BotL - Monthly fluff challenge

[bluntblade]

Ok

[Nomus Sardauk]

Aaaand suddenly I have no problem with he and his man-children troops being torn limb-from-limb by the Berzerkers.

[simison]

Aaaand suddenly I have no problem with he and his man-children troops being torn limb-from-limb by the Berzerkers.

 

Agreed.

[Slips]

Alrighty then, so for those who are going to be writing about the scions, some possible threads/ideas to explore. No real constraints on my end on what I want to see. Just let your imagination go wild (but try to remain within the legions boundaries ).

 

• Scions aspirants hunting a Serpent on Iona as their final test.
• A Scion being awarded a Wave Blade (there is no real specific achievement for one to earn a Wave Blade just that they do something of note that Legion Command would have gotten word of it; of note is that a Wave Blade is only produced on Iona and only in a very specific Armorium Forge found at the deepest point of the Planets surface. Its made with a super-dense ore native to the world and required Grav-Tech to function and special training to be used properly)
• Marines on Unatara as the Drowned are ambushing them doing their damnest to stay alive/fight back.
• First time a particular Scion/Unit/etc. witness The Wraith.
• Phantoms of the Pre-Primarch Legion coming to terms with the changes being brought about by Pionus post-discovery.
• Humans on a far flung colony being brought aid by the Scions who provide them with an acclimatization program to alter them to flourish in their environs (or at least negate most negative effects of the environment).
• How the Scions go from generally being "Pretty cool dudes" to "they made them suffer critical existence failure of a magnitude so high that its as if they never existed in the first place" when faced with threats that resemble the Qarith.
• etc.

[Kelborn]

Had the Scions' arrival on Kaijo, Toho's homeworld in mind or rather some interactions between them.

 

Maybe after the concluded compliance. Good way of giving Diomed his waveblade.

 

Quite some options.

[Hesh Kadesh]

WIP, not happy with - will write up properly soon

Edited May 1, 2018 by Hesh Kadesh

[MikhalLeNoir]

The Judges came to a decission.

 

Behold my word. I represent the voice of three. My word is absolute ( of course you may bribe me the next time or I can edit this message)

 

 

The winners are:

fw-style text: he is used to win and his feather is always covered in blood and ink: bluuuuuuuuntblade

Character testimony: Once he was new and won the prices of childhood, but those times are over and he became a worthy man: Beeeeeeeeren

Narrative: He may be blind but his mind sees the words on the paper and they are good. And plentiful: The Blindprimaaaaaaaaaaaaarch

Best unfinished: he may be our leader but in his heart he is a writer. A writer who sacrifces his time so that he has a lot of unfinished tales lying dormant: Simmiisoooooooon

Best absent story: he does not know it yet, but soon he will write a tale about our brotherhood: A-D-B

[TheBlindPrimarch]

Mikhal should announce all the voting results from now on lol

[Beren]

The Justice of Salvation

 

 

Sanitary. That was the first thing that came to the mind of the tech-priest. There was not an ounce of grit inside the entire chamber, even as vast as it was. The floor, the sigils emblazoned across the walls, the power conduits leading to the stasis chambers. Everything, to the smallest detail, was free of filth. Part of this, the adept knew, was necessitated by the nature of his charges. Contamination could not be allowed. Yet everywhere amongst the Scions he had been, the magos observed the same conditions. They might be soldiers, but they were surgeons too, and that seemed to carry itself into every aspect of their lives. Ocular augmentics whirred into new alignments as a more detailed diagnostic began running through the closest casket. A faint sense of unease pervaded his body as he saw his reflection overlayed the figure within. For beings bred to kill, the Scions Hospitalier showed a remarkable aptitude for healing. Even so, these were taxing cases. Something that tested both their capabilities and their wills. More and more pods had become empty as of late.

. . .

“This is a waste of time. They passed beyond the point of salvation long before our arrival.”

 

The words resounded throughout the chamber, reverberating of every wall. All except for the figure of his fellow Apocathary. The room, like most in the reclaimed facility, was drowned in shadow. The only glimmer of illumination rose from the data console, bathing his counterparts face in an eerie light. Eventually, he responded.

