The Third Empire, as seen inOblivion Remastered, came about because of the semi-mythical Tiber Septim, but many players may be wondering who he was. Having risen out of the chaos of the final years of the Second Era, Tiber Septim started the Septim line of emperors, which lasted throughout the Third Era, until the Mythic Dawn ended it for good.
But Tiber Septim was more than just a powerful warrior and charismatic leader. His conquest of Tamriel left many scars that would haunt his empire centuries later, and his life has been subject to plenty of heretical speculation. Upon his death, he became the god Talos, turning the pantheon of Eight Divines into Nine, and his place among the Aedra is of great importance during the events ofOblivion.
Who Is Tiber Septim in The Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion?
Born asTalos of Atmorain the frozen land of his namesake near the end of the Second Era, emperor Tiber Septim was a warrior of Nordic descent who left the land of his birth for Skyrim at an early age. He learned the way of the voice, and won many victories, first at Old Hroldan in the Reach, which made him known to the Greybeards. Speaking his name in thunderous tones, the Greybeards told Talos Stormcrown to head south, as his birthright was greater than just as a warrior.
The Reman Empirehad fractured long ago, and various dynasties had come and gone during the four centuries of the Interregnum. Warlords all over the continent rose and fell, seeking the Imperial throne, and one of those was a Colovian king Cuhlecain. His ambitions for the throne drew Talos in as a general, leading Cuhlecain’s armies against the Nords and Bretons at Sancre Tor. When Talos demonstrated his Thu’um, the Nords recognized him as one of their own, and joined the side of king Cuhlecain, and Talos acquired the Amulet of Kings in the aftermath.
Where Talos walked, storm clouds followed, and armies would break against the power of his voice. Winning victory after victory for Cuhlecain, they made quick progress to the Imperial City. But the Reachmen, ever enemies of Talos and Cuhlecain, wanted revenge. Slipping into the camp, a Reachman nightblade killed king Cuhlecain and cut the throat of Talos. Though he survived the attempt on his life, Talos could no longer shout, forced to rule with a whisper.As the army had no king, Talos took up Cuhllecain’s mantle, taking the Imperialized name Tiber Septim, as well as the honorific Nordic title ofYsmir, Dragon of the North.
The Tiber War and Unleashing the Brass God Numidium
As Talos, now Tiber, ushered in the Septim dynasty, few could deny his Dragonborn blood. However, he still had to convince many parts of Tamriel that they should respect his birthright, and join his Third Empire. Some bowed to him quickly, while others such as Hammerfell were resistant to Tiber Septim, still causing considerable trouble for him in the years after he finally conquered it. While Black Marsh was considered a part ofTiber Septim’s Third Empire, it was never formally conquered due to its inhospitable nature.
One of the most famous acts of Tiber Septim from this time was his use of the Numidium. For thousands of years, the Dunmer of Morrowind had remained outside of the various Empires that had risen and fallen, protected by the power of the Tribunal gods. However, late in the Second Era, the Tribunal were cut off from their source of divinity, theHeart of Lorkhan, and recognizing their diminishing ability to protect Morrowind, Vivec entered into a favorable treaty with Tiber Septim. In exchange for becoming part of the Empire, Tiber would receive an ancient Dwemer golem, the Numidium, a walking brass god of arcane construction.
With this super-weapon at his command, Tiber Septim set his eyes on the last bastion of resistance, the Summerset Isles. Resistant to joining his empire, Tiber unleashed the Numidium on Alinor, razing cities to the ground and eliminating all resistance, until the Altmer finally surrendered. Tiber was not content to stop, though, and using the Numidium, he eliminated any families he considered disloyal. While it would pacify the High Elves for now, the fallout of Tiber’s treatment of Summerset would lay the foundations for resentment so deep that it would cause the rise of theThalmor and the Third Aldmeri Dominion.
The Numidium would not remain in Tiber’s hands for long, though. The mysterious Underking would defy Tiber, destroying the Numidium, which destroyed the Underking in the process. When the Underking was finally defeated, and Tamriel was unified, Tiber Septim proclaimed the Third Era, and the Third Empire was finally born.
