The Line of Emperors VI

XVIII. URIEL I SEPTIM or THE GENTLE

After his mother's untimely death, emperor Uriel Septim assumed the throne, being the first Emperor to carry that illustrious name. Emperor Uriel continued the good work of his predecessors, furthering the unity of the Tamrielic provinces, and his reign is now remembered as a golden age of peace and harmony. Uriel was also a great lawmaker, who long studied the old codices of Nordic, Elven, and Monkey-law, synthesizing them into the shape of Law we know today. Blessed above all others are the Lawmakers, for the Law is Empire, and Empire is Sacred. In his own way, Uriel conquered and wrought an Empire as Tiber Septim had done, and made the will of Emperors clear to the land. Uriel Septim saw new wisdom in the old Marukhati edict "All are guilty until proven innocent", and set about to rationalize the system of punishment and incarceration he had inherited - under his rule, the great prisons of Black Marsh were once again full of industry, and many malfeasants found a fitting end there. For this, he is remembered as Uriel the Gentle.


XIX. URIEL II SEPTIM or THE MISFORTUNATE

Emperor Uriel Septim I died in 3E 64, to be succeeded by his son, Emperor Uriel Septim II. He was similar in kindness as his father, though his reign was plagued by insurrection. Uriel II attempted to counter this mindless violence with forgiveness, only for his goodwill to me betrayed and mistaken for weakness. Under his reign, the judicial legacy of his father was squandered, and enemies of the Empire roamed free, terrorizing the populace.


Plague and blight, too, stalked the land, and Uriel II expended much of what his predecessors built up to aid his people in their suffering. Uriel II died in 3E 82, bent by worries and strife. Though many have laid the blame of these times of hardship at his feet, we must at all times remember that the Empire prospers not for the sake of simple prosperity, but for the sake of Empire, meaning law and purpose. Here, in the hour of need, Uriel II did not hesitate to use the whole of the Empire's means in order to fight what ailed his realm, and this steadfast attitude is to be admired.


XX. PELAGIUS II SEPTIM

When Pelagius II ascended the throne, the Empire was in disorder: his father's policies had expended the treasury and set the provinces on the rebellious path of independence. The Elder Council, ever a trustworthy tool in the hands of his forefathers, was now filled with vipers and traitors. Pelagius II did well to disband that institution, and assembled a new Council of loyal and trustworthy vassals, reforging the Elder Council as one would reforge a broken sword. He encouraged the princes and kings of Tamriel to do likewise, and by the end of his reign the Empire was a prosperous place once more.


Though Pelagius II was beloved by his servants and his people, he was conspired against by those he had slighted through his forceful policies - indeed, there were even vicious tongues who falsely claimed the Emperor had committed heresy by disbanding the Elder Counil! After seventeen years of his blessed reign, Pelagius II was poisoned by a former councilman, leaving the throne to his son, Antiochus Septim. Let this be a lesson to the wise and powerful, that a righteous ruler is never without enemies, as righteous rule will always find malice at its door.


XXI. ANTIOCHUS SEPTIM or THE DEBAUCHED

Much has been written of Antiochus Septim's supposed depravity and moral laxity by those too unwise to see an Emperor's true virtue beyond superficial deeds. True, Antiochus was much seduced by the simple pleasures that is realm brought, but is that not the right of any Emperor, to enjoy the fruit of his labor? Indeed, Antiochus did many great and goodly thing, bringing about peace and stability in the inner provinces, and furthering the systems of Imperial justice and taxation. If there were rebellions and uprisings in his time, then it was surely these measures of order and wise rule that unsettled the corrupt provincial kings, rather than Antiochus' Dibellan demeanor. Indeed, in the hour of his greatest need, the 3E 110 Pyandonean invasion of Summerset, the Emperor was assisted by a great and sudden storm which utterly destroyed the dreaded Maormeri armada - a clear sign of Divine favor.


Despite his lust for pleasure, Emperor Antiochus was to find no joy in the governance of his Empire: the remaining years of his reign were marked by the continuing rebellion of the outer provinces. Still, he remained ever a jovial man, quick with a word and a smile, and genuinely fond of even the least among his people. He was greatly mourned when, in 3E 119, he died of a mysterious suffocation - later rumored to be the work of his rapacious stepsister, Potema Septim of Solitude - the dread Wolf Queen.