User blog comment:Draevan13/Ulfric's suspicious Thalmor Dossier/@comment-15765199-20141228100411

While I do generally side with the Stormcloaks out of sheer spite of the Empire trying to take off my head without so much as a trail for so minor an offense as crossing the border illegally I can also see the other side of the picture.

Keep in mind first of all that had Alduin not interfered it's quite possible Tulius would have won the war on the 17th of Last Seed (the day the game begins). This says a bit about his prowess as a military leader. Take note that the Thalmor were indeed there scheming to try and get Ulfric released somehow but I don't think they would have succeeded. I also do not believe that Ulfric was a Thalmor agent.

Having said that, I do acknowledge that he was a Thalmor "asset." That's to say that he unknowingly strengthened the Thalmor position simply by waging his war. Regardless of what side wins it wouldn't be good for the Thalmor, his use as an asset I believe is directly correlated to the continuation of hostilities in Skyrim which would weaken the Empire for the next war.

The dossier was particularly damning however. I don't like that he gave up information that could have led to the fall of a city, even if that were not the case. That makes him a traitor and were it true (e.g. they hadn't conquered the city and the information did assist them in doing so) then it would be easily worthy of justification, in my mind, of his execution on the spot. The simple fact that it wasn't however isn't very helpful in that regard - I still see him as a traitor.

The real problem is that it's between Elisif and Ulfric being the High King/Queen. Elisif isn't fit to lead her own hold, well alone all of Skyrim. Imagine your character dying and let's say Ysolda taking your place as "Dragonborn" because she happened to be your wife. You can see where I'm going with this. Elisif would be no more able to be a High Queen than Ysolda would be able to take your place as Dragonborn.

This is lessened by the fact that the High Kings & Queens have simply been hand picked by the Emperor in Skyrim for some time now, according to Jarl Ulfric. This being the case it means that the title means very little and the entire province is likely controlled by its military governor in times of war and the Emperor himself otherwise. It's a little more complicated than that but what we're looking at is an independant nation versus just one part of an Empire and the gravity of Elisif's being such a poor choice is lessened greatly by that.

In the end it doesn't really matter which choice you make as either will be bad for the Thalmor. Ulfric's rule however will be bad for non-Nord races while giving the Thalmor a prompt boot out of the nation. Looking at the big picture, the Thalmor being in Skyrim or not doesn't really matter despite being a great annoyance. The Nords being racist isn't anything new either. Hell, one of the greatest heroes in Skyrim's history, Ysgramor, was practically famous for the wholesale slaughter of Elves and the Harbingers of the Companions (which he once lead) are looked upon as some of the most respected individuals in all of Skyrim. Racism against the Elves is just in their history, just like their distrust of magic.

The most damning sentence in in the dossier I think is this one, "Direct contact remains a possibility" which seems to imply that they could hold influence over him in some way. Despite being somewhat lessened by this, "A Stormcloak victory is also to be avoided, however, so even indirect aid to the Stormcloaks must be carefully managed." it still doesn't resolve the fact that he can be manipulated by the Thalmor. That, in addition to his providing them information (even under duress of torture) is pretty damning in my books.

Still, all of this ends up being balanced over just how much I resent the Empire for trying to take off my head. If I can bring myself to be a big enough person to overlook it then the Empire is a better choice. But, I'm the kind of person that generally holds grudges. :P

What did I end up saying? I have no idea. Something, I hope...