiviri brought over the concept of dragonborn and declared the first emperor to be one so I assume some connection is there. The "strange runes" could be more like an East Asian script rather than "true" runes Also, while the player-character dragonborn's canonical age isn't known (I assume), if Rune were Akiviri it could be that they (his family etc) divined a new dragonborn was coming and set sail to meet them, which explains why they headed for Skyrim

[@lordedmundblackadder9321]

@@isaac_marcus Nedes are not related to Akaviri - in fact, it’s unknown if the Akaviri, or Tsaesci, are even humans at all. In earlier Kirkbridian texts, they’re said to be “snake-men”, but this is far from confirmed. What you’re thinking of is the Akaviri Potentate, which was when the Empire was ruled by what was basically a military dictatorship of the Emperor’s Tsaesci guards. What happened was, during the reign of Emperor Reman Cyrodiil, the forces of Akavir invaded Tamriel. Reman was Dragonborn, and when he met them in battle he used the Voice (not an actual shout, he just shouted his name really loudly), and the Tsaesci all stopped fighting and hailed him as their emperor. The Tsaesci became Reman’s personal bodyguard/army, he used them to conquer Tamriel, and then he died. After a succession of poor emperors, Reman’s line died out, and the Tsaesci took over running the Empire for a while. However, there’s little evidence that they ever actually settled Cyrodiil in large numbers, or interbred with the locals on a large scale.

[@HappyBeezerStudios]

@@lordedmundblackadder9321 What if Rune is the decedent of one of the soldiers of Uriel Septim V invasion force to Akavir. That invasion happend in the late 3rd century of the 3rd era (about 145 years before the Oblivion Crisis), and it is said that most of the force, including the emperor, died. But no official source confirms that everyone died. Some might've escaped the Tsaesci forces, maybe some were taken prisoner. And those survivors might've continued living on Akavir. And since Uriel V was of the Septim bloodline, he is dragonborn. Rune might even be a direct descendent, and could have that dragon bloodline and his family went back to Tamriel to reclaim the throne. (Which was even an early draft for Skyrim, that Uriel V returned with an army of dragons) That would be at least more likely than Atmora, which is said to be too cold for people to live.

[@SrChr778]

Perhaps developers thought to come up with something you could do to help out Rune, but then they were probably like, "nah"

[@someonesilence3731]

Too little dev time / budget no doubt.

[@Galimeer5]

A mystery with no intended solution is Todd's Secret Sauce

[@MonkeyPowerkey]

Rune was the name of one of my teachers at some point. Seeing as this game takes HEAVY inspiration from Nordic / Scandinavian Culture i may also add how the name Rune is pronounced in Norway. The E at the end is pronounced similarly to the E in the word Well. Just a little fun fact i hope anyone here found educational.

[@ntolman]

Rune's parents might have been merchants which is why they might have been travelling by ship.

[@HappyBeezerStudios]

And perhaps their tour lead them from Anvil in the Gold Coast of Cyrodiil up north, along the ports of Hammerfell, High Rock and Skyrim all the way to the northern parts of Morrowind. Sure, a long journey, but who says there isn't any money along the route. Especially now that Hammerfell is independent and Morrowind is in need after the Red Year and the situation with Black Marsh.

[@irmelinsundragon8860]

I like your theory about Rune being the author, it makes more sense to me than the Grey Fox theory. I sometimes play with the thought that Rune is a failed Dragonborn. As in, he was supposed to wake up in the carrige to Helgen, but he never got there, so "we" the player character became the substitute Dragonborn 😂

[@Myiic]

Thank you for sharing my frustration about how little I know about this guy even though I see him on every playthrough

[@Victoria-vd2li]

as soon as i saw this video on my feed i yelled "WHO IS RUNE!????????" lmao

[@missjessjx]

I love all your content so much, all the lore videos fascinate me & they're also so relaxing to fall asleep to. Thank you so much Fizhy & keep up the amazing work.❤

[@Starchild719]

I personally like the theory that the rune actually IS one of the spell runes from ESO. It takes place waaaaaaaaay before the other games and the stones are barely understood in their own time. I could see their knowledge being lost to history, except, perhaps by a small group or lineage that culminated in Rune's discovery.

