Faeit 212: 40k lore

Showing posts with label 40k lore. Show all posts

Did You Know- Ortan Cassius

Did You Know- Ortan Cassius

This is interesting. Not certain I knew this.

11/05/2020

The Hidden History of the First Legion: Part II

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjl7TDYwiRnkUxQZ1mwqKGC3sxf3CLUtR91P_GVTeELTTe3NjsUYZlFujWo1tYr_7I_E6OPDgLPZ1kJvnrxdDu5UiOUI9_QSDsFn2Db10kWlbtEiBKNwzQSky2gDL6izUn4no7IxqHlKgY/s1024/83-832301_warhammer-40k-grey-knights-symbol-hd-png-download.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="860" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjl7TDYwiRnkUxQZ1mwqKGC3sxf3CLUtR91P_GVTeELTTe3NjsUYZlFujWo1tYr_7I_E6OPDgLPZ1kJvnrxdDu5UiOUI9_QSDsFn2Db10kWlbtEiBKNwzQSky2gDL6izUn4no7IxqHlKgY/s320/83-832301_warhammer-40k-grey-knights-symbol-hd-png-download.png" /></a></div>
<br />
This second report moves on from
establishing in<a href="https://natfka.blogspot.com/2020/09/final-hidden-history-of-first-legion.html" target="_blank"> part one</a> the original Space Marine formation, most likely the First Legion, was made up of prototype Marines who bore the geneseed of the Emperor and existed, such as the
Legionary Leetu, before it was refounded with the Sons of the Lion,
to the potential legacy they left behind. The Emperor, and his second
in command Malcador the Sigillite, had a history of using clandestine
forces of Space Marines- and the secretive prototype Marines might be
linked to one or all of them. Be warned: the potential implications
if even a fraction of the following is true are staggering.<br />
<br />
<div align="CENTER" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<u><b>The Mentor
Legionaries</b></u></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
The prototype Marines, created as the 'proof of concept' for the Astartes, were deployed as
a clandestine force and were always top secret. This First Legion went
through its combat trials until the Emperor refound it with the Sons
of the Lion- and it was possible that some of their instructors were the
veteran Prototype Marines. After this there is the possibly they
helped trained another Legion...<br />
<br />
<div align="CENTER" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<u>The
Ghost Legion</u></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
“<i>Of the early solar decades of the
XXth Legion on Terra and during the re-conquest of the Sol System
almost nothing can be said with any accuracy whatsoever, and even the
cluster of myths and rumours that would later grow to surround the
Legion's activities is absent. What remains instead are a few sparse
but suggestive fragments, anomalous records of unknown Legiones
Astartes units carrying out targeted strikes, abductions and
assassinations, both on Terra and beyond, and reports of Space Marine
units answering to no known masters or Legion allegiance passing
through war zones on high priority missions and under the writ of
unassailable clearance codes which broached no question.</i></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<i>Rumour and supposition even
surrounded the designation "Alpha"....”</i></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
It is hard to imagine that an
experienced force of Astartes, literally the very first, or Alpha,
Marines made from the Emperor's own genetic material would be
discarded and not continue with their clandestine operations. It also
seems as if the Emperor intended the 20<sup>th</sup> Legion to be a
clandestine force, and on his orders their founding was shrouded in
far more secrecy than that of other Legions: it is not hard to
imagine that the secret force of Astartes who had been engaged in
shadowed campaigns for the Emperor were not used to train the 20th Legion, indeed they could have been the original "Ghost Legion". The proto-type Marine heritage might be behind the Cognomen
“Alpha Legion” if their founding officers or instructors were the very first (or
Alpha) Astartes, or that the prototype Marines preformed their
clandestine operations under the designation “Alpha” and then
past it onto the 20th Legion who were their tactical
successors.  
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
While to some it might seem very far
fetched that a force such as the Prototype Marines could have
possibly trained both the Dark Angels and Alpha Legion, there is one
account which give pause for thought:</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
“<i>During the Rangdan
Xenocides, a representative of the XXth Legion appeared
