Skyrim Civil War

"When the sons of Skyrim would spill their own blood."

- Esbern on the prophecy to unfold

The Skyrim Civil War (called the Stormcloak Rebellion by the Empire and the Great Uprising by the Stormcloaks, and frequently shortened to simply the Civil War ) is an ongoing civil war in the province of Skyrim. It began several years prior to the death of High King Torygg, but worsened after he was slain in a duel by the Jarl of Windhelm, Ulfric Stormcloak. According to Igmund, the Jarl of Markarth, the war "truly started" after Ulfric and his millitia (who would later become the Stormcloaks) were imprisoned, this was also the founding day of the Stormcloaks.

Background
The Stormcloaks believe that the Empire betrayed Skyrim by signing the White-Gold Concordat with the Aldmeri Dominion at the end of the Great War. The Concordat binds the Empire to several Thalmor demands, including the outlawing of Talos worship. The Stormcloaks feel that the Thalmor have far too much influence over the Empire. The Imperial Legion see the Stormcloaks as traitors—partly due to their desire to secede from the Empire and partly because of Ulfric's killing of High King Torygg—and seek to crush the rebellion and prevent it from gaining a stronger foothold in Skyrim.

The Stormcloaks in turn view the Empire as corrupted by the Aldmeri Dominion and a threat to their Nordic way of life. When Jarls such as Balgruuf the Greater were gifted with chests of gold in an attempt to compensate for the Nords lost in the Great War, and Skyrim not being allowed to keep fighting. (It should be noted that it is also possible that the Empire gifting these chests of gold was an attempt to make the Jarls accept the Concordat) The nobility of The Reach was forced to swear oaths of abandoning Talos to the Empire in order to regain their positions following the Markarth Incident. The Stormcloaks view the Nord Imperial supporters as bought by the Empire and traitors to Skyrim.

As the war between the Stormcloaks and the Imperial Legion progresses in Skyrim, the Dragonborn can choose a side and end the war.

Stormcloaks
The Stormcloak uprising was initiated by Jarl Ulfric Stormcloak of Eastmarch after the Markarth Incident, and aims to remove the Imperial Legion from Skyrim and turn the province into an independent kingdom. The rebels' stated goals include lifting the ban on Talos worship across Skyrim, expelling or executing all the Thalmor Justiciars who have been granted the authority by the Empire to enforce the White-Gold Concordat within the province, crown Ulfric Stormcloak the High King of Skyrim, and to independently prepare Skyrim for a future war with the Aldmeri Dominion. Besides stemming from deep discontentment with the ban on Talos worship among much of the Nord population, a secondary motivation behind the Stormcloak uprising is the belief that the Mede Dynasty and the Empire of Cyrodiil have become a puppet state of the Thalmor in all but name, and no longer has the legitimacy to rule over Skyrim. The Stormcloaks claim to hold fast to old Nord customs and values and recruit from those who share their principles. They consider themselves the "true sons and daughters of Skyrim" since they are the only force in Skyrim who have not capitulated to the Aldmeri Dominion and are openly revolting against their influence. The Stormcloaks see the Empire's Thalmor influenced laws as a threat to their Nordic way of life. They believe once they've consolidated their control over Skyrim, they can set to reforming the autonomous kingdom into a strong and fearless nation capable of finishing the war with Aldmeri Dominion and not be hindered by the Empire's harmful policies.

The Stormcloak rebellion represents a large enough portion of Skyrim's population to have triggered a civil war. Some Nords, notably Jarl Laila Law-Giver of Riften, do not entirely trust or support Ulfric but back the Stormcloaks as they share the common goal of independence from the Empire, while others feel the civil war bleeds Skyrim dry and will leave the Thalmor as the sole beneficiaries. After the White-Gold Concordat was ratified and the worship of Talos became outlawed, some of Skyrim's populace began to view Imperial rule as the illegal occupation of their lands, and many Nord men and women would volunteer to take up arms against the Empire under the banner of Ulfric Stormcloak while other Nords choose to join the Imperial Legion, as the Nords had done for centuries.

The name "Stormcloaks" was created by the Empire in an attempt to belittle the uprising, by implying that its supporters are Ulfric's personal lackeys in his bid for power. However, the rebels have since defiantly taken the name and made it their own, to honor the common cause of Skyrim's independence they are fighting for.

