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Hounds of Kerberos (Legion)
The Hounds of Kerberos originally were the XXVIIIth Space Marine Legion raised by the Imperium of Man at the dawn of the 32nd Millennium. The Second Founding of the Hounds was originated from loyalist World Eaters, commanded by Endryd Haar, known as the "Riven Hound," a former Praetor of the World Eaters Legion. Renouncing their former allegiance to their traitorous Legion when they witnessed their Primarch and Legion atrocities at Istvaan III.

Driven to cold madness by the revelation of their Legion's betrayal of the Emperor. They cast off all traces of their Legion's insignia and honours, becoming a Blackshield, and swore a Death Oath to atone for the XIInd Legion's crimes. Forming a Blackshield unit known as "The Fangs of the Emperor" from the remnants of surviving Death Guard, Iron Warriors, and Raven Guard Astartes, including the Techmarine Erud Vahn, the Riven Hound led the ad hoc force against the Traitors wherever they could be found.

Facing the Traitor forces across the width and breadth of the galaxy during the Heresy. Endryd and his men fought all the way to the Throneworld itself, and proudly stood by the Loyalists as they defended the Imperial Palace from the Traitor Legions' unrelenting assault. Having proved their unswerving loyalty, in recognition of their faithful service and undying devotion to the Master of Mankind, Haar and his kindred were granted the boon of becoming one of the first of the Second Founding Legions, becoming the savage and ruthless Hounds of Kerebos, with Endryd Haar as its first Legion Master.

Legion History
"For past and for future! For Nova Terra and for the Regency! No brother falls forgotten!"

Nova Terra Interregnum
"It must be done and it shall be done, whatever the cost."

- Endryd Haar

Legion Combat Doctrine
"You already exalt me for my triumphs. When I ask only that you remember me for my treacheries. Victory is nothing more then survival. It carries no weight of honour or worth beyond what we ascribe to it. If you wish to grow wise, learn why brothers betray brothers."

Hand-to-hand combat is the Hounds' preferred form of warfare. Throwing themselves in the fray on combat to inflict the most harm and come to grapple with their foe at close quarters. The Hounds have a preponderance of close combat weaponry habitually carried by its rank-and-file. In addition to the use of the ubiquitous combat blades or gladius, Astartes attached to reconnaissance squads and vehicle crews commonly carry chainblades, flay-cutters and mono-serrated bayonets, back-up knives, hatchets and cleavers. In dedicated assault units this profusion of bloody killing tools are added to by a weapon that dates back to the techno-barbarian tribes of Terra, the broad-bladed Chainaxe.

Legion Beliefs
Though the Hounds of Kerberos have a reputation for ferocity in battle, they are also known for priding themselves on their fury and courage above all else. To the Vth Ur-Legion, life itself is war, a conflict that never ends from cradle to grave and to the Legiones Astartes this concept is in its purest form. Failure in battle is not tolerated, surrender is never countenanced and mercy is a quick death delivered to a foe that has fought with bravery. Cowards themselves deserve no more than savage butchery in reward for their fear. This simple but resolutely brutal code of war is the Hounds' article of faith and they extend it to both their own number and their enemy.

Warrior-Marks
Such few honours that the Hounds of Kerberos believe in are warrior-marks of brotherhood and the scars of battle, for these things transcended rank and spoke to the worth of the Space Marine beneath the armour. The sundered chains of one who had fought overwhelming odds and lived, and the bloody handprint over the face or heart bestowed by a battle leader for a warrior whose intrepidity and conspicuous gallantry had transcended that of his brothers, to the Hounds this means more than any mere bauble, title or trinket. Examples of such warrior-marks included:


 * Red Tears - Red "tears" (more likely blood drops) painted beneath the eye lenses on a helm are thought to denote an Astartes' ritual mourning for a fallen bonded battle-brother.
 * Crossed-Chain - A 'crossed-chain' decoration on a vambrace accorded to an individual warrior's status as having overcome their inherent rage and having mastered their baser instincts. It is said that these crossed-chains also serves to remind the recipient of the bonds that bind the Legion together and the unbreakable strength they gain through unity.

Head Taking
One of the more bloody traditions of the Hounds of Kerberos is the gruesome contests of head-taking between members of individual squad members, various squads, and the Legion's Chapters and Captains. This may just have been an easy way to confirm kills, but it has been surmised by Imperial scholars that the Hounds see the head of a foe to be important. It is unknown if the totals of collected heads were kept for just single battles, wars, or the warrior's career.

