if you arent forced to make your team today to play WL for example just wait till SundayMonday <| sep |> Really great post ! In defense of the Dunmer , though , I do have to say a few things . The Dunmer , moreso than any other race other than , perhaps , the Redguards , are driven by the concept of overcoming odds . This is perhaps best seen by House Telvanni ' s nature , and by the fact that Veloth lead them to a volcanic wasteland and called it the promised land . The ascension the Aldmer winged about wasn ' t to be sought in veneration or contemplation , but in earning it in the crucible that is this lifeearning it tooth , claw , nail and stab in the back . This stubbornness , and in a sense this veneration of pragmatism , is an essential part of their culture . But to say that the Dunmer are somehow inherently or purely evil seems an oversimplification . First offthe Dunmer do seem rather continuously drawn back to a strange sense of honor . Even their assassins talk nonstop of honor , and even of restraint . The Tong honors the word of their contract and sublimates bloodthirst outside of those contracts . The Redorans and Indorils are also very focused on the idea of being fettered , morallywitness how many of them committed sepuku rather than accept an armistice mandated by their god . The Telvanni are . well , not a good example XD But even among some Hlaalunotably Vedam Dren and Dram Berothis oldfashioned sense of honor seems to persist . Honor is clearly an important concept in Dunmer culture , evenespeciallyif it ' s deeply interwoven with the Dunmer virtues of revolution , stubbornness and pride . It ' s interesting that you compare Azura to Yahwe in the Old Testament , because His role actually seems pretty similar to that of Boethiah . Boethiah protects sort of his chosen people while smiting the everloving shit out of their enemies , in some cases destroying the very gods those enemies worshipvery similar to Yahwe ' s actions . The actions of the presumably Boethiahloving Ashkhans of Erabinimsun would not seem out of place for an Israelite warleader in the Old Testament . I rather think that the enemies of Israel in the Old Testament would have thought of Yahwe as a cruel and wicked divine foe , but to the Israelites , His chosen people , he was a stern but loving father . Perspective is everything the Boethiah and Mephala seen by the Dunmer are very different than those seen by other races . Third , it is hard for me to dismiss the Dunmer as eviladdicted heartless bastards when they have such a focus on artistry and reverence . Their respect for their ancestors , their love of poetry and chivalry as seen by the Buoyant Armigers , and the deep , genuine love they hold for their gods and their country paint them in shades of grey . I think one of the central points of the Elder Scrolls is that , no matter where people come from , they ' re still people . Most Dunmer probably go to their jobs and chat with their neighbors and eat their food and likely go their entire lives without stabbing anyone in the back or cutting off anyone ' s feet or anything , just like most Altmer likely go their entire lives without plotting the destruction of an entire species or wearing SS robes and most Imperials probably go their whole lives without scheming to take over the Empire and remove the Elder Council . It ' s certainly true that the Dunmer , perhaps moreso than many other races , have a history of cruelty , enslavement , exclusion and moral myopia rules that apply to them don ' t seem to apply to others , and that these traits seem to be culturally vaunted to a degree . But their culture also venerates a strong sense of pride , of honor , of refusal to surrender , of reverence and respect , and of poetry and artistry . More to the point , these two sides of the Dunmer seem deeply interwoven with each other . Vivec may be the best example of this , but it can also be seen in people like Eno Hlaalu , a calm , wise , honorable mer who casually orders the deaths of those who he is contracted to kill , and Mehra Milo , a brave priestess , utterly dedicated to the truth , who nonetheless seems to have no problem with the idea of slavery or deeply ingrained racism . And among realworld cultures , things like slavery and regular internecine warfare are historically quite common , especially among clanbased societies and in resourcepoor regions . So . it ' s tough for me to agree that the Dunmer are addicted to evil . Hypocritical ? Probably . Multifaceted and dualistic ? Certainly . But I don ' t think any moreso or less so than , say , the Nords , who rage about the Night of Tears and answer it with genocide , or the Septim Empire , which proudly bears the shining light of civilization , cultural exchange , knowledge , stateenforced lies , propaganda , and regular civil war . Sorry for the rambling reply like many here , I am tired , slightly tipsy and fooddrunk on sweet Thanksgiving feastings . As I said , really great post I also see that you made a very similar post in The Early Velothi and the Good Daedra . So maybe we don ' t actually disagree at all , but I ' m still posting this reply XD