IL X - The Fire Keepers

[bluntblade]

Demus has told me a couple of things that ought to go into the Structure and War Disposition

[simison]

[Tempering a Legion]

 

When the Emperor came to Obsailes to reveal Niklaas' destiny, He was met with barred gates. Although Niklaas had slain the Witch King himself, there were fears that the Emperor represented a last weapon or perhaps even the Witch King reborn in a new form. To allay this resistance, the Emperor demonstrated patience as He waited before the walls of Grannus, displaying no hostile intent to its defenders. The same could not be said for the monsters of Obsailes. Believing a lone man to be easy prey, they assaulted the Emperor during the night and soon met death at the edge of the Emperor's fiery blade. After three days of this vigil, Niklaas sallied forth alone to meet with this strange and powerful being. What conversation passed between the two has gone unrecorded. By the end of it, Niklaas bowed before the Emperor and swore allegiance. 

Edited September 6, 2018 by simison

[simison]

Although Niklaas would serve, he would do so on his own terms. Up to this point, it had become tradition for each Primarch to spend a period of time under the mentorship of the Emperor, either on Terra or on campaign. Niklaas, however, refused. He took immediate command of the Tenth and ordered them to Obsailes for a complete inspection. As elements of the Tenth Legion trickled into the system from other battlefields, Niklaas turned his attention to learning about the Imperium, technology, and the galaxy as he waited. Once the last unit had arrived, Niklaas thoroughly examined his new Legion. Although Niklaas approved of their professionalism and shared their spirit of pessimism, he found the Tenth wanting. It is said he was disappointed with their limited purpose and chose to expand it.

Edited September 6, 2018 by simison

[simison]

No longer would the Tenth be simple slayers. They would be builders, crafters, and protectors. For, in his cynical way, Niklaas was an idealist. While he was all too aware of the dangers of the night and the weaknesses of Man, he would not shirk his duties as guardian. He instructed his sons in the ways of fortification, both in body and mind. Not only was the Tenth to learn on how to build the walls that separated humanity from physical threats, but also to stand watch against the deprivations that lay dormant within humanity's collective soul. According to the Primarch, he and his legion would keep the fires lit to ward away both evil within and without. It would not be long after that Niklaas would formally rename the Tenth Legion as the Fire Keepers. 

[simison]

Words were soon matched with deeds. Before the Legion returned to the stars, it had to prove itself on the earth. Commanding the power of an entire Legion, the first task Niklaas set before them was the complete and utter annihilation of the foul creatures that lingered in Obsailan shadows. This served three purposes. First, it would render Obsailes a safe redoubt, a final keep the Fire Keepers could always fall back to. Second, it exposed the Fire Keepers to the horrors that had long plagued Obsailes and humanity in general, letting them learn the nature of the 'true enemy' as Niklaas called them. Third and final, Niklaas used the campaign to measure his own sons' strength of spirit. Fourty days and nights passed as the Fire Keepers methodically destroyed the last threat to Obsailes. Niklaas would soon learn that for all of their transhuman gifts, the soul of Astartes differed only somewhat from the soul of a mortal. A Space Marine could be bewitched or be rent by sorcery. Niklaas studied all of this and prepared. In turn, the Fire Keepers learned in the campaign and discovered that among all of mankind's tools, it was fire that proved most effective against the monsters of the night. Gradually, fire became imbued within the Tenth as much as their new name suggested. 

Edited September 7, 2018 by simison

[simison]

After this time of destruction, a time of creation followed. Niklaas set his sons to building fortifications, combined with Imperial technology and his own insights. While no Legion homeworld lacked in defences, Niklaas' zeal would not be satisfied with any less than perfection. Walls were raised, void shields were installed, and gun emplacements stood sentinel over inch of Obsailes. When the last macro cannon groaned to life, Niklaas extended his efforts to the entire system. The debris field responsible for the Long Nights became a sphere of protection as it was seeded with mines, ambush sites, and sensor relays. During this process, the Fire Keepers discovered several archeotech designs and devices that were soon made to serve the Legion in the form of relic warships. 

[simison]

Years passed as the Fire Keepers' followed through their gene-sire's exacting details. All through the physical process of fortification, Niklaas oversaw the reinforcement of his sons' mental defences. The Lord of the Tenth wrote catechisms to reinforce lessons learned during the extermination campaign and to protect the mind from influence with zealous devotion. The former professionalism of the Legion was weaponised and strengthened to create barriers of the soul that would confound sorcery and witchcraft. Nor did this go on without notice. A portion of the War Council were offended by what seemed to be almost naked religious teachings disguised with a secular face. Combined with Niklaas' subtle suspicion of the Emperor, few would go so far as to whisper that Niklaas' true intent was secession. These most hostile of critics saw the intense fortification of the Obsailes system as merely another hint that Niklaas would act against the Imperium's interests. If there were such dissenting voices within the Legion, they go unrecorded. For all intents and purposes, the Tenth submitted itself entirely to their Primarch's will, no doubt the instinctive loyalty bred into their genetics made them all too pliable to Niklaas' authority and persuasion.

Edited September 12, 2018 by simison

[simison]

Nor did Niklaas allay any of those suspicions with his final act in the Legion's transformation. He instituted an order of chaplains, chosen from the Fire Keepers who had devoted themselves to his teachings in mind, body, and soul. While the Halcyon Wardens were the first to resurrect the questionable position, Niklaas went much further in their implementation. Where the Fifth Legion chaplains served as guides and were viewed as a specialist officer, the Tenth Legion chaplains possessed three ranks in of themselves and had the right to assume command of squads, companies and even chapters if they were of sufficient rank. It is rumoured that at this late stage, the Emperor received petitions to intervene before the Obsailes system defences were completed. Whether or not such an event did occur, the day finally arrived when Niklaas deemed the Obsailes the perfect fortress. Only the Sol System, the seat of the Imperium and the Mechanicum, could boast better defences than Obsailes. 

