He was nothing but a loser. Son of a B..... When the empire surrendered to the aldmeri dominion...THEY SHAMED US ALL! If REDGAURDS can defeat thalmors single handedly then just imagine an army which has IMPERIALS,REDGAURDS,NORDS in it. Thay could beat the shit outta those Aldmeri Dogs
my only question is why are the emperor's robes only worth 100 gold? "hey how much can I get for the ****ing literal emperor's robes?" "if you have 6 of them I can give you an emerald?"
You mean to tell me Tidus Maede ruthlessly organized his entire bloodline to be wiped out of the gene pool as a tactical option to strengthen the empire? #TalosLevelSavage.
while his death could inspire people it would have been way better (it it was actually a suicide by assasin) if you had been ordered by mortiere to dress like a thalmore assassin.
The emperor being murdered by a thalmore would force a war within days. I don't think that that is a thing the empire is wanting to happen as long as it can be avoided. This death would be a more long term investment.
the thing is if the assasinations of the wedding and such were not so public and obviously the dark brotherhood then there would be blame on no one. they would know he was assassinated but they wouldn't know by who if you were never seen.
But the assassin dresssing up as thalmor would have immediately started the second great war, which would have been bad since both the cyrodilic and nordic troops were depleted due to the casualties and stress of the civil war in Skyrim
And you are correct my sir. Have a sweatroll. Still need proof? Well let's ask the emperor himself: "I must die. And you must deliver the blow. It is simply the way it is."
Commander Vex Ikr, if stormcloaks win then skyrim will be weak, they need everybody in the empire and stormcloaks alike to attempt to wipe out, or at least weaken the thalmor.
And it allows the Dragonborn to get a foot in the door. During the Roman Empire, it wasn't unheard of for the Emperor to have previously been a Roman Legonare.
To be fair, both the Empire and Stormcloaks are royally fucked unless they get their shit together (which we all know won't happen). Skyrim is pretty much choosing between giving a crumbling, weak, joke parody of an empire enough time to get its ass kicked by the Thalmor again, or giving some pissed off, overly religious drunk vikings a moment of fun before they get their asses kicked by the Thalmor. We choose between going down with greedy morons, or drunk morons. Either way, the Stormcloaks may not be smart enough to see the big picture, but they don't have to since it doesn't exactly take a genius to figure out that the Empire is getting skull-fucked by their own shitty treaty.
The dragonborn could theoretically become the new ruler but the empire has no more need for a dragonborn ruler since the covenant of alessia was broken. The empire really needs a strong leader that mankind can rally behind. Regardless of if the dragonborn sides with the empire or stormcloaks, they would be a massive asset to them. Because even if the stormcloaks win, I doubt skyrim will sit idly by when the second war breaks out. By the time miraak and alduib are defeated the dragonborn is basically a demigod who can command dragons to their will
TheSharkysharksta This, but thanks to bethesdas routine I am sure thats not going to be what is canon in the next game. All protagonists dissappear since Bethesda is so focused on respecting player choice.
Yeah The Eternal champion and Hero of Daggerfall are suspected to be the same person and dead due to the little warp thing, the Neverine is somewhere in Akavir most likely trapped under a mountain or imprisoned, the Hero of Kavatch became the next vessel of Sheogorath and the Dragonborn has become Hermeaus Mora's little bitch and will most likely be trapped in Apocrypha in the next game, and the Hero of the next game will most likely get eaten by a wolf or something for the game after.
Protagonists disappear in the next games, yes, but not completely. In the last games they are more and more part of the canon, to the point where you can actually meet them - as a daedric prince in Skyrim. I wouldn't be surprised if TES VI is set during the 2nd great war with the empire having the dragonborn as its general, under a cyrodiilic adopted name (as Tiber Septim did).
That is definitely an interesting theory that I haven't heard of before. I don't think it is true though. As we know, the Empire has greatly diminished in power throughout the years. Maybe 200 years ago the Dark Brotherhood would fear retaliation for killing the emperor of the entire continent, but now that is not really the case. The Dark Brotherhood has also vastly diminished in power. This assassination was a great chance to put themselves back on the map, and say that they managed to accomplish an incredible feat. This was their chance to make the name of the Dark Brotherhood strike fear into political leaders all across Tamriel once more.
Thijs Tharn this member of the species commonly referred to as “homo sapiens“ respectfully points out to you that anyone or anything that does not carry the red, life sustaining liquid mystically blessed by the supernatural entity known as akatosh which is known as “dragonblood“, does not have the divine right given by the NINE to legally hold and enforce executive, juriditial and/or legislative power to rule the continent-sized landmass that is commonly referred to as “tamriel“. Thus anyone who commits this blasphemous atrocity should be subject to being verbally shouted off the geological landmark that is the throat of the world.
Aviticus Petasius you're only partially right. what i'm trying to say is that an emire without a dragonborn at its top has no right to exist. I think that dragonborns are much more qualified for the throne because of their natural lust for power. when a dragonborn tries to expand his power, he conseqentially expands the power of the empire. By my logic, we should put the last dragonborn on the throne, or, alternatively an ACTUAL dragon. the pros of this would be: Immortality, nobody would have to worry about an heir, because none is needed; scales, claws, thu'um and other natural defenses. Nobody would havo to worry about an akaviri potentate-style or martin-like assasination, 'cause dragons are pretty damn hard to kill; Badass: what the empire would be if this happened. And, lets be honest, the thalmor wouldn't do shit if the empire burned the white gold concordat right in front of them and they had a dragon to back them up (also providing an peaceful end to the skyrim civil war #ulfricforhighking) and, at last a dragon has literally thousands of years of experience. no further words needed. I hope that, despite our differing views on the civil war, we two can at least agree on this.
The more I hear of this theory, the more i'm convinced: the only missing piece imo is the (visible) absence of the heir, but if I remember correct if you kill the emperor before joining the Legion, Tullius makes you swear on a undisclosed new emperor, so an heir must exist.
My favorite thing about your videos is that you don't beg us to like and subscribe and share. You just give is your content and genuinely tell us to have a good day and come back of we feel like it, and for that sir, I hope you remain an amazing content creator until your last days. Thank you for doing all that you do Avarti
Titus II didn't sail into Solitude until after his cousin, Vitoria Vici, was murdered. Several others were also killed in order to draw the Emperor out, including Commander Maro's son and Titus' body double. Would he allow all of those deaths just to sell the illusion? An illusion that only the assassins would see? He could have paid the Dark Brotherhood directly and told them "Kill me publicly in Solitude, here's evidence to make it look like the Stormcloaks/Thalmor/whoever did it." The DB isn't known for having a big mouth, you don't have to fool them.
this theroy doesnt make any sense imo, for the lead up for killing the emporer your killing his neice and all this other stuff against him to force him to come to skyrim, if the emporer just wants a political death this doesnt make any sense as his neice would have nothing to do with it surely he would have thought of a better way to make an excuse to come to skyrim instead of having family members killed, i find it much more likely that some of the councill saw tidus to be weak for signing the white gold concordant and decided to make him a marty and then replace him with someone of their choosing that would fight the thalmor. however tidus realized the assassination request was an inside job and so asked his assassin to "repay" the one who asked the request
that's an excellent version of events and that makes sense, but knowing that Titus was the smart and ruthless man he was I wouldn't have put it past him to inadvertently kill his family to save the Empire
Do we know if Mede had any children or who his heirs would be? It's possible he would kill her in order to end the Mede dynasty so that the "charismatic leader" will not have to contend with others.
Well, that would explain why the quest to kill him was rather easy, as well as why Mead would even be anywhere near skyrim with a giant civil war going on there.
An interesting theory, but I don't think it's true. The Emperor wasn't sailing to Solitude after his double was assassinated, he was sailing away, back to Cyrodiil. Plus, without an Emperor, the Empire would be plunged into a new interregnum, there would be a lot of division between warlords and it would be perfect for the Dominion to strike then. Mede could have a son that isn't mentioned, but don't think that his heir could have been his cousin, as she's not directly descended from him and the murder of Vittoria was simply to stir up trouble in Skyrim over her death, so that the Emperor would come and take care of it directly. Signing the concordat definitely wasn't a failure. It cannot be denied that the Empire couldn't have continued the war. But, the Imperial armies are mostly replenished now and are at the borders waiting for the Dominion's next invasion, so why would he put this new found unity and militarization in jeopardy?
There is always a Heir to the throne and the current empror was hated by many people in the empire because if the peace treaty, a new Emperor could unite the Empire again increasing their fighting spirit, not tainted by the loss. And your statement is false, the Imperial Army is no where near ready to fight the Thalmor again, they are barely keeping together and the war in Skyrim is straining there already fragile construct, if the Imperial Army was ready, they could just overwhelm the Stormcloaks in a matter of Days or Weeks. The Treaty was infact planned by the Thalmor to start the stormcloak rebellion, so that the empire is not ready for war once they are ready to attack again, everything the thalmor did in that treaty was placed there to lower the moral of the enemies an to sow the seed of rebellion. The Emperor might have thought that with his death the people of Hammerfell and Skyrim rethink their hostility towards the empire, hoping that his death could stop the stormcloak rebellion
+H Arz There's a simple explanation for why the Imperials don't just overwhelm the Stormcloaks with sheer numbers. During the negotiation quest, where you have to get Ulfric and General Tullius to agree to a temporary peace, General Tullius complains that he doesn't get enough reinforcements, to the point where they've been forced to local recruiting. He said, the reason he doesn't get his reinforcements is because the Emperor doesn't want to weaken Cyrodiil's defenses. General Tullius also says that most of the Imperial army is on the borders waiting for the Dominion's next invasion. So, the Emperor isn't taking it lightly, though, with this information, they've definitely come a long way in repairing the armies. Even Ulfric is afraid of starting a war with Cyrodiil. If you do the battle for Solitude quest while Vittoria's getting married, he wants to wait it out, because if she was caught in the crossfire, "All of Cyrodiil will be up in arms." There could be an heir to the throne, but if there isn't, the Empire would fracture and fall apart, as warlords and members of the Elder Council will begin killing each other for the throne, or maybe they'll elect a potentate.
