60 replies to this topic

[Nomus Sardauk]

Submission for the 10th Weekly Writing Challenge- Notable Minor Legion Specialist Officer

Ana'si M'kabu, the "Packmaster, the Red Shepard, Beast-Speaker"
XXth Legiones Astartes "Predators"
Black Conda Tribe
Legion "Shaman" (cultural Librarian equivalent)

Spoiler

Born amidst the steaming jungles of Mardum, Ana'si first came to the attention of higher powers following his powers' initially manifesting themselves. A powerful telepath, the sleeping infant would accidentally draw a nest of serpentine Death Leapers into his family's hut, whereupon they killed his parents yet left Ana'si untouched, coiled about the babe's crib in an almost protective manner.

Such a strange occurrence brought the attention of the local Shaman, who immediately sensed the boy's gift and took him as his apprentice, raising the child whilst training him to control his powers. As Ana'si grew so too did his gifts, his telepathic skills had gone from subtlety influencing a few creatures to effortlessly commanding entire groups by the time he entered adolescence. Indeed, Ana'si disdained verbal speech, preferring the instant communication and inherent understanding of telepathic communication. Furthermore he often spent more time with his adopted pack then he did around other human beings, claiming they were "too noisy" for him.

When the time of trials came again Ana'si was among those chosen to become one of the great Baron Sambedi's hunters among the stars, though it pained Ana'si to leave his animal companions behind. As part of the Legion's Shamans, he would hone his Telepathy to a razor's edge, capable of plucking the deepest-buried secrets from a foe's mind, weaving illusions only his victims could see, hear and feel, or simply seizing control of their bodies to work them like a puppet.

Despite these prodigious skills, Ana'si's connection to the wild creatures of the land remained his favoured ability, and whenever he was deployed Ana'si would inevitably attract a decent-sized pack of local fauna to his cause. These beasts he would use for all manner of purposes, from scouting and tracking, to simple distractions and support in combat. But it was his exploits on the world of Barroth that would truly see his star rise when, whilst the Legion was engaged in a pitched battle with the forces of the Tarrellian Xenos, Ana'si would manipulate a herd of local Megafauna into stampeding through the Tarrellian lines, killing thousands and leaving the reeling survivors easy prey for his Brother-Legionaries. Other famous exploits include the Razing of the Sarakir Holdfast, where Ana'si called forth great Ferrowyrms to eat their way through the fortresses' foundations, collapsing entire sections of the structure and allowing the Predators to invade it's lower reaches through the tunnels the creatures had bored. Amid the Fulkarii Mountains, Ana'si would be instrumental in rooting out the mutant guerrilla fighters that lurked in that fog-smothered land, driving the local insect life into a carnivorous frenzy and forcing the Fulkarians out of their subterranean tunnels lest they be eaten alive by the swarming pests.

Finally, on the Gorzaso Wastes, Ana'si would tame a vast flight of acid-spewing Varungs, great, drake-like predators the size of a Rhino APC. These he would lead into battle against the Speed Freaks of Waaaaagh!!! Stikkshift, the Varungs' acid jets melting trukks, buggies and battlewagons to slag, while jagged furrows burnt into the barren earth caused those fortunate enough to avoid the jets to crash and burn. All this served to throw the horde into confusion and stall their momentum, whereupon the Predators' fast attack elements descended upon the greenskins from all angles, trapping the Waaaaagh!!! in place to be scythed down with withering volleys of fire. Ana'si himself would personally take Stikkshift's head, his alpha Varung mount wrenching the Mekboss' skull clean off his shoulders in a toothy embrace.

Edited by Nomus Sardauk, 20 December 2020 - 05:05 PM.

[bluntblade]

Redoubtable Ito of the Wardens of Light

Piisuke Ito, as he was known in life, was a great warrior of the XI^th Legion, rising to captain the Fifth Company in the third decade of the Great Crusade. He was one of the few of that proud company to survive the gruelling Conquest of Vulspid. There he and his warriors fought for three hellish days against the arachnoid Vulsp, though he was crippled at the battle’s height by the vile xenos and barely clung to life when the Legion finally held the field. By dint of his rank and reputation, Ito was ensconced in one of the first Ironclad Dreadnoughts issued to the XIth. Decades later, having carved out a still lengthier tally of honours, he became one of the first Wardens of Light to inhabit a Leviathan ironform.