before Lion El'Jonson. Though identifying itself as "Alpharius,"
the representative acknowledged that their Primarch had not yet been
found but would be in time.</i></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<i>This Alpharius offered aid to The
Lion against the Rangdan in hopes that one day the Lion could be made
the Imperial Warmaster. This "Alpharius" revealed that
the XXth Legion preferred the Lion be made the Warmaster over
someone like Roboute Guilliman as they shared similar views
on war and secrecy.</i></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<i>Though a Primarch, not even Lion
El'Jonson had been explicitly aware of the XXth Legion's
existence, though he had been privy to the rumours of a "Ghost
Legion."”</i></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-VIXjYlliEZclYIziWYyR2TchgyhbK3N0MMwbSWjzupO3fSVZezk6Y0vXYIsNOuaToqclgkTUDN5418gSjuAEIuyvTO3NQQupdgJNeMdtE61LgsfD2y1ZpxntDxtFhe-ken7-C-KXFnQ/s1280/download+%25288%2529.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="1024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-VIXjYlliEZclYIziWYyR2TchgyhbK3N0MMwbSWjzupO3fSVZezk6Y0vXYIsNOuaToqclgkTUDN5418gSjuAEIuyvTO3NQQupdgJNeMdtE61LgsfD2y1ZpxntDxtFhe-ken7-C-KXFnQ/s320/download+%25288%2529.png" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
(<i><a href="http://natfka.blogspot.com/2020/08/whats-on-your-table-omegon-wrath.html" target="_blank">Check out the Omegan Wrath Challenge</a></i>)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
If both Legions had the same
mentors, it would seem likely that they would share similar views on
war and secrecy. 
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
I fear I would be amiss if I did not
mention an ever so tenuous potential link, most likely lies, of the
origins of the Primarch Alpharius which if true could be used to link
him to the clandestine Prototype Marines in some way:</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<i>"This account also offers a
contradictory version of events, saying that Alpharius alone,
unfinished in some way, had been spared or at least some part of him
had remained behind though gravely injured when the rest of the
Primarchs were scattered across the stars through the Warp by
unknown hands.</i></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<i>There, in the shadow of Terra, he
grew and was nurtured alone of the Primarchs by the Emperor Himself,
his existence a jealously guarded secret even from those closest to
the Emperor, lest the dark fates move against him. Upon his maturity
he became the Emperor's own secret hand and his greatest shield,
until he was at last parted from his father, his destiny to fulfill."</i></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Of course while most likely one of the
many false accounts given by Alpharius of his origins: although it
becomes chilling when it is known his secret twin Omegon possesses a
suit of grey power armour that he kept hidden from even his brother
Alpharius: grey like that of a proto-Legion....</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="CENTER" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<u>The Lost Legions</u></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
In an account of the Primarch Dorn
investigating the deaths of workers preparing the Imperial Palace for
Horus assault, he discovers a chamber with two doors marked II and
XI, thinking them to be the private quarters of the Lost Primarchs,
even though they are on the other side of the Palace. Malcador the
Sigillite enters and in the ensuring dialogue he revels that the
marines of the Lost Legions were not destroyed but mind-wiped and
given secret assignments. While it could be speculated that the
Prototype Marines could have been involved in retraining these
mind-wiped legions and leading them on secret missions, it is another
testimony of the Imperial use of clandestine forces of Space
Marines... from three Lost Legions...</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="CENTER" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<u>The Grey Knights</u></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
During the Horus Heresy Malcador the
Sigillite created a clandestine force of marines called the Knights
Errant who gathered their number from many Space Marine Legions,
including Loyalists from those that turned traitor. The Knight
Errant later went on to found and train new recruits for the most
secretive of Space Marine Chapters: The Grey Knights.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
