The Skyrim Secret Bethesda's Still Hiding 

Reply to this comment with something funny.

"Please give me a quick death" *dragonborn readies fire spells*

One reason I like the theory that the Emperor called a hit on himself is that the book that describes how to contact the Dark Brotherhood can be found in his ship’s bedroom.

I just like the way Nate refers to the hit on the Emperor as a "horrifying assassin accident." He makes it sound like the Emperor tripped and fell on an assassin.

I like the "Titus assassinated himself" theory because a disgraced emperor abdicating in favor of one of his heirs does nothing to improve faith in the throne but an emperor assassinated *in Skyrim during its rebellion* would do wonders to unify a fracturing society under the imperial banner, regardless of who the heir might be.

Emperor: "In my helm, none will know who you are." Me: "You really think nobody will notice the emperor suddenly grew a tail?"

If the Nightmother said the Emperor is dead then I mean, he’s dead. Sithis would know if we were deceived and the Nightmother would tell us.

The best Elder Scrolls quote is the Dragonborn to Amaund: “You have opened the door to darkness, little man.”

I think that changes in Motierre's appearance could've been intentional. The guy thought that his plan to take out the Emperor was ruined with the DB, and he had all reasons to think that Penitus Oculatus would come for him next. So, the logical thing to do in this position is to hide. We also know that there's a certain "face sculptor" who lives in the Ragged Flagon, and changing your appearance certainly can help with hiding from the Emperor's intelligence service.

My wife called me ratchet for taking the emperor's shoes and robes. I mean, where else am I gonna get emperor clothes, right?

The reason why Astrid knows you looked at the note is because it was a sealed note and if you opened it you would have to break the seal

18:21 *has a civil conversation with the emperor,* Me “I bet he’ll end him quickly since he’s cool” Dragonborn *pulls out fire spells* Me “JESUS!!”

I find it weird that I can walk around in the emperor's clothing and then everyone will just be like "geez I wonder who killed the emperor it's do weird" when I talk to em like hello?? I am wearing the biggest "I killed the emperor it was me" sign on my back lmao

Honestly I think the Dragonborn should become the next emperor. He could literally just walk into the capital and demand the throne due to divine right, and if anyone tried to stop them... well we all know what happened to Alduin.

If Bethesda doesn't add an npc called "Nate" that tells you a bunch of random facts OR have mai'qq mention some guy named Nate that knows as much as him

"Believe it or not, Astrid will know if we read it before hand" Not that hard to believe since the letter was sealed and you had to break the seal to read it...

My theory for Amaund Motierre's change in appearance is, he visited the Face Sculptor due to a bounty being placed on his head. therefore he's been on the run and needed to hide from the empire.

Something to keep in mind is that the game files list Amaund as “Chancellor.” That amulet might have been his own.

What is it with Emperors in Tamriel. Uriel VII was at peace with his imminent death in oblivion and in Skyrim Titus Mede II is too. How depressed are the Emperors ffs.

Could it be possible that Rune, the Imperial who is a member of the Thieves Guild, and wears a strange amulet that has a language nobody can read be a Septum who attempted to return, but doesn't remember due to the ship wreck?

11:08 Delvin: "This is an amulet of the Emperor's Elder Council!" Sapphire: looks surprised, listens to Delvin's explanation on how difficult it is to even lay your hands on the amulet. She stands up to leave because she couldn't get it for herself anyway. Delvin: "Look, it ain't my business to tell the DARK BROTHERHOOD its business..." Sapphire to herself: "wait, THE Dark Brotherhood? The Dark Brotherhood is involved in this? Our leader KILLED a member of an Elder Council? I gottta hear this tea." Delvin: "BUY? THIS? AN ELDER COUNCIL AMULET?? Sapphire and Vekel: *surprised pikachu face*

The way the emperor behaved when you’re assassinating him definitely made me think this will somehow play a role in the story of the next elder scrolls game.

I always felt bad about killing Titus...he seemed like a good guy, especially for an emperor of such a world.

I think the idea of him calling the hit on himself makes perfect sense, as it doesn't just crate a national panic (having the Emperor assassinated while there is a civil war going on) but also because it would be like a wakeup call. All the people who hated Titus would suddenly see what happens when their thinking/wishing comes true, how it throws everything into chaos and just makes things even worse. The majority of people don't think logically or sensibly, but with their emotions, and want nothing more than to have a calm peaceful life. They grumble when things are not the way the want, but when faced with an even worse prospect...well, their opinions change.

