And now a post about Skyrim. And boy do I mean that.
Ever since a very short playthrough in Morrowind that made me decide I hate that game, I've played a Bosmer (Wood Elf) for all my Elder Scroll games. I can't tell you why, I just have. I also play completely against type, favoring to be a swordswoman rather than, say, an archer or thief. In fact, I am a terrible thief. Though I will say, I am MUCH better at picking locks in Skyrim (sorry Blank).
It's also important that when I say "all my playthroughs", that's important. I've had to re-start Oblivion at least four times due to reasons not in my hands. I was always upset.
Anyhow. I've finally been sinking my teeth into Skyrim after getting it for Christmas. True to form, I've ignored the main quest for the most part (though I'm currently in the quest The Horn of Jurgen Windcaller) and have been having fun running around, stumbling upon every Daedric quest ever, and doing random side bits. I have yet to choose a faction to join, and that is where I get majorly conflicted.
Imperials or Stormcloaks, which to choose. If you merely presented their ideas to me, I'd say Stormcoaks. I don't like how the Imperials came in to Skyrim, forbidding the worship of Talos, an important Nordic god, and trying to make Skyrim part of the Empire. The Stormcloaks just want their independence. I can dig that. But then I find out that Ulfric Stormcloak and everyone in that faction hate elves. Yeah, I understand it's due to the Aldmeri Dominion bein' all uppity and the White-Gold Concordat being signed between the Empire and the Thalmor and all this stuff.
So in that case, well, I'll just side with the Imperials? Nope. They don't like elves either. They didn't sign the White-Gold Concordat because they wanted to, it's because after a certain point, both sides were exhausted from war and the treaty was the best way to go. It came from a war between the Empire and the elves.
The fun thing in all of this is that the Bosmer were...never really to blame during everything. Their country was taken over by the Altmer (High Elves) and made to do all these things. So really, me, as a Bosmer, is not to blame.
But then we also go back to how the Dunmer (Dark Elves) of Morrowind had to flee their country due to natural disaster and the conquest by Argonians. There's a ward of them in the city of Windhelm, and they are living in poverty. And that's a basic summation of how all Dunmer are treated in Skyrim: like pests and leeches.
So what it all comes down to are Nords (the natives of Skyrim) being extremely xenophobic, and the Imperials looking like nice guys but who really only in it for themselves. And as a Bosmer, I can either play for the side I played for in Oblivion, or play for the Stormcloaks and hope them having a Bosmer hero would help change their minds.
Or I could relax and remind myself it's a video game, but then I really don't see the point in playing a game with this much lore built into it at all.