While the Prototype Marines that are
the subject of this record never became members of Knights Errant,
their contribution to the Grey Knights might have been arguably just
as vital: The geneseed of the Grey Knights is derived from the
Emperor himself, as is the geneseed of the Prototype Marines like
Leetu. This potentially makes the Grey Knights a genetic successor
chapter of the original First Legion of the Prototype Marines that
existed before the creation of the Primarchs and their gene-lines. 
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Some describe the armour of the Grey
Knights as sliver, were it is actually listed as “steel grey”- one could be forgiven for describing it as either a type of grey
or sliver. Curiously Leetu is described as having a sliver suit of
power armour.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="CENTER" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<u>The Dark Angels</u></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Lastly we must look at the potential
legacy of the prototype Marines on their replacements: the Dark
Angels. Officially the First Legion was named the Dark Angels by the
Lion after a Caliban folk tale, and he also choose the winged sword
as the Legions symbol. The Dark Angels are also famous for depicting
a hooded angel wielding a sword in their iconography. We must examine
all these elements as they seem to actually predate the
reunion of the Lion with the First Legion of his gene-sons, and might
go back to the original proto-Legion.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
That the First Legion, at one stage the
entirety of Astarte-kind, were referred to as 'the Angels of
Death' seems likely behind the Lion's decision to select the similar
name “Dark Angels” from Caliban folklore- so while the name was
selected by the Lion there was a historic naming convention behind
it.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Of the winged sword symbol famously
associated with the Dark Angels, chosen by the Lion himself- this
definitely predates the Legion itself. The memory is perhaps lost
over countless millennia as we can see in the pic-capture below in
maps dating from the Great Crusade we see that Terra itself, seat of
the Emperor himself, is represented by a winged sword symbol:</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7ryRzNxMKLbD5IFl7Foai59yNBCmgTBzimO84qUR_zBA7jOYjhmuws8tMp4x29yY38SQBGi0nG_sWiyYuL4oRmDynYjsqjA_PL5XJ8TulK3Fcg65DPGtdkQpGzm5vgZl3-C0HD8o_SVU/s2048/Imperium_Dominatus_Ancient_Map.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1453" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7ryRzNxMKLbD5IFl7Foai59yNBCmgTBzimO84qUR_zBA7jOYjhmuws8tMp4x29yY38SQBGi0nG_sWiyYuL4oRmDynYjsqjA_PL5XJ8TulK3Fcg65DPGtdkQpGzm5vgZl3-C0HD8o_SVU/s320/Imperium_Dominatus_Ancient_Map.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Indeed the Icon for the Adeptus
Astartes is a winged sword as shown below:</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUhjf1oEw_niMPUrbLRf_knignfH7p6KDLg2WKhBPt8hiWJ_aEpJt9VtmRTOluMK6Yjp_kgYSzzgfUxzHN2bEhOgWjGHb62MJdjv20DIGEBqkXZw1hfXptoyMJfgbUcaCAQIm4hKAD0XI/s521/Adeptus_Astartes_Icon.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="366" data-original-width="521" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUhjf1oEw_niMPUrbLRf_knignfH7p6KDLg2WKhBPt8hiWJ_aEpJt9VtmRTOluMK6Yjp_kgYSzzgfUxzHN2bEhOgWjGHb62MJdjv20DIGEBqkXZw1hfXptoyMJfgbUcaCAQIm4hKAD0XI/s320/Adeptus_Astartes_Icon.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
It is impossible that a symbol chosen by one of the later founded Primarchs was chosen to represent Terra and the Astartes as a whole who are the “Angels
of Death”. It seems the winged sword, the wings pointing to the angelic and
the sword as an instrument of death, was always the symbol for the Space Marines and given their central role in the Great Crusade it makes sense the same symbol is used for the homeworld were the Crusade started. There are also accounts that the First Legion at their debut at the Palace Coup had the winged sword icon already, long before the legion was united with the Lion.  </div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Many who believe that the Lion created
the symbol did so as a type of shorthand for the hooded angel icon
associated with the Dark Angels: although some sources suggest the
subject is not from folklore but from history.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
While not well known there are
