Tiber Septim-Certified Dragonborn Voice master.
There's an enduring theory that Tiber Septim/Hjalti Early-Beard's accomplishments with the Voice, and perhaps even his very nature as Dragonborn, are in fact fictitious and the result of propaganda.
A false narrative that credits Tiber/Hjalti with the accomplishments and perhaps even nature of Ysmir Wulfharth.
While the overall truth of the Arcturian Heresy itself (from which the theory indirectly originates) is perhaps harder to determine however, Todd Howard's Gameinformer interview on Dragon Shouts (January 20th of 2011) directly refutes the idea that Tiber was either not Dragonborn or not a skilled user of the Voice in his own right.
In fact, the interview goes as far as to suggest that Tiber/Hjalti was *'unmatched'* as a Tongue, during a time when the Greybeards *'at that time, were so powerful they had to have all the villages flee for miles'* when they spoke (Howard here specifies the Greybeards of the time, seemingly contrasting them with the Greybeards of Skyrim when no such evacuation appears necessary).
Tied to that, Howard also appears to suggest the Dragonborn's innate ability to use the Voice isn't limited to learning it naturally/swiftly like dragons can, but also that the '*level'* on which a Dragonborn can Shout (a fully realized one at least) is '*beyond'* even the Greybeards (at least the ones in TESV itself per the quote itself, and possibly in general).
So the bit of the orthodoxy describing Tiber's training with the Greybeards and how he *learned the secrets of the high peak winds -- the roar of the winter blast, and the warm silk of the summer updrafts* and floated down on his cloud boots and such ? That's true, more likely than not (the boots are certainly real).
As a secondary observation, it's interesting that Howard describes Septim climbing to High Hrothgar as a *'little kid',* which potentially opens up all sorts of questions about Septim's early life and how his 'destiny' might have factored into it. The orthodoxy claims Septim was summoned by the Greybeards at twenty years of age and following the victory at Old Hroldan, a *'young man'* certainly (as Lalatia Varian claims) but not a *'little kid'.*
Did Howard exaggerate or misspeak (he calls Septim a *'kid'* twice) or does this suggest that part of the orthodoxy to be wrong ?
Anyway, that's it. Nothing too major but I was recently going through some of the pre-TESV content and was surprised to come across a quote that essentially states a core part of the Orthodoxy, Septim's skill as a Tongue, an *'unmatched'* one at that, is very much the truth (personally I tend to buy pretty strongly into the Heresy being more true than not).
Thought it'd be interesting to make a post on. Thoughts ?
*"When Talos Stormcrown was a young man in Skyrim, he went into the mountains to learn the secrets of the Greybeards. He learned the secrets of the high peak winds -- the roar of the winter blast, and the warm silk of the summer updrafts. When he descended from the mountains, he came riding the clouds, striding through the air in great boots he claimed were gifts of the Greybeards for his cunning craft and riddling.*
[https://en.uesp.net/wiki/Morrowind:Lalatia\_Varian](https://en.uesp.net/wiki/Morrowind:Lalatia_Varian)
[https://en.uesp.net/wiki/Lore:Boots\_of\_the\_Apostle](https://en.uesp.net/wiki/Lore:Boots_of_the_Apostle)
*“In the lore, Tiber Septim was the first main emperor.* ***He could shout. His way of the Voice was unmatched,****” Howard explains. “He is the original guy who walks the seven thousand steps and talks to the Greybeards.* ***And the idea is, at that time, that they were so powerful they had to have all the villages flee for miles.*** *This little kid is walking up this snowy mountain, and all these people are packed up and they’re walking down and away.* ***Because they know the kid is going up to talk to these guys, and when they talk there’s going to be avalanches.”***
*“There are other people in the world who can use the dragon shouts, but it’s very rare. It’s like arcane knowledge. It used to be done more in the past,”*
*“The Greybeards know it.* ***But your ability to absorb the dragon souls and do the shouts on the level that you can is beyond them.”***
The interview:
[https://www.gameinformer.com/b/features/archive/2011/01/20/skyrim-s-dragon-shouts.aspx](https://www.gameinformer.com/b/features/archive/2011/01/20/skyrim-s-dragon-shouts.aspx)
Main sources on Wulfharth and the Arcturian Heresy:
[https://en.uesp.net/wiki/Lore:The\_Arcturian\_Heresy](https://en.uesp.net/wiki/Lore:The_Arcturian_Heresy)
[https://en.uesp.net/wiki/Lore:Five\_Songs\_of\_King\_Wulfharth](https://en.uesp.net/wiki/Lore:Five_Songs_of_King_Wulfharth)