Lore:Ulfric Stormcloak

of the   is known as the   of   and the leader of the  . An incredibly divisive and controversial figure, Ulfric pitted   against Nord in a bid for religious freedom and political independence for Skyrim.    

History
Little is known of Ulfric before  . He inherited the role of Jarl of   from his father  ,  and carried on a rivalry with Jarl   of   since they both were young. He studied under the   at   to learn how to use the thu'um.  He is branded a racist by some of his detractors because of his indifference to the situation of the   in Windhelm,  his order forbidding  s from entering the city,  and the perception that he only concerned himself with the problems of his Nordic subjects. 

The   broke out between the   and the   in the latter half of  .  According to   documents, Ulfric was captured by the Dominion early in the conflict and interrogated by  , who later became First Emissary to Skyrim.  Through this interrogation, they learned his importance, and he yielded information which they then convinced him had been essential in their seizing of the Imperial City, though the city had actually fallen before he gave up the information.  They eventually allowed him to escape. 

The  , a tribal group of primarily   descent,  seized the opportunity provided by the Great War to rebel and establish their own kingdom in the Reach in  .  The Great War ended two years later with the signing of the  , which, among other things, banned the worship of   in the Empire.  The Reachmen had purportedly spent the two years successfully governing themselves in relative peace, and began the process of being formally recognized by the Empire as a legitimate and independent kingdom.  Desperate to regain control of the Reach, Skyrim accepted the aid of a Nord militia led by Ulfric to reclaim the hold from the native Reachmen, in exchange for permitting the free worship of Talos in Markarth.    , son of Hrolfdir, the former Jarl of Markarth, admitted that they foolishly offered religious freedom to the militia hoping that the Thalmor wouldn't find out about the arrangement.  However, Igmund's hopes were in vain, as by this time Ulfric was purportedly acting as an asset for the Thalmor. 

The Markarth Incident
Ulfric led the militia to recapture the Reach, in what would become known as the Markarth Incident.  It is rumored that Ulfric used the thu'um to achieve this victory,  and he ultimately overthrew and captured the Forsworn leader, Madanach. When Markarth was returned to Imperial control, the free worship of Talos there was officially permitted, a condition Ulfric demanded before he agreed to cede control of the city.  Until then, the   had been largely ignoring Talos worship in Skyrim and Jarl Hrolfdir hoped the Thalmor would not find out about it.  Eventually, word reached the Thalmor, who sent a contingency of agents to Markarth to personally demand Ulfric's arrest.  Seeing no other option, Jarl Hrolfdir ordered Ulfric's arrest, ultimately reneging on the agreement.   . Ulfric believed the emperor was the one behind his arrest,  thus the incident was a key factor in bringing about the Stormcloak Rebellion. Following the incident, Ulfric reportedly became uncooperative to direct contact with the Thalmor, and he was eventually deemed by them to be a dormant asset. 

The Rebellion, The Civil War and Torygg's Death
Following the Markarth Incident, Ulfric was arrested. His father  ,  , died in     while Ulfric was imprisoned, and Ulfric delivered his eulogy via a letter that he had smuggled out of prison.  He was eventually set free and returned to Windhelm, where he took his father's place as Jarl.  It wasn't long before Ulfric's rebellion began, which at first was composed of minor skirmishes.  Despite his enmity toward Ulfric, Jarl Balgruuf of Whiterun initially refused to take a side on the resulting war.  Upon the death of High King Istlod, the   was convened, even in the middle of the civil war, and formally named Istlod's son   as the new High King.  Though the Moot only convenes as a formality when a High King dies with a direct heir,  Ulfric used the forum to voice his desire for independence from the Empire. Torygg knew Ulfric as a war hero and respected him, and the daring he displayed during the Moot further impressed the younger Nord.  Some time after Torygg's ascendance to the throne, and after years of civil war,   Ulfric traveled to   to see the young High King. Torygg and his court believed Ulfric had come to request an audience and further discuss his desire for Skyrim's independence, and welcomed him. By the time they realized Ulfric was there to challenge Torygg, it was too late to stop it.  Under ancient Nordic traditions, Torygg had no choice but to accept Ulfric's challenge for the throne, lest he risk losing face for an act of cowardice, which would lead to a recall of the Moot and likely his deposition as High King.  Accounts differ on what happened next. According to Ulfric, he knocked Torygg to the ground with the thu'um, then finished him with a sword.  Rumors circled among the people that Ulfric's shout literally tore the young High King apart.   Ulfric's supporters claimed that Torygg was a traitor to his people who deserved to die, and that Ulfric's victory rightfully made him the new High King.  Ulfric's detractors insist that there was nothing honorable about his challenge, and they view Torygg's death as unforgivable murder because Ulfric did not exhaust his diplomatic alternatives. Additionally, Torygg was of a young age with limited martial training, while Ulfric was a grizzled war veteran wielding the power of the thu'um.  According to Sybille Stentor, the Court Wizard of Solitude who had helped raise Torygg, the young High King likely would have given Ulfric's request to emancipate Skyrim from the Empire serious consideration, as he held Ulfric in high esteem.  Ulfric used his victory as proof that backing the Empire made Skyrim weak, claiming the province would be better off without the Empire's support. 

Sundered, Kingless, Bleeding
thumb|right|Ulfric's soul in Sovngarde
Ulfric managed to evade capture and fled back to Windhelm, to continue his rebellion. At this point the jarls of  ,  , and   supported him while the jarls of the Reach,   and   supported the Empire's claimant, Jarl   of  , the widow of High King Torygg. Initially,  , the Jarl of Falkreath, supported Ulfric, but he was replaced by his nephew,  , who favored the Empire. 

Eventually, in  , Ulfric and a small company of his bodyguards were captured by General   in an ambush while en route to   a few months after Torygg's death.  They surrendered,  Ulfric was gagged, and they were brought to   for execution.  However, a surprise attack by the ancient dragon   devastated the town.  Ulfric exploited the chaos to escape, to the pleasure of the Thalmor, who wished for Ulfric's rebellion to continue so Skyrim would remain divided and distracted.  

Ulfric returned to Windhelm and continued his campaign.   Sometime after the revelation of the Last Dragonborn, Ulfric stepped up his campaign by besieging the city of Whiterun, the capital of his old rival Balgruuf the Greater.  Balgruuf ultimately sided with the Empire in order to enlist additional aid to defend his holdings. 

See Also
For game-specific information, see the Skyrim and   articles.

References