Palatine Wings

> "*Men must be free to do what they believe. It is not our right to punish one for thinking what they do, no matter how much we disagree. If such disagreements must lead to war then that is the way of things, but we must never allow ourselves to fire the first shot, to strike the first blow. Reason is our foremost weapon, compassion and knowledge the strongest artillery we possess. We must all be free to voice our beliefs, even if others find them to be wrong. Only through discussion can we hope to truly change a man’s mind and teach them right from wrong. It must be knowledge that frees our kind from Old Night, not force.*"
> ― The Primarch Bartosz, in the wake of the protracted, and bloodless, compliance of a highly divergent people. These people would go on to become extremely productive members of the Imperium.
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## The Palatine Wings

### **Cognomen(s) Prior**

The Silver Wings (Pre-Primarch)
The Reinforcing Legion (Unofficial)

### **Primarch**

Bartosz - The Imperial Sagittarius, the Shining Son

### **Observed Strategic Tendencies**

Extremely varied due to extreme decentralisation and operating away from established supply lines, Heavy Cavalry Deployment, Strike and Fade Operations, Extreme focus on Diplomacy and non-militarised proceedings.

### **Noteworthy Domains**

Polvia (Protected World), Unnumbered recruiting worlds from across the Imperium (Recruitment Worlds)

### **Warcry**

A wide variety of battlecries are used across the legions myriad of deployments. The Triglav is known to use a call and response cry as their charges thunder towards the foe:
Call - The Emperor is with us!
Reply - Who dares stand against us!

### **Legion Colours**

Nominally - Bare Ceramite, Polished Silver and Gold
Practically - Myriad of different colour schemes, always with golden Palatine Aquila's and no ornementation upon their armour.

The **Palatine Wings**, also known as the **Silver Wings** before their Primarch, or simple the **Reinforcing Legion** unoffically, stand as the XIVth of the XX Legiones Astartes, forged by the Emperor’s own hand for a singular purpose; the reformation of humanity under his rule, and that of the Imperium of Man, designed to fight in a Great Crusade to bring His light to the long-lost human colony worlds scattered across the stars. Of all the Legions, the Palatine Wings are perhaps the most well known for their diplomatic proceedings, rivalling the detached but skilled Light Bringers and the Charismatic Consuls Exemplar through the legions skill and care for the common man. Indeed, it is said that while many of the other Primarch’s forge their sons into warriors and scholars, Bartosz would have his sons take no other path than that of the Iterator, a legion of master orators who can bring worlds to heel not with swords of steel, but tongues of silver.

When the Legion was first formed in the closing days of the Unification Wars of Terra, they were drawn from the Achaemenid Empire, safeguarding their homeland for a time, before striking out alongside the Thunder Warriors and other early Astartes Legions. In these days, the Legions later favour of speed over staying power became clear, favouring a strike and retreat pattern of attack that left slower, heavier enemies realing, despite the legions lack of expertise in holding their ground once it was taken when compared to the other legions.

It wouldn't be long until the XIVth became known by their first true name, unlike many of the legions they were still simply the XIVth when they left the Sol system. However, soon they found a new world of humans, descending upon the world, its inhabitants praising the warriors who arrived on silver wings. Soon enough, the XIVth gained the moniker of the Silver Wings, known throughout the Crusade as some of the greatest pilots in the galaxy.

This adulation they were shown that day soon went to their heads, the legion pushed ever onwards, striving to outdo their compatriots with shows of their skill in battle. It did not take long for this mentality to further infect the legion, a deep royal crimson added to their armour alongside the silver, followed swiftly by golden additions, all polished to a near impossible shine, rather than the mere clean polish it had borne before.

Surag Genden, Legion Master of the XIVth, hated this shift, the braggarts and showboaters his legion was becoming, but he was attempting to stem a tide with naught but himself. He needed his Primarch, or failing that, he needed a symbol. On the world of Proxima in M30.895, he got that symbol. The XIVth were present when a grave and concerted attempt on the Emperor’s life was made, many believing this attempt could have succeeded had the legion not stood side by side with the Emperor’s own Custodes, selling their lives by the thousands so the Emperor could live. In the wake of this, the legion was honoured above all others, granted the Emperor’s own Palatine to wear from this day until the end of days. Many believed this would only heighten the bragard nature of the XIVth, and it likely would have, had Surag not forced the legion down a different path.

Soon, the braggards of the XIVth were all but gone, replaced with a humble legion in look and attitude. The red and gold faded away, save for those small aquila’s picked out to show the legions only battle honour from that day forth. They became the Palatine Wings, bearers of the Emperor’s mark, and with this honour did they truly serve the Imperium, rather than prace before it as the warriors of the XIIth did.

The Palatine Wings continued to grow this way throughout the Great Crusade, under both Surag and their lord Bartosz upon his founding, known as some of the greatest speakers and iterators in the Imperium. For them, war was ever a last resort, and while some may have called it cowardice for not striking quickly, the reems of worlds brought into a bloodless compliance that followed the XIVth stood as testament to the legions skill.

When the Almire Apostasy struck, the XIVth was singled out as one of the greatest threats against the warmasters plans, their numbers eclipsing all other legions. If they were to stand whole, the warmasters plans may have failed, and so with the knife in the back, the Palatine were struck down. On the black sands of Istvaan V, the XIVth were deprived of their greatest warriors, the survivors scattering across the stars, bereft of a Primarch now assumed dead.

Worse still, the legion was struck with a curse, one that seemed to infect the very geneseed of the noble Palatine Wings, those struck down becoming little more than guilt ridden wrecks, or worse, blood crazed monsters with no control or care for who they struck against.

## Legion History

### The Great Crusade

#### The Warriors of Silver Wings

Raised during the closing days of the Unification Wars from the lands of the Achaemenid Empire, unlike most of the Legions, the XIVth were not drawn from the sons of defeated warlords, but willingly given by the Achaemenid, who were all too willing to throw themselves wholeheartedly behind the ideals of the Legions Founding, already knowing of the Great Crusade to come. As such, the Legions size was initially larger than many, their geneseed bearing no signs of degradation or defects, standing as a paragon of purity when compared to the unstable gene-seed used in legions such as the IVth, Xth and XVth.

For a time, the Legion did not go on the offensive alongside the Thunder Warriors and the other proto-legions, remaining in their homeland as castellans, ensuring that the constant attacks on the Achaemenid were met with force, freeing up the Thunder Warriors who had been stationed there previously. Eventually however, the Legion was unleashed, pouring across the borders of their homeland, smashing aside all opposition in a lightning fast and unexpected war, no one expecting the so far static legion to demonstrate such a preference for war at speed.

Soon, Terra had fallen entirely under the banner of the Emperor, the XIVth striking out into the stars to begin the Great Crusade, moving at speeds only eclipsed by the Rogue Traders and Vth Legion, the Crimson Swords and pathfinders of the Expeditionary Fleets. Soon, the Legion descended upon their first world, designated as 18-1. Accepting compliance with open arms, the world sent a message that was recorded by the early Rememberancers of the fleet, the populace praising the Emperor and his “Warriors who descended upon wings of silver.” It did not take long for this transmission to be noticed, and soon the legion took the name for their own, no longer merely the XIVth, but the Silver Wings.

Planet after planet fell to the Silver Wings, each time capitulating without much of a fight, the legion seeming to have been placed upon a path of least resistance by some unseen force. Each world solidified the legions reputation as exceptional pilots, both of aircraft and of jetbikes, but also served to only inflate the legions ego, their success going to their heads as they advanced far further into the galaxy than most of their peers, many of whom were getting constantly bogged down by heavy fighting, such as the Hyperion Way campaign of the Dark Watchers, or the devastating ambush the Raiders of Steel suffered at the start of the First Rangdan Xenocides, the XIVth being mercifully spared that slaughter, used to plug the gaps other legions left behind in the frontline.

Soon, the Silver Wings once gleaming silver armour had been added to, a deep royal crimson and gold added to proclaim the legions arrival, all polished to a near impossible shine, ensuring that none would miss the Emperor’s own Angels as they slashed towards them, heralding the death of all who would stand before unification.

This change was not universally loved within the Silver Wings however, and there were a few who wished to return the legion to its humble beginnings on Terra. Surag Genden, Legion Master of the XIVth led this sect, but despite his rank, he was an outsider on this matter, powerless to turn the legion from its path. Things came to a head when the “Cult of Personality” truly took hold within the Legion, warriors no longer following a chain of command in the traditional sense, instead flocking to the banner of those they themselves wished to follow. While this had the benefit of ensuring only the best of the legion were in positions of power, and only retained the positions for as long as they continued to prove themselves, it also had the effect of making quantifying the legions formations all but impossible, one company potentially boasting thousands of warriors, while another numbered only a few dozen. Something had to change, but such a change would not manifest until Proxima, and the legion had a crucible to pass through to reach that world.

#### The First Rangdan Xenocide

The XIVth were part of the first wave of reinforcements when the XVIth Legion was ambushed by the newly discivered Rangdan in an act that would start the First Rangdan Xenocide. During the war, the Silver Wings constantly acted as an outrider forces, continuing to prove their mastery of lightning paced war from the sadle. Though they still took hideously high casualties, they were one of the largest of the nine legions eventually present, and had some of the lowest percentage of losses due to their strike and fade mentality.

Surag Genden distinguihsed himself time and time again throughout the campaign, at one point finding himself fighting by the side of the Emperor himself, catching the eye of his his liege lord and earning a single word of gratitude in thanks.

In time, when the campaign had finally ground to a bitter end, the Silver Wings were selected to continue the crusade alongside the Emperor himself, a sure sign of a legion destined for greatness, and it was this that would lead the legion to their reawakening on Proxima.

#### The Proximan Rebellion

Nine years after the end of the First Rangdan Xenocide, the Emperors Expeditionary Fleet, followed closely by the Palatine Wings themselves, encountered the world of Proxim. As the fleet entered the system, the world broadcast its surrender, begging to be allowed to join with the Imperium. Ever happy to conduct a bloodless Compliance, the Emperor agreed and travelled to the surface of the world with only his three hundred Companions, and an honour Guard of a thousand Silver Wings for the ceremonies of Imperial Compliance.

Part way through the ceremony however a vortex explosive was detonated amid the delegates, the Emperor himself being wounded while many of his bodyguard were slain, their bodies flung into the warp by the vortex blast. Insurgents began to surge forward, but they were no mere fringe group, thousands upon thousands pouring from buildings or revealing themselves within the crowd. They were well trained and armed with powerful weapons akin to the Volkite chargers used within the Legiones Astartes, and with practiced ease, this army surged the beleaguered and wrongfooted defenders, threatening to overwhelm them and snuff out the life of the motionless Emperor.

The Silver Wings had been further from the Emperor than his Custodians, and as such had been spared from the worst of the blast. Now, standing shoulder to shoulder with those few Custodes who still stood, they formed a ring around the Emperor, fending off an army as the single Apothecary within the group sought to stabilise a being he knew nothing about. For hours the battle raged, Silver Wings falling where they stood, but no ground was given, no mercy shown.

Finally, a single dropship appeared through the cloud cover, teleportation deemed impossible due to the vortex weapon’s interference in the warp. Landing within the cordon, the Emperor’s unmoving body was loaded within, the last of his Cusodes and their bodies being placed alongside him. The Silver Wings willingly stayed behind, honoured to lay down their lives so that the Emperor might escape. Escape he did, though he was the only one, no other ships able to breach the worlds activated air defences in time, the Astartes slaughtered to a man.

