Recently, I finally understood Michael Kirkbride's explanations on CHIM and the Psijic Endeavour, and the apotheosis/enlightenment that follows. Also that Lorkhan/Shor/Shezzar deliberately "failed" at his creation of Mundus in order to allow mortals to transcend the cosmic boundaries of Anu and Padomay, until you reach a state where you exist within and outside these bounds simultaneously. So far so good.

But when I read MK's clarification between the Psijic Endeavour and the Psijic Order, I clearly saw a bias against one of the oldest and (arguably) most powerful magical monastic orders (which is essentially Altmer). MK specifically said the Psijics were "wrong-headed from the start", because in their early days they put too much emphasis on ancestor worship/study/preservation, which is in general a cultural feature of the Altmer as a whole.

From MK's posts, pretty much it is clear the Altmer are the losers in the metaphysics of Mundus. Lorkhan very clearly favours the races of men (particularly Imperials and Nords). His martyrdom-trickery is intended to be discovered and utilised by the mortals, for their own good. The men exemplify change and ambition, and Lorkhan's spirit, so they're good. The Bosmer are focused on "the now", and the Dunmer are marginally close to the idea of CHIM (although the Chimer were pretty much spot on grasping the idea). The Altmer, however, are just these stubborn, stagnant, order-obsessed race who just can't get over their sundering from the spirit world. They are so focused on looking at Aetherius and worshipping their gods and just focusing on Anuic principles, that they are too short-sighted to even come close to the whole idea of the Psijic Endeavour - so they can't grasp the whole metaphysical goal of the universe. They only whine and complain without seeing the big picture, basically.

So, with all of that in mind, I got a bit sad. The Altmer, for me, are one of the most interesting races, and I thought that their "tragedy" about "we got sundered from the spirit world" was pretty lame. You can't compare their "tragedy" to the typical trope of "high elf tragedy" which is often compelling in other settings - the Elves in DA, the Eldar from Warhammer 40K, even the elves from the Witcher, the High Elves from Warhammer. But when I fully grasped that, by virtue of attitude and perspective, the Altmer are pretty much doomed not to understand the whole point of Mundus and of existence. That is actually more tragic because it is on a cosmic scale, not just a cataclysm or a war which are on a physical/mortal scale. And it's pretty sad, especially for people who like to roleplay Altmer.

What do you think? Do you think my interpretation is correct? It's kind of sad that the ES is so.... man-centric and in favour of man. The Dunmer and the Bosmer are not even concerned, so it's pretty much Man (the winner/the one on the right track) vs Altmer (the stubborn, rigid loser).

Have you read C0DA? Both men and mer are erased from existence by Numidium, with the Dunmer, Khajiit, and the Hist as the only survivors of Landfall.

As MK put it, "http://www.reddit.com/r/teslore/comments/2fpdq7/why_have_thalmor_renamed_the_archipelago_alinor/ckc9n0u"

No, I haven't read C0DA, but I get the feeling it sounds a bit..... too much xD I like to think that men and mer are just mortal vessels of two opposing forces, that at the end of the day need to get balanced. My Breton, personally, loves both Mer and Men.... and hates them at times. Everyone's different.

I'll give it a read thanks

I should probably add that C0DA isn't really necessary to understand the overaching plot of the games, nor does it serve as proof. But the first four main games (Arena through Oblivion) chronicled the decline and fall of the Septim Empire, and Skyrim shows humanity sinking even further into despair. Whether Bethesda are brave enough to go all the way with the Thalmor story, we'll see.

As for races as mortal vessels of different ideologies, well, humanity was doomed from the day White-Gold Tower fell. Just as with the Ayleids before them, it was the tower which granted them mythical 'legitimacy' as the ruling race of Tamriel. The Thalmor got rid of the Khajiit and the Bosmer's Towers and influence, and have them in a very literal stranglehold (see the Valenwood purges and the Void Nights). Crystal-Like-Law was destroyed, the Red Tower lost its Stone, Snow-Throat is "kingless, sundered, bleeding"... Currently the only known Tower still standing is Adamantia, which embodies the extreme end of the Anuic spectrum and is ruled by elves. Talos' influence is literally the only thing keeping the Thalmor at bay, and they're actively working to minimize his mythical presence.

Stupid Thalmor xD In these moments I keep repeating "All Thalmor are Altmer, but not all Altmer are Thalmor". Also, mind you, the Direnni are quite a different.... "breed" of elf. Culturally, they are quite different. I quite like them actually, they are quite flexible and intelligent, and independent. So, I think they wouldn't necessarily collaborate with the Thalmor's crazy plan. Not to mention, they are easily one of the most powerful dynasties in Tamriel. I sure hope there is a way to repair the towers or get them back to work xD Perhaps we need a PC that reaches apotheosis and "fixes" things? Tamriel is too beautiful and diverse to fall pray to the deluded Thalmor.

Edit: Again, Altmer - either stagnant or evil. There's no middle ground xD The are very few exceptional and progressive Altmer individuals like Galerion.

You discount the Dunmer for no reason at all. They are very close to Lorkhan, they could probably get along great with the Nords if both races weren't massive xenophobes.

Maybe, but the reason why I "discard" them is because they are so focused on inter-house politics and individual Daedra worship, that many would not necessarily see "the big picture". Although they are much closer to it than the Altmer.