Mortuus
Another Legion tradition is known as a mortuus -- an official report made to the commanding officer of a Chapter vessel, listing those Battle-Brothers who had fallen in battle, much as Apothecaries in the other Legions traditionally relayed them to their commanding officers. A mortuus is more than simply a casualty list, it is a remembrance -- a roll of honour, a relic for the Legion to treasure. This often takes the form of names and ranks inked upon scrolls or names engraved in brass plaques, or chiseled into stone. These names are then entered into the ship's Archive of the Fallen.

Legion Recruitment
The Hounds of Kerberos replenish their ranks in the same manner as other Legions that follow the Nomad-Predation pattern. Namely, they cull potential Initiates from amongst the young of the survivors of their assaults, provided those survivors are human and free of the corrupting influence of the Warp. These Initiates must be subjected to intensive hypno-conditioning and other harsh procedures designed to strip away any past loyalty, replacing it with the will and attitudes of the Hounds.

If they successfully passed their induction trials, initial surgery and indoctrination, these Initiates become Scout Marines. When not training with their fellow Scouts, often times they will be attached to one of the Legion's Battle Company commands, in order to gain combat experience. After being bloodied in battle over the course of a solar decade or more, they will begin to earn their first Warrior Markings, tattoos that often spiral in loops up their bared forearms and across their shaved scalps. When they are on the cusp of becoming full members of the Legion, they will eventually leave behind the number designations all Scouts are known by in favour of a true name, swapping their plates and multiweave fatigues for the coveted Power Armour of a full Battle-Brother.

Notable Hounds of Kerberos

 * Endryd Haar - Known as the "Riven Hound," he was once a Praetor of the World Eaters Legion of Space Marines, a member of the first intake of Initiates raised on Terra, long before the XII Legion even came to be known as the War Hounds, and several solar decades before the rediscovery of their Primarch Angron upon the world of Nuceria. He was the last of the initial intake to survive; a remnant of a lost age, a living weapon akin to his Legion brothers who came after and yet subtly different in his controlled savagery. Haar was an unusually large Astartes and much faster than should have been possible for a Legionary his size - the result of a less streamlined process of creating an Astartes mongrel, not stamped from a mold like later generations of Space Marines. When the XII Legion finally reunited with their Primarch on Nuceria, Haar, unlike most loyal War Hounds, had refused the vain gesture of so-called 'unity' and had not been implanted with the Butcher's Nails - the archeotech, cybernetic cortical implants that transformed a Legionary into an unstoppable killing machine. Haar did not need the Nails hammered into his skull, for his savagery came from a deeper well. Following the outbreak of the Horus Heresy, Endryd Haar would go on to renounce his former allegiance to his traitorous Legion when they declared for Warmaster Horus' cause during the early years of this conflict. Casting off all traces of his Legion's insignia and honours, he became a Blackshield and swore a Death Oath to atone for the XII Legion's crimes. Initially, Haar led a force of Astartes fighting both sides of the conflict. However, in the aftermath of the raid on Duat, he decided to align himself with a Loyalist forces of Night Lords while leading his own Blackshield unit known as "The Fangs of the Emperor," which faced the Traitor forces across the width and breadth of the galaxy during the Heresy. He fought his way to the Throneworld itself, and proudly stood by the Loyalists as they defended the Imperial Palace from the Traitor Legions' unrelenting assault. Having proved his unswerving loyalty, in recognition of his faithful service and undying devotion to the Master of Mankind, Haar and his kindred were granted the boon of becoming one of the first of the Second Founding Legions, becoming the savage and ruthless Hounds of Kerebos, with Endryd Haar as its first Legion Master.


 * Delvarus - Delvarus was a Centurion of the World Eaters, commanding the 44th Company. Specifically he commanded the elite Triarii -- five full companies of the World Eaters' finest shipboard warriors that excelled in void warfare and boarding actions far beyond traditional Legion training. Five hundred of Angron's best warriors, led by the Legion's undisputed pit champion, all of whom were vowed and honour-bound to defend the flagship Conqueror. Delvarus had a bad reputation for taking part in planetary assaults with the rest of the XIIth Legion, often "neglecting" to inform command of his intentions. Delvarus was one of the few World Eaters not to shave his head. The discomfort of hair in his helm was irrelevant; he'd never cut his long black locks. This may have been a habit derived from his former culture. In the fighting pits, he always wore it loose. His dark skin marked his genesis in the jungles of whatever world he once called home. Like many World Eaters, Delvarus was inducted from a planet conquered in the Legion's earliest solar decades rather than from a specific homeworld. Delvarus exercised his independent nature once again and chose to join up with Endryd Haar and his "Fangs of the Emperor," Blackshield force after witnessing the atrocities and the betrayal on Istvaan III. Delvarus and his men renounced their former allegiance to their traitorous Legion and vowed a Death Oath to annihilate all traitors to the Imperium.

