Black Legion (Warhammer 40,000)
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| Black Legion | |
|---|---|
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| Primarch | Horus |
| Battlecry | We are returned! |
| Colours | Black and Gold |
In the fictional Warhammer 40,000 universe, the Black Legion is a legion of Chaos Space Marines, formerly under the command of the traitor Primarch Horus.
Contents |
[edit] History
[edit] Horus
Horus, one of the twenty gene-children of the Emperor, is believed by some to have been the first Primarch rediscovered after they were scattered across the galaxy, although Lion El'Jonson of the Dark Angels was chronologically the eldest of the Primarchs. Horus was found on the planet of Cthonia, a world close enough to Holy Terra that it was within reasonable reach of non-FTL spacecraft.
For thirty years, Horus was the only son of the Emperor, and during this time they, together with the Sixteenth Space Marine Legion, known as the Luna Wolves (some sources name them the Lunar Wolves), began the Great Crusade and forged the initial expansion of the Imperium of Man. They both saved each other's lives on several occasions, and it was said that there was a great affinity between them.
When the Emperor divined the presence of the second Primarch, he left Horus in full command of the Great Crusade. As more Primarchs were discovered and reunited with their Legions of Space Marines, Horus was often granted overall strategic command. Horus relished this position, proving his skill time and time again, while winning the respect of the Emperor and the admiration of the other Legions.
The Luna Wolves Legion revelled in the glory of being the personal guard of the greatest Primarch, sharing Horus' belief in fighting to be the best. The Luna Wolves were always at the forefront of the campaigns, striving to conquer more than any other force in the Imperium. Often, the Legion would swoop in, smash the centres of resistance, and move on, leaving other forces to secure the planet and provide garrison forces.
[edit] The Ullanor Crusade
Considered to be the greatest campaign of the Great Crusade, the Luna Wolves' defeat of a massive Ork empire resulted in many awards heaped on the Legion by the Emperor, most notably the promotion of Horus himself to the rank of Warmaster, supreme commander of the Luna Wolves and the Emperor's Armies. At this time the Emperor also suggested the Luna Wolves be renamed to the Sons of Horus (however, this did not occur until about three years later, following an incident between Horus' force and a company of Emperor's Children on the world of Murder).
The wording of the Emperor's proclamation, claiming the glory of Horus' victories on Ullanor as his own, was the usual rhetoric for such announcements, but it seemed to awaken a deep seated resentment in Horus. In the Primarch's eyes, the Emperor spent his time safe in his palace on Terra, where he returned after the Ullanor Crusade, while Horus created his Imperium for him.
Horus was wounded on the Chaos-corrupted moon of the world of Davin by Eugan Temba, a former Imperial Army Lord Commander who had been left behind to govern Davin after the Luna Wolves' conquest but had been corrupted by the Chaos God Nurgle. Temba used an anathame, a form of alien sword that had been infused with Chaos energies, to badly wound Horus. The anathame had been stolen from the Hall of Devices on the Interex capital world of Xenobia by Erebus, the First Chaplain of the Word Bearers Legion, who had become a servant of Chaos like his own Primarch Lorgar. During his convalescence, Horus took part in an induction ceremony for one of the world's warrior lodges that was controlled by Chaos cultists. During the Warp-inspired dreams this ceremony inflicted upon him, the Warmaster chose to align himself with the Chaos Gods in an attempt to overthrow the Emperor. This ceremony had been a routine part of Horus' policy of winning "the hearts and minds" of the peoples he visited, so that they might be better exploited by Imperial recruitment when the time came.
A different version of this story appears in the Black Library novel "False Gods" (Part II of the Horus Heresy), in which Horus is taken by Erebus and high-ranking members of the Sons of Horus to the lodge on Davin to be healed, as the space marine apothecaries are unable to treat Horus' Chaos-infested wounds.
While in what appears to be a warp-controlled hallucination, Erebus disguises himself as a former comrade of Horus, and attempts to sway him to the cause of Chaos. Magnus the Red of the Thousand Sons Legion tries to counter Erebus through sorcery, and unmasks the Word-Bearer to Horus, but instead of being thankful to his fellow primarch, Horus is disappointed in Magnus' apparent continued use of arcane arts, which were previously banned by the Emperor.
Horus emerges from the lodge healed but apparently now turned against his father, and he later unveils his plan to overthrow the Emperor to his loyal commanders.
[edit] Horus Heresy
The Sons of Horus were at the forefront in the battles of the Heresy and in the siege of the Imperial palace on Terra. However once Horus had been killed by the Emperor they fled taking Horus' body with them signalling the collapse of the Heresy. Chased by the Imperial Fleet, the Traitor Legions and the others that had taken side against the Emperor took sanctuary in the region known as the Eye of Terror.
[edit] The Exile
Within the Eye, the Sons constructed a vast fortress-tomb for Horus. From there the Legion continued to be active in campaigns against the Imperium. The once vast Legion was slowly cut down in size, as both casualties in battle and the aftermath of daemonic possession began to take their toll.
