Saren Valerian Arterius

Saren Valerian Arterius
Biographical and chronological information
Given name:	Saren Valerian Arterius of House Telvanni
Title(s):	Arcane Mercenary, Blood-Kin, Priest of Sithis, Priest of Xile, Nahkrinn, The Necromancer and Deadric Champion
Family:	The Arterius & The Indoril Family
Province:	Skyrim (land of the nords & snow elves)
Continent:	Tamriel (Taazokaan in Dragon Language)
Born:	Morrowind - 15th of First Seed, 5E-181 (Morrowind Crisis starts 5E-185, ends 5E-191)
Died:	Skyrim - 30th of Last Seed, 5E-211 (Resurrected by Priests of Xile upon his death)
Era(s):	The Fifth and Sixth
Physical traits and magical qualities
Race:	Dunmeri-Altmer Hybrid
Gender:	Male
Hair color:	Ebony Black (Natural Colour)
Eye color:	Crimson Red (Azura's Curse)
Skin color:	Dark Grey (Azura's Curse)
Weapons:	The Nightingale Blade, Mace of Molag Bal & Mehrunes Razor
Armor	Enchanted Ebony Armour and Nahkriin
Societal status and affiliations
Home:	Honeyside, Riften
Spouse(s)	Karliah Arterius
Children:	Samuel, Lucia & Runa
Guild(s)	Dark Brotherhood, The Fighters Guild, The Mages Guild And The Nightingales
Allegiance:	The Nightingales, The Volkihar Clan, The Dark Brotherhood, The Temple of Sithis, The Priests of Xile, House Telvanni And The Daedric Princes
[Source]

“	There is only darkness for you and death for your people, These ancients are just the beginning, I will command a great and terrible army, we will travel until every light has been extinguished, you are strong but I am beyond strength, I am the end.	”
	— Saren's speech towards the leaders of the rebellion

Saren Arterius is the mer hybrid priest of Xile and the last head priest of the temple sithis in Blacklight, Morrowind. He's one of the twelve priests of Xile, who is known to have saved the souls of the living and the dead by slaying Alduin the World Eater, Nordic god of destruction from devouring the world.

He worships the Deadric Princes and the Dread Father, Sithis. Saren is a true religious follower and a faithful servant of the Dark Lord Xile, who became the true ruler of Tamriel by conquering its provinces and it peoples leaders, which he continues to reign over after the mysterium war.

Biography 

The Arterius Family in Blacklight, Morrowind (5E-180)

Saren Arterius is depicted as a fairly tall, muscular lean-built young mer with dark grey skin and crimson eyes. He has slick back ebony hair and a short beard. Saren's has sharp facial features that appear more human than elven due to his heritage, his face is marked with crimson red tribal segmented war paint with black eyeliner and shadow

Saren's current gear is a fully enchanted ebony armour, an enchanted ebony shield along with the Nahkriin mask, he wields three weapons; the Nightingale Blade, The Mace of Molag Bal and Mehrunes Razor. He has trained and mastered One Handed, Destruction Alteration, Restoration, Enchanting And Alchemy.

He has mastered the ways of combat and magic during his time in the fighters guild and mages guild in Cyrodiil, he uses long ranged destruction spells on his enemies from a distance and melee weapons in close combat. Because of his unique strain of vampirism, it has augments his skills increasing his combat effectiveness.

Background History 3E-433

Saren Arterius was born in Blacklight, Morrowind 5E-181, Both of his parents were members of House Telvanni, who were originally from the Mysterium Isles. The mother and father were both the head priests of the Temple of Sithis in Blacklight.

The mother was a mage at the Mage's Guild while his father was the listener of the black hand, he is a direct descendant of his ancestor, Valerian Arterius, who was alive around the same time as the Hero of Kvatch, who later replace the Daedric Prince of Madness as Sheogorath.

When the war broke out in Blacklight, his mother and father were forced to move to Cyrodill to escape the onslaught between Third Empire and Third Aldmeri Dominion. Saren's mother soon died from Corprus in Cyrodiil, forcing his father to look after his newborn son after her death.

Mages & Fighters Guild, 4E-197

Saren spent his childhood life in the city of Skingrad, southwest of the Imperial City. When he reached the age of 10, his father taught him the Black Hand's fighting style and the House Telvanni Arcane Arts for years to come.  Saren's fighting skills drastically increased overtime, he enrolled in the Fighters Guild and the Mages Guild at the age of 16 years old.

After advancing through the ranks of the Mages Guild to Wizard, mastered Destruction, Alteration, Conjuration, Enchanting and Alchemy. In the Fighters Guild, ranked Guardian for his skills in One Handed Weapons with Swords or Daggers. Soon he and his father moved to the Imperial City for a while but his father had to do some unfinished business with his colleagues in Cheydinhal, never to be seen again. 

During his time in the Mages Guild, Saren has learned different types of magic in the arcane arts but what truly fascinated him was Necromancy, which was illegal due to the Necromancy Ban of 3E-431 by the Arch-Mage in Cyrodiil. though it was frowned upon he continued to study the forbidden art in secret and it revealed many secrets to him in his quest for knowledge and power.

