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Legio Metalica

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The Legio Metalica ("Iron Skulls") is one of the oldest and most esteemed Titan Legions within the Collegia Titanica, one of the military arms of the Adeptus Mechanicus. It is believed that the Legio Metalica was founded before the Age of the Imperium, during the Age of Strife.

The Iron Skulls are veterans of centuries of conflict, predating even the Unification Wars of Terra and the Great Crusade.

During the Horus Heresy, at least part of the Legion turned to Chaos and the service of the Warmaster Horus at the Battle of Cruciatus Primus and still serves as a Traitor Titan Legion.

The Iron Skulls' home Forge World of Metalica lies within the Ultima Segmentum, situated in one of the most dangerous parts of the galaxy, near the Ork Empire of Charadon. They live in a constant state of readiness as they are always threatened by war.

Legion History[]

Legio Metalica Doloris Dominus Warmaster Titan

The Warmaster-class Heavy Battle Titan Doloris Dominus displaying the colour scheme of the Legio Metalica.

Origins[]

If the data vaults of the Forge World of Metalica are accurate, this esteemed Titan Legion, renowned for its great tactical prowess and skill in battle, stands amongst the most ancient of its kind. Indeed, the date of its founding suggest that Metalica was amongst the first successful colony worlds established by colony arks dispatched from Mars during the Age of Strife.

The lengthy records relating to the long service of the "Iron Skulls," as the Legio Metalica is often named, provide a detailed history of the extensive victories claimed by the Titan Legion during the Age of Strife, telling of great adversity faced by both the Forge World and its defenders.

Standing amongst many of the victories attributed to the Legio Metalica was the ruthless destruction of no less than 32 separate invasions by a diverse number of xenos species that, at one point or another, laid siege to Metalica.

The strength of the Iron Skulls did not sit idle during these millennia either, and by the time of Metalica's rediscovery by the Imperium of Man during the Great Crusade, nearly a dozen neighbouring systems had been incorporated into the Forge Empire of Metalica thanks to the tactical prowess of its Titan Legion.

Initial Imperial contact with Metalica was made by scout vessels of the 1159th Expeditionary Fleet that, upon detecting the Forge World from the edges of the star system, returned to the fleet with news of an alien world crafted from metal.

The presiding commander of the 1159th at the time of Metalica's rediscovery is noted to have been possessed of great ambition and an impetuous mien. Caring little as to the nature of his foe, the 1159th Expeditionary Fleet was marshalled with haste to lay waste to the detected world and it was only after the Imperial fleet lay decimated by the defensive vessels of Metalica that lines of communication were opened.

Further conflict was avoided when tech-priests attached to the expedition noted similarities in the design of the Metalican ships compared to the STC patterns in use across the Imperium.

Subsequent diplomatic summits revealed that the metal sphere was far from xenos in origin and, instead, owed its transformation to millennia of labour undertaken by Metalica's tech-priests who deemed it only right that they toil in blessed sterility upon a world devoid of all life, to better commune with the Omnissiah and understand His will.

Once agreement was reached and Metalica had sworn allegiance to Mars above all, the strength of the Legio Metalica was unleashed upon the wider galaxy. There, the reputation for martial prowess held by the Iron Skulls was quickly proved legitimate, the number of its victories increasing with each passing year.

Conquests of particular note during the first years of its involvement in the Great Crusade include the conflict on Jardingris, where they fought alongside the Ultramarines Primarch Roboute Guilliman, and the razing of the Archaist Strongholds, a string of fortress worlds occupied by a divergent strand of Humanity ruled over by a vast Abominable Intelligence.

These victories, amongst countless others, did much to cement the reputation of the Legio Metalica and its assistance was soon readily sought by dozens of expeditionary fleets across the galaxy. The strength of the Titan Legion stood greater when Metalica formed a concord with the Knight World of Kolossi, over which House Raven claimed dominion.

Amongst the legends of Kolossi, it is said that upon first setting foot within the vaults of the house and observing the dilapidated nature of vast numbers of Knight armours, the tech-priests of Metalica gave voice to such sorrow that the slumbering Knights reawakened.

From that moment, an unbreakable bond was formed between Metalica and Kolossi, the Knight house swearing itself into service to the Forge World.

In war, the Legio Metalica was noted to favour ordered tactical plans, despairing of those it fought alongside that displayed impetuous behaviour.

Amongst the stranger methods of war practiced by the Iron Skulls, at least when compared to the aloof nature of the wider Mechanicum, was the Titan Legion's employment of a dedicated strategic diplomatic contingent whose role involved integrating itself within the commanding framework of allied forces.

Once rapport had been established, these strategists would advocate battleplans favoured by Legio Metalica while working tirelessly to understand the methods of war employed by others within the war zone, friend and foe alike.

In circumstances where such methods were deemed preferential to the Titan Legion's own, the Iron Skull strategists would support a change in plans while dispatching detailed reports to the Forge World of Metalica. Such reports would then be disseminated across the Titan Legion as a whole.

This endeavour was aimed at the development and refinement of the Legio Metalica's tactical acumen in a seemingly endless quest to perfect its own methods of war. The employment of these strategic diplomats caused much contention amongst both other Titan Legions and commanders the Iron Skulls fought alongside.

For the former, the methods of the Legio Metalica were perceived as a means through which the Iron Skulls could steal secrets and hoard them for itself.

