Imperial Army Intelligence Service
People who rebels against the emperor get hanged in the town square. People who quietly conspire against the emperor just disappear.The modern Ardenian Empire would probably not be half as scary without its intelligence agents. Picked out for their skills and personal loyalty to the emperor, they are the most staunch protectors of his interests. So high is this fear that common beliefs attribute nearly all mysterious or unprovable deaths and kidnappings to the work of the emperor's spies. The reality is quite different. Many intelligence officers pride themselves on subtlety and operating within the general boundaries of the law, if only in spirit. Their favourite method of dealing with would-be rebels and conspirators is to simply find all the dirty secrets and evidence there is, leaving it to local authorities to publicly trial the people in question. After all, there is no better way of keeping the nobles in check than the threat of having their estates confiscated on a completely legal basis.
Structure
Majority of intelligence officers seem to come from the Imperial Army, notable its officer corps. They are expected to be well-versed in military tactics, and are taught about laws and cultures of other nations in the world. The Intelligence Service ranks are considered to be on par with their Imperial Guard counterparts, and typically change by one rank when transferring to and from the Imperial Army.
On paper, the Intelligence Service is meant to operate as part of the broader army and thus answers to the local military authorities. In practice, that rule is rarely respected. The intelligence officers put their mission above anything else and frequently take over command of local units for the mission's sake. Not surprisingly, it has earned them the ire of many military officers.
For the most part, the Service follows its own convoluted system of superiority where it is not unheard of to see Captain commanding a Major based on their experience in the field. When on assignment, agents are nominally attached to the army on the highest levels such as regional governors or generals, ensuring that men with power over them are always too busy to actually use that power.
History
The establishment of an Intelligence Service within the Imperial Army was one of the major steps the Ardenian emperors took in regaining their power over the country. The Hummish warriors despised the cloak and dagger act, and so they had little objection to letting the Kosari deal with it. It has proven invaluable in the emperor's secret plan of playing the generals against each other, and allowed to hide a number of his troops under the disguise of mere servants.
When time came, the Intelligence Service showed it was more than just a bunch of paper-pushers. Several well-trained regiments marched in support of the emperor, commanded by the intelligence officers who were believed to be scattered throughout the continent. Since then, the Service has always had the ear of the emperor and played an increasingly vital role in the running of the empire.
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