*Spoilers* Whats the civil war got to do with the return of the Dragon

[Lordofdeath123]

It is described in the trailer already, that "when brothers shed their own blood" the dragons would return. So that must be connected somehow. But even though it seamed*spoiler* that the Aldmari had something to do with it, well...

 

So what connection is there? Why are the dragons returning?

 

I have played the game 3! times, 150 hours in already, and I still cant understand it. Sure the scrolls, but so what? What has the war got to do with it? Is it just pure coincidence?

[ZenMonkey47]

Well, Alduin wants eat souls that enter Saavenguard. So, in a sense, he wants the civil war to keep going so warriors keep dying and have more souls for him to eat. So I like to think he knew exactly what he was doing when he freed Ulfric during the beginning (unfortunately for him, he freed the Dragonborn as well)

[huntsman2310]

Its the last event that signals the return of Alduin.

 

The other ones before it were

 

1. The shattering of the staff of chaos

 

2. The warp in the west (and numidium activating)

 

3. The return of the Nerevarine

 

4. The Oblivion Crisis

 

these were all events that were connected to the World Eater returning, and with him the end of the World.

[Lordofdeath123]

Thank you for the replies, but it really makes no sense. Alduin needing souls? Come on, there were more souls during the great war, besides, it was not up to Alduin to choose when to return. He was banned in time.

I am kinda disappointed, that there is no link that so ever between the two major events here. The game is still über, as the plot is the least of TES appiels, but still..

[K00L]

Well its just a prophecy... The Elder Scrolls said that the events were signals of the return of Alduin, at least that's how some people interpreted it like Esbern and the Blades (Esbern narrates the trailer for Skyrim where you hear him say "You should have acted. They are already here. The Elder Scrolls told of their return"). Like huntsman2310 said they had a series of events that were signals that The World Eater would return and the end would come with him (Also the 4 events were all in written directly before any of the one's mentioning Alduin, which, if I'm right, is why they were interpreted to be signs leading to his return). In real life many religions have "signs" that signal the coming of things. It doesn't have a reason in the return of the dragons, its more of... a warning before it actually happened? I don't know how else to describe it. And like Zenmonkey47 said Alduin needs souls, but like you said he had no control over when he returned. Also though Sovngarde is where Nords go after death, so while more people died in The Great War, its likely that more Nords have died during the civil war. The events were all in the other games.

 

The shattering of the the Staff of Chaos - Arena

Warp in the West/The return of Numidium - Daggerfall

The Nerevarine's fight at Red Mountain - Morrowind

The opening of the Oblivion gates - Oblivion

And then return of Alduin - Skyrim

 

I really don't know how else to explain it, the events ARE related but aren't but lead up to something bigger... Damn... Read this definition: "It means the foreknowledge of future events, though it may sometimes apply to past events of which there is no memory, and to present hidden things which cannot be known by the natural light of reason." Maybe I didn't help at all :wallbash:

Edited December 18, 2011 by K00L

[Lachdonin]

The whole prophesy boils down to the use of the Elder Scroll to banish Alduin. The Scrolls are extremely cryptic, and all but impossible to translate, and even then the translations varry from person to person. All that can generally be gleaned are basic, vague alagories. Another fact about the Scrolls is that they can be used to gain glimses of the future, as all of time is writen on them. From the birth of Sithis and Anu to the end of creation, in prinicpal you can track the lives of everything through the Elder Scrolls.

 

The particular events depicting the time when Alduin would return are just basic translations of the timeless story of the Elder Scrolls. Sometime, in the past, the Akiviri translated a sequence of events which would culminate in the return of the most powerful Dragon the world knew. They recorded it in a prophesy, which was handed through the generations on Tamriel (though eventually forgotten). The only real relation between Alduin's return and the civil war is that the civil war would start shortly before Alduin popped back into the timeline. Beyond that, it's pure coincedence.

 

 

 

As for the souls, Alduin consumes them to regain his own power. It's like eating for him. He also seems to use them to revive lesser Dragons, whose souls have presumably faded into the void. The civil war simply gives him an abundance of souls in his Sovengarde hunting ground. Yes, a lot more souls entered Aetherius during the Great War, but Alduin can't hunt anywhere but Sovengarde, and the civil war offers fresher prey which is actually accessable.

[Khorak]

As Lachdonin said, it's basically coincidence. The prophesy knows that the civil war will begin just before Alduin will return, and so it is mentioned as a helpful sign to work out when exactly that return will be.

[MagusShade]

Look at ANY prophecy. The events that happen when Alduin returns don`t need to be related to Alduin returning.

 

Its like if I had a prophecy that said

 

On the Third full moon from now, Chaos will be unleased.

 

The chaos doesn`t have anything to do with the full moon, its just for timing.

 

In that same way

 

DRAGONBORN DRAGONBORN / BY HIS HONOR IS SWORN / TO KEEP EVIL FOREVER AT BAY / AND THE FIERCEST ROUT / WHEN THEY HEAR TRIUMPH'S HONOR / DRAGONBORN FOR YOUR BLESSING WE PRAY

 

AND THE SCROLLS HAVE FORTOLD / OF BLACK WINGS IN THE COLD / THAT WHEN BROTHERS WAGE WAR COME UNFURLED / ALDUIN BANE OF KINGS / ANCIENT SHADOW UNBOUND / WITH A HUNGERY TO SWALLOW THE WORLD

 

The Brothers Wage war part is just so you can predict WHEN it will happen.