The Thieves Guild's Weird Little Secret

Skyrim is a game that introduces the player to many factions and one of The Elder Scrolls 5's most prominent organizations is the Thieves Guild. In Skyrim, the Thieves Guild appears as a faction of for-hire bandits in decline and it's up to the Dragonborn to restore them to their former glory. However, there's also a strange secret being harbored by one of it's most mundane members. So today we'll be dissecting the thief named "Rune" and exploring one of The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim's greatest mysteries.

[@EpicNate]

Happy Monday! This is the comment where I ask you to like & subscribe and direct you to links, that about 2% of you will click on. discord.gg/ZMyxAZR Instagram.com/epicnate315

[@_peter541]

Hi nate

[@youraveragejoe7145]

I dont use discord but I followed you on Instagram 😁

[@Darthborg]

Hopefully video is good, otherwise downvoting video.

[@ESSARGEE]

Nate you bring us much solice in these times. Thank you!!

[@jslaughter777]

I don’t ever use Discord but I’m definitely following you on IG 👌

[@Niinque]

I always laugh when we get the option to ask Rune where he got his "unusual name", because Rune is like the most ordinary name ever here in Denmark.

[@yeezus9397]

My dad's name is Rune he is from Norway

[@johnmcgregor7309]

your name is insanely danish, i could tell you were danish just by reading “Rasmussen”

[@evanbarrows6427]

Lol that's an interesting cultural difference

[@Starchild719]

Even as an American, compared to all the names in Skyrim...Rune is pretty tame lol

[@SatoshiKong]

Shout out to Rune Glifberg ✌️

[@lordodysseus]

Bane: No one cared who I was before I put on the mask. The Grey Fox: No one cared who I was after I put on the mask.

[@pj5403]

No one cared because they couldn't care

[@dirtyblonde1011]

Will Ferrell: everyone only cares about my mask...

[@viniciusvyller9458]

Was getting forgotten part of your plan?

[@skippykishi5632]

Literally busted out laughing LOL!!! This should win this comment section!

[@sneakysnek2185]

No, no knew who I was. The effect made the bearer completely anonymous and makes the gaurds target you.

[@dandylionsdungeon968]

Nate: "It could be possible his mother died in childbirth" Gray fox: *absolutely breaking it down in the back*

[@larryromero1082]

😂😂😂😂😂😂😂

[@DocFleg]

I laughed so hard at that.

[@InsanityPlea100]

*i got out of paying child support, eh! I got out of paying child support, eh!*

[@Soul_404.]

@Joël then why wouldn’t we just look at it?

[@SeductiveCoffee]

“Everyday I’m shuffling”

[@GG-pm8lc]

14:55 no it does not. In oblivion the curse is lifted when the Gray Fox uses the elder scroll that you stole on it, and actually tells you afterwards that the curse has been lifted. The cowl also just erases other people's memories of you, not your own memories. You know it does not do that because all of the quest line in oblivion climaxes in the gray fox using the elder scroll to get rid of the curse because he wants his wife to remember him, meaning that he remembers everything about his life. He also explains to his wife how he has been shouting at her to notice him but for her he was just a stranger.

[@Claviceptic]

I was just about to point this out. Thanks for beating me to it!

[@franekbartoszko8649]

Except... is it confirmed that the player has completed the thieves guild questline?

[@teathesilkwing7616]

@@franekbartoszko8649iirc in lore all the guild and faction quest lines are completed, just not necessarily by the main character.

[@majorbarnulf2608]

plot twist: he's from a different continent and it explains why the rock he carries around can't be translated

[@someone___1240]

That would work if he was a snake man or some other beast race from akavir, considering that’s the only inhabitable other continent at this point in the elder scrolls

[@radicalcentrist4990]

@@someone___1240 I heard somewhere that there were or still are some humans on Akavir, but they're going extinct, there's very few of them, because they have been hunted down by the snake-like race. Maybe Rune's family were refugees, who knows?

[@coldasifneveraskedthemoon7401]

yepp

[@DashingDaddyDaveDelivers]

I think Rune is from Akavir, but his family was originally from Tamriel...a long time ago. They attempted to return, but were subjected to rough seas. Rune was the only member to wash up. He is the LAST SEPTIM!

[@andrewprince4048]

@@someone___1240 I know I'm late but what if he is the son of survivors of the imperial legion that invaded Akivir, the rune may be a Akivir charm or something, and would also explain why he isn't a snake man

[@ako6760]

When you realize that about 3/4ths of Skyrim was cut and just wish they had a few more years to finish it

[@HybridSpektar]

Honestly, I wouldn't mind spending $20 for a quest pack that adds in more quests. I would gladly pay for more quests in Skyrim.

[@DovahkiinKhajiit]

EA Games looks at Skyrim. EA Games: *Intensifies*

[@HybridSpektar]

@INTERNET STRANGER You obviously don't understand game development

[@br5073]

@@HybridSpektar You wanna pay for shit that should’ve been in the game already.

