Elder Scrolls Lore » Discussions


Are The Thalmor Doing Any Good For Their People?

  • March 19, 2015

    It just occurred to me that, all throughout our experiences in dealing with the Third Reich Aldmeri Dominion, the only perspective we've been given is that of the people that they've conquered. Far as I can tell, we've never actually been shown what influence the Dominion has in the Summerset Isles -- their native homeland, which they apparently hold in very high regard. They claim to be the saviors of mer, but I have to ask our resident lore enthusiasts: aside from bullying "lesser races" into submission, what favors are they doing for the elves living in the Isles? Or Valenwood, for that matter? What's life like for the elves that aren't going out there and fighting mankind? Do the Thalmor really care for their own, or are they just a bunch of well-funded lunatics with swords and magic?

  • Member
    March 19, 2015

    Copying my responses from the other thread:

    Well, here's a talking point that I copied from UESP:

    According to dialogue from Delphine and Legate Fasendil, the Thalmor even carry out acts of ethnic cleansing on some segments of their own Bosmer and Altmerpopulations, which are never heard about elsewhere in Tamriel. The reasons for this are unclear, but Fasendil's comments suggest this is related to the quelling of dissident uprisings.

    In particular, Malborn's family was killed during one of their purges, which is why he's willing to risk his life simply to get you out of Elenwen's party and into the inner parts of the Thalmor Embassy.

    Now then, the claim regarding the Thalmor stopping the Oblivion Crisis / saving the Summerset Isles from the daedra. Let's examine this. The source for this claim, according to UESP, is the second volume of Rising Threat, specifically the first two paragraphs, which are as follows:

    What happened after the tower of Crystal-like-law fell was a daze. It was as if my mind simply... stopped. Instinct took over, as my every thought sank into a black abyss of despair. Time lost all meaning, and to this day I know not how long I was in this state. Eventually a conscious thought managed to break my fugue: the daedric horde had vanished! Gone as suddenly as they had come.

    Before my numbed mind could comprehend the tumult that consumed my beloved Summerset Isle, before I could formulate the question "how?" they were there, dripping honeyed poison in our ears: the Thalmor. They were the ones that saved us, they claimed, working deep and subtle magicks. It was their efforts, their sacrifices that delivered the Altmer from extinction.

    Anyone who has completed Oblivion's main questline knows that this is false. It was not the Thalmor's sacrifice, but Martin Septim's, that caused the "daedric horde" to vanish.

  • March 19, 2015

    My response to you from the original thread:

    There's a distinction between  everyone (eliminating the threat) and saving the Altmer (delaying the threat long enough for it to subside). Trouble is, we, or at least I, don't know which one the Thalmor mean. Hell, the author may have misinterpreted their words to, anything's possible. I will say the latter is actually very likely, the former is obviously not.

  • March 19, 2015

    Again, very in-depth. Thank you for your feedback. 

  • Member
    March 19, 2015

    No problem :)

  • Member
    March 19, 2015

    The thing about the Thalmor is that most sources that speak about them are biased.

    Purges? Comes from Delphine - a Thalmor hater

    Stopping the Oblivion Crysis? Clearly biased author of the Rising Threat. Ondolemar says that they "saved all the Elven-kind during the Oblivion Crysis". 

    Legate Fasendil mentions fighting - refugees resisted, with magic powerful enough that the clash resulted in a whole quarter exploding. 

    The truth is, there is no unbiased information on their agenda and motives at the time of Skyrim events. Hopefully TES VI will fill that gap.

  • Member
    March 19, 2015

    Well, let's hear what a Thalmor Justiciar, Ondolemar to be exact, has to say on the subject: "The Thalmor saved all of Elven-kind during the Oblivion Crisis." Unless one believes that they actually stopped the Oblivion Crisis instead of Martin Septim, then they obviously could've only delayed the Daedra at most (thereby saving Summerset).

  • Member
    March 19, 2015

    Just because the author of Rising Threat published a damning account of the Thalmor doesn't mean that he's biased. He's an Altmer, perhaps the only race that wouldn't be biased against the Thalmor. Also, while Delphine's obviously biased, the alternative to accepting her explanation is that she made the whole thing up and Malborn's helping you for shits and giggles; pretty doubtful, if you'd ask me.

  • March 19, 2015

    Well that is exactly what I think happened (the Dominion held off the Daedra in Alinor long enough for Martin to do his thing, though obviously they had no knowledge of what he planned to do).

  • Member
    March 19, 2015

    I agree. What I'm getting at is that the Thalmor seem to substitute "holding off the daedra on Summerset" for outlandish claims like "saving all of elvenkind".