So it is better to lose resources and maybe even Skyrim by only sending a few soldiers up there? going by that logic, the empire should just give up the fight in skyrim so they do not waste manpower and resources up there, aswell as the Nords who even if not part of the empire could help them if the Thalmor really attack and threaten Skyrim. Also the statement that the Emperor doesn't want to weaken Cyrodiils defenses has no weight since that can be both true in a battle ready full strength army aswell as a broken nearly useless army that is on the brink of collapse in bothcases that statement holds true, it even makes more sense when the army is weakened. And if you kill vittoria all that happens is the Emperor coming over with a few dozen men, all the wrath of the empire that they unleashed against the brotherhood was something you as dragonborn can just fight through, yes the brotherhood was weakend but they couldnt even destroy this one weak brotherhood hideout, the Stormcloaks are alot stronger in that regard, especially with having control of all forts and cities except solitude, they simply have not the power to back up the threats, they are trying to make it look like they are a threat and to seem strong to keep the Thalmor at bay but in reality they are broken and struggling to survive
+H Arz None of what you said holds any weight until you've got a reason to bring it up based on in-game lore. Everything that I've said is actually backed up by something in-game. You need to have a source, quotes, or references, if you want any of your arguments to be valid. I hate to have to repeat this, but the Stormcloaks are not stronger than the Empire. Do the battle for Solitude quest while Vittoria's getting married and talk to Ulfric. Also, if the Stormcloaks are stronger than the Empire, why is it that they can't destroy one weakened Legion that isn't even a quarter of the Empire's military strength? It's been nearly thirty years since the Great War, and humans have a much faster reproductive system than Elves. (Read the Night of Tears) So, it's easier for human armies to restore their strength than Elven ones. Combine that with the fact that the Thalmor kill nine out of every ten babies, as well as the fact that both Valenwood and Summerset were purged of non-Altmer races. "the brotherhood was weakend but they couldnt even destroy this one weak brotherhood hideout" Actually, if it hadn't been for the Dragonborn, the Imperials would have destroyed it completely. You, as the player have unlimited success in everything you do and it's designed for you to have unlimited success. Only because you, the Dragonborn came, you can save the Brotherhood from annihilation. It wasn't the brotherhood who saved themselves, it was the Dragonborn. In the Civil War, the Stormcloaks are in a position of weakness, but so are the Legion. Most of the Legion is made up of scouts and low ranking soldiers (auxiliaries) because they're almost all locally recruited. There's a lot more variety in Soldiers coming from Cyrodiil for example. They have berserkers and even centurions. elderscrolls.wikia.com/wiki/Manual_of_Armor But, anyway, back to the Stormcloaks being in a weak position. Galmar: "Our men are getting massacred out there. Damn Imperials." But, also if you do the negotiation quest, General Tullius says that they're pushing the Stormcloaks back well enough. And, the player responds with "The best time to negotiate is in a position of strength." Even when the player hasn't taken a side. Another example that the Stormcloaks are either weak, or just not good at wars is how Ulfric was captured by the Imperials and sent to the chopping block at the beginning of the game. General Tullius is a master strategist if he's able to capture Ulfric with an army of scouts and light infantry. Not only that, but Ulfric surrendering is a direct contradiction to what he believes. "The Empire I remember didn't surrender." But, that's off topic.
I honestly have to say that is one of the coolest things I've heard about Skyrim in a while. I just chocked a lot of things up to bad writing if they didn't make sense but this really makes me think that there was more to the writing than I gave it credit. Thanks for this vid it gave me a new appreciation for the game.
An interesting theory, but you'd also then have to consider the emperor also planned the murder of all the other targets before him, including his close relative (on her wedding day too). That doesn't really fit as nicely unless you think he was limiting competition for his successor.
He probably wanted not just himself from existence, but his entire Dynasty. He wanted a brand new bloodline to enter the throne. Just like the Septim Dynasty. It was killed off
I really do like this theory, but we do also have to into account that Maro assured the emperor and everyone else that the Dark Brotherhood was no more, but in fact the dragonborn and 2/3 others(if you let Cicero live) survive. So everyone involved is under the impression that the Dark Brotherhood is dead, or at least will have given up due to their resources and living quarters being expunged, but as we know they do survive and fulfill the contract. I'm not saying that's a sure plot hole, but is something we have to take into account as well as the emperor telling you to kill Moutierre. But I did really enjoy this theory, and I'm definitely not saying it's impossible, just things to consider. Good video! :)
If this is true that would mean that the emperor orchestrated the deaths of dozens of innocent people including his own cousin. I feel like that makes this all highly unlikely.
I think the Emperor simply knew better regarding the Brotherhood. Sure, most would think the Brotherhood wouldn't dare attempt to assassinate the Emperor, but those who knew better would understand that the Brotherhood would keep sending assassins until the contract was complete. It was also stated that it was clear that the Brotherhood didn't assassinate Uriel Septim or his sons because they wouldn't have needed to send dozens to attack him and would have been far more efficient.
An interesting theory that holds some water especially since the emperor is not surprised to see the dragonborn, in fact he seems to expect him/her. his statement about assassins and emperors also seems to be fitting.
I always thought Montiere was aspiring to become Emperor himself. I never heard of a Mede heir, or the name of the head of the Elder Council, which I would assume would be the de facto heir. He might be the head of the council, and thus he would become Emperor. He also seems to have no issue with giving you his badge of office, the Elder Council Amulet, meaning he might not even care about the position.
This theory hinges on the fact that the emperor would be seen as a hero though. Especially considering the civil war in skyrim and the failures of his reign, dead leaders don't always become martyrs, some become evidence of sinking ships. Furthermore, the idea of a civil war in skyrim erupting and the dominions demands and the other nations striking out at their imperial conquerors, the empire doesn't have a great reputation and the emperors death can be the nail in the coffin for an empire crumbling on all levels.
You make some could points but I do disagree with your believe that the empire is crumbling . Yes, it is weaker than it was but that doesn’t mean the emperors death will be the final nail in the coffin .
I’m not sure what you mean by “other nations striking out at imperial conquerers “ the empire has three provinces Skyrim , Cyrodiil and High Rock . Skyrim is in a civil war , high rock is Loyola to the empire as far as we know and I can’t see the province of Cyrodiil fighting against itself in the way you imply .
J 19 that’s a fair point. However, I would argue that the emperors death in the first place being arranged implies political strife, as well as the crumbling nature of the multiculturalism of the empire. This is however, all prediction for a fictional universe, so I can’t really say for sure. We can only guess I...guess.
I think you can take this therory a lot further! I think we can assume that the emperor knew that there was a dragonborn in skyrim, and he thought that a dragonborn could be the leader the empire needs. I think it wouldn't be unlikely for the dragonborn to develop the ambition to become emperor, paarthurnax explained that it's in the nature of dragons and dragonborn to stray for power. And if the emperor really wants to be assassinated, I think it wouldnt even matter if the dragonborn joins the brotherhood and kills him himself or if he destroys the dark brotherhood; the emperor could hire someone else, like the morag tong!
What doesn't make sense to me about this theory is why having the Dark Brotherhood perform the assassination would absolve the heir of any suspicion. His death at the hand of an assassin would certainly not be any less suspicious than a suicide or simply stepping down.
If he stepped down or committed suicide it would be in support of his heir. People would look upon the favourable link between them with a not entirely positive view. Meade was the man responsible for the treaty that made Skyrim rise up in arms. If Meade favoured someone then his detractors would try to discredit his successor. But if Meade was assassinated then his heir might come out looking shady but then then any who hated Meade might be willing to pat the successor on the back. While any who supported Meade would be divided without proof as to who actually did it. Stormcloaks? Aldmeri? The successor? Nobles?
ok, but why then would he let his double be killed in the first assassination attempt? Had he been killed via poisoned soup that would've resulted in a lower body count among his guardsmen
I wish there would have been an option to frame the Thalmor for his death. For instance leaving elven weaponry on the ship or killing the emperor with elven arrows, like a false flag mission.
There's absolutely no mention anywhere about Emperor Titus Mede II having heirs, and the Dark Brotherhood quest line even insinuates that he *doesn't* have any heirs. We also now know it wasn't actually Emperor Titus Mede II that commanded the Imperial forces during the Battle of the Red Ring, it was the Forgotten Hero impersonating the Emperor (hence the rumors of the Emperor wielding Goldbrand during the battle), and Emperor Titus Mede II took credit for it. We also now know that Emperor Titus Mede II told the Forgotten Hero about his suspicions of a Thalmor secret weapon responsible for their success against the Empire. The Forgotten Hero then confirmed those suspicions when he discovered the Orb of Vaermina in possession of the Thalmor, and it was lost during the fight over it. Even after knowing that the Thalmor no longer had the Orb of Vaermina in their possession (the source of their intel and great success), Emperor Titus Mede II still conceded to the White Gold Concordat. 5 years later, when the Redguards beat the Aldmeri Dominion back out of Hammerfell, proving that the Aldmeri Dominion were nowhere near as powerful as they pretended to be (now that their secret weapon was gone), Emperor Titus Mede II still refused to rip apart the White Gold Concordant. Now, the Thalmor don't even need the Orb of Vaermina for intel gathering, since the Emperor allowed Thalmor Justiciars to wander about the Empire pursuing Talos worshippers, all the while gathering intel the whole time. The Aldmeri Dominion has all the intel it needs to win the next Great War before it's even begun, now.
