Swan Angels

Swan Angels armorial displaying Legion iconography

Swan Angels Legionary during the Great Crusade. Notice an emblem on one of his knee plates that indicates him as a member of the elite Loudest Host.

## Space Marine Legion

### Primogenitor

Alsifbrial the One-Horned (now known as Alsifbrial the Hundred-Horned)

### Cognomen (prior)

Silver Savours (pre-Primarch), Angels of Terra (when Alsifbrial was Praetorian of Terra)

### Observed Strategic Tendencies

High morale among themselves and allies, Close Quarters Actions, Shock and Awe tactics

### Unique Formations

Gferialsii, Black Swans, Druids, Jazealfamai, Pale Dragon Archers etc.

### Warcry

"The Light will always find a way!", "For the Emperor and His Light!" (Pre-Fall of Terra) "Day will come again!" (Post-Fall of Iazefia)

*“The Light always finds a way.”*

- XVth Legion Warcry & Motto attributed to an unknown Swan Angel

The **Swan Angels** are the XV Legion of the Legiones Astartes created by the Emperor of Mankind to establish human unity and dominion over the galaxy during the Great Crusade. Swan Angels always stood apart from their cousin Legions as none of them was quite as celebrated and beloved by both masses and elites of the Imperium as them and their angelic Primarch Alsifbrial was perhaps the greatest icon of the Great Crusade. This adoration did not come from nothing, as Swan Angels were denoted for their near childish optimism and hope for humanity and its Emperor, unparalleled altruism and belief in fundamental goodness of existence. Their later fall to Chaos is perhaps one of the greatest tragedies of the Fracturing as it seems almost impossible how those who were so high fell so low and how to this day they do not realize that they did in fact fall and not ascend.

## Legion History

During the Unification Wars the XV Legion was one of the most active legions. Their perhaps most famous campaign was liberation of Green Zones of eastern Ursh. It is said that during the Age of Strife tyrants of Ursh have creates several artificial natural preservation zones known simply as Green Zones. In these relatively small and costly domed areas were the last of Old Earth's forests, accompanied by many surviving species of animals, as well as primitive human tribes and kingdoms battling each other for supremacy and dominance, as they did in past ages, yet now also for entertainment of Urushian nobility that would often join these wars to hunt down both sides for sport and to assert their dominance. When forces of Unity finally came near eastern Ursh many in the Green Zones rebelled, seeing this now Lord of Lightning as their liberator from oppression by techno-barbarians. Yet the rebellion came too soon and was too weak and Imperial forces were unable and unwilling to support it. Urushian military started brutal crackdowns and massacres against peoples of the Green Zones, led by the famous Urushian mages who in their dark rituals were dependent on rare herbs and ingredients coming from there. However Jovian Cyrus, Legion Master of XVth decided that Green Zones could not be left alone and volunteered on a dangerous campaign to save the last green spots of Terra. The Emperor was impressed by selflessness and zealotry of his gene-grandchildren and let them go but before this he ordered them to cover their power armour with thin layers of silver that he provided to them himself.

Emperor knew that there was an ancient and widely shared Urushian belief that silver is an anathema to Warp-magic and a potent protection from any other harm. This was not at all true, however due to Warp-magic being based on thoughts, feelings and beliefs of its wielders and people around them, within context of Urushian culture silver was indeed a powerful protection from psychic powers. As the XVth Legion advanced they were attacked by hordes of Urushian armies headed by their mages, but their spells bounced off harmlessly from the Astartes' silver armour and as they stood horrified they were obliterated and those who followed were given a choice of surrendering or following the same fate. Legionaries of the XVth were celebrates as heroes and liberators by people of the Green Zones as well as by Imperium at large. Many nicknames were given to them after this day such as Defenders of Life and Mage Slayers but out of all of these none would stuck as much as Silver Saviours, which would become their unofficial cognomen until rediscovery of their Primarch. The legion took these honour with unusual humility and even near disregard, however this campaign very much did leave a big mark upon them as since this point the Green Zones became the main source for its recruits. Coming from brutal yet lively natural cultures these new recruits strongly contrasted with with depressing post-apocalyptic raiding bands and urban masses that other Terrans originated from. Early on Silver Savours would become known for their optimism, appreciation of life and being highly cultured, making them for many a symbol of what Terra and the larger humanity used to be and what they were aspiring to become now. (edited)

Silver Saviours adapted two crossed light blue swords as their symbol as it was a mark of righteous victory among many tribes and kingdoms of the Green Zones.

Alsifbrial the One-Horned is deeply optimistic, even idealisitc, kind and caring man. It is said that he cares so much about his legions that he remembers exact names and personalities of each one of his sons, being able to recognize a line trooper by his voice. However, while loves deeply his men he also is willing to sacrifice them for the greater good of the Legion, Humanity and the Galaxy, even more readily than many other Primarchs. During the Great Crusade he was almost universally beloved by other Primarchs, particularly by Warmaster Tybal Ulric of the Dusk Knights with whom he was said to be best friends. Rivalries however did exist, particularly with the Ebon Angels. When he fell on his homeworld he was adopted into a farmer’s family, rising in society through his skills and many miracles that showed him to be the hero of prophesies. As a boy he was taken on a ride by the massive Byuargal, mythical unicorn who would appear only one in a hundred years and would let only the most purest and selfless humans to even observe it, and only if they were female. Alsifbrial rose to be a king, the old king of his kingdom giving up power on his own will. He expanded his realm by diplomacy and force, seeking to unite his people into a great empire. With his new power he improved his people’s lives, advance Iazefian civilization, built many temples for the Cult of Light but more than anything he seeked to end endless raids and invasions by the savage mutants of the Dark Lands. He did do this, building great fortresses around this evil place and launching his own raids against them. Finally, he took the Dark Citadel where the Dark Sorcerer Lord was hiding, who was later revealed to be the last Eldar of the world. With the Sorcerer slain the Dark Lands stopped being dark and mutants were eradicated. Now these became Bright Lands, full of flourishing forests all white-walled, golden-domed and marble-clad cities, like the rest of Iazefia. In two years after that Craftworld Verh-Uasil invaded the world, seeking to wipe out human population after having somehow learned of what happened. It was also during this time that the Emperor arrived to the planet witnessing the events and attacking the Craftworld with its forces. To his amazement under Alsifbrial’s command Iazefians were able to stand their ground against Eldar, despite their far inferior technology and biology. As Imperial forces attacked the Craftworld and started to destroy it, even more of its forces pured onto Iazefia, finally overwhelming the defenders. However Emperor’s Space Marines, including those from the Fifteenth Legion, descended from the heavens and slew and crushed all Eldar before any of the cities were seriously harmed. In this great battle the Eldar leaders had awakened Avatar of their bloody war god, Khaela Mensha Khaine, who fought in a duel against Alsifbrial, only to be slain after damagin one his opponent’s wings. As Alsifbrial was in great pain the Emperor came to him and used his touch to heal his son’s wounded wing. The Unicorn King now recognized golden stranger for his father and bowed to him with tears in his eyes, pledging himself together with his warriors and his world to him and to the human race itself. During his first battle with his re-discovered gene-sons he fought alonside the Emperor and the Dusk Knights. The Emperor remarked then Alsifbrial and his warrors, then still known as Silves Saviors, fight as nobly and gracefully as swans and so it was later decided by the Primarch to rename his legion as Swan Angels and to repaint their armour to pure snow white.

