Jarl Balgruuf enthusiast💛

Childhood

So, Balgruuf, being the child of a Jarl, obviously grew up with luxuries that others could not afford, but also being 'prepared' to become Jarl one day. This has the effect on him that he is much more cautious, thinks more about his actions than his younger brother Hrongar who can be a bit hot-headed. However, part of this education to be Jarl involved him observing work that his father did. Yes, this taught him diplomacy… but he also witnessed a lot of his father's incompetence (this is important for later).

Through his childhood, he also got to know some of the other children of Jarls – in particular, Ulfric Stormcloak. Ulfric is a few years older than him, and being one of the few children he would often interact with, they do become close friends. They would exchange letters as soon as Balgruuf was old enough to write somewhat fluently, and he and his father would sometimes go to visit Hoag and Ulfric in Windhelm and vice-versa. He distinctly remembers his first meeting with him though, having been told that 'the bear' was going to be visiting Whiterun (this referring to Hoag being called the Bear of Eastmarch), and being surprised that the 'bear' was not an actual bear, and was accompanied by his son, Ulfric. Very much the imagination of a child playing a part in his expectations. But after that one meeting, the two do become firm friends and rivals during the naivety of childhood, butting heads and having a laugh on the rare occasions they got to meet. They start drifting apart once Ulfric leaves for High Hrothgar to train under the Greybeards, with contact becoming much less frequent.

By the time that Balgruuf is twelve, he is already learning how to use weapons alongside the rest of his education and preparation to eventually be Jarl, and at least knows how to use a sword by that point.

The Great War starts when he is 14 years old, and given his age, he is unable to contribute to the efforts (though he is very much aware that it is going on, wished he could help in some capacity, but also started hearing about some of the horrors happening beyond Skyrim's borders).

Becoming Jarl and why he is called 'the Greater'

Eventually, Balgruuf's father decides to get involved in the war when Balgruuf is about sixteen, having decided that Balgruuf was old enough and competent enough to hold the fort in his stead. The expectation was that upon his father's return, Balgruuf would allow him to take the throne of Dragonsreach once more. When news gets out that Balgruuf's father was fighting in Cyrodiil, the people of Whiterun start venturing to Dragonsreach to raise their issues with Balgruuf.

Balgruuf is shocked to learn about the sorts of problems the people are facing in Whiterun under his father's rule, and it angers him. He had been taught that he would be responsible for all these people one day, so why were they facing such hardships? Being turned away when in need? So, he goes about trying to help in whatever capacity he can – the people take notice of this. Did I mention that I headcanon that his father was also called Balgruuf? This in turn results in Balgruuf (the one I have been talking about) earning himself the title of 'the Greater', and his absent as a result of war father earning the title of 'the Lesser', simply because of the impact they have had on the people of Whiterun. This title is quickly picked up across Skyrim.

At one point during this period, with him going out to handle battles which have erupted as a result of hardships people are facing as a consequence of war, he meets Irileth. They both cross blades and battle by one another's side, and they develop a bond as a result.

Balgruuf and Hrongar both notice after a while that they haven't heard any updates from their father for a short while. It makes them both nervous. But the brothers both keep on a strong face, and Balgruuf continues to write updates on how things are going in Whiterun even though he doesn't send those letters until he receives any correspondence back. Then, in the closing months of the war, news reaches Whiterun – their father had fallen in battle. Though the news shocks him, and he feels the need to grieve, Balgruuf does his best to keep a strong face. For his family, and for his people. He was, after all, now the Jarl (once due process had been followed and the other Jarls of Skyrim informed). Fortunately, he has a solid circle of people around him at this point to keep him going - Hrongar and Irileth (who had strongarmed her way into becoming his housecarl). The hold's steward he wasn't too keen on, but tolerated for the sake of there being some continuity in power (Proventus doesn't come into the picture until later).