[@kasrkinable]

@@br5073 lmao thats a pretty weird take about a game thats been going strong for almost a decade now XD

[@mrsmutz7876]

In Oblivion, the Guild steals an Elder Scroll and removes Nocturnal’s curse from the cowl, so the Cowl doesn’t make people “not exist” anymore

[@nekmewxelagrowing6432]

Wasn't it only partially removed? So it still has the effect when worn but not when in inventory?...

[@seanblack1320]

@@nekmewxelagrowing6432 no. You just become the gray fox. The hero of kvatch is still known despite being having the cowl.

[@maggiedelossantos1437]

🤔No. NO! The scroll should be used on you, so you just forget about this theory.😤😡 🤪💩🤭👉👌

[@stebbenwolfe]

I feel like a lot of people don’t understand this about the grey cowl. The curse was broken during Oblivion which is why you can put it on in the game and people don’t forget who you are as soon as you take it off. The magic makes it so no one can make the connection that you’re the grey fox but they never forget who you are once you take it off again. That’s why we stole the elder scroll.

[@lucius5787]

Exactly what i was going to say

[@psychocuda]

"The cowl could have found its way to someone other than the player character..." yeah, I was a bit sloppy with my possessions in Oblivion. May have traded it in for a sword or some damned hammers to fix the sword...my bad.

[@Rct-ti6il]

I’m not sure it was meant that way. The daedric artifacts have been told to possess, in some degree, a will of their own. Take Umbra, a sword from one daedric prince. It’s lore says it alters the wielders mind and causes him to do unspeakable things and so on (I believe, at least.) So, it’s not out of the realm of possibility that the cowl quite literally chose to be found by someone new, and it vanished without a trace until the time either the artifact itself or the daedra, in this case Nocturnal, chose to remove it from ones possession and give it to another.

[@redeye4516]

To expound upon Umbra, it's also trying to gain independence. It used to be a part of Clavicus Vile. Vile even says "imagine if your leg detached itself from you and started calling itself Umbra". Daedric artifacts, and really all Daedric armor and weaponry, are considered Daedra in and of themselves. They tend to get recalled to Oblivion from time to time, where their associated Princes will then disperse them into the world again for their own personal reasons.

[@TranscendentLion]

@@Rct-ti6il Also, if Sheogorath is indeed the Hero of Kvatch, then it's likely that Daedric items in his possession had even more reason to leave and find new wielders.

[@mattasticmattattack8546]

Frfr

[@ainzooalgown2859]

@@Rct-ti6il you also forgot if umbra is destroyed. It takes over the weapon that whoever it chooses to posse. Doesn't matter what metal it's made of or what type.

[@Scorpious187]

"The generous fisherman took him in and decided to name him after the rock." So... his name is actually Dwayne Johnson?

[@kolvarg-9550]

yes

[@josephzanes7334]

No not DJ - he was named The Rock

[@funguy123hs]

His name is Dwayne rune jhonson

[@cerebrumexcrement]

😂

[@ggoodroe6052]

Tell me why I had the exact same thought 😂

[@mystica-2247]

the sneaky sneaky people have another secret **insert lighting magica** SHOCKER

[@wackyflappybob]

Lighting? Like candlelight and magelight? Or are you attempting to say lightning? Cuz theives guild members don't use magic lmfao.

[@ajflink]

"Rune will get a full dialogue tree." In-game: One option appears.

[@funkytown_fox]

Its a very small tree 😂

[@FlashpointGold]

@@funkytown_fox looks more like a log

[@brynnh.6759]

FlashpointGold stump*

[@FerociousMit]

@@brynnh.6759 *root

[@daltonalspaugh9189]

@@FerociousMit seed*

[@davidjamerson2777]

The Grey Cowl didn't erase your memories, it simply erased other people's memories of your identity, including their ability to be able to recall your name even as you state it to them.

[@MrDMIDOV]

In lore it is said to erase the wearer's memories too, but strangely some characters clearly retained their memories after wearing it.

[@sethharrell3053]

From what I heard you have trouble with multiple personalities. Or at least 2 personalities so not everyone lost there memory.

[@Azubrael]

@@sethharrell3053 their*

[@naomigreen9749]

I wonder if it took a long time and repeated use before your own memories were erased.

[@canehdiansteve3455]

@@naomigreen9749 I don't remember where, but I feel like somewhere in the lore there is some mention of exactly that. Can't say for sure though.

[@bcnicholas123]

If you guys get a chance to play ESO’s Solitude expansion, talk to Bjorskir standing outside the gates to the Blue Palace. He mentions he’s running from family members trying to kill him for destroying a cursed family heirloom that could have “erased him from existence.” I’d bet it’s related to this

[@FuhkYouTubesMom]

Explain further to me.

[@southkerr6267]

No your way off lol 😆 😂 🤣

[@samueldowdall7117]

I don't think the ESO writers are dedicated/skilled enough to include that kind of easter egg.

