Thoughts About Stormcloaks

I’ve been considering playing Skyrim again, but frankly, I don’t know if I really want to go back into modding Skyrim to make it how I like it. I don’t have any vanilla saves for any of my characters, so it’s not like I can just replay them. And at the same time, I kinda choose in advance what I want my character to do. Blades or Paarthunax? Vampires or Dawnguard? Werewolves or not joining the Companions? And the biggest one, Imperial or Stormcloak?

Normally, I go 50-50 when it comes to the civil war. If I do decide to play again, it’ll be time to play as a Stormcloak. And that got me thinking. What’s up with the Stormcloaks?

The Civil War is messy

Really, there is no right way to see things. Both sides have their problems, and not everyone sees things the same way the Stormcloaks do. The Stormcloaks demand several things. As well as full control of Skyrim, they also demand the ability to worship the god Talos, which is currently not allowed due to the Empire’s treaty with the Thalmor. The Empire wants Skyrim to be part of it, partially because of its strategic position and handy supply of people willing to kill High Elves. It’s honestly kinda like Brexit. The Nords want all the benefits of being part of the empire, while also demanding that they should be independent and they can worship whoever they please. Only what Nords wish to worship, mind you.

Then again, the Nords could worship Talos as long as they remained quiet. Ulfric’s loud demands were immediately retaliated by the Thalmor, who sent soldiers into Skyrim in order to hunt down worshipers.

Ulfric is compromised.

Ulfric is by far the problem here, and also a bit of a hypocrite. He killed the High King, someone who actually had the same goals Ulfric had. Toryg actually agreed with Ulfric, that Skyrim should be a free nation of its own. However, instead of working together, Ulfric just killed him. A potentially powerful ally that actually looked up to Ulfric and had the same vision for Skyrim. If Ulfric really wanted to make Skyrim an independent nation, then he should have worked with the High King, not kill him.

At the same time, Ulfric’s past is also rocky. When the Forsworn rose up in the Reach, demanding the same rights that Nords had, Ulfric was employed to kill them. He was brutal and happily slaughtered the locals, allowing his own Nords to take control of the area. He even killed fellow Nords who had lived peacefully in the area.

More importantly though, Ulfric was once held prisoner by the Thalmor.

We are doing exactly what the Thalmor want us to do.

The thing is, the Thalmor want us to fight each other. We’re currently at a time of peace, where the Empire can slowly rebuild its resources. However, the war in Skyrim is diverting attention away from the Thalmor, giving the Thalmor a chance to recover while the Empire is forced to split its resources elsewhere.

But I actually kinda agree with the Stormcloaks. They have the right to be their own nation, to worship who they want to worship. They have picked the worst time possible to start a war, under the leader of a man who has been compromised by the Thalmor directly, while also using resources that the Thalmor have secretly given to him.

Basically, how I see things is quite simple. Skyrim should be a free nation, if its citizens all demand it. But we have picked the absolute worst time to start a war. The Thalmor are growing in power every day and we’re distracted by a squabbling man-child who doesn’t take no for an answer, killing those who would support him rather than working together.

It’s a mess, but holding off on independence until the Thalmor are good and dead would have been the best idea But nooo, Ulfric had to go for a power grab, right at the worst moment.