Skyrim. Empire vs Stormcloaks. Who’s to blame?

I understand that only the lazy have not spoken out about the civil war in Skyrim before, however, most likely, even the laziest managed to do so. However, as always, this is not a reason not to share your own opinion on this matter.

But before we begin, a little clarification is necessary. I think this is already clear to everyone, but all names and characters are fictitious, and any similarities with real people or events are coincidental.

So, let’s start with what most players already know. At the time of the game, namely in the two hundred and first year of the fourth era, the contradictions that had accumulated in society led to a civil war in the northernmost province of the former Septim Empire. Actually, these are the main participants in the conflict, these are the pro-Cyrodiil jarls who support an alliance with the Mead Empire and a coalition rallied around the ruler of Windhelm, Ulfric Stormcloak, who wants independence for Skyrim, the right to self-determination and freedom of religion. Also, one of the participants in the conflict can be called the Thalmor, a radical far-right party that came to power on Summerset Island.

It is clear that since a fifth of the Scrolls is a game, it is impossible not to avoid many gaming conventions, and in fact, the choice of one side or another in the conflict introduces purely cosmetic changes. Personally, every time I replay Skyrim, I choose the Empire, only because I like red more than any combination of blue.

But let’s try to abandon the conventions of the game and look at the conflict from different sides.

So, despite the fact that Skyrim is historically and economically closely connected with Cyrodiil, Ulfric and the Stormcloaks led by him still insist on complete separation from the once great, and now in decline, Empire. And contrary to the long common history of cooperation, the Nords consider the Legion to be nothing more than occupiers.

What about the Legion and the Empire itself?? From the point of view of the Cyrodiilians and a considerable part of the Nords, Skyrim has always been an inseparable part of the Empire, moreover, if you delve into history, the Imperials themselves come from Skyrim. And following this logic, the Nords simply historically have no other way than to be together and the Empire, and they call everyone who opposes this point of view rebels and a military junta.

However, all this is just a superficial look at the problem. It’s worth asking which side is really fighting the occupiers? The answer will be somewhat unexpected, but each of the participants in the conflict, both fighting the occupation and supporting it. How is this possible?? And to answer this question, it’s worth taking a closer look at all sides of the conflict, and also going a little deeper into history.

So, we briefly went through the https://luckbuckbetscasino.co.uk/ Empire and the Stormcloaks, but did not consider another, almost full-fledged participant in the war, namely the Thalmor. Contrary to popular belief, not every Altmer is a supporter of the Thalmor, in fact, the Thalmor is only a party that came to power in Summerset, nationalist, to say the least, radical militaristic, but still only a certain group of elves, but by no means all elves. Moreover, not even everyone who works for the Thalmor will like them.

At the time of the civil war in Skyrim, the Cyrodilic Empire, in fact, lost its independence and almost unquestioningly obeys any demands of the Aldmeri Dominion and the Thalmor that leads it. This is one of those positions that the Stormcloaks do not want to put up with. Adding fuel to the fire is the fact that, as already mentioned, ardent nationalists and racists came to power among the high elves, who, accordingly, do not really like the population of Skyrim.

However, we should not forget that, in fact, the Storm Brothers, in their ideology, are not much different from those very elves in long black robes with whom they are fighting. Just like in the territories controlled by the Thalmor, chauvinism and oppression on national and racial grounds are flourishing in the rebellious lands, maybe not so openly yet, but based on many data, there are all the prerequisites for this.

Also, do not forget about another side of the conflict. Namely, about the outcasts living in the very west of Skyrim, in an area called the Reach. Since the beginning of the war, much has changed in the lives of ordinary miners. The Reach tried to separate from Skyrim, to which the latter responded immediately, carrying out, in fact, a punitive operation.

Now it’s difficult to say who was initially to blame for this situation. But one thing is for sure, all this led to many tragedies, and often those who suffered were those who were not involved in anything at all.

What is Markarth and the Reach like at the moment?? Now this area is inhabited by doomed, angry people. The high ideals of the uprising were long forgotten, and among the leadership of the rebels there was a connection with crime.

