#so he is not into Canach beyond seeing him as a cool pal

[ginger-commander-is-tired]

The moment I saw that I knew I had to draw it, haha. 

[pact-mom-kyrie]

Hello pals. It’s been One of Those Weeks, and I really, really need to think about something good. Something that makes me feel better, you know? A story that makes me feel happy and hopeful.

As always, shoutout to @disaster-bi-canach for the help, and @spiritofthetiger​ for making the small post that made ditch insomnia and write most of this at 2AM. This will go a bit personal because I have a lot of feelings and objectivity is a lie.

So, are you ready for the ride? Cool.

Let’s talk about Efram Greetsglory, Imperator of the Flame Legion.

One of the first things we, as players, know is this: the charr shamans are assholes. I don’t know the details, but the GW1 veterans among us know everything. They used to hang out with Pyre Fierceshot, and that guy was really pissed off with them, because of their deceit, their titan worshipping stuff and general jekass tyranny.

In GW2 you discover they have become the Flame Legion. Still alive, still burning everything, still treating charr females as second class people even after Kalla Scorchrazor kicked their asses in the most spectacular way. Their Imperator, Geheron Baelfire, wants to become a god (and almost does if it wasn't for a human, a charr, and some meddling adventurers). After the defeat, they join this maniac terrorist sylvari and create one of the worst refugee crises in Tyria. In short, they are still the absolute fucking worst.

And years later, in what has to be the greatest charr party ever, they are there. Like any other legion. With a flag and a camp and everything, just as if nothing had ever happened. Crecia Stoneglow, the most level headed character in the whole map, asks you to talk with their Imperator. After knowing Geheron Baelfire, you can expect the worst. I mean, they are the worst after all.

But then you arrive at their camp and something happens.

(By now you’re used to the staunch militaristic and practical outlook of the charr. You have fixed tanks, fought ghosts, and enjoyed a metal concert. Rough stuff. What is expected of huge furry spartan engineers. And once again, you have no reason to think it would be any different this time)

But the Flame Legion ‘Imperator’ doesn't want you to do magic or fetch stuff, he wants you to console cubs.

Female cubs, that is, including his daughter. The big guy representing The Misogynistic Legion™ wants you to assure little bullied girls that it will be alright, that they are strong and worthy. That they don’t have to be ashamed of their magic or their origins. And after you do it, he asks his daughter, in a concerned dad voice, how about going back to the fahrar, to give it another chance.

At this time, you just wonder what the hell is going on?! Is it a ploy? Is it a lie? Why? Why why why why? Who the hell is this guy?!

And you will have three episodes to know why: because the Flame Legion, under his leadership, has changed. A lot.

You hear about a bloody civil war, about them being a splinter cell tired of war and suffering. A Legion that curses their old Imperator, and now is facing cultural genocide by having their cubs being raised by others. You see their females fighting too, telling their own stories of how they were exploited, and now they feel ostracized for being from the Flame Legion.

You start to realize that maybe it's not a ploy. It’s real. And its represented by this big old charr with a lot of horns, the one that showed himself not as a political and military leader, but as a concerned dad. Efram Greetsglory, the ‘Imperator’, the leader of a band of charr who decided to listen to Crecia, a cub born from one of their own.

During the story, Efram calls out a war crime, threatening to kill Smodur the Unflinchable, a charr that commands one of the greatest war machines in Tyria. He always gives his enemies the benefit of surrender, he does not enjoy the fights and tries to honor the dead. After the assassination of Smodur, he recognized that the Iron Legion Imperator was right, that his people are poisoned to the bone. He is maybe one of the few charr that realizes that his militaristic culture is doomed to an endless cycle of blood and conquest.

And because of that, he gets called out for being soft, for being too forgiving. He knows his Legion wants to be recognized as part of a greater society. He understands why some have betrayed him and the other Imperators for the hollow promise of power, rebirth, and redemption. He is just… kind, totally, unexpectedly, incredibly, kind.

He is also one of the most powerful and badass elementalists you can find in-game. Huge fire tornadoes and power to melt solid doors made of ice and all that stuff. He is a shaman and has earned his place, no doubt. He could be one of the Baelfire pretenders (he even has the same outfit), but he isn’t. His kindness is a choice, not something that just happened. 

All of this to say something simple. I really love this guy.

Like damn, I love a lot of characters in this game who are just kind people, but I didn't expect a huge charr from The Problematic Legion™ to be one of them. One who is part of maybe the greatest unseen redemption story in the history of Tyria. A character that is not scared of change, who goes above and beyond to build a new world, a better world.

Now, in these harsh times, when everything seems to happen all  at once, this is the story I really want, one that I really need. So, with that, let’s begin again.

Hi, I'm Ren. I live in a harsh place, full of harsh people.

And I love Efram Greetsglory, because that huge cat shows us that to build a new world, we have to be kinder, to honor the good in everyone, to recognize the faults and the qualities of our cultures, and try to be better. Efram shows that the cure against Bangar, against fascist death cult bullshit, is to fight with a flaming fist and a merciful heart.

And that is amazing, and it has helped me a lot in these hard times.

So, thank you Anet. And thank you reader, for being here.

Never thought I would ever say this but… for Flame Legion.