Board Thread:General Discussion/@comment-26872804-20150815160415/@comment-26145872-20160102173725

Before I attempt to settle this once and for all, I want to make a few things clear about him.

According to various sources and lore from the games, we know that Tiber Septim:

-Was born on the south central coast of High Rock, in Alcaire.

-Was either an Imperial, Nord, Breton, or mix of the three.

-Was given three different names: Hjalti, Tiber Septim, then Talos.

-Was not a purebred, singular race, including Mer

-Was the son of Skyrim and heir to the Empires of Men

-Was Dragonborn and could use the Thu'um

Now that I've cleared up a few things about him, there is one more very important clue:

Kyne, or Kynareth as her Imperial name, refers to Tiber Septim as 'Manmer'. Because the term 'Manmer' often refers to a Breton, and because we know that Tiber Septim was indeed a subspecies of Men as opposed to Mer, and was also born in the province of High Rock, home to the Breton race, I believe it's safe to say that Tiber Septim was indeed a Breton. For those of you still arguing about his Imperial and Nordic connections, do not forget that the Atmoran, Nedic, Nordic, Imperial, and Breton people share distant bloodlines.

Now, I'll be going into very long detail to explore every corner of Tiber Septim's origin.

For instance, the ancient Nedic people, who are descended from the Atmorans, are well known for being both the human ancestors of the Breton race and the direct descendants of the Imperial race. Because of this, Bretons, and Tiber Septim as a result, share a faint bloodline connection with the Nedic, Atmoran, and Imperial people. Tiber Septim's blood also carries very faint traces of Nordic blood, due to the Nords being direct descendants of the Atmoran people as well.

Finally, because Tiber Septim is most likely a Breton, he also carries extremely faint traces of Aldmer blood, but this Elven heritage is so heavily diluted from his Human heritage that it isn't noticeable at all. The only two clues that even connects Tiber Septim to his faint, diluted Elven heritage was his use in magic, and another I will discuss in a moment. It can be assumed that because Tiber Septim was both a Breton and Dragonborn, he was likely adept in at least one school of magic for use in battle, likely the Restoration school for healing his wounds. As for the other schools of magic, it's unlikely he would've used the others at all, considering that Tiber Septim was likely a highly skilled warrior, and could also use his Thu'um, another form of magic, as offense.

Despite most likely being of the Breton race, the reason Tiber Septim's faint Elven heritage does not show in lore is because, generally, the Human side of a Breton's appearance and blood overall is much more prominent then their Mer blood, particularly in their physical appearance and lifespan, which are arguably the two biggest factors that define a species of Men. As for Tiber Septim's potential magical abilities, it's well known that any race has the ability to use magic at a very high level, but those with Elvish blood simply have a natural talent for it. Even a race that is perhaps the farthest thing from an Elf, the Atmoran people, are known for having at least three talented mages in their lifetime. There are also many talented mages of the race of Men today.

As such, the only other defining factor of the two that are sure to give away a Breton are their above-average magical abilities, and slightly pointed ears. The ears of a Nord, Nede, Atmoran, and Imperial are all round with no points, assuming that the individual is purebred and does not contain any trace of Elven blood or has any history of an Elven individual in his or her heritage. In Tiber Septim's case, him most likely being a Breton indicates that one of his very early ancestors was either a purebred Aldmer, Altmer, Breton, or otherwise had Elvish blood. Additionally, if said ancestor was indeed a Mer, then they would've had a much stronger chance of being the father as opposed to the mother. While Bretons do have additional features that can point towards their Elven heritage, they are significantly harder to spot, and in Tiber Septim's case, likely could not be spotted at all.

When discussing mixed races in the world of Tamriel, the individual always favors the physical appearance of the mother, yet traces of the father still reside. Because of this, we know that all women on the mother side of Tiber Septim's family were Human, and that at least one individual on the father side was either an Altmer or Aldmer in the past. This would explain Tiber Septim being born in High Rock, and his likeliness of being a Breton. This also accounts for his likeliness as a somewhat talented mage in one school of magic or otherwise. It also means that, if his mother were indeed a Breton herself, he would have had a more slender frame, slightly more pointed and angular features, and the signature pointed ears of all those who have even the slightest of Elven blood. Had Tiber Septim's mother, grandmother, or anyone on his mother's side been an Elf, Tiber Septim himself would've likely come out looking like your average, every day Altmer on the Summerset Isles.

While most, if not all mixed races follow this logic, the Bretons are likely different. This is because some time between the Merethic Era and First Era, those early Aldmer or Altmer settlers who lived in High Rock wished to create a new and powerful race using their own Elven blood. As such, they came across ancient Nedic people who stumbled upon High Rock. The local Mer populace took them in, likely as slaves, and intermingled with the female Nedes. It's also plausible that the Elven people of High Rock used powerful magic to try and bend the Breton race's overall abilities, appearance, and such to their liking.

And last but certainly not least, his Human blood connections are likely responsible for giving him his expertise as a warrior, muscular frame, lifespan, and overall physical appearance. With his Breton blood being more prominent than any other race, he likely had natural brown hair in his younger years, and by the time he reached his forties or sixties, it's plausible that he began to show signs of age, with his hair turning to grey than white, and likely had wrinkles as well. As for his skin, it's most likely that he had an average skin tone, ranging from a Breton's skin to a slightly darker Imperial tone. As for his height, it's been confirmed that he was of average height, matching that of an Imperial or Nord. It's also likely that his muscles were average to above average for an Imperial, Nord, or Breton, likely somewhere in the middle. He also has been confirmed to have blue eyes, which is nonetheless a common eye colour for any Human.

When you consider everything I've said using a careful chain of thought, it's easy to solve the puzzle of Tiber Septim's origins, heritage, blood, abilities, physical appearance, and more.

With all of this said, I can make my points indicating that:

-He was most likely a humanoid Breton

-He was likely adept in at least one school of magic on account of his Breton heritage

-He had faint traces of Nordic, Nedic, Atmoran, and Imperial blood

-He had extremely, practically unnoticeable faint traces of Altmer or Aldmer blood

-He possessed excellent skills as a warrior on account of his Human blood

-He likely used the Restoration school for healing his wounds during battle

-He was born in High Rock, yet grew up and learned to fight in Skyrim

-He had at least one person on the father side with Elven blood

-He had no female Mer in his family, accounting for his physical appearance as a Man

-He had blue eyes

-He had white hair between the age of forty to sixty

-He had an above average lifespan for Men, dying at over a century old

-He had a skin tone ranging from a Breton's to an Imperial's

-He had a height ranging from a Breton's to a Nord's

-He had average to above-average muscle strength on account of his Nord blood connections

I think this will clear up any and all future confusion and arguing about Tiber Septim's origins, physioligy, heritage, abilities, and racial connections. I also think this will clean up any rumors surrounding him. If you have any more question about Tiber Septim or wish to ask me about something I said, please let me know immediately and I'll explain it to you to the best of my abilities. As for the other races, I can assure you with almost complete certainty that Tiber Septim had no connections with any of the other races in terms of his appearance, abilities, heritage, origins, etc.