User blog comment:Spritydove/Deeper Thought into the Civil War/@comment-5135631-20120704182325/@comment-5135631-20120705214123

@TheEpicShot Sybill Stentor says Ulfric demanded a duel, and so do others within the Imperial camp (e.g. Tullius), whether or not he used a shout is irrelevant, as this technially does not count as cheating as it was used by the Ancient Nords, therefore on the evidence I've heard I think it is safe to say that fairly Ulfric won the duel, his shout helped him out, though strangely he probably wouldn't have needed to use it to beat Torygg, it might have just been necessary to stun the court and 'put on a show'. While some saw Torygg's death as unecessary and cruel, Ulfric probably didn't know Torygg respected him, and even if he did know, I doubt Ulfric disrespected Torygg, and it is no shame to lose a duel, as long as you accept it to someone who is equal or greater than oneself. I don't think the shout was unfair, after all, how different is it from using magic? No one would have been bothered if he used magic, though they have similar effects. Some of us, the players, might see it as unfair, but we don't live in the world of The Elder Scrolls and so may not have a lot of understanding of military realities on Nirn.

A lot of people will see Ulfric as an arsehole for claiming the Throne, but he is a man who has been tormented by his own government for years: He gets captured by the Thalmor and the Empire seemingly do nothing to help him out, he goes into all the hard work of recapturing a city (Markarth) from terrorists, fairly demanding in return that the people should be allowed to worship a god, is backstabbed by the Jarl, then has to cope with his father's death and finally faces accusations of murder for what was a fair enough fight. It's not been an easy ride for him anymore than it has been for Elisif, and to quote Galmar "There are a lot of people who say Ulfric only desires the Throne, but have you not seen his anger floats on a sea of tears?" The reason he desires the Throne is because he correctly identifies he would be the best man to lead Skyrim through the hard times it is having, and he has the strongest claim to the Throne, technically making nothing he is doing unlawful.

I agree it may seem unfair on the Argonians, but it isn't going to make much advantage in the war if he gives them a home in the city, he'll save that for after the war I reckon, he's just keeping them in check for now. Not even to mention the fact that the Dunmer and the Argonians are at war, or were at war in Morrowind and there are grudges between the two races, so letting them all in could cause trouble in his city. As a Stormcloak, I don't dislike Argonians, in fact if I wasn't a Nord, I'd probably be an Argonian or a Breton. I did the quest to make Tobjorn treat them better, but Ulfric is at war and he can't afford to take his eye of the game for a minute to focus on minor concerns.

When Ulfric says he considers 'The Elves' a threat, he means the Thalmor only, though I suspect he has no plans to just drop his guard with the Dunmer, he needs to keep an eye on them. He'd be a bad ruler if he just let in a group of people, with whom the Nords have fought for centuries, without some sort of cost.