User blog comment:The 777 Sniper/Stormcloaks vs. Imperials/@comment-4692902-20120305061955/@comment-30303790-20120307065417

Sorry for my absence from this debate, mid-term essays are not fun, but I have returned.

Just in passing on a few comments made in my absence, the idea with Talos being an equivanlent to Mercury is not exactly accurate, though I understand what you meant. The banning of Talos would more closely resemble the banning of Athena in Athens, and the resistance is equal to what one might expect. Not because any contributions toward overal creation, but because he was a very powerful Nord in life who created the Empire and in death managed to become the only thing more powerful than emperor.

The linked blog post was a very nice find. I'd seen others try to explain that very theory, but they usually get lost branching out on tangents or miss the clarity explained in this particular blog. The good news is most everyone sees the Thalmor to be the threat they really are.

As we have both acknowledged, there are problems neither side seems to be able to get past, for the Empire it is obviously the banning on Talos is the main issue, while racism and the character (or lack there of) in regards to Ulfric and many Nords allied with him.

The distinct lack of power given to the player to make change rather than just be its instrument is really what make this a tough debate. Were there the option to take control of the Empire or become High King available, similiar to the wild card option seen in Fallout: New Vegas, I would be able to make this decision much easier.

Upon further examination, I am reconcidering my allegience. Ulfric is without a doubt exploiting the situation in Skyrim to his advantage, and nothing highlights this point more than the former Torygg's wife stating he would have sided with Ulfric had he been asked. And though I already knew this, short of future content, there is nothing my player can really do to stop this.The biggest thing however is that culturally the Empire could at an second say, "We are the Empire, you took away our freedom...prepare to die" and thus the religion issue could be resolved, seeing as it was a condition of surrender not cultural/political shifts. Alternatively biggotry begets biggotry, and the damage unchecked racism could lead to just as dangerous for other races in the future as the Dominion is now.

Normally I wouldn't swap sides so easily, but I had very few "real" reasons to support the Stormcloaks to begin with. Part of it was I had just come from Fallout: NV, where the Legion was the epitamy of evil, and aesthetically I prefered Stormcloak. I've always favored the medieval over the ancient...that and most importantly the Empire stopped believing in pants.