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To Her Royal Majesty Queen Ayrenn the First, Primarch of the Aldmeri Dominion, High Queen of the Summerset Isles, et cetera, et alia: Greetings, O Queen, from her humble servant Razum-dar of the Eyes of the Queen, who though preeminent in his trade of intrigue lacks an official title, because when one has an official title, one must go to so many meetings. So tedious! Thus, to avoid another meeting, Raz hereby submits this Official Report on what he has been doing on Her Majesty's behalf in the Case of the Secret Cabal of the Mirror Court of the Proxy Queen. (Melodramatic, yes? But all true, as Your Majesty shall hear!)
After the conclusion of the Affair of the Imga Lich-Queen of Meirvale, Raz was taking a much-deserved vacation at Rid-Thar's Solace on Khenarthi's Roost with sleek friend Softpurr when he was interrupted by Agent Cariel, who should be more careful about unnecessarily stealthy approaches if she wishes to stay so healthy and vigorous. Cariel informed Raz of the distressing situation in Shimmerene, which she described in terms so urgent that this one regretfully stroked Softpurr goodbye and traveled immediately to Summerset to investigate. Razum-dar's deft and clever handling of the Shimmerene matter was described with clarity and élan in his previous report, and he mentions it here only as a reminder of why he was on Big Elf island and how he ended up in Alinor afterward at the court of the Proxy Queen, Your Majesty's esteemed cousin Alwinarwe.
To cut to the chase: Raz has a very sensitive nose for the musky odor of treachery, and he smelled it wafting about the hall of the Royal Palace. But Raz has been kept so busy tending to affairs stirred up in Your Majesty's wake on Auridon and the continent that he has not had time to linger in Alinor and acquaint himself with those surrounding our oh-so-proper Proxy Queen. So this one looks around for someone he knows, and he sees old friend Telenger the Artificer, coming down grand staircase with long face made even longer by a dark beard badly in need of a brush and trim.
Raz knows that inattention to personal grooming is a sign of melancholy in a haughty High Elf like Telenger, so he takes gloomy Artificer to a tavern, buys him a strong drink, and asks his old friend what is the trouble. Then Telenger tells a long, sad story: he says that by virtue of much study and sheer talent, he is now the greatest living mage with expertise in teleportation, but he cannot qualify for the so-desirable position of Sapiarch of Transliminal Travel as long as Camilonwe holds that seat in Crystal Tower, and old Camilonwe stubbornly refuses to admit that Telenger is the better Elf in the matter of transpontine circumpenetration. (Raz has good memory for esoteric jargon, no?) Now, by Altmeri standards Telenger is almost as reckless as Your Majesty, so he decided that he would perform a feat of teleportation that would prove his peerless skill! And how better to do this than to find a way to travel to and from the vanished Isle of Artaeum, mystically removed from Nirn by wizardry of mysterious Psijic Order?
The question was rhetorical, so Raz just bought mage another drink as Telenger described taking a month in his laboratory to fangle together a device called a Hyperagonal Locational Determinator, which is a hairball in the mouth, so Raz will refer to it as the Finder. He calls it this because Telenger tells him the Finder can pinpoint any desired location in the entire Gray Maybe, even those protected by magical defenses. Such a claim, as Your Majesty can well imagine, makes this one's ears perk up as it would be very useful in Razum-dar's trade, no?
Anyway this Finder, in concert with another awkwardly named device that Raz in the interest of brevity will call as the Projector, enabled Telenger to locate long-missing Artaeum and project himself right into legendary Ceporah Tower itself. He found himself in the quarters used by Dark Elf demigod Sotha Sil when he visited the Psijics. Telenger borrowed some of the Tribune's research notes as proof of his visit and returned to Alinor before pesky Psijics could discover him and perhaps make trouble.
Now what, Your Majesty is doubtless wondering, does all this have to do with treachery in the Mirror Court of the Proxy Queen? Be patient like a cat stalking a sparrow, and Raz will explain. Telenger has a dilemma: he has performed an awe-inspiring magical feat, but he has broken many, many High Elf laws both explicit and tacit, so who can he tell? It seems there is a High Elf lady in Alinor named Advisor Penewen whom Telenger admires and wishes to impress, so he swears her to secrecy and tells her of his adventure, showing her the purloined notes of Sotha Sil. Penewen becomes what for an Altmer is excited and offers to help Telenger by having herself projected into a hidden place and then serving as witness for his genius on her return. But she suggests that instead of Artaeum, which is protected by Summerset law, Telenger send her to Clockwork City, which is just as hard to get into but is the territory of unpleasant Dark Elves, fair game for adventuresome Aldmeri Dominion types.
Telenger agrees with foolish enthusiasm, finds Clockwork City with his Finder, and sends Penewen there with his Projector, where she spends several days before signaling for her return. When she comes back, she spins Telenger's head with effusive praise but then essentially disappears from the Artificer's life, thus his gloom of doom.
Razum-dar buys mage another drink and tells him to cheer up because here is mystery and who is Telenger's best friend when it comes to solving mysteries? This one says that to solve the mystery, he must follow the Advisor's path, but first he would very much like to see notes of semi-divine Sotha Sil, thank you so much. Dark moons! Reading Clockwork God's research notes make Razum-dar's tail twitch, for suddenly pieces of mosaic begin to click into place.
Then intrepid Raz allows himself to be projected into the Clockwork City, where he finds out many things, which he will recount after a brief digression. First, he wishes to point out that knowing Her Majesty's interests, he collects for her in Clockwork City a great many documents and images that he is tired of carrying around, so he includes them here to provide context for his matchless storytelling, which this one continues further along in the dossier.
~Razum-dar