In orbit soon after, the Emperor recovered, the legion eagerly awaiting the word to unleash their weapons against the world for their crimes. Instead, the Emperor spoke of bravery and heroism, of the pride he had in his warriors. On that day, the Palatine Aquila was granted to the XIVth, many legions having fought for the right to wear it, but that fight was now over. While the great Aquila in its variations signified both the Imperium of Humanity and loyalty to the Emperor as its master, and there is much allegory bound up into its form, for the XIVth Legion it also now represented their own deeds as well, a signifier that they were marked apart from others of their kind, entrusted by the Emperor’s own hand to bring honour to his sigil. Soon, the Legion took on a new name a demeanour, the bragards of the Silver Wings giving way to humility as the Palatine Wings rose from the ashes, laying waste to the world of Proxima by Exterminatus, ending the short lived rebellion and sealing their new role for all time.

In situations of hazard and utmost danger, the Emperor often used members of the newly redubbed Palatine Wings Legion as aquilifers and equerries, bearing the Palatine Eagle standard of the Emperor on Imperial Diplomatic missions, acting as both bodyguard and emissaries. This duty was undertaken by the Legion with solemn reverence, each legionnaire understanding the weight of responsibility placed upon him, and the price of hubris if that responsibility went to his head.

In the early days of the new Palatine Wings life, before the last of the lost Primarch’s were found, it was a common for the XIVth to bear the Emperor’s wishes to other Imperial Forces, even the other Legions as they spread out across the new-born Imperium. Though this practice has long since faded into obscurity as more of the lost twenty were found, the Palatine Wings still retained a measure of this trust placed in them by the Emperor, and were recognised across the Imperium as vessel’s of his will. When Bartosz was finally found and united with his Legion, the Primarch was proud that his sons had taken to their duty with humility, rather than pride, vowing to uphold this tradition even as he wrought his own changes through the XIVth.

#### The Boeotian Conflict

Boeotia was a nation of ancient Terra that had resisted true unity with the rest of the Imperium of man, staving off full absorption for decades even after all others had fallen, tacitly recognizing the Emperor's dominance, the ruling monarchy of Boeotia used all manner of diplomacy in order to avoid losing power. In a show of great patience and benevolence, the Emperor allowed the ruling family of Boeotia - the Yeselti - to carry on like this for over 150 years, with the intention that they would integrate themselves into unified Imperial Terra at their own speed and with as much dignity as possible.

Eventually however, after a century and a half had passed, the Emperor had finally reached the end of his patience, declaring that the Yeselti’s independence was at an end. At first, only the Imperial Army was selected for this task, led by Commander Selud of the Tupelov Lancers, before finally, a force of Legiones Astartes of the Palatine Wings were assigned to quash the truculent little state.

The campaign to seize the Boeotian citadel took around six weeks. In their final stages of resistance, the rebel defenders mined a massive refinery complex, the detonation of which by the Imperial invaders resulted in a blaze that put out enough carcinogenic smoke and soot that the entire area was covered in deadly murk. Unprotected humans had to wear full-body protection gear as a result. The fall of the citadel was said to resemble a city made into a bonfire, lighting a sky darker than Old Night itself. The initial force sent to claim Boeotia was made up solely of Imperial Army forces, of which the Tupelov Lancers are the only regiment known to have actually been present, under the leadership of a Commander Selud. After six weeks and the loss of the refinery fields - both seen as critical errors - Selud was removed from command and control of the campaign assigned to the Palatine Wings Legiones Astartes for a quick finish. Soon, the nation state was brought to heel, the Yeselti bloodline wiped out, and finally, over a century after the Great Crusade had begun, the Unification Wars of Terra were brought to a final and indisputable end, the campaign being the only one in history to exist in both theatres of war simultaneously.

#### The War of Murder

As the 30th Millenia began to drawn to its end, the 140th Expeditionary Fleet of the Palatine Wings, under the command of Captain Tyrek Atwaal, discovered a world soon designated as one-forty-twenty, the twentieth planet brought into imperial compliance by the expeditionary fleet. Unable to translate the strange transmissions from the worlds orbiting satellites, Captain Atwaal ordered the fleet's entire contingent of three companies of Space Marines to begin landing operations to investigate and bring the planet into Imperial Compliance, whether through blood or through words remaining to be seen.

Those transports that went to the surface however were never seen again, storms on the planet's surface throwing the ships off course, sending dozens crashing to the ground in flames, all while cutting off vox traffic. Soon, the survivors of the crash landings came into contact with the world's inhabitants, an extremely hostile xenos known as the "Megarachnids", recovered unsent vox messages calling them too numerous and formidable to defeat with the force present. Only a single transmission made it off the surface, spoken by Captain Atwaal through clenched teeth;

"This. World. Is. Murder."

The fleet in orbit remained on station, transmitting a distress signal, the name of the world soon changing within the fleet, soon the world only being known as “Murder”, one-forty-twenty almost never mentioned.

Eventually, two forces came to the aid of the 140th Expeditionary Fleet, forces of both the Palatine Wings, lead by Legion Master Surag Genden, and the Watchers of Akhet, led by the Primarch Khnum Anhuret himself arriving to bring war to the planet of Murder.

Forewarned by the mortal survivors of the 140th fleet, the small scale landing party did not make the same mistakes as those who had landed before them, but were still buffeted by the planets powerful atmospheric disturbances. While the force took heavy casualties, one landing party led by First Captain Pihorna of the Watchers discovered a large rock-like structure that resembled a dead tree. This "tree" had the bodies of several Palatine Wings Space Marines impaled on its many branches with flying variants of the Megarachnids feasting upon the bodies. After destroying the structure, the sky above where the "tree" had been suddenly began to clear of the violent storms that had afflicted the Imperial forces from the beginning. Captain Pihorna realized that these structures were actually artificial weather control devices that were responsible for Murder's heavy atmospheric turbulence.

The Megarachnids immediately went about rebuilding the "tree" and sent hundreds of warriors to slaughter the last few Watchers of Akhet Astartes remaining. But just as the Space Marines were about to be overwhelmed, the power of the three assembled fleets above the world opened up, using the clearing in the storm to deliver not only pinpoint accurate orbital bombardments, but reinforcements, Khnum leading the forces of both legions scattering the Megarachnids and launching a full-scale assault on the hostile xenos of Murder in earnest.

Led by a Primarch, the Watchers and Palatine Wings, alongside several thousand Imperial Army soldiers and several supporting titans proceeded to level entire swathes of the grass stalk forests and destroy every one of the "trees" they encountered, which steadily eroded Murder's atmospheric barrier. Khnum, who was now commanding the Imperial assault from his flagship in orbit after the initial victory on the ground, was very pleased with the progress being made. Some consideration had been paid to initiating a withdrawal from Murder now that a proper landing zone was available to allow an easy extraction of the troops, but Surag had outright refused, making it clear that the Palatine Wings would not allow such a foe to live after the deaths of their comrades, regardless of the order Khnum himself may have given.

As such, the war continued to drag on, Khnum returning to the surface to oversee the campaign in person. Thousands of Megarachnids poured out of the forests and canyons of Murder in an endless wave. Despite never retreating from the Imperial assault, the Megarachnids only continued to lose ground. By the sixth month of the campaign it seemed the Megarachnids would soon face extinction, were it not for the arrival of an unexpected third party, led by someone the XIVth knew all to well, despite never having laid eyes upon him.

The Megarachnids had been saved from extinction for a second time by their old enemy, the Palatine Wings going on to uphold the sanctuary world despite their personal misgivings. Imperial records do not indicate the final fate of this savage species once the Almire Apostasy began.

#### Bartosz

The XIVth Legion of Astartes, as with all their kind, owed their genetic heritage to a singular being of unimaginable power compared to mortal men, in this case the Primarch who would later be known as Bartosz. When the Imperium was but a dream and Terra still stood divided, these infant Primarch’s, gene-children of the Emperor himself, were stolen from their place of creation, scattered across the galaxy by the designs of the Ruinous Powers of Chaos.

This first brush with chaos sealed the fate of nearly half their number, and doomed the Imperium before it even began, though none would know this until it was far too late., when the Almire Apostasy engulfed the galaxy. When the XIVth Primarch was cast from the Emperor, his gestation pod drifted for an eon and no time at all, tumbling through the warp out of control, cutting through time itself, before finally, it was plucked from the roiling tides by an advanced civilisation known as “The Interex”.

A people of vast intellect, compassion and scientific enlightenment, the Interex quickly identified that the pod this gene-wrought child had been found in was from an advanced culture of its own, indeed eclipsing even the greatest examples of their own technology.  After much deliberation it was decided that the child and his manner of arrival showed unequivocally that there were still other bastions of humanity at a comparable or even an advanced level of development within the universe. The child was a direct link to these people and so the Interex vowed to raise him to the best of their abilities, naming him Bartosz and preparing him to act as an envoy to a people he had never met for a foreign empire he now called his home.

As Bartosz’s name spread across the five hundred worlds of the Interex Empire, both for what he represented and for his ever-growing skills in almost anything he set his mind too. First put down the route of the diplomat, Bartosz devoured all of the Interexine knowledge of the subject, studying beside both humans and xenos in these times. Soon however he had outgrown his teachers in both stature and knowledge, no longer simply an envoy, but a respected member of the Interex’s government in his own right.

Soon, the pressures on the Interex’s borders began to grow, and Bartosz was subtly pushed towards closer and closer to the military, his skills in warfare evident even if he did not wish to develop them as much as his peacetime pursuits. Soon however, Bartosz found himself in a position of command within the Interexine Military, holding political and military office with equal skill. It was Bartosz and his command who first came into contact with the scourge known as the Megarachnids, the skills of the young Primarch allowing him and much of his command to slip free from the deadly ambush and bring word back to the rest of the Empire.

Distinguishing himself throughout the war that errupted soon after the first contact, Bartosz found himself not merely leading a small part of the military, but the entirety of it, leading the campaign to stop the scourge that had already devoured six worlds and was threatening to spill out of control. Finally, after years of brutal and unrelenting fighting, Bartosz and his warriors broke the back of the swarm in a final, brutal battle that saw tens of thousands of Interex dead, with millions of Megarachnids slain for their efforts, Bartosz himself slaying the swarms leader, a being identified as “Grand Empress Shaseek'az”.

Without this single overbearing presence, the Megarachnids cohesion was broken, easy prey for the Interex warfleets who now had the advantage over their foe. It would have been easy to wipe out the creatures, the Interex easily capable of carrying out the xenocide, but here, the enlightened empire halted, Bartosz decreeing that despite their warlike nature, it was not the Interex’s right to wipe them from the face of the galaxy. Indeed, with the Grand Empress slain, the race could potentially begin again, evolving into less aggressive creatures.

This idea was not met with universal acceptance, Bartosz receiving a lot of push back from within the Empire from those who wished to secure their border with a more permanent solution. This rift was only solved when Bartosz began a new campaign, this time political rather than military, to oust the current Prime Designate of the Empire and assume the role himself. Preaching peace, compassion and hailed as a war-hero, Bartosz won the election by a landslide, and with the power of the Prime Designate at his disposal, he implemented his plan.

The world of Urisarach, where the final battle had taken place, would be designated as a sanctuary world for the few surviving members of the swarm. Their ability to create space-faring technology was stripped from them, while in orbit a vast net of listening posts and security broadcasters were set up, all attempts made to ensure the Megarachnids would be left in peace, and that no fool would land upon their world and unleash the swarm once more.