records of “The Angel”, created by the Emperor, which fought
during the Pacification of Terra and stood twice as tall as a man
with great wings on it's back, wielding a great flaming sword and who
had a glowing halo of energy about i's personage- <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AaUx5XuXEXQ" target="_blank">some have theorized it was a prototype Primarch</a>,
although seemingly far more powerful than the later sons of the
Emperor, clearly designed to defeat powerful chaos deamons. Due to
flaws in its creation it became more than was ever conceived and
came to the belief that mankind would fall to Chaos so needed to be
wiped out before this happened. After murdering a population of an
entire world the Emperor put the Angel to sleep in a stasis coffin,
and referring to the Angel as his “favourite son”. As we can see
in the pic capture below on the stasis coffin we see a winged sword
symbol used long before the rediscovery of the Lion, on a subject
closely linked to the Emperor.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMyvgsEZv0lCRRiL2jC9R0FnOh7NYw_8hP_LCUNpFnE2hu4-ieNhOspNijiG7PHLQWigiPyMZKKypNUnpzU6wL10rerfQ4DCUStOcqmcxHJ_-52YHhVlJImx7qMPGaNqU56aiTuBbCt3s/s1627/Death_of_an_Angel.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1627" data-original-width="1178" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMyvgsEZv0lCRRiL2jC9R0FnOh7NYw_8hP_LCUNpFnE2hu4-ieNhOspNijiG7PHLQWigiPyMZKKypNUnpzU6wL10rerfQ4DCUStOcqmcxHJ_-52YHhVlJImx7qMPGaNqU56aiTuBbCt3s/s320/Death_of_an_Angel.jpg" /></a></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Whether the hooded angel represents this Angel is unknown, as is the question to whether the winged
sword symbol is intrinsically linked to the hooded angel. 
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
It seems linked that the Emperor made
an angelic 'Proto-Primarch' and then created the Space Marines who he
termed his “Angels of Death”. Questions can be raised if the
winged sword iconography was associated with the Prototype marines
like Leetu and the role of the Pepetual Erda, mother of the
Primarchs, in the creation of the Angel- although for now the best I
can do to answer this is to link to the pic-capture below of Erda at
the residence she shared with Leetu which has a statute of a winged
hooded angel holding a sword on a table that looks like a shrine with
candles burning on either side:</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicKYs8n7C2upvS2qkGYDT1b2NZ-JnEjDRsncDHni4Ds8rVVwy-8IRsr8Ro0kIQVgYh_Ixq1mp92J1EFI5YzxlGBVRfBKPNs5tfZ562l3UBztLKjxtotJbriUU9bXnA3sBdHXNdBw3eHlg/s709/ErdaArt.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="709" data-original-width="505" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicKYs8n7C2upvS2qkGYDT1b2NZ-JnEjDRsncDHni4Ds8rVVwy-8IRsr8Ro0kIQVgYh_Ixq1mp92J1EFI5YzxlGBVRfBKPNs5tfZ562l3UBztLKjxtotJbriUU9bXnA3sBdHXNdBw3eHlg/s320/ErdaArt.jpg" /></a></div>
<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Is this a dedication to a lost son by
Erda or one by Leetu, a prototype Marine, to his former Legion?</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
My final act is to to draw a parallel
between the winged sword symbol of the Dark Angels and the chapter
symbol of the Grey Knights- which shares the same downward facing
sword although instead of open wings in a similar styling it is
flanked by an open book. </div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjG7EnynRKIvEIM65viyHbiBykdokkPtxGZ1KlNFNcAMGugiJt9ASyd1I8RSIeG87cmAjcFWgsAsYPaCkFdMGG1xFoREq4FeBtY8xtseJavJEdEAnJuz0JI3SYV_ZRoWiqq8NEsuMNP_Po/s390/GK_Shoulder_Pauldron.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="330" data-original-width="390" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjG7EnynRKIvEIM65viyHbiBykdokkPtxGZ1KlNFNcAMGugiJt9ASyd1I8RSIeG87cmAjcFWgsAsYPaCkFdMGG1xFoREq4FeBtY8xtseJavJEdEAnJuz0JI3SYV_ZRoWiqq8NEsuMNP_Po/s320/GK_Shoulder_Pauldron.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
As the Emperor accepted Malcador's proposal for the creation of the Grey
Knights, Astartes created from his own geneline, it makes sense that
he based the iconography of either the Angels of Death symbol or that of the Legion he once lead himself- if the latter it could be a sign that the true genetic origins of the
Grey Knights lay with the prototype Marines from the original First
Legion.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
The eight founding masters of the Grey
Knights who were once Knights Errant and before that Legionaries,
