Lore:Alessia

, also known as Queen Alessia, Saint Alessia,  the Slave Queen of Cyrodiil,   and El-Estia,  led the First Era rebellion against the Ayleids, freeing the humans of Cyrodiil from slavery and founding what became the Alessian Empire. As its first Empress, she established a new religion, a fusion of the Nordic and Aldmeri pantheons known as the Eight Divines. On her deathbed in  ,  she was canonized by Akatosh,  and her soul placed in the central stone of the Amulet of Kings, thus forging  's Covenant with men to protect   from the forces of  .  Among worshippers of Pelinal Whitestrake, Alessia is the patron saint of humanity. 

Alessia's son, Belharza the Man-Bull, is thought to be fathered by Morihaus and is considered by some to be the first Minotaur.  On her death in  , Belharza succeeded her as the second Emperor of Cyrodiil.   

Alessia is not her birth name, but rather a corruption of a title, Al-Esh ("High Highness"), that was given to her by her followers. Another title bestowed on her was Paravant ("The First").  From corruptions of these two titles come countless other names by which she is known to various peoples, including Perrif, Paraval, Pevesh, Perrethu, Paravania, and Aleshut.  The Alessian Order is so-called because she purportedly appeared to the prophet   in a vision and bestowed her teachings upon him, for which she was known by the Order as the "Enlightened One".     

Alessia was born to one of Cyrodiil's many human tribes and grew up in  , known at the time as Sard.  As with all humans of Cyrodiil in the First Era, she lived as a slave under the Ayleids, the elvish race that ruled Cyrodiil. She prayed to Akatosh and the Aedra for liberation from the Daedra-worshipping Ayleids. 

Alessia's prayers were answered when she was granted three visions by the Aedra at  . Once free, she established her holy city there and began an open revolt against her slavemasters.  Working alongside the demigod, Morihaus, Alessia raised an army. In  , Alessia's third vision came true when Pelinal Whitestrake wandered into her encampment covered in Ayleid blood; her second champion had arrived.  With momentum growing stronger, human forces took control of Cyrodiil east of the Niben.

Forging alliances with Skyrim and rebel Ayleid lords,  Alessian forces encircled the capital of  . With coalition forces hesitant to attack, Pelinal Whitestrake stormed the tower alone and slew the Sorcerer King Umaril the Unfeathered. Eventually Morihaus followed with the rest of the army and captured the citadel.  Slowly but surely the Ayleids were pushed out of Cyrodiil; many became refugees, fleeing to Valenwood.   

With the capture of the White-Gold Tower in  ,  Alessia declared herself the first Empress of the new Cyrodilic empire. According to some sources, Akatosh gave her the Amulet of Kings as proof of this claim.  One of the first challenges facing the new empire was the establishment of a religion acceptable both to the people of Cyrodiil, accustomed to an Aldmeri-derived pantheon, and to her Nordic allies, who were opposed to any elven deities. As a compromise, she established the Eight Divines, which incorporated elements of both Aldmeri and Nordic religions.  This religion continues to be the dominant religion of Cyrodiil, although, with the addition of Talos, it is now more commonly known as the Nine Divines. At the end of the Great War, the Empire signed the White-Gold Concordat, which outlawed worship of Talos throughout the Empire, reverting worship back to Alessia's original pantheon. 

Upon her death, it was said that Alessia was buried in the catacombs beneath Sancre Tor. This later developed into a tradition by   and  , who were also buried under the city; however a competing tradition asserts that Alessia was instead buried on the site of the   in the  . 

Following the rise of the Alessian Order, depictions of Saint Alessia were posthumously outlawed, leaving very few contemporary depictions of Alessia herself. Even the earliest known depictions of her personage were believed to have been created nearly a millennium after her reign had ended, and are presumed to have been commissioned as gifts for Empress Hestra by the newly admitted province of High Rock. 

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See Also
More information on Alessia can also be found in these books.  
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Stone of St. Alessia

References