Due to a mutation he has two powerful snow-white wings (similarly to Sanguinius) as well as a single glowing horn on his forehead (the glow has nothing to do with the Warp in itself and is biological in nature, the Emperor checked it). He and his sons are also all albinos (pale skin, red eyes, white hair), though outside of aesthetic they do not suffer any potentially negative side effects such as their skin being vulnerable

Alsifbrial always believed in natural goodness of humanity and of existence itself and that was exactly why he was the first of all Primarchs to convert to Chaos, as when he found out about the Dark Gods he could not come to any other conclusion that such fundamental powers of the universe must be inherently good and any evil that he perceived in them was merely a consequence of his own human weak-mindedness. Now horrified by the Imperial Truth he had served before he plotted for a long time against his father, as much as he disliked the act of doing it. During the Fracturing a half of the Legion is on Terra where Alsifbrial becomes one of two Praetorians of Terra alongside with Ikona of the Emperor’s Wings (or something like that, he is basically on Terra) and the other half is on Iazefia. He and his Swan Angels MAY have played a role in causing the Fracturing, he MAY have intentionally weakened Solar System’s and Terra’s defenses while pretending to be a loyal son of the Emperor, he MAY have played a part in Chaos Forces being able to launch such a massive invasion at Terra, his warriors MAY have disabled the defences and let the daemons through and MAY have joined them in their assault and they together with Alsifbrial MAY have played a part in deaths of both Ikona and Emperor himself, after which he and his forces left Terra through a Warp portal and returned to Iazefia. Because of all of these MAYs from this point onward and to the 41st Millenium there are many many many people who really really really hate Swan Angels. While Alsifbrial was away High Priest Oumonral and other powerful figures within the remaining Legion created the Hopeful Dominion to control the star systems they were able to access while slowly and subtly corrupting them to Chaos, a process that started even before the Fracturing. When the Fracturing started to end and Alsifbrial returned to his world he re-organized the Dominion into the Empire of Light.

Alsifbrial’s Empire of Light expanded and became a powerful faction in Segmentum Solar and Pacificus, though also having presence in the Eye of Terror. In a show of humility he refused to take title of the Radiant Emperor, instead giving it to a mortal dynasty of the House of Arkuimsi, an ancient royal dynasty of one of Iazefia’s former states. However, Alsifbrial still has the last say on most things and remains the Unicorn King of Iazefia. Empire of Light is a horrible and evil regime yet it is vastly better and more orderly than most other Chaotic empires. Chaos corruption is not as widespread specifically because it is considered as something sacred and not to be “spilled” too much. It is also because of this attitude to Chaos as something sacred the Swan Angels themselves are some of the most deeply corrupted legions, though oddly enough for most of the time they continue being physically beautiful, even more than before, and mainain a childlike love for Chaos and the universe itself, believing it to be a benevolent force. Their organization remains strong, especially compared to other Chaos Legions, yet it is so weird, twisted and hard to understand that for Imperials it is almost as if it didn’t exist. Miraculously, the Swan Angels’ gene-seed has remained almost completely untainted and when Imperium made experiments with captured samples of it mutation and conversion to Chaos almost never occured. The reasons for this remain unknown and Swan Angels remain one of the most hated and eerie threats to the Imperium and other empires of the galaxy. War of Light and Darkness In the 35th Millenium Swan Angels and their mortal Army of Light launched an massive invasion into the Imperiums known as the White Crusade. This invasion was repelled by the Ebon Angels and Dusk Knights, most notably at the Battle of Hovoni, who then proceeded to lauch an even more massive counter-invasion into the Empire of Light. Swan Angels lost a battle after battle and their glowing desperation and increasingly insane and suicidal methods did not help their situation. Finally, during the Battle of Iazefia the large contingent of Swan Angels on the world was almost completely wiped out and Alsifbrial himself was taken away by his bodyguards deadly wounded. After this beloved Iazefia was a victim to Exterminatus, all life being wiped out from the world and planet itself cracking into what would later form a meteor field. This Swan Angels would not forget nor forgive. Despite having suffered a horrific blow and being on the werge of death Alsifbrial, in a final act of selflessness and deifance commanded his forces and regrouped them in the Liavertan System and managing to resist and then defeat superior Imperial forces and allowing later commanders to drive them out of Empire of Light space. After this he died. Despite having beaten the enemy the Legion fell into depression and their realm was in ruin and falling apart. Radiant Emperor did his best, yet without Unicorn King and his Angels this was not enough. Primarch’s body was dead, yet it did not decay and was placed into a crystal sacrophagus at the heart of the Glimmer of Hope, the ancient Gloriana-class flagship of the Legion. For twenty-two years, two months and two days the Angels mourned, until one day for several moments the entire Empire was bathed in bright white light. Alsifbrial’s body was missing the the sacrophagus and after a long search he was found on one of the asteroids that was brithed durigng Iazefia’s fall, now more hopeful, powerful and magnificent than he had ever been. For all his great contributions and achievements before the Dark Gods had turned a blind eye yet only now, upon sacraficing himself for them and for what he loved was he granted daemonhood. In the following decades the Empire of Light was rebuilt. The worlds were repopulated, infrastructure was restored, central authority was restored. Temple-filled hive world Uasevil became the new capital world, which it functionally already was since the Empire’s foundation. This was not enough for the Swan Angels however and after a year of isolation Alsifbrial, know known as Alsifbrial the Hundred-Horned, willed into existence a daemon world in likeliness of old Iazefia. Its name became Aovaslia, after a the name of paradise in ancient Iazethian myths. Upon creating this world Unicorn King proceeded to raise Four Great Buildings: Fortress of Hope for the Legion, Palace of Glory for himself, Temple of Light for the Dark Gods of Chaos and Academy of Truth for countless scholars, artisans, administrators and scientists whose task it was to rebuild the Empire. All of these Great Buildings inspired great awe, both from their colossal size, as they all were in sized in tens of kilometers but also buy their simultaneous beauty and horror. From that day on the Empire of Light has continued to prosper, grow and fight, and this was not the first White Crusade to be launched. Alsifbrial in coming years would go on to raise two more Great Buildings – City of Love as the capital for inhabitants of the planet and Tower of Purity as a massive prison and torture complex for only his most hated enemies. Aovaslia is populated by human-like demonic entities, the Elradizi that resebled creatures of Iazrfian folk tales and myths. There was also established a human population, yet nobody apart of Iazefians descended from recalled colonists and Swan Angels’ serfs truly trusted or felt safe near the Elradizi.

