Lore:Jagar Tharn

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Jagar Tharn
AR-npc-Jagar Tharn (Deluxe).png
Jagar Tharn
Race Multiracial[nb 1] Gender Male
Born Valenwood
Died 3E 399
Imperial Palace, Imperial City
Resided in Imperial City
Camlorn
Next Ruler Ria Silmane
Appears in Arena, Shadowkey

Jagar Tharn (/ˈdʒeɪɡɑɹ θɑɹn/ jay-gar tharn)[1][2][3][4] was the Imperial Battlemage of Tamriel and later Emperor of Tamriel, who secretly imprisoned Emperor Uriel Septim VII in Oblivion and used Illusion magic to masquerade as Uriel VII for a decade.[3][5][6][7] During Tharn's reign from 3E 389 to 3E 399, a period known as the Imperial Simulacrum, Uriel VII was held captive in a plane of Oblivion while Tharn reigned over the war-torn Empire.[5][7][8] It is not entirely known what Tharn's goals and personal accomplishments were during his reign.[7]

Biography[edit]

Background[edit]

"We Tharns have held positions of power throughout Cyrodiil since the days of the Potentate. We are prized for our loyalty to the Empire, our deft political machinations, and our ruthless subjugation or elimination of dissenters within Imperial territories. What we do is grim work, but it is necessary if the Empire is to endure."
—Abnur Tharn, Grand Chancellor of the Elder Council[9]

Jagar Tharn was the descendant of House Tharn of Nibenay, a prestigious Imperial family.[10][UOL 1] One source states that Tharn was born in southern Valenwood to a Bosmer mother, that he lacked human ancestry, and that his racial traits were a result of interracial relationships between elves, being part Altmer, part Dunmer, and perhaps part something else as well.[11] Additionally, he was said to be a descendant of the Ra'athim Clan of Ebonheart and King Moraelyn.[11] Ultimately, Tharn was said to be of a newly emerging race, which had been bred into existence over many generations, much like the Bretons that emerged from interbreeding between men and mer long ago.[UOL 2][nb 1]

At some point prior to his appointment as Imperial Battlemage of Tamriel, Tharn served as a mage-priest at the Temple of Sethiete in Camlorn.[12] Tharn was more than likely a member of the Spire Council, the administrative body of the Imperial Battlespire, as it was customary at this time for the future Imperial Battlemage to be selected from their ranks.[13]:17

Theft of the Staff of Chaos[edit]

The Staff of Chaos

When Jagar Tharn began planning the theft of the Staff of Chaos is unclear. During his time as a mage-priest at the Temple of Sethiete, Tharn stole information on powerful spells, the location of the Staff of Chaos, and how the staff could be used.[12] Circa 3E 376, a bard known as the Nightingale seduced Queen Barenziah of Morrowind, and she revealed the location of the Staff of Chaos to the Nightingale, who then stole the staff from its sanctuary beneath the city of Mournhold.[nb 2][14][15][16][17] Barenziah later recognized the Nightingale to be Jagar Tharn.[11][16]

However, an alternative account asserts that the bard who stole the Staff of Chaos was Drayven Indoril, a master thief and member of the Nightingale Trinity who Tharn hired to steal the staff, and that the truth was covered up for political reasons.[17] The account also claims that when Indoril gave the staff to Tharn, he attempted to kill Indoril, but his Nightingale abilities allowed him to escape.[17] Tharn then began searching for Indoril, but he eventually abandoned the search.[17] Nevertheless, both versions of events state that it was Tharn who was ultimately behind the theft and took possession of the Staff of Chaos.[11][16][17]

Soon after the theft of the Staff of Chaos, Barenziah's consort Symmachus sent urgent communiqués to Uriel Septim VII.[15] Uriel VII expressed shock and displeasure at the staff's theft and urged Symmachus to make every effort to locate its whereabouts and communicate developments to the newly appointed Imperial Battlemage, Jagar Tharn, who was tasked with tracking down the staff and those responsible for stealing it.[11]

Imperial Battlemage of Tamriel[edit]