[@Phoenixplaysrpgs]

I love these videos I been playing Skyrim forever but no matter how long a break I take I always end up coming back and I been binging listening to your videos 🙂

[@APink176]

I always assumed that the ship, “Orphan’s Tear” meant something in-game. Like a ship that collects orphans who eventually end up at the orphanage in Riften. If that’s Rune’s ship, then maybe he was orphaned before the shipwreck and not during. That would add a level of complexity to the in-game private investigator that wrote to Rune explaining how he looked everywhere for the parents but couldn’t find anything - assuming he would have looked at shipping manifests, records, and logs that weren’t lost to sea. Do we know for sure that he is only Imperial? It might be interesting if he is half Imperial and half Nord. Maybe a child of war/conflict that needed to be hidden?

[@Joseph_El-Cheikh]

I always thought he was an Easter egg for Dishonred since the rune he describes fits the description of the runes in dishonred. Dishonred also came out under a year after Skyrims release and was published by Bethesda.

[@helo9316]

I love these kinds of investigation videos in video games, I'd love to see more of these in other games like baldur's gate 3. On another note, there's a cave in the game called chillwind depths, it is inhabited by falmers who have been kidnapping travelers in an effort to sacrifice them to some creature in a ritual, it is never explained what this creature was. You might wanna make a video on that

[@mettebusck1865]

Rune is a pretty normal name in Scandinavia... which makes this whole thing seem less mysterious to me.

[@Sanguivore]

But “Rune” (rún) *literally* means secret or mystery, lol.

[@mettebusck1865]

@@Sanguivore lol. I had no idea! For me it's just, like, 3 kids i went to middle school with.

[@TeddyKirkegaard]

Yeah I always found it kind of funny that of maybe four characters with names i have encountered in real life is supposed to be such a weird and mysterious name

[@sleepysartorialist]

I feel like maybe his adoptive dad lied to him about the runes and didn't think he'd take it so seriously (as children often do). Belief is a powerful thing.

[@suckersupreme4380]

I genuinely love this explanation, it feels like a perfect representation of Occam’s razor

[@PiercedHeartProductions]

He's Prince Lonestar...and I'm sticking with that!

[@maelorii]

Yeah, I’ve always thought of it as an easter egg to Spaceballs which would make sense for why it’s not too in depth but had just enough context for someone to relate it to the movie as long as they’ve seen it. 😂

[@kickflippro3]

You just need his parents to be a single mom who got knocked up by a random sailor who wears the cowl.

[@HappyBeezerStudios]

If we were still in Morrowind era TES, his mother would've worked in the House of Earthly Delights and his father would be some sailor.

[@EventHoriXZ0n]

Love the way you handled this mystery- as you were spelling out the facts I essentially came to the exact same conclusion. I think you’re aware that there’s no empirical link between Rune and the author of the book, but rather, it’s just the only theory where the circumstantial evidence doesn’t collapse in on itself with the current state of the investigation. I believe Occam’s Razor would dictate that the character was just scrapped early on in development, and they just left him in. A complaint I have about Skyrim (and funny enough, Death Stranding), is that essentially in all of the in canon mysteries and debates are solved by a proposed theory- essentially the truth about a debate 100% supports a present theory. There’s an imperial author who talks about the rumors of Werebears in Skyrim, and he writes that his trip to Skyrim showed no presence of werebears. Spoiler alert, the rumors are 100% true (though you can only find them in Solstheim in game). The legends of the Archmage Gaulder and his 3 sons are all true- their tombs and bodies are all found in Skyrim, even with their corresponding amulet fragments. Every investigation in Skyrim has like the absolute best case scenario- and if it’s unresolved, the Dragonborn can solve it in like 3 days tops. This is exactly the opposite of the case in academics; I understand, however that the truth in 99% of investigations being completely undiscoverable would probably be really frustrating and annoying to players who don’t care about accurate academia representations in their video games LOL That being said, I think if the mystery of Rune was exactly the way Bethseda would have it, you would have been able to easily solve it as a small quest. In fact, in the exact same city of Riften, there’s a Dumner seller at the market who is ALSO unaware of the circumstances of his birth, has spent time looking and hasn’t found anything, and you can actually find a journal onboard a ship that reveals information about the mystery. So knowing these things, it seems likely they changed their mind on finishing the quest but left him in for immersion purposes.

