User blog:Is that so. Well.../Why I support the Dominion

"Every Dominion/Thalmor soldier is so snobbish and annoying, they think they are superior to everyone else."

Well first off,  the only time we've seen the Aldmeri Dominion or the Thalmor in-game (excluding ESO) is in Skyrim. And not just the game titled 'Skyrim ' but the land of Skyrim, which is the homeland of the nords. Now, the nords are very xenophobic when it comes to elves, also the Dominion fought against a lot of nords in the Great War and on top of this, the nords were more upset and outraged about Talos worship been banned than other race. So the point I'm trying to make is - Regardless of how the Thalmor/Dominion soldiers act, they would have to take a lot of hate and abuse from the locals of Skyrim. Another reason why the Thalmor act the way they do is because Skyrim is almost an exact opposite to the Summerset Isles. Even the name hints the High Elven homeland is a warm place. Anyway, the Thalmor soldiers would be very unhappy to due to the cold climate which they're not used to. So basically the Thalmor/Dominion soldiers we see in Skyrim are the unlucky ones who got sent to a cold, harsh and alien environment, filled with inhabitants that would constantly insult them and attack them. Thus their incredibly snobbish, haughty and 'we are superior attitude' is simply they're response to everyone hating them, perhaps it may even be their way not becoming depressed as a result of the way they're treated.

"The Thalmor are trying to wipe mankind from exitance and destroy Nirn ."

This comes from the Towers Theory which is a text written by former Bethesda employee Michael Kirkbride. Whether or not Kirkbride's works are canon is debatable but for this blog, I am going to treat it as 100% correct.

Well the Thalmor believing that by destroying mankind and Mundus by deactivating all the towers, they will ascend to divinty is deluded and almost pure evil, only a few of the higher ranking Thalmor would know of this plan. Because it is just that evil,  if lots of people were to know about it, they would rebel against the Thalmor. Plus not every Altmer is part of the Thalmor or wants to be part of the Thalmor. Also if many members of the Thalmor were to know about it, then word would spread and get to people like... Tullius and Ulfric. If they knew that the Thalmor were trying to end Mundus, then certainly, they would stop fighting and if not then they are no better than the Thalmor that want to destroy the towers.

(I know this is probably my weakest argument but, I tried.)

"There were no Bosmer or Khajiits present in the Great War ."

While I can understand that there are no Bosmer or Khajiit representing the Dominion in Skyrim, 'The Great War' (which was written by an imperial legate ), refers to the forces opposing the Empire as "Aldmeri Dominion" or "Aldmeri" which is the alliance of Altmer, Bosmer and Khajiit, if there was only Altmer present then they would just be called 'Altmer forces'. Also the Dominion forces went through Valenwood and Elsweyr, so they easily could have gathered Bosmer and Khajiit troops along the way. - "A strong force commanded by the Thalmor general Lord Naarifin attacked Cyrodiil from the south, marching out of hidden camps in northern Elsweyr and flanking the Imperial defenses along the Valenwood border."

"The Thalmor lied to the Khajiit, they claimed they brought back the moons !"

While there is no definitive evidence to prove otherwise, there is also no definitive evidence to support this. Remember the Thalmor which is the government of Altmer and the Aldmeri Dominion are primarily Altmer, and as a race the Altmer are exceptionally gifted in magic, moreover magical aptitude is a revered quality in Altmer society and almost every high ranking member of the Thalmor is a wizard and not a soldier with next no magical ability. With this in mind, among the Thalmor would be some of the most gifted mages in all of Tamriel, so if anyone could bring back the moons, it's the Thalmor.

"The Empire beat the Dominion before, surely they can do it again."

Honestly I find this argument just... PATHETIC! And in extension of that, any one who uses it is pathetic! (just kidding). But seriously it is a poor argument. We know very little about the Great War, but one thing we do know is it ended when Titus Mede II, signed a treaty with the Dominion known as the White-Gold Concordat. The terms of the WGC were very similar to the original terms the Dominion put forward to Titus Mede II. The ultimatum presented to Titus Mede II before the outbreak of war Titus Mede II was outright rediculous, it included banning the worship of Talos (who was basically the cornerstone of the Empire and everything it stood for),  large tributes, disbandment of the blades and giving large portions of Hammerfell to the Dominion. Now obvioulsy there was NO CHANCE IN HELL that the Empire was going to accept this. Thus the Dominion did what was easier said then done, they went to war with the Empire. After four years of conflict, the Empire accepted the WCG, which as I said before was basically the same as the original ultimatum. So in other words you could say the Empire surrendered. Although it wasn't an unconditional surrender, the Empire accepted the Dominion's terms, they gave in to the demands of the Dominion, they gave up, forfeited, acknowledged defeat, accepted the fact that they were going to lose. Stopped fighting because they could not continue. Sooooo... If anyone lost the Great War, it was the Empire.