There should be a new empire with the Dragonborn as Emperor or Emperoress, with Paarthurnaxx as the advisor, and the Companions as the sort of Knights of the Roundtable. If your character is a vampire lord and took out Harkon. While you already got a kingdom, maybe even an army.
I think Motierre’s death was called for not to coverup Titus’ assassination, but to simply wipeout a potential rival for his heir’s power. I don’t think Motierre was a trusted ally of the Emperor. I think he might have been a major opponent for the Emperor that, nonetheless, the Emperor manipulated into ordering his own assassination. That’s why he requested Motierre’s death.
I think Ulfric would be a bigger threat to the Thalmor because they see him as an asset and because it is made very clear that unlike the empire he is beyond negotiation and will slaughter them all if he gets the chance. It is very clear that Ulfric would fight until the last man dies.
its totally amazing that a video game has so much lore that there are conspiracy theories within the game that are just as compelling as real life conspiracy theories
One problem. Who is the heir? Rulers do not leave something like that to chance. He would need someone who could rally the ailing Empire and convince those who left to rejoin. Someone who had great personal power and presense to go with the political power they would recieve. Who could the Emporer choose?
Thanks for not stretching this video for watch time. You got to the point and did not waste time. Thank you again, kewp it up. I am a new sub and I like your voice, content and the quality you use and with the footage quality. Have a nice day.
If he was killed by an assassin it's even more suspicious than him killing himself outright People would definitely suspect that whoever took the throne was responsible.
It's a good theory, but to mention one point: You are right the Emperor was advanced in years, but the thing is, even waiting a few years might not have been good. After all, it's EXTREMELY clear that the Aldmeri Dominion was already gearing up for the sequel to the first war, namely - The Great War 2: The Reckoning, so time might not have been on their side. Therefore killing the Emperor now (or if this theory is right, the Emperor arranging for himself to be assassinated), means that a new leader can take his place without the baggage of his rule bogging it down. I also find it interesting that he never once asks you 'who' wanted him dead as well. Maybe he doesn't want to know, maybe he already DID know. Either way he faces his death with dignity... ...then I cast Dead Thrall on him. :p
So, if the Emperor organized his own assassination, does that mean he organized all of it? Did he command his cousin to be killed, and one of his top, most loyal commanders to be broken through his son's murder? That's pretty brutal if you ask me...
I hope we get to attack the heart of the Dominion in TES 6. It would be sooo incredibly satisfying to see the thalmor give up their power over the empire.
I'd like if the dark brotherhood would be the good guys in some way. Like a murderous version of the thieves guild in oblivion. Culling the herd of corrupt politicians in the empire if you will, and helping the empire against the aldmeri dominion because they know the elves wouldn't tolerate their existence. But still serving sithis in a way, just in a way that they can keep their existence by being a benefit to the people of the empire.
Does the Imperial throne allow female non-primogenitic succession? If Tamriel is anything like our world, there would be controversy if an old aunt took the crown.
the most magical username you'll ever witness yes. There have been female heirs in lore in the Septim Dynasty and the other dynasty's that are important.
I thought this would be followed up with an explanation about how General Tullius is set up to ascend to the throne, which would be interesting if kind of unoriginal.
Great theory, but you forget that if you pick the dialogue option of hearing the emperors last wish before killing him, he asks you to kill the man who asked for his assassination.
Doesn't he contract you to kill his kin to attract the emperor tho? If the emperor just wished to die by an assassin why would he sacrifice family and risk the dark brotherhood being destroyed by his own when they sack the sanctuary, it's a nice theory but I would think he would set it up and then just show up for the wedding as she wanted and be killed there avoiding any possibility of it not being successful and unnecessary deaths.
It's certainly plausible, though I've always been of the mind that Mede just accepted what was going to happen, rather than orchestrating the events of his own assassination, and that he might have seen his death as a boon to the Empire as a whole, falling in line with the theory above despite the essential difference.
Amaund Motierre is the one who organized the Emperor's assassination. To have the Elder Council in power instead, now just seems like a greedy power grab, rather than motivated by a desire to "save" the Empire. Titus Mede II is the reason why the Great War didn't end in the Empire's defeat. Call the result of the Great War what you want, but that doesn't change the fact that it was a cease-fire, as _both_ sides were devastated. ^ Plus the fact that the Great War started because Titus Mede II refused to sign the White-Gold Concordat in the first place. He only ultimately signed it at war's end because he knew the Empire didn't have enough remaining manpower and resources at the time to destroy what was left of the Dominion's military. *Talos* Stormcrown, the ancient Dragonborn Emperor that the Nords love so much, would've done the exact same thing in that situation. Just like he did against Hammerfell and Black Marsh.
See this is a good theory it plays into my own personal theory about the events in Skyrim. Taking the region size it would take the Dragonborn months to complete his quest, his first step is Whiterun almost immediately, he does get his bearings in Riverwood, he then heads back to Riverwood resupplying for Bleak Falls Barrow's learning of the ornamental dragon claws at the same time from the general store. He then heads straight back to Whiterun to hand over the stone tablet, a dragon attacks the Dragonborn is discovered, the Greybeards shout out which everyone in Skyrim heard, so you take in travel time that all takes place in roughly 2 weeks. Multiplying the distance by 4 you get roughly 10 weeks from Helgen to High Hrothgar. Tidus he would of heard a person who has a claim to the throne a figure people can actually follow starts his plot. The next step getting him into the dark brotherhood, if you pay attention in the game it takes some time before the guards start mentioning the Aretino boy, this is a clear signal that some serious time has passed. Grabbing the Dark Brotherhoods attention as their contract was stolen, how did they figure out who did it? I refer you to Astrid and Commander Maro, they both had frequent discussions with each other, they were in contact, Astrid is told the guards tipped the Dragonborn off, she would send a courier to track them down, while that's happening the Emporer has the black sacrament performed, the courier would be followed by either Arbjorn or Babette, using her vampirism and his lycanthropy which have them moving alot faster than say a horse could run at full sprint. Even the Dawnguard state vampires are fast, you need to be faster, there also a book that states how fast werewolves are, returning to Astrid this is the waiting period, she's informed to go to the abandoned shack, which I remind you is a stones throw away from both solitude and dragons bridge. That's close to an entire armies headquarters, dangerously close, no assassin would make that move without an extremely good reason. Now comes the whole morality part, will the Dragonborn who has a rightful do what he must do what is expected or will he turn on the brotherhood? Obviously he doesn't, so events go to plan, better than planned, all thanks to Cicero rocking up the Falkreath sanctuary with the nigh mother. So instead of hearing about the contract through whispers on the roads or inn's the Dragonborn is informed by the night mother, this freaks Astrid out, not only is she helping put a new rightful emporer on the throne he now also has claim to run the brotherhood. That's when she puts a plan into action to betray the Dragonborn with Maro, Maro was intended to take the throne in the Dragonborns place, assuming he had the means, when the Dragonborn arrives he jumps the gun, sends a regiment down to Falkreath. After escaping he heads to the solitude docks, why is he there of all places? He has an official headquarters, he has everything in dragons bridge, you could claim he was there to protect the emporer, if he was would of been on the ship. He just isn't, he is wandering around a scuttle boat. He wasn't expecting one thing to happen, he wasn't expecting the Dragonborn to survive, the emporer he seen them duel, he had a clear line of sight to that part of the dock, his ship was also severely undermanned for a vessel carrying an Emporer. Then we get the speech he gives the Dragonborn "leader's rise and fall, either by battle or assassin's" he gives that speech but in an elder scrolls way, intentionally avoiding to reveal anything. He makes his request, dies after giving the Dragonborn a lesson on ruling. With all loose ends tied up, he has two very significant people ready to prove a new leader has risen, Ulfric didn't want the emporer to die, he wanted Talos worship back, he wanted Skyrim to be free of the dominion, Tullius wanted to bring it back into the fold. Both sides primary goal, getting rid of the Thalmor one way or another. Not hard for emporer to have sent a letter to both saying recruit the Dragonborn, have him either restart the Empire bring the people together or start from new. Case and point Ulfric and Tullius allow the Dragonborn to run around freely, the Thalmor are literally leaving solid gold bricks in their pants when the Dragonborn calls a meeting. The Dragonborn can unite everyone against the Thalmor, from better to thieves, assassin's, rebel group's, influential leaders, the common people and to top it all off getting the respect to lead the dragon's, to call down dragons to aid them. You'd be scared too in that position, someone so insanely powerful, with dragons and political pull, being respect and love by almost everyone and they have a claim to the throne of Tamriel. By the time you leave to fight Alduin, you are the most loved and respected person in all of Tamriel. When you get back from that the vampires go to make their play, after that a the cult of Miraak tries to kill you. So not only does he prevent the vampires from getting uncontrollable power, he prevents a cult from creating another oblivion crisis. You seriously think Hermaous was gonna let Miraak go, not without creating a tether of some kind to let the Deadric prince's walk Tamriel. I reckon after all that, the Dragonborn between the events of Skyrim and Hammerfell will be invited to take the throne. Which would make Hammerfell take place a decade or 2 after the events of Skyrim, reunification of Tamriel. As of writing this Hammerfell is the most volatile region, the Dragonborn was heavily guided with the exception of the thieves guild, we get informed Hammerfell is about to go into a real bad situation. So bringing Hammerfell together would insure the Thalmor end up on the losing side, it would insure every region would prosper. I don't believe the Dragonborn is done just yet, his story is only just beginning, if they abruptly end it fans won't be satisfied when analysing the character. Also if they start Hammerfell with another prison style sequence I got a feeling won't be the only one annoyed with that. Dragonborn takes the throne, he rides into Hammerfell with a small army, you get separated from the army during the skirmish. You have to survive Hammerfell, in doing so you bring peace to Hammerfell and stability which in turn brings it back to the empire. Hell like a true rpg they could let us completely destroy the Empires attempts in Hammerfell, they also got that thing now that shows what players chose as a majority, with that they would have ES7 starting script. Unfortunately this is all speculation, Hammerfell isn't out yet, I have formed some theories going through Skyrim with extreme detail in my 252 perfectionist run. No glitching or exploits, farm is amazing because it helps get those alchemy stats up fast. While doing this run I'm also noticing things that I haven't been able to look up or find videos on, some of these things literally go against what heaps of people have said about the game. I'd 100% recommend doing a perfectionist 252 run no mods, glitches or exploits, creation club add ons are allowed because they fill the game out a bit more. Just pay attention to the stuff NPC's say to each other, read the books, decode the dragon's language, there is full on translation guides on the internet for that to help you. Really pay attention to the game, grind your skills find your resources. It took me over 60 hours of solid play just to do absolutely everything in the rift.
