How will Bethesda do this?

[Lachdonin]

The only things we can really take away from Skyrim are

1) The Psijics have the eye of Magnus

2) The emperor is assassinated

3) Alduin is defeated.

 

If you take past TES lore into account, the Dragonborn will most likely become a non-factor shortly after the defeat of Alduin. The civil war will likely be described as an on again/off again conflict, with Ulfric and Tullius both dying at one point or another and Skyrim becoming a fractured ruin for a time. The Thalmor or some other force will probably then overrun most of Tamriel, at which point some trigger happy noble or mage will introduce a magic doomsday device like the before mentioned eye of magnus. While this happens, the Dragonborn's progeny may multiply, spreading the power of the voice throughout Skyrim.

 

This, i think, is what we will see. History has a tendancy to forget its heroes once their destiny has been fulfilled, and the role of the Dragonborn, beyond defeating Alduin, will be almost non-existant. At the very least, they won't make a decision on which side he took, and if anything will probably record it as both sides claiming to have fought alongside the Dragonborn.

 

The actual outcome will depend largely on what Bethesda decides to do with the Empire. Will it collapse, or will it stand? The Empire has always been part of the TES games, and for my part at least i find it unlikely that the Empire will fall, but there is a degree of attachment there which i cannot deny. Whatever the case, even teh Civil War queslines don't give you closure. When you complete it for the Empire, they clearly state there are still rebels hiding in the mountains who could take years to deal with. It's not expressly stated in the Stormcloak line, but with the Empire you're also told that there is no true Legion in Skyrim, their all on the borders with the domminion, which is why Tullius has been recruiting locally. As such, the Empire is hardly beaten after Ulfric takes Solitude.

 

Even in the game the Civil War has no real outcome, even if you play through.