Years passed, Bartosz soon becoming the longest sitting Prime Designate in the empire’s history, ruling, though somewhat reluctantly, with a preternatural skill. Eventually however, news reached Bartosz that the security net of Urisarach had been breached, someone breaking the quarantine and either landing on the planet or lifting off from it.

Mustering a war fleet to rival that he had commanded during the war, Bartosz and the fleet set sail, prepared to combat the swarm once more if they had been the one to break the cordon, or to parley with another space faring civilisation if it was an unwitting mistake. As it happened it was the latter, a mighty warfleet hanging above Urisarach as they poured fire and troops onto its surface to combat the swarms. No mere humans commanded this fleet however, super-human warriors leading the charge, led by one who had almost no equals within the galaxy. Thus did the Imperium and the Interex make first contact, Bartosz reunited with his creator. The coming of the Emperor however did not trigger peace, blood following swiftly in his wake.

#### The Interexine Conflict

In the wake of first contact between the Interex and the Imperium, Khnum and his sons, as well as Bartosz’s own sons, were made guests within the Interx’s empire, travelling to the world of Xenobia as the call was put out across the Imperium for the scions of the XIVth to travel to meet their newfound lord. Khnum and Bartosz spent much time together in those days, speaking on the new galaxy that lay ahead of Bartosz, but all that soon changed, as the Emperor of Mankind himself arrived.

Within days, Khnum and the Watchers had been dismissed, sent to aid in the muster the Imperial Justicars had requested, joining the Star Guardians for the strike against the Colossalstructure. Left with the Emperor, rather than merely a Primarch, the talks between empires took a turn for the worse. Within the Emperor’s personal Flagship, Bartosz met with his Father, kneeling before the golden giant with true tears in his eyes. The Emperor however had not come to greet his son alone. He bade Bartosz tell him all of what the Interex would offer, listening intently as Bartosz spoke of the merits of coexistence with xenos, and the dangers of Kaos, something he had kept from Khnum, but could not hold back from the most powerful psychic being in existence, any secret he may have kept spilling from his lips unbidden, Bartosz not even registering the powers commanding him to speak freely.

Throughout everything, the Emperor listened with a stoney face, the threat the Interex presented to his ultimate designs becoming clear as Bartosz continued to speak. Chaos could not become common knowledge in the Imperium, nor could coexistence with xenos, for that would lead to a return to the Age of Strife. For any other, Bartosz’s impassioned words would likely have swayed the listener, but the Emperor instead made his own decree.

With unmatched powers, the Emperor scoured Bartosz’s mind, locking all memory of Kaos away from his son, ensuring he could never recall what he had learnt and could never use it to threaten the stability of the Imperium, even unwittingly. Beyond this, the Emperor commanded Bartosz to take steps to ensure the rest of the Interex would not become a threat, speaking of the true, duplicitous nature of xenos and their fickle alliances or long term plans. Forgoing the use of a silver tongue, simply dominating the primarch’s mind and bending him to his will, Bartosz was tasked with wiping out his own people.

Bartosz fought the order, even through the Emperor’s immense mental powers, but it was a fight he could never win. Soon, the Primarch had no choice but to agree, returning to his newly gathered Legion and giving the order. Using his position within the Interex, Bartosz ordered the Interexine fleet in its entirety to the Xenobia system, waiting for them to muster, before annihilating them wholesale, an act that would one day be played out almost perfectly in reverse in orbit of Istvaan V in a grand display of cosmic irony.

The Interex Empire reeled at this sudden turn of events, their fleet all but destroyed, and their warriors now cut off and struggling to stem the tide of the Palatine Wings. The war was hard fought on both sides, but there was never any real doubt about who the victor would be. For every move the Interex made, Bartosz already knew it, combining Interex and Imperial tactics to counter everything his own people could attempt. Though the records of those days are now sealed away from all, save the Emperor and Malcador, whispers state that for years as the compliance took place, Bartosz did not utter a single word, leading his Legion, but not truly speaking to them. Surag was the only one he seemed to form any bond to at first, but even that was cold and distant.

Finally, the last world fell silent, the world of Niurus falling before the XIVth. Here, upon its blasted surface, Bartosz knelt silently before the Emperor, his Father extolled his victory, granting him the honour of continuing to utilise his Cen’arus even as part of the Imperium. The compliance completed, the Emperor and the Ist Expeditionary Fleet left Interex space, Imperial colonists already beginning to settle the outermost worlds of the now dead empire.

The Palatine Fleet did not leave the empire however, instead travelling to the world of Murder, its Interexine name now fallen from common tongue. From here, the Legion split and travelled out into the galaxy again, all save the chosen core of the Legion, Surag and his warband remaining, waiting for their lord to break his silence and give them a new cause to fight for. No orders came, and for months the warriors of the XIVth hung in the void over a world teeming with life that wished nothing more than to kill those above. Many within the force assumed Bartosz had brought them here to purge the last remnant of their foe, but Bartosz refused to even give voice on that, his sons going mad with inaction, wishing simply for guidance.

But what guidance could Bartosz give? He was a hollow man, he had nothing to build himself upon anew. The Emperor’s mental intrusion, unknown to Bartosz himself, had robbed him of his surety of purpose, and without guidance, he was lost as surely as a ship without a Navigator.

Then finally, aid arrived in the form of the Sunstone King. Fresh from the battle of the Colossalstructure, Khnum returned to the empire he had left, assuming he would merely continue the discussions with Bartosz, exploring more of his brothers people before continuing the Crusade once more. What he found were dead worlds, something had burnt the Empire, root and stem, and as more and more worlds were revealed to be dead, Khnum’s own fears rose, a feeling of dread overtaking the first Primarch. What could have destroyed such an Empire? What had become of their mighty fleet and armies? And most importantly, where was his brother and his Legion?

More and more worlds showed as dead, Khnum sure that some terrible scourge was burning through the Imperium, potentially remnants of the Rangdan hordes, their kind already almost claiming multiple Legions in the third xenocide. Then finally, Khnum arrived at Murder, and the truth began to shine through. Welcomed aboard by the Palatine Wings, Khnum was rushed to his brothers quarters, finding the Primarch unmoving as he merely listened to the last scraps of the Aria that had been saved. Now though, with a brother by his side pressing for answers, Bartosz could hold his composure no more, breaking down as the weight of his sins crashed down upon him, threatening to kill the Primarch as readily as any bullet.

For hours, Khnum listened as Bartosz wept, before finally coming to something of an arrangement. Bartosz needed aid, and his Legion needed to move forward. They would fight alongside the I Legion, while Khnum sought to give Bartosz a new foundation to build himself on. Though it took years, Khnum was eventually successful, Bartosz finding new purpose as his sons did, in full, unrestrained service to the Imperium, through diplomacy rather than strength of arms. In the months before Artellion, the Primarch of the XIVth would finally be left to stand alone once more, conducting his first compliance alone since the Interex Empire.

#### The Darkest Brother

Striking out for the first time since the Interexine First Contact War, Bartosz led his Warband of Palatine Wings into the darkness of unknown space, outwardly sure of his purpose thanks to the bolstering of Khnum, but still reeling internally from the destruction of all he had once known, all he had held dear. Bartosz did not just desire a bloodless compliance, a true victory to strengthen the foundations Khnum had set in place, he needed one with all his hearts. Fate however was ever the cruel mistress, a different path lying ahead of him, leading the newly consecrated 949th Expeditionary World Imperial Sagittarius to the world of Nine Forty Ninth one.

Entering the systems edge, Bartosz and his command quickly found the world the pathfinders of the Sirens of Kastar and their Rogue Trader allies had spoken of, an advanced world ready to take their first step into the void, either alone, or under the banner of the Imperium. The people who resided there were stubborn, but they were not fools, they knew militarily they were no match for the Imperial forces occupying the heavens, and so they openly received the diplomatic envoys of the 949th, Bartosz travelling to the world with his closest bodyguards and a cadre of Iterators.

For months on end the talks continued, despite the fact that the Warband Bartosz had at his command could have routed the world’s defenders within hours if they had been so inclined. Bartosz would not give the order, no matter how much his council tried to impress upon him that the diplomacy was a farce. Bartosz would not wipe out another people if there was even a chance for a peaceful resolution, no matter how slim, and yet every time they neared the finish, the people of the world moved their goal post, requiring more and more from the Imperium, despite having very little to offer in return.

Then, when the diplomatic proceedings reached their fourth month, the warp opened, and spat forward the Hounds of the Imperium, Surmah himself opening a channel to Bartosz and 949-1. Surmah had long watched the Palatine Lord, during his time with the Watchers and his time on 949-1, and was disgusted by what he had seen, weakness unbecoming of one of his genetic brothers. Soon, Surmah landed on the world with his own guard in tow, not asking or demanding entrance into the ongoing diplomatic talks, merely walking in unbidden, despite the demands he halt by the palace guards. They would have been within their rights to shoot him, but terror rolled off Surmah in a way only one other of the pantheon could eclipse, staying the mortals hand.

Upon entry, Surmah remained silent, refusing to answer questions put to him, waiting for the talks to continue. When they finally did, though wary of the new entry in their midst, it became clear to the Hound of the Moors what was happening on the world, and what the leadership were doing.

With a calm, almost detached slowness, Surmah walked forward, grasping the leader of the world in a single claw, lifting him off the floor with no effort at all. His sons moved forward with a lightning gait that caught Bartosz and his sons off guard, many of whom had their weapons sheathed, not expecting violence. As Bartosz and his sons surged forward, Bartosz demanding his brother release the humans, Surmah merely smiled, showing far too many teeth to be comforting, before uttering a single word.

“Begin.”

With a blinding flash of light, Surmah and his men disappeared from the room, teleporting away with their captives in tow, the rest of the XXth descending to enact their lords will. They were not here to peacefully occupy the world, the Hounds unleashing their fury across the planet, sadistically cutting down all who stood before them, soldier and civilian alike. The leadership had believed themselves above the Imperium, the Hounds would show them the folly of their actions in the blood of those who looked to them for guidance.

Bartosz was not know for rage, but as the massacre began to unfold, his vision ran red, images of the Interex filling his mind, more failures adding to his guilt with the sound of every bolt shell discharging or chain weapon revving. Barking orders into his vox, Bartosz broke into a gallop, his guard unable to match the speed of his cen’arus on foot and soon losing sight of the Imperial Sagittar. The 949th quickly reacted, dispatching their own warriors to the surface, Palatine Wings and human auxilia forces rushing into the city, creating safe zones from the vengeful Hounds, ships flying to evacuate those within as quickly as they were able, none trusting the Hounds to not press against these barricades despite being held by Imperial forces.

Hours passed as the planet began to resemble a charnel house, but for every civilian slaughtered by Surmah’s Hounds, the Palatine Wings rescued one themselves to the safety of the 949th Expeditionary Fleet, or what remained of the planetary defence fleet, now encircled by Bartosz’s ships, kept safe from the guns of the XXth. Soon, the battle was over, the planet scoured clean of all life, bodies piled in the streets and left to rot while streets ran red with blood. Bartosz could scarcely believe his eyes at the senseless slaughter, but the day was not over yet. Unbidden, Surmah landed in the hangar bays of the 949th flagship, brazenly walking aboard, as if daring the XIVth to try and stop them. Other Legions likely would have barred their path, but the Palatine allowed Surmah passage, even as they fought to contain their own rage at those the Hound of the Moors brought with him.

The leaders of the world followed the Primarch of the XXth, shackled and beaten, their bodies already looking as though they had been tortured for weeks, not hours. Their eyes were hollow from being forced to watch the death of their homeworld, already cowed and shuffling behind Surmah like defeated men.

