The Line of Emperors II

IV. GORIEUS

Emperor Gorieus assumed the throne in 1E 478. Memory of this Emperor is pointedly divided: Colovians speak of him as the tyrannical usurper defied in the legend of Rislav the Righteous, while the Nibenese portray him as the wizened, immortal ruler from the extravagant fables of the Woven City. The longevity of Gorieus is no mere myth, though: all sources indicate that he ruled the Heartland for an uninterrupted five hundred years, before ceding the throne to Hestra.


Folk tales claim Gorieus was a great sorcerer who hid his soul in a marvelous silk tapestry, thus tricking Arkay into searching its convoluted geometric patterns for hundreds of years - or even for all eternity, if the folktales of the Wandering Emperor are to be taken serious. More sober heads have theorized that there were not one, but several emperors in this period, the so-called Goriathite dynasty, and that current confusion is the result of destruction of primary sources, deliberate misdirection by Marukhati iconoclasts, and the homogenizing tendencies of myth. Most likely, he was merely an accomplished mage, who mastered the Ayleid arts even as his priests rained down death on that hapless people.


Be as it may, Gorieus' reign was an eventful era. After the crushing defeat at Glenumbra Moors, Alessian political influence beyond the Nibenay was for all practical purposes at an end, and the rule of the Cyrodiils limited. The Niben's commercial culture, however, flourished, and riches from all over Tamriel flooded the valley. An age of decadence followed, wherein the Niben's indulgent society and totemic cults were further shaped into their current form. The trade of silk was paramount, and came near to a religious sacrament in some ways. For a while, the Imperial City was decked out in layer upon layer of the most splendid silks, truly earning the title of the Woven City. Excesses in this regard caused the city to burn down no less than five times during Gorieus' reign, eventually necessitating a complete rebuilding in many quarters.


Gorieus eventually abdicated in favor of daughter, Hestra (or, in the alternate record, his great-great-granddaughter Hestra), and left the palace, never to be seen again. His tomb lies empty.


V. HESTRA or HESTRA, THE BUILDER

Empress Hestra is remembered as the Builder, for she finished the renovation and expansion of the Imperial City that started under her father's reign. Furthermore, she was responsible for the many great highways that were built in this time, still remembered as Hestra-Ways. Only Reman I and Potentate Sidri-Ashak did more to improve the Empire's road network. Hestra sought to rejoin the Colovian Estates with the Empire, and with their military support, she waged war across the Empire, reconquering the Reach, and making inroads into both Argonia and Valenwood. Hestra thus demonstrates the true strength of Cyrodiil, that, when East and West are united, the Rule of Law across Tamriel is assured.


Hestra was faithful to the example of Alessia, both as a wise ruler and a great warrior. She often shared the hardships of war with her soldiers on the Reachman front, thus earning their undying loyalty. Indeed, her great military campaigns were equated by many with the triumphs of the Alessian Rebellion, until they were regarded as pilgrimages and crusades in the honor of the first of Emperors.


It should be noted that Hestra was not only mighty in battle, but also a perceptive diplomat, being among the first to establish friendly relations with the newly arrived Yokudan exiles. A great and enduring affection grew between Cyrodiil and Hammerfell, and many wondrous Redguard customs and practices were introduced to the Imperial people. The greatest of these is no doubt the sophisticated tradition of duels and arena fighting, which is still being practiced in the Imperial City and the city of Kvatch to this day. Hestra herself invited the great blademaster Gaiden Shinji to found the Imperial Arena, for she took great pleasure in these contests of skill, as did her people.


Sadly, for all her great works, Hestra could not prevent the critical discontinuation of all written record which the ignorant and the Numidianists refer to as the "Dragon Break" or the "Middle Dawn". In this period, the Marukhati aversion to record-keeping germinates to such fearsome heights that all written sources of this time must be discounted as fundamentally unreliable. Hestra's later life is the subject of pure conjecture. It may be assumed she continued her policy of conquest and infrastructure, eventually holding a substantial territory (though the exact nature of these lands is obscured to us). Some sources indicate that Hestra was the first Emperor to hold extramundial colonies, possibly having one or more tribute-kingdoms in Oblivion. The matter of succession is veiled in mystery.


VI. SHOR-EL

A most obscure and possibly apocryphal Emperor. Shor-El's reign is victim to the negligence of his scribes, as it falls squarely into this period of abhorrent anti-scholarship. His relation to Hestra is unknown. Some believe Shor-El to be not of the true line, but a Nordic usurper who held the Imperial City for but a scant few years. The poets' words state that Cyrodiil in this time became "like an egg", signifying that its political might was once again limited to the Belharzarian borders. Whatever the cause, the seat of Emperors lost much of its splendor, and in later years was overshadowed by the growing might of the Oloman Confederacy in Colovia - a curious reversal, indeed.


VII. HERDA

Emperor Herda is the last Empress of the Alessian line known to us by name. She ruled somewhere shortly after the devastating War of Righteousness, with both her predecessors and successors unknown. The records speak of her as a mediator, who restored friendly relations between Colovia and Nibenay after many years fraught with dissension. Let it be understood that those of the early Emperors who brought unity and strength to Cyrodiil were remembered, while other languish in obscurity: A fitting lesson, I believe, for both ruler and servant.


No mention of Herda is made after 1E 2260, and later records fail to elucidate us on the subject of the Alessian rulers. Most likely the line of Alessia had died out by then, being replaced by the traitor priest-kings and insipid potentates who would come to epitomize the First Interregnum. A sad end for this most mythical of lineages.