[@JungéShikisanki]

He’s most likely cut content. His story is very similar to that Dunmer guy’s quest at Riften (what a coincidence), both sea related and being found as a child at the wreckage. Maybe Rune got cut out because of the Dunmer guy already having a similar story.

[@jakdekayen]

Or maybe his story was tied into that questline? Maybe their parents were on the same boat - maybe his parents were workers or something and fled to keep their baby safe or they fled in a separate boat after seeing the other family/those staff fleeing and they got caught up in a storm

[@Aaron-xo7px]

Love it, your story telling is great. Regardless of popularity you have a unique story telling style. So going over any story is fun

[@Tre-el6tf]

Love the Skyrim coverage❤. Also miss the starfield theory’s and lore

[@Fizhy]

Maybe when the DLC drops there’ll be more to come

[@ChronoTriggerHappy85]

Very thorough for something that has no real answer! I’d love some Dawnguard exploration 😊

[@silverkleptofox]

He’s both the grey fox’s son AND the mysterious author investigating the guild. He’s using the ‘Rune/unreadable’ stone and the legend of the grey fox as cover to see WHY the guild north of the border has declined

[@Gallifreyanqueen]

I watched a bunch of your RDR2 videos and I find it hilarious that right as I start replaying Skyrim you start making Skyrim videos

[@Fizhy]

I’m inside your walls

[@jacobjacobboi]

Im addicted to your channel right now

[@mrk1322]

Wow, that was interesting. I personally think that there are two options: 1 - A mission on recovering his identity and bloodline was cut and had something to do with the Orphans tear because the name cries out loud for connection. 2 - The version that he is actually the author of that book about he thiefs guild and his story is all made up. I only started to consider this one when I watched this video and think that I’m going to stick to it now because I like it the most. Anyway, keep up these videos. Absolutely love them.

[@Tay-xj5ud]

I think Rune wasn't born in Tamreil. I think he was a prince from some continent/island nation up north. Why I think he's a Prince? bastards an Easter egg from Mell Brooks Space balls (Lone Star)

[@Manic_player]

Loving the longer videos also I've got a question do you intend to ever make a video about the game bully if you haven't already

[@Fizhy]

I've done a video on Bully, I know it has a few myths/urban legends that'd slot in nicely with my style of content so I might consider a video of that nature sometime

[@Manic_player]

​@@Fizhyalright thank you for letting me know was just curious that was all

[@loudpacjohnny6822]

I’m loving these Skyrim videos man👏 I’m on my second play through ever and it’s been awesome, being able to do the “right” things for my run. I’ve never had any play with any mods either so all of that is great. To top it off I’ve got you and a couple others making Skyrim videos to watch.🎉🍻

[@sharpw9761]

Could his father and mother be apart of the psijic order? Considering they are rarely seen and almost a myth to most mages?

[@deusimpeditioesuritorinull7079]

I played this game when it came out and I vaguely remember finding a container with something in it having to do with this guy a paper or book in the ocean close to a wreck again it's been a long time I might jump back in and see if I can find it again

[@AKCyrway]

I wonder about a connection with the bugs in jars, which also have undecipherable runes, and the Pilgrim's Trench north of Morthal (impoverished fishing town).

[@rosashell4]

I got a crackpot theory, but what if Rune is actually from Akavir, because he has a rune with a completely unknown language on it, he is an imperial on a boat that doesn't make since sinking where it is if his family was trying to get to Skyrim and his parents have no records of existing. I know it's crazy, but it could work, as well as taking into account that the original plot of Skyrim was of an Akivir invasion.

