At the command, Maritza launched into action with a visceral growl. Uncoiling with a violent ferocity, the naga charged ahead of her fellow knights down the staircase to the right, armored fists at the ready. Naga's were a rare enough sight in Thaln, even more so within the capital itself; so one could forgive the mercenaries for being caught off-guard when the Knight Serpenta came barreling down the stairs at them like an out of control freight wagon.
Slipping under the hastily erected guard of the first merc, Maritza opted to simply tear his throat out with her teeth as she lunged back upwards. As her first target toppled backwards with a gurgling scream, Mari spat red in the face of the next closest goon. With her opponents reeling, the Naga grabbed a torch sconce to arrest the movement of her human half. The sconce's metal frame shrieking in protest, Mari whipped her tail down the stairs and into the onrushing mercenaries. With a heavy crunch, the Naga crushed a couple of the mercs against the stone pillar of the staircase itself and sent several more tumbling backwards into their comrades.
Not giving them a moment to recover, Maritza dove back in. A whirlwind of armored fists, bloody teeth and emerald scales, the Naga pushed the offensive in a coldly calculated berserk fury. Terror and intimidation were the name of the game, so Mari overwhelmed her opponents with brute strength and pure ferocity. Heads were smashed into walls, exposed flesh was ripped asunder and limbs snapped between her scales.
The Naga had taken advantage of the castle's armory. Leaving her quarterstaff behind in exchange for a bearded ax. Maritza had also taken the opportunity to borrow a few pieces of armor. In particular, a pair of spiked heavy gauntlets and a open-faced sallet helmet, oddly lacking in her usual choice of a visor and bevor. Briefly watching Gerard take down the guard, Mari turns towards Fanilly and the vampire, her face a coldly impassive mask.
"Captain, Tyaethe, aside from anyone who looks important, are there any of the kidnappers we should try and capture alive?" She asks, one gauntleted hand resting on the head of the ax tucked through her belt. There was something unnerving in the Naga's tone. A coldly inhuman predatory desire, like some great hunting beast quietly straining against the end of it's leash.
Homeworld: While the other Primarchs found themselves on various planets, Atherel's pod found itself in the Scepteri System. Decimated eons ago during the war in heaven, all that remained of the system was an aging red giant star, multiple asteroid belts and most notably, an ancient derelict xenos star fortress of colossal proportions. More importantly, burried within the star fortress was a malfunctioning warp beacon. (akin to the Astronomican or Pharos device) While the beacon's signal was overpowering within the system itself, (preventing Navigators from seeing out of the system) the nature of it's malfunction caused the beacon's signal to rapidly decay over longer distances.
With the passing decades, ships would occasionally be drawn into the system, only to be trapped by the by the malfunctioning warp beacon. And so, the Scepteri System became the prison of it's unsuspecting visitors. The trapped survivors came from all walks of life and races; Rogue Traders, Ork warbands, Aeldari Corsairs, to name but a few. Over time ramshackle space stations were built out of the trapped starships, most often in close proximity to the star fortress as it was the best source of new supplies.
This was the "world" that Atherel found himself in.
Appearance: Thin by Primarch standards, Atherel has a lithe and willowy figure; appearing positively waifish when compared to his bulkier siblings. At eleven feet tall, Atherel cuts a towering and elegant individual, as sleek as he is powerful.
Personality: Atherel is a bizarrely mercurial mix of ruthlessly cold-blooded pragmatism, an almost naive sense of optimism & curiosity and a flamboyant joy for living in the moment. To him, protecting humanity, and by extension the strengths of humanity, are paramount. Still, between his hyper intellectualism and what passed for a 'childhood', he more than understands the necessity of sacrifice. In light of his conversations with the Emperor, Atherel accepts that he exists to serve as a grand cog in the machine, but takes pride in the importance of his role. He refers to the Emperor as "Father", though this is purely an honorific to his creator rather than anything of a traditional child-parent relationship.
In regards to Xenos & Psykers, Atherel approaches both with his signature pragmatism; Employ those who are willing to serve and eliminate those who prove to be a threat. On the Imperial Truth, Atherel is torn; On one hand, he wholeheartedly agrees with it's emphasis on reason, science & logic. On the other, he finds the idea of human superiority to be silly, irrational and at odds with the rest of the Imperial Truth's tenets.