During the two decades after Uriel VII acceded to the Ruby Throne in 3E 368, he expanded and consolidated Imperial influence and culture throughout the Empire, but especially in Morrowind and Black Marsh.[5][7][18] As Uriel VII's close advisor, Tharn provided shrewd counsel and arcane support to complement the Emperor's ambition and agile mind in these endeavors.[5] Uriel VII, and the Empire, greatly benefited from Tharn's arcane powers and wisdom.[5][19]

At some point, Tharn began planning to usurp Uriel VII.[20] Uriel VII eventually surpassed his teacher at balancing the skills of threat and diplomacy, and Tharn's role became less important as time went on.[5] It is believed that he carried on the facade of an out-paced counselor in order to feed Uriel VII's ego and self-assurance and to earn the Emperor's complete trust, all the while Tharn executed his own plans in the background.[5]

In 3E 389, Tharn attended the Mid Year's festival in the Emperor's banquet hall.[20] At the festival, Tharn listened to the leader of the Imperial Guard, General Talin Warhaft, tell an anecdote to Princess Ariella Septim about when his friend, Marten the Blade, used an illusion spell to change his own appearance into that of another, so that Marten might trick a group of bandits into thinking he was their leader.[20] This anecdote served as the inspiration Tharn needed to complete his plan and finally take Uriel VII's place on the Ruby Throne.[20]

As a cover story for his future absence, he requested a leave of absence to pursue magical studies.[20][16] Uriel VII was troubled by the potential absence of his powerful and wise Imperial Battlemage, but nonetheless, he accepted the request, wished him success in his endeavors, and asked only that Tharn select a replacement Imperial Battlemage for the duration of his absence.[20] Tharn appointed Ria Silmane, his oldest apprentice and a powerful mage, to fill his position.[20][16] The appointment was fully approved by the Elder Council.[20]

Betrayal[edit]

Tharn's betrayal of Uriel VII
Tharn kills Ria Silmane

Tharn plotted for months to bring his plan to fruition.[6] Later in 3E 389, he requested to meet with the Emperor to discuss rumors of treachery.[nb 3][6][18] But when Uriel VII and General Warhaft arrived to discuss the rumors of treachery, Tharn used the Staff of Chaos to imprison them in Oblivion.[nb 4][7][5][6][13]:180 Time moved much slower in this plane of Oblivion; thus, it would be centuries before Uriel VII died, and he would experience nothing but inexplicable and haunting nightmares.[5][20][21] Tharn refrained from killing Uriel VII because the Amulet of Kings would have warned the Elder Council of the Emperor's death.[20][21] When Ria Silmane learned of what Tharn had done to Uriel VII, she attempted to inform the Elder Council, but before she could inform them, Tharn used the Staff of Chaos to kill her.[1][16][6]

With his plot successful, Tharn drained the Staff of Chaos of its power, and he imbued its energy, along with his own life force, into the Jewel of Fire.[1][22] Then, he divided the staff into eight pieces, and hid them throughout the Empire.[1][16] He took these precautions because the Staff of Chaos was the only item that could be used to free Uriel VII from Oblivion and because if someone did discover his deception, they would have to recover the pieces and reassemble the staff, only to discover it to be useless without the Jewel of Fire.[1][22]

Tharn assumes the appearance of Uriel VII

Tharn used Illusion magic to assume the appearance of Uriel VII, and then he took the imprisoned Emperor's place on the Ruby Throne.[6][20][7] He dismissed Uriel VII's inner circle and replaced the Imperial Guards with Fire Daemons, whom Tharn cast an illusion spell on to give them the appearance of mortal Imperial Guardsmen.[6][20][21] After his usurpation of Uriel VII, he exiled Uriel VII's wife, Caula Voria, to the Temple of the One, and he sent the imprisoned Emperor's children to various prisons across Tamriel.[11]

Emperor of Tamriel and Imperial Simulacrum[edit]