## Legion Homeworld

Iazefia, aslo known as Iosafia, was the original homeworld of the Swan Angels and a former Eldar Maiden world colonized by humans during the Dark Age of Technology. Some of its world soul still remained and it has influenced human population of the world to become somewhat elf-like, though not to the point of them being mutants or abhumans of any sort. Iazefia never under a magical spell that caused it to be in a state of eternal spring. I was covered by many lush forests that supported numerous wondrous flora and fauna such as giant trees, giants, dragons, dinosaurs and fairies and also hundreds of magnificent cities and kingdoms that competed with each other both in matters of war and in matters of peace, such as art, scholarship and devotion to the Light, deity worshiped by the semi-monotheistic religion that all humans of the world accepted. Alsifbrial landed into a small kingdom centered around a minor city of Niragordizia, which beceme a problem with his unfication of the world. City such as Niragordizia was not prepared to rule a massive empire and many proposed to make Aelirmelia, the world’s largest city, the new capital. Alsifbrial however refused both of these and ordered construction of a new city, something that has not been done in many hundreds of years and its name was to be Unicorn City or Oauris, after one of his slain companions. When the Emperor arrived Oauris was still only the planning stage and as such Alsifbrial decided to make it the first of the truly Imperial cities on Iazefia. Built on a venerated mountain-island Pabiafas in the middle of the great sea-river Uhranom it became the grandest of all of the world’s cities, yet while its buildings still resembled architecture of old it was the first city not to have a single temple within its walls. Instead of the main temple the city centered around the massive, kilometers-sized Nest of Angels, the magnificent fortress-monastery of the newly renamed Swan Angels Legion. The city also incorporated many technologies brought by the Imperum, giving Oauris a reputation as a city of otherworly wonders, yet Unicorn King was hesitant about spreading these technologies to the rest of the world too fast as it could threaten its old culture and practices that he deeply values. Thus these wonders rarely if ever left Oauris, however the Imperial Truth did. Alsifbrial as a true son of his father went on a campaign destroy any religion from the surface, yet his heart did not let him to rip the Cult of Light from Iazefia’s soul. Instead what happened was a cultural revolution within the Cult in which it transformed into something more akin to a political ideology or a secular philosophy, not falling under category of a religious group according to Imperial standards. As the Swan Angels embraced Ruinous Powers Chaotic corruption spread across the world, slowly killing its world soul. For thousands of years species that were once harmless turned into predators and then, also slowly, into monsters and spawns of the Warp. More, the days were slowly becoming hotter and hotter and then again colder and colder. During the last years of Iazefia leaves of the trees started turning red, yellow and orange and were falling off to the amazement and concern of humans and animals alike and some regions even reporting rivers being covered by thin ice and snowflakes falling from the sky. Iazefia was moving towards a brutal and devastating winter that was cut short before starting by the War of Light and Darkness during which Iazefia was a battleground between the Swan Angels and their sworn Loyalist enemies – Dusk Knights and Ebon Angels. The world was torched, the forests were burned and the cities were sacked and ruined, one by one, with no amount of resistance being able to stop Imperial wrath. Finally, Oauris itself was besieged and sacked and then was the Nest of Angels within it. All defenders were massacred except a handful of survivors who escaped with their Primarch’s wounded body to the orbit above. After having desecrated the world properly and haven taken many trophies Loyalist subjected it to dreadful Exterminatus, in which the planet itself and all life on it were destroyed and turned into burned debris flying across the void which would later form into a stable asteroid field. It was on one of these asteroids that Alsifbrial the One- Horned would be resurrected as Alsifbrial the Hundred-Horned to go on and create a new Daemon World in Iazefia’s image that would for millennia be known as the dreadful and beautiful Aovaslia.

(Spoiler) The Eldar left a small “revenge” - a darkened zone on the planet where humans mutated into bloodthirsty savages and started launching raids and invasions into the rest of the world. They were finally destroyed by Alsifbrial who killed the immortal leader of the mutants who was revealed the last Eldar on the planet. After this the area became normal and became covered by lush forests.

