Warhammer 40,000 Wiki
Register
Advertisement
This article, Steelblood Legion, is still being written. The author, Doomhammer015, apologises for the inconvenience.
TemplateCog
This article, Steelblood Legion, was written by Doomhammer015. Please do not edit this article without their explicit permission.
TemplateCog

"No longer will our blood be spilled for the ambitions of others. We fight for no Emperor, no Warmaster, not even our Father. We are the sons of Iron no longer. We were broken and discarded but through the crucible of war, we have been tempered and reforged. Iron is weak. We are Steel, We are Legion. The Steelblood Legion arises from the ashes our our father's. We are the architects of our future! Now go forth and kill the weaklings!"
— Warsmith Gor'Hal - Outbreak of the Dispute of Iron

The Steelblood Legion is a large Traitor Space Marine Warband that fractured from the Iron warriors during the Dispute of Iron. They are led by the Warsmith Gor'Hal and follow Chaos Undivided. They hold dominion over a small stellar empire within the Halo Stars and have made an Unholy Pact with the Dark Mechanicum of Thessalonika and the Blades of Slaanesh Warband. They are brutally effective in siege warfare and are master engineers. With the Dark Mechanicum's industrial and Daemon-binding capability and the perverted biological manipulation of the Blades of Slaanesh, the Steelblood Legion can unleash destruction on a scale that few renegade or chaos warbands could hope to achieve on their own. Only the xenos threats and rival warbands within the Halo Stars have prevented large scale incursions into the Imperium until Abaddon's 13th Black Crusade broke Cadia and unleashed the Noctis Aeterna, allowing the Steelblood Legion to assault the Imperium with a savage strike with their Daemonic allies. World after world has been ravaged under their ceramite boots and not even the famed Teuton Brotherhood could halt their advance. The Legion now finds itself engaged in a battle against the remnants of the Teuton Brotherhood, the Angels of the Grail, and Varanus Guard Astartes Chapters alongside a Battle Group of Astra Militarum forces and fully half of Battlefleet Magnatius in the ______ System.

History[]

Great Crusade[]

The Steelblood Legion were originally a Grand Battalion of the Iron Warriors Legion during the Great Crusade in the 451st Expeditionary Fleet. They were originally known as the Ironblood Battalion and were one of the larger Grand Battalions of the Iron Warriors Legion. Most of these Astartes were either Terran of origin or came from a planet subjugated by Perturabo known as Mon'Torkal. The Ironblood Battalion was renowned for its hyper-aggressive approach to siege warfare and the utilization of large numbers of Iron Havocs and Assault Marines. This resulted in quick but bloody sieges and the high losses in Iron Warrior lives. Gor'Hal, the Warsmith of the Ironblood Battalion who was raised on Mon'Torkal, prided himself in his swift conquests and ability to raise enemy fortresses to the ground. He, most of all, shaped the personality of the Grand Battalion and forged it into a hardened and brutal force. His tactics would earn him the nickname, the Bloody-Handed.

Hrud Campaign[]

Perturabo, master of the Iron Warriors Legion, approved of the appointment of Gor'Hal as leader of the Ironblood Battalion following the recommendation a handful of officers to fill the vacancy left by Gor'Hal's predecessor. He appeared to be pleased by the status reports of the 451st that he would recall the Ironblood Battalion to fight under his command in the Hrud campaign. This was one of the most trying times for the warriors of the Ironblood Battalion, for the xenos wielded weapons that killed the Astartes in droves and the tunnel fighting against these creatures was more brutal than any other campaign the Ironblood Battalion had engaged in. Yet, despite the grievous losses they endured, the Iron Warriors of the Ironblood Battalion fought valiantly, spearheading multiple assaults against the enemy. However, a notable shift in the personality of the Ironblood Battalion had been noted. They were quieter, more dour, and swifter to anger than they had been previously. Gor'Hal was noted to be greatly affected by the campaign and where he had once taken pride in conquest and service to the Emperor, he was angry and appeared to carry a heavy weight upon his shoulders as the wounds, both physically and mentally, from the campaign scarred him. Within his heart, he began to feel contempt for the Master of Mankind. He shared the resentment his father felt about how his Legion was being utilized as cannon-fodder, unsung and unremembered. He buried this contempt deep within his heart where it festered like a virus. In the following decades this would result in a burning hatred for the Emperor during the calamity known as the Horus Heresy.

Uamlax Campaign[]

The 451st Expeditionary Fleet would stumble upon a human populated planet known as Liot. After establishing communications, the Expeditionary Fleet discovered that this planet was part of a small interstellar human empire which referred to itself as the Uamlax Confederation. Diplomatic talks were opened between Gor'Hal and the representatives of the Uamlax Confederation aboard the Fleet's Flagship, Iron Valkyrie, but quickly broke down after it was discovered that these humans had allied themselves to various xenos species. The diplomatic envoys that had gone aboard the Iron Valkyrie were slaughtered to a man within the hangar. Shortly afterwards, the Iron Valkyrie would turn the four small Uamlax warships around her into smouldering husks. It was here that Gor'Hal reminded the Imperium why he had earned himself the title, "The Bloody Handed".

Gaining void superiority was easy for the 451st Expeditionary Fleet as the Uamlax Confederation greatly underestimated the might of the Imperium's warships. In a single full scale engagement, over 97% of the Uamlax Fleet was utterly annihilated. The abnormally thick armor of the Iron Warriors vessels was nigh impregnable for the much weaker Uamlax laser weapons whilst the Macro-Cannons of the Iron Warriors battleships and cruisers punched holes into almost every ship of the Uamlax with ease. With the destruction of the majority of the enemy's fleet, Gor'Hal had complete control over the course of the war.

Instead of going straight to the heart of the fledgeling empire, the Ironblood Battalion would slowly make its way to Urm, the Uamlax Capital World, burning every world they came across after having savagely butchered their horrendously outmatched defenders. In brutal assaults, the Iron Warriors of the Battalion slaughtered the Uamlax armies, enslaved hundreds of thousands, and butchered millions. Throughout the course of the campaign, Gor'Hal rebuilt his battalion, raising hundreds of Astartes from the enslaved children they took and bloodied the recruits against their own kin in grueling battle after battle. Dozens of planets were scorched by the fires of war and the blood of hundreds of millions of innocent human lives was shed. An Imperial Remembrancer was reported to have noted that it was as if the Ironblood Battalion was unleashing a pent up rage that had been suppressed since the Hrud Campaign and the poor people of the Uamlax confederation were the unfortunate souls to have been chosen as the target for their anger. This remembrancer would shortly thereafter disappear from Imperial records after having published her thoughts on the matter.

World after world would break under the Iron Warrior's boots and untold millions of xenos and humans alike were butchered. The Ironblood Battalion's high command argued that since these humans were so closely affiliated to xenos, similar to that of the Interex which the Warmaster's own fleet was attacked by, the Expeditionary Fleet had no choice but to purge them from existence. Yet, outrage was rife within the mortal elements of the Expeditionary Fleet and complaints to both Perturabo and the Warmaster were made by numerous sources. However, both the Warmaster and Lord of Iron defended Gor'Hal and his warriors, reiterating the arguments that the Ironblood Battalion's officers had cited in their own defense and stated no more would be heard of the matter. As with the Remembrancer before, many of those leading voices of outrage would be silenced, either disappearing from record or having died in some tragic accident. By the time the Expeditionary Fleet entered the system where Urm was located, the last stronghold of the Uamlax Confederation, not a single complaint was made about the conduct of the Iron Warriors.

Urm, the homeworld of the Uamlax Confederation and final hold out of the allied races, had years to fortify and prepare for the assault of the Iron Warriors. The slow but savage advance of the Ironblood Battalion not only gave the military leaders insight into the style of warfare the Iron Warriors fought but allowed them to stockpile massive amounts of supplies, ammunition, and weapons. Every man, woman, child, and xenos was armed to bolster the ranks of the remainder of the Uamlax army. Anti-Air guns and artillery filled the vast alien-looking cities alongside large numbers of heavy armor vehicles. The planet had been turned into a fortress.

As the large Imperial warships entered orbit around the world, the defenders prepared for their valiant last stand. However, instead of seeing the descent of Drop Pods and Thunderhawks, the defenders of Urm watched as the sky rained fire. The thunder of thousands of tonnes of ordinance hammered the planet's crust, as bombardment cannons, lance batteries, and macrocannons smashed against the world's surface. Gor'Hal had ordered the planet to be scoured of all life through heavy orbital bombardment, for he would not give them the satisfaction of resistance. Deserts turned to glass, mountains crumbled, oceans evaporated, and the planet's surface cracked and spilled forth molten magma like blood. Days of bombardment devastated the planet as massive cracks in the crust formed under the immense fire of the fleet. On the 7th day of relentless bombardment, Gor'Hal's flagship the Iron Valkyrie unleashed Cyclonic torpedoes as the final nail upon the coffin of the Uamlax Confederation. The planet died as it was torn apart by the massive detonation at it's core. It's dead husk was left to hang in the void until the end of the galaxy. Almost like some kind of omen, after ordering the death of Urm, Gor'Hal received orders from Perturabo to make all haste to the Istvaan System.

