+ The Iron Without - liber "invitation" +

[Doctor Perils]

Well, if Dos' is doing it ;)

“Brothers of the Iron Fourth! Sons of Perturabo! The cowardly Imperial Fists are drawing recruits and shoring up their defenses, getting ready to weather the assault of that commander of the Black Legion.
Will we let the lily-livered lapdogs of the False Emperor cower behind their walls? Will we let our cousins in black get all the glory? NO! For we are the IVth Legion, the Iron Warriors! We shall tear down their walls, and burn their cities to the ground! We shall humiliate them, and teach them fear!

We shall make them pay!!!

IRON WITHIN!!!”

+ IRON WITHOUT +

Getting the Liber in on this could actually be a good idea, as there are very few canon Iron Warriors warbands, so it would be interesting to see how people go about creating a Chaos Warband that is recognizably of Iron Warriors stock :)

[Xin Ceithan]

What is the deadline on this? I am going through my bit box and am a but daunted by the painting deadlines - but a warband concept and maybe a sketch or two I could cook up in 14 day timeframe similar to the mini rules ...

[Dosjetka]

The deadline to make your first vow is 17th September, while the deadline to complete your vow(s) is 4th December. So all in all, plenty of time!

[Olis]

Good initiative, Thorn. :tu:

[Doctor Perils]

The XCIIIrd Grand Batallion of the Iron Warriors is formed around a core of Grand Companies that predate Perturabo's command of the Legion. Originally a Chapter under Master Baros Taan, an ancient Terran legionnary, the XCIIIrd was recreated under the commander of the newly appointed Warsmith Setal Berdax, after Taan's demise during the Decimation of the IVth.

Most of the Warriors of the XCIIIrd hail from the world of Azrynia, and uphold its marshal traditions by mixing a widespread use of jetbikes rarely seen in other Grand Battalions of the Legion. Berdax has also inherited his father's paranoia, leading him to institute a Recon Corps that act just as often as his own secret police and spies as they serve as scouts on the battlefield.

A part of the 314th Expeditionnary Fleet, known as the "Pioneers", Setal Berdax accepted the command of Lord Commander Thierry Celestin - a mere mortal of the Imperial Army - with grim resolve. This fleet and its sister of the 1219th became known in the northern regions of Ultima Segmentum thanks to their conquest of a large sector within five Standard Years: an impressive achievement for two relatively small Expeditionnary Fleets with no backing from a Primarch.

With the outbreak of the Horus Heresy, the XCIIIrd were called to fight under the Steel Banners of the IVth Legion on the black sands of Istvaan V, mowing down the ranks of the loyalist forces and showing no mercy. However, their discontent at having kept away from the Primarch for decades at a time only grew as they learnt of the perceived mistakes of Perturabo and the destruction of Olympia. With Perturabo's defeat at Phall, the unrest boiled over: as the rest of the Legion travelled to the Eye of Terror in the company of the Primarch Fulgrim, the XCIIIrd fell away from the fleet during Warp travel, transitionning back into real space several weeks before the Iron Blood, claiming troubles with their Gellar Fields. They then made the travel back to the sector they had once conquered, Sector 314/1219-I. There, after assuring themselves of the loyalty of several high officials, including the newly established Squat colonies of the Weendish League, they began extensive fortification and mining work in the sector, all supposedly in the name of Perturabo.

However, neither the Warmaster, nor the loyalist Primarchs were duped by the actions of Setal Berdax - with Sector 314/1219-I lying close but not adjacent to the Warmaster's developping Shadow Empire, neither side could allow a faction of dubious loyalty to set up its own independent kingdom, and so elements of the Night Lords and the Raven Guard Legions were both sent to deal with the possible threat. The three-way campaign would last for the duration of the Heresy, no side taking a decisive advantage over the eight years of fighting. Finally, with the Loyalists' victory at the Battle of Terra and the beginning of the Scouring, both Traitor forces decided their position was untenable, and they both fled from Imperial space.