Skills: Like his Legion, Atherel is a master of 3-dimensional aerial and 0-gee void combat. As such he is best in the tight confines of a boarding action or the open void of dogfights. However, more than anything, Atherel is quick-witted jack of all trades thanks to growing up in worn out old space stations where it was a requirement just to survive.
In addition, he is quite the linguist as he is fluent in well over a dozen tongues on account of the diversity of the star system he grew up in. It should also be of note that Atherel is something of a diplomat as he can have a rather manipulative way with words. Whenever a new xenos race or lost human colony is discovered by the Primarch, diplomacy is almost always the first response.
Wargear: Atherel has a sleek suit of masterfully wrought artificer armor equipped with a multitude of micro-thrusters for maneuvering in 0-gee and enhancing his movement in gravity. He wears a trimmed-down jump pack free of any superfluous ornamentation. The device in question also bears two other unique systems.
First, buried next to the jump packs reactor is a truly ancient archeo-tech anti-grav device that can render Atherel and his equipment nearly weightless inside normal gravity. Second is a turreted, short-barreled, multi-laser. In addition to scything down light infantry, this weapon is purpose built for anti-missile point defense thanks to it's unique machine spirit which bears an advanced target acquisition system.
For weapons, Atherel has the following: - First Light: A trimmed down and souped-up lascannon that has been repurposed as an anti-material rifle. - Hullbreaker: A hand-and-a-half power axe with a meta-gun running down the back of the haft. - Bulwark: A massive tower shield purpose built for boarding actions. Has mag-locks along the edges so it can be emplaced as semi-mobile cover. Has storage mount points for both First Light & Hullbreaker. - Silence: A scimitar-esque exotic Aeldari force-edged weapon that is little more than a long knife in Atherel's hands. The blade itself is jet black in appearance and when activated is lit up with noiseless white lightning. He has had this since before his recovery by the Great Crusade, though whether it was a gift from a fellow survivor or a trophy from a fallen foe, the Primarch has yet to say.
Assignment Grade: Iota: Atherel has low level telekinetics allowing him to move or exert force on anything within a few feet of himself. Typically used on himself for increased mobility or his opponents to throw off their attacks.
Biography: Atherel's pod was discovered by a mining and salvage crew. Comprised mostly of Humans and Abhumans, there were also a few Aeldari and a smattering of the less disagreeable space-faring races. Like his fellow Primarchs, Atherel grew up quickly, outpacing his teachers on anything he was taught in a matter of years. As such, Atherel quickly became a master pilot, void combatant and explorer, to name just some of his talents.
By the age of 10, he was the new unofficial captain of the crew, though he would frequently leave Michael Calix, his adoptive father figure and the former captain, in charge while he would venture out on solo expeditions into the star fortress for new supplies. By 15, Atherel had gathered multiple crews to his name, making him one of the most powerful and well known individuals in the system.
A few years later an Ork WAAAGH found itself pulled into the Scepteri System. Relatively small by WAAAGH! standards, it was still large enough to pose a significant threat to the systems other inhabitants; especially once the WAAAGH! had absorbed all of the various small Ork warbands wandering about the system. Atherel immediately understood the threat they represented and quickly rallied the system's disparate factions under one banner in the name of survival. Even so, the WAAAGH! still outnumbered the united survivors 2 to 1.
The next several weeks would prove to be a grueling hell as Atherel prosecuted a a hit and run war against the Ork WAAAGH. Where Atherel led, the alliance would win, outmaneuvering, isolating and eliminating the Orks one piece at a time. But the Primarch couldn't be everywhere at once, and so slowly but surely the alliance began to lose a war of attrition. In an act of desperation, Atherel baited the Ork Warboss into chasing him into the star fortress, a hostile environment that he knew well from years of exploring.
