[center][h2][color=ed1c24]The First Council of the 8th Legion Training Arena[/color][/h2][/center]

The legion being built up around the geneseed of the 8th Primarch had a couple of internal issues that needed to be addressed at the start. 

Of the eight hundred and sixty six members of the legion that had undergone the transformation into this new breed of super solder in the name of the Lord of Thunder, five hundred and eighty of them had originally been of ganger stock from the hives of Merica with the remaining two hundred eighty six being from nomad tribes that existed outside of those hives in one form or another. While the transformation had involved a high degree of indoctrination and hypnotherapy to create more refined solders for the Lord of Lightning, a fair degree of ego that had once inspired the former gangers and nomads to take positions of leadership or command remained.

It was quickly discovered by the Legion and soon after the bureaucrats connected to it that simply assigning these newly minted super solders ranks wasn't going to work: Those who were simply given ranks of command had a deep seated feeling of not earning it and thus, not having the respect of those under them while those who didn't get the rank they wanted felt snubbed over. Training exercises quickly broke down as infighting would pop up on all levels of the 8th, preventing them from achieving the cohesion they needed to be a fighting force. 

This wasn't caused solely by issues with rank. Values and beliefs (not religious beliefs, of course) from their prior lives bled over into the new legionaries and this created... [i]conflict[/i]. The lack of a recognized command structure among their own people deepened the issue since there was no arbitrator to settle the matter on issues that weren't matters of Imperial Law. Battle in arms they may have been, but if something didn't change things were going to get [b]ugly[/b].   

It was unclear who originally made the suggestion, but the idea itself quickly picked up momentum as it started to spread. It resonated with a concept that both ganger and nomad had accepted as apart of their lives before their transformation and felt right even now: The Strong, the Cunning and the Brave rose to power... and those with all three kept it.

So with an understanding among themselves, the members of the Legion gathered in their training arena and some messages were sent to their support staff in order to bring them up to speed on what was about to happen. Rather then attempt to stop them, several representatives of the bureaucratic process instead came to witness and record events as they transpired, believing that this might bring an end to the issues that had plagued the new born legion. 

The first stage of their trials for leadership was a simple question: Did you want to be in a command role? 

Not everyone desired the responsibilities and weight that came with leadership and command and simply asking if they wanted it was a strong first step in thinning the herd. 

The second stage might have surprised many. Of the candidates who had stepped forward, they were all divided into groups of six (with one group of four) in order to play a board game. The game itself was ancient, having been developed at some point before the Age of Strife and its original name lost, but in the modern era it was simply called 'Imperium'; A strategy game of some complexity, as one played as one of many factions that played differently, all with a mission of galactic conquest after the collapse of an all-powerful empire leaves a void for others to fill. It was a game that put as much emphasis on building an economy and diplomacy as it did warfare.

The first round lasted a grand total of eight hours, with the winners of each game carrying on to the second round of playing a new faction against the other winners of the first round... with one exception. The winner of the game of four caused for there to be one player extra. The solution was simple: The contenders of the second round would draw lots and the two 'winners' would fight it out in a bare knuckle brawl and the winner would stay on to play.

Balias Rasporian knocked out Konrad Amutiel after a brief but somewhat one sided exchange before the second round truly started, Balias simply overwhelming Konrad and leaving him laying on the floor in defeat afterwards. 

The longest of the games of the second round lasted thirteen hours, with Balias being one of those eliminated.

Repeating the process of the winners moving on to face the victors of the other games, another 'odd one out' caused another round of lots to be drawn. This time, Catiel Ulstrecht would face off against Qvoro Muckstead on the field of honor. Unlike the first fight which was dominated by Balias from the start in an overwhelming show of strength and skill, the brawl between Catiel and Qvoro was much closer in abilities. In the end Catiel managed to prove that they had just that little bit more grit and determination as Qvoro fell to the ground and couldn't rise again before he was deemed to have lost, through afterwards Catiel helped his opponent back to his feet and escorted him over to get medical treatment in a show of respect.        

The third and final round, unsurprisingly, played out the longest as the final game took eighteen hours to come to a close. Catiel came in a close second against the victor of his game, Gallianus Vaarars, but Gallianus was [i]just[/i] able to earn enough victory points to achieve victory one turn before Catiel could. 

This left two contenders standing at the end. Gallianus Vaarars and Pho Scraphurst. Their cunning had been tested against the best that their legion had to offer... but there could only be one person at the top of the legion and strength could only be truly tested one way.

The fight between Pho and Gallianus would be recorded in history as a good one, but it was clear from the get go that Pho was the better fighter. Gallianus for his part didn't go down quietly or quickly, briefly reversing the flow of battle with a surprise burst of speed and after Pho recovered from the surprise managed to hold his ground for a time... but in the end Gallianus ended up unable to stand and Pho Scraphurst became Legion Master Pho Scraphurst. 

With the Legion Master established, a chain of command was established. Gallianus would become the second in command of the 8th, with Catiel, Qvoro and the other players in the third round being the primary candidates for the higher command ranks, selected via the merits and aptitudes of each individual. As ranks were filled and the third round players ran dry, the pool of second round players would be drawn upon by merit to fill ranks and roles as best suited their skills and abilities. If someone eligible believed that they would be better in the role then the selected person and could prove that they did have the skills required, a bare knuckled brawl would be issued and the victor granted the position. 

Once the second round ran out, the first round players would be pulled from to fill whatever ranked positions remained.

Once it was all over, one of the admin representatives asked the newly promoted Legion Master why the legion had opted for... well, this method of deciding instead of opting for a method like fighting until only one remained standing. Legion Master Scraphurst considered the question for a moment before answering "While we might have disagreed on who deserved to be in charge... and there will still be matters to sort out in the days to come, every man here is here because in their heart..." he paused for a split second before correcting "...hearts possessed the bravery to face horror and terrible odds to survive day to day. While yes fighting is a big part of that, at the end of the day running an army is much like running a gang; It requires vision, logistical knowledge and the ability to be diplomatic as much as the ability to wage war."