Horus Heresy*****[]

Dropsite Massacre[]

Gor'Hal would be briefed by Perturabo above the planet of Istvaan V about the loyalty of the Iron Warriors no longer belonging to the Master of Mankind but now to Horus. Gor'Hal was confused at first but quickly came to realize that he was pleased by this news for his hatred of the Emperor had festered like his Primarch's. Gor'Hal pledged to the Lord of Iron a new oath of fealty, not to Horus but to him but this seemed to matter little to the Lord of Iron who would continue his briefing. Perturabo would explain the Warmaster's plan to his Warsmiths and their role to play in the battle for Istvaan V. The Ironblood Battalion would take up position upon the right flank of the Iron Warriors Legion upon the edge of the Urgall Depression, fortifying the area with bunkers, barricades, and setting up their own artillery batteries with an efficiency that the Iron Warriors are renowned for. They would await for the signal to show their loyalist kin their true loyalties.

As the battle raged between the traitors and loyalists in the Urgall Depression, the thunderous sound of hundreds of Thunder Hawks and Stormbirds transported the Legionaries of the Ironblood Battalion down to the surface of the planet while Bulk Landers descended with pre-manufactured fortifications, heavy armor, and dozens of artillery guns. The Grand Battalion had established their position just in time for when the Raven Guard and Salamanders reached a distance of just over a couple hundreds meters from the 2nd Wave's frontlines. Gor'Hal stood at the forefront of his warriors, his Mastercrafted Thunder Hammer in hand as he looked upon the battlefield infront of him. It was littered with the broken bodies of hundreds of thousands of Astartes lying in rivers of their own blood. The carcasses of thousands of tanks, transports, and other machines of war fumed amidst the battlefield, smoke and flames rising like pyres from many of the wrecks. His gaze scoured the field and finally rested upon the warriors of the Raven Guard Legion approaching him and his warriors. His vox was filled with requests for medical aid and supplies from the approaching Raven Guard but he remained morbidly silent, ignoring their pleas for aid as he watched with contempt as the wounded Legion limped back to his Legion's position. Suddenly, a lone red flare shot up from the xenos fortress in which the traitors had made their bastion. Gor'Hal raised his Thunder Hammer into the sky, the signal for his men to fire upon those they had once called brothers.

Thousands of bolters roared from the Ironblood Battalion's ranks, cutting down hundreds of Raven Guard within seconds. The great guns from the Battalion's arsenal bellowed as their massive shells rained down upon the Raven Guard's ranks, blasting apart heavy armor and Legionaries alike. Like a cog in the machine that was the Iron Warrior's Legion, the Ironblood Battalion laid waste to their kin with utmost efficiency from range until Gor'Hal ordered for the warriors of his Assault and Tactical companies to charge into the broken ranks of the loyalists. Dozens of Assault Squads' jump packs screamed to life as they flew across the sky and crashed into the ranks of the Raven Guard while thousands of Tactical and Ground Assault legionaries charged following Gor'Hal's lead. The Ironblood battalion clashed against the black clad sons of Corax in a crash of combat blades and chain weapons.

Gor'Hal smashed his way through dozens of the black armored marines, his thunder hammer crumpling armor and throwing aside those caught in its path. His new suit of Artificer Armor withstood dozens of bolt shells without buckling whilst chainswords and combat blades found great difficulty attempting to dig into its surface. As his Battalion's warriors clashed with unchecked fury around him, Gor'Hal came face to face with a Raven Guard Chapter Master armed with dual lightning claws and a jump pack. With a rage mimicking his Primarch's, the Raven Guard leaped at Gor'Hal. The fury and speed of his taloned strikes forced the Warsmith on the defensive. However, the son of Corax was exhausted from hours of combat whilst Gor'Hal was fresh on the field and the Iron Warrior was significantly larger and stronger than his counterpart. Soon the Raven Guard's assault slowed and Gor'Hal began his own furious rampage. After about 3 minutes of fighting, Gor'Hal's Thunder Hammer slammed into the Raven Guard's left Lightning Claw, destroying the weapon and the hand within. Yet, in doing so, the master of the Ironblood battalion left an opening in his defense which the wounded Raven Guard used to plunge his lightning claw into Gor'Hal's abdomen. Unfortunately for the son of Corax, his blades missed the Warsmith's spine. Gor'Hal peered down at the now embedded blades in his torso then up Chapter Master who he promptly headbutted, knocking the raven off-balance and dislodging the lightning claws from Gor'Hal's abdomen. With a follow up swing, Gor'Hal smashed aside the wounded Raven Guard's right claw, destroying it as well. Gor'Hal then kicked his foe in the gut, knocking him onto his back.

Laying in a puddle of blood and mud, the crippled Raven Guard looked up at Gor'Hal. Though he could not see his kin's face, Gor'Hal felt the defiant eyes of his cousin looking at him with hate and confusion. He raised his hammer to end the warrior's life until he heard a faint and wounded "Why?". For a moment the Warsmith thought it came over the vox but then Gor'Hal realized it came from the defeated warrior below him. Amidst the chaos of the battle, he lowered his hammer and knelt next to the Raven Guard while the battle around him raged on. Gor'Hal would say something to the dying Astartes that no one but himself would ever know. Following the brief exchange, he stood up and smashed his Thunder Hammer into the chest of the Chapter Master, creating a gaping whole where once power armor and flesh had been. Gor'Hal looked around him after heaving his hammer from the corpse of the son of Corax and could see that his warriors were near the end of slaughtering the remaining the Loyalists in the vicinity. He would cry out in triumph as he charged once more into the fray against Salamanders and Raven Guard, his warriors following in kind. The Ironblood Battalion would tally thousands of confirmed kills during the battle, though they sustained numerous casualties of their own due to the defiant last stands of loyalist pockets and their frenzied retreat into the Illium Rifts.

Gor'Hal returned to the site of the duel he had with the Raven Guard Chapter Master, finding his broken body amidst hundreds of loyalist and traitor corpses caked in blood and mud. Looking down at the corpse of his foe, Gor'Hal muttered something to himself then peered down at one of the broken lightning claws that lay at his feet. He knelt down, picked up the four blades that had once made up one of the Lightning Claws of the Raven Guard he had executed and withdrew back to his Battalion's fortifications. The warriors of the Ironblood Battalion would follow once they had scoured that section of the battlefield of trophies, salvageable wargear, and the gene-seed of friend and foe alike. Shortly afterwards, Perturabo would order the extraction of the majority of the Iron Warriors Legion back to the fleet to await further orders and the Ironblood Battalion would comply immediately.

Wrath of Iron****[]

*****Make it a siege of Forge World Meandra and remnants of the Iron Hands and Raven Guard******

While the majority of the Legion went with Perturabo to fight the Imperial Fists retribution fleet, the Ironblood Battalion was orderd to take the Forge World of Meandra. Meandra remained loyal to the Emperor and Perturabo ordered his sons of the Ironblood Battatlion to take it to aid in the war effort. Gor'Hal would take his Battalion to Meandra immediately after receiving his order.

His Battalion alone consisted of just over 4,000 Astartes divided into companies of 200 Battle-Brothers, 3 Battalions of Heavy Tanks, 12 Artillery companies, a super heavy company of Phobos Pattern Land Raiders, and a large array of aerial assets. Alongside his own forces, Gor'Hal was given a detachment of Tyrant Siege Terminators, a super heavy company of Fellblades and another super heavy company mixed with Glaives and Falchions, along with 8 regiments of Selucid Thorakite auxiliaries and 5 Sub-Cohorts of Solar Auxilia from Perturabo. This was deemed to be more than enough to take the Forge World, for the majority of Meandra's Titan Legion ____ and Skitarii were away from the planet as part of the Expeditionary Fleets that ventured further north. Yet, according to his intelligence, Gor'Hal knew that there were still 6 Macroclades of Skitarii, 2 Macroclades of Legio Cybernetica, 8 Titans of Legio ____ and 2 Macroclades of Secutarii, and 12 Imperial Knights stationed there. Gor'Hal also knew that the Imperial Army had a significant presence on the planet; 7 Regiments of Ultramar Auxilia were stationed there due to Meandra location within the realm of Ultramar.

