Interesting, I've never encountered this gentleman. I'll have to look into it.

I guess I'm mostly just disappointed at the ease with which the Thalmor seized power in the Summerset Isles. It wasn't at the end of a bloody revolution or a mass imprisonment of political opponents - after the Oblivion Crisis, they were welcomed with open arms. I can't help but feel that Bethesda is starting to steer my beloved Altmer towards being "that race".

Who used to be abused as slaves.

JUSTICE SERVED.

The Altmer have always been "that race". The Aldmeri Dominion isn't a new concept, its a revived concept based on history. The High Elves have always been extremely xenophobic and supremacist.

The thoughts of my Altmer is that explaining this to you is beneath me, as your limited mind is obviously the result of being a short-lived human of inferior breeding.

I LOVE where theyve taken the Altmer / Thalmor story line myself. I find it a treasure house in terms of RPing arrogant elitist Altmers to a whole new level.

According to the Pocket Guide to the Empire, perhaps. That source would also want us to believe they practice rampant eugenics. Do they? Don't they? Keep in mind that history is written by the winners, and TES lore is chock-full of this sort of intentional inaccuracy. The Altmer also provided the basis for Tamrielic language and arts - hardly an "evil empire", through and through. No doubt they took slaves and committed various other atrocities, but a culture hardly comes to be the most influential in all of Tamriel by being 100% cruel and elitist. The Thalmor are a charicature, pure and simple.

The only thing keeping me from RPing a Thalmor agent is you're hardly given any quests that ally with them (I've only found one, it might be the only one, I do not know). Also, the Thalmor treat me like garbage despite the fact that I'm a fellow Altmer, not even a generic racial greeting like "Greetings, fellow Altmer". Just "You're interfering with official Thalmor business". I might find this evil turn appealing if I could actually side with them in any way.

Feralda's cool, too. She so damn cool it took me forever to realize she's not a Dunmer. I am not joking.

Wylandriah is the coolest of all. And I was heartbroken when I found out I couldn't marry her.

What about the rest of the Altmeri that are peaceful farmers or shopkeepers? They certainly aren't blood-thirsty, xenophobic zealots. They don't appear to be in any case. The Thalmor are fighting for Aldmeri Dominion supremacy, not Thalmor supremacy.



I know the feeling!

...and here's where things get interesting. The second quote is an obvious preface to Thalmor intentions towards the Empire. The last quote is a simple "well, duh" kind of statement, but the first quote is the most intriguing to me. Have the Thalmor made compacts with Daedra? Think of Umaril the Unfeathered: he had an alliance with Meridia, and he was an Ayleid king. His entire goal was to wipe out the Divines; perhaps the Aldmeri have entered into some kind of similar agreement with Meridia in secret.

I can't think of any other Daedra princes that they might traffick with. Azura is the Dunmers' favorite, Malacath is out, Sheogorath is out, Dagon is definitely out. Namira is too repulsive for Altmer, and there's no reason to consort with Mephala, Boethiah, or Hermaeus Mora. Maybe Jyggalag could make a comeback? Vaermina would be unsuitable, an Peryite wouldn't appeal to Altmer or Thalmor arrogance as the least of the Daedra Lords. Hircine wouldn't be interested, and . . . that actually might cover it all.

Regardless of which Daedra the Thalmor might work with, the possibility that they are working with Daedra might explain the sudden persecution of humans, and Talos. Because their oppression might not stop there. Who would be next? Stendaar? Mara? Akatosh, which would be appropriate, given the return of the dragons. They might be what the Mythic Dawn wished it could be, but with more cunning, patience, and power. Hopefully, we'll see.

There's that farmer altmer lady who's proud of her farm and assumes i'm jealous of her.

Probably the deepest character Bethesda could muster.

Interesting indeed.
Thalmor timing seems to be amazingly on the ball and incredibly lucky.
They were on the right place at the right time to take over Summerset after the Oblivion crisis.
They were able to take over Elsewhere without much hassle when they were able to predict exactly when the missing moons would reappear.
There is more of that amazingly good timing, such as in the war that cost the Empire Hammerfell.

I wonder who is their scryer.

So what do you think? Why would the Thalmor want to discourage Aedra worship if they believe themselves descended from them?

Hmm, good point. Even though it was just speculation, maybe the point is not to discourage Aedra worship, but to simply oppress humans in any way possible. Keep poking them enough, and they might incite a war that the humans cannot win. Which would be in line with Thalmor goals in the long run. My question is, why did the Ayleids worship Meridia in the first place, if they believed themselves kin to the Aedra? I know the Altmer and the Ayleids were separate cultures, but they had to have a common ancestor culture.

Methinks I need to brush up on Altmer history, Ayleid history, and the original Aldmeri Dominion, which I thought was headed up by the Ayleids. Good point, Data.

I just have this horrible slinking feeling that the Elves will slowly disappear from ES lore, or that they'll pull a Dragonage and have elves as slaves to man.

I just hope that the elves get a bit more hope for them in the next series or in DLC.

The lore of the Mer has allways been what's drawn me to these games, and i'd hate to see it go.

No, you're overly sensitive.

Yeah, the Ayleids were a very...eccentric people. Definitely not indicative of mainstream Summerset culture. This is definitely something worth thinking about.

"What appears to be an Altmeri commentary on Talos:

To kill Man is to reach Heaven, from where we came before the Doom Drum's iniquity. When we accomplish this, we can escape the mockery and long shame of the Material Prison.

To achieve this goal, we must:

1) Erase the Upstart Talos from the mythic. His presence fortifies the Wheel of the Convention, and binds our souls to this plane.

2) Remove Man not just from the world, but from the Pattern of Possibility, so that the very idea of them can be forgotten and thereby never again repeated.

3) With Talos and the Sons of Talos removed, the Dragon will become ours to unbind. The world of mortals will be over. The Dragon will uncoil his hold on the stagnancy of linear time and move as Free Serpent again, moving through the Aether without measure or burden, spilling time along the innumerable roads we once travelled. And with that we will regain the mantle of the imperishable spirit.
"

Source: Imperial Library.

It is not all the Aedra they are after, they have great respect and reverence for Auri-El, for example.
They just want to get rid of Talos so they can return to the Dawn.

There is also some lore ambiguity on Meridia being an Aedra or Daedra.
It looks like she was destined to become an Aedra next kalpa, together with Peryite, Trinimac and Boethiah.

http://www.gamesas.com/index.php?/topic/1249697-on-boethiahs-summoning-day/

Do you feel this way because of the Nord animosity? I wouldn't worry too much about the mer leaving Tamriel -- that would be a death sentence for the series.

I have a feeling that the days of the Empire are numbered. I don't have much faith in the Thalmor to take over, either. At least not for a long period of time.