I also like to think that it is about this time when he is officially stepping into power that he makes the pilgrimage to High Hrothgar – an opportunity to clear his mind and have a moment of peace before what is to come, an opportunity to feel detached from the troubles of Whiterun before he dedicated himself to make them his own.

Personal life/relationships

 So, whilst all this is going on, Balgruuf also has a personal life, and there are very few concrete things about this in canon – one of these is that though he has the children to two different mothers (Frothar and Dagny to one, Nelkir to another) based upon Nelkir’s dialogue during the Whispering Door quest, another is that there is no partner in his life as of the main events of Skyrim. I also don’t tink that the children are too far apart in age either. So, that begs the question – how did this work out?

I’ve seen some interpretations that Balgruuf slept around, having Frothar and Dagny with a partner and Nelkir with an affair, but I feel that Balgruuf is too cautious a man to sleep with just anyone (Hrongar on the other hand, he seems a bit more hot-headed and willing to sleep with people here and there). My interpretation is that Balgruuf was close with both mothers of his children (I do have names for them in my fic, as Balgruuf eventually opens up about this to Elyse when they’re finally approaching ending up in a relationship themselves). Frothar and Dagny’s mother being a long-term relationship and marriage, potentially stemming from a childhood romance, losing her and almost losing Dagny after her birth. Nelkir’s mother being a close friend that he leans on as he grieves and tries to figure out what he has to do to balance being a suddenly single father and Jarl, and having a bit of a bounce back  with her, leading to Nelkir being conceived.

However, it could be inferred that because his children seemed to not be told about their different mothers until Nelkir is told by Mephala, that something also happened to Nelkir’s mother when they were quite young. My headcanon here is cue the Ebony Blade and Mephala’s meddling in Whiterun – because wouldn’t it be ironic if Nelkir finds himself just as drawn in by the same Daedra’s whispers as his own mother?

Nelkir’s mother stumbled across the Ebony Blade one day whilst Nelkir was a baby, and starts feeling its pull. The urge to feed the blade with the blood of deceit. It starts innocuously – a friend or two from the Dragonsreach staff, including a guard who was meant to protect the three young children. This gets Balgruuf and everyone on alert, so he shifts his work so that he can do that whilst keeping an eye on the children. Nelkir, being only a few months old, starts crying – Dagny and Frothar luckily stay asleep. There is no form of alert when she enters the room, she is allowed in... But what better betrayal could there be than slaying your partner and months old child?  Than Balgruuf taking a blade as he holds the crying Nelkir in his arms?

Thankfully, Irileth is there to protect him, and Nelkir escapes harm. But having gone from having a partner who helped you heal, to her being cut down so suddenly because of a cursed blade, is likely to shake a person and deter them from further relationships if betrayal and death can happen just as it quickly and suddenly did the mothers of his children. The emotional scar is not the only scar it leaves, as I imagine being stabbed by such a blade would leave its mark – and as his back was turned, that ends up being on his back, near his right shoulder as it was that arm he had Nelkir in. It is fortunate that the Temple of Kynareth and its healers are so close to Dragonsreach, as it could easily have been much worse than a scar.

None of the children are made aware of any of this, for all that they (should) know, they had the same mother. Frothar may have been acutely aware, but he was also only three years old at this time. Very few people in Dragonsreach know the truth of the situation also – Proventus comes into place as Steward after the fact and as such isn’t told, meaning that only Hrongar and Irileth know the exact details, as does Farengar (him being the one who helped Balgruuf try to destroy the Ebony Blade upon the realisation it was the blade causing the change in behaviour before they locked it into a room where only the two of them held keys).

