Legio Astraman - Origins: The history of the Forge World Graia and the Legio Astraman is intrinsically linked to the Belt of Iron, a name given to a region of space spanning the border sectors of the Segmentum Tempestus and Segmentum Pacificus which contained numerous lesser Forge Worlds. When the colony arks sent forth from Mars during the Age of Strife reached the planet that would become the Forge World of Graia, they found a world overrun by warring tribes of Feral Orks. Though the presence of the xenos made initial attempts at colonisation far from simple, it also proved to be the first test of the yet-unnamed Titan Legion that would come to form the basis of the Legio Astraman.The exact origin of the name "Morning Stars" is unknown and unrecorded, bar that it was bequeathed upon the Legio Astraman during the colonisation of the Forge World. Speculation as to the provenance of the name makes reference to fragmented reports of battles that took place during initial landfall upon the planet, with data-fragments stating that "...preceded by thunderous steps they came...striding forth haloed by the first rays of sun...and lo did the creatures blister and burn, as the wrath of the Omnissiah shone like a star amongst their ranks."It was the strength of the Legio Astraman that ensured Graia thrived during the Age of Strife, expanding its reach to over two dozen star systems by the time contact was made with the newborn Imperium of Man in the late 30th Millennium.The Morning Stars' success can be attributed to three defining factors. The first was the construction of an extensive network of manufactoria that were capable of producing Titans, allowing the expansion of the Legio Astraman to a size equivalent to that of a Primus-grade Titan Legion. Secondly, its tenacity and firm resolve, for which the Legio Astraman quickly became known during the Great Crusade, bred a Titan Legion capable of overcoming the numerous threats they faced.Lastly, the magi of Graia laboured for standard centuries to construct a network of orbital platforms around the Forge World, each bristling with weapons while offering additional residential and research capacity, should it be required. This network became known as the "Crown of Graia" and served to alleviate the need for large numbers of Morning Stars god-engines to remain deployed in defence of the Forge World, allowing the Legio's strength to be focussed on Graia's more distant holdings.Thus, when the Great Crusade finally began its expansion into the Segmentum Pacificus, it found a prosperous "Forge Empire" defended by a Titan Legion of considerable size.The strength of the Legio Astraman ensured that initial contact between Graia and the Imperium was tense, for the representatives of the Emperor voiced concerns that any attempt to conquer the Forge Empire of Graia would be a protracted and bloody affair. It was with much relief to such individuals that Graia appeared willing to join the Imperium with minimal resistance and, in return for their service, the Forge Empire was granted feudal rights to an additional handful of star systems which the Imperium had already conquered.The rediscovery of Graia proved advantageous for the Imperium as the Titan Legion's god-engines were sorely tested in the solar decades following the Forge World's rediscovery.Expansion across the region of space that would eventually become known as the "Belt of Iron" saw the Imperium encounter many Forge Worlds of varying strength, some of which were protected by Titan Legions of their own.The first such world to be encountered after Graia was the Forge Empire of Valia-Maximal and the now-infamous Titan Legion known as the Legio Laniaskara ("Impalers") that defended it. Unlike Graia, the people of Valia-Maximal were not open to Imperial Compliance and opposed the Imperium with all their might. Though Valia-Maximal eventually fell, it did so only after a protracted campaign in which the Morning Stars and the Impalers inflicted considerable damage upon one another, which in turn inflicted irreparable damage upon the diplomatic relationship between the two Forge Worlds.Further conflict with dissident Titan Legions, such as the Legio Venator, was not uncommon during the Imperial conquest of the two segmentums, though it was not the sole war front on which the Legio Astraman fought during the Great Crusade.Indeed, the Morning Stars soon earned themselves a name serving alongside the Raven Guard Legion, thanks in part to the Titan Legion's overreliance on data-predictions to dictate their tactics which enabled them to proactively support the clandestine nature of the Raven Guard's preferred tactics.