Board Thread:Skyrim/@comment-120.28.157.86-20140406014559/@comment-30317136-20170228124049

All I can say is in terms of who has better chance against the Aldmeri Dominion, siding with the Empire on paper has better statistics. More provinces unified, having a larger force and less number of factions for politics.

Although if you look at it, the Empire and Stormcloaks lost the moment they fight. But the whole situation was a win win for the Thalmor right off the bat as it was the result of the many years of planning and execution of those plans. They were not perfect the Thalmor definitely had most of their goals accomplished or were constantly moving closer to their goals.

The destruction of Stormcloaks by Imperials, (Nords and whatever minorities that are crazy enough to join them) are Empire killing itself.

The destruction of Imperial Legion by Stormcloaks are not different as it is former part of the Empire killing the Empire.

Either ways, the Thalmor already won as the rift between Nords and Imperials had widen enough for a sizable group of people in Skyrim to start a war with the Imperial Legion. In the Thalmor Dossier, they stated that an Imperial victory will harm their position in Skyrim and Stormcloak victory must be avoided as well. The Thalmor Dossier is so painfully obvious that they are looking at the end game. Let both sides fight the way they did in the events of Skyrim until Skyrim becomes to weak on its own or support the Empire. After all it was the support from High Rock, Hammerfell and Skyrim which allowed the Empire to withstand the AD invasion during the Great War.

The Thalmor signed a truce with a far more favorable terms with Hammerfell, cite the Civil War in Skyrim and let them fight as long as possible. They've still got ways to go before they reach their goals but they are definitely moving towards it one step at a time.

Decision lies in the hands of the really smart ones. Not just the Dragonborn. If the Dragonborn participate in the Civil War, he'll just be an extremely powerful dumb one. The ones who let the Stormcloaks and Imperials fight it out for the Thalmor's entertainment while they watch from the side lines... make no mistake, most of them aren't the really smart ones but those who just waiting for the time to be riped to act. These are the smart ones. Of course you'll be lucky if they even occupy 0.1% of Skyrim's entire population. But this 0.1% of the population is more relevant than the remaining 99.99% of Skyrim.

One way to identify an individual of such caliber is a fanfic scenario where a bloody joker got the entire Thalmor Embassy massacred and burned to the ground, proceeds to plant "evidence" that it was the vocal Anti-Thalmor Stormcloaks who did it right when the Stormcloaks had an upper hand in the Civil War against the Empire, proceeds to laugh at the Thalmor and Ulfric Stormcloak like a fucking Hyena.

This is the type who knows what they're doing. I do not believe Skyrim is completely devoid of people who can see through the Civil War as a Thalmor's ploy and can actually do something about it to make the Thalmor scream in horror