Impalers (Legion)

Impalers armorial with Legion iconography.

Impalers Vyreling (Legionary) of the XXIII Chapter, 5th Coterie, 8th Brood (Battleline).

## Space Marine Legion

### **Allegiance**

Imperium of Man
(*Fedelitas Since Recursu*)

### **Successor of**

Blood Angels
(Sanguinius; Deceased)

### **Legion Master**

Grand Voivode (Legion Master) Strahd Tepes

### **Observed Strategic Tendencies**

Shock Assault, Close-Quarters Actions (Line-Breaker Attacks, 'Forlorn Hope' Objective Assaults), Punitive Actions, Decimation, Enforced Pacification, Terror Assaults, Psychological Warfare

### **Battle cry**

"*Vitae Voro!*"
(High Gothic translation: "Devour their blood!")

### Successor Legion(s)

N/A

"*He told how murderers walk the earth
Beneath the curse of Cain,
With crimson clouds before their eyes
And flames about their brains:
For blood has left upon their souls
Its everlasting stain.*"
— Attributed to the ancient Terran dramaturge, Thomas Hood, ca. M2
The **Impalers** are a 2nd Founding Successor Legion created from the noble and tragic Blood Angels Legion. They were created as a replacement for the 'lost' XI Legion, and to help bring stability to the Imperium of Man that was rife with civil discord. However, within only a matter of centuries, it was apparent that there were some unexpected genetic idiosyncrasies passed on from their genetic forbears to this newest generation of Scions of Sanguinius - an unnatural craving for blood and a insatiable drive to enact retribution against those that dared turn from the light of the Emperor - often in ways both horrifying and extremely more barbaric, as time went on. Heavily afflicted by what they call the '*Blood Thirst*' and the resulting brutality often enacted during their campaigns, has led to their being investigated multiple times on charges of heresy and corruption by the Inquisition, but they have been cleared of suspicion, for the time being.

## Legion History

The Impalers were one of several Space Marine Legions created in the wake of the tragic events of the Horus Heresy. Utilising the gene-seed of their fallen gene-sire, the Great Angel Sanguinius, it was hoped by the flesh-crafters and genetors of the Mechanicum that by utilising new gene-cultivating techniques, they would be able to create a new generation to carry on the legacy of the valiant and noble Sanguinius. After nearly a century of experimentation and research, they had cultivated enough of this newer and more purer gene-seed to be used to created a new Legion. Thus, the 2nd Founding was finally authorised by the newly instilled High Lords of Terra, and the XI Legion was finally replaced. A new generation of Scions of Sanguinius were created and were given to the command of their new Grand Voivode (Legion Master) Nassir Amit, a ferocious and unforgiving commander of the Blood Angels' ferocious 5th Company. He promptly renamed his Legion the Crimson Sons, in honour of their slain gene-sire, and immediately set out to reclaim those worlds still held by those loyal to the slain Arch-Traitor Horus and his lost cause.

The Crimson Sons quickly earned a laudable record of their zealous persecution of the Traitor Legions, a well-deserved reputation that has not waned over the course of their history. Utilised as a shock assault force, on every occasion the Impalers were unleashed against a recalcitrant world or xenos threat, they performed their duties with almost gleeful savagery, tearing apart whatever enemy it was given to fight without mercy or falter, regardless of its own losses and heedless of the risk. Over time, the XI Legion was increasingly deemed by the High Lords of Terra as being more suitable for use against targets where annihilation was the goal rather than Imperial Compliance or liberation, a task to which they seemed eminently suited.

Despite their early record of impressive tallies of victory and the initial success of their newly created superior gene-seed, after several centuries the Crimson Sons began to display troubling tendencies for extreme demonstrations of cruelty and savagery on an unparalleled level, often with complete disregard for innocent human life and collateral damage. On several occasions, their allies have been greeted by the sickening sights of dismemberment, crucifixions and even impaling, the latter torture becoming the calling card of this unforgiving Legion, as well giving them their new moniker - the 'Impalers'. Such barbaric displays of butchery and savagery have done little to enhance their standing. The XI Legion's bellicose and ruthless demeanour has earned them an unsavoury reputation amongst the Legions of the Legiones Astartes, and Imperial commanders and planetary governors are wont to embrace the aid of these bloodthirsty and savage Astartes, except in only the direst of circumstances.

