Chronicles of the Five Companions 4 Content . I am Grand Chancellor Abnur Tharn , Overlord of Nibenay , the head of the Elder Council , advisor to emperor s and kings for one hundred and seventeen of the one hundred and sixty - four years that I have been alive . I did not come by my position of influence through luck or nepotism , but rather through extreme discipline , ambition , and cunning . And yet , here I am , conspiring with idiots and fools in a musty hole in the ground . How the mighty have fallen . The year is 2E 582 , but I am unsure of the precise date . I ' ve lost track , given the gravity of the monumental task that is before us . After reading the previous entries in this chronicle , I felt it necessary to offer my side of the story , so that I am not misrepresented by future historians . We Tharns have held positions of power throughout Cyrodiil since the days of the Potentate . We are prized for our loyalty to the Empire , our deft political machinations , and our ruthless subjugation or elimination of dissenters within Imperial territories . What we do is grim work , but it is necessary if the Empire is to endure . Do I sound boastful and egotistical ? Perhaps I am . But I shall put these words to paper so that you , the reader , might understand my views and my actions and their place in the long view of history . For nearly thirty years I advised the savage men of the Reach , from Durcorach to Leovic , as their long , brutish dynasty ravaged the Empire . They lasted longer than many of the would - be conquerors that came before them , but their alien nature and low heritage made them unfit to stand in the presence of the true - blooded sons of Colovia or Nibenay . Their most grave insult came when Leovic , youngest of their line , sought the hand of my sixteenth daughter , Clivia , in marriage , that she might rule with him as Empress . Like his grandfather before him , who married Veraxia Tharn , Leovic hoped that our family ' s connections and pure Nibenese bloodline would somehow legitimize his claim to the Ruby Throne . It was an exercise in futility , and it exasperated me to no end . So , when Varen Aquilarios , the son of a Colovian Duke and a powerful military leader in his own right , contacted me in secret and sought my assistance to depose those foul strangers from the north , I eagerly agreed . The war was long and bloody , but armed with my knowledge of the Imperial City , Varen eventually led his army of rebels to the palace gates . Varen drove his sword into Leovic ' s black - blooded heart and watched him die , choking on his own life blood , at the foot of the Ruby Throne , and immediately declared himself to be Emperor . For my loyalty and assistance , he agreed to take my daughter Clivia as his bride . After Varen ' s betrayal at Mannimarco ' s hand , it pained me to hand the reins of the Empire over to another outlander , but The King of Worms is a dangerous enemy . To insure the dominance of necromancy over all other forms of magic , Mannimarco immediately cast the Mages Guild out of the Imperial City , then had all remaining dissenters arrested as enemies of the state . I did not wish for my name to appear on that very long list — which only grew shorter when the executions began — so I pledged my loyalty . In return , I was granted stewardship of the Imperial City . My daughter Clivia , still the Empress - Regent , became the titular ruler of the Empire . But Mannimarco remained the power behind the throne . Of course , Mannimarco turned on me the moment my usefulness was expended . I was marginalized and cloistered away in a tower of bones , and my daughter was turned against me , lured by Mannimarco ' s promise to teach her the dark arts that would give her mastery over life and death . But know this , dear reader . I will take the Empire back . I will restore order out of chaos . That is my only ambition , and my ultimate desire . I will strike down any who stand in my way with all the fires of Daedric sorcery I can command , and those who dare to thwart me shall be damned to the pits of Oblivion for all eternity .