 

Centurion Paleon Ephricos

Second Echelon, 15th Assault Company

Ephricos was one of the foremost practitioners of jump-assault combat in the XVIIIth Legion, having first come to prominence in the Compliance of Bulta Majoris. He rose to command the 15th Assault Company during the Doljen Conquest, and became one of the few Steel Legionnaires who was widely known as a duellist and field commander.

Edited by bluntblade, 21 November 2020 - 06:35 PM.

[Beren]

Ancient Theophilos Eustathios

 

Formerly an Assault Marine maimed during the purgation of the Blood-Iron Kindred, Theophilos was granted ascension to the form of an AccipitrineDreadnaught and assigned to stand guard over the sky-cities of Silvarion Sul as one of the elite brotherhood of Ancients known as the Fylkas. Though many among the Fylakas preferred entombment within one of the Argent Scions’ unique Suulite based variants of the technology, the Accipitrine was also to be found in uncommon numbers among their ranks, its aerial capabilities most suitable for the defence of sky-borne constructs.

 

Theophilos proved this concept amply when the Xanite remnant headed a suicidal raid upon Silvarian Sul in vengeance for their fallen Forge World, the Ancient duelling Arlatax pattern automata across Sky-City plazas in a frenetic combat that saw many of its foes cast into the sky below.

[Nomus Sardauk]

Submission for the 11th Weekly Writing Challenge- Notable Legion Dreadnought

Ancient Gaa-binagwiiyas, "Scarhide"
VIth Legiones Astartes "Iron Bears"
2nd Grand Wartribe
Furibundus-pattern Dreadnought

Spoiler

A hardened veteran of the Great Crusade, in life Gaa-binagwiiyas was Chief of the 2nd Grand Wartribe's 1st Assault Clan. A ferocious warrior and cunning tactician with a knack for predicting when and where best to strike the foe for maximum damage, Gaa-binagwiiyas was nonetheless an oddity among his idealistic brothers for his willingness to employ morally-questionable tactics or weapons, foremost among these being the Destroyer cadres under his command. When questioned, he would explain that he abhorred such dire tools as much as any of his fellows, but knew they were a necessary evil. He felt it was his moral duty to both his brothers and Primarch to wield it in their stead, that their hands might remain unsullied by the moral and physical taint of such weapons. As such, all of the Destroyers under Gaa-binagwiiyas' command were strictly volunteers who shared his self-sacrificing mindset, employing their sinister weapons with brutal efficiency and exacting precision.

When the world of Kastamar's Reach came under assault from the Slaughth, the 1st Assault Clan were charged with delaying the Xeno advance through the mountainous terrain whilst the remaining civilian population made it's way to safety in the fortified capital of Kastaron. For days Gaa-binagwiiyas and his warriors worked tirelessly, collapsing valleys with demolition charges whilst their jump packs allowed them to quickly redeploy and counter-attack any Slaughth push, phosphex and rad-weapons leaving entire passes irradiated into impassability.

Despite their efforts the tide could not be stymied forever, and Gaa-binagwiiyas himself was greviously wounded when the Slaughth finally broke through the last major pass before it could be demolished. Narrowly extracted by his men in a fighting retreat to their Thunderhawks, the 1st would regroup at Kastaron with the rest of the Imperial defenders to prepare for the coming Siege. Though barely clinging to life, Gaa-binagwiiyas refused the Emperor's Peace, demanding he be given the chance to fight on. Though doubtful he would survive the process, the Apothecaries agreed to inter him into a Dreadnought ironform, working through the night to give their Chief his chance.

