Martin Septim (Oblivion)

"I hope I prove myself worthy of your loyalty in the coming days."

- Martin Septim

 is the illegitimate son of Emperor Uriel Septim VII and was the last Emperor of the Septim Dynasty.

Early life
In his youth, he grew up believing that his father was a farmer and his mother had died giving birth to him. Early on in his life, he discovered the seductiveness of Daedric magic, practicing it and using it on a daily basis. Martin joined the Daedric Cult of Sanguine. Evidently, Martin briefly came into possession of the Sanguine Rose.

Martin notes that he and his friends got in over their heads and some of his friends died in some disastrous accident. Later, a priest managed to convert Martin to the worship of the Nine Divines. He became a priest at the Chapel of Akatosh in Kvatch.

Oblivion Crisis
After the death of his father and half-brothers by Mythic Dawn assassins, Martin is the only remaining Septim. Unaware that he is the sole remaining heir to the Septim throne, Martin is sought out by the Hero of Kvatch. Upon being found and informed of his true heritage, he helps to end the Daedra invasion of the mortal world.

Soon after Martin's discovery, the Amulet of Kings is stolen by members of the Mythic Dawn, a Daedra cult based within Cyrodiil, who were also responsible for the invasion. To safeguard Martin, Jauffre, grandmaster of the Blades, takes him to the fortress of the Blades, known as Cloud Ruler Temple, where he also offers to make the Hero of Kvatch a member of the Blades.

A failed attempt by the Hero to recover the Amulet of Kings from Mankar Camoran yields the Mysterium Xarxes, the holy book of the Mythic Dawn cult and a tome of massive dark power. This is taken to Martin, who, recalling his past as a practitioner of Daedric magic, translates the Xarxes. However, it is slow, painstaking work, taking much research.

Eventually, Martin determines that the book could be used to open a portal to Camoran's Paradise and that four other items are needed to do this. These include any Daedric artifact, the blood of one of the Nine Divines (obtained from the armor of Tiber Septim, in which he had fought and bled before his Apotheosis), a Great Welkynd Stone and a Great Sigil Stone.

The Hero obtains the first three objects on his own but the last may be obtained only by allowing the Mythic Dawn to open a Great Gate (which requires three minor Oblivion gates to open) near Bruma. This could potentially cause the destruction of Bruma. Martin dons the armor of Tiber Septim and leads a defense of Bruma, deliberately allowing the opening of the gate and buying the hero time to secure the stone.

The four objects in hand, Martin binds himself temporarily to the Xarxes and opens a portal to Paradise. The Hero of Kvatch enters, kills Camoran and returns with the Amulet of Kings, presenting it to Martin.

During this raid, Martin sends Baurus, a Blade, to the Imperial Palace to formally present his claim to the throne to Chancellor Ocato of Firsthold, who, with the Elder Council, considers and accepts the claim.

Arriving at the Imperial Palace with the Hero and Jauffre, Martin is about to be formally recognized as Emperor by Ocato when a massive Daedric invasion erupts within the Imperial City. Martin, Ocato, the Hero, the Blades and numerous Imperial Guards fight their way to the Temple of the One District to relight the Dragonfires.

However, they are too late; Mehrunes Dagon himself has entered Tamriel. Lighting the Dragonfires is pointless as they had merely maintained the barriers between Mundus and Oblivion.

A despairing Martin turns to the Hero and a brief conversation ensues, during which the Hero asks, "What about the Amulet of Kings?" Martin is inspired by the question and orders the champion to lead him to the Temple.

Upon their arrival, the Hero and Martin bid each other farewell. Martin then shatters the Amulet of Kings, binding his blood with that of the kings and gods held within the central gem of the amulet, in order to become the avatar of Akatosh; he takes the form of a giant dragon wreathed in flame. Dagon smashes the Temple Dome as Martin transforms. The Dragon then destroys Mehrunes Dagon's physical body, banishing him back to the Wastes of Oblivion, but not without sustaining a mortal wound itself. After the fight ends, the Dragon arches its neck, roars into the sky and is petrified, becoming a statue.

