Status: complete, but in need of proofreading. Might have to be revised in case of lore changes. Not yet added to data.
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THE LINE of EMPERORS VOLUME I: from ALESSIA to AMI-EL
A COMPREHENSIVE INQUIRY
into the
LINE of SUCCESSION
of the
EMPERORS of CYRODIIL
by Jaume Abtacil
By the virtue and patronage of Emperor Pelagius IV, I, Jaume Abtacil, have been granted the scholarly task of presenting to the discerning public a full and unbiased account of the Line of Emperors, beginning with the first, Blessed Alessia, who did found the First Empire, and her many descendants, to the rule of the Remanites, whose iron hand did maintain the Second Empire, to the ascendancy of Tiber Septim, anon Talos, from whom the line of Septim does continue to this day and forever. Herewith I will chronicle their lives and deeds, tally their virtues, expound on their blessed example, so that the people of Tamriel may know the Emperors in their glory.
I. ALESSIA or AL-ESH, ALESHUT, PERRIF, PARAVANIA
What little we know of the early Emperors came to us through hearsay and myth, and is as such an unworthy basis for fair scholarly enterprise. The true and unvarnished record as was written by the scribes of ages past has sadly felt the tooth of Akatosh, and, more insidiously, the blind zealotry of the Marukhati, whose dogmatic refusal of time's arrow led them to the ritual destruction of many an archive and library. What little they left was once again victim to man's thirst for destruction, and fell to fire and ruin in the War of Righteousness.
As such, when we speak of the Emperors of the First Empire, we must guard for the contrivances of the bard, who seeks to lead us astray on the byways of legend and folklore. Still, where of history naught remains but story, it is the scholar's duty to record, and extract from the song of the past the essence of verity.
The ancestry of the First Empress of Man is forever shrouded in mystery. Empress Alessia first rose to prominence in the Ayleid fiefdom known as Sard or Sard Avar Leed, where many tribes of Man were held in service, and the old clan-bonds and lines of patrimony had fallen into obscurity. Of course, many a fanciful invention tries to fill this lacuna. Some claim Alessia a princess of the wetland tribes, the Al-Gemha or Men-of-Ket, and as such of Nedic royalty. Others make her a descendant of the Men-of-'kreath, either a pure Nord or of mixed blood. Some fables even portray her as the love-child of a Nedic slave and an Ayleid city-king. The underlying purpose of these stories is, obviously, to affirm the first Empress as a legitimate ruler by descent, with a substantiated claim to the White-Gold Throne. Regardless of the verisimilitude of these accounts, in todays age of meritorious aristocracy it is clear that Alessia's claim came about not through inheritance, but through her own actions, and through Divine favor.
The exact moment of Alessia's ascendancy is much debated. Some point to the Insurrection at Sard, where Morihaus did come to her aid, others to the Emancipation at Vahtacen, where for the first time was uttered the name Al-Esh. The Annunciation at Sancre Tor is an obvious candidate, were it not that this likely apocryphal event does not fit in the known chronologies of the Rebellion. The Bestowing of the Imperial Ruby by the Divine Akatosh is another obvious candidate for the moment of ascendancy, but suffers much the same problem: there are about a thousand different accounts of the Bestowing, all in contradiction with each other in time and in place. Most scholars have come to agree that the Taking of the Citadel marks the true beginning of Alessia's reign.
Be it as it may, Empress Alessia's reign is remembered as a time of splendor and provenance. In but several decades, Alessia succeeded in shaping a rabble of ex-slaves and mercenaries into an efficient, powerful and sophisticated culture. This was, in part, due to the tutelage of the remnant Ayleid kings who had sworn fealty to the new Empire, and also due to the Nordic mercenary forces who had brought with the accomplishments of Atmoran civilization. Some Nordic scribes take pleasure in claiming Alessia's Empire as a client-kingdom to the then prominent Empire of Vrage the Gifted, which stretched from Bretony to the holds of Morrowind. Of course, the political relationships between both mannish Empires were much more complicated, based as they were on a foundation of the mutual respect and obligations that two mannish kingdoms would naturally feel for each other. Sadly, such subtleties are oft lacking in northern history writing.