 

“Is it not our goal, to strengthen humanity without perverting its path? Will the reintroduction of these people, once mended , not further that goal?”

 

“If that were true they would not be caged... we exterminated others of their ilk not so long ago.”

 

Quarith Prime. The final condemnation of those who had cast humanity aside so long ago. He had fought xenos before, hundreds of different kind. Not one of them brought the same broiling rage to mind that the once-human had. Vivid images of twisted aberrations that made mockery his Legion's purpose coiled and twisted within his mind. Valsio's movements had briefly slowed before increasing in tempo once more.

 

They both new that any number of visits from Apothecarion members would prove futile. Valsio verged upon being an outcast for his actions. Now he was reliant upon thralls from the Mechanicum for aid.

 

A glance at the console revealed rows of statistics dating back months. Observations on failed trials marked potential improvements to be made. Percentages listing fractional increases swam across the screen. It was a cold and simplified way of judging a beings sanity, but it functioned.

 

“You did at least exterminate the source of the genetic contamination?”

 

“Almost. Three samples were dispatched to the Medica Prima for analysis. I expect she will destroy them once she has finished. The rest, in addition to any of the cross-breed mutant strains were eliminated. Besides, I fully intend to mete out justice to those deserving of it. I simply need to reassemble enough if their minds to identify them.”

 

. . .

It came again last night. The images. Slipping their way between memories that cackled and screamed. Surging past the never-ending agony. A figure, against clad in white. Red sigils, some reminiscent of... something. It had slipped away again now. Yet the figure remained.

 

“You are, or rather were, medical officer Generias, second name unknown . You were part of the team that initiated experimentation with the substance you catalogued as LX-Theta 31”

 

He could feel his raw and chapped lips writhing and twisting. The words came broken and warped.

 

“Senior. Medical. Adjutant.”

 

The silence seemed to hang in the air for a moment. The figure remained until it seemed to be a statue. He'd seen such a poise before, always above a scalpel. There was a room. Cylinders, scores of them, just like when... gone again. The figure, it was something they'd made, wasn't it. It was too large. No, too stable too be one of theirs.

 

“Once your sanity and physiology has been confirmed as stable, you and all others found to have partaken willingly in these experimentations will be executed under the orders of the Primarch Pionus Santor.”

 

There were moments. Moments in which these words thundered through a shattered mind. Then the door sealed once more. The cold crept back into aching muscles and a conscience slipped back into the comforting slumber of insanity once more.

[Doctor Perils]

First draft: very rough but enough to get my main idea across I think

 

Ayacos Rhode

The Iona pattern bolter bucked in Ayacos’s hand, a stream of bolts impacting on the hull of the Domitar battle-robot. He dearly wished he had his jetbike: the multi-melta would have made short work of the robot’s armour - as things stood, all he could do was hope to breach the integrity of the sub-nautical seams between the reinforced plates, which would crush the internal workings thanks to the pressure of the surrounding water.

Of course, this had been a carefully planned ambush, and the Scions had been caught entirely unawares - what reason could they have had to bring all their wargear to the planetary meeting with the Sorrowsworn?

Damn the Drowned and their twisted Primarch!

Ayacos saw the Domitar’s mauler bolt canons finish their reload cycle: instinctively, he turned his boltgun to the left and fired, the reactive force propelling him to safety just as the bolt cannon shells detonated around the position he had previously been standing in - though the rock and projectile shrapnel didn't reach him, he still felt the bow wave shake his whole body.

If only his captain weren't so damn focused on pomp, Ayacos would have been wearing the legion's specialist power armour with integrated jets, rather then this suit of clunky ceremonial mkII plate - he would have had no trouble moving in the troubled depths of the oceanic world. At least he had managed to convince the idiot to let the company use their Santor pattern helms - his vision was fully free, which was perhaps his only advantage against the battle-robot.

 

Taking advantage of the Domitar’s slowness to turn its bulk towards a better firing arc, Ayacos steadied his aim upon the rock he stood behind, a squeezed the trigger.