When dawn broke over Kastaron, the Slaugth horde would launch their assault on the city walls, with the 1st and their allies waiting for them, only now a baleful giant towered amongst their ranks. With irradiated claws and chem-flamers the reborn Gaa-binagwiiyas would avenge himself upon the foul Xenos, repaying his suffering and throwing them back wherever they gained a foothold on the walls. By the ninth hour when the horde broke both Kastaron and the former Chief stood defiant, ironform battered and slick with Slaugth blood, but still operational. The acidic ichor would leave a mottled pattern etched into the metal that he would opt to retain, wearing them proudly like badges of honour, earning him the nickname "Scarhide."
Now Ancient Gaa-binagwiiyas, the old warrior's willingness to put himself in harm's way has only grown stronger since his interment, seeing himself as already dead and therefore less valuable than his still living kin. Though he has since ceded command of the 1st to his former second, Gaa-binagwiiyas continues to lead the Clan's Destroyers by example, ever ready to sell his life dearly for those he calls brother.

Edited by Nomus Sardauk, 20 December 2020 - 04:42 PM.

[Beren]

The Iron Bears 32nd Clan Company

 

The 32nd Clan Company, at the time known as Clan Steffen, had been reprovisioning on the world of Gutald after extensive campaigning when the first rumours of strife began to abound in the Imperium. Unwilling to set sail to ports and armies of uncertain loyalties in these uncertain times, Clan Steffen would remain on the world for months until open war hasdindisputably broken out. Even when this was clear, the Chief of the Company, Branden Steffen, ordered that the forces under his command remain planetbound in order to ensure the opoulace’s protection, as the world’s isolated and un-militarised provenance made it vulnerable to attack both from ireful Regenticists and marauders exploiting the general chaos of the civil war. Clan Steffen and its attached auxiliary forces would see of two xenos incorsions, three raids by unaffiliated marauders and five light Regenticist reprisals before Kozja’s subordinates assigned a task force to siege the planet proper and eliminate this potential thorn in their sides. Over the following months Clan Steffen would suffer heavy losses before withdrawing, alongside the local populace, into the planet’s extensive series of underground caverns. From here the campaign transitioned into a series of brutal holding actions and hit and run attacks.#

 

The 32nd would only be relieved until sometime after Chief Steffen had been slain, with Halr Fosse having been elected to lead in his stead. Though the Daughter’s of Dae’rrd had found ample recruits willing to fight from among the surviving locals, the Iron Bears had no such means to replenish their strength. Those that remained became hardened veterans, accustomed to making their numbers count in the cramped tunnel warfare. As allegiances and battle-fronts collapsed in the anarchy that characterised the fallout of the mid-war revelations, the VIth Legion were finally able to dispatch reinforcements to the beleaguered company. Fosse had no intention of abandoning his predecessor’s oaths, and the 32nd only moved on when the Emperor called for a consolidation of the forces under His command for the march to Terra. Shaped by their experiences thus far, the 32nd remained an elite, infantry focused clan-company, reserved from the main lines of battle until the time came to drag the enemy out from the tunnels and bunkers of the fortresses erected to barr the Emperor’s path. Legend has it that Fosse lead the 32nd even to the Siege of Terra itself, plying his skill with shot-gun and trench-axe amidst the fierce chamber to chamber fighting within the former palace walls.

[TheSpeckledTrout]

The 35th Grand Company (Armored)

Cardinal Guard

 

The 35th Grand Company of the 7th Cohort Wings of Winter, 4th Ordinal, XIXth Legiones Astartes Cardinal Guard, maintained and utilized a sizable pool of Sicaran-chassis battle tanks, mostly widely deploying the Sicaran Venator model, and to considerable effect on several occasions. Most notable and reputable of the 35th’s engagements was the Purge of Balgad, where the Company claimed victories against the the super-heavy cybernetic constructs fielded by the Ushlar on continental landmass 48-23-Sigma, fighting back the massive bio-mechanical titans in an effort to break through to Captains Arishem and Pelnar’s 31st and 32nd Grand Companies, holding out against overwhelming odds at Site 92-Sigma. Though Captain Clopheas was unable to reach Arishem and Pelnar before Ushlar forces swarmed and overrun the site, the 35th was able to tally nearly 45 titan-scale constructs, before a later rendezvous with Aphragato of Legio Ferrax, wherein the Grand Company claimed 13 more kills, working in synchronicity with the Warbringer pattern Titan.

