Board Thread:Lore Discussion/@comment-96.252.245.207-20130116060134/@comment-24261859-20131219204009

My predictions for TESVI:

First, to get some things out of the way. I think it's safe to assume that TESV canon will be that all questlines are completed. So, the Emperor is assassinated, Thieves Guild back at full strength, Eye of Magnus dealt with, etc.

As for the Civil war, it can be resolved with this: The Dragonborn becomes the emperor. Titus Mede II died with no known heirs, and the Emperors were traditionally Dragonborn for a good while. If the Imperial government looked for a replacement, they could easily find this very powerful hero whom everyone loves and is a competent fighter and leader. (Archmage, Harbinger, etc.) The only person who knew the identity of the Emperor's assasin was Maro, and he was killed during Hail Sithis.

But what if the Dragonborn was a Stormcloak, you may ask. Well, it is possible that Ulfric would trust the Dragonborn enough to support him/her as Emperor on the conditon that s/he reinstate Talos worship and legitimize him as High King of Skyrim. Obviously, there would then be a war with the Thalmor, but I'm getting to that. An Empire+Stormcloak force with the Dragonborn's own personal power (at least two dragons at his/her command, plus mercenary armies and more) could stand a definite chance against the elves. If the empire did go to war with the Thalmor, it's likely that Hammerfell would help too, and the remaining Nords could be convinced to join the cause if the Empire won the Civil war.

So either way we would get "The Dragonborn became Emperor after slaying Alduin, Skyrim stayed within the Empire, and the rejeuvinated Imperial army started the Second Great War." for a summary of TES V.

Thus, the plot of TESVI would involve a conflict with the Thalmor. I doubt that it would be in Summerset Isle, since that is mostly exclusive to High Elves and the only non-Thalmor there would be the warring armies. The game would need to be set in a place similar to Skyrim, where there is a backdrop of conflict but plenty of place for there to be peace and other events going on unaffected by the war. Hammerfell, Valenwood and Elsewyr would all be possibilities for this. I'd favor Hammerfell or Valenwood, since the huge tree cities would be eye candy, but Elsewyr would be a definite possibility since the Kahjit are popular and under-represented in Skyrim.

The storyline would of course involve the war vs. the Thalmor and the Thalmor Endgame. That provides both a backstory to a conflict and a definite villain who poses a threat equivalent to the past antagonists and is based off of established lore.