Tiber Septim (Elder Scrolls)

A Septim coin. Colloquially referred to as a drake.

Tiber Septim is a fictional character in the game series The Elder Scrolls. Tiber Septim (also Talos, or General Talos) (Born 2E 827 - 3E 38), was the founder and first Emperor of the Third Empire of Tamriel. Upon his death, Tiber underwent apotheosis and became Talos, one of the Nine Divines, a collection of holy gods who fulfill the duties of bearers of "light" and "good" throughout Tamriel and Nirn as a whole.

Early life

Tiber Septim was born in Atmora under the name Talos, meaning Stormcrown in the old Ehlnofey. He spent his youth in Skyrim, learning the ancient art of the Tongues as well as the strategies of war from the chieftains. At the age of 20, he led the invasion of Old Hrol'dan and took it back from the Witchmen of High Rock. Soon after, it became known from the arriving storms that the Greybeards were about to speak. As the nearby villages were being evacuated, Talos made his way to the mountains where the Greybeards lived. When he arrived, the gags of the Greybeards were removed, and when they spoke his name, the world shook. The Greybeards told Talos that he would come to rule Tamriel and that he must go south to do so [1].

History as a General

Tiber Septim started his career as a general in service to the petty Colovian king, Cuhlecain, under the name of Talos. As a general he fought against the last forces of the Akaviri Potentate as well as against the the combined Nord-Breton Alliance at the battle of Sancre Tor.

After his victory at Sancre Tor, his liege, Cuhlecain was killed, and Tiber Septim's throat was slit by a High Rock nightblade. While he lived, his Voice failed him. This left him as ruler of the lands he conquered, and now forced to whisper, he ruled under the names Tiber Septim, and Ysmir, the Dragon of the North. [2].

History as an Emperor

According to Stronach k'Thojj III's book, A Brief History of the Empire, Cyrodiil was a collection of petty kingdoms before Tiber Septim's reign.

To increase his power, Tiber Septim struck a deal with the Tribunal of Vvardenfell - In order to be spared an invasion that would be costly for both sides, Morrowind would peacefully join Tiber's empire and would be granted a degree of sovereignty in exchange for Numidium. With its help, he united the entire continent under his banner. The Third Age was announced by Tiber himself in 2E 897 after the uniting of the entire continent of Tamriel under his banner.

On his deathbed, Tiber Septim bequeathed his throne to his grandson, Pelagius Septim I, and he died in 3E 38.

Barenziah

According to the "biography of Barenziah" Symmachus brought Barenziah to the imperial city to groom her to take the throne of Mournhold. There she met the emperor and he treated her "as a daughter".

The more accurate "The real Barenziah" tells a different story however: Symmachus brought Barenziah to the imperial city. She met the emperor and he fell in love with her. They engage in an affair but soon it is discovered that Barenziah is pregnant (no small feat for an elf). The emperor cannot allow such a threat to his sons dominion and so orders a healer to force Barenziah to miscarry. Barenziah is dispatched from the imperial city very soon after this.

Other Titles

General of Cuhlecain: CE 847-9 - CE 854

Trivia

• Tiber Septim's name was based of the Roman Emperor Tiberius Caeser
• The currency of the Empire, the Septim, is derived from Tiber's name.
• The surname of the family could be a reference to a Septum, a thing that partitions or divides. It could be a reference to the ability of the Septims to form a "partition" between the worlds of the Daedra and the real world.
• At one point in Morrowind, the player meets a retired Imperial Legionnaire in the Ghostgate named Wulf who asks the player to take his lucky coin to Red Mountain. While the player has this coin, they possess a greater power (an ability that can only be used once a day) called the 'Luck of the Emperor'. Later, an Imperial priest in Ebonheart tells the player that Wulf may have actually been a divine manifestation of Tiber Septim and that this visitation may mean great doom for the player.
• In Greek Mythology, Talos refers to an automaton made by the Greek God Hephaestus. This may have been the influence of Numidium.

Imperial Positions
Preceded by Cuhlecain	Emperor of Cyrodiil CE 854 - CE 896	Succeeded by None per foundation of Tamrielic Empire
Preceded by None per foundation of Tamrielic Empire	Emperor of Tamriel CE 896 - 3E 38	Succeeded by Pelagius Septim I

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