[@isaac_marcus]

I was thinking about this too. The Akiviri humans are, at least sometimes, close in appearance with Imperials. Also, the Akiviri humans were the ones who basically brought the idea of Dragonborn to Tamriel. And we play a Dragonborn. Our character's age isn't really definite, but it could be that they divined the coming birth of a dragonborn in Tamriel and sent a ship to meet them (like the three wise men tale in the bible), but sadly got shipwrecked.

[@blueman688]

I think that runes cut quest was going to be a dadarik artifact quest and you would find out that the neckless has a similar effect as the gray fox Cowell that might have boosted your sneaking ability or had the ability to reset npcs if they were hostile to you

[@seff6533]

I've always theorized that his true parents were higher ups in society and losing their son benefited them in some way (not saying they planned the ships sinking, but they cashed in on it for some sort of clout or wealth) and have probably either paid off the investigator to tell rune he hasn't found anything, or erased all connections to him.

[@abandoned__]

i am eating these skyrim videos UP!! thanks for dinner fizhy

[@Fizhy]

[@Runix1]

The real frustrating thing, is the implication that "Rune" is in any way a strange name. It's rather common here in Scandinavia. Sincerely, Rune.

[@MMAFanFromKrypton]

I just came across your channel and dude, I love it.

[@numerousbeesinaberry]

I wonder if its an easter egg for the runes in the insect jars. The art team made the jars hoping that there would be a quest and the developers were like "no" and i wonder if this was an easter egg for that

[@randalledwards529]

My original headcanon for rune is that he was a child of someone who went on the campaign to akavir. It is highly suggested by lore that the Emperor Uriel V who travelled to Akavir died there, but not enough is known about those who went with him. 4 legions of imperial soldiers travelled to akavir, 1 was assumed lost. If Uriel V had any heirs during the campaign, the tceasci people would have safeguarded them as dragonborn. Rune may very well be a descendant of the people who were left behind in akavir. It explains the runes as they were akaviri, and the fact he can’t remember anything from before the ship as the journey is extremely long. Also the fact his parents don’t seem to exist is also easily explained as they would not exist if they were from akavir.

[@cesarchavez8355]

Isn't there a quest in the dark brotherhood where you have to find a book in a shipwreck underwater maybe that's connected to it like a contract gone wrong and his family had to be killed or something 🤔

[@rakardoslegend1432]

Great Content, Keep it up! but I had a thought. WHAT IF Rune isn't the SON of the Current Grey Fox, but is the Grey Fox himself? In Oblivion it is not necessary to complete the Thieves Guild Questline. So the ending where the curse is removed from the Cowl (and Count Umbranox) may not be canon. Umbranox is an Imperial and obviously from Cyrodiil. Also Anvil is a Port Town, with easy access to ships for escape if/when it became needed. Rune could very likely be Umbranox's descendant, still in possession of the Cowl. The reason that no-one can find information on Runes parents, etc, is that the person that they are researching doesn't currently exist. Even if they found Rune's Parents, the parents wouldn't know of Rune. As a child Rune could have donned the Cowl, lost the cowl in the shipwreck, been rescued at sea, then went back for the cowl later at any point. Its not like a Daedric artifact as powerful as the Cowl of Nocturnal would be so easily destroyed via a shipwreck or spending years underwater. Since he knows the general location of the shipwreck, and has apparently been looking for answers himself, he very likely has already been to the shipwreck to recover the cowl. And now he's possibly using the investigators to test the curse of the cowl, and see if he truly doesn't exist. Rune could've made up the story of the actual runed stone, and consulting the college of Winterhold as a cover story. And what better place to hide the current Grey Fox than The Thieves Guild. Had the last Dragonborn not shown up in the thieves guild, Rune could've eventually worked his way up to be the leader of the next group of legendary Thieves. And Bethesda could've allowed the Creation club content of the Cowl to exist to further obscure the lore around Rune, etc.

