Prologue

"What is better - to be born good, or to overcome your evil nature through great effort?" -Paarthurnax


"Snowflakes..." He murmured, his dagger to her throat, "there are snowflakes in your hair."
Tears were streaming down her face. The sharp steel burned on her skin and fear grew in her heart.
"Your hair is beautiful." He sighed. A twisted smile grew on his face as he carved just beneath her chin. She winced and shut her eyes tight. Nothing could save her. Madness had consumed him, and she was his only target.
"Almost as beautiful as your treachery, elf."
He took a fistful of her thick silver hair and yanked it back. Her roots burned as he used the dagger to saw through the bundle of hair, claiming any strand that he could. He dropped the bundle beside her.
"I will sleep easy tonight knowing that you no longer walk Nirn. I told you once that you would pay for your treachery. Now, I found you. And it is time to end your miserable life."
Her eyes were still closed when he slowly plunged the dagger into her heart. The burden of the steel piercing her skin overwhelmed her body with pain, and when her eyes flashed open she could see the twisted smile adorning his face.
He stabbed her again, and again, and again until her bright red eyes had shut and her breathing halted. Her heart beat no more. He stood and sheathed the dagger, kicked the corpse, and spit on it before departing.
Snowflakes still drizzled around him as he stomped through the snow and passed through the city gates. All he could think about was how beautiful they once looked in her hair. He chuckled to himself, "Mephala, bless me, the bitch is finally gone."