Board Thread:Lore Discussion/@comment-186.215.22.127-20130215011559/@comment-26145872-20160217002613

First and foremost, I want to clear up a few points concerning Tiber Septim's origins. Firstly, he was not an Atmoran as the Nords of Skyrim claim. Atmora by the early years of the First Era had froze far beyond habitable conditions. Additionally, he was not a Nede. During the First Era, the Nedes as a whole continued to shrink as a race due to various events in that time, most notably the Redguards of Yokuda invading Hammerfell and the Alik'r Desert who annihilated the last of the Nedes who lived there. They have long since gone extinct as a singular and distinct ethnicity and culture. However, their bloodlines continue to run through their primary descendants, the Imperials. Given the strongest pieces of information we have remaining, he was certainly descended from either the Bretons, Nords, Imperials, or a mix of the three in some form or another.

While it's certainly true that Tiber Septim, originally named Hjalti Early-Beard, was born in Alcaire, High Rock, he was indeed raised and trained as a warrior in Skyrim. Given that his birth name has Nordic origins, it's quite possible that he was born into a family with some form of Nordic ancestry. However, one should also remember that half-breeds are quite common outside of their native province. Therefore, it's also possible that Hjalti could've been a half-breed consisting of a mix of Breton, Nord, and Imperial ancestry.

A very interesting point to note is that Kyne, or Kynareth in the Empire, actually refers to Tiber Septim as 'manmer' which is a very common nickname given to the Breton race, who are a mix of both Man and Mer, with Man being more prominent. Given this strong source of infomation from the Mother of Men herself, Tiber may actually be a Breton, but we still need more information to support his origins.

Concerning Tiber Septim's appearance, we know that he had light skin and brown hair in his younger years, then white hair in his elder years. Considering the fact that Tiber Septim did not have blonde hair according to any records of his appearance that I found, I do not believe that he was a pure-bred Nord. More so, his light skin in most cases would not be considered dark enough to be a pure-bred Imperial, who's darker skin tone is only bested by the Redguards. Since Bretons are generally pictured with brown hair and light skin similar to a Nord's skin tone, there is a good chance that Tiber Septim was indeed primarily, perhaps not fully, of Breton ancestry.

More so, a detailed account of his appearance mentions him, how he was "Nothing like the grim, grey, giant warrior she'd pictured. He was of average height." This suggests against the claim that Tiber Septim was a Nord or Atmoran because, in general, Nords are pictured and known for having large muscular frames, and being amongst, if not the tallest race of Men. Considering that the account details Tiber Septim of being average height, he most likely possessed the build and height depicting a Breton.

Given the vast amount of claims depicting him as an Imperial and Nord, I can say with near certainty that there was a large amount of interbreeding between the race of Nords, Bretons, and Imperials in his ancestry. His offspring likely interbred with Imperials, giving them an Imperial appearance. As for his ancestors, his family likely had Nordic and Breton half breeds considering Tiber Septim's original name of Hjalti Early-Beard, which sound distinctly Nordic. This implies that one of his parents was of Nordic descent, most likely on his father's side due to his appearance, once again, suggesting against his pure-bred Nordic origins as the citizens of Skyrim claim. Additionally, it was almost certainly on his father's side because it is indeed confirmed that when two people of different ethniticies, either in Tamriel or real life have a child, the child will always favor the overall appearance of the mother. There are indeed some traces of the father's appearance, but the mother is pre-dominant in determining this feature.

Additionally, looking at the Septim Dynasty's genealogical tree, it is shown that the beginning of the tree does indeed stem from Breton noblemen and the Altmer Direnni Clan, also showing that Tiber Septim is indeed shown within this tree, proving his Breton ancestral ties, whether they are half-breed or not. Putting all of this information together, I can say with near-certainty that Tiber Septim was indeed a Breton who's ancestry involved both Nordic and Imperial blood at some point, thus supporting both his distinct Nordic birth-name and strong Imperial ties, along with his genealogical tree and birthplace of Alcaire, High Rock also supporting his strong Breton ties.