The crux of the matter lies in Alessia's Nordic allies, who had joined the rebellion at Sancre Tor in return for the promise of land and riches. Alessia, in her wisdom, granted the Nordic chieftains expansive estates in the undeveloped west, later known as Colovia, to keep their divergent Nordic customs and religion from dissension with the Nedic Elven-inspired views (a situation happily resolved by later Divine Revelation). These Nordic chieftains, now Colovian gentry, still swore fealty to the Nordic High King, even as their Nedic and Ayleid subjects belonged solely to the White-Gold Throne. This feudal complication would haunt the relations with the Colovian Estates in years to come.
II. BELHARZA or THE MAN-BULL
Little is known of the second Emperor of Man, save, of course, his half-bullish aspect. Belharza's father was Morihaus, god of legend, who in turn was the favored son of the Divine Kynareth. Thus, his lineage is peerless, even if the maternal line is understandably marred by our ignorance of Alessia's true ancestry. The ascension of Belharza was said to suffer from a crisis, caused by the Nedes' insistence on a maternal succession. Emperor Belharza spent some of his youth in voluntary exile amongst the Nords before claiming his throne, and as such his rule was saturated in a Nordic ideal of life and governance.
Belharza's reign was sober and soldierly, in sharp contrast to his developing Nibenese cortège, but necessary for the defense of his fledgling empire. Belharza fixed the borders of Cyrodiil with great stones, and pressured the southern Blackwood tribes and Colovian estates into the giving of tribute to the White-Gold Throne. Of his personal life we know little. Memories of his marital status are muddled and unsure, though the record states with great surety that Belharza did never marry a consort, if ever he had any.
III. AMI-EL
Possibly the most obscure Emperor of the early line, as almost nothing is known of Ami-El save his (or her) name and involvement in a Nord-Direnni conflict in the Western Reach. Fraudulent myth surrounds this Emperor, and makes any definitive statement little more than supposition. Speculation on Belharza's matrimonial arrangements have led some to believe that Ami-El was an illegitimate child of one of Belharza's odalisques, or even a common pauper elected as figurehead after a coup by one of Belharza's cousins. While it is true that the Marukhati reveled in the electing of random commoners to vaunted symbolical status, it is a matter of historical truth that they did not at any time have the requisite power to install an Emperor. Iconographical depictions, at least, agree on the signs of Ami-El's ancestry, depicting him with a single vestigial bullhorn.
Of Ami-El's reign little is known, save that he furthered the cause of the Marukhati and decreed the Alessian Doctrines as the law of the land. Many dietary and occupational restrictions associated with Marukhatism were instated in this time, furthering the divergence between Nibenay and Colovia. Other than that, Ami-El is said to have strengthened the bonds with the Nordic Empire, and expanded the rule of the Alessians south along the Niben, subjugating the semi-independent Nedic tribes and Ayleid kings, and displacing the Khajiiti occupation of the left bank. Legends speak of a "marriage with the sea", hinting at an alliance with one of the great mercantile powers of the Topal Bay.
THE LINE of EMPERORS VOLUME II: from GORIEUS to HERDA
A COMPREHENSIVE INQUIRY
into the
LINE of SUCCESSION
of the
EMPERORS of CYRODIIL
by Jaume Abtacil
By the virtue and patronage of Emperor Pelagius IV, I, Jaume Abtacil, have been granted the scholarly task of presenting to the discerning public a full and unbiased account of the Line of Emperors, beginning with the first, Blessed Alessia, who did found the First Empire, and her many descendants, to the rule of the Remanites, whose iron hand did maintain the Second Empire, to the ascendancy of Tiber Septim, anon Talos, from whom the line of Septim does continue. Herewith I will chronicle their lives and deeds, tally their virtues and faults, expound on their blessed example, so that the people of Tamriel may know the names of the Emperors.
IV. GORIEUS
Emperor Gorieus assumed the throne in 1E 478. Memory of this Emperor is pointedly divided: Colovians speak of him as the tyrannical usurper defied in the legend of Rislav the Righteous, while the Nibenese portray him as the wizened, immortal ruler from the extravagant fables of the Woven City. The longevity of Gorieus is no mere myth, though: all sources indicate that he ruled the Heartland for an uninterrupted five hundred years, before ceding the throne to Hestra.