Aovasia is a Daemon World created by Alsifbrial to replace and Iazefia. This planet also is in an endless state of springtime and also has a world soul, yet it is of complerely another, demonic nature and is but an extension of Alsifbrial’s own. Despite being in size similar to Iazefia of old Aovasia has much more surface on it, a part of many anomalies of this world. Many species living on it closely resemble species living on Iazefia in their states before the Chaotic corruption and in fact they have become friendlier and their fantastic qualities have been exxagurated. This is however a safe space only to those who are followers of the Cult of Light. For any who is not of the Light Aovasia will be worse than any death world, as trees will hit him with their trunks and branches, beasts will tear them apart in a bloodthirsty rage and the very earth will open under their feet, revealing great maws and sharpened teeth. On Aovasia three communities of intelligent beings coexist – the Elradizi, Iazefians and the Outsiders. Iazefians are descendants of the original population of Iazefians, brought here from the ranks of communities of Iazefian colonists of worlds settled by the the Empire of Light and from ranks of Swan Angels’ own serfs. They live much like they have lived before in now thousands of great cities, some of which have supernaturally grown to rival even the great hive cities from hive worlds, yet not contaminating nature around them in the process. They live alongside the Elradizi, weird paleskinned humanoid creatures resembling the Eldar who live in their own cities, farm their own farms and have their own kings and armies, much like the Iazefians do. Dispite their seeming differences these two groups do not have any xenophobia between them, outside of mutual rivalry between individual realms that is. Many visitors do not understand this yet the reason for this tolerance is simple: Elradizi are in fact Iazefians. Just as most things on Aovasia are an exxagurations of things that used to be on Iazefia, the Elradizi are a romanticized and exxagurated version of Iazefian humans themselves. Because of Aovasia’s importance many non-natives are coming and going from it and many foreign settlements have been set up and adapted to Aovasia for millenia, becoming unique cultures in themselves. They are usually met with hospitality by Iazefians and the Elradizi, yet it is only Iazefians whom they usually trust. All attempts to create Elradizi Space Marines have failed and to this day Swan Angels recruit only from pure humans of Aovasia. There are also a fourth faction – mutants, both human and Elradizi. These mutants are mostly tolerated by their former kin, though they are still sometimes looked down upon. There are no random mutations on Aovasia – instead they all take form of creatures from folklore and myth and are usually stable among various mutant groups. Some grow wings and become able to fly, some glow animal legs and become centaurs and satyrs while others become like rats and moles and in Aovasia’s underworld that is as full of life as the surface. Aovasia is full of great wonders, yet it six greatest ones are the so-called Six Great Buildings, each of them being dozens or even hundreds of kilometers in height and diameter and each of which is a build from bright white stone. Despite of their name they have not been built, but grew out of the Daemon World’s surface out of Alsifbrial’s will, with all technology, symmetry and art within them being products of his own superhuman mind. They are the Fortress of Hope, the Palace of Glory, the Temple of Light, the Academy of Truth, the City of Love and the Tower of Purity. Apart of these there is another cyclopean structure on Aovasia that could not exaclty be described as a building. Ielajadrassil, the sacred Great Tree of Life rises hundred of kilometers above Aovasian forests, yet due to a Warp-caused space paradox it never leaves lower levels of its atmosphere. In on its roots, along its trunk and upon its branches there are forests, lakes and rivers as well as entire villages and cities beside them. Many birds, dragons, winged mutants and deamons, big and small, fly within its crown and waterfalls fall from its heights so far that they reach land only as clouds of cold steam. It is said that Ielajadrassil is the focal point of the demonic world soul of Aovasia and should it be destroyed bad times would follow for the planet. On the exact opposite side of the world from Ielajadrassil stand Bormujanssil, a giant mushroom, though not nearly as giant as Ielajadrassil, that is connected to all fungi networks of the planet, regrdless of their exact species. Curiously, the Dark Lands have also been restored, though now semi-demonic monsters coming from there can only encounter a settlement, an army or an individual who himself wishes to fight them, yet they are always instinctively percieved as a threat that should be foguht against. The Dark Lands are a land of sharp spike-like mountains and red rivers of what appears to be something similar to magma or blood and creatures living in it are more dangerous the deeper you go in there. In the middle of the Dark Lands stands the Dark Citadel in which the Dark Lord resides. The Dark Lord is in fact an Eldar Farseer captured by the Swan Angels who now has to suffer even inch of pain brave heroes and adventurers from across Aovasia inflict on monsters that are feeding from his soul. This is the revenge that Unicorn King has bestowed upon his enemies and every time the reigning Dark Lord dies and the Dark Lands start to fade he is replaced by another caputer Eldar.

 Uasevil is a hive world that acts as the administrative capital of the Empire of Light. During its time of fulfilling this function it has became one gigantic planet-wide hive full of temples and monumens glorifying the Light and the Swan Angels Legion. It is upon this world where there is the Hall of Voices, a massive basilika in its size and estetic beauty almost coming close to rival Six Great Buildings of Aovasia. The Hall acts as a meeting place for the Brightest Assembely, a parlainment where all of the worlds of the Empire are represented, though only if they have shown enough loyalty to its regime. It also is a working place for many of the Empire’s most important administrators and its upper levels act as one of Revenant Emperor’s countless royal palaces. When the Hall proper is not housing a meeting and sometmes even despite that it acts as a great Chaotic cathedral of Light. Nearby of the Hall of Voices stands the Nest of Angels, second fortress-monastery of the Swan Angels named and inspired by the Legion’s original fortress-monastery on Iazefia.

### Empire of Light

Empire of Light is divided into Realms that are roughly equivalent to Imperial Sectors. Each Realm is divided into Realmfeathers. Every planet is ruled by a King, Realmfeather by a High King and Realm by a Great King who in their turn are ruled over by the Radiant Emperor.

## Legion Organisation

Swan Angels' organization is incredibly complex and arcane with even what we know about it being likely only a tip of the iceberg. Countless orders, associations, traditions and honour system layer over each other and it is only the highest layers that Swan Angels actively show to others and that play a significant role on the battlefield that we know of.

The main unit of organization within the XVth Legion are Fellowships. They can contain from fifty to five hundred Battle Brothers and act as autonomous brotherhood, each one of them capable both of independent operations and of effectively participating in larger ones. Each Fellowship is led by a Chosen One, who as the name suggest are chosen personally by their Primarch or another high-ranking officer. Swan Angels rarely leave or change their Fellowships and if all Brothers from a Fellowship are dead it still officially continues to exist. Hosts are formed from Fellowships and unlike the latter they are very flexible and temporary, being constantly renamed, founded, abolished or changed in composition as the situation demands. Each Host is led by a Host General also known as an Archangel and they usually contain from two to fifteen Fellowships. Squads within the Swan Angels Legion are divided into two types - Arrows and Spears, Arrows containing from five to ten Battle-Brothers and Spears containing from fifteen to twenty of them. Sergeants are referred to as Ring Masters as each of them carries an unique ring that act as a symbol and a sacred relic of each individual squad and has names of all present and past members written on it.

Swan Angels have Priests of Light who act similarly to chaplains, though golden armour instead of black and golden masks instead of skulls. Originally they were priests in a non-religious way but later on they would become full priests. Priests of Light are made of one-in-a-hundred Swan Angels who ale afflicted by a gene-mutation known as “Swan’s Luck”. They grow wings and a signle horn similarly to their Primarch and their facial features are almost indistinguishable from him.

