This is the second of Blades agent Valiitha Direnni's reports from Summerset on the rise of the Thalmor. Direnni was first a Blades agent, then was recruited by the Thalmor. The Blades considered her their agent within the Thalmor, the Thalmor their agent with the Blades. Eventually, she went over entirely to the Thalmor, but her true loyalties at any point in her career are uncertain.
Report of Valiitha Direnni, Blades Agent assigned to infiltrate the Thalmor, regarding dissension in the Court of Shimmerene
Third of Rain's Hand, 4E 16
Trouble has arisen again within the Kingdom of Shimmerene, this time over the upcoming nuptials of the crown prince Morandur.
The groom is, of course, a widower of the Oblivion Crisis. His late wife Nariya was a princess of Alinor, close kin to the High King. That marriage was arranged to strengthen the weakening bonds of fealty from Shimmerene to Alinor and (by proxy) the Empire. Morandur's elder sister, the unfortunate Princess Eranwen, had been similarly betrothed to a prince of Alinor before her murder many years ago.
(Incidentally, the deaths of Princess Nariya and her young son at the hands of the Daedra were witnessed by many, so please stop sending me inquiries about possible conspiracies. Not every death that takes place among the Summerset great houses is a secret murder. You saw the destruction the Daedra wrought in Cyrodiil, now imagine that a dozen times over in Summerset. They call it The Great Anguish here for good reason)
The current controversy surrounds Morandur's choice of bride. Lady Ilantuwe is the daughter of his old tutor, not the scion of another royal house. Her father was an honoured scholar and mage from an illustrious bloodline, and in his later days, he held a seat upon the Thalmor Council, but he and his wife were not elevated enough to supply a prince's consort.
Or so argue the prince's hoary old relatives and their supporters among the court's officials. Morandur's supporters argue that these particular distinctions of rank are corrupt customs taken up in slavish imitation of the mannish Empire. The ancient Aldmeri way, they argue, treasured righteous scholars of good breeding rather than greedy opportunists who bowed to foreign powers.
Let me be clear. No one in this dispute is arguing that lineage is unimportant. Lady Ilantuwe's lineage and traits have been closely examined and approved by the sapiarchs who support Morandur. Instead, this crisis should be understood as a subtle attack on the legitimacy of Summerset's ruling houses under the Empire. The Kings and Queens of Summerset's kingdoms are members of ancient families who have ruled the Isles for thousands of years, but they are also descended from those who bowed to Tiber Septim after the Siege of Alinor. In Alinor itself, our Emperor installed a minor member of the previous ruling family as High King. In Shimmerene, the Queen of that time kept her throne by swearing fealty to the Emperor. Every ruler in Summerset owes some of their legitimacy to the Empire that has allowed them to rule, and the Thalmor point to that as proof of their illegitimacy.
Prince Morandur and Lady Ilantuwe appear to be a love match. He rescued her from the Deadlands when her parents and elder brother had perished, and the attachment grew from there. But that romance would not have progressed towards marriage if his Thalmor advisers had not promoted it.
You know that I am on excellent terms with the younger prince of Shimmerene, Andanyon, who indeed first approached me on the Thalmor's behalf. The King of Shimmerene's chancellor has lately accused Andanyon of orchestrating this marriage as an attack on his own family's legitimacy.
Andanyon seems more amused than outraged by these accusations. He has little to fear from his enemies within the court. He's a hero of the Oblivion Crisis, credited with leading a band of fearless Thalmor warriors and mages who closed three Oblivion gates. On a personal level, I believe he has promoted this match because of his attachment to Ilantuwe's father, his old tutor. On a practical level, he's served the Thalmor's interest in pushing his brother into this defiance.
I've discussed with Andanyon many times the future of Shimmerene should the Thalmor take some position of official power within the Isles. He believes that his father the King will have to relinquish some of his privileges and power but he assures me that the Kinhouse of Shimmerene will weather the storm, should its members show a correct and humble reverence for the way of their ancestors.
This current crisis will probably be resolved by a great number of deaths. The debate has become so open and reached an extreme point where neither side can back down. Suicides, duels and executions will eventually follow. The death penalty is rarely exacted in the Isles, with exile as the much preferred punishment, but an insult to the pedigree of the crown prince's bride, the mother of the kingdom's future heirs, is akin to the vilest treason. Unless there is some unexpected reverse in the Thalmor's fortunes, I expect Lady Ilantuwe's partisans to prevail. The King, who is reported to disapprove of the match, is weak compared to his sons, and will probably acquiesce to the marriage.
I know that all I report is grim for the Empire's future in Summerset, but I can only write of what I see. If Imperial officials are interested in negotiating some relationship with the Thalmor, the time to act is now.
As a supposed lackey of the Thalmor, and a friend to Prince Andanyon, I am certain to be invited to the wedding feast, though probably only to a table in the outermost courts of the royal palace where we'll toast the newlyweds and never see them. Still, the food and wine should be excellent, and I'll report on the proceedings and whom I meet and talk with when the wedding happens.
Notes: Morandur and Ilantuwe are in my universe the future parents of Elenwen, so you can count the marriage as either a great success for the Thalmor or a disaster for Ulfric Stormcloak.
I've been interested in the tension between the Thalmor as guardians of The True Aldmeri Way and the fact that they came to power by overthrowing the Kings and Queens of Summerset, and pursuing an interventionist agenda abroad. This piece explores some of that tension, and how a more populist movement could use the ideals of elitism and conservatism.
The severity of this sort of lineage dispute is inspired by dialogue from the Mother of Rats in ESO.
- I forged a document.
- That's all?
- Well, the ensuing dispute sent forty-three mer to the funeral pyre. It was a patent of lineage, you see. Kinlords take that sort of thing very seriously. Insufferable.
This piece was originally posted on /r/teslore. I'm finding Direnni a useful viewpoint for this sort of exploration, so I'm sure there'll be more, though I don't know if they'll all be in chronological order.