Legion Fleet
The fragmentary records of the Hounds of Kerberos indicate that the Legion has no set homeworld. This is somewhat uncommon for Space Marine Legion. However, the Hounds appear to follow a much rarer operational strategy known as the "Nomad-Predation" pattern. The Nomad-Predation pattern evolved in use by the Hounds and certain Rogue Trader fleets operating beyond the Imperium's boundaries for extended periods of time. It refers to an entirely self-contained force that can sustain itself without any Nova Terra support whatsoever. A Nomad-Predation fleet may contain as many support vessels as true warships, or it may contain voidships capable of both combat and maintenance repairs. This second possibility may be more likely in the case of the Hounds of Kerberos; given the bellicose Legion's propensity for combat, it seems unlikely they would tolerate vessels in their fleet's ranks that could not hold their own on the battle line.

A Nomad-Predation fleet voyages endlessly, pausing only to identify and engage its foes. It must choose its targets carefully, selecting those within its means to destroy without threatening the fleet's viability as a fighting force. Once it selects the appropriate victims, it can descend upon them quickly and savagely, engaging and destroying potential threats or launching spoiling attacks against foes too large to attack in force. The fleet obtains resources from the vanquished foe before vanishing, safe from any potential retaliation.

The Legion fleet of the Hounds of Kerberos is known to contain the following starships:


 * Animus of Vengeance (Unknown Class Battleship) - It is the personal flagship of the Hounds of Kerberos and serves essentially as the Legion's mobile Fortress-Monastery.


 * Rancor of Treachery (Unknown Class Battleship) -


 * Bane of Reprisal (Battle Barge) -


 * Baleful Blood (Battle Barge) -


 * Judgement at Hand (Battle Barge) -


 * Inferno of Hate (Battle Barge)


 * Ill Will (Battle Barge)


 * Red Rage (Battle Barge) -


 * Blooded Retribution (Battle Barge)


 * Vigilant Will (Strike Cruiser)


 * Tempest of Wrath (Strike Cruiser)


 * Onslaught of Fury (Strike Cruiser)


 * Requital of Strength (Strike Cruiser)


 * Crimson Wrath (Strike Cruiser)


 * Umbrage (Strike Cruiser)


 * Petulance of Rage (Strike Cruiser)


 * Rampage (Strike Cruiser)


 * Death's Retaliation (Strike Cruiser)


 * Hammer of Tyranny (Strike Cruiser)


 * Sinister Might (Strike Cruiser)


 * Blade of Wrath (Strike Cruiser)


 * Nigrum Ggryphem (Strike Cruiser)


 * Metallicus (Forge Ship) - Serves as the primary Armouries for the whole of the Crusade Legion Fleets.


 * Gravis Metallum (Forge Ship) - Serves as Armouries for the Crusade Legion Fleets.


 * Silent Death (Destroyer)


 * Ocelot (Destroyer)


 * Defiant (Destroyer)


 * ''20 Escorts


 * ''50 Thunderhawk gunships

Legion Badge
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Al Erdene


On the vast steppe-lands of the fertile Feudal World of Al Erdene, the Blades of Khan Space Marine Legion make their home. It lies in the Viridis Sector of the galaxy in the Nova Terra Regency.

The inhabitants refer to the name of their world by their native tongue as Al Erdene, (Crimson Jewel), rather than by its official High Gothic name,Tyros Stella. The tribes of Al Erdene have managed to struggle back from the terrible destruction of the Age of Strife to a pre-industrial level of technology. The Blades of Khan raise their Neophytes from the savage horse nomads. Due to extreme conditions that the people of Al Erdene live make these Neophytes well-suited to the Blades of Khans' highly mobile way of war.

History & Life on Al Erdene
Al Erdene is a Feudal World that is smaller in size to Terra. Humans colonised Al Erdene many thousands of years ago during the Dark Age of Technology and adopted a nomadic lifestyle almost immediately. The original landing site of the colony, the capital of Khadagan, has grown into the only city on the whole world. This bustling metropolis is a gathering place for the nomadic tribes of Al Erdene and the centre of its government.

