Legio Vulturum - Origins: The origin of this Titan Legion harkens back to the early years of the Great Crusade.They originally served the cyborg lords of the powerful and independent Forge World of Xana II, which was long rumoured to be a forbidden domain which held within it the wonders and terrors of the Age of Technology. This realm of the machine lay on the very edge of the western galactic reach.The tides of war and conquest would mean that the truth of Xana II would remain uncovered until 843.M30 when a damaged galleass belonging to the Rogue Trader Casilida DeAniasie, having been flung far off-course after engaging in battle with Fra'al corsairs, intercepted a trio of hulking automata warships at the edge of the intergalactic void, and inadvertently discovered the sovereign forge domain of Xana II.Negotiations between the Imperium and Xana II soon followed upon the Rogue Trader's return, but despite the cordial tone under which they had been instigated, they were quickly beset by suspicions by many within the Imperium's camp.Suspicions were not allayed by the Xanites' vagueness regarding their world's origins and activities over the years, blaming the tribulations of long distant wars and the privations of past solar storms of blistering power for their missing and incoherent records as to their own history, while their vast military capacity they explained as a reaction to prior attacks by alien invaders.A deal was reached between the ambassadors of Terra and the Lords of Xana, a proposal which came with the undertone of drastic action by the Imperium should its generous offers be rejected.Under this treaty of Imperial Compliance, Xana II would maintain its sovereignty as part of the greater Imperium, and notionally while falling under the rule of distant Mars, its affairs and secrets would largely remain its own so long as it obeyed the restrictions on technological development imposed on Mars itself by the Emperor.Xana II in return, and its forges and fanes, would now arm the Great Crusade and serve as a port for its voidships, and the Imperium in turn would feed Xana with raw materials and fresh blood and schematics to enable this.The accord was sealed and ratified by the Lords of Xana and the Emperor's own writ, despite the misgivings of many and the barely concealed displeasure of the fabricator-general of Mars.In spite of the suspicions of many, the accord and the uneasy alliance bore fruit; the Titans of Xana II, divided now into two Legios, the Legio Vulturum (known as the "Gore Crows") and the Legio Kydianos (known as the "Death Cry"), left their world along with the Xanan void warship armada and scores of Legio Cybernetica cohorts.They hurled themselves without relent into the fires of the Rangdan campaign, known in Imperial history as the Rangdan Xenocides, which was the greatest existential threat of the Imperium's first century of existence and a conflict whose casualties and losses would be unmatched in scope until the wars of the Horus Heresy itself were fought.Xana II's reinforcement of the Imperial front line was direly needed, and the Xanite forces broke their greater strength in countless battles on the edge of the Halo Stars, becoming shattered remnants of their former selves, but earned much honour in doing so for their Forge World.More importantly, weapons and arms poured forth from Xana II and were shipped directly to the segmentum-wide battle lines of the war, providing much needed respite and fresh strength to beleaguered Imperial forces, helping to slowly turn the tide of defeat into first stalemate and eventually victory.It was a victory Xana II was in no small part bled dry to achieve.Though now diminished, Xana II entered the Great Crusade's later era as still a powerful and sovereign Forge World, its independence from the direct authority of Mars and Terra maintained not simply by the absolute adherence to the treaty under which it had entered the Imperium, but also its great distance from the Segmentum Solar and easy scrutiny.