The Black Legion

The Black Legion was the legendary army of Zaikerik the Betrayer. Each soldier was an elite warrior spirit, encased in incredibly tough magically forged armour. Zaikerik built this army over hundreds of years, formed from some of his most loyal followers. It was one of Zaikerik's two main fighting forces, the other being his Vengeful Horde.
The Black Legion was recruited from the fallen souls of the Cult of the Blackspire, Zaikerik's followers. Unlike the shades he commanded, the Black Legion were motivated by loyalty and obedience, rather than vengeance.
Each soldier of the Black Legion was a formidable opponent, clad in nigh-impenetrable plate armour, and wielding incredibly heavy weapons, which were unable to be wielded by even the strongest of ordinary humans. The Black Legionnaires were gifted with superhuman strength, allowing them to use such weighty armaments. Their arms and armour was created within the Blackforge, beneath Varawyn, who used techniques stolen from the Abbey of Metallurgy. Later, the Cult created another Blackforge in Alatheen.
At its peak, there were around 200 soldiers in the Black Legion in total, but each one was capable of destroying swathes of enemy infantry. The Legion had multiple commanders since its creation, most notably Arielle the Dragonslayer, and Sir Zeylin.
=== Fall of the Black Legion ===
The Black Legion met its end against the Saviours.
- In Ravensroost, Ayla Vanderstone and the Faceless Guardian defeated four of Raven's legionnaires.
- In Varawyn, the saviours destroyed the Blackforge, and buried about fifteen of their number in the depths of the Underfog.
- In the Black Monastery, Gaius Lestrade and the Faceless Guardian slew five legionnaires, and killed the Legion's commander, Sir Zeylin.
- In Alatheen, another six legionnaires were slain when the armies of Whytehold sieged the city, and destroyed the second Blackforge.
When the combined forces of all the Saviours allies converged on the Blackspire, there were still about 170 legionnaires remaining. The army that the saviours had rallied numbered in the thousands, and had dragons on its side, yet still it was a close-fought battle. In the end, the mortals won and the Black Legion was vanquished.
Except it wasn't. Three Black Legionnaires were not present at the Blackspire, and were instead sent out by Zaikerik prior to the battle, on secrets missions. The most notable of these was the Centurion, Yasha the Sable.
=== Black Legion Armaments ===
The metal used in the creation of Black Legion was a powerful magically forged alloy, named simply "Black Legion Steel". This metal was far too dense and heavy to be used effectively by humans, but could easily be wielded by the warrior spirits of the legionnaires.
There were three types of armour sets worn by the Black Legion, the Soldier-class, the Mage-class, and the Scout-class. The Mage-class armour incorporated many runes in its creation, which could be drawn upon for magical power. The Scout-class was a lighter, less emcompassing version of the armour, for increased mobility.
In terms of arms, three main weapons were significant in the Black Legion; huge axe-headed polearms named "Legion Poleaxes" , enormous greatswords named "Soul Cleavers", and man-sized bows, named "Dragonslayer longbows". These were used to great effect in Zaikerik's wars against the dragons.
=== Known Legionnaires ===
Ayla Vanderstone was briefly a Black Legionnaire, in an ill-advised plot by the Jailor to use her against the other Saviours. This was thwarted by Fishbones.
Arielle the Dragonslayer was one of Zaikerik's most competent lieutenants during his war against the dragons, until she was captured by heroes working on behalf of the Dark Monks.
Sir Zeylin, the infamous Headless Horseman of the Spirit Realm, the last commander of the Black Legion. In life he was a famed silver knight of Thassalus, who secretly worked with the Cult. In death his allegiances became clearer.
Yasha the Sable was a Centurion of the Black Legion, one its primary commanders. In life, she was an assassin for the Cult, and in death she continued to serve the Legion in discreet ways.
Bonebreaker was an infamous soldier of the Black Legion. Though slow in wits, he was a mountain of muscle in life, and that strength was retained in his spectral form. He was the only Black Legionnaire to use a warhammer as his weapon.