Bal Molagmer
The Bal Molagmer, meaning "Stone Fire Men" in Dunmeris, were a group of righteous thieves from Vvardenfell who died out early in the Third Era. Although the Bal Molagmer were thieves, they stole only from the unjust and gave to those in need. The Bal Molagmer carried burning stones from the Red Mountain, and their special protective gloves became the symbol of the group.
In 3E 427, Gentleman Jim Stacey, who was the master thief of the Thieves Guild on Vvardenfell, attempted to rekindle the now-legendary Bal Molagmer. This move was likely an attempt to appeal to the local Dunmer, who preferred the Camonna Tong to the Imperial Thieves Guild. Stacey made the new Bal Molagmer a subfaction of the Guild, and enlisted his best thieves to continue the tradition of aiding the poor, using the group's distinct gloves to give the impression that the Bal Molagmer had returned. The ultimate fate of this subfaction is unknown.
Bards College
The Bards College is a school for music in Solitude. The Bards College is where any aspiring bard, sometimes called a skald in Skyrim, starts his career in tale-telling and song. Many famous bards have trained and taught at the College. It is traditional for new Bards to perform a service to the college, then they are formally inducted at a ceremony performed annually at a festival, the Burning of King Olaf. The College's festival was nearly halted during the Fourth Era because Jarl Elisif the Fair thought it unbecoming. When a prospective bard rediscovered the lost King Olaf's Verse and it was performed for the Jarl, she was persuaded to allow the festival to continue as a righteous celebration of triumph over tyranny.
Battle-Born
The Battle-Borns are a rich, influential clan in Whiterun who staunchly supported the Empire in the Stormcloak Rebellion. The clan was one of the first to live in Whiterun, making it likely that the family can trace its roots back to members of the Five Hundred Companions of Ysgramor. The Battle-Borns were old friends with their neighbors, the equally venerable Gray-Manes. However, the clans began feuding when the Gray-Manes sided with the Stormcloaks during the Stormcloak Rebellion, while the Battle-Borns remained loyal to the Empire. The clan also attribute the feud to the Gray-Manes' jealousy over their wealth.
The House of Clan Battle-Born stands near the Gray-Mane residence in Whiterun's Wind District. The Battle-Borns also own the profitable Battle-Born Farm just outside the city. Olfrid Battle-Born was the clan's vocal patriarch. The Battle-Borns may have been involved in the abduction of Thorald Gray-Mane by the Thalmor. Each clan rallied the city's populace to their respective sides, though Whiterun officially remained neutral.
The Beautiful
A violent group of militants that appeared during the Third Era in Summerset Isle. These radicals sought to destroy significant monuments and assassinate traditional leaders in an attempt to further modernity and reject their Altmer heritage.
Benevolence of Mara
Followers of Mara typically form temple organizations called Benevolences, which are devoted to the charge of uniting all creatures as brethren, children of the Mother Goddess of Tamriel. They are intolerant only of those who show intolerance and hate. Mara blesses all with the gift of love, but particularly favors those who help her followers in Tamriel. For a reasonable donation to a Benevolence, the patron will be blessed and supposedly be forever beloved by he or she who loves them best. Those who devote themselves further to the Mother Goddess are even more blessed. The Benevolence's priests and priestesses study the greatness of Mara's Tamriel and are said to have learned much, so there is much secret knowledge that is shared with initiates who are judged to be true to Mara's calling.
Berne Clan
Berne Clan is one of the three major vampire bloodlines found in Vvardenfell. Those of the bloodline are very agile and sneaky, gifted with unnatural skill in unarmed combat. The Shadows of the Berne are the true masters of the night. Sliding through the darkness, invisible in the shadows, they hunt their prey in secrecy and silence. They were led by Raxle Berne from the Dwemer ruin of Galom Daeus. They also had a presence in many of the ancestral tombs around the island.
Black Bow Bandits
The Black Bow Bandits were a clan of bandits, operating out of the area around Leyawiin, who were active in the late Third Era. Their signature weapons were the Black Bows, which could be turned in to the Count of Leyawiin for a bounty. The group was left leaderless and presumably destroyed when the Hero and his companion assaulted Telepe.
Black Dart Gang
Criminal vagrants based in Mournhold's Temple Sewers, who were known for their adept use of very powerful throwing darts. In 3E 427 their notoriety caught the attention of the Nerevarine, who sought to avenge the death of a local Dunmer.
Blackwater Brigands
The Blackwater Brigands were a group of four pirates based in Bravil, who were active in the late Third Era. They were destroyed during their attempted capture of the Bloated Float, when a passenger single-handedly killed or captured all four.
