"Purpose" of the Dark Brotherhood

[Peter]

Forgive my ignorance, but I'm having trouble grasping what is the overall goal of the Dark Brotherhood. I never bothered much with them in Oblivion, and didn't bother with the Morag Tong in Morrowind (which I believe the Dark Brotherhood sprang from?), so I don't know much about the organization other than the fact they do assassinations for money.

But is that all? Do they have some purpose they try to fulfill, or are they simply mercenaries, or psychopathic killers?

Curious, thank you.

[Velothi]

The purpose is to serve the unholy father and the unholy matron.

Sithis and the Night Mother - to kill in their name and reap the reward.

But yes the Morag Tong and the DB had a schism that made them into rivals.

[Peter]

Why do Sithis and the Night Mother need mortals to kill for them? Why do they accept contracts from other people, and not just kill "randomly"?

[CriminalScum]

Why do Sithis and the Night Mother need mortals to kill for them? Why do they accept contracts from other people, and not just kill "randomly"?

I'm no Lore expert so this answer isn't coming from a definite TES source. But I always thought of it like this; the Black Sacrament is like a prayer, the Night Mother instructing her Dark Brotherhood assassins to kill is the unholy matron answering those prayers.

Why doesn't the Night Mother magically kill the targets? I don't know, maybe she doesn't have the power too, maybe she doesn't want to. But I look at the Dark Brotherhood assassins as priests of Sithis.

I hope that isn't the unintelligible ramblings of a very drunk person.

[OblivionDuruza]

I think it's easiest to explain by looking at the Dark Brotherhood as a business. They are paid by people wanting others dead to make those people ... disappear. They worship the Night Mother and Sithis, and kill in their names, however, they are motivated by the money.

In contrast to the Morag Tong's veneration of the Daedric Prince Mephala, the brotherhood worship the void - Sithis. In addition, they see their murders as more of a business opportunity than as a matter of religion and honor. These differences have caused bitter enmity between the two organizations.

[Peter]

I understand many of the members and the organization itself is motivated by money, but what are Sithis's and the Night Mother's motivations for answering these black sacrament prayers?

What do they gain from facilitating these assassinations for mortals?

[CriminalScum]

I understand many of the members and the organization itself is motivated by money, but what are Sithis's and the Night Mother's motivations for answering these black sacrament prayers?

What do they gain from facilitating these assassinations for mortals?

Followers?

[Peter]

I understand many of the members and the organization itself is motivated by money, but what are Sithis's and the Night Mother's motivations for answering these black sacrament prayers?

What do they gain from facilitating these assassinations for mortals?

Followers?

I would ask: "why do they need followers?" but I know the answer would probably be "no body knows".

[enyamerT]

Sithis is the embodiment of primordial Chaos, which stands opposed to Order, which is the force of both creation and preservation. The Dark Brotherhood in turn serves Sithis by destroying (killing) according to randomness of mortal whim (rather than by organized effort, like the Mythic Dawn did in worship of Mehrunes Dagon).

[Sloady]

I'm afraid I'm going to have to disagree with my colleague Duruza (us lore buffs usually stick together ). The Dark Brotherhood is not a business, it's a religion. The goal of the Dark Brotherhood is to serve Sithis, the Dread Father. He is the night embodied, chaos in a primordial form. Lucien Lachance referred to him as the biting frost on a cold night once, I believe. The point is, Sithis is not a being. Sithis is a force. Sithis is more powerful than the Daedra and Aedra combined. He basically created the known world.

The Night Mother, so the legend goes, was the first to serve the Dread Father. She married him (probably through some blood filled ritual, no doubt), and he impregnated her with three children. She then killed these children to honor him. This is confirmed many times in Skyrim, and once in Oblivion where you see the skeletons of three children in the Night Mother's tomb.

When the Dark Brotherhood split from the Morang Tong over a dispute (I believe it was over serving Daedra), the Dark Brotherhood originally served Mephala, who evolved over time into the Night Mother.

The Dark Brotherhood take in money from their contracts to keep the Dark Brotherhood going. It's not a business. Think of the money as donations - what the Dark Brotherhood is really looking to be paid in is blood. Sithis demands souls be sent to the Void. And the Dark Brotherhood faithfully obeys.