[@FuhkYouTubesMom]

@@samueldowdall7117 yeah I agree

[@skorpion3993]

That wouldn’t work. Considering the cowl appears in Oblivion which takes place about 600 years after the events of ESO, it would mess up a lot of lore if Bjorskir had destroyed the cowl in ESO time. That’s probably something else unless the ESO developers were that dumb to throw something in that would mess up Oblivion’s thieves guild quest line in the process, but even then I don’t think they’d be that dumb and/or it would’ve been spotted and changed by now.

[@dreadfulsanity4686]

Long time lurker here. I just have to say that I absolutely love how it is 2020 and you still find new things in Skyrim to talk about. Keep up the good work.

[@falconpv1]

Wasn't the "removed from history" things a curse placed on the cowl that you broke with an elder scroll in Ovlivion?

[@Zankaras]

Yes,that was kind of the plot of the later half of the thieves guild questline in Oblivion and the reason why your identity in game wasn't completely erased the first time you put on the cowl.

[@dawnmcauley6411]

Not only that, a minor dragonbreak occurred. It not only broke the curse, it caused the curse to have never existed. The operation of the Thieves' guild and it's previous bearer (Corvus) fundamentally changed historically. Reality itself was altered in that quest line.

[@KingEhrys98]

Curses can be recast, especially when daedra are concerned...

[@ElectromagNick]

@@dawnmcauley6411 You effectly retcon the curse out of history while still maintaining the Cowl's ability to essentially seperate the identity of the wearer from the Gray Fox and makimg any connection between the two essentially impossible, thus the Count could return to his old life and continuity is essentially preserved, in that bizarre "impossible contradictions reconciled and all options happen at once" way that characterizes Dragon Breaks. It's part of the reason I adore the Oblivion Thieves' Guild quest line

[@SS-zg5dv]

The curse was removed as part of the question, and then it functioned only when you wore it.

[@alathepriest9637]

When I came across Rune, I thought it was just a spaceballs easter egg with the medallion that no wise man could read.

[@yardstickwhack]

@@Draklour no

[@catman6089]

Being a pessimist, this sounds to me like some writer at Bethesda tried to make some deep, interesting character surrounded in mystery, but just failed in the execution, leaving us with a vague, forgettable character with nothing but dead ends. I'd say there's probably little to no actual lore behind Rune other than a half assed attempt at an interesting background character.

[@Viscount_Castlereagh]

Probably like lots of the questlines etc. that would have been great but were cut by Bethesda.

[@NotaCapn]

Or the developers, knowing that there would be an enthusiastic mod community doing a bum's rush after the game, created Rune and dangled lore for someone to snatch up and develop a story and quest. Probably hundreds of other suggestive content throughout the game.

[@Tsukushi240794]

Well, he ended up being my favourite character in the game, so in my books they ended up making an interesting character, just one without a quest behind him

[@mjgross2]

I'd always assumed that Rune's story was an homage to Lone Starr from Spaceballs.

[@NerdWytch]

Better take it to Yogurt!

[@lilreb720666]

That's my thought as well. He just hasn't found Yogurt yet

[@mistahanansi2264]

That is most definitely part of it.

[@MetaCynical]

I was hoping I wasn't the only one who thought so. Bethesda do love their pop culture references and easter eggs XD

[@Someonelse.]

Check out the mission “Good Intentions”. When the orb found underground is transported to the College of Winterhold, Tolfdir describes the markings on it of an unknown language and radiating with Magicka.

[@tummytub1161]

I've really broken into tears over this mystery. I've spent hours trying to solve it in-game no luck what so ever. I love watching your videos I also love you bringing Lawrence in on the content. He's brilliant when it comes to lore. Thanks for the video.

[@David-qd3hw]

Got to admit? Rune’s story had me looking around the broken ship, trying to solve this mystery? I was looking for a smaller item, which I gave up on.

[@joker0195]

I wonder if Rune’s rune has anything to do with the runes in with the bugs in jars.

[@SirButtz]

Rune is 326 fireflies in a man costume

[@1jdkeating]

*keanu reeves whoa*

[@ruttokyrpa3472]

The bugs in a jar runes have Been confirmed to be absolutely nothing

[@ruttokyrpa3472]

The red eagle sword has some very special runes on it, clearly visible due to their glow. The forsworn might have some connections to Mr.Rune

[@FabianRaimund_old]

Wait wait wait... You just said: "Grey Fox is runes father and his mother died at birth = they erased themselves". Cretion Club quest literally says: "I am the grey fox, my sister was assassinated and left a son behind (Rune?)" What if this Nord noble's sister was assassinated long time ago and was indeed Runes mother, her husband being the father of Rune? What if Runes father and mother were assassinated becuz the father was they grey fox and after he went dead, the Nord noble took the grey fox mask not knowing what magic it really possessed? Lul

[@nev8080]

love the theory, but rune is listed as imperial, unless the nord and his sister were separate races, I doubt it. still fun to think about it though.

[@FabianRaimund_old]

@@nev8080 lists can be wrong and so could Rune's imperial ancestry XD But yeh, my theory is more like a conspiracy haha 😂

[@bellajonson6765]

Isnt the kid actually in game tho? Like the one mentioned to be adopted by nivenor and Bolli?

