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by Tsathenes
The man who would be Emperor of all Tamriel was born Thoriz
Pelagius Septim, a prince of the royal family of Wayrest in 3E 119 at the end of the glorious reign of his uncle,
Antiochus I. Wayrest had been showered by much preference during the years before Pelagius' birth, for King Magnus was
Antiochus' favorite brother.
It is hard to say when Pelagius' madness first manifested
itself, for, in truth, the first ten years of his life were marked by such insanity in the land itself. When Pelagius was
just over a year old, Antiochus died and a daughter, Kintyra, assumed the throne to the acclaim of all. Kintyra
II was Pelagius' cousin and an accomplished mystic and sorceress. If she had sufficient means to peer into the
future, she would have surely fled the palace.
The story of the War of the Red Diamond has been told in many
other scholarly journals, but as most historians agree, Kintyra II's reign was usurped by her and Pelagius' cousin
Uriel, by the power of his mother, Potema -- the so-called wolf queen of Solitude. The year after her coronation,
Kintyra was trapped in Glenpoint and imprisoned in the Imperial dungeons there.
All of Tamriel exploded into warfare as Prince Uriel took
the throne as Uriel III, and High Rock, because of the imprisoned Empress' presence there, was the location of some
of the bloodiest battles. Pelagius' father, King Magnus, allied himself with his brother Cephorus against the usurper
Emperor, and brought the wrath of Uriel III and Queen Potema down on Wayrest. Pelagius, his brothers and sisters,
and his mother Utheilla fled to the Isle of Balfiera. Utheilla was of the line of Direnni, and her family manse is
still located on that ancient isle even to this day. There is thankfully much written record of Pelagius'
childhood in Balfiera recorded by nurses and visitors. All who met him described him as a handsome, personable boy,
interested in sport, magic, and music. Even assuming diplomats' lack of candor, Pelagius seemed like, if anything
a blessing to the future of the Septim Dynasty.
When Pelagius was eight, Cephorus slew Uriel III at the
Battle of Ichidag and proclaimed himself Emperor Cephorus I. For the next ten years of his reign, Cephorus battled
Potema. Pelagius' first battle was the Siege of Solitude, which ended with Potema's death and the final end of the war.
In gratitude, Cephorus placed Pelagius on the throne of Solitude.
As king of Solitude, Pelagius' eccentricities of behavior
began to be noticeable. As a favorite nephew of the Emperor, few diplomats to Solitude made critical
commentary about Pelagius. For the first two years of his reign, Pelagius was at the very least noted for his alarming
shifts in weight. Four months after taking the throne, a diplomat from Ebonheart called Pelagius a hale and hearty
soul with a heart so big, it widens his waist; five months after that, the visiting princess of Firsthold wrote to her
brother that the king's gripped my hand and it felt like I was being clutched by a skeleton. Pelagius is greatly
emaciated, indeed.
Cephorus never married and died childless three years after
the Siege of Solitude. As the only surviving sibling, Pelagius' father Magnus left the throne of Wayrest and took
residence at the Imperial City as the Emperor Magnus I. Magnus was elderly and Pelagius was his oldest living
child, so the attention of Tamriel focused on Sentinel. By this time, Pelagius' bizarrities were becoming infamous.
There are many legends about his acts as King of Sentinel,
but few well documented cases exist. It is known that Pelagius locked the young princes and princesses of
Silvenar in his room with him, only releasing them when an unsigned Declaration of War was slipped under the door.
When he tore off his clothes during a speech he was giving at a local festival, his advisors apparently decided to watch
him more carefully. On the orders of Magnus, Pelagius was married to the beautiful heiress of an ancient Dark Elf
noble family, Katariah Ra'athim.
Nordic kings who marry Dark Elves seldom improve their
popularity. There are two reasons most scholars give for the union. Magnus was trying to cement relations with
Ebonheart, where the Ra'athim clan hailed. Ebonheart's neighbor, Mournhold, had been a historical ally of the
Empire since the very beginning, and the royal consort of Queen Barenziah had won many battles in the War of the Red
Diamond. Ebonheart had a poorly-kept secret of aiding Uriel III and Potena.
The other reason for the marriage was more personal:
Katariah was as shrewd a diplomat as she was beautiful. If any creature was capable of hiding Pelagius' madness, it
was she.
On the 8th of Second Seed, 3E 145, Magnus I died quietly in
his sleep. Jolethe, Pelagius' sister took over the throne of Solitude, and Pelagius and Katariah rode to the Imperial
City to be crowned Emperor and Empress of Tamriel. It is said that Pelagius fainted when the crown was placed on his head,
but Katariah held him up so only those closest to the thrones could see what had happened. Like so many Pelagius stories,
this cannot be verified.
Pelagius III never truly ruled Tamriel. Katariah and the
Elder Council made all the decisions and only tried to keep Pelagius from embarassing all. Still, stories of Pelagius
III's reign exist.
It was said that when the Argonian ambassador from Blackrose
came to court, Pelagius insisted on speaking in all grunts and squeaks, as that was the Argonian's natural language.
It is known that Pelagius was obsessed with cleanliness, and
many guests reported waking to the noise of an early-morning scrubdown of the Imperial Palace. The legend of Pelagius
while inspecting the servants' work, suddenly defecating on the floor to give them something to do, is probably
apocryphal.
When Pelagius began actually biting and attacking visitors
to the Imperial Palace, it was decided to send him to a private asylum. Katariah was proclaimed regent two years
after Pelagius took the throne. For the next six years, the Emperor stayed in a series of institutions and asylums.
Traitors to the Empire have many lies to spread about this
period. Whispered stories of hideous experiments and tortures performed on Pelagius have almost become accepted
as fact. The noble lady Katariah became pregnant shortly after the Emperor was sent away, and rumors of infidelity
and, even more absurd, conspiracies to keep the sane Emperor locked away ran amok. As Katariah proved, her pregnancy
came about after a visit to her husband's cell. With no other evidence, as loyal subjects, we are bound to accept
the Emperess' word on the matter. Her second child, who would reign for many years as Uriel IV, was the child of her union
with her consort Lariate, and publicly acknowledged as such.
On a warm night in Suns Dawn, in his 34th year, Pelagius III
died after a brief fever in his cell at the Temple of Kynareth in the Isle of Betony. Katariah I reigned for
another forty six years before passing the scepter onto the only child she had with Pelagius, Cassynder.
Pelagius' wild behavior has made him perversely dear to the
province of his birth and death. The 2nd of Suns Dawn, which may or may not be the anniversary of his death (records are
not very clear) is celebrated at Mad Pelagius, the time when foolishness of all sorts is encouraged. And so, one of the
least desirable Emperors in the history of the Septim Dynasty, has become one of the most famous ones.
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