If this is what can happen after the assasination, would this mean you can get the same effect with the imperial legion as with the stormcloak rebellion if you make the dark brotherhood quests before joining the civil war?
Wait, how would assassination by the Dark Brotherhood not be more likely to besmirch the legacy of Mede's successor's legacy more than suicide? If Mede had committed suicide one would assume that his successor might have had a hand in pushing him to it, but it's not as if the Emperor wouldn't have had plenty of reasons for it otherwise. If the Emperor is assassinated, on the other hand, it would be natural to wonder whether the successor did it. On the other hand, there could be plenty of reasons why the councilor would want to kill the Emperor now even if he's likely to die soon that you don't consider. What if his successor is young and can't take up the throne yet, or if he's away and a coup can be staged before he can come back?
Think about some real world assassinations of world leaders. Abraham Lincoln was hated throughout his presidency but instantly became a martyr once Booth killed him. Similarly JFK's efforts to end segregation were controversial, but his death gave the civil rights movement a martyr. Most leaders who are assassinated become remembered as heroes and martyrs for at least a brief time following their death.
True, but I think the assassination would likely be blamed on the Stormcloaks. The Emperor dies in Skyrim, which is currently the only province of the Empire that has several nobles in open revolt against Imperial rule. Given how much the rebels and Ulfric himself detest the mere mention of the Emperor's name it wouldn't surprise me if most Imperial citizens immediately blamed the Stormcloaks for the assassination. There's also the paper planted on Gaius Maro's corpse, which if you read it it makes it seem as if Maro and the Stormcloaks were conspiring to kill the Emperor. A lot of people would probably also suspect the Thalmor of the murder.
This video doesn't explain it very well. He didn't want to die a martyr, he just wanted the best for the empire without drawing suspicion towards his successor. His plan for his assassination (and no, it's not just a crazy theory that he had himself killed, it's very clearly implied by the quest setup and his dialogue, and this is the natural conclusion the writers intended) was based around the death of a cruel, selfish leader with no regard for the Imperial identity, and his replacement by a young, inspiring emperor who could command the empire in a war. In fact, his own image remaining a negative one is crucial to such a plan.
Personally I feel that killing the emperor would be the worst thing you could do. It would divide up the empire if the Mead himself had multiple children and it would give the thalmor the perfect opportunity to attack
Sometimes killing an emperor leads to a much better successor. Like if Brutus never killed Julius Ceasar his much better nephew would not be in charge.
I doubt this theory. Way to many holes, and way to much conjecture. I doubt titus would kill his own family just to kill himself. he could have come up with a far better reason for coming to skyrim. keep in mind the guy was a great tactician. also, why would he kill mottiere? No, if he could trust the man to carry out such a huge burden, and if mottiere was such a close advisor. he would probably have a part 2 to the plan, which mottiere would also be a part of. and why would he have brought a double?
obscurissimus It could be that they secretly allied themselves with the Thalmor, only he knew about it. I bet he has an heir he was training to take the throne after his death to lead the assault against the Thalmor.
Two questions would remain: 1. Why not the emperor hinself ordered the contract 2. Why not hire someone he could trust? Because the tieing the loose end thing seems to be slightly reckless considering that it wasn't a part of the seal to begin with and no compensation for it, basically plays out on the assasin would kill motiere out of favor
that is a very interesting theory and very believable and i think it would be quite cool either in tesvi or a spinoff game where you play as the person who is to become the emperor or maybe you play as the dragonborn of skyrim and then become the emperor because well a lot of the emperors were dragonborns so it wouldnt be that weird but i doubt that will be part of a game sadly but even just reading about or hearing about the epic fight that the dovahkiin had reconquering and restoring the human empire.
In my most recent playthrough, I played as a Nord who joins the legion, ascends the ranks, and then assassinates the emperor to replace him -- Roman style. This theory makes sense to me : )
If he wanted to die kinda seems a waste all them casualties Anmaund in my mind likely wanted power. So he had us assassinate targets higher rank then himself and the emperor i dont think Anmaund planned that the assassin in question had any plan that the emperor would act with honor and the assassin would honor his dying wish.
Plot twist: this was all organized by mudcrabs
I always knew those bastards were up to something.
I knew that Mudcrab Merchant in Morrowind was too ambitious.....
Ethan ????? I,saw a couple down by the water the other day, awful creatures.
It all makes sense now... (makes illuminati symbol with hands)
Ethan ????? Oh, shit.
I really didn't want to kill the emperor, he seemed like a kind man
I know, there should have been at least an option to spare him or something.
Crow Bar Yes there's an option to spare him. You just can't finish the quest
Or you can just kill Astrid when you first meet her and that will trigger a quest line to kill the dark brotherhood.
niko g. yeah but he aint innocent
He was nothing but a loser.
Son of a B.....
When the empire surrendered to the aldmeri dominion...THEY SHAMED US ALL!
If REDGAURDS can defeat thalmors single handedly then just imagine an army which has IMPERIALS,REDGAURDS,NORDS in it.
Thay could beat the shit outta those Aldmeri Dogs
my only question is
why are the emperor's robes only worth 100 gold?
"hey how much can I get for the ****ing literal emperor's robes?"
"if you have 6 of them I can give you an emerald?"
Well, do you expect a merchant to believe a common vagabond that those are the actual robes of an emperor and not tell the guard afterwards?
@RadTheLad well, a fence would have to sell them to someone as well, and obviously no one would believe a story about emperor's dress.
@RadTheLad who needs a story when it's a giant fucking gem already?
@@Spellweaver5 i mean, you play as the dragonborn so people might take you a bit seriously.
@@Spellweaver5 Even if that were the case when when you look into your armour menu it says they have a value of 100 lol.
2:29 tatical tigger appears !
And an arrow too
Baroka Obama I killed tigger once 😈😈😈
Tiger's like; "A battle? NOT IN MY HOOD!"
Don't forget about the rather angry looking butterfly
Nope its a khajiit battle cat working for the Thalmor.
You mean to tell me Tidus Maede ruthlessly organized his entire bloodline to be wiped out of the gene pool as a tactical option to strengthen the empire?
#TalosLevelSavage.
That's the dumbest thing I ever heard.
while his death could inspire people it would have been way better (it it was actually a suicide by assasin) if you had been ordered by mortiere to dress like a thalmore assassin.
Jesse de vos Dark Brotherhood won't kill blindly without contract
The emperor being murdered by a thalmore would force a war within days. I don't think that that is a thing the empire is wanting to happen as long as it can be avoided. This death would be a more long term investment.
the thing is if the assasinations of the wedding and such were not so public and obviously the dark brotherhood then there would be blame on no one. they would know he was assassinated but they wouldn't know by who if you were never seen.
It actually doesn't matter what the assassin is dressed as. Imperial propaganda would say he was assassinated by anyone they want.
But the assassin dresssing up as thalmor would have immediately started the second great war, which would have been bad since both the cyrodilic and nordic troops were depleted due to the casualties and stress of the civil war in Skyrim
gotta love how a random sabertooth ambushed the battle lmao
Lmao, that was gold.
coolsub 20D "Undo your grasp on my family! The Khajiit deserve their freedom!"
Homeboy saw a potential smorgasbord.
If you look there is green magic around it so could be being commanded.
@@kekistanihelpdesk8508 or a spriggan
And you are correct my sir. Have a sweatroll.
Still need proof? Well let's ask the emperor himself:
"I must die. And you must deliver the blow. It is simply the way it is."
Mr.Vojtik that is not proof. The emperor was just stating thw obvious.
@@SwamiSalami lol I LUV hUUge cOCK
The reason I always join the empire: Nostalgia....And the fact that the stormcloaks can't see the bigger picture
Commander Vex bigger picture? You mean...... destroy Thalmor into dust?
Commander Vex Ikr, if stormcloaks win then skyrim will be weak, they need everybody in the empire and stormcloaks alike to attempt to wipe out, or at least weaken the thalmor.
