Apocrypha: Samanwe Direnni's Letter

Dear High King,

My name is Samanwe Direnni. I am ten years old. Congratulations on your new job. I am worried about the Empire and the Dominion getting into a Numiclear war. Are you going to vote to have a war or not? If you aren't please tell me how you are going to help to not have a war. This question you do not have to answer, but I would like to know why you want to destroy High Rock or at least exterminate all mankind. I am friends with humans. The gods made the world for us to live together in peace and not to fight.

Sincerely,

Samanwe Direnni

Dear Samanwe,

I received your letter, which is like many others that have reached me recently from your country and from other countries around the world.

It seems to me – I can tell by your letter – that you are a courageous and honest young mer, resembling Willow, the friend of King Edward in the famous book from your country. This book is well known and loved in the Dominion by all young mer.

You write that you are anxious about whether there will be a numiclear war between our two countries. And you ask are we doing anything so that war will not break out.

Your question is the most important of those that every thinking mer can pose. I will reply to you seriously and honestly.

Yes, Samanwe, we in the Aldmeri Dominion are trying to do everything so that there will not be war on Nirn. This is what every Aldmer in our nation wants. This is what the great founder of our kingdom, Auri-El, taught us.

Aldmeri people well know what a terrible thing war is. Twenty-five years ago, an evil organization called the Blades, which strove for supremacy over the whole world, attacked our country, burned and destroyed many thousands of our towns and villages, killed millions of Aldmeri men, women and children.

The Empire was initially fooled by the Blades and the sinister TAL(OS) cult.

In that war, which ended with our victory, we ended in alliance with the Empire: together we fought for the liberation of many people from the Blades and Talosian heresy. I hope that you know about this from your history lessons in school. And today we want very much to live in peace, to trade and cooperate with all our neighbors on this earth — with those far away and those near by. And certainly with such a great Empire as yours.

In the Empire and in our country there are numiclear weapons — terrible weapons that can kill millions of people in an instant. But we do not want them to be ever used. That's precisely why the Aldmeri Dominion solemnly declared throughout the entire world that never — never — will it use numiclear weapons first against any country. In general we propose to discontinue further production of them and to proceed to the abolition of all the stockpiles on Nirn.

It seems to me that this is a sufficient answer to your second question: 'Why do you want to wage war against the whole world or at least exterminate all mankind?' We want nothing of the kind. No one in our country–neither workers, peasants, writers nor healers, neither grown-ups nor children, nor members of the government–want either a big or 'little' war.*

We want peace — there is something that we are occupied with: growing wheat, building and inventing, writing books and flying into Aetherius. We want peace for ourselves and for all peoples of the planet. For our children and for you, Samanwe.

I invite you, if your parents will let you, to come to our country, the best time being this summer. You will find out about our country, meet with your contemporaries, visit an international children's camp – Silatar – on the sea. And see for yourself: in the Aldmeri Dominion, everyone is for peace and friendship among peoples.

Thank you for your letter. I wish you all the best in your young life.

His Royal Highness the High King of Alinor

*In regards to the second part of your second question, my answer may be more complicated than a young mer without the benefit of Aldmeri education can understand. You know that all mannish existence is suffering, correct? We hope one day to find a solution. Suffice it to say that we would much rather prevent suffering from ever existing than to ameliorate it after it occurs. Both would be a nice gift to our Mannish friends though, right?