"-old troubles resurfaced, forgotten grudges rekindled, and wars flared throughout the land. In the east, Morrowind attacked Black Marsh in the Arnesian War; in the north, Skyrim battled High Rock and Hammerfell in the War of the Bend'r-mahk; in the south, Elsweyr took arms against Valenwood in the Five Year War; in the west, Valenwood also lost land to its old ally Summerset in the War of the Blue Divide."
—Pocket Guide to the Empire, 3rd Edition: All the Eras of Man
Jagar Tharn
Jagar Tharn on the Ruby Throne

The Empire suffered terribly during Tharn's decade-long reign, a period later known as the Imperial Simulacrum.[5][23][24] Tharn's neglect and mismanagement of Imperial affairs resulted in a steady decline in the Empire's economic prosperity.[5][24] The decline of Imperial authority in the provinces that accompanied this neglect and mismanagement caused many of the petty lords and kings to take advantage of the situation by engaging in wars of expansion.[5][8] However, little is known of what Tharn sought to accomplish during this time.[7]

Circa 3E 397, a shadowmage named Skelos Undriel was driven from the Imperial City by Tharn's agents, and Undriel fled to the Western Reach, a region at the time engulfed in the War of the Bend'r-mahk.[25][26] Tharn ordered his agents to track down Undriel.[25][26][27] Undriel hid in the village of Azra's Crossing, but bandits employed by Tharn attacked the village and captured Undriel, but he was later rescued.[25][28]

In 3E 397, Tharn and a shadowmage named Pergan Asuul vied to gain control of the Umbra' Keth, a "Shadow of Conflict", which was created by the ongoing War of the Bend'r-mahk.[27][26][29] To strengthen the Shadow of Conflict and advance Imperial influence in the region, Tharn bribed many prominent families in Hammerfell to support Skyrim in the war.[30][31] To further strengthen the Umbra' Keth, he provided funding for a bandit leader named Lakvan to kill soldiers fighting on the side of Hammerfell.[27][30] Tharn's plans to gain control of the Umbra' Keth were foiled when it was destroyed.[29][32]

In 3E 396, Tharn made a deal with the Daedric Prince, Mehrunes Dagon.[33][13]:18 Tharn gave the Battlespire to Mehrunes Dagon, and in exchange, Dagon's forces were required to slay the five battlemage administrators who governed the Battlespire.[33][24][13]:18 Xivilai Moath helped engineer Tharn's involvement in the fall of the Battlespire.[13]:158 He made this deal to eliminate the competition for his position as Imperial Battlemage of Tamriel, as the Battlespire administrators were customarily selected for the position.[13]:17 The deal also served as partial recompense for the assistance that Mehrunes Dagon provided Tharn in his usurpation of Uriel VII.[3][4][34]:2 He had an association with a worshipper of Mehrunes Dagon, the mage Carecalmo, who was involved in Tharn's plot against Uriel VII.[35]

In 3E 398, Tharn sent one of his retainers, Sirran Angada, to the Battlespire.[3][33][36] Angada used a special transmorph spell to take on the appearance of Lomegan Mariel, Uriel VII's Personal Liaison to the Battlespire, which allowed him to infiltrate the facility.[36][37] At the Battlespire, Angada bribed Paxti Bittor, the Exalted Summoner, to betray the Battlespire to Mehrunes Dagon's forces, and Angada gave the facility's portal keys to the Daedric invaders.[37][38][39] The invasion largely accomplished Tharn's goal, as only a few of the facility's battlemages, such as Clarentavious Valisious, survived.[40][13]:92 After Mehrunes Dagon's forces captured the Battlespire, Tharn assigned Angada to read the vagaries of the magicka tides for the Prince of Destruction.[3] An apprentice used Mehrunes Dagon's neonymic to banish him, but when the Imperial Legion recaptured the Battlespire in the aftermath of the invasion, the facility was in ruins.[41][42][43][13]:180

Downfall[edit]

