Alessia Alessia ( 1E ? ? ? - 1E 266 ) , also known as the " Slave - Queen " or Al - Esh , and later canonized as " Saint Alessia " , was a Nedic woman during the First Era . Responsible for ending human enslavement by the Ayleid s , she founded the first Cyrodilic Empire , became the first Empress of Cyrodiil and initiated worship of the Eight Divines . Upon her death , she became the first human saint . She is associated with the winged bull Morihaus , who is said to be her demigod lover . Names . She was originally called Al - Esh ( Aldmeri : " the high high " ) , name that was later translated to Aleshut , Esha and , most notably , Alessia . The name Paravant ( " first of its kind , " by which the gods meant a mortal worthy of the majesty that is " killing - questing - healing " ) was given to Alessia at her coronation . From Paravant , arose Paraval , Pevesh , Perrethu , Perrif , and Paravania ( which is what she was called by Morihaus when the two were lovers ) . The titles of First Empress , Lady of Heaven and Queen - ut - Cyrod are also cited by Morihaus . Biography . Little is known of Alessia ' s early life . As a human slave in Cyrodiil , the heart of the " Imperatum Saliache " , where men knew no freedom , any record of her original tribe , family or given names were erased . But it is a fact that she grew up in Sardavar Leed , known at the time as " Sard " , where the Ayleids herded in men from across all the Niben . Founding of Skyrim . The Nord s King Harald had conquered Skyrim and founded the first human kingdom on the continent of Tamriel . Harald managed to drive the elves completely out of Skyrim , primarily into Cyrodiil and Morrowind , and the human slaves saw the possibility of doing the same to their own rulers . At the same time , the Ayleid government was severely fractured : dozens of separate kingdoms or city - states constantly fought against each other for power , and a strong minority of Ayleid nobility had become sympathetic to the human cause . Alessia appears to have taken advantage of the period of Ayleid civil war to launch her uprising . Divine help . The Ayleid generally worshiped the Altmeri divines , but also dealt frequently with Daedric Princes for assistance in keeping their slaves in line . The Nord s of Skyrim worshipped a distinct group of gods , who were much more sympathetic to humanity than mer . Alessia began to pray to these gods for assistance in freeing her people . At Sancre Tor , a vision was given . Sources differ on whether the vision was granted by Kynareth or Akatosh . In the version of the legend that credit this vision to Akatosh , it is here that Oblivion is cut off from Mundus , in order to deny the Ayleids their supernatural aid . Kynareth sent her son , the Nordic demi - god hero Morihaus , to advise and aid Alessia . During this period , Morihaus is usually identified as Alessia ' s lover , though the Song of Pelinal claims he was embarrassed at his appearance because of her . He helped her to rally the other slaves to her cause . From that moment she was known as the Slave - Queen . Kynareth also sent Alessia visions that would aid her fight against her masters . The third of these visions was of another legendary figure of the First Era , the infamous crusader Pelinal Whitestrake , who was sent to Alessia to become the leader of her army . Rebellion . Around the year 1E 242 , Alessia ' s rebel army finally struck out at their masters . Pelinal Whitestrake in particular became legendary for his brutal decimation of the Ayleid armies and kings . Alessia herself often had to intercede with the divines on his behalf after " the Madness " took him and he committed particularly atrocious acts , such as slaughtering anybody in his way , Ayleid or not . The Nordic king to the North wasted little time in joining Alessia ' s revolt , and the human armies quickly began to drive the Ayleids out of the populated regions of Cyrodiil . The human strategy was to drive the Ayleids inward , towards the White - Gold Tower , forcing the front into increasingly smaller circles around Lake Rumare . It was during this period , late in the war , that the Ayleid king Umaril was given control of the Ayleid armies . Umaril , like Pelinal and Morihaus , was of a divine bloodline , having an Ayleid mother and a divine father of a previous kalpa . As such , he was one of the few able to match Pelinal in battle . To further his advantage , Umaril made a deal with the Daedric Lord Meridia , and was granted use of his Auroran s as foot soldiers . Pelinal eventually defeated Umaril , but just barely , and Umaril ' s spirit escaped to Oblivion where he would wait and return centuries later . The remaining Ayleid kings swarmed down on Pelinal ' s injured body , tore him into eight pieces , and left his head for Alessia and Morihaus to find . However , even the death of Pelinal couldn ' t halt the human revolt . After years of fighting , Alessia ' s army finally took control of the White Gold Tower itself , ending forever the reign of the Ayleid in Tamriel . Alessia was named the first Empress of the Empire of Cyrodiil . First Empire . Alessia ' s victory over the Ayleids was not possible without intervention from Skyrim , but she had at least as much help from rebel Ayleid lords during the siege of White Gold Tower . The popular image of the Ayleids as brutal slavemasters is a fact , but it is less well known that a number of Ayleid princes continued to rule parts of Cyrodiil after , as vassals of the new Empress of Cyrodiil . Alessia and her successors were more pragmatic than is traditionally believed . Eight Divines . Alessia ' s first major act as Empress was to abolish worship of the Ayleid gods . However , she was a shrewd politician , enough to realize that her people had never known any other gods . Alessia knew she had to be careful in choosing the official state religion ; she could not afford to anger her Nordic allies , but her own people could not adjust to the complete Nordic pantheon in just a single generation . Her compromise was to merge the two religions , choosing to keep the less controversial Ayleid gods , such as Akatosh and bring in popular Nordic ones , such as Dibella and recreating Kyne as Kynareth . She sidestepped the issue of Lorkhan by leaving him out of her Eight Divines , but identifying him as the " missing ninth god , " a brother to the Eight Divines who was otherwise absent from the pantheon . The worship of the Eight Divines , along with the Empire itself , would go on to become the most prominent religion across all of Tamriel . The Death of Alessia . Near the end of her reign , as Alessia lay dying , she was visited by Akatosh , who bound her soul to the Amulet of Kings , before Pelinal took her up , possibly to Aetherius . Legacy . After binding Alessia ' s soul to the amulet , Akatosh named her " St . Alessia " , the first saint of the humans . Her followers would become known as the Alessian Order , and remained in power over a third of Tamriel for decades . They would be responsible for ultimately driving the last of the Ayleids out of Tamriel , and imposing strict anti - elven practices across Tamriel for much of the First Era . While the Order itself ultimately died out , St . Alessia continued to be venerated as part of the modern Imperial Pantheon after its demise . The covenant struck with Akatosh to keep Oblivion shut was also made with Alessia ' s descendants . In this way , Alessia would be the first of the Dragonborn emperors . A few centuries later , Reman Cyrodiil , the hero who defeated the Akaviri Invasion , would formalize the process of lighting the Dragonfires and passing the Amulet as the rites used to crown a new Emperor ; even during the worst periods of Cyrodiil ' s history , the fires remained lit and kept Tamriel safe , until the end of the Third Era , marked by the assassination of Emperor Uriel Septim VII and all known heirs to the throne . Martin Septim was the last Dragonborn emperor to wear the Amulet of Kings , and sealed the gates of Oblivion with his death .