Their base of operations is the Palace of the Kings in the city of Windhelm, with Galmar Stone-Fist serving as their field commander.

Imperial Legion
The Imperial Legion is the military arm of the Empire, which, prior to its Great War with the Aldmeri Dominion, ruled over most of Tamriel. The Legion is attempting to quell the rebellion led by Ulfric Stormcloak, with the goal of restoring the peace and keeping Skyrim in the Empire.

The Imperial Legion believes that as a province of the Empire, Skyrim must abide by its laws and customs, including the terms of the White-Gold Concordat. Though most do not approve of the White-Gold Concordat, they nevertheless allow the Thalmor to uphold it in order to preserve the peace between the Empire and the Aldmeri Dominion. If any legionaries are believers of Talos, such as Legate Rikke or Hadvar who are implied to be believers, they keep their religion to themselves and pray to Talos discreetly and out of earshot. Though the Empire has appeased the Aldmeri Dominion's demands, Vittoria Vici, the cousin of Emperor Titus Mede II, states that the Empire has little love for the Dominion. Even so, high ranking Imperials do acknowledge that Ulfric is not wrong that the Thalmor hold influence over the Empire. Even General Tullius is aware of the Thalmor's ability to tell the Empire what to do. Similar comments are made by Razelan, a high ranking member of the East Empire Company, who states that those who desire to do business in Tamriel must cozy up with the Thalmor whether they like it or not. Some Imperial loyal Jarls and lords recognize the power of the Thalmor and seek to ingratiate themselves with them if it serves their interests. These people state that the times of war between the Empire and Aldmeri Dominion is over and that peace and prosperity is good for everyone. At the same time, Maven Black-Briar respects the Thalmor due to them holding power.

The majority of Skyrim's more affluent populace are supportive of the Empire, as they feel Ulfric's speeches amount to political posturing and that his underlying motive is to become Skyrim's new High King. Furthermore, some of the Imperial supporters cling to the prosperous trade they've had with Cyrodiil, while others simply believe they have a better chance of defending against the Aldmeri Dominion if they are united with the Empire.

General Tullius is the military governor of Skyrim and the commander of the Legion in the province. He leads the Imperial war effort. Tullius has only been around for a few months, but has really turned things around for the Empire. A noteworthy event is him directing the ambush, and capturing, of Ulfric Stormcloak and his top lieutenants at Darkwater Crossing. In Skyrim, the Legion is headquartered at Castle Dour in the city of Solitude, with Legate Rikke serving as their field commander.

Initial territories
Initially, both the Empire and the Stormcloak Rebellion control four Holds. The Empire controls Falkreath, Haafingar, Hjaalmarch, and the Reach, while the Stormcloaks control Eastmarch, the Pale, the Rift and Winterhold. Balgruuf the Greater, Jarl of the central Whiterun Hold, remains uneasily neutral, but he will eventually side with the Empire once the war is joined, regardless of which side the Dragonborn chooses.

If the Dragonborn sides with the Imperials:

 * The Siege of Whiterun (defending)
 * The Battle for Fort Dunstad
 * The Battle for Fort Greenwall
 * The Battle for Fort Amol
 * The Battle for Windhelm

If the Dragonborn sides with the Stormcloaks:
(Note that depending on choices made during Season Unending, Fort Dunstad, Fort Greenwall, and Fort Kastav will have to be conquered in place of the previously mentioned three.)
 * The Siege of Whiterun (attacking)
 * The Battle for Fort Sungard
 * The Battle for Fort Snowhawk
 * The Battle for Fort Hraggstad
 * The Battle for Solitude

Events occuring prior to 4E 201

 * Several years prior to 4E 201, there were clashes between the Imperial Legion and Stormcloaks in Eastmarch Hold, the outcome of this skirmish is unknown. However, due to Solaf being a survivor, it is possible that the Stormcloaks won.
 * Like the skirmish mentioned above, another record exists of fighting prior to 4E 201. Many years ago the daughter of Vulwulf Snow-Shod joined the Stormcloaks as a battle maiden. Lilija, however, was killed by the Imperials, implying that the Stormcloaks lost this skirmish. There are conflicting accounts by both her parents as to how she died. Vulwulf, her father, claims that she was "killed like a dog and left to rot in the mud", while her mother, Nura Snow-Shod, claims that she was "never found" because the "Imperials burned all the dead".