The Sons of Horus also fought a series of bloody wars against the other Traitor Legions, in order to establish superiority within the Eye, as well as take control of the sparse resources available. The new homeworld of the Sons of Horus was destroyed by a combined fleet, while Horus' corpse was stolen by the Emperor's Children. Under these dire circumstances, the survivors were forced to swear fealty to a new leader, the former captain of the Legion's elite Company, Ezekyle Abaddon - now known as Abaddon the Despoiler.
Abaddon realised that the memory of the Warmaster and his failure had shackled the Chaos Space Marines. In response, he renamed them the Black Legion, to distance the Legion from the failures of Horus, and led them in a lightning raid to destroy the body of Horus. From this time, the Black Legion has terrorised the Imperium.
Realms of Chaos tells a different story for the Sons. Although after the Heresy initially they fought valiantly against the Imperium as if to prove themselves again when the Warmaster's body was stolen they turned on the other Traitor legions and then left the Eye in their lone battlebarge their presence being known all across the Imperium. It also states that they found a means to endure daemonic possession without being destroyed by it.
[edit] Organisation
Before the events of the Heresy, the Luna Wolves were organised like any other legion, with companies led by individual leaders. There were twenty-five companies of Luna Wolves following the Ullanor Crusade. The four greatest company captains also served as the Mournival; at the time of the Heresy being Garviel Loken, 'Little' Horus Aximand, Tarik Torgaddon and Ezekyle Abbaddon. The Mournival served as an advisory body to Horus.
After the death of Horus, proper structure within the squads and companies disintegrated. The survivors formed into warbands of varying size and composition, led by individuals known as Champions. These Champions were either ranking officers from the Horus Heresy, or newly emerged leaders who had won favour through their violent deeds. When circumstances dictated, several warbands would rally together under the banner of a greater Champion, or even Abaddon himself, usually in preparation for major raid or incursion into the hated Imperium.
The overriding belief of the Legion prior to the Warmaster's demise was in the ultimate superiority of Warmaster Horus and, by association, themselves. In continually seeking to prove themselves as the greatest Legion, they did indeed achieve most in terms of sheer numbers of worlds brought into the Imperial fold prior to the Heresy, although much effort had to be expended by other forces to completely pacify these new worlds.
Their defeat and exile dealt a crushing blow to the collective ego of the Legion, taking the strength of character of Abaddon the Despoiler, to restore the Legion's sense of pride and refocus on the goal initially held by Horus - to overthrow everything that the false Emperor of Mankind created.
[edit] Headquarters
The Legion's original homeworld of Cthonia has long since collapsed into an asteroid field, although whether this was through a loss of geo-structural integrity or a deliberate effort by the Imperium is a matter of conjecture.
The Legion created a new home within the Eye of Terror, however, this was later destroyed by a combined Traitor fleet. Since this event, the Black Legion moved their base of operations to the various starships in their possession.
[edit] Recruitment
The Space Marines of the Luna Wolves Legion were created using human stock taken from the violent hive gangs inhabiting Cthonia. Being within reach of Terra for even non-warp spacecraft, Cthonia had been colonised, built upon, tunnelled and mined since the dawn of interstellar travel. As such, all natural resources had been stripped away and used up millennia before, and the ancient mining technology had long since been rediscovered and removed by the Adepts of Mars. The planet that remained was largely redundant and abandoned, completely riddled with catacombs, crumbling industrial plants and exhausted mine-workings.
Fierce gangs inhabited the lawless depths of Cthonia, providing an easy source of human specimens who nobody would miss. Reports tell of 'recruitment squads' rounding up thousands of gangers at a time, chaining them together and loading them into the holds of prison ships.
[edit] Combat Doctrine
The Legion was a flexible fighting force, able to adapt to almost any combat situation. The Legion possessed an efficient chain of command, which fell into disarray after the head, Horus, was killed over Terra. Abaddon managed to restore a measure of discipline, mainly through fear and violence.
The Black Legion generally favours close combat over ranged firefights, and Horus' tactic of "ripping the throat out of the enemy," the annihilation of the enemy's command center through the use of a small force referred to as the speartip, is still a favoured method of attack. Black Legion commanders seek to apply constant pressure on the enemy in a number of lightning fast strikes. These sharp but limited assaults are meant to disrupt the enemy and secure positions that can be used for fire support. This in turn keeps the pressure on while new attacks are being prepared. The time-lapse between each assault decreases with each advance, and the commander will usually wait until the pressure reaches its highest point. When this occurs, the commander will lead his Chosen in a final, devastating assault; an attack in which teleporting Terminators often feature. Hordes of daemons are also used for frontal assaults, and to pin the enemy while the Legion whittles them down.
[edit] Battlecry
Prior to the destruction of Horus' body by Abaddon, the Legion's battlecries included "For the Warmaster!" "Lupercal!" (a Chthonic nickname for Horus), and "In the name of the ship!" (Horus' flagship was called the Vengeful Spirit). Following this, each warband used its own cries, but those fighting under the command of Abaddon are reported to use "We are returned!"
