The Lost Legions, Inferno info

[Brother Captain Kezef]

Reading my copy of Inferno, there is an intriguing reference to the two lost legions in the Space Wolves section.

 

The Rangdan Xenocides appear to be the culmination of the greatest threat the Imperium faced during the Great Crusade. The Rangdan where a threat that almost overwhelmed Imperial forces, whole expeditionary fleets and titan legions where destroyed before the Imperium finaly got the upper hand.

 

Allow me to quote from Inferno:

 

"Whole Expeditionary fleets went
to their deaths without a single survivor,
worlds were laid waste, dozens of Titan
Legions were obliterated and by the end,
entire Space Marine Legions [REDACTED
SECTION] lost to the Imperium. Much of
what happened during this abyssal conflict is
still locked under seal, but what can be said
is that with the breaking of the Labyrinth
of Night by the Emperor, the threat was at
last stymied."

 

The assumption that the two lost legions had done something so bad that they had been wiped from the records, somewhat backed up by Fear to Tread, may not be the whole truth. Perhaps it was the EVENT that led to the legions being lost that caused their removal from imperial records rather than the actions of the legions?

 

Inferno states that the 1st and 6th legions had the clean up job after the xenocides which led to some of the dark reputation for these legions and the mutual respect between the Dark Angel's and Wolves. The Rangdan's nature implies that the 1st and 6th legion had to cleanse planets, killing civilian populations.

So the lost legions could of been affected in some way that meant their destruction was required or it could be due to some great battle or secret that led to their destruction that had to be removed from the records.

[rendingon1+]

As I understand this fragment, it was not as much as "clean up" as military actions finally made possible after the Emperor destoyed "Labirynth of the Night. According to Inferno, Rangdan Cerabvores were super powerful and any engagement ended up in eradication of Imperial forces. As for the Lost Legions they were mayby:

a ) almost wiped out

b ) corrupted (it is possible that by some xeno magic/techmagic they turned on Imperium)

c ) wiped out with what was left corrupted by xenos then subsequently destroyed by Imperium

[Leif Bearclaw]

Personally I doubt it. That passage seems incredibly on the nose, when previously we've only had somewhat vague hints. That's almost a legible sentence without the [REDACTED] bit. Plus, there's a lot of interest in the Rangdan Xenocides, and hopefully more info once FW get to the DAs. Given that the Lost Legions are apparently the one mystery GW isn't going to touch, I somewhat doubt FW would build them into one of the most likely Great Crusade events to get additional attention further down the line. At this point, I'm starting to think FW just throw in at least one [REDACTED] per book, just to generate exactly this discussion.

[Iron Lord]

In book 2: Massacre, the timeline lists two major [REDACTED] events involving the Space Wolves - one in 965.M30, one in 969.M30.  (Razing of Monarchia was in 964.M30)

 

Book 7: Inferno dates the Rangdan Genocides as being in 860.M30.

 

In The First Heretic, shortly after Monarchia, Lorgar and Magnus have a conversation with vague allusions to the Lost Legions.

 

Hypothesis - they were turned, but not destroyed - their destructions occurring after that conversation.

[Kelborn]

Thing is that only one of the two missing Primarchs was found prior to the Rangdan Xenocides.

 

I COULD imagine that one Legion might get corrupted in a slow process, leading to its annihilation, while the other was lost due to another cause.

 

Though I must admit that I (after reading this passage on my own book) had an idea about one Legion being corrupted and the other one was chasing it beyond the realms of the Imperium. Lost for their brothers but still fighting out there.

 

After I discovered that the second lost Primarch was found way later, I discarded that scenario as I don't know of what to do with a single Primarch without his Legion. ^^

[apologist]

Thematically speaking, the Rangdan Xenocides have a lot in common with the Battle of the Teutoburg Forest in history – a confident growing empire sends a substantial proportion of its best troops out only to find surprising resistance; which leads to a surprise defeat and genuinely existential crisis.

 

I like the shadowy, questionable history and hints of the (Imperium's) Lost Legions. There are lots of different threads – were they defeated? Did they rebel? Were they banished, destroyed or subsumed?

 

FW and BL have hinted at lots of different possible fates for the Lost Legions. It's great to mave further muddying of the waters, as that's where your imagination can fill the gaps :)

[Canadian_F_H]

Besides. Redaction only means a lost legion was heavily involved in the campaign. It doesn't mean their final fate was decided there.

[Indefragable]

Thematically speaking, the Rangdan Xenocides have a lot in common with the Battle of the Teutoburg Forest in history – a confident growing empire sends a substantial proportion of its best troops out only to find surprising resistance; which leads to a surprise defeat and genuinely existential crisis.

I like the shadowy, questionable history and hints of the (Imperium's) Lost Legions. There are lots of different threads – were they defeated? Did they rebel? Were they banished, destroyed or subsumed?

FW and BL have hinted at lots of different possible fates for the Lost Legions. It's great to mave further muddying of the waters, as that's where your imagination can fill the gaps

I really do hope they never give a definitive answer as to what happened to them. I hope it stays "sacred" as canon mysteries.

I have thought about a lot of fun* fates for the II and XI, but I have to admit lost in battle is a new one one to me. I like* it!

That being said it is really intriguing to think of an entire Astartes Legion being defeated on the battlefield. Like Apologist points out, that would shake the fledgling Imperium (and even the Emperor himself) to its core. Especially if a beloved Primarch got dead from a filthy xenos, it would perhaps be better to pretend he/his boys never existed than to admit they were bested...

...and on that note, perhaps Russ gains the Executioner moniker because he was set to claim the head of the xenos lord that killed his brother. As this happened before all the other primarchs were discovered, "executioner" gets misinterpreted....but no one corrects the record since the wrong information serves the right purpose better than intended.

The other fun* idea is that a Primarch/legion was corrupted/infected. Many in the community figured "corrupted" would mean Chaos, but a xenos plague is just as juicy*.

*fun/like from a narrative/world-building/backstory perspective