Folk tales claim Gorieus was a great sorcerer who hid his soul in a marvelous silk tapestry, thus tricking Arkay into searching its convoluted geometric patterns for hundreds of years - or even for all eternity, if the folktales of the Wandering Emperor are to be taken serious. More sober heads have theorized that there were not one, but several emperors in this period, the so-called Goriathite dynasty, and that current confusion is the result of destruction of primary sources, deliberate misdirection by Marukhati iconoclasts, and the homogenizing tendencies of myth. Most likely, he was merely an accomplished mage, who mastered the Ayleid arts even as his priests rained down death on that hapless people.
Be as it may, Gorieus' reign was an eventful era. After the crushing defeat at Glenumbra Moors, Alessian political influence beyond the Nibenay was for all practical purposes at an end, and the rule of the Cyrodiils limited. The Niben's commercial culture, however, flourished, and riches from all over Tamriel flooded the valley. An age of decadence followed, wherein the Niben's indulgent society and totemic cults were further shaped into their current form. The trade of silk was paramount, and came near to a religious sacrament in some ways. For a while, the Imperial City was decked out in layer upon layer of the most splendid silks, truly earning the title of the Woven City. Excesses in this regard caused the city to burn down no less than five times during Gorieus' reign, eventually necessitating a complete rebuilding in many quarters.
Gorieus eventually abdicated in favor of daughter, Hestra (or, in the alternate record, his great-great-granddaughter Hestra), and left the palace, never to be seen again. His tomb lies empty.
V. HESTRA or HESTRA, THE BUILDER
Empress Hestra is remembered as the Builder, for she finished the renovation and expansion of the Imperial City that started under her father's reign. Furthermore, she was responsible for the many great highways that were built in this time, still remembered as Hestra-Ways. Only Reman I and Potentate Sidri-Ashak did more to improve the Empire's road network. Hestra sought to rejoin the Colovian Estates with the Empire, and with their military support, she waged war across the Empire, reconquering the Reach, and making inroads into both Argonia and Valenwood. Hestra thus demonstrates the true strength of Cyrodiil, that, when East and West are united, the Rule of Law across Tamriel is assured.
Hestra was faithful to the example of Alessia, both as a wise ruler and a great warrior. She often shared the hardships of war with her soldiers on the Reachman front, thus earning their undying loyalty. Indeed, her great military campaigns were equated by many with the triumphs of the Alessian Rebellion, until they were regarded as pilgrimages and crusades in the honor of the first of Emperors.
It should be noted that Hestra was not only mighty in battle, but also a perceptive diplomat, being among the first to establish friendly relations with the newly arrived Yokudan exiles. A great and enduring affection grew between Cyrodiil and Hammerfell, and many wondrous Redguard customs and practices were introduced to the Imperial people. The greatest of these is no doubt the sophisticated tradition of duels and arena fighting, which is still being practiced in the Imperial City and the city of Kvatch to this day. Hestra herself invited the great blademaster Gaiden Shinji to found the Imperial Arena, for she took great pleasure in these contests of skill, as did her people.
Sadly, for all her great works, Hestra could not prevent the critical discontinuation of all written record which the ignorant and the Numidianists refer to as the "Dragon Break" or the "Middle Dawn". In this period, the Marukhati aversion to record-keeping germinates to such fearsome heights that all written sources of this time must be discounted as fundamentally unreliable. Hestra's later life is the subject of pure conjecture. It may be assumed she continued her policy of conquest and infrastructure, eventually holding a substantial territory (though the exact nature of these lands is obscured to us). Some sources indicate that Hestra was the first Emperor to hold extramundial colonies, possibly having one or more tribute-kingdoms in Oblivion. The matter of succession is veiled in mystery.
VI. SHOR-EL
A most obscure and possibly apocryphal Emperor. Shor-El's reign is victim to the negligence of his scribes, as it falls squarely into this period of abhorrent anti-scholarship. His relation to Hestra is unknown. Some believe Shor-El to be not of the true line, but a Nordic usurper who held the Imperial City for but a scant few years. The poets' words state that Cyrodiil in this time became "like an egg", signifying that its political might was once again limited to the Belharzarian borders. Whatever the cause, the seat of Emperors lost much of its splendor, and in later years was overshadowed by the growing might of the Oloi Confederacy in Colovia - a curious reversal, indeed.
