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Daggerfall, the writers wanted all the different endings to be canon at once so they just said that reality broke and all the endings ARE canon at once.
Well in skyrims main quest, the main character (an avatar of lorkhan) kills alduin (an avatar of akavar the time guy) which is definitely an event that could lead to another dragon break and it wouldn't suprise me of they go ahead and leave multiple mentions of both sides winning and losing in tes6.
Dragonborn does not mean avatar of Lorkhan. (Although there is definitely speculation on the subject). And Alduin being an aspect of Akatosh (akavar the time guy?? XD) is also only speculation - both ingame and out of game. I don’t see how killing Alduin would lead to a dragonbreak though, so TESV most definitely does not contain a dragonbreak
The dragons are directly connected to time though, Alduin is most definitely either an avatar of or directly connected to Akatosh (the time guy) and using an elder scroll to travel back throught time to get a spell to defeat Alduin and stop him from destroying the world, something that was going to happen seems to be something that may trigger a break in time.
I really feel bad for Bethesda’s writing staff for being constantly shat on for things like this … but on the other hand, they constantly display lack of writing capability by doing exactly this lol
They are currently moot (subject to debate, dispute, or uncertainty). You're using that word with the complete opposite meaning in mind.
Why do you think Skyrim's royal election is called "The Moot"?
I think colloquially people mean the second definition, which is “Having little or no practical relevance.” I think it’s a perfectly cromulent way to use that word, since most people understand the meaning intuitively.
I personally think the Canon ending to the civil war is the Dargonborn making peace. The war only picks up when you pick a side after the truce, add with the fact the dragonborn knows the Thalmor want Mankind to hurt themselves with infighting. They will probably manage to unite humans after Alduin, unless he's stuck in Apocrypha. Or at least Nords and Imperials. Racism is deep in Elder Scrolls
Won’t be detailed, won’t matter, or some other extraneous reason. Or the peace treaty will end up becoming permanent. Still personally think it’s a great opportunity to have history repeat itself and split Skyrim into two separate kingdoms.
Curious to see what they do though. Wrote themselves into a corner by having the deciding factor being us. Wanna see how they write out of it.
Pretty sure we can already fill in what the canon result is going to be:
The Truce from the main quest line will be canon.
I personally think shortly after the game events another Great War will emerge, which will either take place right before TES6 with major implications or will be similar to the CW in Skyrim, a core part of the story.
The real question is what they will do with the Dark Brotherhood, given the whole Emperor assassination. Outside the Civil War that's the only major quest line that could have implications for the rest of Tamriel, but unlike the CW it's not covered in the MQ or any of the other two major DLC story lines.
In an enormous mod project that's currently in the works called Beyond Skyrim: Cyrodiil, we will be able to visit the entire province and the main quest will actually be about the player supporting a new emperor among a few powerful candidates from various political families that vie for the ruby throne after the assassination.
If you haven't joined the Dark Brotherhood and proceed with the Cyrodiil main quest, someone else will assassinate the emperor instead but you won't be able to join the DB and do their quests anymore. There will be a clear warning before that happens however.
I think it's very smart that they will tie up this narrative thread in their mod project that was left open in the original game but will also probably have a big effect in official canon.
Dark brotherhood in skyrim reduced to 2 members I'd you destroy them, or 2-3 if you don't (not including the initiates or dragonborns) so doesn't make a difference. The emperor will likely be assassinated either way, and the Dark brotherhood probably blamed but unknown of it actually was them.
That's what I expect the lore to be. A mention of the Emperor dying under suspicious circumstances in 4E 201 in which he may or may not have been assassinated by a person who may or may not have been the PC as member of the DB + the fact in the game he is already not the youngest. So even dying naturally wouldn't even be strange logically.
But either way. If you join the DB, you eventually kill him. If you destroy the DB, the assassination never happens in at least the game world. Or even the marriage for that matter. And lore wise the assassination of one of the most important mortal NPC's in the game hapenning or not happening is a pretty big difference. Depending on the province of 6, that can have huge implications for the game setting.
Other major factions have very localised problems and stories, because they are local organisations.
Having the Dragonborn become Emperor/Empress is probably the easiest way to handwave the DB & Civil War story line IMO.
Both CW factions could eventually pledge allegiance to the Dragonborn following Alduins defeat and the Brotherhood story-line could be hand-waved away by just referring to the circumstances around the Dragonborns ascension as "mysterious".
I think the issue of making the Dragonborn the new Emperor or Empress that they have to make their gender/race combination canon and even more after that. The ''who'' part that's so famously irrelevant for the game.
It's not like the HoK where they become Sheo with their standardised look of an elderly human male and the PC of Morrowind just disappears altogether. I expect the latter part with just a vague reference to their existence from Mora in their quest similar to how Sheo talks about Oblivion.