It was known that the Iron Hands had usually kept a contingent of warriors upon the Forge World due to their pact with the Mechanicum there and that the Ultramarines' 18th Chapter raised from worlds nearby the region. However, Gor'Hal knew the majority of Ferrus Manus' Legion had been dispatched to Istvaan and it was likely that most, if not all, of the Iron Hands on the planet had been summoned by their lord. Therefore, Gor'Hal saw no threat from the practically dead legion. Gor'Hal also knew that the 18th Chapter of the Ultramarines Legion had been recently mauled during a brutal campaign of genocide against xenos and that they were in no position to provide aid to the Forge World. Even if they did try, the Ruinstorm would prevent them from aiding their erstwhile allies due to the tumultuous nature of the warp.

How did Gor'Hal know all this? How did he know the exact strength of his enemies and the state of their allies? The Alpha Legion. Agents of the 20th had infiltrated the Forge World and turned some of the Magi to the Warmaster's side years ago. In fact, 2 full Macroclades of Skitarii, 5 Titans of Legio ____ and their Macroclade of Secutarii, and a Macroclade of Legio Cybernetica had secretly joined the Dark Mechanicum. They would be the first to strike against the loyalists; disrupting key communications arrays, inserting scrap-code into the defense grid of the planet, rigging numerous explosives at key loyalist positions, and aiming to decapitate key loyalist leaders. Gor'Hal's forces would then come in and crush the scattered remnants of the loyalist forces with his own troops. The Iron Warriors would destroy them piecemeal as the Imperials would be scattered, confused, and leaderless. Therefore, with all his assets ready and his warriors prepared, Gor'Hal ordered his forces onward to take the Forge World in the name of the Iron Warriors Legion.

After around 2 solar months of warp travel, the Ironblood Battalion and its allies entered the system of Meandra. The Forge World's defense fleet was relatively small, consisting no more than 10 vessels compared to Gor'Hal's 18, yet there were 3 formidable battle stations and numerous defense platforms that defended the planet's orbital shipyards and the Forges maintained laser batteries stationed on planet. However, the Tech-Priests of Meandra did not suspect treachery from the Astartes, as word had not reached them about the Drop Site Massacre and neither had they learned about the true loyalties of the Iron Warriors. In fact, they welcomed the sons of Iron as friends over the vox-channels, suspecting that they were part of the retribution strike force assembling to defeat Horus. For, Meandra was strategically placed at the center of numerous stable warp routes and was a perfect point for restocking and refueling Expeditionary fleets operating in the area. Gor'Hal would use this to his advantage. Playing the part of a loyalist, he gratefully took up the Fabricator of Meandra's offer to rest upon the Forge World before departing to Istvaan.

Everything appeared to be going just as planned as Gor'Hal's forces made their way to the dockyards. The Iron Warriors fleet was prepared for battle; torpedoes loaded, macro-weapons primed, boarding parties at the ready, and shields prepared to be turned on once the fleet was within optimal range. They were just 5 hours away from entering effective firing range of the loyalist defenses when the auguries of the _____ reported that a something was coming out of the void behind the fleet. When the captain looked at Gor'Hal, he saw an expression of complete confusion. The Warsmith was not expecting further reinforcements and he had not received any information about other Legions making their way to the Forge World so he wondered if perhaps this was a Rogue Trader or some unexpected expeditionary fleet coming to restock, rearm, and resupply. Yet, when reality tore open and the warp spit out its traveler, a lone vessel slowly made its way towards the planet. Gor'Hal called for the vessel to be identified immediately and shortly afterwards a pict-screen appeared before the Warsmith showing a mauled strike cruiser limping towards one of the planet's moons. The vessel bore the mailed fist of the Iron Hands at its prow from which 4 torpedoes were immediately launched at the Iron Warriors fleet. Gor'Hal's fist slammed into his command throne, denting the metal arm of the seat. He ordered the attack to begin.

The Iron Warriors fleet immediately launched a salvo of torpedoes towards Forge World's defenses while bombers, fighters, and transports swarmed out of each leviathan's belly. A few of the fighters peeled off the destroy the torpedoes launched by the Iron hands but the rest of the attack craft swarmed the vessels of the Forge World like flies. Before the loyalists even knew what was happening, the melta and plasma torpedoes of the Iron Warriors fleet outright destroyed one of the stations and crippled a second whilst immediately killing two of the defense fleet's cruisers which laid anchored by the first battle station. The defense fleet groggily attempted to get into a defensive formation but were utterly unprepared for combat. The Iron Warriors were able to destroy the crippled battle station before it could get its shields up and crippled a 3rd vessel of the defense fleet with a devastating, though long range, broadside. Finally the defense fleet began returning fire and the final battle station stood defiant, like a lone peak in the middle of the ocean during a hurricane. Macro shells and lance batteries smashed against its shields, though they held, and the battle station began returning deadly fire at the Iron Warriors fleet, damaging a cruiser and destroying a frigate in its vengeful wrath. However, the battlestation caught the attention of the Iron Valkyrie once it had killed the Forge World's Flagship in a slug-match. The behemoth turned its port cannons towards the station and in a single broadsides overwhelmed the station's faltering shields and by the third barrage had killed the defiant station, marking the end of the void war. 7 of the 10 Meandran vessels had been destroyed while the remaining three had been badly damaged and fled, all three battle stations killed, and every defense platform overwhelmed either by boarding parties of Astartes or outright obliterated by the fleet's guns. The Iron Warriors only lost 3 frigates and a cruiser, with minimal damage to the remaining vessels, and none of the fleet's bulk transporters had been lost whilst unloading their cargo upon the planet during the battle.

During the battle for the void, the elements of the Mechanicum loyal to Horus struck at their loyalist kin. Led by ___, the heretics unleashed a devastating onslaught against those still loyal to the Emperor while scrap-code streamed into the planetary information network infecting all that it touched. The vile scrap-code disabled overrode, and outright destroyed numerous defensive positions, communication and augury systems, and caused untold havoc amongst the industrial zones not pledged to Horus already. Tens of thousands of menials died in infernos engulfing their work stations caused by inexpiable explosions and electrical fires. The loyalist mechanicum elements found their own sentry turrets and automated defenses turning against them and then were assaulted by traitor Skitarii and Battle-Automata clad in black and purple robes and warplate opposed to their gold and green. The primary objective of the Dark Mechanicum was to either capture planet's main Forge, and with it the planet's titan foundries, primary dockyards (both orbital and "oceanic"), and primary communications array. While some elements of the Dark Mechanicum's Skitarii remained at their home forges, the defense of their holdings mostly lay on the hundreds of thousands of combat servitors and numerous automated defenses. The majority of the traitor Skitarii and battle-automata would be deployed to take the primary Forge in a surprise attack alongside the 5 Titans of Legio ____.

In a savage strike that surprised the defenders, the Dark Mechanicum made great gains into the Forge, taking half of the industrial city in less than 6 hours. Confused and busy dealing with their own defenses turning against them, the defenders of Forge ____ were overwhelmed by the abominable creatures that had once been Skitarii and Legio Cybernetica. A Warlord Titan of Legio ___ and 4 Knights of House ____ had been killed by the Titans of Legio ____ who, in turn, lost a Warhound Titan and a Reaver Titan took notable damage in the exchange while an entire Macroclade of Skitarii and thousands of combat servitors had been decimated by the Dark Mechanicum with significant losses inflicted upon a Macroclade of Legio Cybernetica forces in the region. It was once the Dark Mechanicum made contact with the Ultramar Auxilia that their progress had been slowed. Unaffected by the scrap-code attack due to not being connected to the planetary network of information, the Ultramar Auxilia's automated gun emplacements and ability to communicate had not been lost like their cyborg kin. As soon as it became clear that they had been betrayed, the three regiments of Auxilia located in the Forge had converged on towards the center of the city along survivors of the Mechanicum's defenders, forming a layered circular defensive zone around the Forge's communications array and orbital dockyards. Valiantly they fought against the Dark Mechanicum's forces, however, they were slowly but surely pushed back by the obviously superior ground elements of the traitors, though they held on stubbornly to every inch of ground they could. The Dark Mechanicum began to focus their efforts to dislodge the loyalists, knowing full well that should they fail to secure the Forge quickly, the loyalists would counter-attack from the other Forges and the remaining knights and Titans of the loyalist Mechanicum would overwhelm the four remaining Titans of Legio ____. Already the Ultramar Auxilia's four remaining regiments outside of the main forge were harrying the rear of the Dark Mechanicum's forces and a Legio Cybernetica war cohort was on its way from the north with 3 Knights at the vanguard and thousands of combat servitors behind them. News also came that a the nine remaining Titans of Legio ____ were converging to the south along with their two Macroclades of Secutarii for a counter-attack. The Dark Mechanicum had failed to take the primary Forge in the first day and had less than a week before they would be completely encircled. To speed up the assault, the Titans of Legio ____ would begin providing close fire support for the assaulting Skitarii upon the Forge, attempting to root out the stubborn loyalist elements. But, they could not bring their full might to bear, for they could not risk destroying the starport where the heaviest of the fighting was taking place. However, the Communications Array was a take or destroy mission and proved to be a formidable defensive bastion against the oncoming Dark Mechanicum's forces. So on the second day of combat, the Titans unleashed their devastating salvos upon the array and obliterated the ancient device, shutting down the loyalist's ability to communicate on a planetary scale and not way to get updates from the defense fleet in orbit. However, this also meant that the Traitors would not have this ability either and they would rely entirely on the traitor fleet in orbit for their long distance communications ability.

