The Black Hulk

Codex: Black Legion

The Black Legion, as told by Naradak Blackclaw, Captain of the 1st Company

For 10,000 years we have been exiled from the Imperium. The Imperium. The creation of a failed man. That man? The object of worship of that Imperium. The Emperor. Only one man ever had any courage, any decency to stand up and fight this weakling; Horus, the Warmaster.

Horus had the strength to rebel. Horus had always been humanities finest. Even the Emperor had to admit that he was the greatest Primarch; rewarding him by renaming the Luna Wolves to the Sons of Horus. I remember that day, how we all cheered, for Horus and the Emperor. Horus showed the error of our ways.

He explained to us that the way forward was not done with the pathetic Imperial Cult. Rather, the powers of Chaos would take man from another race in the galaxy to masters of this universe. We saw the Emperor for all his faults; but as yet I was not swayed. Then I heard of the betrayal of Lorgar and the Word Bearers. I now saw the Emperor for who he really was. I now began my worship of Chaos. My powers increased, for the bloodthirsty gods were only too pleased to have new champions. Yet I soon tired of the mindless charades confered upon us by the Gods. To me, it was the true power of the undivided that attracted me. Here was a force that was everywhere, yet no man could master it. Yet those who could weild it felt unimaginable power. I had begun my path to damnation.

Then Horus announced that the time had come for a fully-fledged rebellion. At Istvaan we crushed the loyalist forces. The slaughter was gut-wrenching, even to us. They had no chance, as the Iron Warriors had declared their allegance to us, and had set up diabolical fortifications. Oh the fools! How they refused to join our cause. The chapters that did though increased their power immensely. Then I remember the assault on the Imperial Palace. The battle raged long and hard. I was on our battle barge at the time, in orbit observing the slaughter below. Victory was within our grasp. Then, suddenly, Horus lowered the shields to the ship.

I protested, but he insisted he see the last moments of the Emperor. Barely a minute later reports came in that Rogal Dorn, Sanguinus, the Emperor and Loyalist Terminators had boarded our ship. The moment of our victory had come. I saw Horus slay Sanguinus with ease. With one mighty crush from his lightning claw, Sanguinus fell, his angelic figure sprawled over the floor, blood flowing from the massive tear in his neck. His face, and the look of anger mixed with pure, abject terror burned itself into my soul. For a moment, I thought "What have we done? What is the meaning of all this slaughter? What will we achieve?" These thoughts I soon pushed out of my head. I was damned for sure, and there could be no denial.

We now thought that victory was a mere certainty. Soon, Terra would be ours, and the Imperium would be but a stronghold of Chaos! We were on the verge of final celebration, when news came that the Emperor himself was approaching the bridge. We all readied our weapons, preparing for the final combat; the battle to end all battles. The stakes of this fight would be nothing less than total domination over mankind, over the universe. Horus merely look out of the viewscreen onto Earth, seemingly pleased with the slaughter continuing below.

Then he came. Horus turned to face the Emperor. They both looked at each other. It was if time stood still. For a moment, Horus seemed to shed a tear. Why? If he did at all, I did not know. I was overcome with Chaotic fury, as I raised my Power Fist and charged the Emperor. What a fool I was. I was no match for the supreme might of the Emperor. He gnashed his teeth together and he swept me aside with a thundering blow from his sword. I was hurled into the wall on the other side of the room, the daemonic creatures embedded in it finding succor in the gaping wound where my arm once was. I remember little of what follows. I was near unconcious from the blow, and the warping influence of the daemons arround me altered my mind still. All I saw was a flurry of inhumanly fast blows, virtual storms of psychic energy, but most of all, I saw two of the greatest friends there once were fighting to the very end. I lapsed into a sleep, waking myself from it only to see the Emperor unleash an extremely furious attack upon Horus. Both were near death. Horus fell first all but dead, his armour in tattered chunks, and massive wounds riddled his body. The Emperor faired little better. His face wracked with pain, all he could was mumble "Why?" and slump to the floor beside Horus. The once radiant glow of light and goodness around the Emperor was gone.

I could only watch as Rogal Dorn and his finest troops fought like men possessed to rescue the Emperors body. They did so, after a bloody and horrendous fight, and they swiftly teleported back to Terra below. Our forces were all but spent, and reports came in from surfaceside that Chaos forces were in rout. The body of our beloved warmaster aboard our ship, we quickly gathered what remained of Black Legion forces from Terra, and jumped into Warp Space, just wishing to evade the Loyalist Imperial fleets now out hunting for the kill.

Thus ends my story of the heresy. What happened after we arrived in the Eye of Terror I do not wish to recall, for those were days when I was still human, and still felt pain for the events passed. Now, the only feeling I have is of rage at the Imperium. The Imperium will fall, and when it does, I shall be there to laugh as I take revenge for the loss of my arm all those thousands of years ago...