What happened on the bridge of the vessel, none within the XIVth will speak about. Those things that are known however speak of how Surmah left soon afterwards, those he dragged behind him now no longer in tow. None on the bridge speak of the incident, but it is said the smell of blood never truly left the ship, Bartosz taking another to carry his flag beyond that day, unable to set foot upon what had turned into another failure, one that was marking the sire of the Palatine Wings heavily, in his own eyes and in the eyes of the Imperium.

#### The Iterators

In the wake of the Great Feast and all that transpired, Bartosz and his warband, alongside Artellion of the XVth Legions and Lu Yueh of the IInd travelled to Terra alongside the Emperor, the nineteenth and twenty found sons setting eyes upon the homeworld for the first time in the weeks that followed.

Here, Bartosz climbed the stairs of the mighty tower of Astartes, as all his brothers had done before him. Here, Bartosz once again knelt before the Emperor of Mankind, pledging his loyalty to the Emperor, and to his Imperium. Bartosz never once met the Emperor’s eyes in that time, unable to look upon the being who had ordered him to wipe out his own family, Bartosz still unknowing of the psychic compulsion that the Emperor had exerted upon him that day. When the Emperor finally bade Bartosz to rise, the pledge complete, Bartosz left without a world, the pair only to see each other twice more within the Great Crusade, once at Ullanor, and once at Nikaea. This lack of contact with the Emperor suited Bartosz just fine, and soon, Bartosz found himself wandering alone through the Imperial palace, guided by some unseen path to the Hall of Iterators itself. Without a word, Bartosz stepped inside the halls, and there undertook the training of their elite cadre.

It is said that one man in a thousand might become a Legion warrior, but only in a hundred thousand is fit to be an Iterator. Bartosz was one of those hundred thousand, boasting gifts that even Lorgar could not lay claim too. To be an Iterator, a person had to have certain rare gifts that belied simple physical or genetic enhancement, something all of the Primarch’s boasted in abundance, just as all of the pantheon were tutored in history, ethics, politics and rhetoric. But to be an iterator was more than simply being taught how to express a line of thought he or she had learned, it was knowing how to think, how to speak with fire and passion on all sides of the business of persuasion, and it was this that Bartosz took to like no other of his kind.

When Bartosz finally left the throneworld, he did so with the visage of a man with true purpose once more. Khnum had provided him the basis of what he had become, but the Iterators had given him the tools to do so once more. On board the newly finished *Purest Intent*, fresh from the Jovian shipyards, Bartosz and the cadre of Iterators he now ensured remained close by began to make plans to bolster the Archive Chambers of the vessel, ensuring that any scrap of knowledge, be they from hololiths and dataslates left over from the dark age of technology, or from ancient books from ancient Terra’s past, that could aid Bartosz’s new goal of peaceful compliance. By the time of the Istvaan massacre, the archives on the *Purest Intent* were some of the greatest in the entire Imperium, many of the Palatine Wings legionaries spending time within, listening to the tutorials Bartosz’s Iterators held to educate them in all aspects of human knowledge for the glorious day when the Great Crusade at last came to its end and peace reigned across the Emperor's vast realm.

#### The Time of Ullanor

As Legions were brought into place to combat the Orks of Ullanor, the Palatine Wings predictably stepped into the breach once more, plugging gaps left by the Blight Wardens, Star Guardians, War Bears and Imperial Justicars. The casualties in the scant few weeks was astronomical, tens of thousands of Palatine Wings perishing as they attmpted to hold lines that had been held by some of the consumate siege legions, and yet these losses were absorbed, the line was held, and in some places, the flood of new warriors created new breaches, Imperial Forces surging forward as they smashed aside foes in the name of the Emperor and the Imperial Sagittarius.

####  The Triumph of Ullanor

    The Orks of Ullanor represented the largest concentration of Greenskins ever defeated by the military forces of the Imperium of Man, one not to be rivalled for millenia, and as such, upon their defeat, the Emperor of Mankind declared a great triumph, over half of the Primarch’s managing to reach the Ullanor system in time. The mechanicum laboured for weeks, rendering the entirety of Ullanor Primes greatest mountain range flat and paved, save for a single dais, preparing for a military parade the scale of which had never been seen. Millions, if not billions of soldiers, mortal, augmented and transhuman alike, would march past in celebration of the greatest victory, looking to the Dais where the Emperor stood alongside the Primarch’s.

As the parade finally ended, the arrayed soldiers now turned to face the dais, great vid-monitor screens showing the Emperor and the Primarch's, all waiting with baited breath for what came next after this, surely the High Point of the Great Crusade. They did not have long to wait, the Master of Mankind giving voice to his great plas that would one day shake the Imperium to its very core, though none yet knew it. He would return to Terra soon, though for what reason he did not say and in his stead, Almire, undisputed hero of the Ullanor Crusade, was named as Warmaster, the commander-in-chief of all the Emperor's armies who possessed command authority over all of the other Primarchs and every Expeditionary Fleet of the Great Crusade, long regarded as the First among Equals, now uniquivicolly raised to such a position in name as well as spirit.

For a moment, the world seemed to stand silent, before Bartosz himself dropping to one knee of his Cen'arus warframe, bowing his head before his brother, already first among equals, now raised to be equal no more. Like a damn breaking, the world erupted in cheers and cries of adulation. Millions of voices raised to celebrate the naming of the Warmaster, the Emperor’s own departure all but forgotten for the time being. Unnumbered human warriors would be deafened that day, their eardrums rupturing with the sheer number of voices joined in chorus, but all who suffered said they would gladly do so again.

Eventually, the cheers died away, the Emperor making one more proclamation before moving for Terra. The Imperium’s heart was to be secured fully, against any interloper that would dare to believe itself the equal of the Empire of man. In this, there could be only one to oversee the defences, Shaaa Hydrades being named as the Praetorian on Terra. While Almire would have undisputed command of the crusade, Shaaa would be given unprecedented authority within the Sol system itself, the better to protect the Emperor’s secretive project.

The cheers were lesser this time, almost infinitely so, Shaaa’s scowl remaining until the cheers died away for a second time. The Triumph so concluded, the muster made to disperse, Bartosz remaining only long enough to congratulate both Almire and Shaaa, before returning to the Triglav, his legion moving out of their positions as the original legions who held those lines returned, even as more Palatine Wings spent their lives to finish the last of the Star Guardians campaigns.

####  The Council of Nikaea

The Council of Nikaea was a great Imperial conclave called by the Emperor of Mankind in 001.M31 on the world of Nikaea in the midst of the Great Crusade that was intended to determine whether or not the use of psychic powers represented a boon or a grave danger to Mankind and the newborn Imperium of Man. When the conclave was called, Bartosz made all haste to reach the world of Nikaea in time, travelling with the full might of the Jarog in toe, his own legions psychic warriors, only he and Surag Genden not possessing the psychic gift from the XIVth Present.

    Ultimately the existence of psykers in the Imperium was sanctioned but tightly restricted under centralised Imperial control. The potent and unrestricted use of psychic abilities that was defined as "sorcery" -- bargaining for power with the entities that existed within the Warp -- was officially banned. Unbeknownst to all, many would continue to practice the art of both psychic and sorceress abilities in secret, their Primarch’s continuing to train their sons, or turning a blind eye to the practice within their own legion led by another. Curiously, Camelous, the Invictii, Master of  the Dragon Lords and the strongest Psyker in the entire Imperium save the Emperor himself and perhaps his aide, Malcador, did nothing to disobey his father, instead accepting the decree, forcing his legion to give up their most potent weapon, even as he continued to push them as hard as before, their casualty rates spiking as a result.

Though it pained Bartosz no end, he complied without complaint with this newest edict, stripping the Jarog of their Warp Shunt packs and decreeing they would remain as part of the Triglav, but as a simple line company, no longer to utilise their powers even if it meant their death. Not all were so willing, and many a Palatine Wing was brought to heel by the newly instituted Chaplaincy, their kind brutally ensuring the Emperor's words were heeded.

#### The Dead of Ashkhelon

This particular campaign was one of the few documented during the Palatine Wings Legion's involvement in the latter stages of the Great Crusade, many of their campaigns remaining unremarked due to their second line or reinforcing nature. The campaign was a relatively brief but extremely brutal affair which took place on the world of Ashkhelon III in a star system of the same name in the Ultima Segmentum, close by what is known as the Golgothan Expanse. Discovered by an Imperial Expeditionary Fleet of the Great Crusade, the people of Ashkhelon gratefully welcomed the Imperial emissaries and were rapidly brought into Imperial Compliance. A coterie of Magi from the Forge World of Ryza were despatched to the newly Compliant world. Over several solar decades, the Mechanicum Tech-priests helped Ashkhelon to become a working cog in the vast machine of the ever-expanding Imperium. But tragedy soon struck, when the Magi inadvertently awakened a long forgotten evil from the bygone era of Old Night. Before disappearing, a secret Mechanicum astropathic missive had been sent into the æther, which contained only the memetic symbol-forms for two words, translated to the common Imperial Gothic tongue as "Heretek Omega." In the parlance of the Omnissiah, this was a dire warning of having encountered a sin of the Dark Age of Technology; a human-made horror which could not be allowed to continue to exist. In response, multiple formations of the Palatine Wings were called in, their proximity to the world making them the most expidient choice. Soon, a joint force was pulled together, comprising of the 6th Brotherhood, 7th Sky Corps, 41st Brotherhood, 181st Armoured Cluster and the 59th Company, known for the length of the battle as the 6th Warband. The 6th Warband, led by War Leader Laereas Drancus, deployed alonside a Mechanicum war-barque despatched from Mars by the Fabricator-General himself. The two forces descended to the surface of the planet, where they quickly discovered that despite the obvious signs of violence, there were no bodies whatsoever. But soon, the Imperial forces were beset upon by creatures from beneath the surface of the planet that were revealed to be no mere beasts of flesh and blood, but a mechanism, things of false life, neither Servitor nor Automata as the Imperium reckoned them. They were creatures akin to them, grown and spliced into frames of hydraulics and gears, and pulsing with unnatural life. While the battle raged upon the surface, several of the Palatine Wings, alongside their Mechanicum allies, made their way into the darkness below. Here at last they discovered the fate of the dead of Ashkhelon, where they were stacked neatly in red-weeping alcoves by the tens of thousands, in vault after vault with no rhyme or reason other than that they had been placed there carefully. It was as the Palatine Wings breached a final chamber that they encountered the foul presence of the thing that controlled the lesser creatures still attacking their forces upon the surface -- it was a Silica Animus, the blasphemy of a true, thinking machine-mind. Through the combined efforts of Ryza's Sicarian Ruststalkers and the Palatine Wings, the Silica Animus' corporeal form was destroyed. Its machine-creatures, mere extensions of a single false life and inhuman will, then also perished, just as the body of a serpent dies when the head is struck off. The dead of Ashkhelon had been avenged, and a nightmare of ages past had been destroyed. From orbit, the two flagships of both the 6th Warband, the *Void Walker* and the Mechanicum war-barque *Axiom of Trinity*, levelled every standing structure and hammered the sub-surface vaults into collapse. Ashkhelon was deemed a forbidden and Dead World to which humanity must never return.

### The Almire Apostasy

#### The Istvaan Massacre

In M31.055, the XIVth Legion was ordered to muster by the Warmaster Almire, a near unprecedented event for a legion as spread out as the Palatine Wings were, and yet nonetheless heeded to as if the words had sprung from the Emperor himself. Soon, much of his legion was gathered in the Istvaan system, some three hundred thousand warrior, those left within the galaxy unable to break away from their own campaigns to reach the muster.

