Board Thread:Lore Discussion/@comment-80.167.204.194-20150723072534/@comment-27913894-20160325163336

A very good argument, Sothas, but in truth, I'm not sure on how else I could describe Elven behavior aside from arrogant. Perhaps cold or pompous would also be reasonable, but in general, if one were to observe a few examples of dialogue from Mer, it's not unreasonable that an individual could interpret it as arrogant. After all, arrogant is, from what I know, the most commonly used term to describe the unique behavior of Mer, which could also be thought of as rude. Even more so, I have heard on more than one occasion, from multiple sources, that a number of Mer are inclined to use the word 'superior' when describing either the Altmer, or themselves compared to Men. For instance, the Thalmor.

That's not to say that all Elves carry arrogance, because that's simply not true. A good example are the Bosmer, which appear to either suppress their so-called 'arrogance' as best they can, or simply do not have it. This could be, perhaps, due to their light-hearted, peace-loving, and pacifist nature, which make the Bosmer an incredibely soft and warm race of Mer, giving them a kindness akin to that of a Nord who is drunk off of Honningbrew Mead during the celebration of a great battle in their Mead Hall. A good example of such Mer are Faendal, Ulundil, Anoriath, and more. In particular, Ulundil shows almost no 'rudeness' or 'arrogance' whatsoever, instead showing what appears to be overly-polite behaivor, almost as if he's desperately attempting to suppress his 'arrogance' that, more often than not, Altmer seem to inherit.

While these stereotypical traits do not apply to all Mer, just as other stereotypical traits apply to other races, they are indeed based and originated from somewhere, and apparently this source was strong enough to become a common mindset for almost any citizen on Tamriel to center their thoughts and bias around when it comes to Mer.

Additionally, I just want to say that I am indeed aware of how the Orsimer came to be, their Elven origins, etc. I am also indeed aware that not all Mer have the magical aptitude that is generally expected of them. I was merely stating that it's a mindset of Men that Mer would have such an ability, likely due to the fact that a very large number of incredibely talented mages in Tamriel's history either had Elven blood in some diluted form, like a Breton, or were a pure-blooded Mer, such as a Dunmer or Altmer. It's clear that these stereotypes originated from somewhere, and it would be nothing short of ignorance and stubborness for anyone to assume these as traits of Mer without some sort of evidence to back it up.