[@Tvillian]

I "remember" finding a note hinting at Rune's backstory in a chest on one of the ships in Pilgrim's Trench. Granted this was my first play through almost 13 years ago. But I specifically remember finding it and being mad I couldn't tell him. I just checked and it wasn't there so I either imagined it or we really are living in a different timeline LoL

[@TheUnsaltedScholar]

You know, I feel like I remember something similar. It was when the game first came out and I played for like 2 days straight just questing and exploring. I remember also finding Brand-Shei's thing, but I feel like there was definitely a note item and not a journal item for Rune. Is it possible Bethesda completely scrubbed it from the game files in a later update? Maybe it hinted at some plot point that they decided to make non-canon?

[@craigerz2875]

Fizhy doing Elder Scrolls videos? Praise be to the Nine!

[@emilycrofton450]

and here i am, installing the damn game again, thanks Fizhy

[@musicnstuff69]

If the parents took turns wearing the gray cowl, they wouldnt recognize their partners and it would make passing it around probably impossible. Maybe rune was somehow created by the dwemer? They disappeared somewhere and might be still alive or exist in some way. The fact that the rune cannot be read by even cowh students makes it more plausible.

[@ElyssaCaouettedavies]

if it wasn’t just runes parents who had the gray fox mask, but what if they put it on him as a child to erase his identity and then he got separated from them, but I know the mask was lifted of its curse so that’s probably not it

[@rautamiekka]

Rune could be training to get used to the unavoidable possibility of missing his blade strike. ^ And you can't learn new moves if you're too close to something tangible. ^ Hell, at least I imagine, that having the expectation that you'll miss more than hit, will be more useful.

[@handsomepotato6659]

What if runes parents put the cursed cowl on themselves then put the cowl on rune. Erasing all three from history, and when the fisherman gave him a new name he became a new person

[@Fizhy]

The cowl was no longer cursed though?

[@Optejac]

Loving these videos!

[@sammydew2]

not the adventure bard guy being at the orphan wreck omg

[@dylanium5755]

This is a cool theory! It's so frustrating that we never got any sort of closure on him

[@Rocky91DTA]

Your an absolute genius boss love you vids and chill n with you when you stream never stop doin what you love 🔥🔥👊

[@user-vl4iq7bj5e]

Rune is not Nithilis Lidari, he couldn’t make up a story that he pickpocketed Brynjolf without it being true unless Brynjolf is complicit. Brynjolf would have heard rumors of the story and reacted.

[@Fizhy]

I didn’t suggest he was being untruthful about that in particular, just rather his backstory

[@noone_at_home]

blessed again with another skyrim video

[@40kbrit47]

Gotta say, loving all the Skyrim content you've been making👍

[@Fizhy]

More to come for sure!

[@RREvilMonk]

Many great stories have mysteries that serve to deepen the world of the author’s creation. Tolkien himself said in a letter to a fan that even he had no idea what Tom Bombadil really was. Or where Ungoliant went after Morgoth needed 3 Balrogs to escape her gluttony… It’s just there to make you dig deep into everything else. Just so you can enjoy the experience.😊

[@TheSergio1021]

I just love Riften. Dont get me wrong the familiarity of Whiterun, the Majesty of Solitude.... but Riften has such a wonderfully unique layout and vibe. I always prefer living there than most other places in Skyrim.

[@NerdySpice]

Maybe I imagined it, but I swear when I first played the game, my very first play through in 2012, I got an unmarked quest to find information about Rune on that ship. I think I found a note in one of the chests and gave it to him, and that was it. Ever since on every other play through, I've gone to that ship, and there's nothing to find.

[@theonewithnoname3375]

KEEP MAKING MORE OD THESE

[@leilsmit]

loving the skyrim content!

[@KincaidBlackwood]

It's actually a pretty sound theory. Just like we can look around the map and see little hints that point you in dead end directions, Rune might have thought the same. Sort of like Keyser Soze making things up while looking at an array of random object, Rune could have looked at a map and picked out a few things which he incorporated into his backstory. He could have seen the Orphan's Tear and that led to the claim that he was an orphan found on a shipwreck near Solitude since it's close enough to reality to sound plausible but not real enough to be refuted by anyone connected to real events. Things like that. Great video.

[@Fizhy]

Thank you kindly, I worried I was talking out my backside and quite frankly I'm sure I do at points, however I'd like to think the idea that Rune may be playing loose with the truth is an interesting concept with tangible aspects to it.