Romantic relationships are not the only thing which take a turn either, his friendships do too. Specifically that of his friendship with Ulfric. At first they have some distance put between them  when Ulfric goes to study under the Greybeards, and that’s the first part of their relationship which gets chipped away. Then he hears of Ulfric joining the war in Cyrodiil – what happened to becoming a Greybeard? Another chip. Then there is all the conflicting accounts of the Markarth Incident, with there being one certainty with them all – Ulfric’s involvement. Another. Ulfric becoming Jarl and whispers reaching him of the difficulties experienced by his people, something which unsettled him in a way which reminded Balgruuf of his own father’s behaviour as Jarl. Then comes the Skyrim Civil War. By that point, their friendship is barely that – it’s strained, and it takes very little for it to shatter apart... Perhaps taking only the allegiance of the Dragonborn to make or break it. (And obviously, in my fics, that Elyse sides with Balgruuf and has an antagonistic relationship with Ulfric which is the breaking point)

Impact of the past

Of course, all of this – from his journey to becoming Jarl and the tragedy of those close relationships – has wider repercussions on Balgruuf’s life and decisions. This can most strongly be seen with his children, and ties to his (admittedly bad) attempts at balancing being a father and a Jarl. He does the Jarl part well, but does not function the greatest as a father (albeit he is trying to not be like his own, though that results in him falling flat in other areas).

As of the time the Skyrim Civil War has broken out, Frothar is younger than he was when the war in Cyrodiil happened. This has Balgruuf cautious about Frothar learning how to use weapons, no less with Hrongar being quite vocal about joining the Empire and not wanting his son to get roped up into battle either, so initially dissuades his son by saying he is too young (which at that point, is still true). That too young excuse just keeps on continuing, as it is easy and cheap to just keep using. In turn resulting in Frothar realising that he doesn’t need a weapon to get stronger, upon realising he can train with his fists instead.

This unwillingness for Frothar to end up involved for the war is also why Balgruuf tries to keep Whiterun neutral for as long as he can – for one, he has seen the hardships of war on his people, and two, it is a senseless loss of life and he does not want to see that in his hold.

Then there is Dagny. She reminds him all too much of her mother, and remembers all too well that he almost lost Dagny with her, so he spoils her rotten. This in turn leads to Dagny acting quite stubborn and stuck up and spoiled, as Balgruuf is essentially wrapped around his daughter’s fingers because she wants spoiling and he will do so willingly.

Childhood

So, Balgruuf, being the child of a Jarl, obviously grew up with luxuries that others could not afford, but also being 'prepared' to become Jarl one day. This has the effect on him that he is much more cautious, thinks more about his actions than his younger brother Hrongar who can be a bit hot-headed. However, part of this education to be Jarl involved him observing work that his father did. Yes, this taught him diplomacy… but he also witnessed a lot of his father's incompetence (this is important for later).

Through his childhood, he also got to know some of the other children of Jarls – in particular, Ulfric Stormcloak. Ulfric is a few years older than him, and being one of the few children he would often interact with, they do become close friends. They would exchange letters as soon as Balgruuf was old enough to write somewhat fluently, and he and his father would sometimes go to visit Hoag and Ulfric in Windhelm and vice-versa. He distinctly remembers his first meeting with him though, having been told that 'the bear' was going to be visiting Whiterun (this referring to Hoag being called the Bear of Eastmarch), and being surprised that the 'bear' was not an actual bear, and was accompanied by his son, Ulfric. Very much the imagination of a child playing a part in his expectations. But after that one meeting, the two do become firm friends and rivals during the naivety of childhood, butting heads and having a laugh on the rare occasions they got to meet. They start drifting apart once Ulfric leaves for High Hrothgar to train under the Greybeards, with contact becoming much less frequent.

By the time that Balgruuf is twelve, he is already learning how to use weapons alongside the rest of his education and preparation to eventually be Jarl, and at least knows how to use a sword by that point.

The Great War starts when he is 14 years old, and given his age, he is unable to contribute to the efforts (though he is very much aware that it is going on, wished he could help in some capacity, but also started hearing about some of the horrors happening beyond Skyrim's borders).