The Luna Wolves used the cry "Kill for the Living..."Kill for the Dead"
[edit] Appearance
The first version of armour used by the Sixteenth Legion was predominantly off-white, with gold trim, and the Terminators and assault squads used glossy black armour. The Legion's symbol was a wolf's head imposed over an inverted crescent moon.
After the Ullanor Crusade, and the Interex incident, the Legion's change in name to the Sons of Horus accompanied a change in colouring. The Legion's power armour was decorated predominantly dark grey, with black or gold trim, while some soldiers' gauntlets were coloured dark red. The Legion symbol changed to become a stylised eye over a cross - the Eye of Terra.
The Black Library novel "False Gods" (Part II of the Horus Heresy) describes the Luna Wolves' armor as being changed to a pale green color following their name change to the Sons of Horus.
This colour scheme was retained until Abaddon the Despoiler took command of the Legion's remnants. The Black Legion, as the name suggests, wears black armour. The armour is decorated with gold trim and Chaotic iconography. The symbol of the Eye was retained, however it was now superimposed over the eight-pointed Star of Chaos (now known as the Eye of Horus).
The shift of the Legion's colour scheme from white to black was ordered by Abaddon to mark their shame after their failure in the Horus Heresy.
[edit] Notable Members
!Warning Spoilers Ahead!
[edit] The Mournival
While it was known as the Luna Wolves and the Sons of Horus - before the corruption to Chaos - there were many captains who served as members of the Mournival, an informal advisory body that served as Horus' "war dogs" when the Warmaster wished to be the peacekeeper. These four men figure prominently in the first three books of the Horus Heresy book series by the Black Library.
- Ezekyle Abaddon, First Captain: Later known as Abaddon the Despoiler, he was Horus' chief lieutenant, who willingly followed his Primarch to Chaos. He later became Warmaster after Horus' defeat.
- Tarik Torgaddon, Captain, 2nd Company: Known as a joker, able to find humor in most situations. He remained loyal to the Emperor, and as a result was beheaded by Horus Aximand during the battle of Istvaan III.
- Horus Aximand, Captain, 5th Company: Known as Little Horus for his uncanny resemblance to Horus himself, he was more reluctant in following his Primarch to Chaos. As far as the book series has gone so far, Aximand has remained in the service of his Legion - though his hesitance and regret following the beheading of Torgaddon has caught Abaddon's attention, so his fate is unclear.
- Garviel Loken, Captain, 10th Company: Known as "straight through and through", Loken was the newest member of the Mournival, taking over for Hastur Sejanus following the battle for Sixty-Three Nineteen. Resisting the fall to Chaos, it is implied he is crushed to death under burning rubble following the death of Torgaddon during the final battle for Istvaan III.
[edit] Other Notable Members
- Zaraphiston: The Despoiler's personal sorcerer.
- Salernia: A Tech-Marine in the service of the Luna Wolves, who remained when the Legion turned to Chaos. According to the June 2003 issue of White Dwarf, Salernia specialized in the design of Dreadnoughts, and was responsible for adapting the technology into the dreaded siege engines known as Defilers, at the behest of Abaddon.
- The Chosen of Abaddon: Four top-ranking elites within the Black Legion, personal attendants to the Despoiler. They appear to have the aspects of all four Chaos Gods. Only two are mentioned by name - Devram Korda, the Tyrant of Sarora (clearly a servant of Slaanesh, based on descriptions of his appearance), and Ygethmor the Deceiver, a Tzeentchian sorcerer who led the Chaos forces during the Battle of Medusa V, and was presumably killed when he failed to take the planet for Chaos. The other two - one described as having a glaive, horned head, a snarling wolf mask and grinning skulls hanging from his ornate power armor, the other described as carrying a pus-dripping sword and wearing rusted, bloated power armor - are not named, but they clearly represent Khorne and Nurgle, respectively, among Abaddon's elite.
- Maloghurst the Twisted: Horus' equerry and chief enforcer. As Horus began his downward spiral into Chaos, Maloghurst ensured that the "naysayers" - remembrancers, astropaths, Imperial Army soldiers, and even Marines from his own Legion - were silenced in order to prevent the Emperor from finding out of Horus' intent to overthrow him.
[edit] References
- Games Workshop Design Staff (2002). Warhammer 40,000 Codex: Chaos Space Marines, 1st Edition, Nottingham: Games Workshop. ISBN 1-84154-322-5.
- (April 2002) "Index Astartes – Sons of Horus". White Dwarf: Australian Edition (268). ISSN 0265-8712.
- Abnett, Dan (2006). Horus Rising. Nottingham: Games Workshop. ISBN 1-84416-294-X.
- McNeill, Graham (2006). False Gods. Nottingham: Games Workshop. ISBN 1-84416-370-9.
- Counter, Ben (2006). Galaxy in Flames. Nottingham: Games Workshop. ISBN 1-84416-393-8.
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