Board Thread:Lore Discussion/@comment-25343239-20150319182007/@comment-121511-20150320235407

Harold Burned-Mane wrote: I would like to point out that Morrowind is not a part of the Empire in the 4th Era. By 4E 201 the Empire only has Cyrodiil, High Rock and Skyrim.

I'd also like to point out that the Stormcloaks have roughly the same amount of soldiers as the 4th Legion does, which is made up of Imperials, Bretons, Nords and other races. The Stormcloaks are pretty much only Nords, all of whom are citizens of Skyrim. So yes, the majority of the population does support the Stormcloaks, or else they wouldn't have that many soldiers. Even if their Jarls don't support Ulfric many of the common folk do. Also a lot of the Stormcloak officers are ex-Legionnaires and most fought in the Great War.

PS.: Hjalti's race isn't confirmed. His name is clearly Nordic, even though he was born in High Rock. And he was brought up in Skyrim. So he could either have one Nord parent but is still a Breton or he is actually a Nord.

I'd been under the impression it was a part of the Empire in name, as I don't recall there being a formal declaration of secession. Of course Morrowind has effectively ceased to be a significant political or military power, and either way is de facto independent from Imperial rule: hence why I do not mention it when stating that the Dominion likely has plans to separate High Rock from the Empire.

That said, the presentation in-game cannot be taken as a literal view of the conflict given the restraints inherent in its being a game. The Stormcloaks certainly are large enough in number to rival General Tullius' Legion, but keep in mind that that Legion is not the only force fighting on behalf of the Empire: the Jarls maintain their own Hold Militias, and it's repeatedly stated that their Guard forces are skeleton crews due to the fact that most of their military forces are fighting on behalf of the Empire. To keep things simple and straightforward, the only forces seen fighting Stormcloak rebels are Legionaries. It's also worth noting that there is a strong implication that the Stormcloaks do not normally engage in open warfare, and tend to stick mostly to skirmishes, indicating a numerical asymmetry. Not sure of the point you're trying to make with veterans, as veterans are commonplace in the Legion as well, and across Tamriel in general: the Great War is not referred to as the Great War for no reason, it was a very large conflict.

Speculation remains speculation: he is most likely a Breto-Nord, but he was clearly raised and spent most of his young life in High Rock (the Ghost of Old Hroldan all but confirms this with his mention of Alcaire). All we can confirm is that he was more a Breton than he was a Nord outright.