Becoming Jarl and why he is called 'the Greater'

Eventually, Balgruuf's father decides to get involved in the war when Balgruuf is about sixteen, having decided that Balgruuf was old enough and competent enough to hold the fort in his stead. The expectation was that upon his father's return, Balgruuf would allow him to take the throne of Dragonsreach once more. When news gets out that Balgruuf's father was fighting in Cyrodiil, the people of Whiterun start venturing to Dragonsreach to raise their issues with Balgruuf.

Balgruuf is shocked to learn about the sorts of problems the people are facing in Whiterun under his father's rule, and it angers him. He had been taught that he would be responsible for all these people one day, so why were they facing such hardships? Being turned away when in need? So, he goes about trying to help in whatever capacity he can – the people take notice of this. Did I mention that I headcanon that his father was also called Balgruuf? This in turn results in Balgruuf (the one I have been talking about) earning himself the title of 'the Greater', and his absent as a result of war father earning the title of 'the Lesser', simply because of the impact they have had on the people of Whiterun. This title is quickly picked up across Skyrim.

At one point during this period, with him going out to handle battles which have erupted as a result of hardships people are facing as a consequence of war, he meets Irileth. They both cross blades and battle by one another's side, and they develop a bond as a result.

Balgruuf and Hrongar both notice after a while that they haven't heard any updates from their father for a short while. It makes them both nervous. But the brothers both keep on a strong face, and Balgruuf continues to write updates on how things are going in Whiterun even though he doesn't send those letters until he receives any correspondence back. Then, in the closing months of the war, news reaches Whiterun – their father had fallen in battle. Though the news shocks him, and he feels the need to grieve, Balgruuf does his best to keep a strong face. For his family, and for his people. He was, after all, now the Jarl (once due process had been followed and the other Jarls of Skyrim informed). Fortunately, he has a solid circle of people around him at this point to keep him going - Hrongar and Irileth (who had strongarmed her way into becoming his housecarl). The hold's steward he wasn't too keen on, but tolerated for the sake of there being some continuity in power (Proventus doesn't come into the picture until later).

I also like to think that it is about this time when he is officially stepping into power that he makes the pilgrimage to High Hrothgar – an opportunity to clear his mind and have a moment of peace before what is to come, an opportunity to feel detached from the troubles of Whiterun before he dedicated himself to make them his own.

Personal life/relationships

 So, whilst all this is going on, Balgruuf also has a personal life, and there are very few concrete things about this in canon – one of these is that though he has the children to two different mothers (Frothar and Dagny to one, Nelkir to another) based upon Nelkir’s dialogue during the Whispering Door quest, another is that there is no partner in his life as of the main events of Skyrim. I also don’t tink that the children are too far apart in age either. So, that begs the question – how did this work out?

I’ve seen some interpretations that Balgruuf slept around, having Frothar and Dagny with a partner and Nelkir with an affair, but I feel that Balgruuf is too cautious a man to sleep with just anyone (Hrongar on the other hand, he seems a bit more hot-headed and willing to sleep with people here and there). My interpretation is that Balgruuf was close with both mothers of his children (I do have names for them in my fic, as Balgruuf eventually opens up about this to Elyse when they’re finally approaching ending up in a relationship themselves). Frothar and Dagny’s mother being a long-term relationship and marriage, potentially stemming from a childhood romance, losing her and almost losing Dagny after her birth. Nelkir’s mother being a close friend that he leans on as he grieves and tries to figure out what he has to do to balance being a suddenly single father and Jarl, and having a bit of a bounce back  with her, leading to Nelkir being conceived.

However, it could be inferred that because his children seemed to not be told about their different mothers until Nelkir is told by Mephala, that something also happened to Nelkir’s mother when they were quite young. My headcanon here is cue the Ebony Blade and Mephala’s meddling in Whiterun – because wouldn’t it be ironic if Nelkir finds himself just as drawn in by the same Daedra’s whispers as his own mother?

