Board Thread:Skyrim/@comment-110.168.240.168-20140424104245/@comment-5656417-20160615204716

The way I see it, Delphine and Esbern are holding on to a bitter memory of the past.

The war was over already. The Blades are of a dying breed. You can tell by the way they cling to their military objective that has long since been relinquished after the war with dragons ended.

It'd be like if we went to war with Dolphins here on Earth long ago, but that war ended. And then some old ex-military govenor told someone else to kill this old Dolphin lieutenant because of something they did during war-time.

War is an attrocity itself, but what is more attrocious, resurging a war after it has already ended? The lore states that Paarthunax is bringing the Way of the Voice to all Dovah, so what Delphine is asking you to do is assassinate an ex-lieutenant who was glad the warring fighting stopped.

If you step back from the whole picture, and remember what Paarthurnax's quote about overcoming evil nature through great effort, you'll see you could apply that quote to both man and dragon alike.