Board Thread:Lore Discussion/@comment-13417807-20130726204600/@comment-10207438-20130829050705

I don't know why the thalmor lovers think they'd anihalate the stormcloaks; how the hell would they send the troops all the way to skyrim?

sure they might have their claimed 'best navy in tamriel' but do they really expect to sail all the way around the continent with sufficiant troops, without loosing any ships to hammerfell's pirates, a random argonian assault, their rivals and fellow mer the Dunmer, possible volcanic ash or rock showers, or hell even the waters of the sea of ghosts?

and if they go the land route it'd take months if not years for them to fight their way all the way to skyrim, in the entire great war they only got to the imperial city. and rugged mountain terrain isn't all that great for mages, especially if their enemies know the layout of the all the forrests, mountains, rivers, caves, everything.

they could split their forces, send some through the seas, possibly through both directions, and send some through the land, but that wouldn't do much, everyone would be on alert then, the redguards will take them out in the dessert and sink a few of their ships; the Imperials would take the blunt of the damage because they're right in the heartland, but they'd also take out many of the thalmor warriors, at least hold them off long enough for their numbers to dwindle while they lose more troops around the continent; the dunmer would most likely stay out of it, unless the thalmor make their move, and they undoubtably will seeing as they'd see their mer cousins as a threat because they oppose their ideas of divination; The Thalmor wouldn't dream of touching a single organism in Argonia, unless they truly want to get their ass kicked, and they REALLY REALLY want to stay away from their waters if they want to keep even a single ship, or hell even their island; Highrock? If they somehow manage to set foot in highrock they'd end up running home no longer able to call themselves the most magically gifted race; then they have their own countries, Ellswyr and Vallenwood, without a doubt Vallenwood would finally grow the backbone and fight back against their slavers, rid themselves of these purges; and the khajiit, they would probably be the group that stays with the Altmer the longest, unless it could be proven to them that the moons were not brought back by the hand of the Thalmor.

The AD may have beaten an Empire that was centered in the most easily conquered country, but they will never be able to conqur the rest of Tamriel.