And it allows the Dragonborn to get a foot in the door. During the Roman Empire, it wasn't unheard of for the Emperor to have previously been a Roman Legonare.
username checks out
To be fair, both the Empire and Stormcloaks are royally fucked unless they get their shit together (which we all know won't happen). Skyrim is pretty much choosing between giving a crumbling, weak, joke parody of an empire enough time to get its ass kicked by the Thalmor again, or giving some pissed off, overly religious drunk vikings a moment of fun before they get their asses kicked by the Thalmor.
We choose between going down with greedy morons, or drunk morons. Either way, the Stormcloaks may not be smart enough to see the big picture, but they don't have to since it doesn't exactly take a genius to figure out that the Empire is getting skull-fucked by their own shitty treaty.
The dragonborn needs to take the throne and start a war against the dominion.
The dragonborn should be the new alduin
dragonborn should destroy empire with dominion
@SwordieSlice ulfric is piece of sht 🤡
The Dragonborn taking the throne and ruling would be canonical.
The dragonborn could theoretically become the new ruler but the empire has no more need for a dragonborn ruler since the covenant of alessia was broken. The empire really needs a strong leader that mankind can rally behind. Regardless of if the dragonborn sides with the empire or stormcloaks, they would be a massive asset to them. Because even if the stormcloaks win, I doubt skyrim will sit idly by when the second war breaks out. By the time miraak and alduib are defeated the dragonborn is basically a demigod who can command dragons to their will
The dragonborn should be Emperor by right of blood
TheSharkysharksta This, but thanks to bethesdas routine I am sure thats not going to be what is canon in the next game. All protagonists dissappear since Bethesda is so focused on respecting player choice.
So much for Sheogorath lol
well isn't the protaganist of oblivion cannonised though? I suppose skyrim' would be too
Yeah The Eternal champion and Hero of Daggerfall are suspected to be the same person and dead due to the little warp thing, the Neverine is somewhere in Akavir most likely trapped under a mountain or imprisoned, the Hero of Kavatch became the next vessel of Sheogorath and the Dragonborn has become Hermeaus Mora's little bitch and will most likely be trapped in Apocrypha in the next game, and the Hero of the next game will most likely get eaten by a wolf or something for the game after.
Protagonists disappear in the next games, yes, but not completely. In the last games they are more and more part of the canon, to the point where you can actually meet them - as a daedric prince in Skyrim. I wouldn't be surprised if TES VI is set during the 2nd great war with the empire having the dragonborn as its general, under a cyrodiilic adopted name (as Tiber Septim did).
Thanks for watching this video! I hope you enjoyed :) leave suggestions for future videos below
If you are interested in doing more reddit theories. I have one theory that actual got alot of attention from the TESLore sub.
sure I'd love to hear it!
I see what you did there
2:30 THE CATS FIGHT WITH US! SLAUGHTER THE ELVES!
That is definitely an interesting theory that I haven't heard of before. I don't think it is true though.
As we know, the Empire has greatly diminished in power throughout the years. Maybe 200 years ago the Dark Brotherhood would fear retaliation for killing the emperor of the entire continent, but now that is not really the case. The Dark Brotherhood has also vastly diminished in power. This assassination was a great chance to put themselves back on the map, and say that they managed to accomplish an incredible feat. This was their chance to make the name of the Dark Brotherhood strike fear into political leaders all across Tamriel once more.
Chrymzon that's an excellent point and most likely what actually happened :) but theorising about the subject is always interestjng
And the emperor wanted the person whom ordered the assassination to die as his dying wish
Dank Cat He took his death FAR too easily. No panic, no surprise, he just wanted to cover up his tracks.
He's old and knows how the world works.
That's The Dark Brotherhood's motives for accepting the contract.
This could very well be The Emperor's motives for calling a hit out on himself.
You're a true Imperial when you kill an emperor that isn't a Septim.
Thijs Tharn yes you are
Thijs Tharn this member of the species commonly referred to as “homo sapiens“ respectfully points out to you that anyone or anything that does not carry the red, life sustaining liquid mystically blessed by the supernatural entity known as akatosh which is known as “dragonblood“, does not have the divine right given by the NINE to legally hold and enforce executive, juriditial and/or legislative power to rule the continent-sized landmass that is commonly referred to as “tamriel“. Thus anyone who commits this blasphemous atrocity should be subject to being verbally shouted off the geological landmark that is the throat of the world.
By your logic, we should just kill every Emperor because there are no Septims left.
Aviticus Petasius you're only partially right. what i'm trying to say is that an emire without a dragonborn at its top has no right to exist. I think that dragonborns are much more qualified for the throne because of their natural lust for power. when a dragonborn tries to expand his power, he conseqentially expands the power of the empire.
By my logic, we should put the last dragonborn on the throne, or, alternatively an ACTUAL dragon. the pros of this would be:
Immortality, nobody would have to worry about an heir, because none is needed; scales, claws, thu'um and other natural defenses. Nobody would havo to worry about an akaviri potentate-style or martin-like assasination, 'cause dragons are pretty damn hard to kill; Badass: what the empire would be if this happened. And, lets be honest, the thalmor wouldn't do shit if the empire burned the white gold concordat right in front of them and they had a dragon to back them up (also providing an peaceful end to the skyrim civil war #ulfricforhighking)
and, at last a dragon has literally thousands of years of experience. no further words needed.
I hope that, despite our differing views on the civil war, we two can at least agree on this.
Thijs Tharn there you have your goddamn argument.
The more I hear of this theory, the more i'm convinced: the only missing piece imo is the (visible) absence of the heir, but if I remember correct if you kill the emperor before joining the Legion, Tullius makes you swear on a undisclosed new emperor, so an heir must exist.
3:33 Who stole that poor guard's shoes?
An arrow
My favorite thing about your videos is that you don't beg us to like and subscribe and share. You just give is your content and genuinely tell us to have a good day and come back of we feel like it, and for that sir, I hope you remain an amazing content creator until your last days. Thank you for doing all that you do Avarti
broke: living a long life
Woke: hiring a hit man on yourself
Titus II didn't sail into Solitude until after his cousin, Vitoria Vici, was murdered. Several others were also killed in order to draw the Emperor out, including Commander Maro's son and Titus' body double. Would he allow all of those deaths just to sell the illusion? An illusion that only the assassins would see? He could have paid the Dark Brotherhood directly and told them "Kill me publicly in Solitude, here's evidence to make it look like the Stormcloaks/Thalmor/whoever did it." The DB isn't known for having a big mouth, you don't have to fool them.
Except DB right now is plagued by incompetency
The body double was a test run
this theroy doesnt make any sense imo, for the lead up for killing the emporer your killing his neice and all this other stuff against him to force him to come to skyrim, if the emporer just wants a political death this doesnt make any sense as his neice would have nothing to do with it surely he would have thought of a better way to make an excuse to come to skyrim instead of having family members killed, i find it much more likely that some of the councill saw tidus to be weak for signing the white gold concordant and decided to make him a marty and then replace him with someone of their choosing that would fight the thalmor. however tidus realized the assassination request was an inside job and so asked his assassin to "repay" the one who asked the request
that's an excellent version of events and that makes sense, but knowing that Titus was the smart and ruthless man he was I wouldn't have put it past him to inadvertently kill his family to save the Empire
I think his niece knew about him wanting to kill himself therefore anmaund ordered us to killed her
Victoria Vici is his cousin not his niece
Do we know if Mede had any children or who his heirs would be? It's possible he would kill her in order to end the Mede dynasty so that the "charismatic leader" will not have to contend with others.
But most likely she would have been the next in line
Well, that would explain why the quest to kill him was
rather easy, as well as why Mead would even be anywhere
near skyrim with a giant civil war going on there.
An interesting theory, but I don't think it's true.
The Emperor wasn't sailing to Solitude after his double was assassinated, he was sailing away, back to Cyrodiil.
Plus, without an Emperor, the Empire would be plunged into a new interregnum, there would be a lot of division between warlords and it would be perfect for the Dominion to strike then. Mede could have a son that isn't mentioned, but don't think that his heir could have been his cousin, as she's not directly descended from him and the murder of Vittoria was simply to stir up trouble in Skyrim over her death, so that the Emperor would come and take care of it directly.
Signing the concordat definitely wasn't a failure. It cannot be denied that the Empire couldn't have continued the war. But, the Imperial armies are mostly replenished now and are at the borders waiting for the Dominion's next invasion, so why would he put this new found unity and militarization in jeopardy?
Wow...
There is always a Heir to the throne and the current empror was hated by many people in the empire because if the peace treaty, a new Emperor could unite the Empire again increasing their fighting spirit, not tainted by the loss. And your statement is false, the Imperial Army is no where near ready to fight the Thalmor again, they are barely keeping together and the war in Skyrim is straining there already fragile construct, if the Imperial Army was ready, they could just overwhelm the Stormcloaks in a matter of Days or Weeks. The Treaty was infact planned by the Thalmor to start the stormcloak rebellion, so that the empire is not ready for war once they are ready to attack again, everything the thalmor did in that treaty was placed there to lower the moral of the enemies an to sow the seed of rebellion. The Emperor might have thought that with his death the people of Hammerfell and Skyrim rethink their hostility towards the empire, hoping that his death could stop the stormcloak rebellion
+H Arz There's a simple explanation for why the Imperials don't just overwhelm the Stormcloaks with sheer numbers. During the negotiation quest, where you have to get Ulfric and General Tullius to agree to a temporary peace, General Tullius complains that he doesn't get enough reinforcements, to the point where they've been forced to local recruiting. He said, the reason he doesn't get his reinforcements is because the Emperor doesn't want to weaken Cyrodiil's defenses.