Nelkir’s mother stumbled across the Ebony Blade one day whilst Nelkir was a baby, and starts feeling its pull. The urge to feed the blade with the blood of deceit. It starts innocuously – a friend or two from the Dragonsreach staff, including a guard who was meant to protect the three young children. This gets Balgruuf and everyone on alert, so he shifts his work so that he can do that whilst keeping an eye on the children. Nelkir, being only a few months old, starts crying – Dagny and Frothar luckily stay asleep. There is no form of alert when she enters the room, she is allowed in... But what better betrayal could there be than slaying your partner and months old child?  Than Balgruuf taking a blade as he holds the crying Nelkir in his arms?

Thankfully, Irileth is there to protect him, and Nelkir escapes harm. But having gone from having a partner who helped you heal, to her being cut down so suddenly because of a cursed blade, is likely to shake a person and deter them from further relationships if betrayal and death can happen just as it quickly and suddenly did the mothers of his children. The emotional scar is not the only scar it leaves, as I imagine being stabbed by such a blade would leave its mark – and as his back was turned, that ends up being on his back, near his right shoulder as it was that arm he had Nelkir in. It is fortunate that the Temple of Kynareth and its healers are so close to Dragonsreach, as it could easily have been much worse than a scar.

None of the children are made aware of any of this, for all that they (should) know, they had the same mother. Frothar may have been acutely aware, but he was also only three years old at this time. Very few people in Dragonsreach know the truth of the situation also – Proventus comes into place as Steward after the fact and as such isn’t told, meaning that only Hrongar and Irileth know the exact details, as does Farengar (him being the one who helped Balgruuf try to destroy the Ebony Blade upon the realisation it was the blade causing the change in behaviour before they locked it into a room where only the two of them held keys).

Romantic relationships are not the only thing which take a turn either, his friendships do too. Specifically that of his friendship with Ulfric. At first they have some distance put between them  when Ulfric goes to study under the Greybeards, and that’s the first part of their relationship which gets chipped away. Then he hears of Ulfric joining the war in Cyrodiil – what happened to becoming a Greybeard? Another chip. Then there is all the conflicting accounts of the Markarth Incident, with there being one certainty with them all – Ulfric’s involvement. Another. Ulfric becoming Jarl and whispers reaching him of the difficulties experienced by his people, something which unsettled him in a way which reminded Balgruuf of his own father’s behaviour as Jarl. Then comes the Skyrim Civil War. By that point, their friendship is barely that – it’s strained, and it takes very little for it to shatter apart... Perhaps taking only the allegiance of the Dragonborn to make or break it. (And obviously, in my fics, that Elyse sides with Balgruuf and has an antagonistic relationship with Ulfric which is the breaking point)

Impact of the past

Of course, all of this – from his journey to becoming Jarl and the tragedy of those close relationships – has wider repercussions on Balgruuf’s life and decisions. This can most strongly be seen with his children, and ties to his (admittedly bad) attempts at balancing being a father and a Jarl. He does the Jarl part well, but does not function the greatest as a father (albeit he is trying to not be like his own, though that results in him falling flat in other areas).

As of the time the Skyrim Civil War has broken out, Frothar is younger than he was when the war in Cyrodiil happened. This has Balgruuf cautious about Frothar learning how to use weapons, no less with Hrongar being quite vocal about joining the Empire and not wanting his son to get roped up into battle either, so initially dissuades his son by saying he is too young (which at that point, is still true). That too young excuse just keeps on continuing, as it is easy and cheap to just keep using. In turn resulting in Frothar realising that he doesn’t need a weapon to get stronger, upon realising he can train with his fists instead.

This unwillingness for Frothar to end up involved for the war is also why Balgruuf tries to keep Whiterun neutral for as long as he can – for one, he has seen the hardships of war on his people, and two, it is a senseless loss of life and he does not want to see that in his hold.

