"Attrebus stood for a moment, ever still, staring at the Altmer, locked in a tense stalemate. She seemed enraged, but also disheartharted at the reaction. The emotions she emitted, Attrebus took notice. True, If she was an assassin, It would be suicide to send an Altmer, alone, to an Inn full of the enemy. The elves we're smart, Attrebus scowled at the unintentional praise he had the elves in his head.

"You call us stupid? knife eared whore!" Shouted one of the Imperial men behind Attrebus, the crowd growing angry. Hurling abuse at the girl as the Inn echoed in a flurry of anger. Attrebus, still thinking, needed"

"just a..."

"quiet..."

"moment...

"to think..."

"SHUT IT! THE LOT OF YA" He roared at the top of his lungs, the Inn falling silent as rage filled his battered face.

"He eyed his men down, most of them backing away, not wanting to enrage him further. His head now clear. He was about to speak when the girl dropped the contents of her sachet on the floor, splitting open to reveal the twenty scattered septims it contained. He would stare at her again for a moment, before looking back at his men once more.

"In a shocking move, the Old Imperial dropped his Warhammer against the floor. The smack of the weapon leaving a dent in the hardwood floor. He knelt down, picking up all the coins by hand. Holding them all in two hands, he slowly slid them onto the table, edging them towards the Altmer.

"His men began looking both shocked and confused.

"Clearing his throat and lifting his Warhammer in one hand this time, he spoke finally. "Ay, we're no bandits. I'll not gut a lass with a meager twenty septims to her name. It's thirty-one versus one, hardly fair odds." Attrebus spoke, his voice a lot calmer than before. He knew of narry an assassin that carried just twenty septims around with them In their satchels. Though his instinct and hatred kept him cautious still.

"Explain yourself, lass. Tell us why you're here, I want the truth." Attrebus commanded, transitioning back to matter at hand.

Her Ebonflesh wore off in a quick blast of light and she stared at the coins.

"I-I'm..." She stuttered as she looked around at the rest of the men, their weapons still drawn. They were as confused as her.

"I'm here to escape." She sighed. Might as well give him the entire story. At least he was willing to talk.

"I'm not a Thalmor, but my family fought in the Great War." She winced, expecting a blow to her head, or at least some more slurs. "The Thalmor came for me, they knew of my magical talent and they wanted me to enlist." She struggled, remembering it was hard. She got sadder the more she spoke.

"My father didn't want me to see the horrors he had. He told me to run. He held them off." She spoke in short sentences to avoid crying.

That was in Auridon. I'm still running." The entire time she told the story, she stared at the small number of septims the man had put on the table.

Silence, tension, fear... All that filled the dear air of the once jolly Inn hall. Attrebus, locked In a stare with the Altmer. His mind didn't know what to do. The emotion In her face, her voice, tone... He could tell there was truth to her words, he almost felt remorse for the lass.

"I fought in the great war, horrible acts. The Thalmor gutted Imperials... like animals! So In return, I gutted them... Like animals.." Attrebus, looking down as he finished. He felt nothing but anger at the mere mention of the war, and the Thalmor. He lost everything because of that damn war.

Even his own brother...

The imperial behind Attrebus snarled, cleary becoming agitated at the slow course of events. "Why are we talking? It's obvious what she is. The Thalmor dog speaks lies! if you won't end this... I'll do it myself!" The brash Imperial rushed at the girl, Imperial sword raised In a lunging attack.

Markus, the lad always was an unruly one. Attrebus recruited him a few months back, his family had been captured by Thalmor and he aimed to get them back. Attrebus would typically agree, heck even join him, but Attrebus had a feeling about this girl, he couldn't quite place.

A good ruler needed to be just and fair, no matter what the race.

Attrebus raised his Warhammer, lurching his body to step in between the attack and block with the hilt.

"Are you mad! You would defend this... this... THALMOR SWINE!" Markus, the Imperial roared, sword clashed with Attrebus's Warhammer.