Unbeknownst to the Primarch and his crew as they fought the Ork Warboss and his bodyguard within the otherworldly environment of the star fortress, a new arrival had joined the space battle outside. The Emperor had arrived at the head of the Great Crusade. Trapped between two fleets and now massively outnumbered, the Ork WAAAGH! was annihilated in short order. Knowing that only a Primarch could have the charisma to unite so a disparate group, the Emperor sought out the leader of the alliance. By the time he and his Custodes made it into the star fortress, the battle inside was already over. There, the Emperor found the Warboss & his boys slain and Atherel surveying the aftermath of the battle.
The Meeting: In the wake of the battle, the fortress lay quiet. Stepping around the still twitching corpse of the Ork Warboss, Atherel took in the aftermath. Even with the best fighters from the other factions rallied to his side, the cost of victory had been a brutal one. The blood and ichor of nearly a dozen different species lay splattered across the floor.
An insectoid Nix from the House of Blades with two of it's six legs missing and a crude Ork choppa still stuck in the back chitin of their thorax tended to the shredded arm of a Demiurgan brawler from Atherel's own. Across the room, a Tarellian from the War Dogs bandaged up a human compatriot of theirs. Elsewhere still, mercy kills were offered to the mortally wounded & dying as there would still be a dangerous trip back up through the fortress.
Picking his way through the mess, Atherel made his way over Fanai Eldrion, a former Craftworld Farseer. "We may have won the battle in here but how fares the war outside?" The Primarch asked his crewmate and former teacher, the Aeldari barely coming up his waist. Removing his helmet, Fanai looked up, offering a tired smile. Decades spent living in close proximity to humans and other races had worn off the former Craftworlder's hard edges. "Better than ours. A near total victory in fact. A golden armada arrived from out of system less than an hour ago and crushed the greenskin fleet from behind. Forces of theirs have entered the fortress and are heading towards us as we speak. Friends of yours, I believe."
Eyebrow arched, Atherel offered Fanai a quizzical look and began to ask for clarification only to be cut off by the echoing of heavily armored footfalls. All around the cavernous room, battle-weary fighters checked their weapons and readied for yet another fight. As the unknown force approached the chamber, a golden glow preceded them; reflecting down the alien hallways of the fortress. Finally coming into view, a quiet collective gasp passed through the survivors. Clad in impossibly ornate golden armor and adorned with resplendent capes & crests, the new arrivals towered over everyone but Atherel himself, though they were still twice as broad in the shoulders.
Legion Name: Astral Hawks
Legion Number: VII
Armour Appearance:
Warcrys: - "Fly fast, fly true." (in a multitude of variations) - "May the Emperors light guide our wings."
Legion Strength: Approximately 94,500. The Legion contains 27 fleets. Every 3 fleets forms a battlegroup and 3 battlegroups form an armada. Typically, only the 1st-9th fleets are formed into an armada under Atherel's direct command. In turn, the 10th-18th fleets are usually assembled into 3 battlegroups and attached to other Legions as naval/aerial specialists. And finally the 19th-27th fleets are regularly operating on individual assignment throughout the Imperium. - The 1st-243rd regiments of the Falconaire Auxilia: The dedicated auxiliary support forces of the Astral Hawks. Each regiment includes both naval & ground forces. As Atherel supports the Edict of Tolerance, there are a smattering of sanctioned Xenos within the Auxilia. Depending on the regiment, about 1/10th to 1/100th of each is comprised of sanctioned Xenos, though most are around the 1/70th mark. Each fleet of the Astral Hawks is accompanied by 9 regiments and is further broken down with 3 regiments to each Wing. 1,200,000+ effectives.
Legion Leadership/Organization: The Astral Hawks differ strongly from their fellow Legions as they are fleet based. Broken up by fleet instead of chapter, each Fleet is led by an Admiral. Each fleet is divided into 3 wings; Command, Support and Vanguard. While each Wing is led by a Wing Commander, the different wings very somewhat in composition. Within each wing are 3 companies each led by a Company Commander. Each company is comprised of multiple platoons or lances each led by a Lieutenant or Lance Captain respectively. In turn, the platoons are made up of several squads or squadrons with a Sergeant in charge of each.
