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The Blades are an organization in the Elder Scrolls games. Initially, they were dragonhunters from Akavir who came to serve the Septim emperors as bodyguards and agents. When the Septim dynasty ended at the end of Oblivion, the Blades briefly sought to defend the empire from outside influence (the Aldmeri Dominion), then went into hiding until a new Dragonborn appeared.

As we see in Skyrim, the Blades have retained their initial opposition against dragons from centuries past. I find it odd, then, that they would support the Dragonborn - a human with the soul & abilities of a dragon.

If the Blades hate dragons, why do they hold the Dragonborn in such high esteem?

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The Blades still revere the Dragonborn because they see the Dragonborn as the ultimate Dragon slayer. During the quest "A Blade in the Dark," Delphine says this to you:

We remember what most don't - that the Dragonborn is the ultimate dragonslayer. You're the only one that can kill a dragon permanently by devouring its soul. Can you do it? Can you devour a dragon's soul? http://elderscrolls.wikia.com/wiki/Delphine_(Skyrim)

(Emphasis mine)

Put another way, the Blades like the Dragonborn because the Dragonborn can permanently kill a dragon by absorbing its soul, not the "temporary" kills that allowed Alduin to resurrect them later.

However, the bottom of that linked page does have this in the trivia section:

Delphine also says that the Blades swore loyalty to the Dragonborn because 'He is the greatest dragon-slayer', which is wrong, since the Blades swore loyalty to the Dragonborn because of his Dragon Soul, as stated in The Rise and Fall of the Blades.

So maybe its a contradiction. Perhaps the exact motivations have shifted over the years.

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    If the lore of the Elder Scrolls games are known for anything, it's that the creators clearly delight in inconsistency. There are no clear answers on a lot of subjects by design. – J Doe Jan 18 '18 at 3:52
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    Also note that Delphine saying something wrong doesn't mean "the game is wrong/inconsistent" - it just means Delphine is, intentionally or not, misrepresenting the facts. – MPF Jan 18 '18 at 4:10
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    @JDoe Absolutely true. One of my favorite examples is Mankar Camoran who argues that Lorkhan is a Daedra and Tamriel is a plane of Oblivion. It's pretty obvious that he's a raving lunatic, especially since he gets some established facts wrong (e.g. Coldharbour is Molag Bal's realm, not Meridia's). Just because a character says something doesn't necessarily mean what they say is true. And as you said, that's definitely by design! – Thunderforge Jan 18 '18 at 5:14
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    Also, I think the Blades consider the Dragonborn the "spiritual successor" of Tiber Septim, the first Dragonborn. – Quasi_Stomach Jan 18 '18 at 6:28
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    @Quasi_Stomach I think that's worth its own answer. – JAD Jan 18 '18 at 6:52

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