VII. HERDA
Emperor Herda is the last Empress of the Alessian line known to us by name. She ruled somewhere shortly after the devastating War of Righteousness, with both her predecessors and successors unknown. The records speak of her as a mediator, who restored friendly relations between Colovia and Nibenay after many years fraught with dissension. Let it be understood that those of the early Emperors who brought unity and strength to Cyrodiil were remembered, while other languish in obscurity: A fitting lesson, I believe, for both ruler and servant.
No mention of Herda is made after 1E 2260, and later records fail to elucidate us on the subject of the Alessian rulers. Most likely the line of Alessia had died out by then, being replaced by the traitor priest-kings and insipid potentates who would come to epitomize the First Interregnum. A sad end for this most mythical of lineages.
THE LINE of EMPERORS VOLUME III: from REMAN I to KASTAV
A COMPREHENSIVE INQUIRY
into the
LINE of SUCCESSION
of the
EMPERORS of CYRODIIL
by Jaume Abtacil
By the virtue and patronage of Emperor Pelagius IV, I, Jaume Abtacil, have been granted the scholarly task of presenting to the discerning public a full and unbiased account of the Line of Emperors, beginning with the first, Blessed Alessia, who did found the First Empire, and her many descendants, to the rule of the Remanites, whose iron hand did maintain the Second Empire, to the ascendancy of Tiber Septim, anon Talos, from whom the line of Septim does continue to this day and forever. Herewith I will chronicle their lives and deeds, tally their virtues, expound on their blessed example, so that the people of Tamriel may know the Emperors in their glory.
VIII. REMAN I or THE CYRODIIL
After the War of Righteousness, the Alessian throne was crouched in the tattered remnants of misrule. Colovia and Nibenay were without true rulers, carved into city-states and negligible kingdoms, and ruled by corrupt local magnates. Save a few unlucky fools, none came forth to claim the title of Emperor, and for four hundred years the White-Gold Throne gathered dust in the shadowed halls of the Emperor's palace.
So it would have continued, were it not for the rise of Reman Cyrodiil. Born on the sacred heights of Sancre Tor, he was the child of King Hrol of the upper provinces and the maiden Shoni-Etta, a distant relative of the true Alessian line. By the age of thirteen, Reman I had united the Colovian kingdoms through his piety, leadership and sacrosanct example. By joining his army with the Battlemage forces of the Nibenay he defeated the dreaded Tsaeci horde at Pale Pass, and elicited from that serpent people the promise of eternal servitude to the Emperors of Cyrodiil. Reman thus reunited Colovia and Nibenay under his rule, and entered the Imperial City as a conqueror, and a peacemaker.
Inspired by the loyalty and strength that manifested in his people united, Reman felt called to the holy purpose of uniting all of Tamriel under his Divine rule, so that the mortal peoples would forever be guided to a higher purpose. His hand forced by the growing aggression of Alinor, Reman united the mannish races of Tamriel, and waged a war as had until then never been seen on Nirn, conquering all of the north, the southern lands of Anequina, Pelletine, and Camoria, and lso much of Argonia. Furthermore, he secured heavy tribute from the kingdom of Alinor in return for accommodation. Only the dusky people of Morrowind resisted this rule, an act of willful sedition for which they were to suffer greatly in times to come.
Reman I was among the most wise and just rulers Cyrodiil ever knew, bringing peace and Imperial Law to the ignorant provinces, instigating great works of infrastructure and fortifications, and reuniting the Imperial people in their common cause and culture. On his deathbed he was thus called upon by the Divines to serve as a guiding star and example to man, and ever since he has been worshiped as the Worldly God, who did come to the aid of man in their hour of need, and returned to them the fires of purpose and identity.