[TheSpeckledTrout]

Sergeant Nestilo Prelaton, 13th Grand Company

Cardinal Guard

 

After experiencing an outbreak of psychic ability during the purge of the xenos Craftworld Telennar, Sergeant Nestilo Prelaton, of the 2nd Tactical Squad, 74th Grand Company, was seconded in secret to the Cardinal Guard’s Librarius, where the XIXth Legion’s silent order of psykers probed and tested the young marine’s ripening mind, subjecting the once-latent psyker to cerebral trials uncounted. Proving strong of mind, Nestilo endured, and was inducted into the clandestine order of the Legion.

 

Little did Nestilo, nor many beyond the 13th Grand Company, know that the formation was neither a true Grand Company of the Cardinal Guard nor a traditional fighting force. The 13th Grand Company, 3rd Cohort, 2nd Ordinal, was a specter - a falsehood constructed to house and train the psychically gifted within the Cardinal Guard. Like many of his brothers within the 13th Grand Company, Nestilo’s warp powers manifested in the ancient pattern of the Abjurers, allowing him and others to ward and shield, and, with great effort and strain, smite foes in blazes of white light. His powers trained and honed by his mentors with the 13th, Nestilo would eventually take to the Great Crusade as a covert battle-psyker, deployed with his brothers in the 13th as a last resort against foes wielding warp-based magicks against the XIXth Legion.

[Nomus Sardauk]

Submission for the 12th Weekly Writing Challenge- Notable Legion Companies

22nd Airborne Regiment, "Rojas' Rangers"
VIIIth Legiones Astartes, "Monarchs of Denaus"
3rd Corps
1st Army

Spoiler

Primarily drawn from the indigenous Keliqio people of Denaus' many jungles and mountain ranges, the 22nd Airborne, originally 22nd Tactical, would first distinguish themselves amid the 181st Expeditionary Fleet's disastrous first invasion of Lethren Prime through the daring and tactical brilliance of their late CO, Captain Miguel Rojas. Thrust into command when his predecessor was killed mid-planetfall, Rojas could only watch in anger as the Lethrenians committed their previously-undetected reserves to the fleet battle, bloodying the 181st badly and forcing them to withdraw. The Imperial forces already landed were left outnumbered and isolated, with many that survived the drop being quickly hunted down and exterminated by the Lethrenians. Taking command, Rojas gathered what Imperial survivors he could and led them into the deep wilderness, going to ground amidst the sprawling forests and mountain ranges. There he organised a brutal guerrilla campaign against the Lethrenians, never staying one place for long, with innumerable targets of opportunity subjected to night raids, booby traps, ambushes and subterfuge. What few gunships remained were employed for hit-and fade lightning strikes, then when their ammunition ran out or their fuel was nearly depleted they were repurposed as remote-piloted kamikaze bombs.

By the time the 181st fought it's way back to Lethren Prime, repaired and reinforced, they found the enemy in complete disarray. Their fleet was loitering in low orbit, busily ferrying troops planet-side whilst bombarding their own world in a desperate attempt to put down Rojas' guerrillas and the numerous civilian uprisings they'd inspired. Caught by surprise and without their planetary defence grid to assist them, the enemy fleet was swiftly defeated and Lethren brought into compliance.

Recognised for their exemplary efforts and devastating raiding tactics, the 22nd was reorganised into an Airborne Regiment, with a full compliment of Storm Eagle Gunships permanently attached to facilitate their aggressive tactics. Sergeant Rojas was officially promoted to Regimental Captain, with the Regiment officially adopting their current moniker in his honour. Since then Rojas' Rangers have continued to serve with distinction, excelling in operations far beyond Imperial lines and in all manner of hostile terrain. Notable engagements include-

• Conquest of Savro II: The 22nd's advance reconnaissance reveals a network of concealed bunkers along the Telos Range, the main land route to the planetary capital. Marking the targets for orbital support, each bunker entrance is annihilated via precision Lance strike, leaving thousands of xeno soldiers buried alive and the Imperial column's route secure. Later, at the siege of the Captial the 22nd infiltrate the city via it's sewer system, planting demolition charges under key sites that wreak havoc among the defenders and allow the 22nd to sabotage the local power grid, killing the automated defences and allowing the Imperial forces to breach the walls and storm the city.

