題名 † 
原題 †
- A Life of Uriel Septim VII
訳題 †
本文 †
原文 †
<div align="center"><font face=1>A Short Life of<br>
Uriel Septim VII<br>
by Rufus Hayn<br>
<br>
<br>
3E 368-389: Strategist and Conciliator<br>
<div align="left">The early decades of Emperor Uriel's life were marked by aggressive expansion and consolidation of Imperial influence throughout the empire, but especially in the East, in Morrowind and Black Marsh, where the Empire's power was limited, Imperial culture was weak, and native customs and traditions were strong and staunchly opposed to assimilation. During this period Uriel greatly benefitted from the arcane support and shrewd council of his close advisor, the Imperial Battlemage, Jagar Tharn.<br>
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The story of Uriel's marriage to the Princess Caula Voria is a less happy tale. Though she was a beautiful and charming woman, and greatly loved and admired by the people, the Empress was a deeply unpleasant, arrogant, ambitious, grasping woman. She snared Uriel Septim with her feminine wiles, but Uriel Septim thereafter soon regretted his mistake, and was repelled by her. They heartily detested one another, and went out of their ways to hurt one another. Their children were the victims of this unhappy marriage.<br>
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With his agile mind and vaunting ambition, Uriel soon outstripped his master in the balanced skills of threat and diplomacy. Uriel's success in co-opting House Hlaalu as an advance guard of Imperial culture and economic development in Morrowind is a noteworthy example. However, Uriel also grew in pride and self-assurance. Jagar Tharn fed Uriel's pride, and hiding behind the mask of an out-paced former master counselor, Tharn purchased the complete trust that led finally to Uriel's betrayal and imprisonment in Oblivion and Tharn's secret usurpation of the Imperial throne.<br>
<hr>
<div align="center">3E 389-399: Betrayed and Imprisoned<br>
<div align="left">Little is known of Uriel's experience while trapped in Oblivion. He says he remembers nothing but an endless sequence of waking and sleeping nightmares. He says he believed himself to be dreaming, and had no notion of passage of time. Publically, he long claimed to have no memory of the dreams and nightmares of his imprisonment, but from time to time, during the interviews with the Emperor that form the basis of this biography, he would relate details of nightmares he had, and would describe them as similar to the nightmares he had when he was imprisoned in Oblivion. He seemed not so much unwilling as incapable of describing the experience.<br>
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But it is clear that the experience changed him. In 3E 389 he was a young man, full of pride, energy, and ambition. During the Restoration, after his rescue and return to the throne, he was an old man, grave, patient, and cautious. He also became conservative and pessimistic, where the policies of his early life were markedly bold, even rash. Uriel accounts for this change as a reaction to and revulsion for the early teachings and counsel of Jagar Tharn. However, Uriel's exile in Oblivion also clearly drained and wasted him in body and spirit, though his mind retained the shrewd cunning and flexibility of his youth.<br>