For four days the traitors had failed to take the starport while incurring heavy losses. The loyalists had regrouped in other sectors of the Forge while the traitors were busy trying to dislodge the Auxilia from the starport and began counter-attacking, driving the Dark Mechanicum back on numerous fronts while the starport held. The Auxilia to the west had also gotten fully engaged with the rearward elements of the traitors on the 3rd day and the 4th day saw the Legio Cybernetica and Knights of the north join the fray. .....

.....The Ironblood Battalion slowly made their way to the planet, not wanting to give away their element of surprise

*********

By the outbreak of the Horus Heresy, the Ironblood Battalion numbered around 6,000. Instead of campaigning with their Primarch and joining him at Istvaan and later to venture into the Eye of Terror with the Emperor's Children, they were given special orders to cause havoc in the territory of the Imperial Fists. They were to do this with 451st and 728th Expeditionary Fleets, a company of Tyrant Siege Terminators from Perturabo's own Fleet, and hundreds of thousands of auxiliary humans. This campaign would be known as the Wrath of Iron and the Ironblood were tasked with diverting Imperial Fist Forces from regrouping at Terra and disrupt the flow of their reinforcements. However, their main objective was to bring a Forgeworld in Imperial Fist Space under the Iron Warriors banner so that Perturabo could utilize the vast Forges to build the Warmachines he needed to bring Terra low.

Perturabo told the Ironblood Battalion that failure was not an option and that this would be the last time he would allow his sons to prove their worth. In his name, they quickly raised dozens of worlds, destroyed multiple Imperial Fist garrisons, and torched many recruiting worlds while enslaving many of their peoples. Soon they came to the Forge World they where tasked to take and prepared for a swift invasion of the planet. The Ironblood Battalion realized they did not have the strength to take the Forge World nearly as quickly as they had hoped. The siege of Kerthax dragged on much longer than they had wanted until eventually a large Retribution fleet of Imperial Fists entered the system to relieve to Mechanicus forces. The Ironblood expedition was forced to retreat and regroup with Perturabo's fleet after a costly naval engagement. Having failed to defeat the Imperial Fists reactionary force and take the Forge World, Perturabo decimated the Ironblood Battalion. The once 6,000 strong Grand Battalion was now down to less than one-third of their strength, about 1,700 Astartes remained after the combined losses from The Wrath of Iron campaign and the decimation.

Great Scouring - Defense of Mon'Torkal[]

Seeds of anger towards their gene-father were sown after the decimation, for they believed the campaign was a suicidal plan wherein they felt completely under-manned for the campaign and were now punished for something they could not accomplish. Gor'Hal especially began to hate his gene-father, for he resented the major losses his Battalion took during the Hrud campaign, the Wrath of Iron, and now at the hands of Perturabo. He did not understand why his gene-father did not care about the lives of his sons, especially ones that worked so hard for his approval. The Ironblood Battalion was not given the honor to join the Legion during the siege of Terra but were forced to return to their home at Mon'Torkal. They started to build up their numbers again but once Horus fell, the Loyalists came for vengeance, especially the Imperial Fists and Dark Angels. The fight for Mon'Torkal was brutal, thousands of Astartes dying on both sides and millions of human soldiers dying beside them. Eventually the Ironblood Battalion was forced to flee their home, watching as the Loyalists raised their homes and destroyed their home planet. By the end of the Great Scouring and the Battalion reached the safety of the Eye of Terror, the Ironblood Battalion were now less than 400 Astartes strong.

Legion Wars[]

In the Eye of Terror, Perturabo did not grant the Ironblood Battalion the right to settle on Medrengard with the rest of the Legion due to his displeasure with their recent failures. The Ironblood Battalion was forced to survive as a Fleet Based Splinter of the Legion, their only refuge being in orbit around the planet. They did their best to recoup their losses during the Legion Wars, Warsmith Gor'Hal leading raids on the other Legions and overseeing the recruitment of new Astartes into their ranks. Gor'Hal hated Chaos and commanded that all members of the Ironblood avoid any dealings with warp entities and only "devote" themselves to Chaos undivided, refusal to obey would result in summary execution. He also maintained strict discipline and organization within the Ironblood ranks, maintaining normal battle companies, siege companies, and assault companies all being led by Captains who rose from the ranks through merit and loyalty, unlike the Aspiring Champions of other Legions and Warbands who rose through pleasing the Chaos Gods. There is also a vast armory of vehicles and artillery at the Ironblood's disposal after raiding many of their cousins' armories and creating their own new machines of war. He also ensured that there were a high number of specialist Astartes within the Ironblood ranks, high numbers of Apocetharies, Iron Priests (Chaplains), and Hellsmiths. By the time of the Dispute of Iron broke out on Medrengard, Warsmith Gor'Hal had brought his Warband from a mere 400 Astartes to 5,000 strong with tens of thousands of human auxiliaries and a relatively strong fleet of 17 vessels.

Dispute of Iron[]

Warsmith Gor'Hal, along with the rest of the leaders of the Ironblood Battatlion decided to break from their Legion during this period because they believed that their brothers and gene-father had grown soft while they were forced to fight for their survival. They hated the fact that their brothers were content with hiding on Medrengard as they were forced to raid and fight the other legions for resources and slaves. The Ironblood dropped down onto isolated outposts killing their brothers, stealing weapons, armor, slaves, vehicles, and commandeered extra vessels then fled the planet while the Legion was tearing itself apart. They decided to venture into unknown space, into the Halo Stars, knowing that they would find no friends in the Traitor Legions or in the Imperium. They set out to create their own Empire and subdue whatever xenos or "free" human civilizations existed in the that region of Space. They would officially rename themselves the Steelblood Legion once after the first Iron Warrior was slain on Medrengard.

The Dominion of Steel[]

After departing from the Eye of Terror, Gor'Hal knew that his Warband would need a base of operations so set out to conquer a planet with a human population to provide manpower, resources, and labor. He had millions of slaves so an uninhabited planet could make due but he preferred to settle on a planet that already had a strong infrastructure and fortifiable cities and fortresses. His forces numbered around 5,000 Astartes, around 40,000 human troops, a small titan legion, and 23 vessels. After a few months of searching, the Steelblood Legion would enter a system with 8 planets; 1 dead world, 1 molten world, 3 temperate worlds, 1, desert planet, 1 gas giant, and 1 frozen world. Every planet except for the dead world contained human life and the Legion took a cautious approach to this discovery.

Gor'Hal, his highest ranking officer, and the "Roj'Kah" or Crimson Guard, (the Elite Terminator Guard of the Legion) took their Flagship, Pride of Mon'Torkal, and went ahead of the rest of the fleet and hailed the single fleet in the system which numbered 19 vessels. Gor'Hal and the Roj'Kah boarded the flagship of the unknown civilization in full war-gear, to both intimidate and impress but also to be prepared for treachery. They were met by an assembly of humans, appearing to be a mix of politicians and their honor guard. The Legion learned that these humans used a language similar to that of low Gothic and that this system was united under a form of Aristocracy wherein each planet was ruled by a noble house and the leader of each noble house had a seat on the Council of 11. 3 more seats would be granted to the banking clan, the clergy, and the forge masters. The final seat was reserved for the Grand Prince, a dynastic position for the leader of the system's armed forces and government. The guards appeared to wear a type of armor similar to that of Thunder Armor and their weapons were heavy sluggers. However, it appeared that many of the warriors' armor was heavily damaged and so too were the ships of their fleet. The Council explained that they, the Truir Confederacy, were at war with multiple factions in the area; xenos known as the Tiljati that have allied with other humans called the Diphlaxus Commonwealth, a Necron Tombworld ruled by the Sicaria Dynasty, and Greenskins.

Gor'Hal and his officers entered into discussion with the Council, providing them with an offer. He asked for them to pledge their allegiance to him and his Legion and in turn his Legion would subjugate or destroy every enemy the Truir Confederacy were up against. It did not take long for the Truir council to decide, for they were losing the war on all fronts and there was no way they could fight against foreigners. Gor'Hal would be named High King of Truir but within the Legion, Gor'Hal still maintained his title Warsmith and his lieutenants took up the titles of Forge Lord.

