I read them and don't take them as gospel truth, considering the source. I find it very telling when the first couple of tablets paint dragons in very positive light.

someone did a video
he says you can do both, but the window of opportunity is short
basically you must train the new blades as early as possible in the questline
and then you just refuse to kill parthunax, and all is fine apparently

look for it on youtube

I've mentioned thu'um using draugrs elsewhere, but it's one reason why I'm a little skeptical of the tablet story. I don't know if it's oversight on Bethesda's part, or meant to conflict with it.. but the tablets say that Paarth taught humans the Thu'um. So who are the dragon priests and draugrs? They served dragons, subjugated their fellow mortals, and could use the thu'um. Apparently without Paarthurnax's help. if the thu'um was being used in service of dragons, then it conflicts with the tablet story. There, it was apparently the turning tide that won the dragon war for men, while you have these other dudes who enslaved men.

It's also a little odd that you only fnd these guys by word walls. And the Greybeards have a connection to word walls too. Is their order really a reformed order of dragon priests? That doesn't make them bad or anything, but I'm just wondering.

Parth may have taught Mankind the Thu'um to fight the Dragons, but it is possible one of the people they taught it to defected to the Dragon priests side and taught them.

It may be an oversight. That, or we are to assume, that the dragon priests/draugr were so far gone and warped in their fanatical devotion...that they no longer existed as people so much as additional autonomous extensions of the dragon cult's will.

I hope they explore more of that.

Heh. I'm just going to have multiple playthroughs covering my ass in all ways.

This explains everything, a book that's actually in the game. http://elderscrolls.wikia.com/wiki/The_Dragon_War

Foremost among all animals was the dragon. In the ancient nordic tongue it was drah-gkon. Occasionally the term dov-rha is used, but the language or derivation of that is not known. Using either name was forbidden to all except the dragon priests. Grand temples were built to honor the dragons and appease them. Many of them survive today as ancient ruins haunted by draugr and undead dragon priests.
Dragons, being dragons, embraced their role as god-kings over men. After all, were they not fashioned in Akatosh's own image? Were they not superior in every way to the hordes of small, soft creatures that worshipped them? For dragons, power equals truth. They had the power, so therefore it must be truth. Dragons granted small amounts of power to the dragon priests in exchange for absolute obedience. In turn, the dragon priests ruled men as equals to the kings. Dragons, of course, could not be bothered with actually ruling.
In Atmora, where Ysgramor and his people came from, the dragon priests demanded tribute and set down laws and codes of living that kept peace between dragons and men. In Tamriel, they were not nearly as benevolent. It's unclear if this was due to an ambitious dragon priest, or a particular dragon, or a series of weak kings. Whatever the cause, the dragon priests began to rule with an iron fist, making virtual slaves of the rest of the population.
When the populace rebelled, the dragon priests retaliated. When the dragon priests could not collect the tribute or control the masses, the dragons' response was swift and brutal. So it was the Dragon War began.
At first, men died by the thousands. The ancient texts reveal that a few dragons took the side of men. Why they did this is not known. The priests of the Nine Divines claim it was Akatosh himself that intervened. From these dragons men learned magics to use against dragons. The tide began to turn and dragons began to die too.



/e So basically dragon priests aren't men, or just warped versions of them. And parth wasn't the first one to teach the thu'um, he just taught the nord hero's who brought down alduin.

That "friend" is the Greybears... lol

i do agree with ya on that part and im really hoping that consequences/rewards happen lateron in DLCs as far as the Civil war and the Blades vs paar. I kinda felt the redguard woman was basically whatever u believed her or them.

No its not...

I killed Parthunax a long time ago and i still get those letters.

Actually it's pretty likely that it's Delphine.

It's rather silly how some people try to go in absolutes on this question. Why not try the following mindset:

- Paarthurnax's name translates to Ambition Overlord Cruelty, which is reason enough to suggest he might be a skilled speaker and is really just using you to clear the way for him to take over and lead the dragons. Odahviing even makes a comment about this.

-However, Paarthurnax has indeed helped mankind and you directly and he can still be used as a tool.

-A "third" solution is to keep Paarthurnax alive so you can learn words of power from him and the greybeards, while continuing to hunt down the remaining dragons with the help of Odahviing and some followers (this can potentially include the Blades if you bring them recruits before the "Kill Paarthurnax" quest).

By taking this path, you limit the number of potential followers Paarthurnax can amass in case he does turn against you and humanity. You also have the help of Odahviing and the Dragonrend shout. By doing this, you can continue to use Paarthurnax and the Greybeards as a tool but you're still keeping Paarthurnax in check in case he does eventually betray you and humanity.

And to add a bit fuel to the fire:

The original Akavirii dragonslayers were Tsaesci. They genocided humans in their homeland, they almost genocided dragons, and pursued them all the way to Tamriel. The invading Tsaesci were beaten by the Nords and the few survivors became mercenaries and bodyguards to the emperor.

So Paarthurnax is a repentant tyrant, but the Blades are genocidal specists just like their ancient forebears.

I decided to let him live. I made that decision because Paathurnax helped me in mainquest far more than Blades who gave me help only once or twice after they got their sanctuary back.

If I am the Dragonborn, should I not have some say in how the Blades function? Could I not tell them where to draw the line?

That's the main problem I have with them. Maybe the voice actors were too expensive for more than that, but Paarthurnax makes a much better point than the Blades: "What is better - to be born good, or to overcome your evil nature trough great effort?"

He already made amends during the lifetime of those he wronged, there is no point in executing him now for things he did 5000 years ago. The Blades won't talk to me anymore? Too bad, not even history will remember that the last two Blades spent their final years in a ruined temple, waiting for the Dragonborn to comply with their orders.

He also says he would not trust another dragon himself, and understands the dilemma the Blades have placed you in. The only people who get in a defensive huff about it are the Greybeards.

Well, I'll probably upset someone with this, but look at John Marston.

Exactly. Besides, you can be a [censored] dark brotherhood slaughterer and they'll respect you.

Okay ignoring the choice itself for a second.

Am I the only one who thinks this was a little forced? I just kicked the [censored] out if Alduin take off back to the temple and right after hearing I defeated Alduin Esburn tells me I need to kill Paarth, with no real explanation just a vague statement about his past evils. No details, no story, no nothing just this supposedly significant choice sprung on me out of nowhere. Just seems like poor implementation by Beth.

I was so upset when that happened. However, his son Jack avenged his father so...

It was poorly implemented, though I was already expecting a confrontation before meeting the Greybeards for the first time, after having read a certain book in Dragonsreach.

Heh. You would think so, wouldn't you?

Good Lord. I'm the dovakiin. I have the balls to ride a dragon into the afterlife. I killed the son of a god. I've probably killed more than Umbra. I single-handedly won a war.

But for some reason...words escape my character. I can't tell those two little children what to do. I can't even kill them.

Now what kind of character choice is that?

And Now here we are, being told to kill someone who has helped us. Someone who has repented. SOmeone who has gone through far more than we can even conceive.