In the case of the latter, frustration amongst allied forces rose from the unwillingness of the Legio Metalica to share tactical developments unless deemed necessary and, even then, only when the commander in question was perceived as competent enough to understand the development in question.

Horus Heresy[]

Legio Metalica Warlord Titan Custodire Invidia

Legio Metalica Warlord-class Titan Custodire Invidia during the Horus Heresy.

By the time of the Triumph of Ullanor, the Legio Metalica had amassed a degree of renown not dissimilar to the reputations of the three Titan Legions of the Triad Ferrum Morgulus, the original Titan Orders raised on Mars.

Driven by a desire to possess the strength wielded by Metalica, emissaries of the Warmaster Horus were dispatched in an attempt to sway the allegiance of the Forge World to his cause. The fate of these emissaries remains unknown, for records indicate that conflict erupted soon after they were sent and no evidence exists as to their arrival at Metalica.

Irrespective of the fate of the Warmaster's emissaries, the allegiance of Metalica was called into question on numerous occasions during the early years of the Horus Heresy; the most notable occurrence involving conflict between the Legio Metalica and the Legio Pallidus Mor, with the latter reporting treachery by the Iron Skulls.

According to those few princeps who survived the resulting conflict, the Pale Scythes claimed that a battlegroup of Iron Skulls had attempted to sway them to turn against the Emperor. When the Legio Pallidus Mors denied such an offer, it was met with violence, and from that day forth, the Pale Scythes harboured distrust towards the Legio Metalica, even after it was revealed that the wayward Iron Skulls had been corrupted by the machinations of the Legio Vulturum.

Further scattered reports of turncoat Iron Skulls battlegroups were reported elsewhere in the galaxy and the Loyalist strength of the Legio Metalica tasked themselves with the extermination of such Traitors.

The fractious nature of the Legio Metalica's loyalty did much to stain the once-impeccable reputation of the Titan Legion, leading to the collapse of the Iron Skulls' diplomatic strategists organisation, for few trusted the Titan Legion enough to share tactical secrets lest it be used against their own.

Notable Campaigns[]

LegioMetalicaTitansCombat

The Titans of the Legio Metalica in combat at the Battle of Beta-Garmon during the Horus Heresy.