Nothing.

He glanced down at his bolter, anxiety making bash the gun to get it to work again - in vain of course: it looked like his last burst of fire had emptied his magazine - which had obviously been his last.

Ayacos swore inwardly, and then ducked back into cover as the bolt cannons began ripping closeby rocks apart.

“Here goes nothing” He murmured, as he began crawling away from the robot and the rapidly disintegrating cover. “It may be undignified but survival is more important.”

 

As he approached the tall coral fronds, he flung a loose stone to the side, hoping that the Domitar’s depth-programming had been designed to take into account the very slightest movements.

To his amazement, the robot did indeed take the bait, cycling the bolt cannons to rake fire across the rock's trajectory, and Ayacos sprinted towards the Coral, knowing full well that the Domitar would be back on him in an instant.

 

To his astonishment, he rushed head first into a figure standing at the edge of the coral forest, wearing much better camouflage then his own iridescent white. The Drowned Legionary’s sonar can't have been as advanced as Ayacos’s, because he didn't react any faster than the Scion catapulting himself into his chest plate. Grappling at each other in a frenzied tumble, they both attempted to catch the other’s helm, both of them knowing that was where weak points could be found on Power Armour in high pressures. However, having dropped his weapon a minute earlier, Ayacos was able to wrestle himself into the advantage, one hand pressing the Drowned’s gorget into the sand, the other scrabbling at the corners of the mkIV helm’s eye lens.

Finally, the seal gave way, and the pressure differential crushed the helm under Ayacos’s grasp.

Fast as a summer storm, the Scion grasped for his foe’s weapon, a Power spear of baroque design, and wheeled around to face the pounding footsteps lumbering up behind him.

“Too late” He thought, as he saw the Domitar’s mauler bolt cannons raising up to meet him. With the energy of desperation, he brandished the spear above his shoulder, ready to throw it with all his might…

and suddenly, an arc of lightning emerged from the spear’s tip, crackling through the dark waters to strike the Domitar’s arm with a force great enough to overbalance it.

Marvelling at his luck, Ayacos pounced, striking at the Domitar’s neck seal with the spear grasped in both hands, the ray of lightning emerging once more, and tearing through the robot, leaving only a bubbling ruin in its wake.

 

Ayacos looked appreciatively at the weapon that had saved him, then, knowing that the commotion would lure more predators, he strode forward, letting the darkness envelop him.

[simison]

[i really like the idea of showing the Scions being proper doctors and scientists.]

 

The Chestwyrm Outbreak of Felis III

 

It is an established fact that several branches of humanity utilized advanced technology to combine various strains of animal genetic material with human DNA to ensure survival in exceptionally dangerous environments. One such case is the population of the Felis system. Discovered in 009.M31 in Segmentum Tempestus by studying ancient charts, the Age of Strife had reduced the local human population to existing on a single planet. Felis III is a world with the misfortune of being in a constant state of solar eclipse due to sharing the same orbit with Felis II. Illumination is provided only through the planet's two moons.

 

An additional danger are the super-predators that dominate the lowlands. Theorized to have been unintentionally introduced from a different system, the Murinos are a large and hostile species of rabid carnivores. Murinos are famous for their powerful charges and thick hides, rendering them extremely dangerous in head-to-head confrontations. Their one weakness is their limited agility.

 

To survive in this environment, this branch of humanity were genetically modified to have superior night vision and improved dexterity. With these gifts, the Felisians were able to thrive, more than able to adapt to the limited light and avoid the murinos.

 

A price was to be paid. The animal DNA may have granted the Felisians the necessary edge to avoid extinction, but it also left them open to animal-specific diseases. An outbreak occurred not long after contact with the Imperium. Chestwrym was a cardiac disease that posed no threat to normal humans but proved to be extremely fatal to the Felisians. To prevent their extermination, the Scions Hospitalier came.

Edited April 24, 2018 by simison

[bluntblade]

A cool rain welcomed Odyssalas as he walked down the Thunderhawk’s ramp. Through it, he saw the rugged cliffs that had been allowed to remain amidst the gleaming spires of Mithrona.

