Legio Solaria

The Legio Solaria ("Imperial Hunters") is a Loyalist Titan Legion of the Collegia Titanica, one of the military arms of the Adeptus Mechanicus. The Legio Solaris is based on the Forge World of Tigrus and its personnel are overwhelmingly female, a tradition established at the Legio's founding.

This Titan Legion has a reputation for swift vanguard actions and devastating spearhead attacks. During the Great Crusade, the Legio Solaria was often at the forefront of assaults upon rebel and alien worlds, its hunting packs of Warhound Titans running the enemy to ground or acting as scouting maniples for their brother Legios.

Imperial Hunters princeps are wolfish in the application of their maniples, and are mistresses of misdirection and the quick kill.

Since the days of the Horus Heresy, the Legio holds a particular grudge against the Traitor Titan Legion of the Legio Vulpa. Even after ten thousand years, most princeps of the Legio Solaria relish any chance to face their old foes.

The Legio Solaria is known to use Scout Titan hunting packs to bring foes to heel, allowing its Warhound-class Scout Titan squadrons to contain additional Titans, and replacing Reaver-class Titans with Warhounds in many maniples.

The Legion's combat doctrine also focused on speed and fury, such as their notable tactic known as the "Spear of Tigrus." Keeping on the move was second nature to this Legion's princeps, who lived by the axiom, "A moving blade cannot be broken."

Legion History[]

Imperial Hunters Reaver Titan — *Legio Solaria* colour scheme as displayed by the *Reaver*-class Titan *Fugor Ultrox*.

Origins[]

The origin of the Legio Solaria is tied to the Knight World of Procon, for it was upon that world that Mohana Mankata VI, known now as the "Great Mother" of the Legio Solaria, was born.

Like many Knight Worlds, Procon was rife with traditions and beliefs that harked back to its founding, lending support to a society far from egalitarian, where each person's status and role was determined more by blood than skill.

It was the ancient rites of Procon Vi, Knight household of Procon, that saw Mankata's victory in a horse-riding competition used to determine which members of the Procon nobility could become Nobles of House Procon Vi.

Instead of accolades, Mankata was rewarded with exile for having participated without permission. Punished by her own due to her perceived audacity, others were more forthcoming with praise and her skill attracted the attention of the ancient Mechanicum, who offered Mankata a place upon the Forge World of Tigrus.

Upon her arrival, she was proclaimed domina princeps of the newly-founded Legio Solaria, the first to join its ranks. By her edict, the princeps of the Titan Legion were drawn solely from the ranks of women, cultivated from her own genetic line, and the sole commanders of a god-engine drawn from Tigrus.

Paying tribute to the traditions of the ancient Procon goddess of the hunt named Pahkmetris, the Legio Solaria went on to become an all-female Titan Legion, with vat-born, genetically-modified women serving as the Legio's princeps and moderati and the few number of males born into the Legio ordained as tech-priests or converted into servitors.

In recognition both of her role as progenitor of the Legio Solaria and her leadership in the centuries following its founding, Mankata was given the title of the "Great Mother" by her princeps, holding almost divine status within the ranks of the Titan Legion.

Given the nature of the Legio Solaria's founding, born as it was from the pride of its Great Mother, it is perhaps unsurprising that the Titan Legion established a reputation for its bellicose and prideful princeps.

Nowhere was this more evident than in battle, for the princeps of the Legio Solaria would make great boasts in their search for glory while employing aggressive tactics that favoured the large number of Warhound-class Scout Titans the Titan Legion possessed.

There were some who served alongside the Legio Solaria who showed contempt for the seemingly blatant recklessness of the Titan Legion's tactics, yet many others were quick to praise its efforts upon the battlefield.

Regardless of opinion, the skill of the Titan Legion was undeniable when, during the latter decades of the Great Crusade, the Legio Solaria were recorded as possessing an engine kill to engine loss ratio greater than some of the largest and most ancient of Titan Legions, though such statistics varied as to the scale required for a slain foe to constitute an engine kill.

It was with great pride that the Legio Solaria accepted the title of "Imperial Hunters" bequeathed upon them, in part due to the impressive combat record they had amassed.

The nature of the Legio Solaria saw them forge strong bonds with Titan Legions of similar demeanour. Indeed, the Legio Gryphonicus was quick to offer praise to the younger Titan Legion, with both Legios noted as pushing each other to greater heights when sharing a battlefield, a circumstance attributed to the highly competitive nature of these Titan Legions.

Similarly, the aggressive tactics favoured by the Imperial Hunters saw them regularly paired with Space Marine Legions such as the White Scars and Space Wolves, with much of the Titan Legion's strength assigned to expeditionary fleets containing one or the other Legions.

The Imperial Hunters' service alongside others was not without incident, the most notable example being the long-held feud between the Legio Solaria and the Legio Vulpa, one that began during the Compliance of Dendrictia, when the Death Stalkers callously extinguished 50,000 lives in a single action.

Though naught but harsh words and official denouncements were exchanged, the two Titan Legions were bound together in hatred from that moment onwards, a rivalry that kept them apart during the Great Crusade and was reignited come the Horus Heresy.

The years following the appointment of Horus Lupercal as Warmaster brought much turmoil to the Legio Solaris, even before the Horus Heresy began. To outside observers, little changed in the Imperial Hunters' demeanour, yet, inwardly, the future of the Titan Legion proved unclear.