  • First Scouring of Jardingris (Unknown Date.M30) - The greatest and most portentous battle the Knights of House Vornherr fought in during the Great Crusade, it was on the grave-world of Jardingris that the house first took to the field of battle under the overall command of Primarch Roboute Guilliman as part of a combined force consisting of twelve full chapters of the Ultramarines, the Legio Metalica Titan Legion, ten cohorts of the Solar Auxilia and scores of Excertus Imperialis line regiments. They were joined by the Conquestor companies of Rogue Trader Kohnwallis. The war against the anti-human revenant organisms of Jardingris was a bitter one indeed, and by its end the necrogenic xenos strain had paid for its crime of existence with its utter extermination. The victory came at the cost of a dozen Titans and a hundred Knights, tens of thousands of human infantry and almost three thousand warriors of the Legiones Astartes.
  • Ruin of Maerdan (008.M31) - In the third year of the Horus Heresy, the Imperial colony world of Maerdan on the edge of the Segmentum Solar became a savagely contested frontline between the forces of Loyalist and Traitor. Maerdan's citites beomce flaming ruins and its once verdant plains are turned to barren wastes, crushed and scoured by the futy of the battle as the Loyalist Titans of Legio Metalica, Legio Gryphonicus (War Griffons), and Legio Destructor (Beasts of Steel) clash with the Traitors of Legio Mortis (Death Heads), Legio Astraman (Dread Lances) and Legio Vulturum (Gore Crows). The Ruin of Maerdan, as the campaign came to be known, was one of the largest Titan battles of the early Horus Heresy, with more than 200 Titans taking ot the field against each other. Heavy losses are incurred by both sides and as the war moves on, it leaves a shattered world behind, with neither Loyalist nor Traitor able to claim true victory.
  • Imperial Muster at Beta-Garmon (012-013.M31) - For reasons only understood later in the war, the Ruinstorm that had been invoked by Lorgar, primarch of the Word Bearers, several standard years earlier during the Battle of Calth, began to abate across vast swathes of the galaxy. Loyalist high commanders were able to utilise the potent astropathic relay at Beta-Garmon to contact and recall formerly lost or stranded forces from across the war-torn reaches of the northern Imperium. The Imperial Muster at Beta-Garmon rapidly escalated into the largest gathering of Loyalist might since the early years of the war, a concentration of forces so mighty that the Traitors had to respond in kind. The resulting clash of arms would become known as the Great Slaughter, a theatre of war of such scale that it would encompass the "Titandeath" and the Sea of Fire campaigns, each major campaigns in their own right. By its end, both sides were so badly bled that their only remaining option for ultimate victory was to force a final, decisive confrontation. As history related, the final battle would be fought at Terra, but only after the weighty butcher's bill of the Great Slaughter was paid in full.
  • Second War for Armageddon (941.M41) - The Legio Metalica is most famous for the tragic part it played in the Second War for Armageddon. The Iron Skulls were stationed on that Hive World to protect its vital industry. At the time, Armageddon suffered beneath the rule of its foolish and erratic Overlord, Herman von Strab, who refused to believe warnings of an impending invasion of the largest Ork WAAAGH! seen in centuries. Failing to heed the dire portents, Armageddon was invaded in 941.M41 by the mighty Ork Warlord Ghazghkull Mag Uruk Thraka. Ghazghkull smashed through von Strab’s inadequate defences. Desperate, the Overlord commanded the Legio Metalica to perform the impossible task of stemming the massive greenskinned tide of Orks from overrunning the planet. Holding temporary command of the Legion after the death (suspected to be an assassination) of its Grand Master, Princeps Senioris Kurtiz Mannheim reluctantly obeyed the Overlord. By Imperial law he was required to perform his duties, and so Mannheim put on his best dress uniform, told his family goodbye and prepared to sell his life dearly. Unable to betray his oath of loyalty to the Emperor, Mannheim climbed aboard his Titan Steel Hammer and led his battle group to their inevitable destruction. The Legion fought long and hard, and Steel Hammer accounted for the destruction of three Ork Gargants before it was severely damaged. Not going down without a fight, Mannheim ordered his war machine to be taken into the centre of the Ork forces before his Titan's reactor melted down. When the reactor detonated, a half dozen Gargants were taken out, delivering a powerful message to Ghazghkull that the Collegia Titanica would never rest whilst a single Ork lived to taint Armageddon’s soil. But outnumbered three to one, the Legio Metalica was severely outmatched. The Legion was almost completely wiped out and took no further part in the Armageddon campaign. At the end of the campaign Princeps Senioris Mannheim was posthumously awarded the Emperor’s Star for his bravery and loyalty to the Imperium. The Legion was rebuilt and has since won acclaim in every campaign it has fought in due to its dedication and determination. To date the Legio Metalica 's tally of victories is unsurpassed by that of any other Titan Legion. Mannheim remains a shining example of the dutiful warrior to all in the Imperium.