It was a force that could shatter entire empire’s without breaking a sweat, and yet this was not Almire' goal for mustering the XIVth. Unbeknownst to Bartosz, the Warmaster no longer called the Emperor his master, and as the Imperial Sagittarius prepared for whatever mission Almire had for him, two other legions sped towards Istvaan, a very different goal in their minds.

Through a great tear at the edge of the system, the fleets of the Blight Wardens and Brothers Encarmine screamed from the warp, making all speed for the rendezvous points. Within a week, the three fleets had merged, the Fènnù zhi Zi, The God of War and The Goddess of Love, the Brothers twinned Gloriana’s, taking up positions throughout the Palatine Fleet, flanking the mighty form of The *Purest Intent*. Bartosz, eager to see the faces of his brothers, hailed the three ships, only to be met with the static of vox jammers. Before any could fathom what this could mean, the void erupted in fire as both the IInd and XIIth opened fire on the unprepared XIVth.

Lu Yueh and the twins had planned their ruse to perfection, their ships already in the optimum firing positions with their shields idling just below detectable levels. When the trap was sprung, the Palatine Wings stood no chance, dozens of ships and thousands of Astartes dying within a matter of moments. Even the *Purest Intent*, mightiest of the XIVth’s warships, could not survive the barragers delivered by two of her own kind,boarding pods slamming home alongside punishing broadsides that threatened to break the vessel apart, Bartosz ordering the evacuation as decades of XIVth history was destroyed.

Fleeing for the planet below, the shattered XIVth fought to re-establish communications through the vox-jammers the IInd and XIIth were still deploying, even as the skies themselves rained fire and death, drop-pods crashing down from both of the treasonous legions. Where the Blight Wardens landed, great clouds of toxic gas of near impossible veracity billowed before them, choking the noble warriors of the Palatine Wings while the Blight Wardens strode forth unharmed, their armour sealed and proof against such an attack. Elsewhere, the Brothers Encarmine landed, their warriors cutting down the Palatine Wings as they fought to re-establish some semblance of order.

It was a noble attempt, and some of their efforts bore fruit. Under the command of Skycaptain Danel Rasna a large force of Palatine Wings, thousands strong, managed to fight their way free of the planet, breaking orbit and retreating from the system, but they were an exception, and thousands more perished in the black sands of Istvaan V.

Lu Yueh and the Twins of Love and War however cared little for the killing of Astartes, both descending to the world in search of a greater prize; Bartosz himself. Lu Yueh found his brother first, the pair quickly coming to blows, though Lu Yueh was not looking to kill, but a far more nefarious goal; to capture and hold his loyalist brother. In this, he was partially successful, one of his many servo-arms snaking out as the pair fought, striking Bartosz and delivering a toxin powerful enough to slow even a Primarch. Weakened, Bartosz fell back from the duel, only to run straight into Vinicius and Euphrano, the Geminius twins.

The Twins had always been regarded as some of the better fighters within the Primarch’s pantheon, while Bartosz had always been a lesser warrior, and as such the fight would never have been an equal one even. Now however, the pair barely broke a sweat, Bartosz fighting the poison in his own veins and the anguish in his mind as much as the warriors before him. In short order he was driven back, cuts opening across his body, the twins treating the battle like a game, purposely dragging out the conflict as they first robbed Bartosz of his Interexine warframe and then his spear, the weapons teleportation matrix malfunctioning as the twins struck, leaving the Primarch truly defenceless.

Lu Yueh arrived as the fight was nearing his climax, and with a hollow cry to wait, watched on as a trident was forced through Bartosz’s chest, a split second before the second twin spun, deftly cutting Bartosz’s head from his shoulders.

As Bartosz’s corpse fell to the floor, the remaining Palatine Wings who bore witness to their lords fall surged forward with a cry of rage, uncharacteristic of their legion. The sudden surge hit the traitors line like a macro-cannon shot, forcing them back for a moment as they sought to claim the body of their lord, but they were too few, and the traitors too many, the three Primarch’s stepping forward to bolster the line, facing the onrushing legionnaires and hurling them back for the final time. The battle had been decided, thousands of Palatine Wings falling to the blades of traitors as they fought to reach those few landing ships they had left, fleeing to orbit and the tattered remains of the Palatine fleet, throwing caution to the wind as they fled the system in blind jumps, scattering themselves across the galaxy.

The victory was a great one for the traitorous forces, the largest of the Emperor’s legions, and one of the chief obstacles that stood in the way of Almire, was no more. Hundreds of thousands of Astartes lying dead within the Urgall Depression or frozen in the void above as the shattered remnants retreated into the stars. The plundering that took place in the wake of the conflict was great, the Twins seizing the *Purest Intent* and sending it to the Ring to aid in the Siege that had erupted there, while Lu Yueh took a greater prize, the corpse of Bartosz being spirited away to the Blight Wardens flagship. Even those warriors who had not been present in great numbers had their parts to play, mystics from the Hounds of Surmah, XXth Legion and the first to taste the truth of chaos, conducting a huge ritual upon the world, using the multitudinous dead to bring forth the beginnings of a great Ruinstorm to cut the loyalists off from one another, each death within the war only serving to fuel the mighty storm.

The looting done, the traitors split once more, holding close to Almire’s plans for them. As the Brothers Encarmine struck towards the road to Terra, Lu Yueh retired to his own ship, intent on learning all he could from the corpse of his brother, an opportunity denied him twice before, now lying open before him.

Bartosz however was not Sanguinius or Lorgar, and this was not the first time he had faced death. Though he knew not how he did it, the Primarch of the XIVth Legion burst back into life, breaking free from the laboratory as he caught Lu Yueh and his medical staff completely by surprise, the impossibility of the act shocking all who saw it. The escape attempt was short lived however, Bartosz confused, half mad and without armour or weapons, sealed inside the secure wing of the Fènnù zhi Zi.

Though it took close to an hour, Bartosz soon tired, collapsing as he sought to escape, dragged back to Lu Yueh’s laboratory and secured as any other live specimen would be. Lu Yueh did not pretend to understand what had happened as he prepared to examine his reborn brother, but he knew this must be kept a secret of the highest order, even from his own sons, only the highest of his legion knowing the truth surrounding Bartosz. The IInd Primarch’s mind was now aflame with the new possibilities he now held, the secrets to not only the Primarch’s, but immortality itself, now lay within his grasp.

#### The Rise of the Orcadians

Of all the Legions that remained loyal to the Imperium of Man during Almire’ betrayal, few suffered more than the XIVth Legion, and certainly none suffered as early on. In the void of the Istvaan system and on the black sands of Istvaan V, the Palatine Wings were slaughtered almost completely by the Blight Wardens and Brothers Encarmine. Three hundred thousand warriors mustered in the system, almost the entire Legion, but within a mere seven hours, they had been all but destroyed, scattered to the stars. Their fleet was broken, much of their equipment captured and geneseed stolen, but worst of all was the loss of a Primarch, Bartosz, the Imperial Sagittarius, was struck down upon the sands, murdered by the twin lords of the XIIth legion.

With one of his last commands, Bartosz realised the battle his Legion had found themselves embroiled in, more of a slaughter than a war, was lost, his Legion was to scatter to the stars. Some did so in a single ship, barely a dozen Astartes on board, others escaped in greater numbers, a chapter, led by four hundred Equus Hussars capturing a traitor Battleship and jumping from the system, but they were spread across the stars, the Warp becoming muddied as the Hounds of Surmah began to work their mighty ritual.

In the years that followed, no order would return to the Legion as a whole, even those fifty thousand who had not been at Istvaan fracturing, none managing to gain leadership across the Legion. Soon, warbands of varying strength were seen across the Imperium, some still bearing their colours proudly while others shrouded themselves in armour bereft of standard symbols. A few fell even further, working for no-one but themselves, the first of the Blackshields, the Orphans of War, attacking any targets on either side to achieve their own goals.

A few hundred reports would eventually be amassed in the wake of the Apostasy of all the actions taken by the XIVth, or believed to have been undertaken by those bearing their geneseed. Many were tales of glory, of loyal Astartes defying far larger forces with guile, harrying the Traitors and diverting support for other war zones. But for every tale of nobility, there was a dark story, quietly buried by the XIVth to mask their shame. Chief amongst these were stories concerning the newly risen ‘Orcadians’.

In view and body they were Astartes, but in mind they were a far cry from the warriors molded in Bartosz’s projected image. Instead, they were a true reflection of their Primarch, one no one knew about outside of the Legion, save for a single one of the Primarch’s brothers.

Bartosz was a being of guilt, a veneer of control stretched tight over his core throughout the Crusade. This had started long before the Imperium had found him, but had come to a head when Interexine and Imperial forces were flung against each other, Bartosz leading his new family against his old, breaking himself in the process. These feelings of guilt were repressed, only to resurface at 949-1, another failure adding to the ever growing list in Bartosz’s mind, always suppressed, his sons never knowing the torment beneath their father’s skin.

When Bartosz died, this dam was finally broken, a century of pent up grief, sorrow and rage spilling forth in a great psychic wave that affected the very geneseed of the XIVth. Soon, warriors began to fall victim to this curse, falling into an almost comatose state, the guilt of a being such as a Primarch too much for even an Astartes to handle. These warriors never moved without assistance, barely ate or slept, further depleting the ranks of the XIVth who could still fight. As the Apostasy wore on, more were affected by the curse, all at risk of its seemingly random kiss.

Eventually however, a second stage revealed itself. Suddenly the warriors would move beyond lethargic grief into a terrifying berserker drive to strike at those who had caused the slight. Bereft of all thought save to kill, these Orcadians were controlled only through the use of brutal shock implants or hastily constructed suits of prison armour fused shut by Techmarines. In between battles the Orcadians were hung in chains in the holds of the Palatine warships, foaming and screaming in impotent rage, until such time that they were released once again against the Traitor forces that had inflicted this curse upon their kind.

For five years the Legion continued in this way, no unity or common cause binding them together, each believing that they, and they alone, could fight the traitors in the most efficient way.Only in the wake of First Solar War did the Legion reform, flocking to the banner of Skyguard Captain Danel Rasna, a survivor of Istvaan V and well respected member of the old Legion. Respect was not enough to guarantee leadership anymore however, and he used something far greater, the warp route of the Blight Wardens fleet as they moved away from Terra, and a perfect time to strike back at one of the two legions who had caused the XIVth such suffering.

## Legion Organisation

### Great Crusade and Early Apostasy

More than any other legion, the XIVth ran their legion with little in the way of established formations or rank structures. Not for them was the extremely rigid and well defined warriors of the Star Guardians, or even the more flexible but still regimented Principia Belicosa. This was directly due to Bartosz’s views for the Palatine Wings, taking an extremely hands off approach to his legion, allowing his sons to govern themselves in all but the direst of situations. Only a few things were standardised throughout the legion, namely the ranks of Warleader, Master and Captain. Beyond this, everything was malleable.

The force under Master Laereas Drancus for example would have at one point been known as the 6th Chapter, numbering 10,000 warriors, but by the time of Ullanor was instead known as the 6th Brotherhood, and was known to be amongst the largest of the legions units, numbering some 30,000 warriors, as well as boasting an all but unheard of Destroyer Company in their ranks, something Bartosz despised, but had also never specifically prohibited.

