Martin Septim

Martin Septim (3E ?? - 3E 433) was the illegitimate son of Emperor Uriel Septim VII, leader of The Empire of Tamriel, a fictional state in the Elder Scrolls universe. He is generally considered to have been the final Emperor of Tamriel, although some disagree-see "Martin as Emperor" in this article for details. He appears prominently as a character in The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion. The character is voiced by Sean Bean.

Biography
With the death of his father and half-brothers, Martin became the only remaining Septim. Martin, unaware that he was in fact the final heir to the Septim throne, is sought out by the player character in The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion. Formerly a practitioner of daedric magic, he was now a priest of Akatosh in the chapel of Kvatch. Upon being found and informed of his true character, he helped to end the daedric invasion of the mortal world. Soon after Martin's discovery, the Amulet of Kings was stolen by members of the Mythic Dawn; a Daedra cult based within Cyrodiil, who were also responsible for the invasion in the first place. To safeguard Martin, Jauffre, grandmaster of the Blades, took Martin to the fortress of the Blades, called Cloud Ruler Temple, where he also named the protagonist a member of the Blades.

A failed attempt by the player to recover the Amulet of Kings from Mankar Camoran did yield the Mysterium Xarxes, the holy book of the Mythic Dawn cult and a tome of massive, dark power. This was taken to Martin. Martin, recalling his past as a practitioner of Daedric magic, translated the Xarxes. However, it was slow, painstaking work, taking much, much research. Eventually, he determined that the book could be used to open a portal to Camoran's Paradise, and that four other items were needed to do this. These included any Daedric artifact, the blood of one of the Nine Divines (obtained from armor Tiber Septim had fought and bled in while mortal), a Great Welkynd Stone, and a Great Sigil Stone. The player is able to obtain the first three objects alone, but the last could be obtained only by allowing the Mythic Dawn to open a Great Gate near Bruma, which could potentially cause the destruction of Bruma. Martin donned the armor of Tiber Septim, and led a defense of Bruma, deliberately allowing the opening of the gate and buying the player time to secure the stone.

The four objects in hand, Martin bound himself temporarily to the Xarxes, and opened a portal to Paradise. The Hero of Kvatch (the player character) entered, killed Camoran and returned with the Amulet of Kings, presenting it to Martin. During this raid, Martin sent a messenger to the Imperial Palace to formally present his claim to the throne to Chancellor Ocato, who, with the Elder Council, considered and accepted the claim.

Just as Ocato formally recognized Martin as Emperor, a massive Daedric invasion occurred within the Imperial City. Martin, Ocato, the protagonist and the Blades made it to the Temple of the One which housed the Dragonfires. However, they were too late-Mehrunes Dagon himself had entered Tamriel. Lighting the Dragonfires was no longer an option-they merely maintained the barriers between Mundus and Oblivion. They could not rebuild them, and Dagon's coming to Tamriel meant they had been completely obliterated. A despairing Martin turned to the Hero, and a brief conversation ensued, during which the Hero, desperate, asked "What about the Amulet of Kings?" Martin was inspired by the question, and ordered the champion to lead him to the Temple anyway. Upon their arrival, the champion and Martin bade each other farewell. Martin then shattered the Amulet of Kings in order to become the avatar of the god Akatosh. Dagon smashed the Temple Dome as Martin was transforming. The Dragon destroyed Mehrunes Dagon's physical body, banishing him back to the Wastes of Oblivion, but not without sustaining a mortal wound itself. After the fight's end, the Dragon arched its neck, roaring into the sky, and petrified, becoming a statue.

Soon after this event, High Chancellor Ocato stated that Martin would be remembered as the last and greatest Septim, and went on to say that Martin would have been a great Emperor. As Martin died childless, as did all of his brothers, the Line of Septim is completely defunct. However, the nature of Martin's sacrifice ensured that an Emperor was no longer necessary to maintain the barriers between the worlds.

Martin as Emperor
It has been debated by fans whether Martin truly held the title of "Emperor" upon his death. Some point to the fact that Ocato recognized Martin as the ruler of Tamriel, and deferred to him for orders upon receipt of the news of the invasion of the Imperial City. Another faction, however, points out that Martin never went through the rituals of coronation. In some Earthly nations (for example, the United States,) rulership passes to the next man in the line of succession upon the moment of the sitting ruler's death-the ceremony of coronation or inauguration is merely a visible recognition of the new ruler's authority by the rest of the government, as well as a recognition by the ruler of his new duties. See The King is dead. Long live the King! Other realms, such as the Holy See, are without ruler until the ceremony is complete. It remains to be seen which category Tamriel falls into, if, indeed, the developers have even considered this.