Iron Legion

The Iron Legion, aka the Talian Iron Legion,Kellanved's Reach, Chapter 8, US TPB p.123 had been an elite heavy infantry military unitNight of Knives, Chapter 3, US TPB p.101 which had originated in the twin cities of Quon and Tali hundreds of years before the formation of the Malazan Empire.Deadhouse Landing, Chapter 3, US TPB p.41/43
The Iron Legionnaires, beside being heavily armed, wore black tabards over long mail coats. They carried large black rectangular shields which displayed upon them a silver circle/crown which was the sigil of the Iron Legion. Veteran Legionnaires were described as being "formidable", "hard-bitten", and as having the "gaze of those long inured to battle".Kellanved's Reach, Chapter 8, US TPB p.123/126-127
The Iron Legion had been an important factor in the periodic expansion of "Talian Hegemony" (i.e., Talian dominance, supremacy, and preeminence) across the entire Quon Tali continent.Return of the Crimson Guard, Book 1 Chapter 3, US TPB p.119Dancer's Lament, Chapter 1, US HC p.11
==In Night of Knives==
According to Temper - a Malazan Army veteran - the Iron Legion had essentially been destroyed during Kellanved’s invasion of the once independent Kingdom of Unta.Night of Knives, Chapter 3, US TPB p.101
==In Assail==
Leena - an Avowed member of the Fourth Company of the Crimson Guard - fought in an impressive, business-like manner, masterfully utilizing her favoured weapons, a pair of blades. Leena, when asked where she had learned her fighting style, replied that she had learned to fight from her father, who had been a veteran of the Talian Iron Legion, the "elites of the Talian Iron Crown". Leena then added that the "old emperor" (i.e., Kellanved) had crushed the Iron Legion long ago, making it a part of "ancient history".Assail (novel), Chapter 12, US HC p.424-429
==In Dancer's Lament==
Before the Malazan Empire existed, the kings of the cities of Tali and Quon periodically emptied their treasuries in order to gather together extensive armies. With these armies, which included the storied Iron Legions, the forces of Tali and Quon eventually were able to subjugate the lands of Quon Tali from the western coast all the way to the far eastern coast.Dancer's Lament, Chapter 1, US HC p.11
==In Deadhouse Landing==
Nedurian, a veteran battle mage 'retired' in Malaz had - when young - been attached to the "Talian Eleventh Iron Legion" as "battle-magus commander". Nedurian, by the time he arrived in Malaz City in the very early days of the formation of the Malazan Empire, was nearly two hundred years old - giving some idea of the longevity of the Iron Legion.Deadhouse Landing, Chapter 3, US TPB p.41/43
Later aboard the Twisted, Choss asked Cartheron Crust what Crust thought of Nedurian, who had recently joined the renegade Napans. Crust replied that the new mage looked to be a veteran. Hawl then spoke up to say that Nedurian, from all indications, was an ex-legionnaire. Crust then verified that Hawl had meant that Nedurian had been a member of the "Talian iron legions". Impressed, Crust added that Nedurian could be useful to them.Deadhouse Landing, Chapter 15, US TPB p.280
One day, when Kellanved and Dancer entered "Smiley's" after one of their absences in Shadow, Nedurian approached Kellanved. Bowing, the mage then said, "Magister, I am Nedurian - I have enlisted with your representative, Surly". Kellanved then startled Nedurian by indicating that he not only could tell that the mage was a "talent", but that he could also tell that Nedurian was an ex-legionnaire.Deadhouse Landing, Chapter 16, US TPB p.318
==In Kellanved's Reach==
During a critical battle between the forces of Nom Purge - led by High General Elath Lallind - and Quon Talian forces, Captain Orjin Samarr and his troop encountered a group of "grim-faced heavies" wearing long, black surcoats which bore upon them a "simple silver crown". This sigil marked the group as being members of the Talian Iron Legion.Kellanved's Reach, Chapter 1, US TPB p.6/11
While the battle between the Nom Purge forces and the forces of the Quon Talians was happening on the west coast of the continent of Quon Tali, on Malaz Island in the far east the veteran Nedurian was tracking down Dassem Ultor so that Nedurian could ask Dassem to assist him in the training of a newly-formed group of raw recruits who were to become the first Malazan Army.Kellanved's Reach, Chapter 2, US TPB p.25-27 Dassem knew who Nedurian was and also knew that he had been an officer of the Iron Legion in the past. The two "veterans hunkering down for a chat", talked about some of Nedurian's history with the legion. Nedurian told Dassem that he had been a member of the Iron Legion's "Old Guard" in the period before the legion was broken on the battlefield of Commor, just outside of Unta. Nedurian "testily" made clear to Dassem that the Untans' claim to have been responsible for this defeat was unfounded. Instead, Nedurian explained that it was, in fact, due to the sacrifice of Bloorian and Gris heavies who ended up being slaughtered but had still succeeded in having "weakened the [Iron Legion] lines just enough" so as to have brought about the Iron Legion's downfall. Dassem had listened carefully and correctly concluded that Nedurian had been with the legion at the time.Kellanved's Reach, Chapter 2, US TPB p.27 
Back on the west coast of Quon Tali, a Nom Purge force encountered a group of about a hundred Veteran Iron Legionnaires. These legionnaires, having come out of decades-long retirement, participated with other Quon Talian defenders in defense of Quon and Tali. The twin cities were, at the time, being threatened with attack by a force which numbered in the thousands and was being led by Orjin Samarr. These veterans, the last ones standing of the defenders, clearly displayed all of the well-known attributes of the "storied Iron Legionnaires". After battling badly outnumbered for a surprisingly long period of fighting "shoulder to shoulder", they "perished to a man and a woman".Kellanved's Reach, Chapter 8, US TPB p.123/126-128
==Notes and references==
pl:Żelazny Legion
Category:Females
Category:Males
Category:Military units
Category:Heavies
Category:Quon Talians