Vitellius wrote:Er, where was that in Lord of Souls?? I read that and Infernal City just before Skyrim came out and don't recall there being an Emperor called 'Thules the Gibbering' - tis the kind of name that would stick in the mind
As far as I understand it, Ocato ruled as Potentate after the Oblivion Crisis, was assassinated by the Thalmor, there was a chaotic period of interregnum and Titus Mede I emerged as Emperor. Kind of surprised there isn't an in-game book called The Rise of the Mede Dynasty or something...
“I don’t know,” she said. “What do you know about Hierem?”
“Not much,” Colin admitted.
“He’s been around forever. He had a position in the old Empire—he was an ambassador to Morrowind. He was a minister to Thules the Gibbering, the
witch-warrior who ruled what little remained of the Empire before Titus Mede took it from him.”
Lord of Souls, page 70, or so. I have an e-book version.
Regardless, he is an unavoidable stepping stone between Ocato and Mede I. Enough to warrant him as the equivalent of an "emperor" as he 'ruled' the Empire. Semantics.
Yeah..he was the de facto ruler of what remained of the Empire at that time, which was much less than what Mede would build it back up to and MUCH less than the glory of the Septims, but he was the leader nonetheless. I assume he wasn't well-liked, judging by the ease with which Mede took the city. I believe other parts of the book reinforce this, too, mentioning skooma addicts on the streets, etc.
Monsters are bred in labyrinths, labyrinths are bred from walls. There is a reason the Giants choose to remain nomadic rather than follow their shield kin the Nords in building permanent settlements. The Tower is the beginning of all walls.
Vitellius wrote:As far as I understand it, Ocato ruled as Potentate after the Oblivion Crisis, was assassinated by the Thalmor, there was a chaotic period of interregnum and Titus Mede I emerged as Emperor. Kind of surprised there isn't an in-game book called The Rise of the Mede Dynasty or something...
That is an unproven claim, although it is probable that the Thalmor were involved, and it is at least true that either way they benefited from the situation. I second your calls for an in-game book though. Really, the scholars of Tamriel should be ashamed
Maybe they're leaving that for a novel, or a spinoff game ala the old Elder Scrolls Adventures games.
When you think about it, that time period is ripe for novels to be written. Pretty much anything before Infernal City and after Oblivion could be fleshed out, and anything after Lord of Souls and before Skyrim. They could do an entire novel on Red Year or on The Great War.
Monsters are bred in labyrinths, labyrinths are bred from walls. There is a reason the Giants choose to remain nomadic rather than follow their shield kin the Nords in building permanent settlements. The Tower is the beginning of all walls.