Elenwen hated the cold. She was a High Elf, First Emissary of the Aldmeri Dominion, native of the paradise isle of Summerset. This weather was foreign to her, and she despised it. Whatever the Dominion saw in this frozen wasteland was beyond her; it was a shipwreck of Imperial nonsense and Nordic bullshit. They all followed that damned god Talos, the heathen that they had sought to destroy. Within the religion was the belief of the Imperials, and crushing that would deepen the gulf of morale in the Empire even further. It was illegal to worship him, this the natives of this frozen wasteland knew, but still these inbred oafs insisted on defying the law of the realm.
Pausing her train of thought, she sighed. She had forgotten herself; the sensibilities of the Aldmeri had escaped her, to instead by clouded by the red mist of frustration. She was better than that, better than all those who lived here. Certainly better than that damned bitch of a Queen that claimed the dominion. The 'High Queen' they called her, Elsif 'the Fair'. There was nothing in her nature that could even begin to deem her such. There was no royalty in her blood; she married into the Haafingar dynasty, and her beliefs in the Empire as a seat of power in this realm are in no way a 'fair' view. He leanings were noted, as were many of the aristocracy of Skyrim. From this embassy, Elenwen could pull from any of her eyes, ears and mouths; keeping her in tune with the secrets of the realm. This was necessary; how else would the Dominion be able to exert its authority. Every native and their dire farm animals were against them, it would be impossible to stay alive if they did not place themselves into the pathetic lives of the Nords that mostly populated the land. Without spies, the more barbaric of the locals could just rise up and ransack this great embassy. By the blood was it known that they could.
It was heresy to admit it, even in private contemplation, but Elenwen knew the Dominion had very little sway here. There was no army to protect them; no golden knights of the Eshtam, the High Dawn, were here to march gloriously into the cities and towns and proclaim Aldmeri law. The paltry number of men and woman that were provided to defend them were confined to this embassy. They simply did not have the bodies to spare. Not, however, that it would have made much difference. The High Elves were being persecuted or judged across the land as being members of the Dominion; even when they were no part of it. Hammerfell had been an example of this; an underestimating of the abhorrence of the lesser people. It would be suicide to simply send Altmer into any of the holds, and the Supreme Council knew this.
Besides that, there was the lack of cooperation of the High Queen. She was simply a puppet of General Tullius, Elenwen knew this to be fact. Movements of the Haafingar guards to Imperial camps suggested that she was reinforcing the 'defence of the realm'. Tullius could ask for the entire Highguard, those sworn to protect the royalty, and she would bend to him. Surely she could see that the reason they needed so many soldiers was because they were being slaughtered by Ulfric Stormcloak's mob of rebels. Elenwen didn't like him either; he was a rebel with only personal glory at the heart of his cause. He was the rightful High King, by the archaic laws of these barbarians, so it caused her strife to choose who would be better suited as the leader. Not that it mattered. The Dominion would be in control regardless; Queen Elsif's only son was murdered by a Stormcloak spy a month past, and would, through her lame disposition, would never remarry. The Empire could only hold on for so long before they realise here is a lost cause, or Stormcloak's men will raid Solitude and 'reclaim Skyrim.' She hypothesised that Ulfric Stormcloak was more open to negotiations, if it meant the crown for himself. This may be a line of enquiry that she would follow.
Her contemplation was cut short by the knocking of the door of her office. Snapping back to reality, Elenwen cursed in Aldmeri; she had not expected any visitors this morning, not until noon would the emissaries convene to discuss the trials and tribulations of invading a realm.
'Come in.' she said curtly, straightening herself to feign alertness and importance.
The door of her office opened, and the figure of an ape darkened her doorway. Standing on two legs to perfection, the Imga officer strode through her office to the vast desk she was sitting at, tattered and bashed helm under his left arm. He wore thick, cast iron shoulder guards; scratched yet respectable, as if they were polished regularly, but the black, hairy, barrelled, sprawling chest of the Imga people was broadly on show. A long cape draped his back, black with the sigil of the Imga people; the face of an ape, in deep purple. Chainmail trousers over cloth pants were damaged and cut, the dense, black hair poking through the chinks, as it was covering his entire body. Around his waist, a greatbelt of leather secured a sheath at his side, the hilt of a sword facing proudly outwards, his free hand holding it lightly. With purpose, the Great Ape reached the desk and greeted the emissary with the iron helm slamming into the desk with strength.
'Lord Kartus' the elf gasped, 'what is the meaning of this behaviour?'
