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Lore:Eternal Champion

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Eternal Champion
Race Unknown[nb 1] Gender Unknown[nb 1]
Born 3E 370
Resided in Imperial Province
Appears in Arena
"Tharn, you will not escape me so easily." —The Eternal Champion before escaping the Imperial Dungeons[1]
The Eternal Champion on horseback

The Eternal Champion, purportedly named Talin,[1][nb 1] (b. 3E 370)[2] was an otherwise unknown hero best known for ending the Imperial Simulacrum in 3E 399 by bringing together the pieces of the Staff of Chaos, killing the impostor emperor Jagar Tharn,[3] and rescuing the true emperor, Uriel Septim VII, and general of the Imperial Guard, Talin Warhaft,[nb 2] from a dimension of Tharn's choosing where they had been imprisoned for ten years.[4][5]

HistoryEdit

Early LifeEdit

 
The Champion's childhood home

The Champion was the adopted ward of General Talin Warhaft, who they treated as their father.[UOL 1] The Champion's father fought in a battle at Borim Valley, and they had a great-aunt and a great-uncle who each lived in separate villages close to the Champion's home village. During their childhood, the Champion worked at the stables of their home village and was taught how to fight by Armsmaster Festil, an elderly warrior.[6] They became friends with Ria Silmane after they were summoned to the Imperial Court to learn under her tutelage the ways of sorcery.[1] At the Imperial Court they were considered only a minor member of no real consequence.[7] On their seventeenth birthday, they were bidden by their father to go out and explore Tamriel and return as a member of the Imperial household,[UOL 1] at one point returning briefly to the Imperial City to celebrate the Mid Year's Festival.[1]

Alternate BackstoriesEdit

Outside of the purported background of the Eternal Champion as Talin, various cultures throughout Tamriel have conflicting claims about the hero. Supposed identities for the Champion include Grachta the Redguard Knight, Dunastyr the Breton Sorcerer, Shathra the female Ohmes Khajiti Assassin, and Tyronicus the Cyrodilic Battlemage.[UOL 2] Other unnamed identities include the Altmer account who claim in public the Champion was an enlightened wizard, but in private admit he was an outcast. The Nords see them as the son of a proud king. The Dunmer have legends that they were the daughter of the living goddess Almalexia. The Bosmer say she was an Ayleidon Auhreliar. Even some vampire clans have their own legends for the Eternal Champion, with the Lysrezi believing him to be a vampire from a realm outside of Nirn.[UOL 3]

Imperial SimulacrumEdit

 
The Staff of Chaos

In 3E 389, Jagar Tharn would overthrow Emperor Uriel, imprison him and General Warhaft in Oblivion, and kill Ria Silmane. The Champion would coincidentally return home from their year-long journey immediately after this occurred. They would be imprisoned by Jagar Tharn in the Imperial Dungeons and left to die. Using what little of her life force remained, Silmane contacted the Champion from between the mortal world and the afterlife and guided them to freedom, tasking them with reassembling the Staff of Chaos and rescuing the emperor.[nb 3] Silmane aided the Champion in this task by using her magic to mask the Champion's identity,[7] which successfully concealed the Champion's name from Tharn until seven of the Staff's eight pieces had been recovered.[8]

Using Silmane's guidance to find the location of the pieces, with covert assistance from Queen Barenziah and King Eadwyre who through contact with Silmane would gather intelligence on the locations of the pieces of the Staff of Chaos to be passed on to the Champion,[9] the Champion journeyed to Stonekeep, Fang Lair, the Fortress of Ice, Labyrinthian, Selene's Web, the Elden Grove, the Temple of Agamanus, the Halls of Colossus, the Temple of Mad God, the Crystal Tower, the Mines of Khuras, the Crypt of Hearts, the Vaults of Gemin, Murkwood, Black Gate, and Red Mountain on a quest that spanned the course of a decade, before ultimately descending into the depths of the Imperial Palace to face Tharn. The Champion would defeat Tharn in 3E 399 (their battle doing considerable damage to the Imperial Palace)[10] by draining the Jewel of Fire of its power and restoring the Staff of Chaos to its full power, killing Tharn in the process. The Champion would then free Emperor Uriel and General Warhaft from Oblivion and be proclaimed by the Emperor as the Eternal Champion. They would then take their place at the emperor's side and would be tasked with seeing to the needs of the Empire.[11]

Later LifeEdit

After the Imperial Simulacrum, the Eternal Champion would often be called upon to investigate evidence of "Tharn's aborted master plan", though little of great relevance was ever uncovered by 3E 405.[UOL 4]

LegacyEdit

The Eternal Champion became somewhat of a cultural hero to Imperial Loyalists, many of whom retracing their steps as part of a pilgrimage.[12] Some remember them as one of the greatest warriors in the modern eras.[3]

GalleryEdit

  • Possible depictions of the Eternal Champion (Arena cover art)

  • Possible depictions of the Eternal Champion (Arena cover concept art)

  • Possible depictions of the Eternal Champion (Arena 27th anniversary)

  • Possible depictions of the Eternal Champion (Arena 28th anniversary)

  • Possible depictions of the Eternal Champion (Arena 29th anniversary)

  • 4 
    A pre-release screenshot depicting the Eternal Champion as a Breton male named Talin.

NotesEdit

  • 1 
    The name, race, and gender of the Eternal Champion is ultimately player determined. The introduction to the official game manual refers to them as a male named Talin.[1] Additionally, a pre-release screenshot depicts the Eternal Champion as a Breton male named Talin.[nb 4] In-universe references to the Champion simply describes them as an "unknown hero",[3] and an "enigmatic Champion".[13] Alternate backstories were provided in unofficial lore.
  • 2 
    In the original release of Arena, General Warhaft is shown leaving Oblivion with Uriel VII, and thanks the Champion for his service. In the Deluxe Edition, Uriel VII alone is seen leaving Oblivion, with no mention of Warhaft whatsoever.
  • 3 
    The events of Arena start in 3E 389, however, according to the Biography of Queen Barenziah, this happened after the death of Symmachus, which occurred in 3E 391.[2]
  • In Daggerfall, a background history would have been used for a cut feature allowing players to import their character from Arena which would have made the Agent and the Eternal Champion one and the same.[UOL 4]

ReferencesEdit

  1. ^ a b c d e Arena Player's Guide
  2. ^ a b The Daggerfall Chronicles — Ronald Wartow
  3. ^ a b c Hallgerd's Tale — Tavi Dromio
  4. ^ Arena introduction scene
  5. ^ The Third Era Timeline — Jaspus Ignateous
  6. ^ Arena character creation scenario
  7. ^ a b Ria Silmane's dialogue in Arena
  8. ^ Jagar Tharn's dialogue in Arena
  9. ^ Biography of Barenziah, v 3 — Stern Gamboge, Imperial Scribe
  10. ^ Imperial Palace Guard's dialogue in Arena
  11. ^ Events of The Imperial Palace in Arena
  12. ^ A Minor Maze
  13. ^ Brief History of the Empire v 4 — Stronach k'Thojj III

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 Cut intro slide from Arena
  2. ^ Jobasha Interview — Douglas Goodall
  3. ^ Masser and Secunda
  4. ^ a b Cut Daggerfall imported character background history
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