The Legion quickly erected a massive fortress which they called the Mon'Torkalus on the largest planet named Telingard, making the planet their Headquarters and the new planetary Capitol of their new Empire. The Truir people were strong, having lived their lives in constant warfare against xenos and other human civilizations. However, the Steelblood Legion did not care about mortal life, only that they serve and so large swathes of humans were enslaved once the Legion descended upon their new realm. Huge amounts of men were press ganged into the Auxiliary forces and Gor'Hal took the strongest men and children and placed them through trials of strength and ferocity to find potential legionary candidates. They would go hand in hand with the creation of giant forges on the Molten planet of Kardulk and the Desert planet of Uthel. Ports would either be improved or built around each planet to act as a planetary defense system as well as a place to dock the fleets, but the largest port would be build above Telingard, matching the scale of Port Maw in the Gothic Sector, but this port would circumnavigate the planet, being a iron ring of both defenses and docking bays. It would be known as simply, the Iron Ring. It would take over a century to build the Iron ring but after a few decades of building and recruiting within the System and fighting off enemy incursion, by M35 the Steelblood Legion numbered some tens of thousands of Astartes and had innumerable millions of Auxiliary Troops, which they now called the Torkan Cohorts, which was structured very similarly to the Imperial Army. Early in M35, the Steelblood Legion would embark on their own Crusade in the Halo Stars, waging endless war in this unknown realm for thousands of years.

Present Day[]

For the last 5 millennia, the Steelblood Legion devoted most of their efforts to consolidating their holds in the Halo Stars. They campaigned continuously against xenos and humans alike, taking grievous losses against their new enemies. Initially, the Steelblood attempted to recreate the Great Crusade and have Legions of their own Astartes but it soon became clear that their Gene-Seed was not stable enough nor was their recruitment process fast enough to replenish the heavy losses they undertook during their near ceaseless campaigns. This resulted in the Warband shrinking down to its original strength of around 5,000 Astartes by the 41st Millennium. To compensate, the Steelblood have diverted many resources to building up their Auxiliary Forces and their engines of war along with becoming more accepting of the usage of the Warp. The Steelblood Astartes are similar to the Tyrant of Badab's Astral Claws in that they are slave masters, cruel and merciless with their mortals, and willing to sacrifice them in droves for little gain. They have also delved into the research of Fabius Bile after a successful raid on some of his labs and have become heavily invested in the creation of lab-born beasts and enhancing xenos, humans, and Astartes alike. Warsmith Gor'Hal still leads the Steelblood Legion, for he finally accepted the gifts of the Chaos gods and has been granted many boons, one of which is eternal life. In more recent history, the Steelblood Legion have raided into the Imperium to acquire slaves and gain the favor of the Chaos gods. They have also ventured back into the Eye of Terror to acquire their Gene-Father's Geneseed as well as to lay rival warbands low.

Notable Battles and Campaigns[]

(In Progress)

  • Hrud Campaign: A major engagement that the Ironblood Battalion took part in during the Great Crusade was against the xenos race known as the Hrud. Recalled from a campaign with some of the Luna Wolves, the Ironblood Battalion was to form the vanguard of many of the engagements against these xenos. The campaign would cost the Ironblood Battalion dearly, thousands of Astartes would be slain. They fought alongside their Primarch with Warsmith Gor'Hal leading them and they garnered glory and many laurels of victory against these xenos, capturing multiple Hrud cities and slaying tens of thousands of the vile creatures. But this campaign would break the spirit of the Ironblood Battalion, having lost a the majority of their forces to in the campaign with little thanks from their Primarch, the Ironblood Battalion would spend years rebuilding its strength before returning to their expeditionary fleet to carry on their conquests in the name of the Imperium.
  • Uamlax Slaughter: Years after the Hrud Campaign, the Ironblood Battalion would be called to arms by their allies the Dark Angels of the 597th Expeditionary Fleet in overcoming the Uamlax Empire, a human empire within a cluster of stars in the northern fringes of the galaxy. The Dark Angels were able to establish a foothold in the Empire but needed siege experts such as the Iron Warriors to aid them. Some 5,000 Iron Warriors and the vast armada of the 451st Expeditionary Fleet came to the aid of the 2,000 strong Dark Angels force. World after world would be conquered by the Iron Warriors who, unlike before, butchered their way through millions of humans, killing indiscriminately. Massive orbital bombardments were unleashed upon planets, virus bombs, and cyclonic torpedoes broke fortress and hive worlds. Millions of the Imperial Army would perish, being thrown at fortress walls and fusillades of enemy fire while the Ironblood Battalion used their mortal allies as meat shields to advance upon these fortifications. The initial relief of the Dark Angels force soon changed to regret as this once vast Empire of technologically advanced humans was being burned to a cinder by the Iron Warriors. On many occasions, the Iron Warriors refused to aid embattled Dark Angel forces who had been promised support during assaults but were betrayed by their allies who had changed their minds regarding certain operations carried out by the Dark Angels. Hundreds of Dark Angels would fall due to the lack of coordination and indiscriminant bombardments by the Ironblood Battalion who had little remorse for their actions. The Dark Angels had in fact come to blows with the Iron Warriors, a small battle between the two Legions occured during an assault against the last bastion of a fortress world wherein dozens of warriors fell on both sides before the Dark Angels left the system in disgust and anger. After having subjugated dozens of worlds once loyal to the Uamlax Empire, only the planetary capitol remained. The entirety of the Astartes forces of the Ironblood Battalion and Imperial army prepared for the assault and in a brutal last conquest, the Ironblood Battalion snuffed out the remainder of the Uamlax Empire.
  • Wrath of Iron:
  • War for Mon'Torkal
  • Legion Wars
  • Dispute of Iron
  • M36 1st Diphlaxus Crusade (failed)
  • M36 1st Tijati War (Draw)
  • M36 Greenskin purges (resounding victory)
  • M36 GVTC War (Pyrrhic Victory)
  • M36 2nd Diphlaxus Crusade (failed)
  • M36 Baktrian War (disastrous failure)
  • M37 War of dominance (rebellion - won)
  • M37 Eldar Wars (3 different wars with same eldar craftworld - indecisive)
  • M38 First Teuton Invasion (failed)
  • M38 2nd Tijati War (won)
  • M38 Dorka Skullcrusher Waaagh (won)
  • M39 War for Truir (won - Pyrrhic victory against Diphlaxus and Tijati - uprising coalition)
  • M39 Second Teuton Invasion (crushed)
  • M40 3rd Diphlaxus Crusade (won)
  • M40 Great Waaagh (Pyrrhic Victory - Major fleet and planetary losses)
  • M40 2nd War of Dominance (rebellion - won)
  • M41 Necron Wars (4 wars, eventual defeat, major losses in outer systems)
  • M41 3rd Teuton Invasion (Ongoing - Winning)

Abruptia Crusade[]

A cohort under the command of Daemon-Smith Vrak'Thal made a warp jump from a failed assault upon a Tomb World of the Klaiphen Dynasty. Instead of arriving at their desired location, Vrak'Thal's Cohort translated into an unknown system. Vrak'Thal realized that the system had been attacked by forces unknown to him and that even his bloodied warband could take the planet. Leading the 300 or so marines and the tens of thousands of slaves and cultists, Vrak'Thal would besiege the hive world. Hive after hive fell to his assaults with few Astartes casualties but a large number of his slaves and lab-creations fell. The campaign lasted a few months until the last hive fell to Vrak'Thal's forces. Vrak'Thal claimed the world for the Steelblood Legion, enslaving the populace and fortifying it the hives while also erecting monuments to the dark gods. He set out to replenish his warband and continue his conquests in the region but required time to both consolidate his rule of the planet as well as rebuild his army....

Warband Leaders[]

Warsmith Gor'Hal[]

Gor'Hal is the Warsmith of the Steelblood Legion. He was once an Astartes of the Iron Warriors Legion during the Great Crusade and led the Ironblood Grand Battalion as its Warsmith. He has now built his own Empire within the Halo Stars and wages an eternal war to bring Chaos to new xenos races as well as undiscovered human civilizations.

Personality[]

Gor'Hal is a temperamental, distrusting, and spiteful man. Yet, he is also a calculating, patient, and cold leader who few ever can get close to. He is not one that accepts failure, even amongst his own Astartes and especially allies. On more than one occasion has Gor'Hal killed his lieutenants or other Chaos Champions, who have allied with him, for failing to achieve goals that he calculated to be achievable. He also has a very good memory, never forgetting an insult and will personally repay it tenfold to the transgressor. However, he is an honorable combatant. If challenged to personal combat, he will take the challenge on without a second thought and seek to overcome his enemy through sheer strength, endurance, and skill. He is also a strategist few can be compared to, especially when it comes to siege warfare. His closest companions are his brother; Fel'Hal, his Roj'Kah, and a Khornate Bloodthirster named Skarathos the Black.

