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Legio Magna

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The Legio Magna ("Flaming Skulls") is a Traitor Titan Legion of the Dark Mechanicum that repudiated its oaths to the Emperor of Mankind and followed the Warmaster Horus into the service of the Ruinous Powers during the Horus Heresy.

This Legio is suspected to have been founded before the Age of the Imperium, during the Age of Strife.

The Legio Magna's homeworld was located in the Ultima Segmentum, where it originally hailed from the Forge World of Estaban VII. During the Horus Heresy, the Legio Magna was supported by the Knights of House Morbidia.

After the end of the Heresy, the small portion of the Legio that had not been deployed to Mars by Horus during the Schism of Mars remained a Loyalist Titan Legion as they were later seen fighting for the Imperium in the Orask Wars in the 41st Millennium. It is not clear if the Traitor elements of the Legio survived into the 41st Millennium, as the forces of the Imperium have not encountered them since the 38th Millennium.

Legion History[]

Legio Magna Warlord Titan

Legio Magna colour scheme as displayed by the Warlord-class Titan Damnation of Worlds.

During the Great Crusade, the Flaming Skulls were a minor Titan Legion from the Forge World of Estaban VII, known to campaign alongside both the XVIth (Sons of Horus) and XVIIth (Word Bearers) Space Marine Legions.

Founded upon Estaban VII, the Flaming Skulls initially were deployed to Great Crusade warfronts of little note due to their homeworld's isolationism and political infighting. By the middle of the second standard century of the Great Crusade, the Legio Magnus had been deployed within 21 different expeditionary fleets in numbers ranging from two dozen to a single Titan assigned to garrison duty.

Such widespread deployments brought increasingly greater losses amongst the Legio, losses that soon outstripped Estaban VII's ability to replace them. In time, the ancient Mechanicum converted Estaban VII to serve as a primary supplier of wargear for the Imperial Army. The Mechanicum of Estaban VII then ordered the Legio Magna to redeploy alongside Imperial Army units supplied from the Forge World, and threatened to cut off their resupply should the Legio's princeps refuse.

Within the solar decade of this order, over half the Legio was redeployed, now taking part in more prestigious assignments such as acting in the service of the Primarchs Horus and Lorgar and their respective Space Marine Legions. Where the Flaming Skulls' princeps once cared little for honour and plaudits, they now revelled in the praise they received. During this time, the Legio's tactics changed to favour spearhead assaults and the use of Fusion Weapons. In time, only the Legio Krytos was more renowned for ts ability to bring rebel civilisations to ruin.

Following the elevation of Horus to the rank of Warmaster, a demi-legio of the Flaming Skulls was deployed to Mars itself. Due to their close ties with Horus, Lorgar, and Kelbor-Hal, the fabricator-general of Mars, it is of little surprise they followed their allies into treachery in the subsequent Horus Heresy. During the Schism of Mars the portion of the Legio Magna stationed on Mars took part in the purging of Martian Loyalists, building a reputation as butchers and fiends. Over the course of the Horus Heresy, most of the Traitor Titan crews of the Legio Magna went insane.

After the end of the Horus Heresy, the portion of the Legio that had not been deployed to Mars remained a Loyalist Titan Legion as they were seen fighting for the Imperium in the Orask Wars. It is not clear if the Traitor elements of the Legio survived into the 41st Millennium, as the forces of the Imperium have not encountered them in recent centuries.

Notable Campaigns[]

Traitor Campaigns[]

