Chapter 1
The clip-clop sound of the horse's hoofs filled Loac's ears as the carriage made it's way through the Summerset Isle capital city of Alinor. Multicolored beams of light filtered down from the colored glass windows of the stone towers above, draping the cobblestone street in a thousand vibrant colors. Loac relaxed in her silk-lined seat and glanced out the open carriage window. As the horse carriage slowly pulled to a stop she looked upward at the large gray building in front of her. She'd never seen the Valenwood embassy before. In fact her father, the High Wizard king of Alinor, had been shocked by her decision to work at the embassy of the Bosmer people.
The day she first heard of the job opening, her father had introduced yet another young aristocrat as a suitor to her. Like every other traditional Altmer of Summerset Isle, the young man was snobbish and simply wanted to marry Loac because of her wealth and high position. The suitors cared only for their status in society and cared nothing for her. The Altmer, or High-Elves as humans called them, considered themselves to be the most superior and perfect race on Nirn. Everything the Altmeri people did was an effort to gain status, superiority, and boasting rights. In every house and every street was perfection, etiquette, and order. Loac had always been taught to use the strict manners and orderly way of life her culture was known for. Over the years, however, she'd grown disillusioned with her people. She longed to meet people of other races despite the fact she had always been told they were inferior. Loac kept these feelings a secret, because such deviant thoughts were viewed as "mental illness" and a sign of inferiority by her race.
Aside from the fact that the suitors were snobs who didn't care about her, the main reason she didn't want to marry was the practice of culling. In Altmer society, when a woman gave birth, a Mer called a "culler" would be present to measure and examine the newborn child. If the child was not perfect in every way, the culler would use destruction magic to kill it. Over half of all newborn Altmer were killed in that fashion. It was the way the Altmer maintained perfection among their race, and how they managed to gain such beauty and healthy longevity. Loac secretly thought that the practice of culling was horrible, and she knew that if she married it would lead to pregnancy. She didn't want to bear children and watch them die, but rebelling against culling could lead to exile. Her only option was to tactically postpone marriage for as long as possible.
When faced with the prospect of eager suitors following her around, Loac finally asked her father to let her work. Her father procured various documents listing government job openings, and there it was- Personal Assistant to the Bosmer Ambassador of Valenwood. Loac immediately grabbed the paper and read over the job description eagerly.
"You cannot be serious", her father sneered, "Why would you want to work alongside those unsophisticated barbaric tree-huggers?"
"Father, shouldn't I be allowed to choose my own place of employment?" asked Loac.
High Wizard Warundil's face grew stern, "They shouldn't even have an embassy at all. Their so-called 'province' of Valenwood is nothing but a wasteland of trees with only one good road. And the only reason why they have that road at all, is because our people graciously built it for them and continue to maintain it. The Bosmer can hardly even be considered people, with the way they live in huts and practice cannibalism. I do not want my daughter to be infected by their bizarre culture. Perhaps you would prefer to work in the treasury instead?"
However, Loac would not back down, and her father finally acquiesced halfheartedly into permitting her to work at the Bosmer embassy.