Lachdonin Posted December 3, 2014 Share Posted December 3, 2014 I spelled it wrong, it's Isle of Balfiera. It's the large island (actually 1 large and 6 small) in the Iliac Bay. http://images.uesp.net/b/b1/DF-Map-Iliac_Bay.jpg Its also home to the Adamantine Tower... Anyway, they've managed to hold it for at least 150 years, despite being deep within and surrounded by Imperial territory, likely due to the Alinor Navy. Their ships are faster and stronger than any other fleet, and they may still have the Sunbirds... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Benrahir Posted December 3, 2014 Share Posted December 3, 2014 I swear, if I had the ability, I'd do a questmod about choosing a 3rd option in the Civil War questline: brokering a peace between the Empire and the Stormcloaks, then both groups kicking the ass out of the Thalmor (beginning with destroying their embassy, then silencing them and their spies so Skyrim would become a silent territory for them). Having in mind their mutual hate for them, you could think "the enemy of my enemy is my friend" could be relatively easy applied there. Besides, Tullius was sent to Skyrim to "solve the situation there", without being given any specifics (AFAIK). And brokering a peace is a solution as good as any other, so technically he wouldn't be contradicting orders. By now my next character (well, a remake of my favourite one) will be more like 75% Stormcloak, but still neutral in the fight. Fortunately, being an outcast from Soltsheim and somewhat individualistic (althought proud of being a Nord), it kinda fits him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MidbossVyers Posted December 3, 2014 Share Posted December 3, 2014 (edited) I spelled it wrong, it's Isle of Balfiera. It's the large island (actually 1 large and 6 small) in the Iliac Bay. http://images.uesp.net/b/b1/DF-Map-Iliac_Bay.jpg Its also home to the Adamantine Tower... Anyway, they've managed to hold it for at least 150 years, despite being deep within and surrounded by Imperial territory, likely due to the Alinor Navy. Their ships are faster and stronger than any other fleet, and they may still have the Sunbirds...Could you link to the article that says the Dominion owns the island because this is the first that I've heard of it? Also, are you referring to the island formation wedged in the gulf between High Rock and Hammerfell? Again, I'm not quite sure about the scale of the map, but it looks like that the Dominion army would need to go into the gulf, resupply, and then come out of the gulf via a round trip, all the while being wary of at least Hammerfell, if not High Rock, attacking them from the coast or raiding the island. I'm not saying that it's an impossible journey, but I am saying that it won't be an easy one. If Hammerfell is serious about fighting the Dominion, eventually, regardless of their relationship with Skyrim, and they saw a Dominion outpost so close to home, strategically, they'd want to take it, or at the very least, make sure that it can't be used against them, given that it is even closer to the Hammerfell mainland than Stros M'Kai. Edited December 3, 2014 by MidbossVyers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lachdonin Posted December 4, 2014 Share Posted December 4, 2014 The Wiki and the UESP do not state anything to the effect, which I have pointed out several times to mods on both... But Lord of Souls specifically references the Empire backed resistance on Baldiera alongside thesimilar body in Valenwood, a Skyrim splash says the Dominion has been engaged in ethnic cleansing on the isnald, and when asked about it MK has stated "It's always belonged to the high elves." The answer I keep getting from mods on the UESP is that "Until we see it in game, we can't be sure" as if other sources are irrelevant... We also know that the Dominion has held this territory for about 150 years before the Great War, despite a near continuous attempt to dislodge them. Of course, the island is a veritable fortress, and was the last outpost of Clan Drenni, which no one ever actually managed to capture... Any who, my point is that the Alinor Navy already has an established outpost well within enemy territory. From this they could strike at either northern Hammerfell or Highrock, or supply to cut around the cape and strike at Skyrim. They also have easy access to the Western Reach, and with it the ability to supply the Foresworn if nessessary. This, coupled with the fact that the Alinor Navy is faster than any other nations, and was almost entirely untouched by the Great War. We know that Skyrim has been hit from the North before, and from.much further afield, and we know the Alinor Navy has been able to maintain a hold on a very important island, deep within enemy territory, for more than a century, which bespokes it's power. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MidbossVyers Posted December 4, 2014 Share Posted December 4, 2014 Yeah, it's hard for me to follow up on that, if I cannot see the source information. Also, would the Forsworn accept Thalmor help and vice versa? Now, I'm no master of strategy, but even if Balfiera Island is an impenetrable turtle shell, a turtle can still die if it's starved. Neither Hammerfell or High Rock have thought to blockade or at least partially blockade the Illiac Bay? Neither have secret dealings with the Thalmor not to do so, correct? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MightyZ0G Posted December 4, 2014 Share Posted December 4, 2014 did a bit of a read on Isle of Balfiera and it does look like it has been in the hands of the High Elves, specifically the Direnni Clan, since the Merethic Era.it also appears that the Direnni Clan have managed to defend themselves against and invading Redguard invasion using magic alone during the 1st Era.http://elderscrolls.wikia.com/wiki/Isle_of_Balfierahttp://elderscrolls.wikia.com/wiki/Direnni_Hegemony Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MidbossVyers Posted December 4, 2014 Share Posted December 4, 2014 (edited) While I understand the... friction between the Direnni High Elves and the humans from the directly surrounding lands, is the Direnni clan aligned with the Aldmeri Dominion in any way, other than both groups being led by High Elves? Edited December 4, 2014 by MidbossVyers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MightyZ0G Posted December 5, 2014 Share Posted December 5, 2014 no idea Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lachdonin Posted December 5, 2014 Share Posted December 5, 2014 (edited) While I understand the... friction between the Direnni High Elves and the humans from the directly surrounding lands, is the Direnni clan aligned with the Aldmeri Dominion in any way, other than both groups being led by High Elves?Originally, no. It seems that the Drenni were a powerful Altmer clan and body of landowners who acquired most of Highrock, northern Hammerfell and particularly Balfiera Island, which they named Drenni Island, before effectively succeeding from Summerset sometime during the Merethic Era. They were gradually driven back over the intervening centuries until all that remained was Balfiera. Sometime in the early 4th Era, however, it seems that the Dominion came to control it. Whether they dippsed of the Drenni, or allied with them, isn't made clear in any of the sources. As for supplying it... It's a large isnald, several hundred square kilometers. Considering Drenni's propensity for agriculture, it can likely support its self indefinately. It's lack of capture by the Redguard, the Nords or the Cyrods seems to certainly indicate that it is more than capable of self sufficiency. It is interesting that the Dominion invaded from the land, and the south, however, considering their naval dominance, and almost 360 degree control of Hammerfell... Something which supports my hypothesis that conquest wasn't their goal... But anyway, their goal, and their agenda, isn't the point here we know Skyrim is vulnerable from the North, we know the Alinor Navy remains the strongest fleet on the continent, and we know that far further has been traversed to invade Skyrim. The Nords are only protected from the land, and only against outsiders. On the point of the Reachmen... They have been supplied by outsiders before. They were used by the Drenni against the Nord in the First Era, and the Worm Cult during the middle of the Second Era. Their aggression seems to mostly be aimed at those who occupy their territory, not so much outsiders. Edited December 5, 2014 by Lachdonin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MidbossVyers Posted December 5, 2014 Share Posted December 5, 2014 Well, my words were assuming that Balfiera Island was linked to the Dominion. If that has not been completely confirmed, then I retract any statements in regards to it. In terms of the Forsworn, given that the Thalmor want to erase all humanity eventually and that the Forsworn are mostly human, based on the results of a certain quest, the Dragonborn may or may not have a personal friendship with at least a couple of them. Obviously, that friendship does not necessarily equal military or political loyalty, but it's just like my point about Morrowind. If a messenger (preferably, the Dragonborn, or someone who represents him/her) reaches the Forsworn first and/or makes a better case than the Thalmor messenger, that can at least prevent an alliance between the Thalmor and the Forsworn. That, of course, does not mean that the Forsworn will want to ally with the Stormcloaks or the Empire, but even reducing the number of potential Thalmor allies will help the enemies of the Thalmor. As for the case... Do we, from a player character's perspective, have solid proof that the final goal of the Aldmeri Dominion is the erasure of humanity and a return of the world to pure spirit form? Unlike the modern Imperial culture, which is fairly secular (see Proventus's comment about the Dragonborn being "Nord nonsense"), the Forsworn are a more spiritual people, so it would take a lot less evidence to convince them of something like that, assuming that a modicum of such evidence exists. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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