Much of this strife came from the degenerating health of the Great Mother and the expectancy of her approaching death. As founding domina princeps of the Legio Solaria, having commanded it since its creation, the anticipated loss of the Legio's foundation led to uncertainty amongst the ranks of the Imperial Hunters.

In some manner, the outbreak of the Horus Heresy brought a period of certainty to the Legio Solaria, for the conflict offered a new crucible in which the martial prowess of the Titan Legion was tested against that of more ancient Titan Legions and a place where old grudges could be settled.

Horus Heresy[]

Imperial Hunters Warlord Titan — *Legio Solaria* *Warlord*-class Titan *Carnificor Noctis* during the Horus Heresy.

Much of the Titan Legion's initial efforts to resist the Warmaster Horus and his allies were focused on the Beta-Garmon cluster. It was there that the Great Mother committed the principal strength of the Legio Solaris, intent upon denying the Traitors access to the wider Segmentum Solar.

The unfolding conflict claimed the lives of dozens of Imperial Hunters Titans and eventually the life of Mohana Mankata VI herself, who fell in battle against the Traitor Titan Legions and the foul powers of the Warp they unleashed.

The Beta-Garmon campaign proved a turning point for the Legio Solaria, their numbers vastly reduced and the survivors deprived of the constant leadership they had enjoyed since their founding.

As Horus marched on Terra, the Legio Solaria fragmented, its number scattering across the galaxy during the frantic retreat from Beta-Garmon.

Many were to find their way to Terra under command of Esha Ani Mohana, the Great Mother's second-in-command, standing proud behind the walls of Terra in defiance of the approaching Traitors.

The remaining numbers of the Legio Solaria drifted across the stars, small battlegroups commanded by senior princeps awarded field command fighting on dozens of worlds, each striving to return once more to Tigrus and reunite with their sisters.

At Present[]

The Imperial Hunters are a proud Titan Legion whose culture bears many resemblances to those of the many Knight Worlds of the Imperium. The Legio's princeps are often recruited from their homeworld's nobility and as a consequence, many of the customs of the Imperial aristocracy can readily be found within the Imperial Hunters.

This attitude -- some would call it arrogance -- is bred into them following their induction into the Legio, including an aristocratic disdain for the "lower classes," even when said "lower classes" belong to other Legios of the Collegia Titanica.

However, this attitude also favours the Legio's integration into other battlegroups and Imperial Crusades, as the Imperial Hunters manifest none of the typical detachment prone to Adeptus Mechanicus-related military formations.

For instance, the Imperial Hunters' command structure does not include the position of executor fetial common to many Titan Legions, as each princeps and moderatus is well-versed in all manner of social etiquette.

Few of their number choose to be permanently submerged in an amniotic tank, and the princeps of the Imperial Hunters often use rejuvenat treatments to maintain an impeccable appearance. During victory celebrations, members of the Imperial Hunters are usually raucous and loud, indulging food and drink with visible gusto.

The Imperial Hunters are immensely proud of their history and do not take slights to their honour lightly. They often can be obstinate to the point of overweening pride, but their combat abilities and courage cannot be denied.

The Legio Solaria is served by House Procon Vi, a Knight House of the Questor Mechanicus that has long served the Imperial Hunters as vassals.

Notable Campaigns[]

First Battle of Paramar (ca. 673.006.M31) - The world of Paramar V was the scene of several fierce battles during the Horus Heresy, amongst which the Traitor assault on the Station 3 spaceport was perhaps the most bloody. The forces of Chaos, supported by the Tiger Eyes Traitor Titan Legion, strode into the deserted spaceport expecting little resistance. They were surprised to meet the Titans of the Fire Wasps, Firebrands and Imperial Hunters along with Loyalist support troops and armour. After a swift and violent battle, the Traitors were routed, and eventually expelled from Paramar entirely.

Thramas Crusade (007-009.M31) - During the Horus Heresy the Warmaster Horus sent the Night Haunter and his Night Lords Legion on a campaign of genocide against the Imperial strongholds of Heroldar and Thramas in the Aegis Sub-sector of the Eastern Fringes, thus protecting Horus' flank and delaying the Dark Angels Legion from reinforcing the Loyalists. As both sides were enhanced by detachments of god-engines, including from the Legio Solaria, this bitterly contested campaign would drag on for nearly three standard years.
- Battle of Crucible (ca. 008.M31) - Six reinforced chapters of the Night Lords, perhaps 12,000 warriors in all, dropped on the surface of Crucible alongside 50,000 auxillia and 18 Titans of the Legio Victorum I. Only a fraction of these forces would escape the surface intact, and of those that escaped many would not be able to fight free of the system. For the conscripts and Abhuman troops, whose bulk landers were woefully incapable of rapid exfiltration under combat conditions, almost none survived. Most perished in battle or whilst attempting to flee the Dark Angels' counter-attack, with less than 5,000 leaving the system alive, and most of these being reserve troops not yet deployed from their landing craft. Of the Legio Victorum I, the "Foe Slayers," none of the Titans deployed into combat would leave Crucible, several falling to concentrated fire from Loyalist ordinatus platforms and the others to the Titans of the Legio Solaria. The princeps of the Imperial Hunters rushed headlong into combat, taking serious damage in their determination to reach and engage the Traitor Titans, their zeal ensuring that none of the Traitors left the surface alive. The Night Lords fared better than their allies, their drop craft well capable of retrieving them even under heavy fire, and with some elite formations even able to evacuate by means of teleportarium chambers on the orbiting ships. Even so, one-in-three of those committed to the battle would not return, with particularly heavy casualties among the Atramentar and the retinue of Barbatos as they struggled to shield their primarch as he was convinced to withdraw. When added to the casualties incurred on other battlefields that would collapse in the wake of the defeat on Crucible, the defection of the White Scars and the arrival of new troops from Tigrus, the campaign in Thramas underwent a dramatic shift. Where once the Traitors had dominated the battles through sheer numbers, now they found themselves on the receiving end of this same disparity.