Then there is Dagny. She reminds him all too much of her mother, and remembers all too well that he almost lost Dagny with her, so he spoils her rotten. This in turn leads to Dagny acting quite stubborn and stuck up and spoiled, as Balgruuf is essentially wrapped around his daughter’s fingers because she wants spoiling and he will do so willingly.

There's a scene in ch 10 where Ulfric sees Lys pray to a Talos shrine. This follows:

“I suppose I’m curious if he answered,” Ulfric said. Lys couldn’t help herself. Impish smile burgeoning, she poked Ulfric in the stomach. His softer outer layer stopped abruptly with the wall of muscle behind it. There, Lys passed along just enough of a shock to make a gentle crackle, akin to pulling a woollen hat off her head in the dry winter months. Only when Ulfric took light hold of Lys’ wrist did she think she maybe shouldn’t have done that, despite his huff of amusement. If Ulfric had ever been tortured in his life—and he had, if Lys rightly read his inferences—it had likely been done with lightning magic. Ulfric didn’t react like a man bothered or reminded, though. His hand was warm and dry against Lys’ own clammy skin, two fingertips pressed into her wrist as if he sought her pulse there. Ulfric released Lys then, leaving the spectre of callouses burned gently into her skin, more mentally than physically.

tbh, I didn't think much about it at the time. Ulfric was tired after slipping out of the Thalmor/Empire's grasps, and he and Lys were just playing around.

Only later did I realize the reason Ulfric wouldn't have reacted to a shock like that is he didn't register it. For a touch-starved man, every touch feels like that LOL

Which got me thinking about Ulfric's life as a whole. Did he ever have a chance at all for companionship? I'll count friendship in this too. Who does Ulfric have in his life outside of professionalism or obligation?

Hoag - present in his childhood, Ulfric rarely saw after he left for the Greybeards, probably just 'around' enough and while Ulfric was young to maybe (depending on how warm of a father he was) set the bar on human affection

Greybeards - 100% spiritual fulfillment, nothing else, especially not conversation

Balgruuf - friends once? They def have the vibe of boys who grew apart when the world became complicated (read @umbracirrus 's post here on this from Balgruuf's perspective, I completely agree with everything she laid down)

Galmar - possibly started as friends, whether as lads or they met during their service in the Great War, but I'm inclined to believe Galmar is older than Ulfric. I wrote him in Grasping as having also been Hoag's housecarl. This would've been after the Great War, while Ulfric was in Markarth. Galmar doesn't seem to have gone with Ulfric there since he doesn't talk about it. Point is, whatever their beginnings, Galmar is currently Ulfric's housecarl. He's a subordinate, not a friend

Rikke - pretty obvious. Friends once, now separated by enemy lines

Any Stormcloak soldier or city guard - subordinates

The other jarls - either political enemies or allies

Point is, other than being tortured by Elenwen and then whatever hookups Ulfric may have had through the years, he's rarely had any form of touch. Intimacy, particularly emotionally? He doesn't know her.

Enter Lys.

Their entire acquaintanceship begins on equal footing. Lys hasn't ever lived in Windhelm as a Dunmer, so she doesn't have that baggage. She isn't one of his citizens. What they start off with in common is the fact they're both currently prisoners of the Empire that turned its back on them. They both know what it means to lead entire factions, given Lys' history as Grandmaster of the Morag Tong.

Lys is chosen at Fort Neugrad to feed Ulfric while they wait for Tullius to arrive, since the guards don't trust Ulfric not to Shout at one of them like he did Torygg lol. So, he and Lys have meals together. They fill that time with talk. On the other side of Fort Neugrad, post-escape, Lys is sympathetic to Ulfric (and vice versa, but this post isn't about that) and she respects him as a man.

