Legion Consul Praevian

"By these colours and by this sigil are these beasts of steel inducted into our ranks. Though they be neither mortal men nor Legiones Astartes, they harbour within them the animus belicosa -- the spirit of war that delivers us all. They are honoured to bear our heraldry, and we are honoured that they fight at our side. Until such time as they fall in battle, they are one with the Legion, our brethren and our Host."

- Extract from the Rite of Commemoration A 'Legion Consul Praevian is a bygone officer rank of the Space Marine Legions used during the Great Crusade and Horus Heresy eras in the late 30th and early 31st Millennia. They were the keepers of bound automata, those soulless machines sworn to the Legion's service and inducted into their ranks as honourary Legionaries after decades of service, a practice that increased as the Horus Heresy inflicted an ever-growing death toll on many Legion's ranks. Initiated into the rites of the Mechanicum to a lesser-degree, these officers oversaw the maintenance and programming of their charges, and ensured that loyalty to the Legion and its traditions were embraced in their own logic. On the field of battle they marched at the forefront of the inducted maniples, guiding them in the correct prosecution of war and acting as examples of true sons of the Legion.

Often chosen from amongst the ranks of those veterans whose injuries had required extensive augmetic rebuild and left them ill-suited for other, more specialised roles, these warriors were often solitary individuals, given to brooding and keeping to the company of their own iron brothers. It was rare in most Legions for these warriors to advance higher up the chain of command, and some Legions used the rank as a dumping ground for those deemed unfit for other duties, while others, most notably the Iron Hands and Salamanders, considered it an honour to serve with such unique avatars of the Machine God's craft.