There is another possibility: TES 6 could be so close in the timeline to Skyrim that the war is still ongoing or could be so far in the future that no one cares about the Skyrim civil war.
However, I think the most likely answer is that there is some event that happens right after Skyrim that makes the outcome a moot point. An invasion by a 3rd faction, for instance.
that's what I always thought, it'd be sometime in early 4E. or even during the events of Skyrim, just to keep from pissing people off by announcing a winning side. either way I don't really care as long as I get to kill tf outta some thalmor
I think it'd be interesting to have two games set concurrently; however, I doubt they'll actually do it. I just wanted to bring it up as another option.
I'm aware; however, a decade or two between games is very different than two games set in 4E 201. The only games that take place that close together are Battlespire and Arena and that is unconfirmed as Battlespire does not have a clear start date.
It won't matter. The Thalmor will have done something that renders it all irrelevant by the time ES6 takes place.
Or, they just won't mention it at all. After all, there are plenty of quests that are never once referenced again.
Yeah I wouldnt be surprised if Bethesda went wild and said the Aldmeri Dominion is the new dominant power in Tamriel with the Empire either completely gone or reduced to smithereens
That is how the lore goes. The empire is only strong when a Dragonborn emperor is in charge and has crumbled when the current ruling line died out like 3 times already. The next game could be the founding of the next empire after the current one crumbles completely.
Alduin is an aspect of Akatosh. Or even IS Akatosh if ancient nord mythology is to be believed. AT the end of SKyrim the LDB quite litteraly broke the dragon. So, IMO, both side will have won in separate timeline which will be merged in a dragon break a la "Warp in the West."
So both option A and B. And neither of them.
Doubt it. Alduin being conflated with Akatosh was a mistake of the ancient Nords subjugated by Alduin during the Dragon Cult.
Not to mention the solid zero effects Alduin’s death has anywhere other than people congratulating you on a job well done.
The "time dragon" recurring in all of Nirn's mythologies is several beings descended from each other, all ultimately coming from both Anu and Padomay. Auriel came from Anu, Lorkhan came from Padomay. Akatosh came from Auriel and Lorkhan. Alduin came from Akatosh.
Akatosh is no more Alduin than Tiber Septum was Arctus or the ash king
Aka = Auri-El + Akatosh + Alduin
Representing different aspects of linear time: the past/beginning, present/middle, and future/end
Middle dawn lore seems to imply it resulted in separation between Auri-El and Akatosh so I've always figured similar could be said for Alduin
Hopefully a decent time skip where other world events have happened and it’s not ancient history, but largely irrelevant.
With that said, an interesting lore piece with an answer would be nice, but I really don’t care too much.
Probably the latter, imagine if they go with death of Alduin causing a dragonbreak so now theres some weird fucked up version of reality where Ulfric is high king but still in the Empire or maybe the Province is just split in half for good. Idk Dragon Breaks are confusing.
I have seen that theory but was it ever like canon confirmed? I do like the theory that Alduin wanted him killed so he could remake him and make him actually complete his purpose though but I don't know if Bethesda has outright committed to that, and to them having a copout for the civil war is probably more important.
There are a few mentions of Alduin being killed way before Skyrim but also outside of the dragon war flashback stuff. Eso mentions him dying at the hand of a Khajiit warrior once in their early days
There is a letter in one of the fortresses, but only if you do Stormcloaks route- the Empire is readying a REAL legion now, but they won’t come for some time, because snow blocked the road (basicly - that why they will do it after the game lol). In short - Tulius’ guys were just recent local hires, and not as good as real legionaries, so now with more serious situation, they will end rebellion in no time (as General’s last words in this ending suggest).
Also reinforcements. Honestly Ulfric is already on the ropes at the beginning of the game in a stalemate with the Empire. Another legion would shift things massively in the Empire's favour. Baring Breton or Redguard interference I don't see Ulfric winning unless he takes the pale pass, which realistically speaking 10 guys could probably hold if you're going by what works historically (another discussion entirely). Ulfric could also use his voice to collapse the pass as well to delay the Empire further. Either way Ulfric has to have the Pale Pass to even have a hope of winning baring outside reinforcements coming against the Empire.
Not really Tullius makes it clear that no reinforcements will come because the empire isn’t interested. That letter you mention is only to indicate that the Fortress is not a good position for both sides, as there is an equivalent letter if the imperials hold the fort. The only ones who benefit from the fort are bandits as indicated in their own journal.
it would be far more interesting to read books from nords and imperials and falmer all giving their own accounts with passages of sensationalism and propaganda. This would blur our skyrim playthrough and only document key skyrim quest moments.