[OblivionDuruza]

I haven't said that there is no "religious" element to the Brotherhood, and there is also the so-called "family" aspect, however, there is an irrefutable profit-orientated side of the Brotherhood, as I believe is demonstrated by almost every source of primary Lore covering the organisation:

Most scholars believe that the birth of the Dark Brotherhood, the secular, murder-for- profit order of assassins, was as a result of a religious schism in the Morag Tong.

The important distinction between the Dark Brotherhood and the Morag Tong was that the Brotherhood was a business as much as it was a cult. Rulers and wealthy merchants used the order as an assassin's guild. The Brotherhood gained the obvious rewards of a profitable enterprise, as well as the secondary benefit that rulers could no longer actively persecute them: They were needed. They were purveyors of an essential commodity. Even an extremely virtuous leader would be unwise to mistreat the Brotherhood.

'They might have been right,' the old woman continued. 'But I discovered there is a profit to be made, just the same, from sudden death. Not only can one rob the deceased, but, if your victim has enemies, which rich people often do, you can be paid for it even more. I began to murder people differently when I discovered that.

[Velothi]

BLAG UR NAH.

Anyways; The Dark Brotherhood is more of a business when compared to the Morag Tong, which takes itself very seriously as a peace-bringing organization and honorable one at that.

The DB is simply something to exist, and it doesn't follow its own rules at times. (Which is interesting...a Listener has not been chosen in two centuries? Seriously? Yeah, no.)

Plus, the dark Brotherhood isn't like Christianity (except both have a Schism of sorts). They merely worship Sithis as a guide to profit and the unholy practices. He exists, but whether or not the members care about him or not doesn't matter. All one must do is kill for him.

But the DB mainly did a schism (as we suspect) due to the fact that the Morag Tong was more-so legal and 'accepting' of the government contracts. So they were abandoning the 'traditional ways' (to the DB) of simply killing to ensure ones survival. Though this was then corrupted with the coming of the original Night Mother - as now they no longer worship Mephala but worship the 'Night Mother'.

(The original anyway)

So the DB split from the MT and ultimately started to spread out of the original Morrowind - spreading across Tamriel and accepting Chaos as its gods rather than the daedra.

[Sloady]

I haven't said that there is no "religious" element to the Brotherhood, and there is also the so-called "family" aspect, however, there is an irrefutable profit-orientated side of the Brotherhood, as I believe is demonstrated by almost every source of primary Lore covering the organisation:

Most scholars believe that the birth of the Dark Brotherhood, the secular, murder-for- profit order of assassins, was as a result of a religious schism in the Morag Tong.

The important distinction between the Dark Brotherhood and the Morag Tong was that the Brotherhood was a business as much as it was a cult. Rulers and wealthy merchants used the order as an assassin's guild. The Brotherhood gained the obvious rewards of a profitable enterprise, as well as the secondary benefit that rulers could no longer actively persecute them: They were needed. They were purveyors of an essential commodity. Even an extremely virtuous leader would be unwise to mistreat the Brotherhood.

'They might have been right,' the old woman continued. 'But I discovered there is a profit to be made, just the same, from sudden death. Not only can one rob the deceased, but, if your victim has enemies, which rich people often do, you can be paid for it even more. I began to murder people differently when I discovered that.

There are very little motivation inside the Dark Brotherhood, however, to kill for profit. They kill to ensure they can live to continue to kill, but the primary motivation is to kill - to kill for fun, or for Sithis. I can't remember a single DB member who was simply in it for the money.

[OblivionDuruza]

Well, maybe not explicitly, although I can see it more so in some of the Skyrim members. Still, I don't maintain that it is the only, or even primary objective or motivation, just that it is an important one regardless.

[Dark Spark]

The Dark Brotherhood exists to provide us a path to an answer which morality and honor do not leave open to us.

There are many solutions which we may take to solve any one problem. The Dark Brotherhood is an exploration into the path which law and righteousness tell us never to see.

It's the philosophy of Robert Frost's "The Road Not Taken", pickled in vitriol.

[The Silent Striker]

Why do Sithis and the Night Mother need mortals to kill for them? Why do they accept contracts from other people, and not just kill "randomly"?

Well, if they killed randomly, then their seceracy would be more likely to be compremised.

[Sloady]

Why do Sithis and the Night Mother need mortals to kill for them? Why do they accept contracts from other people, and not just kill "randomly"?

Well, if they killed randomly, then their seceracy would be more likely to be compremised.