The bulk of the population are nomads who keep their herds across the vast steppe-lands. The animals' rich flesh and dark blood form the basic subsistence diet of the steppe tribes. During the summer months, the tribes drive their herds towards the heart of the continent, following the spring thaw in search of new grown pasture. In winter time, they retreat towards the outer grasslands abutting the coasts, and there their animals find enough grazing to keep them alive until the year turns.

This world possesses a single continent that covers almost half of its surface. The centre of this massive landmass is prone to such extremes of temperature that it remains uninhabited, a baking desert in the summer which becomes a sub-zero sea of sand and snow over the winter. Between these deadly lands of the continental centre and the more habitable coasts is a belt of rich savannah lands thousands of miles deep, punctuated by mountain chains, mighty inland lakes, and vast rivers. Only towards the continent's coasts does the grassland give way to verdant forests, encircling the entire continent with a thin arboreal fringe.

Al Erdenes' society was once composed of fractured, scattered nomadic tribes who spent their lives herding their animals and warring with one another for food, land, horses, and dominance. For centuries they existed like this, perfecting both their ways of war and the breeding of their unique horses, until the Imperium rediscovered them and began bringing them back into the Emperor's fold. Al Erdene is a rugged and striking world, slightly smaller than Terra, dominated by broad, arid steppes. Its single continent spans nearly half of the planet, with the rest being deep, impenetrable seas. At the centre of Al Erdene's single continent is a vast desert. Brutally extreme in its temperature variations and weather patterns, it is a baking desert during the summer season and a howling, icy expanse of sand, snow, and wind in the winter. The steppes and savannah for which the planet is known ring this central desert, and are home to nearly all of the planet's population.

This scant habitable area is defined by a stunning array of rolling plains, soaring mountain ranges, deep inland seas, and powerful, rushing rivers. At the very extremes of the continent, all along its long coastline, are dense forests of tall evergreens. There is only one city on Attila, the bustling metropolis of Khadagan. It is here that the Al Erdene have their government, their main trading centres, and the small, barely tolerated Imperial and Ecclesiarchy missions. The tribes themselves are a hardy, passionate, small-framed people with nut-coloured skin, black hair and eyes, and striking, weather-beaten features. Some Al Erdene sport long braids or tangles of hair, and many of the tribes' men sport impressive moustaches that fall across their craggy faces. Tribes of both genders tend to be bandy-legged and long armed, with broad shoulders and piercing eyes. They move with the loping, bow-legged gait of lifetime riders, and are graceful and elegant in the saddle. Some undergo ritual scarification as a part of their coming of age ceremony -- long, deep, vertical cuts are made in their cheeks, into which ashes are rubbed to encourage scars that mar the Al Erdenes' faces.

As with most Feudal Worlders, few people of the tribes take the time to learn to read and write, consumed as their lives are by warfare. Written language is largely the domain of scribes, and even many of the elite see little reason to concern themselves with this specialised task. While the Al Erdenes possess the understanding of technology required to wield their weapons and sufficient knowledge of august tech-rites to maintain their own equipment, life on Al Erdene does not prepare them for many of the arcane machines and devices that they encounter in the service of the God-Emperor.

The tribes of Al Erdene respect only power and a tribal chieftain or king must be prepared to demonstrate his might to doubting rivals. When a lord of the Al Erdenes' tribes defeats an enemy he decapitates the beaten man's head and has his artificers turn the skull into a drinking cup as a permanent symbol of his victory. The tribes have little respect for medals awarded after a battle's conclusion and feel that the only symbols of merit worth owning are those won in the heat of battle, whilst their warriors' blood is still hot in their veins. As such, the most valued trophies of war amongst the Al Erdenes' are the scars earned from cheating death and the skull of a worthy foe.

Al Erdene life is innately tied to various animals. Two species are of particular importance to them: the Ovigor, a herd animal that provides critical sustenance and, of course, the mighty horses of Terran descent that the tribes ride into battle. Horses serve as the faithful companions and mounts, and Ovigors make up the core of the Al Erdenes' staple diet on their homeworld. The tribe's native variant of the Imperial Creed uses iconography of the horse and rider to represent many aspects of the holy. Work, play, and the passage of seasons all centre on herding the Ovigor, as the Al Erdene's move them to the centre of the continent during the summer for the good grazing into the temperate lands near the forests for the winter.