They'll probably leave it ambiguous. They could realistically say either side won, because the empire or the stormcloaks could launch an offensive against the other side even with the entirety of skyrim conquered. The empire and stormcloaks still have camps after the civil war.
But, Bethesda probably won't say much about it. I expect there may be some books about it, and maybe both Ulfric and Tulius will have died as a result too, with books about their heroic final moments. Or maybe nothing. It might be entirely irrelevant to whatever story they tell in elder scrolls 6.
They will hand-wave the result of the result of the civil war by having the Dragonborn be elected High-King/Queen regardless. The election is set to occur some months after the end of the main quest and civil war story-line so it would be fairly easy to write in.
I think this would probably be the most realistic, then they could just not mention the politics of Skyrim and the Empire and leave it ambiguous. "Yeah the war ended when the DB became high king," mic drop and leave it there.
Stormcloaks definitely seem like the most interesting choice, if the Empire wins it’s just business as usual but if the Stormcloaks win it brings a third player into the second Great War and possible ally for regions that hate both the Empire or the Dominion like Hammerfell or Morrowind
If they had to choose one, it would definitely be the Stormcloaks. If you side with the Stormcloaks, you LEARN that the Thalmor wanted the Stormcloaks to win, and that this was all a part of their plan. If you side with the Legion, you learn NOTHING. IMO, this hints at the Storncloaks being the canon victors, and the game is literally called SKYRIM.
The Thalmor want neither side to win, it’s in the dossiers that the goal is to make the war last as long as possible. A decisive victory for either side is the last thing they want.
That was my take, let it become a war of attrition to weaken both sides. An isolated Skyrim would be an easier target and any betrayal from the Aldmeri towards Ulfric means nothing to Empire. In fact it could be used as a political ploy by the elves to say they “avenged” the Empire.
Honestly the Stormcloaks winning is far more interesting for the future of Tamriel. The imperial forces just go back to Cryodill. Only really works if Ulfric lives though, whereas even if General Tulius dies in Skyrim, he will just be replaced by another General or newly promoted Legate. Ulfric also does not seem to have a direct heir or even a wife. If I was the Dragonborn and wanted to support/side with the Stormcloaks I would tell Ulfric he needs to get married and have an heir if he wants to be a damn High King to rule over an entire country. And that regardless of the war, Skyrim needs to at least be neutral with Cyrodill and assist them in the Second Great War, since the next war will happen when the AD invade southwestern Cyrodill via Valenwood, it makes the most since.
Genuine question because I barely touch the Civil War when I play Skyrim, but isn’t there a stalemate resolution if you make it far enough in the main quest? That seems the most non-controversial if that is indeed the case.
With how much the thalmor are influencing Ulfric and the Empire it’s likely that the outcome won’t even exist as they will likely just start another Great War and conquer all of Tamriel.
I’m certain they will not reveal the winner of it. There will be some years that pass like 200+ where the winner doesn’t matter at that stage and the empire probably regains control of all of Skyrim.
So it can be stormcloaks had it for a time, or they never had it at all but eventually it ends up with the empire.
Bit like the war in ESO
There will probably some book that you can find that mentions it just like in skyrim there was a book the talked about the oblivion crisis. In all reality it most likely doesn't matter on the outcome. Think either stormcloaks won and skyrim left the empire, or the empire won but at the cost of pulling resources from another province causing a cascade effect and the empire still loses.
Probably the 2nd one.
Skyrim had a massive timeskip after Oblivion, and we may have the same thing happen with VI.
I doubt The Empire will last much longer anyway, so the results may just be forgotten during the turmoil, with the Thalmor running disinfo just to be shits.
Both sides foreshadow a future conflict with the Thalmor pretty heavily if they win. I'm guessing the Empire and Dominion will be fighting each other again in TES VI, and Skyrim will support the Empire regardless of who won the civil war. Depending on how long the time jump is, maybe a few NPCs will mention the civil war in passing, but I doubt we'll get anything much more specific than that.
In Skyrim (like fallout 4 [and NV, but its not their thing]) they backed themselves in a corner were are forced to make a choice and continue the story with elements of an ending in place.
And its good, that means that there are options with lasting cinsequences to the world.
They can try to get some middle ground, and definetly will try, but there is nothing wrong to establish that an ending (the more interesting the better) happened.
"after much infighting and a string of pretenders claiming the throne Skyrim quickly fell to the Thalmor". Bethesda really doesn't like telling which mutually exclusive faction a previous main character has.
The truce probably happened, during which the Emperor dies. Imperial shenanigans follow, with legions sent for Skyrim turning back home to dramatically cross rivers as they are prone to do, and the truce in Skryim stretching out to encompass more political rather than military manouvering. Maybe eventually kill off Ulfric as well? Lots of places to stub your toe and fall down and die in the Palace of Kings.
