Lore:Brief History of the Empire v 4

he   of this series described, in brief, the first eight Emperors of the   beginning with  .  The   described the   and the six Emperors who followed.  The  '' described the troubles of the next three Emperors-the frustrated  , the ineffectual  , and the heroic  . 

On Uriel V's death across the sea in distant, hostile  ,   was but five years old.  In fact, Uriel VI was born only shortly before his father left for Akavir.  Uriel V's only other progeny, by a morganatic alliance, were the twins   and  , who had been born a month after Uriel V left.  Uriel VI was crowned in the   year of the Third Era.  The Imperial Consort  , as the boy's mother, was given a restricted Regency until Uriel VI reached his majority.  The   retained the real power, as they had ever since the days of   I.  

The Council so enjoyed its unlimited and unrestricted freedom to promulgate laws (and generate profits) that Uriel VI was not given full license to rule until  , when he was already 22 years old.  He had been slowly assuming positions of responsibility for years, but both the Council and his mother, who enjoyed even her limited Regency, were loath to hand over the reins.  By the time he came to the throne, the mechanisms of government gave him little power except for that of the imperial veto.  

This power, however, he regularly and vigorously exercised.  By  , Uriel VI could boast with conviction that he truly did rule  .  He utilized defunct spy networks and guard units to bully and coerce the difficult members of the Elder Council.  His half-sister Morihatha was (not surprisingly) his staunchest ally, especially after her marriage to Baron   of   brought her considerable wealth and influence.  As the Sage   said, "Uriel V conquered  , but Uriel VI conquered the Elder Council."  

When Uriel VI fell off a horse and could not be resuscitated by the finest Imperial healers, his beloved sister Morihatha took up the imperial tiara.  At 25 years of age, she had been described by (admittedly self-serving) diplomats as the most beautiful creature in all of Tamriel.  She was certainly well-learned, vivacious, athletic, and a well-practised politician.  She brought the Archmagister of   to the   and created the second Imperial Battlemage since the days of Tiber Septim.  

Morihatha finished the job her brother had begun, and made the   a true government under the Empress (and later, the Emperor).  Outside the Imperial Province, however, the Empire had been slowly disintegrating.  Open revolutions and civil wars had raged unchallenged since the days of her grandfather Cephorus II.  Carefully coordinating her counterattacks, Morihatha slowly claimed back her rebellious vassals, always avoiding overextending herself.  

Though Morihatha's military campaigns were remarkably successful, her deliberate pace often frustrated the Council.  One Councilman, an   who took the  n name of  , furious at her refusal to send troops to his troubled  , is commonly believed to have hired the assassins who claimed her life in  .  Romus was summarily tried and executed, though he protested his innocence to the last.  

Morihatha had no surviving children, and Eloisa had died of a fever four years before.  Eloisa's 25-year-old son   was thus crowned Pelagius IV.  Pelagius IV continued his aunt's work, slowly bringing back under his wing the radical and refractory kingdoms, duchies, and baronies of the Empire.  He exercised Morihatha's poise and circumspect pace in his endeavours-but alas, he did not attain her success.  The kingdoms had been free of constraint for so long that even a benign Imperial presence was considered odious.  Nevertheless, when Pelagius died after  -nine-year reign, Tamriel was closer to unity than it had been since the days of Uriel I. 

Our current Emperor, His Awesome and Terrible Majesty,  , son of Pelagius IV, has the diligence of his great-aunt Morihatha, the political skill of his great-uncle Uriel VI, and the military prowess of his great grand-uncle Uriel V.  For twenty-one years he reigned and brought justice and order to Tamriel.  In the year  , however, his Imperial Battlemage,  , betrayed him.  

Uriel VII was imprisoned in a dimension of Tharn's creation, and Tharn used his sorcery of illusion to assume the Emperor's aspect.  For the next ten years, Tharn abused imperial privilege but did not continue Uriel VII's schedule of reconquest.  It is not yet entirely known what Tharn's goals and personal accomplishments were during the ten years he masqueraded as his liege lord.  In  , an enigmatic Champion defeated the Battlemage in the dungeons of the   and freed Uriel VII from his other-dimensional jail.  

Since his emancipation, Uriel Septim VII has worked diligently to renew the battles that would reunite Tamriel.  Tharn's interference broke the momentum, it is true -- but the years since then have proven that there is hope of the Golden Age of Tiber Septim's rule glorifying Tamriel once again.