Tiber Septim’s Disputed Origins and the Arcturian Heresy
The account given above was just one version of how Talos became emperor Tiber Septim. It is commonly accepted that Tiber Septim was from Atmora, butthe Arcturian Heresydisputes this. Named after Tiber’s Battlemage, Zurin Arctus, the Heresy claims Tiber was not from Atmora, but High Rock. Born as Hjalti Early-Beard, a Breton, he served with Cuhlecain from the start, but had grander ambitions than being one of his warriors.
Working with Zurin Arcturus and a Nordic spirit,Ysmir Wulfharth, the Ash King, Hjalti cheated his way to the Ruby Throne. Allegedly, Hjalti could never shout, and the wind he carried with him was Wulfharth, who did the shouting for Hjalti. As the cooperation between the three waned, and Ysmir became less reliable, Hjalti adapted, murdering Cuhlecain and cutting his own throat to disguise the fact he could not shout anymore.
Following the successful conquest of Tamriel with the Numidium, two conflicting accounts emerge. The first states that in order to power the Numidium, Zurin Arctus infused a gem called the Mantella with his soul, but was enraged at Tiber’s misuse of the brass golem, and rebelled. TheNumidium and Mantellawould be destroyed, sending Arctus’ soul into a limbo where he settled as the half-alive Underking.
The other claims that it was Wulfharth’s soul that was used to power the Numidium, and that when Tiber and Arctus tricked Wulfharth into being soul-trapped in the Mantella, Wulfharth’s captured soul killed Zurin Arctus. Wulfharth would later reappear as the Underking to destroy the Numidium.
How Tiber Septim the Man Became Talos the God
In 3E 38, Tiber Septim finally died, and it was proclaimed that as his spirit rose to Aetherius, the Eight Divines would become Nine. Known in death as Talos, he became an integral part of the Imperial pantheon of Divines, representing the spirit of men. Certain rumors at the time suggested that he had become the Underking, although thisidentity of the Underkinghas been disputed heavily.
The exact nature of Talos is not known. While many traditional views of the god treat it as one and the same as Tiber Septim, the Arcturian Heresy led to a different interpretation. Instead of just Tiber, Talos might instead be the fusion of Zurin Arctus, Ysmir Wulfharth, and Hjalti Early-Beard, their conjoined soul forming the god of men. Whatever explanation it really is, he has been claimed as a champion of mortal men across many parts of Tamriel, withworship of Talosbeing particularly strong in Skyrim, where the Nords believe he was Talos of Atmora in life.
Tiber Septim Achieved Chim and Changed Cyrodiil for All Time
Chim is a very elusive word inThe Elder Scrolls, and a very important one. There is no direct translation for its meaning, but it reflects a certain state of mind achieved by only a few.The Elder Scrollsuniverse is popularly understood to be a dream in the mind of a figure known only asthe Godhead, and Chimis recognizing that as an individual, you are part of that dream, but you are still yourself. Coming to this realization, a person can effectively lucid dream, able to defy the ordinary laws of the universe.
One of the most famous deeds that Tiber Septim allegedly did after achieving Chim was to transform the landscape of Cyrodiil. Previously,Cyrodiil had been a hot jungle, but its inhabitants had never taken to the landscape, and so Tiber used power to turn it from jungle into temperate grasslands and forests. But this did more than just turn it from jungles to fields, it applied retroactively through time, so that Cyrodiil both had been and never was a jungle.
Another indication that Tiber Septim achieved Chim was his revival of worshipping The One, an ancient monotheistic deity that has been associated by some players with the Godhead. Whatever the case, Tiber joined famous figures such asVivec of Morrowindin being aware of the true nature of their existence, and using that knowledge to further their ambitions.
There is still more than could be said about Tiber Septim, as he is one of the most prolific figures from The Elder Scrolls, but this is everything that should be known about him in regard toOblivion Remastered. Justly or unjustly, his legacy has formed the bedrock of the past 600 years of history up untilSkyrim, and he will probably continue to be one of the most hotly debated characters within the community.
