Legion of the Dead

The **Legion of the Dead** is an independent branch of the dwarven army that answers directly to the monarchy of Ondrathum. It is considered to be the most intimidating and devastating force in the dwarven military, and many attribute this to the fact that the Legionnaires consider themselves to be already dead.

## Background

The Legion is a military organization not unlike the Grey Order, in that it accepts anyone from any level of society. Many join the Legion to avoid punishment for various crimes, or to regain their honor. Others join to have their debts forgiven, thus restoring their Houses' lost honor. Some even join for the glory, and the Legion accepts them all the same.

Before they permanently leave Ondrathum, and enter the Underways, the Legionnaires undergo a symbolic "funeral" where last goodbyes are spoken to friends and relatives, and all ties to their former lives are cut. It begins with chanting and toasts, then the dwarves bid farewell to their friends and loved ones. This funeral clears the dwarf's name, and restores their family's lost honor. They are recorded as dead in the Memories, viewed as having found glorious and redemptive death in battling the dwarves' eternal nemesis, the fiendish hordes. The Legionnaire must then work to make this a fact through a courageous and honorable death.

The Legion of the Dead also bears the unique responsibility of purifying the Stone-Mother from a corruption called the gangue. The gangue is described as "the waste and the unstable rock that must be cut away from the Stone-Mother." It is the toxic influence contaminating the Stone-Mother, and whose harmful influence impedes all dwarves from achieving prosperity. The Legion of the Dead must carve out the worst of themselves as a prerequisite to face the gangue. Only the fully adorned of the Legion are worthy enough to face and destroy the gangue.

Legionnaires are typically marked with grim tattoos, and equipped with heavy armor. When a Legionnaire dies in battle, the Legion entombs them, returning them to the Stone-Mother. The Legion thne celebrates the fact that the fallen has finally found peace. Units of the Legion of the Dead are sometimes supported by Rangers of the Grey, who go to Ondrathum to honor an ancient pact with the dwarves by fighting until the end against their common foe.

Non-dwarves may also join the Legion, but this is extremely rare. The only known human to join the Legion was a man named Sir Aurelian Pardasian, who was disgraced when he attempted to assume the throne of Anderlay in **8A60**.

The headquarters of the Legion of the Dead used to be located in Borimmar, also known as the City of the Dead, an impressive fortress which was designed by the Exemplar Beladin. But, in **9A13**, it was abandoned to the fiendish hordes with great regret. As the Legion's activities spread in a large portion of the Underways, and not only around Ondrathum, they regularly create sturdy crates which contain clothing, food and weapons in various locations in case they are needed.

### The Second Death

*See also: Funerary rites*
When a Legionnaire dies, there is a second funeral to return them to the Stone-Mother. If it is possible to do so, the remaining Legionnaires bury their fallen brethren. The bodies of the dead are placed in sarcophagi, which are sealed within graves in order to protect them from being defiled by fiends.

The nature of the Legion, however, means that as their numbers dwindle, the very last of them will not be buried, and given their return to the Stone-Mother.