IX. BRAZOLLUS DOR
While the name and deeds of Emperor Brazollus Dor are sure to ring out in beauty in the hallowed halls of Aetherius, his time of life was clearly overshadowed by the reign of his vaunted predecessor, Reman I. As such, we know precious little of Brazollus Dor, though it can be deduced that he continued the good works of his father, namely the building of Empire, through the construction of Remanite highways, bridges, and fortresses. Brazollus Dor was crowned in 1E 2762, and assumed his name in recognition of Emperor Belharza, also the second ruler in a line, whom Brazollus sought to emulate in all aspects. As such, Brazollus rejuvenated the cult of Morihaus in the Imperial City and instated many rituals in honor of that deity. From the forges of the Zenitharites he ordered a crown of golden bull-horns made, signifying the resurgence of Cyrodiil's Divine bloodline.
Brazollus Dor's date of death goes unrecorded. Let this be a warning to the scribe and the record-keeper, that they must be truthful and exacting in their work, so that further generations may come to know of the great works of their betters.
X. KASTAV or THE WARDEN
Through the byways of myth we are told the story of Emperor Brazollus Dor's succession. Upon his deathbed, Brazollus surveyed his progeny and found them a bitter disappointment: his many sons and daughters were to the last one drunks, halfwits, cowards and traitors. The Emperor thus denounced and disinherited them all, save for his latest grandson who had been born but three days before. Brazollus then called to his side his trusted advisor and close friend, Kastav of the Crossing Vale, and adopted him as his son and heir, tasked to keep the Empire safe until a son of the line of the Remanites came of age. And Brazollus instructed Kastav to lock away each and every one of his negligent sons and daughters in the holds of the Imperial Prison, so that they could never plot and conspire to overthrow him. By virtue of his adoption into the true line Emperor Kastav is counted among the true Emperors, and for his policy of detaining and imprisoning all his unworthy rivals he is to be known as Kastav the Warden.
Like Brazollus Dor, Emperor Kastav felt the negligence of the scribe's hand. Kastav was known to quell unrests in the lands of Skyrim, that eminent province whose people were normally first to join and advance the cause of the Empire, but under his rule did quarrel and chafe. Kastav had no patience for such reticence, and engineered the downfall of these upstart rebels, intending to entrench the Empire far into the north, so that its righteous rule would never again be doubted by the people of that land. Sadly, Kastav died before he could see his plans come to fruition, and it fell to his successor to lay the keystone on his great political work.
THE LINE of EMPERORS VOLUME IV: from REMAN II to REMAN III
A COMPREHENSIVE INQUIRY
into the
LINE of SUCCESSION
of the
EMPERORS of CYRODIIL
by Jaume Abtacil
By the virtue and patronage of Emperor Pelagius IV, I, Jaume Abtacil, have been granted the scholarly task of presenting to the discerning public a full and unbiased account of the Line of Emperors, beginning with the first, Blessed Alessia, who did found the First Empire, and her many descendants, to the rule of the Remanites, whose iron hand did maintain the Second Empire, to the ascendancy of Tiber Septim, anon Talos, from whom the line of Septim does continue to this day and forever. Herewith I will chronicle their lives and deeds, tally their virtues, expound on their blessed example, so that the people of Tamriel may know the Emperors in their glory.
XI.REMAN II
Emperor Reman II assumed the throne in the early twenty-ninth century, receiving the mandate of power from the dying hand of Emperor Kastav, his caretaker and foster-father, in a time when the Empire was beset by Nordic and Argonian insurgents. Reman II wasted no time in putting an end to these uprisings, making clever use of his Tsaeci servants as he did so, sending these brave and loyal warriors first to the north, where they brought down the Nordic rebels, and then south, where they fought the great Battle of Argonia, establishing Imperial Law and the Rule of the Emperors in that stygian land.
Remembering the ideals of his predecessor, Reman I, who did intend to join all of Tamriel under his rule, and seeing what good his regime did in the newly joined province of Black Marsh, Reman II decided to honor this great ambition, and to that purpose declared war on the lands of Morrowind, for the Dunmer who lived there were in thrall to dark powers, and their resuscitation was a noble goal indeed. For Four-Score years the war against the Dunmer raged, as they were abetted by a dark three-headed spirit, who went by the name of Ephen. With his great endeavor unfinished, Reman II was slain in battle in the year of 1E 2851, and his people did weep over the fall of so mighty a man.