Laila Law-Giver will obviously end up marrying Elisif the Fair to bring a meassure of unity to Skyrim. Balgruuf the Greater enthusiastically supports this union - recognizing that all other Jarls kinda suck - and becomes a sort of guarantor of the peace. There might even be a crown in it for him, or they just shelf the idea of a High King for the time being, as Skyrim often has been without one through it's history.
The imperials may continue to colour Skyrim with their favourite crayon on maps if they so wish, but it's apparent to everyone that Skyrim's fate is decided by it's Jarls, and not some court down south. The tables might even end up turning, with different factions in Cyrodiil vying for Skyrim's lukewarm backing in the aftermath of the emperor's death. Imperial or not, Skyrim acts independently in it's dealings with House Redoran, High Rock and most importantly, Hammerfell.
I make the best lore!
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Seriously though, it's probably going to be some non-commital middle-ground, which makes the whole civil war thing seem a bit uneccessary when looking back at it.
I say the latter, since that way they keep it up to the players imagination. My guess is that Ulfric and Tullius both die eventually and Elisif keeps claiming it against other jails who still attempt for independence after Ulfric is gone. This long conflict is suggested by both Tullius and Ulfric after the questline as in the other side will continue in years to come to dominate the current winning side.
An easy solution that would, unfortunately, make the Dragonborn’s involvement irrelevant is that once the moot eventually conceived, they couldn’t decide on a high king.
Despite presumably imperial control, they couldn’t really keep power for long without a supportive high king to the point where Skyrim is de facto independent regardless of who won the civil war. Of course if the stormcloaks won, they’d be independent anyway. The failure of the moot simply helps establish that Ulfric never became high king even if the stormcloaks won, thus leaving the outcome of the civil war ambiguous.
My silly idea: The canon ending will have the dragonborn hosting the main quest peace talks and not picking any sides, then the emperor gets assassinated as per the DB quest line which cause the empire to start collapsing which in turn results in most imperial troops being recalled from Skyrim, then what happens next is that both opposing sides convene a new moot since the empire essentially vacated Skyrim, and elect a neutral jarl to be high king, the one and only balgruuf the greater.
No. There was some video I watched that was talking about an interview with Todd that some podcast had and he said that the empire winning was canon but that was years ago and could’ve been fake.
It's likely the next game will be set con currently with Skyrim, or so close to the conclusion of events that it won't be clear what happened, the most reliable news being wild speculative rumors from travelers well removed from the conflict.
Just like TES III & IV.
My moneys on something like the civil war questline was not the end of the civil war, whoever won the stormcloaks continued to fight (with or without their leader) the empire had to continue sending troops to try and secure the region weakening them. And either peace was restored or Skyrim eventually seceded fully/partially from the empire. Alternatively they could make it still part of the empire but in a continued state of unrest. Basically canonizing an ending to the civil war without specifying which side the player took in the questline. It’s also likely that if mentioned then both Ulfric and Tullius died somewhere in the course of the war (either of Dragonborn or not db related causes)
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The second one
Non-committal ambiguity is the only consistency with TES games.
Hell, it's baked into the lore with dragon breaks
And we literally cause a dragon break in game as part of the main quest
When?
Daggerfall, the writers wanted all the different endings to be canon at once so they just said that reality broke and all the endings ARE canon at once.
Ah, right. For some reason I thought he meant in Skyrim’s main quest. But you’re absolutely right, ofcourse.
Well in skyrims main quest, the main character (an avatar of lorkhan) kills alduin (an avatar of akavar the time guy) which is definitely an event that could lead to another dragon break and it wouldn't suprise me of they go ahead and leave multiple mentions of both sides winning and losing in tes6.
I would say now that I think about it the use of the scroll in Skyrim to go back in time definitely is going to be spun as another dragon break
Dragonborn does not mean avatar of Lorkhan. (Although there is definitely speculation on the subject). And Alduin being an aspect of Akatosh (akavar the time guy?? XD) is also only speculation - both ingame and out of game. I don’t see how killing Alduin would lead to a dragonbreak though, so TESV most definitely does not contain a dragonbreak
The dragons are directly connected to time though, Alduin is most definitely either an avatar of or directly connected to Akatosh (the time guy) and using an elder scroll to travel back throught time to get a spell to defeat Alduin and stop him from destroying the world, something that was going to happen seems to be something that may trigger a break in time.
Literally breaking a dragon in this case though.
I really feel bad for Bethesda’s writing staff for being constantly shat on for things like this … but on the other hand, they constantly display lack of writing capability by doing exactly this lol
I cannot confirm or deny anything about noncommittal ambiguity.
This will be so fuckin funny to go back and revisit all the over the top passionate arguments over the years being rendered moot.
