Lore:Zurin Arctus

(also called Arnand the Fox  and the Underking) was a spellcaster in the late  , and the Imperial Battlemage of Tamriel under Emperor  . By some accounts Arctus was the most powerful mage who ever lived.    He was responsible for activating  , a powerful construct used by the Emperor in his conquest of  , by placing his "heart" (life force) in a soul gem. Arctus later regretted his actions and destroyed the automaton, but was killed in the process before being able to reclaim his heart. He reappeared later as an undead entity known as the    , though   instead attributed the title to Ysmir Kingmaker . 

History
thumb|right|Numidium
thumb|right|The Mantella
thumb|right|The Totem of Tiber Septim
Zurin Arctus was a battlemage and master tactician  who served General   in the forces of King   during the  . He is said to have crowned the general as Emperor   after the assassination of Cuhlecain  and was instrumental in their victory at the  .  Arctus became the first to hold the title of Imperial Battlemage under Tiber Septim,  and was one of the Emperor's trusted advisors; it was popularly rumored that Arctus had helped broker the   with  , in which the Empire received  . 

Numidium was a colossal   automaton, designed to be powered by the  .   This was not available, but Arctus was able to devise an alternative power source, the  —a gigantic gem infused with the battlemage's own "heart" (life force).  Arctus also crafted the  , a magical artifact that allowed a bearer of royal lineage to control the golem. At the close of the  , Tiber Septim used Numidium to conquer all of  . 

With the conquest of Tamriel complete, Tiber Septim began using Numidium to crush neutral royal families within the Empire, aiming to enthrone Imperial loyalists in their place. Zurin Arctus was horrified at this abuse of power, and attempted to put a stop to it by reclaiming his heart. However, both Arctus and Numidium were destroyed in the attempt. The Mantella was blown into  , his heart still trapped within it. Without his heart, the battlemage couldn't truly die. He was left in a semi-slumber in a subterranean vault waiting for an opportunity to reclaim his heart. In this undead incarnation, Zurin Arctus became known as the  , and from time to time sent out his forces to search for the Mantella.

See Also
For more information about the Underking in the late Third Era, see  .
An alternate version of events is given in  . This account claims that the Underking was really High King   of  , a powerful undead being from the  . He was tricked by Tiber Septim and Zurin Arctus, and it was his heart that was trapped within the Mantella. Zurin Arctus was killed in the process, and to prevent political unrest the Emperor claimed that his Battlemage tried to assassinate him. 




Notes
Zurin Arctus is said to have enchanted the famous Dragonbone cuirass in the early  , to repay a debt owed to a traveling warrior. 
In  ,  , the King of Worms, claims that Zurin Arctus existed during the   of the   under the moniker of Arnand the Fox. 
One of Lawrence Schick's plans for Abnur Tharn was to have him eventually become Zurin Arctus, but it did not come to pass. 
Michael Kirkbride once drew concept art of Zurin during development of Morrowind. 

Gallery
 

References