Insane killers will claim to be part of the Dark Brotherhood because they're insane - in other words, any DB assassin caught in a random killing would be easily denied - and they are. DB doesn't help out their members if they get caught.

[vhiran]

Sithis is the embodiment of primordial Chaos, which stands opposed to Order, which is the force of both creation and preservation. The Dark Brotherhood in turn serves Sithis by destroying (killing) according to randomness of mortal whim (rather than by organized effort, like the Mythic Dawn did in worship of Mehrunes Dagon).

Best concise explanation I've seen.

[Contagious Cure]

I don't think Sithis "created" the known world. I think he was the "other". I'm finding it hard to explain myself but if anyone here knows about D&D or the Forgotten Realms campaign he's sort of like a more murderous version of Shar.

[OblivionDuruza]

The Brotherhood is a lot like a family, while the Morag Tong is more like a religious group and professional organisation. This is very apparent in Skyrim, both in the Sanctuary there, and through the Journal of Cicero.

[Dead Pixel]

Forgive my ignorance, but I'm having trouble grasping what is the overall goal of the Dark Brotherhood. I never bothered much with them in Oblivion, and didn't bother with the Morag Tong in Morrowind (which I believe the Dark Brotherhood sprang from?), so I don't know much about the organization other than the fact they do assassinations for money.

But is that all? Do they have some purpose they try to fulfill, or are they simply mercenaries, or psychopathic killers?

Curious, thank you.

They serve Sithis by murdering, albeit for profit so they also gain a large amount of wealth because of this. Think of them as a death cult...ever read any Raymond E Feist? Think Nighthawks...

[Assassin540]

The purpose is to follow the Night Mothers orders and send souls to Sithis in the Void

[CorneliusFunk]

As evidenced by their employment by the nobility throughout the lands, I'd say their purpose is to provide the subtle "removal" of certain persons of interest. Their cause, on the other hand, has already been explained by others in the thread - their duty to Sithis, etc.

[Dunmerdude]

Sithis is a void, the Dark Brotherhood use his name to make themselves appear to be more then a band of Hired killers, in reality the only mystical power behind the DB is the Night Mother, and she's certainly not a God.

The only places where the Dark Brotherhood answer to the "real" Night Mother are Cyrodiil, Blackmarsh (Shadowscales) and the one remaining Skyrim group. (Most of whom aren't exactly eager to return to the Tenets.)

Daggerfall had no mention of a Night Mother. (Though files for her exist on the Disk.) Severa Magia was called the "local" Night Mother in Vvardenfell. (Implying it's a rank rather then an actual person.) The Mournhold Chapter, which was the first to have any sort of uniform, had no Night Mother and basically answered to Helseth. Only Oblivion and Skyrim had a Night Mother who could possibly be the same person, and even then there is evidence to suggest that they are not.

[collectro]

I'm afraid I'm going to have to disagree with my colleague Duruza (us lore buffs usually stick together ). The Dark Brotherhood is not a business, it's a religion. The goal of the Dark Brotherhood is to serve Sithis, the Dread Father. He is the night embodied, chaos in a primordial form. Lucien Lachance referred to him as the biting frost on a cold night once, I believe. The point is, Sithis is not a being. Sithis is a force. Sithis is more powerful than the Daedra and Aedra combined. He basically created the known world.

The Night Mother, so the legend goes, was the first to serve the Dread Father. She married him (probably through some blood filled ritual, no doubt), and he impregnated her with three children. She then killed these children to honor him. This is confirmed many times in Skyrim, and once in Oblivion where you see the skeletons of three children in the Night Mother's tomb.

When the Dark Brotherhood split from the Morang Tong over a dispute (I believe it was over serving Daedra), the Dark Brotherhood originally served Mephala, who evolved over time into the Night Mother.

The Dark Brotherhood take in money from their contracts to keep the Dark Brotherhood going. It's not a business. Think of the money as donations - what the Dark Brotherhood is really looking to be paid in is blood. Sithis demands souls be sent to the Void. And the Dark Brotherhood faithfully obeys.

Sorry to go off topic but I felt compelled to reply... Of course Sithis is more powerful than the Aedra or Daedra, they are just et'Ada. Sithis is the brother of Anu. You can also give credit to Sithis for the creation of Mundus... Never forget though, that Sithis was created because Anu was seeking self reflection. Anu is the prime force of Order, and embodies all living souls. Without Anu there would be no Sithis, and in this case, it is not vice-versa. Anu came before all.