Legio XI: Warblades

Legio XI: Warblades

Primarch’s Name: Baelic
Homeworld: Laodice
Background: Fighter / Gladiator
Psychic Potential: Fair
Gene-seed: Unstable
Talent: Lucky
Colors: Light Blue
Battle Cry: Courage! Strength! Honor!

History

The Old Night was a time of chaos and anarchy where civilization itself retreated into its few surviving enclaves, while previously sophisticated worlds turned barbaric and feral. Many are the stories of systems or even entire sectors reduced to savagery, internecine conflict, or subjected to dominance of rampaging xenos and worse.

Despite that, the light of civilization did not die completely. From the war-wracked dust plains of Terra to the mechanized networks of Hedon, fragments of the Age That Was remained, each a reminder of human accomplishments in an older era treasured by the ignorant descendants of Man. Fewer still were the worlds where the ancient lore and knowledge did not perish but survived untouched, maintained by the people drawing benefits from its presence and staving off the inevitable entropy of the long, dark millennia.

Laodice, in the Bernhal system, was one such world fortunate enough to survive where many others died, and to keep most of its priceless technology intact well into the Age of the Imperium. The planet’s benefitted from its location near several Warp anomalies making travel difficult, yet far enough from where the veil of reality grew thin to remain safe from the malignant influence from beyond. A few incidents in Laodice’s barely remembered history ensured that its people held a healthy distrust of the otherworldly, the psychic, the sorcerous, serving to guard the planet from the dangers of the Warp even in the Age of Strife. The worlds of the Bernhal system provided ample resources to the citizens of Laodice, who barely noticed the Old Night in their isolation, continuing to reap the benefits of their civilized lifestyle in their solitary comfort.

To some, Laodice was the very image of utopia where all of its people’s needs were satisfied through advanced, if nearly impossible to replicate technology, blessed with natural resources beyond compare and protected by impenetrable rings of battle platforms and automated warships. The planet’s citizens, too, were careful not to fall into the vices of lassitude, often seeking fame and fortune in battle arenas where the best of them sought the right to be crowned champions, while the rest dedicated their time to creating magnificent works of art and literature, or pushing the boundaries of human knowledge.

When the capsule bearing an infant Primarch crashed in an urban area near one of the planet’s greatest arenas, the Laodice Guardian forces were quick to the scene. It was them who named the child Baelic after a famed arena fighter, for, they reasoned, any boy who survived an interstellar trip unscathed was bound to have a special fate.

Baelic was raised in one of Laodice’s communal orphanages, excelling far beyond the mortal children in every discipline, but while arts and sciences were easy for him, his heart was drawn to the arena. There, larger than life heroes battled under the technological auspices of the Labyrinth, a form of virtual reality that enabled the Laodiceans to relive realistic battles or to enjoy unlimited adventures of every kind while suffering no adverse risks to themselves and training their bodies for the exertions demanded by such adventures. From team battles fought with guns and missiles to simulated dragon hunts where only primitive spears and shields stood between players and simulacra monsters, the arena was both the most popular endeavor for the citizens of Laodice, and its most prominent form of entertainment.

The Primarch entered the arena as soon as he was allowed to, and became a celebrity in a matter of months. No other champion could stand against him, no matter the weaponry or the strategies they employed. Many were the tales of his exploits, from single-handedly defeating a team of twenty former champions in a gun battle, to beating the seemingly impossible scenarios programmed into the Labyrinth, where no mortal man or woman managed to survive for more than a minute. In a matter of two short years, Baelic was Laodice’s greatest celebrity, its invincible champion whose feats were unequaled by any who came before, or who would come after.

Still, Baelic was beginning to grow bored. None of the opponents, human or virtual, provided him with a worthy challenge. Even as he turned off the safety protocols of the Labyrinth, the battles were far too easy. For a short time, he amused himself by participating in hunts of great reptiles living on the other worlds of the Bernhal system, but even that was not enough to seriously challenge him. Ten years from his first entry into the arena, Baelic began to contemplate retirement, wondering what he could do next.

