Black Legion

The Black Legion is a Traitor Legion of Chaos Space Marines united in the pursuit of a single purpose and opposed to the infighting that consumes so many of their Chaos Space Marine brethren, as they serve Chaos Undivided. They are always brought together in great numbers when it is the will of their Warmaster, Abaddon the Despoiler, the heir of Horus. Whenever the entire Black Legion is called to battle, it marks the beginning of another of Abaddon's Black Crusades against the Imperium of Man.

The Black Legion was originally known as the Luna Wolves during the Great Crusade, as they were the Legion of Horus himself and in honour of Horus' great achievements during the latter years of the Crusade after the victory over the Orks during the Ullanor Crusade. After that great triumph for his son, the Emperor suggested that the Legion be renamed the Sons of Horus which Horus eventually instituted following his conversion to the service of the Dark Powers of Chaos on the world of Davin. After Horus' treachery and defeat during the Horus Heresy, however, the Legion was renamed "the Black Legion".

Legion History
The Space Marines of the Luna Wolves Legion were created implanting humans from the violent hive gangs inhabiting a planet called Cthonia with the gene-seed of Horus. This planet allegedly existed in one of Earth's closest neighboring star systems. Being within reach even for non-Warp-capable spacecraft, Cthonia had been colonized, built upon, tunneled and mined probably since the dawn of human interstellar space travel. As such, all natural resources had been stripped away and used up millennia before, and the ancient mining technology had long since been rediscovered and removed by the Adepts of Mars. The planet that remained was largely useless and abandoned, completely riddled with catacombs, crumbling industrial plant and exhausted mine-workings.

Horus, the true Primarch of the Luna Wolves, was the first of the Primarchs to be recovered by the Emperor, having been cast much closer to Terra than the others by the Ruinous Powers, and was found at a much younger age. As a result, Horus was for many years the Emperor's only son, and there was a great affinity between them. The Emperor spent much time with his protege, teaching and encouraging him. Horus was soon placed in command of the XVI Legion, which he renamed the Luna Wolves - ten thousand Space Marines created from his own genetic code. With these warriors to lead, Horus accompanied the Emperor for the first thirty years of the Great Crusade, and together they forged the initial expansion of the young Imperium of Man.

Horus' own Legion had all the glory of being the greatest Primarch's personal guard, and they shared Horus' credo of fighting to be the best. Under his inspiring command, the Luna Wolves were always at the forefront of the latest campaign of the Great Crusade, pushing the boundaries of the Imperium ever wider, driving further and further into the galaxy and striving to conquer and liberate more worlds than the other Legions.

At the conclusion of the campaign to bring the world of Ullanor into Imperial Compliance by destroying the largest Ork Waaagh! yet encountered, the Emperor declared it the greatest victory yet for his mighty Imperium and was said to bestow much praise upon the Luna Wolves and Horus for their part in the campaign. The most notable reward was the renaming of the Lunar Wolves Legion. The Emperor sent word that henceforth they would be known as the Sons of Horus, in honour of their Primarch. Horus himself was given the title Warmaster - now officially the supreme commander of the Emperor's military forces on the Great Crusade.

Before he could return to Terra to be officially invested with his new title, Horus apparently fell ill while his Legion was conquering a small feral world called Davin. During his convalescence, he took part in the induction ceremony of an aboriginal warrior lodge on the planet. This was the Primarch's well-tried practice to develop ties with local populations - feral natives were more easily recruited into the Imperial fold when the 'Warriors from the Stars' had become brothers. However, this time was different. In the days that followed, Horus' officers detected a change in his character. It is now presumed by Imperial scholars that the Davin warrior lodge was in fact a Chaos coven, which somehow managed to ensnare the Warmaster.

The Warmaster proceeded to introduce similar "warrior lodges" into his own Legion, and then others under his command. Horus' fealty had changed; many in his Legion believed that he was actually possessed by a Daemon. Whether or not this is true, it is certain that he was now allied body and soul to the Ruinous Powers of Chaos, and he had a new vision for the Imperium with himself rather than the Emperor at its head.

The Sons of Horus, already fiercely loyal and proud of their Warmaster, had no hesitation in following their Primarch's lead. They quickly renounced their oaths to the Emperor and started to worship Horus and his new gods from the Warp. The Chaos corruption spread to every Imperial organisation with which Horus had dealings, including a division of the Adeptus Mechanicus, and from there to the Collegia Titanica and the Legio Cybernetica. The other Primarchs Horus knew like brothers, and was already well practiced at motivating them. Appealing to their pride, martial prowess, and courage, while playing upon past grudges and favours against the Emperor and the other Primarchs, the Warmaster gained the loyalty of fully half the Primarchs and their Space Marine Legions. The war that followed, called the Horus Heresy by later generations, was the most terrible in the history of the Imperium, and came close to shattering it forever. Space Marines fought Space Marines and Titans fought Titans as Terra was invaded, and the Imperial Palace itself was besieged and breached.

In the end, though, it was Horus who was slain by the power of the Emperor, and with him died the rebellion. It was a traumatic and devastating blow for the Sons of Horus. Leaderless, the remnants of the Legion fled into the Eye of Terror, where Abbadon the Despoiler eventually rose to claim the mantle of Warmaster and become Horus' heir as the foremost of the Traitor Marines of Chaos.

