Personally, I believe the Great War was an inevitability.

The Great War was a mass conflict involving the Empire and the Aldermari Dominion, which had such major effects as Hammerfell declaring independence from the Empire, the disestablishment of the Blades and most of all the White Gold Concordat-one of the clauses banning the worship of Talos.

The Great War happened after the events of Oblivion, during the events of Elder Scrolls Legends, and effected Elder Scrolls Skyrim.

But I believe that it was destined to happen and it will happen again.

You see, mer and men have always fought.

Men and mer have fought in the:

1) The Alessian Slave Rebellion

2) The Alliance War

3) The Bjoulsae Raids

4) The Four Score War

5) The Great War

6) The Nede-Chimer War

7) The Nordic-Falmer War

8) The Invasion of Orsinium

9) The Tiber Wars

But why?

Although all those Wars had their own respective reasons, but I think it may run deeper than those immediate causes.

Even the ancestors of the men and mer fought, the Ehlnofey. When some of the Aedra lost their power during the creation of the mortal realm, they became the Ehlnofey. Some of the Ehlnofey created great fortifications and tried to lives as before. Other Ehlnofey decided to live out in the waste that was early Nirn.

After years of wandering, the Ehlnofey living in the wilderness discovered their kin living in their splendour of the days past. The wandering Ehlnofey expected to be welcomed, but their kin saw them as savages. War broke out. This war shaped the world as we have now. In the end the wandering Ehlnofey left to live in other continents and the advanced Ehlnofey stayed where they were. The wandering Ehlnofey eventually became the men and the advanced Ehlnofey became the mer.

But why?

Although all those Wars had their own respective reasons, but I think it may run deeper than those immediate causes. The cause of this war and the others may be due to one central figure…Lorkhan.

In the Elven Pantheon, Lorkhan is the devil figure. He robbed Aedra of their divinity, thus robbed the Ehlnofey and eventually the mer. They believe if it weren’t for Lorkhan, they would still be divine.

Conversely, in the Human Pantheon Lorkhan (or Shor to the Nords) is the Hero God of mankind. He created man and is thus good.

I believe this religious divide is so ingrained in both races from the time of the Ehlnofey that War between men and mer was inevitable, climixing into the Great War.

This may be the reason why there was such controversy between the two races of mer, the Dwemer and Chimer, in what the discovery of the Heart of Lorkhan meant and what had to be done.

This also gives more meaning to the Thalmor’s decision to outlaw the worship of Talos. Talos, who was once Tiber Septim, became the 9^th Divine by mantling Lorkhan. Achieving this he became a deity. It was probably easy for Tiber Septim to mantle Lorkhan because the death of Lorkhan left a “divine-void” that needed to be filled.

We do know he became a god. In Elder Scrolls Oblivion, the “blood of a divine” is required to open an portal to Mankar Camoran’s Paradise. This blood was acquired from the Armour of Tiber Septim. In the Elder Scrolls Knights of the Nine, the “Blessing of Talos” is what allows lets the player follow Umaril the Unfeathered into the spirit world and destroy his soul. The blessing also allows the player to return to their body afterwards. Towards the end of The Elder Scrolls Morrowind, the player mets an elderly Imperial named Wulf. He gives the player the power “Gift of the Emperor”. If you ask Lalatia Varian who he was, she will tell the player that this was an avatar of Talos. In the same game there are similar avatars of Mara and Zenithar. Despite this the Thalmor don’t acknowledge his divinity.

This ingrained hatred of Lorkhan is probably the cause for the natural mistrust between men and mer as well as the wars between the two.

And more wars are on the horizon. General Tulius in Skyrim mentions that he believes that the Second Great War will happen. Furthermore the Thalmor refer to the Great War as “The First War with Empire”, quite ominously.

In the end, I believe this is the reason by it all.

But I’m probably wrong, so tell me what you think.