A battle may be lost but the war can be won.

There is a book called "The Talos Mistake" which is written by Imperials. It tells quite well what the Empire thinks about worshiping Talos as one of the divines.
For example it has this sentence: "The Emperor agreed to the outlaw of the worship of Talos because it was the right thing to do."
This in-game-book is really easy to found in several dungeons and other places and in this link you can read it on the wiki http://uesp.net/wiki/Skyrim:The_Talos_Mistake

I choose to ignore evidence that's right in front of my face. I win!

In secret I can choose to believe that murder is wrong. If I go around murdering people anyways, I'm still a murderer.


The bigger picture is that the empire let itself get into the state its in. http://www.imperial-library.info/content/great-war and http://www.imperial-library.info/content/rising-threat already prove that Mede I basically let everything fall apart. The WGC was just the final nail in the coffin. The Mede empire is dead. Whether the Dovahkiin can remake it into a working empire or not remains to be seen. Or perhaps it really will fall, and we'll see a coalition of the provinces instead.

Maybe you should read a book called 'The Talos Mistake,' it was published in Cyrodiil by a high-ranking Legate.

Excuse me, but i've read that book more than twice and it's no secret to anyone that the Emperor was forced to sign the White Gold Concordat. For the Empire's sake and for the fate of Skyrim yes, it was the right thing to do. Isn't it obvious? He had to choose the lesser of two evils and against his will.

You really think so? The Cyrodiil is weak, infact, it is the weakest Human province as of right and it is the heart of Thalmor corruption. Hammerfell refused to accept the White-Gold Concordat, and the Empire was forced to renounce Hammerfell as a province. Well guess what? Hammerfell left the Empire and fought off the invading Aldmeri Dominion, keeping their land. This is why Redguards/Hammerfell harbor a strong hatred for both the Empire and Thalmor. If Hammerfell wasn't 'Thalmor Chow' without the Empire, then there is no reason why Skyrim or High-Rock wouldt be. As for the Empire, it is a former shadow of itself, and nothing more than a Thalmor puppet. Sure, the Empire might do something about it, but they really can't.

You mean from a role-playing perspective?

"Forced" to sign the WGC as a result of the incompetence of the Imperials and the Mede-ruled Empire. The Medes put themselves as well as the rest of Tamriel in our current situation because their family was unfit to take on the responsibility of becoming Emperor.

He had the option of fighting, but he went the path of the coward and gave up his people's freedom. The Thalmor wouldn't of even proposed the White Gold Concordant, unless they were severely weakened as well. Both the Empire and the Thalmor were in tatters at that point. Titus Mede should've made it a fight to the death, winner takes all. It would've been a gamble. The Empire could've won, or the Thalmor could've won. Better to die on your feet, than live on your knees.

I'm beginning to believe that people just wait to see this type of thread not pop up for a 24 hour period then decide to make their own...

*waits for the close*

There are no good guys in this war.

Well that seems likely but I haven't found anything which can proof that he did it only because of the White Gold Concordat and against his will. I have to ask is this only the way you think it happened or is there something in game like a book or NPC comment etc. which can proof your argument?

The Emperor was forced to sign it, but no one was forced to write the book, and the Emperor wasn't forced to apologize to the Empire for 'The Talos Mistake.' What's Ironic about the book is that it claims Talos isn't a true Divine(when in fact he is) and that Talos' worship angers the Eight Divines as it takes away from their worship. Yet Talos wouldn't be angered at the Empire for banning his worship?

To be fair, the Thalmor army wasn't as weakened as most people believed...they still had forces in Alinor and the other provinces...However, the problem was that it would be expensive to bring those reinforcements into Cyrodiil. The Thalmor had already strained the war funds they had planned on spending...They didn't want to lose anymore money which is why they agreed to the WGC. Mede had conceded at that point and this would mean the Thalmor wouldn't have to exhaust anymore money for the war effort. It was actually a win/win for the Thalmor.

Attack forces?

Source?

Ah, yes, one of my favorite Che Guevara quotes. Yes, the Emperor did take the cowards way out, only to save his precious Imperial City. It's a shame too, because the White-Gold Concordat wasn't that different from the Ultimatum that Titus Mede II was given 5 years earlier, so essentially, all of the fighting was for nothing. After Red Ring, the Empire showed that sheer military tactics can defeat a stronger army, and I believe that the combined forces of Cyrodiil, Skyrim, Hammerfell, High-Rock, and maybe if the Empire were to strike a deal with Black Marsh, could fight back the Aldmeri Dominion. Also, the peace treaty will last as long as the Dominion wants it to, they will wipe out the empire eventually, but the war had exhausted both sides.

Didn't Skyrim belong to the Forsworn first? Or actually, the Falmer? The Nords didn't "discover" skyrim. Thats like a white guy getting mad at Mexicans for "infesting" HIS land when it actually belonged to the Natives first. That said, I also side with the stormcloaks. The "they're racist" argument doesn't really cut it, cause obviously they're not all racist....that'd be like saying all Imperial souldiers love the elves; get a new buzword. There really isn't a "good" side at all, but the stormcloak cause is at least honorable, as a certain thane from Solitude will tell you.

There are never good guys in a war. Anyway in this case Stormcloaks are the ones who are protecting something which belongs to them. Stormcloaks vs. Empire can easily be compared to two situations in the World War 2: French resistance movement vs. Nazi-Germany or Finland vs. Soviet-Union.

There are many comments, books and documents that prove that. If you choose to follow Hadvar at the start of the game and meet Alvor in Riverwood he will tell you a lot about the Empire's cause. This is one example i can remember of, but there are more. One book i remember reading that made me biased towards the Empire was The Great War. The documents found at the Thalmor Embassy as well. Throughout my gameplay i found that the Empire had a just cause, but sadly their resources are limited that is why they need heroes like you. To put things right, to put the Empire back where it belongs.

You did notice who wrote this book? If not, take a look:

http://www.uesp.net/wiki/Skyrim:The_Talos_Mistake

Says it all.

What the empire needs is an actual leader.

Nope, no good guys in this war, only shades of grey.

I wouldn't compare the Stormcloak/Empire with any of those, personally I see the American Civil War as a better option.

So did the Empire. As far as i know it was the Empire who drove the Thalmor out of Cyrodiil, but the cost was steep. Both the Empire and the Thalmor were weakened. None had the strenght to put an end to the conflict and thus the White Gold Concordat was signed.

The way i see it? The White Gold Concordat is the calm before the storm. Both factions have their own agenda. I don't think the Empire will settle for this agreement. They've got their hands full with the Stormcloaks let alone the Thalmor.