Before the XCIIIrd made the final leap to rejoin the IVth Legion, they restocked on supplies both in Sector 314/1219-I and on their home planet of Azrynia - minerals that had been mined throughout the duration of the Horus Heresy, in the hope of garnering the mercy of Perturabo. Indeed, Setal Berdax's life was spared for his gifts, but his Grand Battalion were sent to take part in the ambush of the Iron Cage as penance for his insubordination. During that battle, the XCIIIrd's ranks were eroded down from several thousands to barely one.

Little is known of the XCIIIrd's actions over the next ten Millenia, and it is believed that the Grand Battalion was mainly subsumed as part of the greater Legion. However, their constant humiliation and punishment may have led them to start in ernest a cult of the ancient bull-headed god that was once worshipped on Azrynia, an ambitious and envious god - such qualities should make it no surprise that their cult started to spread to some of the other Legionnaries of the Iron Warriors.

Finally, in fear of reprisals from Perturabo should their worship become known before its time: they headed for Urquhart, capital of the old Squat Weendish League, the only Squat colony of the sector to have been spared from the destruction of the Horus Heresy and the first Tyrannid Hive-fleets. There, they would meet up and ally with a new traitorous warband of Iron Hands, thus launching the dreaded Ashen Crusade in the name of their god Hashût.

[Conn Eremon]

Meant to do this much earlier, but haven't really been giving myself the time to just type. Though this Warband concept became more of a rambling tale. :lol:

 

"We gave you this world, no matter that you have forgotten this. That is enough of a right."

 

THE BURNING OF ST. BETALEPH

 

St. Betaleph was canonized late M.37, nearly eight centuries following her death in the grip of an incomprehensibly deadly plague that overwhelmed her final crusade. The world that now honors her with its name is far older, though millennia of strife have deprived it of its oldest records. A greenskin horde held St. Betaleph for nearly four decades before its inevitable reclamation, a period in which little that remained on the surface survived intact. The world, and its people, had suffered immeasurably, as if a great celestial beacon drew unwanted attention. St. Betaleph itself had little of worth for conquest. Its forges were small, barely providing enough output to support its population. Its population centers did not have the size or density to qualify even as minor hives. Its official name change was little more than a political move on behalf of its governor to curry favor with the sector deacons, an ill-fated pursuit that did not lend the world any symbolic importance. St. Betaleph is cursed simply with not being important enough to defend, and too distant from their nearest neighbor to easily call for aid. The people of St. Betaleph hardly accept this lying down. Many orbital batteries surround of impressive size encircle the globe, changing the night sky with martial constellations. Irregular regiments patrol their streets of cobbled cement. The people fight, they resist, in spite of the inevitably of their defeat each time. The history of St. Betaleph shows the severe disadvantages any lone, unsupported world faces when under assault by a space-faring enemy. It also shows the natural resolve and determination inherent in the human race, regardless of the odds arrayed against them.

 

That history came to an abrupt, conclusive end in the final decades of the 41st Millennium. It began as the unexpected arrival of a savior force. The outer worlds of St. Betaleph was being prodded by an unknown alien force. Their odd, frenetic but inexplicable rate of approach left the denizens bewildered. Tacticians studying their methods of recon and assault led to the theory that their methods of scanning and communicating were of utterly foreign design and intent, completely incompatible with human technology and behavior. They appeared to stumble blindly about the system, occasionally and without warning swarming upon some suddenly noticed outpost, overwhelming it and flooding the system's voxwaves with the screams and chittering horror. Nobody doubted that these xenos raiders would eventually come upon St Betaleph, and so its people prepared the defenses in a fevered panic. As reports of enemy contact were heard across the small mining operations on St. Betaleph's most distant moon, unexpected news came of archaic signals signifying the arrival of a sizable fleet. The announcement that the ships' designs matched ancient tales of the God-Emperor's Angels of Death were met with cheers and prayers of gratitude. The bulky, weapon-studded vessels arrowed right for the aliens currently smothering the moon, and the impact of their attack could be witnessed with the naked eye on St. Betaleph. The fight was fierce and exceptionally destructive, but brief. Within three hours, the alien ships and even the moon itself was little more than an expanding cloud of wreckage and debris. The infonetworks of St. Betaleph were at a loss of words in how to convey the scope of the battle to the public that could see with their own eyes the bright, explosive flashes.