Black Legion Organisation

The Black Legion is one of the mightiest Chaos Legions in existence. It is far larger than a loyalist Imperial chapter, for the sole reason that when the Codex Astartes was written with it's limits on size, the Black Legion were waging a sweeping war in the Eye of Terror! The Black Legion numbers about 15,000 chaos space marines. However, to quote this figure as total chapter strength would be a lie. Over half a million Warriors jostling for a chance to become a Black Legionnaire and Slaves also accompany the Black Legion.

Unlike Imperial Chapters, where slaves are treated well and occupy an important and valued part of the chapter, in the Black Legion slaves are really just slaves. They must do their masters bidding, of be fed to the ravenous Daemons of the warp. The slaves are often captured in raids on Imperial worlds. Once a slave is taken, they must serve an eternity of pain and suffering, as time flows differently in the Eye. A man may live for a year in the Eye yet a hundred years pass outside. This is the plight of the slaves of the Black Legion. Occasionally, a crusade of the Imperium may touch a Black Legion world or outpost. The slaves beg for the ultimate mercy, the mercy of death, and their souls are saved from the insane hunger of the daemons. Yet many do not fare so well, and are currently playthings of the gods of Chaos.

New Black Legionnaires

A new Black Legionnaire comes into existence in one of two ways. The first, and most common, is to be accepted from the numberless ranks of young warriors lurking in the Eye of Terror. These warriors are thrown into comabt with each other in gruesome tournaments. The prize is a place in the Black Legion and a suit of power armour. This selection process ensures that only the toughest and most ruthless of the candidates survive. This method provides the Black Legion with a large recruitment base, as thousands upon thousands of disgruntled men of the Imperium flee into the Eye of Terror for many reasons.

Another way to enter the Black Legion is, thankfully for the Imperium, much rarer. It has been known that some Space Marines loyal to the Imperium have defected to the Black Legion. These instances are very, very rare, but disturbing nonetheless. Whole squads disappear from Imperial Chapters, only to be seen again raiding Imperial Worlds and serving the forces of Chaos.

If the new recruit has not already had a gene seed inserted into him, i.e. he is not already a space marine, they are taken aboard the Black Legion Genetics hulk. This hulk is truly a twisted and insane wreck, for only one deck is used aboard the whole ship. The gene-seed that is inserted into the warrior is a vile mockery of the original gene-seed used by the Sons of Horus in the days when they worshipped only the Emperor. The power of Chaos Undivided has manifested itself into the gene-seed, giving it it's name, the "Dark Seed". The warrior is brought into a hypnotic trance, and then injected into his heart is the seed. Slowly at first, the warrior is gripped by nightmarish visions of Horus as he fights the Emperor (similar to what Blood Angels see when they are given the gene-seed). Soon they break their bonds and are thrown into the madness of the ship. It is truly a diabolical ship, with corridors that twist back onto themselves, and starved daemons and beastmen lurking within the dark claustraphobic corridors and rooms. Eventually, the strongest recruits survive the darkness, and the second gene-seed is administered. This seed gives some sanity to the now frenzied warrior. The warrior is now a Black Legionnaire, full with rage against the Imperium and most of all, the Emperor.

The Black Legion is divided into several companies. The most famous of all is the 1st Company. Like loyalist Imperial Chapters, this company is made up entirely of Terminator armoured veterans. However, due to the limited number of suits, this company numbers only three hundred. Abaddon the Despoiler commands this company directly, and marches with them in times of war. The Veteran company is the commando wing of the Black Legion. Strictly speaking, it is it's own legion, operating independantly most times deep in enemy territory, however, their allegance lies with the Warmaster and the Legion. The Warmasters guard's name is a legacy from the days of Horus. When Horus still fought for the Emperor, men from this company were selected to accompany the Warmaster in his duties. They proved themselves able warriors, and are a very strong part of the Legion. The other companies are entire chapters in their own right, numbering in the thousands. Each Lord that commands a company has his own agenda, but will generally follow in the 'interests' of the Legion. A council of Generals and Captains from all the companies will congregate regularly to discuss plans for invasions and raids. There is much bickering and power-mongering in the Black Legion, and only the toughest and most cunning survive.

The Blood Company is an exception to this. They are more closely linked with Khorne, as during the heresy they began to worship the god of blood in his entirety.

Army Selection
Squads	at least 25%
Characters	up to 50%
Support	up to 25%
Daemons	up to 25%

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Special Rules

Ancient Disgrace The Black Legion still remember the day when the Emperor defeated Horus, and when their exile began. This is a great humiliation to them, as it was they who led the rebellion and promised victory. All those present at the defeat of Horus vowed to destroy the Imperium. To represent this, all Black Legionnaires will automatically pass any break tests, but only against Imperial Forces. Other psychology tests are taken as normal.

Rapid Fire The Black Legionnaire plants his feet firmly into the ground and opens up with a hail of shots from his Bolt Pistol or Boltgun. As long as he does not move, a Black Legionnaire may fire twice in one turn.

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