Tiber Septim Emperor Tiber Septim , also called Hjalti Early - Beard , General Talos Stormcrown , the Red King , and Ysmir , was a Dragonborn and the first Emperor of the Septim Empire . He is regarded as one of Tamriel ' s most famous figures , having been the only one in history to unite the continent . Starting with his service under the Cyrodilic emperor Cuhlecain , Tiber Septim fought under the name " General Talos " to unify Cyrodiil , eventually succeeding or usurping Cuchlecain and becoming emperor . After his unification of Tamriel , an effort that culminated in the birth of the Third Empire , he ended the lengthy Interregnum and began the Third Era . Tiber Septim gave his name to the lineage of Cyrodiil Emperors , the Septims . Upon his death he became the deity Talos and took his place in the pantheon of the Nine Divines . Upbringing & Conquests . Accounts differ on Tiber Septim ' s biography . There are two commonly accepted theories , with the first usually taking precedent over the latter . Orthodoxy . The most commonly accepted story within the Empire is that Tiber Septim was born in Atmora as Talos , meaning Stormcrown in Ehlnofex , hence Talos Stormcrown . He had a brother named Agnorith . He grew up in Skyrim and learned the ways of war there . Talos became General of the Colovian Estates under King ( and later Emperor ) Cuhlecain . General Talos met the combined army of Skyrim and High Rock on the cliffs of Sancre Tor , who were hostile to Cuhlecain . The Skyrim army joined him when they saw him use the thu ' um and knew him to be blood of the Dragon and heir to the Empires of Men . However , there are also records that state that the Nords joined Tiber Septim after he had caught them off guard . Cuhlecain and Talos conquered West Cyrodiil in one year . No one could stand before Talos ' storms . They marched east and the enemy ' s battlemage s surrendered before their armies . In 2E 854 they conquered the Imperial City and thus gained the full control over Cyrodiil . That year , a High Rock nightblade managed to assassinate Cuhlecain and slit Talos ' s throat , burning the palace in the process . Talos survived , but he could no longer shout , instead leading armies with a whisper . At one point , Talos had an affair with Barenziah of Morrowind , who became pregnant . Talos quickly had the unborn child aborted to prevent conflict with his legitimate heir . The human kingdoms were conquered , even Hammerfell , which was predicted to be an arduous task . After sending the commander of the New West Navy Amiel Richton to Stros M ' kai , the Battle of Stros M ' kai had begun . Richton ' s assassin Dram shot a poisoned arrow at Hammerfell ' s Prince A ' Tor , killing him and defeating the last of the Crown resistance . After this Tiber Septim appointed Amiel Richton as provisional governor of the island . After the conquest of Hammerfell , Tiber turned to Morrowind . Following some initial skirmishes and after increasing internal friction between Morrowind ' s Great Houses , a treaty was signed by either Tiber or Zurin Arctus . This included Vivec giving the Numidium to Tiber in exchange for a higher degree of autonomy and self - rule for Morrowind . The acquisition of the Numidium allowed Tiber to conquer the Summerset Isles , completing the conquest of Tamriel in 2E 896 . Heresy . Tiber Septim was born on the island kingdom Alcaire , as Hjalti Early - Beard , in 2E 828 , where he learned to use a sword . Nord s and Breton s had been fighting for centuries at the northern border of Falkreath , a kingdom in the Colovian Estates . At the age of twenty , Hjalti led the forces of Skyrim against the Reachmen of High Rock . During those days he met Cuhlecain , the king of Falkreath , who came to secure his northern border . They became allies and Hjalti was named general of the joined forces . Hjalti was a shrewd tactician , and his small band of Colovian troops and Nord berserkers broke the Reachmen ' s line , forcing them back beyond the gates of Old Hrol ' dan . A siege seemed impossible , as Hjalti could expect no reinforcements from Falkreath . That night a storm came and visited Hjalti ' s camp . Hidden in the storm was Wulfharth , a long - dead Nordic king , who spoke with him in his tent and taught him the Way of the Voice . At dawn , Hjalti went up to the gates , and the storm followed just above his head . He shouted down the walls of Old Hrol ' dan , and his men poured in . After their victory , the Nords called Hjalti " Talos " , meaning " Stormcrown " . Cuhlecain ' s intent was to crown himself emperor . But Talos was still haunted by the prophecy given him by the Greybeards . Before Cuhlecain could be crowned , Talos secretly murdered him . The Imperial Palace was burned to the ground in the action , and Talos slit his own throat to take the suspicion off of him . Though he lived , his Voice failed him . To prevent Cyrodiil from falling apart again , Zurin Arctus , the Grand Battlemage , crowned Talos as Tiber Septim , new Emperor of Cyrodiil . In order to hide his involvement in the assassination , a lie was made that Tiber ' s own throat was cut . Following the assassination , Hjalti enlisted the help of both Ysmir Wulfharth and Zurin Arctus to help administer the empire . Ysmir was consistently pushing for further invasions of Hammerfell and Morrowind , but Tiber resisted his urgings . Wulfharth ultimately left Tiber in disgust at his inaction . Hammerfell and Morrowind were ultimately brought into the empire by a combination of peaceful accommodation and support of various warring factions , rather that unilateral conquest . In that time , the great Dunmer general Symmachus , a friend of Tiber Septim ' s , brought Barenziah to the Imperial City where she met the Emperor and they fell in love . The Emperor and Barenziah engaged in an affair but it was soon discovered that Barenziah was pregnant . Septim determined that he could not allow such a threat to his son ' s dominion and so ordered a healer to force Barenziah to miscarry . Barenziah was dispatched from the Imperial City very soon after this . After receiving the Numidium from the Tribunal , Tiber Septim summoned Wulfharth back to his court , saying that he had been right all along . On his return , Tiber seized him and had his soul ripped out to power the Mantella , a soul gem that functioned as the power source for Numidium . this allowed the device to be activated and complete Tiber ' s conquest of the Summerset Isles . Race . The exact race of Tiber Septim is unknown , but what is known is that he was not a Mer or Beastfolk , but a subspecies of Men . If the statement that he is from Alcaire is true , then he was most likely a Breton . According to Kier - jo , General Stormcrown was a Breton , not a Nord . Kyne also refers to him as a " manmer , " and Bretons are both man and mer . If the statement that he is from Atmora is true , then he was most likely an Atmoran or Nord . Some sources often say that Septim was an Atmoran , but not a Nord . However , Heimskr states directly that Tiber Septim was a Nord . During the Tiber Wars , it was said that Tiber Septim was not an Imperial , which was not uncommon for Emperors during the Interregnum regardless . Despite most of his Septim ' s heirs being Imperial , though this was likely a result of his successors breeding with the locals of Cyrodiil . His avatar , Wulf , however , is also an Imperial , who is stated to look like the figure on the Septim coins , which would imply that Tiber Septim might have been an Imperial . A detailed account is given in " The Real Barenziah , Book III " , describing Tiber Septim ' s possible physical appearance : Godhood . Talos died in 3E 38 , and was succeeded by his grandson , Pelagius . After his death Septim is believed by most to have ascended to godhood . He became Talos again , the God of War and Governance , for after a lifetime of war , he had united Tamriel for the first time in history . Upon his ascension the Eight Divines became the Nine . During the Great War between the Empire and the Aldmeri Dominion however , peace was agreed upon with one of the conditions being that the Empire cease to recognize Talos as one of the Divines . After word got out that the Empire wasn ' t enforcing the Talos ban , the Thalmor had all shrines to him removed from the temples in towns loyal to the Empire . The Stormcloaks in the province of Skyrim reject the White - Gold Concordat that instates this law . If Talos did ascend , it is possible he did so by mantling Lorkhan . Legacy . Tiber Septim had a bloodline , but it went extinct in the main line with the death of Pelagius Septim . The line then switched to Pelagius ' cousin Kintyra and her heirs , who were the descendants of Tiber Septim ' s brother , Agnorith . Tiber Septim was the founder of the Septim Dynasty , which ruled Tamriel for the entire Third Era until the bloodline died out with Martin Septim . Tribunal goddess Almalexia commissioned an expansion of Mournhold as a reaction to Septim ' s rising greatness , returning the city to its former glory since its destruction in 1E 2920 . The expansion was finished in the early third era . An aspect of Tiber appeared in 3E 427 , as a retired Imperial Legionnaire named Wulf . He aids the Nerevarine by asking him to keep his lucky coin while they journey to Red Mountain to defeat Dagoth Ur . Later , an Imperial priest in Ebonheart tells the Nerevarine that Wulf may have actually been a divine manifestation of Tiber Septim and that this visitation may be " a sign of great doom " for the Hero . Wulf ' s dialogue regarding the weakening empire and old emperor later occurred during the Oblivion Crisis of 3E 433 , with the Septim bloodline ending with Martin Septim ' s sacrifice . Conflicting reports . There are still conflicting reports about Tiber ' s life due to many aspects of his early reign being rewritten , and this is why there is such confusion over his origins . Brought up by Ysmir in " The Arcturian Heresy " :