Lore:Titus Mede I

Emperor Titus Mede I
Race	Imperial	Gender	Male
Died		4th Era
Resided in		Imperial City Colovia
Reign		4E 22-
Previous Ruler		Thules the Gibbering
Next Ruler		Attrebus Mede
Appears in		The Infernal City, Lord of Souls

Titus Mede I was the first emperor of the Mede Dynasty during the early Fourth Era. Circa 4E 22, he captured the Imperial City and overthrew the Nibenese witch-warrior named Thules the Gibbering, ending the Stormcrown Interregnum. After becoming emperor, he worked to stabilize and rebuild the Empire, although he was never able to restore imperial authority to all of Tamriel. His reign witnessed the formation of the Third Aldmeri Dominion following the overthrow of the imperial government in Valenwood by the Thalmor and their Bosmer collaborators. Titus I continued to reign during the Umbriel Crisis in 4E 48, and he contributed to the defeat of Umbriel.

Biography

Background and Rise to Power

There is limited information available about Titus Mede's life prior to his accession to the Ruby Throne. He was born somewhere in Colovia. Titus had a lean face, strong chin, green eyes, and curly auburn (later half silver) hair. He had an unnamed brother. He also possibly had another brother. At some point, Titus married an unidentified woman who had a slightly crooked nose and blond hair.

Prior to 4E 22, Titus had been a soldier in an outlaw army, a warlord in Colovia, and a king in Cyrodiil. Circa 4E 22, Titus captured the Imperial City with a force of less than a thousand men and overthrew Thules the Gibbering, the Nibenese witch-warrior who ruled what remained of the Empire. Following the capture of the Imperial City, Titus routed the army of Eddar Olin with a force of around two thousand men.

Emperor of Tamriel

Titus I's accession marked the end of the Stormcrown Interregnum. Thules the Gibbering was not a well-liked ruler, but since he was Nibenese, many on the Elder Council favored him over a Colovian usurper. Hierem, who was from an old and well-connected Nibenese family and a minister to Thules the Gibbering, helped smooth over the conquest by convincing the Elder Council to accept Titus I as a liberator rather than a conqueror. Following this, Hierem became his prime minister.

By the time Titus I became emperor, the Empire had virtually collapsed, as Black Marsh and the Summerset Isles had seceded from the Empire, and Morrowind was devastated by the Red Year and Accession War. Elsweyr, as well as the Cyrodilic counties of Bravil and Leyawiin, had become independent. As a result, following his accession, Titus I worked to stabilize and reunite the Empire. He soon proved himself to be a shrewd and capable leader, and the province of Skyrim endorsed him as emperor. Ultimately, during his reign, the Empire regained control of the provinces of Hammerfell, High Rock, Skyrim, and Valenwood, as well as counties Bravil and Leyawiin. Although Leyawiin was once again part of the Empire, it was restless under imperial rule.

At some point during his reign, a Redguard named Takar, who was originally from Hammerfell, fought against the Empire until Titus I won him over, supposedly through personal combat. Takar later became one of Titus I's most trusted generals. One of Titus I's most valued men was another Redguard, Tralan the Two-Blade, who hailed from Cespar.

In 4E 26, his son, Attrebus, was born. After his son's birth, Hierem suggested to Titus I that the people needed a hero, and that Attrebus should be that hero. Titus I agreed to Hierem's plan, either to provide a sense of direction for Attrebus or because he believed it would placate Hierem. To make Attrebus a hero, the Imperial Court staged every battle or duel he fought to ensure his victory, and if he went on an unstaged adventure, one of his guards would discreetly report it to the Emperor or Hierem, who would end it. Attrebus was unaware that all of his adventures were staged. The court also paid bards and authors to sing and write about Attrebus.

In 4E 29, the Thalmor and their Bosmer collaborators staged a coup, overthrowing the imperial government in Valenwood and capturing the province's imperial strongholds in a brief campaign. After the Altmer and Bosmer defeated the Empire in Valenwood, they proclaimed the formation of the Third Aldmeri Dominion. Following the loss of Valenwood, the Empire provided supplies and manpower to the anti-Dominion rebels fighting in the province, while the Thalmor supplied and funded the Natives insurgency in County Skingrad. Titus I himself referred to the Thalmor as the Empire's "quiet enemies".

Although Titus I appointed Hierem as prime minister, he did not trust him. The Emperor had no choice but to keep Hierem as prime minister, since it was believed that removing him from his position would trigger a civil war due to his many connections and extreme influence with the Synod. In 4E 38, Titus I placed a member of his inner circle, Letine Arese, in Hierem's ministry to spy on him. When he placed Arese in the ministry, the Emperor had no particular concerns about Hierem; only the sort of general paranoia a successful monarch must have.

At some point, the Penitus Oculatus began surveilling the Emperor's brother to ensure that he made no attempt to usurp the throne.

Umbriel Crisis

Umbriel at the Imperial City

In 4E 48, a woman named Annaïg Hoïnart, who was on the flying city known as Umbriel, contacted Attrebus, prompting him to visit the Imperial Palace to discuss Umbriel with his father. At the Imperial Palace, Titus I and Hierem informed Attrebus that the Synod, College of Whispers, and other specialists were already investigating the flying city, and that they felt there was no need to send an expeditionary force since Umbriel was slowly moving north towards Morrowind and was yet to threaten the Empire's borders. The Emperor also forbade the Crown Prince from attempting to stop Umbriel.