There are units that utilize Iosafia’s unique flora and fauna and many others, such as Lareghuzian Dragonriders, Bergukean Giant Masters, Parijifrian Lion Riders and Hojeril Fairy Handlers.

Unicorn Fellowship also known as White Guard is the elite bodygyard of Alsifbrial.

Heavenly Giants are the Terminator elite.

Loudest Host is the most elite and famous of the Hosts. It is five thousand strong and always accompanies accompanies their Primarch in all his campaigns, no matter what other forces might join.

Black Swans are members of the Legion that for some reason have grown cynical. They are kept at a distance from the rest of the Legion and their armour is painted black, with only white swan symbol remaining. They are deployed alongside with the Destroyers (who also are sometimes called Black Swans) to do things that the Legions as a whole would not wish to commit.

Pegasus Riders – elite Bike, Land Speeder and Jetbike force.

Pale Dragon Archers – elite Devastators. Pale Dragons used to be a mercenary company of elite archers on Iazefia, Pale Dragon Devastators are named after them and inherited many of their traditions.

Blades of Fartumahal – elite melee fighters.

Wrathful Angels – elite jumpack Marines.

Gferialsii or ”True Angels” as their name translated from Iazefian are the venerated Possessed of the Legion.

(Note that ”elite” does mean ”elite”, it is not just what all melee fighters are called, only the special elite veteran ones.)

Druids are shamans and healers of Iazefian culture, not quite priests nor quite wizards. As Space Marines they took form of three distinct Druid orders. Flesh Druids paint their armour yellow and act as Apothecaries. Iron Druids are painted red and act as Techmarines. Wood Druids wear emerald green armour and act as Legion’s biologists and people who keep close to nature. This may seem weird to some as why would Swan Angels focus so much on nature when they posses wonders of technology, yet Iazefian forests contained many wonders that count rival those and on their crusades across the stars the Legion had discovered many more.

Swan Angels tolerate and even favour psykers and have slightly larger psyker output per Battle-Brother than most other legions (though nowhere near what Thousand Sons were, more like White Scars or Blood Angels). Their Librarians are known as Swan Wizards and wear grey power armour and they act act as both psykers and lore masters for the Legion. Later they would also embrace sorcery, though they always remain more in control than sorcerers from other legions.

Jazealfamai – elite Scouts named after rangers and spies of Iazefia who were keys in fighting mutant threats. They wear comouflage and unlike most of other of Legion’s Scouts they consist mainly of hardened veterans.

While Swan Angels worship Chaos Undivided as the Light, there are some in the Legion who worship one aspect of the Light over the other and are formed into their own formations accordingly.

Blood Swans worship the Red Light (Khorne).

Twilight Swans worship the Violet Light (Slaanesh).

Crystal Swans worship the Blue Light (Thzeench).

Rotting Swans worship the Green Light (Nurgle).

Bone Swans worship the Black Light (Malal/Malice)(kept apart far away from the rest of the Legion for obvious reasons)

Iron Swans worship the Grey Light (Machine God/Omnissiah (as a Chaos God)).

Golden Swans worship the Yellow Light (Emperor as a Chaos God, these are only the most insane and deranged members of the Legion)

Snow Swans worship the White Light (their own Daemon Primarch)

Marble Swans worship the Orange Light (Renevant Emperor)

There are also many smaller formations dedicated to particular lesser gods and daemons.

When Swan Angels converted to Chaos hundreds of Raptor cults started appearing in its ranks. After his ascension Alsifbrial named two Raptor cults that would be tolerated among his sons and others were either disbanded or in some rare cases killed off. These cults are Wrathful Angels and Fanged Swans. Wrathful Angels have evolved from the Great Crusade era elite jump pack assault specialist formation of the same name and they are known for being closer to their Legions's traditions and belief in Light. Fanged Swans on the other hand have grown distant from the rest of their brethren and have gotten closer to the mysterious Raptor God, though not too openly.

Angelic Forum was the name of a Warrior Lodge secretly introduced by High Priest Oumonral but later promoted by Primarch Alsifbrial himself. Its symbol was a human figure with angelic wings and a swan's head and neck. It was a quasi-religious secret society where Swan Angels were trying to connect with each other without burdens of command hierarchy and to preserve their homeworld's cultural and spiritual traditions to greater extent than what many in the Imperium would be happy about.
They were particularly known for performing some forbidden pieces of song, music and theatre from old Iazefia that were banned for having magical and religious themes.
They were originally meeting in the backup engine halls of the Glimmer of Hope but as the lodges grew and became accepted by the Primarch they started meeting in more and more important and after the Legion's open conversion to Chaos the Angelic Forum got their own amphitheatre-like rooms within its ships and fortress-monasteries.

Lightbringers, Hopebringers, Dawnbringers, Joybringers, Freedombringers and Lifebringers were six specialized orders, each two hundred twenty two strong, within the Swan Angels Legions responsible solely for special tasks given to them by their Primarch that they would carry out as individuals, separately from the rest of the Legion. Lightbringers were preachers and elite Iterators, bringing cities and worlds into compliance with words and propaganda. Hopebringers were elite warriors wandering the galaxy and joining battles and campaigns when someone with their skills was badly needed. Dawnbringers were elite Destroyers, operating specialized ships that despite of their size were capable on enacting Extrerminatus upon worlds deemed too tainted before Imperial forces could arrive and sparing them from witnessing or committing horrors that they had to see and do. Joybringers were artists, loretellers and poets travelling across Imperial worlds to present their talents and artworks and to tell of deeds and heroics of their Legion and their allies. Freedombringers created and operated pro-Imperial organizations, movements and cults beyond Imperial borders, sometimes being criticized for alleged religiosity and terrorism among some of those cells. Lifebringers were charity organizers and civil helpers, using their superhuman mind and experience to help to construct new cities, make development plans, organize poverty elimination programs, promote education and high culture, help in catastrophe relief efforts, promote adaptation of new technology and help domesticate native life forms. Together they were known as Thebzian Orders and their headquaters were at the restored ruins of Six Towers of Thebzia, the only somewhat surviving structures of that ancient city. They have survived the Fracturing but with their embracement of Chaos the ways they perform these tasks have became darker and more supernatural.

