A defense of Emperor Titus Mede II

On the surface, Emperor Titus Mede II seems like a rather ineffective ruler by most of the Empire. While an effective wartime leader, Titus Mede II capitulated to the Thalmor with the White-Gold Concordat, disbanded the Blades, allowed part of Hammerfell to be ceded to the Aldmeri Dominion, and allowed the Thalmor to begin to abduct Talos worshipers in the dead of night, stirring up dissent such as the Stormcloaks. Titus Mede II is so disliked that a member of the Elder Council wants him dead!

Yet I believe that there is more to the man than meets the eye. Titus Mede II is playing 4D-Chess while the Thalmor are playing checkers.

First, the White-Gold Concordat is often seen as proof of Titus Mede II being an incompetent leader, the treaty he acquiesced to had most of the same conditions as the ultimatum the Dominion originally levied against the Empire. However, the strength of the Dominion surprised everyone in the Empire, particularly the Blades, and thus there was no way Titus, a newly crowned Emperor, could have foreseen the devastation they would bring.

Secondly, while it is true that the Lord Naarifin's army was destroyed at the Battle of the Red Ring, the Imperial Legions were far too exhausted to continue fighting, and it is not too far of a stretch to imagine that sizable Thalmor detachments would still be present in Leyawiin and Bravil and the Empire would hardly be equipped to fight any longer. Accepting the White-Gold Concordat was the only way for the Empire to rebuild if there was to be any hope of the Empire's survival.

Critics of Titus Mede II cite that the Second Treaty of Stros M'Kai in 4E180 showed that defeat of the Thalmor would be possible, since Hammerfell had managed to seemingly win the fight against the Thalmor. However, there are numerous flaws with this assertion. First of all, the Thalmor did not commit the same force against Hammerfell like they did against the Empire, in part because of the fact that most of Hammerfell is an inhospitable desert. Also, conquest was never the goal of the Thalmor, their primary goal was banning the worship of Talos, however Talos worship is not nearly as common in Hammerfell as it is in Cyrodiil and Skyrim, hence the lackluster commitment of the Dominion to the war with Hammerfell. Third, Hammerfell survived by the skin of its teeth, greatly diminished as a nation with many of its cities sacked. It's easy for the average observer in Skyrim to say that the Empire should have fought to the last man without witnessing the devastation wrought by the Dominion in Cyrodiil.

Now this is speculation on my part, but I believe that releasing Hammerfell from the Empire was part of Titus Mede II's plan. From his point of view, he has to give the Thalmor something, but sacrificing Leyawiin or Anvil would cripple Cyrodiil logistically. However, Hammerfell is mostly desert and sparsely-populated, not to mention that the Redguard have a fierce independence streak. Ultimately, ceding parts of Hammerfell would sacrifice the fewest of the Empire's resources, and if the Thalmor attempt to actually seize control, they will be fighting the Redguard on their home turf. Yet this would appear unacceptable to Hammerfell, the Redguard value honor after all and it does not seem like much fighting occurred outside of Cyrodiil during the main war, and result in Hammerfell rebelling, something the Thalmor likely were counting on, as it would split the Empire from four provinces down to three. However, with Hammerfell independent, the Imperial Legions will be less spread out and can focus on protecting the heartland of the Empire. Not to mention that Hammerfell is less important to the Empire with the reduction in trade with the Dominion and the lack of serious agricultural output compared to Skyrim and Cyrodiil. And, as mentioned before, Hammerfell had the potential to become the Thalmor Afghanistan, a wasteland with a dedicated population that can never be truly conquered.

But even if the White-Gold Concordat was acceptable, it seems like the Thalmor are unstoppable and the Empire does nothing to stop them. However, Titus Mede II seems to have been very careful in implementing the ban on Talos worship. For the most part, it is the Thalmor capturing Talos worshipers, not Imperial agents. From the public's perspective, it is the Thalmor that are the problem, not the Imperial Legions. Indeed you probably could not find many members of the Legion that would abduct citizens for worshiping Talos. Thus, Titus Mede II has indirectly galvanized public opinion in the Empire against the Thalmor, and when the next war comes there will be no shortage of recruits willing to fight the Thalmor.

Nonetheless, the Thalmor occupation seems to be doing more harm than good. I mean it started the Stormcloak Rebellion which is draining the Empire of manpower and resources with no end in sight. However, Titus Mede II knows that the days of the Mede Empire are finished. Even if the LDB sides with the Empire, the Empire controls three of the nine provinces. There is little hope of reintegrating any of the lost provinces, with the exception of the recapture of Dominion provinces, and even that seems unlikely. Mede isn't interested in saving the Empire, he's interested in defeating the Dominion. If Ulfric succeeds, so be it, Mede will negotiate with Ulfric an alliance to oppose the Thalmor at every step, hence why even if the Stormcloaks win the battle Mede still travels to Solitude, he needs Skyrim's support in a war with the Dominion. Just think, if Mede were TRULY concerned with crushing Ulfric's rebellion, he could send in Cyrodiil's legions to assist Tullius and overwhelm the Stormcloaks. However, Mede knows that Ulfric is popular, and that Ulfric opposes the Thalmor. A Skyrim that openly opposes the Thalmor could be a very valuable ally, and every man will be useful in the fight against the Dominion.

And then you have the fact that the Thalmor have hundreds, if not thousands of operatives in Skyrim and, presumably, Cyrodiil and High Rock. If the Empire were to, hypothetically, strike a blow to the Thalmor, there are already hundreds of Thalmor operatives to abduct and execute in Mede's backyard, perhaps as revenge for the Blades. While the Thalmor may see such a move coming, they seem able to make many lapses in judgment due to their overconfidence, and may not think the Empire smart enough to strike at them.

And then there are the little pieces of things the Empire is doing in the background. With the dissolution of the Mages Guild, there is now the Imperial Synod and the College of Whispers. While we don't know much about the College of Whispers, we know that the Imperial Synod is attempting to gather artifacts of immense magical power. Hmmm... I wonder what the Empire could possibly use powerful magical artifacts for? Especially considering their primary opponent is very magically-inclined.

The Emperor has also established the Penitus Oculatus has his new set of bodyguards, who seem more effective at their job than the Blades did. However, the Dark Brotherhood can still overcome them as an obstacle and bring Mede down... But even with Titus Mede II dead, he has already laid the groundwork for the destruction of the Thalmor. Even an independent Skyrim and Hammerfell won't bring an end to Mede's ultimate goal.

For Mede accounted for the greatest strength the Empire has, it is an Empire of men, while the Dominion is made of Mer. The Empire can afford to throw their soldiers, which may be of worse quality, at the Dominion because elves simply will not recover as quickly from war and conflict as men will. In the story of men versus elves, the men always win. As such, the Imperial Legions will regain their strength, they will outnumber the Dominion, and they will succeed and bring about the end of the Dominion. Maybe not within Mede's lifetime, but Mede has laid the framework for what will be the Dominion, and the Thalmor's, undoing. And if Tullius is to be believed, that war is coming sooner rather than later. While Titus Mede II may have lost the trust of the people of Tamriel, when push comes to shove, Mede will have allowed for an alliance of ALL the races of men to bring down the Dominion once and for all.

TL;DR: "Upon my honor I do swear undying loyalty to the Emperor, Titus Mede II and unwavering obedience to the officers of his great Empire. May those above judge me, and those below take me, if I fail in my duty. Long live the Emperor! Long live the Empire!"