XII. THE EXPUNGED REMAN
XIII. REMAN III
In the year 1E 2877 Reman III did take the throne, fated to be the last of the line of Reman. Brave as his predecessors, Emperor Reman III fought the Dunmer of Morrowind to a standstill, though he was undermined at every turn by treachery and deceit. Even his own consort, the Empress Tavia, conspired against him with revolutionaries and tribesmen of the Blackwood borderlands, who were moved by perverse instincts to struggle against legitimate authority. So it came to be that the Emperor was forced to confine Tavia in the dread prisons of Black Marsh.
Though these actions may seem harsh, Reman III was a more gentle ruler than his predecessors, and was known far and wide for his mercy and kindness. As such, he is remembered by the people of Cyrodiil as a martyr of kindness and good governance, for his enemies did wound him, and killed his only son, and assassinated him as well, on the eve of his triumphant victory over the Dunmer. So the Second Era began, which was an Era of chaos, in which no true Emperor would appear.
With his last breath, Reman III entrusted the administration of his Empire to his Tsaeci servant, Versidue-Shaie, who safeguarded the Empire as Potentate for many years, as did his son, Savirien-Chorak. But the lands of Cyrodiil did not prosper under an alien hand, and the Potentates were never a good substitute for the true rule of the Emperors. In time, they too fell to the hands of murderers, and the Empire was left in the delinquent care of the Interregnum Pretenders, a ceaseless flow of hapless warriors and champions who sought the legitimacy that only the White-Gold Throne could ensure. Without a true Emperor, the land was soaked in blood, and the people of Tamriel knew despair.
THE LINE of EMPERORS VOLUME V: from CUHLECAIN to KINTYRA I
A COMPREHENSIVE INQUIRY
into the
LINE of SUCESSION
of the
EMPERORS of CYRODIIL
by Jaume Abtacil
By the virtue and patronage of Emperor Pelagius IV, I, Jaume Abtacil, have been granted the scholarly task of presenting to the discerning public a full and unbiased account of the Line of Emperors, beginning with the first, Blessed Alessia, who did found the First Empire, and her many descendants, to the rule of the Remanites, whose iron hand did maintain the Second Empire, to the ascendancy of Tiber Septim, anon Talos, from whom the line of Septim does continue to this day and forever. Herewith I will chronicle their lives and deeds, tally their virtues, expound on their blessed example, so that the people of Tamriel may know the Emperors in their glory.
XIIV. CUHLECAIN or EMPEROR ZERO
While never fully inaugurated, the warlord Cuhlecain did rule the Imperial City for more than a day and is numbered among the Emperors of the Septim line as Emperor Zero, on the express request of Emperor Tiber Septim himself, for the latter did love and respect the former as a father, and did not wish to see his name vanish into obscurity along with the Interregnum Pretenders.
Cuhlecain, king of Falkreath, saw the chaos and misrule of his age and set out to return the world to righteous rule. He was an intelligent ruler, quickly perceiving that, to restore the Empire, it was necessary to unite the Colovian Estates, and to do that, he would need safety and security on his northern border. In the north, the Reachmen and the Nords had been at war for many a year. In acknowledgment of the ancient Nordic blood that flows through all true Colovian houses, Cuhlecian sided with the Nords against the Reachmen agitators.
In his service there was then raised a mighty warrior, a general-prince hailing from the high north, from Atmora - this was general Talos, anon Tiber Septim. Cuhlecain recognized in him the great power of the heroes of old and gave Talos the command of his armies, saying: "You who has come on the royal breath of the north, I call you son, and as no child I have before you, the Empire I have wrought will be yours in times to come," thus anointing general Talos as his rightful heir.
With the aid of Tiber, Cuhlecian united the Colovian Estates and raised a mighty army of the sons of Colovia. From the west they marched, and the men of Nibenay rejoiced and laid down their weapons, recognizing the true ruler of Empire. Still, treason, in those days, was ever present. On the day of his coronation, Cuhlecain fell victim to a conspiracy of his enemies, and was struck down. There exists a legend among the people of the Imperial City, that claims Cuclecain's lifeless body sunk into the ground after his defeat, and that now he rules beneath the city as the King Underground. Such fancies as the populace invent have, of course, no basis in anything of history, but may serve to lighten the mood of such heady tomes as the wise and powerful take to hand.