[@bltanti]

What Rune had could be a creation of the Ayleids. In The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, the Ayleids created many wonders around Cyrodiil, such as Welkynd, Varla, Doom, Cult, Birthsign, and possibly the Rune stones as well. These were powered by the enormous Ayleid ruins, with the Ayleid wells supplying magic to these powerful sites. It is possible, I say possible because I refuse to play ESO, that the rune stones are just smaller, weaker versions of the Doomstones. The Ayleids being a Pre-Dawn Era race with no full record of their written language, it could be a more archaic and obscure piece of runecraft, previously unrecorded. This would stump all but those who walked the planes of Oblivion, and as that tends to require intense meditation and years of preparation, and drives all but the most strong-willed of people insane, this is a very difficult proposition.

[@TrabberShir]

"I'll keep an eye out for anything" that end to his dialog tree tells me it is almost certainly cut content. The really annoying type of cut content where it didn't even get as far as planning what the content would be. There are a few approaches to developing quest content in RPGs, but I am pretty sure Bethesda uses some variant on: * for every entity, make a list of possible quest hooks for different types of quests * separately outline a bunch of quests, * then associate quests with hooks and use that context to polish the details. One side effect of this is that some of those hooks will get included without getting linked to an actual quest.

[@Madman-ms1qc]

I played I spy with a Color blind person once , well ...... I lost.

[@babyalexis3445]

How

[@TarfuLuke]

I believed I spy required you to spot objects in the close area, not sure how colour would effect that.

[@catman6089]

@@TarfuLuke a lot of people play I spy by mentioning the color. A color blind person saying "grey" could mean anything from grey, to pink, to green etc

[@MrMazzax]

Luke E that’s not how color blindness usually works. Usually it just causes red and green to both appear brown.

[@TarfuLuke]

@@catman6089 How evil do you have to be to use colour in a game of I spy, "Something beginning with B" "It was Blue Chair"

[@whitestar7641]

There is also the issue that the curse of the cowl is broken, so one of Rune's parents couldn't be a Gray Fox to disappear because they would be remembered. Somehow they managed to disappear from history, but the cowl had nothing to do with it. I believe that this was meant to be more, I actually believe it is cut content that may have been cut so early it never made it to the game files but Bethesda wanted to put a cool mystery in here, or annoy us to Oblivion and back with something we can't solve, and decided to half develop the quest. Whoever Rune's parents were we can say a few things about them, they were intelligent, meticulous, thorough, and very good at what they did. Whatever Rune's story is, eh, I guess its up to us to give him his past.

[@suzannea6540]

Just wanted to thank you for the slower viedos where you show some of the beautiful and various buildings and people you are talking about. This allows me to actually watch your viedos. I'm one of the few who get motion sickness watching people race through towns and dungeons, and are not able to watch those viedos. I can play skyrim at a slow pace, but can't race through it. Your viedos are well informed, keep up the good work.

[@furblokeEN]

The way Nate places emphasis on the word "cistern", Jesus christ it hurts

[@zaonth1414]

@@Glitchy456 I mean yeah I personally pronounce it cistern but I'd understand if other people pronounced it cistern

[@furblokeEN]

@@Glitchy456 it really doesn't. I know Americans who can say cistern correctly. Moreover, he pronounces names, locations and all sorts wrong even though its blatantly said by several characters in the game, unless that has something to do with being an American too?

[@amo5743]

Terry Jackson might come as a shocker, but yes, being from a different region/country etc to someone affects their pronunciations of words that you may deem there is only one way of “correctly” saying.

[@furblokeEN]

@@amo5743 Points for stating the obvious - where would we be without you. Must be said I have a very good idea

[@inequis6063]

Plot twist: The real little secret is that Rune's actually an Argonian wearing the skin of the person that found him as a child

[@headgames3115]

Reminds me of The Whisperer in the Dark...

[@desireerobbins7809]

Lol nice idea

[@tateranus4365]

My belief on rune is that the stone in his pocket was the scribbling of a mad man or the scribbling of someone on the ship trying to pass the time, and his parent(s) were either outlaws gone into hiding that got killed in the shipwreck or just lived out in the middle of nowhere or were nomadic

[@connorbirkholz7340]

@TheEpicNate315 I thought it was just an obscure reference to Spaceball’s Lone Starr. The way he delivered his dialogue was almost exactly like Lone Starr talking about the “Strange Rock with runes no one was able to translate” that actually ended up saying he was a prince 😂

[@jaredlikesmusic]

I always thought his stone could be written in falmer, because it's a plot point in the actual thieves guild quest and they confirm that no one in the college even knows it, that the only person who does is Calcelmo, and even he isn't 100% certain about some of it.