The tribes of Al Erdene have lived alongside their mounts for millennia. Their entire cultural identity is centred around these tough, compact, and reliable horses, and the creatures are used not only as mounts and work animals, but for food, materials, and in the tribes of Al Erdene's various religious rites. The tribe's people and their horses share a deep bond of culture, tradition, service, and affection. When in the field, far away from Imperial Logistics, tribesmen of Al Erdene can even drink small portions of the blood of their mounts to sustain them, draining off small amounts of blood at a time and mixing it with foraged plants to create a nourishing slurry that they heat over a fire.

Environmental Conditions
A dry climate with short, mild summers and long, severe winters. In the depths of winter, temperatures can remain below zero degrees for several weeks to months. Cold snaps can bring the temperature to minus 86°F. Spring brings unsettled weather, strong winds and wild fluctuations in temperature. Summers are warm across the world of Al Erdene, particularly in the desert where temperatures can reach 125°F. Thunderstorms are common in late summer. The fall are cool in the north but quite pleasant in south areas.

Flora
From north to south, the world of Al Erdene can be divided into four areas: mountain-forest steppe, mountain steppe, and in the extreme south, semi-desert and desert. The majority of the world of Al Erdene has a high elevation, with the principal mountains concentrated in the west.

Shadow Talons (Legion)
The Shadow Talons are a Third Founding Successor Legion of the Raven Guard which took place in the 32nd Millennium, but this Legion's origins actually lie much further back, just before the dark days of the Horus Heresy during the latter 30th Millennium. When the Raven Lord was finally reunited with his Legion, he was quick to impose the style of war he had perfected on Lycaeus over that which had come to define the XIXth Legion, melding stealth and guile with vigilance and swiftness. It was during these early years that much of the native demeanour of the old XIXth Legion, particularly the more cold-blooded ways of the Terran Legionaries, was purged. This event took place during the xenocide campaign against the xenos dubbed the "Unsighted Kings" within the Akum-sothos Cluster.

During the climatic Battle of Gate 42, Corax's Legion was ordered by the newly-instilled Warmaster Horus to lead the vanguard force. Corax hand-picked this assault unit which was primarily composed of Terran-born Legionaries, to lead the speartip. Thousands of the Terran Legionaries of the Raven Guard gave their lives in order to achieve victory. Those who survived the near-suicidal assault were not feted, but were instead marshalled into Crusade fleets and dispatched into the north-eastern reaches of the Ghoul Stars to bring the light of the Emperor to the outer darkness. The fate of these Terran-born Legionaries wouldn't be revealed until nearly two millennia later, in the wake of the dark times of the Nova Terra Interregnum.

Legion History
"The Emperor consigned us to the care of a tyrant who sought to see us dead and forgotten; now the Raven Lord himself is dead. Despite being forgotten by our former brethren, we shall endeavour to bring the light of the Emperor to the outer darkness, and prosecute the Great Crusade as He envisioned."

- Praetor Narat Kirine, Lord of the Shadow Talons, 011.M31

The Shadow Talons can trace their lineage to when they were originally the 18th Chapter of the Raven Guard Legion during the Unification Wars, Great Crusade and Horus Heresy eras during the 30th and 31st Millennia. Comprised of several thousand legionaries, near every one was a Terran-born veteran of the old XIXth Legion, before their reunification with their lost Primarch Corvus Corax, upon the world of Deliverance during the Great Crusade. Following Horus Lupercal's elevation to the rank of Warmaster, the Raven Guard was recalled to take part in a joint campaign in the Akum-sothos Cluster, which had fallen to a form of mass-psychosis and violently rejected unity with Terra. During the Battle of Gate 42, Corax knowing their particular demeanour would carry them forward, the Primarch assigned many of his Terran-dominated companies to the vanguard, in particular those whose captains appeared the most willing to play their part in the Warmaster's plan. The 18th Chapter, 'Shadow Talons', was utilised by Corax in a stratagem that involved a flanking manoeuvre around a sacrificial unit left in the open to attract the enemy's full might. The 'Shadow Talons' were selected for the dubious honour of acting as the sacrificial unit at the heart of this strategy. The assault that followed was hailed as the Legion's darkest hour, a grim honour that, tragically, would be displaced just a few years later at Istvaan V.

