The year is 4E 185; ten years have passed since the signing of the White-Gold Concordat and the end of the Great War between the Empire and the Aldmeri Dominion. Skyrim, the frozen fatherland, is at peace, but her people are increasingly divided, and that peace is slowly becoming fragile. The Empire, finally getting back on its feet, has not yet returned to its proud stature, and in 4E 176, the Thalmor got their foothold within the province. Local recruitment, trade routes and travel to and from Cyrodiil, and Legion patrols have all seemed to rise in the recent years, and the establishment of a Thalmor Embassy - a tool to ensure that the terms of the Concordat are enforced - has circled like a brewing storm around the bases of Nordic identity, preparing to tear up root and stone in the ban of Talos Stormcrown.
Even after the betrayal of the White-Gold Concordat, Imperial banners fly peacefully above Skyrim's cities; taxes are collected in the Emperor's name, the moot still continues to recognize a High King, and Skyrim remains loyal to the Empire. Yet, beneath this steadfast and rugged landscape, where men of honor gather together and speak with the freedom of night, trust in Imperial authority slowly begins to rot. Growing nationalism fuels this erosion of trust in the Empire, the Empire that withdrew its forces from its provinces during a time of crisis. At the onset of the war, Hammerfell withheld the brunt of the Thalmor. In 4E 174, the Reachmen took control of Markarth with overwhelming force during the Forsworn Uprising. But to aid in the defence of the Imperial City, these costs were acceptable, and at the end of the war, so was the freedom of many Nords' faith. To this day, that scar has not healed in the Reach, and if the threat of stronger Imperial oversight looms while chaos reigns in the Fatherland, what will Kyne's children be left to do?
