You've experienced the Elder Scrolls Series in your own way, but want to learn more about its story.
Well, to get to the heart of the story- you have to go back to the beginning...
He was chosen as a child to walk the path of Jurgen Windcaller and follow the Way of
The Voice. He was taught above all to never use his Thu'um as a weapon, for it was most
sacred and only to be used in worship of the Divines. But the fires of rebellion burned
within his blood, and he answered their call...with a Shout that shook the land of Skyrim and
the Empire beyond. Warrior. Revolutionary. Nord. His name...
Ulfric Stormcloak. The son of a Windhelm Jarl, Ulfric was chosen
to study with the Greybeards at High Hrothgar from a very early age, and would spend most
of the next decade developing the awesome power of his Thu'um. It was expected that
Ulfric would himself become a Greybeard one day, if it were not for the Great War of the
fourth Era. Despite the teachings of pacifism that were the cornerstone of the Way of The
Voice, Ulfric was compelled to join in the fight against the elven Thalmor, who sensed
the growing weakness in the Empires of Men. Gone were the fabled days of the magnificent
Septim Dynasty. The landscape of Tamriel was a patchwork of independent kingdoms who battled
each other over resources and territorial disputes.
High Rock and Skyrim had been most prosperous during this time, and Ulfric wished to fight
to preserve the Nordic way of life, including the worship of Talos, which the Thalmor had
outlawed. Joining the Imperial Legion, the young Stormcloak was powerful and brave, yet
untrained in the ways of war, and hesitant to use his Thu'um in battle due to the teachings
of the Greybeards. He was quickly captured in battle, and subjected to the tender mercies
of the Thalmor, who tortured him relentlessly for many days, making him believe the information
he had finally given up had led to the fall of the White Gold Tower. In truth, the Imperial
City had fallen long before Ulfric reached his threshold for pain. Shortly after the
fall of Cyrodiil, he was released from prison and returned to Skyrim.
With the tragic demise of his father, Ulfric found great sadness within his native land
of Windhelm upon his return. With his reputation as a war hero, Ulfric Stormcloak was quickly
named Jarl of Windhelm. Immediately he was approached by Jarl Igmund of Markarth, who
had lost control of his territory known as the Reach. It had been taken by savages called
Reachmen who recognized neither the authority of the Empire or the Nords. They even managed
to take the city of Markarth itself. Igmund pleaded for assistance, and Ulfric agreed
to assist under the condition that the worship of Talos, which had been outlawed with the
treaty that ended the Great War, be freely allowed again. Igmund agreed, and Ulfric immediately
laid siege upon the city in what would become known as the Markarth Incident.
It is believed Ulfric used the power of his Thu'um to brutally crush the rebel Reachmen
and drive them again into the hills surrounding the Reach where they would become known as
the Forsworn. Jarl Igmund gratefully welcomed Talos worship once he was able to enter the
city. When the Imperial Legion arrived to bring
Markarth back under Imperial rule, Ulfric refused to allow them entry into the city
until free worship of Talos was assured. Desperate to restore order to a city that had sunk into
murderous anarchy, the Legion agreed, order was restored and all was well...for a while.
The Empire, desperate to maintain peace with the Aldmeri Dominion, was all too happy to
break their word. Thus Ulfric along with his fighting men, were soon driven out of the
city of Markarth by Imperial troops. Ulfric's resentment was enormous. He felt betrayed
by an Empire he and many other Nords had fought so hard and sacrificed so much for. It is
here, by all accounts that the Stormcloak Rebellion began.
Ulfric's position came to be one of secession. He reasoned that because the Empire was now
essentially a subject of the Thalmor and the Aldmeri Dominion, to remain under Imperial
authority was to be an underling to an underling. He began to believe that Nords would only
be truly free when all of Skyrim was purged of Imperial Rule. Over time, he became increasingly
nationalistic in his views. Some accused his policies of being outright racist. He is known
for having segregated the Dunmer living in Windhelm to the Gray Quarter slums as well
as for refusing to allow Argonians to live within the city walls at all.
Despite Ulfric's call for all the Nords of Skyrim to secede from the Empire, he managed
to co-exist for a time with his Imperial overseers. But that would soon change...
Ulfric's unsteady relationship with the Empire collapsed completely when he openly
killed the High King of Skyrim. Ulfric and his supporters maintain it was a formal duel
meant to illustrate just how weak Skyrim had grown under Imperial rule, and how essential
it was for Nords to split from the Empire. Ulfric claims High King Torygg accepted his
challenge, and it is reasonable to assume Torygg would have had to, for to do otherwise
would not only have been humiliating, it would have proven Ulfric's point all the same.
Some have called it a duel in the old Nord way, and thus an honorable kill. Then there
are those, such as General Tullius of the Empire, who claimed Ulfric literally Shouted
Torygg to pieces, condemning it as an act of cold blooded murder and an attempt to usurp
the crown of the High King for himself. In any event, orders for Ulfric's arrest were
issued immediately and for the next few months, Ulfric was confined to the boundaries of Windhelm.
Ultimately, he was duped and led into a trap at Darkwater Crossing, where he quietly and
peacefully surrendered. Whereas General Tullius would have seen the Nord leader extradited
to Cyrodiil to face murder charges, plans were inexplicably changed and it was decreed
that Jarl Ulfric Stormcloak would be transported to Helgen and executed immediately.
Perhaps it was just coincidence; the events of that day...for as the Legions of the Empire
prepared to execute not one, but two speakers of the Dragon Tongue, a great beast came soaring
out of the skies, raining fire and death down on Helgen, and allowing these two people of
great power to escape with their lives. The prisoner who escaped Helgen has gone on
to give us hope in a time when dragons appear to have returned in force to consume the world
of Man with elemental fury. Jarl Ulfric simply went home to Windhelm, to rule his land as
he had before. Their paths have crossed several times since, these two warriors, but where
their respective fates will lead them and if they will ever meet again, remains to be
seen. Meanwhile, the rebel Stormcloaks continue
to fight fiercely for Skyrim's independence and the right to openly worship Talos as their
forefathers did, unwavering in their resolve to decide their own destinies, free from Imperial
rule or Thalmor interference. They fight for their freedom.
They fight for justice and to honor the blood of their fallen kinsmen.
And they fight...because they believe in Ulfric Stormcloak, who they believe to be the true
High King. The final chapter in the life of this controversially
influential man is yet to be written. Some say he should led Skyrim into its next Golden
Age; others fear him and wish him dead. Ulfric and his Stormcloaks were not the first
revolutionaries willing to spill blood to shed an Imperial yoke. There was once a Red
Eagle who was so compelling; he would inspire Men even from beyond the grave.
But that... is a story for another day...