The Battle of Gate 42 has often been noted by Imperial scholars of the First Great Crusade as the pyre that Corvus Corax hoped would burn his Legion clean of what he saw as the unwelcome taint of many of the Terran recruits. However, if such was his intent then it was not entirely successful, for some few among those who Corax had placed amongst the vanguard yet survived. Several thousand of the 18th Chapter remained, near every one a Terran-born veteran of the old XIXth Legion, and many were angered by the callous disregard the Raven Lord had shown for their lives and record of loyal service to the Imperium. In the aftermath of the battle, they were marshalled together, and instead of receiving honours bestowed upon them for their service during this grueling campaign, the Raven Lord formed the vast majority of the remaining veterans of the old XIXth Legion, along with those freed from Deliverance whose crimes and demeanour left them ill at odds with the Primarch's perception of his Legion, and formed them into Crusade fleets. These fleets were dispatched into the dim stars of the north-eastern galactic fringe, known to explorers of the time as the Ghoul Stars, there to bring the light of the Emperor to the dark at the edges of the galaxy, far from the eyes of the fledgling Imperium and the brooding lord of the Raven Guard.

Full research into the origins of the Shadow Talons fleet notes that they were despatched on-Crusade in 002.M31. This Raven Guard fleet turned not to the service of the Warmaster's dire schemes during the galaxy-wide conflict that would later engulf the length and breadth of the galaxy, but rather to a mandate of survival and deadly intent. With an original complement of thirteen capital craft, a score of smaller ships and some 4,000 of the Legiones Astartes assembled from the survivors of the fighting in Akum-sothos, the fleet was a significant force, even assuming that nine years of Crusading had taken its toll on the fleet. In fact, it is this slow bleeding of resources and manpower over the course of their exile that likely led to the tactics displayed in the few records the Imperium possesses of their actions, all of which seem to have been focused on the acquisition of resources, munitions, and recruits. At the close of the Horus Heresy, with the recommendation of the Divisio Militaris, the High Lords of Terra issued an edict declaring several adjoining sectors in the north-eastern fringe a forbidden zone to Imperial craft, save those with special dispensation. The borders of the Imperium contracted and a great swathe of space was abandoned to the ravages of xenos predators and the few scattered bands of rebels that lingered on remote worlds. With the final fate of the Shadow Talons undocumented, many Imperial scholars speculated that they might also have lurked somewhere within these forbidden stars, far from the eyes of the Imperium, and that those worlds brought to Compliance by their final Crusade still survived.

What became of the Shadow Talons is subject to much conjecture, but extant sources revealed that the Shadow Talons became an independent Blackshield raiding force, that nominally fought for the Emperor during the Horus Heresy. What became of them following the end of the galaxy-wide conflict, wouldn't be revealed until over two millennia had passed, during the tumultuous era of history, known as the Nova Terra Interregnum.

Nova Terra Interregnum
The Nova Terra Interregnum was a time of extreme civil unrest and rebellious conflict in the Imperium, when the Ur-Council of Nova Terra declared independence from the rule of the High Lords of Terra, and declared the whole Segementum Pacificus independent of Imperial rule. This period of divided rule would last for nine standard centuries. They had grown disenfranchised with the burgeoning Imperial state religion, in the form of the religious organisation known as the Ecclesiarchy, that zealously promoted the worship of the Emperor of Mankind as the one, true God of Humanity. As the power of the Ecclesiarchy waxed strong, the Ur-Council of Nova Terra foresaw the dangers of having a religious organisation possess so much power and influence over the citizens of the Imperium. They felt that the Imperium had lost its way and no longer followed the tenants of the Emperor's enlightened philosophy of the Imperial Truth. The Imperium of Man no longer upheld the core values of reason, science and secular progress. Instead, they had fallen back on the old ideas of religion, superstition and faith. To compound the secession of the Segmentum Pacifucs, two Space Marine Legions, the feral Space Wolves and the stoic Iron Hands joined the rebellious Ur-Council of Nova Terra. The two Primarchs are later followed by a number of Legion Masters as well, who also join the Secessionist's cause. In response, the High Lords of Terra call for a new Founding to take place. The Third Founding, known also as the 'Numroi Founding', takes place in 098.M33. Utilising accelerated gene-culturing techniques not used since the First Great Crusade, three Space Marine Legions were created in record time. These few Legions were created to be massive, hosting hundreds of thousands of Legionaries within their ranks. But the shortcuts taken in their creation would have unforeseen flaws.