"I am not defending a Thalmor. I'm defending an innocent Altmer." Attrebus retorted, pushing his Warhammer back against Markus's force.

Attrebus could see it in his expression. The anger, the rage. Eyes a pool of pure fire and hate. Attrebus saw... himself In the eyes of the boy.

How many Thalmor had he slain with his Warhammer? the number... well, he lost count after the first day. He never let remorse cloud him, only anger. He turned to the Altmer briefly, from her yells he could see she wanted none of this, but...

*Chung*

The sparks of the blade were fierce, Markus boldly throwing another strike towards Attrebus, catching him off guard slightly. His other men reacted violently to their leader being attacked, most of the men raising weapons against Markus In yet another turn of events.

"Your all nothing but Thalmor loving whoresons the lot of ya! I'll not serve any Emperor who defends an Elf. It is any different then when you lead a skirmish on the embassy? how many Altmer burned Attrebus? how many screamed as you grinned?" Markus roared, spinning around in a circle, blade raised...

"I'm NOT a Thalmor!"

- Flashback -
A few months earlier

Thalmor Embassy

The smoked filled the air thicker than the aftermath of the red mountain eruption as the fires ragged and burned with an aggression akin to a dragon attack

This was no Dragon attack...That would of been far more humane and quick. The screams grew louder, as gold skinned figures in black robes ran out the splintered wooden doors that were practically melting off the hinges.

"Please, have mercy." A rare plea from a robbed Altmer elite, skin charred and heavily wounded as knelt in the snow pleading for his life beside two of his kind nearing death as behind him the once mighty symbol of Altmer dominance in the region was gone just so quickly as it had appeared.

"Ulfric, what would you have me do with him?" The cracked voice of Ulfric's right hand, Galmar Stone-Fist asked, Ulfric approaching slowly beside him.

In a moment thought rare Ulfric was the one looking down on the Thalmor, pleading and begging at his mercy. Flashes of the great war and his torture under them appearing to him.

"Skyrim and it's people no longer bow to the will of the Thalmor" Ulfric gave a roaring cry, swinging his sword around and beheading the pleading Thalmor before he could muster up a weak reply, burned head now lay on the snow-covered grounds surrounding the embassy.

From the inside handful of Imperials came out of the smoking remains of the building, holding varying Thalmor survivors amongst them that were now at the mercy of Ulfric as was the man who's life he just took.

"Unhand me! I command you to cease this barbarism at once, if you so value your life!" The condescending tone was something that pricked Ulfric's ears as he noticed a sight he never thought he would see.

Elenwen, being dragged by her long golden locks by a hulking Imperial with a short black beard and a black greying ponytail, clad in a heavy set of ebony armour with a silver imperial dragon insignia on the centre of the chestplate.

"Ay! I value my life a lot more than I do yours lass" Attrebus responded to Elenwen, throwing her beneath Ulfric's feet like a prized trophy. She now knelt fully prone, black gloved hands enveloped in the snow as she slowly raised her head snarling at Ulfric, who smiled in response.

"You and you're men have done Skyrim's people a great service today, Attrebus. I will honour our agreement, Skyrim supports your cause for the rightful claim as heir to the throne as the brother to Titus Mede II. When the time comes for war, I trust I will have the empires support." Ulfric called towards Attrebus, both men standing eye to eye, each equally as impressed with the other.

"The Thalmor will never again have hold in Skyrim, on my honour." Attrebus replied, shaking Ulfric's hand and looking on at the nearly burnt-out embassy ruins. "They will retaliate once they learn of this"

"I know." Ulfric responded coldly, looking on briefly with Attrebus, corpses of the Thalmor laying a grim path in the snow. "Bring her with us, execute the rest." Ulfric commanded, Galmar nodding in agreement, picking up the defeated Elenwen and moving off into the night.

"The burning was drowned by a conjunction of screams as the remaining Thalmor survivors were executed in cold blood, bodies joining the many amongst the snow.

Attrebus did nothing, only watched until the fires burnt to the last ember.