Second Battle of Paramar V (011.M31) - The strategic Mechanicum provender world of Paramar V fell to the Warmaster Horus' hosts led by the Alpha Legion and the Dark Mechanicum in one of the opening moves of the Horus Heresy. Several Terran years later, a mixed force of Loyalists consisting of the Legio Atarus (Firebrands), Legio Ignatum (Fire Wasps), Legio Solaria (Imperial Hunters), with ground assault units from the Blood Angels and White Scars Legions, clashed with the defending Traitors. The Traitor forces were comprised of god-engines drawn from the Legio Fureans (Tiger Eyes) and Legio Mortis (Death's Heads) Titan Legions that were rearming and resupplying in the system after several Terran years of intensive campaigning, as well as extensive elements of the Sons of Horus and Word Bearers Legions. The Loyalists conducted a series of diversionary attacks across the Paramar System in order to draw troops away from their true target, before conducting a full scale planetstrike against Paramar V's primary spaceport, the Paramar Nexus. They captured it intact and then pressed outwards to begin the destruction of the mass-provender silos containing wargear and vehicles that sprawled across the plateau beyond. It was soon revealed, however, that the Traitors had seen through the ploy and prepared a huge counterattack force. Though they inflicted heavy damage on the provender silos before the Traitor counterattack hit home, the vast majority of the Loyalist invasion forces was surrounded and destroyed without mercy. The Paramar System would remain in Traitor hands for the rest of the Horus Heresy. The servants of Chaos would only be dislodged from the system following the Third Battle of Paramar in 019.M31 during the vengeance campaigns of the Great Scouring.

Battle of Beta-Garmon, "The Titandeath" (006-013.M31) - The Legio Solaria took part in the long and savage Beta-Garmon campaign. The campaign included hundreds of war zones across dozens of worlds. Even before the greater armies of the Warmaster Horus reached the star cluster in 012.M31, 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 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.

Imperial Muster at Beta-Garmon (012-013.M31) - For reasons only understood later in the war, the Ruinstorm that had been invoked by Lorgar, primarch of the Word Bearers, several standard years earlier during the Battle of Calth, began to abate across vast swathes of the galaxy. Loyalist high commanders were able to utilise the potent astropathic relay at Beta-Garmon to contact and recall formerly lost or stranded forces from across the war-torn reaches of the northern Imperium. The Imperial Muster at Beta-Garmon rapidly escalated into the largest gathering of Loyalist might since the early years of the war, a concentration of forces so mighty that the Traitors had to respond in kind. The resulting clash of arms would become known as the Great Slaughter, a theatre of war of such scale that it would encompass the "Titandeath" and the Sea of Fire campaigns, each major campaigns in their own right. By its end, both sides were so badly bled that their only remaining option for ultimate victory was to force a final, decisive confrontation. As history related, the final battle would be fought at Terra, but only after the weighty butcher's bill of the Great Slaughter was paid in full.
- Delta-Garmon Beachhead (317.012.M31) - With the Imperial armies and fleets spread out across the cluster, Horus unleashes the full measure of his Titan Legions against key targets. On Delta-Garmon II and Theta-Garmon V, sieges that lasted standard years were brought to a sudden and brutal tipping point. Titans of the Legio Mortis led the way against the harvest domes of Delta-Garmon II, the airless wastes growing thick with the twisted wreckage of Loyalist tanks. On Theta-Garmon V, the Legio Fureans and the Legio Vulpa maniples marched across the great Garmonite shipyards, their guns tearing open the fortress docks and leaving clouds of frozen corpses in their wake. Only the swift arrival of the Legio Astraman and Legio Solaria maniples prevented both systems falling completely into the Warmaster's hands, though both Loyalist Legios find themselves hard-pressed by the vast number of enemies arrayed against them.
- On the Edge of the Void (012-013.M31)
- Hive War on Beta-Garmon (643.012-013.M31) - While Beta-Garmon II had all but fallen to the Traitors, Beta-Garmon III remained loyal to the Imperium, though its hives were under constant assault by the Sons of Horus and Iron Warriors siege battalions, Legio Defensor Titans mustered around its hives, defending against ground assault, while other Legios patrolled the storm-covered wastes repelling battlegroups sent across the void from Beta-Garmon II. On the shores of the Chymist's Sea, Imperial Hunters Titans opposed landings by neuro-slave armies of captured Gamonite soldiers, the Loyalists forced to annihilate their former allies and drive their formations into the caustic ocean.
- The Needle Breaks (012-013.M31) - In the closing days of the Titandeath campaign, Traitor forces sought to silence the Carthega Telepathica on Beta-Garmon III. The Battle of Diviner's Needle was one of the Imperium's last attempts to halt the Warmaster Horus' inexorable advance on Terra. While the Imperial commanders were focused upon the war raging in Nyrcon City, and the unfolding fate of Caldera Primus, the Warmaster sent his veteran Titans to destroy his true objective -- the Carthega Telepathica, Beta·Garmon's link to Terra. Only a handful of damaged Loyalist Titans and battered Knight banners defended the spire, the greater measure of the Legios drawn away to defend Beta-Garmon II. Though conventional forces and fortifications covered the slopes leading up to the Needle, these were as nothing to the Legio Mortis maniples and the maniples of other Traitor Legios that followed in their wake. On the treacherous mountain top the two sides met, the boiling storm clouds rolling around the peak and concealing everything below it. The Traitors used this to their advantage, emerging from the clouds at different points to divide the already weakened Loyalist defences. To even the odds arrayed against them, the Legio Solaria, Legio Astraman, Legio Atarus and many other Loyalist Titans made their stand on the spurs of mountain ridges, where only individual god-engines could face each other at a time. All the while, the astropathic choirs of the Diviner's Needle cried out for aid, until the mountain top became flooded with psychic screaming. Some Loyalist maniples and Knight banners would find their way to the battle before the end, their craft smashing through the blockading battlefleets around Beta-Garmon III and making reckless landings on the mountain's slopes, their Titans and Knights smashing their way out of the tangled wreckage of their landing craft to join the fray. In the end, however, the defences of the Diviner's Needle were broken by the Legio Mortis and their allies, and the spire itself was brought down amid a screech of twisted metal and the piteous wails of the astropaths within.

