Board Thread:Lore Discussion/@comment-25343239-20150319182007/@comment-260563-20180319011533

The thing is, the Empire can at the very least pull the Dominion to another draw. Skyrim alone cannot.

The Thalmor can (and will) easily sail a fleet north towards Skyrim if the Stormcloaks win the civil war. I mean, why wouldn't they? The Nords are weak and debilitated after the war, half the country still hates Ulfric, and the Stormcloaks themselves are spread thin, exhausted from the war. They make for an easy target for the Thalmor. And with General Tullius dead, the Empire can't respond in time, nor would they want to, considering Skyrim would be ruled by traitors then.

But if Skyrim stays with the Empire, coin and trade with the East Empire Company can help Skyrim recover faster. The chances of a Thalmor assault is low, considering they don't want to agitate the Empire too soon before they're ready for another war. And with the Synod and the College of Whispers gathering magical artifacts and exploring necromancy and conjuration, they can have an edge that the Imperial Battlemages didn't have. And a smart leader like General Tullius can lure the Thalmor into a trap and get many of their forces killed, and with the Altmer elves never being a populous lot to begin with, it'll be easy for the Empire to at the very least force the Thalmor to another draw. And unlike the humans, who reproduce fast enough, the Altmer aren't as fertile or numerous, and with that being a core problem for the Dominion, the more draws they get into, the less men they'll have to throw at the next war. Which means that the Empire will eventually win in the end.