During this era, the Impalers constantly crusading across the width and breadth of the galaxy, destroying any and all Traitors, heretics or xenos that dared to cross their path. Whispers of their brutality circulated amongst the nobles of the Terran court, going so far as to reach the ears of the High Twelve themselves. However, the degree of success achieved by the XI Legion in achieving compliancy was nearly unparalleled. During this period of strife, as the Imperium recovered from Horus' treachery, results were valued far more than the means in which the way this bloody-handed Legion conducted their campaigns. As such, there were no investigations into the savage rumours that accompanied the Impalers' implacable advance across the stars.

Over time, the Impalers continued to earn a dreadful reputation for savagery. Despite their laudable and impressive tally of victories, many of their erstwhile allies have begun to question this Legion's conduct in their prosecution. Though none would gainsay the Impalers effectiveness in battle, there are many who have fought alongside the Impalers who found the Astartes of this Legion to often be unpredictable, intemperate and dangerous to anything that stands in their path - combatant, civilian or otherwise. Rumours have even began to circulate that the Impalers have, at times, put to the sword human auxiliary regiments of the Imperial Army they see as failing them in battle. Due to the inherent distrust and aura of malice surrounding this Legion, the Impalers often keep a guarded distance from other Legions. Only time will tell whether their genetic deficiencies or growing psychosis will be their undoing.

## Legion Organisation

### Officer Ranks

* **Grand Voivode** - Legion Master equivalent.
* **Voivode** - Legion Delegatus equivalent, this specialty rank is often granted to a *Hospodar* (temporarily) who is tasked with a specific mission by the Chapter's high command and formally dispatched to act in all matters with the full weight of the Grand Voivode's authority. As such, they can mobilise the Chapter's resources to the full, deploy its assets and, if performing mission of vital strategic worth, assemble a strike force of chosen warriors from the various Coteries (companies).
* ***Hospodar*** - Captain equivalent.
	+ ***Spătharioi* (Master of the Keep equivalent)** - Translated from Nosgothian as 'spatha-bearer', this exalted individual is also known as the 'Sword of Nosgoth'. A Spătharioi serves as the Grand Voidvode's personal Equerry, acting as his second-in-command and will. He also serves as regent of the Legion's homeworld in those cases where the Legion Master is off-world or has been incapacitated.
	+ ***Vornic* (Master of the Watch equivalent)** - The Master of the Watch serves as the sentinel of the Chapter's fortress-monastery on Nosgoth. He is responsible for the defence of his Chapter's base of operations and homeworld in the absence of the Chapter Master. This title is usually given to the commander of the Coterie that is charged with the garrisoning of the fortress-monastery which is allotted to a different Chapter on a rotational basis.
	+ ***Armaș* (Master of the Arsenal equivalent)** - The Master of the Arsenal is a Space Marine captain who is charged by his Legion Master with overseeing his Legion's arsenal of weapons and munitions.
	+ ***Flota Maestru* (Master of the Fleet equivalent)** - The Master of the Fleet is the Space Marine Captain who is deemed to have the most experience and greatest skill at planning and executing void-combats. He is given command of the Chapter fleet, and essentially serves as the Legion's fleet admiral, commanding its flagship and all other space assets when they deploy for major engagements.
	+ ***Dregător* (Master of the Marches equivalent)** - As well as leading an entire Chapter of Space Marines in battle, the Master of the Marches has the duty of overseeing the deployment of the Chapter's fighting strength. It is his knowledge of Chapter dispositions the Legion Master turns to when readying for war. The Master of Marches is wholly devoted to his duty as he gazes at a massive length of parchment held aloft by a Cyber-cherub, which contains critical data.
	+ ***Alaiceauș* (Master of the Rites equivalent)** - The Master ofthe Rites is charged with recording and preserving the martial traditions of the Legon -- a bombastic, courageous warrior with unswerving loyalty to his Battle-Brothers. This individual exudes a sense of martial pride and fervour to those around them through their exholtations of inspiring rhetoric during the heat of battle.
	+ ***Chelar* (Master of Logistics equivalent)** - The Master of Logistics is responsible for all of a Chapter's supply needs, particularly those pertaining to food, drink and the other personal requirements of a Chapter's Astartes and human support personnel.
	+ ***Gealat* (Lord Executioner equivalent)** - Translated from Nosgothian as 'executioner', commander of a Chapter's Assault Coterie, a dour and bloody-handed individual who favours shorty, bloody and efficient melee combat. This individual is a cold remorseless kill who excels at his grim duty as the Chapter's foremost expert on close-combat operations.
	+ ***Vistier* (Master of Relics equivalent)** - The Master of Relics is the commander of the Chapter's Reserve Fire Support elements, an unmatched expert in the tactics of long-ranged warfare. He is also the custodian of the Legion's many technological masterpieces, the most dangerous of which are brought to the battlefield in times of exceptional strife.
	+ ***Starosta* (Master of Recruits equivalent)** - The Master of Recruits is charged with the responsibility of training all of the Legion's Broodlings (Neophytes) and also serves as the commander of a Chapter's Scout Virtue. He will be a skilled Veteran of hundreds of battles and a shrewd judge of character, easily able to determine what will bring out the best in the genetically-altered adolescents who survived their Aspirant Trials and transform them into true Astartes. As the leader of a Scout Company, the Master of Recruits will be an expert in the irregular forms of combat that define the missions of Space Marine Scouts, including sabotage, infiltration and counter-insurgency.
* ***Stolnik*** - Lieutenant equivalent.
	+ ***Divan Efendi* (Master of Reconnaissance equivalent)** - The Master of Reconnaissance are two junior officers who oversees the Assault formations of the Chapter. These individuals are chosen for their aptitude for covert operations, and as such, serve under the command of the *Starosta*.
	+ ***Ceauș* (Master of the Signal equivalent)** - The Masters of the Signal are junior officers commonly attached to the forward elements of an Adeptus Astartes assault, providing communications support across the wider warzone. They are capable of calling down a pinpoint bombardment from either orbiting fleet assets or static artillery positions nearby, engulfing the foes of Mankind in flaming destruction. These junior officers serve under the commander of a *Hospodar*.