As a consequence of the banishment of Mehrunes Dagon, Tharn no longer had Dagon to bolster his regime.[24][13]:180 When Tharn used the Staff of Chaos to kill Ria Silmane, he destroyed the corporeal form of Silmane, but he made the costly mistake of not destroying her spirit.[1][22] Circa 3E 391, the spirit of Silmane appeared in the dreams of Eadwyre, King of Wayrest, and told him of what Tharn had done to her.[nb 5][14][11][16] Silmane also told Eadwyre about a prisoner and friend of hers who had the potential to defeat Tharn.[11][16] This prisoner was formerly a minor member of Tharn's Imperial Court, and because of this, he did not view them as a threat.[1] Eadwyre divulged Silmane's information to Barenziah, who had suspicions about the Emperor after an audience with him, and the monarchs formulated a plan to gain Tharn's confidence.[11][16] Tharn was aware of the fact that Barenziah and Eadwyre had deduced that he was not Uriel VII.[11] Nonetheless, Barenziah managed to charm and eventually befriend him, which allowed her to slowly learn the locations of the eight pieces of the Staff of Chaos.[11][16] Barenziah also obtained a copy of the key to the cell of Silmane's friend, and she bribed a guard to leave the key there.[16] One account claims Barenziah became pregnant with Tharn's son during this time.[11]

The Jewel of Fire
The death of Jagar Tharn

In 3E 399, Silmane entered the dreams of the prisoner, and she informed them what needed to be done to defeat Tharn and restore Uriel VII to the throne.[1][21][18] After receiving this information, Silmane's champion escaped their cell by using the ruby key left by the bribed guard, and they escaped the prison by traveling through a Shift Gate.[1][21][44] Silmane's champion was indefatigable and unstoppable in their journey across Tamriel to retrieve the pieces of the Staff of Chaos.[16][45] As the champion retrieved each piece of the staff, Tharn used magical visions to threaten and taunt them, and he sent his minions to try and defeat them.[22][45] Finally, the champion retrieved the final piece of the Staff of Chaos from the mountain of Dagoth-Ur, but when they reassembled the staff, Tharn mocked them, and he told them that he had drained the staff of its power.[22][46] He taunted Silmane's champion to confront him in the Imperial Palace and retrieve the Jewel of Fire.[22]

The champion entered the Imperial Palace, and they fought their way through the halls of the palace until they reached Tharn.[47] The champion fought Tharn and defeated him, and then they used the Staff of Chaos to drain the power of the Jewel of Fire, which destroyed Jagar Tharn, and Uriel VII was returned to Tamriel.[47][5][7][23] The Emperor named his liberator the Eternal Champion, and granted them a place by his side.[47] On the topic of Jagar Tharn's demise, High Chancellor Ocato reportedly said: "Tharn is dead. He is actually worse off, but I will not discuss those details."[UOL 2]

Legacy[edit]

When Uriel VII was restored to the Ruby Throne, he began a period of healing for the Empire known as the Restoration.[5][16][23][24] After his emancipation, Uriel VII worked diligently to reunite Tamriel, although he did so through more subtle means, no longer displaying the brashness he had before his imprisonment.[5][7] Uriel VII stated that his change in strategy and disposition was a reaction to and revulsion to the early teachings and counsel of Jagar Tharn.[5] Due to the audacity and scope of his plot, Tharn was remembered in history as the arch-traitor to the Empire.[2][48][49] Uriel VII launched investigations into Tharn's plot, but little information was discovered.[UOL 3] Decades after his death, circa 3E 427, it was rumored that Uriel VII's own heirs had been replaced by Tharn's doppelgangers.[50][51] Many people were killed when the Imperial Guard charged a mob that demanded the destruction of the "false heirs".[50] Circa 3E 432, the last of Tharn's known associates were prisoners awaiting their deaths in The Rose, an infamous prison in Black Marsh.[52]

Gallery[edit]

  • Jagar Tharn

  • Depiction of Jagar Tharn

  • Jagar Tharn imprisons Uriel VII in Oblivion

Notes[edit]