At that moment, fate chose to intervene. Following signals that pointed out a presence of an incredibly advanced world, an Imperial fleet approached Laodice, breaking its millennia-long isolation and demanding compliance. Seeing his chance to finally put his skills to good use, Baelic boasted to the Imperial commanders that he was not afraid of them, and that he, as champion of the Laodicean arena, would meet any number of their own champions in battle to decide the fate of his world, backed by the vote of the Laodicean citizens. Somewhat surprisingly, the Imperial commander agreed to resolve the matter by accepting Baelic’s challenge. Were the Primarch to win, the fleet would depart for parts unknown, leaving Laodice to its devices. Were Baelic to lose, the Laodicean forces would stand down, and the world would not resist its incorporation into the Imperium of Man.

On the day of the battle, Baelic was surprised to see only one opponent rather than an army of mighty champions stand before him in the Laodicean capital arena, and not a particularly tall or strong-looking one at that. Baelic pointed at the man and laughed, loudly shouting that if this is the best this Imperium could muster, then the Imperials might as well ask for provisions to resupply for a long, lonely trek back. A million Laodicean throats seconded his laughter from the spectators’ seats, while millions more watching remotely cheered for their champion.

The Primarch allowed his opponent the courtesy of picking the nature of the contest, feeling confident about his skill with any type of weapon imaginable. When the Imperial champion chose unarmed battle, Baelic only laughed, for he had long stopped taking part in unarmed contests for the fear of causing grievous injury to living opponents. Baelic was still laughing when, in a deft move, the Imperial commander laid him flat on his back as effortlessly as if he were a child.

Surprised, Baelic told his opponent that he would give him the benefit of courage and skill, but that the battle’s outcome was predetermined, and he should concede lest Baelic crippled or killed him. The Imperial champion shook his head, instead motioning the Primarch to resume their contest rather than talk.

Faster and faster did Baelic come at the Imperial, raining blow after blow at him, yet the other man was still impossibly faster. Attacks that could have leveled buildings missed, while the ones that connected had next to no effect. Enraged, Baelic launched himself at his opponent, his body a blur of motion too fast for human eyes to follow, only to be met with a flurry of ripostes and counterstrikes that tested even his formidable constitution.

Baelic never sensed the blow that laid him low and knocked consciousness out of him. When the Primarch opened his eyes, demanding to know the name of the man who bested him, the Imperial commander revealed himself to be the Emperor of Mankind, and a father to Baelic.

The Emperor told Baelic that the time for childish entertainment and games was over, and that it was time for Laodice to open its eyes to wider galaxy. While the Emperor found Baelic’s lack of ambition or desire to rule somewhat disturbing, he gifted his son the dominion over Laodice, and the command of the Eleventh Legion, soon thereafter renamed Warblades to signify Baelic’s commitment to his father’s Great Crusade.

The Great Crusade

While Baelic was quick to put his personal stamp on the workings of the Warblades, he found that the Legion he inherited was already somewhat similar to his own temperament. Long considered one of the more brash, impulsive forces in the Imperium, the Eleventh Legion was prone to risky, often ill-advised campaigns where individual commanders strove to outdo each other’s accomplishments. Baelic took this enthusiasm one step further by incorporating the Labyrinth into the Legionary training, and by encouraging the spirit of competition between individual squads and companies, establishing a set of criteria to evaluate their performance in each mission and training session. Augmented by the first wave of Laodicean recruits drawn by the promise of glory and adventure, the Warblades departed on their first independent campaign under the guidance of their Primarch.

Already a fearsome, if sometimes ill-disciplined force, the Warblades quickly gained renown as shock-and-awe specialists, often called upon by Imperial commanders where speed was of the essence, and rapid strikes broke through enemy lines and fortifications. If some generals voiced concerns that the Eleventh Legion often left for their next campaign as soon as the spectacular victory was won, leaving other forces to consolidate Imperial conquests, such concerns rarely reached the ears of Baelic, already engaged in his next conquest.

