The Emperors of the Mede Dynasty, Part I

Foreward

– 4E 168

Greetings reader! My name is Makes Great-Shadows, former advisor of economics for Emperor Optimus Mede, requiescat in pace, and today, in honor of the recent coronation of our new Emperor, Titus Mede II, I shall be presenting a short overview of our wonderful, benevolent rulers, the Mede Dynasty of the Third Empire, originally the Medes of Falkreath and the Reach. Each emperor shall have a quick biography, as well as general appearance and immediate family.

For your conveniance, I have made a family tree of the dynasty that can be found in this location. While you read my piece, make sure to keep looking at the tree so you do not get lost, as it is quite easy to do so with such a large family as this!

 

Background: Before Titus

The Mede family claims direct descent from Cuhlecain, the half-Reachman, half-Nord ruler of the Kingdom of Falkreath who, along with his young Dragonborn general Talos Stormcrown, was able to conquer the Imperial City, creating the Third Empire in 2E 854. But, just a few months after Cuhlecain was coronated as emperor, he was assassinated by Breton hitmen, and Talos’s throat was slit, rendering him unable to use the powers of the Voice. So Talos, changing his name to Tiber Septim, took over the throne, forever honoring the unjustly slain Cuhlecain as “Emperor Zero.”

This is a story I am sure most of you know well, as it is written all over history books. But most books leave out the wife of Cuhlecain, whose name was Medea. Why would writers leave such an important character out of the books? Most probably because she was a princess of Reachmen. Cuhlecain didn’t just waltz into Nibenay Valley and take the crown like the stories make it out to be; the king needed allies, and where better to look than his own brethren? Cuhlecain was able to gain support (through soldiers and other such supplies) from multiple Reachman chiefs, promising them unimaginable wealth once they took the City. But the chieftain with whom the king made the strongest bonds was certainly Rhodri of the Karth, as Cuhlecain fell deeply in love with the chieftain’s daughter, Medea of the Karth. So with this power couple, the warriors of Falkreath created an Empire that has lasted six centuries. But as we know, it was not Cuhlecain’s family that would lead this prosperity. After Emperor Zero’s murder, Medea, who was pregnant with a child at the time, expressed desire to go back to her home, not wanting to live in the city of her husband’s death. Tiber Septim granted her wish, and made Medea’s family the Kings of the Reach, semi-independent but still obedient to the Emperor. Over time, as more Nords moved into the area, the Reach adopted a Jarl, but for that time, Medea remained Princess of the Reach.

The Reachmen kept no last names, however, so the Mede family did not officially exist yet. It was Medea’s grandson, Ainethach, who would become the first Mede. Ainethach became bored of life in the hills, and saw promise in the civilization of Cyrodiil (and he was the third son of the king, meaning his chances of getting any power in the Kingdom were slim). So sometime in the 3E 50s, he packed up his items and took the first ship to Anvil. Changing his name to the more easily-pronounceable “Entacus,” and adding on the surname “Mede” after his grandmother for organizational purposes, the young Reachman gradually climbed the ranks of the Colovian elite until he became a knight in direct service to the Count of Anvil. The Count gave Entacus and his newly-found Imperial wife a small estate a few miles outside of the city, which they named Karth Keep. The Keep is still run today as a summer estate for the family.

 

The First: Titus Mede

Skipping forward a couple centuries, we arrive to the founder himself, Titus, son of Entacus (not the same Entacus as the original, of course). Becoming Count of Anvil in 4E 8, Titus was a very intelligent man, both in battle strategy and policy-making. So when the Cyrodiil Civil War broke out after the High Chancellor Ocato’s assassination in 4E 10, he bid his time for a few years, strengthening his borders. And when the other Counts had tired themselves out, he marched into the Imperial City with his own coalition of Kvatch and Skingrad, and claimed the Ruby Throne by right of conquest, in 4E 16. Although it took him a year to fully consolidate his rule, by 4E 17, Titus Mede was Emperor. Although many opposed him because of his non-Dragonborn status (unlike all other founder emperors before him), Titus refused to be bothered by accusations, and proved his right to be Emperor through a long, peaceful, and prosperous rule. Even though the Empire was battered by the Oblivion Crisis, civil war, and the secession of half of its territories, Titus was able to keep the Empire together with a keen political mind and smart political maneuvering.