Wargear[]

Daemon's Wail[]

Daemon's Wail is Gor'Hal's favoured weapon of choice. It is a Mastercrafted Thunder Hammer that now holds a Keeper of Secrets named Vierithal, whom Gor'Hal defeated in personal combat and entrapped into the Gor-Hammer through a ritual his brother, Fel'Hal, discovered. The weapon itself is a relic from the Great Crusade but has been twisted into an artifact of Chaos through the power of the daemon entrapped within and Gor'Hal's own manipulation. The head of the Gor-Hammer is strange in that Gor'Hal added a large deep blue jewel between the two heads of the Thunder Hammer, which the Fate Weaver is entrapped. The Thunder Hammer is the same as those wielded by all legions during the Great Crusade and Horus Heresy, however, the face one end of the weapon has been engraved with a white Chaos star and the Eye of Horus in the center whilst the other is host to the tormented face of the Greater Daemon Vierithal, which slightly protrudes, with a visage of eternal torment.

Every time the Hammer Head makes an impact against a surface, instead of the normal booming sound other Thunder Hammers make, the Daemon's Wail releases a piercing scream of pain which is generated by Vierithal. All but the bravest and resolute enemies can withstand the wailing of the Vierithal in the midst of combat. The hammer itself has become entirely etched with daemonic runes dedicated to honoring the Chaos undivided. The shaft of the hammer has been converted to depict a snake wrapping around it with it's head at the center of the hammer head, artistically holding the deep blue gem in it's maw. Upon this snakes' body is the full name of Vierithal which Gor'Hal used to subjugate the daemon to his will and bind it to his favored weapon. Whilst wielding the weapon grants Gor'Hal unnatural speed even in Terminator Armor, matching many of his standard power armored kin in speed. His senses are also heightened to a degree that he appears to have some kind of foresight during battle, seeming to know exactly where his enemies will strike and countering perfectly even with his back turned to his foe.

Stellar Empire[]

The Steelblood Legion rule over what is known as the Novus Mon'Torkal, formerly the territories of three warring human stellar nations of the Truir Confederacy, theDiphlax Kingdom, and the Baktrian Ascendency. Conquered following the warband's split with their parent legion during the Legion Wars, Novus Mon'Torkal has been enthralled to the Gor'Hal and his warriors for over 9,000 years. This region encompasses a territory the size of a sector by Imperial standards but there are only 5 planets of note, the rest being simple mining or agriculture worlds serving little more than grounds for the warband to restock its slaves and resources. Billions of humans serve the warband in the Novus Mon'Torkal and Chaos Undivided is the "central" religion of the region, enforced by the warband and their human auxiliaries. It serves as a major threat to the Imperium's north western borders as it borders the Magnatius and Cadian sectors.

Worlds of Importance[]

Telingard

Telingard serves as the main seat of power for the warband. A hive world reminiscent of those located in the Imperium, Telingard is home to tens of billions of humans. It was once the capital of the Truir Confederacy but was savagely taken by the Steelblood Legion shortly after their escape from the Eye of Terror. Following the occupation of the warband, the once beautiful world renowned for its marvels of architecture, art, and domed parks was transformed into a world of industry and darkness, choking upon the fumes of manufactorums filled with countless slaves laboring away their short and brutal lives. Fortresses litter the planet as bastions for the warband to rule their subjects from but the most notable is found at the very heart of the largest hive. Mon'Torkalus is a massive fortress, capable of garrisoning tens of thousands within. Heavy weapons and siege guns line the spiked fortress walls with massive spires jutting out of both the wall and within the fortress. Smoke can also be seen rising from the fortress, but is discolored by shades of pink, blue, red, and green and sometimes depicts nightmarish faces either laughing or crying out in agony. Screams and groans can be heard from the fortress, distinctly human and non-human alike.

Kardulk

Kardulk is a giant gas planet located within the same system as Telingard and is home to a large ring of asteroids and 7 orbiting moons. These moons serve as listening posts, armories, and shipwrights for the warband while many of the asteroids have either served as or are currently serving as mines for the warband to harvest minerals for their forges. A significant number of Dark Mechanicum personnel from the Daemonic Forge World of Thessalonika are present, overseeing the construction of minor void faring vessels along with void and atmospheric assault craft. Escorts, Light Cruisers, and Cruisers are built upon these moons, though production is slow and tedious due to the lack of STCs and advanced ancient technology from the Golden Age of technology found on shipwrights like that of Saturn. The planet used to be home to large habitats within the asteroid field and on the moons but these have long since been destroyed during the conquest of the system by the warband. Now only the ancient ruins of these buildings can be found littering the landscape of the moons or as debris in orbit around the planet.

Niervan

Niervan is an Eldar Maiden World conquered by the Legion following the establishment of Novus Mon'Torkal. Slaughtering the Eldar Exodite population in a brutal campaign and fending off Craftworld ___'s attempt to retake the planet, the Steelblood Legion have turned that planet into a vast agri-world with outposts littering the landscape as points of food collection as well as gene-labs. For, there is a vast array of life on the planet which the warband trades along with the Aeldarii soul stones they've captured to the Blades of Slaanesh warband in exchange for daemon-hosts, abominations, and possessed marines.

Uthel

Uthel is a alpine world pocketed with large Rad-Zones and toxic wastes. It serves as the warband's training grounds, as newly inducted legionaries must combat the swarms the local xenos race of creatures which appear to be an off-shoot of the Megarachnids found on One-Forty-Twenty, or Murder. However, before the Steelblood Legion came to Uthel, the planet was a Rak'Gol colony and who appeared to be hunting the Megarachnids for sport as well as capture them to subjugate and turn into beasts of war. For how long the Rak'Gol colony had existed is unknown, but following the swift assault of the Steelblood Legion, the planet was taken from the xenos and serves the warband. Now, the planet is home to a minor fortress of the legion from whence the newly arisen Astartes shipped from Telingard must venture forth and clear out a Megararchnid hive in a prolonged "siege".

Voldania

Voldania is the equivalent of an Imperial Fortress World, with numerous defensive bastions, barracks, and armories along with countless artillery, anti-tank, and anti-air gun emplacements. The land between the fortress is either impassable mountain terrain, insurmountable canyons, or are miles upon miles of barbed wire, land mines, and interlocking fields of fire for heavy artillery. Hundreds of Steelblood Legionaries along with tens of thousands of auxilia man the planet's defenses at all times while the planet serves as the primary dockyard for the warband's fleet. The reason the warband maintains this fortress world is due to the planet serving as the legion's bastion against the warp rift known as the "Lucifer Anomaly". For, the Voldania system has a stable warp route from the warp rift into the realm of Novus Mon'Torkal. The system is barely a week of warp travel away from Telingard and Kardulk, which makes it a priority for the warband to hold Voldania and stop any daemonic incursions or rival warband raids from getting past their defenses in the system. There are other warp routes from the warp rift but it would take over a year of warp travel for any rival warbands to make there way to Novus Mon'Torkal from the nearest warp route. Many an attempt has been made by the Children of Barbarus, Blood Butchers, Rampagers, and the Veiled-Sons Warbands as well as the daemonic forces of Or'Anath the Goremonger and his Blood Legions, Kellormenos the Putrid King and Urg'Dol'Bar the Magnificent along with their Plague Legions, and Vezkenothrax the Fate-Binder and his Scintillating Legions. Yet, none have ever been able to break the Steelblood Legion's hold on the fortress world, no matter what they have tried.

Combat Doctrine[]

The Steelblood Legion is a Chaos Warband that has specialized in siege warfare. The warriors of the Steelblood Legion are systematic and calculating in their approach to war. War is no art and it is not fought for honor or glory, it is but cold arithmetic, fought for material gain and power. Casualties are not a moral problem for the Steelblood Legion but merely part of the calculations and costs of war just like the expenditure of ammunition and loss of vehicles and armor. This philosophy of war makes the battles waged by the Steelblood Legion to be extremely bloody and without respite. The Legionaries are excellent in both ranged combat and melee, capable of matching Ultramarine Tactical Marines in a firefights or to cross blades with World Eater berserkers similar to their kin in the Iron Warriors. The warriors of the Steelblood Legion are capable of adapting to most kinds of warfare with good results but it is most effective in the static and grueling combat of siege warfare. The warband, like the Iron Warriors, are renowned as suffering extensive casualties, drowning their foes in waves of Astartes infantry and armour after their extensive bombardments.

