The Wolf Queen , Book VIII Series . This book is part of a series , as follows : Content . From the pen of Inzolicus , Second Century Sage : 3E 127 Following the Battle of Ichidag , the Emperor Uriel Septim III was captured and , before he was able to be brought to his uncle ' s castle in the Hammerfell kingdom of Gilane , he met his death at the hands of an angry mob . This uncle , Cephorus , was thereafter proclaimed Emperor and rode to the Imperial City . The troops formerly loyal to Emperor Uriel and his mother , the Wolf Queen Potema , pledged themselves to the new Emperor . In return for their support , the nobility of Skyrim , High Rock , Hammerfell , the Summerset Isle , Valenwood , Black Marsh , and Morrowind demanded and received a new level of autonomy and independence from the Empire . The War of the Red Diamond was at an end . Potema continued to fight a losing battle , her area of influence dwindling and dwindling until only her kingdom of Solitude remained in her power . She summoned Daedra to fight for her , had her Necromancer s resurrect her fallen enemies as undead warriors , and mounted attack after attack on the forces of her brothers , the Emperor Cephorus Septim I and King Magnus of Lilmoth . Her allies began leaving her as her madness grew , and her only companions were the Zombie s and Skeleton s she had amassed over the years . The kingdom of Solitude became a land of death . Stories of the ancient Wolf Queen being waited on by rotting skeletal chambermaids and holding war plans with vampiric generals terrified her subjects . 3E 137 Magnus opened up the small window in his room . For the first time in weeks , he heard the sounds of a city : carts squeaking , horses clopping over the cobblestones , and somewhere a child laughing . He smiled as he returned to his bedside to wash his face and finish dressing . There was a distinctive knock on the door . " Come in , Pel , " he said . Pelagius bounded into the room . It was obvious that he had been up for hours . Magnus marveled at his energy , and wondered how much longer battles would last if they were run by twelve - year - old boys . " Did you see outside yet ? " Pelagius asked . " All the townspeople have come back ! There are shops , and a Mages Guild , and down by the harbor , I saw a hundred shops come in from all over the place ! " " They don ' t have to be afraid anymore . We ' ve taken care of all the zombies and ghost s that used to be their neighbors , and they know it ' s safe to come back . " " Is Uncle Cephorus going to turn into a zombie when he dies ? " asked Pelagius . " I wouldn ' t put that past him , " laughed Magnus . " Why do you ask ? " " I heard some people saying that he was old and sick , " said Pelagius . " He ' s not that old , " said Magnus . " He ' s sixty years old . That ' s just two years older than I . " " And how old is Aunt Potema ? " asked Pelagius . " Seventy , " said Magnus . " And yes , that is old . Any more questions will have to wait . I have to go meet with the commander now , but we can talk at supper . You can make yourself busy , and not get into any trouble ? " " Yes , sir , " said Pelagius . He understood that his father had to continue to hold siege on aunt Potema ' s castle . After they took it over and locked her up , they would move out of the inn and into the castle . Pelagius was not looking forward to that . The whole town had a funny , sweet , dead smell , but he could not get even as close as the castle moat without gagging from the stench . They could dump a million flowers on the place and it wouldn ' t make any difference at all . He walked through the city for hours , buying some food and then some ribbons for his sister and mother back in Lilmoth . He thought about who else he needed to buy gifts for and was stumped . All his cousins , the children of Uncle Cephorus , Uncle Antiochus , and Aunt Potema , had died during the war , some of them in battle and some of them during the famines because so many crops had been burned . Aunt Bianki had died last year . There was only he , his mother , his sister , his father , and his uncle the Emperor left . And Aunt Potema . But she didn ' t really count . When he came upon the Mages Guild earlier that morning , he had decided not to go in . Those places always spooked him with their strange smoke and crystals and old books . This time , it occurred to Pelagius that he might buy a gift for Uncle Cephorus . A souvenir of Solitude ' s Mages Guild . An old woman was having trouble with the front door , so Pelagius opened it for her . " Thank you , " she said . She was easily the oldest thing he had ever seen . Her face looked like an old rotted apple framed with a wild whirl of bright white hair . He instinctively moved away from her gnarled talon when she started to pat him on the head . But there was a gem around her neck that immediately fascinated him . It was a single bright yellow jewel , but it almost looked there was something trapped within . When the light hit it from the candles , it brought out the form of a four - legged beast , pacing . " It ' s a soul gem , " she said . " Infused with the spirit of a great demon werewolf . It was enchanted long , long ago with the power to Charm people , but I ' ve been thinking about giving it another spell . Perhaps something from the School of Alteration like Lock or Shield . " She paused and looked at the boy carefully with yellowed , rheumy eyes . " You look familiar to me , boy . What ' s your name ? " " Pelagius , " he said . He normally would have said " Prince Pelagius , " but he was told not to draw attention to himself while in town . " I used to know someone named Pelagius , " the old woman said , and slowly smiled . " Are you here alone , Pelagius ? " " My father is . . . with the army , storming the castle . But he ' ll be back when the walls have been breached . " " Which I dare say won ' t take too much longer , " sighed the old woman . " Nothing , no matter how well built , tends to last . Are you buying something in the Mages Guild ? " " I wanted to buy a gift for my uncle , " said Pelagius . " But I don ' t know if I have enough gold . " The old woman left the boy to look over the wares while she went to the Guild enchanter . He was a young Nord , ambitious , and new to the kingdom of Solitude . It took little persuasion and a lot of gold to convince him to remove the Charm spell from the soul gem and imbue it with a powerful curse , a slow poison that would drain wisdom from its wearer year by year until he or she lost all reason . She also purchased a cheap ring of Fire Resistance . " For your kindness to an old woman , I ' ve bought you these , " she said , giving the boy the necklace and the ring . " You can give the ring to your uncle , and tell him it has been enchanted with a Levitation spell , so if ever he needs to leap from high places , it will protect him . The soulgem is for you . " " Thank you , " said the boy . " But this is too kind of you . " " Kindness has nothing to do with it , " she answered , quite honestly . " You see , I was in the Hall of Records at the Imperial Palace once or twice , and I read about you in the foretellings of the Elder Scrolls . You will be Emperor one day , my boy , the Emperor Pelagius Septim III , and with this soul gem to guide you , posterity will always remember you and your deeds . " With those words , the old woman disappeared down an alley behind the Mages Guild . Pelagius looked after her , but he did not think to search behind a heap of stones . If he had , he would have found a tunnel under the city into the very heart of Castle Solitude . And if he had found his way there , he would have found , past the shambling Undead and the moldering remains of a once grand palace , the bedroom of the queen . In that bedroom , he would find the Wolf Queen of Solitude in repose , listening to the sounds of her castle collapsing . And he would see a toothless grin growing on her face as she breathed her last . From the pen of Inzolicus , Second Century Sage : 3E 137 Potema Septim died after a month long siege on her castle . While she lived , she had been the Wolf Queen of Solitude , Daughter of the Emperor Pelagius Septim II , Wife of King Mantiarco , Aunt of the Empress Kintyra II , Mother of Emperor Uriel III , and Sister of the Emperor s Antiochus and Cephorus . At her death , Magnus appointed his son , Pelagius , as the titular head of Solitude , under guidance from the royal council . 3E 140 The Emperor Cephorus Septim died after falling from his horse . His brother was proclaimed the Emperor Magnus Septim . 3E 141 Pelagius , King of Solitude , is recorded as " occasionally eccentric " in the Imperial Annals . He marries Katariah , Duchess of Vvardenfell . 3E 145 The Emperor Magnus Septim dies . His son , who will be known as Pelagius the Mad , is coronated .