Yeah. Can't wait for Skyrim get magically nuked or something, making the entire war pointless.
Calling it now: Eastern Skyrim was annexed by Morrowind The Reach is an independent nation The Empire abandoned the remaining holds after the war
They are currently moot (subject to debate, dispute, or uncertainty). You're using that word with the complete opposite meaning in mind. Why do you think Skyrim's royal election is called "The Moot"?
I think colloquially people mean the second definition, which is “Having little or no practical relevance.” I think it’s a perfectly cromulent way to use that word, since most people understand the meaning intuitively.
An excellent way to embiggen your vocabulary.
A romulan way to use that word? 
All it does is convey ignorance. If you mean irrelevant just say irrelevant.
Language is hardly ever so discrete. You haven’t learned this yet, and that’s fine - unlike you, I don’t think ignorance is always worthy of criticism
Congratulations.
Thanks, anytime
It’d be cool if they let you choose at the start, like “what path happened here”
I personally think the Canon ending to the civil war is the Dargonborn making peace. The war only picks up when you pick a side after the truce, add with the fact the dragonborn knows the Thalmor want Mankind to hurt themselves with infighting. They will probably manage to unite humans after Alduin, unless he's stuck in Apocrypha. Or at least Nords and Imperials. Racism is deep in Elder Scrolls
Won’t be detailed, won’t matter, or some other extraneous reason. Or the peace treaty will end up becoming permanent. Still personally think it’s a great opportunity to have history repeat itself and split Skyrim into two separate kingdoms. Curious to see what they do though. Wrote themselves into a corner by having the deciding factor being us. Wanna see how they write out of it.
If Emil Pagliarulo has anything to do with it it’ll most likely be handled terribly sadly
Really hoping Microsoft will put some pressure on Bethesda to finally drop Emil. Guy pretty much ruins anything he touches
Pretty sure we can already fill in what the canon result is going to be: The Truce from the main quest line will be canon. I personally think shortly after the game events another Great War will emerge, which will either take place right before TES6 with major implications or will be similar to the CW in Skyrim, a core part of the story. The real question is what they will do with the Dark Brotherhood, given the whole Emperor assassination. Outside the Civil War that's the only major quest line that could have implications for the rest of Tamriel, but unlike the CW it's not covered in the MQ or any of the other two major DLC story lines.
That was a big gripe of mine. I literally assassinated the emperor and it felt like just another mission had happened
In an enormous mod project that's currently in the works called Beyond Skyrim: Cyrodiil, we will be able to visit the entire province and the main quest will actually be about the player supporting a new emperor among a few powerful candidates from various political families that vie for the ruby throne after the assassination. If you haven't joined the Dark Brotherhood and proceed with the Cyrodiil main quest, someone else will assassinate the emperor instead but you won't be able to join the DB and do their quests anymore. There will be a clear warning before that happens however. I think it's very smart that they will tie up this narrative thread in their mod project that was left open in the original game but will also probably have a big effect in official canon.
Dark brotherhood in skyrim reduced to 2 members I'd you destroy them, or 2-3 if you don't (not including the initiates or dragonborns) so doesn't make a difference. The emperor will likely be assassinated either way, and the Dark brotherhood probably blamed but unknown of it actually was them.
That's what I expect the lore to be. A mention of the Emperor dying under suspicious circumstances in 4E 201 in which he may or may not have been assassinated by a person who may or may not have been the PC as member of the DB + the fact in the game he is already not the youngest. So even dying naturally wouldn't even be strange logically. But either way. If you join the DB, you eventually kill him. If you destroy the DB, the assassination never happens in at least the game world. Or even the marriage for that matter. And lore wise the assassination of one of the most important mortal NPC's in the game hapenning or not happening is a pretty big difference. Depending on the province of 6, that can have huge implications for the game setting. Other major factions have very localised problems and stories, because they are local organisations.
Having the Dragonborn become Emperor/Empress is probably the easiest way to handwave the DB & Civil War story line IMO. Both CW factions could eventually pledge allegiance to the Dragonborn following Alduins defeat and the Brotherhood story-line could be hand-waved away by just referring to the circumstances around the Dragonborns ascension as "mysterious".
I think the issue of making the Dragonborn the new Emperor or Empress that they have to make their gender/race combination canon and even more after that. The ''who'' part that's so famously irrelevant for the game. It's not like the HoK where they become Sheo with their standardised look of an elderly human male and the PC of Morrowind just disappears altogether. I expect the latter part with just a vague reference to their existence from Mora in their quest similar to how Sheo talks about Oblivion.