  • 1  Before Redguard the Imperial Province had no real defined race, such as the Imperial race that was introduced in later canon. In the first games, designer Ted Peterson imagined the folk who lived in the Imperial Province as possessing a complete mix of racial traits from the folk who inhabited the other eight provinces.[UOL 2] The Real Barenziah describes Jagar Tharn as an absolute elf of the Ra'athim Clan, with little human ancestry.[11] However, layers of backfilling introduced later seem to disagree with that description, with The Elder Scrolls Online introducing the Tharns as a significant family of Imperials within Cyrodiil; the developers of ESO used Jagar Tharn as a reference for introducing House Tharn of Nibenay for their game, explaining that he was a descendant from the Tharns of the Second Era.[10][UOL 1] Peterson once stated that: "There is some lore justification for new "races" being bred over time, over many generations. It is said that the Breton race came about from men and mer." and "There are some legendary characters who are said to be half-breeds, possessing traits from numerous races. The most famous of these was said to be Jagar Tharn, the villain from TES I: Arena."[UOL 2] However, under the rules of genetics as presented in Notes on Racial Phylogeny, which Peterson had also said he subscribes to (as a way to explain why there aren't more half-races and characters with multiracial features from a gameplay perspective), Jagar Tharn should have logically possessed the racial traits of his Wood Elf mother.[53][UOL 4] However, examples from ESO show modern canonical depictions of characters with multiracial features, such as Aeliah Remnus, a half-Imperial half-Redguard, and Bacaro Volorus, a half-Imperial half-Breton.[54][55]
  • 2  The Real Barenziah and Biography of Queen Barenziah indicate that Hlaalu Helseth was conceived around the time of the theft of the Staff of Chaos. According to The Daggerfall Chronicles, Helseth was born in 3E 376.[14]
  • 3  According to the game manual for Arena, Ria Silmane feared that the evil first "took form" at a Mid Year's festival (the 16th of Mid Year), the last place she had met the Eternal Champion.
  • 4  In the Floppy Disk releases of Arena, Warhaft is shown leaving Oblivion with Uriel VII, and thanks the Champion for his service. In the CD-ROM releases of Arena, only Uriel VII is seen leaving Oblivion, with no mention of Warhaft whatsoever.
  • 5  It is not stated when Ria Silmane began appearing in the dreams of Eadwyre, but both The Real Barenziah and Biography of Queen Barenziah place Eadwyre's first meeting with Barenziah shortly after the death of Symmachus, which The Daggerfall Chronicles states occurred in 3E 391.[14]
  • Jagar Tharn was known to align himself with The Dark, better known as Padomay or Sithis.[56][UOL 5] One source may imply some connection to the Temple of the One, and another source states that he once served as a mage-priest within the Brotherhood of Setheite.[11][12]
  • Early ideas proposed for the Oblivion Crisis story by Michael Kirkbride involved at least one clone-simulacrum of Jagar Tharn and his sleepers as antagonists, with the simulacrum being called Tharnatos Ultimo who resided in the "starry heart of Nirn", whom had ties to the Morag Tong, seemingly via the Tong's simulacrum/incarnation mechanism and their additional ties to Sithis / Padomay / The Dark.[57][UOL 5][UOL 6][UOL 7][UOL 8]
  • Jagar Tharn was based on Arena designer, director, and producer Vijay Lakshman.[UOL 2]

See Also[edit]

  • For game-specific information, see the Arena and Shadowkey articles.