• Raid on Mendir IVb: Having detected a burgeoning Ork Waaaagh!! building in the Mendir system, Rojas' Rangers are dispatched to infiltrate the Moon and assassinate the local Warboss before the Waaaagh!! can finish their fleet construction and assault the neighbouring systems. Using a periodic asteroid shower to make planetfall unnoticed, the 22nd's reconnaissance finds the Orks are powering their shipbuilding efforts via geothermal power plants. Seeing an opportunity, Captain Rojas and his men covertly stir up old rivalries between the present Ork Clans, using the following brawl as a distraction to infiltrate and plant demolition charges around the thermal plants' heat sinks, sending them irreversibly into meltdown. The resulting detonations are enough to destabilise the volcanic fault line beneath, triggering a catastrophic eruption that swallows the entire shipyard, a large portion of the Waaaagh!! and the would-be Warboss whole in it's molten fury.

• Tamon's World Emancipation: Tracing a series of pirate raids to Tamon's World, the 22nd discover a vast Drukhari outpost concealed by a giant holofield. Captain Rojas elects to perform a lightning strike to knock out the holofield and allow the rest of the 3rd Corps to launch a drop assault on the outpost. The resulting battle is brutal and bloody, the depraved raiders emptying their cages of warbeasts and torture engines in an effort to delay the Monarchs and escape through a Webway Portal with their slave bounty. They are blocked by Rojas' Rangers, who demolish the Portal with Melta Bombs but are savaged terribly in retribution by the furious Xenos. Tragically, Captain Rojas himself is slain by the Xenos' leader, although he is quickly avenged by the arrival of the rest of the 3rd Corps who butcher the remaining Drukhari. Despite heavy casualties and the loss of their beloved commander, the 22nd survive the battle and are honoured by the Primarch himself for their sacrifices, their actions having saved nearly 300,000 human captives from a fate far worse than death.

Edited by Nomus Sardauk, 21 December 2020 - 06:11 PM.

[TheSpeckledTrout]

The Mercurial Band

Cardinal Guard

 

More of a signifier of veteran status than a mark of honor, the Mercurial Band served as a reminder to the early XIXth Legion of the lethality of the Great Crusade. Borne by those who survived the Compliance of Mercury and the Near-Solar Platforms, on battlefields like Flare Station Kilo, the Apollite Plateau, and the Hermean Archipelago - all dens of uniquely lethal monstrosities. The nascent XIXth, blooded in the light of Sol, created the Mercurial Band as symbol of remembrance for the fallen and mark of bravery for the survivors. Paired with the Mark of Tharsis, the Mercurial Band shaped the early XIXth Legion's iconography, becoming recognizable and familiar to allied forces in appearance and meaning.

 

Typically worn around the upper right arm, directly under the terminating line of the shoulder pad and above the elbow, the Mercurial Band encircled a warrior's shooting arm. The black and white checkered stripes of the Band, representing the blinding light and freezing shadow of Sol, respectively enclosed and wrapped in a simple and infinite loop. Due to the singular and temporarily aspect of the Compliance, the Mercurial Band would become uncommon among the Cardinal Guard in the wake of the discovery of Haedran and Cathea, seen only among the oldest veterans of the Legion, with few exceptions - those being the astonishingly rare Mercurial recruits to the XIXth, who numbered less than one hundred at their very highest, taken from Mercury in decennial tithes of only a few dozen.

 

 

[Nomus Sardauk]

Submission for the 13th Weekly Writing Challenge- Notable Legion Consuls

Corraidhín Ua'Narros, "Fomor-bane"
IIIrd Legiones Astartes, "Crimson Lions"
Clan Siluros
Primus Nullificator Consul

Spoiler

While all Astartes officially swear to adhere to and uphold the Imperial Truth, that enlightened doctrine that asserts the Universe is godless and that all superstition is but lies and primitive misunderstandings, the shroud of religion still clings stubbornly to a few Legions. The Crimson Lions of Tuddanan are among these deviant Legions, fiercely adherent to their own peculiar code of honour and the archaic superstitions of their forefathers. Each Lion's power armour is often festooned with primitive trinkets, trophies and designs with a variety of purposes ranging from honouring ancestors, celebrating personal triumphs and invoking protection from threats both spiritual and physical.

