4.2 Windhelm and Solitude

      First thing I did was travel to Solitude. Instead of taking the long way and walking all the way there, I found a carriage and paid someone to take me there. Upon arrival the guards greeted me and said that I was just in time for the execution. Such a great welcome to the city of the Imperials, who I didn’t choose at the start of the game. Looking inside the local inn I found a bard who sang “Age of Aggression” for me. It turned out to be a song about how Ulfric and the Stormcloaks were evil. Traveling further into Solitude I found what appeared to be captains of the army arguing about what to do. Saying that Ulfric was going to attack and such. It seems that the city is trying to appeal to me through a sense of urgency and that Imperials are right and that’s how it should be.

      Afterwards I decided to head to Windhelm to see what the deal with the Stormcloaks was. As soon as I entered Windhelm I heard some people arguing with a dark elf. This hinted that there was some sort of problem between the nords and dark elves in Windhelm. No execution yet though. So Windhelm is a little better than Solitude so far. After finding the inn I asked the bard to play “Age of Oppression”. It was pretty much about how they want to rebel against the imperials. Afterwards I went to the main building and listened to the conversation between Ulfric and his advisor. What I got from Windhelm is that they don’t want to be brought down and want to fight for Skyrim

      I feel like both cities appealed many elements of a complex claim. Windhelm with the rebellion and Solitude with opposition. A roadmap can be seen as each side thinking that a battle is going to take place. Stakes are whether they will stay oppressed or not. A counterclaim is a little tricky though. If you were to take both sides into account you could say that the counterclaim is the opposing sides reasoning. 
       This was an interesting part of the game. It was trying to get me to make a choice between the Imperials and the Stormcloaks. Although for me both sides didn't seem that appealing. I didn't want to have sort of restriction with the a side if I chose the other one. So I decided to just leave.For something that doesn't relate to the main story it may just be better to leave it neutral. This may apply to everyday life between social interactions. It may be more beneficial if you aren't pressured into taking a side and remain neutral. Of course this doesn't always work because some things you have to make a decision on.