Fairly or not, these tactics earned the Warblades a reputation of glory-seekers who had more interest in lightning-fast engagements than in protracted campaigns where every trace of the enemy had to be expunged, or where long counter-insurgency and mop-up operations were needed. In some circles, this led to a perception of the Eleventh Legion as a somewhat unreliable force, good for a single action, but not trustworthy enough to lead lengthy campaigns on its own. At least two of their brother Legions even asked to be reassigned to campaigns elsewhere instead of fighting by the side of the Warblades, citing that the Eleventh Legion’s conquests often required decades of subsequent pacification after Baelic’s sons left the combat zone.

Organization

The Eleventh Legion is organized on a pattern roughly similar to mainline Space Marine Legions, albeit with several changes in nomenclature. The Legion is divided into Clans, which are roughly equivalent to Great Companies of other Legions. Each Clan can be anywhere from several hundred to several thousand warriors, although most range between 700 and 1,000. A clan is divided into Kill-Teams, which are equivalent to squads, usually consisting of nine warriors and a sergeant (known as the Kill-Leader). Individual Kill-Teams are ranked based on their combat performance, and their members may be given additional responsibilities befitting those of line officers if the Kill-Team performs well.

The Warblades are prejudiced against psykers, and will not utilize any Librarians, with the exception of the Primarch's own household, where a small contingent of psychic warriors, known as the Diviners, exist. Further, the Legion has only moderate amount of armored assets, preferring to use them as support and transportation instead of as primary means of war.

Gene-Seed

The Warblades gene-seed has several idiosynchrasies which made implantation slightly more difficult than for their brother Legions. Some battle-brothers were known to fall into battle-rage - once a Space Marine begins to slip away, the battle-rage will keep on coming back in subsequent battles, until the warrior is little more than a raving psychopath. Only the older, more experienced Legionaries are privy to such knowledge, usually after seeing one of their brothers experience battle rage, though the phenomenon is sufficiently uncommon to avoid notice by the Imperium at large.

The Heart of Valor

While each Legion can claim to have a flagship worthy of a legend, the Warblades’ command vessel is a unique conglomerate of pre-Imperial Laodicean technology and the workings of Martian artisans. Though not considerably larger than most of the Legion flagships, the Heart of Valor’s ingenious design allows it to carry a considerably higher number of Legionaries and their supporting facilities than its peers, while many Labyrinth facilities on board ensure that the warriors of the Eleventh Legion remain in peak training condition even on long voyages.

The Labyrinth

Warblades employ an ancient Laodicean simulacrum technology known as the Labyrinth. While the basic concepts of virtual reality are far from unknown in the Imperium, the Labyrinth can create tangible simulacra within its confines that look and feel real. Already familiar with the technology from his adopted homeworld, Baelic ordered its installation in all larger vessels of the Eleventh Legion, where it became a primary tool for Legionary training, combat simulation, and even recreational activities.

Luck of the Eleventh

Over the long decades of campaigning, the onlookers noticed another curious trait of Baelic’s line. Despite often being one of the more aggressive Legions in the Great Crusade, the Warblades seemed to avoid any major disasters, often finding the circumstances to come together in their favor. From the fortunate eclipse on the blood plains of Nicosia Minor to the sudden appearance of Imperial Redeemers ahead of schedule during the Scouring of Atavis, the Eleventh Legion is believed to have particularly good fortune, as if some strange powers governing the universe favor the sons of Baelic. The Warblades themselves began to call it “luck of the Eleventh,” meaning any fortuitous turn of events that benefits the Legion. Some of the Legion’s detractors, however, caution the Eleventh from ever relying on good fortune, and warn that at some point, this run of luck may yet find itself reversed…

During Heresy

 
Due to the Eleventh Legion’s reputation for foolhardy tactics and somewhat unreliable, glory-seeking nature, the Council of Terra typically treated Baelic with casual disregard, minimizing his accomplishments and considering him a non-factor in the Council politics. Iskanderos was able to capitalize on the feelings of resentment in Baelic and many of his Legionaries, offering them a place of honor at his side and a chance to be one of the most celebrated fighting forces of the Imperium. Unlike their more callous brethren, the Warblades fought for Iskanderos believing that they were seeking to free the Emperor from the Council’s usurpation.

