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"J'Dar has never seen a Wild Elf, yes. So he did come to see one. So J'Dar says you are right, a mere curiosity, as Dunmer says. J'Dar must know why you come." J'Dar took a sip of his drink.

"Yes, do tell us, Elyntine, why had you gone to see the Wild Elves?" asked Sebastien, his eyes drifting from the Dunmer's lyre to his drink. "An admirer of such curiosities, like my friend here, or just bored, like myself?"

The doors to the Treeside Inn were thrown open and a Courier barged in with a scroll held tight in his hands.

"Attention, all, attention! I have news critical to all under the rule of the mighty Dominion!" Before he could go on, the Inn doors were thrown open again and another courier came in.

"Attention, all, attention! I have vital information for all under the Aldmeri Dominion's watchful gaze!" Courier 2 shouted, and then turned to Courier 1. "Taris, what are you doing here? I'm delivering the news!"

Courier 1 scoffed. "My news cannot be your news. I received it directly from the Empire itself!"

"Well," Said Courier 2, "I received my news directly from the Thalmor!"

"J'Dar says read both! Just tell us all."

"Well, if you need the exact whys and hows of my being here, Commander," Selara began hotly. "You could, perhaps, look to your man who upended me over his shoulder and hauled me in like a sack of grain. Just a thought." Anger probably wasn't the best tack to take at the moment, but by the gods, it was what she felt. "That is both why and how I am here," she spat. The fire glimmering in her eyes died a little after a moment, however, and she sighed. "My temper is getting the better of me again, I fear. One of the Elders," Selara said, speaking quietly now, though she kept eye contact with the Altmer. "We were with him when the fires erupted. He led us to a back way out and gave his life for ours in the process. Are you satisfied now?"

Kah'jihreed slowly turned his head to the two couriers. While still a bit dazed from the moon sugar he was able to comprehend what was happening.
"Irriwen and Kah'jihreed must be on their gurad now," he whispered to the Wood Elf and took a few steps backwards, towards the wall.

Feather-Tail, seated at the inn's well-detailed wooden counter, promptly turned his attention to the ill behaved couriers.

Sebastien turned toward the couriers with an agitated look on his face, being a man who did not appreciate his discussion or his drink being interrupted - both of which were, and not once but twice in rapid succession. He slung his arm casually over the back of his chair and offered the confused couriers an impatient nod as J'Dar told both to speak. For the love of Mother Mara, he thought impatiently.

Elyntine did not respond to Sebastien's query, as the two couriers had garnered the attention of all present.

Tireace looks at both the courirs and thinks "the empire should speak first followed by the thalmor? Mhm no the thalmor must speak first they are our rulers after all." she sits down and waits on them to awnser

"I'm going first." Courier 2 said while shooting an angry look at Courier 1. "The Tarnabye Massacre has been officially linked to the Marukhati, a stem of the ancient Alessian Order. Their leader, Thaddeus Antiva, reports that 'It is our ancient duty to eliminate the Ayleids. We've finally completed that task and have no regrets; but we're not going away just yet. Now that we've dealt with the Wild Elves, we shall complete our next goal: To exterminate every Elf from the face of Nirn, be it Altmer, Dunmer, Bosmer, or even Orsimer."

Siaenach snorted in a feeble attempt to hide a snicker.

"Dandy. Now you'll get to feel how it's like to be persecuted."

Tireace gasps "well those guys need good luck I mean announcing it will make it harder for them won't it?"

Kah'jihreed hissed.
"This is bad for Irriwen," he whispered to Bosmer. "It is not safe here any longer."

Sebastien only blinked, slowly, his lips tightening in a frown at the courier's words. There were no words necessary; this was, if nothing else, utter madness.

"Bah, what do you know? Small extremists always announce what they'r doin'! That's how they recruit. That's what my dad did as well. Not that it helped, of course."

"mhm, interesting" Tireace said with a frown "I will need to think about that. But no matter we can't allow our mer friends to die. I wish not for a empty world" and with this she stood up and adressed the room "do you wish for a empty world?"

"That's a very nice story for lunatics, but can we get on with my news?" Courier 1, a Bosmer, said impatiently. "Empress Margaret Magus has spoken... a prophecy!" There was much controversy around the current Empress. Ever since this aging woman had replaced Titus Mede II several years ago, some people saw the fact that she called herself a Seeress proof that she was insane. Others saw it as a gift to the Empire.

"The Prophecy is as follows:

The Chosen will stand,
In a war ravaged land.
The evil will end by the honor they are sworn.
If they fail, then the Mer we shall mourn.

Along their quest
They'll solve the test.
It already has begun.
The Ultimate Power will be restored to one."

"Bah. Mumbo-jumbo. If the Empire'd been any use, they'd been ensuring we'd gotten rid of the Nords long ago. Why's this important to anyone?" Siaenach said from the back.

Tireace says analistically "the mer we shall mourn? Well I guess the empress is not coo coo after all.. And if the thalmor were any nicer we would all not have a civil war in skyrim"

Feather-Tail was more than a bit skeptical of the second courier's seemingly mystical announcement; nevertheless, he would report the details of the Empress's steadily declining sanity to his superiors along with the more relevant information regarding the Ayleids' fate. Seeing as his assignment was effectively completed, he had no reason to remain in the area past the next morning.

Sebastien surveyed the couriers for a long, long moment, listening to the other patrons in the inn - and then, without much helping it, let out a sharp, single laugh. He turned right-about in his chair to face the Khajiit and Dunmer at his table and leaned his head against his hand, creating a cradle with his fingers. "I don't know about you," he said to his friends, but loudly enough so that all might hear, "but after an afternoon like this prophecies and mer-haters can be damned. I'd just like to drink my drink in the peace the Divines promised me." He tilted his head toward the couriers, an angry look on his face. "So if you two wouldn't mind..."

Elyntine found great solace in the words of Sebastien. As the first courier spoke, a chill had come over the Dunmer. She was shocked, angered, and terrified, despite the unbelievable nature of the message- it seemed an all too real threat to her. Now, as Sebastien defied the idea of this genocide, she felt relieved- there were men, like him, who would stand against such evil. "Thank you, Breton," she said.

Irriwen watched the couriers warily. "Maukhati." She repeated, swearing never to forget the word. "Marukhati." She glanced at Kah'jihreed. "Some say the Khajiit are descended from the sons and daughters of Aldmeris just as much as I am."