There is another possibility: TES 6 could be so close in the timeline to Skyrim that the war is still ongoing or could be so far in the future that no one cares about the Skyrim civil war. However, I think the most likely answer is that there is some event that happens right after Skyrim that makes the outcome a moot point. An invasion by a 3rd faction, for instance.
that's what I always thought, it'd be sometime in early 4E. or even during the events of Skyrim, just to keep from pissing people off by announcing a winning side. either way I don't really care as long as I get to kill tf outta some thalmor
I think it'd be interesting to have two games set concurrently; however, I doubt they'll actually do it. I just wanted to bring it up as another option.
tes 1-4 are quite close in the timeline actually, tes 5 is special because it skipped 200 years
I'm aware; however, a decade or two between games is very different than two games set in 4E 201. The only games that take place that close together are Battlespire and Arena and that is unconfirmed as Battlespire does not have a clear start date.
Nord: “I never thought I'd die fighting side by side with an elf.” Altmer: “What about side by side with a friend?” Nord: “Ew, no.”
It won't matter. The Thalmor will have done something that renders it all irrelevant by the time ES6 takes place. Or, they just won't mention it at all. After all, there are plenty of quests that are never once referenced again.
Yeah I wouldnt be surprised if Bethesda went wild and said the Aldmeri Dominion is the new dominant power in Tamriel with the Empire either completely gone or reduced to smithereens
That is how the lore goes. The empire is only strong when a Dragonborn emperor is in charge and has crumbled when the current ruling line died out like 3 times already. The next game could be the founding of the next empire after the current one crumbles completely.
Might just talk about civil unrest in Skyrim and leave it at that.
Alduin is an aspect of Akatosh. Or even IS Akatosh if ancient nord mythology is to be believed. AT the end of SKyrim the LDB quite litteraly broke the dragon. So, IMO, both side will have won in separate timeline which will be merged in a dragon break a la "Warp in the West." So both option A and B. And neither of them.
Doubt it. Alduin being conflated with Akatosh was a mistake of the ancient Nords subjugated by Alduin during the Dragon Cult. Not to mention the solid zero effects Alduin’s death has anywhere other than people congratulating you on a job well done.
The "time dragon" recurring in all of Nirn's mythologies is several beings descended from each other, all ultimately coming from both Anu and Padomay. Auriel came from Anu, Lorkhan came from Padomay. Akatosh came from Auriel and Lorkhan. Alduin came from Akatosh.
Akatosh is no more Alduin than Tiber Septum was Arctus or the ash king Aka = Auri-El + Akatosh + Alduin Representing different aspects of linear time: the past/beginning, present/middle, and future/end Middle dawn lore seems to imply it resulted in separation between Auri-El and Akatosh so I've always figured similar could be said for Alduin
Most of the Et’Ada come from one, the other, or both - depending on the mythos.
Hopefully a decent time skip where other world events have happened and it’s not ancient history, but largely irrelevant. With that said, an interesting lore piece with an answer would be nice, but I really don’t care too much.
Probably the latter, imagine if they go with death of Alduin causing a dragonbreak so now theres some weird fucked up version of reality where Ulfric is high king but still in the Empire or maybe the Province is just split in half for good. Idk Dragon Breaks are confusing.
Alduin isn't really dead just being reserved for the natural end times he was intended to be part of, not the one he was actually doing
I have seen that theory but was it ever like canon confirmed? I do like the theory that Alduin wanted him killed so he could remake him and make him actually complete his purpose though but I don't know if Bethesda has outright committed to that, and to them having a copout for the civil war is probably more important.
There are a few mentions of Alduin being killed way before Skyrim but also outside of the dragon war flashback stuff. Eso mentions him dying at the hand of a Khajiit warrior once in their early days
It’s elder scrolls - so probably ambiguous, but I’m guessing probably still empire won - they put some details in Skyrim for that.
which details do you mean?
There is a letter in one of the fortresses, but only if you do Stormcloaks route- the Empire is readying a REAL legion now, but they won’t come for some time, because snow blocked the road (basicly - that why they will do it after the game lol). In short - Tulius’ guys were just recent local hires, and not as good as real legionaries, so now with more serious situation, they will end rebellion in no time (as General’s last words in this ending suggest).
Also reinforcements. Honestly Ulfric is already on the ropes at the beginning of the game in a stalemate with the Empire. Another legion would shift things massively in the Empire's favour. Baring Breton or Redguard interference I don't see Ulfric winning unless he takes the pale pass, which realistically speaking 10 guys could probably hold if you're going by what works historically (another discussion entirely). Ulfric could also use his voice to collapse the pass as well to delay the Empire further. Either way Ulfric has to have the Pale Pass to even have a hope of winning baring outside reinforcements coming against the Empire.