[@RaLunara]

So I've got to mention it because I'm not too sure if anyone has. After discovering rune in the Thieves guild and hearing his story, I decided to embark on my own journey to try and find out. He mentioned shipwrecks off the coast of solitude. So I started looking for shipwrecks around that area and I'd also taken to searching as many as I could find around the entire map, Just in case. It was ages ago now so I can't remember exactly where or the details, but there was a shipwreck where the majority of it was under the sand but there were all these different pockets that you could swim into. In one of those underwater pockets I found a chest and inside that chest was a journal or letter, written by a lady who had said that she had given her son to her brother for safe keeping, to take across the waters. I kind of remember something about them having to run for their safety? And that she hoped for their safe journey. She was going to come on another boat later on and catch up with them. So obviously she was on this boat and that was her journal, And I can't help but wonder if her son, that she gave to her brother was rune? So she was in a shipwreck and died, while rune was in another shipwreck and survived. Has anyone else found this information? I'm tempted to go look for it again on a different player

[@EthGemsnStuff]

so i guess this series will go on until tes6 comes out lol

[@aidengreen3151]

So I guess it'll go on until 2050?

[@NespeCoaching]

Probably, I'm getting pretty sick of the secret of blank videos though, sort of feels like he's got no creativity and is just milking every NPC and entity in the game at this point

[@glorifiedelement]

*IT JUST WORKS*

[@panpan1287]

@@NespeCoaching the fact that he is *still* finding things is impressive in it's own way

[@thornslow]

@@NespeCoaching It's simple. Don't watch.

[@robertbeisert3315]

Rune's parents were investigating tonal architecture, playing with an Elder Scroll, or failed to achieve Chim. These are ways to erase oneself without the cowl.

[@androsmegalos7631]

Admittingly, I stumbled onto this vid by chance. However, I've loved every vid made! Although I am nowhere near as informed as many who are on here, I wanted to suggest that maybe Rune's parent(s) were actually members of that mythic order that resides outside of time... They just choose to live apart and return millennia later on a whim. They are mages of old, which would lend merit to the ancient unknown rune. Perhaps a member fell for a Nord mortal, and they had Rune. The member stayed to live a normal life, but they had a catastrophic event which caused the shipwreck and could not teleport their child as it was not attuned to magics yet. Leaving a dead Nord under the ocean and a mystic member grieving on another plane, Rune was left with an uncertain past and struggling for answers in the present.

[@rossnorris2351]

Rune is a wasted opportunity. His story had so much potential, I wish they had done so much more. Oh well, another ball dropped in the thieves guild.

[@davidhatcher7016]

@@Draklour oh

[@rosytea_]

@@Draklour Where does it say that Rune is just an easter egg?

[@timetraveller9095]

"The guild has, had a streak of bad luck recently."

[@veil1792]

*With the Dwarves ability to time-travel, it's impossible to say what or when the Runes are from.* *To me, it seems like Elder Scrolls VI bread crumbs.*

[@enderkatze6129]

Rune's parents are probably Cut content. Maybe the "they erased themselves from History" Is a Dev Injoke. It could very Well be that they were Just beginning to implement Rune and were about to implement a Quest involving him, maybe they were very excited about it, but the loremaster stepped in and Said "No, this does Not conform to the Lore at all and needs to Go" but because the devs were still really excited about it, they left Rune himself in the Game, with His parents having been "erased from History" by the loremaster directly

[@hell_god9259]

Another little secret about the thieves guild, they stole my heart🥺

[@user-ys3jq3uf4p]

Hell _God *last surprise plays*

[@dustingideon5719]

Was it daedric?

[@Buggzter-n-Gallade]

Reguarding the VERY END: I was questing last night on ESO in Glenumbra - there are the guardians of the Wyrd who were apparently Yffre before, then later known as the Elnofey, and so on. They are spirit-ish beings now, but potentially I could see them being the original source of the runestones. One of the three encountered there was the spirit of the earth. (Air and Water were the others.) Cool!

[@SFHFWill]

I like how the curse of the Grey cowl makes you forget your past and those who knew you forget you, then Nate goes on to explain the Grey Foxes of the past and their family ties and how they want to return to them.

[@sammyi2505]

Huh, just discovered you today and already new content! I'm feeling like going on a binge to get caught up 😁

[@yugitrump435]

Man, his series are definitely binge worthy

[@darkprophit]

The weirdest secret is that my mother in law was Mercer's accomplice in stealing the skeleton key

[@kaiserkiefer1760]

AlaskanWildChild meet your fleshy sword🤨

[@erikho6936]

@@AlaskanWildChild get Iron Dagger out of here. True Nords wield a Steel Sword!

[@alexanderticonuwu7591]

I'm dissappointed nobody's made an Ebony Blade joke yet.

[@tysej4]

@@alexanderticonuwu7591 The gods would scoff of their blood being used so frivolously.

[@KieranH612]

"Decided to name him after the rock" Ah, Dwayne.

[@ksnumidium9168]

My headcanon is that Rune is from Atmora, and that there are indeed Nords there who never left but survived whatever catastrophe hit the continent.

[@Tootsiepop201]

I've always been FASCINATED with Rune. I wish he had a special quest regarding his name.

