Brief History of the Empire, Part IV                            Stronach                                                                                                                                                           )	    :  (  T        A Brief History  of the Empire,  Part IV             The first book of this series described, in brief, the first eight emperors of the Septim Dynasty beginning with Tiber I. The second volume described the War of the Red Diamond and the six emperors who followed. The third volume describes the troubles of the next three emperors, the frustrated Uriel IV, the ineffectual Cephorus II, and the the heroic Uriel V.     At Uriel V's death across the sea in distant hostile Akavir, Uriel VI was but five years old. In fact, Uriel VI was born only shortly before his father left for Akavir. Uriel V's only other progeny, by a different woman, were the twins Morihatha and Eloisa, who had been born a month after Uriel V left.  Uriel VI was coronated in the 290th year of the third era. The consort Thonica as the boy's mother was given a restricted Regency until Uriel VI reached his minority. The Council retained the real power, as they had ever since the days of Katariah I.     The Council so enjoyed its unlimited and unrestricted freedom to make laws (and profits), Uriel VI was not given full license to rule until 307, when he was 22 years old. He had been slowly assuming positions of responsibility for years, but both the Council and his mother, who enjoyed even her limited regency, were loath to give him reign. By the time he came to the throne, the mechanisms of government gave him little power, but the power to veto.     This power he regularly exercised. By 313, Uriel VI could boast with conviction that he truly did rule Tamriel. He utilized defunct spy networks and guard units to bully and coerce the difficult members of the Elder Council. His sister was his usual ally, after her marriage to Baron Ulfe Gersen of Winterhold brought her considerable wealth and influence. As the sage Ugaridge said, "Uriel V conquered Esroniet, but Uriel VI conquered the Elder Council."     When Uriel VI fell from his horse and could not be saved by the finest Imperial healers, his beloved sister Morihatha took the throne. At 25 years of age, she had been described by (admittedly self-serving) diplomats as the most beautiful creature in Tamriel. She was certainly well-learned, vivacious, athletic, and a well-practiced politician. She brought the Archmagister of Skyrim to the Imperial City and created the second Imperial Battlemage since the days of Tiber Septim.     Morihatha finished the job her brother had begun, and made the Imperial Province truly a government under the Emperess. Outside the Imperial Province, however, the Empire had been slowly disintegrating. Open revolutions and civil wars had raged un challenged since the days of her grandfather Cephorus II. Carefully coordinating her counterattacks, Morihatha slowly took back her rebellious vassals, always avoiding overextending herself.     Though Morihatha's military campaigns were remarkable successful, the Council was often frustrated by her deliberate pace. One Councilman, an Argonian named Thoricles Romus, furious at her refusal to send troops to his troubled lands, is believed to be the man who hired the assassins who claimed her life in 3E 339. Romus was tried and executed, though he protested his innocence.     Morihatha had no surviving children, and Eloisa had died of a fever four years before. Eloisa's 25-year-old son Pelagius was crowned Pelagius IV.     Pelagius IV continued his aunt's work, slowly bringing back the seditious kingdoms of his Empire. He had Morihatha's patience and deliberate pace in his endeavors, but, alas, he did not have her success. The kingdoms had been free of constraints for so long, even a benign Imperial presence was odious. Nevertheless, when Pelagius died, after an astonishing forty-nine year reign, Tamriel was closer to unity than it had been since the days of Uriel I.     Our current Emperor, his Awesome and Terrible Majesty, Uriel Septim VII, son of Pelagius IV, has the diligence of his great aunt Morihatha, the political skill of his great uncle Uriel VI, and the military prowess of his great grand-uncle Uriel V. For twenty-one years he reigned and brought justice and order to Tamriel. In the year 3E 389, his Imperial Battlemage Jagar Tharn betrayed him.      Uriel VII was imprisoned in a dimension of Tharn's creation, and Tharn used his magic of illusion to assume the Emperor's aspect. For the next ten years, Tharn used Imperial priveleges, but did not continue Uriel VII's schedule of reconquest. It is not entirely known yet what Tharn's goals and personal accomplishments were during the ten years he imitated his liege lord. In 3E 399, a mysterious champion defeated the Battlemage in the dungeons of the Imperial Palace and freed Uriel VII from his other dimensional cell.     Since his release, Uriel VII has worked diligently to renew the battle to reunite Tamriel. Tharn's interference broke the momentuum, but the years since then have proven that the glorious golden age of Tiber Septim may be visited on Tamriel once again.               