User blog comment:Zippertrain85/"Why the Empire Should Prevail Over the Stormcloaks" refuted (part 1)/@comment-1822253-20140102005008

I have to disagree with both of you. The Mede Empire didn't win, it barely survived, thanks in large part to Lord Naarifin, the Thalmor general, greatly underestimating the Imperial counter-attack and not keeping accurate track of Imperial forces. In reality, Cyrodiil was in shambles; almost every city in Cyrodiil had either been sacked, pillaged or pretty much destroyed; least we forget the massacre and attrocities that happened after the Thalmor captured the Imperial City and sacked the White Gold Tower. The seat of the Empire was devestated, and while the Thalmor forces sent to Cyrodiil were destroyed, no where in any lore, in game or confirmed by Bethesda, of how much Lord Naarifin's forces made up of the entire Thalmor forces except from an Imperial Legate... who would not be privy on the internal workings of the Aldemeri Dominion's internal military decisions. Nor do we really know much of their military movements because thus far everything released has been from the Empire's perspective. So I'm going to guess that Titus Mede II, his military commanders and his advisors know more about the Thalmor's strength then what has been released to the public. After all, it's common sense that you don't tell people that your enemy can defeat you.

We also cannot forget the economic situation that the Empire was in by the end of the war. The Imperial City, the White Gold Tower and pretty much every town in Cyrodiil was devestated by the war, not to mention Hammerfell's situation. You can't really put a price on how many Imperial civilians were massacred by Thalmor forces. But the physical damage probably amounts to somewhere around hundreds of millions of septims, the fact that the Empire isn't completely bankrupt is a miracle, and had the war continued, the Empire probably would have been completely bankrupt.

Yes you have a point that the White Gold Concordant does weaken the unity of the Empire, after all it eventually was forced to remove Hammerfell as a province because it was organizing and fighting against the Dominion forces that had the southern coast of it seeded to the Dominion. Not to mention that many Nords are up in arms over how the Empire has made it illegal to worship Talos. Morrowind has never had strong support for the Empire in the first place, but remained in the Empire because it was defeated by Talos and could not militarily hold it's own against the might of the Imperial war machine until AFTER the events of Oblivion. However, as I've stated above, the Empire was wrecked by the war, had the WGC not been signed, the war would have gone on.

Actually no Zippertrain85, JoshofBlades is probably half right. You run into farmers heading off to join the Stormcloaks on the roads; the Stormcloaks are made up of regular Nords from all walks of life. It could be very possible that more then a handful of Stormcloaks are in fact former bandits and mercenaries, possibly because they actually believe in what Ulfric is about, because they have an axe to grind with the Empire and Dominion, or simply for a pay check. Regardless, Galmar Stone-Fist's ideal view of who can be a member of the Stormcloaks would mean that a majority of Skyrim's Nord's wouldn't be able to join their ranks... because the majority of Nords would be farmers, miners and artisans. Not seasoned warriors who would be capable of becoming "heros".

As well, the Dominion will not sit idly by and allow the Nords to do as they please. After all, if the "End Game" document is true, then the Nords breaking away and openly practicing the worship of Talos were to happen, this would put a damper on their ultimate goal.

You haven't refuted anything, merely put forth a perspective from a Stormcloak supporter.