Ivory
Let's Player
My vote goes to both. 1.) He's a hero, he led his people to find a new home, succeeded and when attacked he led them in defense, counterattack and war. The man by all accounts was an honorable, and proud man and a worthy warrior 2.) He's a murderous savage, as all men are in war. Was it genocide? Yes Does that matter? No. War is vicious, and cruel. When war was forced upon him, he embraced it, and well, let's face it, if you're gonna do something then you might as well do it right. By right I mean completely and wholeheartedly. They attacked him so he took their home and killed any who he found. It's called total war, and it's honestly the only right way to win a war, because your enemy isn't going to recover and try again.
To sum it up: He's a Nord who fought for his people and killed elves, he's both.
What about him "taking more lives then Honor demanded" as said by the harbinger of the current Companions? Surely eradicating a race isn't justifiable means for anything. There has to be a line from war and genocide don't you think? The very definitions of war and genocide bring this up to debate.
War- A state of armed conflict between different nations or states or different groups within a nation or state.
Genocide- The deliberate killing of a large group of people, esp. those of a particular ethnic group or nation.
That must matter to a point, as it has in history before. (Ex. WWII)