Siege of Terra (014.M31) - During the Siege of Terra the Legio Solaria was stationed inside the walls of the Imperial Palace. They later ventured out of the Helios Gate with the Primarch Sanguinius in order to allow Imperial Army conscripts manning the outer siegeworks to flee inside. During the fighting, Legio Solaria Titans destroyed a Plague Tower of Nurgle.
- Scouring of Catenanda (ca. 014.M31)
- Battle of Edessa (014.M31)
- Battle of Elp (014.M31)
- Battle of Jantamer (014.M31)

Defence of Khania (Unknown Date.M41) - Threatened by the advance of the Tyranids, the Industrial World of Khania called for help from the wider Imperium. First to respond were the tank crews of the 66th Kataran Spears, whose homeworld -- Katara -- lay in the plotted path of the Tyranid hive fleet. They were joined by no less than two battlegroups of the Collegia Titanica, Demi-legio Syagrius of the Imperial Hunters, and Demi-legio Barzahn of the Legio Pallidus Mor. Through political connections, overall command of the Imperial forces was given to Marshal Adrel Syagrius of the Imperial Hunters rather than to Marshal Barzahn, a fact the Legio Pallidus Mor would soon come to regret. The Tyranids forced a landing on Khania, quickly consuming the biomass of the northern hemisphere, which was less populated and had therefore also been left more vulnerable. Both Demi-legios deployed side-by-side at Hive Gelon, Khania's capital city. The combined strength of the Legio Pallidus Mor and the Imperial Hunters proved too much to overcome, even though the Imperial Hunters' recklessness almost cost them dearly: the enemy horde was led by a towering Bio-Titan, a Hierophant. Having detected it first, Marshal Syagrius claimed the target as his own and led his venerable Warlord-class Titan, the Augustus Secutor, towards the enemy. Although he wounded the beast quite quickly during their duel, Syagrius underestimated his opponent's swiftness and ferocity. The great Hierophant inflicted great damage on the Augustus Secutor before the Gloria Vastator, another Legio Pallidus Mor Warlord Titan, came at it, guns blazing. The incoming fire led the Hierophant to switch its attention to the oncoming Gloria Vastator, a fatal error when Syagrius and the Augustus Secutor used its distraction to place the kill-shot. While he had survived, Marshal Syagrius never quite forgave Princeps Senioris Krezoc for interrupting his duel. Believing the Tyranids beaten, this mark on his honour wounded Syagrius' pride, a feeling completely alien to the crews of the Legio Pallidus Mor. Fortunately for Marshal Syagrius, the Tyranids returned with even greater force when a second splinter-fleet attacked Khania. This time, Marshal Syagrius chose to divide his Titans and deploy them separately: whilst the demi-Legio of the Pallidus Mor and the full strength of the Kataran Spears would stay at Hive Gelon, the Imperial Hunters -- true to their name -- would hunt down the enemy's Bio-Titans, thus allowing Syagrius to wash the slight to his honour in the enemy's blood. Marshal Barzahn tried to reason with his younger counterpart, but Syagrius was deaf to the Marshal's warnings and strategic assessments. Whilst he was tracking a large reading of biosignals on his Auspex, Syagrius led the Imperial Hunters further and further away from Hive Gelon, ignoring Marshal Barzahn's warning that he was chasing ghosts, for while the Legio Pallidus Mor was deeply embroiled in the fighting at Hive Gelon, the Imperial Hunters only encountered a few broods of Carnifexes, but no Bio-Titans. Too late did Syagrius realise that he was being baited by the Hive Mind. Far outside the range of the Titan's sensors, the Tyranids had started to dig large burrows to attack from under the defenders' very feet. The issued warning came too late for the Legio Pallidus Mor, as the first Mawlocs left their tunnels and threw themselves at the Leman Russ Tanks of the 66th Kataran Lancers. Worse yet, no less than six Bio-Titans tore themselves free of the ground. In the first solar seconds of the renewed Tyranid assault, the Legio Pallidus Mor lost two of its Warhounds as the Carnifexes rushed the smaller Titans' feet and legs and immobilised them long enough for two of the Hierophants to destroy them. The Bio-Titans soon turned their attention to the Imperial Titans, two of them closing in on Marshal Barzahn's God-engine, the Ferrum Salvator. Even as the Gloria Vastator struck its own opponent down, annihilating it with twin strikes from its Quake and Volcano Cannons, one of the Hierophants circled behind Ferrum Salvator and pierced its backplate-armour with its adamantium-hard claw. As the towering Warlord Titan crashed to the ground, the Hierophant fired its Bio-Cannons, signing the death warrant of Marshal Barzahn. While Gloria Vastator avenged the Marshal, the Imperial Hunters finally returned from their long and futile hunt, and with their help the Tyranids were routed for the second time. Khania had been saved.

