But there is one thing that unites the entire fandom: the utter hatred for the Thalmor.
The Thalmor are an elitist faction of High Elves that seek to rule over all of Tamriel. It was them who helped twist the Skyrim Civil War into happening. It is them who are using the conflict to create an eternal war so that the Empire is weakened.
But what if I told you that even though the Thalmor want an eternal war, a Stormcloak victory would greatly help their cause?
The most important thing to cover is who the Thalmor are. For fans of the Elder Scrolls and Skyrim who the faction is is obvious. But I know not everyone who reads my blog is a fan of the series. Though, with all the videos and fanfics, I'm hoping to sway people to a new obsession.
The Thalmor aren't a race but an extremist group from the Aldmeri Dominion. The Aldmeri Dominion is the governing body of High Elves.
This group of extremists seek to be the only governing body over all of Tamriel. Whether this means they wish to end the world so they can recreate reality or they just want to enslave anyone who isn't a High Elf is up to debate.
The Thalmor wanted Emperor Titus Mede II to sign an ultimatum that bears a striking resemblance to the White-Gold Concordant. Since the ultimatum would force Titus to enforce wrong and unpopular laws, he declined to sign the document.
Suffice it to say that the Thalmor didn't like that. In response they started the First Great War to force Titus to cave to their demands.
This costly war lasted for five long and bloody years.
By the end Titus had to make a hard decision. He could see Tamriel perish and so fail the people he served. Or he could sign a treaty that would give the Empire time to recover and let the Thalmor take control of even more innocent lives.
So Emperor Titus Mede II signed the White-Gold Concordant.
The White-Gold Concordant is a highly controversial document to put it lightly. While signing this document gives the Empire time to recover before the next Great War, it isn't without its glaring issues. One of which is that it's basically the ultimatum that caused the First Great War.
The second is that the Empire must relinquish control of Hammerfell. This province was mostly controlled by the Thalmor and the elves didn't want the Empire to defend it any longer. All wasn't lost for the citizens of this region as they eventually kicked the Thalmor out.
The third is that the Empire must ban the worship of Talos. While the deity was worshiped throughout Tamriel, the Nords of Skyrim had the greatest connection to him. This will be important later.
Now to remind you of a very important fact: Emperor Titus Mede II had to be forced to fight a five year war that tore up the land in order to sign the White-Gold Concordant. He didn't just hand over control to the Thalmor without a fight.
It hasn't escaped the Empire's notice that the Thalmor will wage another Great War. No one that is as power hunger as the Thalmor stops when they don't have everything. The Thalmor call the Great War the First War Against the Empire for crying out loud. Of course the elves won't stop until all of Tamriel is theirs.
Does the Empire sit idly by waiting for the next Great War? No.
The Empire might appear meek as if they have accepted a Thalmor future but that is not the case. They are preparing so that the next war with the Thalmor will see the extremists meet a bloody end.
While the Empire can't stop the Thalmor from entering Skyrim, they can make it so the elves don't have too great of control in the province. Though I can understand most residents of Skyrim loathing any presence by the extremists. Whenever I walk by a Thalmor my instinct is to slaughter all of them.
In the case of an Imperial victory, General Tullius makes a remark that he knows that the peace with the Thalmor won't last. This is one of the very few moments, perhaps the only moment, that he is open with the Dragonborn. He is aware of Thalmor spies and so knows the safest bet is to not get too close with anyone.
The Thalmor's true power is that they are proficient at battles without bloodshed. They know that to win a war you can't just be the victor in every battle. You also need to consider how your actions will shape the world around you.
Hence they know that to conquer all of Tamriel, they can't just use brute force. They can't just throw their own armies against other soldiers and have a hope of conquering the land. Which is where the true purpose of banning Talos worship shines through.
While Talos is worshiped throughout Tamriel, the mortals turned deity has a special place in the heart of Skyrim. This connection to the deity is most extreme in the province and in the heart of the Nords that live there. Thus banning the worship of Talos is certain to cause a conflict that is useful to the Thalmor.
The Thalmor eventually got their desires as the banning of Talos worship caused a civil war to erupt in Skyrim. The only thing that would make the conflict even better for them is if it went on forever. Because for each drop of blood spilt, the Empire has to waste resources that they won't be able to use in the next Great War.
There is an important document in the debate surrounding if the Thalmor want a never ending war, an Imperial victory, or a Stormcloak victory. Originally I was going to make a post on this document alone as it is that important.
So what is this document and how do you find it?
During the quest Diplomatic Immunity you can find the Thalmor Dossier on Ulfric Stormcloak.
The dossier makes a few things very clear. The first is that the Thalmor don't desire an Imperial or Stormcloak victory. This makes sense as the whole point of them instigating the civil war was so that the Empire would waste valuable resources to quell it.
Another thing the dossier makes clear is that Ulfric Stormcloak is one of the Thalmor's favorite puppets. Unlike what some think, Ulfric isn't consciously helping the Thalmor out. His loathing of the extremists is very real. What him being a puppet of the Thalmor means is that he is helping out the elves even if that isn't his intention.
The final thing that the dossier makes clear is that the Thalmor are willing to break their own rules. They wanted to be hands off with the civil war but were willing to interfere so that Ulfric wouldn't die. Who says that is the only time in the past or present they have bent their own rules?
I've made it clear in this post that the Thalmor desire that the Skyrim Civil War should have no victor. They desire that the Imperials and Stormcloak's conflict extends far into eternity. So what is the point of this post anyways? It's because that while the Thalmor desire a never ending war, I wanted to show why they would find a Stormcloak victory better for their cause than an Imperial victory.
The main thing that a Stormcloak victory would provide the Thalmor with is a vastly diminished Empire. And with a future Great War on the way, it would be best for them to give themselves all the advantages they can.
Even though the civil war would end, a Stormcloak victory would still see a lot of bloodshed. This means less people to fight in the next Great War.
With achieving their victory the Stormcloaks have to build a new government. Their whole fight was for an independent Skyrim as they didn't like being ruled over by the Empire. So while trying to patch up wounds and repair buildings, they will also have to make sure their new government is functional. That doesn't happen overnight and takes quite a bit of time.
So while the Stormcloaks heal from the civil war and solidify an Independent Skyrim, they would be much weaker to a Thalmor attack. Which means the extremists could find it a walk in the park to take Skyrim for themselves.
Oh, in case I didn't make it clear enough yet, wars aren't just won by battles. You can win every battle and lose the war. Wars are won as much by more subtle means just as much as they are won by battles.
The people's faith in the Empire is a deadly force aimed against the Thalmor. That faith can be greatly dampened if people see that the Imperial Army can't defeat the Stormcloaks. They might start to think that if the Empire can't defeat a handful of rebels that the Empire has no hope of stopping the Thalmor.
The Thalmor want that defeatist attitude to spread as it means less people who will oppose them in the Second Great War.
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