[@Razz-q7k]

Id imagine that if runes original cover story is true, there would be people to back up that claim. Did the fisherman who rescued him disappear mysteriously too? Is there not anyone in solitude who remembers when rune first appeared out of the shipwreck? No one who knew him as a kid when his memory was fresh?

[@annacovia9207]

dark brotherhood retirees!

[@I_am_Screech]

At 5:30 I think I may hear the person creating that created the video paying close attention to detail, it almost seems that he has used reverb on his voice. As someone that engineers audio for vocalists and in music in general this is what it sounds like to me. That being said if I am right that is amazing

[@gamergeeks9993]

My biggest mystery, why am I not allowed to marry the charismatic thief??

[@xineohpinakc264]

I have always wondered if he had a hidden quest like the drunk in Winterhold. You can solve his girlfriend mystery but, no quest ever starts. You can stumble on a note from vex about her which takes you to dawnstar where you find her fate and can report back to the guy in Winterhold.

[@kail9036]

I know logically that he's actually a victim of cut content that they never bothered to clean up (us telling him we'll keep an eye out.) However, I have two ideas that I'm a fan of. One is time travel, the rune could be a rune from ESO that simply was lost to history. When you start ESO, there was a brutal storm that left many shipwrecked and even more missing. Maybe Rune's ship got caught up in the storm, something happened, and they shipwrecked in the future (ESO takes place before the other games I think.) I also like the idea that it has something to do with the Psijic Order. Even the Mage's Guild doesn't understand them very well, if at all. There's some mystery shrouding them and I like the idea that some of tbem left whatever island they're on and got shipwrecked (maybe by accident or as sabotage.)

[@michelveenstra9906]

It always feels weird i have to punch people to get the money while im in te THIEVES guild.

[@Creatxr9530]

You don't have to. For Haelga, you can steal her Dibella Statue and threaten her with it. You can smash the urn in front of the counter by the window to get Bersi to give you the money. And talk to Talen Jei, and he will tell you Keeravas past, which you can use to black mail her with. If you do two of these three in one playthrough, the last person you talk to will give you the money with no issues. It doesn't matter what order you do it in either

[@Aerosmith1999-j6h]

​@@Creatxr9530except the examples you list, only include one count of actual thievery. The rest is just destruction of property, and threatening.

[@Creatxr9530]

@Aerosmith1999-j6h Your collecting debts, you aren't stealing money either way. You ask them and they refuse

[@Aerosmith1999-j6h]

@@Creatxr9530 wow, so thieves are debt collectors now? Let's just call that Guild the IRS at that point.

[@TheZombifiedGuy]

It's an interesting mystery, to be sure. It's entirely possible he does appear as intended, and we're not meant to know the answer to any of the questions Rune and his story poses. Sometimes it's just not possible to learn the answer to a question like that, even if narratively that's not a very satisfying conclusion. The idea that he might be the infiltrator trying to study the decline of the guild is interesting - it's not like we have to or should take him at his word. Even Athel's specific phrasing of "erased from history" might not be anything more than a reflection of his particular difficulty in finding anything of use about Rune's parents. The only other idea I can come up with - and it's tentative at best - is that his parents had some connection to the Blades. This depends a bit on how old Rune is; my guess just based on appearance, as well as the impression that he's been with the guild for a little while at least, is that he may be in his late twenties or possibly early thirties by 4E 201, when Skyrim begins. The Great War occurred from 4E 171 to 175, so it's possible that he would have been a young (potentially very young) child around that time. We know from various sources that the Thalmor wanted to wipe out the Blades, and that they very nearly succeeded, destroying Cloud Ruler Temple in Cyrodiil and rooting out almost all of their agents. Shortly after the player meets Esbern, he claims that, aside from what he can personally remember, he was only able to recover "a few scraps" from the "Blades archives" specifically regarding Alduin's Wall and the prophecy it records. So it stands to reason that records relating to the Blades are hard to come by even for the surviving Blades themselves, not least because they were a somewhat secretive organization that has become even more clandestine by necessity now that they've been officially outlawed in the Empire and hunted by the Thalmor. More than likely, many records were destroyed in the fighting, intentionally or otherwise. To my knowledge, Esbern is really the only person we can meet in Skyrim with any expertise in reading and deciphering Akaviri lore and inscriptions. So if the eponymous rune had some connection to the Blades, and by extension the Akaviri, that might explain why none of the scholarly sources Rune and Athel consulted were able to explain what it meant. That said, there are books we can find in-game outside of the Blades quests that concern the Akaviri and the Blades, so it would be a little strange if nobody could at least identify the object as Akaviri in origin if not translate it. This of course doesn't resolve the issue of why exactly he was on a ship bound for Solitude that wrecked and sank. If his parents had some connection to the Blades, they might have been trying to escape while avoiding land routes, which are presumably watched closely by the Thalmor. But then why exactly they would be going to Skyrim, which was at the time an Imperial province, and specifically to Solitude, which was and is a center of Imperial power (and thus dangerous given their acquiescence to the Thalmor's demands) is also questionable. So yeah. Not a complete or particularly convincing theory, I suppose, but something I thought might be worth sharing nonetheless. Assuming it's true, there's something funny to me about the idea that the person best equipped to solve Rune's mystery was hiding in the Ratway almost next door to the Thieves Guild without him knowing.

