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 acknowledge you want to be here to end Bangar, but I must deny your request for transfer all the same. This 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