 

The Scions arrayed before him all dropped to one knee as Odyssalas reached them. Regular Legionaries, Phantoms, even Depthstriders knelt in the downpour. Odyssalas raised his free hand to his chest as he passed them, until he reached the three figures who still stood. Then he inclined his head, and sank into a kneel of his own. “A somewhat more formal homecoming than I wished for, lord.”

 

Pionus stepped forward as he rose, but not as quickly as Mytakis, who thudded into Odyssalas and enveloped him in an embrace. All around him, the other Scions did the same. “Shall we head to somewhere dry, then?” Pionus asked. "Or are you enjoying this too downpour much?"

 

Odyssalas managed a smile as he clasped wrists with Antonidas. “I’ve spent the last six months either on that rusted ball of grit that men call Sacred Mars, or confined to a ship. Downpours have become something to treasure.”

 

“Then you’re welcome to stand out here a while. I am retiring to the Epipelagium. We are fighting a war, if you recall.”

 

Odyssalas raised his face to the rain, allowing himself a few precious seconds. “Fine. I’m coming.”

 

-----

 

Aspirants. That was the main difference. There had always been a few cadres in the Lemuriad, undergoing the trials, training or implantation. Now there were thousands of them, occupying almost every training hall he passed. Corridors rang to the sounds of exertion and the commands of overseers.

 

The sounds too. Those were different. Excitement and humour were largely absent in the young voices he heard. Icarion’s treason had bled the joy from this place, enough to make Odyssalas feel like a ghost moving through a bleak, colourless shade of his old home.

 

That seemed to be how the initiates saw him. He drew stares and gasps, saw hasty aquila-signs and heard the whispers that followed him. He had almost forgotten that his face had appeared on victory reels year after year on Iona. Understanding didn’t quite alleviate the discomfort.

 

“If I’m not mistaken, my lord, you’ve exacted tithes from every tributary world we possess.”

 

“You should see the other Legions,” said Pionus. “All the old rights have been invoked, and naturally the traitors’ recruiting grounds have been reallocated. Cthonia will likely be depopulated within the year.”

 

“Truly?” That would be a strangely abrupt end to Cthonia’s second life as a source of Legionaries and Auxilia troops. The scale of this drive to recruit and rearm must go beyond anything attempted in the Crusade. “The same must be occurring on the other side. There is talk that Icarion has granted fiefs to the traitors from the Fourth, Fifth and Tenth.” That much, Odyssalas knew. The Fire Keepers had seethed about it.

 

Antonidas nodded. “Malis’ bastards and the Morning Stars are all over their propaganda. Quite the coup, so it makes sense for Icarion to build them up.” He glanced at Odyssalas’ new weapons. “I spy a Huron-made bolter and an Obsailan plasma pistol at your belt. Exile has made a bloody magpie of you, hasn't it?”

 

“They were a gift and surplus, respectively,” Odyssalas replied evenly, eyeing his own boots. “I did scavenge, though. Killed Martian traitors with the ammunition I took from Drowned corpses.” He nodded to Antonidas’ weapons, the crimson pistol and relic blade. “Perhaps I haven’t moved out of your shadow as much as I’d thought.”

 

Antonidas gave a rare chuckle. “No? Look around you, little brother. I doubt anyone else here would agree with your words. Only one Scion wears the red-gold cog, and comes with a retinue of Iron Bears at his back.”

 

“Achille is generous. The Mechanicum too. There’s a carrier up there with a few hundred automata from Mars and Graia. A token of appreciation, if you like.”

 

Antonidas didn't share his smile. “They’ll be needed.”

 

-----

 

Pionus filled a glass and handed it to Odyssalas. “The question of the Déka is easily resolved. I hereby will that eleven captains serve in that body, subject to change if I decide otherwise. As for your command, Metis, we will have to consider in more detail.”

 

Odyssalas gazed into the liquid before meeting his lord’s eyes. “How many broken companies have yet to be consolidated?”