Deadric Prince Worship 5E-199

Saren only use to worship three daedric princes, Azura, Boethiah and Mephala, which was the religious custom in the dunmer tradition. Upon entering skyrim and traversing through its cold and harsh climates, he eventually came across the other daedric princes, which he gained their favor and artifacts after completing their tasks. Though having met the 16 deadric princes, He only worships eight of the daedric princes

Clavicus Vile,Hermaeus Mora, Malacath, Mehrunes Dagon, Mephala, Namira, Nocturnal & Sheogorath 

Return to Darklight & Father's Death 5E-201

The Telvanni Tower in Darklight, Morrowind (5E-201)

Years later, Saren received a letter, telling him about his father's demise by a Morag Tong Assassin, who was soon captured and executed by the Imperial Legion. It also mentioned that his parents title was to be passed down onto him making him a official member of House Telvanni] and to become a Priest at the Temple of Sithis.

Distraught by his fathers sudden death after his disappearance eight years ago, he soon left Cyrodiil, returning to Darklight to claim his title as a member of House Telvanni. The next three years, he spent learning from the head wizard of House Telvanni, he gained more knowledge during his stay at Darklight.

When he finished his research and training at House Telvanni, Saren was visited by hooded priests in his bedroom,who revealed to be the the five priests of Sithis. They had come for him to claim his position as a dark brother priest. Saren agreed to follow them to the temple, where rituals were created, Black Sacrament's were performed.

During his stay he learned the ways of developing his swordsmanship, alchemical skills to create powerful and very potent potions but what he lacked in stealth he made up in strength and prowess making him a deadly instrument for the dark brotherhood, the black hand, and killing in the name of Sithis.

Temple of Sithis Massacre 5E-206

Burning Temple of Sithis during the Temple of Sithis Massacre (5E-205)

Five years later, Saren came to learn of the Black Hand, Sithis The Dread Father, the Night Mother and the Five Tenets. Saren slowly came to notice that he started to hearing things, a whispering voice in the void. The voice revealed to be Sithis ordering him to perform the ancient rite known as The Purification, Sithis sensed weakness within the sanctuary and it was this very task was what set the wheels in motion for the temple of Sithis.

The temple was destroyed by a fire in an attempt to cover up the massacre and any traces of the temple that would link the temple to the dark brotherhood and black hand, which saren walked away from with a burning fire in his wake, haunted by the screams of his fallen brothers and sisters with their blood on his hands, he left the brotherhood and black hand after the traumatizing experience and set off to Skyrim to start a new life.

Entering Skyrim 5E-208

Saren Arterius wearing his Arcane Mercenary Armour and Mask while serving as a Priest of Xile (5E-211)

Saren started to do mercenary work and sought to travel to Skyrim] to start his new life. He was offered a ride to Skyrim by a group of Khajiit Merchants but they were attacked in a Imperial ambush and sent to solitude for execution He was to be executed along with some Stormcloak rebels that attacked the caravan when it crossed the border. The Khajjit merchants were killed but he was unconscious during the attack and a fight broke loose when the imperials attacked, the rebels were defeated and apprehended but when he regained consciousness, his hands were bound and he was dressed in ragged clothes on a caravan along with the bound rebels.

Upon arriving in the Imperial settlement, he was forced to stand in line with the traitors as they stepped forward when the imperial leader called out their names before heading to the headsman's block. Many showed a sense of pride and honor before meeting the Headsman's axe while those who decided to run away were bombarded with arrows.

Moments before he met his inevitable demise, a dragon black as midnight soars through the air like a angel of death leaving only death and destruction. He used the opportunity to escape, fleeing to Whiterun, escaping unscathed but it it was nothing compared to the temple massacre in Blacklight, which left him plagued with nightmares that would haunt him through the rest of his days.

He resorted to drinking in hopes of forgetting by drowning out the memory of that faithful day, scars and wounds could be easily healed by magic or alchemical remedies but they cant heal wounds that runs much deeper than that but to his very own sanity. He spent days on end trying to turn his life around by hunting out in the wilderness and doing favors for the towns people.

Eventually he joined the mages college in Winterhold to increase his magic skills in Alteration, Destruction and Restoration, During his time in the mages college he eventually managed to cast apprentice to expert based spells and improving his enchanting and smithing skills eventually lead to him creating his enchanted ebony armour in the companions Skyforge, Eventually he became a mercenary for hire doing jobs in exchange for gold for his services.

Follower of the Dark Lord 5E-210

Saren's unmasked face after becoming a belua sanguinare Vampire for the first time by his master

Saren was approached by a dark hooded figure who offered him the chance to join a group of followers that took interest in Saren's combat and magic skills and that he would be doing his duty for Tamriel and that he could rid saren of the nightmares of his horrible past, which in turn Saren accepted the strangers offer.