By comparison, the 92nd Chapter was run along a completely different command structure, having been crusading by the highly regimented Solar Auxilia for many years, the force had moulded its own organisation to be easier to understand, squads, platoons, companies and battalions operating within the 6,000 warriors of the Chapter.

At the peak of legions organisational structure, barring the Triglav itself, were the warbands, each led by a Warleader. These were not permanent structures, and instead represented when two or more of the legions units came together to persecute a war. From their number, a single Warleader was chosen, a way to combat the sometimes incompatible rank structures of two Chapters. The warleader would have absolute command over all Palatine Wings assets in a given theatre, and would relinquish his command as soon as the campaign was concluded, the units splitting apart once more to continue upon their way.

It was this extremely flexibility that made the legion a logistical nightmare that even Khnum or Shaaa would have struggled to make full head or tail of without a full restructuring, but Bartosz allowed his legion to continue in organised chaos, content to only directly oversee his Triglav, and instead to let his sons run their own wars, only intervening when he directly had to.

#### The Triglav

While most of the **Palatine Wings** legion was already ordered and organised before the coming of Bartosz, many of the organisations already in place when their sire was found, Bartosz did implement some of his own changes to the legion, ensuring that they would run to his own desires.

After the splitting of the legions centralised command, giving Chapter masters near total autonomy to act as they wished with their warriors, the chief change was the implementation of the Triglav, Bartosz’ chosen Warriors. These would be the greatest of the Palatine, elevated to serve as Bartosz’ chosen sons, either to fight by his side or attached to other Chapters across the galaxy as the situation called.

At the top of this organisation was Bartosz himself, the Imperial Sagittarius, and now the namesake of the organisation, the Triglav, named after a trio of the highest peaks on the now desolate world of Xenobia, former home of of the Shining Son.

Beneath their Triglav, three organisations took root, some having their origins in the days before Bartosz, or even the days of the Silver Wings, while others were entirely new, created by Bartosz specifically to serve in his new order.

First and greatest amongst these were the Perundan, or in Gothic, the Equus Hussars, most outside of the legion knowing them by their common name rather than their official title. These were warriors picked out and elevated to stand as wardens within the legion, the greatest bodyguards the XIVth could create, and led by one of the greatest warriors in the Imperium, former Legion Master Surag Genden. For them, no method of warfare would be unknown; mastery in all forms, from piloting jetbikes all the way to deploying in the disliked Terminator Armour the XIVth usually avoided, eventually being granted almost sole access to the famed Equus Maxium, their common name changing to reflect this honour. To stand as a Hussar was to forever exempt a warrior from rising higher within the legion. Their lot was to serve, to protect those within the legion who did command, but never to replace them. It stood as a testament to the attitude of the XIVth that warriors would happily give up the chance at command for the honour of a lifetime of service under the Primarch’s right hand.

Beside these titans were the Svetovid, the aptly named Skyguard of the Silver Wings, and the last true vestiges of the old legion. While the Equus Hussars may have been regarded as masters in all forms of war, including piloting a jetbike, it was the Skyguard who were the undisputed lords of that method of war. Some of the greatest pilots within the legions were found within the ranks of the Svetovid, this prestige going to the warriors head almost universally, the warriors standing as the last remnant of the bragards of the old XIVth. Bartosz, and Surag before him, had allowed the unit to stand, their skill undeniably effective, and worth the deviation from the new order. In battle, the Skyguard are often the first to reach the foe, streaking past on their lightning pattern jetbikes, a might spear clasped in their hand. Though it is not a weapon suited for prolonged combat, the Skyguard are adept at breaking from combat, only to wheel around and strike once more, killing with deadly purpose.

Finally, the third head is comprised of the Jarog, smallest of the Triglav’s heads, and comprising potentially the most potent weapon within the XIVth; Psykers. While the other heads require the warriors to have shown aptitude above and beyond the rank and file, the Jarog, or the Warp Striders, took in any warrior with psychic potential, no matter their skill or connection to the other realm of the Warp. For a time, the Jarog merely served as a place for the Psykers to train, a Librarius as in any other legion, but after the liberation of the obscure and isolationist forge world of Selvanus Binary, a new technology was made available to the legion, one jealously guarded by the Forge World, even from Mars itself, Personal Teleporter Packs. Unstable and dangerous for use by any Astartes, the risk was lessened considerably by use with a psychic pilot, and in time, all psykers within the legion were trained in their use, bending their powers to safeguarding their jumps through the Warp. Few had the power to both protect themselves and to manifest more offensive psychic powers, the legion not producing Psykers as powerful as the vaunted XIXth, but the XIVth see this as an acceptable trade off, their warriors appearing in a flash of light, able to keep up with any assault, and delivering sudden and unexpected blows that send the enemies of man reeling.

In the wake of Nikaea, the Jarog was changed once again, becoming a standard line company. Though the legion continued to screen for psychic candidates, placing them within the organisation, they were forbidden from utilising their powers, chaplains ensuring the Edict was adhered to, Bartosz defending his actions by pointing out that having all psychic legionaries in a single place makes ensuring the Edict is followed a far smoother process, especially for a legion as spread out as the XIVth. When the Apostasy erupted, many of the Jarog willingly broke the Edict of Nikaea, defying the word of the Emperor to better have a chance to stand before the tide of Traitors.

Finally, seperate from the three heads of the Triglav, were the Perun, the Hussars. Similar in aspect to the Equus Hussars, the Hussars were the most numerous members of the Triglav, serving as the rank and file warriors of the Triglav, though to call such warriors rank and file was a gross mis-service to their skills. Each and every warrior within their ranks was a veteran in one form of combat or another, serving directly at the behest of their Primarch. While other members of the Triglav may have specialised into one of its more distinct heads, the Hussars formed the bulk of the force, making up everything from Terminator Squads through to the drivers of Fellblade Super-Heavy Tanks.

Together, these three heads alongside the Perun formed Bartosz’s personal warband, the fist of the Palatine Wings. Rarely did the warriors fight as one, often split across the galaxy, spreading their skills across the gargantuan legion, but when they did muster as one, there were few forces in the galaxy that could hope to survive for long.

#### Equipment

The most well known piece of wargear the XIVth boasts as unique is the Equus Maxxium. Designed in the wake of Bartosz’s discovery as a way for his personal guard to keep up with their lords Sagittar battlesuit, but not outpace him as a standard bike or jetbike would do, these mounts are ones of flesh and blood, admittedly bolstered by innumerable cases of genetic and cybernetic enhancement. The end result is a steed that is easily capable of carrying an Astartes into battle, regarded as the greatest biological mount ever created. At first these were only used by Bartosz’s personal guard, but soon they spread throughout the legions elite warriors, the Hussars, causing them to take on a new name, the Equus Hussars.

Alongside this mount, the so called “Lightning” pattern jetbike, aheavy jetbike requiring such skill to keep under control that a second rider is entrusted with control over the crafts weapons, leaving the primary rider to focus entierly on the act of flying. This, alongside the mounts rarity, means it is only ever entrusted to the elite pilots of the XIVth, the Svetovid.

The last piece of military equipment the XIVth is known for is an ancient and little understood addition to the legions, a Personal Teleport Array, allowing the wearer to translocate from one place to another without any need for a dedicated teleportarium. These backpack-sized devices that allow the user to teleport site-to-site, without the massive arrays of machinery employed by conventional devices, allowing the Palatine Wings to battlefield circumstances on the fly and cover huge straight-line distances by "shunting" themselves through Warpspace. The wearer must possess great fortitude of mind and body to traverse Warpspace without the protection of a Gellar Field, and as such only the psychic warriors of the XIVth have any hope of utilising the technology, being organised into Warp Strider squads instead of the standard librarius.

The final piece of equipment the legion uses is one utterly unique amongst the Astartes, but ubiquitous amongst certain other forces of the Imperium, that of their stylised Palatine Aquila shoulderpads. Granted the exclusive honour amongst the legions of bearing the Emperor’s personal symbol, these winged shoulder pads are the only ornamentation any Palatine Wing will wear. In doing so they symbolise their utter devotion to the Imperium, even above their own aspirations and desires. It is a permanent reminder for others, and more importantly the new recruits to the legion themselves, that the Palatine Wings exist to serve, never to rule.

#### War Disposition

It was a documented fact throughout the Great Crusade that the Palatine Wings were the largest of the Emperor’s mighty legions, estimates placing them at almost 350,000 at the time of the muster of Istvaan, 85% of the legion being present at that fateful site. This was not accomplished by any exceptional logistical skills on behalf of Bartosz, for he readily admitted that Khnum was greater than he in that regard, his own massive legion standing as proof of that fact. Instead, the reasoning was two fold;

First, while Bartosz was not a logistician like his first made brother, he was a diplomat beyond compare, and this allowed him an exceptionally wide range of contacts across the Imperium, many forming deals with the XIVth or even directly with Bartosz himself, ensuring that there was a network across the Imperium the Palatine Wings could call on. Though Bartosz disliked using it, he also admitted that the palatine Aquila he wore granted his requests and offers a certain level of authority, real or perceived, that few of his brothers could match, and while we never directly used it as a bargaining tool, he also never dissuaded it either.

The second reasoning is based entirely around the structure of the XIVth. Unlike other legions, who were inexorably tied to their sire and answer to them in all things, the Palatine Wings are well known for being spread across the galaxy, their Chapter Masters and War Leaders autonomous to the point where many were recruited, raised through the ranks and finally dying in service of the Imperium without ever seeing their genetic sire in the flesh. This lack of heavy oversight allowed individual chapters to branch out and recruit as and when they could, often taking willing youths from the planets they liberated for the Imperium, extolling the honour of being chosen to serve the Emperor in such a way, their own golden eagles helping to persuade the masses. While other legions recruited from a handful of worlds, or sent all recruits to a standardised training regime, the Palatine Wings training was conducted upon their own vessels, the Legion without a home becoming almost entirely fleet based, only the Dragon Lords refusing to settle worlds more than them.

For all its upsides however, this rapid expansion without a full and regulated supply chain or a standardised pattern for recruitment did come with it’s pitfalls. Chief amongst these were the vast cultural differences between Chapters of the legion, so much so that some would deny they could be from the same sire. During training, all Palatine Wings were subjected to extensive hypno-bombardments and suggestive reasoning, instilling the values of the XIVth into the very core of its aspirants, but it could not purge culture from a warrior. When the legion did gather, this could present further difficulties, as incompatible cultures were forced to suddenly work alongside each other. These disputes were usually resolved without violence, but more than once, honour duels would be fought to satisfy the issue, most being resolved simply to first blood, while others, in particularly exceptional cases, will only end when one warrior lies slain.

Alongside this, even with the many deals and supply lines Bartosz negotiated, they were not infallible, his poor eye for logistics often missing things another might have caught, only identifying it after it was too late. For the legion, this meant they were often ill-equipped by comparison with some of the other legions, and though they never lacked for armour, bolters, jetbikes, or the famed Equus Maxium, the latter two given priority above all, they did often lack the more advanced or esoteric pieces of wargear within their armouries. Terminator armour was a rare sight, and when it was the older Cataphractii armour was far more common than the almost non-existent Tartaros pattern. Bolters and Power Armour, while functional, were often older marks, the majority of the XIVth going to war in Mk2 plate, saving their Mk4 for diplomatic purposes or veteran warriors, dreadnoughts when used were almost universally the easy to repair and produce Castraferrum pattern over the superior Contemptor. Even rarer still were the truly powerful parts of the legion armouries, Stormbirds, Fellglaives, Xiphon Interceptors, Spartan’s and Mastodon’s, all rarely if ever able to be deployed by the XIVth, replaced by other, often smaller and inferior replacements such as Baneblades and Thunderhawks. There are even tales of some warriors of the XIVth operating on the frontier discarding their bolters, replacing them instead with redesigned Hellgun weapons, pulling power from their own armour to ensure they could keep fighting as their ammunition supply dwindled to dangerously low levels.