Current events

 * At Giant's Gap, a group of Stormcloaks were ambushed. They used their shield walls to defend and attack. By dawn, the Legion's ranks wavered. The outcome of this ambush is unknown, as the Stormcloak who gives the information got shot by an archer and went to Sovngarde before the battle was over.
 * Imperial forces are stationed on the border between the Rift and Eastmarch, threatening the southern flank of Eastmarch.
 * Imperial troops are trying to conqeur Winterhold, but are thus far not succesful.

Outcome of the Civil War
While there has not been a confirmed victor of the Civil War yet, there are some points to consider during the course of as evidence of each sides' strengths:

On the Imperial side

 * During Season Unending, regardless of who the Dragonborn sided with, General Tullius states that the Imperial Legion is driving the Stormcloaks back well enough, though they are already overstretched.
 * Galmar Stone-Fist states in a conversation with Ulfric Stormcloak that "our men are getting massacred out there, damn Imperials". This, alongside with the previous statement shows that the Legion is not only able to push the Stormcloaks back, but they are doing so effectively.
 * At the intro of we learn that Ulfric Stormcloak and his top lieutenants were captured at Darkwater Crossing, which is deep inside Stormcloak territory. However, there is no mention of the Legion suffering any casualties while going there to set up an ambush, nor when they returned to Helgen to execute the Stormcloaks. Giving that Ralof states that they were outnumbered ten to one, that would mean that at least 70 Imperial Soldiers were able to capture Ulfric without a problem, since Ulfric told his men not to fight.
 * The Legion of Skyrim mostly consists of locally recruited scouts and skirmishers.   We know that this Legion is able to massacre the Stormcloaks and drive them back.
 * A Cyrodiilic Imperial army is assembling at Pale Pass and waiting for it to clear in order to advance into Skyrim, when this Legion arrives it would greatly boost the strength of the Imperials in Skyrim.
 * Whiterun will support the Imperial side in the Civil War when the Stormcloaks come to invade it, if the Legion is able to hold onto Whiterun this would greatly increase their strength.
 * Ulfric Stormcloak, if killed during the Civil War questline, states that it is the Stormcloaks' "doomed struggle against fate" to fight in the civil war, implying that they would lose. He states the following: "Skyrim was betrayed, the blood of her sons spilled in doomed struggle against fate."
 * The bulk of the Windhelm Guard has been send out to fight in the Civil War, leaving Windhelm with barely enough guards to do their jobs. The port city of Dawnstar also has a tough time with keeping the Hold safe, due to Skald the Elder sending more and more of his guard to the frontlines.
 * The coffers of Windhelm and Riften were hit hard by the Civil War. The coffers of Riften are even so low, that a conversation between Laila Law-Giver and Maven Black-Briar suggests that it can not compensate for the loss of a single Mead shipment.
 * Irnskar Ironhand tells Thane Bryling that "Possession of the holds change on an almost daily basis," but in a way that she "wouldn't like the news." Given that Bryling is a Stormcloak sympathizer, this suggests that the most recent events show the Stormcloaks losing more Holds than they gained.