founded a Brotherhood and assigned them symbols that are in use to
this day, many of which seem based on their chapter of origin. For
example one was an Ultramarine and the symbol of the First
Brotherhood seems to be based on the Ultra/'U', another was a Night
Lord with the 8<sup>th</sup> Brotherhood symbol seemingly based off
the one for that legion- and another was a Dark Angel and the symbol
of the 7<sup>th</sup> Brotherhood is a downward facing sword.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAaD6ewbXuIw6FZWPIUclkDhxKf0jGL7SgPJmuZOO8Ll5WoQFnH37P8GGHspdExmaAJNytS_9msjkhvtcquVP_Y32o8hsHqsRTfqpXaUkSVaFFkTgvTCddMMcmdZXroWoPT176l4GPJl8/s531/7th_Brotherhood_Icon.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="531" data-original-width="402" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAaD6ewbXuIw6FZWPIUclkDhxKf0jGL7SgPJmuZOO8Ll5WoQFnH37P8GGHspdExmaAJNytS_9msjkhvtcquVP_Y32o8hsHqsRTfqpXaUkSVaFFkTgvTCddMMcmdZXroWoPT176l4GPJl8/s320/7th_Brotherhood_Icon.png" /></a></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div align="CENTER" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<u>Conclusion</u></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Of the true fate of the proto-type
Marines drawn from the Emperors own genetics, his lesser sons who
could call a Primarch brother, none can say. They are clearly the
first “Angels of Death” existing before the Sons of the Lion,
there is a definite link between them and the Grey Knights as they
sharing the same gene-father, and as a clandestine Marine force
perhaps they are more successful than the Alpha Legion, as one is
known of and the other is not. There are even suggestions that one of the Iron Hand Legion masters, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7jjOFw1q_Bc" target="_blank">Autek Mor</a>, was a prototype Marine.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
 Even if you believe they had nothing to do with the institution of the First Legion that became the Dark Angels, there was a force of prototype Marines that came before any Primarch let alone Astarte- making them historically "First". Whether they were the foundation for the "First Legion" will require more research, but hopefully the data file I am waiting on containing history of the Thramas campaign with an attached file containing another history of the Dark Angel Legion will shed some light onto the matter.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
They were a first of a breed that
shaped the galaxy, the very first Legiones Astartes and for that they
deserve all the honour we can given them, even if just this
chroniclers stumbling speculation based on little knowledge.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
In this record I have made many bold
claims, and now must rest.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<u>Sources:</u></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<i><a href="https://warhammer40k.fandom.com/wiki/Alpha_Legion">https://warhammer40k.fandom.com/wiki/Alpha_Legion</a>
</i>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<i><a href="https://warhammer40k.fandom.com/wiki/Grey_Knights">https://warhammer40k.fandom.com/wiki/Grey_Knights</a>
</i>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<i><a href="https://warhammer40k.fandom.com/wiki/Dark_Angels">https://warhammer40k.fandom.com/wiki/Dark_Angels</a>
</i>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Information
referenced about Leetu and Erda can be found in the novel <a href="https://www.blacklibrary.com/the-horus-heresy/hh-sot/saturnine-ebook-2020.html" target="_blank">Saturnine</a>,
and regarding the Lost Legions in the short story <a href="https://www.blacklibrary.com/the-horus-heresy/featured/scions-of-the-emperor-ebook-2020.html" target="_blank">Chamber at the End of Memory</a>.</div>
<span face=""open sans" , sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #111111; font-size: 14px; text-align: center;">                          (</span><i style="background: 0px 0px rgb(255, 255, 255); border: 0px; color: #111111; font-family: "open sans", sans-serif; font-size: 14px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="https://www.forgeworld.co.uk/en-AU/The-Horus-Heresy-Book-Nine-Crusade-2020" target="_blank">The Horus Heresy Book Nine: Crusade is up for pre-order</a></i><span face=""open sans" , sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #111111; font-size: 14px; text-align: center;">)</span><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />

The Hidden History of the First Legion: Part II

This second report moves on from establishing in part one the original Space Marine formation, most likely the First Legion, was made u...

9/10/2020

The Hidden History of the First Legion

<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEime4uQUlu1ZUKhGkEy4vZW0_oJFrM8nj7ZlQLzIKSzHroHhLlWnZdPIT6mdJIrFXJT3zCRDeYMVZat8lvZ4UpooCrF-w5aV7xiRJ6MrGHVYYfMs35YPxrFvGxC6PPqfZleI1YKjlguSgo/s521/Adeptus_Astartes_Icon.jpg" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0px; text-align: center;"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="366" data-original-width="521" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEime4uQUlu1ZUKhGkEy4vZW0_oJFrM8nj7ZlQLzIKSzHroHhLlWnZdPIT6mdJIrFXJT3zCRDeYMVZat8lvZ4UpooCrF-w5aV7xiRJ6MrGHVYYfMs35YPxrFvGxC6PPqfZleI1YKjlguSgo/s400/Adeptus_Astartes_Icon.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><p align="CENTER" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: large;"><u><b>The
Hidden History of the First Legion</b></u></span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">There are accounts that suggest the
First Legion of Space Marines pre-dates the so-called “First
Founding”, and that its warriors were not always the Sons of the
Lion- this record explores this claim.</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</p>
<p align="CENTER" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><u><b>In the Beginning</b></u></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">“<i>The Dark Angels were the first of
the Emperor's Space Marine Legions, and in their earliest incarnation
fought as the personal army of the Master of Humanity in the dawning
years of the Great Crusade and in the shadowed campaigns that
preceded it...</i></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><i>...In this period, the Dark Angels
were not even known as the 1</i><sup><i>st</i></sup><i> Legion as no
others existed yet, the Emperor simply referred to them as his
"Angels of Death" or the "Six Hosts”.</i></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><i>These transhuman troops dominated
the final days of the Wars of Unification, easily defeating all their
Terran opponents and forcing those among the Tech-priests of Mars who
had intervened in the conflict on Terra in the hope of delaying the
Emperor's final victory to sue for peace.</i></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><i>But in truth, the victories of these
early Space Marines created a new problem within the Imperial fold,
among their predecessors as the Emperor's genetically-enhanced
troops, the Thunder Warriors.</i></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><i>One ancient source claims that even
before the Unification Wars had ended, the Thunder Warriors, already
jealous of their replacements' long lives, at last realised that
their creator had cursed them with short lifespans as a result of
their imperfect genetic augmentations. In their rage and fear, they
turned upon the Emperor for what they saw as His betrayal.</i></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><i>It was a cadre of several hundred
Custodians of the Legio Custodes, the Emperor's bodyguard, even then
believed to have been led by the legendary Constantin Valdor, and
accompanied by several thousand prototype Astartes of the Ist Legion
of the newborn Space Marines, that stood in the Emperor's defence,
carrying out a merciless culling of the obsolete and rebellious
gene-soldiers.</i></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><i>From this point on, the Ist Legion
ascended in power and the height of the Emperor's favour.”</i></p>
<p style="border: none; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; orphans: 2; padding: 0in; widows: 2;"><br />
</p>
<p style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">While we do not
know when the Battle of Mt Ararat took place, what some sources
report as the final battle of the Unification Wars which immediately
after saw the Betrayal of the Thunder Warriors, it is believed to be
soon after the Destruction of the Last Church on Terra ca. 745.M30
where the Thunder Warriors were recorded as the Emperor's body guard.
In other accounts of the massacre it mentions several thousand
Astartes were involved but do not cite the First Legion.</p><p style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">The widely accepted historic records
place the Primarch Project ca. 750.M30, with the First Founding of
the Space Marine Legions being ca. 780.M30, with the first official
public action of the “First Legion” (being described as only
recently out of training) being the Palace Coup which took place just
before the First Pacification of Luna ca.790.M30.</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">One needs to consider how the First
Legion could be both at the Betrayal of the Thunder Warriors, which
was before the creation of the Primarchs, and the Palace Coup which
was in response to said massacre- events around 50 years apart- and
both times having been described as newly created.</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> 
</p>
<p align="CENTER" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><u><b>The First Marines of
the Legionary Astartes</b></u></p>
<p style="border: none; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; padding: 0in; widows: 2;">
<br />
</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">The Twenty Regiments of Thunder
Warriors, more properly the Legio Cataegis, were in fact the
proto-types for the intended Legionaries Astartes:</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> “<i>Into their creation went all the
secret history and genetic lore of the Age of Strife, hard
wisdom gained through the success and failure of the Thunder Warriors
who were the Space Marines' prototypes and the fruits of the
Emperor's own inimitable genius.</i>” 
</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">But before the Emperor made twenty
Primarchs and Space Marine Legions he made prototype Marines. One
such prototype was Leetu, among the first successful Legionary
templates, who was created from the gene-stock of the Emperor and
Perpetual Erda before they used the technique to create the
Primarchs. These 'First Marines' made up the “First Legion”
putting in context the account of the marines at the Battle of Mt
Ararat “<i>several thousand prototype Astartes of the Ist Legion
of the newborn Space Marines”. </i>As quoted before:</p>
<p style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">“<i>The Dark Angels were the first of
the Emperor's Space Marine Legions, and in their earliest
incarnation fought as the personal army of the Master of Humanity in
the dawning years of the Great Crusade and in the shadowed campaigns
that preceded it..</i></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><i>...In this period, the Dark Angels
were not even known as the 1</i><sup><i>st</i></sup><i> Legion as no
others existed yet, the Emperor simply referred to them as his
"Angels of Death" or the "Six Hosts”.</i></p><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><i><br /></i></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> 
</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">It seems in the earliest period the
First Legion was not just the personal army of the Emperor: he was
