Eternal Legion

Eternal Legion armorial with Legion iconography.

Eternal Legion Tactical Legionary.

### **Observed Strategic Tendencies**

Terror Assaults, Psychological Warfare, Sabotage, Infiltration, Punitive Actions, Heavy Infantry Assault

### **Battle cry**

"*Nos Mortem!*"
(Translated from High Gothic, "*Fear everlasting!*")

### Successor Legion(s)

N/A

"*Fear everlasting!*"
— Motto of the Eternal Legion
The **Eternal Legion** is a First Founding Ur-Legion of the Nova Terra Regency, descended from the infamous Night Lords Space Marine Legion, and '*The Repentant*' Black Shield legion. They rebranded in 875.M33, in the wake of the Nova Terra Interregnum. The Eternal Legion defected from the Imperium with the intent of defending the newly born Nova Imperium and supplementing the Night Lords legion, and protecting the Emperor of Mankind's original ideals.

The Eternal Legion is a unique legion of Space Marines that are not recognized as one of the official Ur-Legions of Nova Terra. Instead this Legion operates outside the usual organization and command of the Nova Terra Regency as a highly independent crusading fleet. They are aloof, and an enigmatic Astartes Legion who give off an air of fear and repulsion. In fact, many look upon this legion and see them as nothing less than a band of terrorists and who bring nothing but ill-fortune. Many venerable Space Marine Legions shun the company of this Legion for this reason. However, in the rare instances that the Eternal Legion does work with other Space Marine Legions it is often in tangent with those that complement their deliberate and devastating assaults.

The entire legion operates under a great veil of secrecy, making it difficult to track their movements and current combat deployments, and even the overall strength of their legion. It is often said that there are anywhere between 50,000-150,000 legionaries, making it one of the smaller Second Founding Legions, however, this is only guessed at because the Eternal Legion is constantly on the move persecuting xenos, the Forces of Chaos, and the false Imperium with utmost zeal.

The Eternal Legion was founded on the Emperor's original ideals, and the ideals that pushed the Great Crusade across the Milky Way. The Eternal Legion fiercely believe that the Emperor is not a god, but still see and acknowledge that he is their patriarch and leader. They also follow the original ideals of Konrad Curze when he ruled over Nostromo. When they conquer a planet they will treat the populace fairly, but will, without hesitation, ruthlessly killing and terrorizing the populace if there is even a hint of rebellion. They utilize fear with the utmost precision and effectiveness that is as almost as perfect at their Primarch. They also are devout followers of the Emperor's original values and ideals and will stop at nothing to uphold them. They have been known to tear down churches and shrines to the Emperor with a zeal that rivals even that of the Imperial Heralds of old.

## Legion History

Shortly after the Horus Heresy began, following the events of the Drop Site Massacre of Isstvan V and the sundering of the VIII Legion, Konrad Curze left Imperial space, burdened by everything that he had done. He was adrift in space for over two thousand years, being plagued by dark visions of what would pass in the future. He was a broken man who detested himself for everything that had come to pass and for what he had done. Most of those of his legion that had followed him from the black sands of Isstvan, now saw him as a weak and worthless leader, and slowly but surely, they started leaving him. With every passing day another ship would drop out of the fleet formation, taking more and more of his Night Lords.

The Night Haunter stood and watched them leave and did nothing to stop them. He hated everything about his legion - to him, the vast majority of his sons were comprised of vile murderers and monsters just as he was. He spent more and more time in his quarters as the visions grew worse, as he foresaw the darkest possible futures come to pass. Curze saw his father's empire drawn asunder. He saw his sons - his Night Lords - become the very monsters that he fought to destroy. He saw his brothers die, the men who he thought that hated him, but in all reality, just misunderstood what he was - perish in the darkest ways. The great Night Haunter was tormented endlessly, day and night. Until the day he received the first vision that was different than anything he had ever seen. The vision he received was that of a brighter future that could restore everything that he and the other fallen Primarchs had undone.

