Board Thread:Lore Discussion/@comment-25343239-20150319182007/@comment-260563-20180321041055

Alessia partook in a very risky slave revolt that could have easily ended with her getting gang-raped by Ayleid kings or getting her soul sacrificed by the Ayleids to the Daedric Princes. Perhaps both, if she got sacrificed to Molag Bal. Her slave revolt ended with her laying the groundwork for the future human Empire. Talos managed to get the comfy position of Emperor, and could have united the Second Aldmeri Dominion with his Empire through marriage or some sort of alliance, or through proselytizing the benefits of assimilation like he did with the Argonians, but his brutal treatment of the Dominion by subjugating them with the Numidium meant that one day, the Altmer will seek revenge.

So we have one person who risked everything and created the very groundwork of the Empire, and we have another person who ensured that a powerful people will one day seek revenge against the Empire who managed to achieve CHIM. Between these two, who was truly deserving of veneration?

And the comparison between the two enemies of the Empire in Skyrim is also just as much night and day as the comparison between Talos and Alessia was. On the one hand, with the Dominion, we have a successful enemy of the Empire, that managed to get them to a disadvantageous truce, that caused massive Imperial casualties and forced them to abandon their favorite deity. This foe uses diplomacy, deception, well-thought-out plans, and its forces have a strong grasp of magic as well as flexible, yet protective gear.

On the other hand, we have the Stormcloaks, whose forces are more fit to be militia rather than army, with their gear being nothing more but chain mail and wooden shields. Their tactics amount to guerrilla assaults and Leeroy Jenkins charges. They have little room for diplomacy and quickly reach for the "torture and execution" button whenever they defeat an enemy. Not to mention that he killed King Torygg, who could have easily been a supporter of his had he just asked the king to secede or help Talos worshipers.....considering that the king worships Talos himself! Unlike the Thalmor, who have mastered the art of cozying up to local elites, Ulfric cares for his own kind and nobody else's. He could have easily made friends with Argonia and Morrowind by catering to the Argonians and Dark Elves in his city and using them as ambassadors, but he prefers to be the kind of racist prick that doesn't even have the gift of subtlety like the way the Thalmor do. They also turned their back on magic, just as Tsun said, and the Stormcloak Jarl in Winterhold even antagonizes the Mages' College there, instead of making friends with them and monopolizing Skyrim's magic for the Stormcloak cause.

So yeah, in a stand-up fight, the Thalmor will win. Better diplomacy, better tactics, better gear, greater grasp of magic, and better use of potential assets. The Thalmor used Ulfric as an asset and without him knowing, he started a war against his fellow men that benefited the Thalmor. Ulfric could have talked the king into becoming an ally, but Ulfric killed him instead, and prior to that, his brutal torture of women and killing of Forsworn officials made it harder for both sides to reconcile, making both sides even more radical and sowing more hate in the long-term.