 

Shortly after, the ships of their saviors entered low orbit. The governor of St. Betaleph, and many of the social and military elite, sent transmissions above, of congratulations and gratitude, of invitations to celebratory displays. Though the ships were not entirely silent or dismissive, the Space Marines maneuvered and landed instead upon a desolate landscape, outside of any population center but rather close to the planetary capital. Landing amid the shattered remains of an ancient, long forgotten ruin, the grey and chevron-chased vessels deployed large vehicles and material of curious design. With wonder, the people of St. Betaleph watched distantly as a structure began to form, as if a great castle was simply being unfolded into interlocking pieces that fit over the broken bones of the ruins like the pieces of a puzzle found after thought long lost. Eager to honor the mythical demi-gods that had arrived to their rescue, a great, martial parade formed about the governor's train on march. Regiments in parade dress escorted the ornate palanquin pulled by beasts of burden to the large gates of a fortress built overnight. The great gates ground open and the parade marched inside. An hour, perhaps more, passed as the people waited for the governor to appear alongside the commander of those that saved them, and wondered as to the words they must then be sharing. Though the gates remained open, what finally came from the fortress announced itself with large, booming declarations from high upon its battlements. Before the realization of artillery fire came the whistling shells all across the 20,000 square kilometers of the capital city, and elsewhere as the orbiting ships added their own voices to the sudden cacophony.

 

Once more, the overbearing might of the Imperium arrived to reclaim St. Betaleph from the hands of the enemy, and as ever far from soon after its fall. However, there was no enemy for retribution to be cast upon. The orbital space around the planet was filled with the debris of alien vessels, orbital defenses and a shattered moon. The surface below blazed in a total conflagration, melting the very groundrock. Evidence of the use of prohibited weaponry could be seen across the globe, and no standing structure remained intact. With disgust, the Imperial fleet was forced to consign St. Betaleph to the lists of lost worlds, destroyed presumably at the hands of an alien race. The truth of the world's death would never be known. That at the very end, a man in soiled, gilded robes demanded of the monsters before him to know why.

 

"We had a melancholic need to walk the walls of Evedurn once more. We see now that our Evedurn fell long ago. What we found is not worthy to stand in its place."

[Doctor Perils]

“Brothers of the Iron Fourth! Sons of Perturabo! The cowardly Imperial Fists are drawing recruits and shoring up their defenses, getting ready to weather the assault of that commander of the Black Legion.

Will we let the lily-livered lapdogs of the False Emperor cower behind their walls? Will we let our cousins in black get all the glory? NO! For we are the IVth Legion, the Iron Warriors! We shall tear down their walls, and burn their cities to the ground! We shall humiliate them, and teach them fear!

We shall make them pay!!!

IRON WITHIN!!!”

+ IRON WITHOUT +

++ONLY A WEEK LEFT TO MAKE YOUR FIRST VOW!++

[Kelborn]

It's all about painting models, right?

A vow of creating an article about a sub battalion during the HH is not allowed, right?

And a loyal battalion would be heresy, correct?

[Doctor Perils]

It's all about painting models, right?

A vow of creating an article about a sub battalion during the HH is not allowed, right?

And a loyal battalion would be heresy, correct?

Oh you are free - nay, invited - to post whatever fluff you want for the Iron Warriors whenever you want :) You may do so here, or in the broader Liber Astartes section :)

The event itself is about the modelling side though, as you say :)

[Kelborn]

Alrighty then,

 

will eventually post something about the 151th Grand Battalion, called the Ironblades, and the Heldaxi compliance during the Great Crusade prior to Istvan V and the subsequent campaign of conquering the Dominion of Storms as part of the 117th Grand Battalion in which they would later reject their fealty towards Perturabo in order to join the loyal blackshield force of the Phantoms, resulting in the foundation of the Phantom Blades. *jezz, what a sentence*

 

Short summary:

 

151th Grand Battalion "The Ironblades"

Led by Warsmith Bram Radun

Heldaxi compliance against the Children of the Arc, an ancient ship dating back to the Golden Age prior to the Age of Strife. Highly evolved artificial race. Humans are equals. You can call it a nearly perfect society of harmony and prosperity, something like the Citadel of Mass Effect + the Geth. And then comes the Imperium. Possible Mechanicum allies. Focus on receiving as much technology as possible. Horrendous casualties and losses.

