Merciless

"We fight the long war, not through vain notions of duty and honour, but through a far purer purpose: hatred. It is this hatred that has sustained me through the long millennia. I lend it with bitterness. I nurture it with the deaths of my former brothers. For I know when the end is upon us, we shall take our rightful place."

- Warsmith Torian "The Iron Butcher" The Merciless are a large warband of Chaos Space Marines dedicated to Chaos Undivided. The Merciless are a splinter warband of the Iron Warriors that are founded and commanded by the infamous Chaos Lord Torian, the Iron Butcher of Xiollon II, a former Battle-Brother of the Iron Warriors who had fought alongside Perturabo during the Great Crusade and the Horus Heresy that followed. The embittered Merciless march to war once more, their sole intent to wreak such devastation upon the Imperium that no stone stands upon another.

Warband Home World
As the Merciless are a fleet-based Warband they do no possess a home world of their own, therefore they are not tied down to a demesne and may continue in their twisted Crusade in and around the Eye of Terror.

Warband Recruitment
Given the Merciless preferential mode of operation is to cull potential initiates from the young of the survivors of their assaults where practical. That is of course if those survivors are human. The young males are then forced to fight to the death to prove their worth. Suitable recruits are taken (willingly and unwillingly) where they are selected periodically by various Warsmiths for their Grand Company and subjected to ordeals until they prove themselves worthy of being implanted with the Legion's Chaos-corrupted gene-seed.

Warband Gene-Seed
Since turning to Chaos, the Merciless have been subject to varying degrees of mutation and have been known to replace mutated limbs with cybernetic ones. The Iron Warriors' gene-seed produced a marked tendency towards suspicion and paranoia within the Astartes of the IVth Legion but also was known to create Space Marines who were extremely intelligent and possessed naturally well-developed problem-solving abilities.

Like many of the other Traitor Legions, the Merciless steal the gene-seed of Loyalist Astartes whenever possible since their own gene-seed is now too corrupted by exposure to the Warp to successfully produce new Astartes from human stock. However, they do this only begrudgingly. Within the Legion, any new Iron Warriors created through the use of non-iron Warriors gene-seed is regarded as a "half-breed". Reviled and hated by their supposed Battle-Brothers, half-breeds are seen as a necessity for the Legion's continued existence, but are not considered true Iron Warriors by the IVth Legion's ancient veterans who fought beside Perturabo during the Horus Heresy. While it is not impossible for a half-breed to rise in rank or prestige, it is extremely difficult, as all but a few of his surrounding brothers will hold some measure of resentment against him.

Warband Organisation
The Merciless organisation is abnormally orderly, moving and operating as a cohesive, integrated, disciplined, and unstoppable aggressive force. The warband is organised into a number of large warbands known as Grand Companies, each commanded by a Chaos Lord who bears the title of Warsmith. Originally each Grand Company would have been similar in size and organisation, totaling approximately a thousand Space Marines, but now they vary in size enormously after ten millennia of battle and losses. The Warsmiths themselves are all extremely gifted in combat engineering, many maintaining a large contingent of slave-mechanicians to perform the more menial work.

It is uncertain how many Grand Companies there are at any given time. Like many of the Traitor Legions of Chaos Space Marines, the Merciless' current organisation is completely non-standard. A Grand Company will often be divided into component detachments led by lesser Chaos Champions. There is a tendency to operate in multiples of three.

Warband Combat Doctrine
"Warriors create themselves through trial and error, pain and suffering, and their ability to conquer their own faults."

The Merciless follow a simple method. They commence battle with a sustained artillery bombardment, utilizing every weapon at their disposal. The basis of this is a complex fire plan in which every weapon is directed with utmost care at the optimum target, for maximum effect. Where possible, the Merciless will coordinate with Traitor Titan Legions to add to their own considerable firepower. This emphasis on artillery and mechanized warfare means that Merciless forces often fare best in siege warfare and armored advances on enemy territory.

Where possible, field fortifications will be used. Merciless doctrine includes extensive use of fortifications to occupy the maximum number of opponents while using the absolute minimum number of troops. This in turn keeps the bulk of the Merciless fresh and available for assaults, and allows them to achieve superiority elsewhere.

Warband Beliefs
The Merciless are resolute in their beliefs that the Emperor thoroughly used their Legion to fight the bloodiest and most brutal battles of the Great Crusade. They see themselves as titans of ancient Terran legends; running amok in the universe, reaving and pillaging, knowing that no natural or man-made law can stop them. Though they honour the Ruinous Powers as a pantheon they are not truly devout themselves.

Notable Merciless

 * Warsmith Torian, "The Iron Butcher" -

Warband Fleet
The Merciless have existed as a fleet-based warband designed to operate solely as a warfleet. The warband functions exclusively on a much rarer operational strategy for its warfleet known as the 'Nomad-Predation' pattern. This pattern utilised by the Merciless has matured over the millennia when operating beyond the Eye of Terror for prolonged ages of time. The Nomad-Predation pattern has allowed the Merciless to be an entirely sovereign force that could sustain itself without any support whatsoever.The Merciless are ever vigilant, and are always ready for battle which is why they have chosen to remain a highly mobile, fleet-based warband.

The warband fleet of the Merciless is known to contain the following starships:

Warband Appearance
The Merciless do not accept mutation among their ranks as willingly as some of the other Traitor Legions, instead choosing to remove the corrupted limbs and replace them with powerful, infallible cybernetics, as do the Loyalist Iron Hands. The Merciless are more likely to have extensive cybernetics than they are to have fleshy mutations, more likely to become one with their weapons than with the daemons of the Ruinous Powers like other Heretic Astartes.

This is consistent with their beliefs, as they are not devout worshipers of the Chaos Gods like some of the other Traitor Legions, instead honouring their power and using the benefits offered by allegiance to Chaos to empower themselves rather than worshiping it. Due to a few Chaotic corruptions in their gene-seed, they often suffer from deformed limbs, but this too is usually corrected with cybernetics. They retain their Primarch's cold intelligence, paranoia, dark skin and dark eyes, and are noted for a preference for technological methods of warfare.

Mark III Iron Power Armour is a common sight amongst the ranks of Perturabo's Traitors, as are the weapon patterns and configurations dating back to the zenith of Perturabo's contribution to the Great Crusade.

Warband Colours
Prior to the Horus Heresy, the Merciless wore silver Power Armour, trimmed with gold. This has changed very little in the millennia since save to display iconography with Chaotic symbolism, such as the golden Iron Halo. The Merciless wear largely black Power Armour of a deep metallic hue marked with yellow and black industrial symbols. They care little for trophies and embellishments, instead preferring to prove their strength and prowess through acts of large-scale destruction. Though each warband wears markings of allegiance to their Chaos Champion, these are scoured off and repainted whenever circumstance dictates that a change of loyalty would be advantageous.

In the Time of Ending, the colours of the Merciless tend to be muted and black metallics, weathered by the aeons and heavily scarred by the rigours of battle. Much could be said of the souls of those who wear such wargear, for the Merciless never forget the inequities that befall them, using them as fuel for the fires of their hatred.

Warband Badge
The Warband's badge is that of an iron mask formed into a shape of a skull that is superimposed over the symbol of a golden Iron Halo. Both before and after the Horus Heresy, Merciless often painted and continue to paint their weapons and other heavy equipment with black and yellow construction chevrons to emphasize their tendency to construct their own fortifications while demolishing their enemies'.

Warband Relations
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Allies
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Notable Quotes
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By The Merciless
"I know of no higher fortitude than stubbornness in the face of overwhelming odds."

"This is where we hold them! This is where we fight! This is where they die!"

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