The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim

Skyrim is set 200 years after Oblivion, and a lot has changed in Tamriel. It took me 20+ hours to find the requisite lore books to figure out what, exactly, had happened--and that pissed me off. The game references many very important events that the player is never allowed to ask about or learn more about via dialog. We're tossed into the game with no knowledge of current international events, yet are expected to understand local politics are part of the main quest? Impossible.

To fully understand the civil war in Skyrim, it is absolutely necessary to understand the what, exactly, has transpired in the 200 years since the last gates to Oblivion were closed. When we last left Tamriel, the continent was at peace: fully united, as it always had been, by the Septim Empire with its capital in the Cyrodiil Imperial city. But in Skyrim, Tamriel is a much different place.

In a nutshell, here's what happened:

-Oblivion crisis effected ALL of Tamriel: it was especially bad in Elsweyr and Valenwood.

-The Elves of Summerset Isle turned to a conservative social/political party called the Thalmor during the Oblivion Crisis. The Thalmor were very conservative elves with a deep dislike of humans, an attitude which had kept them largely ostracized from Elven society, but they were also fierce warriors and were instrumental in defending Summerset from the invading Daedra armies.

-After the Oblivion Crisis, the Septim line ended, and rule of the Empire was entrusted to the Elder Council. In Summerset Isle, the Thalmor, hugely popular due to their heroics during the crisis, were able to assume control over the province of Summerset Isle. They hated the Septim Empire (it was a human empire, after all) and eventually seceded, forming a new Elven Kingdom. Shortly thereafter, the Imperial province of Valenwood similarly seceded from the Empire, and together with Summerset Isle they formed the Aldmeri Dominion.

-The Empire was greatly weakened by the Oblivion Crisis, and with no emperor, sorely lacking in leadership. They did nothing to stop the formation of the new Elven kingdom in the south. The province of Black Marsh, which had always disliked Imperial rule, soon followed suit and declared its independence from the Empire. Those was the nation of Argonia born. Around the same time, the Khajit of Elsweyr chose to join the Aldmeri Dominion. Again, the Empire did nothing--the Oblivion Crisis had too greatly damaged the economy, military and political leadership of the Septim Empire.

-Red Mountain, the giant volcano in the center of Vvardenfell, exploded--this destroyed (or at least rendered completely uninhabitable) all of Vvardenfell and much of Morrowind. Morrowind had always been one of the strongest Imperial provinces, so this was a pretty big blow. And then there's the hordes of Dunmer refugees that fled Morrowind--to Cyrodiil and Skyrim--which the local economies could scarcely sustain.

-With the Empire in such a dire situation, the Aldmeri (who, remember, hated the human Empire and all it represents) invaded on two fronts: Hammerfell and Cyrodiil. The Aldmeri conquered all of the Southern coastline and pushed as far as the Imperial City in central Cyrodiil, which they besieged.

-The Imperials managed to break the siege of the Imperial City (their ~only~ victory, it came on the cusp of total defeat) and used that victory to broker a peace with the Thalmor. The province of Hammerfell refused to accept the treaty, and were summarily excised from the Empire--and thus was a third independent Tamrielic nation born.
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"...Blame this on the misfortune of your birth."
-Char Aznable

Quality post. Thanks.
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Beautiful on the inside, handsome on the outside.

helpful, thanks

but I wonder where the hero of Kvatch was, in all this?

Awesome post, really helps to clear things up. Wish this could be stickied.
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Fire walk with me.

Very few quick mistakes I saw.

1) From what I read, the Imperial City WAS lost, and completely looted. The Emperor at the time, with the city surrounded, fought his way out of the city northward to Bruma, where he used reinforcements from Hammerfell and Skyrim, along with what he had left in Cyrodiil to re-engage the Thalmor in the Imperial City. He surrounded the Imperial City and took it. The Imperial City was the only real Thalmor garrison in Cyrodiil at the time, so the Emperor was able to negotiate the return of all Cyrodiil in the peace treaty.

2) The peace treaty was almost identical to a treaty proposed by the Thalmor BEFORE they invaded. It required tribute and banned the worship of Talos,with Thalmor soldiers able to prosecute at will within Imperial territory. However, the Emperor couldn't accept this before the Great War (the name of the Imperial-Dominion War) because it would have torn the Empire apart. People would have thought it was a lot weaker than they were letting on, and all the territories would have seceded.

3) The Redguards in Hammerfell were able to fight the Thalmor to a standstill on their own after the conclusion of the war (Hammerfell had chosen not to abide by the peace treaty and kept fighting) - which is why they greatly resented the peace treaty.

4) It's worth mentioning. The peace treaty is called the White-Gold Concordat or something similar to that.

Great post though.
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"But unfortunately we some some of idiotic teens who live in America." - Starlight 2305