Perhaps in individual skill and numbers under arms, but if the total number of Asur is declining, their potential military power is less, right? Failing that, even if their military power is at its highest point in history... so is that of Great Britain, right now. Even if they -are- mightier than ever before, my sense of the world is that the forces of destruction are also waxing.Francis wrote:What an excellent first post, very well done.
The part about cultural stagnation in particular is very interesting and ties in with some theories in political science and history about why empires decline.
On the military part I would actually say that the High Elves are stronger at this point than they have ever been since the time of Tethlis, and the rise of Lothern has really focused the military and the navy in particular. With the Ascent of Aislinn to Sealord I would also claim that the geopolitical reach of the high elves is longer than it has ever been since the end of the War of the Beard.
As for magical power, the skill of Teclis at this time is so great that Caledor the Dragon Tamer claims that Teclis is almost as strong as he was at his peak (King, 2013). Caledor also notes that his peak was during a period where magic was flowing freely into the world, and the fact that Teclis is much younger than Caledor was when he created the vortex. One should also remember that the White Tower was built after the Dragons went to sleep and if anything the magical knowledge of the elves will be greater than it was during the War of the Beard due to the construction of the Tower. The way I see it, the fact that the dragons went to sleep was a blessing, as it took some of the load from Caledor (the kingdom) and forced the Elves into develop their armed forces into a more effective force. It took away a crutch so to speak and allowed the Helfs to develop proper legs (the Navy, Citizen soldiers, an organized force of mages and the professional troops represented by the Swordmasters and the Seaguard).
As regards magical power... if Teclis is greater in skill, or at least potentially so, than Caledor... that is all for the good. If the level of magical education is higher than ever before, again, all for the good... but if there are less mages overall, greater individual power would be offset by that numerical disadvantage.
"Quantity has a Quality all its Own" - Joseph Stalin