Board Thread:Lore Discussion/@comment-71.91.107.58-20140401194503/@comment-24590102-20140404085206

Coppermantis wrote: Smoking.Chimp wrote: I had no idea about the American connection to the Bourbon Monarchy. I've never taken history seriously because there's too much revisionism and emphasis on the historian and not enough emphasis on verifiable and probative facts in my view. But I do appreciate greatly little snippets of news-gone-by like this. I don't know if there's a saying for this, but it would seem more economical to collect on ones debts before burning ones bridges. What is the word? Oups!

I don't think that the confederation of seceding states would have to change the largely legion-aspect of what would evolve into a body of confederate legions. As for Cyrodiil, having their Skyrim buddies "annex" Cyrodiil to disolve the last remnant of the Empire would superficially be irreconcileable with any idea of the continuation of the White-Gold Concordat - particularly if the Nords raised the Talos worship ban as their publicly declared pretext for "annexing" Cyrodiil. But, it would prove to be yet another case of the more things change, the more they stay the same. After all, other than Skyrim, where else would you most likely find another believable dragonborn/dragon-blood to fill the big chair? This is where your republic is born and it fits because the Nords, with their moots, are almost there. The only thing missing is the development of a universal suffrage concept which would lead to the Plebeians gaining the vote.

I can just imagine. the dialogue:

A Thalmor soldier trying to eat lunch nnotices a passerby wearing an Amulet of Talos, but really just wants to finish lunch, although duty cannot be ignored. He cooks up a compromise, saying "Put that amulet away! I shall call the Justiciars if you don't. For your information, Talos worship is banned under the terms of the White-Gold Concordat."

The passerby, very much your average Plebiean replies with his newfound freedom of speech, "Well, the Empire was bound by those terms, while it lasted. But as you know, the Empire's lost all provinces - and is no longer here and, well, you Aldmeri Dominion types have only yourselves to blame for that."

"But... But... Cyrodiil, is the Empire! Know your place", retorts the Thalmor soldier - between increasingly agitated bites of his sweetroll.

"I'm so sorry", says the Plebiean, "but you had better take that up with High King Capendectius. Never mind the what the equivalent is in Norse - we can't pronounce it either. Anyway, High King Capendectius of Skyrim, First of his Name, Lover of Dragons, Father of Trolls, Jarl of Solitude and Protector of the Confederate Tamrielic League of Liberated Free Republics...   ....is currently in Solitude now with a couple hundred justiciars. I don't know what High King Capendectius plans to do with them but he kept saying that, as a show of goodwill to our dear friends in Alinor and in special celebration of the liberation of Cyrodiil, he'd decided to take personal care of one of the Empire's many unpaid debts." I don't remember exactly which monarch (Louis [something], I'm sure) off the top of my head, but because of the historical rivalry between France and Britain, he saw the opportunity to put the hurt on the English by helping take away their colonies. The Americans said they'd pay them back for the help, but, well, then the French got their own ideas for revolution.

The problem is that story is that it still ends with the Thalmor soldier lopping off the Plebian's head. A rose by any other name is still a rose--Regardless of who's in charge or what the government is called, if the Thalmor are more powerful and occupying territory, it'd still be subject to whatever laws they feel fit to pass. Legal technicalities be damned, if someone's got a sword to your throat, it doesn't matter who their original deal was with.

If the newfound confederation, republic, or whatever ends up defeating the Thalmor and kicking their agents out of their lands, then so be it, but that has to happen before your scenario could occur. At which point, the White-Gold Concordat would be just as invalid if the Empire itself had defeated the Thalmor. If we assume a total dissolution of the Empire, each province is now in opposition to the Thalmor, either independently or in an alliance. The WGC now has one of two fates--either Cyrodiil continues to submit to its terms, as its local government and the Empire are one and the same, unlike all other provinces (Which have their own Kings, previously but no longer subservient to the Emperor), or it becomes null and void as war is declared. Then, either the Thalmor defeat their myriad enemies and force them to accept new, likely harsher surrender terms, or they themselves are defeated, and the WGC no longer exists.

In summary, the WGC will not go anywhere Cyrodiil and the Domininion openly at war, no matter what happens to other provinces.

Agreed, the conventional outcome is that the WGC goes nowhere until there is sufficient local force to exclude its effect. Whiterun is a good example of this.

A less conventional outcome is that of a passive-aggressive movement which swamps the Thalmor with people coming out to openly denounce and reject the WGC, en masse. The protesters would more than likely be joined by others who could care less about Talos and more about making the point that authorities should respect the limitation of their authorities. That poor lone Thalmor soldier mightn't get to finish his sweetroll for days. :^)