General Tullius also says that most of the Imperial army is on the borders waiting for the Dominion's next invasion. So, the Emperor isn't taking it lightly, though, with this information, they've definitely come a long way in repairing the armies. Even Ulfric is afraid of starting a war with Cyrodiil. If you do the battle for Solitude quest while Vittoria's getting married, he wants to wait it out, because if she was caught in the crossfire, "All of Cyrodiil will be up in arms."
There could be an heir to the throne, but if there isn't, the Empire would fracture and fall apart, as warlords and members of the Elder Council will begin killing each other for the throne, or maybe they'll elect a potentate.
So it is better to lose resources and maybe even Skyrim by only sending a few soldiers up there? going by that logic, the empire should just give up the fight in skyrim so they do not waste manpower and resources up there, aswell as the Nords who even if not part of the empire could help them if the Thalmor really attack and threaten Skyrim.
Also the statement that the Emperor doesn't want to weaken Cyrodiils defenses has no weight since that can be both true in a battle ready full strength army aswell as a broken nearly useless army that is on the brink of collapse in bothcases that statement holds true, it even makes more sense when the army is weakened.
And if you kill vittoria all that happens is the Emperor coming over with a few dozen men, all the wrath of the empire that they unleashed against the brotherhood was something you as dragonborn can just fight through, yes the brotherhood was weakend but they couldnt even destroy this one weak brotherhood hideout, the Stormcloaks are alot stronger in that regard, especially with having control of all forts and cities except solitude, they simply have not the power to back up the threats, they are trying to make it look like they are a threat and to seem strong to keep the Thalmor at bay but in reality they are broken and struggling to survive
+H Arz None of what you said holds any weight until you've got a reason to bring it up based on in-game lore. Everything that I've said is actually backed up by something in-game. You need to have a source, quotes, or references, if you want any of your arguments to be valid.
I hate to have to repeat this, but the Stormcloaks are not stronger than the Empire. Do the battle for Solitude quest while Vittoria's getting married and talk to Ulfric. Also, if the Stormcloaks are stronger than the Empire, why is it that they can't destroy one weakened Legion that isn't even a quarter of the Empire's military strength? It's been nearly thirty years since the Great War, and humans have a much faster reproductive system than Elves. (Read the Night of Tears) So, it's easier for human armies to restore their strength than Elven ones. Combine that with the fact that the Thalmor kill nine out of every ten babies, as well as the fact that both Valenwood and Summerset were purged of non-Altmer races.
"the brotherhood was weakend but they couldnt even destroy this one weak brotherhood hideout"
Actually, if it hadn't been for the Dragonborn, the Imperials would have destroyed it completely. You, as the player have unlimited success in everything you do and it's designed for you to have unlimited success. Only because you, the Dragonborn came, you can save the Brotherhood from annihilation. It wasn't the brotherhood who saved themselves, it was the Dragonborn.
In the Civil War, the Stormcloaks are in a position of weakness, but so are the Legion. Most of the Legion is made up of scouts and low ranking soldiers (auxiliaries) because they're almost all locally recruited. There's a lot more variety in Soldiers coming from Cyrodiil for example. They have berserkers and even centurions.
elderscrolls.wikia.com/wiki/Manual_of_Armor
But, anyway, back to the Stormcloaks being in a weak position.
Galmar: "Our men are getting massacred out there. Damn Imperials."
But, also if you do the negotiation quest, General Tullius says that they're pushing the Stormcloaks back well enough. And, the player responds with "The best time to negotiate is in a position of strength."
Even when the player hasn't taken a side.
Another example that the Stormcloaks are either weak, or just not good at wars is how Ulfric was captured by the Imperials and sent to the chopping block at the beginning of the game. General Tullius is a master strategist if he's able to capture Ulfric with an army of scouts and light infantry. Not only that, but Ulfric surrendering is a direct contradiction to what he believes.
"The Empire I remember didn't surrender." But, that's off topic.
The High Elves had Sabertooth cats as allies? huh
The sabre cat attacking the thalmor too! 😂😂
Titus Mede II asked the Listener to kill the traitor. This means dying is not of his own will but an inevitable event that could happen soon.
I honestly have to say that is one of the coolest things I've heard about Skyrim in a while. I just chocked a lot of things up to bad writing if they didn't make sense but this really makes me think that there was more to the writing than I gave it credit. Thanks for this vid it gave me a new appreciation for the game.
no problem man I had the same feeling when I first read about this :)
An interesting theory, but you'd also then have to consider the emperor also planned the murder of all the other targets before him, including his close relative (on her wedding day too). That doesn't really fit as nicely unless you think he was limiting competition for his successor.
He probably wanted not just himself from existence, but his entire Dynasty. He wanted a brand new bloodline to enter the throne. Just like the Septim Dynasty. It was killed off
Titus said "I sense in you a certain ambition." That could mean the dragonborn could be emperor...probably
sabercats fought in the great war too
I hope we get a spinoff about the Great War, it would be awesome.
Well backed comments, and pretty ellegible. You construct a great debate Avarti :D
thanks :)
Avarti Plays your channel is very MrRhexx-esque if you don't mind me saying. And an fab one at that, thanks a ton for your content! XD
haha I don't thank you!:)
I really do like this theory, but we do also have to into account that Maro assured the emperor and everyone else that the Dark Brotherhood was no more, but in fact the dragonborn and 2/3 others(if you let Cicero live) survive. So everyone involved is under the impression that the Dark Brotherhood is dead, or at least will have given up due to their resources and living quarters being expunged, but as we know they do survive and fulfill the contract. I'm not saying that's a sure plot hole, but is something we have to take into account as well as the emperor telling you to kill Moutierre. But I did really enjoy this theory, and I'm definitely not saying it's impossible, just things to consider. Good video! :)
If this is true that would mean that the emperor orchestrated the deaths of dozens of innocent people including his own cousin. I feel like that makes this all highly unlikely.
I think the Emperor simply knew better regarding the Brotherhood. Sure, most would think the Brotherhood wouldn't dare attempt to assassinate the Emperor, but those who knew better would understand that the Brotherhood would keep sending assassins until the contract was complete. It was also stated that it was clear that the Brotherhood didn't assassinate Uriel Septim or his sons because they wouldn't have needed to send dozens to attack him and would have been far more efficient.
An interesting theory that holds some water especially since the emperor is not surprised to see the dragonborn, in fact he seems to expect him/her. his statement about assassins and emperors also seems to be fitting.
Thalmor vs empire vs sabrecat
I always thought Montiere was aspiring to become Emperor himself. I never heard of a Mede heir, or the name of the head of the Elder Council, which I would assume would be the de facto heir. He might be the head of the council, and thus he would become Emperor. He also seems to have no issue with giving you his badge of office, the Elder Council Amulet, meaning he might not even care about the position.
This theory hinges on the fact that the emperor would be seen as a hero though. Especially considering the civil war in skyrim and the failures of his reign, dead leaders don't always become martyrs, some become evidence of sinking ships. Furthermore, the idea of a civil war in skyrim erupting and the dominions demands and the other nations striking out at their imperial conquerors, the empire doesn't have a great reputation and the emperors death can be the nail in the coffin for an empire crumbling on all levels.
You make some could points but I do disagree with your believe that the empire is crumbling . Yes, it is weaker than it was but that doesn’t mean the emperors death will be the final nail in the coffin .
I’m not sure what you mean by “other nations striking out at imperial conquerers “ the empire has three provinces Skyrim , Cyrodiil and High Rock . Skyrim is in a civil war , high rock is Loyola to the empire as far as we know and I can’t see the province of Cyrodiil fighting against itself in the way you imply .
J 19 that’s a fair point. However, I would argue that the emperors death in the first place being arranged implies political strife, as well as the crumbling nature of the multiculturalism of the empire. This is however, all prediction for a fictional universe, so I can’t really say for sure. We can only guess I...guess.
In a twist of irony, that young, charismatic successor could very well have been the Dragonborn who assassinated the Emperor.
I think you can take this therory a lot further! I think we can assume that the emperor knew that there was a dragonborn in skyrim, and he thought that a dragonborn could be the leader the empire needs. I think it wouldn't be unlikely for the dragonborn to develop the ambition to become emperor, paarthurnax explained that it's in the nature of dragons and dragonborn to stray for power. And if the emperor really wants to be assassinated, I think it wouldnt even matter if the dragonborn joins the brotherhood and kills him himself or if he destroys the dark brotherhood; the emperor could hire someone else, like the morag tong!
What doesn't make sense to me about this theory is why having the Dark Brotherhood perform the assassination would absolve the heir of any suspicion. His death at the hand of an assassin would certainly not be any less suspicious than a suicide or simply stepping down.
If he stepped down or committed suicide it would be in support of his heir. People would look upon the favourable link between them with a not entirely positive view. Meade was the man responsible for the treaty that made Skyrim rise up in arms. If Meade favoured someone then his detractors would try to discredit his successor.
But if Meade was assassinated then his heir might come out looking shady but then then any who hated Meade might be willing to pat the successor on the back. While any who supported Meade would be divided without proof as to who actually did it. Stormcloaks? Aldmeri? The successor? Nobles?
But if you go with the Emperor's last request, he tells you to kill who ordered his assassination -- In this case, Amaund Motierre.
i can believe it, he didn't fight it at all he took it with pride, a emperor who wanted to live would have fought and likely won
i doubt he would have won.
