I'm not a fan of fox hunting - or any blood sport for that matter - so Hircine is good contender for least favourite deity in that respect. Yet he also represents the natural order to some extent and nature is raw in tooth and claw. Plus he does give his prey a chance to survive...
The questions remain unanswered. I haven't played any of the games before Morrowind so my knowledge breaks down at that point, but I've yet to see a source beyond the PGE's vague hints which convey the brutality of his conquest of the Altmer lands.
Don't quote me MK's Conquest of Alinor snippet either One hour and timey whimey. I have yet to make complete sense of it all - perhaps you'll be able to enlighten me?
Also there is the metaphysical importance of Talos' conquest. It could be said he, like Vivec, knew the false nature of Mundus but loved it's people. Are Vivec and Talos really so different from one another that you like one but detest the other?
It depends on how far consumed one is by their lycanthropy. A man like Kodlak would hate it, but Sinding has shown that a man with lesser willpower will be dominated by the wild instincts of the werewolf - perhaps to the point where they hunt not for enjoyment, but simply in compliance with newfound natural behaviour. Hircine transforms men into beasts, and beasts are not creatures of morality.
I'm gonna have to bring in the obligatory nazi reference, there would have been peace under Hitler's rule but that still doesn't excuse all the things he would have done to achieve it. I'm Scottish man, I'm never going to agree with imperialism .
I have no real insight on the Siege of Alinor other than the Numidium sealed it'self outside of time where the Altmer still fight it and the breaking the Passispoint I would presume is Zero Summing but I'm not sure what the chrysalis is in reference to.
Vivec used trickery to become ruler of Morrowind sure, but at least he didn't use that power to conquer the world. Talos thought he was hotshit by becoming a god but he just ripped it off from Vivec and Auri-El before him, at least those dudes had the decency to try and teach others how to follow in there footsteps.
Btw have I told you before that you should read Malazan Books of the Fallen? You really should read Malazan Books of the Fallen Phil
"Is a mer not entitled to the sweat of his brow? 'No!' says the man in Cyrodiil, 'it belongs to Tiber Septim.' 'No!' says the mer in Alinor, 'it belongs to us.' 'No!' says the mer in Valenwood, 'it belongs to the earth.' I rejected those answers; instead, I chose something different. I chose the impossible. I chose... Resdaynia. A land where the artist would not fear the censor; where the mage would not be bound by petty morality; where the great would not be constrained by the small! And with the sweat of your brow, Resdaynia can become your land as well." - Veloth Rand
I'd say it was a necessary act and long overdue, the end justifies the means. Mundus needed a new Lorkhan and Talos knew what he was doing. To do what Talos did is what Lorkhan intended back during Convention. Nobody ever said it was a nice thing to do. I tend to reject the Hitler analogy though. More like ancient Rome and Caesar.
Yeah the Numidium thing. It's that whole Middle Dawn thing again. Some incredibly powerful elven wizards knew what was going on but to most the siege of Alinor only lasted 1 hour. so PGE's oft-quoted statement that:
The conquest and assimilation of Summerset into the Empire is remembered by many a living Altmer with horror only partially diminished by time. Certainly, the pride of the people has never recovered.
Could actually be less about the violence than about national pride and Altmer superiority being demonstrated as false? What I'm saying is that we all readily accept the myths of Alessia and Reman, that the propaganda saying otherwise about their lives is wrong, but we are quick to believe any little bad thing we hear about Talos
Vivec so would have done the same if he didn't have his own problems. In fact, he even seems to be mentoring Talos in the Sermons.
I have not read those books. I tale it they're good?