The Line of Emperors V

XIIV. CUHLECAIN or EMPEROR ZERO

While never fully inaugurated, the warlord Cuhlecain did rule the Imperial City for more than a day and is numbered among the Emperors of the Septim line as Emperor Zero, on the express request of Emperor Tiber Septim himself, for the latter did love and respect the former as a father, and did not wish to see his name vanish into obscurity along with the Interregnum Pretenders.


Cuhlecain, king of Falkreath, saw the chaos and misrule of his age and set out to return the world to righteous rule. He was an intelligent ruler, quickly perceiving that, to restore the Empire, it was necessary to unite the Colovian Estates, and to do that, he would need safety and security on his northern border. In the north, the Reachmen and the Nords had been at war for many a year. In acknowledgment of the ancient Nordic blood that flows through all true Colovian houses, Cuhlecian sided with the Nords against the Reachmen agitators.


In his service there was then raised a mighty warrior, a general-prince hailing from the high north, from Atmora - this was general Talos, anon Tiber Septim. Cuhlecain recognized in him the great power of the heroes of old and gave Talos the command of his armies, saying: "You who has come on the royal breath of the north, I call you son, and as no child I have before you, the Empire I have wrought will be yours in times to come," thus anointing general Talos as his rightful heir.


With the aid of Tiber, Cuhlecian united the Colovian Estates and raised a mighty army of the sons of Colovia. From the west they marched, and the men of Nibenay rejoiced and laid down their weapons, recognizing the true ruler of Empire. Still, treason, in those days, was ever present. On the day of his coronation, Cuhlecain fell victim to a conspiracy of his enemies, and was struck down. There exists a legend among the people of the Imperial City, that claims Cuclecain's lifeless body sunk into the ground after his defeat, and that now he rules beneath the city as the King Underground. Such fancies as the populace invent have, of course, no basis in anything of history, but may serve to lighten the mood of such heady tomes as the wise and powerful take to hand.


XV. TIBER SEPTIM or TALOS, YSMIR, DRAGON OF THE NORTH, STORM-CROWN, HJALTI EARLY-BEARD, DRAGONBORN

The greatest of all Emperors, and progenitor of the greatest line of Emperors, which does continue to this day and will continue forever-more, Akatosh willing, Emperor Tiber Septim, who did ascend to join the ranks of the Divines in Aetherius. He was born in 2E 828 in distant Atmora under the name Talos, which means Stormcrown in the tongue of the Ancient North. There, on the March of Giants, he did learn the arts of combat and governance under the benevolent eye of the High King of Atmora, and when he came of age, he departed for the south, knowing the path of his destiny. For the tales of discord in the Empire of Man had reached even the far shores of the Uttermost North, and the rulers of that boreal place were mindful of their brothers, saying: "Once, we sent our greatest and most virtuous warriors to Tamriel, knowing then of the pain that the land endured under the harsh reign of the Elves. Now that the spirit of misrule and slavery stalks the land again, let once more the fruit of our frozen arbors set sail, and do right in the Southland, though it pains us to lose one so great."


Thus Talos came to Skyrim, where he learned much from the great kings of that land, and learned the secrets of the Tongues, by which the world can be made to shake and submit. He led the Nords in the taking of Old Hrol'dan from the Witchmen, an act which spread his fame far and wide, causing Cuhlecain to anoint him as the leader of his forces, and the ancient monastic order of the Grey-Beards to vouch for him, proclaiming his Divine right to rule.


But not all men were in favor of the return of righteous rule. In Skyrim and High Rock there were then usurpers who dreaded the return of the Empire, knowing that their crimes and misdeeds would surely be brought to bear on them were a true Emperor to claim the White-Gold Throne. An alliance of Nords and Bretons was raised against the forces of Cuhlecain, and while the latter had proceeded to the Imperial City in preparation of his coronation, Talos stood alone to break the coming invasion at the fortress of Sancre Tor. There, a great battle of the age was fought, and by the power of Talos' voice the Nords recognized the true leader of Men and fell upon their erstwhile Breton allies. In the catacombs of Sancre Tor, Talos then found the sacred Amulet of Kings, signifier of the Will of Akatosh.


From Sancre Tor, Talos returned victorious to the palaces and lofty towers of the Imperial City, where he was feted by Cuhlecain on the eve of his ascension. Then, the poison of betrayal struck, as the dagger found Cuchlecain's heart, and found the throat of Talos, too, a wound which would surely have killed him were it not for his Divine nature. Talos carried the lifeless corpse of Cuhlecain from the flames of the burning palace, and, lifting the Amulet of Kings high above his head, he spoke in a whisper, reminding the gathered nobility of Colovia and Nibenay of their oaths, their loyalty, and their place in the order of things. And Talos anointed himself Emperor of Man, ruling king of all the nations of the world, and he took the name of Tiber Septim, that all his subjects may know him as such.


