The Thalmor and Skyrim : V

» Wed Jul 11, 2012 10:11 am

So do you think the Thalmor would take as much interest in Skyrim if it were not for Ulfric Stormcloak? Why/why not?

» Wed Jul 11, 2012 11:52 am

I doubt that. Pretty sure it was only a matter of time before the Thalmor would put their thumb down on Skyrim. Although it is weird, military wise, to divide your forces in the manner they would.. having Hammerfell and Cyrodiil to contend with. It is no wonder the Thalmor are losings! Let the town drunk run things

» Tue Jul 10, 2012 10:29 pm

I think they would. Reason: they used, or tried to use (it's not completely clear exactly what they did and if they suceeded, I'm thinking about the Markarth incident now) Ulfric to be able to enforce the WGC. As I see it, they had an interest in Skyrim to begin with. If Ulfric hadn't been around, I'm sure they would have found another reason to stick their noses in Skyrim's business.

» Wed Jul 11, 2012 10:56 am

I've just mentioned this in another thread. The Thalmor were likely occupied with other things (Hammerfell, Cyrodiil, trying to shut down the rebellions in their own land) before Ulfric's rebellion started all that drama and drew attention to Talos worship. They probably wouldn't have turned to Skyrim in quite some time if it weren't for that.

» Wed Jul 11, 2012 3:25 am

Ulfric Stormcloak in a sense is the Thalmor taking that much of an interest. It would seem they set up the Markarth Incident to provide an excuse to crack down on Talos worship, which means that they had this interest from the start. If it hadn't been possible, they'd have engineered something else.

» Wed Jul 11, 2012 4:40 am

I've just mentioned this in another thread. The Thalmor were likely occupied with other things (Hammerfell, Cyrodiil, trying to shut down the rebellions in their own land) before Ulfric's rebellion started all that drama and drew attention to Talos worship. They probably wouldn't have turned to Skyrim in quite some time if it weren't for that.

I made this thread because of that(and mention that in said thread) so it didn't have to be discussed in a thread where it did not belong.

Personally I doubt they would have left Skyrim alone. The Snow-Tower is there and they need to destroy/deactivate it in order to unmake the world, which is their ultimate goal.

» Wed Jul 11, 2012 10:08 am

Their number one strategic objective is to eradicate Talos worship in order to weaken Talos himself. Other than the Imperial heartland, Skyrim is the most important site of Talos worship, maybe stronger than Cyrodiil. So, do the math. They are taking a long approach, one of attrition and political manipulation, rather than to attack the stronghold directly. But they would have had to do so sooner or later.

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.

http://www.imperial-library.info/content/forum-archives-michael-kirkbride

» Wed Jul 11, 2012 2:14 am

Personally I doubt they would have left Skyrim alone. The Snow-Tower is there and they need to destroy/deactivate it in order to unmake the world, which is their ultimate goal.

Definitely not leave Skyrim alone, since their goal, as you said, is of much bigger proportions that conquering the Empire alone. But leave Skyrim alone for a while, probably. Maybe, in an unusually peaceful scenario, the Empire (what remains of it) and Skyrim (maybe even more lands) could've straightened out their conflicts, at least for that occasion, and united against the Dominion. Without the rebellion, they would've had more time for any other kind of anti-Thalmor plans.

» Wed Jul 11, 2012 1:12 am

Definitely not leave Skyrim alone, since their goal, as you said, is of much bigger proportions that conquering the Empire alone. But leave Skyrim alone for a while, probably. Maybe, in an unusually peaceful scenario, the Empire (what remains of it) and Skyrim (maybe even more lands) could've straightened out their conflicts, at least for that occasion, and united against the Dominion. Without the rebellion, they would've had more time for any other kind of anti-Thalmor plans.

There was anti-imperial sentiment in Skyrim even before the WGC (http://elderscrolls.wikia.com/wiki/Skyrim). So the rebellion is not just about Talos worship, though that was the tinderbox. And there's no way that Skyrim would take the terms of the WGC lying down- Mede had to have known that.

The people in Skyrim who say "if only Ulfric hadn't started his rebellion, we'd be alright" are engaging in wishful thinking, and for empire supporters, blameshifting.

» Wed Jul 11, 2012 1:14 pm

Definitely not leave Skyrim alone, since their goal, as you said, is of much bigger proportions that conquering the Empire alone. But leave Skyrim alone for a while, probably. Maybe, in an unusually peaceful scenario, the Empire (what remains of it) and Skyrim (maybe even more lands) could've straightened out their conflicts, at least for that occasion, and united against the Dominion. Without the rebellion, they would've had more time for any other kind of anti-Thalmor plans.

And if that would have happened, I'm sure the Thalmor would have intervened at first sign of it.

Divide and conquer seem to be their stragegy.