There is an overgrown building in the woods near the shrine of Auri-El. Underneath all the flora it looks different to any buildings Idhris will have seen in person before, though she may have come across the style in a book. The door is broken open, but the doorway is barely visible through the vines. She might be able to squeeze through a small gap on the right, however. 

She's very slim, being a thirteen year old Altmer. She shimmies through the gap and inside the ruined shrine. 

The room is lit only lit by a shaft of light let in by a crack in the ceiling. The light falls directly on a statue, depicting an armoured Man standing atop a serpent, his sword prepared to plunge down into its throat. 

The rest of the room is heavily shadowed, its lamps long gone out. 

This must be Talos, then. 

Careful of any uneven ground or hidden debris, Idhris makes her way to the statue for a closer look. 

The statue seems gilded, almost, the hand-carved stone reflecting the light as if it were limned with gold. It's bright than it should be, perhaps. Certainly eye-catching.

Huh. She guesses the stone might be lightly coated with gold, perhaps? It's certainly more shiny than a bare shaft of light on stone accounts for. Once before it, she reaches out a hand to check. 

It's gleaming. Warm. Smooth and soft to the touch, more so than stone should be.

...Alright, that's not a normal statue. She hurriedly steps back from it. 

"Talos isn't real," she admonishes herself, a little scared, but the sentiment falls somewhat flat given the givens. 

"Am I not?"

She squeaks and tries to back up some more, stumbling over the uneven floor and falling onto her bottom. 

"You're not-!" She almost says 'real', but there's a point at which denial stops being reasonable and becomes ridiculous, and 'the god you thought was a fiction of Men is speaking to you' is defintely past that point.

"...You're Talos?" 

"I am, child."

"None have come here in a long time."

She pauses to gather herself. 

If he's real why hasn't he defended himself, she wonders. The Aedra are said to be concerned mostly with their own realms, but surely they should defend him, too? She thought it was only the Daedra who were at odds with each other. But then, the Aedra haven't directly communicated with anyone besides legendary heroes since the Mythic age. 

Though if that's the case, why is he talking to her? Is this shrine important somehow? Is she? She's only thirteen, though, and all the heroes of legend were full grown when they encountered the gods.

"This shrine is important?" She asks, looking around at the parts of the ruined structure she can see through the gloom. It looks like an armed mob came in and tore the place to pieces. 

"As all shrines are."

"But it is the one who seeks my wisdom who calls me forth."

So it is about her. That's... even more confusing! What could the Aedra of Man want with an Altmer child, and an Aldmeri at that? 

"Me? I... would have expected you to hate me, if I had thought you might be real. My mother is on the Thalmor Coucil! If she knew I had come here..."

She pauses. Maybe she should go get her? If this is really Talos, surely the Conclave needs to know they are wrong, that he is real. If it isn't, she should tell her mother that a Daedra or something has taken over the shrine. 

"I could go get her," she says, "Then my mother would know you are real, and she could tell the Thalmor Council, and they would stop persecuting your worshippers."

"They're aware of me, child."

"And I do not hate you."

"They... know?" She shakes her head; that can't be true. But why would he lie? To make her doubt the Conclave? That... doesn't sound like an Aedra. 

But, Daedra or Aedra, she's not getting out of this without learning what he wants from her. It's good to know he doesn't hate her, though, even if that could be a lie as well. 

"Why speak with me, if talking to the Council won't help?"

"You are an echo of me. Dragonborn. And there is much I must tell you."

"Dragonborn?!" She scrambles to her feet, "What are you talking about? I'm not! I'm Mer! I'm not related to the Septims, I can't be!" 

Idhris doesn't know who her father is, but it's definitely not a Man. She looks just like her mother, there's no Imperial in her. She's a pureblood High Elf. Isn't she? 

"DO VAH KIIN."

It shakes her down to her bones. It settles. It's her, a challenge, a greeting - 

She could roar it back, if she wanted. It's his name, too.

She is filled with something indescribable - the roar feels like it has awoken something inside her, something primal and somehow right. It feels as though she can't not reply - 

"Do Vah Kiin!" 

Her Voice is higher and more youthful, yet just as commanding. Within her being she feels something unfurl, like a beast uncurling from her resting place, shaking her wings out, and taking to the sky. 

"Good."

"You are of the dragon. Your Voice is yours to command, more so than any true mortal could."

"But it is not a power to take lightly."

Bewildered, she steps closer to his statue, "I... What does this mean? If you're real, and the Council knows..." She must believe what he says now - she Named him, and his name is Dovahkiin. He's Talos. Which means he is Aedra, and the Aedra are Good. "What do you need from me?" 

"To understand the truth."

"The- the truth? What truth do I need to understand?" 

"The Council seeks to eliminate my influence from the world, by eliminating those who would call upon me, to weaken men and strengthen themselves."

"The gods do not care much for the ebbs and flows of worship, though, but a Crisis is coming, as the Oblivion Crisis came once before."

"It is a Crisis you will be at the center of."

"As Dragonborn," she states. 

This is... A lot. To take in. 

Mother says the gods see more than mortals, so they're usually right. She probably did not intend for this to include Talos, but since he exists it must also apply. Though. Mother thinks Talos doesn't exist, so maybe she's wrong about them being right? Maybe he's just wrong this time. Idhris really doesn't want to believe that the Council would do something so terrible as this - the Aldmeri Dominion are meant to be saviours, protectors of the lesser races, not conniving conquerors! 

 "This is... this can't be right!" She exclaims, shakig her head, "The council... they'd never go against an Aedra! They'll believe you, if I bring them here and you talk to them, they'll stop-" 

A vision - no, visions - unfolds before her.

The desecration of shrines.

The desecration of worshippers.

The faithful kneeling, Talos' name on their lips in their last moments.

The faithful who cannot even kneel, suffering even now.

Glimpses of a war for the sake of establishing power.

When she comes out of it, she has to turn to make sure she doesn't throw up on the statue.

Those images- the-the executions! The torture! The atrocities committed in the Imperial City- the massacre of Rihad- that was her mother-

She sobs into her hands, trying to reconcile what she has seen with everything she thought she knew. 

"I am sorry, child, that the world is not kinder."

"I-I... How could they do such things?" She asks bleakly, "How could they..." 

She takes some time to compose herself, wiping at her face with her hands to try to erase the evidence of tears. What would Mother think- but Mother- 

Lady Arannelya Aldmeri betrayed the House of Aldmeri to the Thalmor council. She assisted them in assassinating her parents, grandparents, and elder sister. With her help they destroyed the Summerset Isles and built Alinor in their place. Idhris already knew all of this, but she saw it differently, before this. A visionary casting off the yoke of foolish rulers, freeing the Altmer from Imperial rule. Now... Murderer, Kinslayer, Kingslayer. Butcher of Rihad, a betrayer who seeks only greater and greater power. 

And all the Council are like this. 

She takes a shaky breath.

"What am I to do?"

"Learn. Become strong. Take up your mantle as Dragonborn, when the time comes."

"Help."

She looks down. Grits her teeth. Looks up. Nods. 

"Geh. I will."