It's actually an extreme reach to
redefine a term that's already been established in the lore as well in history in general to have a very specific meaning. It's quite clear that the resistance from a lore perspective refers to the resistance to occupation by the Aldmeri Dominion just as it's equally clear that that is what the term generally means in respect to a state of warfare as there has historically never been a reference to the term as anything but the same. It makes no sense at all to refer to independent, sovereign Hammerfell under a legal state of peace with the Aldmeri Dominion as anything but Hammerfell let alone the "resistance". Sorry but your premise is unpersuasive.
The lore doesn't support you're romanticized view of the Redguards of Hammerfell. Putting aside the fact that they essentially slaughtered and enslaved the prior settlers of Hammerfell to establish their dominance, they have an indisputable history of infighting between the Crowns and the Forebears and historically were so lacking in concepts of solidarity and honor that the two sides reveled in one another's suffering under Camaron Usurper and the Nords, deliberately withholding aid even though both were supposed to be loyal to the Empire and thus each other in both instances.
You're unmerited attribution of Redguards of Hammerfell having some distinguishing characteristic towards "honor" compared to other races is nothing more than racial stereotyping. Any race is capable of being a mercenary. The irony of this is that you're quick to disregard your racial stereotyping to assert Saadia, also a Redguard of Hammerfell, is willing to sell out Hammerfell, yet inconsistently assert that Kematu, a self-professed mercenary, is too "honorable" to work for the Aldmeri Dominion. That goes beyond arbitrariness to a rather transparent and irrational bias in favor of Kematu (perhaps you think men are inherently more trustworthy than women). There is no compelling reason to believe it's more likely that he and his men have been hired by the Redguards than Thalmor.
The Alik'r are not a faction. Alik'r is geographical term for the northern portion of Hammerfell which is populated by both Crowns and Forebears. As such there is no "Alik'r" tradition so this entire premise is without merit. There is absolutely nothing to indicate that Kematu and his men are nomadic. They could be Crowns, Forebears or Lhotunics and you have absolutely no basis to claim affiliation to one faction over another.
Which means they're mercenaries.
No that makes them exactly what I describe as mercenaries.
All this implies is that Kematu isn't greedy to the point of sheer stupidity. He has no way of accessing Saadia in Whiterun. Half of a bounty is better than none or, worse, ending up dead on the point of your sword.
It hasn't been brought up because arguments like yours don't make it any less incredulous. Taneth fell to the Dominion 30 years ago so that still makes her at best a teenager if one was to believe that she is in her mid 40's. That aside, you're completely wrong in your premise that we can't make any objective assumptions about her age. We have a basis from our ability to age our own characters and how characters old enough to have been an adult in the Great War look in the game. Here's a side by side comparison of Saadia to Kerah, who is the mother of a young child, and Rikke who would be the ideal age for Saadia for the alleged actions she took during the fall of Taneth:
The quest isn't inconsistent with the lore simply because of Saadia's age, notwithstanding that you're premise fails to refute that. It's inconsistent with the lore on multiple points, several of which you didn't even bother to address.
(My apologies for the delayed response, work and such is a burden. Also, my thanks for responding, I love a good argument.)
On the first point, why would you assume Kematu's words referred to the Redguard resistance that led to the treaty? Why, may I ask, would Kematu feel the need to mention this if it was referring to this time, it seems like that would be stating the obvious if it was during the five years of fighting. Mentioning it during this later time period gives way to the belief that Hammerfell may not be nearly as "peaceful" with the Dominion as the treaty dictated, and that they have similar plans to the Legion in terms of destroying the Dominion and acquiring proper vengeance for the lives lost during the Great War. I never found this to be hard to comprehend, as it seemed rather obvious that the Second Treaty of Stros M'kai would not close the book on hostile feelings between the two military giants. Opinion tends to take root here, but it seems doubtful that the quest was written in a way that would be lore broken and simply ignored, especially when it gives a sharp poke towards another big player in the possible future confrontations with the Dominion. You can perceive it as you will, but this does not seem difficult to believe from a personal statement. Still, I respect your opinion on the matter.
Second point, the Forebear and Crown conflict doesn't so much lack honor as it is simply the worst kind of conflict of interests. On one end, we have the Crowns, properly following the Yokudan traditions of old. They follow the Yoku pantheon, and the old ways of Hammerfell. Crowns, in general, would be considered the more honorable of the two, if only to satisfy the tradition of warriors. This is not to say that all Redguards of the Crowns are honorable, hell, Cyrus was far from it. On the hand, we have the Forebears, Redguards that have given in to the cosmopolitan influence of the the Empire, taking their dress, their customs, and their gods. I don't have a very high view of the Forebears, notedly, but I suppose there is some justification for their betrayal of the old ways. The divide between these two groups was too deep, the hostilities too fiery to allow much reconciliation for honor's sake. In the end, it required a full scale invasion of Hammerfell to make the Forebears suck up their pride and aid the Crowns at the siege of Hegathe.