### Senior Specialist Ranks

* ***Aprod* Primus** - Reclusiarch equivalent.
* ***Apotekar* Primus** - Chief Apothecary equivalent.
* ***Condicar* Primus** - Chief Librarian equivalent, master of the archives.
* ***Vătaf*** - Master of the Forge equivalent (means 'overseer').

### Specialist Ranks

* ***Aprod*** - Chaplain equivalent.
* ***Apotekar*** - Apothecary equivalent.
* ***Condicar*** - Librarian equivalent.
* ***Kovač*** - Techmarine equivalent (means 'blacksmith').
* ***Capugiu*** - Chapter Champion of the Grand Voivode.
* ***Iuzbața*** - Commander over the hundred battle-brothers responsible for defending the *Karpathos* against enemy boarding assaults.
* ***Cavas-bașa*** - A specialist honour guard composed of a quintumvirate of Aprods charged with protecting the Reclusiam of the Aprod Primus and the *Chaplice Vitae* (one of the Chapter's most sacred relics) contained within. Upon their ascension to this elite guard, they are stripped of all insignia and adornment save theri Chapter's iconography emblazoned upon both shoulder pauldrons. Even their skull helms have been daubed death-black and jump packs are framed by halos of the darkest feathers. Only the glow of their red optics betray them in the half-light of their eternal posts.

### Line Ranks

* ***Spătar*** - Veteran Marine equivalent.
* ***Drakan*** - Veteran Sergeant equivalent.
* **Patrician** - Sergeant equivalent.
* **Vyreling ('Blooded')** - Legionary equivalent.
* **Broodling ('Unblooded')** - Neophyte/Scout equivalent.
* **Thrall** - Aspirant equivalent.

### Unit & Squad Formations

* **Host** - Chapter equivalent.
* **Coterie** - Company equivalent.
* **Brood** - Squad equivalent.

### Specialist Formations

#### The Hellsong

Also known as Virtues, or Messengers, for their role as the personal envoys and deliverers of death of the Grand Voivode, these veteran Astartes are known by the Chapter as the Malakim Guard. Unofficially, this elite warrior cadre are referred to as the '*Hellsong*', for they are the final symphony the Impaler's foes would hear. Like the rest of their Chapter, compared to their fellow Scions of Sanguinius, the Hellsong were a dark brotherhood; their history a bloody and myth-strewn one filled with tales of fury and carnage, their fell deeds making them figures of dark terror.

