Lore:Flaccus Terentius

Flaccus Terentius was an   painter from   who served as Envoy-Scholar of the Empress Regent   from   to his death in  . He partook in an ill-fated journey across   to compile '' '', but was corrupted by the necromantic magic of   and eventually died. His soul was subsequently trapped in  .  

Early Life
Flaccus was born into the Terentius family of Bravil, a noble house that had fallen on hard times. His cousins joined the  , while he sought a living as a freelance painter, depicting the rolling hills of the  . Despite this, he was well-educated and received an Imperial scholarship. He was of slight build, but proficient with a bow. Discontent with painting lewd portraits for the local bawdy house, he set out for the   to make his fortune. Hoping that his talent would be recognized, he instead was forced to paint the portraits of merchants and lesser nobles to scrape by. During this time, he became smitten with a noblewoman named  , whom he hoped to court. In  , he went to the   to seek the patronage of Chancellor  . 

Instead of commissioning a painting, Tharn instead appointed him the next Curator of Art in the  , to replace Dame   after her retirement. This position meant that Terentius would be working for Councilor  , the father of Honoria. While he waited for Gallus' approaching retirement, Terentius was charged with revising '' '', an outdated guide book commissioned by Emperor   in  . He was appointed Envoy-Scholar to the Empress Regent, and was promised Honoria's hand in marriage should he complete the task. He began work on ''The Improved Emperor's Guide to Tamriel'' on the 6th of Rain's Hand  , determined to bring honor and prosperity back to the family Terentius. 

Journey Throughout Tamriel
Terentius first set out for the city of   aboard a   ship. After gaining a brief audience with High King  , he traveled throughout  ,   and  . Along the way he encountered the   of  , the city of  , the cemetery of  , the witches of the  , and an elderly tinker who transformed into a   before giving chase. Terentius eventually arrived in the city of  , only to be kidnapped by the necromancer  , who attempted to sacrifice him to Mannimarco on behalf of the  . 

Following his escape, Terentius quickly departed the city for  , where he gained an audience with King   and attended the handfasting ceremony of Princess  . Following the ceremony, he was confronted by Knight Agent  , who was under the impression that Terentius was supposed to be gathering intelligence on the   rather than writing a travel guide. It was as he wandered the city docks that Terentius spotted Uwafa and attempted to give chase, only to be led astray and knocked unconscious. When he awoke, Uwafa had brought him to a dark crypt for ritual sacrifice. Terentius' chest was branded with the   using a cold poker, but he was rescued by the   before he could be killed. He then journeyed deep into the   with the Ash'abah, visiting   and  . At the Throne, Terentius accidentally disturbed the spirit of  , forcing the Ash'abah to retreat to nearby   to fight his  . However, his unsanctified contact with the revenant led to his exile from the tribe, and Terentius was forced to pay his way back to the coast and take a ferry to  . 

After disembarking early to treat his brand, Terentius wandered the wilds of northern   before arriving at  . He gained audience with King  , Queen  , and the visiting King   of  . Along with the young Prince  , Kurog offered Terentius a place in his caravan, which duly departed for  . The caravan briefly visited   before being set upon by  , forcing the survivors to flee towards Orsinium and abandoning Terentius to the raiders. In return for a promise to paint the Despot of  , he was spared the fate of his fellow captives, who were released and hunted by the Reachmen to honor  . After arriving in Markarth, Terentius met Mannimarco and  , before being brought down into   to be sacrificed to  . There he was tortured and harried by   until the arrival of  , who had entered Markarth to hunt down Mannimarco. Galerion swiftly killed Terentius' tormentors before tampering with his guide and teleporting them safely away to  . 

After arriving in Windhelm, Terentius met with   and Lawthane  . He spent several days making merry in the city, and went on a hunting trip into the   with   and his band. The hunting party visited   and the hot springs of central   before Terentius became separated from them in the thermal mist. He soon bumped into a group of  , who led him south to  . After a night in the hall, he awoke abandoned outside the gates of   and boarded a mead caravan headed for  . He passed through   and   before finally arriving at the capital of the  . 

After accidentally being led to the hidden base of a group of Imperial spies from  , Terentius was taken into custody by the  . However, he was quickly acquitted after the Hands read his journal, and was given an audience with an apologetic Almalexia. Magistrix   was charged with acting as his guide, and traveled with him throughout  , introducing him to a tribe of   and showing him the rich farms and   mines of the region. He was then escorted south towards  . 

In Stormhold Terentius met with Vicecanon  , and was given a guide to travel with him throughout  . However, he became separated and was taken back to Stormhold by  . He then headed towards  , and crossed   aboard a ferry before arriving in  . He traveled with a   caravan to the city of  , and accidentally ended up fighting in the  . The apologetic Khajiit subsequently invited him to a feast, where he met   and brokered passage to   by way of the port at  . 

Telengar's Swan Ship docked at   just before the arrival of  , who was returning to the   to claim the throne following the death of her father  . Terentius took part in the festivities surrounding her return, before drunkenly following Telengar and   into a crypt beneath  , only to encounter the angry ghost of High Kinlord  . He was swiftly deported from Auridon on the orders of   for desecrating the tomb, and began to be haunted by the ghost of Falarel. He arrived in   on the coast of  , just in time for   raiders to attack. In return for saving the life of  , he was escorted through the jungle to  . There, the dreams of Mannimarco and Daedra that plagued him since his branding in   began to intensify as the ghost of Falarel continued to torment him. He sought help from a   Spinner while he waited for an Imperial envoy from  , but to no avail. 

The nightmares soon distorted his sense of reality, leading him to the ruins of   and filling his mind with visions of Coldharbour and a post-apocalyptic Tamriel. He began to physically fade in between the two realms during these dreams, once encountering the wizard   briefly in Coldharbour. The   guided him throughout the realm, showing him the cruelties of their   overlords and the imprisonment of  . In his waking hours, the cuts he received at Markarth began to reopen and bubble, and he continued to work on his notebooks to stave off the growing madness. He took accounts of the various Daedra, and of visions he received of the destruction of Gil-Var-Delle in the late  . His dreams prophesied the coming  , the sacking of Bravil,   falling all across Cyrodiil, and  s being unleashed on   for the first time in the skies above the Imperial City. Terentius eventually died in a hut in Gil-Var-Delle, his soul claimed by Molag Bal, leaving nothing behind but his notes and paintings. 

Legacy
His work was discovered on the 19th of Last Seed   by  , a courier of the   who was sent to Elden Root to find him. It was forwarded to Abnur Tharn and the   for publication.  Later that year, a group of warriors who were traversing Tamriel encountered the ghost of Terentius in the wilderness of the Summerset Isles. One of the warriors,  , recognized him from the hunting trip in the Velothi Mountains with Holgunn One-Eye. Upon learning that the group could do nothing to save him, the ghost flew into a rage, until something pulled on his manacles and dragged him back to Coldharbour. 

It can be assumed that Terentius' soul was freed after Molag Bal was banished to the   by the   in  , putting an end to the  .  The family Terentius went on to earn the title of Count  , with Count   reigning during the time of the  . 

Notes
Despite his appointment as Envoy-Scholar of the Empress Regent being dated to  , Clivia Tharn only claimed the title of Empress Regent in  . 

References