Board Thread:Lore Discussion/@comment-27007772-20140611204941/@comment-10207438-20150506232324

College Mage: Ferris wrote: So wait, for the Stormcloak supporters, you side with Ulfric because the empire isn't lead by a Septim and believe that Skyrim on its own can beat the Thalmor? They couldnt beat the empire in their own civil war, and the Empire only just barely lost to the Thalmor. Transitive property suggestes Skyrim by itself, weakened by a civil war couldnt hold its own. I don't say the stormcloaks on their own can beat the thalmor, but unlike the empire they actually have a chance of receiving aid from hammerfell or morrowind. Plus if the stormcloaks win it will likely force highrock to leave cyrodill, seeing as they're surrounded by countries that would likely impede their trade with the only other members of the empire; so no I don't don't think they would be alone.

First of all the empire win the war against the Aldmeri Dominion, the emperor just decided to quit instead of finishing them off. Secondly, most soldiers in skyrim are from skyrim, so it stands to reason that many of them, and their offspring, would join the new nord army instead of joining the legion.

The last thing to note is that skyrim didn't even have to fight the thalmor, they just have to wait, cyrodill would be stupid to Let their enemies march through the heart if the empire, so unless the AD waskyrim start a war with anyone other than skyrim they will have to sail around, and seeing as they will likely have allies in hammerfell it's likely they'll hear news of an Aldmeri fleet sailing to skyrim, giving them time to prepare while that sail around highrock. And, if the fleet they send is large enough, hammerfell and cyrodill can attack the rest of the Aldmeri territories.

The only ways skyrim would lose against the AD are if cyrodill just let's the AD army through, or they prepare long enough to attack everyone, though cyrodill (and potentially highrock) will be the only countries that wouldn't also be preparing for the upcoming war.