She gets prodded here and there about joining the Stormcloaks, but she won't. Lys has belonged to a lot of factions before in her long life, and she takes them seriously. It's also hard, the more you belong to, to give them the weight they deserve. Lys couldn't even balance the Tribunal Temple and the Morag Tong in the end, since she found the Tribunal and Mephala worship to be at odds with one another following the Temple's decline. She's still reaping the consequences of that, nearly two-hundred years later. Same as being tied to the Cyrodilic Empire via the Twin Lamps. It was all fun and games accepting their resources back then, very helpful! But alas. The Empire always comes to collect in the end. You are never anything more to them than a number, a name on a list of assets.

Anyway. When it comes to the civil war, Lys has her own way to go. The spirit of Pelinal Whitestrake snags onto her, and this isn't an opportunity to waste as far as revenge on the Thalmor for killing her grandfather goes. That's all practical and pragmatic.

There's something else, though. At Lys' heart, given how she feels about Ulfric (not romantic at the current time of where I'm working on the fic, but there's some level of attraction), she just doesn't want to be his subordinate. She's already adjusted to being his equal. They're friends. Especially if what Pelinal is to Lys, Morihaus is to Ulfric, their myth-echo-ology simply doesn't allow for it.

But I like to think about Lys and Ulfric having this conversation, where she's hedging again on joining the Stormcloaks perhaps, or they're just talking about it. Ulfric is so accustomed to everyone in his life filing themselves into pre-organized slots: mentor, ally, subordinate. For someone to tell him to his face, no Ulfric, I don't want to be your subordinate, would just be

:)

One thing to understand about the way I write Ulfric is that his flaws in-game are his starting point in the fic. He’s really sucked as jarl of Eastmarch and everything he goes through after challenging Torygg is his wakeup call. But of course in Grasping his road home is a little more non-linear than Helgen getting attacked by dragon + escape, blah blah, readers know this.

When he finally gets home to Windhelm, it’s by boat and he’s forced to do a walk of shame through the Grey Quarter. He has no choice but to face the consequences of his jarldom at a time when he’s already been cracked open about it. Brunwulf, his fellow Great War veteran, is about to become an influential friend of the court because Ulfric needs an in with the Dunmer/Argonians after fucking up so bad for so long lolol

Off-screen away from him (and general unbeknownst although he’s suspicious), Lys is busy cutting down the Thalmor. They are becoming less of an aggravator in Skyrim as they worry more about their own. The Legion is in dire straits after Tullius’ death. Ulfric is given space to focus more on home, rather than just occasionally hitting up Jorleif like yo what’s going on in the Grey Quarter these days and then getting all huffy when Jorleif is like they still hate you sire lol.

This is perhaps all important to understand how Skyrim politically evolves in Grasping. Plot Events get Ulfric and Balgruuf talking, and although they don’t get along very well there are things Ulfric sees in Balgruuf now that he’s not so close-minded. For one, how Whiterun hold interacts with the Empire. It’s not necessarily neutral, but has a trade partnership. So why isn’t this the relationship that Skyrim as a whole can have with the Empire?

And if Balgruuf can manage singlehandedly to keep the Empire at arm’s length, then what could he manage with the support of all the other eight jarls? As High King?

(Side reminder that I don’t necessarily see Ulfric as power hungry for High King. Galmar has to talk him into it when it comes to the Korvunjund quest to retrieve the crown, and he’s kinda just… resigned to it even when the Stormcloaks win lol. He wants to wait for the Moot to confirm it and expects he’ll get it, but he’s just kinda like. Eh. lol. So I let that flavour my portrayal of him)

So now. Let’s picture a future in Skyrim when the Thalmor eventually get driven out as they’re individually cut down, and then a coalition begins between Ulfric, Rikke (Military Governor after Tullius kicked it RIP), and Balgruuf. Skyrim gains its independence. Balgruuf is confirmed High King at the Moot. The Empire is politely but firmly asked to leave. lol

Also - because the Thalmor have failed in Skyrim, falling back is bad news for Cyrodiil. The Dominion is at their borders again.

