Board Thread:Lore Discussion/@comment-27007772-20140611204941/@comment-26269116-20150507020703

While interesting, informative, and exceeding long it is also just academic speculation and banter. It is a theological discussion regarding an event that appears to be the only possible outcome for the future. The problem with this view is that it may not be shared by Bethesda. No matter who is chosen to win may only be of consquence in Skyrim, at least for the immediate future.

TESV has enough ambiguity unexplained for Bethesda to go in an entirely different direction for a TESVI without ever really touching Skyrim directly. Going this route would even make more sense. Before the current question of leadership over everything could even be a feasible question there would be more seeds of discord to sow throughout all the lands. Skyrim could have just been the beginning. A simple example would be the dwemer. In-game it is constantly mentioned that they just vanished. Yet how they vanished is hinted at with the warped soul gem. I mentioned as much [http://elderscrolls.wikia.com/wiki/Thread:537419%2339 here. ]

Most points given tend to point out a pending war between the empire and whatever faction was sided with, along with each posters reasons. While such a war is an obvious deduction, it is only that. A deduction. It assumes the empire has the resources and available attention span in order to mount a war, not to mention the inclination and desire to do so. Putting up a holding action against Skyrim would not be very difficult, considering Skyrim's current state. But, what if their main attention was directed in some other calamitious occurence elsewhere? The proposed war could wind up happening 200 years later. By this time whichever side chosen could have recovered and prospered without making much headway.

Of course, even this is just conjection. Nothing says Bethesda will even put out another TES, although there is plenty of speculation.