Ordered to campaign against Corwin alongside Nihlus and Iconoclasts, Baelic began to have second thoughts after witnessing disturbing signs of corruption in the Eighth Legion. After the battle at Maegara, the Stormlord’s mind was made up – there was more to Iskanderos’ rebellion than met the eye, and the Warblades were to have no part in it. At Hyrule Secundus, Baelic attempted to parlay with Corwin, seeking to negotiate his Legion’s return to the Council’s fold under Corwin’s patronage.

Unfortunately, while Baelic’s intentions were true, the Iconoclasts were able to corrupt more than half of the Warblades with temptations of power obtained through daemonic possession. Iskanderos had never fully trusted Baelic, and Nihlus’ presence had another role besides his military prowess – the Destroyer was present to keep Baelic and Warblades in line, and to ensure their full commitment to the cause. As a result, it fell to Nihlus and a team of assassins from the Iron Locusts to disrupt Baelic’s negotiations with Corwin on board the Angel Kings’ orbital station.

As Baelic attempted to escape the assassins, another unpleasant surprise waited for him. No longer content with the Primarch’s plan to change sides in the civil war, many of the Warblades, led by Nereus Farok, turned their fleet’s guns on Baelic’s loyalists. Between the Iconoclasts, the traitorous Warblades, and the Angel Kings withdrawing from Hyrule Secundus to preserve their own Legion, the loyal Warblades were slaughtered until only a small proportion of them remained.

Though the orbital battle at Hyrule Secundus was disastrous in and of itself, there were further calamities for the Warblades to endure before they managed to flee to safety. While Baelic was able to survive the perilous battle on the orbital station, he was lost in space after his Stormbird transport was attacked by a daemonic abomination summoned by the Iron Locusts. With the battle raging all around them, the Warblades could only spare little time on their attempt to locate the Primarch, finally being forced to flee in order to comply with Baelic’s last order to return home.

The loyal Warblades emerged from the Warp on the outskirts of Red Star Collective, where Stefan Ignatiyev attempted to preserve the integrity of his holdings while avoiding commitment to both sides in the civil war. Quarantined and kept under guard, the Warblades would have probably remained the First Legion’s captives had it not been for the arrival of their corrupted former brethren, now known as the Abyssals, who demanded the loyalists to be turned over to them.

The arrival of Leto’s Immortals further complicated the situation, however, an uneasy alliance was finally made between the Immortals, the Red Star Legion, and most of the surviving Warblades. A sudden redeployment by the Red Star Legion presented an opportunity for the Warblades to escape capture and to attempt flight, which coincidentally goaded the Abyssals into an attack. With the Chaos forces the aggressor, Stefan Ignatiyev was fully justified in using the full might of his Legion to crush the invaders and to enable the Warblades an opportunity to escape.

Though the Abyssals attempted to flee when the odds turned against them, the appearance of the Immortals under Leto’s personal command ensured that not a single one of their number escaped. Despite the warnings of Warblades and cautious Stefan Ignatiyev, a number of Abyssals were captured by the Sixteenth Legion and thereafter used as test subjects, examined and studied for their potential to augment Leto’s own research into transhumanism. The rest were unceremoniously destroyed.

While Stefan Ignatiyev offered the surviving Warblades a chance to join his dominion, most of them chose to follow Baelic’s final order, and to return to Laodice. The few Legionaries that stayed in the Red Star Collective had thereafter formed a distinct group of units under Stefan Ignatiyev’s command, albeit with the passage of centuries, their role became mostly ceremonial.

The majority of the surviving Legion – at this point less than five thousand warriors strong – completed their journey to Laodice, taking no further part in the civil war; however, another faction of the Warblades emerged after the battle against the Abyssals. These warriors argued that no one had seen Baelic die. If even an ordinary Space Marine could survive prolonged vacuum exposure by entering a coma, they said, who is to say that the Primarch himself may not be able to do the same?

As a result, when the Heart of Valor departed the Red Star Collective territories, a much smaller frigate set out in a different direction – back to Hyrule Secundus, where, it was hoped, the Warblades would know the fate of their Primarch once and for all…

The Abyssals

Fully given to daemonic possession and worship of the Ruinous Powers, the Abyssals became one of the most zealous, devoted forces sworn to Iskanderos. Though a large portion of their number was lost in a futile attempt to finish off their loyalist brethren, enough Abyssals remained with the main rebel forces to play a significant part through the rest of the conflict. Under the guidance of Nihlus and, eventually, Iskanderos himself, they became a dangerous shock formation whose very presence seemed to defy and warp reality, and who were an effective weapon of terror on the march to Segmentum Solar.

