We know that the Akaviri (specifically the Tscaesci) have conducted several raids and invasions of Tamriel, with much success and ground gained. But how? How did invaders who had travelled across a (presumably) large sea manage to devastate so much of Skyrim and Morrowind? Surely the Nords and Dunmer would have been able to set up a decent defence in the own lands. They had so many environmental advantages, and yet the Akaviri managed to cut through Tamriel and rule Cyrodiil and the Empire for a time. Were the Akaviri led by the greatest military minds the world had ever known? Did they win through extreme numbers? Or was there something else at play?

I also find it curious how people from the far east managed to raid the Wayrest and the Illiac Bay so proficiently that Wayrest was besieged. They also conducted ray in the Niben. It's impressive to say the least that these people could sail from one continent to another, and then sail all the way around this massive continent and yet still maintain a highly effective martial prowess over the natives.

The Second Invasion, however, was far less one-sided, with the Nords, Dunmer and Argonian forces smashing the Akaviri at Stonefalls before Vivec devastated them with the sea. But that only emphasizes my original point, that the first brutal invasion by the inhabitants of Akavir was absurdly effective.

We don't really have much information about numbers, but I think it's more than reasonable to assume the Snake invasion was a significant one. We've seen something similar with the Yokudans and the migration into Hammerfell, so its not entirely unreasonable to assume a fleet containing tens of thousands of Akaviri made the trip.


They also had the benefit of the political state at the time. No one was getting along, most provinces were politicallly fractured, and they made mostlly for the Cyrodiil-Skyrim border and the Colovian Estates. We know that, at the time, the Colovians were not a united body but post-Alessian city states, which would have been relatively easy pickings. As we've seen with the Persians, Romans and Mongols, this sort of divided politically climate makse resistance against a singular enemy difficult, and is highly susceptible to Divide and Conquer strategies.


The third factor is, of course, surprise. It's unlikely anyone in Tamriel remotely expected a massive invasion from Akavir. Reacting to something that unexpected takes time, and has a tendency to be clumsily enacted in its early stages.


When the Kamal invaded, Tamriel was more politically united (at least adhering to provincial nations rather than city states) and was more aware of the potential.

Because at the time no one was united, everyone in Tamriel were essentially independent and bickering with each other that when the Akaviri came no one wanted to work together until a figure rallied them. In the Tsaesci invasion it was Reman, in the Kamal invasion it was the Tribunal.

Of course to be fair Morrowind at that point was a powerhouse compared to it's neighbors and if the akaviri just left Morrowind alone they most likely would've succeeded in both invasions.

This raises another question, how were the Akaviri aware of Tamriel's political climate?

If you su scribe to the Time Travel Theory... Because it was their history.

Or spies, seer magic, or the akaviri didn't care and just invaded.

I like the time travel theory but the whole thing is it's not really the future but the next kalpa, kinda like yokuda was the previous kalpa yet there is still a ton of stuff we don't know about Yokuda despite Redguards being a large culture in Tamriel.

Yeah, truth be told, I don't even like the Kalpic explanation. I prefer to view the idea in the context of knowledge of the past and future, rather than explicit traveling through time.


But yeah. There are more mundane options. Considering that Tamriel had never been particularly unified up till that point, I think more mundane justifications are easy enough. The Akaviri judged, based on past experiences with spies, raids and even magical scrying, what would be needed to establish a foothold in preparation for a lengthy conquest. When that force arrived, they found Tamriel far weaker than expected, and tried to capitalise on that.


Just lime with the Great War, I think the narrative is perfectly reasonable, and indeed better served, of the attackers simply find their enemies weaker than expected, and over extend, allowing said enemy to regroup and push back. There's no need to toss in divine plots, magical mguffins, prophecies or watnot to explain their success.

For the invasion in which the Tsaesci and Dragonguard were involved, they invaded Skyrim and eventually pushed south towards Cyrodiil. The only opposition they initially would have had would be the Nords of Skyrim and later Reman's forces, before realizing that he was the Dragonborn they sought.