Lore:Martin Septim

Martin Septim was the illegitimate son of Uriel Septim VII and a mysterious mother.  Martin was spirited away as an infant by  , the Grandmaster of the Blades.  Martin grew up knowing nothing of this, and eventually became a Priest of   in the city of  . That was where he found himself when his father and half-brothers were assassinated by the  , leaving him as the unwitting sole heir to the Ruby Throne at the onset of the  .   agents were able to find Martin and keep him safe until the end of the crisis, when the uncrowned Emperor of   was forced to sacrifice himself to stop  .  

History
Uriel VII asked Jauffre for updates on Martin's progress from time to time,  but that was the extent of the Emperor's relationship with his son. That is, until the 27th of Last Seed, the year of Akatosh 433, when the Emperor gave his final instructions to a prisoner he had just met: to find his son, and close shut the jaws of Oblivion. 

Rude Awakenings
:''"We threw ourselves into the riddles of daedric magic. We hungered for forbidden secrets. Knowledge and power were our gods. You can guess the rest. We got in over our heads. People died. My friends died. I've put those days behind me. But the bitter wisdom that one has been a fool is not without value."''
Martin grew up thinking his father was a farmer. As a young man, Martin was an apprentice of the Mages Guild, but like many of his fellow peers he grew impatient with its restrictions. As knowledge and power were their "gods", he and his friends turned to worshipping Sanguine, learning much about the riddles of the   of  . At one point, he briefly possessed the  .  Martin eventually turned away from daedra worship after a tragedy befell him which involved the deaths of several friends, which he attributed to getting in over his head, hungering for forbidden secrets. He rededicated himself to the   and became Brother Martin, a Priest of   at Kvatch's Chapel of Akatosh.  When the daedra attacked Kvatch, he joined others in barricading themselves inside the Chapel, and he reportedly saved many lives.  The prisoner Uriel VII had trusted, newly minted as the "Hero of Kvatch" for closing the   at the city, persuaded Martin to come with him to see Jauffre. 

Martin and the hero found their way to   only to discover it was being sacked by the Mythic Dawn. They arrived just in time to save Jauffre, but the damage was done: the Dawn found and stole the  . Jauffre led Martin to the safety of  , the most secure fortress of the Blades in all of  , where they hailed him as  . 

Fighting the Dawn
Martin as the Avatar of Akatosh|thumb|right
From Cloud Ruler Temple, Martin led the effort to unravel the Mythic Dawn's plans and reacquire the Amulet of Kings. Though unsure of himself, he ironically found great strength in his darkest demons, as his experiences with daedric magic had made him well-educated on the nature of the crisis they faced.  He proved quite adept at assessing the threat and working out plans to turn the tables on their enemy. When the Hero of Kvatch brought him the  , he was able to protect himself from its evil magic and learned enough from it to devise a plan to track down   and take back the Amulet of Kings. 

Eventually, at Martin's request, Countess   of   allowed a Great Gate to be opened outside her city, and Martin led the defense of the city himself while his champion, the Hero of Kvatch, entered the gate to recover the materials they needed to reach Mankar and the Amulet. When the hero emerged from the closing gate, it was as the Savior of Bruma. Martin opened a portal to Mankar Camoran's realm of  , and the Savior of Bruma entered to reclaim the Amulet. As always, Uriel VII's chosen messenger got back to Martin victorious. 
Emperor Martin Septim I
With the Amulet in hand, Brother Martin was proclaimed Emperor Martin Septim I by High Chancellor Ocato, but before he could actually take the throne or be crowned, Mehrunes Dagon launched a last-ditch attack upon the   to stop him, opening Oblivion Gates all over the city and manifesting personally as a red, four-armed, colossal giant. The veil of Oblivion was torn, the   rendered useless, and Dagon himself stood in the heart of Tamriel, intent on its destruction. But his plan would prove fruitless, for once again, Martin had a better one. 

Martin and his escort fought their way from the   to the  , where Martin shattered the Amulet of Kings, transforming himself into an avatar of Akatosh (and thereby mantling him).  Dagon was handily defeated, after which the avatar turned into a statue at the center of the ruined temple. The enormous feat cost Martin's life to perform, but his sacrifice ensured that the forces of Oblivion could never again threaten the people of Tamriel.  Of course, conjecture about what actually happened is rampant,  as the  s believe that it was   (Martin’s forefather) lending his aid, not Akatosh,  and others such as the Thalmor have tried to take credit for ending the crisis.  Despite this, Martin Septim is still generally, and rightfully, acclaimed as the true savior of Tamriel.   
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See Also
For game-specific information, see the Oblivion and   articles.

References