On the battlements of Terra, Nereus Farok and his daemon-possessed kin once again proved their worth, though suffering casualties in their thousands. The carnage on Terra allowed several of the Abyssals’ commanders to ascent to daemonhood, though it also made for a less disciplined force that, ironically, echoed the very kind of criticism once levied on the “unreliable” and “glory-seeking” Warblades…

Post-Heresy

After the flames of war died down, the Warblades were bereft of leadership. With the fate of the Primarch still unknown, the pitiful remains of the Legion hunkered down on Laodice, attempting to rebuild their numbers while fortifying their homeworld against any and all threats.

Fortunately for them, Laodice’s relative geographic isolation, combined with the fracturing of galactic order after the Fall of Terra, ensured that the only threats to the Legion’s homeworld came from small bands of pirates and marauders. As a result, once the trauma of Baelic’s death or disappearance began to fade from the collective consciousness of the Legion, the Warblades began to revert to the same culture that had once spawned them, emphasizing personal combat prowess and small unit infantry tactics over large-scale deployments.

It was not long before small groups of Warblades began to venture out into the galaxy, typically acting as elite mercenaries motivated more so by challenge of particularly difficult opponents than by any kind of material reward. These warbands have no allegiance to any particular kingdom or cause, and could be frequently found fighting on multiple sides of the same conflict once their contracts had expired. There are only two unspoken exceptions to the Warblades’ code of conduct – the warriors of the Eleventh Legion would not fight for Chaos-tainted leaders, and they would not fight each other. Should the war produce a situation where two Warblades companies or clans are on the opposite sides of the conflict, their commanders would go out of their way to fight in different theatres, and, if they are left with no choice but to engage each other, typically settle the dispute with a non-lethal honor duel of the warband champions. The losing side would then withdraw from conflict, its contract considered fulfilled.

The greatest challenge to Laodice came in the 33^rd Millennium, when a particularly ambitious Liberators warlord, Stel Saf, sought to plunder Laodice’s advanced technological base for his needs. Working in secrecy, Saf stirred the flames of war in the sectors surrounding the Warblades’ homeworld, increasing the demand for mercenaries so that only the minimal garrison remained on Laodice itself. With the majority of the Legion tied up elsewhere, Saf was in position to press his sudden attack.

The Warblades on Laodice did not realize that something was wrong until the outposts in the outer Bernhal system began to go dark, and the Chaos horde began to ravage the outer planets. Severely outnumbered, the Eleventh Legion could only wait as their enemies approached, their attempts to harry the enemy slowing down but not outright stopping the tide of maddened cultists, Warp-tainted abominations, and Liberators Space Marines.

Though the population of Laodice was considerably better trained in military tactics than most worlds due to the judicious use of the Labyrinth technology, the planetary defense forces could only slow down Saf’s raiders, who proceeded to raid the great manufactorums and vaults where millennia of irreplaceable knowledge and technology were stored. The Warblades themselves fought bravely, but could only limit the damage rather than stop it completely. The most the Legionaries could do was try to direct the invaders towards a hidden fortress where, it was said, the secrets of the Labyrinth technology were kept, along with many other treasures.

Stel Saf laughed with glee as his troops broke through the gates of the fortress. As far as he knew, even if the Warblades sent the word of his attack to their widespread mercenary companies the moment he emerged in the Bernhal system, any reinforcements were at least a month away from Laodice. He had more than enough time to take what he came for, and to destroy the rest. However, when the gates fell and the Liberators entered the courtyard of the fortress, he let out a gasp of surprise.

Instead of several hundred of rag-tag warriors, the courtyard was full with Warblades armed to the teeth, each clad in the Legion panoply reminiscent of the Great Crusade. At their head was another presence of a long gone age – an inhumanly tall god-like warrior, twin swords flaring with excess power, cold blue eyes promising death to the invaders. Before the Liberators could comprehend this latest reversal, the fortress gates closed shut, and the Warblades attacked.

