Board Thread:Lore Discussion/@comment-98.232.175.28-20140410065653

This is Kestrellius, here.

Okay, so hear me out. Alduin's goal appears to have been the enslavement of Nirn. But it's likely that he would have destroyed the world in the process, whether intentionally or not, since it's basically his reason for existing. However, he would only have ended the current cycle of time (Kalpa?), according to Arngeir. So here's what I'm thinking.

Alduin's victory would have meant the end of the world, and the beginning of a new one. Contrast this with the goal of the other major villain: the Thalmor. The Thalmor wish to destroy all of Mundus -- not just the current cycle, but everything. (This is proven by Ancano, incidentally, in case there's any doubt.)

Alduin destroying the world would presumably have destroyed the Thalmor as well. Mundus would continue on, and hopefully Thalmor ideology wouldn't show up again.

So, am I just misinterpreting something here, or is the entire main quest of Skyrim one huge Nice Job Breaking It, Hero? Granted, we'll hopefully be able to defeat the Thalmor anyway, but it might have been easier to just do it this way. 