### Founding

The Eternal Legion was originally founded during the Siege of Terra as an ad-hoc legion (Blackshield force) known as '*The Repentant*', which was comprised of mostly loyalist Night Lords, and other Loyalist elements from the Traitor Legions. The Repentant fought the traitor legions zealously for years up to the Siege of Terra. After the end of the Siege of Terra and the beginning of the reformation of the Imperium, the nascent Legion petitioned the newly created High Lords of Terra and Rogal Dorn himself to keep the legion alive. After fierce deliberation between the High Lords and Rogal Dorn, the Repentant were allowed to stay together. Following this decision every single legionary expunged his heraldry and tore the mark of their respective legions from their armor and took on a new name to expunge their respective past. From this point forwards the Legion fought zealously to prove that they were loyal to the Imperium of man.

## Legion Home world

The Eternal Legion lack a true home world, and instead tend to operate from Nova Terra.

## Notable Battles

* **Siege of Terra (014.M31)**-

* **Subjugation of Vethos (Unknown Date-ca. 015-016.M31)**-

* **Halo Stars Crusade (Unknown Date.M32)**-

* **Defence of Macharia (Unknown Date.M33)**-

* **Nova Terra Interregnum (M33)**-
* **Invasion of Helvior IV (M34)**

## Legion Organization

The Eternal Legion is a completely autonomous legion. The legion master has the last say on all the matters but the Primarch can override any and all decisions but rarely does so. The legion is split into roughly 10 Cohorts and each Cohort is broken down into multiple centuries and broken down further into Demi-centuries. The entire legion is overseen by the Dread Master, and their Primarch Conrad Curze, next each cohort is overseen by the Doom Bringers which are equivalent in rank to a chapter master. Next comes the Centurions who are in charge of their individual centuries and answer to the Doom Bringer. Next follows the Vetanus Servanus who are in charge of the Demi-centuries. The demi-centuries are comprised of the typical battle-brothers. The last three centuries are comprised of scout marines and are known Tenebris Compania.

### Command Ranks

* **Dread Master** - The mysterious Legion Master of the Eternal Legion, it is he who is the supreme commander over his Chapter.
* **Doom Bringer** - A Doom Bringer (Chapter Master equivalent) is a commander of a Cohort (Chapter equivalent).
* **Centurions** - A Centurion (Captain or Praetor equivalent) oversees a Century (Demi-Chapter) and helps take the burden of command off the Doom Bringers.

### Line Ranks

* **Vetanus Servanus** - This rank is equivalent to a Veteran Sergeant in other more *Codex*-oriented Chapters. They are the senior battle-brothers that oversee a Demi-Century (Platoon equivalent) made up of approximately 30 or so battle-brothers.
* **Sergeant**
* **Battle-Brother**
* **Scout Marine**
* **Neophytes**
* **Aspirants**

### Specialist Formations

* **The Death Wardens** - The Death Wardens are the elite cadre of the Eternal Legion who serve as its Honour Guard. These elite warriors are the most feared of any Legionary, having served the Legion for many centuries with their exceptionally courageous service. The Death Wardens are the most taciturn and solemn individuals in repose, but also among the most ferocious and unyielding of its warriors in battle. They prowl the battlefield as silent as a grave cutting down all who stand before them and the Dread Master.
* **Black Wraiths** - The Black Wraiths are an elite formation of specialist scouts whose abilities for ambush, infiltration and sabotage borders on the supernatural. They also possessed superlative skills in creating conditions of all-consuming chaos amongst the enemy's ranks through the assassination of key officers and assets. The Black Wraiths are considered unparalleled masters of this form of silent warfare amongst the Ur-Legions, which is only surpassed by the Raven Guard Legion themselves.
* **Raptors** - The Raptors of the Eternal Legion descend from their infamous father legion the Night Lords. The Raptors use Jump Packs which are more sophisticated and efficient than the ones commonly used by the Space Marines of the Imperium. They are considerably lighter and less bulky, and have a stronger thrust which allows for slightly longer and higher jumps to be performed. The Raptors of the Eternal Legion are just as ruthless and unforgiving as the original Raptors of the Night Lords.
* **Terror Marine** - The Terror Marines are a specialist formation that serves alongside the Black Wraiths. These specialist Space Marines are known to go above and beyond what even the Night Lords and Eternal Legion would do. They record the sounds of battle and the screaming of dying men, and then replay them in the midst of enemy troops in order to wear them down psychologically. Terror Marine squads have also have been known to hijack vox channels and play these horrific recordings endlessly with the intent of instilling fear in the hearts of their foes, often times causing them to throw down their arms and surrender.
* **Tenebris Compania** - These are Scout Marines equivalent, but unlike the standard scout marine of the other Legions, the Tenebris Compania are made up of some of the Legion's most ruthless hunters and pathfinders.

