Nocturnal
From the OblivioWiki – your guide to everything Oblivion
Nocturnal is the one of the Daedric Princes, the powerful rulers of the Daedra and the planes of Oblivion. Nocturnal's sphere is that of night and darkness, and he is primarily associated with stealth and subterfuge. For example, the standard greeting among the Thieves Guild on Tamriel, "Shadow hide you.", is a reference to Nocturnal.
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[edit] Description
Physical descriptions of Nocturnal are difficult to come by, as he is usually described as being hidden by darkness and shadow. Depictions of the Daedric Prince usually take the form of a non-descript human, draped in a hooded cloak that hide most of his features and body. Both male and female depictions are seen, but the prince is usually spoken of as feminine, such as being styled "Mistress" instead of "Master" of the night. He is depicted with both arms outstretched, and a pair of ravens (or similar bird) perched on each wrist.
Nocturnal claims to be an aspect of the void of Oblivion itself, and takes such titles as Mother of Night or Night Mistress. His very nature is such that humans cannot understand him, as he is the embodiment of the unfathomable and enigmatic. Worshippers of Nocturnal consist primarily of those who operate in darkness and night, such as thieves and spies. Note, however, that Nocturnal's deception is not usually meant to be harmful or violent in the manner of Boethiah. Rather, the unknowable nature of Nocturnal is the core of his being, and serves no real ulterior purposes beyond being mysterious. Thus, while thieves may consider Nocturnal their patron, assassins will typically lean towards a more violent deity.
[edit] Nocturnal's Cowl
The most famous feature of Nocturnal is the enchanted cowl he created. This headpiece possessed the ability to completely hide its wearer's identity from mortal knowledge, including magical forms of scrying and identification. The cowl's power was so great that people would be incapable of even remembering the name of whomever possessed the cowl, even while the cowl was not being worn. No one would be able to retain any long term memory of interacting with the cowl's wearer, and even removing the cowl in plain sight of others would not break its spell.
The cowl was reportedly stolen by the head of the Thieves' Guild during the last Third Era, promptly removing any memory of the person in question from history. Henceforth, according to legend, the bearer of the cowl was known only as "The Gray Fox", though it was not commonly known that the cowl was responsible for his infamy.
