In the words of Valeran Mortoc, Captain, Shatter Corps

It is said the first casualty of war is truth. This is meant as an abstract, that lies are disseminated to rouse a populace into acceptance of the warfare and bloodshed ahead. But as we aim to prosecute our war against the Ixaniad Sector, I recognize a more literal interpretation. The cowardly Imperium we aim to smash through gorges itself on lies of its own making, and has for a hundred centuries. Its Ecclesiarchy is the villainous architect of these lies, its Inquisition the dreaded propagator. These lies, under the façade of truths, serve as a point of vulnerability to be exploited by our grand conquest. Once the shields of their lies are sundered each blade that hid behind them will falter and the rest will fall in line.

And so I turn my attention to the voices that spout these lies from the tops of citadels and the depths of space. I see the threat levied by the holier-than-thou Inquisition and will lop the head from such a beast that the body may die. They may be the mere mouthpiece as mentioned, but in their absence, in silence, we will face no meaningful opposition. Thus is the stratagem of our war.

Warsmiths, they call our leaders, for they forge engines of the craft from the mechanical and the blessed seas beyond our own. I am not a Warsmith of their caliber, but I do not want to be. If I were to be a Warsmith, I would want the title for the crafting of ruinous, overwhelming fronts, for the creation of unbridled and relentless campaigns against our enemies. Let the little men of tin and robes make their toys—it is the force of men and the strategy behind them that wins our wars. I do not fully disparage our Mechanicum allies, for without them we would not have our arms or vessels—save for that which we have reclaimed from the undeserving hands of the Imperium, mind you. But I have not known tinkerers to accomplish more than that. A Warrior, particularly one of Iron, is capable of more than merely fighting, and it is that breadth of capability that I put greater valuation into. It is that which I would smith of us all, if I could.

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For nineteen standard centuries, I have been in or commanded campaigns involving the obliteration of the weak and the subjugation of those strong enough to call themselves our serfs. There is a plethora of weakness in this galaxy, and in truth there is so much so that I have forgotten the many names it has wielded over time. They are not worth remembering. But I have, on occasion, remembered the strong. Zakarian. A simple Guardsman of a world now subsumed by the Warp. He was the first to show evidence of proper strength, beyond merely the physical, of his relentless character and willpower. I did break his mind, eventually, but he and his regiment were of suitable diligence and dignity to warrant their continued existence under our banner.

One must recognize the strengths of their conquered foes, lest one succumb to those who embody past talents to a heightened degree of competence. Likewise, to that end, one must maintain cognizance of who they intend to destroy. In turning my attention to the Inquisition of Ixaniad, I have had my scouts profile its most prolific Agents. Callant Blackgar was the first name they returned with, for it was he that wrestled the Hestian operation to obliteration, he that took our Phaenonite allies from us. But my scouts dismissed him on rank when they identified the Inquisitor Lords of the Sector. Halloid van der Skar. Hargro. Caliman. Lycia. Kanin. A whole host of others. My scouts were adamant that van der Skar was the most dangerous of the group, and to some extent I agree, but not in the sense my scouts intended in their reports. I have understood van der Skar to be a man capable of surrounding himself with capable allies, and it is men such as he that do command a presence and long-term consideration. But it is those allies of his, particularly those born of warfare, who may pose the greatest threat in an escalated conflict. The former Commissars then. Caliman. And, returned from the earlier dismissal, Blackgar. It is them that I most worry about, that I most expect to bleed us dry.

It is them from whom I anticipate strength worth subjugating, for I believe they possess Iron in their veins.

Iron Within, Iron Without!