  • Third War for Armageddon (998.M41) - Once again, the Legio Metalica played an important role in the defence of Armageddon from the Orks. In 998.M41, Ghazghkull Thraka returned, leading a second, larger WAAAGH! to smash and subjugate the humans of Armageddon. The famous Commissar Yarrick and many other Imperial heroes who had fought in the previous war fifty-seven years earlier were recalled to defend the Hive World once again. Ork Roks (makeshift asteroid fortresses) made landings in the verdant equatorial jungles of the world and across the continents of Armageddon Primus and Secundus. Many were lost to ground fire or accidents but each one that survived became a bastion for the Orks, a rallying point and a ready-made fortress. As well as their huge gun and missile batteries, the Roks contained giant teleport arrays like those first used by Ghazghkull during his Piscina Campaign. These were employed to teleport down Ork reinforcements, including Gargants and heavy artillery, in an endless stream. Fighting alongside the Legio Ignatum (Fire Wasps), Regiments of Cadian Shock Troops and elements drawn from various Space Marine Chapters, the Legio Metalica was personally led by Commissar Yarrick in the destruction of several of the fortresses.
  • 13th Black Crusade (999.M41) - When Abaddon the Despoiler and his forces of Chaos assaulted the world of Cadia during the 13th Black Crusade in 999.M41, the Legio Metalica was one of the Loyalist Titan Legions of the Collegia Titanica to help in the defence of that beleaguered Imperial Fortress World by providing a battlegroup to assist in holding back the tidal wave of Chaos fanatics.
  • Diamor Campaign (999.M41) - The Legio Metalica served alongside the 1st, 2nd and 5th Companies of the Blood Angels Chapter and the Knights of House Raven on the world of Amethal in the Diamor System. The Imperial forces succeeded in driving back the forces of the Black Legion and the Crimson Slaughter from Amethal and the wider system, but not before the Heretic Astartes enacted a sorcerous ritual with the aid of the artefact known as the Banshee Stone that weakened a prison for daemons on Amethal. If this "daemon cage" could not be strengthened with the aid of the Grey Knights, the strategic Diamor System would be lost to the eruption of a new Warp rift and a daemonic assault that would greatly assist Abaddon the Despoiler's 13th Black Crusade.
  • Subjugation of Nicomedua (Unknown Date.M42) - Where the Imperium of Mankind was torn asunder by the opening of the Great Rift, the domains of the Machine God suffered not only from disrupted supply chains and troublesome Warp Storms, but also from a rise of dissension within their own ranks. On Nicodemua, one of Metalica's many tributary worlds, large portions of the Martian Priesthood and Skitarii forces were swayed by the Dark Mechanicum, embracing a new interpretation of the Omnissiah's words known as the Tangential Path. Declared Heretek by its patron Forge World, Nicodemua was promptly assailed by the countless ranks of the Astra Militarum which, while able to force a landing on the rebellious world, was unable to fully purge its corruption. After three Terran years of conflict, the reclamation of Nicomedua had reached a stalemate. Having fortified the lands around the already impressive fortress of Az Khalak, the Hereteks had pressed back several Imperial offensives and the tacticians and Lexmechanics of the Imperial Guard agreed that the expected casualties would number in the millions, rendering the whole campaign nonviable. Petitioning the Legio Metalica for aid, the Imperial commanders were relieved to be reinforced by Battle Group Casus Belli, a force strong enough to break the stalemate and seize Az Khalak within a single solar day. Led by the Imperator-class Titan Casus Belli, the forces of the Legio Metalica marched right into the enemy's trap: sacrificing its best troops and even Az Khalak itself, the Hereteks were able to isolate the Casus Belli from the rest of the battle group while trying to seize it from within. At the same time, the Hereteks were reinforced as their allies from the Legio Fureans landed in Nicodemua's highlands and initiated a potentially devastating counteroffensive. Isolated and led into error by the corrupted bridge-crew of the Casus Belli, several Titans of the Legio Metalica were destroyed until the internecine conflict within the Casus Belli was resolved. With the victory of the Loyalist crew, the Casus Belli’s allegiance was restored. With the addition of its tremendous firepower, the Legio Fureans was quickly vanquished and Nicomedua restored to the true path of the Omnissiah.
  • Charadon Campaign (Unknown Date.M42) - The Charadon Campaign began after the end of the Noctis Aeterna in the local region, when Typhus the Traveller seized his chance to invade the Forge World of Metalica and plunged the Charadon Sector into war, seeking to claim it for the forces of Nurgle, the Plague God. The Legio Metalica played a key role in the defence of their homeworld.
  • Battle of Raukos (Unknown Date.M42) - The Legio Metalica participated in the Battle of Raukos, one of the last battles of the first phase of the Indomitus Crusade. On the world of 108/Beta-Kalapus-9.2 in the Pit of Raukos, the orbital assault was led by Primaris Space Marines drawn from the Unnumbered Sons. They were not alone in the first wave, accompanied by Firstborn Space Marines from the Silver Skulls. The Astartes landed on a fortress-complex manned by the Heretic Astartes of the Iron Warriors. The first Imperial troops to hit the planet's surface were Primaris Inceptor Squads dropped from orbit. They moved onto the roofs of the Iron Warriors' fortresses to neutralise their anti-aircraft batteries, allowing for waves of Imperial drop ships to arrive in their wake. Heavy vehicles such as Repulsors were delivered as well as Titans from the Legio Metalica. These forces quickly overwhelmed the remaining Traitors, and the fortress ultimately fell 5 solar hours after the elimination of its air defences.