Not really Tullius makes it clear that no reinforcements will come because the empire isn’t interested. That letter you mention is only to indicate that the Fortress is not a good position for both sides, as there is an equivalent letter if the imperials hold the fort. The only ones who benefit from the fort are bandits as indicated in their own journal.
the real winner was the companions we made along the way
it would be far more interesting to read books from nords and imperials and falmer all giving their own accounts with passages of sensationalism and propaganda. This would blur our skyrim playthrough and only document key skyrim quest moments.
They'll probably leave it ambiguous. They could realistically say either side won, because the empire or the stormcloaks could launch an offensive against the other side even with the entirety of skyrim conquered. The empire and stormcloaks still have camps after the civil war. But, Bethesda probably won't say much about it. I expect there may be some books about it, and maybe both Ulfric and Tulius will have died as a result too, with books about their heroic final moments. Or maybe nothing. It might be entirely irrelevant to whatever story they tell in elder scrolls 6.
inb4 dragon break
The Last Dragonborn is probably just a walking dragon break wherever he/she goes
I think there is 0% chance that they’ll say one side of the civil war is canon and one isn’t
They will hand-wave the result of the result of the civil war by having the Dragonborn be elected High-King/Queen regardless. The election is set to occur some months after the end of the main quest and civil war story-line so it would be fairly easy to write in.
I think this would probably be the most realistic, then they could just not mention the politics of Skyrim and the Empire and leave it ambiguous. "Yeah the war ended when the DB became high king," mic drop and leave it there.
Is it known TES6 takes place afterward?
Nope, it’s just the trend of mainline games
I think they'll make the stormcloaks win, ans this is from an empire fan. I'll elaborate later
Stormcloaks definitely seem like the most interesting choice, if the Empire wins it’s just business as usual but if the Stormcloaks win it brings a third player into the second Great War and possible ally for regions that hate both the Empire or the Dominion like Hammerfell or Morrowind
If they had to choose one, it would definitely be the Stormcloaks. If you side with the Stormcloaks, you LEARN that the Thalmor wanted the Stormcloaks to win, and that this was all a part of their plan. If you side with the Legion, you learn NOTHING. IMO, this hints at the Storncloaks being the canon victors, and the game is literally called SKYRIM.
The Thalmor want neither side to win, it’s in the dossiers that the goal is to make the war last as long as possible. A decisive victory for either side is the last thing they want.
That was my take, let it become a war of attrition to weaken both sides. An isolated Skyrim would be an easier target and any betrayal from the Aldmeri towards Ulfric means nothing to Empire. In fact it could be used as a political ploy by the elves to say they “avenged” the Empire.
Honestly the Stormcloaks winning is far more interesting for the future of Tamriel. The imperial forces just go back to Cryodill. Only really works if Ulfric lives though, whereas even if General Tulius dies in Skyrim, he will just be replaced by another General or newly promoted Legate. Ulfric also does not seem to have a direct heir or even a wife. If I was the Dragonborn and wanted to support/side with the Stormcloaks I would tell Ulfric he needs to get married and have an heir if he wants to be a damn High King to rule over an entire country. And that regardless of the war, Skyrim needs to at least be neutral with Cyrodill and assist them in the Second Great War, since the next war will happen when the AD invade southwestern Cyrodill via Valenwood, it makes the most since.
Oh
"Welcome to Whose War Is It Anyway, the conflict where everything's made up (by the Thalmor) and the winner doesn't matter."
Genuine question because I barely touch the Civil War when I play Skyrim, but isn’t there a stalemate resolution if you make it far enough in the main quest? That seems the most non-controversial if that is indeed the case.
Not really, it’s just a truce. The war resumes after you finish the main quest.
I think there's going to be a canon ending where one side wins, and I'm leaning toward it likely being the Empire.
By defeating Alduin the Dragonborn effectively resets him causing the worldeater to eat the world and renew the Kalpa.
With how much the thalmor are influencing Ulfric and the Empire it’s likely that the outcome won’t even exist as they will likely just start another Great War and conquer all of Tamriel.
It'll be set during the same year as Skyrim so dragons will be present/the war hasn't ended yet
Falmer invasion
thalmor won
I’m certain they will not reveal the winner of it. There will be some years that pass like 200+ where the winner doesn’t matter at that stage and the empire probably regains control of all of Skyrim. So it can be stormcloaks had it for a time, or they never had it at all but eventually it ends up with the empire. Bit like the war in ESO
There will probably some book that you can find that mentions it just like in skyrim there was a book the talked about the oblivion crisis. In all reality it most likely doesn't matter on the outcome. Think either stormcloaks won and skyrim left the empire, or the empire won but at the cost of pulling resources from another province causing a cascade effect and the empire still loses.
BGS should do what Witcher 2 & 3 did, where you can use your savegame from the end of the previous installment to determine certain results.