And the Emperor was much dismayed by the deeds of the Nordic and Breton traitors, who had conspired to assault him, and fought against the natural order. So he set about to break these wayward sons of Man, and even before the seasonal rains came to blanket the Imperial City, the first kings of Skyrim and High Rock came to kneel before the White-Gold throne. In but a few years time Tiber had Septim conquered the north, bringing peace and order where before there was only misrule.


But the great and the good will forever be opposed from all corners. The Aldmeri Dominion grew fearful of the rising star of the North, and they plotted to engineer the new Empire's downfall. Under their tutelage, the beastmen of Elsweyr and Argonia grew restless, attacking the borders of Cyrodiil without cause or provocation. The Emperor replied in kind, cutting deep into the wild domain of these baseless peoples. He skirmished with the Altmeri forces on the high seas, too, but that people's mastery over the waves proved ever obstructive.


Instead, his attention was drawn to Hammerfell. Ever did the people of that place quarrel with one another over an ancient and forgotten matter, so that the blood and tears of men were spilled in vain. Tiber Septim offered his wise and impartial counsel to end this matter, and, with sound judgment, brought the Redguard into the fold of Empire, to prosper under his guidance. In 2E 864 then was signed the First Treaty of Stros M'Kai, where after all the races of Man were united under the Rule of Empire. The might of Men was then a spearhead, and thrust into the heart of the unruly natives of the south, it brought them too to the foot of the White-Gold Throne.


Then only the empires of the Elves stood strong. Tiber Septim first looked east, to Morrowind, and found that the bane of the Remanites was weak and divided. His numberless legions poured into the lands of ash, and took from the Dunmer the capital of the Mourning Hold, which is where they worship their strange and wrong-headed god, Ephen. The Dunmer were forced into the signing of the Armistice, which promised their complete surrender, and in return, Tiber Septim graciously allowed them to hold onto some of their quaint traditions. The legions of men returned to the Imperial City victorious, and laden with tribute and great golden statues.


Then, Tiber Septim looked to the west, to the Aldmeri Hegemony. The Altmer were strong, stronger than any enemy Man had ever faced, but the Emperor was flushed from his victory over the Dunmer, and knew himself a being of a higher order. Then first did manifest the Divine power for which he was to be elected to sit among the gods in high Aetherius, and lead them, and Tiber Septim, anon Talos, called upon a gestalt of gold and great power, that was followed by his numberless legions, and in but a year they crushed all opposition, and all of Tamriel was united under the banner of the Cyrodiils. Ninefold blessings on the Emperor Tiber Septim, anon Talos, who cleared the way for Man's dominion!


XVI. PELAGIUS I SEPTIM

After the victories of Tiber Septim, it was declared that the Second Era was over, and now was the beginning of the Third Era, which was to be the Era of the Emperors Septim. Tiber Septim led a long and prosperous life, further unifying his great Empire, and in the latter years of his life the Divine Arkay was always by his side, to give councel and prepare the way ot Divinity. Then in the year 3E 38 Tiber Septim ascended to high Aetherius as Talos, to forever-more sit amongst the Divines, to lead and protect us, as he did in life.


Tiber Septim was succeeded by his grandson, Pelagius Septim I. Though Emperor Pelagius was young when first he donned the Amulet of Kings, he was wise, and assisted by the many spirits and guides his grandfather had groomed for him. His reign was glorious and free of strife, as he furthered the cause of Empire, connecting the provinces with bonds of blood and commerce, and striking down rebellion with an even hand.


Emperor Pelagius was pious, too, and instated the worship of Talos in the entirety of Tamriel, and he summoned the Octadic Council from their distant dioceses, and caused them to reflect upon the Divine nature of Talos, until they declared him one of the Divines, henceforth to be known as the Nine Divines. And Pelagius founded the Citizen's Cult of Talos, Tiber Imperator in the northernly city of Bruma, which Talos had once saved from disaster by his actions as Sancre Tor, and for which he had held a strong affection in mortal life.


The piety of Pelagius was to be his downfall, for he was assassinated in the Temple of the One by foul interlopers of the Dark Brotherhood, on the behest of malcontent provincials. As he had no living children, Pelagius was succeeded by his first cousin Kintyra, daughter of Tiber Septim's brother Agnorith, who had been made king of Silvenar.


XVII. KINTYRA I SEPTIM

Empress Kintyra Septim ascended the throne in 3E 41, and though her reign only lasted a short seven years, it is remembered as a period of prosperity, in which the harvests were bountiful, the people content, and agitators laid down their weapons and submitted to Empire. Kintyra was known as a great patron of the arts, and under her guidance many great public works were made, such as the great Imperial Opera, or the Library of the People in the Imperial City. She was known as a great actress and dancer herself, and an delighted in the noble Nibenese art of skin-painting and tattooing, as she made many intricate designs that were admired by all.


In the life of Empress Kintyra we see once again the shadow of the empresses of old, of Alessia and Hestra, and it would be fitting to remember here the old Nibenese adage: "Blessed are they who live under the law of River and the Bull, they will know joy their whole life, and the land rejoices".