Chaos Campaigns[]

The portion of the Legio Metalica that turned to the service of the Ruinous Powers during the Horus Heresy also fought in multiple campaigns against the servants of the Emperor over the centuries.

  • Battle of Cruciatus Primus (Unknown Date.M31) - At the very beginning of what would later be called the Horus Heresy, the Legio Pallidus Mor had been deployed alongside a force of the Legio Metalica. Unknown to the Pallidus Mor, the formation of the Iron Skulls they were deployed alongside were secretly in league with the Arch-traitor Horus and believed they could succeed where others had failed: to fully corrupt the Legio Pallidus Mor and rally them to the banner of the Traitor Warmaster. Once the ploy was discovered, the infuriated Legio Pallidus Mor vented their fury on the Iron Skulls, shocked that the Traitors had even dared to suggest that they would so easily spit on their oaths of fidelity to the Throne.
  • Doom of Katara (Unknown Date.M41) - In the Sevasmos System, the homeworld of the Kataran Spears Astra Militarum regiment, Katara, called for aid. The planetary capital city of Creontiades had already fallen into the hands of Khorne-worshipping Chaos Cultists, who had called forth powerful allies -- the Traitor faction of the Legio Metalica. In a sense, the Imperium was fortunate, for the war to free the neighboring world of Khania from the Tyranids had just ended and formations from both the Legio Pallidus Mor and the Legio Solaria had not yet been reassigned to other warzones. However, tensions had flared between the new commanding officers of the Legio Pallidus Mor, Princeps Senioris Krezoc, and Marshal Syagrius of the Legio Solaria, the Imperial Hunters. During the victory feast, a diplomatic incident was only narrowly avoided, which boded ill for the future deployment of both Legions. As the Loyalist Legions had suffered casualties, the most efficient solution was for the surplus Imperial Hunter god-engines to integrate into the battle maniples of the Pallidus Mors, a decision both commanders reluctantly agreed to. Before their departure from Khania, the Imperial Hunter Reaver-class Titan Nobilis Arma and the two Warhound-class Titans Canis Imperio and Sacra Canis were loaded into the cavernous holds of the Legio Pallidus Mor’s Titan Barque Nunctius Mortis. The war on Katara would be Princeps Senioris Krezoc's first autonomous command of this magnitude, and although operational control resided yet again in the hands of Marshal Syagrius, Krezoc vowed that this time she would not let an ill-advised order cost her Legion so dearly. Upon arriving at Katara, the Imperial forces gathered enough intelligence to determine that their enemy had lingered at Creontiades and not crossed the Kazani Bridge, the sole link between the island upon which Creontiades had been erected and the continental mainland. Seemingly as an act of good will, Marshal Syagrius gave the honour of leading the spearhead to the Demi-legio under Krezoc's command. The Pallidus Mor would land just outside the city of Deicoon, the settlement closest to the Kazani Bridge. Krezoc argued that the wider strategy would be best served by landing their full force at Deicoon and holding back the enemy on the Kazani Bridge, a plan Syagrius had deemed interesting enough to pursue. But when the moment came to order the deployment of the Imperial Hunters, Syagrius chose instead to let the Legio Pallidus Mor hold Deicoon alone whilst his demi-Legio secured the remaining large city of Therimachus. However, Therimachus lay more than a thousand kilometres further west, a distance too great for each demi-Legio to provide support to the other in case of attack. Furthermore, Syagrius ordered Krezoc to merely secure and defend the city until the Imperial Hunters returned. Having vowed not to repeat her previous mistake, Princeps Senioris Krezoc extended her orders and commanded the Legio Pallidus Mors and the supporting Kataran Spears to mount an attack on the Kazani Bridge. So it was that when the Iron Skulls tried to cross the bridge, they marched straight into the defences of the Legio Pallidus Mors. Krezoc's objective was not to take control of the bridge or defeat the enemy, but to slow it down and inflict as many casualties as she could. With the Kazani Bridge acting as a funnel, the Iron Skulls were incapable of bringing their superior numbers to bear. Under the cover of the Kataran Spears' Basilisks and other Loyalist artillery pieces, the Legio Pallidus Mor engaged in a fighting retreat, destroying several Titans before demolishing the bridge itself, causing several Titans of the Iron Skulls to helplessly plunge into the roaring waters of the Kazani Straits. The bridge's destruction also trapped the remaining Iron Skulls and their Chaos Cultists at Creontiades, thus safeguarding Deicoon as Krezoc had been ordered to do. Returning in victory to Deicoon, the Legio Pallidus Mors believed matters resolved. As a precautionnary measure, the Kataran Spears remained to defend the Straits. This precaution proved prescient, for through the use of blasphemous sorcery, the Archenemy rebuilt the Kazani Bridge and crossed it in strength. Worse yet, the cultists struck the Loyalists in the rear at Deicoon, plunging the defenders into chaos. Emerging from Deicoon's lower levels, the Chaos Cultists attacked in force at the very moment the princeps of the Legio Pallidus Mor had been invited to a great banquet. The Chaos Cultists managed to seize both the crews and their Titans after having overcome the Mechanicum defenders through the use of a bomb designed to emit a potent electromagnetic pulse that made most forms of machinery and electronics inoperable. Believing the Legio Pallidus Mor vanquished, the main strength of the Iron Skulls marched on Therimachus and the hopelessly outnumbered Imperial Hunters. The Khornate cultists put the Princeps and Moderatii in chains, holding them at the top of the twin-spires of Deicoon's Ecclesiarchy cathedral, where the crew would be able to watch as their Titans were corrupted and reconsecrated to serve the Blood Good. The cultists also tried to corrupt Krezoc and her fellow Princeps, but were ultimately thwarted in their efforts as a ragged but fervent group of Imperial citizens succeeded first in liberating the Mechanicum Secutarii Hoplites and then the Princeps. Fighting their way through the ranks of the cultists to reach their god-engines, the Legio Pallidus Mors took back their sacred war machines. Once the crews re-linked to their Titans, the cultists stood no chance. Shortly afterwards, the retreating Kataran Spears heralded the arrival of the Chaos Titans. With the city's guns in the hand of the Traitors, the Kataran Spears suffered heavy casualties, whilst the Pallidus Mor had to be wary of where they positioned their god-engines within the urban sprawl. Krezoc decided to use the city itself as cover, forcing the Traitors and the Iron Skulls to level parts of Deicoon just to see their true target. Through concentrated efforts and fierce fighting, the Legio Pallidus Mor emerged victorious, but the city had been transformed into a burning wasteland, the Legio having had no other choice than to fire at the ground beneath Deicoon's central keep and let it crash into the embrace of Katara's fiery heart. Battle-weary, the Kataran Spears and the Legio Pallidus Mor could not rest, for they were needed at Therimachus. The Traitors' sorcery had destroyed the coastal highway, which was the sole route linking Deicoon to Therimachus. Their only option was to cross the continent's heartlands and the dangerous promethium-fields of the Klivanos Plains, which the Iron Skulls had lit on fire. For three solar days and three solar nights, the Legio Pallidus Mor marched through the blazing inferno, a hard march which cost the lives of several Titans and many tanks of the Kataran Spears before the Loyalists reached the foothills around Hive Therimachus. Several Imperial Hunters Titans still fought on, but Marshal Syagrius had been slain. The unexpected Loyalist counterattack forced the Iron Skulls to divide their forces: fully half of them stayed in the city, destroying it in preparation of yet another corrupting ritual. Krezoc realized that the Traitor Titans marching against her were only there to delay the Loyalists' advance, as the enemy's true intention was to complete the blasphemous ritual. Krezoc ordered the survivors of the Katara Spears to shell the city, disrupting the enemy ritual by any means necessary while her Titans sought to cut a path through the Iron Skulls. The Legio Pallidus Mor paid the butcher's bill during this offensive. Krezoc's own Warlord-class Titan, the Gloria Vastator, suffered a catastrophic reactor failure. Krezoc's last mental command before ejection was to guide the great God-engine straight at her opponent so that when the reactor exploded it also caused the enemy Titan's death. In a last-ditch effort to wring victory from the enemy's grasp, Krezoc ordered the Nunctio Mortis to deliver the repaired Ferrum Salvator to the battlefield. Guiding the Titan on foot, and using her own pain and loss of her own Titan as a catalyst to bond with the Ferrum Salvator's Machine Spirit, Krez turned the Titan's guns on her final foe and then upon the city, killing thousands of innocent Imperial citizens to prevent them from being sacrificed in the name of Khorne. At battle's end, Ferrum Salvator was the only Titan of the line still standing. Demi-Legio Syagrius and demi-Legio Balzahn had been virtually annihiliated, but the Iron Skulls had suffered a humbling defeat. Katara remained in Imperial hands, but the Inquisition's hand proved a heavy one and Katara was declared a Penal World. After having so valiantly fought for the survival of their homeworld, the Kataran Spears were disbanded and the survivors confined to forced labour camps. Without remorse, Princeps Senioris Ferantha Krezoc departed Katara, her duty done and her conscience clear.
  • 13th Black Crusade (999.M41) - When Abaddon the Despoiler led the largest Chaos incursion into Imperial space during the 13th Black Crusade, the Iron Skulls were one of the Traitor Titan Legions that had involvement in the campaign. There was a major Iron Skulls battlegroup sighted near the Imperial world of Vorga Torq.