[Doctor Perils]

“Brothers of the Iron Fourth! Sons of Perturabo! The cowardly Imperial Fists are drawing recruits and shoring up their defenses, getting ready to weather the assault of that commander of the Black Legion.

Will we let the lily-livered lapdogs of the False Emperor cower behind their walls? Will we let our cousins in black get all the glory? NO! For we are the IVth Legion, the Iron Warriors! We shall tear down their walls, and burn their cities to the ground! We shall humiliate them, and teach them fear!

We shall make them pay!!!

IRON WITHIN!!!”

+ IRON WITHOUT +

Remember that the first vow deadline is at 18:00 GMT - which is to say in around 4 hours. Get your first pledge in before

[DeRome90]

As Lord Thorn inquired... here is some fluff for the Iron Hulks (or the 55th Grand Company of the IV Legiones Astartes )

Name: 55th Grand Company of the Iron Warriors Legion

Call Sign: Iron Hulks

Commanding Officer: Warsmith Drayke

Second-in-Command: Captain Dantye

Garrison: Paludum, in the Gouhl Stars

Mission: Patroling and Protecting the Systems around Paludum; Mining; Exploring the Gouhl Stars (including "compliance work"); testing Legion war material for the Ad. Mech.

Background (start of the HH):

During the Great Crusade Warsmith Prisintus led the 55th. At this time the forces of the Great Company were scattered across the whole Imperium of Man to maintain the security of its borders, especially in the region known as the Ghoul Stars. During their duty they fought bravely against any hostile force and protected Humanity from threats that now are unknown and lost in the depths of time.

But the border patrol was not their only duty. Some worlds on which the 55th had garrisons stationed bore noble earths that were important for the imperial machinery of war. They surveyed the extraction of these resources and invented a high advanced infrastructure system to transport the materials to different production sites of the Adeptus Mechanicum. One of these sites was the Manufactorum Complex Ceta 985 Primaris on a backwater world named Paludum. The main part of the 55th was assembled there to protect the important Mechanicum plants and to react to threats like Xenos-pirates in the system. Beside of a battle fleet of remarkable size, was the 55th also in control of a star fort.

“Protector of Armentha” was the name of this formidable star fort. It was smaller than a Ramilies class star fort, but still big enough to be used as a dockyard for several ships and had several immense Warp drives so that it could act in the whole sector and beyond it. The Protector was the base of the 55th and was the only thing they could call home. Due to their garrison duties they were far from other contingents of the IV Legion, not to speak of other imperial forces, and it was common that no warrior of the 55th would see Olympia for several decades.

When the Heresy took place the 55th followed their Primarch and Ceta 985 Primaris produced materials of war for the Traitor Legions. But denying their old oaths was no easy thing for them to do. A fast number of Legionaries descended from an old warrior cult on Olympia that trusted no one beside their brothers in arms. Honour, courage and conscientiousness were the pillars of this warrior cult and the heresy was against all of them. But they were also angry and wary regarding the way the Imperium of Man was going to take, and so they set their trust in their Primarch.

Around one Year before the Siege of Terra took place, the 55th got the order to send all products of Ceta 985 Primaris, together with the main part of the Legionaries, to the forces of the Warmaster. Warsmith Prisintus obeyed without hesitation, but he wasn’t going to travel with his soldiers. He was already a very old warrior with numerous bionics and past his zenith of strength, so he sent his second-in-command, Captain Drayke. Drayke was a former pupil of 1st captain Forrix, and like his teacher he was a master of logistics. He was a formidable warrior as well as a great politician. Prisintus was sure that the political finesse of his second-in-command would come handy if the 55th had to join with other Legions. Beside Captain Drayke, he also sent all the remaining Chaplains (I saw a name for IW Chaplains but I forgot it… any guesses???) and Apothecaries with him, together with Draykes younger brother, and third-in-command, Captain Dantye.