Akin to other Sanguinary Guard of their fellow Blood Angels' Successor Legions, the Malakim Guard of the Impalers are as dark mirrors to those golden-clad heroes that stand in the light of their Chapter Masters. Clad in silver artificer-wrought power armour resembling striated musculuture of the human form, their winged jump packs designed to emulate Sanguinius' own angelic wings. However, instead of being angelic white, these wings represent a dark mirror of their fellow Sanguinary Guard counterparts, framing these guardians with a halo of the darkest feathers. When leaping down from above, they appear as a living manifestation of the grim executioner taken flight on broad angelic wings, like an avenging angel of death, striking fear into the hearts of their foes. These stalwart and dedicated guardians are charged with the safety and overall protection of the Grand Voivode.

Their ardour and devotion are such, that on the field of battle they are an all but unstoppable force, whose wrath cannot be turned aside once their ire has been provoked. Some believe that they are the very personification of the Black Rage - Black Angels of pure rage and darkness - dark fragments of Sanguinius' soul that vents its rage through these ferocious warriors.

Upon induction into this highest of orders, they forsake their name and rank to assume an idenity and role that subsumes all sense of self and leaves them with only the singular duty assigned them.

The Malakim Guard fight with the weapons traditional to their honoured position, wrist-mounted relic storm bolters, Angelus pattern bolters, or leaving their hands free to wield massive two-handed Eviscerator chainswords instead of the traditional *Encarmine Sword* of other Sanguinary Guard formations.

#### Adrasteia Assault Squads

Within the Impaler Legion are those warriors whose skills in the arts of the orbital strike and shock assault stand apart. Named for the ancient Grecian mythological spirit Nemesis, the goddess of indignation against, and retribution for, evil deeds. The Adrasteia Assault Squads are the Impalers' elite close support unit, chosen from amongst the most experienced and insanely darkng warriors of the Legion's assault squads.

Each of these chosen warriors bear the title of Erelim, or 'Valiant Ones', for their wrathful and bold natures, who act as the Chapter's tip of the spear during a planetary assault. Their innate ability to conduct precise strategic decapitation strikes has garnered them a legendary reputation within the ranks of the Scions of Sanguinius.

Arrayed with the Legion's finest wargear and equipment, their ability to sunder an enemy's lines and tear the heart from its formation are second-to-none. Armed with their arm-mounted *Gladio Vitae*, wrist-mounted storm bolters and blades wreathed in keen-edged power fields, there are few enemies who can stand in the face of such a deadly onslaught.

#### The Lemures

Named for the ancient Romanii belief in shades or spirits of the restless dead, The Lemures are those Impalers battle-brothers that have succumbed to the genetic flaw of the Black Rage. Consumed by this permanent, debilitating psychosis, these warriors are inducted into the ranks of the Legion's Death Company. Their armour is re-painted coal-black and marked with red saltires ('crosses') that mark the symbolic wounds suffered by their fallen Primarch.

Though a boon on the battlefield, possessed of righteous strength and holy fury, these tormented souls are doomed to madness and inevitable execution once the storm of war passes. To the Impalers, their lost battle-brothers are incarnations of the Great Angel's wrath. Therefore, on the eve of battle, they mourn their lost brethren and then consider them gone, replaced by the spirit of Sanguinius himself.

Those that do not die in glorious battle against the Emperor's foes, face a far more grim fate - as they are led away by the Chapter's Wardens and receive a quick and painless death. Their bodies are then ritualistically consumed by their battle-brothers in a solemn ceremony of remembrance for the lost. The Impalers believe it would be tantamount to an atrocity, if the flesh and blood of their fallen brethren wasn't returned to the Chapter.

Consuming the bodies of their lost brethren is both a mark of honour as well as practicality - as it immortalises their fallen brothers and preserves their hard-won skills and experience. This practice has become a time-honoured tradition of the Chapter, a visceral ritual that binds the survivors together despite the loss of their fallen brethren.