Saren went through the ranks, staying loyal to the dark lord, eventually his master bestowed saren a unique form of vampirism called belua sanguinare and to promote him to become a priest of Xile upon his transformation, He was ordered to wear one of the dragon priest mask called Nahkrinn as a gift for his services and to serve as his symbol of his rank.

Saren is one of many vampiric priests of the dark lord's cult. all members of the cult wore a dragon priest mask that obscured their true identity to avoid being reconised by the general public while carrying out orders, accompanying the dark lord or other priests during their travels. Each member has their own mask, which gives them unique powers and abilities.

The Priests of Xile: Kohahrik, Krosis, Morokei, Nahkrinn, Otar, Rahgot, Vokun and Volsung

The Mysterium War 5E-225

A shrine dedicated to the Priests of Xile in Labyrinthian

'The Mysterium War started with the rebelling forces of Tamriel against the Dark lord Xile and his priests. The forces of the rebelling Provinces allied temporarily against the ever growing empire of Darth Xile and his loyal followers.

The war lasted for years, Followers of Xile were slayed by the rebellion during the war but resistance was futile and defeat was inevitable. Xile used one of his Saren Valerian Arterius' priests, who specialized in necromancy to ressurected the corpses of his fallen servants into a powerful undead army known as The Overlords.  The rebellions numbers slowly diminished over time in the last coming days of the Mysterium War. The Dark Lord only spared them at their most vulnerable. If he completely eradicated them he would have nothing to rule over, so he decided to forge a peace treaty between the leaders of the rebellion, himself and his priests as overseers of the treaty.

The treaty was called the Mysterium Treaty, the treaty clearly states that the provinces would be ruled by their own kings or queens while being ruled by Kain without any consequence. After the treaty was signed, peace was maintained. Anyone that was against the treaty was deemed a traitor by law and they were quickly dealt with by the authorities. 

Strengths & Abilities

Blessing of Sithis: Among most of his abilities, Saren's most unique ability is the Blessing of Sithis, giving Saren the ability to drain the essence of his victims, similiar to the Blood of the Ancients. It soul traps it's target and replenishes his weapon but if the weapon doesnt need replenishing then it fills a soul gem.

Resistance to Fire, Frost & Magic: He has natural resistance to fire due to his dunmer blood, he has a natural resistance to magic from his alteration training and frost due to his unique strain of vampirism from his master.

Hermaeus Mora's Black Book abilities:  Upon finding unique black books in Apocrypha, realm of Hermaeus Mora, gaining four unique abilities: Dragonborn Force , Secret of Arcana, Mora's Boon and Companions Insight.

Belua Sanguinare Vampirism: Saren Arterius is afflicted with Belua Sanguinare, which is a unique strain of Vampirism from his master. The vampiric blood coursing through his veins gave him immortality, immunity to disease/poison, frost and magic. This also has increased his speed, strength, agility, healing and spells.

Nahkrinn Mask and Enchanted Ebony Armour:  The Nahkrinn mask and enchanted Ebony Armour fortifies his magicka and his combat skills giving better protection while in combat situations

Dovahkiin Blood:Born with the blood and soul of a Dragon, the body of a mortal, Saren can naturally learn and speak the ancient, powerful language or the Thu'um of a dragon and absorb their power and knowledge.

Weaknesses

Like many of his vampiric brethren, who have a unique strain called belua sanguinare vampirism, which makes them inherently stronger than any ordinary vampire but they still share similar vampire weaknesses.

Vulnerability to Shrines: Saren cannot approach a shrine dedicated to any of the nine divines as he will be blinded by it's holy aura and overtime he will begin to get weaker the longer he stays in its presence.

Vulnerability to Silver : Saren may be immune to various types of weapons and magic, there is one substance that is known to be effective against him, that being silver while it does not burn him on skin contact but it is proven lethal if it enters his body, it will act similar to a deadly poison, gradually weakening him over time and that a blow to any of his two vital organs being his brain and heart can kill him, which will render him to ash until he is ressurected.

Trivia

• The Arterius family's ancestry goes back before the eruption of red mountain, the last ancestor was Valerian Arterius, who lived in Cyrodill during the oblivion crisis but disappeared soon after, leaving saren as his current descendant.
• He wears black eyeliner and eye shadow along with crimson red segmented warpaint on his face. The warpaint represents crimson blood and the black eyeliner and shadow are suppose to represent the darkness of the void itself.
• Saren's blood has a unique strain of vampirism called belua sanguinare, the more blood he consumes makes him stronger along with his vampiric powers and also being a Vampire Sire, he is completely immune to sunlight.
• He worships Clavicus Vile, Hermaeus Mora, Mehrunes Dagon, Mephala, Namira,  Nocturnal, Sanguine, Sheogorath and Sithis.
• He strongly loathes: Tribunal, Nine Divines, Dawnguard, Meridia, Molag Bal and Vigilants of Stendarr.
• Like all his brethren, he is a devote follower and greatly respects his master and the The Blood Matron.
• Saren is known to writes his signature in the dragon's language:.