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World of Tamriel Books - Brief History of the Empire, Part IV |
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by Stronach
The first book
of this series described, in brief, the first eight emperors of the Septim Dynasty beginning with Tiber I.
The second volume described the War of the Red Diamond and
the six emperors who followed. The third volume
describes the troubles of the next three emperors, the frustrated Uriel
IV, the ineffectual Cephorus II, and the the heroic Uriel V.
At Uriel V's death across the sea in distant hostile Akavir,
Uriel VI was but five years old. In fact, Uriel VI was born
only shortly before his father left for Akavir. Uriel V's
only other progeny, by a different woman, were the twins
Morihatha and Eloisa, who had been born a month after Uriel
V left. Uriel VI was coronated in the 290th year of the third
era. The consort Thonica as the boy's mother was given a
restricted Regency until Uriel VI reached his minority. The
Council retained the real power, as they had ever since the
days of Katariah I. The Council so enjoyed its unlimited
and unrestricted freedom to make laws (and profits), Uriel
VI was not given full license to rule until 307, when he was
22 years old. He had been slowly assuming positions of
responsibility for years, but both the Council and his
mother, who enjoyed even her limited regency, were loath to
give him reign. By the time he came to the throne, the
mechanisms of government gave him little power, but the
power to veto. This power he regularly exercised. By
313, Uriel VI could boast with conviction that he truly did
rule Tamriel. He utilized defunct spy networks and guard
units to bully and coerce the difficult members of the Elder
Council. His sister was his usual ally, after her marriage to
Baron Ulfe Gersen of Winterhold brought her considerable
wealth and influence. As the sage Ugaridge said, Uriel V
conquered Esroniet, but Uriel VI conquered the Elder
Council. When Uriel VI fell from his horse and could not
be saved by the finest Imperial healers, his beloved sister
Morihatha took the throne. At 25 years of age, she had been
described by (admittedly self-serving) diplomats as the
most beautiful creature in Tamriel. She was certainly
well-learned, vivacious, athletic, and a well-practiced
politician. She brought the Archmagister of Skyrim to the
Imperial City and created the second Imperial Battlemage
since the days of Tiber Septim. Morihatha finished the job
her brother had begun, and made the Imperial Province truly
a government under the Emperess. Outside the Imperial
Province, however, the Empire had been slowly
disintegrating. Open revolutions and civil wars had raged un
challenged since the days of her grandfather Cephorus
II. Carefully coordinating her counterattacks, Morihatha
slowly took back her rebellious vassals, always avoiding
overextending herself. Though Morihatha's military
campaigns were remarkable successful, the Council was often
frustrated by her deliberate pace. One Councilman, an
Argonian named Thoricles Romus, furious at her refusal to
send troops to his troubled lands, is believed to be the man
who hired the assassins who claimed her life in 3E 339. Romus
was tried and executed, though he protested his innocence.
Morihatha had no surviving children, and Eloisa had died of
a fever four years before. Eloisa's 25-year-old son
Pelagius was crowned Pelagius IV. Pelagius IV continued
his aunt's work, slowly bringing back the seditious kingdoms
of his Empire. He had Morihatha's patience and deliberate pace
in his endeavors, but, alas, he did not have her success. The
kingdoms had been free of constraints for so long, even a
benign Imperial presence was odious. Nevertheless, when
Pelagius died, after an astonishing forty-nine year reign,
Tamriel was closer to unity than it had been since the days
of Uriel I. Our current Emperor, his Awesome and Terrible
Majesty, Uriel Septim VII, son of Pelagius IV, has the
diligence of his great aunt Morihatha, the political skill of
his great uncle Uriel VI, and the military prowess of his
great grand-uncle Uriel V. For twenty-one years he reigned
and brought justice and order to Tamriel. In the year 3E 389,
his Imperial Battlemage Jagar Tharn betrayed him. Uriel
VII was imprisoned in a dimension of Tharn's creation, and
Tharn used his magic of illusion to assume the Emperor's
aspect. For the next ten years, Tharn used Imperial
priveleges, but did not continue Uriel VII's schedule of
reconquest. It is not entirely known yet what Tharn's goals
and personal accomplishments were during the ten years he
imitated his liege lord. In 3E 399, a mysterious champion
defeated the Battlemage in the dungeons of the Imperial
Palace and freed Uriel VII from his other dimensional cell.
Since his release, Uriel VII has worked diligently to renew
the battle to reunite Tamriel. Tharn's interference broke
the momentuum, but the years since then have proven that the
glorious golden age of Tiber Septim may be visited on
Tamriel once again.
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