## Legion Gene-Seed

The gene-seed of the Eternal Legion, like their progenitors, seems surprisingly pure, bearing the least evidence of mutation. The only notable physical abnormality is their jet black eyes and pale skin that is reminiscent of the Night Lords. Though upon closer inspection, elements from other Astarte legions can be found, hailing from its history as a Blackshield legion.

Another noticeable trait is that these Legionaries tend to show a tendency for moral exoneration and a drive to enact retribution. It is well documented that the divergence in programming and influence of the Primarch's genotype in the transformation of human to transhuman Astartes that, beyond any other factor, sets the various Space Marine Legions apart from one other. In the case of the Eternal Legion, this factor shows clearly both in temperament and overtly in the psychological.

The Eternal Legion display a propensity for the use of violence and calculated, cold-blooded murder in order to achieve their aims. They have a keen understanding of the human psyche, and willingly employ such brutal tactics in order to maintain Imperial order. When committing such horrible acts, they often display cold indifference when enacting their brutal forms of justice - as cold and uncaring as their ritual flaying knives. Though deemed barbaric and bellicose in nature by many of their fellow Space Marine Legion, the Eternal Legion is known to display unequivocal loyalty to the Ur-Council to a fault.

## Legion Beliefs

The Eternal Legion believe they are the retributors of the Emperor, created for the sole purpose of bringing swift, merciless justice to those that would dare transgress against Him and the laws of the Nova Terra Regency. They reserve a special hatred for those who reject the Emperor and embrace something else in His place - be it an apostate, a rebellious planetary ruler or more grievously, foul xenos or the servants of the Ruinous Powers. The eradication of such heresy is a prime goal of the Eterna Legion. When the Ur-Council has identified a world whose loyalty has been found wanting and turned their backs on both the Nova Terra Regency and the tenets of the Imperial Truth, the Eternal Legion is unleashed. Such crimes require not simply crushing but retribution. These actions are well suited to this Legion. The Eternal Legion feel it is their sacred duty to drag those found wanting back from the shadows of ignorance and discord, and into illumination.

If there is the slightest suspicion or involvement of such heresy, they must be purged through any means necessary. When it involves an entire world, the Eternal Legion are not so discerning as to single out just those responsible. In their eyes, all are guilty by association. These grim sons of Curze show no mercy and offer no quarter. Their methods often leads to the destruction of entire cities and, if need be, entire worlds. Better a dead world than one that does not bow to the will of the Ur-Council - or worse, serve the enemies of all Mankind.

The Eternal Legion have no moral compunction performing the most barbarous acts in order to carry out the will of the Ur-Council. Their drive to enact retribution overrides all other impulses within them. It is not known if this is a result of some particular curse of their blood or if it was intentionally engineered into their gene-seed. Their ways and methods of war are geared towards the righteous drive to punish the guilty. Most disturbing of all, is the Eternal Legion's proclivity for torture and outright murder. They believe that the terrifying arts of murder and mayhem that they perpetrate are coldly calculated means to an end. In their skewed moral view, there is no such thing is innocence or guilt. The Eternal Legion believe justice is neither warm nor caring, and those who are judged and found wanting, only deserve swift retribution as cold and dispassionate as the sharpened edges of their flaying knives.

