Publius Tremulus

                      

Publius Tremulus is an Imperial politician and administrator. He currently serves as the Provincial Governor of Hammerfell.

Early life and career
Publius Tremulus was born in the Talos Plaza District of the Imperial City on 22nd Sun's Height 3E 259, under the sign of the Apprentice. He was descended from a long line of accomplished public officials and military commanders, and was thus destined for imperial service from birth. His family diligently choreographed his education for this very purpose, culminating in study at the Imperial University from the age of fifteen. The curriculum, lasting six years, was archetypal of an aspiring official; consisting primarily of history, law and philosophy.

Upon graduating in 3E 280, Tremulus pledged himself to the Imperial Legion for ten years. He immediately obtained the rank of Decanus (a captain of ten legionnaires) of the Eleventh Legion, commanded by his maternal uncle. Much of his military service was spent in Valenwood, participating in the Empire's unsuccessful attempt to subdue the province following its devastation by Haymon Camoran. Tremulus eventually obtained the rank of Tribune (a commander of a cohort of five hundred legionnaires), though his years in the legion were unexceptional.

Soon after his departure from the Imperial Legion in 3E 290, Tremulus married {Wife}, daughter of the wealthy Elder Councillor {Father-in-Law}. This marriage facilitated Tremulus's admittance to the imperial court to seek preferment; he was duly appointed to his first civil office as Imperial Prefect of Leyawiin.

Governor of Hammerfell
In 3E 296, Tremulus was appointed Provincial Governor of Hammerfell by the Elder Council. The first imperial governor of the province since the days of Tiber Septim, his mandate was to restore the Empire's authority and reap the region's abundants sources of taxation. This task was onerous, for the Empire had been almost entirely absent from Hammerfell for almost half a decade. Since the conquest of the Camoran Usurper, the region was beset by urban decay, famine and civil unrest.

The Third Legion was assigned to the new governorate, though it was only mobilised at two-thirds of its full strength. It was commanded by the veteran Colovian general Protus Barbatus, whose rustic manners contrasted the cosmopolitan gentility of Tremulus. Nevertheless, Tremulus crossed the Brena River with the Third Legion on 11th Rain's Hand 3E 296.

Rihad
Rihad, which the Third Legion occupied on 13th Rain's Hand, was much unlike its description in the governor's outdated dossier. Once a wealthy metropolis, the city was now ruined and depopulated. A succession of blood despots had succeeded the erstwhile royal dynasty, exterminated by the Camoran Usurper. The prosperous Forebears who had survived this onslaught had largely abandoned the city. In their place the worshippers of the Yokudan deity Satakal had emerged, whose hostility to foreigners was well-documented. Nevertheless, Tremulus resolved to quarter the Third Legion among the ruins of Rihad and restore it as a gleaming hub of imperial influence - instigating an ambitious scheme of public works.

Tensions boiled over in the summer of 3E 297 when Tremulus, pressured by Barbatus, assented to the construction of a temple of Talos to service the garrisoned legionnaires. This temple was tactlessly built on the sacred site of a ruined temple of Tu'whacca, causing outrage among Crown and Forebear alike. The new temple was destroyed in the ensuing riot. Despite the governor's enjoinder for peace, the Third Legion committed brutal reprisals in vengeance for this affront to their hero-god. Barbatus refused to punish the legionnaires involved in this violence, and it was suspected that the general himself had ordered the reprisals.

Martial law was imposed on Rihad, during which time a group of insurgents identified as 'Satakalites' began to harrass and murder imperial personnel in the city. In the autumn of 3E 297, a Satakalite assassin infiltrated the governor's residence and was apprehended by operatives of the Blades before the door of Tremulus's bedchamber. This close encounter with death finally determined Tremulus to withdraw from Rihad. An Imperial Prefect was appointed to the city with a single legionary cohort, whilst the governor and the Third Legion marched north-west to Taneth.

Taneth
The Third Legion arrived at the gates of Taneth in Frost Fall 297, and the Provincial Governor was received with great pageantry and honour by the Forebear queen Atusa IV. Tremulus, following a private interview with the queen, agreed not to quarter his army within the city limits. The legion instead commenced construction of a fortress to the north-west of Taneth, on the eastern banks of the Irk River.

Unburdened by local obstacles, the Provincial Governor was at last able to focus on his two principal objectives: public works and taxation. Plans for an ampitheatre in Taneth - modelled on the arena of the Imperial City - were made, intended as as a "gift" from the emperor to his loyal subjects. Eight-foot marble statues of Reman I and Tiber Septim - founders of the Second and Third Empires respectively - were sculpted and erected in Taneth's bustling marketplace. The coastal road between Taneth and Rihad, long in disrepair, was rebuilt and dubbed the Tremulan Road. The governor also established an elite corps of camel riders, the Praeco Avium, to streamline communication between Hammerfell's sparse settlements.

