Probably broken, given that most Dragonborns will mess up everything in Skyrim for the Thalmor. Nowhere in the dossier is the Thu'um mentioned.Īnd he was assigned as an asset to the interrogator, who is now First Emissary Elenwen.Įlenwen’s career was either made or broken by this chance encounter, depending on how she feels about her Skyrim position. I find it interesting they zeroed in on that as the value. Under interrogation, we learned of his potential value (son of the Jarl of Windhelm) Not with the later Nord forces under Jonna, since he’s captured before the fall of the Imperial City, and apparently knew something about the defences fo the City. By the end of the year, the Imperial City was surrounded on three sides - only the northern supply route to Bruma remained open. Fresh legions from Skyrim bolstered the Emperor’s main army in the Imperial City, but the Aldmeri forced the crossing of the Niben and began advancing in force up the eastern bank. The year 4E 173 saw stiffening Imperial resistance in Cyrodiil, but the seemingly inexorable Aldmeri advance continued. Specifically, he probably came to Cyrodiil as part of this force mentioned in The Great War. It would seem then that Ulfric was taken prisoner between late 4E 173 and early 4E 174. When he was taken as a prisoner of war during the campaign for the White-Gold Tower. The security in the Embassy is shameful, that’s what it is. I like this line because it confirms some of the scuttlebutt elsewhere that the Thalmor treat the Great War as “the First War” in official documents, not just when mouthing off (like Ondolemar). The dossier (as we’ll see later) is completely up to date, covering events to Helgen.īackground: Ulfric first came to our attention during the First War Against the Empire, I think we can assume this was either written by Elenwen directly or by her staff from her files, as an instruction to her subordinates in Skyrim.ĭescription: Jarl of Windhelm, leader of Stormcloak rebellion, Imperial Legion veteran “Dormant” suggests Elenwen isn’t even trying to interact with him.Įmissary Level Approval, of course, refers to Elenwen, whose asset Ulfric has been from the start. “uncooperative” and “Dormant” both underscore Ulfric’s lack of current interaction with the Thalmor. We have to look elsewhere in the Dossier for details. In spycraft vocabulary, an “asset” can be completely unaware they’re being used. “Asset” is not a damning designation for Ulfric. Status: Asset (uncooperative), Dormant, Emissary Level Approval I’ll note anything i find interesting some of it won’t be about Ulfric necessarily. So, line by line: let’s read the Thalmor Dossier. There are some damning details that don’t let Ulfric off the hook that easily. The most common defence of Ulfric is that the Dossier lists him as an asset simply because he has been/is being manipulated to benefit the Dominion’s interests. The first line of the Dossier readsĪ puppet or a sleeper agent who could be activated at will is not “uncooperative.”īut putting aside that obvious misreading of the Dossier, there’s a whole range of possible interpretations. That interpretation is pretty obviously wrong. And it also solidified my growing belief that Ulfric wasn’t a capable government head.īut what exactly does the Dossier mean? A lot of people believe the Dossier reveals that Ulfric is a puppet/sleeper agent of the Thalmor. Reading the Dossier solidified my understanding that to thwart the Dominion this war needed to be quickly ended. It often is cited as being the point that decides players to fight for the Empire. The Dossier is a turning point for a lot of Skyrim players. Because I feel like living dangerously today … let’s talk about Ulfric Stormcloak and the Thalmor dossier.