XV. TIBER SEPTIM or TALOS, YSMIR, DRAGON OF THE NORTH, STORM-CROWN, HJALTI EARLY-BEARD, DRAGONBORN
The greatest of all Emperors, and progenitor of the greatest line of Emperors, which does continue to this day and will continue forever-more, Akatosh willing, Emperor Tiber Septim, who did ascend to join the ranks of the Divines in Aetherius. He was born in 2E 828 in distant Atmora under the name Talos, which means Stormcrown in the tongue of the Ancient North. There, on the March of Giants, he did learn the arts of combat and governance under the benevolent eye of the High King of Atmora, and when he came of age, he departed for the south, knowing the path of his destiny. For the tales of discord in the Empire of Man had reached even the far shores of the Uttermost North, and the rulers of that boreal place were mindful of their brothers, saying: "Once, we sent our greatest and most virtuous warriors to Tamriel, knowing then of the pain that the land endured under the harsh reign of the Elves. Now that the spirit of misrule and slavery stalks the land again, let once more the fruit of our frozen arbors set sail, and do right in the Southland, though it pains us to lose one so great."
Thus Talos came to Skyrim, where he learned much from the great kings of that land, and learned the secrets of the Tongues, by which the world can be made to shake and submit. He led the Nords in the taking of Old Hrol'dan from the Witchmen, an act which spread his fame far and wide, causing Cuhlecain to anoint him as the leader of his forces, and the ancient monastic order of the Grey-Beards to vouch for him, proclaiming his Divine right to rule.
But not all men were in favor of the return of righteous rule. In Skyrim and High Rock there were then usurpers who dreaded the return of the Empire, knowing that their crimes and misdeeds would surely be brought to bear on them were a true Emperor to claim the White-Gold Throne. An alliance of Nords and Bretons was raised against the forces of Cuhlecain, and while the latter had proceeded to the Imperial City in preparation of his coronation, Talos stood alone to break the coming invasion at the fortress of Sancre Tor. There, a great battle of the age was fought, and by the power of Talos' voice the Nords recognized the true leader of Men and fell upon their erstwhile Breton allies. In the catacombs of Sancre Tor, Talos then found the sacred Amulet of Kings, signifier of the Will of Akatosh.
From Sancre Tor, Talos returned victorious to the palaces and lofty towers of the Imperial City, where he was feted by Cuhlecain on the eve of his ascension. Then, the poison of betrayal struck, as the dagger found Cuchlecain's heart, and found the throat of Talos, too, a wound which would surely have killed him were it not for his Divine nature. Talos carried the lifeless corpse of Cuhlecain from the flames of the burning palace, and, lifting the Amulet of Kings high above his head, he spoke in a whisper, reminding the gathered nobility of Colovia and Nibenay of their oaths, their loyalty, and their place in the order of things. And Talos anointed himself Emperor of Man, ruling king of all the nations of the world, and he took the name of Tiber Septim, that all his subjects may know him as such.
And the Emperor was much dismayed by the deeds of the Nordic and Breton traitors, who had conspired to assault him, and fought against the natural order. So he set about to break these wayward sons of Man, and even before the seasonal rains came to blanket the Imperial City, the first kings of Skyrim and High Rock came to kneel before the White-Gold throne. In but a few years time Tiber had Septim conquered the north, bringing peace and order where before there was only misrule.
But the great and the good will forever be opposed from all corners. The Aldmeri Dominion grew fearful of the rising star of the North, and they plotted to engineer the new Empire's downfall. Under their tutelage, the beastmen of Elsweyr and Argonia grew restless, attacking the borders of Cyrodiil without cause or provocation. The Emperor replied in kind, cutting deep into the wild domain of these baseless peoples. He skirmished with the Altmeri forces on the high seas, too, but that people's mastery over the waves proved ever obstructive.
