Light Bringers

> "*By what right do we take worlds? Why do burn cities, slaughter innocents, destroy cultures? Are we somehow superior to those who do not accept the Imperial Truth? What sets us above the foul xenos that we so despise? We are not the strongest species. The brutal and warlike Orks are beyond us in that regard. We lack the technological prowess of the treacherous Eldar. So why do we take to the stars, purely for a man who by all rights appears as a god? Is there some deeper answer to this? I cannot find one. We have no place here, no inherent right to walk amongst the stars. For we aren’t better. If we were, I would not be standing here in the ashes of another broken city. I would not be stained by the blood of countless thousands, men and women whose only crime was to wish for freedom. All of us are monsters. That is our nature. And as I say this, I feel nothing. I followed the Emperor in search of answers. And all I have found is death.*"
> ― Abner Cassian at the purification of Ishtar Primaris
>
>

## Light Bringers

The shoulder pad of a Light Bringer

A legionnaire of the Light Bringers

### **Observed Strategic Tendencies**

Attempted Diplomatic Resolutions, Utter Annihilation of the Enemy, No Quarter Given, No Mercy Shown

### **Noteworthy Domains**

Alaunus (homeworld), Urdesh (allied Forge world)

### **Legion Colours**

Black, white and gold

The Light Bringers are the X Legio Astartes of the Imperium of Man. Formed on Terra by the Emperor of Mankind to conquer the galaxy and reunite the disparate children of Terra, they are a ruthless and efficient fighting force. Led by the primarch Abner Cassian, they are unique amongst the Legio Astartes, as a quirk of their geneseed results in a far higher than average proportion of psychic untouchables.

In the earliest years of the Legion's history, they were lauded for their valour on the battlefield, helping win many campaigns in the Imperium's initial conquests. However, as time passed, flaws within the geneseed led to instability. The legion gained a reputation as unreliable and suffered higher casualties.

This all changed with their reunion with their gene father. Abner brought his legion to heel. No more were they proud warriors, champions of the Imperium. Abner remade them in his own image. Lethally logical, victory no matter the cost became their credo. Diplomacy, treachery, extreme violence. Anything that would lead to success, the Xth carried out. As a result, many of the former friendships between the Xth and other legions were damaged, separating over time.

When the time came for sides to be chosen, the Light Bringers joined the Warmaster's rebellion. Deadly at fighting psykers in particular, the Xth were a great asset to counter the powerful psykers of the Dragon Lords. They inflicted many defeats against the loyalist forces in the early stages of the Apostasy. Eventually, it culminated in the assault on Terra itself.

At the last moment, Abner betrayed his brothers once again, this time the forces of the Warmaster. Avoiding the main defences around Terra, the Light Bringers sent their fleet to Sol, the very heart of humanity's birthplace. They engaged the forces of Shaaa Hydrades, once the closest allies of the legion. The brutal forces maimed both sides, leaving neither legion anywhere close to their full strength.

The legion was greatly fractured by their losses, breaking up under divided forces and divided loyalties.

## Legion History

### The Great Crusade

#### The Sable Choir

Before the finding of Abner, the
Xth Legion were known as the Sable Choir. Following ancient Terran traditions,
the Xth would enter the battle singing battle hymns. Led by Acheron, the Xth
were sent as the reinforcements to bolster the earlier waves of Astartes. Many
tales were told of the glorious baritone cries of legionaries, as their vox
enhanced voices rang out across the battlefields of the Imperium.

Their leader was Acheron, known as
the Choir Master. A shrewd commander, he led from the front, valuing close
links with his brother space marines, no matter the legion. Good relations were
cultivated between the Sable Choir and their fellow legions. He believed in the
Emperor’s vision of a great empire, spanning the galaxy and beyond. As the
first of the primarchs were found, he hoped to meet with the one who he could
truly call father.

As the Crusade continued, the Sable
Choir earnt a reputation as saviours, entering into the line of fire to assist
their brother Astartes. Considered by their allies as a noble group of
warriors, easy to befriend and slow to anger. It was only as the more of the
primarchs were found that the first cracks could be seen within their ranks. As
more and more battles were endured, the effect on the legionaries of the Xth
began to show. Reports of marines who would suddenly abandon defensible
positions to charge against massed enemy fire. Incidents of men breaking out in
loud song as the odds seemed to stack against them. Initially viewed as random
occurrences, it became clear that there was in fact a defect within the gene
seed of the Legion. These bouts of battle madness were dangerous tactically, as
they were prone to disrupting all field coherence.