Cruel was the slaughter of the Liberators, and no mercy was given by the sons of Baelic. No Chaos warrior managed to escape the battle – not a tainted Space Marine, not a cultist, not even a daemon-possessed engine of abominable prowess. Only when the last of the invaders were slain, and the last of their tainted blood was spilt to consecrate the fortress, did the Eleventh Primarch and the Legionaries of the Great Crusade vanish.

For the Labyrinth was always a dangerous tool, even to those who understood its workings and constraints. Far from mere treasure trove, the fortress where the Warblades gave their decisive battle was a giant training facility constructed through the use of ancient and nearly forgotten technology. In essence, it was the Labyrinth, personified, with all the safeguards normally built into it turned off and the simulacra created by it turned real and deadly. It was this, and the Liberators’ own greed, that decided the battle, and the fate of Laodice, though to this day the veterans of the battle, now almost exclusively kept in the Dreadnought sarcophagi due to extreme age and wear, claim that they felt another presence that day, something from an older, more noble age...

In the aftermath of the invasion, the surviving Warblades had to once again reassess their place in the galaxy. Though the Legion’s ongoing mercenary expeditions ensured that the sons of Laodice remained one of the best fighting forces in the galaxy, they could no longer afford to neglect the defenses of their own homeworld, or to count on some fortunate intervention to save the day. As a result, all mercenary commanders were given another priority directive by the Legion leadership.

From then on, Legion officers engaged off-world would begin to fight not only for honor and proof of military prowess, but also to bring home resources, salvage, and technologies to strengthen Laodice against any would-be invaders. A number of systems were brought under the Legion’s sway, some as outright protectorates, but most nominally independent yet operating under the long-standing pacts between specific Warblades Clans and companies and the ruling families of those systems. On such worlds, while the local rulers tend to run administrative and internal matters, no important decision is made without consulting the commanding officer of the Warblades.

As a result, by the 35^th Millennium the Warblades had acquired a small, though heavily decentralized empire. The Legion was never particularly interested in governing the worlds they had once conquered, and this disinterest in administration ensures that as long as the planets of the empire remain continuously friendly to Laodice, they are allowed to do as they please. Instead, this polity is a simple measure of protecting the homeworld in a galaxy that can no longer be trusted and that is full of enemies.

These changes were also reflected in the character of the Legion. Already a rather decentralized force in the absence of Baelic or a similarly recognized leader, the Warblades are instead governed by a council of Clan-Masters. It would not be wrong to consider each Clan as essentially a separate force that recognizes the primacy of shared genetic heritage rather than as a Chapter in a more hierarchical Legion, however, the Warblades remain rather tightly knit due to the practice of recruiting only from Laodice, and the shared belief that no other force in the galaxy can be trusted.

As a result, the Warblades became somewhat of a contradiction – a Legion full of independent commanders who answer only to their Clan-Masters and who are often stationed away from the homeworld for decades at a time, but who maintain tight bonds of brotherhood with each other, and who answer Laodice’s call at a moment’s notice. It is helped by the relatively close location of most vassal worlds to Laodice, and the healthy amount of distrust the Warblades have for anyone not of Laodicean blood.

Though there had not been any confirmed sightings of Baelic since his disappearance at Hyrule Secundus, the Warblades still maintain hope that some day, their Primarch would return to them and lead them on a glorious campaign to restore the golden age of the Imperium as it was always meant to be. All Legion commanders on mercenary duty keep their ears open for any rumors of Baelic’s return, and to this day a number of Legionaries undertake pilgrimages into the wider galaxy to seek any trace of Baelic. Most of them eventually return to Laodice with only ancient relics of the Great Crusade from the worlds once brought into compliance by the Eleventh Legion, but sometimes, they bring home stories of witnessing a great warrior with two blades scything down the minions of Chaos, or appearing in their greatest hour of need only to vanish again before he could be observed in detail or spoken to. Some on Laodice scoff at such wishful thinking, yet others still hold out the hope that the rumors are true, and that somewhere in the galaxy, another force for good still remains…