On the offensive, the Legion takes a very straightforward yet defensive approach to warfare. Before the battle joined, the Legion will saturate the enemy's position with extensive orbital bombardment. Should there still be significant resistance after the bombardment, a strike force of Legionaries will be deployed to secure a beachhead for the Legion's forces. This beachhead will be extensively fortified before the next wave is launched and in the meantime, the Legion's artillery and orbital assets will rain down further havoc upon the enemy's positions while heavy armor and other Legion assets are deployed. Then the expendable troops will be ordered forward, cultists and auxiliaries will be used to waste enemy ammunition and probe their defenses with little actual expectation to break the enemy's lines. If available, daemonic infantry will be deployed alongside these troops due to their expendability to the Legion command along with the warband's inherent distrust of purely daemonic forces not bound to mortal bodies like the possessed marines or abominations. If the enemy fends off the initial assaults made by the expendable troops, the Legionaries and heavy armor will be used to lead a savage strike into the weakest identified points in the enemy's lines to break them with an overwhelming amount of force. The enemy will then be systematically culled as Legion assets move to isolate and destroy enemy units and positions. This strategy is called the Hammer Blow and is the strategy employed against enemy positions that are not so fortified as to warrant a long scale siege.

However, when the Hammer Blow is not a viable strategy when the Legion is confronted with an enemy that is well dug in and occupying a heavily fortified position, the warriors of the Steelblood Legion will prepare for siege operations which they refer to as The Forging. The enemy positions will be surrounded and extensive trench networks, bunkers, and other fortifications will be erected to protect the Legion from the defender's fire. Once the Legion's own fortifications are erected, the slow process of grinding down the enemy's defenses will ensue. Artillery will shower the enemy positions constantly while raids pick at and probe enemy defenses. Large scale assaults will be common to try and break the enemy's hold as Astartes, daemon, and mortal fight to gain ground. For weeks, months, or even years this can go on with bodies of friend and foe alike mounting in the ruins and mud of the battlefield and the carcasses of ruined tanks and armored assets will litter the field alongside them. Once it appears the enemy's lines will break, then the Legion's special and heavy assets will be concentrated upon the weakest point(s) and unleashed to punch through. Once through, then the Legion will systematically slaughter the remaining defenders in a sweeping assault.

When defending a position, the Legion will create multi-layered defense which will be heavily fortified. These defenses will be littered with mines and traps of all sorts; kill-boxes and kill-zones will be formed, bunkers and heavy weapons positions erected with a near artistic precision that only the scions of the Perturabo could hope to accomplish. Tunnels and passages will be made through the defenses both to provide routes for the warband's warriors to retreat through or for reinforcements to funnel into, extensively booby trapping the routes so that enemies cannot make use of them should they break through. Unlike when they are on the assault, the defenders of the warband will be mixed; auxiliaries, daemons, and Astartes will be fighting side by side. The defenses are meant to be flexible and the Legion's philosophy is that every fortress can and will fall eventually against a determined assault. This makes it so the Legion adopts a very aggressive defensive style and will consistently harry and counter attack the enemy so as the buy more time for reinforcements and possibly sap their fighting spirit, driving the foe off.

Organization[]

Unlike many of their traitorous kin, the Steelblood Legion maintain a strict hierarchy based on Principia Bellicosa of the Great Crusade. The Legion equivalent to a Grand Battalion in strength, sub-divided into companies of 80 Astartes, each led by a Centurion, and further divided into squads of 20 Astartes led by a Sergeant. The number of companies is unknown, as is the total strength of the Steelblood Legion, but the warband is estimated to be anywhere from 2,000 - 5,000 Astartes strong, meaning there are anywhere from 25 - 60+ companies at full strength. A single company of these traitor Astartes is a mighty force to be reckoned with, but the Legion hardly operates at such a level when leading incursions into the Imperium. Multiple companies are reported to fight together during raids into the Imperial held space led by Gor'Hal's chief lieutenants, the warriors of his Roj'Kah. These warriors are utterly bound to the twisted will of their master and lead "Brigades" to war.

A Brigade is an "ad-hoc" formation which Gor'Hal creates when planning his incursion into either the Halo Stars or into the Imperium. These formations can range anywhere from 2 - 6 companies, each resembling a grave threat to any planet or installation they target. For, not only do Brigades have Astartes and their vehicular assets in their arsenal, they are also accompanied by a regiments of Thorax Auxiliaries, which number in the thousands, along with writhing warp-spawn abominations, the fanatical Steel Havocs, the crazed Obliterators, and countless madmen and cultists. This means that a single brigade is more than a match for a full strength loyalist Astartes Chapter and requires the commitment of an entire Imperial Guard Army Group to repel should Astartes not be available to fight their traitorous kin.

The fleets that ferry the brigades to war vary just as much as the brigades themselves. It can range from barely a single grand cruiser to an entire fleet of 12 vessels of varying tonnage. One thing is always constant amongst these fleets, there is always a Thessalonika-Class Heavy Cruiser serving as the flagship. These ships are based off the Lunar-Class Cruiser but have been modified to deliver drop pods, hold 20 void fighters & 20 void bombers, and 10 transport craft, and now boasts a bombardment lance below...

.................................................................................

The Steelblood Legion is a warband with a strict hierarchy and structure unlike many of its kind. The warband remains a single cohesive force under the direct command of Warsmith Gor'Hal. The warband is divided into formations known as Brigades; units of 300 Astartes commanded by an Iron Captain. Each Brigade is equivalent to the Loyalist Chapters' company formations, however, they have permanently attached cultist, auxiliary, and Dark Mechanicum assets that provide logistical and military support. These assets are acquired either by the pacts that the Iron Captain makes with the various allied organizations of the Steelblood Legion or by the sanction of Gor'Hal himself, though, those provided by Gor'Hal are temporary assignments.

Each Brigade maintains a Thessalonika Class Heavy-Cruiser Larger and more powerful than the standard Astartes Strike Cruiser, these vessels are specialized for long drawn out campaigns with little to no time spent being repaired or rearmed. Therefore, these vessels maintain a small forge for the production of small arms and artillery ammunition. They are also heavily armored, thick layers of plasteel and ceramite overlapping to allow the vessel to shrug off all but the most powerful of macro-weapons. The vessels also maintain numerous macro-batteries of lances and macro-cannons to unleash devastating broadside. What these vessels have had to give up are large amount of internal space for void-craft, torpedoes, and speed. These vessels have a much lower sub-light speed compared to others of their class due to their engines being designed for strike cruisers but their tonnage requiring heavy cruiser sized engines to maintain average speed. The vessels also lack orbital bombardment cannons and rely on Drop Pods and Bulk Landers to ferry troops to the surface rather than a fleet of Storm Eagle and Thunderhawk Gunships. However, this was deemed a vessel fit for the Steelblood Legion by Gor'Hal and through his pact with the Dark Mechanicum of Thessalonika, he has outfitted each of his Brigades with a vessel of this class.

Brigades can function as both autonomous formations, fighting as miniature warbands, or can be drawn into a larger force and operate as cogs of a much larger machine. Each formation has enough strength to bring a planet to its knees with the ability to sack a world of its most vital resources and haul away tens of thousands of slaves. However, a Brigade lacks the proper strength to conquer more heavily protected planets like Imperial Hive, Industrial, Armory, and Forge Worlds. To take on such planets, two or more brigades will be ordered to work in unison by Gor'Hal to destroy all resistance in their way and seize the prize guarded by the Imperial Lapdogs. However, rarely will the Steelblood Legion hold a planet for longer than a few months, for they do not have the strength to fend off a concentrated Imperial-Counter Offensive. They will work the world's industrial centers with the enslaved populace endlessly for months, raid the planet's armories and labs, and steal away tens of thousands of slaves. Once the world has satisfied their wants, the Legion will depart, leaving a devastated world in their wake but leaving the industrial centers intact so that they may return years later and take their toll from the world again.

Brigades are then divided into sub-formations of 60 Astartes, referred to as companies, which are led by Centurions. Companies are formations that fight as singular formations during a planetary campaign that the Brigade is waging. The armament of each company varies according to the needs of the campaign. Whereas one company might be a Tactical Infantry Company in one campaign, in the next it might be a heavy support company with heavy armor assets at its disposal. The armament of a company is at the discretion of the Iron Captain of the Brigade. They are meant to fight as the line-companies of the Astartes Legions during the Great Crusade, fighting often as single entities on the battlefield to secure specific objectives laid out by their Iron Captain. This strict organization of 60 Astartes at the company level but flexible armament serves multiple purposes within the warband. Firstly, it allows allows the commander of the warband's forces to quickly estimate the strength at his disposal whilst allowing him to modify his forces according to the fast changing pace of war. Secondly, it prevents Centurions gaining too much influence within the warband and, therefore, leaves them unable to challenge their Iron Captain or Gor'Hal. Thirdly, it allows Brigades to maintain a wide arsenal for various campaigns, allowing them to wage war in the way deemed to be the most efficient without becoming too large for Gor'Hal to control, for Gor'Hal personally dispenses fresh Astartes recruits at the company level. Finally, it prevents the forces of the warband falling into disarray when a leader falls in battle, for each formation is held together by their organization rather than the charisma or power held by a single Champion.