Such ambitious projects, in addition to the ordinary gubernatorial expenditure, required vast sums of money. The governor issued decrees to the cities of Hammerfell asserting that the province was in arrears amounting to several decades of back taxes: this enormous sum was to be paid at once. These demands were met with outrage and protest throughout the country, contending that the Empire had failed in its obligations to Hammerfell (particularly during the invasion of Haymon Camoran) and was thus not entitled to such tribute. Tremulus, it transpired, had no intention of exacting such an exorbitant lump sum. A second decree was issued explaining that, whilst the province's debt to the Empire remained, the governor's previous demands would be significantly moderated. Thus, Tremulus appeared magnanimous whilst reserving the right to tax the province at will.

Tremulus appointed Imperial Prefects to the great cities of Hegathe and Sentinel, both assigned a legionary cohort to reinforce their authority. Their objectives were to exact taxes and consolidate imperial influence in the east and north of the province, respectively. The refusal of the Crown king of Hegathe, Ramzi at-Iyad, to admit the imperial delegation into his city obliged the governor to dispatch Barbatus with two legionary cohorts to enforce the king's submission. Only a single cohort of the Third Legion remained in proximity to the governor, whose frequent requests for reinforcements from the Elder Council continued to fall on deaf ears.

In mid-First Seed 3E 298, Tremulus learned that Barbatus had stormed the city of Hegathe and had imposed martial law there, imprisoning King Ramzi in his palace. The distance between Taneth and Hegathe reflected the growing rift between governor and general. In Mid Year 3E 298, Tremulus's command to Barbatus, ordering the return of two cohorts to Taneth, was met with an evasive and insurbordinate reply.

Barbatus's position of strength, however, soon diminished. Despite the intransigence of the general and lethargy of the Elder Council, Tremulus's governorship was proving altogether fruitful. The provincial imperial treasury was filled with taxes diligently collected by officials in the cities of Rihad, Sentinel and Taneth. This was augmented by the governor's growing personal fortune derived from bribes and gifts. Drawing on these extensive public and private funds, Tremulus rapidly recruited new legionary cohorts largely composed of native volunteers, trained by Cyrodiilic officers.

Five new cohorts were garrisoned in the newly-completed Fort Uriel. These new units were not consolidated into the existing Third Legion, but into a previously dormant Sixteenth Legion. Furthermore, the two cohorts stationed in Rihad and Sentinel were transferred to this new legion. Julius Novianus, the prefect of Sentinel, was promoted to the rank of Legate and summoned to Fort Uriel to assume his new command. Raising one legion at the expense of another was certainly the extremity of the governor's legal powers, though the Elder Council issued no explicit censure.

The Hammerfell Revolt
Tremulus reacted to news of the Third Legion's massacre with public displays of grief; despite his quarrel with Barbatus, he deplored the savage murder of a decorated servant of the Empire. The High Chancellor demanded an explanation concerning the legion's isolation in a hostile environment, seemingly oblivious to the reports detailing the obstinance of Barbatus and need for reinforcements in the province.

In the wake of the massacre at Hegathe, Ramzi ay-Iyad declared open rebellion against the Empire and was joined by Stros M'Kai and Elinhir at the end of Second Seed 3E 299. This finally obliged the Elder Council to dispatch the Nineteenth Legion, commanded by Felix Carus, to suppress the revolt. It was the intention of the Council that, once his legion was established in the region, Carus should replace Tremulus (maligned as incompetent and lethargic) as Provincial Governor.

In Sun's Height, Tremulus, escorted by warriors provided by the Queen of Taneth, rushed to join the Sixteenth Legion's defence of Gilane. The governor was oblivious to the defeat of the Nineteenth Legion at the Battle of Khefrem's Boot on 27th Sun's Height 3E 299, though it became increasingly obvious that no relief was forthcoming. Determined to avoid the same suffering and indignity inflicted on Barbatus, Tremulus intended to commit suicide should Gilane fall to the rebels.

News of a rebel armada entering Hubalajad's Bay and threatening Taneth, however, obliged the governor to forsake Gilane to rescue the imperial headquarters. On 23rd Last Seed 3E 299 the Sixteenth Legion, with many civilian refugees, evacuated Gilane. The city was brutally sacked by Ramzi at-Iyad's forces on the same day. At the Battle of Bustan, Tremulus repelled a force of rebel skirmishers and captured Prince Malik at-Ramzi. The Sixteenth Legion then crossed the Irk River and garrisoned Fort Uriel once more.

 

Timeline
3E 259 — Tremulus is born.

3E 274 — Tremulus attends the Imperial University (aged 15).

3E 280 — Tremulus joins the Imperial Legion (aged 21).

3E 290 — Tremulus is appointed Imperial Prefect of Leyawiin (aged 31).

3E 296 — Tremulus is appointed Provincial Governor of Hammerfell (aged 37).