[@HappyBeezerStudios]

Good idea. It would even make sense for the cowl to leave the Hero of Kvatch, after they became the new Sheogorath in Shivering Isles. Even the CC content wouldn't contradict that or Rune's parents. If they died, the cowl would find new hands, perhaps Pjofr stole the cowl from the previous owner, who in turn took it from Rune's parents (may or may not contain murdering them to death). So basically: - The Hero of Kvatch gets the cowl (Oblivion content) - they become new Sheogorath (Shivering Isles content) - the cowl is left somewhere on the Shivering Isles - one of the nutcases takes it and becomes the Gray Fox - the cowl goes through multiple Gray Foxes (in the 200 years between Oblivion and Skyrim) - one of Rune's parents gets the cowl - they get unalived by someone, leaving Rune an orphan - that someone get's killed by Pjofr and his group - Pjofr gives it to the Dragonborn (during Skyrim) It puts it all together. Why Rune's parents are gone, how Pjofr got the cowl, where the cowl was between Oblivion and Skyrim, what happened to it after Oblivion ended...

[@FROSTYNARWALL]

You guys know that Rune is just an allegory for Jason borne and the treadstone program

[@hannana.4319]

"Never done an honest day's work in your life for all that coin you're carrying, eh lad?"

[@MerrickTall]

Hey how’s it going Nate, Guys here

[@Audreys_Cloud]

I think that one of runes parental units were the grey fox, but here's the thing. you never mentioned if the person offering the cowl to the dragonborn said when they got it, and considering you saying they start forgetting quickly, I'd bet the one who had the cowl before the dragonborn might have had it from anywhere of 2 years to 1 month. he clearly remembers alot. so id say the person who gave him the cowl was runes parental unit. Also Rune looks to be in his 20's, so it's entirely possible there was a different grey fox when he was a baby.

[@kevinm7370]

The second you said "erased themselves" I was like, reminds me of a man I once met in Anvil.

[@NightKnight527]

A runestone sounds like it would be extremely hard to obtain... unless you’re the gray fox...

[@lukascanbastian5323]

"... and named him after the rock" So... I think we should call Rune "Dwayne Johnson" instead

[@TheLastGarou]

Dwayne "The Rune" Johnson?

[@floofitoaster2168]

@@TheLastGarou lol

[@thomasjager1053]

The cowl of nocturnal creation was added to the *official* Skyrim anniversary edition dlc so I’ve always seen it as canon. Same with all the other anniversary content, I mean they added it as dlc so I don’t know why it wouldn’t be canon.

[@Esperion12]

I think it's just a tribute to the Thief games - you know ... glyph magic/runes which origins are unclear, but they form a complex system of language/spells/sentient beings; keeper enforcers whose names are erased from the Book of Names as they pledge their service; how Garrett became a thief - he was caught by a Keeper he wanted to steal from (which is repeated later at the end of T3 - a girl tries to steal from Garrett and he teaches her his skills). There are so many similarities that it was the first thing that I thought. Stephen Russell's voice (Garrett) is also present in the game for many NPCs (not Rune however)

[@KodasGarden]

Thank you for finally talking about Rune! I discovered him as a twelve year old kid and have been wondering about his past for 9 long years!

[@Tsukushi240794]

Same here! He's my favourite character!

[@sanctusperil]

I started playing when I was 10.. I'm 14 now lol. I'm so sad I jumped on Skyrim when it was pretty much dead 😔✌🏻

[@matthewredenbaugh1110]

There is a letter in a shipwreck related to Rune, I’ve found it in a couple of my play throughs

[@tirekicker100]

wasnt the curse on the gray cowl lifted in oblivion?

[@loraelstad8941]

Hydra Incorrect

[@travislee4588]

Partially

[@user-ys3jq3uf4p]

Well the only official acts the champion of Cyrodiil are what he did in the dlcs and main quest line

[@matthijskuijpers1378]

About the runestone. Could it have a similar origin as the artifacts of magnus? Allow me to quote Tolfdir's thoughts on the Eye of Magnus: "I'm sure you've noticed the markings, they're quite unlike anything we've seen before. Aleid, dwemer, daedric, not even falmer. None of them are a match."

[@isabellebaker5615]

Maybe the runestone was a secret rune of nocturnal or his family name as a rune that rune’s dad or mom put as a last hope to be known from their son before he was either abandoned or after his parent died.

[@mattasticmattattack8546]

The funny part in oblivion is even after lifting the cowls curse , putting it on still makes you a completely other person, however when you take it off everyone still remembers the hero of kvatch

[@punchysphinx1170]

I think it’s cut content, but the reason there is nothing left behind, is because they were still in the story boarding phase of the thieves guild when they dropped the rest of runes stuff, then left the rest in their for some more “life” in the world.

[@MonyMoth]

he DO be vibin tho...

[@triplexlcosplay1184]

Have you ever done a theory about Narfi, and why the DB wants him killed? Its bugged me for a long time. XD

[@rltb_riley]

Someone probably just wanted to end his misery since he lost his mother father and sister

[@theodoreyoungman2111]

I think there is a theory video running around that someone murdered his sister, and he saw it happen which caused a mental break and the murderer wanted him out of the picture before narfi could tell anyone what happened... I might be remembering it completely wrong though.

