The Imperial Legion are major characters in the Elder Scrolls franchise.
They're the Second and Third Cyrodilic Empires' main military force. They frequently appear in the franchise, with their first appearance being in the 1998 action-adventure game The Elder Scrolls Adventures: Redguard, as the game's main antagonists.
In Skyrim (the franchise's fifth mainline game), they're a joinable faction led by General Tullius and his second-in-command, Legate Rikke. They intend to stop the Stormcloak rebellion led by Jarl Ulfric Stormcloak and ensure Skyrim remains a part of the Mede Dynasty Empire under Emperor Titus Mede II for an impending Second Great War against the Aldmeri Dominion and their Thalmor enforcers.
History[]
Skyrim[]
At the start of the game, General Tullius, an Imperial soldier named Hadvar from the town of Riverwood, and two more driving carts full of Stormcloak prisoners, including the Dragonborn, Ulfric, a Stormcloak soldier named Ralof, who is also from Riverwood like Hadvar, and a horse thief named Lokir from Rorikstead, are heading to the town of Helgen for the public execution of Ulfric and his Stormcloak rebels for high treason against the Empire due to Ulfric's murder of Skyrim's High King Torygg. Though one Stormcloak rebel willingly lets himself be the first to be beheaded by the headsman's axe after the Priestess of Arkay mentions the "Eight Divines", not "Nine Divines" to include Talos, AKA Tiber Septim, because of the White Gold Concordat with the Aldmeri Dominion, Alduin arrives to disrupt the executions and lay waste to Helgen, allowing Ulfric, Tullius, and others to escape, including the Dragonborn. After he retreats safely back to Solitude and Castle Dour, Tullius tries to regroup to deal with Ulfric as the Civil War currently is at a standstill. Ulfric, as Jarl of Windhelm and Eastmarch Hold, currently has loyalty from three other Holds in Skyrim: The Pale, led by Stormcloak loyalist Skald the Elder, Winterhold, under Jarl Korir, and The Rift, under Jarl Layla Law-Giver, while the Empire currently holds onto Haafingar, where the capital of Solitude is, under Torygg's widow, Jarl Elisif the Fair, The Reach, under Jarl Igmund, Hjaalmarch, under Jarl Idgrod Ravencrone, and Falkreath, under Jarl Siddgier. Only Whiterun Hold, under Jarl Balgruuf the Greater, remains neutral, and Balgruuf refuses to take a side in the war since siding with the Legion or the Stormcloaks will mark him a traitor to the other faction.
Tullius is discussing the situation with Whiterun with Rikke when the Dragonborn enters, offering to join the Legion to help them reunite Skyrim under the Empire. If Hadvar was joined escaping Helgen, Tullius will be surprised to hear Hadvar made it out of Helgen as well, but can't confirm his story until he checks in at Castle Dour. Nevertheless, thinking the Dragonborn's execution was in error, Tullius has Rikke send the Dragonborn to clear out Fort Hraggstad west of Solitude so they can garrison it with Legionnaires to secure the western approach to Solitude as the Dragonborn's initiation into the Legion. From there, they help Rikke retrieve the Jagged Crown before the Stormcloaks can, then deliver a warning to Balgruuf about the threat to Whiterun from the Stormcloaks. This time accepting Tullius' call for aid to defend Whiterun, Balgruuf has the Dragonborn deliver his axe to Ulfric. When Ulfric refuses the axe and declares he will attack Whiterun, Balgruuf has already reinforced his Hold Guards with Tullius' Legionnaires to defend Whiterun with. Though the city is besieged by Stormcloak catapult fire, the Dragonborn, Legionnaires, and Whiterun Hold Guards are able to hold the line and defend the city. Once the Stormcloaks are forced to retreat in defeat, not only is Balgruuf grateful to the Dragonborn for helping to defend his city, Tullius is then able to focus his attention on taking back the Stormcloak-controlled holds one by one before attacking Eastmarch and Windhelm.
After The Pale, Winterhold, and The Rift are reclaimed, and their Hold Guards replaced with Imperial Legionnaires as Skald, Korir, and Layla are replaced with Empire-loyal Jarls, such as Maven Black-Briar, once Fort Amol, the main stronghold in Eastmarch Hold, is captured, Tullius personally leads the final assault on Windhelm with Rikke and the Dragonborn, confronting Ulfric and his second-in-command, Galmar Stone-Fist, in the throne room of the Palace of the Kings, demanding their surrender, or face execution, as Tullius would be bringing their heads back to the Emperor in Cyrodiil in person to show their rebellion is over, one way or another. Though Ulfric and Galmar put up a valiant defense to keep their rebellion alive, Galmar is slain, and Ulfric is soon down on one knee in defeat. Ulfric asks to be slain by the Dragonborn so as to make his death more honorable, but the Dragonborn can refuse and let Tullius do it instead. With Ulfric dead, the Civil War is over, the Stormcloak Rebellion has been suppressed, and Skyrim is now fully united under the Empire again.
However, the Dragonborn can instead choose to side with the Stormcloaks and Ulfric, either by joining them right at the start, or deliver the Jagged Crown to them instead, showing they are defecting to their forces, and help put down Tullius and Rikke, ensuring Skyrim's independence from the already crumbling Empire so Ulfric can prepare Skyrim for the inevitable face-off with the Aldmeri Dominion in the foreseeable future.
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  Villains
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Daedric Princes Daedra Dragons Vampires Frostbite Spiders Aldmeri Dominion Imperial Legion Morag Tong Thieves Guild Dark Brotherhood Blackwood Company Glenmoril Witches Penitus Oculatus Legion Zero Tribunal Sixth House Dragon Priests Dwemer Snow Elves Creatures Others | ||