Doom of Katara (Unknown Date.M41) - With the war on Khania resolved, tension flared between the Imperial Hunters and the Legio Pallidus Mor, as Princeps Senioris Krezoc of the Pallidus Mors proclaimed that Sygarius' lack of foresight had led to the death of her commanding officer. Both Legios would have happily departed Khania separately if news had not reached them that the homeworld of the Kataran Spears in the neighboring Sevasmos System was being overrun by Chaos Cultists. The urgent message from Katara also told of a great force of enemy Titans having landed near Katara's capital city of Creontiades. As this aggression could not be allowed to stand, the Imperial Hunters and the Legio Pallidus Mors boarded their Titan-barques and set course for Katara. With no one to challenge his rank, Marshal Syagrius took command of the operation. Again, Syagrius chose to separate his forces and first secure Katara's two remaining main cities, deploying the demi-Legio of the Pallidus Mor at Deicoon, whilst the Imperial Hunters landed at Therimachus. The still unidentified enemy had remained at Creontiades and the Imperial landing went unopposed. Considering her orders gave her sufficient leeway to do so, Princeps Senioris Krezoc took her demi-Legio and the 66th Kataran Spears to the Kazani Bridge, the sole link between Creontiades and the mainland. By then, the enemy was on the move and both Titan-formations met on the Kazani Bridge. The identity of their opponents was quickly confirmed as belonging to the Traitor Titan Legion of the Iron Skulls, with whom the Legio Pallidus Mor had clashed repeatedly in the past. With the bridge acting as a funnel, the Iron Skulls were incapable of bringing their superior numbers -- at least a full Titan Legion -- to bear. The Battle of the Kazani Bridge concluded with the Legio Pallidus Mor having claimed first blood and destroying the bridge, thus trapping the Iron Skulls and their Chaos Cultists in Creontiades. Yet that was not the end of the campaign. Through blasphemous sorcery, the Archenemy rebuilt the Kazani Bridge and crossed it unopposed, the Legio Pallidus Mor detachment being itself trapped in Deicoon by a surprise attack of the Khorne-worshipping cultists who had wormed their way into the lower levels of Deicoon. The main strength of the Iron Skulls marched on Therimachus. With the city itself untenable, Marshal Syagrius chose to meet the enemy in the hills before the last free city of Katara, his Titans acting as a mobile rampart against the Iron Skulls' advance. Shortly before battle was joined, a priority vox-cast reached the Marshal from Deicoon: the attack on the city had been blunted and what remained of the Pallidus Mor were ready to march. Knowing full well that these reinforcements would never arrive in time, Marshal Syagrius ordered the Pallidus Mor to avenge their death and retake Therimachus whilst the doomed Imperial Hunters exacted a heavy toll on the enemy. Marshal Syagrius was killed on the very first solar day of the Battle of Therimachus, but several Titans of his demi-Legio survived the three horrible days before the Legio Pallidus Mor had crossed the continent and joined the fray. Though both demi-Legions were virtually annihilated, the Iron Skulls were vanquished and their plans for Katara thwarted. Unfortunately, due to the incompetence of its leaders and the level of corruption discovered, Katara was transformed into a Penal World, while the Kataran Spears were disbanded and the survivors confined to forced labour camps by the Inquisition.

Legion Combat Doctrine[]

The tactics of the Legio Solaria favour hunting packs and swift-moving warfare, with many of the Legio's maniples made up of Reaver and Warhound Titans. The role of Warlords within the Imperial Hunters is often that of an anvil upon which the enemies of the Legion are smashed by the hammer of its lighter Titans.

A favoured trick of the Legio Solaria was to use Knights and Warhounds to lure enemies into the guns of its larger Titans, enemies seeking easy kills realising too late that they opened themselves up to annihilation.

Legio Solaria Warhound wolf packs can bring down even the largest prey. As a result, they often field larger numbers of Warhounds and are much better versed in coordinating their actions.

The Imperial Hunters are also famed for their skills at obfuscation on the battlefield. Often, smaller Titans will hide in the energy shadows of their larger sisters, shifting position unseen by the enemy.

Legion Specific Wargear[]

Fortis Motivators - Warhound Titans used by the Legio Solaria are some of the most formidable of all the Titan Legions. Speed and mobility are especially coveted traits by the Tigrus faction of the Mechanicus, and their Titans are modified with many redundancies and reinforcements to keep them moving.
Cameleoline Shrouding - During the Horus Heresy, the tech-priests of Tigrus unearthed many ancient and forbidden technologies in their efforts to aid the armies of the Emperor. Among these were the cameleoline shrouds, layers of light-refractive cloth that could be stretched across the armour plates of a Battle Titan. While they were never fully implemented, many princeps used these shrouds to great effect in some of the pivotal battles of the Horus Heresy.