their biological Primarch, and as such he trusted them for the “<i>shadowed campaigns</i>”, like the
Betrayal of the Thunder Warriors, as they were his 'sons'- the little brothers to the Primarchs.</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> Also of interest while the Primarch
Project is estimated ca.750.M30 and the First Founding ca780.M30, the
approximate date for the launch of the Invincible Reason, the
prototype Gloriana-class Battleship and flagship of the First Legion,
is given as 748.M30: suggesting either great forward planning for the
First Founding, or that it was in service beforehand possibly acting as the main base of operations for
the 'original First Legion'.</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">It is said the first Marines were drawn
from the Emperors elite warriors: “<i>The first among the Space
Marines were hand-picked men from the Emperor's personal, mortal
bodyguard.</i>” 
</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">What is striking about this statement
is the Emperor used a number of genetically engineered human
soldiers, such as the Geno Five-Two Chiliad, who were at the very
peak of what standard humans could achieve physically. Where future
Astartes Legions would have to recruit from baseline humans, the
potential recruitment of these “topline” humans, combined with
geneseed drawn from the Emperor as used by the proto-type Marines, would have made for a superior class of Legionaries.</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">The number of several thousand Marines
at the massacre of the Thunder Warriors is also significant, as one
source describes the process used in the formation of Space Marine
Legions:</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">“<i>Each stage of creation would
result in expansion of the gene-seed implantation on progressively
larger groups of Neophytes. The last of the these preliminary
stages was, according to sources, the "Alpha" induction.
This was in essence believed to be the first non-experimental
implantation, and its purpose was to create a proto-Legion of
Astartes at minimum fighting strength to be field-tested in open
battle</i>.”</p>
<p><br /><br />
</p>
<p>Elsewhere in the text it cites a figure of 1000-3000 Marines for
the size for a battle ready proto-Legion, and also stating:</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">“<i>It is apparent from numerous
extant sources that during their creation, each nascent proto-Legion
after the Primus or Ist Legion (later the Angelis Tenebrium or Dark
Angels), was raised first to active service in a staged process of
testing and trials before the full active force was created through
mass recruitment from amongst Terran populations loyal to the
Emperor's cause.</i>” 
</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Although the source states the First
Legion did not go through this process, the several thousand Marines
at the Betrayal of the Thunder Warriors seem to be the proto-First
Legion raised to a minimum fighting strength to be field-tested in
open battle against their veteran and battle-hardened predecessors of
the Legio Cataegis to see how they would stack up. It is also likely
that the amount of original prototype Marines were never raised above
the upper proto-Legion limit of 3000.</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</p>
<p align="CENTER" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><u><b>Passing the Torch</b></u></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">I put forward the First Legion was
likely 'refounded' at the First Founding, with the original prototype
Marines drawn from the Emperors geneseed having been replaced by the
genesons of the Lion who made their debut at the Palace Coup.</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">It is possible the prototype Marines
acted as veteran instructors, training their planned replacements, as well as handing over Legion assets such as the
Invincible Reason, while the First Legion continued to be the
Emperor's personal force- although this time publicly. Just like the
Thunder Warriors at some stage the Emperor would have stopped
replacing the prototype Marines, with the intended
marines created from the genetic templates of the Primarchs being put
into full production. It is also possible that Marines from both
genestocks shared the same Legion for a time, before the Prototype
marines mysteriously fell from the ranks after receiving cyphered
orders, with the remainder of the Legion having to keep those who
they once called brother a secret.</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">As the First Legion was the product of
a top secret project, with their recruitment and training unknown to
all but the Emperor's inner circle and that they took part in
clandestine actions such as the Betrayal of the Thunder Warriors
before their public debut- this would account for the lack of
historic records for the creation of the First Legion, and would have helped
enshrine a culture of secrecy.</p><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Currently I am awaiting a copy of the history of the Thramas campaign with an attached file containing another history of the Dark Angels Legion which hopefully will shed more light onto the matter.</p><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">It could almost be said that the
original First Legion, full of prototype Marines, could be counted as
the first of the Lost Legions: although it would be a mistake to
think the prototype Marines such as Leetu disappeared and played no
further role in the Imperial history, indeed in the <a href="https://natfka.blogspot.com/2020/09/the-hidden-history-of-first-legion-part.html" target="_blank">second part of this report</a> we will look at how they could have helped form a number
of Space Marine Forces that have shaped the galaxy.</p><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></p><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">After making a number of bold claims,
now I must rest.</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><br />
</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><u>Sources:</u></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><a href="https://warhammer40k.fandom.com/wiki/M30">https://warhammer40k.fandom.com/wiki/M30</a>
</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><a href="https://warhammer40k.fandom.com/wiki/Dark_Angels">https://warhammer40k.fandom.com/wiki/Dark_Angels</a>
</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><a href="https://warhammer40k.fandom.com/wiki/Thunder_Warriors">https://warhammer40k.fandom.com/wiki/Thunder_Warriors</a>
</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><a href="https://warhammer40k.fandom.com/wiki/Alpha_Legion">https://warhammer40k.fandom.com/wiki/Alpha_Legion</a> (For proto-Legion numbers)</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Leetu can be found in the novel
<a href="https://www.blacklibrary.com/the-horus-heresy/hh-sot/saturnine-ebook-2020.html" target="_blank">Saturnine</a></p><p style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;">(<i><a href="https://www.forgeworld.co.uk/en-AU/The-Horus-Heresy-Book-Nine-Crusade-2020" target="_blank">The Horus Heresy Book Nine: Crusade is up for pre-order</a></i>)</p><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></p><br />