"STAB STAB STAB STAB STAB" ~Cicero 2017
ok, but why then would he let his double be killed in the first assassination attempt? Had he been killed via poisoned soup that would've resulted in a lower body count among his guardsmen
I wish there would have been an option to frame the Thalmor for his death. For instance leaving elven weaponry on the ship or killing the emperor with elven arrows, like a false flag mission.
Blake Kratzer That Would've Been Awesome
Also don't forget how the Emperor stated that he wouldn't try to fight back and just let you kill him.
There's absolutely no mention anywhere about Emperor Titus Mede II having heirs, and the Dark Brotherhood quest line even insinuates that he *doesn't* have any heirs.
We also now know it wasn't actually Emperor Titus Mede II that commanded the Imperial forces during the Battle of the Red Ring, it was the Forgotten Hero impersonating the Emperor (hence the rumors of the Emperor wielding Goldbrand during the battle), and Emperor Titus Mede II took credit for it.
We also now know that Emperor Titus Mede II told the Forgotten Hero about his suspicions of a Thalmor secret weapon responsible for their success against the Empire. The Forgotten Hero then confirmed those suspicions when he discovered the Orb of Vaermina in possession of the Thalmor, and it was lost during the fight over it. Even after knowing that the Thalmor no longer had the Orb of Vaermina in their possession (the source of their intel and great success), Emperor Titus Mede II still conceded to the White Gold Concordat. 5 years later, when the Redguards beat the Aldmeri Dominion back out of Hammerfell, proving that the Aldmeri Dominion were nowhere near as powerful as they pretended to be (now that their secret weapon was gone), Emperor Titus Mede II still refused to rip apart the White Gold Concordant.
Now, the Thalmor don't even need the Orb of Vaermina for intel gathering, since the Emperor allowed Thalmor Justiciars to wander about the Empire pursuing Talos worshippers, all the while gathering intel the whole time. The Aldmeri Dominion has all the intel it needs to win the next Great War before it's even begun, now.
The Imperial oath implies he does.
Also, it's canon that the Empire would've lost the Great War -- and badly -- had the Concordat not been signed.
There should be a new empire with the Dragonborn as Emperor or Emperoress, with Paarthurnaxx as the advisor, and the Companions as the sort of Knights of the Roundtable. If your character is a vampire lord and took out Harkon. While you already got a kingdom, maybe even an army.
I think Motierre’s death was called for not to coverup Titus’ assassination, but to simply wipeout a potential rival for his heir’s power.
I don’t think Motierre was a trusted ally of the Emperor. I think he might have been a major opponent for the Emperor that, nonetheless, the Emperor manipulated into ordering his own assassination. That’s why he requested Motierre’s death.
I was just thinking he was depressed and accepted his fate.
This idea is much better!
I think Ulfric would be a bigger threat to the Thalmor because they see him as an asset and because it is made very clear that unlike the empire he is beyond negotiation and will slaughter them all if he gets the chance. It is very clear that Ulfric would fight until the last man dies.
its totally amazing that a video game has so much lore that there are conspiracy theories within the game that are just as compelling as real life conspiracy theories
One problem. Who is the heir? Rulers do not leave something like that to chance. He would need someone who could rally the ailing Empire and convince those who left to rejoin. Someone who had great personal power and presense to go with the political power they would recieve. Who could the Emporer choose?
3:40 the guard on the dock has no boots
Honestly I thought This made sense from the title considering that I've played Skyrim WAYYYYY to much
Thanks for not stretching this video for watch time. You got to the point and did not waste time. Thank you again, kewp it up. I am a new sub and I like your voice, content and the quality you use and with the footage quality. Have a nice day.
2:30 Sabercat goes into the fray
If he was killed by an assassin it's even more suspicious than him killing himself outright People would definitely suspect that whoever took the throne was responsible.
so the emperor got someone to give himself a contract then he ended up hating that person and asked you to kill that man
It's a good theory, but to mention one point:
You are right the Emperor was advanced in years, but the thing is, even waiting a few years might not have been good. After all, it's EXTREMELY clear that the Aldmeri Dominion was already gearing up for the sequel to the first war, namely - The Great War 2: The Reckoning, so time might not have been on their side. Therefore killing the Emperor now (or if this theory is right, the Emperor arranging for himself to be assassinated), means that a new leader can take his place without the baggage of his rule bogging it down.
I also find it interesting that he never once asks you 'who' wanted him dead as well. Maybe he doesn't want to know, maybe he already DID know. Either way he faces his death with dignity...
...then I cast Dead Thrall on him. :p
So, if the Emperor organized his own assassination, does that mean he organized all of it? Did he command his cousin to be killed, and one of his top, most loyal commanders to be broken through his son's murder? That's pretty brutal if you ask me...
I hope we get to attack the heart of the Dominion in TES 6. It would be sooo incredibly satisfying to see the thalmor give up their power over the empire.
I'd like if the dark brotherhood would be the good guys in some way. Like a murderous version of the thieves guild in oblivion. Culling the herd of corrupt politicians in the empire if you will, and helping the empire against the aldmeri dominion because they know the elves wouldn't tolerate their existence. But still serving sithis in a way, just in a way that they can keep their existence by being a benefit to the people of the empire.
Do we know who took the Imperial throne after Titus Mede II's death? Any possible regents?
Does the Imperial throne allow female non-primogenitic succession? If Tamriel is anything like our world, there would be controversy if an old aunt took the crown.
the most magical username you'll ever witness yes. There have been female heirs in lore in the Septim Dynasty and the other dynasty's that are important.
wrakeful vagabond Maybe A Member of The Elder Council?
Slight chance it could be us as we are a dragonborn like most emperors, of the thalmor fall too you're sure to lead it
I thought this would be followed up with an explanation about how General Tullius is set up to ascend to the throne, which would be interesting if kind of unoriginal.
Great theory, but you forget that if you pick the dialogue option of hearing the emperors last wish before killing him, he asks you to kill the man who asked for his assassination.
Graves' Cigar Maybe he planned it with that guy and wanted you to kill him as well to hide the evidence.
Doesn't he contract you to kill his kin to attract the emperor tho? If the emperor just wished to die by an assassin why would he sacrifice family and risk the dark brotherhood being destroyed by his own when they sack the sanctuary, it's a nice theory but I would think he would set it up and then just show up for the wedding as she wanted and be killed there avoiding any possibility of it not being successful and unnecessary deaths.
I'm fast becoming addicted to these videos
It's certainly plausible, though I've always been of the mind that Mede just accepted what was going to happen, rather than orchestrating the events of his own assassination, and that he might have seen his death as a boon to the Empire as a whole, falling in line with the theory above despite the essential difference.
This kinda makes sense, hell this is pretty much what Picard did.
Avarty
Varty
Vaty
Vaaty
Vaati
*lore intensifies*
Amaund Motierre is the one who organized the Emperor's assassination. To have the Elder Council in power instead, now just seems like a greedy power grab, rather than motivated by a desire to "save" the Empire.
Titus Mede II is the reason why the Great War didn't end in the Empire's defeat. Call the result of the Great War what you want, but that doesn't change the fact that it was a cease-fire, as _both_ sides were devastated.
^
Plus the fact that the Great War started because Titus Mede II refused to sign the White-Gold Concordat in the first place. He only ultimately signed it at war's end because he knew the Empire didn't have enough remaining manpower and resources at the time to destroy what was left of the Dominion's military.
*Talos* Stormcrown, the ancient Dragonborn Emperor that the Nords love so much, would've done the exact same thing in that situation. Just like he did against Hammerfell and Black Marsh.
See this is a good theory it plays into my own personal theory about the events in Skyrim.
Taking the region size it would take the Dragonborn months to complete his quest, his first step is Whiterun almost immediately, he does get his bearings in Riverwood, he then heads back to Riverwood resupplying for Bleak Falls Barrow's learning of the ornamental dragon claws at the same time from the general store.
He then heads straight back to Whiterun to hand over the stone tablet, a dragon attacks the Dragonborn is discovered, the Greybeards shout out which everyone in Skyrim heard, so you take in travel time that all takes place in roughly 2 weeks.
Multiplying the distance by 4 you get roughly 10 weeks from Helgen to High Hrothgar. Tidus he would of heard a person who has a claim to the throne a figure people can actually follow starts his plot.
The next step getting him into the dark brotherhood, if you pay attention in the game it takes some time before the guards start mentioning the Aretino boy, this is a clear signal that some serious time has passed.
Grabbing the Dark Brotherhoods attention as their contract was stolen, how did they figure out who did it?
I refer you to Astrid and Commander Maro, they both had frequent discussions with each other, they were in contact, Astrid is told the guards tipped the Dragonborn off, she would send a courier to track them down, while that's happening the Emporer has the black sacrament performed, the courier would be followed by either Arbjorn or Babette, using her vampirism and his lycanthropy which have them moving alot faster than say a horse could run at full sprint.
Even the Dawnguard state vampires are fast, you need to be faster, there also a book that states how fast werewolves are, returning to Astrid this is the waiting period, she's informed to go to the abandoned shack, which I remind you is a stones throw away from both solitude and dragons bridge.
That's close to an entire armies headquarters, dangerously close, no assassin would make that move without an extremely good reason.
Now comes the whole morality part, will the Dragonborn who has a rightful do what he must do what is expected or will he turn on the brotherhood?
Obviously he doesn't, so events go to plan, better than planned, all thanks to Cicero rocking up the Falkreath sanctuary with the nigh mother.
So instead of hearing about the contract through whispers on the roads or inn's the Dragonborn is informed by the night mother, this freaks Astrid out, not only is she helping put a new rightful emporer on the throne he now also has claim to run the brotherhood.