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The story of Tharn's magical impersonation of the emperor, the unmasking of Tharn's imposture by Queen Barenziah, and the roles played by King Eadwyre, Ria Silmane, and her Champion in assembling the Staff of Chaos, defeating the renegade Imperial Battlemage Jagar Tharn, and restoring Uriel to the throne, is treated at length in Stern Gamboge's excellent three-Volume BIOGRAPHY OF BARENZIAH. There is no reason to recount that narrative here. Summarized briefly, Jagar Tharn's neglect and mismanagement of Imperial affairs resulted in a steady decline in the Empire's economic prosperity, allowed many petty lords and kings to challenge the authority of the Empire, and permitted strong local rulers in the East and the West to indulge in open warfare over lands and sovereign rights.<br>
<hr>
<div align="center">3E 399-415: Restoration, the Miracle of Peace, and Vvardenfell<br>
<div align="left">During the Restoration, Uriel Septim turned from the aggressive campaign of military intimidation and diplomatic accommodation of his earlier years, and relied instead on clandestine manipulation of affairs behind the scenes, primarily through the agencies of the various branches of the Blades. A complete assessment of the methods and objectives of this period must wait until after the Emperor's death, when the voluminous diaries archived at his country estate may be opened to the public, and when the Blades no longer need to maintain secrecy to protect the identities of its agents.<br>
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Two signal achievements of this period point to the efficacy of Uriel's subtle policies: the 'Miracle of Peace' [also popularly known as 'The Warp in the West'] that transformed the Iliac Bay region from an ruly assortment of warring petty kingdoms into the well-ordered and peaceful modern counties of Hammerfell, Sentinel, Wayrest, and Orsinium, and the colonization of Vvardenfell, presided over by the skillful machinations of King Helseth of Morrowind and Lady Barenziah, the Queen-Mother, which brought Morrowind more closely into the sphere of Imperial influence.<br>
<hr>
<div align="center">3E 415-430: The Golden Peace, King Helseth's Court, and the Nine in the East<br>
<div align="left">Following the 'Miracle of Peace' [best described in Per Vetersen's DAGGERFALL: A MODERN HISTORY], the Empire entered a period of peace and prosperity comparable to the early years of Uriel's reign. With the Imperial Heartland and West solidly integrated into the Empire, Uriel was able to turn his full attention to the East -- to Morrowind. <br>
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Exploiting conflicts at the heart of Morrowind's monolithic Tribunal religion and the long-established Great House system of government, and taking advantage of the terrible threat that the corrupted divine beings at the heart of the Tribunal religion presented to the growing colonies on Vvardenfell, Uriel worked through shadowy agents of the Blades and through the court of King Helseth in Mournhold to shift the center of political power in Morrowind from the Great House councils to Helseth's court, and took advantage of the collapse of the orthodox Tribunal cults to establish the Nine Divines as the dominant faiths in Hlaalu and Vvardenfell Districts. <br>
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Hasphat Anabolis's treatment of the establishment of the Nine in the East in his four-volume LIFE AND TIMES OF THE NEREVARINE is comprehensive; however, he fails to resolve the central mystery of this period -- how much did Uriel know about the prophecies of the Nerevarine, and how did he learn of their significance? The definitive resolution of this and other mysteries must await the future release of the Emperor's private papers, or a relenting of the Blades' strict policies of secrecy concerning their agents.<BR>
