Board Thread:General Discussion/@comment-50.72.49.241-20130930130812/@comment-70.189.72.179-20160417043128

Presumably, open warfare is less than a year old since Elisif cancelled the whole effigy burning, feeling it would be poor taste with Torygg's death being so recent. It's not unreasonable to assume this would be the first such burning since Ulfric killed him. Hadvar, if you go with him at Helgen, also mentions that Ulfric killed Torygg "a few months ago." That said Ulfric started amassing his personal army, the Stormcloaks, several years before, and I get the feeling that may have been kind of a cold war type situation with lots of tension and political maneuvering. I would definitely mark the beginning with the Reach incident of 176.

As to the analogy of the challenge being akin to a game where you lose 10 dollars? No. Just no. It's more like if a trusted friend said he was coming over to discuss something important that involved you both, then pulled a knife on you. Then killed you by yelling. Remember, Torygg believed Ulfric was coming to Solitude to discuss the Thalmor situation, the Stormcloaks, and the Empire and then everyone at court was blindsided by the sudden challenge.

I also got the feeling that, as is common in fantasy settings with a combat challenge for rulership, Torygg probably didn't really have the freedom to say no. Sure, he might have been literally able to say no and walk away, but given Nord society and how they view honor it would probably have ended particularly badly for the young king. That's a common theme in fantasy warrior races.