Skyrim seems to make a point of throwing a lot of Altmer with nasty attitudes our way. The emphasis on them being unpleasant seems more exaggerated than ever.

However, there are exceptions, and I am taking this time to acknowledge the brightest among them. The first is the Steward of Falkreath, Nenya, whose wisdom and good spirit are no surprise, considering that she bears the same name as the Ring of Power wielded by Galadriel in Lord of The Rings (Vilya, Narya and Nenya were The Three, and were respectively guarded by Elrond, Gandalf and Galadriel), and is almost certainly a nod, if only in name, disposition, ethnicity and gender, to that greater Elf Lady. The Other is Legate Fasendil, an Imperial soldier and refugee from Alinor, who spoke with a clear sense of duty to and compassion for all the people of Tamriel in a way that few others in the game, whether arrogant Altmer, or bigoted (and equally arrogant in their own way) Nords, evinced.

I was beginning to think that the devs were going a little overboard in making the Altmer hard to stomach. . . then I encountered this pair of goodly beacons, and in their evident benevolence saw redemption for their kind.