  • Schism of Mars (005-006.M31) - Later Imperial histories record that the first blow of the Martian civil war unleashed during the Horus Heresy that was known as the Schism of Mars was struck against Magos Mattias Kefra, whose forge in the Sinus Sabaeus region of the Red Planet was housed within the Madler Crater. Titans of the Legio Magna marched from the southern Noachis region and within minutes had smashed down the gates of his forge city. Howling engines daubed in red, orange, yellow and black and decorated with flaming horned skull devices, ran amok within the high walls of the crater, crushing everything living beneath them and destroying thousands of years of accumulated wisdom in a fury of fire. Vast libraries burned and weapon shops that served the Solar Guard Imperial Army regiment were reduced to molten slag as the indiscriminate slaughter continued long into the night.
  • Battle of Ice World Tralsak (011.M31) - The shallow, frozen oceans of the Ice World of Tralsak are flash-boiled to steam by the fury of engine-war as Loyalist Titans of Legio Atarus and Legio Agravides clash with the Traitors of the Legio Magna and Legio Victorum as the Loyalist Shattered Legions and Traitor World Eaters fight across the disintegrating landscape of ice floes. Ultimately, outright victory eludes both sides, and each uses the cover of the world-enveloping fog thrown up by the destruction to extricate their forces and redeploy them elsewhere. Nevertheless, numerous supporting Knights of both sides remain to fight a war in which neither will concede defeat.
  • Defence of Ryza (012.M31) - Amongst the echelons of the Cult Mechanicus, the Forge World of Ryza stood second only to Mars in power and prominence by the end of the Great Crusade. Located within the Ultima Segmentum, its position was secured by its raw manufacturing power and its tactical location that, since Ryza first forged treaties with the Imperium, served to fuel the reach of the Great Crusade eastwards across the galaxy. Above all else, Ryza possessed unparalleled expertise in the engineering and production of plasma technology thanks to the sect of tech-priests it hosted known as the Omnissiah Igvita. In war, the luminaries of Ryza turned their efforts towards the continued support of the Imperium, refusing to be swayed by the honeyed promises of the Warmaster Horus and his emissaries. So it was that when the Warmaster bade his allies to seize the Forge World, it stood guarded not just by the formidable might of the Legio Crucius (Warmongers) but the resurgent power of several other Legios and Knight houses. Amongst their number stood both House Taranis and House Zavora, ancient Knight houses bound to Mars since the Age of Strife, and both the Legio Honorum and Legio Osedax lent portions of their strength to Ryza in accordance with treaties negotiated with their patron worlds. All were sworn to Ryza unto death, for the world toiled to reunite the shattered forces that still opposed the Warmaster across the Ultima Segmentum, providing vital munitions and materiel as aid. Yet, despite the might assembled upon the world, it paled in the face of the force marshalled against it, which included the might of the Legio Vulturum and Legio Magna, with promises of vast riches awaiting their patrons should their aid bring success. With them came a decad of Titans from the Legio Mortis, their presence demanded by the Warmaster to ensure victory. In all, nearly 140 Titans were assembled, their gathered might a portent of doom for the world of Ryza. These Titan Legions were not to walk alone, for the Knight houses of Morbidia and Oroborn had been amassed alongside them. With them came vast hosts of Mechanicum Taghmata, supported by a menagerie of twisted creations given life by the minds of their Dark Mechanicum masters. Despite the Traitors' best efforts the Loyalist forces managed to beat back the attack of the Traitor forces, despite being outnumbered and outgunned. However, their victory proved to be a pyrrhic victory at best, with nearly half their number wiped out during the Traitor assault. Fires raged on Ryza for several solar weeks after the conclusion of the final battle, the Traitors in orbit bombarding the planet below as a final parting gift before departing before the arrival of Loyalist reinforcements. When the last fire sputtered out, only a fifth of the Forge World's infrastructure remained functional, the rest nothing more than blackened ruins. Though the Traitors had failed in their desire to seize Ryza as their own, they returned to the Warmaster victorious, for the Furnace of Shackled Stars no longer stood as a beacon of hope for Loyalist forces, the broken world a stark exemplar of the tragic fate that had befallen the galaxy.
  • Siege of Cthonia (013-14.M31) - The Legio Magna sent 8 Titans to participate in the Siege of Cthonia. The Siege of Cthonia was a three-stage battle of the Horus Heresy. In the so-called "First Siege", Cthonia, the homeworld of the Sons of Horus, was largely conquered by an Imperial Fists-led force in 006.M31. However, Sons of Horus guerrillas remained active in the planet's vast underground caverns, waging a guerrilla campaign against the Loyalists over the next seven standard years. After this period of contested Imperial rule, a large Sons of Horus-led splinter fleet launched its own invasion to retake their homeworld in 013.M31, starting the "Second Siege." This conflict culminated in the Dark Angels destroying Cthonia in 014.M31, killing most of the local Traitors as well as the Loyalists still on-world.
  • Battle of Beta-Garmon, "The Titandeath" (006-013.M31) - The Legio Magna took part in the long and savage Beta-Garmon campaign, which included hundreds of war zones across dozens of worlds. During this conflict, the Legio Magna was supported by the Knights of House Atrax. Even before the greater armies of the Warmaster Horus reached the star cluster, the battle lines had long since been drawn, and fighting had been going on for many Terran years. It was a cauldron of battle that would consume millions of lives before its end and see the demise of entire Titan Legions, earning this campaign the dire moniker of the "Titandeath." The Beta-Garmon Cluster, also known as the gateway to the Throneworld of Terra, was the last hurdle that the Warmaster Horus' forces had to overcome before they reached the Imperium's capital world. Heavily fortified by the Loyalists, Beta-Garmon would become one of the greatest and bloodiest battles of the Horus Heresy, as well as one of the longest-lasting.
  • Siege of Terra (014.M31) - The Legio Magna took part in numerous engagements during the dark days of the Horus Heresy, but its most notable action occurred when they participated in the Siege of Terra and the assault on the Imperial Palace alongside the other Traitor Titan Legions.
  • Evacuation of Barac (Unknown Date.M38) - The Traitor elements of the Legio Magna clashed with the White Scars on the world of Barac.