(There is a sentence in 'The Great War ' which says this: "Although victorious, the Imperial armies were in no shape to continue the war.", note that when it says "victorious" it is referring to the Battle of the Red Ring and not the whole Great War.)

"The Dominion lost everything in the Great War, had the Empire kept on fighting, they would have won."

Well honestly, everytime I see Stormcloak and Imperial supporters alike use this argument, I have to try SOOOOOOOOOOOO hard not to rage and throw my computer at the wall, because this argument is simply a  HUGE MIS interpretation of what little facts we have. So this argument typically stems from an in-game book titled 'The Great War ', now obviously this book is about the Great War, a war between the Empire and the Aldmeri Dominion, which took place about 25-30 years before the events of the Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim. According to the book 'The Great War' which is probably the best and one of the only sources on the Great War, (although it could be biased as it was written by an Imperial Legate ) the Dominion forces split up into two main groups. - "It appears now that the initial Aldmeri objective was in fact the conquest of Hammerfell, and that the invasion of Cyrodiil was intended only to pin down the imperial legions while Hammerfell was overrun." So the Dominion initially wanted Hammerfell but the Dominion forces in Cyrodiil were suprised by what little resistance came from the Empire. - "However, the surprising initial success of Lord Naarifin's attack led the Thalmor to believe that the Empire was weaker than they had thought. The capture of the Imperial City itself and the complete overthrow of the Empire thus became their primary objective of the next two years." Ok, so we know that the Dominion had armies in both Cyrodiil and Hammerfell, however it is unclear whether the majority of Dominion troops went to Hammerfell or Cyrodiil. Anyway both campaigns by the Dominion were successful, as is proven in 'The Great War' - "In Hammerfell, the Thalmor were content to consolidate their gains as they took control of the whole southern coastline, which was in fact their stated objective in the ultimatum delivered to the Emperor." "however, the capital fell to the invaders and the infamous Sack of the Imperial City began. The Imperial Palace was burned, the White-Gold Tower itself looted, and all manner of atrocities carried out by the vengeful elves on the innocent populace." After a while the Empire managed to regroup and counter attack. In Hammerfell the Dominion forces were too exhausted to continue and as a result had to retreat, they also took heavy casulties during their retreat as a result of harrassment from Alik'r Warriors. - ''"In Hammerfell, Imperial fortunes took a turn for the better. In early 4E 173, a Forebear army from Sentinel broke the siege of Hegathe (a Crown city), leading to the reconciliation of the two factions. Despite this, Lady Arannelya 's main army succeeded in crossing the Alik'r Desert. The Imperial Legions under General Decianus met them outside Skaven in a bloody and indecisive clash. Decianus withdrew and left Arannelya in possession of Skaven, but the Aldmeri were too weakened to continue their advance." "These veterans formed the core of the army that eventually drove Lady Arannelya's forces back across the Alik'r late in 174, taking heavy losses on their retreat from harassing attacks by the Alik'r warriors." ''In Cyrodiil Titus Mede brilliantly reclaimed the Imperial City in what was known as 'The Battle of the Red Ring'. - " Titus II divided his forces into three. One army, with the legions from Hammerfell under General Decianus, was hidden in the Colovian Highlands near Chorrol. The Aldmeri were unaware that he was no longer in Hammerfell, possibly because the Imperial veterans Decianus had left behind led Lady Arannelya to believe that she still faced an Imperial army. The second army, largely of Nord legions under General Jonna, took up position near Cheydinhal. The main army was commanded by the Emperor himself, and would undertake the main assault of the Imperial City from the north." ''"On the 30th of Rain's Hand, the bloody Battle of the Red Ring began as General Decianus swept down on the city from the west, while General Jonna's legionnaires drove south along the Red Ring Road . In a two-day assault, Jonna's army crossed the Niben and advanced west, attempting to link up with Decianus' legions and thus surround the Imperial City. Lord Naarifin was taken by surprise by Decianus' assault, but Jonna's troops faced bitter resistance as the Aldmeri counterattacked from Bravil and Skingrad. The heroic Nord legionnaires held firm, however, beating off the piecemeal Aldmeri attacks. By the fifth day of the battle, the Aldmeri army in the Imperial City was surrounded." Now if you've made it this far then well done. Because now I will actually get to the point... So the forces of Titus Mede II have surrounded the Dominion troops garrisoned in the Imperial City, they then launch the assault and kill absolutely (without a doubt) every Dominion soldier in the entire city! Which goes to show that Titus Mede II is a genius. Anyway lets have a look at the exact quote from the book. - "Titus II led the assault from the north, personally capturing Lord Naarifin. It is rumored the Emperor wielded the famed sword Goldbrand, although this has never been officially confirmed by the Imperial government. An attempt by the Aldmeri to break out of the city to the south was blocked by the unbreakable shieldwall of General Jonna's battered legions.''