 

“All of those from Untara have been rebuilt, but the war is unrelenting, now that Icarion has put flame to taper. We have five companies awaiting a commander here, and the remnants of poor Sozai’s command have fallen back to Zuka.”A fortress world on the fringes of Yamatar. The Scions’ most trusted allies outside their fellow Legions held on, then. “You will assume control of them, ahead of the offensive.”

 

Odyssalas frowned. “Exactly what offensive?”

 

Pionus produced a small hololith caster and a star system flickered into translucent life. Four worlds; two gas giants and two spheres of rock. Each was orbited by star forts, doubtless accompanied by great numbers of defence satellites. But what caught Odyssalas’ eye was the pair of space stations hovering above either pole of the innermost world. They told him which system he was looking at.

 

“Zbruch,” he breathed. “Koschei hasn't abandoned it?”

 

“We had expected him to, but my brother was always quite sentimental. I have no wish to dwell on what…” Pionus bit back the words he had been about to say. “What Koschei’s crime might have done to his mentality, but I doubt it can have been anything but damaging. It matters little enough beyond the material facts. Zbruch remains occupied by the enemy, and is thus both a threat to us and a vulnerability to them. We have the chance to exact a measure of vengeance and inflict a great injury on an Insurrectionist Legion’s recruiting base.”

 

Antonidas chipped in. “And we need to shore up our position here. If Zbruch can offer Traitor forces a way into our southern territories then either we need to fortify around it, or subjugate it. With that choice, better to lance the boil.”

 

“The timetable is?”

 

“Five weeks for the main force,” Pionus said. He had a look on his face Odyssalas hadn't seen since the Qarith campaign. “We have thirty-two thousand warriors here and are adding fourteen Army regiments and taghma from Gryphonne to that. They muster here, you assume your new command… and then the teeth of the sea close around Zbruch.”

[simison]

Guys, 48-hours, vote for the next legion, go!

 

Previous entries:

 

April - Scions Hospitalier

March - Elite mortal regiments

February - Halcyon Wardens

December/January - The Drowned

November - Imperial Army

October - Warbringers

September - Eagle Warriors

August - Fire Keepers

July - Warriors of Peace

June - Grave Stalkers

May - Void Eagles

April - Dune Serpents

March - Steel Legion

 

Remaining Legions:

 

I - Harbingers
III - Crimson Lions
IV - Void Eagles
V - Halcyon Wardens

VI - Iron Bears
VII - Berserkers of Uran
VIII - Godslayers
IX - Warbringers
X - Fire Keepers
XII - Wardens of Light
XIII - Eagle Warriors
XIV - Dune Serpents
XV - Grave Stalkers
XVI - The Drowned
XVII - Warriors of Peace
XVIII - Steel Legion
XIX - Scions Hospitalier
XX - Predators

Edited May 1, 2018 by simison

[MikhalLeNoir]

Time for.some.predator.action

[bluntblade]

Watched Predator last month. I'm game for that.

[bluntblade]

Running late this month, but May's options are:

 

Harbingers

Crimson Lions

Iron Bears

Berserkers of Uran

Godslayers

Wardens of Light

Predators

 

The XX currently lead with two votes.

[Nomus Sardauk]

Predators getting some love would be cool, I'll throw my vote behind them this month. :)

[Kelborn]

Is it selfish to vote for my own Legion? ^^

[bluntblade]

Doesn't stop you voting for them

[TheBlindPrimarch]

I'm cool with Predators

[Chief Captain Redd]

Ohh, Preds could be fun; need to get my writing mojo back.

[bluntblade]

Make that six for the Predators. Voting is open til Friday night.

[helterskelter]

I'll run with predators too

[Kelborn]

Two days have past and no new votes.

 

That being said, the Predators will be covered in May. *yay*

 

Please, do not hesitate to ask any questions. Right now, I got no real ideas of what I'd like to see.

Nevertheless, if you got an idea or something to think about, I'm eager to help you developing said stuff. :)

[MikhalLeNoir]

I want to describe.andezos ears in a poem