Loyalist Campaigns[]

  • Orask Wars (977.M41) - The Orask Wars were a series of conflicts centered around the world of Orask in 977.M41. It pitted the forces of the Imperium against a Tyranid splinter fleet. Though Orask had previously endured attacks by Chaos Renegades, the Tyranid assault on the world was vicious but disoriented due to their passage through the Ghoul Stars. The great battle that ensued was brief but bloody, as the Tyranids hurled themselves down onto Orask's defences which were manned by the Red Talons, the Titans of the Loyalist Legio Magna, and Orask's Planetary Defence Forces. Despite casualties that mounted into the tens of thousands over mere solar days, the Tyranids were first pushed back, contained, and finally purged from Orask's blasted surface. Yet evidence persists that some harbinger Tyranid organism escaped to the outer worlds of the system, and Orask may not yet have seen the last of the Tyranid horror.
  • Third War for Armageddon (998.M41) - The planet Armageddon, lynchpin of the Armageddon Sector, is a polluted wasteland of industrial ash and metal. It is a vital node at the centre of one of the Imperium's key navigational channels and its sprawling munitions factories and busy hive cities supply tanks and arms to thousands of Astra Militarum regiments across the segmentum. The Third War for Armageddon began when Ork Roks -- space-borne mountain-fortresses infested with Greenskins and their war machines -- crashed into the ash wastes. Spearheaded by the Ork Warboss Ghazghkull Mag Uruk Thraka, soon the fighting devolved into a thousand different fronts. Taking advantage of the situation to sow bloodshed, misery and terror, the forces of Chaos also flocked to the conflict. Several Traitor Titan Legions, including the Legio Magna, made their way to the industrial Hive World to take part in the slaughter. The Legio Magna attacked the strategically important and vital natural resources of the Netheria Peninsula, which pumped its natural reserves to Imperial facilities. The loss of the Netheria Peninsula would be a disaster for Imperial forces on Armageddon.

Notable Titans[]

  • Consuming Flame (Warhound-class Titan) - Consuming Flame was a Warhound Scout Titan of the Legio Magna that fought during the Great Crusade and Horus Heresy eras. Having spent much of its time campaigning alongside the Word Bearers and Sons of Horus during the Great Crusade, Legio Magna proved a firm ally to Horus when the time came to turn against the Imperium. Though their main strength remained embedded within the expeditionary fleets, portions of the Legio Magna's numbers were ferried to Mars in preparation for its conquest by the Traitors, tasked with enacting wholesale slaughter upon any who defied the fabricator-general. Armed with fire and plasma, Warhound Titans such as Consuming Flame were responsible for the indiscriminate destruction of thousands of standard years of accumulated knowledge and the death of untold numbers of Mechanicum servants loyal to the Emperor during the Schism of Mars.
  • Hatred Unbound (Reaver-class Titan) - The Hatred Unbound was a Reaver-class Titan that fought during the Great Crusade and Horus Heresy eras. Configurations tailored towards close-quarters warfare, such as those utilised by the Hatred Unbound, were frequently utilised by the Legio Magna, their carapace weapons capable of stripping shields from afar before tearing apart armour with close-ranged bursts. Such Titans often bore a single weapon more commonly suited to long-ranged warfare to augment their killing potential. These weapons were often co-opted for use in their spearhead assaults, with Legio Magna Reaver Titans unleashing their Volcano Cannon within the confines of enemy Void Shields, heedless of the potential collateral damage against their own god-engine if it meant the death of their target.
  • Damnation of Worlds (Warlord-class Titan) - The Damnation of Worlds was a Warlord Battle Titan that fought during the Great Crusade and Horus Heresy eras. The princeps of the Legio Magna revelled in the chaos of battle, preferring to plunge headfirst into the enemy line and break them apart with brutal assaults. Armaments such as those utilised by the Damnation of Worlds were common amongst the Flaming Skulls, allowing them to engage their foe directly while retaining the power needed to slay the largest of Titan-class enemies. Warlords of Legio Magna would advance swiftly on the enemy line, unleashing unrelenting storms of plasma and bolt shells until little more than smouldering rubble and rended flesh remained, the sinister howls of Princeps and machine spirit both echoing across the battlefield.
  • Barren Ashes (Warlord-class Titan) - Fought in the Defence of Ryza.
  • Cordis Ignis (Warlord-class Titan) - Fought in the Defence of Ryza.
  • Crux Mortis (Warlord-class Titan) - Fought in the Siege of Cthonia.
  • Ferro Rex (Warlord-class Titan) - Fought in the Siege of Cthonia.
  • Fist of Fire (Warlord-class Titan) - Fought in the Defence of Ryza.
  • Gharnak Omaphagia (Warlord-class Titan) - Destroyed during the Siege of Terra by the forces of Legio Gryphonicus.
  • Invocatio Ignis (Warlord-class Titan) - Fought in the Defence of Ryza.
  • Meggido Anax (Warlord-class Titan) - Fought in the Siege of Cthonia.
  • Perdition's Emissary (Warlord-class Titan) - Fought in the Defence of Ryza.
  • Acherus (Unknown class)
  • Chorus Inferna (Unknown class)
  • Flagellus (Unknown class)
  • Perdition Eternal, "Fallen Titan" (Unknown class)
  • Rex Damnatus (Unknown class)

