IL II - Crimson Lions

[TrajantheGreat]

Crimson Lions

 

“Barbarians. Backwards brutes with no understanding of science and technology, clinging to superstition rather than embrace the modern age. Yet for all that, they are dangerous brutes and loyal in ways that put us all to shame. So do I fear the Second? I'd be a fool if I didn't.”

- Absalom Vaughn, Primarch of the Black Stars

 

Numeration: The IInd Legion

 

Primogenitor: Hectarion Mycenor

 

Cognomen (Prior): Blood Wolves

 

Observed Strategic Tendencies: Heavy Infantry Assaults, Defensive Shieldwalls

 

Noteworthy Domains: Mycenae (Primary), the Dominion of Mycenae

 

Allegiance: Fidelitas Constantus

 

Warriors of rage yet of shields, the Crimson Lions stand tall among their cousins, both literally and metaphorically. For when the Crimson Lions appear on the battlefield, it is always with a roar, always advancing behind their shield walls. Yet, within their Primarch's empire of Mycenae, the Crimson Lions have shown the discipline and patience necessary for administration. Each Crimson Lion marches forward into battle with the history of his service on his skin as they add tattoos to represent their growing records of service with their veterans covered from head to toe in red pictograms. At the head of this legion of clans is Hectarion, a Primarch of warrior's prowess and berserker's rage. That very rage would become a temptation as their enemies sought to use it against them.

 

Crimson Lions Legionary

[TrajantheGreat]

Legion Armorial with Crimson Lions iconography

Edited February 24, 2022 by TrajantheGreat

[TrajantheGreat]

Exiles and Adventurers

 

The earliest roots of the Second legion can be traced back to the warlike Terran state of Jurfik. Located in the north of the Albyonic territories once called Angle-land, Jurfik’s warlike people had not only survived the wars of the Age of Strife, they had in fact thrived. When the Emperor revealed himself to Mankind, Jurfik's empire was at its zenith. From its heart in Jurfik itself, it stretched out across the north of Terra, spanning much of Albyon and Hibernia, either as conquered territory or vassal states, western Norsca and Frysa. At the head of this empire were the warrior kings of Jurfik. While they ruled their empire alongside their Thegns, these kings were warriors first and foremost, as evidenced by their frequent wars with the realms of Ursh, the Jermani and the Suomen nomads. They took the technology and gene-lore of Albyon for their own armies, fielding proto-Dreadnoughts and ironclad gene-brutes against their enemies.

 

However, Jurfik’s succession was frequently disputed as, upon the king’s death, rival petty kings would each seek to install himself as king of all Jurfik or to carve out a larger realm for himself from amongst Jurfik’s vassal kingdoms. The resulting civil wars were often brief and brutal, with one side rapidly emerging as the victor and the losers being forced to flee along with their supporters. These exiles often sought to find pay as mercenaries in the armies of Terras other rulers, with many winding up in the armies of Kalaggan, the tyrant of Ursh. However, when his realm was conquered by the armies of the Emperor, the exiles from Jurfik found another employer: the Emperor of Mankind himself.

 

While many of the warriors who took up employment as mercenaries in the Emperor’s armies were too old to attempt the process that would transform them into legionaries, the youngest of their number were not. So, while their elders became soldiers of the Imperial Army, these young warriors found a place in the Emperor's armies as warriors of his Legiones Astartes and while some were taken into the Ist Legion, the vast majority were recruited to the IInd Legion.