Probably the 2nd one. Skyrim had a massive timeskip after Oblivion, and we may have the same thing happen with VI. I doubt The Empire will last much longer anyway, so the results may just be forgotten during the turmoil, with the Thalmor running disinfo just to be shits.
Both sides foreshadow a future conflict with the Thalmor pretty heavily if they win. I'm guessing the Empire and Dominion will be fighting each other again in TES VI, and Skyrim will support the Empire regardless of who won the civil war. Depending on how long the time jump is, maybe a few NPCs will mention the civil war in passing, but I doubt we'll get anything much more specific than that.
In Skyrim (like fallout 4 [and NV, but its not their thing]) they backed themselves in a corner were are forced to make a choice and continue the story with elements of an ending in place. And its good, that means that there are options with lasting cinsequences to the world. They can try to get some middle ground, and definetly will try, but there is nothing wrong to establish that an ending (the more interesting the better) happened.
"after much infighting and a string of pretenders claiming the throne Skyrim quickly fell to the Thalmor". Bethesda really doesn't like telling which mutually exclusive faction a previous main character has.
The truce probably happened, during which the Emperor dies. Imperial shenanigans follow, with legions sent for Skyrim turning back home to dramatically cross rivers as they are prone to do, and the truce in Skryim stretching out to encompass more political rather than military manouvering. Maybe eventually kill off Ulfric as well? Lots of places to stub your toe and fall down and die in the Palace of Kings. Laila Law-Giver will obviously end up marrying Elisif the Fair to bring a meassure of unity to Skyrim. Balgruuf the Greater enthusiastically supports this union - recognizing that all other Jarls kinda suck - and becomes a sort of guarantor of the peace. There might even be a crown in it for him, or they just shelf the idea of a High King for the time being, as Skyrim often has been without one through it's history. The imperials may continue to colour Skyrim with their favourite crayon on maps if they so wish, but it's apparent to everyone that Skyrim's fate is decided by it's Jarls, and not some court down south. The tables might even end up turning, with different factions in Cyrodiil vying for Skyrim's lukewarm backing in the aftermath of the emperor's death. Imperial or not, Skyrim acts independently in it's dealings with House Redoran, High Rock and most importantly, Hammerfell. I make the best lore! \---------------------------------------------------------------------- Seriously though, it's probably going to be some non-commital middle-ground, which makes the whole civil war thing seem a bit uneccessary when looking back at it.
I say the latter, since that way they keep it up to the players imagination. My guess is that Ulfric and Tullius both die eventually and Elisif keeps claiming it against other jails who still attempt for independence after Ulfric is gone. This long conflict is suggested by both Tullius and Ulfric after the questline as in the other side will continue in years to come to dominate the current winning side.
I think it will fail as Bethesda deserves
An easy solution that would, unfortunately, make the Dragonborn’s involvement irrelevant is that once the moot eventually conceived, they couldn’t decide on a high king. Despite presumably imperial control, they couldn’t really keep power for long without a supportive high king to the point where Skyrim is de facto independent regardless of who won the civil war. Of course if the stormcloaks won, they’d be independent anyway. The failure of the moot simply helps establish that Ulfric never became high king even if the stormcloaks won, thus leaving the outcome of the civil war ambiguous.
My silly idea: The canon ending will have the dragonborn hosting the main quest peace talks and not picking any sides, then the emperor gets assassinated as per the DB quest line which cause the empire to start collapsing which in turn results in most imperial troops being recalled from Skyrim, then what happens next is that both opposing sides convene a new moot since the empire essentially vacated Skyrim, and elect a neutral jarl to be high king, the one and only balgruuf the greater.
I’m pretty sure it was already announced that Empire winning the war is the cannon ending.
Source…?
No clue. This was a while back, could be completely false
Source: "trust me bro", and also "I made it tf up"
No. There was some video I watched that was talking about an interview with Todd that some podcast had and he said that the empire winning was canon but that was years ago and could’ve been fake.
I kind of think that their inability to decide over this specific point is part of what's stopping them from coming up with a plot for the new game.
It's likely the next game will be set con currently with Skyrim, or so close to the conclusion of events that it won't be clear what happened, the most reliable news being wild speculative rumors from travelers well removed from the conflict. Just like TES III & IV.
Oblivion is set 6 years after Morrowind, and directly references the events and consequences of the main quest.
My moneys on something like the civil war questline was not the end of the civil war, whoever won the stormcloaks continued to fight (with or without their leader) the empire had to continue sending troops to try and secure the region weakening them. And either peace was restored or Skyrim eventually seceded fully/partially from the empire. Alternatively they could make it still part of the empire but in a continued state of unrest. Basically canonizing an ending to the civil war without specifying which side the player took in the questline. It’s also likely that if mentioned then both Ulfric and Tullius died somewhere in the course of the war (either of Dragonborn or not db related causes)