Urskanriel Project: named after Urskanriel the Traveller, a famous Iazefian explorer from ancient past, this was an initiative by the Fifteenth Primarch to get his Legion closer to others and to get his warriors valuable cultural and martial experience. As a part of the project every Swan Angel above the rank of a line trooper would be assigned to another Astartes Legion for duration of a year in which time he was to achieve a cultural exchange. This would not always work out entirely cleanly and not all Space Marine groups would accept their offers but nevertheless this brought a lot of diverse viewpoints into Swan Angel ranks, viewpoints that they could utilize for the benefit of humanity. Alsifbrial himself would lead by example and spend a year fighting alongside the Ebon Angels while Oumonral was commanding the Legion in his stead. High Priest himself would be later assigned to fight alongside Paladins of Halonia, an assignment he had mixed feelings about as he enjoyed the Paladins' culture and mood yet found certain elements their traditions concerning. While originally motivated by optimism and good will Urskanriel Project would take a darker purpose in later history as the Great Angel used his officers to subtly spread and support warrior lodges across the other legions.

### Legion Strength

Swan Angels were around 60 000 strong when their Primarch was found. Immediately before the Fracturing they achieved their peak of 135 000 and for most of their history before and after they are somewhere between 80 000 and 120 000.

## Legion Beliefs

Cult of Light, alternatively called Lightistm, Faith of Light, Church of Light or Teaching of Light is a religion and later a secular ideology originating from Iazefia and adapted by Swan Angels. It was founded by Hundred Prophets, a group of people who all received the same vision on the same night and went on to create many independent sects and cults that would in coming centuries to unify into a complex but powerful religion centred around a concept known as Light that would come to dominate Iazefia and its political and everyday life. The Light as a concept was confusing to many outsiders and could be interpreted as a deity, a primordial force or a philosophical concept. Cult of Light put particular emphasis on optimism, kindness and justice as well as cultured behaviour and often radical collectivism. This religion had originally gotten into trouble with coming of the Imperium and is was not compatible with the Imperial Truth but Alsifbrial, once one of greatest champions of Light, saw fundamental goodness in its tenants outside of supernatural beliefs and therefore reformed to cult to be more something of a secular philosophy or a political ideology rather than a religion. Even before his introduction to the Imperial Truth he tried to reflect the Light's ideals more directly in his politics than many of other kings were willing to and with secularization this went even farther. Aristocracy was mostly disbanded as an institution, economy and everyday life became increasingly bureaucratically planned and people started experienced more equality and higher standards of life than they had in millennia.

When conquering new worlds Swan Angels would often take much more time to help them rebuild than other Legions, often not leaving before the world not only recovered from their invasion but was better than they found them. One of the few criticisms that anyone would ever land on the XVth Legion was that many of these worlds would experience problems with integrating with the rest of the Imperium due to their citizens having somewhat higher living standards and being generally more equal to each other. There also were reports of new central governments achieving these results by establishing totalitarian control over lives of their citizens to an extent rare on other planets of the galaxy but these were not things that overly concerned Imperial elites and were if anything seen as a positive aspect that redeemed the former. A notable exception to this was John Kennington, a staunch defender of democracy and freedom who saw what Swan Angels were doing as replacing tyrants with often even worse tyrants and would come to blows with the Unicorn King over this.

Though Swan Angels are genetically predisposed for virtues associated with the Light it is without a doubt that this cultural phenomena played a big part in the Legion's corruption. It is said that it is specifically fundamental goodness of the Universe and desire to do good no matter what led their great Primarch to grow disappointing with cold Imperial Truth and flawed material existence and to seek out the Light as a real entity and later to accept it despite of its complete horror. It has been theorized by some Imperial scholars that this religion was a Chaotic cult from the very beginning, created and carefully masked by the Dark Gods during the Night of Hundred Visions to corrupt the purest of all of the Emperor's sons to be their most devoted servant.

## Legion Gene-Seed

Aside from the Swan’s Luck (that as the name implies was not viewed as a bad thing), albinism and slightly larger ration of psykers during the Great Crusade the Swan Angels had some of the purest and most functional gene-seed. Even in the 41st millennium despite of all of Chaotic corruption it has remained relatively pure, with mutations developing mostly only as a consequence of Warp influence, not the gene-seed itself.

## Notable Members

**Oumonral the Endless** - A famous hermit of Iazefia, he lived in a cave and said to be immortal or one of the so-called Perpetuals, living for thousands of years yet remaining a youthful man. He was the last of the Hundred Prophets, a group of unrelated people who received the same vision on the same day and independently founded dozens of sects that would eventually emerge into a religion known as Cult of Light. A staunch puritan and a defender of Iazefian values, he acted as a spiritual adviser to any who came to him expect for the kings and nobles for whom he is said to have held nothing but disdain. The first and only king he ever accepted to meet with was Alsifbrial and he acted as his personal priest ever since. Seeing this new king as the prophesized hero he joined back into Iazefian society, becoming a warrior-priest and with his charisma and experience quickly rising to be the High Priest of Light at the sacred city of Umahara and a key supporter of the rising Niragordizian empire.

When the Emperor came to Iazefia Oumonral hesitated but eventually accepted his rule and aided Alsifbrial in his attempts to secularize the Church of Light. Deep in his heart he however held on to his old faith. Despite his old age he was able to become a full Astartes as his body remained youthful and he continued his role as High Priest of Light and now Master of Morale to uphold traditions and virtues of both his homeworld and his legion. He would prove himself not only as a good priest but also as an excellent warrior and a great orator, converting billions to Imperial Truth and earning numerous personal praises from the Emperor Himself who once called him "the purest of angels".
As years went by doubts started forming in Oumonral's head, dissatisfaction with coldness of the Imperium and its ideology and long-suppressed memories of what he truly saw of the Night of Hundred Visions. Eventually restricting himself but later fuelling similar doubts in his Primarch's head Oumonral set himself on a path to find the Light, not the Light that he spoke of but the Light that so long ago had spoken to him. And find it he did, becoming known in later Imperial sources as the First Heretic.

He is one of the Swan Angels who "suffer" from the Swan’s Luck - a gene-mutation that turns him especially physically similar to his Primarch, right down to a single horn and angelic wings, though in Oumonral's case he has preserved his previous facial features, which is a great rarity. As a Priest of Light his artificer armour is not white but golden.

