I was unsure if this thread should go in the Cheat Section or the Lore Section. However, I'd rather have the expertise of this forum (with less post frequency) than the opinions and random comments of the other!

Heavy Spoilers Ahead!












I know that at the end of the Civil War questline, no matter what side you pick, no High King is chosen. The Moot has yet to take place. Granted, if one completes the Stormcloak questline, it's rather obvious that Ulfric will become the next High King. However, in the case of the Imperial ending (which appears to be the favorite, according to most post-release polls), the High King or Queen is left up in the air. Elder Scrolls Wiki had a quote a while back about if one completes the Dark Brotherhood questline (in which the Emperor is assassinated) that Elisif the Fair won't become High Queen. Of course, this is not necessarily the case, or else I didn't find any news about it, after the quest. This line has since been removed from Elder Scrolls Wiki, last I checked.

My questions to the lore buffs are: Who do you think the future leader of Skyrim will be? And furthermore, is the topic of choosing a leader, politicking, etc. "beefy" enough for one of the "meaty" DLCs that are upcoming?

Personally, I feel it would be great for the Dragonborn to become High King, becoming a leader of men like his precursor, Talos. However, if history is supposed to be ambiguous about the race, six, and disposition of the Dragonborn in later Elder Scrolls games, I doubt this is a possibility. Unless he wears a Dragon Priest Mask for the rest of his life. Therefore, our options are the current (and deposed) Jarls. Of those, I feel that Jarl Balgruuf the Greater and Maven Black-Briar are the most likely choices. Brunwulf Free-Winter would make a good choice, as the open-minded, worldly fellow he is (who even sends the player to hunt bandits that threaten Windhelm, while not the Jarl). However, I feel he doesn't have enough support or power, other than the seat of Windhelm, to win the Moot.

Before I give my opinions about Balgruuf and Maven, I'd like to see what everyone else thinks. The candidates for High King are:

Balgruuf the Greater
Maven Black-Briar
Elisif the Fair
Igmund of Markarth
Siddgeir of Falkreath
Idgrod Ravencrone (of Morthal)
Brunwulf Free-Winter (of Windhelm)
Kraldar of Winterhold