After another discussion with Saint_Jiub over my stubborn refusal to accept Skyrim's definition of "Dragonborn," I went to bed thinking about this self-inconsistency, in which I was willing to accept Oblivion's changes (of all games, Oblivion!) but could not accept further changes in a later game. In the end, I think I have a theory.

...Well, okay, part of it is probably the fact that Oblivion's Dragonborn doesn't just tack on the Thu'um, call you Ysmir, and say, "Behold, the Nordic version!" But it's more than that. After grumbling about no jungle and no boats in the Imperial City, I finally turned around and embraced it all, Ayleid-built White-Gold and all, with a smile. I did so specifically because various people, most prominently MK, did their absolute best to make those changes palatable. No city of bridges making you hate White-Gold Tower? Read The Nu-Mantia Intercepts! The Great Forest not jungle-y enough for you? Well, Tiber Septim's soldiers preferred it, so he gave it to them. The changes were given a history, a reasoning--and the Dragonborn definition was no exception, with Alessia's rebellion being fleshed out to include an awesome war, a Divine Crusader, and the blood of Akatosh's heart. And that was enough to win me over.

Skyrim, by contrast, has a vague, bland "Dragon War." There is no history (or more specifically, no reasoning) for the Ysmir/Dragonborn conflation; according to Balgruuf, Wulfharth was a Dragonborn, so as long as there's been a Ysmir, he's been Dragonborn too--it just is. And Alduin? Isn't he supposed to eat the world (to say nothing about his portrayal in Varieties of Faith being thrown to the side)?

So I put forward a challenge to the lore community. When I was irritated with Oblivion, stories of that world's past came forward to make me believe in it. But so far Skyrim's past is amazing to us only because of its potential, and I'm too cynical and not imaginative enough to fill in the gaps with anything more awesome than a cop-out. So I leave it in your hands. Prove me wrong. Prove to me that the Dragon Wars are as epic as we've been vaguely told. Prove to me that the Dragonborn as Skyrim portrays it is a viable concept supported by myth and story. Prove to me that the stories that made Oblivion's retcons acceptable, to say nothing of Morrowind's before that, aren't a thing of the past.

Unless the Dragonborn DLC changed anything, we need epic Monkey Truth to fill in some serious gaps. Please help.

So, the utter removal of Cyrodiil's culture was more tolerable than a epic war? There is nothing of Cyrodiil left now, outside of a few books that make the difference seem all the more grand. Skyrim, by contrast, gives the Nords a culture that shapes there reponse to events. Their reaction to the White Gold Concordat alone overwhelms anything Oblivion managed to hold up for Cyrodiil.

I agree that the Dragon War is forced and uninspired. But it is nothing compared to Cyrodiil.