Notable Titan Battle Groups[]

  • Legio Metalica "Hades V" Battle Group - This Warlord-class Titan Battle Group was deployed in the defence of Hades Hive during the Second War for Armageddon when Ork Warlord Ghazghkull Thraka invaded Armageddon. The Custodire Pius and Custodire Invidia were armed with support weapons, enabling them to pound their foes from the greatest possible distance. Since their main objective was to keep the Ork Gargants from unleashing shots into the structure of Hades Hive, their weapon loadouts were configured to keep the Gargants at arms length. Custodire Faex, with its shorter-ranged weapons, was prepared to engage the Ork Gargants if any of them managed to survive the long-range wall of fire set up by the other two Titans. This weapons loadout enabled the Battle Group to destroy many Gargants before receiving seriou return fire, but once several Gargants closed in, their superior number of short ranged weapons smashed aside the Battle Group. The Titans of the "Hades V" Battle Group were armed with a large number of weapons that could destroy buildings, ensuring that valuable cover was denied to the Orks and Gargants, who were forced to advance in the open.
  • Legio Metalica "Casus Belli" Battle Group - Battle Group Casus Belli was the Legio Metalica's most sizeable off-world force during the dark days of the Noctis Aeterna. Operating well over demi-legio strength and led by one of the most powerful Titans in service within the Collegia Titanica, the Imperator-class Casus Belli, this battle group was tasked with the reclamation of the Adeptus Mechanicus world of Nicomedua. Compromised of six Warlords, four Reavers, three Warhounds and a pair of Warrior-class Titans, the battle group proved capable of conquering whole worlds but suffered severely during the campaign remembered as the Subjugation of Nicomedua.

Notable Titans[]

