They look like high elves but also look similar to wood elves

High elves (altmer)

The Thalmors are a faction of Altmers, so they are indeed High Elves.

They are really high elves

They ARE high elves.

The Thalmor are Altmers or High Elves

theyre argonians, cant you tell? they just have high-elf voices, it threw me off at first too.

Thanka

Fun fact: The Thalmor were originally created in Valenwood by Bosmers (Wood Elves) and Altmers, but during the events of Skyrim the Thalmor are Altmer exclusive

Does anone think the Thalmor will be the main plot line for the next game (possibly/most likely in the Summerset Isles) or do you think Bethesda will finish the plot of the Thalmor through dlc or even a novel

they are high elves and wood elves as far as i know?

never trusted them anyway, the ones are arrogant pricks and the other cannibals that only eat meat - CANNIBALS!

heres hoping they finish it off in a long well paced dlc so tes 6 is in either hammerfell or black marsh for the return of the dwarves

Actually they can be both (lorewise!). And there are no pure races, just look at Jagar tharn.

IIRC the Thalmor in Skyrim talk about the Altmers being superior to other races and never mention the Bosmers which would suggest that the Thalmors in Skyrim are all Altmers. You're probably right though

Orc

are they saying altmer or aldmer? cause aldmer would be elves in general...aldmeri dominion consists of bosmer and altmer (why no dunmer dont know, maybe they are not considered clean/true)

well but lets face it, a human is also a superior being to a baer...but would you want to fight a baer?

I can't remember, but it's probably Altmer since Aldmer can be used for all elves

Ondolemar in Markath sums up Thalmor pretty well: Proving the superiority of Mer over Man, one century at a time.

The Thalmor are basically Elven Nazis/Soviets. If you can't prove you're elf enough (limited to Altmer and Bosmer as of 4E 201; Dunmer don't like the Thalmor anymore than they do... well, anyone), you're going to get purged. They are apparently really good at genocide and class-based cleansing.

Actually, i vaguely remember talking to a Thalmor who claimed they were allied with the Bosmer. He was a named NPC being escorted by two Thalmor guards in Markarth.

To bring it into a broader sense, look up a map of Tamriel. The Thalmor are the bourgeois class of the Dominion, which is the combination of Summerset Isle and Valenwood. The Great War they speak of was when the Dominion attempted to, and with mild success, defeat the Empire. After the war the Empire seceded Hammerfell, which is home to the Redguards, and they didn't like that too much. An epic war took place between the, now independent, Hammerfell and the Dominion. Hammefell managed to stave off the elves and retained its independence.

thats what i mean, i thought they think that elves in general are superior

http://www.uesp.net/wiki/Lore:Thalmor

http://www.uesp.net/wiki/Lore:Thalmor

http://www.uesp.net/wiki/Skyrim:Thalmor

These sites are great for explaining everything.

Basically the Thalmor are High Elves but they are slowly enslaving/dragging other races into them, primarily though they are just an extremist High Elfven faction, they probably don't count the Dark Elves since the Dunmer are generally not into all that Elven superiority nonsense.

Not quite. First, don't bring newspeak into this discussion. The Thalmor are Elven supremacists that rose to power in the wake of the Oblivion Crisis, exploiting the fall of the Crystal Tower and the myth they carefully nurtured that they, the Thalmor, saved Summerset Isle from certain destruction. After purging any and all opposition, they managed to orchestrate the secession of Valenwood from the Empire and bring Bosmer into the fold.

Then, the Aldmeri Dominion was refounded.


The Great War was a major military conflict that took place after Emperor Titus Mede did not heed the Thalmor ultimatum (which was really insulting to the Empire and included outlawing the worship of Thalmor). The War was bloody, pretty much broke the Empire's back (when the Emperor retook Cyrodil with Nord legions, the Empire was in absolutely no shape to continue the war, with much of its legions at half strength or less). It wasn't a mild success for the Altmer, it was a full victory, considering that the White-Gold Concordat was exactly the same document as the ultimatum.

And Hammerfell was cut off from the Empire because they refused to give up and continued the War. It still rages on (after all, the Alik'r make explicit mention of a resistance movement in Hammerfell) between the Redguards and the Thalmor, who occupy the southern parts of the province. It's far from over.

It appears I have been served. I suppose my crippling fear of butting into lore discussion is well founded.