Legio Crucius - Origins: Amongst the echelons of the Cult Mechanicus, Ryza, founding Forge World of the Legio Crucius, stood second only to Mars in power and prominence by the end of the Great Crusade. Located within the Ultima Segmentum, its position was secured by both its raw manufacturing power and its tactical location, which lent great aid to the Great Crusade's efforts to expand towards the galactic east.Above all else, Ryza possessed both unparalleled expertise in the engineering and production of plasma technology and a Titan Legion which, at its zenith, rivalled the power of the original three Titan Legions of Mars' founding Triad Ferrum Morgulus in size and strength.The history of Ryza before the coming of the Imperium is well-documented, for its archivist-magi were supremely diligent in their work. Though the Age of Strife had brought many trials to Ryza and its people, they had weathered them all and emerged from the other side greater for it.In the Standard centuries following the colonisation of Ryza, a sect of the ancient Mechanicum quickly grew in power, becoming known as the Omnissiah Igvita, literally the "Life Blood of the Omnissiah."  It was the Igvita that drove the planet's focus towards plasma technology, believing that plasma was the lifeblood of the Omnissiah Himself and, through its usage, the people of Ryza were bestowed a measure of His power.In time, the Omnissiah Igvita became ingrained within the culture of Ryza with many of the sect's most ardent followers modifying their forms to incorporate some measure of plasma technology. By the time of Ryza's rediscovery by the Imperium, the Forge World had built an empire that spanned numerous star systems and the Omnissiah Igvita was hailed as the primary motive force behind such glory.No more evident is the influence of the sect than in the initial communiqués dispatched by Imperial emissaries sent to Ryza upon first contact, with one delegate noting in her report that, "Their passion burns hotter than a furnace...like many of their ilk, they are esoteric and strange, none more so than those that have shackled the stars within their hearts." Thus was born the title "The Furnace of Shackled Stars," an honorific for Ryza that has held to this day.Though agreement between the Imperium and Ryza was reached with little issue, there were those amongst the Cult Mechanicus, especially within sects native to the Red Planet, who noted with much trepidation the substantial resources and knowledge Ryza claimed as its own. Attempts to allay those suspicions, in the form of shared schematics for improved plasma drives and other similar innovations, were only partially successful for, like all Forge Worlds, Ryza hoarded its most precious knowledge, shielding it from the prying eyes of outsiders, even from its fellow Tech-priests.Compared to their contemporaries, the majority of Legio Crucius Titans were fresh from the forges. These Titans enjoyed the benefits of systems that had not faced the excesses of plasma overloads or countless combat repairs, and so fared better in those critical first moments of an engagement between god-engines.Concerns among the magi of Mars escalated as the Great Crusade progressed, for the strength of the Legio Crucius continued to expand, fuelled by the extensive manufacturing capacity of Ryza. Indeed, the strength of the Legio Crucius was not contained solely to Ryza and the Warmongers eagerly sought out new worlds over which they could claim feudal rights.So it was that, by the outbreak of the Horus Heresy in the early 31st Millennium, the Legio Crucius had laid claim to nearly two dozen outposts, each representing a significant forge-fortress garrisoned by a dedicated battlegroup of god-engines tasked with the defence and prosperity of their charge.While suspicions towards Ryza's growing power by Mars no doubt stemmed, at least in part, from a desire on the part of the Martian Mechanicum to control the Furnace of Shackled Stars and its resources, in hindsight, there was some validity in them.Amongst the expeditionary fleets in which they served, the Legio Crucius were famed as planners and forward thinkers, renowned even among the exacting war-logic of the Mechanicum for their prowess in strategy and contingency planning. Having observed the methods enacted by Forge Worlds such as Phaeton to avoid the displeasure of Mars, and the anger such a move generated in response, it became evident to many amongst the Legio Crucius that a time would come when a new war might be waged; a war between Titans.The expansion of the Legio Crucius was, in part, a direct reaction to such a notion. As outposts of Legio Crucius sprung up across the galaxy, under pretence of protecting vital worlds and lending the strength of Ryza to those less able, each was instilled with a directive to ensure that, should a great darkness befall Mankind, the Legio would live on.