  • Casus Belli - A venerable Imperator-class Titan, the Casus Belli was the leader of the eponymous battle group deployed by the Legio Metalica to destroy the Hereteks of the world of Nicomedua. The main armament of the Casus Belli was a Plasma Annihilator and a Hellstorm Cannon, although as an Imperator-class Titan it also fielded a main artillery battery -- which included a central Volcano Cannon -- countless self-defence lasers and point defence guns as well as numerous anti-aircraft systems. Through the corruption of some of the Imperator 's command crew, the Casus Belli was at the heart of an elaborate ploy by a secret Dark Mechanicum faction within the Metalican Mechanicum that sought to take control of the Casus Belli and turn it over to the Traitors of the Legio Fureans. Fortunately this plot was thwarted by the heroic sacrifices of Inquisitor Ossissuri Harkas and Magos Dominus Militaris Xaiozanus Xilliarkis Exasas.
  • Doloris Dominus - A Warmaster-class Heavy Battle Titan of the Legio Metalica, depicted above during the Razing of Arcadiax in 009.M31, wielded a pair highly destructive Suzerain Pattern Plasma Destructors. These colossal weapons required immense energy to function. The Suzerain pattern was specifically designed to be wielded by the Warmaster Titan to allow it to fully leverage the extensive reactor system housed within the Heavy Battle Titan. This standard mode of fire saw the weapon function in a similar fashion to the Sunfury class Plasma Annihilator, albeit at a greater scale. When circumstances called for the destruction of hardened targets, additional power could be funneled into the weapon, focusing the unleashed plasma into a concentrated lance-like projectile capable of melting through several layers of armour. This property ensured the Plasma Destructor was a slayer of god-engines, making it exceedingly dangerous for any Titan foolhardy enough to directly engage a Warmaster Titan.
  • Custodire Faex - A Warlord-class Titan that was a part of the Hades V Battle Group that took part in the valiant defence of Hades Hive during the Second War for Armageddon against several Ork Gargants.
  • Custodire Invidia - Custodire Invidia, a Warlord-class Titan depicted above during the Horus Heresy era, was the personal Titan of Princeps Seniores Ulrichit Larzend, known within the records of Metalica as the "Warden of Saraninent." This title was granted during the Great Crusade, when Princeps Larzend and his maniple found itself adrift following the redeployment of the 183rd Expeditionary Fleet. The vessels carrying Custodire Invidia and its kin emerged within the borders of the Saraninent Conglomerate, a Human enclave previously unknown to the Imperium. For a decade, the small contingent of Legio Metalica Titans led by Larzend fought off xenos pirates that had plagued the region for two standard millennia. When contact was reestablished with the 183rd Expeditionary Fleet, the Saraninent Conglomerate eagerly joined the Imperium and Larzend was honoured for his service under extreme conditions. To this day, monuments to the Legio Metalica exist across all of the Conglomerate's worlds, each dedicated to Larzend and his warriors. Millennia later in the 41st Millennium, this same Warlord-class Titan was a part of the Hades V Battle Group that took part in the valiant defence of Hades Hive during the Second War for Armageddon against several Ork Gargants.
  • Custodire Pius - A Warlord-class Titan that was a part of the Hades V Battle Group that took part in the valiant defence of Hades Hive during the Second War for Armageddon against several Ork Gargants.
  • Indomitable Guardian - A Warlord-class Titan that participated in the Subjugation of Nicomedua as part of Battle Group Casus Belli. During this campaign, the conduct of Indomitable Guardian was nothing short of exemplar, as it heroically saved the outgunned Omnissiah's Temper by interposing itself between its fellow Warlord and the incoming shots that would have destroyed it. Resolute, the Indomitable Guardian and Omnissiah's Temper held the line, even slaying a Chaos Reaver-class Titan before being forced to retreat as the enemy ground support marched onto the battlefield. It would take the arrival of the rest of the battle group for the foe to be defeated.
  • Iron Splendour - A Warlord-class Titan deployed to Nicomedua as part of Battle Group Casus Belli, the Iron Splendour was the last Warlord to emerge from the storm-front that had disrupted the battle group's advance. With the Casus Belli again in Loyalist hands, the Iron Splendour played only a secondary role in the final battle against the Legio Fureans.
  • Omnissiah's Temper - Omnissiah's Temper was a Warlord Titan deployed as part of Battle Group Casus Belli during the Subjugation of Nicomedua. Targeted by continuous fire from Traitor air support that stripped it of its Void Shields, the Omnissiah's Temper lost one of its shoulder-mounted Apocalypse Missile Launchers under the Quake Cannons of Az Khalak's defence batteries. After the fortress' capitulation, the Casus Belli ordered the entire battle group to press on, leaving Omnissiah's Temper unable to conduct the necessary repairs before it encountered the small force of Chaos Titans of the Legio Fureans that had previously eliminated Will of Iron. With the Casus Belli paralyzed by internal struggles, the Omnissiah's Temper would surely have been destroyed if it hadn't been joined by Indomitable Guardian. Together, both Warlords held their two Chaos counterparts at bay long enough for the rest of the battle group to emerge and tip the balance in the Legio Metalica’s favor. Blackened by fire from head to toe, the Omnissiah's Temper nevertheless survived to march again.
  • Phlegmatix - A Warlord-class Titan deployed as part of Battle Group Casus Belli during the Subjugation of Nicomedua. The Phlegmatix was destroyed during the assault on the fortress of Az Khalak.
  • Steel Hammer - A Warlord-class Titan that fought during the Second War for Armageddon and was the war machine of the Legion's acting commander -- Princeps Senioris Kurtiz Mannheim. Steel Hammer accounted for the destruction of three Ork Gargants before it was severely damaged. Not going down without a fight, Mannheim ordered his god-engine to be taken into the centre of the Ork forces before his Titan's reactor melted down. When the reactor detonated, a half-dozen Gargants were taken out, delivering a powerful message to Ghazghkull that the Collegia Titanica would never rest whilst a single Ork lived to taint Armageddon's soil.
  • Will of Iron - A Warlord-class Titan belonging to Battle Group Casus Belli. Will of Iron was lost shortly after the fall of Az Khalak. Advancing as ordered by Princeps Senioris Ieanola of the Casus Belli, the venerable Warlord was intentionally separated from the rest of the battle group. It was then destroyed by enemy Titans of the Legio Fureans which deployed directly from orbit and caught Will of Iron unsupported and unaware.
  • Hammer of Metalica - Hammer of Metalica was a Reaver-class Titan deployed by Battle Group Casus Belli during the attack on the citadel of Az Khalak on Nicomedua. Stalled by enemy Shadowsword super-heavy tanks and fire from Az Khalak's Quake Cannons which stripped it of its Void Shields, Hammer of Metalica was left unprotected when the enemy called in an orbital strike. Hammer of Metalica’s death was so sudden that its Plasma Reactor did not have time to go critical -- instead the proud Reaver was consumed by the fiery energy at its heart as it toppled sideways.
  • Labour of Battle - A Reaver-class Titan of Battle Group Casus Belli, the Labour of Battle was destroyed during the Legion's assault on the fortress of Az Khalak on Nicomedua.
  • Laodoniz Vanguard - A Reaver-class Titan of Battle Group Casus Belli that participated in the Subjugation of Nicomedua. The guns of the Laodoniz Vanguard were essential in deterring the two Tiger Eyes Warlords from pressing their advantage against the stricken Indomitable Guardian and Omnissiah's Temper.
  • Victorious Endeavour - Deployed alongside Hammer of Metalica, Labour of Battle, and Laodoniz Vanguard, Victorious Endeavour was the last Reaver-class Titan allotted to Battle Group Casus Belli.
  • Hammer of Nyziroz - A Warrior-class Titan, the Hammer of Nyziroz was part of the second line of Battle Group Casus Belli during its attack on the fortress of Az Khalak. The timely intervention of Hammer of Nyziroz saved the Warlord-class Titan Will of Iron from becoming swarmed by hiding infantry.
  • Sabreclaw - Sabreclaw was a Warhound-class Titan deployed by Battle Group Casus Belli during the Subjugation of Nicomedua.
  • Steel Wolf - The Steel Wolf was a veteran Warhound-class Titan that served within the Legio Metalica for eight millennia. Designed specifically to clear out subterranean fortifications, the Steel Wolf was equipped with two Inferno Guns, a rare configuration for a Scout Titan. The Steel Wolf was lost on Nicomedua during Battle Group Casus Belli's advance through the Demetrian Plains. Slain by coordinated artillery fire, its demise was not a futile one as the incoming fire allowed the remaining Battlegroup to pinpoint the enemy artillery's position and annihilate it. Princeps Kash and its crew were able to evacuate Steel Wolf prior to the enemy's second volley, but Tech-priest Elaxha and her assistants proved not to be so fortunate.
  • Woundwalker - A Warhound-class Titan deployed to Nicomedua, the Woundwalker was tasked with thinning the ranks of the Heretek Skitarii and Renegade infantry who hid in the heavily fortified Demetrian Plains. Equipped with an Inferno Gun and a Vulcan Mega Bolter, the Woundwalker accomplished its task admirably.

