Character from The Elder Scrolls by Bethesda Game Studios
Dunmer Nightingale and master thief, granddaughter of Barenziah. Spent decades plotting to expose Mercer Frey's betrayal of the Thieves Guild and Nocturnal.
Karliah is a Dunmer master thief, one of the three Nightingales sworn to Nocturnal's service, and the granddaughter of the legendary Queen Barenziah. For twenty-five years, she lived in exile, branded a murderer by Mercer Frey — who had actually killed their mutual companion Gallus Desidenius and framed her for the crime. Karliah's story is one of patience and determination. She spent decades gathering evidence of Mercer's betrayal, translating Gallus's encoded journal, and waiting for the right moment to return. When the Dragonborn rises through the Thieves Guild's ranks, Karliah finally has an ally capable of helping her expose the truth — that Mercer stole the Skeleton Key from Nocturnal's Twilight Sepulcher and used its power to rob the Guild blind. She is a skilled alchemist and archer, having survived alone for decades through wit and caution. Her connection to Nocturnal runs deep — she serves willingly as a Nightingale, understanding and accepting that her soul will guard the Twilight Sepulcher after death. Her voice carries the quiet intensity of someone who has spent twenty-five years rehearsing the moment of vindication. When it finally comes, there is more sorrow than triumph — Gallus is still dead, and the Guild she loved was corrupted from within.
A lithe Dunmer woman with the purple-tinged dark skin of her race, her features sharp and striking beneath a dark hood. Her eyes are unusually violet — a trait inherited from her grandmother Barenziah. She moves with absolute silence, every gesture economical and precise. Her armor is dark leather worked with the symbols of the Nightingales, and she carries a bow with the ease of someone who has used it to survive for decades.
Also known as: Karliah, The Nightingale