Oumonral's famed weapon of choice is Sword of Truth - a mysterious power sword the power field of which takes a form of raging flames, similar to the Emperor's own sword. After Oumonral's fall to Chaos he turned Sword of Truth into a demonic weapon in a ritual in which he massacred over a million of mortal soldiers of the United Species and trapping them in turn within the Sword and then killing a billion more in a ritual to turn them into a powerful daemon.

**White Knight** is a mysterious figure who is often seen fighting alongside with the Swan Angels Legion after their fall to Chaos. He is clad in an elaborate artificer armour that is radiating light so strong that even other Astartes experience physical pain from even looking at him without protection. He is said to move with incredible swiftness and defeat any opponent he faces and his sword which is longer than he himself has not yet been recorded to fail at cutting any material it tried to cut through. Few know who this White Knight is and even many high-ranking Archangels are not aware of who he is and when will he join the battle. There are four major theories of the White Knight's origins circulating within the Empire of Light and beyond. The first is that he is Jovian Cyrus, the original Legion Master of the XVth who survived within a Dreadnought to fight under his Primarch and has now been somehow brought back to true life. Others claim he is Ruhagiel the Once-Scarred, a great swordsman famed for being touched by an enemy blade only once and originally a member of a formerly powerful but then impoverished Niragordizian household. When Alsifbrial came and reformed his kingdom to be more meritocratic Ruhagiel rose through the ranks and became Alsifbrial's champion during his conquest of Iazefia and later the Great Crusade and the Fracturing.

There are those who find similarities between the White Knight and the Moon Knight, a legendary Iazefian figure. Myth and folklore tell that during the Long Night Iazefia came to be dominated by Atlanizia, an island-city that had managed to preserve far more of the old technology than the others. For a time Atlanizia ruled the world benevolently until came Eneopal the Unworthy, a cruel and decadent tyrant who oppressed people of Iazefia and focused only on improving his home city. Dark Eldar and other xenos and pirates were allowed to raid the planet freely in exchange for personal favours. A great rebellion started led by the city of Thebzia but it was almost completely crushed by Atlanizians and their loyalists who used their tech-relics and great number to defeat the rebels in several battles and then destroyed Thebzia. However just after the city was burning down its last surviving resident rode on a horse before Eneopal's hosts and challenged him to a duel. The tyrant in his arrogance agreed and was killed, his armies routed and retreating into the countryside.

This man became the new leader of the rebels and led an new offensive against Atlanizia. However as he and his men were nearing the capital is suddenly started rising above the land and disappeared, the only message given to the bewildered Iazefians being a curse made by queen Kargaiha targeting last man of Thebzia. From that day forward he was forced to wander the land as a ghost, unable to feel pleasure and unable to die. Only under full moon could he turn into flesh and even then he was was immortal and his only relief was war. For this he was called the Moon Knight by people of Iazefia. The fourth man was the so-called Lord of Tilurium, a ruler and supreme commander of a small human empire during the Great Crusade. It is said that within his borders human population managed to not only thrive but also preserve almost unheard of genetic purity. When Swan Angels stumbled upon Tilurium their zealous demands at first caused an armed conflict. Both sides were impressed by each other, mortals of Tilurium giving some of the best fights any baseline humans have ever given to Space Marines and for a time Alsifbrial even thought Lord of Tilurium might be one of the undiscovered Primarchs. Before any too serious casualties were reached the fighting was stopped, both sides admiring the other and they were not truly enemies to each other. Compliance was reached and many of the elite Tiluriumese soldiers joined or attempted to join the Swan Angels Legion and it is even rumoured that Lord of Tilurium himself was one of them.

Few know the truth about the White Knight and the truth is that all four of those theories are correct. After his ascension Alsifbrial found all four of these heroes and using his new demonic powers forcibly merged their souls, minds and flesh into one being. As their thoughts and feelings contradicted each other this new being stopped being a rational being and turned into a Warp-powered human bio-automaton, unable to do anything but fight and win against Alsifbrial's foes for thousands of years, unable to even comprehend or question why is it doing it or how. Only memories of past fights and victories remain and the burning image of Alsifbrial and the Light surrounding him.

## Legion Fleet

**Glimmer of Hope (Gloriana-class Battleship)** was the flagship of the XVth Legion during the Great Crusade and remains in this position to this day. The ship was built to reflect Swan Angels' beliefs and culture - a radiant white city full of spires, statues, artificial gardens and public palaces, to reflect Emperor's glory and what he has in store for all of humanity.
It would often display artworks from Iazefia and across the Imperium, as well as many done by Swan Angels themselves.
The ship was not only a military object but also housed many orphanages, academies and Iterator propaganda centres.

Despite of this it was nevertheless a powerful warship of great potency and possessed a large arsenal of guns as well as well as large contingent of Space Marines and Imperial Guard.

Its upper part was shaped as a giant statue of neck and head of an elegant swan and within its head was the House of Light, a place where only Space Marines could enter. Inside it was built as a large Iazefian-style temple, though no longer for openly religious purpose, and it served as a place for more important and intimate rituals of the Legion. Above it was the Alabaster Glimmer, a colossal crown-shaped diamond on top of the swan's head that housed a large choir of Astropaths and other communication forms that endlessly transmitted message of Unity and Imperial Truth to as many worlds as possible.

Secretive warrior lodge known as Angelic Forum originally held its meetings in halls of the backup engines but as the Legion slowly converted to Chaos and Angelic Forum was used to spread Chaotic corruption its meeting came to more and more public places and with full revelation of the Legion's allegiances it was given its own official headquaters.

In the the middle of the ship was a titanic Ynirae, the Hall of True-coming Dreams that is said to be several kilometres in diameter and was used for more public ceremonies. Second largest hall of the ship was the Throne Room of the Unicorn King where Primarch, when onboard, sat in his royal throne far above his subjects and allies. The throne was crafted by the Great Angel himself and it is said to be so beautiful that many people have been reported to cry and confess all their wrongdoings when looking upon it.

