I like the look of this and seeing your thought process :) The other major sources besides Monomyth are Varieties of Faith and The Anuad. The former has this to say:
Auri-El (King of the Aldmer): The Elven Akatosh is Auri-El. Auri-El is the soul of Anui-El, who, in turn, is the soul of Anu the Everything. He is the chief of most Aldmeri pantheons. Most Altmeri and Bosmeri claim direct descent from Auri-El. In his only known moment of weakness, he agreed to take his part in the creation of the mortal plane, that act which forever sundered the Elves from the spirit worlds of eternity. To make up for it, Auri-El led the original Aldmer against the armies of Lorkhan in mythic times, vanquishing that tyrant and establishing the first kingdoms of the Altmer, Altmora and Old Ehlnofey. He then ascended to heaven in full observance of his followers so that they might learn the steps needed to escape the mortal plane. ~ Varieties of Faith.
While the Anuad retells the story of the origins of the Ehlnofey War:
A large fragment of the Ehlnofey world landed on Nirn relatively intact, and the Ehlnofey living there were the ancestors of the Mer. These Ehlnofey fortified their borders from the chaos outside, hid their pocket of calm, and attempted to live on as before. Other Ehlnofey arrived on Nirn scattered amid the confused jumble of the shattered worlds, wandering and finding each other over the years. Eventually, the wandering Ehlnofey found the hidden land of Old Ehlnofey, and were amazed and joyful to find their kin living amid the splendor of ages past. The wandering Ehlnofey expected to be welcomed into the peaceful realm, but the Old Ehlnofey looked on them as degenerates fallen from their former glory. For whatever reason, war broke out, and raged across the whole of Nirn. The Old Ehlnofey retained their ancient power and knowledge, but the Wanderers were more numerous, and toughened by their long struggle to survive on Nirn. This war reshaped the face of Nirn, sinking much of the land beneath new oceans and leaving the lands as we know them (Tamriel, Akavir, Atmora, and Yokuda). The Old Ehlnofey realm, although ruined, became Tamriel. The remnants of the Wanderers were left divided on the other 3 continents.
Over many years, the Ehlnofey of Tamriel became the Mer (Elves)
- The Dwemer (the Deep Ones, sometimes called Dwarves)
- The Chimer (the Changed Ones, who later became the Dunmer)
- The Dunmer (the Dark or Cursed Ones, the Dark Elves)
- The Bosmer (the Green or Forest Ones, the Wood Elves)
- The Altmer (The Elder or High Ones, the High Elves).
On the other continents, the Wandering Ehlnofey became the Men: the Nords of Atmora, the Redguards of Yokuda, and the Tsaesci of Akavir. ~ The Annotated Anuad.
So with the Monomyth, those three sources give us the basis and history of the ideological difference seperating men and mer.
Vix's article is absolutely seminal work, although that sentence you quoted shows how his own point of view slipped in, contradicting slightly as it does this oog source from MK:
What appears to be an Altmeri commentary on Talos:
To kill Man is to reach Heaven, from where we came before the Doom Drum's iniquity. When we accomplish this, we can escape the mockery and long shame of the Material Prison.
To achieve this goal, we must:
1) Erase the Upstart Talos from the mythic. His presence fortifies the Wheel of the Convention, and binds our souls to this plane.
2) Remove Man not just from the world, but from the Pattern of Possibility, so that the very idea of them can be forgotten and thereby never again repeated.
3) With Talos and the Sons of Talos removed, the Dragon will become ours to unbind. The world of mortals will be over. The Dragon will uncoil his hold on the stagnancy of linear time and move as Free Serpent again, moving through the Aether without measure or burden, spilling time along the innumerable roads we once travelled. And with that we will regain the mantle of the imperishable spirit. ~ Michael Kirkbride's Posts
Down to your interpretation alone, if you are going to use opinions then there are two options, Mk's or Vix's.
The game really does limit the possibilities of aligning with Thalmor goals, but there could be a way around it by looking at the previous Aldmeri Dominions which have sprung up throughout the ages. The first one, started by Queen Ayrenn, shares more with Vix's ideology. So that's one possible avenue for RP - like, agreeing with the goals of mer superiority but maybe the character thinks there is a better way than the torture and persecution of Talos worshippers. I mean, the character of the Dovahkiin could well be a Shezarrine, an incarnation of Lorkhan like Pelinal or Ysmir before him/her.
That inner conflict is very compelling. This mer who believes in a very Altmeri philosophy discovers along the way that he has the soul of a dragon and the blessing of Auriel and thus making him an embodiment of Auriel himself, only to discover that he is also the avatar of a very manish god from his point of view. The two gods are linked, in very much the same way that time and space are in physics. Things get meta very quickly, but what matters is what your character believes. It may pay to pick Lis' brain on this too, that topic (minus the protagonist being Thalmor-aligned) is central to her Straag Rod saga.
All the above aside, I can't really stress enough the importance of your own interpretations :) This:
Some creative RP is required, like killing Malborn in Windhelm after killing his assassin. Delphine and Esbern are marked as Essential, but I don't know if they remain Essential after the main quest. If they are not Essential, then killing them would be a priority. And killing Paarthanux will let you retain access to the Blades. Joining the Dawnguard and siding with the Dawnguard is important. You'll not only help cleanse Skyrim of a vampire threat, but you'll get Auriel's Bow. Serana's presence is an unfortunate necessity, and getting her to cure herself is also a necessity.