The Septim in Akavir is a good theory. Because also, the Nerevar went to Akavir as well and never came back. There's something going on there that we aren't being told. And I highly doubt they killed the Nerevar over there. And considering how old Divayth Fyr and other mages have lived, it's plausible the Nerevar is still alive. Hopefully we'll find out when ES:6 comes out.

Just a reminder, Astrid didn't just ask you to finish killing the Emperor, she turned herself into a makeshift Black Sacrament, which basically binds you to carrying out the assassination by order of the Night Mother.

there is a third option for the face change: mautierre went to the face sculptor because he plans to stay hidden for some reason

Just found this page today. Yes, I'm a grown man, but I love Skyrim lore. I listen to it in my car while driving or even at home whole working out. You Sir, have gained a new subscriber.

18:25 the comedic timing on this cut was legendary

Nate : "Stress isn't going to give you a new pair of ears." Van Gogh : ...

The thing that immediately tipped me off that there was something especially weird about this was Mede's specific wording: "Yes, I must die. And you must deliver the killing blow. It is simply the way it is." He didn't say 'I will die', he said 'I ^must^ die.' At that point, I went back over *everything* I'd learned, heard and done over the course of the questline, applied some logic from what I knew of recent Tamrielic history, and came to the conclusion that this sneaky bastard ordered his own assassination in order to put a new emperor on the throne and rally the Empire for the inevitable second war with the Thalmor. Of course, it wasn't until Camelworks' video came out in 2018 that I realized that we might have actually met Mede's successor ourselves...I mean, It ^was^ kind of conspicuous that Amound's 'bodyguard' didn't lift a finger to help him when we stuck an arrow in his gob. 'Rexus', in Latin, translates to 'New King'. Then there's Amound's proclamation of 'We had a deal..!' when you kill him. Who says he's speaking to ^us^? What I now personally believe is that 'Amound Motierre' is, in fact, not a member of the Elder Council at all, but is in fact a body double himself, presumably a criminal or more specifically a conman promised a pardon to either portray himself as the real Motierre, or is simply playing a character that does not actually exist with the name 'Motierre' picked for him because of the name's history with the Dark Brotherhood and plots and controversy within Cyrodiil. The Amulet you receive is either one crafted for this specific mission by order of the Emperor to give him legitimacy, or it belongs to 'Rexus', the REAL councilmember, possibly even the real Amound Motierre himself, and/or Mede's chosen heir to the throne, who came to Skyrim disguised as 'Motierre's bodyguard in order to make sure he keeps up his end of their 'deal'. It certainly adds another layer of intrigue when you think about it, no?

I like the line about assassins and emperors. It is definitely a reference to the beginning of oblivion and seems to suggest his death would bring about some positive change. It would be interesting to think that this event could usher in some sort of plan to save the kingdom. Loved the video

I think the reason why Amaud Motierre looks different the second go-round is that he visited the Face Sculptor in Riften. After the plot to kill the Emperor was revealed, Motierre was probably planning to go on the run.

Whoever Amaund Motierre was, he certainly was a very skilled ventriloquist in his dying breath because despite being decapitated he uttered his final words "but we had a deal..."

Well Mehrune's plane is fire and ashland so we can say "Everything was fine in the Empire till the fire nation attacked."

I love the conversation we have have with Delvin in this quest. He is such an interesting character and one of the few times we see guilds cross over in Skyrim. It makes since that they would all interact, the Companions, College, Thevies Guild, even the Bards College! All of em..

I'm late to the party on this one, but since I had recently been looking up info on the line of succession for the Third Empire for other reasons I did notice something. Motierre draws parallels to the assassination of Pelagius I. This assassination is actually ended the founding dynasty of the Septim Empire. Pelagius I had no heirs so Tiber Septim's direct line of descent ended with him. After Pelagius I, the throne passed to Tiber Septim's niece Kintyra, and it's from her that most of the Septim descended (ignoring a Dark Elf dynasty that ruled the Septim empire between 3E 153 - 246.) I tried to find out if there were any notable political shifts between the reign of Pelagius I and Kintyra I, but both are described as having prosperous reigns (albeit a brief one in the case of Pelagius). One thing of note is that Pelagius I is explicitly described as have employed the Underking as an advisor, while Kintyra I has no known connection to the Underking. So maybe the assassination of Titus Mede II isn't so much about getting rid of the person on the throne, but the person behind the throne. Also, complete side note, I find it really interesting that there were Dark Elves on the Imperial Throne before there was an Imperial on the throne. Before the Dark Elf reign, it's all Breton emperors. After it's a mix of Nords and Bretons. Uriel Septim VII is the first explicitly Imperial person to be Emperor, though some of his immediate predecessors may have been as well.