The Hidden History of the First Legion

The Hidden History of the First Legion There are accounts that suggest the First Legion of Space Marines pre-dates the so-called “First F...

9/05/2020

Warhammer 40,000: Grim Dark Lore Part 11 – Great Crusade Begins

Warhammer 40,000: Grim Dark Lore Part 11 – Great Crusade Begins

The 40k wiki guys are at it again and this time taking us through to the Great Crusade! This is a good one to sit back and watch in a time...

6/05/2020

Ghazghkull Returns

Ghazghkull Returns

Yes we have been waiting for the new miniature and today we are getting a preparation for it with a little lore and background on just wh...

2/24/2020

Lots of Crazy 40k events in the Lore of Faith of Fury...

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgG3mYsd_7ti0CcZ9T0_IhO57HlMttTenvTjCBKkJefHZv9Z4PVGd50WqJFalEcOu8eNCVpkc-O0skmOGqbxXwuXGPa0fbwnTg3IgkAEIbdd3GGU7-zsDKoJQNZXE4DRjySXjsv_4q8k8/s1600/220px-GreyfaxArt.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="206" data-original-width="220" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgG3mYsd_7ti0CcZ9T0_IhO57HlMttTenvTjCBKkJefHZv9Z4PVGd50WqJFalEcOu8eNCVpkc-O0skmOGqbxXwuXGPa0fbwnTg3IgkAEIbdd3GGU7-zsDKoJQNZXE4DRjySXjsv_4q8k8/s1600/220px-GreyfaxArt.jpg"></a></div>
<br>
<br>
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-weight: inherit;">These are spoilers..... please don't read below if you get offended by that kind of thing, and stay out of the comments were discussion is taking place. Otherwise if you dare.... head on down and be wary that the Inquisition may need to have your purged.</span><br>