User blog comment:Emperor Maximus/On the Civil War/@comment-1738746-20150408002407/@comment-1738746-20150420045427

Thanks for the reply Emperor Max :) Yes, the Nords are very nationalistic but if you explore the culture's history you start to see why- they have had to battle wars with plenty of other races to get to where they are today. People assume they are the racist ones because they are majority in Skyrim, but when you include all of Tamriel it is man that is outnumbered. They are defensive about their land for all the strife they've had to go through to be alive today, but despite that will show some degree of leniency or tolerance towards foreigners; for example, non-Nords are still welcomed within the Stormcloaks because even though they're not Nord, they fight for their homeland [Skyrim] with the same passion as the Nords, and the Nords respect this (this example doesn't just include non-Nord Dragonborn character- there are other characters in-game who are non-Nord and joined the Stormcloaks). There's a wealth of information in the Nord history, I found it very entertaining to read and it changed my views on their culture entirely :)

@Draevan13: Yeah Torygg had a different view on how to do it- he was fuelled by money that the Empire gave him to keep Skyrim quiet. Don't forget that it was something like 20 years between the end of the war and when Ulfric rebelled- during this time, Thalmor soldiers walked Skyrim as they wanted, kidnapping and torturing people as they pleased (I refer you to the Gray-Mane rescue quest). 20 years dude... It really doesn't seem like Torygg was that keen on protecting his people. And don't tell me he just couldn't do anything with hands being tied by that treaty- it didn't stop Ulfric bringing attention to the people who needed help in Skyrim. Nords fight, that's what they do, it's what their whole culture is based on really. To surrender or not do anything like Torygg was, is like spitting in the face of their people's history. Also a note on the money- Torygg has some lovely jewellery pieces, as do most of the Jarls. You won't find even a ring on Ulfric :) Maybe an Amulet of Talos but yeah...