-"What the heck happened to your ears?!" -"I've been under a lot of stress."

I actually think the Emperor is one of the best written characters in the entire game. He’s far more memorable than almost any follower and genuinely interesting to talk to. I skip through a lot of dialogue but i never skip his. I usually avoid joining the brotherhood specifically because i don’t want to kill him.

2021 and losing the capacity to fund PC gaming watching these clips brings back memories. Despite the chaos inside the province if skyrim I still find it far more peaceful than being in the real world.

Few things to keep in mind. It is said the item given to you by montier is hand crafted for each member. It is not the same for each member making it even more impossible to replicate or find it unless you killed the person or it was given to you. I also somewhat remember hearing specifically that in ESOs brotherhood they keep the montier girl because her family is so powerful and that her family knows what she joined/ has a little bit of pull with the brotherhood. You can find poems and letters directed to her family.

"Everything changed..." my mind: when the fire nation attacked!

I never noticed that amaund's appearance changed after you killed the emperor. The more you know 😉

i watched this video a while back and now rewatching it explains so much more after ive played the questline

18:20 the cut from Titus saying “now onto the business at hand” and the magic coming up to a smoldering corpse on the ground makes it more brutal

"How is Astrid doin' these days, eh? Tell her to stop by sometime. We can have a drink. Ketchup." 10:43

I always take out Motierre for the Emperor. It is a condemned man’s final wish, he gave a convincing reason, and he asked really nicely.

My guess would be that the Motierre family at some point had an illegitimate child of a Septim emperor- making them potential candidates for the throne if they can prove it. Given how different Motierre seemed in the final scene... who's to say that he didn't pull the same trick as the emperor and send a body-double, allowing him to eventually ascend to the throne?

Anybody else remember Francois Motierre in the oblivion dark brotherhood quest line? It seems that him using the dark brotherhood to fake his death ultimately led to quite a bit of success for him in Skyrim and now 200 years later his descendant is rich and is carrying on the use of the Dark Brotherhood.

Imagine going to a well populated city to mourn a person that you probably had no relationship too just to die to a professional assassin posing as a chef that poisoned your food just to realize that he wanted to kill someone else.

What if Amaund Motierre's facial changes are the result of a fading transformation spell and that he's really a Thalmor deep cover infiltrator sent to destroy the Empire from within?

Never stop these cool investigations. You make my daily drive worth it

Epic Nate content will always keep me coming back even if absent for a spell! One of the best! Thanks Nate!

A detail that I noticed when you give Motierre's letter to Astrid: She says something to the effect of "Oh Motierre you naughty naughty boy! Using the Dark Brotherhood to rise above your station."

For someone who went into the Ragged Flagon, I'm amazed you didn't mention the Face Sculptor. Changing someone's appearance is her entire career.

I'd propose the possibility that the emperor called the hit on himself, but only to fake his own death without even the dark brotherhood knowing so he could step down as emperor and live out his life in peace (how he manages to survive the hit, I don't know). This would explain why he requests you kill motierre, as it would satisfy sithis and the night mother's policy of dealing in blood; in oblivion, motierre gives his own mother's life for the same reason, only in this case he wouldn't mind the dark brotherhood knowing he's still alive since it's a rather localized issue.

I had talked about the two Monties with a friend and we’d come to the conclusion that during development, it would have just been easier to make a second one than reuse the first one we meet, with the in universe explanation being that he got the fantasy equivalent to a facelift in order to throw assassins off his trail.

Funny Story: When I first played Skyrim and did the dark Brotherhood Questline seeing the emperor sitting in his desk actual startled me causing me to Kill him with a firebolt before he could talk and request his favour so I didn't know you could talk to him until my 2nd playthrough

Me, walks into Solitude wearing emperor's robes: "..." Guard: "He killed the emperor!" Me, an Imperial Dragonborn: "I am the emperor."