[@JustABowlOfReallyHotSoup]

This is weirdly my favourite Skyrim mystery

[@wiktorLicht]

First time I've heard this theory that he is the undercover guild infiltrator. Interesting. I vaguely remember seeing a video a long time ago where someone claimed he's a some aristocrat? And his ship can be found somewhere in the bottom of the sea.

[@valentinemiller8680]

Though the content for a quest to discover Rune's identity never made it to the game, probably none of it other than Rune mentioning it made it past the writers room, I still would like to know some day who he was, since it would bring some peace to him. Perhaps the mysterious rune he was found with is part of the reason Rune doesn't remember? Whatever kind of magic that rune might have, it's completely unknown to the most scholarly mages, suggesting it's probably some kind of lost/forgotten magic or something incredibly unique, and perhaps this rune has tampered with his memories. There is, after all, nothing to suggest he was an infant, and even if he was, it would've been damn near impossible for an infant to survive on their own, so he would probably have been a toddler, he should have at least some vague memories of the shipwreck at least.

[@NBDYSPCL]

Aspen? I thought they were Birch trees

[@flexiblenerd]

What if Rune was summoned? Think about what a rune is - you mentioned it yourself in the course of the video. We see them everywhere, from Nordic writing to written spells such as aptly named rune traps. Also consider the school of conjuration's master quest, in which you have to obtain a sigil stone that must then be inscribed...or something...before you can use it. He's clearly human, at least in appearance, but are we sure he's even of this world? A lot of npcs experimenting with magic out in the wilds of Skyrim - not just necromancers but destruction and more general conjuration wizards as well. And the hagravens and forsworn have their own strange brands of magic, if you dig deep into the lore. Plus there's the general supernatural weirdness of the Elder Scrolls in general. Sure, he seems human, but that doesn't mean he's born of Nirn - or that he's actually entirely human.

[@annacovia9207]

keep em comin!

[@Sandstimes]

A few counterpoints to the faking it theory (aside from it just being boring and not believing Bethesda would go that route lol) the author describes having a difficult time getting into the theives guild, but rune describes getting in relatively quickly. The reason i think that he's telling a true story is because there's another character involved, brynjolf, and rune would know we could easily cross reference with this individual that we're much closer to. The other reason is that while an interesting backstory can bring friends it would also bring attention and by extension possibly suspicion. The ideal strategy for someone just infiltrating to observe would be to be as inconspicuous as possible. Rune is actively inviting people to dig into his history. This would be a bad idea when your guild is full of people who are good at digging up information. Tldr: this theory requires just as many leaps in logic as all of the other theories

[@saintjiubtheeradicator]

What if his father was a pirate and killed his parents, spared and raised Rune, and lied about parts of the story. If I were to continue this even further then his father being a purate would make sense as to why he became a thief.