Serving as judge, jury and executioners, the Eternal Legion willingly enact their bloody form of justice against those whose crimes are deemed particularly egregious in the eyes of the Ur-Council. The brutal punishments carried out by the Eternal Legion are designed to be at their most visceral and personal which include - systematic mutilation, flaying, flogging, crucifixion and dismemberment. One of their more brutal traditions is the practice of habitually wearing totem-relics of significant enemies upon their battle-plate. They are also known to adorn their armour and vehicles with the bones, skulls and sometimes flayed skins of those who have resisted the rule of the Imperium - a psychological ploy utilised by the Eternal Legion to great effect. These grisly displays send a clear message to those yet to be punished that a similar fate awaits them.

### Legion Combat Doctrine

The Eternal Legion predominantly operate under the Night Lords combat doctrine, though the customs of the various loyalist forces from the Traitor legions have had a slight influence. They try to instill unrelenting terror into the enemy forces in hopes of stopping a battle before it commences. The preliminary assault forces consist of Terror Marines and Black Wraiths that wreak havoc amongst the enemy, and disrupt supply lines.

### Legion Recruitment

The Eternal Legion recruits from all over the galaxy regardless if they are from the Imperium of Man or the Nova Terran Regency. Due to their origins as a Blackshield legion, they also accept Space Marines after an intense vetting process to ensure loyalty to the legion.

## Notable Eternal Legion Members

* **The Dread Master** - The Dread Master is the current Legion Master of the Eternal Legion and is one of the oldest living Legion Masters of the Nova Terra Regency. He is renowned throughout the entire galaxy by both friend and foe alike, striking terror in the hearts of all who stand before him, and inspiring allies and causing them to go above and beyond many acts of valor. An ancient veteran of both the latter years of the Unification Wars and the First Great Crusade. The original name of this fearsome warrior has long been lost to the mist of time. Extant records indicates that this may be due to the fact that upon assuming the mantle of 'Dread Master', all traces of one's previous life are wiped away. The Dread Master has long been a figure of dread, as he had already entered into the legends of the Legiones Astartes long before the Horus Heresy. Whatever the truth to the many rumors about this killer's unsavory reputation, none could dispute his ruthless efficiency or long tally of victories. When the Horus Heresy ended, and the High Lords decreed that *The Repentant* would be allowed to exist the Dread Master was unanimously chosen by his nascent Legion's warriors to lead them in battle. He was one of the few candidates selected for the nascent 'Project Homo Sapiens Novus', where he underwent the arduous process of having his gene-seed boasted to a level far superior to an average Astartes - but less than a Primarch - making him almost as comparable as the Emperor's own elite Legio Custodes. Since that bygone era, the Dread Master continued to lead his Legion in the ongoing Second Great Crusade, until the events of the Nova Terra Interregnum, which occurred in the 33rd Millennium. He willfully led his Legion to the side of the Secessionist cause, and fought against his former brother-Legions for the next eight centuries, until the conflict finally ended in an uneasy cease-fire and the Secessionist pocket empire was formally recognized as the Nova Terra Regency. Since that long ago age, the ancient Dread Master has continued to lead his Legion in the defense of Nova Impirator against threats both internal and external.
* **Corvosa Medici** -

## Legion Appearance

### Legion Colours

The Eternal Legion primarily wears deep purple coloured battle-plate with portions of it painted black, including both shoulder pauldron trim and sabatons. Like their Night Lords progenitors, the Eternal Legion still maintains some of the ancient and macabre practice of adorned their power armour in symbols of death such as trophy racks, spikes, spiked armor, and numerous skulls of all sizes. These death fetishes and adornments to their armour is designed to evoke both fear and revulsion.

### Legion Badge

The Eternal Legion's badge consists of a large stylised hourglass filled with skulls, a warning to those that cross their paths that time has run out and that death is upon them. This central symbol is centered between to decorative pillars with skulls carved into their surface.

## Quotes

### By the Eternal Legion

*Feel free to add your own*
"*We are a legion of outcasts. Many of which come from those who saw fit to betray the Emperor and our brothers. But we refuse to live in shame. We are the remnants of our parent legions, and we will restore our honor, through the blood of traitors.*"
— Unknown

## Gallery

A Death Warden Terminator, one of the Eternal Legion's elite Terminator Honour Guard cadre.Eternal Legion Tactical Legionary, unknown Chapter.