Notable Personnel[]

  • High Princeps VanKessen - Supreme commander of the Legio during the Charadon Campaign of the Era Indomitus in which the Legio Metalica sought to defend its homeworld from an invasion by the Nurglite forces of Typhus the Traveller.
  • Princeps Senioris Kurtiz Mannheim - Mannheim was a princeps senioris of the Legio Metalica and its acting commander during the Second War for Armageddon following the death of its Grand Master. Kurtiz Mannheim had been ordered by the inept Overlord Herman von Strab to perform the impossible task of stemming the massive greenskinned tide of Orks from overrunning the planet. Unable to betray his oath of loyalty to the Emperor, Mannheim climbed aboard his Titan Steel Hammer and led his battle group to their inevitable destruction. After his Titan suffered severe damage, Mannheim ordered his war machine to be taken into the centre of the Ork forces before his Titan's Plasma Reactor melted down. When the reactor detonated, a half dozen Gargants were destroyed, delivering a powerful blow to the greenskin horde. At the end of the campaign Princeps Senioris Mannheim was posthumously awarded the Emperor's Star for his bravery and loyalty to the Imperium. To this day he remains a shining example of the dutiful warrior to all in the Imperium.
  • Princeps Senioris Ulrichit Larzend - Larzend commanded the Warlord Titan Custodire Invidiawas during the Great Crusade. He was attached to the 183rd Expeditionary Fleet where his maniple of Titans became separated during one of its redeployments. The maniple's transport ships eventually reached the borders of the Saraninent Conglomerate, which was a Human enclave that had not been discovered by the Imperium. The Conglomerate had long been preyed upon by xenos pirates and Larzend led his maniple in defending its worlds from the xenos. After 10 standard years of doing so, Larzend's maniple was able to reestablish contact with the 183rd Expeditionary Fleet and the Saraninent Conglomerate eagerly joined the Imperium. Larzend was honored for his service under such extreme conditions and was granted the title "Warden of Saraninent" by the Legio Metalica. To this day, monuments to the Legio Metalica exist across all of the Conglomerate's worlds and each one is dedicated to Larzend and his maniple.
  • Princeps Gauvanos
  • Princeps Kadashi - Kadashi fought on the planet of Amethal during the Diamor Campaign alongside Blood Angels forces.

Legion Traits[]

The Legio Metalica remains one of the oldest and most esteemed Titan Legions, possessing a long and storied history of service stretching all the way back to the Great Crusade.

Their innumerable victories are owed to the skill of the Legio's princeps in seizing the perfect moment to capitalise on.

Formed from metal and little else, the world of Metalica is a sterile planet where its inhabitants can go about their business in complete order. This rigid sense of duty carries over to the machine spirits of all things forged upon the planet.

In battle, the Legio Metallica's princeps always press forward to conquer their foe, no matter the oddds arrayed against them.

Seeing battle acros countless worlds, the Legio's princeps often have decades of experience to draw upon when directing their troop.

Though the majesty of the god-engines cannot be matched, the princeps are aware of the value of their smaller allies and bestow their guidance upon them where possible.

Legion Strength[]

The operational strength of the Legio Metalica is attested to have stood at 159 god-engines following the Triumph of Ullanor. As befitting a Titan Legion of its standing, the Legio Metalica was noted to contain several super-heavy Battle Titan types amongst its ranks as well as an extensive number of Warlord-class Battle Titans.

All recorded data concurs with the standard force disposition of a Primus (Maxis)-grade Titan Legion though minor equipment variations are referenced in several assessments of the Legio Metalica's strength.

In particular, many reports referred to the Iron Skulls' preference for the auditory enhancement of each god-engine's Laud Hailers, resulting in an amplified sound unleashed by a Legio Metalica Titan each time it fired a weapon.

The exact reason behind such a modification is not recorded within the databases of the Legio Metalica, though assessments of the most ancient Titans of the Legio show such modifications were retrospectively added, while Titans less than five standard centuries old by the time of the Horus Heresy had such enhancements added during construction.

The specialised Skitarii support regiments employed by the Legio Metalica, of which three were in active use during the Horus Heresy, seemingly drew a measure of inspiration from the modified sound of the Legio's warhorns, while opposing forces found such a cacophony highly disorientating.

It is presumed that such auditory barrages were fashioned to serve a role similar in fashion to that of a war-cry, albeit one on a gargantuan scale.

Legion Allies[]

Knight Houses[]

Legion Appearance[]

Legion Colours[]

The Legio Metalica's colours are red, black, white and yellow.

Legion Badge[]

The Legio Metalica's badge at the time of the Great Crusade and Horus Heresy was a skull and crossbones with the skull centred within a laurel wreath and a High Gothic letter "M" centred on the skull.

By the 41st Millennium, the icon of the Legio was portrayed as a metallic silver skull centered within a circular silver cog, sometimes with a High Gothic letter "M" centred on the skull.

Sources[]

Gallery[]

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