Titus Mede Imperator, having been born in 3E 315, ruled for 48 years, from 4E 17-65, dying at the ripe age of 83 from natural causes. Titus, who was brown of hair, married Maria Caro, who was black of hair and the daughter of the Count of Leyawiin, Marius Caro. Together, they had one child, Attrebus Mede, male and black of hair (Maria tragically died during childbirth).

 

“Bane of Daedra:” Attrebus Mede

As the son of one of the greatest emperors to have ever lived, Titus Mede’s only child had quite an example to live up to. By his twenties, however, he had arguably already surpassed it, having been an instrumental part of the Umbriel Crisis of the 4E 40s, when the vile Daedric lords sent yet another invasion force to Tamriel. But this infernal city was stopped right in its tracks by the young prince and a small group of his personal soldiers. The details are unknown, but nonetheless, Attrebus gained the titles “Destroyer of Umbriel,” and “Bane of Daedra.” During his emperorship, Attrebus was certainly a fine ruler. While perhaps not spectacular like his father, Attrebus kept the realm stable and prosperous.

Attrebus Mede Imperator, having been born in 4E 18, ruled for 25 years, dying at the age of 72 from a heart attack. Attrebus, being black of hair, married Lupa Silvius, black of hair and daughter of a member of the Elder Council. They had two children, Tiber and Culecanus, who were both black of hair.

 

“The Half-Cocked:” Tiber Mede

Unlike the previous emperors before, Tiber Mede was not a very popular emperor, which is quite ironic given his namesake. Some scholars argue that it was not Tiber’s own fault, however; he just happened to be emperor in an unstable time. Along with his general stern and sour personality, a major crisis occurred during his reign that may have contributed to his loss of popularity, which occurred in Skyrim. The first was that between the Reachmen and the increasing number of Nords moving into the Reach. For years, the mines of Orsinium had been the Empire’s chief source of precious metals. But as they ran out, prospectors increasingly looked to the rich silver veins of the Reach, which had been untouched for centuries (Titus and Attrebus also felt deep loyalty to their ancestors and refused to allow any mining operations in their homeland; Tiber did not feel this way, however). So at the tail end of the first century of the Fourth Era, Nords started pouring into the Reach in what became known as the “Silver Rush,” where men of all ages came seeking wealth and prosperity. With this mass immigration, old tensions between the two races became ignited once again, leading to mass civil unrest.

Tiber, instead of kicking out the Nords as the Reachmen assumed he would do, made the High King sign the Reach Reorganization Act in 4E 99, which would split the Reach into the northern half for the Reachmen to live in, and the southern half where Nords would be free to roam. Most Reachmen were outraged that their emperor, who was of their own flesh and blood, would turn his back to his brethren. Even worse, the Act never forbade mining operations from going on in the northern half of the Reach, so gradually over the decades, the Reach has become covered in mines, most of the workers there being Reachmen (and are subjected to awful working conditions, so I have heard). This Act also made the other oppressed minorities of the Empire fearful of Tiber’s iron fist, like the Orcs of High Rock and the Crowns of Hammerfell. Sympathizers of these groups grew, and Tiber’s popularity plummeted as a result.

Luckily for the Empire, Tiber did not live long after this Act. Having been born in 4E 45, Tiber Mede died in 4E 101, at just 56 years. Tiber was never a very healthy man, and was always considered “sickly” by his doctors. Perhaps his most unfortunate disease was his sterility; Tiber was unable to have children (this fact is probably the main contributor to his sour demeanor, and the source of his unfortunate nickname: “Tiber the Half-Cocked”). Of course because of this, Tiber never had children and he never officially married either. He kept many girlfriends throughout his life (“mistresses,” he called them), but they were never constant, and they were probably just common whores he would keep for a few months.

 

Keep in mind, we are not done with the Medes just yet, as we still have three more emperors to discuss! Stay alert for Part II, and until then, Valete!