[@RayleighM2010]

He murdered his own sister because he might of been a revered werewolf with an unstable lust for blood

[@ciara.eason13]

18:35-18:39 well who wouldn't love the Elder Scrolls universe? It has so much detail in it and most of the lore in the universe is amazing! To me, it shows that they really care about it and that's what I really admire about the Elder Scrolls.

[@balobreached]

Rune has no predetermined back story, he was found on the wreckage of a ship with a 'rune' stone. Essentially that is all that is known about him, how would anyone be able find his parents, if he doesn't even know his own name? There needs to be more evidence before considering likely causes for the stone or 'Rune' himself, for example, the location rune stones are found, the significance of their use, how or why rune may have ended up by the sea front and found with such an object etc etc. I know very little about elder scrolls lore, but some about general investigative techniques, and in my opinion the existence of 'Rune' the person is more real than the rune stone itself as far as the player is concerned at this point, as well as the existence of his 'father' (the fisherman who found him). To put it into perspective, the only tangible witness evidence of 'Rune' is his initial acquaintance with Brynjolf. The letter he received provides no knowledge of his parents besides the illusive phrasing of 'they've completely erased themselves from history'. This would either imply a predetermined Knowledge of the Grey Fox as innuendo or no knowledge whatsoever. This would bring Athel Newberry into question. Perhaps there may be unfound evidences of where 'Rune' was found, I dunno.

[@cmarkplaygames]

13:58 The Grey Fox has the moves like Jagger

[@EmbodiedMan]

What if Rune’s parents were members of the Phsyjic Order? The Eye of Magnus also had “strange markings” that the college members have never seen before, yet they knew what it was. This helps with the idea of Runestone and why he would have one on him if they were apart of the Order. Maybe one of his parents gave it to him to protect it? What do you guys think of this?

[@wesonparsons9762]

When i showed up there was One like but no views

[@stimlord]

Yeah that was God, He watches Nate’s videos but he’s outside of time

[@resdifer7744]

Maybe Rune is a time traveller from dawn era, and the rune that he held is really a rune with a time travelling enchantment. The shipwreck where rune was found was really just a normal ship that got caught in rune's time travel. lol

[@cdawg145236]

The cowl erasing the user from history was a curse put on it by nocturnal, which is removed by Corvus Umbrinox when he reads the elder scroll.

[@francislauri3044]

The curse of The Gray Cowl of Nocturnal was broken by the Hero of Kvatch during the Oblivion Crisis. So the Cowl doesn't erase the identity of the person after he takes it off, Gray Fox and the owner of the Cowl are two seperate entities and not get erased anymore.

[@SKYRIMNOOB1]

I’ve had three thoughts throughout this: 1. It’s either a cut quest or an idea for a quest that never got made 2. It’s a reference to RuneScape and merely a head-nod Easter egg, or 3. One of Rune’s parents had this Gray Fox cowl and were either collecting or stealing the stones. Presumably since they’re so old and magical they have some wicked value to mages or maybe just one mage who knows about them so that’s why. They were sailing around Solitude looking for them when their ship crashed. Either during the crash or in the wreckage, Rune put on the cowl for protection or to remember his parents after they likely died. This caused him to lose his identity since he no longer knows his name or his parents etc. The rune he had in his pocket he either took from the wreckage or was given by his parents as the crash happened to make sure he’d be able to make some money and not be stranded. Obviously there’s holes in this, as he took it to the mages college and they didn’t know about them, as there would likely be a mage wanting to buy them from his parents there. As well, where is the cowl now? Did the fisherman just like chuck it or is he the new Gray Fox even though the thieves guild doesn’t care about it? Also, if Mercer Frey had that bust of it and it was in Rune’s life - why has no one put it together? Unless wearing it for a bit made Rune forget that too but I doubt it. All in all, this is dope and I hope it’s just a RuneScape reference lmao

[@FullmetalC5]

If the cowl erases your memories of your life, the nord wouldn't know that he missed his old clan or even know he had a sister.

[@Atomic_Aegis45]

I thought the Cowl had its effect of historical erasure removed during the events of Oblivion and that is why everyone remembers the Hero of Kvatch

[@adriders2006]

I love Rune and was so frustrated to not hear much of ANYTHING about him, and I know this video is older than a lot of newer content created though certainly not the oldest, but I really do love this theory of Rune's one or other parent is the Grey Fox. It would make so much sense, but the Creation Club's add-on contradicts it so harshly. I really really wonder who his parents could be, and what that rune could look like or mean. I hope that this could possibly be figured out in ES6, but who knows how long into the future that could be. But still, I really hope for Rune's story to be told someday.

[@jameshobbs1954]

Skyrim: here's an interesting character that we're not gonna tell you anything about him. Have fun. Nate: nah I'm gonna figure this out Skyrim devs: Oh really? Do go on... Nate: shiiiit I got nothing important.