#### Strigoi Mort

Named for the ancient creatures of legend said to rise from the grave in order to punish those that commit grave sins against the Emperor. This apt moniker is utilised by the Legion when referring to their Honoured Ancients - those battle-brothers that have been mortally wounded in battle and interred within a sarcophagus of a Dreadnought. These walking armoured behemoths carry the heavily scarred, mortal remains of the hero. This honour is only granted to the most brutal and bloodthirsty of the Impalers, and only in very rare cases.

Being entombed within a Dreadnought shell is both a blessing and a curse to the Impalers hero; they will live on, beyond the point of death, forevermore slaying in the name of the Emperor, however, they have also lost the last traces of their humanity. Scarred and crippled beyond recognition and bound to a shell of unfeeling metal and plasteel, they are no longer human in the conventional sense. They are unable to feel the hot blood of their foes splash across their face in battle as they revel in the carnage of brutal melee combat, or feed upon the flesh of their fallen enemies or take part in their Chapter's bloody sanguinary rites.

In total, the Chapter possessess nearly two dozen Strigoi entombed in Dreadnought sarcophagi. At least one third of these ancient heroes never use any ranged weapons, preferring to rip and tear their foes in close combat. The curse of their new eternal life and service can sometimes take a heavy toll on an Impalers Dreadnought, eventually causing them to succumb to the curse of the Black Rage.

These afflicted heroes are not consumed in the Legion's Feast of the Sacrament, and are instead transferred to the ranks of the Death Company, where they are to be permanently assigned until they obtain a glorious death in battle. These Death Company Dreadnoughts are secured by heavy chains and kept within heavily-shielded stasis chambers, until such time that they are once again called upon, and unleashed against the enemies of Mankind.

## Legion Gene-Seed

The Impalers were created in an attempt to avoid the burgeoning genetic idiosyncrasies that had begun to manifest in their genetic forebears, the Blood Angels, and make itself known to the wider Imperium. It became clear to the Imperium's genetors that the gene-seed of the deceased winged Primarch Sanguinius had been somehow tainted during the final cataclysmic duel between the Great Angel and the Arch-Traitor Horus. This disturbance is hidden deep within the genetic code of the Scions of Sanguinius and sets both the Blood Angels and their Successors apart from other Legions, indelibly affecting them on a subliminal level and haunting their dreams with nightmarish, hidden messages of doom, staining their conscious waking minds with visions of sacrifice and blood. All Scions of Sanguinius are linked to one another through this bond.

Like their predecessors, the Impalers suffer from the same dreadful genetic flaws - the Black Rage and the Red Thirst (which they call the 'Blood Thirst'). The Impalers especially suffer from the latter genetic curse which causes an overwhelming desire to physically taste their enemies' blood. This is more than likely due to a mutation in the Legion's Omophagea implant, which causes an insatiable craving for human blood. Another notable flaw in their gene-seed is the mutation called the 'Waning', a particular condition that causes their Larraman cells do not clot their wounds as they do in other Legionaries, so they carry devices to actually exsanguinate the blood of their enemies in battle.

Wielding specially crafted, forearm-mounted blades, this weapon enables an Impalers Battle-Brother who wields it to drink the blood of any target to which the sword deals wounds, averting the negative effects caused by the unnatural cravings of their Legion. The unique curse of the Impalers is a carefully kept secret, and one the Legion has gone to great lengths to keep. From some perspectives, the true worth of these mighty blades known as *Gladio Vitae* is not in its killing edge or fearsome length, but in the shame it can avert. These *Gladio Vitae* possesses a unique power field permeable to the blood of foes, which it channels down a deep fuller in the centre of the blade, and from there, to an injector linked to the med-ports of the Legionaries' battle-plate. The weapon thus allows the curse of the Blood Thirst to be slaked in battle, with no outsiders gaining knowledge of this secret stain on the Legion's honour. Through the use of the *Gladio Vitae* as well as extensive use of various blood rituals, they have managed to achieve a measure of control over their genetic flaws, however it remains to be seen if this achievement comes with a greater cost.

