What? The hordes of Oblivion are besieging every single city in the province? Sorry, I'm trying to find a unicorn so I can sacrifice its horn to a daedra. Then I'm gonna go fight in the arena for a few hours. I'll get back on the "gates to hell opening up every twenty metres or so" later.
What? We missed the Darkspawn army by a day or so, and now they're sacking the capital? Sorry I spent the last week chasing down hooded couriers and doing jobs for some guy named "H" that I met in a bar for money I didn't even need any more.
What? I missed Saren by a

ing
minute? Sorry, I spent the last hour trying to drive my tank up a hill to get the last heavy metal deposit. I heard you got a bonus if you had them all when you transferred your save over, so... hey, sorry thousands of people who died in the ensuing battle.