Legion XV: Lore Wardens

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Numeration	XV
Primogenitor	Aristarchus
Cognomen	Bringers of the Storm
Observed Strategic Tendencies	Highly aggressive attack patterns, heavy usage of Psykers
Noteworthy Domains	Gidemos
Allegiance	Fedelitas Constantus
Colours	Bronze with black edgings
“These “enemies” are so far beneath, us can the Astra Militarium not even deal with scum like this” -Attributed to Captain Galen at the Battle of Phelon V

The 15th legion is heavily psychic deploying squads of linked psykers (known as Magisses within the legion) into combat. Even though they are average in size for a legion they tend to be better equipped than most and base their tactics on aggression rather than being overly cautious. They do not work well with unmodified humans seeing them as below them almost to the point of being a separate species.

History

Terra Bringers of the Storm The 15th legion was formed from the remnants of the warlord forces based on Afrik after the Emperor had lead the Thunder Warriors through their lands as part of the Unification Wars. There were some initial problems due to the forces being drawn from a variety of forces which had spent millennia fighting each other but these were quashed with the introduction of the geneseed from Aristarchus. They quickly gained a reputation of being powerful on the attack winning several campaigns rapidly where the opposition were in strong defensive fortifications. This was assisted by the development of a high number of Psykers within the legion. Early Concerns Despite the initial successes of The Bringers of the Storm there were issues raised by the commanders of the Imperial Army in that there were increased losses amongst their troops compared to projections. When this was raised to the commanders of the legion they responded that they were warriors not baby sitters and if the Imperial Army could not cope in the field they could go garrison what had already been won by the Astartes. After these complaints whether taken seriously or not the 15th found themselves rapidly deployed off world working in concert with Mechanicum forces rather than Army where possible. Aristarchus and Gidemos When Gidemos was discovered by Rogue Traders they were surprised to drop out of the warp and have ships bearing the markings of the Bearers of the Storm revert to real space simultaneously and send messages to them to “Stay back this meeting is not for your eyes.” Even more disconcerting was that no communications were logged on the ships cognitators so they hung back and the ships of the Bearers of the Storm headed down to the planet to make first contact. From this meeting Aristarchus made the changes to the legion which have stood to this day with the formation of the Magisses and the change of the legions name to Lore Wardens. The Wardens march With Aristarchus at their head the Lore Wardens have pushed to the front of the Crusade driving back the superstition and darkness of the long night. Despite rapidly bringing worlds to compliance there have been questions raised by Garrisoning forces that the legion pushes on too quickly in most cases the exception appears to be those worlds with collections of knowledge or rumours of a STC finding.

Legion Organisation

The 15th mostly follow the standard layout of a legion with a firm command and control structure which is assisted by communications passing down both technological and psychic methods providing redundancies against most forms of jamming and other communication breakdowns. The main exception to the standard layout is the Magisses squads which are made up of linked psykers who work together on the battlefield in a manner dependent on their designation with some working alongside devastator squads to provide long range fire support (Atripo Magisses) and others supporting assault squads when the fighting gets up close and personal (Phylir Magisses).

Unique Formations

Magisses Due to the high number of psykers produced within the Lore Wardens they have developed a combat formation based around squads of linked psykers known as Magisses (singular psykers are referred to as Magi) There are three levels of psychic strength within the legion those who attain the first are used to receive and transmit instructions and messages both on the battlefield and within the legion. They are also capable of limited manipulation of the elements enhancing the ammo of their weapons. The second is when they can bond with their squad mates enabling them to join a Magisses squad. Through the combination of their powers they are capable of, as well as those abilities of a singular magi, forming a kinetic shield to protect themselves from damage but prefer to use their powers to attack their foes throwing fire, ice, lightning and other forces at their foes. The third level can come in two ways, either the squad learns to project their powers over a longer range (becoming Atripo Magisses) or learn to focus and control the area they hit with their powers enabling them to assist against foes close to their allies safely (becoming Phylir Magisses).

Combat Doctrine

The Lore Wardens battle tactics are based around the concept of “A dead enemy cannot attack you” being focused firmly on a strong attack. They use psykers in both a support role (reinforcing the command and control function) but mainly as another weapon to inflict damage upon their enemies. They work well with other elite troops and provide a centralized chain of command structure where possible.

Legion Homeworld

Main Article Gidemos

Gidemos is a well-developed planet in the temperate zone of the solar system, the architecture tends towards open plazas and they have an excess of libraries and universities/other places of learning due to the retained knowledge through the long night

Primarch

Main Article: Aristarchus

Aristarchus is the centre of the legion and the head of the Psychic part of the command and control structure. He is a respected melee combatant but deadly when he uses his considerable psychic abilities.

Culture and Beliefs

All members of the Lore Wardens share the inbuilt arrogance of those from Gidemos mainly manifesting itself in the belief that they are correct. Due to Aristarchus flying into a rage when this is questioned many members of the legion react in the same way to emulate their Primarch. The seeking and protection of knowledge is also key throughout the legion especially when this backs up their view of the universe. They know that there has been knowledge lost (other branches of Humanity were so incompetent!) so will bring all knowledge in and share normally with the Mechanicum. They have a very low opinion of unaugmented non Gidemosians seeing them as higher than xenos but barely leading to a poor standing amongst the Imperial Army who they co-operate poorly with. They venerate psykers believing that they hold the key to the future of Humanity and see this as the part of the Emperor which makes him truly higher than any being in existance. They do however hold religion and the belief in gods as low and a way of holding back the acquisition of Knowledge.

Geneseed

The geneseed is stable but does produce a high number of psykers.

Legion Attributes

• Tactics= Competent
• Espionage= Competent
• Aggression= Good
• Mitigation= Competent
• Diplomacy= Competent
• Geneseed= Competent

Homeworld Attributes

• Population= Competent
• Fabrication= Competent
• Fortification= Competent

Exemplary Battles

Battle One

Main Article: Razing of Tasichak III

Tasichak III was a world where high density of metals and minerals was detected by Mechanicum search vessels which interested them greatly. The planet however had an infestation of Orks who were using the resources to make their crude machines so the Mechanicum reached out to a fleet of Lore Wardens who were nearby. Dropping out of the Warp the Lore Wardens fleet scans of the planet showed that the atmosphere was so saturated with metallic pollution that an orbital bombardment would be ineffective and the order was given for the Magisses squads to load into the drop pods as the first wave to be shortly followed by the remainder of the force. When the drop pods were fired the Magisses used their considerable psychic powers to push the metal in the atmosphere out of the way of the drop pods enabling the legion forces to land and assault the Orks in an unexpected way. The surprise of forces making it through the sky and the aggression of the Lore Wardens caught the Orks out leading to swift establishment of beachheads and from there the legion stayed on the front foot driving them from the planet enabling the Mechanicum to use the planet’s resources for the good of the Imperium.

Notable Members

Aristarchus
AristarchusGuardian of the Knowledge, Wielder of the Burning Book
High Command
Leander Atripo Magisses Paragon
Sophus Phylir Magisses Paragon
Others
Galen Captain