TheEpicNate315 i watch your videos everyday man. Your amazing and im very greatfull you take time to do your research and details and all you do! Keep killing it nate!

Good job on your 800k subs bro I'm so proud.

The emperor is such a badass tbh he was one of my favorite NPCs and I did his dying wish just due to how cool and calm he is. He is one of the only NPCs in Skyrim I’ve felt bad about killing and he only shows up once

Kill member of the elder council: nono Kill emperor: yesyes

I feel that if it is Mede II calling for his own assassination, it isn't just too make his successor look better-- perhaps he wanted to cause mild panic about who called for the assassination. Tying up loose ends by killing motierre like he asks you to do, ensures no one knows-- and since the Great War is still fresh in everyone's memories, perhaps fingers will be pointed at the Aldimari Dominion.

I never noticed before that the emperor asked you to kill the person who hired you for their "treachery"it's weird that he didn't assume that the altmari Dominion wasn't the one that ordered the assassination

For me, the dude just waited to die in his boat for weeks after the first attempt. I went off to do other storylines and he just wanted to die still and waited

I called Astrid "Mom" during the Dark Brotherhood questline because of how much she scolded me.

I personally think that one of Emperor Uriel Septim’s sons at least had 1 or more children and survived either being murdered by the Mythic Dawn or leaving their father Martin from Kvatch and living in Skyrim under a different name as Martin never knew that his father was the Emperor. I think it is possible that one of Uriel’s sons had a child and immigrated to Skyrim where 200 years later, we end up playing as a Dragonborn in which the last one was alive 200 years ago. I don’t know if this was Bethesda’s plan for Oblivion and Skyrim but anything is possible.

I don't think I could get to sleep without Nate's longform investigation videos... One every night. Sorted.

Me: Uriel was in Akavir and there's an extremely high chance one of his descendants may be alive you say??? Rogvir: You were caught trying to cross the border.

on my deathbed 40 years from now Nate: The Skyrim Secret Bethesda's Still Hiding

2 years ago my man saying it would be nice to hit 100k subs, now he's over 1mil. Nicely done!

i love these longer vids btw jus so you know buddy gud work keep the lore cannon firing buddy :D

I always assumed Motierre was a member of the Elder Council and he was giving you his amulet.

12:05 what I'm really wondering is how can Delvin live in a bar and still be so god damn thirsty.

With the Septim bloodline being dragonborn, and the player's character being dragonborn, along with the fact that you never find out where you come from, the akavair theory is entirely possible which would also explain the fact that the dragonborn themselves is of the septim bloodline and you came back from where your predecessor went. So in turn you are aware of the plot on Titus mede II and are there to carry it out on him to claim the throne for the Septim's again?

Me ha encantado el video, estoy aprendiendo lore con tus vídeos, gracias por devolverme las ganas de jugar skyrim

10:47 "we can 'ave a drink. Ketchup." wow really classy there Delvin.

Maybe the "real" emperor you kill at the end was another decoy, and his last request was a part of a plan to take out his hidden enemy who set the plot in motion.

This man has the best lore content of any game. Good made, nice to listen to. Tooop

I always thought amon probably went to the ragged flagon and got his face changed by the face sculptor after his contract for the emperor was put into motion because I mean if amon is as rich as the game claims as well as his family having connections to the brotherhood for literally hundreds of years in my head cannon he should know about the face sculptor in the thieve guild as well

Me: Saving an old man with some guards when I'm doing a side quest to fetch item. Emperor: Now take my armor and go conquer a city for me! Me: ???!

You said you don’t think he called the hit on himself, but in my eyes it makes a lot of sense. His empire hated him, the dragons were back, and he likely knew that there might be a possibility that the septum bloodline survived. And considering the fact that we already killed a dud emperor, it wouldn’t be crazy to assume that he didn’t actually die, and we just killed another decoy. Even the man who hired us to kill the emperor is still alive. The dirt on his face was to hide the fact that it was a different person. When he said a lot of planning went into this, he wasn’t kidding. They came up with a way to kill the emperor, making it seem like it was all the dark brotherhoods idea. And the emperor no longer has to deal with the dragons, and the Thalmor, and the scorn of his people. Win-win.

eventhough I already know mostly have my own theories, observations, and opinions. i like your refreasher periods.