The conflict ensued over the next eight centuries, and threatened to tear apart all that the Imperium of Man had rebuilt following the Age of Darkness of the Horus Heresy. Not since those dark days, had Legion been pitted against Legion. Several of the Legions that had gone over to the Secessionist cause were annihilated by the rampaging Loyalist Legions. But as the centuries dragged on, several more Legions joined the conflict, both for and against the Secessionist cause. By the mid-900's, both sides had been bled dry by the neverending conflict. Slowly the Secessionists had pushed back the Loyalist forces, inflicting a staggering number of casualties. Lacking the ability or the will to end the conflict, the Loyalists set up a blockade, to contain the threat of the Secessionists. Sensing death, like carrion birds flying above a slowly dying creature, an ancient force of deathseeking predators slid out of the blackness of the outer void. Arriving without warning in 970.M33, the sudden appearance of the Shadow Talons' Legion fleet caused alarm for both the Loyalist and Secessionist forces operating within the Segmentum Pacificus. It was unknown if the unidentified Space Marine force had come to offer its aid to the Loyalist's or Secessionist's cause. When both sides ran the ident checks of this mysterious Space Marine fleet, they identified this Legion as the Umbra Dominii, using the ancient High Gothic form of their name, or the "Shadow Talons" in Low Gothic. They had arrived in the war zone to draw blood. As suddenly as they arrived, the Shadow Talons fleet quickly slipped back into the void and disappeared. But their foreboding presence would be felt soon enough.

Not long after their unannounced arrival, the Shadow Talons officially entered the conflict during the Siege of Verghast, where forces from two opposing Legions, the _(Add Name)_ and the Soul Drinkers, were locked in a bitter, long running and highly protracted conflict with one another. The Shadow Talons cared nothing for the causes of both sides, and attacked in full force, catching the combatants unprepared and decimating a number of vessels on both sides with their initial strike. A self-contained fleet-based Legion, the Shadow Talons were operating fully equipped and at peak strength. They fought as a single cohesive force that struck like a series of brutal thunder hammer blows.

Legion Organisation
The Shadow Talons still nominally follow the ancient and far-reaching vision of the armies of humanity and their structure of the Officio Militaris as laid out by the Emperor in the Principia Bellicosa. The original XIXth Legion was divided into Chapters, Chapters into battalions, battalions into companies and companies into squads. Like their forebears, the Shadow Talons legionaries consider themselves members of a given company rather than a Chapter, as the company is the preferred level utilised for most independent operations. From the earliest formation, the Legion's officers devolved command responsibility towards the lower echelons, allowing sub-commanders to take the initiative and make tactical decisions according to immediate needs without interference from high up in the chain-of-command. This mindset is a direct result of the practices of the Shadow Talons' ancient Xeric tribal ancestors, who conducted their wars against far more numerous foes and were therefore well-practiced in a wide spectrum of unconventional tactics. Individual units tended towards the smaller end of the scales and passed down by the architects of the Emperor's armies, but each was a tightly-knit band of warriors trained and equipped to operate on their own for extended periods. They were well able to live off of the land, taking what few resources they needed from their environment or when opportunity or necessity dictated, from defeated enemies.

As the XIXth Legion expanded they began to integrate numerous smaller formations into its structure, allowing them to take its place in the hosts of the First Great Crusade and to confront the countless enemies of Mankind that would deny the Emperor's manifest destiny to rule the stars. While retaining its expertise in stealth and infiltration, the XIXth Legion integrated formations of battle tanks, super-heavy war machines, artillery, assault vehicles and assets, mastering each with the skill engineered into them by the genius of the Emperor. Nonetheless, the XIXth Legion's favoured method of war focused on rapid strike, flanking, mobility and, where possible and desirable, stealth. Maintaining many specialised units, there were certain formations the XIXth Legion favoured over others. The Legion is noted in historical accounts as fielding more Legion Reconnaissance Squads than any others, every Legionary being cross-trained to fulfill his assigned role, as well as that of the reconnaissance units. Indeed, the line between Legion Tactical Squad and reconnaissance squad seems to have become blurred, the two often operating using similar tactics and even specialised equipment.

Ancient records of the XIXth Legion, in the times before Corax took command, indicated that they fought under the patronage of Horus Lupercal. These records note that among the chapters of the XIXth Legion there was a chapter by the name of the 'Shadow Talons', a name carried over from the Xeric tribes that these fierce warriors were recruited from. The Raven Guard of modern times hold no record of these warriors. Indeed, of the original Terran recruits of the Legion little is known. Upon assuming command of his Legion, Primarch Corvus Corax took it upon himself to expand the methods of warfare he had employed against the slave-lords of Lycaeus with a series of tactical and strategic initiatives by which the Raven Guard would operate. In this regard, these doctrines meshed well with those the XIXth Legion had already been operating under throughout the Great Crusade, casting that particular aspect of the Primarch's assumption of command. It is remarkable that as soon as he was able, Corax assured that many of his senior commanders were drawn from Deliverance. It appears that Corax bore a measure of ill-will towards the Terran recruits within his Legion - both their time under the tutelage of Horus and their heritage as slavery-warlords in the asiatic dustbowls of Ancient Terra marked them out as unworthy in the eyes of their new master.