Dantye was a better tactician and fighter than his older brother, but he was also a very introverted, calm and silent person (despite his curses during engagements… he looooves to curse in action). So due to his personality was Drayke always promoted before him. When Drayke and his strikeforce left Paludum, less than 100 Legionaries were left behind with Warsmith Prisitnus, to maintain the security and production quotas of Ceta 985 Primaris and the other plants in the sector.

The forces of the 55th arrived one week before the attack on Terra began and joined their Primarch in the battle preparations. During the Siege of Terra a lot of great victories were achieved by Drayke and his fellow Legionaries, but they also lost many battle brothers and friends there.

As the Emperor slayed Horus and the Traitor Legions fled Terra, was the 55th one of the last forces to leave Terra alive. At that time was Drayke on the edge of falling into a coma and Dantye suffered severe injuries. By following the last orders of Captain Drayke, Chaplain Eduches picked all their fellow Traitor Legionaries, that were abandoned by their own Legion, up and together they headed with the ships of the 55th for Paludum.

After a fierce escape and a long way home they arrived at the coordinates of Paludum. But at the time of their arrival they couldn’t make out the Protector of Armentha or any sign of the planet.

Background (after the Siege of Terra):

It was impossible! How can a mighty star fort, not to speak of the planet itself, vanish without a trace? All of the Iron Warriors felt like they were set free in the cold vacuum of space, when they realised that they lost another home. Olympia was the place of their origin, but after their long stay at Paludum, this was now their real home. With the purge of Olympia and now with the losing of Paludum they were homeless and lost. After 3 months of staying in the system they called once home, Dantye, who recovered from his wounds, decided to return to Olympia. He was sure that elements of their Legion would regroup there and fight against the vengeful Loyalists.

Dantye offered the Legionaries they saved from Terra to give them one of their ships so that they can return to their own Legion. Some were grateful for this chance, others were doubtful if they should return to a Legion that left them without a word alone to die. In the end all foreign Space Marines decided to stay with their Saviours until they were able to make contact with their own Legion. Together the chances of survival were better than alone.

During their journey the little fleet raided all loyal ships and planets the came across, to replenish their stock of ammunition, fuel and food. In the end the ships of the patchwork force were full with supplies, enough to conquer several systems. Only a few light-years away from Olympia got the fleet trapped in a warp storm. After 2 weeks in the storm did Drayke awake from his coma. Dantye was relieved that his brother was well again, but he noticed some kind of cold and alien aura around his captain.

Before he awoke had Drayke a vision of Olympia and how to get there, and together with a Librarian of the Thousand Sons called Ophris, they re-entered into real space near Olympia. But at that time laid the home world of the Iron Warriors Legion already under siege. The Iron Warriors and their fellow Legionaries realized that they were trapped in the warp for several years.

The fleet of the loyalists was too occupied with the bombardments and the siege of the planet and they were sure that no hostile threat, which would side with the traitors, was in the area. Because of that and a lot of luck (some would say the blessing of the dark gods) the little strike force was able to move near enough the planet so that they could contact their besieged brothers. In the end they came to the conclusion that not all of their brothers could be saved. But it was possible that they could save the majority of the gene-seed stock and with that the future of their Legion.

Three frigates of the Gladius class manoeuvred into an geostationary orbit, two bare of any Legion symbol and one with the signs of the Imperial fists which was captured during one of their previous raids, the bigger ships attacked the rear of the loyalists to throw their line into chaos. While the majority of the Drayke’s forces where en route to attack the loyalists, the three lonely frigates started an orbital bombardment at some already destroyed fortress, so that it seems that they were taking part into the siege. They also sent some empty transport ships and Stormbirds for “landing actions”. Dantye was the commander of this force, but the idea for this part of the plan came from the leader of the Alpha Legion forces that where part of their patchwork force. Until today the Iron Warriors know him only as Alpharius (oooooh what a surprise ).