Brigades will often have attached formations of "specialist" troops such as Abomination Packs, Daemon Batteries, Obliterators, and Steel Havocs. These formations are small, usually no more than 2 squads in size, the notable exception being the Steel Havocs which are often 4 to 6 squads strong.

Special Formations[]

Roj'Kah - The Roj'Kah are the Legion's elite terminators that serve as the personal guard to Gor'Hal and from their ranks are his chief lieutenants chosen. These Astartes are the greatest warriors of the Legion and are veterans of hundreds, if not thousands, of years of constant warfare. The Captain of this squad is none other than Gor'Hal's own twin brother; Fel'Hal. The Roj'Kah number 6 Terminators and despite their small number, the Roj'Kah are a fearsome force and can tear apart veterans of loyalist Astartes Chapters with ease. Wherever Gor'Hal is present, so too are his Roj'Kah and they are his bloody-armored fist incarnate. It is rumored that each warrior is a successful experiment of Fel'Hal's own hand since each warrior stands at least a head taller than every other legionary in the warband. No warrior of the Roj'Kah, besides Fel'Hal, are ever seen unarmored which only further adds to the rumors. Whatever the case, the Roj'Kah are unnervingly loyal to Gor'Hal, slaying any man, xeno, or creature he demands and are completely silent when carrying out the task. Many a renowned warrior from various traitor warbands or loyalist astartes chapters have fallen to their blades and bolters. They protect their lord from any and all that would seek to do him harm and do everything in their power to fulfill his demands.

Steel Havocs - Steel Havocs are the Steelblood Legion's formation of Havocs, Astartes who have dedicated themselves to the art of bringing heavy firepower to the frontlines. Often armed with Heavy Bolters, Autocannons, alongside other, less common, heavy weapons, the Steel Havocs are formations that are most often attached to assault units to bring overwhelming firepower with pinpoint accuracy. Often during sieges, armor assets have difficulty being brought to the front in large numbers, so the Steel Havocs will take their place in such assaults or during operations in mountainous or similar difficult terrain. What separates them from standard Havocs is their fanatical obsession with overwhelming firepower, almost akin to the Ork's obsession with what is primitively referred to as Dakka. These astartes have created a 'Cult' around the usage of heavy weapons and firepower. Steel Havocs hold such tools as sacred, handling them with extreme care and ensuring that they are in the most pristine condition at all times. Their weapons are usually covered in ornate litanies, trophies, and will never be out of reach from their person. The warband maintains a higher number of Havocs than other warbands and they maintain a close-knit kinship with one another.

Obliterator Cults - Obliterators are those Astartes who have been infected by the so-called Obliterator Virus and have been consumed by the daemonic pathogen. They have heavy weapons morphed into their very flesh and have such weapons protruding from their arms, chests, and shoulders akin to heavily outfitted leviathan dreadnoughts. Obliterators tend to form small squads of 2 - 3 of their number and bring heavy firepower to the frontlines with deadly accuracy. Often times Obliterators will be accompanied by Steel Havocs who see the Obliterators as sacred manifestations of Chaos and see merely fighting under their shadow as a great honor. Foes of the Steelblood Legion should be wary if any word of a Legion raid contains even one Obliterator Squad, for they have the ability to deal out such death and destruction that no other single "human" entity can carry on their person the way in which an Obliterator can.

Abomination Packs - The Abomination Packs are the gene-forged monstrosities of the Steelblood Legion that were created by the Legion's Flesh-Smiths. Akin to the Dark Eldar's Grotesques, these beasts are host to a daemonic predator and have mutated into hulking monstrosities with an unrestrainable daemonic fury. These beasts are kept in check by the Beast Masters of the Legion; shock collars and drug induced highs keep them in line until they are needed in battle. Once unleashed upon the field of battle, these abominations charge headlong into whatever stands in their way and use their massive forms, mutated weapons and limbs, and whatever else the daemonic possession has granted them to butcher their way through the enemy's ranks. Some are similar in size to Astartes whereas others can stand as tall as Dreadnoughts and these beasts are utterly without any sense of mercy or self-preservation. Usually corralled into packs of 5, these abominations will tear into an enemy's battleline to create a gap or to destroy an enemy's elite units and allow the remainder of the Steelblood Legion's forces to press the advantage they gained from their release. Following the successful slaughter of the enemy, Abominations would normally turn upon their erstwhile allies should their Beast Master not call them off. The Beast Master will incite an incantation of soothing and calm to placate the daemon-possessed creatures, allowing the Legion to shackle and drug them into submission and carry them off to the "secure" pits in which they are housed.

Daemon Battery - A Daemon Battery is a battery of Daemon Engine Artillery Canons that the Steelblood Legion uses to batter down enemy fortifications. These engine of war fire large explosive shells that are engulfed in chaotic taint. When fired, the screaming souls of the long dead wail as the shell flies towards its target. These shells are extremely effective against all types of armor and foes, for the explosion itself is powerful but the pure warp energies that engulf the shell mutate all flesh and distort all matter it touches, turning proud Imperial Guardsmen into Warp Spawn or fortified bastions into rusted ruins. These batteries are highly effective during sieges but are ineffective during open field battles due to their very slow reload time. These weapons are commanded by the Legion's Warpsmiths and it is through both conventional reloading of ammunition and the undergoing of chaotic rituals that leads to such long periods between the firing of these devastating weapons.

Special Ranks[]

Fleshsmith - Fleshsmiths are Steelblood Legion Apothecaries that have become obsessed with creating bio-weapons, lab-born monstrosities, binding daemons to either their own creations or other Astartes, and "perfecting" their brothers through biological enhancement. The Steelblood Legion have a large number of these marines and therefore have a vast quantity of their creations. Unlike their Warpsmith kin, the Fleshsmiths try to perfect the art of Astartes and Daemon Hybrids as well as Daemon and Gene-Forged monstrosities called abominations. Many Abominations and Possessed Marines exist in the Legion because of the Fleshsmiths but are used as cannon fodder by the Legion's commanders to soak up enemy fire and to break the enemy's lines in suicidal charges. This matters little to the Fleshsmiths who only care about acquiring more test subjects and creating new creatures and warriors for the Legion.

Beast Master - Beast Masters are the Steelblood Legion's Abomination handlers and it is up to these men to keep the daemonically possessed marines and creatures of the Legion in check until they are unleashed upon the battlefield. The ranks of the Beast Masters are made up entirely of psykers and these Astartes use the concoctions given to them by the Fleshsmiths and ancient Chaos rituals to soothe the daemons under their care until the time is right to unleash them upon their foes. Beast Masters are often seen as lowly ranks within the Legion, for psykers are hated by many of the Astartes but they also commanded great fear within the Legion. The reason for this is that the abominations at their command are loyal to their master just as a pet is to their handler and the Beast Master will happily unleash his creatures and his potent psychic abilities against those who would wrong him. Few Beast Masters exist within the Legion for it is a long and difficult process to create the Abominations, much to the benefit of the Legion's enemies.

Relationship with the Gods[]

The Steelblood Legion, for the most part, honor Chaos undivided. Gor'Hal initially forbade the worship of the gods after seeing the fickleness of their favor but soon began to change his stance once the corruption of Chaos took hold of his soul. Chaos undivided would become the largest 'cult' within the Legion but a number of Khornate and Nurglite worshipers are known to exist within the Legion due to their near constant siege and melee forms of warfare.

Gor'Hal's Devotion[]

Gor'Hal himself is now a Champion of Chaos undivided, having undergone his own 'pilgrimage' into the Eye of Terror in M37. He would renamed his favored Thunder Hammer from World Breaker to Daemon's Wail after he successfully defeated a Keeper of Secrets in single combat and entrapped its soul within the weapon. This would mark the first step onto a long road of tasks that Gor'Hal needed to complete with the goal of Daemonhood at the forefront of his ambition after news of his gene-father ascending to that exalted rank.

Many champions have risen within the Legion but Gor'Hal refused to promote them despite their favor with the gods, he solely promotes men based on their merit. In fact, he would over look many potential candidates if they had appeared too devoted to the Dark Pantheon despite possessing the merit for promotion. Gor'Hal has become extremely paranoid over the years after some of his own men betrayed him in an attempt to attain favor with the gods and so he no longer suffers any rivals or potential rivals. Gor'Hal would slay numerous brothers if he deemed them a threat to his own dominance of the Legion, the only man Gor'Hal trusts is Fel'Hal and his little brother is entirely devoted to his ascendance into Daemonhood in return for aiding him reach the same state as well in the future. Currently, Gor'Hal is leading numerous Cohorts into the Imperium to finally attain his goal to become a Daemon Prince of Chaos undivided. He plans to offer the Dark Pantheon the Secret kept deep within the vaults of the Teuton Brotherhood's Fortress Monastery along with the ruination of the entirety of the Teuton System and all that lives within.

...

Gallery[]

Advertisement