The reputation of the legion
subsequently became one of dangerous madmen, not true soldiers who could be
trusted to assist. Overextension and a lack of self-preservation was what they
became known for. It was not until the finding of their own primarch that the
Sable Choir would begin to recover. Abner was the opposite of emotional, and so
from him a calming influence appeared across the legion. His distance from his
men allowed him to better use this battle madness, standing back from the chaos
of melee. And so the Xth were born anew, as the Light Bringers.

#### Abner Cassian

Abner's mark on the legion quickly became apparent. The reputation of the legion as a honour-bound group of warriors was soon replaced, with one as calculating monsters. None demonstrated this better than Abner himself. He took control of his homeworld of Alaunus using a combination of persuasion, underhandness and swift, brutal violence. These skills were then applied across the legion, with an emphasis on ends over means. The entire legion was restructured, to reflect the primarch's wishes. To allow for greater efficiency in conquering the galaxy for the Imperium, the legion was split into thirteen Aether Companies. Each was led by a Speaker, who had near total autonomy over the men under their command. These Speakers would in turn advice Abner in how to carry out his campaigns, as well as carry out unique duties within the legion.

Along with this change in organisation, Abner began to initate training of the most powerful untouchables within the legion. To this effect, he cooperated with the Sisterhood of Silence, the foremost experts on the nature of the pariah. Once a legionary was found to be gifted, they were sent to the Somnus Citadel upon Luna. Here, they were tutored in how best to utilise their abilities in battle and against the foul witchcraft of the enemies of Man. Those who succeeded in their training were able to join the ranks of the Vacuous Chorus, the true elite of the legion. They were led by Terratus Sige, an untouchable second only to Abner in his potency.

Another group that arose in this time were the Stellar Decimators. But where the Vacuous Chorus were rightly feared, yet respected, the ranks of the Decimators contained the worst dregs of the legion. Marines equipped with deadly Eradicator Autocannons, they fought in penance for crimes both real and imagined. For their weapons carried highly irradiated payloads, of such intensity that even their hardened Astarte constitution could not protect them for long. To be chosen was cause for despair, not celebration.

The final group to form in the aftermath of the reunion with their primarch was not Abner's doing. The cause of the previous pressures that the legion had undergone had been revealed. As well as an inclination to produce untouchables, the geneseed of the Light Bringers had a chance to cause a mutated black carapace. This hypersensitivity gave the sufferers a heightened awareness of their armour, allowing them to feel more at home in it than any other Astarte. But there was a major drawback; any with the mutation would also feel dangerous levels of feedback through their armourlink. The former legion master, Thelutos Epirus, felt personal responsibility towards the men he had led for years. He suggested the formation of a special unit for the worst sufferers, so that they could have some relief as they still fought and died for the legion. These were known as the Folly Guard.

## Legion Organisation

### Great Crusade Era

The Legion was made up of thirteen Aether Companies during the time of the Great Crusade. Each Aether Company was independently led by a Speaker. Below the Speakers were the Ohrs, each of whom led an Aleph of around 500 men. At the lowest level of organisation, the individuals were much more fluid. In other legions, this might have led to disorganisation and anarchy. But the Light Bringers were brutal in punishing any infractions of discipline. Typically, there were few issues. Members of each Aleph would form up into smaller squads, either of their own volition or at the command of their Ohr. Orders of a superior could always be countermanded by an officer further up the chain of command. This fluid chain of command was unfamiliar to other legions, yet worked surprisingly well for the Xth.

The thirteen Speakers formed the Triskaideka Council, an advisory body for the primarch. It was this body that helped Abner form educated battle plans, as well as to help him gauge the mood of the legion as a whole. Whilst each Speaker was a commander of men, they also had specific roles within the legion. Despite the numbering, each Speaker was technically of an equal rank. This meant that only Abner was capable of truly commanding the entire legion, a rare circumstance.

## Legion Homeworld

### Alaunus

A desolate world far to the galactic west, Alaunus had been colonised during humanity's great expansion across the stars in the Dark Age of Technology. Due to the planet's closeness to its orbiting star, the day-night cycle was especially vicious. The only areas suitable for human habitation was a constantly moving belt of twilight and a vast network of underground tunnels, vaults and natural caverns.