Board Thread:General Discussion/@comment-3471274-20130606153913/@comment-54.146.159.40-20150310050023

Explaining fact wise, dragons are wise and powerful. That power, however, seems to overrule their wisdom quite often. According to Paarthurnax, Esbern and Durnehviir, dragons are extremely proud in nature, meaning they are willing to do whatever they feel necessary to maintain their power and superiority.

Durnehviir also said that when the dragons ruled Tamriel, feuds often turned into bloody conflicts over patches of land across the continent. Everyone wanted a slice of the pie, and the dragons apparently didn't care about their own well beings in order to achieve what they wanted. Power and control is all that they cared about, so much so, that they didn't bother to watch out for innocents, or for any consequences that might befall them; hence Durnehviir's enslavement in the Soul Cairn.

Paarthurnax was the same way once, until he witnessed what atrocities that he did in Alduin's name. He, therefore, developed a sense of compassion and, according to him, abandoned his ruthless dictatorial ways through intense meditation.