Blackwood Company
The Blackwood Company was a minor mercenary faction that began to operate in the Imperial province of Cyrodiil, out of the city Leyawiin and the Blackwood Forest, during the latter days of the Third Era, and simultaneous to the Oblivion Crisis.
With its origins in Black Marsh and comprised almost exclusively of Beastfolk, the Blackwood Company for a while emerged as a notorious yet effective rival and threat to the Cyrodiilic chapter of the Fighters Guild, at one point coming dangerously close to tearing the Guild asunder. Despite successful and profitable early years, the Blackwood Company fell into notoriety after committing such criminal behavior as ritual drug abuse, property damage and even indiscriminate killings, including that of citizenry and Fighters Guild members.
Unlike the Fighters Guild, the Blackwood Company had no objection to completing less scrupulous jobs and seemed to operate without moral qualms. Further, unlike the Fighters Guild, there was no limitations as to who could join; even individuals of questionable moral integrity and those with a criminal record could join the group providing that they had combat prowess. Because of this, many Fighters Guild outcasts and those rejected from joining the Fighters Guild joined the Blackwood Company instead. They are notoriously much more reckless when completing contracts for clients. The Blackwood Company has no set of rules & regulations like the Fighters Guild and mercenaries can complete contracts in any way they see fit.
This reckless band of mercenaries was infiltrated by the Hero of Kvatch on behalf of the Fighters Guild in 3E 433. Upon discovering the dangerous secret source of their strength, the Hero of Kvatch destroyed the Blackwood Company's machine which was extracting the sap from a sick Hist tree, and the entire faction along with it.
Blades
The Blades were members of an elite Imperial order dedicated to the protection and service of the Dragonborn emperors of Tamriel. Descended from the Akaviri Dragonguard, who became the personal bodyguard of Emperor Reman I, the Blades have since diversified into many areas of Imperial espionage, military, and diplomacy. Indeed, while a select few were appointed by the emperor to serve openly as diplomats or bodyguards, the majority of Blades agents acted covertly as couriers and spies. Serving as the emperor's eyes and ears, a vast network of Blades have influenced many critical events across Tamriel, such as reassembling the golem Numidium and defeating Dagoth Ur.
The arms, armor, architecture, and customs of the Blades reflect their Akaviri heritage, most famously their distinctive Akaviri katanas and ceremonial armor. The order operated several strongholds, called temples, usually located in commanding positions among the mountains. Known examples include Cloud Ruler Temple in Cyrodiil and Sky Haven Temple in Skyrim.
For more general information, see the main lore article.
Blood Horkers
The Blood Horkers were a group of pirates which operated along the northern shores of Skyrim during the Fourth Era. The Stormcloak Rebellion preoccupied the powers in the area, allowing the Blood Horkers to prey on merchants sailing through the Sea of Ghosts with little opposition. They were eventually decimated by mercenaries hired by the East Empire Company.
Bloodwraiths
The Bloodwraiths are a faction of Dremora in service to Boethiah. They fight in the Dragonstar Arena, where they sacrifice themselves and their mortal victims to honor the Prince.
Buoyant Armigers
The Buoyant Armigers were a small military order of the Tribunal Temple, exclusively dedicated to and answering to Lord Vivec. The Buoyant Armigers pattern themselves on Vivec's heroic spirit of exploration and adventure, and seek to emulate his mastery of the varied arts of personal combat, chivalric courtesy, and subtle verse. They serve the Temple as champions and knights-errant, and are friendly rivals of the more solemn Ordinators. Many members of House Redoran serve in the order, as their ideals are closely related.
The Buoyant Armigers were based out of Ghostgate and Molag Mar on Vvardenfell. They were tasked with containing the forces of Dagoth Ur within the Ghostfence and tracking down necromancers to bring them to justice. They were led by a Grand Marshal and Deputy Marshal, and used traditional chitin, glass and Daedric equipment. It is unknown if they were related to the Hidden Armigers, the spy network of the Ebonheart Pact.
According to the founding myth of Vivec City, the Buoyant Armigers were formed when three houses 'trapped' Horde Mountain in a net of doubtful doctrine so that Vivec could pierce the monster with Muatra. After Vvardenfell was opened for settlement in 3E 414, some members of the order joined the Imperial Fighters Guild. Galdal Omayn was Grand Marshal of the order during the fulfillment of the Nerevarine Prophecy in 3E 433. That year, the Armigers briefly feuded with the Imperial Legion, and several Temple relics were recovered from crusaders who perished within the Red Mountain region. During the Oblivion Crisis of 3E 433, Ghostgate was put under siege by the Daedra and Vivec disappeared. It is unknown what became of the Buoyant Armigers after the rise of the New Temple.