Legion Fleet[]

Currus Venatores — A mass conveyor transport vessel that carries the Legion's Titans between worlds.
Tantamon — A Titan-conveying transport active during the Horus Heresy.

Notable Titans[]

Heresy Era Titans[]

Luxor Invictoria (Warlord-class Titan) - The Luxor Invictoria was the personal god-engine of Mohana Mankata Vi, the Great Mother of the Legio Solaria. During the Battle of Molech, Mohana Mankata Vi perished and the Luxor Invictoria was badly damaged, but was later repaired and took part in the Siege of Terra as the god-engine of the new Great Mother, Esha Ani Mohana Vi.

Adamantine Heart (Warlord-class Titan) - The Titan of Princeps Gehana Amana, 1st Maniple. The Adamantine Heart was destroyed during the Titandeath.

Astra Venator (Warlord-class Titan) - The Titan of the 1st Maniple. The Astra Venator was destroyed during the Battle of Molech.

Carnificor Noctis (Warlord-class Titan) - The tactics of the Legio Solaria favour hunting packs and swift-moving warfare, with many of the Legio's maniples made up of Reaver and Warhound Titans. The role of Warlords within the Imperial Hunters, like the Carnifactor Noctis displayed above, is often that of an anvil upon which the enemies of the Legio are smashed by the hammer of its lighter Titans. A favoured trick of the Legio Solaris was to use Knights and Warhounds to lure enemies into the guns of its larger Titans, enemies seeking easy kills realising too late that they had opened themselves up to annhilation.

Pilum Aurae (Warlord-class Titan) - The Titan of Princeps Gophan Niri. The Pilum Aurae took time for Legio Solaria during the clash with Traitor Fasadian Heavy Infantry on Beta-Garmon III, sacrificing itself.

Sagitta Auri (Warlord-class Titan) - The Titan of Princeps Catarin Mej, 1st Maniple.

Arcadian Might (Reaver-class Titan) - The Titan of Princeps Majoris Kana Gallia, 6th Maniple.

Broad Spear (Reaver-class Titan) - The Titan of Princeps Majoris Kansa Rit, 10th Maniple.

Domine Ex Venari (Reaver-class Titan) - The Titan of Princeps Majoris Esha Ani Mohana, 2nd Maniple.

Fugor Ultrox (Reaver-class Titan) - The history of a Titan is a much lauded thing, its every deed is remembered within its command throne and recorded upon its war banners. The fine script upon the Fugor Utroxs banner depicted above lists the names of allies fallen and enemies vanquished, each one an honour earned in the fires of war. Given the fury of warfare that Titans are subjected to, banners seldom survive engagements intact, and before each battle are then made anew, mono-task servitors recreating the long lists of names from the Legio's roll of honours.

Odercarium (Reaver-class Titan) - The Titan of Princeps Majoris Akali Netra, 3rd Maniple. The Odercarium was destroyed by Traitor Fasadian Heavy Infantry on Beta-Garmon III.

Steel Huntress (Reaver-class Titan) - The Titan of Princeps Majoris Durana Fahl, 4th Maniple. The Steel Huntress was destroyed during the defence of Carthega Telepahtica on Beta-Garmon III.

Virtue of War (Reaver-class Titan)

Bestia Est (Warhound-class Titan) - The Bestia Est was a Titan of the 15th Maniple and the first command of Princeps Esha Ani Mohana. It took part in the conflict with the Legio Vulpa during the Imperial Compliance of Biphex in 987.M30.

Cursor Ferro (Warhound-class Titan) - The Titan of Princeps Jehani Jehan, 2nd Maniple. The Cursor Ferro was destroyed during the defence of Carthega Telepahtica on Beta-Garmon III.

Gonfalon (Warhound-class Titan) - A Titan of the 15th Maniple.

Howl of Fire (Warhound-class Titan) - A Titan of the 3rd Maniple. The Howl of Fire was destroyed by Legio Vulpa Titans during the battle for Theta-Garmon V.

Os Rubrum (Warhound-class Titan) - Titan of Princeps Abhani Lus Mohana, 2nd Maniple.

Procul Videns (Warhound-class Titan) - Titan of Princeps Toza Mindev, 2nd Maniple.

Velox Canis (Warhound-class Titan) - Titan of Princeps Soranti Daha, 2nd Maniple. The Velox Canis was destroyed during the defence of Carthega Telepahtica on Beta-Garmon III.
Vestigor Inimicus (Warhound-class Titan)

Post-Heresy Era Titans[]

Augustus Secutor - The Augustus Secutor was the personal god-engine of Marshal Adrel Syagrius, the commander of the demi-legio of the Imperial Hunters sent to defend the world of Khania. To better suit the bellicose temper of its princeps, the venerable Warlord-class Titan was equipped with a powerful Sunfury Pattern Plasma Annihilator. Although extremely powerful, the Sunfury's discharge notoriously put a Titan's Plasma Reactor under great stress, slowing it down considerably once it had fired. On Khania, the Augustus Secutor was saved in extremis from a Tyranid Hierophant by the Gloria Vastator, a God-engine of the Legio Pallidus Mor. The Augustus Secutor later fell on Katara during the Battle of Hive Therimachus, where it was destroyed when two Banelord-class Titans engaged it in close combat.

Aurea Sagittaris - The Aurea Sagitaris was a Warlord-class Titan of the Imperial Hunters that fought in the defence of Hive Gelon. It was the sole casualty the Imperial Hunters suffered at the hands of the Tyranids on Khania, a loss for which the Imperial Hunters and especially Marshal Syagrius blamed the incompetence of the Legio Pallidus Mor.