Soon after this event, Ocato of Firsthold states that Martin would be remembered as the last and greatest Septim and goes on to say that Martin would have been a great Emperor. As Martin died childless, like all of his brothers, the Line of Septim is completely defunct. The nature of Martin's sacrifice ensures that an Emperor is no longer necessary to maintain the barriers between the worlds; however, the fate of Martin himself remains unknown.

With Martin dead and the Septim line defunct, the Third Era ends but a new one dawns. As the Septims were the Dragonborn line of Emperors, the ending of this bloodline fulfills the prophecy of the Elder Scrolls that foretells the return of Alduin, and the coming of the Last Dragonborn which continues in the events of The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim.

Personality and Characteristics
Martin was humble, softly spoken and compassionate. Although at first he appeared to be somewhat slightly meek, or at least not someone you would usually pay attention to, Martin possessed a strong will and steely resolve. Although (understandaby) untrusting of the Hero at first, he soon warms up, and proves to be warm and courteous, while making an effort to treat everyone equally, even as his claim as Emperor becomes stronger and his position more stable throughout the events of the story. Martin also possesses a very strong mind, and is exceptionally intelligent; he reads almost constatly when he can, and manages to open a portal to Paradise where others couldn't. Furthermore, Martin is extremely brave; he doesn't hesitate to bind himself to the a portal to Paradise, and leads the Defence of Bruma with little to no hesitation, despite the fact he has never fought a battle before. Perhaps Martin's greatest weakness is his insecurity. It plagues him during the game, the idea he might not be good enough, undermining his work, and his past haunts him, adding to the slightly cold, reserved air he occassionally keeps around himself as protection. But Martin also possessed wisdom to learn from his mistakes, and ensure they don't happen again. Finally, Martin has superb combat abilities. He can wield impressive magic, and on several occassions demonstrates a natural proficientcy with a dagger and a sword, no doubt a trait passed down from Tiber Septim himself, and somewhat prominent in the Septim bloodline.

Trivia

 * Martin is voiced by Sean Bean (in conjunction with Blindlight studios). He also played Boromir in The Lord of The Rings film trilogy and Eddard Stark in HBO series Game of Thrones.
 * When he is first met in Kvatch, his name is shown as "Brother Martin". When he is brought to Cloud Ruler Temple, he is referred to as Martin. After returning from Paradise at the end of the Main Quest, he is referred to as "Martin Septim".
 * Interestingly, Martin falls in along with many other characters that Sean Bean has portrayed, due to the fact that they are killed during a climactic scene; most notable of these are Boromir in The Fellowship of the Ring, Alec Trevelyan in GoldenEye, and Eddard Stark in Game of Thrones.
 * In Skyrim, the Thalmor claim they ended the Oblivion Crisis within the Aldmeri Dominion. It is never explained why they make this claim, but it could be because Martin is a human, while the Thalmor are Elven supremacists.
 * During the quest Mind of Madness, Sheogorath considers Martin Septim one of, if not the, greatest Septim that has ever ruled. Although he says the only reason for being that Martin turned into a Dragon God, which was "hardly sporting". This could also be attributed to the long standing theory that Sheogorath is, in fact, the Hero of Kvatch and is speaking from his perspective during the Oblivion Crisis.
 * Martin's inventory, weapons and clothing change dramatically throughout the questline. When you meet him in Kvatch, he wears a Grey Robe and Buckled Shoes and wields a Dagger of Sparks. After returning from Miscarcand with the Great Welkynd Stone, he wields a Silver Longsword of Frost and is clad in Emperor's Armor. And upon triumphing over Mankar Camoran in Paradise, he will be wearing the Emperor's Robe and Emperor's Shoes.