. The Command Wing is embarked entirely in the Fleet's Battle Barge and is comprised of the Assault, Outrider and Sternguard Companies. The fleet's Admiral, command staff and escort are also embarked. (979 effectives including command structure) - The Assault Company has 5 assault platoons, all of which contain two 10-man Breacher Squads, two 10-man Despoiler Squads and a 10-man Terminator Squad. (290 effectives including command structure) - The Outrider Company contains 3 ranger platoons, 2 grav lances and 2 aerial lances. The ranger platoons contain two 10-man Ranger Squads, two 10-man Ranger Support Squads and a 10-man Vanguard Veteran Squad. The grav lances contain three 10-man Sky Hunter Jetbike Squadrons, two 3-strong Landspeeder Squadrons and three Javelin Attack Speeders. The aerial lances contain three 9-strong Xiphon Interceptor Squadrons and three Fire Raptor Gunships. (344 effectives including command structure) - The Sternguard Company contains 5 sternguard platoons, all of which contain two 10 man Tactical Squads, two 10-man Devastator Squads and a 10-man Sternguard Veteran Squad. (290 effectives including command structure)
The Support Wing employs 3 Auxiliary Companies, each of which are embarked on their own Strike Cruiser. Auxiliary Companies are comprised of 1 grav lance, 2 ranger platoons, 2 assault platoons, 1 sternguard platoon and 1 aerial lance. (see previous for details) (381 effectives per Company, 1158 total, including command structure)
The Vanguard Wing employs 3 Strike Companies, each of which are embarked on their own Vanguard Class Light Cruiser. Strike Companies are comprised of 2 assault platoons, 2 ranger platoons and 3 aerial lances. (see previous for details) (312 effectives per Company, 947 total, including command structure)
Each Officer of the rank Lieutenant or higher has a command staff featuring a Librarian, Champion, Apothecary and Vox Master. Company Commanders, Wing Commanders, and Admirals also have their own personal bodyguard complement.
All told, once you factor in the additional Astartes in auxiliary support roles (techmarine pilots, ship-board section sub-commaders, reserves, etc.) Each fleet has around 3500 Astartes each. Also, each Wing of an Astral Hawks fleet is supported by an escort of 9 frigates of various classes; a total of 27 per fleet.
Dramatis Personae: - The Void Guard: Atherel's personal bodyguard. Equipped with artificer armor, jump packs and storm shields. For weapons, they typically carry power weapons and volkite calivers or plasma guns.
- The Second Wing: An informal/unofficial group that forms Atherel's personal inner circle. Mostly consists of the surviving members of his "family" that he grew up with, though there are some new members from the Terra-born and crusade-recruited Astartes.
- Michael Calix, first Archangel: An older man, Michael took it upon himself to serve as a father figure to Atherel when the Primarch was discovered as a baby. It was Michael who taught Atherel the basics of flying and instilled the Primarch with his sense of curiosity and love of space. In the final battle against the Ork WAAAGH!, Michael was gravely injured and had to undergo heavy cybernetic augmentation. At Atherel's behest, the Primarch had his Techmarines create a custom Xiphon Interceptor that his adopted father could directly plug into via his cybernetics. Since then Micheal has served as the Primarch's Wingman and trusted confidant.
- Rafael Acastian, High Admiral of the Astral Hawks: Formerly the Legion Master before the Primarchs arrival, Rafael now serves as Atherel's right hand and immediate second in command. When one directly takes to the field, the other will remain back in a command support role. Rafael's wargear includes a suit of artificer armor, iron halo, jump pack, volkite caliver and a vaunted relic blade from the golden age of mankind.
- Nereus Belian, Chief Vox-Master of the Astral Hawks: Dubbed "The Third Wing" for his nearly peerless skills as a void combat strategist & tactician.
Nereus spent a few decades honing his skills in the first battlegroup attached to The Imperial Star League. Most notably having served as a void specialist attache within Wolfram's inner circle, often working in close tandem with Marine Admiral Bethar Andaris and Imperial Admiral Michael Kyrax.
On the occasions when Nereus is actually on the front lines, his wargear consists of a suit of artificer armor, a specialized jump pack featuring a complex communications array, master-crafted plasma pistol and a short-bladed power sword.