Legion Combat Doctrine
The Shadow Talons operate almost exclusively as a rapid-strike force, disdaining any kind of protracted engagement wherever possible, preferring to approach their targets either with extreme speed or by stealth, allowing them to strike with the element of surprise on their side whenever possible. When on the offensive, the Shadow Talons endeavour to close and engage the enemy in hand-to-hand combat or unleash their firepower at near point-blank range. Many of those who have fought alongside the Shadow Talons' forces, later reported that their tactical deployments and use of shock-assault stratagems indicated an overriding and implacable desire to close with the enemy and shatter their foes in bloody personal combat. Their combat style of striking hard and fast to inflict the maximum damage possible in the shortest span of time has proven both effective and brutal in the extreme. If the enemy survives their initial strike, the Shadow Talons will fade away only to attack again, bleeding the foe white until they can no longer resist and are destroyed. Once the enemy has been massacred, they will then move on without pause to the next target, and repeat this tactic until nothing surrounds them but an abattoir of their slain foes.

The Legion's second core strategy is the use of hit-and-run tactics. The Shadow Talons are exceptionally well-equipped with assault bikes, land speeders and jump packs. Whenever possible, the Shadow Talons' Legion Reconnaissance Squads favour the use of guerrilla tactics and ambushes to deplete enemy forces prior to a more traditional engagement. Millennia of refining their techniques has enhanced their abilities to the point that these Battle-Brothers are often able to decimate enemy forces through precision surgical strikes, minimising the enemy forces present in future conflicts. When these tactics are used in combination with the Legion's brutal rapid-strike assaults, the Shadow Talons are nigh unstoppable in battle.

The Shadow Talons are a fleet-based Legion which is also noted for utilising the ancient and rare 'Nomad-Predation' pattern, which is used almost exclusively by Space Marine Legions operating for long durations beyond the Imperium's borders. This type of pattern refers to an entirely self-contained force which is able to operate without recourse to the Imperium for support at all. The Shadow Talons voyage without end, pausing only to engage an enemy that are within their means to do so without threatening the overall viability of their Legion as a fighting force. By fighting in this fashion, the Shadow Talons are able to sustain itself and exterminate future threats to the Imperium, and at the same time avoid or raid enemies too powerful for them to directly attack in force.

Notable Hounds of Kerberos

 * (Name Here) -

Legion Fleet
The Shadow Talons Legion fleet during the Great Crusade and Horus Heresy eras was known to contain the following vessels:
 * Spectrum Mortis ("Spectre of Death," Gloriana-Class Battleship) - The Spectrum Mortis is the Shadow Talons' notorious flagship during the Horus Hersey and serves as the Legion's mobile fortress-monastery.
 * Velox Umbra ("Swift Shadow," Desolator-Class Battleship) - The venerable Velox Umbra is one of the only known ancient Imperial Battleships that has remained both loyal and still serves the Imperium of Man. This ancient Battleship has served the XXth Legion since the start of the Second Great Crusade into the present of the 41st Millennium.
 * Bellum Philo ("War Claw," Repulsive Grand Cruiser) - A primeval Grand Cruiser that can still be found in the XXth Legion's Nomad-Predation fleet, that has served with distinction and valor.
 * Lapis Corvus ("Stone Crow," Devastation-Class Cruiser) - A fleet-support carrier used by the Forces of Chaos that was captured and has been heavily-refitted by the Shadow Talons somewhere within the north-eastern galactic fringe. It now functions as the XXth Legion's main support ship, launching attack squadrons to reinforce the rest of the fleet. Once its attack craft are launched, the Lapis Corvus is able to further support the fleet with long-ranged fire.


 * Alas Mortem ("Wings of Death," Battle-Barge)


 * Nigrum Praesidio ("Black Guard," Battle-Barge)


 * Tenebrae Aquila ("Dark Eagle," Battle-Barge)


 * Philos Regni Ira ("Claws of Wrath," Grand Cruiser)


 * ''20 Escorts


 * ''50 Thunderhawk gunships

Legion Badge
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