That's when she puts a plan into action to betray the Dragonborn with Maro, Maro was intended to take the throne in the Dragonborns place, assuming he had the means, when the Dragonborn arrives he jumps the gun, sends a regiment down to Falkreath.
After escaping he heads to the solitude docks, why is he there of all places?
He has an official headquarters, he has everything in dragons bridge, you could claim he was there to protect the emporer, if he was would of been on the ship.
He just isn't, he is wandering around a scuttle boat.
He wasn't expecting one thing to happen, he wasn't expecting the Dragonborn to survive, the emporer he seen them duel, he had a clear line of sight to that part of the dock, his ship was also severely undermanned for a vessel carrying an Emporer.
Then we get the speech he gives the Dragonborn "leader's rise and fall, either by battle or assassin's" he gives that speech but in an elder scrolls way, intentionally avoiding to reveal anything.
He makes his request, dies after giving the Dragonborn a lesson on ruling.
With all loose ends tied up, he has two very significant people ready to prove a new leader has risen, Ulfric didn't want the emporer to die, he wanted Talos worship back, he wanted Skyrim to be free of the dominion, Tullius wanted to bring it back into the fold.
Both sides primary goal, getting rid of the Thalmor one way or another.
Not hard for emporer to have sent a letter to both saying recruit the Dragonborn, have him either restart the Empire bring the people together or start from new.
Case and point Ulfric and Tullius allow the Dragonborn to run around freely, the Thalmor are literally leaving solid gold bricks in their pants when the Dragonborn calls a meeting.
The Dragonborn can unite everyone against the Thalmor, from better to thieves, assassin's, rebel group's, influential leaders, the common people and to top it all off getting the respect to lead the dragon's, to call down dragons to aid them.
You'd be scared too in that position, someone so insanely powerful, with dragons and political pull, being respect and love by almost everyone and they have a claim to the throne of Tamriel.
By the time you leave to fight Alduin, you are the most loved and respected person in all of Tamriel.
When you get back from that the vampires go to make their play, after that a the cult of Miraak tries to kill you.
So not only does he prevent the vampires from getting uncontrollable power, he prevents a cult from creating another oblivion crisis.
You seriously think Hermaous was gonna let Miraak go, not without creating a tether of some kind to let the Deadric prince's walk Tamriel.
I reckon after all that, the Dragonborn between the events of Skyrim and Hammerfell will be invited to take the throne.
Which would make Hammerfell take place a decade or 2 after the events of Skyrim, reunification of Tamriel.
As of writing this Hammerfell is the most volatile region, the Dragonborn was heavily guided with the exception of the thieves guild, we get informed Hammerfell is about to go into a real bad situation.
So bringing Hammerfell together would insure the Thalmor end up on the losing side, it would insure every region would prosper.
I don't believe the Dragonborn is done just yet, his story is only just beginning, if they abruptly end it fans won't be satisfied when analysing the character.
Also if they start Hammerfell with another prison style sequence I got a feeling won't be the only one annoyed with that.
Dragonborn takes the throne, he rides into Hammerfell with a small army, you get separated from the army during the skirmish.
You have to survive Hammerfell, in doing so you bring peace to Hammerfell and stability which in turn brings it back to the empire.
Hell like a true rpg they could let us completely destroy the Empires attempts in Hammerfell, they also got that thing now that shows what players chose as a majority, with that they would have ES7 starting script.
Unfortunately this is all speculation, Hammerfell isn't out yet, I have formed some theories going through Skyrim with extreme detail in my 252 perfectionist run.
No glitching or exploits, farm is amazing because it helps get those alchemy stats up fast.
While doing this run I'm also noticing things that I haven't been able to look up or find videos on, some of these things literally go against what heaps of people have said about the game.
I'd 100% recommend doing a perfectionist 252 run no mods, glitches or exploits, creation club add ons are allowed because they fill the game out a bit more.
Just pay attention to the stuff NPC's say to each other, read the books, decode the dragon's language, there is full on translation guides on the internet for that to help you.
Really pay attention to the game, grind your skills find your resources.
It took me over 60 hours of solid play just to do absolutely everything in the rift.
I side with the empire, I feel that being worth less than a chicken is extremely awful.
If this is what can happen after the assasination, would this mean you can get the same effect with the imperial legion as with the stormcloak rebellion if you make the dark brotherhood quests before joining the civil war?
Doesn't matter, even if the Emperor is dead Tullius still has his orders and the Elder Council will rule the Empire until a new Emperor is chosen.
Okay but why would he want to kill Vittoria and all the others that died in the process
Wait, how would assassination by the Dark Brotherhood not be more likely to besmirch the legacy of Mede's successor's legacy more than suicide? If Mede had committed suicide one would assume that his successor might have had a hand in pushing him to it, but it's not as if the Emperor wouldn't have had plenty of reasons for it otherwise. If the Emperor is assassinated, on the other hand, it would be natural to wonder whether the successor did it.
On the other hand, there could be plenty of reasons why the councilor would want to kill the Emperor now even if he's likely to die soon that you don't consider. What if his successor is young and can't take up the throne yet, or if he's away and a coup can be staged before he can come back?
Think about some real world assassinations of world leaders. Abraham Lincoln was hated throughout his presidency but instantly became a martyr once Booth killed him. Similarly JFK's efforts to end segregation were controversial, but his death gave the civil rights movement a martyr. Most leaders who are assassinated become remembered as heroes and martyrs for at least a brief time following their death.
Sure, I'm just saying that it wouldn't be any less suspicious concerning whether the successor did it than suicide.
True, but I think the assassination would likely be blamed on the Stormcloaks. The Emperor dies in Skyrim, which is currently the only province of the Empire that has several nobles in open revolt against Imperial rule. Given how much the rebels and Ulfric himself detest the mere mention of the Emperor's name it wouldn't surprise me if most Imperial citizens immediately blamed the Stormcloaks for the assassination. There's also the paper planted on Gaius Maro's corpse, which if you read it it makes it seem as if Maro and the Stormcloaks were conspiring to kill the Emperor. A lot of people would probably also suspect the Thalmor of the murder.
This video doesn't explain it very well. He didn't want to die a martyr, he just wanted the best for the empire without drawing suspicion towards his successor. His plan for his assassination (and no, it's not just a crazy theory that he had himself killed, it's very clearly implied by the quest setup and his dialogue, and this is the natural conclusion the writers intended) was based around the death of a cruel, selfish leader with no regard for the Imperial identity, and his replacement by a young, inspiring emperor who could command the empire in a war. In fact, his own image remaining a negative one is crucial to such a plan.
Wow. Thanks for coming up with this theory. I felt bad as an Imperial Soldier to assasinate him
I thought this was going to be someone killing the emperor with a character that has the same face and clothes as the emperor.
A random sabretooth decided to join the fight
Made & published almost a full year before Camel posted a video about the same theory, and gave due credit to the reddit theorist
good man *applauds*
I think that if someone else killed him, alot more suspicion would be drawn.
That's one elaborate suicide I gotta say.
too elaborate to be true
I think the sabre cat is the last septim heir will be the next dragonborn emperor!!!
Did you reupload this? I saw this theory somewhere before.
It says my comment was edited yet i didn't. Peculiar.
If this is true it'd make me feel even better about wiping out the brotherhood. The Empire's time is coming and they've been long overdue for it.
Personally I feel that killing the emperor would be the worst thing you could do.
It would divide up the empire if the Mead himself had multiple children and it would give the thalmor the perfect opportunity to attack
Sometimes killing an emperor leads to a much better successor. Like if Brutus never killed Julius Ceasar his much better nephew would not be in charge.
Greetings! Have you heard any news from the other provinces?
I've always thought that the emperor should be the dragonborn
I doubt this theory. Way to many holes, and way to much conjecture. I doubt titus would kill his own family just to kill himself. he could have come up with a far better reason for coming to skyrim. keep in mind the guy was a great tactician. also, why would he kill mottiere? No, if he could trust the man to carry out such a huge burden, and if mottiere was such a close advisor. he would probably have a part 2 to the plan, which mottiere would also be a part of. and why would he have brought a double?
obscurissimus It could be that they secretly allied themselves with the Thalmor, only he knew about it. I bet he has an heir he was training to take the throne after his death to lead the assault against the Thalmor.
How is suicide or abdicating more suspicious then asasssination?
How people know the fictitious Skyrim history so intimately is beyond me!
Two questions would remain:
1. Why not the emperor hinself ordered the contract
2. Why not hire someone he could trust? Because the tieing the loose end thing seems to be slightly reckless considering that it wasn't a part of the seal to begin with and no compensation for it, basically plays out on the assasin would kill motiere out of favor
i just want to say if the emperor knew the dark brotherhood of course he would tell the ship guards but he didn't
that is a very interesting theory and very believable and i think it would be quite cool either in tesvi or a spinoff game where you play as the person who is to become the emperor or maybe you play as the dragonborn of skyrim and then become the emperor because well a lot of the emperors were dragonborns so it wouldnt be that weird but i doubt that will be part of a game sadly but even just reading about or hearing about the epic fight that the dovahkiin had reconquering and restoring the human empire.
Then why does he ask you to kill mortiere?
In my most recent playthrough, I played as a Nord who joins the legion, ascends the ranks, and then assassinates the emperor to replace him -- Roman style. This theory makes sense to me
: )
If he wanted to die kinda seems a waste all them casualties Anmaund in my mind likely wanted power. So he had us assassinate targets higher rank then himself and the emperor i dont think Anmaund planned that the assassin in question had any plan that the emperor would act with honor and the assassin would honor his dying wish.