Not really, see all one does by rejecting something is stopping the conversation dead. There's no farther we can take it from there. However, it becomes an argument and unconstructive when one tries to convince others to reject it too and the other side tries to convince them not to. At this stage it's best to let the matter rest, neh?
Ok, I concede there are two separate arguments; for/against C0DA, and the concept of no canon. I have no wish to discuss the former because it becomes meaningless. I have no objection to discussing interpretations of TES lore however.
So an opinion like "I reject" will be met with "fine, let's move on" whereas an opinion like "Talos is in fact a giant mudcrab" will be met with "wow, why do you think such a thing?" If the answer to that is "he's a god he can be what he wants?" I'd say,"fair enough, but is he actually a god?" and so on...
Arcanus, may I suggest you start a discussion and see if there is a consensus? It could spiral out of control but if you really want to debate the validity of C0DA that is the way to go. You might even get more people for and against who haven't come across it before and open up lore access to some new guys.
As much as I hate to say this, but I think the High elves will dominate Nirn. Honestly, I don't high elves, but their army is impenatrable! Just think about it, the great war, The imperials and nords almost died. And the altermeri dominian were still powerful. They had a plan, to get rid of all man-kind, not just man itself, but all traces and ruins of man. This race really hate men. They will devour all. They have the magic and the artillery. Their history is just as interesting. I honestly think the high elves will devour Nirn. Even if every humanr race rebelled, they would still win
I don't believe the Dominion won the war. Sure, they got two of their initial demands (Talos worship banned and Blades disbanded), but their war aims changed in the course of the war to the complete destruction of the Empire and they failed at that quite dramatically. They also lost much of their disposable military power at Red Ring.
Granted, the Empire ceded them southern Hammerfell, so one could argue they got all of their demands, but the Dominion lost that to the Redguards in the end. The Empire was also clearly prepared to be... unenthusiastic... about enforcing the ban on Talos, until Ulfric turned it into an issue too large to ignore by his actions at and after Markarth.
In terms of relative strength, the Empire came out of the war better off, while the Dominion continued to bleed men and materiel in Hammerfell. Subsequent events in Skyrim may undermine the Empire's position, but those are irrelevant in deciding winners and losers at the time of the Concordat. At best, the Dominion could call it a draw and given the greater ease with which the humans of the Empire can make good their loses, a draw is a loss for the Dominion.
Mind you, I don't think it really matters because I think Akavir will be ascendent.
Something else that just occurred to me... Obviously the Emperor couldn't just roll over and give up Talos worship without a fight, but after the war... was it really that hard for Titus Mede II to throw it to the Dominion as a consolation?
The Septim dynasty had an obvious connection to Talos and reaped a clear prestige benefit from promoting his worship being (nominally) his actual living descendents and all. To the Medes, on the other hand, isn't Talos' status as Lord of the Divines a constant subtle reminder that they're upstarts, one step removed from usurpers of the imperial authority?
And again, enforcement of the ban seems to have been lax, before the Stormcloak Rebellion brought it front and center. As long as Talos wasn't being proclaimed Lord of the Divines in Cyrodiil it would have served the dynastic ambitions of the Medes. Who would care what the provincials do?
Given that the Blades were no longer the official imperial bodyguards and had their numbers vastly reduced by the slaughter they suffered in Dominion lands just before the Great War, did disbanding them really cost the Empire anything, either?
Giving up Hammerfell was a real cost... or was it? After ordering the abandonment of Hammerfell's defense to concentrate troops for the Battle of Red Ring, I would argue the ill will that would lead to secession was already seeded. Letting it become the Dominion's problem (and a quagmire for them) was probably the best probable outcome. Obviously it couldn't be given up before the war, but after the way the war was conducted wasn't it more like giving up something that was already lost?
In short, Hammerfell was lost - and that hurt - but it wasn't lost to the Dominion, so it doesn't count one way or the other in decided who won.