- Erasmus Moriar, Chief Apothecary of the Astral Hawks: Erasmus is a broken man, though it rarely shows through his various facades and there are fewer still who know him well enough to have seen it. Before his ascension to Chief Apothecary, Erasmus was part of the third battlegroup attached to the Daughters of Iron during the Rangdan Xenocides. Between the sheer psychological trauma of constant deployment to perhaps the most brutal frontline in the entirety of the Great Crusade and helping the DoI recover the geneseed from one fallen sister after another; something in Erasmus finally snapped. The Apothecary began to throw himself onto battlefield like a man possessed, fighting to bring as many of his brothers & sisters back alive as he could. Such recklessness had it's costs. Frequently sustaining grievous injuries, the warrior medic is now ironically more machine than man. Having spent the majority of Rangdan Xenocides on the frontlines with the DoI, Erasmus has become a quietly agnostic follower of Kayaamat's Universal Creed; dedication to The Good Path perhaps being his only remaining anchor to sanity. For wargear, Erasmus has the following: A suit of artificer armor, his medicae tools, jump pack, volkite serpenta and a custom-built master-crafted chainsword; Tears of Iron.
- Orros Markov, Chief Forge-Master of the Astral Hawks: Orros was given his position for both his skill as a techmarine and his open-mindedness in the face of the Adeptus Mechanicus' dogmatic practices. As a member of the first armada, Orros has regularly deployed alongside & worked with the Night Watch. When the opportunity presented itself, he took a nearly year long round trip to The Reserve in order to get a closer look at their joint Xenos-Imperium R&D department. Orros is also responsible for the majority of the Void Falcon's experimental systems and general maintenance. For wargear, he surprisingly sticks with the standardized arsenal of a techmarine; arificer armor, ceremonial power axe and a servo-harness. That said, his equipment does bear a number of subtle modifications which more traditional members of the Cult Mechanicus would not approve of.
- Lorenso Astathor, Chief Librarian of the Astral Hawks: A former member of the second battlegroup attached to the Lantern Bearers for cross-training, Lorenso eccentric, even for an Astartes. He bears both Atherel's mercurial nature through his geneseed, as well as many of the various quirks of Iniephor's inner circle from having spent a great deal of time studying with them. Lorenso's wargear includes a suit of artificer armor, jump pack, psychic hood and a pair of custom force falchions.
- Marcus Castivar, Master Champion of the Astral Hawks and Commander of the Void Guard: A child of the Scepteri System, Marcus grew up in Micheal's and later Atherel's crew. Once the Primarch was reunited with his legion, Marcus was the first non-terran born initiate of the Astral Hawks. Working as hard as he could, Marcus rose through the ranks before eventually earning the honor of leading the Void Guard. Marcus' wargear includes a suit of artificer armor, jump pack, storm shield and a powerfist with an integrated dual plasma pistol on the back.
- Starfury: a Gloriana Class Battleship and Atherel's personal flagship.
- Void Falcon: A highly modified Stormbird that serves as both Atherel's personal transport/gunship and a test bed for experimental systems. About 20% of the ships original transportation capacity has been sacrificed for additional support systems.
- Archangel-Pattern Dreadnoughts: After the successful successful creation of Michael's custom Xiphon Interceptor, a similar process was attempted with Dreadnought sarcophagus'. Though it would take some effort, the experiment proved successful. Dubbed archangels, these new creations now account for about a fifth of the legion's entombed veterans. While terrifyingly potent on the battlefield, plugging a Dreadnought sarcophagus into a non-human form proved to not be without drawbacks. The unnatural control of an Archangel-Pattern put more mental stress on the entombed veterans, requiring increased downtime between deployments. In addition, advanced auto-pilot machine spirits and neuro-stimulants proved to be a necessity to keep these war machines airborn through any lapses in cognizance.
- The Angel Ascendant, lead Vanguard Light Cruiser of the first fleet.
Favored Tactics/Battlefield Role: The Astral Hawks are masters of void and aerial combat. As such they specialize in lighting assaults and mobile, reactive gun lines. For their mobile gun lines, the Astral Hawks deploy their unique Ranger squads; astartes armed with boltguns and equipped with jump packs. To support this, they rely on Despoiler & Breacher squads for their assaults & boarding actions. In contrast, Devastator and Tactical squads are almost only ever employed to counter enemy boarding actions or to support the legion's auxiliaries in defense of static locations.