Every time the landing ships returned to the frigates, they had been full with weaponry, wounded Iron Warriors and gene-seed. Only a little part of the evacuated Legionaries was more or less healthy. On Olympia were no Apothecaries and only few Techmarines and Librarian left when the frigates broke orbit. The securing of the gene seed was not finished, but Drayke and his ships had to flee the system after they lost 4 ships and were nearly surrounded by loyalist ships. And again they had the blessings of the dar…. Ehhh the fortune of the brave and bold on their side. The lost during the void fight only 38 Astartes and while they lost 4 ships they were able to capture a Vanguard cruiser from the Ultramarines (story will follow). Shortly after that, they withdraw to the Eye of Terror; the survivors had told them that their Primarch would be there.

After a long journey they arrived at Medrengard. Clad to meet their brothers all the Iron Warriors were in a state of euphoric enthusiasm. The Astartes of the other Legions where not so happy. They weren’t sure how their future would look like, and if they are going to leaf Medrengard alive. On their way through the Eye of Terror, they received some distressing news about the fight between the Traitor Legions and what they had become. The fleet was even attacked by a small force of World Eaters, but it was only a short one. Although their ships were still in a bad shape after fleeing Olympia, they had enough firepower to obliterate the attacking force.

When Drayke, Dantye and their fellow officers show up before the council of Warsmiths they were shocked. Perturabo was now a Daemon Primarch and also his Warsmiths were not the same as they used to be. Forrix, mentor of Drayke and master of the 1st Grand Company, lost some of the fire in his eyes. The Wasmith former known as Barban Falk had a dangerous and cold aura, while the bloodlust in Kroeger’s eyes would be more fitting for an insane Berserk of the World Eaters than for a Warsmith that should be master of cold logic. Warsmith Erezkna, who was highly respected by Dantye for his tactical fines, seemed to be swollen under his now rusty power armour and was spiting phlegm every few minutes.

Overcoming his disgust praised Captain Drayke the majestic Daemon Primarch (always the diplomat our Drayke) and presented the rescued gene-seed and a huge portion of weaponry and ammunition that they raided during their travel to Olympia. After listening silently to the report of Drayke, Perturabo promoted him to the rank of a Warsmith and allowed him to keep some of the gene-seed. He praised the actions of his new Warsmith and the 55th Grand Company. But he was unpleased to see Astartes of other Legions to set foot on his Daemon World, so he ordered to kill them. While Drayke was totally speechless to be ordered such an act of treachery, Dantye spoke boldly up. He was never a man of big words and so everyone was surprised about the flow of words that praised the teamwork of the 55th Grand Company with their new Battle-Brothers. With his cold logic and the prosaic nature of his speech, he was able to persuade the Primarch to let the other Legionaries life.

Some of the other Warsmiths, especially which suffered horrible losses due to fights with other Legions which were now part of the 55th Grand Company, were against that decision and their voices were loud. But Warsmith Drayke, who had pulled himself finally together, argued with them and used his diplomatic expertise (and some bribery) to silence them.

After this meeting the word get around that the both Iron Warrior brothers risked their life to save the other Astartes. Sure that they would never find such a trustful and honourable environment elsewhere in the Eye of Terror, and also because the saw and heard what had become of the Traitor Legion, they repainted their power armour in the colours of the 55th and swore Drayke and Dantye their allegiance. But now was the 55th an despised Grand Company and others would think they are a conglomerate of raiders, murders, half breeds and weaklings, nothing more.

The warriors of the 55th Grand Company think of themselves as a (nearly) perfect siege force. They have the intelligence experts of the Alpha Legion, the fierceness of the World Eaters, the unnatural forces of the Warp (because of the few Sorcerers of the Thousand Sons), the durable Death Guard, the frightening Night Lords, the fanatic Word Bearers, the perfectionistic Emperors Children and of course the masters of siege warfare, the Iron Warriors.