But there were agreements made when the Empire leaves Skyrim, one being defence coalitions. So, perhaps a bit sooner than expected, Titus Mede calls on Balgruuf to honour this.

And who decides that it’s time to personally redeem himself? As he’s decided so many times before to do with usually disastrous results? Ulfric.

But this time when he goes to Cyrodiil, it’s under Skyrim’s banner. Not Eastmarch’s.

Now, there’s some uncertainties about this part of the fic timeline. I want to rework the prophecy of the Dragonborn so that it’s the resolution of the events it points to that instigates Alduin’s return. So: civil war ended. New king crowned. Etc. But Lys has already known she’s Dragonborn due to her having descended from Tiber Septim. The blood is in her. She just didn’t know she was destined to be the last one, or whatever.

Point is, if I bring in the Skyrim main quest with Alduin, it happens when Cyrodiil is also open. The crisis wouldn’t be limited to Skyrim’s borders. I think it would be really cool to somehow incorporate the Septims of old (potentially communing with Martin’s statue in the Imperial City, for example), and since Lys mantled Pelinal Whitestrake for the purpose of hunting Thalmor in Skyrim, the Ayleids.

So Lys would have reason to go with Ulfric to hold off the Dominion from trying to take the Imperial City again. They’re not only dealing with Thalmor, but dragons. The Thalmor themselves are cracking from the inside, as resistance has erupted across Summerset, Valenwood, and Elswyr.

Which brings me back to the original question: when would be the worst (aka best) time for Ulfric to suffer a werebear infection in an AU lol

I think it would be when he and Lys are on their way back to Skyrim. This would be a high point in Ulfric’s life. Coming home means that whatever campaign occurred in Cyrodiil was successful. Maybe Lys didn’t go with him to begin with, if they were separated as he made good on his promise to support Balgruuf and Lys had to deal with Dragonborn shit. But they reunited in Cyrodiil, (should also mention I see them as married by this point lol so that’s also nice), and Ulfric finally feels like he managed to reconcile with the Empire to a place of mutual respect. He’d made some headway in improving Windhelm’s conditions and by all accounts, Brunwulf has done great as his interim replacement while he’s off with his war party.

But Ulfric suffers in general from a curse of survival, imo. He goes head first into battles where he should die an honourable hero. The worst thing that ever happens to him is he keeps making it through, and he keeps growing more jaded and hateful, etc. He does the stereotypical “lived long enough to see himself become the villain” and it’s HELL to dismantle that without the luxury of death. (Why I don’t like the outcome where he dies in game. Why does he get the easy out?)

But on his way home from Cyrodiil, he’s feeling pretty good! Windhelm should be more welcoming and his name isn’t synonymous with dirt for half of Skyrim anymore. His wife is with him. They’re cracking jokes about how their party is going to be put up for a night of rest at Fort Neugrad before they continue east. Do you think they’ll let us see the cell we first met in? Lol stuff like that.

This is the point I would choose. Steps off for a piss, and, well…werebear lol

And of course Ulfric survives, and the world starts falling apart around him again. He’s short tempered as he fights the beast blood, which is rather a new phenomenon for him since although he’s liable to heat up about certain things he’s generally a calm person. Lys isn’t around much because Dragonborn Stuff and when she is, Ulfric is out of his mind worrying about how this is going to end for her and also he wants/needs her home for support. He can’t sleep. He realizes he’s never going to go to Sovngarde since Hircine will claim him instead for the Hunting Grounds. He leaves the city often enough to try and get the transformations out of his system that whispers begin in Windhelm that victory made him lazy. But, eh. Everyone prefers dealing with Brunwulf anyway, so who cares if he’s gone all the time.

But Brunwulf can’t properly challenge Ulfric for his throne, so he’s stuck with it. The fact Ulfric could Shout already made him a formidable opponent. Now add to that a 9’0 tall angry werebear when transformed, with a roar that would rattle windows in Alinor all the way from Eastmarch.