On the Stormcloak side

 * While Galmar states that the Legion is slaughtering their men, Ulfric states that the tactics that he uses are working and has won them allies and that Galmar will just have to be patient in order to achieve total victory.
 * Thane Bryling claims that General Tullius underestimates the Stormcloaks, and that too often the general has lost good soldiers because he did not take Ulfric and his men seriously. She also notes that Solitude, the headquarters of the Empire in Skyrim, has diminished its coffers and security of its outlying towns as a result of the war.
 * The Imperials stationed at Fort Neugrad suffer from low morale and the road to Cyrodiil through Pale Pass is currently a vulnerable supply line.
 * The Stormcloaks seem to have better mobility and control of logistics in The Reach, Whiterun, and Falkreath, . They have been known to "stalk every road" in the Reach and deny it of effective trade.
 * Whiterun's coffers are nearly empty. So much that Balgruuf the Greater can scarcely afford to pay the guards. Whiterun's provisions are also running dangerously low, and they cannot resupply because the Stormcloak uprising has doubled the costs of goods.
 * During the Battle for Whiterun, the Whiterun Guard was not expecting the Stormcloaks to have flaming catapult siege weapons. This gives the Stormcloaks the element of surprise since Whiterun was not prepared for this type of siege.
 * Markarth is bogged down by the Forsworn threat, with all of its caravans and shipments being raided. Enough so that the Jarl refuses to send soldiers to the front lines during the Civil War.
 * Cyrodiil suffered the brunt of the Great War, suffering heavy damage to their infrastructure and casualties. Although the Great War occurred at least a decade ago, there have been recent reports of instability in the Imperial province. In 4E 188, the city of Bravil erupts into violence as a result of a war between two skooma traffickers. Cheydinhal follows suit and falls to violence sometime during 4E 189 – 4E 200. These riots occurred in the span of three years before the Skyrim Civil War. When spoken to Cicero in the Dark Brotherhood Sanctuary during the events of, he will state that "The Imperial Province is ravaged by strife. Nowhere there is safe, at present." This implies that Cyrodiil may be too unstable to commit too many troops to quell the Stormcloak uprising. Furthermore, Thane Bryling also states that Tullius is relying more on Skyrim's resources to finance his campaign rather than being supplied by other Imperial provinces.

Trivia

 * Low leveled characters may find it beneficial to ignore the Civil War, as it allows unrestricted access to every Imperial and Stormcloak encampment in Skyrim without consequence. As none of the items are marked as "Steal", this allows the Dragonborn to receive decent armor and weaponry very early on.
 * The Dragonborn sometimes will encounter an Imperial citizen on the roads who is heading to Windhelm to join the Stormcloak uprising, stating that "The Empire is in shambles," and that "Ulfric has the right of it." Contrarily, they can also encounter a Dunmer citizen heading to Solitude to join the Legion, stating that "A united Empire is best for everyone," or "I was born and raised in Skyrim, but the Nords treat us like dirt."
 * ​The Dunmer farmer going to join the Legion can later be found in the Blue Palace in Solitude, however the Imperial going to join the Stormcloaks is never seen in the Palace of the Kings in Windhelm, or anywhere in Eastmarch.
 * Depending on the order in which they are completed, the Civil War can have an impact on the Main Quest, and vice versa. In the main quest, "Season Unending" is a meeting between five factions (the Stormcloaks, the Legion, the Blades, the Thalmor and the Greybeards) to negotiate a truce, which temporarily pauses the Civil War.
 * If the Civil War is completed before Season Unending, the peace conference will not be held, and the later quest will not occur.
 * If Season Unending is completed before the Civil War ends, it will change territories under the control of both the Imperials and the Stormcloaks.
 * If Season Unending is completed before the Civil War ends, the LDB won't be able to continue until after Alduin has been slain.
 * A bounty may be cleared when the relevant Hold is liberated or reunified during the Civil War.
 * When the Thalmor Dossier on Ulfric Stormcloak is found, it states that if either side wins the Civil War it would negatively affect the Thalmor's goals; they claim that an ideal situation would be a long war in which neither side truly "wins."
 * Even though they play a major part in the tension between the Stormcloaks and the Imperial Legion, the Thalmor play no major part in the war itself.
 * Despite this, there is a random encounter where Thalmor Justiciars are fighting Stormcloak Soldiers.
 * In quest Awakening, the Dragonborn may ask the vampire Serana how long she's been sealed in Dimhollow Crypt. As she will have no idea, she will ask "Who is Skyrim's High King?" after. By this point, the Dragonborn can either refer to the Civil War as "a matter of debate", or voice their support for either Ulfric Stormcloak or Elisif the Fair. Obviously, she will not recognize either Jarl due to the amount of time she has been sealed, hiding from her father under her mother's instruction.
 * Despite the Stormcloaks being heavily against the Thalmor, the Thalmor indirectly aid the Stormcloaks, according to Thalmor Dossier: Ulfric Stormcloak.

Appearances


Sturmmantel-Rebellion Гражданская война в Скайриме Guerra civile di Skyrim Guerre Civile de Bordeciel Skyrim Burgeroorlog