Notable Personnel[]

  • Princeps Seniores Kibwe - Kibwe commanded the Titan Rex Damnatus and its maniple. Kibwe was a tyrannical commander who did not tolerate his subordinates talking out of turn -- even if doing so would save a Titan from destruction.

Legion Allies[]

Knight Houses[]

Space Marines[]

Legion Appearance[]

Legion Colours[]

The colours of the Legio Magna are red, orange and black.

Legion Badge[]

The Legio Magna's badge is a flaming, horned skull centered in front of an orange sun on a field of black. Below the skull is a red letter "V", and below that are three skulls lined up besides one another in a v-shaped pattern.

Canon Conflict[]

The Traitor Flaming Skulls Legion are revealed in Imperial Armour Volume One to be the Legio Magna.

The Legio Magna, however, appears in several other sources as fighting on the side of the Imperium -- they are mentioned to have taken part in the Angevin Crusade, defended the world of Orask from a Tyranid splinter fleet, and, most recently, participated in the Third War for Armageddon.

It is unknown if part of this Legio remained loyal during the Horus Heresy and has survived into the 41st Millenium maintaining its old name, or whether this simply is a mistake on the part of Games Workshop.

Sources[]

  • Adeptus Titanicus - The Horus Heresy: Rulebook (Specialist Game), pp. 17, 29, 55, 74
  • Adeptus Titanicus - The Horus Heresy: Titandeath (Specialist Game), pg. 95
  • Adeptus Titanicus - The Horus Heresy: The Defence of Ryza (Specialist Game), pp. 6-7, 12-14, 16-20, 38, 42-45, 68, 74-76, 78
  • The Horus Heresy Book Four: Conquest (Forge World Series) by Alan Bligh, pg. 99
  • The Horus Heresy Second Edition - Campaigns of the Age of Darkness: The Siege of Cthonia (Specialist Game), pp. 33, 55, 87, 91
  • Horus Heresy: Collected Visions, pg. 356
  • Imperial Armour Volume One, pg. 8
  • Imperial Armour Volume Two - Second Edition, pg. 22
  • Imperial Armour Volume Two - Second Edition: War Machines of the Adeptus Astartes, pg. 150
  • Imperial Armour Apocalypse II, pg. 79
  • Mechanicum (Novel) by Graham McNeill
  • Warhammer 40,000 Rulebook (6th Edition), pg. 193
  • White Dwarf 108 (UK), " 'Eavy Metal", pg. 76
  • Codex Titanicus (1st Edition), "Titan Legion Colour Schemes"
  • Dark Heresy Timeline by Alan Bligh, pg. 2
  • Third War for Armageddon Worldwide Campaign - The Netherian Peninsula Sector News
  • Warhammer Community - The Titan Legions of Ryza (20 July 2020)
  • Warhammer Community - The Defence of Ryza: Your First Look (31 Mar 2020)

Gallery[]

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