The Elder Scrolls 6will likely take players to the land of Hammerfell, an arid region west of Skyrim and north of Cyrodiil. Once a province of the Empire, it left following the events of the Great War between The Empire and The Aldmeri Dominion. However, it would be unfortunate ifThe Elder Scrolls 6doesn’t establish which provinces are still part of The Empire before taking players to a land that definitively isn’t.
Skyrim’s Civil Warhas the potential to reshape Tamriel’s political landscape, making it far too important to go unacknowledged inThe Elder Scrolls 6. The questline also doesn’t have any easy outs like Bethesda wrote for the players' other big choices. Instead of trying to downplay it inTES6, Bethesda should establish one ending as canon. This opens new storytelling opportunities and will be more satisfying for fans than ifThe Elder Scrolls 6tries to skirt around the issue.
RELATED:Skyrim’s Thieves Guild Quests Are Worth the Slog, and The Elder Scrolls 6 Should Take Notes
Skyrim’s Civil War is a Problem for The Elder Scrolls 6
Skyrimintroduces the Civil Warbefore anything else in the game. The cart ride with Ralof and Ulfric has been memed, appropriately enough, to Oblivion, and might not have been the most balanced way to introduce both factions. The Empire does try to cut the Dragonborn’s head off, after all, and while Ulfric is no saint, the Stormcloaks don’t shove their flaws in the player’s face quite so quickly. Still, ifSkyrim’s opening succeeds at one thing, it’s establishing the Civil War as a pivotal point in the kingdom’s history.
The war began when Jarl Ulfric of Windhelmkilled Skyrim’s High King Torygg, though whether that was a murder or a fair duel is a matter of perspective. Putting aside the numerous debates around Ulfric as a character, his goal is to restore the Nord’s right to worship Talos, one of the gods ofThe Elder Scrollsuniverse. Doing so requires freeing Skyrim from Imperial rule, a campaign players can aid, oppose, or stay out of entirely.
The Civil War stands out fromSkyrim’s other faction questlinesin that it’s one of only three with two different endings. However, the Dark Brotherhood questline and theDawnguardDLC are much easier for future games to ignore. InDawnguard’s case, Hakkon’s plan to permanently block out the sun fails in both endings. Additionally, the destruction of the Dawnguard or Volkihar Vampires isn’t likely to be felt outside of Skyrim.
Similarly,The Dark Brotherhood is a secret society, and the Emperor might die even without Brotherhood involvement. Meanwhile, Cicero and Babette aren’t in the Falkreath sanctuary during the quest to destroy it, so the Brotherhood may survive either way. On the other hand, even if the Dragonborn helps the Brotherhood rebuild, that doesn’t automatically mean it will have a presence in High Rock or Hammerfell. The point is thatTES6is probably covered regardless of what players did with the Dark Brotherhood inSkyrim.
RELATED:Skyrim Player Makes Heartbreaking Realization After Finishing Main Quest
Bethesda Needs to Pick a Winner for Skyrim’s Civil War
However,The Elder Scrolls 6can’t brushSkyrim’s Civil War under the rug that easily. Losing the Civil War wouldn’t likely destroy the Empire, but it would still be a significant economic and military setback. It also completely rewrites the political landscape of northern Tamriel in a way that even the Emperor’s death might not.
There are a few ways Bethesda could try to dodge the question. Some fans believe that theElder Scrolls 6’s willtreatSkyrim’s Season Unending Quest as the Civil War’s canonical ending, leaving the Civil War in an indefinite truce with no real winner. Alternatively,The Elder Scrolls 6could take place concurrently withSkyrimor introduce a time warp like the one Bethesda used to overwriteDaggerfall’s multiple endings. However, all these options feel like cop-outs and do more to undermine player agency than simply choosing a canon victor would.
These moves would also throw out some potentially interesting storytelling opportunities. An independent Skyrim would also weaken the Empire’s hold on the northwestern province of High Rock and cutthe Orcish kingdom of Orsiniumoff from its only reliable ally. On the other hand, an Imperial victory could represent a significant reversal of fortune and help to legitimize the Mede Dynasty following its defeat in the Great War. The outcome ofSkyrim’s Civil War has massive implications that will determine the political situation at the beginning ofThe Elder Scrolls 6.
Assuming a Stormcloak victory, it’s unclear what incentive the kingdoms of High Rock have for remaining loyal to an empire that’s too far away to protect them. That’s especially true considering High Rock’s historical connection to Hammerfell, which is doing just fine on its own so far. Both were part of the Daggerfall Covenant during the events ofESOand allied with each other to fight the Orcs on multiple occasions. The latter includes the sacking of the Third Orsinium in the early Fourth Era. With Imperial influence gone from Skyrim, the Orcs are once more vulnerable to Redguard attack.
Alternatively, victory in the Civil War could embolden the Empire, which may try to regain some of its influence in Hammerfell.Hammerfell’s Forebear factionhas traditionally supported The Empire and might be open to an alliance even if rejoining is off the table. Meanwhile, the Crowns would likely oppose any effort to entangle themselves with the Empire once more. The Empire and Dominion might even try to pit the various Redguard kingdoms against each other in proxy wars.
Either of these scenarios makes fertile ground for the kind of political stories that Bethesda told inDaggerfallandMorrowind. At the very least, it could create some fascinating background conflicts like the Civil War did for Skyrim. However, what this looks like will depend on whether the Empire is acting from a position of strength or weakness, which means first settlingthe question of Skyrim’s independence.