The whole emperor quest line is one of my favorites and I hope in the 6th installment they continue and maybe conclude the overarching storyline. I hope they don't but there's plenty of space for both expansion and conclusion.

It's pretty obvious: Motierre is donning a "Mission: Impossible"-style mask in the post-assassination meeting. As the engineer of the assassination of the Emperor, a significant portion of the Empire's law enforcement/military will be searching for him. If Motierre wishes to remain in Tamriel, he MUST don a new identity.

I am a firm believer in the "he placed a hit on himself" theory and I think something that is never mentioned but actually MAKES sense. He asks you to kill the person who put the hit on him, but if he had requested Amaund Motierre to make the offering, and knew to get the payment started he would have to give up such a unique artifact as an elder council amulet Then he knows that Amaund would have to die as to explain how the amulet vanished or wound up being traded around on the black market likely to make its way into the hands of a collector somewhere.

Fascinating insight, Interesting how much interest there still is in TES makes me want to read the book's in time before TES 6 is released.

Even more interesting than one of Uriel V. decedents sneaking back onto Tamriel would be they have a massive army and a huge fleet on Akavir, having taken over a substantial part of the continent over time. And they did the "Kill the Mede" stuff in advance for their glorious return to Tamriel to prevent any rival dynasty from objecting. And after their return, the newly crowned Septim Emperor kicks some elven butt and brings the Empire back to glory.

1992: 'I wanna be a fireman when I grow up" 2020: "I wanna be a Elder Scrolls RU-vidr when I grow up"

I think two things. Firstly, I think the Elder Council has decided that having a bad emperor is worse than having no emperor at all, and that the Empire would be better off with a steward than with a Meade on the throne. After all, Councillor Ocato was probably the best ruler the Empire has had since the loss of the Septims; it's plausible that the Empire would do better by following the Gondor method. Secondly, why did he so calmly accept his death at the hands of the Dark Brotherhood? Simple. I think there was a prophecy. Presumably from an Elder Scroll. Just like Uriel Septim VII at the beginning of Oblivion, who knew his death was coming from the moment he saw the player, I think Titus II had a prophecy that he would be killed by the Dark Brotherhood. This is probably why he cancelled his earlier trip to Skyrim in the first place. I think the prophecy stated that he would be killed by the Dark Brotherhood, and that if he tried to avoid it others would die. At first he didn't take it that seriously, so he just cancelled his trip and thought no more of it, but then people started dying. First his cousin, then the Gourmet, then his body double. He decided that he wouldn't let others keep dying in his place, and just came to Solitude to put an end to it.

My pretty simple really-just-played-Skyrim-and-nothing-else mind screaming at me since the amulet was mentioned that he might be simple and plainly member of the council because that seems far easier then assuming he somehow intermingled with them, was given one of their amulets or paid of by the emperor with one of those very specific, easy to trace pieces of jewelry - unless he really just had it and confident enough we'd be in on his plan. The possibility was brought up 43:00, leaving me listening very closely up to this point. Well played, well played

On him having slightly different features, if you spawn the different Ciceros you’ll notice he changes heights throughout the quest line. My guess is Bethesda just made an oopsie

I'm just gonna say that Abraham Lincoln wasn't the most liked guy in his time; then he was assassinated and there was an influx of love and respect.

The emperor is actually extremely chill and kind I kinda regret killing him love looting the cabin tho 😂 Edit: thanks for all the likes😊👍

I know I'm like two years late to this video, but... I thought I'd leave a constructive comment in case you still read them. I LOVE that you also take Elder Scrolls Online into account for your theories - it seems so difficult to find ES RU-vidrs who acknowledges the lore ESO has added. Thank you for creating such cool videos! Hope you're having a good day:)

Given Amaunds reaction after killing the emperor I think I agree with you I think he knew something perhaps maybe given the fact they wanted to do that quest line with one of the septums but didn't do it and his reaction to the emperor's death means they're opening the door to do that quest in a future game

3:04 - 3:14 me after being with my first girlfriend for the first time.

When I first played Skyrim, I just assumed that Amound Mottiere was on the Elder Council and gave you his own amulet, and he wanted the Emperor dead so he could make himself the new Emperor.

TheEpicNate315 you are the reason I decided to give Skyrim and Fallout 4 another chance after becoming a more competent gamer. Got my butt kicked when I was younger and thought it just wasn’t for me. But the stories are so good and I never would have known without you.