Their vehicle armory follows a similar pattern. While their tank complement is almost non-existent by most legion's standards, the Astral Hawks make up for it with an absolutely massive number of drop-pods, boarding & strike craft, bombers, gunships and interceptors. All that said, they are still astartes. In ground-side battles the Astral Hawks form highly fluid battle lines; outmaneuvering and baiting their foes into unfavorable engagements.
Legion Characteristics/Ideology: Off of the front lines, The Astral Hawks have one simple order from their Primarch; Be of service to humanity. Typically reserve fleets off of the front lines will take up residence in a localized sub-sector of space, usually a cluster of 3 to 5 star systems, though this can be higher or lower depending the size and density of the systems in question.
Standard protocol is to use the fleet's battle barge as a mobile HQ stationed in the most populous and well-developed star system. From there, the rest of the fleet is dispersed across the sub-sector as needed. Beyond that, the Astartes of the Astral Hawks integrate themselves into the various organizations and functions of Imperial Society. An Apothecary at the local medicae, Techmarines working civilian maintenance, Battle Brothers assisting Arbites operations, Sergeants training local militia, and the list goes on.
On the grander scale, while the Astral Hawks certainly aren't as good of civil engineers as the Imperial Star League, the Astral Hawks do leave behind a certain effect on the worlds they've occupied. Well developed orbital stations, shipyards & fortifications as well as inter-system trade & communications are the hallmarks of the Astral Hawks.
Lastly, the reserve fleets also serve the important role of recruitment of new space marines. Wherever the Astral Hawks set up shop, all boys of age are tested for genetic and psychological compatibility. Those who pass are offered the opportunity to become an aspirant. By only accepting volunteers, the Astral Hawks are better able to ensure the mental fortitude and strength of will of their new recruits. A luxury that can only be afforded on account of the legion's battle tactics and the sheer breadth of it's recruiting grounds.
Relationships: Among the Imperium at large & the Imperial Army the Astral Hawks have a mostly positive reputation as they tend to do their best to avoid civilian casualties, meatgrinder battles and their more human presence off the battlefield in comparison to some of the other legions. That said, Atherel is more than willing to deal with acceptable civilian casualties if it means a swift end to the conflict. Their usage of the Edict of Tolerance also tends to make them more enemies than friends, especially among the older and more senior members of the Imperium.
While their relationship with the Adeptus Mechanicus is better than that of the Night Watch, it is still somewhat strained as the Astral Hawks are frequently among the first to test prototypes from the Kirk system aside from it's home legion; the Void Falcon being an excellent example of this. However, by and large the Astral Hawks employ mostly unmodified STCs and keep any modifications they do make in-house.
In regard to their fellow legions, the Astral Hawks put up a front of cold aloof formality towards those they don't like, while warming up to those that they do. In particular, when it comes to the Abyssal Lurkers, their cold front borders on actual animosity to the point that they never deploy together unless directly ordered to. On the other hand, when it comes to Legions they do get along with such as the Night Watch or Daughters of Iron, the Astral Hawks are known to execute tightly-coordinated joint-ops with them. Often dropping or extracting their brothers & sisters into and out of hotzones with unmatched speed & precision. In addition, they will cross-train with other legions for increased versatility and some sharing of specializations.
The legion's views of The Emperor is a rather eclectic mix, varying from impassive tolerance to zealous adoration as the Astral Hawks recruit from all sorts of worlds throughout the galaxy. However, there is a universal baseline of respect for The Emperor's prowess as both a warrior and leader.
When it comes to Xenos, the Astral Hawks have come to share their Primarch's pragmatic views on the topic. This holds true even for the Terran-born veterans of the Legion, though this may be due to careful adjustments to the Legion's hypnotherapy by Atherel himself more than anything else. Of course, when it comes to the Eldar, things get complicated. While the Eldar may have been blacklisted from the Edict of Tolerance, Atherel and by extension, his legion, view fighting Craftworld Aeldari as a waste of time, energy and resources that would be better spent on purging the galaxy of Orks and other more serious threats. As such, the Astral Hawks will do their best to find diplomatic solutions to conflicts with Craftworlds when and where possible. Dark Eldar raiders are shown no quarter.
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