Eximius Glaudio - The great Warlord-class Titan Eximius Glaudio was part of the demi-Legio led by Marshal Adrel Syagrius. The Eximius Glaudio was one of three Titans equipped with the feared Sunfury Pattern Plasma Annihilator which proved extremely powerful against the Tyranids. Sadly, the Eximius Glaudio was lost on Katara, destroyed by the Traitors of the Iron Skulls.

Magnificum Virum - A towering Warlord-class Titan of the Imperial Hunters, the Magnificum Virum was lost in combat against the Iron Skulls at the Battle of Hive Therimachus.

Primum Victor - The Primum Victor, a Warlord-class Titan, was the personal mount of Princeps Messina Lukretus, close friend of Marshal Adrel Syagrius under whom she served during the campaigns on Khania and Katara. The Primum Victor was the third Warlord equipped with a Sunfury Pattern Plasma Annihilator. The combined barrage of the Primum Victor, Augustus Secutor and Eximius Glaudio was capable of wiping clear an entire battlefield of enemy presence. Like the other Warlords of Demi-legio Syagrius, the Primus Victor was destroyed by the corrupted god-engines of the Iron Skulls during the Battle of Hive Therimachus.

Aurea Exterminatore - A Reaver-class Battle Titan of the Imperial Hunters that was part of Marshal Syragius' forces on Khania and Katara. Reported as destroyed in the Battle of Hive Therimachus.

Nobilis Arma - The Nobilis Arma was a Reaver-class Battle Titan of the Imperial Hunters. During the war on Khania against the Tyranids, the Nobilis Arma was part of Battle Maniple Aurea Sagittaris, but with the loss of its lead war engine, the Nobilis Arma was temporary reassigned to serve alongide the Legio Pallidus Mors on Katara. During the march on the Kazani Bridge, Nobilis Arma reported the Legio Pallidus Mor 's unsanctioned movement against the enemy but was powerless to stop it. As for the Legio Pallidus Mor Titans, the Nobilis Arma was captured by the Chaos Cultists at Deicoon but was able to fight its way free once its crew had been rescued. The Nobilis Arma survived the punishing Klivanos Crossing and even the terrible Battle of Hive Therimachus, which left her the uncontested leader of what remained of Demi-legio Syagrius.

Canis Imperio - A Warhound-class Scout Titan of the Imperial Hunters which was part of Demi-legio Syagrius, the Canis Imperio fought valiantly on Khania and was also part of the battlegroup deployed to Katara. As the Legio Pallidus Mors had suffered greatly on Khania, the Canis Imperio was attached to that Legio before the campaign on Katara. It survived both the heavy fighting at Deicoon and the horrific march through the burning Promethium fields of the Klivanos Plains before being destroyed in the great Battle of Hive Therimachus.

Nobilis Canem - The Nobilis Canem was a Warhound-class Titan assigned to demi-Legio Syagrius. This Titan was destroyed on Katara.

Sacra Canis - Like the Canis Imperio, the Sacra Canis was a Warhound-class Scout Titan that was temporarily assigned to the severely depleted Legio Pallidus Mor demi-legio under the command of Princeps Senioris Krezoc. The Sacra Canis is one of the few survivors of the terrible Battle of Hive Therimachus.

Triumphum Canes - The Triumphum Canes was a Warhound-class Titan which was part of the Augustus Secutor's maniple. At the Battle of Hive Therimachus, Triumphum Canes helped Augustus Secutor in defeating an enemy Banelord-class Chaos Titan, but strayed too close to it. The stricken Banelord was able to grab the Triumphum Canes with its Combat Claw and ripped off the Warhound 's head before tossing Triumphum Canes' body around like a ragdoll.

Notable Personnel[]

Heresy Era Personnel[]

Domina Princeps Mohana Mankata VI — Known to her subordinates as "Great Mother," Mankata was the domina princeps of the Legion during the Horus Heresy and led the Legion at the Battle of Beta-Garmon. Born on the Knight World of Procon, Mohana was denied the right to pilot a Knight in House Procon Vi due to her gender. However when the Great Crusade arrived at Procon, a horseback-riding contest was held for the visiting Imperial delegation. Defying her father's wishes, Mohana appeared at the contest on horseback and won the contest, impressing the Mechanicum delegates. Though she was exiled for the act, she managed to secure Mechanicum support and became the founding member of a new Titan Legion, the Legio Solaria. Serving as the princeps of the Warlord Titan Luxor Invictoria, Mankata transformed the Legio Solaria into an all-female Titan force which paid tribute to the Procon goddess of the hunt called Pahkmetris. Any males who were recruited were trained as Tech-priests or ultimately converted into servitors. The Legion served well throughout the Great Crusade, becoming known for its ambushes and hit-and-run tactics. During the Schism of Mars Mankata remained loyal to the Imperium but by the end of the Heresy had grown so old that she could no longer survive outside of a life support capsule kept aboard the Luxor Invictoria. With little more than an estimated few solar weeks left to live by the time of the Battle of Beta-Garmon, she commanded the Legio Solaria during that conflict. In combat on Beta-Garmon II, the Luxor Invictoria was badly damaged by the debris shower caused by the destruction of an orbiting starfort. Mankata was recovered from the wreckage but died shortly after surrounded by the women of the Legion who served as her surrogate daughters.