Edited September 12, 2018 by simison

[bluntblade]

I suggest modifying that a little: the Legion would feel that instinctive loyalty and Niklaas has a Primarch's powers of persuasion.

 

Also, suggest swapping in "(the Chaplains) had the right to assume command of squads, companies and even Tribes if they were of sufficient rank and the situation demanded it."

[simison]

Where would I put that modification?

 

Okay.

[bluntblade]

Adding early on that the changes took quickly within the Xth.

[Demus Ragnok]

Me like

[simison]

I suggest modifying that a little: the Legion would feel that instinctive loyalty and Niklaas has a Primarch's powers of persuasion.

 

Also, suggest swapping in "(the Chaplains) had the right to assume command of squads, companies and even Tribes if they were of sufficient rank and the situation demanded it."

 

I added a couple of sentences to the second-to-last post. 

 

I decided to leave out 'and the situation demanded it' because the sentence was getting too long and it was clashing with the whole 'Is he going Traitor' feel I was going for. I also swapped out Tribes for chapters since we haven't talked about that yet.

[bluntblade]

That ambiguity is going to come after a whole campaign in which Niklaas behaves very loyally indeed, mind.

[simison]

That ambiguity is going to come after a whole campaign in which Niklaas behaves very loyally indeed, mind.

Better to highlight the difference.

[simison]

Upon hearing that Niklaas' work was completed, the Emperor himself sent orders for the Fire Keepers' first campaign. The orders were personally delivered by Tribune Abram Hasrubal of the Custodes, though the Emperor resisted the advice to send a larger detachment. It is said that Niklaas received the orders and uttered a single sentence in reply: "So be it." The very next day the Tenth Legion returned to the stars with their Primarch at their head. 

[simison]

The Steadfast Flame

 

Despite early apprehensions, the Fire Keepers would prove themselves in the Great Crusade and become one of the finest siegecraft forces in the entire Imperium. Where other Legions were content to liberate a world and move on, the Fire Keepers would dedicate themselves to leaving a planet stronger than before. These seeded fortresses proved to be invaluable when opportunistic foes sought to strike behind lines only to find hard walls waiting for them. Several such redoubts were critical during the wars with the Rangda, the Qarith, and the few adversaries able to reverse Imperial gains, including the Astral Keep, the Blazing Tower, and the Labryinth of Zehos.

Edited September 15, 2018 by simison

[bluntblade]

"Premier" doesn't sound very 30K to me. "Foremost" or "finest" would work a bit better, I think.

[simison]

The early controversies soon fell by the wayside. While a few elements would always view the Fire Keepers with suspicion, Niklaas’ infamy was eclipsed by the likes of Morro’s and Raktra’s own fell reputations. So long as the Fire Keepers maintained the Great Crusade’s steady advance, their eccentricities were tolerated.

 

Tolerated was perhaps the best word to describe their place in the Imperium. Although few could complain about their history of victories, they earned little in the way of affection. Their pessimistic view of reality often proved a stumbling block to those who would be their friends, and the Tenth rarely attempted to build bonds. At best, they were treated with respect, no more, no less.

[bluntblade]

I suggest that the exception would be those armies they fought beside. Particularly in the case of sieges where the X Legion anchored the defence, I can see them being revered afterwards.

[simison]

I suggest that the exception would be those armies they fought beside. Particularly in the case of sieges where the X Legion anchored the defence, I can see them being revered afterwards.

 

I'm going to add a paragraph that talks about their friendship with the Iron Bears and how the Imperial Army/Mechanicum appreciate FK protection.

[bluntblade]

Be worth citing a major battle or two.

[simison]

The early controversies soon fell by the wayside. While a few elements would always view the Fire Keepers with suspicion, Niklaas’ infamy was eclipsed by the likes of Morro’s and Raktra’s own fell reputations. So long as the Fire Keepers maintained the Great Crusade’s steady advance, their eccentricities were tolerated.

 

Tolerated was perhaps the best word to describe their place in the Imperium. Although few could complain about their history of victories, they earned little in the way of affection. Their pessimistic view of reality often proved a stumbling block to those who would be their friends, and the Tenth rarely attempted to build bonds. There were exceptions, of course. The closest Legion to the Fire Keepers were none other than the boisterous Iron Bears. Daer'dd was the rare individual who could break through his brother's dark spirits, through the use of their shared love of creation. Although favouring different styles, the two Primarchs were by far the most talented crafters of their brotherhood, a skill shared by their respective sons. In war, the Fire Keepers' natural inclination toward defence formed a perfect symbiosis with the Iron Bears' aggressive tactics. This was especially demonstrated on the fields of Panugatea in the campaign against the hated Nephilim. The Fire Keepers would establish the main line and absorb the initial assaults while supported by Iron Bear heavy support. At the climax of these battles, the Iron Bears would launch massive flank attacks that routed their foes. 

 

Ironically enough, the Fire Keepers were also much admired by the Imperial Army and the Mechanicum. 

[Demus Ragnok]

Sim I very much like what you are writing for the Fire Keepers. Well done sir.

[simison]

Sim I very much like what you are writing for the Fire Keepers. Well done sir.

 

Thanks, they've been particularly enjoyable to write. Probably helps that I've been reading through the Old Testament during this time.