## Unique Patterns

Iazefia-pattern power weapons

Pegasus-pattern Land Speeders

Maryekual-pattern Bikes

Pale Dragon-pattern Mobile Grenade Launchers

Land Raider Triumphant - las-cannons are replaced with massive grenade launchers

## Legion Relics

While Swan Angels have great many banners, Banner of Future is the most famous of them all, being the banner of the Legion as a whole. Created five days after reunification with their Primarch, more elaborate and complex than banner of any other legion, its most significant part are the two Legion mottoes, one above and one below, that are used as most common warcries by warriors of the XVth. When it was created the motto above was "For the Emperor and His Light" and the lower one was "Light will always find a way". After their betrayal of the Emperor and conversion to Chaos the upper line was redacted to have no motto at all, as famous enough warcries had not arisen yet from the Legion. However it would come. During the Fall of Iazefia, as Ebon Angels and their allies cracked defences of the Nest of Angels and were swarming its halls, filling them with Warp-silence of their pariah abilities, Alsifbrial and his men prepared for the last stand. During the intense fighting Unicorn King was grimly silent, but as his legendary sword Ilsazena was broken during his fight against the Ebon Guard continued to fight with a chain-axe that he wrestled from their captain and yelled - "DAY WILL COME AGAIN" again and again and soon his sons joined him in his chant. After Alsifbrial's and later his resurrection this phrase became popular among Swan Angels and was inscribed upon the upper half of the Banner of Future, making it one of the Legion's official mottoes, and by extension a motto of the Empire of Light as a whole. When Ilsazena was reforged as a demonic blade Alsifbrial inscribed these words were written upon it in Iazefian script on one side and in the Dark Tongue (Bright Tongue for Swan Angels) on the other. Day would indeed come again during the Fifth White Crusade when through a massive Chaotic ritual dozens of stars controlled by hostile factions turned into Red Giants and then White Dwarfs, evaporating any life on planets surrounding them.

Primarch's weaponry:

In battle he usually carries Ilsazena, an ancient and powerful Iazefian blade of unknown origin, though it is a power weapon of some sort. This blade was stuck in a great stone in the middle of temple on top of a tall mountain and according to a prophecy the man who would pull Ilsazena from the stone would become a king of all of Iazefia and never lose this title. As a boy Alsifbrial did just that and so far the prophesy has been fulfilled. The sword has also a built-in Bolter. Alsifbrial also carries in battle the Ray of Terra’s Glory, a reinforced Las-gun combined with a Volkite and wears the Cloth of Light, a magnificent and elegant custom-made Afrificer power armour that has a mobile but fast jump pack that can act as an additional force during Primarch’s flights.

## Successor Chapters and Warbands

Swords of Truth are a group in Nova Terra Empire that were garrisoning what was once Argent Sword.

Silver Swans are a loyalist Swan Angels group in the Imperium that will be purged and barely escaped both Loyalists and Traitors with very few remaining.

Light Bearers are a remnant of the Las Heresy within the Empire of Light, they basically worship their las-weapons.

Painters of the Future - a sect of deranged Slaaneshi Swan Angels who have set themselves a goal to make the entire universe completely white and destroy all other colours. It is their belief that if this could be achieved the Warp and material reality would fuse together, creating one gigantic and stronger version of the Eye of Terror. After over three centuries of working they have managed to cover over fifteen planets in white sand that is found in abundance on desert world of Samergumia III. They are currently developing a powder that could paint areas of space white but so far this undertaking has not been successful. Leader of the group Isakviel the Painter used to be one of the Swan Wizards during the Great Crusade and had created a particularly famous statue of the Emperor that was installed on Terra within one of former Merican hive cities. He is also known as Isakviel the Blind as he has removed pupils from his eyes to make them more white.

Lightspeed Blades - a sect of Swan Angels who are trying to make themselves blades that move with the exact speed of light. While they have managed to create blades that can move faster than light that is not what the sect is interested in, instead their goal is to create a blade that is moving with the exact speed of light, as if it was made of light itself. This sect claims to worship Khorne yet many other Khornates consider them to be imposters.

Scribes of the Universe-Forming Angel - a Tzeenchian Swan Angels' sect that attempts to write down every sentence ever said that contains word "angel". There are sub-sects of the cult that believe that every sentence ever said contains this word at least indirectly.

Shining Angels - a Nurglite warband of Swan Angels that is spreading a particular disease that covers its victims body in large, oily and light-reflecting fleshy things. Shining Angels seek to spread this plague as far and wide as possible so that millions of people could beautify the world by spreading around its light.

Angels of Hope - an Imperial Chapter descended from the Swan Angels without their own or others' knowledge. They are deeply devoted to the Imperial Cult. Angels of Hope have been allowed their own successor Chapter: Angels of Destiny.

## Legion Cognomens

Before Primarch: Silver Saviors, Defenders of Life, Mage Slayers

Usual/Before Chaos: White Guard, Legion of Light, Hope Bringers, Unicorn Warriors, Alabaster Liberators, Blades of Destiny, Paladins of Life, Purifiers, Forest Sons

When Alsifbrial acted as the Praetorian of Terra: Angels of Terra, Praetorian's Own

Under Chaos: Apostles of Light, Greatest Traitors, Chosen Angels

### Names for Primarch

Usual/Before Chaos: Unicorn King, the One-Horned, the Hopeful, the Visionary, the White, the Savior, the Conciliator, the Merciful, the Pale, the Defender, Purest Son, Great Angel, Brightest One, Blade of Unity, Spreader of Light, Living Marble

As a Praetorian of Terra: Praetorian of Terra, the Praetorian, Terra's Champion, Shield of the Homeworld

Post-Fracturing: the Hundred-Horned, the Reborn, Great Traitor, Chosen One, Pale Prophet, Warmaster of Light (title within the Empire of Light), Ring Bearer, Despoiler, False Prophet (of False Light (Loyalist saying)), Core of Ruin, Destroyer of Hope, the Bastard

## Trivia

 - Legion symbol and badge is silhouette of a swan.

- A Host consiting of one thousand Terran veterans was not converted to Chaos was sent on a suicide mission so they would not cause trouble during the Fracturing. They however survived and landed on a mining world called Belgradion V. After the fracturing they remained loyal to the Imperium and became known as Silver Swans, though as hatred of the Swan Angels was rising they were exileds and became their own independent pro-Imperial force. Swan Angels tried to hunt them down and almost succeeded, though under a hundred of them still remain alive and free.

- Within the Empire of Light Dark Mechanicum is known as Bright Mechanicum