訳文 †
<div align="center"><font face=1>Uriel_Septim_7世の<br>
半生<br>
Rufus_Hayn_著<br>
<br>
<br>
3E_368年-389年:_戦略家にして外交家<br>
<div align="left">Uriel_帝による治世の初期は、帝国の影響力の拡大とその強化の時代と言える。だが、例外が東部の_Morrowind_と_Black_Marsh_であった。両地域における帝国の軍事力は限定的で、文化的影響も微弱であった。その一方、土着の習慣や伝統は強固であり、同化の見込みは皆無であった。この時期の_Uriel_は、Imperial_Battlemage（バトルメイジ）の_Jagar_Tharn_なる側近の魔術的な支援と的確な会合によって大きな力を得ていた。<br>
<br>
Uriel_と_Princess_Caula_Voria_との結婚談は、決して幸福とは言えない。彼女は美しく可憐な女性で、民からも敬愛されていたが、皇后となると無礼で傲慢、利己的で貪欲な女性に豹変した。Uriel_Septim_は、彼女の手管の餌食となったのだが、気づいたときにはすでに後の祭りであった。2人はお互いを憎み合い、執拗にお互いを罵り合った。皇帝夫妻の子供たちは、この不幸な結婚の被害者であった。<br>
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持ち前の機転と野心も手伝って、Uriel_の交渉術はすぐに教師の及ばぬところとなっていた。Morrowind_における帝国の文化・経済基盤の固め役として_House_Hlaalu_の選出に成功したのは、その代表例である。しかしながら、その一方で、Uriel_の傲慢は高じた。Tharn_の阿諛追従におぼれきった_Uriel_は、Tharn_の真意に気づかなかった。 Uriel_の全面的な信頼を得ることに成功した_Tharn_は、ついに真の目的である帝位簒奪計画を実行に移した。彼の裏切りにより、Uriel_は_Oblivion_に幽閉され、Tharn_は皇帝に成りすましたのだった。<br>
<hr>
<div align="center">3E_389年-399年:_裏切りと幽閉<br>
<div align="left">Oblivion_に幽閉されていた間に、Uriel_がどんな体験をしたかは、あまりよく分かっていない。Uriel_本人は、寝ても覚めても恐怖の連続であったとだけ述べている。夢を見ていると思っていたため、時間の感覚もなかったという。公の場では、幽閉中の夢や恐怖の内容は一切記憶にないと長年にわたり主張していたが、時が経ち、この伝記を記すために皇帝に取材するにつれ、自身が体験したという恐怖について詳しく語る時があった。おそらく、Oblivion_幽閉時のたとえ話だったのだろう。Oblivion_での体験を口にしないのは、感情の問題というより、むしろ言語に絶するためのように思われた。<br>
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しかし、この体験が彼を変えた事は明白である。3E_389年当時は自信や活力、そして野心に満ち溢れていたが、Oblivion_から帰還・復位した際には、忍耐強く、慎重で真面目な老人となっていた。治世初期の性急とも言える大胆な政策からは想像できないほど、保守的で悲観的な人物になっていた。この変わり様は、幼少期の教育と_Jagar_Tharn_から学んだ教訓と反動の結果であった。しかしながら、Oblivion_での幽閉は、彼の肉体と精神から若き日の知略と柔軟性をも奪い去ってしまった。<br>
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Tharn_の皇帝変化、Tharn_の正体を暴いた_Queen_Barenziah、そして_King_Eadwyre、Ria_Silmane、Staff_of_Chaos_を集める_Champion_らが担った役割、背信の_Imperial_Battlemage_Tharn_の最期、Uriel_の復位など一連のストーリーは、Stern_Gamboge_による「BIOGRAPHY_OF_BARENZIAH」全三巻で詳しく扱われているため、ここでは割愛する。一連の出来事を要約すると、Jagar_Tharn_の怠慢な統治の結果、帝国の経済的繁栄は確実に衰退へ向かった。さらに、多くの諸侯や諸国が帝国の権威に弓を引き、帝国西部と東部の有力者たちは覇権と領土を獲得すべく戦乱に明け暮れた。<br>
<hr>
<div align="center">3E_399年-415年:_復興、奇跡の平和、そして_Vvardenfell<br>
<div align="left">帝国復興の時期の_Uriel_Septim_は、軍事力を背景とした外征と外交活動による和解という治世初期の政策をあらため、代わりに特務機関_Blades_を通じて舞台裏から秘密裏に事を進めるようになった。この方策と治世を正当に評価するには、皇帝の崩御によって_Blades_の工作員が身元を隠す必要がなくなり、宮殿に保管されている大量の記録文章が開示される日を待たねばならないだろう。<br>
<br>
この時期の二つの偉業は、Uriel_の巧妙な政策の成果と言えるだろう。一つ目の偉業、「奇跡の平和」[広く「西部の飛躍」とも呼ばれている]では、それまで群雄割拠の状態であった_Iliac_Bay_地方に、Hammerfell、Sentinel、Wayrest、そして_Orsinium_を成立させ、集権的な平和な近代的な伯爵領として生まれ変わらせた。二つ目の偉業、Morrowind_の策略家_King_Helseth_と王母_Lady_Barenziah_の指揮で行われた_Vvardenfell_への植民は、同地域への帝国の影響力を拡大させた。<br>
<hr>
<div align="center">3E_415年-430年:_平和の黄金期、King_Helseth_の宮廷、東方への_Nine_布教<br>
<div align="left">「奇跡の平和」[詳しくは_Per_Vetersen_作の_DAGGERFALL:_A_MODERN_HISTORY_で扱われている]に続いて、帝国は_Uriel_の治世初期に匹敵する平和と繁栄の時代に突入した。Imperial_Heartland（帝国内地）と西部の統一と安定に伴い、Uriel_は東方に集中できるようになった。東方とはすなわち_Morrowind_である。<br>
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Uriel_は、Morrowind_において支配的な_Tribunal_教と長い伝統を持つ政体_Great_House_制との矛盾、そして_Tribunal_教の堕落した神の存在が_Vvardenfell_植民地に与える脅威を利用して、Blades_の秘密工作員と_Mournhold_の_King_Helseth_の宮廷を通じ、Morrowind_における政治の中心を_Great_House_の議事堂から_Helseth_の宮廷へと移行させた。さらに、正統な_Tribunal_崇拝の崩壊に乗じて_Nine_Divines_信仰を_Hlaalu_と_Vvardenfell_管区における支配的な信仰となさしめた。<br>
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Hasphat_Anabolis_は自身の著作「LIFE_AND_TIMES_OF_THE_NEREVARIN」4巻の中で、東方における_Nine_の布教を包括的に論じている。しかしながら、その本ではこの時期の中心的な謎が解明されていない。--_Uriel_は_Nerevarine_における予言をどれほど知っていていたのか？_また彼はどのようにしてその真意を知ったのだろうか？_これを含む様々な謎が完全に解明されるのは、Blades_による任務の秘密主義が緩和されるか、皇帝の私文書が開示される日を待たねばならないだろう。<BR>