On the face of the legion, the Palatine Wings were exemplars of the Legions, conducting war at breakneck speed for the sake of civilians. That was certainly a heavy factor throughout the crusade, the Palatine abhorring civilian casualties above all else, but in truth, the Legion was simply ill-equipped for longer campaigns of grinding attrition that others such as the Blight Wardens or the Star Guardians excelled in. If the Palatine Wings could not bring a world to compliance swiftly and got bogged down, they risked losing this momentum, struggling to push on where other legions might have found little issue.

While Bartosz did lament this turn within his legion, he also refused to change how the XIVth operated, believing that while the quality of his warriors may not have been the equal of some of the more elite legions, the Consuls standing chief amongst them in his mind, the quantity more than made up for that, having a quality all of its own. This was undoubtedly not far from the truth, the XIVth legion having a long and plentiful roll of honour for worlds captured, and while they were not the greatest in military acquisitions, the Warmaster’s own or the Dragon Lords likely having that honour, many believed that the Palatine Wings were responsible for the most bloodless compliances amongst the legions.

### Post Terra

#### The Orcadians

The Orcadians saw their birth in the fires of Istvaan V and the death of their lord, Bartosz. When he died at the hands of the Twins of Love and War, the backlash on his legion was more than just one of rage, but one of psychic power, striking those who were closest to the site first, but in time it became clear that any who bore the geneseed of the Imperial Sagittarius were at equal risk of falling, from the newest initiate to the oldest of Dreadnought ancients.

The curse came in two stages, both terrible to behold in their own right. The first of these was a complete shutdown of all but the most basic of functions in the warrior, as they were struck with images of the grief that Bartosz had carried with him silently and without complaint throughout the Great Crusade, bearable for a Primarch but overloading for any other, even an Astartes. These legionaries became lethargic and motionless, nothing managing to stir them into action, even their own imminent demise through enemy action, many of these first stage Orcadians dying to enemy fire as they simply did not move from before their foe. As the Apostasy wore on, more were affected by the curse, all at risk of its seemingly random kiss.

Soon however, a second stage began to manifest, slowly at first, but rapidly gaining speed throughout the affected members. From motionless, lethargic husks, these warriors suddenly sprang into motion, exploding into a terrifying berserker rage that did not differentiate between friend and foe, as each of them sought to punish those who had caused their lord such grief, regardless of their actual guilt or not. Bereft of all thoughts save a total and all -encompassing need to kill, these Orcadians could not be reasoned with or talked down, only controlled through crude shock implants or hastily constructed suits of prison armour, power armour that could be deactivated once a battle was done.

When the legion finally managed to reform in the wake of the fall of Terra and the birth of the Imperium Secundus, the Orcadians were kept as a secret from the rest of the loyalist forces, feared that their discovery would cause the legion to face censure of their own. Soon, a structured approach to their kind was devised, the legions suits of Terminator Armour given over to the legions tech marines, welded closed around the warriors, creating nigh-unkillable berserkers.

When not fighting, these suits were deactivated, their lack of power and altered systems making the warrior within powerless. Here, they were hung in chains in the holds of the Palatine fleet, screaming and frothing in impotent rage, the rooms sealed and soundproofed to the best of the legions abilities.In battle however, these warriors were unleash, and would stream forth as a killing wave, tactics a distant memory as they tore apart their enemies, akin to the warriors of the VIIth or XXth, rather than those of the Palatine Wings.

## Notable Palatine Wing Units

* **The Triglav** - Bartosz's personal Warband, and the largest single formation within the XIVth Legion. By the time of the Apostasy, the Triglav is believed to have accounted for close to one fifth of the legion, though many of these warriors were the first to be slain on the Black Sands of Istvaan V.
* **The 6th Brotherhood** - Commanded by the controversial Laereas Drancus, the 6th Brotherhood was well known within the Imperium, but disliked by almost all within the XIVth Legion for their heavy use of otherwise rare Detroyer Weapons. Outside the Triglav, it was believed the 6th Brotherhood was amongst the largest detatchements of the Palatine Wings. The 6th Brotherhood was often placed in command of any Palatine Wings forces in a given theatre, unless Bartosz was also present, when doing so being instead known as the 6th Warband.
* **The 7th Sky Corps** - Commanded by Captain Codasay, the 7th Sky Corps was known to be initially raised from the world of Elysia, and maintained many ties to the world. Specialising in aerial combat, they had access to a large supply of Sojutsu-pattern voidbikes. More like one-man fighters than speeders, and an armour-sealed legionary of the 7th could use them for short bursts in the void. At their last muster, seventeen years before the Almire Apostasy, the 7th Sky Corps consisted of consisted of 36,864 troopers divided into sixteen regiments.
* **The 41st Brotherhood**- A Headstrong and almost dangerously prideful unit within the Palatine Wings, the 41st Brotherhood, known in their own ranks as the 41st Elite, were a small but ferociously well trained deployment. They are known to have stepped into the line to fill gaps left by the Blight Wardens legion at the time of Ullanor, stepping onto a hellish toxic battlefield to hold the line. They are known to use a unique helmet design, based off of the Blight Wardens own supplies left to the detatchement, which incorporated a specialized synthmesh visor designed to filter pollutants and other hazards.
* **The 59th Company** - The 59th Company were in truth part of the 6th Brotherhood, though garnered such a reputation that many considered them an entity in their own right. The chosen warriors of Laereas Drancus, the 59th were equipped with jump packs and destroyer grade weaponry. It was well known that Bartosz despsed the entire detatchement, warriors of the Triglav rarely fighting alongside the 59th as they did with other members of the XIVth.
* **The 181st Armoured Cluster** - The 181st Armoured Cluster is known to have a large number of 2nd and 3rd line fighting vehicles, often using older pattern Mauler and Malcador heavy tanks.
* **The 212th Battalion** - Reknowned for their use of Jump Packs, the 212th Battalion fought alongside the Silver Basilisks for many years, and are know for equipping jump pack troops with tactical squad gear such as bolters, rather than pistols and close combat weapons.
* **The 975th Garrison** - Few other deployments of the Palatine Wings remained upon a single world for as long as the 975th. Stationed on the newly conquered world of 975-1, the world came under attack shortly after the 975th took the planet by a merciless xenos species. A request for aid was transmitted, but due to a clerical error, the world had been assigned a name as Eadu XIIIII, rather than Eadu XV. This discrepency in Imperial numerolegy caused the request to go unheeded for seventy nine years, the 975th holding the world as both sides dwindled. Finally, a relief force from the XVIth Legion passed the world, the 975th reduced to just seven warriors from a force of five thousand.

## Legion Homeworld

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## Legion Combat Doctrine

### Great Crusade and Early-Apostasy Era - A Legion of Reinforcements

In the wake of the Proximan Rebellion and their naming as the Palatine Wings, the XIVth Legion underwent numerous changes, both outwardly and inwardly. One of these was their new humbler nature, distancing themselves from the braggards of the past. This made them excellent diplomats, especially when coupled with the Palatine Aquila each warrior wore, carrying with them the word of the Emperor in their negotiations.

However, it was also during this time that a second trait began to develop, in truth, one that the Emperor had always intended since the legions inception rather than the pure cult of speed the legion had developed into. As the Great Crusade expanded, the legions would forever be on the cutting edge of mankind's conquests, Imperial Army regiments moving in their wake to provide support, and for a time, this was sufficient for the needs of the time. However, there were times when a foe was too great for a single expeditionary fleet, or even a single legion to overcome, requiring vast amounts of manpower to be drawn from across the Great Crusade and mustered into a single, devastating campaign. This in turn however presented yet more problems, the lines and campaigns those legions chosen for this new, greater task now being unmanned, Imperial Army regiments unable to plug a gap filled previously by Astartes. It was here that the Palatine Wings were called upon.

Owing to an extremely stable geneseed and a recruiting method of casting a wide net even before Bartosz was found, the Palatine Wings were always one of the largest of the Emperor’s legions, and yet rarely did they ever muster in a single place, and rarely did they find themselves on the cutting edge of the Great Crusade militarily. More often than not the legion was held in reserve, their forces only committed when another legion was recalled or required more aid than they had available to them.

Time and time again, the XIVth Legion were seen across the length and breadth of the Imperium, stationed on worlds recently made compliant to further ensure they became inexorably tied to the Imperium but during times of war, these forward outposts became staging grounds, launching points for great Palatine Fleets to move out from. From the Squat Wars to the Second and Third Xenocides, all the way through to the Ullanor Crusade and the Purging of the IXth and XVIIth, the Palatine Wings took up the positions left behind by others, allowing them to safely leave their positions to conduct their new task without fear or worry that those warzones they had vacated would suffer in their absence. In such roles, the Palatine Wings rarely made any meaningful gains, often doing little more than holding the line their cousins had held prior to their arrival, their numbers usually only sufficient to carry out that task.

These deployments were often short-lived however, the Palatine Wings deploying at speed with their prefered lightning methods of war to stall the enemy and hold them at bay, though sometimes they did manage to break their enemies with the sudden shift in tactics. However, there were also times of great strife that forced the XIVth to stay in place for far longer, deployments stretching into years, forcing the normally fast legion to dig in and hold their ground. For some, such duties would have broken the back of the legion, leading to resentment brewing as the legion was passed over again and again for deployment to the greatest points of the Great Crusade in favour of simply plugging holes, and yet the Palatine Wings carried out this duty, as with all other duties put to them, with but a nod and a humble acceptance.

When Bartosz was finally found, very little changed about this setup of the XIVth, save the legions size which skyrocketed upwards, from merely rivalling the other great legions of the day such as the Watchers of Akhet, to overshadowing all others, their size eclipsing multiple other legions combined. However, due to their now truly massive size but less than perfect supply chains, the Palatine Wings wargear quality began to fall, the legion ill-equipped compared to other legions. Many of their number still strode to battle in either Mk2 or Mk3 armour, even when Mk4 and Mk5 armour was made available to all the legions, few still using the ancient patterns. There were even makeshift patterns found in their armouries, bearing the soon to be iconic bonding stud look from the Mk7 Frontier armour, cobbled together from substandard materials and damaged parts to allow the legion to continue fighting. Those few suits of more advanced armour the legion possessed were either kept to keep the Triglav fully supplied, or held in reserve for diplomatic missions or the heaviest of fighting.

Likewise the legions weapons were a mix of older patterns, or otherwise ones famed for their robustness and ease of maintenance, such as the famed Phobos pattern, or the easy to maintain Umbra Ferrox pattern, box magazines often being favoured for their high capacity over the sickle magazines, lessening the amount of individual pieces a warrior must carry into battle. There have even been reports of crusading warriors of the XIVth discarding their bolters entirely, instead equipping themselves with Hellguns and Hot-Shot las weaponry they can run directly from their own power armour, lessening the need for physical supplies. This is also reflected in the other weapons the legion utilises, volkite culverins, lascannons and multilasers often taking the place of heavy bolters, missile launchers and plasma cannons, weapons which can all run off power sources alone, rather than needing individual ammunition supplies.