Organisation
The Black Legion is a flexible fighting force that can perform well and adapt quickly to any combat situation. It was trained to respond sharply and decisively to the tactical orders of its Warmaster and consequently the chain of command within the Legion was very efficient. This suffered significantly during the early years of exile in the Eye of Terror when the Legion was leaderless, but Abaddon has done much to restore discipline, mainly through fear and horrendous violence inflicted on those that displease him. Horus' favoured doctrine of 'tearing the throat out of the enemy' by eliminating their high command in a swift strike remains a well-used tactic.

Before the events of the Heresy, the Luna Wolves were organised like any other Space Marine Legion, with companies led by individual leaders. There were twenty-five companies of Luna Wolves following the Ullanor Crusade. Each company consisted of six hundred Space Marines according to Horus Rising when Loken's Company embarked on securing Sixty-Three Nineteen. If this is accurate then the number of total Astartes throughout the Sons of Horus must come to about fifteen thousand Space Marines, an above average number for a Legion as most Legions numbered around ten thousand strong. Several company captains also served as the Legion's Mournival; before the Heresy this included Garviel Loken, 'Little' Horus Aximand, Tarik Torgaddon and Ezekyle Abaddon. The Mournival served as an advisory body to Horus, but in truth held no extra power above that of the other company captains.

After the death of Horus, proper structure within the squads and companies disintegrated. The survivors formed into warbands of varying size and composition, led by individuals known as Chaos Champions. These Champions were either ranking officers from the Horus Heresy, or newly emerged leaders who had won favour with the Ruinous Powers through their violent deeds. When circumstances dictated, several warbands would rally together under the banner of a greater Chaos Champion, or even Abaddon himself, usually in preparation for a major raid or incursion into the Imperium.

The overriding belief of the Legion prior to the Warmaster's demise was in the ultimate superiority of Warmaster Horus and, by association, themselves. In continually seeking to prove themselves as the greatest Legion, they did indeed achieve most in terms of sheer numbers of worlds brought into the Imperial fold prior to the Heresy, although much effort had to be expended by other forces to completely pacify these new worlds.

Their defeat and exile dealt a crushing blow to the collective ego of the Legion.

Headquarters
The Legion's original homeworld of Cthonia has long since collapsed into an asteroid field, although whether this was through a loss of geo-structural integrity or a deliberate effort by the Imperium is a matter of conjecture.

The Legion created a new home within the Eye of Terror, however, this was later destroyed by a combined Traitor fleet. Since this event, the Black Legion has moved their base of operations among the various Chaos starships in their possession.

Combat Doctrine
The Legion was a flexible fighting force, able to adapt to almost any combat situation. The Legion possessed an efficient chain of command, which fell into disarray after the head, Horus, was killed over Terra. Abaddon managed to restore a measure of discipline, mainly through fear and violence.

The Black Legion generally favours close combat over ranged firefights, and Horus' tactic of "ripping the throat out of the enemy," the annihilation of the enemy's command center through the use of a small force referred to as the speartip, is still a favoured method of attack. Black Legion commanders seek to apply constant pressure on the enemy in a number of lightning fast strikes. These sharp but limited assaults are meant to disrupt the enemy and secure positions that can be used for fire support. This in turn keeps the pressure on while new attacks are being prepared. The time-lapse between each assault decreases with each advance, and the commander will usually wait until the pressure reaches its highest point. When this occurs, the commander will lead his Chosen in a final, devastating assault; an attack in which teleport-capable Terminators often feature. Hordes of daemons are also used for frontal assaults, and to pin the enemy while the Legion whittles them down.

Battlecry
Prior to the destruction of Horus' body by Abaddon, the Legion's battlecries included "For the Warmaster!" "Lupercal!" (a Cthonic nickname for Horus), and "In the name of the ship!" (Horus' flagship was called the Vengeful Spirit). Following this, each warband used its own cries, but those fighting under the command of Abaddon are reported to use "We are returned!"

The Luna Wolves used the cry "Kill for the Living! Kill for the Dead!"

Legion Appearance
The first version of Power Armour colours used by the XVI Legion was predominantly off-white, with black trim, and the Terminators and Assault Marine squads used glossy black armour. The Legion's badge was a wolf's head imposed over an inverted crescent moon.

After the Ullanor Crusade and the Interex incident, the Legion's change in name to the Sons of Horus accompanied a change in colouring. The Legion's Power Armour was decorated predominantly a pale green, with black or gold trim, while some Space Marines' gauntlets were coloured dark red. The Legion badge changed to become a stylised eye over a cross - the Eye of Terra.

This colour scheme was retained until Abaddon the Despoiler took command of the Legion's remnants. The Black Legion, as the name suggests, wears black Power Armour. The armour is decorated with gold trim and Chaotic iconography. The symbol of the Eye was retained, however it was now superimposed over the eight-pointed Star of Chaos, now known as the Eye of Horus.

The shift of the Legion's colour scheme from white to its current black was ordered by Abaddon to mark the Legion's shame after their failure to overthrow the Emperor of Mankind's rule in the Horus Heresy. [[Category:B]]