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Imperial College of the Voice

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Here on the Library I was looking into the Greybeards just to freshen up my memory and found that it said Markarth had a college dedicated to bringing the Voice back to the battlefield. Apparently this is because the Greybeards shout once a year in honor of Tiber Septim. Is there any merit in this? A source would be much appreciated. Why would the Imperials establish a college in order to honor the Greybeards in appreciation yet it doesn't necessarily teach what the GBs believe? And who in Nirn is capable of teaching the Thu'um to mastery besides the Greybeards? 

Fiore1300's picture
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Joined: 07/24/2011

This comes from the 1st Pocket Guide to Empire, which reads:

Today, the most ancient and powerful of the Tongues live secluded on the highest peaks in contemplation, and have spoken once only in living memory, to announce the destiny of the young Tiber Septim (as recounted in Cyrodiil). In gratitude, the Emperor has recently endowed a new Imperial College of the Voice in Markarth6, dedicated to returning the Way of the Voice to the ancient and honorable art of war. So it may be that the mighty deeds of the Nord heroes of old will soon be equaled or surpassed on the battlefields of the present day.

The commentator on the Guide, an Elf from the Aldmeri Dominion, also has this to say:

6"Septim's new college is staffed by hacks and charlatans ~ the so-called Grand Master is said to have formerly earned his living as a street performer in Windhelm ~ the students are scions of the most obsequious Nord families, hoping to curry favor with Tiber Septim's New Order ~"

So yeah, Tiber's college at Markarth seems to have been something of a farce. Heck, even the official report in the Pocket Guide says it was founded "in gratitude" to the Greybeards, which we know would have been completely against such a college in the first place. 

Even if Tiber Septim's intention was genuine and the situation at the college wasn't as bad as the elven traveler put it, we never hear about the college or the tongues it was supposed to be training again. That should be enough to mark it as a complete failure.

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Fiore1300 wrote:

This comes from the 1st Pocket Guide to Empire, which reads:

Today, the most ancient and powerful of the Tongues live secluded on the highest peaks in contemplation, and have spoken once only in living memory, to announce the destiny of the young Tiber Septim (as recounted in Cyrodiil). In gratitude, the Emperor has recently endowed a new Imperial College of the Voice in Markarth6, dedicated to returning the Way of the Voice to the ancient and honorable art of war. So it may be that the mighty deeds of the Nord heroes of old will soon be equaled or surpassed on the battlefields of the present day.

The commentator on the Guide, an Elf from the Aldmeri Dominion, also has this to say:

6"Septim's new college is staffed by hacks and charlatans ~ the so-called Grand Master is said to have formerly earned his living as a street performer in Windhelm ~ the students are scions of the most obsequious Nord families, hoping to curry favor with Tiber Septim's New Order ~"

So yeah, Tiber's college at Markarth seems to have been something of a farce. Heck, even the official report in the Pocket Guide says it was founded "in gratitude" to the Greybeards, which we know would have been completely against such a college in the first place. 

Even if Tiber Septim's intention was genuine and the situation at the college wasn't as bad as the elven traveler put it, we never hear about the college or the tongues it was supposed to be training again. That should be enough to mark it as a complete failure.

I figured it was a failure since the date it was made and it makes no appearance in Skyrim. Is the Thu'um still out there though? I mean do some Nords still tech it as a family tradition or something or is it exclusive to the Greybeards and Ulfric? 

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Joined: 07/24/2016

It was exclusively a greybeard secret after around the first era. When all of the great tongues failed to shout down windcaller they joined him in high hrothgar. The only reason ulfric knows it is because in his youth studied to become a greybeard but quit. Even when tongues were around in the armies of the nords they were very few in number. In the 36 lessons vivec said there were about 4 or 5 tongues but forgot to mention windcaller and those who joined him in high hrothgar. So we can estimate a number of around a dozen or so tongues. Once the greybeards were formed there was no-one to teach the thuum outside of high hrothgar

Tailin Sero's picture
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Joined: 01/25/2014

Could the college have just been a dragonish school? It used to be a skill in Arena and Daggerfall.

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Joined: 09/06/2015

Tailin Sero wrote:

Could the college have just been a dragonish school? It used to be a skill in Arena and Daggerfall.

Couldn't find anything on Dragonish Magic. It's possible but it says it was dedicated to bringing the Voice back to battle so they were sorely mistaken if they accidentally thought the Thu'um for Dragonish Magic. 

Proweler's picture
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Joined: 06/14/2010

That would be an interesting failure mode though.  Very Imperial to assume the power comes from the understanding the incantation rather then the person who does it.

 

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Proweler wrote:

That would be an interesting failure mode though.  Very Imperial to assume the power comes from the understanding the incantation rather then the person who does it.

 

But didn't the High Elf who wrote that note say it was ran and employed by Nords, who would've known what the Thu'um is and how it works? If not than I guess the Imperials would be ones to assume something like that because they don't tend to like anything they can't explain. 

cpt.Od's picture
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Joined: 07/02/2010

True, though they were imperials in ideology. The games are guilty of conflating the two meanings.