Quintus Aurelian

Quintus Aurelian was an Imperial general and politican. He was made Potentate by Emperor Uriel VI in 3E 298 following the assassination of Gaius Horatius, High Chancellor of the Elder Council.

Summary
The Empire erupted into fresh chaos in 3E 298 with the assassination of High Chancellor Gaius Horatius. The murder was twinly treason and sacrilege, taking place on the steps of the Great Chantry of Akatosh. A number from the Elder Council itself complicit and factional infighting ensued. Rioting followed soon after. Many notables had fled the city by nightfall, including the Emperor. Uriel VI was in secret shuttled out to the country with a small retinue. Throughout the Empire, news spread of turmoil in the capital.

Almost as soon as word reached him, Quintus drew the Fourth Legion to the borders of Cyrodiil. He issued a delayed march into the Heartlands, ostensibly for the consolidation of imperial armies against would-be warlords and usurpers. Anequina was at this time largely abandoned. He rode for the Imperial City ahead of his forces, accompanied by half a century.

Some distance from the capital, Aurelian discovered Uriel VI. Greatly surprised and greatly pleased both, he offered the boy-Emperor his assistance. Aurelian begged his liege go south with him to rejoin the Fourth Legion, requesting the right to enter the capital and restore order. The Emperor, by desire or fear, was obliged.

The Fourth Legion’s approach through the country was altogether, quite shockingly, unchallenged. The Seventh Legion, under the command of Marcus Albinus, was stationed in defence of the capital. At first he denied the Fourth Legion’s advance, demanding the Emperor alone enter the city. Uriel VI compelled Albinus to stand his troops down. Aurelian recalls his entry into the capital as one so easy any man could have usurped the Ruby Throne.

Before entering the capital, Aurelian ceremoniously disarmed himself. His troops, however, kept their weapons. On behalf of the Emperor, he read out two imperial decrees and ordered their full text published throughout the city. The first of these was a declaration of martial law, granting the Fourth Legion in particular the authority and autonomy to police the city and restore order. The second was a denunciation of the High Chancellor’s murder, formally branding his killers traitors.

In the immediate hours that followed, a party of Elder Councillors still in the city approached the Emperor. In what was certainly a work of theatre, this party pleaded that Aurelian be made Potentate for the remainder of the year to oversee the restoration of order. There was some hesitation and reticence in the imperial court for there had not been a Potentate since the midyears of the Second Era. The office was like that of a regent’s, bringing it into conflict with the power of the Empress Regent. In a seemingly bizarre move, the Empress Regent spoke in favour of Aurelian’s appointment. Before the day was done, a third imperial decree was made: Quintus Aurelian, for his service to the Emperor and towards the restoration of imperial authority, was named Potentate.

Biography
Quintus belonged to the Aurelian family. Though it was an aristocratic dynasty with land and office across the realm, the family suffered terribly in the immediate years following the dispossession of Andorak Septim in favour of his distant cousin Cephorus. Caius Caesonius, Quintus’ uncle, pledged his service to Andorak. He was soon joined by Quintus’ father Marcus Aurelian and the two began to muster a small host near the city of Anvil.

Laying siege to the city, which had decidedly declared for Cephorus, Caius intended to create an opening into Cyrodiil for Andorak. By sea, the Septim prince could land and resupply his armies for what would then be a straightforward march to the capital. The siege went poorly, however, and without the necessary troop numbers could not be properly made. Less than a year later, forces loyal to Cephorus arrived to liberate the city. Marcus was killed in battle while Caius was captured.

Cephorus declared all Aurelian properties forfeit, later persuaded to seize only property in Cyrodiil. Much of the Aurelian family fled into the other provinces of the Empire. Quintus, along with his brother Lucanus, was taken by his mother to his grandmother’s residence in Hammerfell. He would be raised there for most of his youth in a sort of exile.

Quotes

 * ‘I am inclined to mercy. I am compelled to justice.’
 *  'Today I return a son to his mother and an emperor to his throne.'