Instead, his attention was drawn to Hammerfell. Ever did the people of that place quarrel with one another over an ancient and forgotten matter, so that the blood and tears of men were spilled in vain. Tiber Septim offered his wise and impartial counsel to end this matter, and, with sound judgment, brought the Redguard into the fold of Empire, to prosper under his guidance. In 2E 864 then was signed the First Treaty of Stros M'Kai, where after all the races of Man were united under the Rule of Empire. The might of Men was then a spearhead, and thrust into the heart of the unruly natives of the south, it brought them too to the foot of the White-Gold Throne.
Then only the empires of the Elves stood strong. Tiber Septim first looked east, to Morrowind, and found that the bane of the Remanites was weak and divided. His numberless legions poured into the lands of ash, and took from the Dunmer the capital of the Mourning Hold, which is where they worship their strange and wrong-headed god, Ephen. The Dunmer were forced into the signing of the Armistice, which promised their complete surrender, and in return, Tiber Septim graciously allowed them to hold onto some of their quaint traditions. The legions of men returned to the Imperial City victorious, and laden with tribute and great golden statues.
Then, Tiber Septim looked to the west, to the Aldmeri Hegemony. The Altmer were strong, stronger than any enemy Man had ever faced, but the Emperor was flushed from his victory over the Dunmer, and knew himself a being of a higher order. Then first did manifest the Divine power for which he was to be elected to sit among the gods in high Aetherius, and lead them, and Tiber Septim, anon Talos, called upon a gestalt of gold and great power, that was followed by his numberless legions, and in but a year they crushed all opposition, and all of Tamriel was united under the banner of the Cyrodiils. Ninefold blessings on the Emperor Tiber Septim, anon Talos, who cleared the way for Man's dominion!
XVI. PELAGIUS I SEPTIM
After the victories of Tiber Septim, it was declared that the Second Era was over, and now was the beginning of the Third Era, which was to be the Era of the Emperors Septim. Tiber Septim led a long and prosperous life, further unifying his great Empire, and in the latter years of his life the Divine Arkay was always by his side, to give councel and prepare the way ot Divinity. Then in the year 3E 38 Tiber Septim ascended to high Aetherius as Talos, to forever-more sit amongst the Divines, to lead and protect us, as he did in life.
Tiber Septim was succeeded by his grandson, Pelagius Septim I. Though Emperor Pelagius was young when first he donned the Amulet of Kings, he was wise, and assisted by the many spirits and guides his grandfather had groomed for him. His reign was glorious and free of strife, as he furthered the cause of Empire, connecting the provinces with bonds of blood and commerce, and striking down rebellion with an even hand.
Emperor Pelagius was pious, too, and instated the worship of Talos in the entirety of Tamriel, and he summoned the Octadic Council from their distant dioceses, and caused them to reflect upon the Divine nature of Talos, until they declared him one of the Divines, henceforth to be known as the Nine Divines. And Pelagius founded the Citizen's Cult of Talos, Tiber Imperator in the northernly city of Bruma, which Talos had once saved from disaster by his actions as Sancre Tor, and for which he had held a strong affection in mortal life.
The piety of Pelagius was to be his downfall, for he was assassinated in the Temple of the One by foul interlopers of the Dark Brotherhood, on the behest of malcontent provincials. As he had no living children, Pelagius was succeeded by his first cousin Kintyra, daughter of Tiber Septim's brother Agnorith, who had been made king of Silvenar.
XVII. KINTYRA I SEPTIM
Empress Kintyra Septim ascended the throne in 3E 41, and though her reign only lasted a short seven years, it is remembered as a period of prosperity, in which the harvests were bountiful, the people content, and agitators laid down their weapons and submitted to Empire. Kintyra was known as a great patron of the arts, and under her guidance many great public works were made, such as the great Imperial Opera, or the Library of the People in the Imperial City. She was known as a great actress and dancer herself, and an delighted in the noble Nibenese art of skin-painting and tattooing, as she made many intricate designs that were admired by all.
In the life of Empress Kintyra we see once again the shadow of the empresses of old, of Alessia and Hestra, and it would be fitting to remember here the old Nibenese adage: "Blessed are they who live under the law of River and the Bull, they will know joy their whole life, and the land rejoices".