Down the millennia, the Impalers have also developed several physical characteristics that makes their Legionaries resemble something like that out of a nightmare. Those few survivors of an Impalers' assault that were not totally incapacitated by shock have reported that they appear as otherworldly creatures, much like the ancient mythological creature of Old Earth legends - the Vampyr. There is some merit to these rare first-hand accounts, as Impalers Legionaries have developed several physical characteristics that distinguish them from the average Legionary, including singular details such as pale skin with a deathlike pallor. The oldest members of the Legion possess almost translucent-like skin with dark spidery veins that can be seen just beneath the surface. Their mouths are filled with razor-sharp, scythe-like fangs which slowly lengthen over time. When they attack a foe in close combat, they are able to morph their mouths disturbingly wide as if to swallow a victim's head whole. Impalers have been known to crush their enemies' skulls between their powerful vice-like jaws. Those unfortunates that have the ill-fortune of meeting a gruesome end at the Impalers' hands are often found horribly mutilated on the battlefield and the brutal manner in which the Impalers carry out their frenzied assaults is dreaded even amongst the most stalwart of the Imperium's seasoned warriors.

### Primarch's Curse: Blood Thirst

Due to the genetic mutation of their Omophagea implant the Impalers Legionaries are exceptionally vulnerable to the effects of their heritage, making them completely dependent on human blood to survive. The ravages of the 'Blood Thirst' makes them extremely blood-dependent over time, and requires the use of a specially constructed sanguinary apparatii incorporated into their battle-plate with several vials of vitae being directly transfused into their transhuman bodies to help stave off the worst effects of their genetic curse. Without these constant infusions of fresh blood, they will either succumb to a frenzied state that causes them to have an overwhelming desire for fresh blood or they will fall into a torpor state and wither and die. This can cause an affected Legionary to fall into a blood-frenzied state, possessing a mad craving for blood that they must have at all costs. The presence of an inordinate amount of blood spewing forth from the severed limbs or a decapitated head of their enemies, could cause those Legionaries in the throes of the 'Blood Thirst' to tear off their helmets and attack their victims with fang and claws, until they have gorged themselves on the precious vitae and sate their ravenous appetite.

## Notable Impalers

* **Grand Voivode Nassir Amit** -
* **Grand Voivode Strahd Tepes**
* **Voivode Vladius Drak Alu'kard** -

## Legion Fleet

* ***Karpathos* (Warspite-class Battle Barge)** - Flagship of the Impalers Chapter.
* ***Demogorgon* (Battle Barge)** - Flagship of the 1st Host.
* ***Sanguine Mortis* (Battle Barge)** - Flagship of the 2nd Host.
* ***Vengeance of Baal* (Battle Barge)** - Flagship of the 3rd Host.
* ***Amit's Fury* (Battle Barge)** - Flagship of the 4th Host.
* ***Red Angel's Blessing* (Strike Cruiser)** - Flagship of the 5th Host.
* ***Winged Vengeance* (Strike Cruiser)** - Flagship of the 6th Host.
* ***Blood Chalice* (Strike Cruiser)** - Flagship of the 7th Host.
* ***Blade of Raldoron* (Strike Cruiser)** - Flagship of the 8th Host.
* ***Scarlet Liberator* (Strike Cruiser)** - Flagship of the 9th Host.
* ***Vermillion Angelis* (Strike Cruiser)** - Flagship of the 10th Host.
* ***Zagan's Wrath* (Frigate)**
* ***Azkaellon's Exaltation* (Frigate)**
* ***Annellus' Fire* (Frigate)**
* ***Requiem of Maros* (Medical Frigate)**

## Legion Appearance

### Legion Colours

The Impalers Legion primarily wear dark red power armour the colour of spilled blood. The top of the backpack and helmet are black. The right shoulder pauldron has gold coloured trim while the left shoulder pauldron trim is slate gray. The Aquila or Imperialis on the chest guard is also gold in colour. Unlike their progenitors, the Impalers prefer to utilise the *Principia Belicosa*-proscribed squad specialty markings (Tactical, Devastator, Assault and Veteran). A small white gothic numeral is stenciled on the right shoulder pauldron inset to designate squad assignment.

### Legion Badge

The Impalers' Legion badge is a stylised rendition of a skeleton, hands bound, impaled through the length of its body with a large black stake, the top of it poking out of the skeleton's open mouth. This symbols is centered upon a field of dark red.