Books[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i Ria Silmane's dialogue in Arena
  2. ^ a b Daggerfall CES Cinematic
  3. ^ a b c d e Sirran Angada's dialogue in Battlespire
  4. ^ a b Jauffre's dialogue in Oblivion
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p A Life of Uriel Septim VII — Rufus Hayn
  6. ^ a b c d e f g Arena Introduction Scene
  7. ^ a b c d e f g h i Brief History of the Empire, v 4 — Stronach k'Thojj III
  8. ^ a b Pocket Guide to the Empire, 3rd Edition: All the Eras of Man, A Comprehensive History of our History — Imperial Geographical Society, 3E 432
  9. ^ Chronicles of the Five Companions 4 — Abnur Tharn
  10. ^ a b House Tharn of Nibenay — Count Opius Voteporix
  11. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n The Real Barenziah, v 5 — Anonymous
  12. ^ a b c Mystery of Talara, v 4 — Mera Llykith
  13. ^ a b c d e f g h i Battlespire Athenaeum — Ronald Wartow
  14. ^ a b c d Royal Family Tree, The Daggerfall Chronicles — Ronald Wartow
  15. ^ a b The Real Barenziah, v 4 — Anonymous
  16. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Biography of Barenziah, v 3 — Stern Gamboge, Imperial Scribe
  17. ^ a b c d e The Nightingales Vol. 2 — Gallus Desidenius
  18. ^ a b c Tamriel's Timeline, The Daggerfall Chronicles — Ronald Wartow
  19. ^ A Dance in Fire, v7 — Waughin Jarth
  20. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l French version of the Arena Player's Guide/Introduction
  21. ^ a b c d e English version of the Arena Player's Guide/Introduction
  22. ^ a b c d e f Jagar Tharn's dialogue in Arena
  23. ^ a b c Assassination!
  24. ^ a b c d e Elderscrolls.com Archive/Codex
  25. ^ a b c The Elder Scrolls Travels Shadowkey on Vir2l.com
  26. ^ a b c Skelos Undriel's dialogue in Shadowkey
  27. ^ a b c Brown Scroll — Jagar Tharn
  28. ^ Events of Rescue Prisoners in Shadowkey
  29. ^ a b Cutscenes of Crypt of Hearts III in Shadowkey
  30. ^ a b Red Scroll
  31. ^ Events of Bribery Papers in Shadowkey
  32. ^ Events of the Main Quest of Shadowkey
  33. ^ a b c Elderscrolls.com Archive/Timeline
  34. ^ The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Official Game Guide — Peter Olafson
  35. ^ Lalatia Varian's dialogue in Morrowind
  36. ^ a b Jagar Tharn's Letter — Jagar Tharn
  37. ^ a b Paxti Bittor's dialogue in Battlespire
  38. ^ Letters for the Battlespire Hero — Vatasha Trenelle or Josian Kaid
  39. ^ Letter to Mactana
  40. ^ Clarentavious Valisious' dialogue in Battlespire
  41. ^ Events of Level 7 in Battlespire
  42. ^ The Doors of Oblivion — Seif-ij Hidja
  43. ^ Tamrielic Lore — Yagrum Bagarn
  44. ^ Events of Imperial Dungeons in Arena
  45. ^ a b Events of the Main Quest of Arena
  46. ^ Events of Dagoth-Ur in Arena
  47. ^ a b c Events of The Imperial Palace in Arena
  48. ^ Battlespire Introduction Scene
  49. ^ Response to Bero's Speech — Malviser, Battlemage
  50. ^ a b Caldera rumors in Morrowind
  51. ^ Sjoring Hard-Heart's dialogue in Morrowind
  52. ^ Pocket Guide to the Empire, 3rd Edition: The War with the Trees: Argonia and the Black Marsh — Imperial Geographical Society, 3E 432
  53. ^ Notes on Racial Phylogeny — the Council of Healers, Imperial University
  54. ^ Aeliah Renmus in ESO: Dragonhold
  55. ^ Bacaro Volorus in ESO: High Isle
  56. ^ The Light and the Dark — Irek Unterge
  57. ^ Dram Character Biography on Redguard.com

Note: The following references are considered to be unofficial sources. They are included to round off this article and may not be authoritative or conclusive.

  1. ^ a b The Elder Scrolls Online: From Skyrim to Morrowind, and everything in between
  2. ^ a b c d e Ted Peterson's Posts
  3. ^ Cut Daggerfall imported character background history
  4. ^ The Creator Of The Elder Scrolls, Sheogorath Himself, TED PETERSON - Full Interview!
  5. ^ a b Redguard Forum Madness
  6. ^ The Xal-Gosleigh Letters
  7. ^ Masser and Secunda
  8. ^ Nu-Mantia Intercept
Antagonists
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Battlespire
Redguard
Morrowind
Stormhold
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Oblivion
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