The more I think about it, the more confused I get that anyone could see a Dominion victory and the further my thinking pulls away from a draw, even. Titus Mede II didn't surrender anything at the time of the Concordat that either hadn't already been lost or that didn't personally benefit him and his to lose.
The only spanner in the works would turn out to be Ulfric and the Stormcloaks and they couldn't be predicted at the end of the Great War.
I disagree in some fundamental aspects. This was a victory for the Aldmeri Dominion on the religious, political and military dimensions.
An independent Hamerfell gave precedence to other regions wishing to be independent, creating a credibility crisis for the Empire. A crisis initiated by Black Marsh and subsequent disasters that befell Morrowind.
The war was fought mainly in Cyrodill and Hamerfell, not only many lives were lost but also the productive capabilities of these regions has been damaged quite severely i would say. With Skyrim going through a civil war, the Empire deviates resources needed for its reconstruction and it can only rely on two regions for the humongous effort: Cyrodill and High Rock.
This also shows the change in strategy the Dominion has done. They understand that given time the Empire could recover, so they decided to support indirectly and directly any dissident groups and sentiments in every region it can reach. Something facilitated by the articles of the White-Gold Concordat. I wonder if the Dominion has approached House Redoran or any other faction with clear anti-imperial sentiment.
Furthermore, the Dominion also has an even greater advantage over the Empire than before: positioning. With Hamerfell independent any response the Empire could have to the Dominion navy has weakened substantially. Remember the Niben is the life-line of the Empire and the Dominion can easily control it by sea and land thanks to the general strategic positioning of its forces and allies.
The Dominion doesn't actually need to conquer Tamriel, they just need to split it up. Diplomacy with different smaller kingdoms is an attractive possibility as they can exercise their influence without a lot of resources and energy.
The Empire would be wise to cement as many alliances as they can get their hands on. For the elves this has just begun.
I have a question. If one was to totally remove elven civilization, could they survive? Man has been in the mud since time immemorial. If the elves have all that taken away, and everything is set back to '0' for men and elves, would the elves be able to cope as well as the men?
That being said, if the elves steamroll over the races of men, I doubt they'll ever be truly conquered. All of mankind would become like the Forsworn.
Honestly, I don't even see how the Dominion is going to last another 100 years. They took control when the Empire was Emperor-less, and when they were struggling. The Dominion are opportunists, and the Empire won't give them another opportunity to do anything. The Dominion is on the way out.
The Dominion doesn't want to "steamroll" anybody.
Their conflict is cultural, religious and political. The racial factor is not an issue for them, the emphasis on one race is. All non-man provinces already separated from the Empire before the Great War and for good reason.
Talos is often described as an advocate and chief deity of the Empire before the concordat. Not smart when you want to unite different races under one banner. You must create a common ground for it, religion did this quite well until Talos. He advocates a man-centric model, all non-man races will have nothing to do with it.
Meaning their objectives aren't invasion in the typical sense, the only territorial gains they wanted was the coast of Hammerfell to expand their area of influence enough to safeguard their position.
History in TESO shows the Altmer as a very conservative and isolationist nation, they aren't the aggressors and don't want to be. The war and their conflict with the Empire is a response to centuries of aggression to their civilization.
Militarily speaking the Dominion has a very strong position. I very much doubt they could take out the Dominion through conventional means without uniting the other human provinces first.
I very much disagree with race not being an issue for them. Cultural Domination of man means total erasing of what it means to be a man. They will become like the men on akavir, assimilated to the point where we can't tell if the akviri are men, or if they're something else. The religion of the Empire is the religion of the elves. Heaven forbid man put his own mark on things.
If I was Emperor, I would tear down the elven pillars of society, even if it means a temporary depression, just to show man doesn't need them. I would drag man through the mud, just to be free of their stagnant and domineering 'culture.' I would build up unique culture of man, free from the elves.
The Dominion in TESO is not the Dominion in Skyrim. The 3rd Dominion is aggressive, expansionist, and ideologues seeking to erase what little Independence man has eeked out for themselves.