Lore:Allena Benoch

Lady Allena Benoch
Lady Allena Benoch
Race	Bosmer	Gender	Female
Resided in		Valenwood Imperial City
Appears in		Legends

"You always remember the mistakes of your first victim." —Allena Benoch

Lady Allena Benoch was a Bosmer Jaqspur who was a skilled swordmaster and archer. She was the former master of the Valenwood Fighters Guild and the head of the Emperor's personal guard in the Imperial City. She was active in the Third Era.

History

Queen Akorithi of Sentinel

Allena Benoch hailed from Valenwood. As a Jaqspur, she developed her archery skills and joined her tribe's hunting party, where she began to hunt and kill their enemies and prey at the age of sixteen. In 3E 396, Allena Benoch fought against the Parikh Tribe who were aided by powers from Summerset Isle, and killed many people during the battle. However, it was only when she killed an enemy scout in close combat that she realized the horror of killing another person. She began teaching herself swordsmanship and studied under the tutelage of Warday A'kor, a Redguard swordmaster. She became a freelance adventurer, protecting caravans and dignitaries from danger.

She was an owner of an enchanted daedric daikatana. Althought it was not of Akaviri design it was a formidable weapon, which she used to deliver as much damage with as little effort as possible. She dispatched a band of Orcs who had stolen gold from a local chieftain in Meditea using her swordsmanship.

At some point, she became the master of the Valenwood Fighters Guild after defeating the previous master in a duel. It was disbanded two years later, though she was not responsible for it. Later, she gained the attention of the Emperor himself after defending Queen Akorithi of Sentinel from a Breton assassin, which led to her joining the Imperial Guard, and later becoming its head. Lady Benoch married her former servant Urken after he had been in her service for eleven years.

A rumor circulated that Lady Allena Benoch, acting on the orders of Uriel VII, carried out the assassination of the Archbishop of the One, Calaxes Septim in his temple. However, Lady Benoch denied knowledge of the affair, saying that the Imperial Guard's role is to protect the throne and not to carry out assassinations.

At a later time, Lady Benoch arranged several interviews with an author. However, due to her responsibilities as the leader of the Imperial Guard and urgent summons from the Emperor, she had limited time and had to organize multiple meetings. She met the author on three occasions. It is unclear where the initial meeting between Allena Benoch and the author took place. However, after the first meeting, Lady Benoch's duties as the leader of the Imperial Guard called her away to important state affairs in the province of Skyrim and later in High Rock. The second meeting was held at the Blood and Rooster Inn, and the third, and final interview was held three months later in Firsthold, a city in the Summerset Isles. During the final meeting, Lady Benoch provided advice to young swordsmen who were just starting their careers, and quoted famed swordsman Frandar Hunding.

Notes

• 1.	Lady Benoch's biography gives the date of the assassination as the 29th of Sun's Dusk in 3E 498. Since the Third Era ended long before that date, this must be a typo.

See Also

• For game-specific information, see the Legends article.

Books

• Words and Philosophy — An interview with a Bosmer master swordsman about her life