Assassination of Uriel Septim VII

"These are the closing days of the Third Era, and the final hours of my life."

- Uriel Septim VII

The Assassination of Uriel Septim VII was orchestrated by the Order of the Mythic Dawn in an effort to remove the emperor from the throne and remove the magical barriers that protected Tamriel from the Daedric Forces of Oblivion. Working in concert with the Mythic Dawn was the Daedra Lord Mehrunes Dagon, and with the emperor's death, Dagon was able to launch his invasion of Tamriel, the Oblivion Crisis.

Prelude
Scheming alongside Dagon was Mythic Dawn leader Mankar Camoran. Together the two worked out a plan that would allow Dagon and his forces to enter the mortal plane and attack. If the emperor and all his heirs were to be killed, the ancient magic that protected Tamriel, the Dragonfires, would fail. Without an heir of the Dragon Blood, there would be nothing to prevent an invasion from Oblivion. The Mythic Dawn went to work.

Unbeknownst to either Dagon or Camoran, Emperor Uriel Septim was already aware of his coming doom and the Daedric invasion. The Mythic Dawn succeeded in assassinating Uriel's three heirs, Geldall, Enman, and Ebel Septim, and then proceeded to Uriel himself. The emperor was advised to go into hiding, and so agreed to be escorted from the Imperial City by a small guard of Blades led by Captain Renault.

The Prison
"You...I've seen you. Let me see your face... You are the one from my dreams. Then the stars were right, and this is the day."

- Uriel Septim VII to the future Hero of Kvatch

The Blades took Uriel to the secret escape route that was hidden in the prisons of the Imperial City. Upon reaching the appropriate cell, they were met with a surprise. Ordinarily, the cell would be kept empty for just such an occasion, but through some fluke a prisoner had been put there. The Blades, in their haste, swiftly puched the prisoner aside; the emperor however took a moment to observe the prisoner and found that he was the same person Uriel had envisioned stemming the Daedric invasion. Uriel knew then that he would die that day, and so focused all his strength on assisting the prisoner.

Renault activated the secret passage out of the prison, and the Imperial party proceeded, now with the prisoner in tow. A ways into the passage, however, they were ambushed by Mythic Dawn assassins. In the short fight that followed, Captain Renault was slain. Glenroy took point and led the emperor further into the passage.

For a time, the prisoner and the Imperial party were separated. When the prisoner turned up again, Glenroy, out of paranoia, ordered his death, but the emperor called off his guards. Uriel spoke briefly with the prisoner, and asked him to accompany them further. The prisoner did so, and they continued on. Along the way, they were forced to ward off several more attacks from the Mythic Dawn.

The Sanctum
"Find him...and close shut the Jaws of Oblivion!"

- Uriel Septim VII moments before his death

Eventually, the party made its way to the Sanctum, the final passage before the sewers. There, Glenroy noticed something out of place. His fears were founded when they discovered the way to the sewers locked from the opposite side. They attempted to find a way around through another passage, but were ambushed from behind. Baurus ordered the prisoner to guard the emperor whilst the Blades fought off the ambush. Glenroy died in the fighting that followed.

The emperor chose that moment to give the prisoner the Amulet of Kings, the divine artifact necessary to light the Dragonfires and crown a new emperor. Uriel also disclosed that another heir lived still, and that Jauffre would know where to find him. The emperor told the prisoner to find his last son, and from a secret entrance in the wall, an assassin appeared and struck him. It was over, Septim was dead. The prisoner was forced to face the assassin, but was saved by the timely arrival of Baurus.

Aftermath
The prisoner explained what had happened to Baurus, as well as the emperor's last words. Baurus then directed the prisoner to go to the city of Chorrol, where Jauffre, the Grandmaster of the Blades, resided. The prisoner escaped into the sewers with the Amulet.

Uriel's assassination was an event that would be felt long after its conclusion. With his death, Mankar Camoran and his Mythic Dawn then began making the preparations necessary to launch the Daedric invasion. This included launching the Battle of Kvatch in an effort to kill the final heir. Mehrunes Dagon's plot to overttake Tamriel would however, eventually be foiled by the combined efforts of the heir, Martin Septim and the prisoner, later called the Hero of Kvatch. Uriel's death would ultimately be the end of the Septim dynasty, though.

Behind the Scenes

 * The assassination is one of the first events in the game, taking place during the starter dungeon tutorial.


 * It is currently unknown how Uriel Septim's death will affect the future of the Elder Scrolls series. In the past three games, the old emperor was the one who, in some way, set the stage for the story.