''In the end, the main Aldmeri army in Cyrodiil was completely destroyed. The Emperor's decision to withdraw from the Imperial City in 4E 174 was bloodily vindicated. Lord Naarifin was kept alive for thirty-three days, hanging from the White-Gold tower. It is not recorded where his body was buried, if it was buried at all. One source claims he was carried off by winged daedra on the thirty-fourth day."  Now if you look at the part where it says - "In the end, the main Aldmeri army in Cyrodiil was completely destroyed. ", this is where the problem is. People wrongly think that this means every Dominion soldier in Cyrodiil was killed. What's missing is the fact that it says - "In the end, the  main  Aldmeri army in Cyrodiil was completely destroyed.". "The main" most certainly does not mean the whole army, in fact it may not even be the majority. For example in a navy fleet, there is typically a lead ship or flagship, while in most cases it may be bigger than the other ships, it certainly would not be bigger than all the other ships put together, the same could be said for the Dominion armies in Cyrodiil. Furthermore the sentence - ("In the end, the main Aldmeri army in Cyrodiil was completely destroyed.")  was under the sub-heading titled  The Battle of the Red Ring' which refers to the battle that took place in The Imperial City, which by the way IS JUST ONE CITY IN CYRODIIL, THERE ARE EIGHT OTHERS of which at least three were garrisoned by Aldmeri troops as is also proved by The Great War' - "A strong force commanded by the Thalmor general Lord Naarifin attacked Cyrodiil from the south, marching out of hidden camps in northern Elsweyr and flanking the Imperial defenses along the Valenwood border. Leyawiin soon fell to the invaders",  "During 4E 172, the Aldmeri advanced deeper into Cyrodiil. Bravil and Anvil both fell to the invaders."''. So there you have it, the Dominion did not lose everything in the Great War, they still troops left over from the Hammerfell campaign and troops in at least three cities in Cyrodiil AND they would need to have presence in both Valenwood and Elsweyr otherwise those provinces could just leave the Dominion AND it would be stupid to leave the Summerset Isles defenceless.

(Note: I have used exact quotes from the book.)

"High Elves reproduce slower than humans, they probably haven't recovered yet."

Okay, if I ever see this argument again, I will probably end up in a mental hospital. That aside, everyone needs to be reminded that we are talking about the same race with a government that brilliantly caused the remaining three provinces of the Empire to all turn on each other, the same race that is highly selective over breeding just so they can look like their ancestors, the same race that kills their infants should they have any birth defects. Obviously recovering from the war would be prime concern to the Thalmor and obviously they would have breeding programs and other weird stuff in place to make sure they recovered. After all this is the Altmer we're talking about.

On a side note, the Bosmer and Khajiit may not be helping represent the Dominion in Skyrim, however they would probably help if there was a second great war or if the Isles were to be attacked.

Thanks for reading (this took me like 4 hours to make), if you think I did a good job then please, leave a comment below, grammar nazis welcome (I'm going to regret saying that). If you disagree and think you can prove my points wrong then by all means, leave it the comments below. (I'm going to regret that as well) Also feel free to discuss any of this on my talk page, thanks :) --Is that so. Well... (talk) 14:57, March 8, 2014 (UTC)