Is great stuff! A lot to be geting on with there alone. It may well be that your character feels above it all and, if he does see himself as Auriel incarnate with a right-wing merish perspective, he alone has the freedom to either aid or thwart Dominion objectives as he sees fit. Who are they to question their god? :D
I like the look of this and seeing your thought process :) The other major sources besides Monomyth are Varieties of Faith and The Anuad. The former has this to say:
Auri-El (King of the Aldmer): The Elven Akatosh is Auri-El. Auri-El is the soul of Anui-El, who, in turn, is the soul of Anu the Everything. He is the chief of most Aldmeri pantheons. Most Altmeri and Bosmeri claim direct descent from Auri-El. In his only known moment of weakness, he agreed to take his part in the creation of the mortal plane, that act which forever sundered the Elves from the spirit worlds of eternity. To make up for it, Auri-El led the original Aldmer against the armies of Lorkhan in mythic times, vanquishing that tyrant and establishing the first kingdoms of the Altmer, Altmora and Old Ehlnofey. He then ascended to heaven in full observance of his followers so that they might learn the steps needed to escape the mortal plane. ~ Varieties of Faith.
While the Anuad retells the story of the origins of the Ehlnofey War:
A large fragment of the Ehlnofey world landed on Nirn relatively intact, and the Ehlnofey living there were the ancestors of the Mer. These Ehlnofey fortified their borders from the chaos outside, hid their pocket of calm, and attempted to live on as before. Other Ehlnofey arrived on Nirn scattered amid the confused jumble of the shattered worlds, wandering and finding each other over the years. Eventually, the wandering Ehlnofey found the hidden land of Old Ehlnofey, and were amazed and joyful to find their kin living amid the splendor of ages past. The wandering Ehlnofey expected to be welcomed into the peaceful realm, but the Old Ehlnofey looked on them as degenerates fallen from their former glory. For whatever reason, war broke out, and raged across the whole of Nirn. The Old Ehlnofey retained their ancient power and knowledge, but the Wanderers were more numerous, and toughened by their long struggle to survive on Nirn. This war reshaped the face of Nirn, sinking much of the land beneath new oceans and leaving the lands as we know them (Tamriel, Akavir, Atmora, and Yokuda). The Old Ehlnofey realm, although ruined, became Tamriel. The remnants of the Wanderers were left divided on the other 3 continents.
Over many years, the Ehlnofey of Tamriel became the Mer (Elves)
- The Dwemer (the Deep Ones, sometimes called Dwarves)
- The Chimer (the Changed Ones, who later became the Dunmer)
- The Dunmer (the Dark or Cursed Ones, the Dark Elves)
- The Bosmer (the Green or Forest Ones, the Wood Elves)
- The Altmer (The Elder or High Ones, the High Elves).
On the other continents, the Wandering Ehlnofey became the Men: the Nords of Atmora, the Redguards of Yokuda, and the Tsaesci of Akavir. ~ The Annotated Anuad.
So with the Monomyth, those three sources give us the basis and history of the ideological difference seperating men and mer.
Vix's article is absolutely seminal work, although that sentence you quoted shows how his own point of view slipped in, contradicting slightly as it does this oog source from MK:
What appears to be an Altmeri commentary on Talos:
To kill Man is to reach Heaven, from where we came before the Doom Drum's iniquity. When we accomplish this, we can escape the mockery and long shame of the Material Prison.
To achieve this goal, we must:
1) Erase the Upstart Talos from the mythic. His presence fortifies the Wheel of the Convention, and binds our souls to this plane.
2) Remove Man not just from the world, but from the Pattern of Possibility, so that the very idea of them can be forgotten and thereby never again repeated.
3) With Talos and the Sons of Talos removed, the Dragon will become ours to unbind. The world of mortals will be over. The Dragon will uncoil his hold on the stagnancy of linear time and move as Free Serpent again, moving through the Aether without measure or burden, spilling time along the innumerable roads we once travelled. And with that we will regain the mantle of the imperishable spirit. ~ Michael Kirkbride's Posts
Down to your interpretation alone, if you are going to use opinions then there are two options, Mk's or Vix's.
The game really does limit the possibilities of aligning with Thalmor goals, but there could be a way around it by looking at the previous Aldmeri Dominions which have sprung up throughout the ages. The first one, started by Queen Ayrenn, shares more with Vix's ideology. So that's one possible avenue for RP - like, agreeing with the goals of mer superiority but maybe the character thinks there is a better way than the torture and persecution of Talos worshippers. I mean, the character of the Dovahkiin could well be a Shezarrine, an incarnation of Lorkhan like Pelinal or Ysmir before him/her.
That inner conflict is very compelling. This mer who believes in a very Altmeri philosophy discovers along the way that he has the soul of a dragon and the blessing of Auriel and thus making him an embodiment of Auriel himself, only to discover that he is also the avatar of a very manish god from his point of view. The two gods are linked, in very much the same way that time and space are in physics. Things get meta very quickly, but what matters is what your character believes. It may pay to pick Lis' brain on this too, that topic (minus the protagonist being Thalmor-aligned) is central to her Straag Rod saga.
All the above aside, I can't really stress enough the importance of your own interpretations :) This:
Some creative RP is required, like killing Malborn in Windhelm after killing his assassin. Delphine and Esbern are marked as Essential, but I don't know if they remain Essential after the main quest. If they are not Essential, then killing them would be a priority. And killing Paarthanux will let you retain access to the Blades. Joining the Dawnguard and siding with the Dawnguard is important. You'll not only help cleanse Skyrim of a vampire threat, but you'll get Auriel's Bow. Serana's presence is an unfortunate necessity, and getting her to cure herself is also a necessity.
Is great stuff! A lot to be geting on with there alone. It may well be that your character feels above it all and, if he does see himself as Auriel incarnate with a right-wing merish perspective, he alone has the freedom to either aid or thwart Dominion objectives as he sees fit. Who are they to question their god? :D
