Biography of the Wolf Queen Contents . Few historic figures are viewed as unambiguously evil , but Potema , the so - called Wolf Queen of Solitude , surely qualifies for that dishonor . Born to the Imperial Family in the sixty - seventh year of the third era , Potema was immediately presented to her grandfather , the Emperor Uriel Septim II , a famously kindhearted man , who viewed the solemn , intense babe and whispered , “ She looks like a she - wolf about ready to pounce . ” Potema ' s childhood in the Imperial City was certainly difficult from the start . Her father , Prince Pelagius Septim , and her mother , Qizara , showed little affection for their brood . Her eldest brother Antiochus , sixteen at Potema ' s birth , was already a drunkard and womanizer , infamous in the empire . Her younger brothers Cephorus and Magnus were born much later , so for years she was the only child in the Imperial Court . By the age of 14 , Potema was a famous beauty with many suitors , but she was married to cement relations with King Mantiarco of the Nord ic kingdom of Solitude . She entered the court , it was said , as a pawn , but she quickly became a queen . The elderly King Mantiarco loved her and allowed her all the power she wished , which was total . When Uriel Septim II died the following year , her father was made emperor , and he faced a greatly depleted treasury , thanks to his father ' s poor management . Pelagius Septim dismissed the Elder Council , forcing them to buy back their positions . In 3E 97 , after many miscarriages , the Queen of Solitude gave birth to a son , who she named Uriel after her grandfather . Mantiarco quickly made Uriel his heir , but the Queen had much larger ambitions for her child . Two years later , Pelagius Septim died — many say poisoned by a vengeful former Council member — and his son , Potema ' s brother Antiochus took the throne . At age forty - eight , it could be said that Antiochus ' s wild seeds had yet to be sown , and the history books are nearly pornographic in their depictions of life at the Imperial court during the years of his reign . Potema , whose passion was for power not fornication , was scandalized every time she visited the Imperial City . Mantiarco , King of Solitude , died the springtide after Pelagius Septim . Uriel ascended to the throne , ruling jointly with his mother . Doubtless , Uriel had the right and would have preferred to rule alone , but Potema convinced him that his position was only temporary . He would have the Empire , not merely the kingdom . In Castle Solitude , she entertained dozens of diplomats from other kingdoms of Skyrim , sowing seeds of discontent . Her guest list over the years expanded to include kings and queens of High Rock and Morrowind as well . For thirteen years , Antiochus ruled Tamriel , and proved an able leader despite his moral laxity . Several historians point to proof that Potema cast the spell that ended her brother ' s life , but evidence one way or another is lost in the sands of time . In any event , both she and her son Uriel were visiting the Imperial court in 3E 112 when Antiochus died , and immediately challenged the rule of his daughter and heir , Kintyra . Potema ' s speech to the Elder Council is perhaps helpful to students of public speaking . She began with flattery and self - abasement : “ My most august and wise friends , members of the Elder Council , I am but a provincial queen , and I can only assume to bring to issue what you yourselves must have already pondered . ” She continued on to praise the late Emperor , who was a popular ruler in spite of his flaws : “ He was a true Septim and a great warrior , destroying — with your counsel — the near invincible armada of Pyandonea . ” But little time was wasted , before she came to her point : “ The Empress Magna unfortunately did nothing to temper my brother ' s lustful spirits . In point of fact , no whore in the slums of the city spread out on more beds than she . Had she attended to her duties in the Imperial bedchamber more faithfully , we would have a true heir to the Empire , not the halfwit , milksop bastards who call themselves the Emperor ' s children . The girl called Kintyra is popularly believed to be the daughter of Magna and the Captain of the Guard . It may be that she is the daughter of Magna and the boy who cleans the cistern . We can never know for certain . Not as certainly as we can know the lineage of my son , Uriel . The last of the Septim Dynasty . ” Despite Potema ' s eloquence , the Elder Council allowed Kintyra to assume the throne as the Empress Kintyra II . Potema and Uriel angrily returned to Skyrim and began assembling the rebellion . Details of the War of the Red Diamond are included in other histories : we need not recount the Empress Kintyra II ' s capture and eventual execution in High Rock in the year 3E 114 , nor the ascension of Potema ' s son , Uriel III , seven years later . Her surviving brothers , Cephorus and Magnus , fought the Emperor and his mother for years , tearing the Empire apart in a civil war . When Uriel III fought his uncle Cephorus in Hammerfell at the Battle of Ichidag in 3E 127 , Potema was fighting her other brother , Uriel ' s uncle Magnus in Skyrim at the Battle of Falconstar . She received word of her son ' s defeat and capture just as she was preparing to mount an attack on Magnus ' s weakest flank . The sixty - one - year - old Wolf Queen flew into a rage and led the assault herself . It was a success , and Magnus and his army fled . In the midst of the victory celebration , Potema heard the news that her son the Emperor had been killed by an angry mob before he had even made it for trial in the Imperial City . He had been burned to death within his carriage . When Cephorus was proclaimed Emperor , Potema ' s fury was terrible to behold . She summoned daedra to fight for her , had her necromancers resurrect her fallen enemies as undead warriors , and mounted attack after attack on the forces of the Emperor Cephorus I . Her allies began leaving her as her madness grew , and her only companions were the zombies and skeletons 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 . Potema died after a month long siege on her castle in the year 3E 137 at the age of . While she lived , she had been the Wolf Queen of Solitude , Daughter of the Emperor Pelagius Septim , Wife of King Mantiarco , Aunt of the Empress Kintyra II , Mother of Emperor Uriel III , and Sister of the Emperors Antiochus and Cephorus . Three years after her death , died , and his — and Potema ' s — brother Magnus took the throne . Her death has hardly diminished her notoriety . Though there is little direct evidence of this , some theologians maintain that her spirit was so strong , she became a daedra after her death , inspiring mortals to mad ambition and treason . It is also said that her madness so infused Castle Solitude that it infected the next king to rule there . Ironically , that was her 18 - year - old nephew Pelagius , the son of Magnus . Whatever the truth of the legend , it is undeniable that when Pelagius left Solitude in 3E 145 to assume the title of the Emperor Pelagius Septim III , he quickly became known as Pelagius The Mad . It is even widely rumored that he murdered his father Magnus . The Wolf Queen must surely have had the last laugh .