Board Thread:Lore Discussion/@comment-3539474-20130910213054/@comment-3573184-20131009212700

Pink Slim wrote: except that none of that has actually happened. Except, if you actually pay attention to the dialog, you would know it has.

As Alvor states when you talk to him, before Ulfric showed up, everyone still had thier shrines to Talos. It was ONLY after Ulfric started his rebellion that the Ad was able to pressure the Empire into enforcing the Talos ban, before Ulfric, they weren't.

Furthermore, The Thalmor have been largely delegated to a semi-remote embassy, and even even more remote and worn down old fort, as their main bases of operation.

And their agents in places like the College of Winterhold, and in Markarth, have been basically told to shit down and shut up, as the Jarls aren't actively helping them, nor has the thalmor, despite their protests, actually ben able to force them to co-operate.