Attrebus disobeyed his father and left the Imperial City with his guards, but before they departed, the Crown Prince's right-hand man, Gulan, followed protocol and reported the plans to the prime minister's office. Attrebus and his guards went to the village of Ione and then to the springs near the Ayleid ruin of Sardavar Leed, where eight assassins ambushed and killed Attrebus' guards.

Colin Vineben, a Penitus Oculatus inspector, was ordered to track Attrebus and later investigated the ambush site, where he discovered a headless body thought to be the prince's. After Vineben's return to the Imperial City, Titus I, with Administrator Remar Vel and Intendant Marall, questioned him about his investigation. Vineben told the Emperor that he believed Attrebus was alive and that the headless body that was assumed to be Attrebus' was an attempt to draw attention away from the true perpetrators and to the Natives and Thalmor. Titus I agreed with Vineben, believing it was too convenient that the only burned portion of the body was where Attrebus had a birthmark, so he ordered the Penitus Oculatus to find his son. Later, a courier delivered news from Water's Edge to Titus I that Attrebus was alive, so the Emperor sent troops to investigate.

Umbriel eventually stopped moving north and instead began moving west toward the Imperial City. In its first engagement against imperial forces, Umbriel's reanimated soldiers, known as wormies, attacked the imperial scouting party sent to perform reconnaissance on the flying city. Following this, Umbriel crossed the Valus Mountains to invade Cyrodiil. As Umbriel advanced, the Imperial Legion evacuated settlements like Cheydinhal and Mountain Watch.

A wormy delivered a letter from the lord of Umbriel, Vuhon, to one of Titus I's generals, who then informed the Emperor. The letter claimed that the citizens of the Imperial City were free to leave until Umbriel's arrival, but the Emperor refused to evacuate the city. Umbriel's wormies eventually completely encircled the Imperial City, and they then began besieging it. In an attempt to stop Umbriel from reaching the Imperial City, General Takar led five thousand soldiers to confront the flying city's undead soldiers. Once they encountered Umbriel's army, Synod mages used spells to lift almost three thousand soldiers toward the flying city, but soul-spinners killed the soldiers, so Takar and the remaining troops retreated. After the failed preliminary strike, many imperial legionaries were recalled to reinforce the Imperial City.

Inspector Vineben, who had covertly continued investigating Attrebus' disappearance, used a codeword to arrange a meeting with Titus I in the Imperial Palace, where he presented the journal of a woman named Delia Huerc to the Emperor. According to the journal, Hierem made a trip to Lilmoth in Black Marsh in 4E 47, where he and the An-Xileel seemingly performed a ritual to summon Umbriel to Mundus. Vineben told Titus I that he and Letine Arese believed that Hierem ordered the assassination attempt on the Crown Prince and was allied with Umbriel, but the Emperor found neither the journal nor Arese's statements incriminating enough to use against Hierem. Titus I told the Inspector that he needed real proof to present to the Elder Council to remove the Prime Minister from his position or else risk a civil war. He then gave Vineben a key to Hierem's ministry and rooms and told him to find undeniable proof of Hierem's involvement. Vineben and Arese later killed Hierem, which Arese speculated was the Emperor's true motivation for giving the Inspector the key.

The Umbriel Crisis ended when Attrebus and a Dunmer named Sul defeated Vuhon, and an Argonian named Mere-Glim used his connection with Umbriel and the city's Hist tree to lead Umbriel to the Realm of the Hist in Oblivion. Shortly before Umbriel's banishment to Oblivion, the wormies had overpowered the Imperial Legion defenders and were attempting to scale the walls of the Imperial City, but the banishment rendered the wormies inanimate. As the threat to the city was over, Titus I ordered the opening of the food and wine storehouses. Titus I then met with Attrebus, embraced him, and told his son that he thought he was dead and apologized for overprotecting him. The Emperor told Attrebus that the people would know the truth—that their prince had saved the Imperial City, and perhaps all of Tamriel. However, Attrebus believed that the Synod and the College of Whispers should receive credit for stopping Umbriel, not him. Attrebus suggested this because, after Hierem's death, Titus I needed their support to secure the Elder Council's support. Titus I agreed with Attrebus' suggestion and told his son that he returned not only as a man but more than that, as a prince.

It is unknown when Titus I died, but his son Attrebus presumably succeeded him as emperor.

Notes

• ^

  Although it is never stated that Attrebus Mede succeeded his father as emperor, it can be assumed that he did because he was crown prince as of 4E 48; there was no indication of other heirs to the throne at the time, and the Mede Dynasty remained the ruling imperial dynasty until at least the end of Titus Mede II's reign.

• Members of Titus I's innermost circle were branded with a small wolf's head, his personal symbol.
• The name "Titus Mede" was first used in Star Wars fanfiction scripts written by Michael Kirkbride, Kurt Kuhlmann, Ken Rolston, and Steve Gilbert for a mock television show called Star Wars: Rebellion.

See Also

• For specific information from The Infernal City and Lord of Souls, see the Books article.