i was thinking of the first one;
http://en.uesp.net/wiki/Lore:Orsiniumassuming my earlier post is some form of canon, a former orc legionary named Urock Irock (insert better name here), haunted by his experiences during the great war, wanders tamriel as a sellsword. shortly after the events of skyrim, however, he receives a vision and a task from malacath to unite the orcs and take back the once great orc home.
this parts alot like the hobbit for a good frame of reference, its all very positive at first and this all starts very peaceful at first, an orc expedition comes to visit and restore the ruins but it goes from an expedition of a few dozen to a pilgrimage of a hundred thousand, as orcs from all over hear about malacaths chosen and flood in to join him.
of course, the hoity toity mage aristocrat bretons aren't having none of that and since they're a short string away from seceding from the empire, they petition the dominion for help. the thalmor aren't gonna pass up any chance to hurt the empire, so they accept and send in an army to "ensure the safety of the seceding bretons and oversee the change in leadership" but what happens is "slap the empire across the face, turn the bretons into servant dogs and wipe the sticking orcs out of the dominions new land". they hire a ton of less-than-scrupulous mercenaries to assist the "ruling" bretons. yeah, these guys are basically bandits, so they pillage peaceful orc caravans coming to view the rebuilding and harass any loyalist bretons trying to leave.
Urock himself is actually pro-imperial due to his experience with the legion. i mean, the imperial legion accepted him freely and many other orcs (yeah the great war sucked but the legion provided a home, job, a chance to prove himself and a sense of belonging) and so he petitions the empire for help. the empire makes a big show of trying to stay neutral, sending in only a token legion to oversee humanitarian efforts; bringing food for displaced people and evacing anyone who wants to leave safely. this is also a ruse as they sneak in supplies and money under the table for Urock's rebels and subtly allows orc legionaries to take a honorable early discharge.
so our player character is plonked in the middle of this political mess. after being arrested for unknown reasons by the thalmor, we're being escorted out of high rock when our prison caravan is waylaid by Urock orcs and we're set free in the ensuing battle.
.....how do the elder scrolls fit into all this? i have no fucking idea. i spent way too much time thinking this plot up in the shower earlier.