[@rubenlarochelle1881]

Little personal fantasy for an Easter egg we could find in The Elder Scrolls 6. The player visits Apocrypha and, for unrelated reasons, finds Rune: he asked someone for help and managed to visit that plane of Oblivion, so he could search for the truth about his story, but stayed too much time there and we find him in the middle of the transformation to seeker, half human and half seeker.

[@manaraxjendo7900]

Rune is an interesting character, with his mystery. But a theory I ascribe to is He's from Akavir. There was an entire expedition of hundreds of ships and thousands of people that left from Tamriel to invade Akavir. And yet they never were heard from again. A family from those people could have tried to come back to Tamriel and their ship sunk. He could have had a stone there that was nothing but an Akaviri good luck charm. If there are any examples of Akaviri writing I have never seen any examples. The issue with it being a runestone, is the mages at Winterhold would have been able to have found some reference to those stones in recorded history. They are all over the place in ESO. If it was a runestone, it would have been detectable as magical. Apparently Rune's wasn't.

[@wtfshisnamewithfriends3729]

I always suspected he was the son of oblivions player character. No trace, was the last to dawn grey cowl and didn’t have much background even before that being “prisoner” the only thing that doesn’t add up is the writing on the rune

[@ShadowDreamer100]

My head cannon is that Rune's parents came from a separate continent that Tamriel doesn't even have contact with. like Atmora. or hell, even the Psijic Order, considering the Loremaster's response at the end of the video.

[@mr_jam_zy6349]

Potentially the rock could be a way of his parents trying to give him something to help him cope with him essentially losing his parent/parents. Especially if they knew what the cowl does to an individual. And like he said he’s been a thief for a very long time, can link to the classic the apple never falls far from the tree. Potentially saying that one of his parents could have had the cowl essentially saying they were best of the best of their time. I imagine there is still some inconsistencies I just wanted to try help back up your theory as I thinks it’s great really well thought out and lots of effort !!!!!!

[@dylanmiller9162]

Creation club quest also doesn’t necessarily contradict gray fox theory anyway-Rune is old enough/ambiguous enough age that one of his parents could have been a previous gray fox.

[@visualaddictions906]

If the investigator couldn't find his parents, even using magical means, then clearly there's something magical at work.. so your greyfox theory is Definitely the best explanation I've heard.. only other explanation could be that he was Created, but I think your right on track.. thanks for sharing.....

[@crislouise2509]

Bethesda 2020:Creation club content lore friendly but unsure weather to say it's cannon. Bethesda 2021: New re release of skyrim with creation club content included weather you want it or not basically making it canon.

[@Formoka]

What if Rune’s parent was the Gray Fox and was on a spree stealing the Runestones for an interested employer? Maybe as the ship wrecked, the Gray Fox fell on something sharp; knew they were dying. They couldn’t do much of anything and their last thought was to give Rune something he could sell for cash to keep himself safe a while. Then the Gray Fox died and as Rune waited for rescue, the last memories of his parent faded away because of the mask, until Rune was completely alone and unaware of the loss. Then after Rune’s rescue, some treasure hunter finds the mask in the wreckage and brings it to the man from the creation club dlc.

[@Ludicollision]

Guys how's hey it. here it's Nate going.

[@Captain-Panda]

Hey, how's it going, Nate? It's guys here.

[@timomajere]

Rune's stone says 'Curiosity' Rune is the material representation of the runestones 'curiosity' itself. The 'middle man' between humanity and magic. Think about it. Man.. well Beings have been dipping into the magic realm and using it for their own needs. Imagine being IN that magic realm seeing this all going on and wondering what that all is. SO, you see these bipeds and knowing you do not have a form yourself, manifest one out of the forms you've seen! I mean, there is quite a lot more info that COULD be tied into it if subjectively speculated on. This idea just sparked to me.

[@gvn8er]

The curse on the grey fox cowel was lifted after using the elder scroll. So in order for the grey fox theory to hold up some kind of time travel element has to take place

[@twiddlerat9920]

Start your next video by saying "Skyrim big" edit: why did 14 people like this

[@ghostofthemoon]

One of Rune's parents was the gray fox who stole a runestone, and before they completely forgot who they were they left the runestone on the child. The reason the other person didn't care for the kid was because they probably died. Maybe that's why they became the gray fox in the first place so they wouldn't remember their spouse's death. Then they left the child where the fisherman could find him.

[@tomgroves2567]

Perhaps Pjofr killed Rune's parents on a raid and took the crawl himself. The rune could have been something that Pjofr had on himself as protection and Rune happened to take it when Pjofr arrived to raid the ship and gave him an ability to survive that other people on the ship didnt have. And the fact the Pjofr's crew was called the Ice-Blades can support that Pjofr had a reason to be north of solitude in the frozen waters. Pjofr could in fact strengthen the connection instead of brake it apart

[@p2p504]

Are we gonna ignore "Every day I'm shuffling" dance by Grey Fox? 13:58

[@nickrffpatellis852]

Dude the memory curse no longer erase the memories ever since oblivion

[@NoloPrime]

Runes parents got transported by Dwarven mischief.