'Do not sound surprised, Elenwen.' the Imga replied, his deep voice wrapping well around the plain tongue. 'You know why I am filled with such rage.'
'Is the simple task of routing out goblins too great for your people, Kartus?' she mocked. Thought to be extinct for hundreds of years, Tamriel had been besieged by an increase of the uncivilised wretches. Where they came from, no one knew; it would be sensible to suggest that they never indeed went extinct at all, and instead hid after the conclusion of the Oblivion Crisis of the Third Age. No one, scout or scholar, bandit or soldier, had seen hide nor hair of them, but they were notorious for their hiding. The mountains and caves that were aplenty all over the continent were deep enough to dissuade even the hardiest of explorers, and they were fertile enough to breed like rabbits in their spare time. Indeed, this was not just confined to Skyrim. Valenwood, Cyrodiil, even the Summerset Isles were reporting goblin camps, organised in a hierarchical structure and smithing, crafting, and even speaking in the common tongue as well as their own. Every province of the continent was awash with them, and no one could understand why.
'How dare you mock my kin?!' Kartus shot back, ramming his other fist into the table in a fit of anger. 'We are outnumbered ten to one, and you give us equipment that breaks in the midst of battle. How do you expect us to defend this embassy if you are using us as cannon fodder?'
'The Imga people are in our debt, Ape.' Elenwen reminded him, as though she had said it a thousand times before. She had, they did need constant reminding of their place. Generations ago, they looked up to the Altmer as their superiors; again rightly so. The Dominion used them as soldiers and workers, for they were ever so loyal. As of late, this dedication had waned slightly; a sense of grandeur seemed to have taken hold of them. They were no more than what Kartus had said, cannon fodder to soften up adversaries for the true soldiers. 'Remember your place. We command you.'
'The Imga people work for you, elf.' the Great Apes felt as such. They had worked their way out of subservience many decades ago. The Aldmeri Dominion controlled Valenwood, and therefore controlled the land the Imga people came from. It was out of service to their realm that they fought for the High Elves. 'And your workers need to be armed for battle, not for that of a bandit. Are you leading the Dominion to glory or to death in these lands?'
'Hold your tongue, beast!' now Elenwen was consumed with rage. She was not being chastised by a glorified monkey about her leadership abilities. Rising to her feat, Elenwen was smaller by some inches compared to the Imga officer. The Elf stood at about six foot, where as Kartus, a strong, proud and large Great Ape, stood at six feet five inches when standing. This deterred her ego in no way, as it was the only aspect that dwarfed his. 'I am not debating with you orders. You serve, or work, whatever you wish to call it, for the Dominion. You will use what is provided, carry out what is ordered, and accept what is given as a reward, nothing more. Am I clear? Am I?!'
Never wavering from the inflamed gaze of the High Elf, Kartus said nothing for several seconds. Slowly, he nodded, bowed, and turned to leave; striding to the door that was still open from his arrival. The entire embassy would have heard her words, the elf realised, but it mattered not. The damage, if any considering not many here cared for the Imga much themselves, had been done.
'I must warn you' The Ape added, as he was just about to leave, pausing at the door frame, 'That my scouts in the Morthal and Dawnstar have reported sightings of the Highguard, led by their Principal Knight Sar Elkwihn Lupin no less, have been rallying for able men and woman to fight for the Crown. It appears, from what my scouts tell me, that they foresee a threat that may break the boundaries of the Stormcloaks and the Empire.'
One benefit of the Imga people's service was that they made excellent spies. While they were closely related, the Great Ape people looked incredibly similar to trolls. Of course, any one who was close to them could tell otherwise, they had no third eye and far less protruding bones, but they made great plants for surveying the open lands. No one in their right mind would go near a troll, and so were kept unaware that they were in fact Imga. It was easy enough to infiltrate the beasts' dens, the trolls were respectful to the power of Kartus's people and allowed them free passage through their territory. Even the rare albino Imga people were put to use, their white hair, as opposed to black, was used to scout the snow caped lands. It was a lucrative set up; one that Kartus oversaw personally. He took care of his scouts well, and the trolls that both guarded and hid them. Simple creatures, they were amazed that an Ape could wield a sword, so it took very little to please them.
'Who is this 'threat'?' the High Elf asked tentatively, calmed and now hesitant.
'The Aldmeri Dominion.'
With that, he made his leave; Elenwen now all alone in her office to contemplate what had just been dropped on her.
'I must speak to the crown at once.' She thought, calling on one of her servants to send a letter to Windhelm at once.
