The Elder Scrolls: The Secrets Of The Dark Brotherhood

The spirit of The Night Mother persisted, gifted unnatural life by Sithis, who had taken her for his wife and servant. She took up her role as the leader of The Dark Brotherhood, summoned by contractors who performed the black sacrament.

When a person wished to enlist the Brotherhood to arrange someone's death, they would perform a ritual known as the black sacrament. The invoker must create an effigy resembling the intended victim, assembled from real body parts, including a heart, skull, bones, and flesh, encircle the effigy with candles, stab it repeatedly with a dagger covered with Nightshade and whisper this plea: "Sweet Mother, sweet Mother, send your child unto me, for the sins of the unworthy must be baptized in blood and fear." True enough, the Night Mother will hear the plea, and will then whisper to her Listener - the only ones able to hear the Night Mother's summons - who will then, in turn, transfer the contract to one of the Speakers, until it finally came into the hands of a Silencer who would perform the deed.

For a time, this is how the Dark Brotherhood operated. A supernaturally-led band of assassins operating in the shadows, collecting vast sums of money from their contractors. The Night Mother is always watching from the shadows. When she sees someone commit a murder and not get arrested for it, she sends one of her Speakers to approach the murderer and invite them to join The Dark Brotherhood. They also automatically recruit Argonians born under the sign of the Shadow - the hatchlings are trained by the shadowscales before being transferred to the Brotherhood.