Corraidhín of Narros was given to such habits more than most of his brothers, never seen without some manner of charm or other article of superstitious nature about his person, while his armour, weapons and even skin he had lovingly decorated with the curious geometric designs of his homeworld. When asked about them Corraidhín would simply shrug and reply that they were among the few things he could recall of his distant homeworld, that he wore them as a way to honour his origins. It would only be during an encounter with a Dreamwalkers Librarian during the battle of Orjusk that Corraidhín would learn their true worth.

Then a Sergeant, Corraidhín and his squad had been part of an assault throwing back the Regentist lines when the battle-psyker had appeared amongst their ranks, assailing the Lions with mind-searing blasts of power and summoned phantasms who's spectral claws passed clean through power armour to flense flesh beneath. As his brothers fell into chaos around him, Corraidhín found himself untouched by the arcane onslaught, the symbols and patterns upon his body and armour suddenly burning with a icy azure light that seemed anathema to the apparitions around him. The phantoms around him recoiled and hissed in pain as he drew near, whilst the scintillating blasts dissolved to mere wisps of light as they crashed against his form. Seizing upon the Dreamwalker's confusion, Corraidhín leapt forward, battering the psyker's powerless Force Staff aside with his Power Sword before driving it through the Regentist's visor, ending his witchery for good.

Realising his old keepsakes had somehow protected him from the Dreamwalker's magicks, Corraidhín would approach his Rix in the battle's aftermath, explaining what had transpired. Intrigued, the Rix would give Corraidhín and his squad a special mission, they would return to Narros and seek out whatever information they could regarding the glyphs and their protective properties to see if they might be weaponised to fight the Regentists' growing use of psychic phenomena. Corraidhín accepted without hesitation.

There on Narros Corraidhín and his brethren delved deep into the old lore of the tribes that roamed that world's wild lands, recording much of what they discovered. By the time the returned to the front lines months later, they were markedly changed, their armour steeped in the same geometric glyphs as Corraidhín's own, their weapons bore strange and esoteric modifications while their eyes were heavy with the weight of the knowledge they had learned. They would become the first of a new breed of warriors within the Legion, one that would prove invaluable in the dark days to come and known as Nullifactors by those who would follow them. Corraidhín himself would become the Legion's first Nullifactor Consul, passing on his knowledge to those with the aptitude and sending countless witches and neverborn to their doom before ultimately, like so many other heroes, meeting his end at the Siege of Terra.

[TheSpeckledTrout]

Fire Raptor Gunship - Crocea Mors

Cardinal Guard

 

A Legion legend by the end of the Great Crusade, the Fire Raptor Gunship dubbed Crocea Mors boasted nearly 120 years of honorable service to the Imperium in the service of the XIXth Legiones Astartes, Cardinal Guard. Originally manufactured and assembled on Mars and seconded to the XIXth Legion as part of a customary reinforcement package curated by the Mechanicum Prelatia for the Cardinal Guard, Crocea Mors would first see combat in the void, delivering much-needed close air support to Legion assets in their assault on the Craftworld Telennar, claiming two xenos battle tanks as kills, along with numerous Eldar warriors. During this time, the all-Cathean crew of the gunship would go on to adorn the nose portion of the craft with artwork reminiscent of their homeworld's predators, adding a fanged grin to the Fire Raptor's already fearsome visage.

 

Crocea Mors would go on to serve in many of the most lethal and legendary of the Cardinal Guard's wars, fighting at Bell's World, the Astelor Ridge, and Heart of Darkness, marking aerial combat kills and successful ground strikes in high number. Of the crew of Crocea Mors, Sergeant Calix Sarpedon would achieve a famed status among the Cardinal Guard for his record as the Fire Raptor's gunner, skilled in his employment of the gunship's dual Reaper Autocannons in countless engagements of ground targets.

 

 

Edited by TheSpeckledTrout, 06 January 2021 - 08:01 PM.