Imperator Correspondence

Imperator Correspondence

Location

Legions' Alcove
(Drizzlewood Coast)

Type

Book

Interact

Yes

Destructible

No

Imperator Correspondences are letters written by Imperator Smodur the Unflinching to his allies in the United Legions.

Location

Shiverpeak Mountains

• Drizzlewood Coast
  • Legions' Alcove

Text

Imperator Correspondence #1

Imperator Correspondence

---

To: Black Citadel

Subject: Signature Required

In the fahrar, we are all told that our legion is special, the best of the best, and comparable to no other. To some, it's intended to foster competition with the other legions—a way to keep driving us to improve. I don't need to explain to you that I believe something different. I believe that Iron is, in fact, the finest of all the legions. So you can imagine my surprise when I received a stack of parchment taller than a tank's drive sprocket that suggested otherwise—that your imperator had made "questionable" decisions that were considered "excessive" by some in the Black Citadel. Language was used that lesser charr might even find threatening.

Every day, we are under siege from some new threat. Stopping one does not stop the others. In my vast experience on the battlefield, I would go so far as to say that winning against one foe only emboldens the remainder. Bangar is the latest in a long line, and it is clear from my victories in Drizzlewood that I am the only one equipped with the means of ending him.

I was the only imperator to see the humans weren't our enemy. I bring this up only to illuminate a greater point: in that instance, as in so many others on the battlefield, lesser individuals believed I was wrong.

I was not.

But still I had to fight tooth and claw to pull the others into Ebonhawke. And look at what happened: without that treaty, we never would've beaten back Zhaitan. Or Mordremoth. Or Kralkatorrik. Without the treaty—my treaty—Tyria would be gone. The other imperators, and even the commander, are still grappling with this fact, but Black Citadel is keenly aware that I will be ascending to Khan-Ur once Bangar is dealt with. There is a reason we all see it as a foregone conclusion, and I would urge you to remember that in your future correspondence.

The charr have lost their way, corrupting their forms en masse to appease the whisperings of a malevolent Elder Dragon. The "laws of warfare" you reference in your thinly veiled threats simply do not apply to a force that cannot even abide by the laws of nature.

You suggest I temper my methods? Would you march into battle with a half-sharpened blade? I don't leave things half-finished, because half-finished is fully useless.

When I send a threat, I sign my name to it. The next time I receive one and it doesn't have names attached, I'm tossing it straight into the fire.

—Imperator Smodur the Unflinching

Imperator Correspondence #2

Imperator Correspondence

---

To: Tribune Kindleshot

Subject: Acknowledged, Not Actioned

You know that line you don't cross with your imperator? Turn around. There it is.

If I needed you here, I would have sent the orders a week ago. You do not impose yourself on me, and you do not "insist" upon your presence. Iron is stretched thin, and I need my best people in the places where they'll do the most good. I acknowledged you want to be here to end Bangar, but I must deny your request for transfer all the same.

That is the front line of a larger war, Tribune. Treachery runs deep throughout the legions, throughout Tyria, and leaving a single opening anywhere will allow Bangar's influence to take root.

Even when I kill Bangar, it won't end the conflict. He showed the charr something they've wanted for a long time: power. No treaties, no alliances—just power, like in the old days.

He told them the world I helped make turned us into weaklings. Into less than charr. I see the argument: one look at Tribune Brimstone and we all see the dangers of what happens when you spend too much time away from the warband.

That's why the real war will only begin after Bangar's gone. We'll execute the traitors who took up arms against us, but there are still so many who will secretly harbor these beliefs, and rooting them out will be harder. Impossible, even.

Stoneglow, Swordshadow, Greetsglory? They think killing Bangar will end the war. You and I both know that won't be enough.

The Dominion respects power, and so they'll only respect us when we've won.

So we can't just sneak in through the backdoor and slit Bangar's throat.

We need to show the Dominion the full might of Iron Legion. They need to see the power they stand against. They need to see the hopelessness of their battle. They need to know, to their very core, that they have lost.

Then, and only then, we will win.

—Smodur

Imperator Correspondence #3

Imperator Correspondence

---

To: Imperator Swordshadow

Subject: Your Support

I think as imperators it's important we maintain some sense of professionalism in our personal interactions, so I will do my best to ignore your outburst during our tactical retreat from the Frost Legion ambush.

If you have a problem with my methods, I'd remind you that your double agents have done little except get caught, all while putting on a show that puts my own charr in danger on a regular basis. Any contributions they've made to the war effort, aside from uncovering this cave, elude me—quite possibly because you've kept those contributions to yourself. And that's only if I give you the benefit of the doubt.

Then you said I would never be Khan-Ur, as if I might need your permission to obtain it. It seems you don't appreciate our current situation.

Until recently, we'd been getting along fine without a Khan-Ur. Each legion controlled its own people, there was friendly competition, and the Iron paw always knew what the Ash paw was up to. But Bangar changed that.

We didn't need a Khan-Ur because we all agreed, as imperators, that a balance of power was better. And it was. Until the balance was gone. Now there are two charr: United Legions and Dominion. One will conquer the other, and one of them is in league with an Elder Dragon. If they win, it would be the end of us, I agree. That is why even when Bangar is dead, we cannot let his ideas persist. It's not enough to kill him. We need to win.

The legions as we knew them may return someday, but until we get the charr back on track, I think you'd agree we need a strong leader with experience bringing enemies together to prevent anything like this from happening again.

You and I haven't always seen eye to eye, and we don't have to here. Just know when the time comes, I expect your support.

—Smodur

Gallery

• 

  Location of Correspondence #1.

• 

  Correspondence #1 page 1.

• 

  Correspondence #1 page 2.

• 

  Correspondence #1 page 3.

• 

  Location of Correspondence #2.

• 

  Correspondence #2 page 1.

• 

  Correspondence #2 page 2.

• 

  Correspondence #2 page 3.

• 

  Location of Correspondence #3.

• 

  Correspondence #3 page 1.

• 

  Correspondence #3 page 2.

• 

  Correspondence #3 page 3.

Notes

• The books only appear after the completion of the A Simple Negotiation story step in Episode 4: Jormag Rising.
• The books can be located as follows:
  • Correspondence #1 is on a crate behind Efram Greetsglory and Rytlock Brimstone.
  • Correspondence #2 is lying on the ground behind the open crate with dynamite near the trio of Ash Legion Scout, Iron Legion Soldier and Flame Legion Axe Fiend.
  • Correspondence #3 is on the strategy table next to the map.
• The book titles are not automatically visible; the player needs to either highlight the books or stand close to them to make the titles appear.

Trivia

• The texts were written by Alex Kain.