On the second part of the second point, I believe you are mixing up racial profiling and tradition. I distrusted Saadia for various reasons, much of it being the sultry tone, the various conflicts between accounts of the Great War and her statements that I presumed to be lies, and the fact that she contradicted herself upon the matter of the guards. I could give two less damns if she was an Iman, or he was an A'tor, a noble that betrays the Redguards doesn't exactly win favor in my book. It wasn't even Kematu's words that convinced me of his truth. The traditional look and weaponry of the Alik'r warriors made me believe them, as it seems doubtful that Redguards of this sort would serve the Dominion by any means. Mayhaps I'm a softie for curved swords, but they certainly weren't Forebears, who adopted Imperial style of dress, nor did they seem to be common city folk when noting the Redguard styles from the old comic. Hell, their classes list them as scouts, which along with the light wrappings, made me assume them to be the traditional nomadic warriors of the Alik'r desert spoken of in past lore. The first Empire guide trashed them quite a bit, but I still still remember their mentioning.
Also, bringing up the warrior wave on Hammerfell as dishonorable is a bit biased on the mind-set of war, as the Yokudans that formed the wave were "making way" for the royalty to arrive in safety. From their perception, it was in fact honorable to wage war upon the denizens of Hammerfell for the crown, especially for a race so dedicated to warrior culture. A Hoon-Ding surfaced during this time as both Frandar and Diagna, tying in with the "make-way" beliefs of the Ra Gada vanguard. Honor tends to be based on perception, as what some Nords would consider to be honorable, Imperials may find to be foolishly savage. Tis the root for my love of Elder Scrolls lore, I suppose.
For the third point, your stating the obvious about the Alik'r desert, anyone who has played Daggerfall would know that. I can, in fact, claim some basis for their affiliation based on attire. Forebears and Lhotunics were known to adopt Imperial stylings based upon lore, though the Lhotunics tried to keep some tradition in there as the general "third" party. Crowns, on the other hand, would support the viewpoint that they were not working for the Aldmeri Dominion. As much as I'd like them to be Crowns, I doubt that just as much when looking at the general style of both factions from the old comics. The attire of Kematu's band seems much more desert oriented and light, tying in with the Satakal favoring nomads mentioned in past text. So yes, I believe I can claim at least some basis for their affiliation, or at least count at what they aren't.
For the subject of mercenaries, I would agree that your definition of them would be applicable without all the villainizing. Your posts seem to give off the belief that all mercenaries are money-loving lowlifes, or rather, that Kematu's band is as such with little evidence but their title and few noted actions, none of which I saw to give off any lack of honor. Your mention of them hiring bandits rather than honest sell-swords provided a good laugh, so I do thank you for that part. From the dialogue heard in game, Kematu simply payed to allow his band to hide out in the back of the cave, allowing a base of operations without being to open to the public. Considering Iman's paranoia on capture, it makes quite a bit of sense to want to stay out of notice until they make a move. Sure, they could have simply killed all the bandits in the cave at the cost of some of Kematu's men, but that would be a double edged sword if a scavenger found the now empty cave, which presumably lead to either A) The warriors murder the scavenger, sadly dishonorable, or B) allow this person to presumably return to Whiterun with this trite bit of information and scavenge, and considering the looseness of tongues for a good story, the location would easily be conveyed to Iman through tavern gossip. It is a necessary evil, certainly, but for the success of their task, it is one the Alik'r seem to be willing to make. In all honesty, I didn't give much of a damn about the Alik'r that "nearly" captured the Redguard woman, as they didn't, plain and simple. They recognized that she did not bare the scar, admitted their mistake, and with little patience, told her to go on her way, and with her sass, they gave a blunt warning to her about her "mouthing" getting her into trouble . They weren't getting on their knees in forgiveness, but I justified it by the fact of how utterly frustrating it would be to have this false hope crushed by a sudden realization. Finding a single Redguard woman in the entirety of Skyrim is that fits Iman's description is presumably quite difficult, and with Kematu's mention of finally being able to return home when you first discuss Iman with him, I presume that it is quite the kick in the shin for this sort of thing to happen, that being the two Alik'r meeting with the Redguard woman.
On the point of Kematu being greedy to the point of stupidity, and being unable to enter Whiterun without help, really? Sure, it would be more difficult to successfully achieve such a thing without the hero's aid, but with their current knowledge of Iman's whereabouts, I presume it wouldn't have been impossible to do. Hell, even the Alik'r prisoner mentions that he got caught because he wasn't good enough, he had shamed his brothers in this way. I presume that with proper planning, and time, they would succeed in their task. That being said, it is quicker and easier to simply make use of the hero, something that does not sound like the thoughts of a money driven mercenary. Kematu wants to get home, and bring Iman to justice, a bit of gold is a fair sacrifice for that.
For the argument of Saadia's age, and your images of two women that have clearly aged badly, I offer simply this. Not all people age in the same way, regardless of Skyrim's age slider. There are twenty year old's that look utterly worn to the point of fourties, and fifty five year olds who have little more than slight baggage to show for there age. Specifically, I pit
Delphine as an example of someone who aged well. She is confirmed to be in her mid fifties, yet lacks the grey hair of Iman, with similar stress lines. Your showing of an aged Redguard face makes little example of anything other than a singular showing of a fourty year old Redguard woman, lest you want to put forth that all Redguard women age exactly the same. If so, I feel utterly bad for Izhara, as she seemed to be an odd one out.
I could scroll back through the pages, seek out every one of your arguments, and attempt to refute them, but that is time I don't have on a general basis. For my ease of writing, I respond to the higher points I saw consistently mentioned. By all means, feel free to bring up the ones I missed once more, I will get to them when I can.