It is often customary to blame Ulfric for what happened, and of course not without reason, since a war crime is still a crime, and we should not forget about it. But at the same time, the Empire still has its share of the blame. Not that the legion and the imperial administration did not help the inhabitants of the Reach, but clearly guided primarily by their own interests. In fact, the Reach and its entire population have become just a bargaining chip in the game of large political forces, each side remembers the outcasts only in order to use them at the next auction, and when no one needs them, everyone prefers to forget about them.

Well, in the end, we should also not forget about one of the main contradictions between the Empire and Skyrim, namely one of the points of the white gold concordat, which prohibits the worship of Talos. The Stormcloaks, extremely outraged by the fact that they are not allowed to pray to the god whom they, as always, seem to have revered, and also by the fact that his sanctuaries are being massively dismantled in temples throughout the Empire, as they say, they raised Talos to the banners and with his name they go into battle against their fellow tribesmen. However, it is worth delving into history and remembering who Talos was before he became bronzed.

So, Talos of Atmora, aka Tiber Septim, aka Hjalti Earlybeard. There is no exact data about his origin, but according to the most common version, he was neither a Nord nor an Imperial, but most likely came from the Bretons. It is necessary to talk about the historical moment at which Tiber Septim came to power. After the fall of the Reman empire in the second era, natural chaos and a bloody war of everyone with everyone reigned in Tamriel, it was then that Hjalti, relying on his red legions, united most of the scattered countries of the continent and created a new empire.

It must be said that the Stormcloaks are mistaken in trying to equate faith in Talos with statehood and believing that it was the worship of Tiber Septim as a god that was what held the empire together all these years. It is worth remembering that Talos became a god only during the reign of the last Emperor Uriel VII. Before the events known as the Dragon Break, he was revered as a great man, but not a god.

So what helped keep the Empire from falling apart all these years?? Despite numerous difficulties and contradictions within the state, all this time the Septim Empire existed based on the principles laid down by Tiber Septim himself. It cannot be said that the empire of the third era was an ideal state; of course, it had its problems and shortcomings. But still, each of the provinces was given freedom to develop. And most importantly, what held the Septim Empire together was not the faith of Talos and not some abstract ideas, but, first of all, the common economy.

What’s going on in Skyrim now?? The struggle of radical nationalists against the shadow of a once great empire ruled by other nationalists. And here the question cannot help but arise: “Is it possible to defeat ultra-right ideology with the help of ultra-right ideology?». However, I don’t think it’s worth answering.

But what to do? Firstly, from the above it can be understood that it would be foolish to support any of the parties to the conflict, since neither of them is better than the other. Secondly, someone might think that a change of leadership will help end the conflict, but even the murder of the elderly and infirm Emperor Titus Meade II will not stop the civil war, moreover, it seems that none of the inhabitants of Skyrim will even notice this.

So what is the root cause, who is the real occupier in Skyrim?? Who will benefit from any outcome of the war anyway??

The true invaders in Skyrim are not the Empire, not the Stormcloaks, or even the Thalmor (at least not primarily). The real enemies of the people of Skyrim can be called those for whom this war is only a way to make more capital, those who will not suffer much from any outcome of the massacre, having sat behind the backs of those whom they send to the slaughter, instilling in them certain ideas, those who will not disdain any means just to increase their wealth a little.

Of course, we are talking about the richest businessmen of the northern province of Tamriel, like Maven Black-Briar, who is not above committing any crimes for the sake of her business, the Silver Blood, the so-called honest merchants who are actually doing things, perhaps even more vile than Maven, the leadership of the Eastern Imperial Company, which is closely connected with the ruling regime. It is these and similar “worthy people” who consider any upheaval in Tamriel as an opportunity to enrich themselves, and it is because of the redistribution of influence in the business of these gentlemen that ordinary residents of any province of Nirn will suffer. After all, despite all the slogans and justifications, the real reason for any war always lies in the economic plane, and as long as the economy depends on such successful gentlemen, little can fundamentally change in the life of an ordinary person (or elf).

And no matter who ultimately wins the Empire’s war with the Stormcloaks, in the game, it is impossible to start a fight against the real enemy.

Thank you for your attention. And I want to remind you once again that any coincidences with real people or events are coincidental.