Biography of Queen Barenziah Vol II
by Stern Gamboge, Imperial Scribe
The first volume of this
series told the story of Barenziah's origin-heiress to the throne of Mournhold until her
father rebelled against His Excellency Tiber Septim I and brought ruin to the province of
Morrowind. Thanks largely to the benevolence of the Emperor, the child Barenziah was
not destroyed with her parents, but reared by Count Sven of Darkmoor, a loyal Imperial
trustee. She grew up into a beautiful and pious child, trustful of her guardian's care. This
trust, however, was exploited by a wicked orphan stable boy at Count Sven's estate, who
with lies and fabrications tricked her into fleeing Darkmoor with him when she turned
sixteen. After many adventures on the road, they settled in Rifton, a Skyrim city near the
Morrowind borders.
The stable boy, Straw, was not altogether evil. He loved Barenziah in his own selfish
fashion, and deception was the only way he could think of that would cement possession
of her. She, of course, felt only friendship toward him, but he was hopeful that she would
gradually change her mind. He wanted to buy a small farm and settle down into a
comfortable marriage, but at the time his earnings were barely enough to feed and
shelter them.
After only a short time in Rifton, Straw fell in with a bold, villainous Khajiit thief named
Therris, who proposed that they rob the Imperial Commandant's house in the central part
of the city. Therris said that he had a client, a traitor to the Empire, who would pay well
for any information they could gather there. Barenziah happened to overhear this plan
and was appalled. She stole away from their rooms and walked the streets of Rifton in
desperation, torn between her loyalty to the Empire and her love for her friends.
In the end, loyalty to the Empire prevailed over personal friendship, and she approached
the Commandant's house, revealed her true identity, and warned him of her friends' plan.
The Commandant listened to her tale, praised her courage, and assured her that no
harm would come to her. He was none other than General Symmachus, who had been
scouring the countryside in search of her since her disappearance, and had just arrived
in Rifton, hot in pursuit. He took her into his custody, and informed her that, far from
being sent away to be sold, she was to be reinstated as the Queen of Mournhold as
soon as she turned eighteen. Until that time, she was to live with the Septim family in the
newly built Imperial City, where she would learn something of government and be
presented at the Imperial Court.
At the Imperial City, Barenziah befriended the Emperor Tiber Septim during the middle
years of his reign. Tiber's children, particularly his eldest son and heir Pelagius, came to
love her as a sister. The ballads of the day praised her beauty, chastity, wit, and
learning. On her eighteenth birthday, the entire Imperial City turned out to watch her
farewell procession preliminary to her return to her native land. Sorrowful as they were at
her departure, all knew that she was ready for her glorious destiny as sovereign of the
kingdom of Mournhold.
Onto