Born late into the Second Era, the man who came to be known as Tiber Septim became a
legendary hero, uniting the continent of Tamriel to establish a long lasting dynasty and who
survived his own death by ascending into divinity, worshipped as Talos, god of man and war.
However the details of his life, death and ascension to godhood were not universally
accepted, becoming matters of great debate and speculations, with stories differing greatly
on what truly occurred.
Of the many variations, two particular accounts took hold in the minds of many, one portraying
a more traditional view of this mighty hero, while the other offered a less flattering
interpretation of events.
In the more traditional tale, Tiber Septim was born in the northern continent of Atmora,
where he was named Talos, meaning Stormcrown.
Journeying to Tamriel, he was raised amongst the nords of Skyrim, becoming a valiant warrior
and expert general in the service of King Cuhlecain of the Colovian Estates in Cyrodiil.
Under his orders, General Talos led an army against the forces of High Rock and Skyrim
at the Battle of Sancre Tor.
Despite the initial hostility, the Nords came to follow Talos, when they discovered he was
dragonborn, able to use a form of magic known as the Voice to perform dragonshouts of great
power.
Continuing to fight his King’s wars, they conquered all of Cyrodiil by the year 854
of the second era but were soon targeted by an assassin from High Rock who killed Cuhlecain
and slit the throat of Talos.
Although the general survived the attack he could no longer use the Voice, issuing orders
through whispers.
Talos then rose to become the Emperor, leading the armies of Cyrodiil and Skyrim on a campaign
to conquer the entire continent.
With the kings of High Rock fighting each other, Septim was able conquer the realm relatively
easily, with many happy to support his Empire.
However in Hammerfell he found heavy resistance, though he again was victorious following the
death of Prince A’Tor at the battle of Hunding Bay
In morrowind, a more diplomatic solution was found, with the Elves negotiating a high level
of autonomy in their territory in exchange for providing the Emperor with the Numidium
to help fight his wars, a colossal golem built by the Dwemer with god-like powers.
The Empire found little resistance in the Black Marsh, but chose not to invade the dangerous
inner swamps of the territory as they held little value.
Battling the Aldmeri Dominion and their allies, Elswyre was conquered after the battle of
Senchal, while Valenwood offered enough resistance to receive special rights, allowing them to
largely govern themselves under their traditional Camoran Kings.
However invading the Sommerset Isles, homeland of the Aldmeri Dominion proved far more complicated
then the other Elven territories, as the Thalmor were ancient, wise and powerful.
And so for this final invasion, the Emperor sent the Numidium which rampaged across elven
lands until the Aldmeri surrendered, ending the war in the year 896 of the second Era.
Although parts of this story are generally agreed upon, some believe that much of this
version is false or else manipulated to make the central figure seem more heroic.
And so many have come to believe that the man later known as Tiber Septim was actually
born as Hjalti Early-Beard, a Breton from Alcaire.
Growing into a great warrior, he became a general in the service of King Cuhlecain of
the Coloviant Estates, leading an army against the forces of High Rock and Skyrim.
Defeating them in battle, enemy forces retreated into the fortress of Old Hrol'dan where Hjalti
was unable to lay siege with so few men and resources.
However soon he was visited in the night by a legendary hero named Ysmir Wulfharth, known
to appear throughout various periods of history, to play an important role in the events of
that time.
Wulfharth, taught Hjalti the way of the Voice, and with power of Dragonshouts, he was able
to tear down the gates of Old Hrol'dan, after which he was given the title Talos, or Stormcrown.
With this new power, Talos made his way to High Hrothgar, where he trained with the Greybeards
who granted him a vision in which he ruled as Emperor.
Although he was able to conquer all of Cyrodiil with his new abilities, Talos was haunted
by the vision he saw, until finally killing his king, burning down the imperial palace,
and slitting his own throat to avoid suspicion.
Although he could no longer perform shouts, Talos survived the injury, and so the grand
battlemage Zurin Arctus crowned him as emperor of Cyrodiil, to prevent the realm from dissolving.
With Ysmir Wulfharth and Zurin Arctus as his advisors, the Emperor went on a campaign of
conquest across Tamriel, however because he sought more diplomatic solution to defeat
Hammerfell and Morrowind, Wulfharth ultimately left his service.
However when at last it came time to use the Numidium to complete the conquest of Tamriel,
the emperor brought Wulfharth back to help him one last time.
Originally the Numidium was powered by the Heart of the god Lorkhan, which granted it
such tremendous powers, however the very existence of this item was a closely guarded secret,
and so the Emperor had to create an alternative power source known as the Mantella which needed
to be imbued with a lifeforce.
As Wulfharth, Arctus and Septim stood near the Mantella, the battlemage attacked their
former comrade, ripping out his heart while the Emperor watched.
However as this occurred, Wulfharth used a dragonshout to kill Arctus, and so some believe
both of their souls were fused with the Mantella.
Using the Numidium Tiber continued his conquest, defeating the Aldmeri Dominion and establishing
the united Septim Empire.
The conclusion of the war signalled the beginning of the third Era, in which the Emperor ruled
until the year 38, when he was succeeded by his grandson Pelagius.
Pelagius then died without an heir a few years later and so the crown then passed to his
cousin Kintyra, descendant of Agnorith, brother of Tiber, continuing the dynasty for four
centuries.
Yet in the end Tiber Septim did not truly die, as his spirit ascended to godhood through
a process called apotheosis, after which he was known as Talos the god of war.
Though many have speculated and theorized as to specifics of how this occurred, some
have come to believe that he became a god by mantling Lorkhan, which meant recreating
important actions once performed by the diety.
This may have occurred, when he sought to use the Numidium, as Arctus ripping the heart
from Wulfharth as the Emperor watched, is similar to events of the Dawn Era, when Trinimac
ripped the heart from Lorkhan as Magnus watched.
As a result of this occurance, some believe the god Talos was imbued with the souls of
all three men.
In the years that followed, Talos became the Ninth Divine, taking his place alongside the
other eight gods of the imperial pantheon.
However many years later, well into the fourth Era, a Great War erupted between the remnants
of the Empire and the Aldmeri Dominion, resulting in the signing of the White-Gold Concordat
in the year 175.
Unfortunately this agreement led to many problems for the Empire, with the nords of Skyrim outraged
to learn that the worship of Talos was outlawed, returning the Imperial Pantheon to only eight
divines.
Refusing to obey this new law, jarl Ulfric Stormcloak, used his people’s outrage over
the peace treaty to serve as a catalyst for declaring Skyrim as an independent nation,
rallying his allies to rebellion against