Preference is placed on smaller, lighter vehicles, jetbikes and outrider bikes being highly prized for their ability to hit hard and fast, but when the legion is dragged into their longer deployments, they often were known to utilise vehicles than many other legions would consider part of their second or even third line reserves. Such vehicles included many more commonly seen in the service of the Imperial Army, or those since made obsolete by the discovery and exploitation of new Standard Template Construct imprints, such as the Baneblade and its variants, the Malcador Assault Tank, the Mauler Heavy Tank, the venerable Ragnarok or the well-used Kodiak. These often operated alongside the vastly superior but fewer in number Astartes vehicles, such as Fellblades, Spartans and Land Raiders.

## Notable Palatine Wings

### Pre-Apostasy

**Bartosz** - The primarch of the XIVth Legion and one of the last of his kind to be found, Bartosz was known by many names, the Triglav, the Shining Son, but most simply refered to him as The Imperial Sagittar, a name given to him due to the Interexine Warframe he rode to battle within, turning the Primarch into the vision of the Centaur's of old myth. A poor fighter by his brothers standards, Bartosz made up for this by being an incredibly skilled orator and diplomat, though this did little to save him in the sands of Istvaan. For most, that death would have been the end, but for Bartosz, death was merely a gateway to rebirth...

**First Hussar Surag Genden** - The former legion master of the Silver and Palatine Wings, Surag Genden is renowned as being amongst the greatest warriors amongst the Astartes Legions, both martially and tactically. Amongst the first warriors raised to the XIVth Legion, Surag was present during the First Rangdan War, leading the legion from that day onwards, until the day Bartosz was reunited with his sons. Now, Surag commands the Perundan, the Equus Hussars and Bartosz’s personal guard, putting his considerable killing skills to the best possible use. Surag was present upon the surface of Istvaan V on the fateful day of his legions demise, fighting, and failing, to reach his lord in time to save his life. Distraught beyond all else, Surag was dragged from the field of battle, surviving, only to fall to the Orcadian curse instead, the first and greatest of their kind.

**Skycaptain Danel Rasna** - A veteran of the Legion, Danel Rasna was raised to the 119th Chapter of the palatine Wings, spending much of his time fighting against the xenos raiders of the far galactic south, hailing from a small world known as Lamnia. Taking quickly to the hypno-induction of the XIVth, Danel proved himself to be at home in the saddle almost instantly, being moved to a Sky Hunter squadron in record time. There he excelled, but his rogue streak, more at home in the Vth Legion, and overt pride in his actions above the actions of others led to him being passed over for squad sergeant and eventual captaincy, instead being placed in the Svetovid, directly under the command of Bartosz himself. Here he found his calling, his skill allowing his to excel and thrive, and in time he caught his Primarch’s eye yet again, being named the Skycaptain, commander of the Svetovid in its entirety. In the wake of Istvaan V, Danel rallied the largest number of palatine Wings to his cause, eventually managing to reform the legion with the promise of a single strike, directly at the heart of the Blight Wardens fleet.

**Aquilifer** **Sa'al Kova** - A veteran of the XIVth before the time of the Palatine Wings, Sa'al was renowned for his stubborn determination and dedication to his men. In the wake of a brutal holding action where he and his squad stood alone against a world, Sa'al was elevated as the only survivor of the Imperial forces upon that planet, named as Bartosz's personal standard bearer, carrying the very same Aquila that the Emperor himself had bestowed upon the XIVth Legion in the wake of the Proximan Rebellion. Sa'al would continue to serve in his new role as Aquilifer for many years, before finally being struck down on the sands of Istvaan V.

**Head Chaplain Laereas Drancus** -Former Master of the 6th Brotherhood and eventually the Head Chaplain within the Star Guardians Legion, Laereas is an uncharacteristically harsh member of the XIVth Legion, as cruel a task master as he is a skilled orator. Under his leadership, the 6th grew to be the largest single unit in the XIVth Legion outside the Triglav itself, and was noted for possessing a rare and despised Destroyer Company, the 59th.

**Hussar Melita Neritos** - A member of Bartosz's Perundan, and regarded as one of the greatest warriors within the Palatine Wings, Neritos was believed to have perished upon the sands of Istvaan V alongside most of his legion and order, but the truth was far, far darker. Instead of dying, Neritos was captured by the Hounds of Surmah, subjected to cruel, torturous rituals to forever bind him to the Ruinous Powers. Soon, the Neritos that was fell away, the Nuckelavee, takingthe title of the Centaur Lord, a dark reflection of the newly forming Orcadians amongst the XIVth.

**Jarog Epistolary** **Dykyn Harlak** - Regarded as the greatest Psyker within the Palatine Wings, indeed potentially one of the most powerful in any of the legions, save the Dragon Lords themselves, Dykyn commanded the Jarog, the so called Warp Striders, though in truth he was closer in mentality to the reckless Svetovid. In the wake of Nikaea he retained his command, even as he was restricted from using his beloved powers, but would eventually lash out at this ruling, being imprisoned in the days more the legion moved to muster at Istvaan V. In the Apostasy that errupted shortly afterwards, Dykyn was freed by agents of Malcador the Sigillite, soon being raised to his personal Knights Errant, and eventually, even higher still, to the ranks of the secretive 'Grey Knights'

**High Marshal Magnai Anrad** - Commander of the 41st Brotherhood, Magnai and his warriors had long been attached to the Blight Wardens and embroiled in their ways of warfare ling before the days of the Apostasy. When the great war broke out, Lu Yueh had ordered a significant build up of troops around the 41st Brotherhood, and yet did not order their destruction, Magnai hearing of the Istvaan Massacre and making his fateful choice. He owed little to Bartosz save the genetics within him, Lu Yueh had been a commander far more than the distance Itterator Lord, and thus did Magnai pledge his services and the services of the 41st Brotherhood to the Blight Wardens, those few opposing voices cut down by the Marshal's own weapons.

## Legion Fleet

### Notable Vessels

#### **Pre-Apostasy**

* *Purest Intent* - Gloriana-class Battleship - Bartosz's Flagship (Captured - Massacre of Istvaan V. Destroyed - Siege of the Ring)
* *Void Walker -* Dark Age era Battleship *-* Flagship of Laereas Drancus and the 6th Brotherhood.

## Legion Relics

* **The Gelve** - Initially crafted by Bartosz himself for his personal guardian, Surag Genden, the Gelve was a beutiful weapon, taking the form of a long glaive, a subtly curved blade cresting the head of the weapon, while on the other end was a solid bulbous mass, a seperate power generator ensuring it could release a discharge of energy upon impact, similar to a power fist or a thunder hammer. Though bartosz was not the craftsman that some of his brothers were, falling far short of the likes of Shaaa or Artellion, the weapon was still a work of art. However, Surag never took to the design, his own fighting style not lending itself to polearms, and so the weapon was instead placed within the armoury of the Imperial Sagittarius, gifted out to promising commanders or champions for anywhere between a single battle or a decades long campaign, before being returned once more to be wielded by another Palatine Wing.

## Legion Appearance

### Legion Colours

The Palatine Wings, and the Silver Wings before them, have changed their colours throughout their long history as with all legions, and these colours have held, and continue to hold, significance for the XIVth Legion.

At their inception, the XIVth Legion marched to war in bare ceramite as most legions did, but quickly, this was replaced with a gleaming layer of polished silver, something that became so noticable that on their first conquest after leaving the Sol System, the world is reported to have willingly surrendered, falling to their knees and praising "The angels who descended on Wings of Silver." The name soon became used throughout the legion, and thus did the Silver Wings earn their name.

For a time, this colour scheme remained constant, but soon, a rot began to take hold of the XIVth, reflected outwardly in their armour. Silver armour, long polished to a mirror sheen to strike fear into the enemy as the legion approached, soon became a secondary colour to deep crimson reds and brilliant golds, the legion becoming secure in their own superiority, even over other the legions. This was the beginning of the dark years within the XIVth, where the Legion was run as a Cult of Personality, warriors freely moving between formations on their own whim, following leaders who could promise them yet more glory, abandoning them the moment they made a single mistake. Soon, skill in battle of these commanders fell away, replaced with boasts and promises to their warriors, rather than action. If the legion had continued like this, it would not have survived itself, nearly finding itself wiped out during the First Rangdan Xenocide, but it was this that saw it rise once more.

Shortly after the First Rangdan Xenocide, in the wake of the Proxima Rebellion, the Silver Wings were granted the Palatine Aquila, and were forever changed by it. Led by their Legion Master, Surag Genden, the old was washed away, the warriors kneeling as they recieved this greatest of honours. Within weeks, the armour of each warrior had been stripped back once more, replaced with polished silver across almost the entire body of the armour. The only exception to this were the knees, and the casing of the helmets, symbolically left as bare ceramite, the dark matte grey surface standing out. The legion had knelt before the Emperor of Mankind Himself, they had been touched upon their helmets when He had bestowed upon them an unmatched honour, and that was something that could never be ignored. With Palatine Aquila's upon their shoulders and upon their helmets, the newly reborn Palatine Wings rose once more.

Soon, the Palatine Aquila became a measuring of rank within the XIVth, even as the legion spread out further than any other, the rest of their armour taking on changes as their situation dictated, the Palatine Ranking remained constant. Raw recruits, those who had not yet proven themselves in battle, would wear small golden Aquila's upon their shoulders and upon their helms, far smaller than those worn by the Custodes, but precious to every warrior who wore it.

As the warriors rose in rank and reknown, their shoulders were stripped bare, specific rank displayed upon the surface, while upon their helmet rested a true Aquila, wrought in gold, its wings spreading across the forehead of the helm, none doubting the legion he served or the master he swore fealty to.

There was but one step beyond this, one every Palatine Wing aspired to but few would achieve, for this was reserved solely for the Chapter Masters of the various Palatine Wing deployments and the Hussars, forerunners to the eventual Equus Hussars and the elite guardians of the XIVth Legion. Upon their head rested the true Palatine Aquila of the legion, while their shoulders were covered fully with mighty eagles, proudly proclaiming thewarrior inside to be one of the greatest defenders of the Imperial Truth, the epitome of what it was to be a Palatine Wing. It was even whispered that amongst the legion, the Aquila's that Surag Genden himself wore were not cast from the same golden coated ceramite that the rest of the legion wore, but instead forged in Auramite, the same material as the Emperor's own armour, an honour unmatched by any, save the primarch's themselves.

    There were those however who rebuffed this change, even the coming of Bartosz not completely stamping it out, or causing more to swell their ranks. The Skyguard, mavericks of the XIVth, and some of the greatest pilots in the galaxy, retained the old legions colour scheme, and some of their mentality, pushing themselves to the limits, and often beyond, of what the new Palatine Wings would accept. While these warriors were now tolerated, they were the only ones to not bear the Palatine, am honour they gave up when they elected to join the Svetovid, emulating what, in Surag’s mind at least, were the worst days of the XIVth, but one Bartosz allowed to continue under his personal banner.

### Legion Badge

The badge of the Palatine Wings, unlike their armour colours, has remained all but unchanged since their inception. Since time began, even before they marched in Silver, the XIVth bore the lightning symbol of the Emperor, just as the other Legions and Thunder Warriors did, combined with the wings of an ancient military order, from which the early XIVth took the name for their elite guardians. This symbol remained unchanged even as they became the Palatine Wings, forever carrying the winged symbol to where the Emperor's light did not yet shine.

## Sources

[1] - Art by the Carnival of Crows - Author of the Ashen Crows - https://www.facebook.com/TheChaosCarnival/

[2] - Art by Shane Cook - Deviant Art - https://www.deviantart.com/slaine69