Princeps Majoris Esha Ani Mohana — Mohana was Mantaka's second in command of the Legion. She commanded the Reaver Titan Domine Ex Venari. A devout underling of the Legio Solaria's "Great Mother" and Domina Princeps Mohana Mankata VI, Esha nonetheless became romantically involved with the Legio Vulpa Princeps Terent Harrtek during the Great Crusade. Esha became pregnant, but later became disgusted with Haartek and the Legio Vulpa after they killed large numbers of civilians during an Imperial Compliance action on the world of Dendrictia. Esha gave birth to a daughter she named Abhani Lus Mohana shortly after, but lied to Harrtek and told him that she had given birth to a son who according to the traditions of the Legio Solaria was trained as a Tech-priest instead of serving as a member of a Titan crew. After the start of the Horus Heresy, Esha commanded a Titan maniple during the Battle of Beta-Garmon. On Beta-Garmon III she encountered Harrtek and his Warlord Titan Nuntio Dolores, hideously transformed into a Chaos Titan due to daemonic Warp corruption. Esha engaged in a desperate battle with Harrtek, and would have been slain had her daughter, now the princeps of the Reaver Titan Cursor Ferro, not slammed into the Nuntio Dolores, sending them both over a cliff. Esha was nearly killed in the slaughter of Loyalist forces on Beta-Garmon III, narrowly escaping the Domine Ex Venari via escape pod. Wounded, while in her shattered pod she saw the form of Horus inspecting the battlefield in the aftermath of the Traitor victory. She was later recovered by fleeing Loyalist forces and returned to the Legio Solaria. Having seen Horus collapse during his inspection due to the wounds he had sustained in an earlier campaign on Molech, Esha proclaimed with joy that the Warmaster had fallen. During the Siege of Terra Esha relayed what she had seen to the Loyalist Fabricator-General Zagreus Kane of the nascent Adeptus Mechanicus who in turn informed the Primarch Sanguinius.

Princeps Soranti Daha

Princeps Jehani Jehan

Princeps Toza Mindev

Princeps Majoris Durana Fahl

Princeps Majoris Akali Netra

Princeps Majoris Kana Gallia

Princeps Majoris Kansa Rit

Moderatus Bellatus Fenina Bol — Moderatus of the Reaver Titan Domine Ex Venari.

Moderatus Bellatus Odani Kehan — Moderatus of the Reaver Titan Domine Ex Venari.

Moderatus Bellatus Nepha Nen — Moderatus of the Reaver Titan Domine Ex Venari.

Moderatus Primus Yeha Yeha — Moderatus of the Reaver Titan Domine Ex Venari.

Moderatus Steersman Jephenir Jehan — Moderati of the Reaver Titan Domine Ex Venari.

Moderatus Odani Kehan — Moderati of the Reaver Titan Domine Ex Venari.

Mal-4 Chrysophane — The Vox Omni Machina (Chief Tech-priest of the Legion).

Goten Mu Kassanius — Magos Principa Militaris (Chief Mechanicum military Tech-priest for the Legion).

Post-Heresy Personnel[]

Arel Syagrius (KIA) - A scion of the noble Syagrius family whose members have served within the Imperial Hunters for many standard millennia, Marshal Arel Syagrius was the commanding officer of the Imperium's forces on Khania and Katara. Arel Syagrius was one of the youngest princeps to attain the rank of Marshal in the history of the Imperial Hunters. His features have been described as aquiline, which is no surprise, considering the small fortune he invested in rejuvenat treatments which kept him in prime condition. He chose to bear a single scar as a reminder of his many battlefield wounds, a thin white line on his forehead he wore with as much pride as the greatest medal. Arel Syagrius was the very model of an Imperial Hunters' princeps: fair, noble, courageous and even reckless in battle. As an aristocrat himself, he was ill at ease when someone dared to question his decisions, a fact that led to great tensions between his own Demi-legio and that of the Pallidus Mor he was supposed to cooperate with. Marshal Syagrius typically led from the front, frequently challenging enemy opponents into duels where his personal machine, the Warlord-class Titan Augustus Secutor, could blast the enemy at point-blank range with its Sunfury Pattern Plasma Annihilator. Despite the supreme confidence he had in his own skills as a princeps and a commander, during his last days Marshal Arel Syagrius was plagued with self-doubt. The enemy he was fighting against had outmaneuvered him at every turn, making him regret not having listened to his allies' advice for caution. Arel Syagrius died on Katara during the great Battle of Hive Therimachus, alongside most of the demi-Legio he had led in a suicidal charge against the Iron Skulls.

Messina Lucretus (KIA) - Princeps of the Warlord-class Titan Primum Victor. Killed during the Battle of Hive Therimachus.

Spinther (KIA) - Princeps of the Warlord-class Titan Magnificum Virum. Killed during the Battle of Hive Therimachus.

Carrinas - Princeps Carrinas was the princeps of the Reaver-class Titan Nobilis Arma, the highest-ranking Imperial Hunters officer still alive at the end of the campaign on Katara. Though initially a fervent supporter of Marshal Syagrius, Princeps Carrinas was deeply impressed with the determination and tenacity he had witnessed during his time with the Legio Pallidus Mor.

Cavellus (KIA) - Princeps of the Warhound Titan Triumphum Canes. Killed during the Battle of Hive Therimachus.

Moderatus Majoris Rekorus — Moderatus of Warlord Titan Augustus Secutornowiki></nowiki>'s Sunfury Pattern Plasma Annihilator.

Moderatus Majoris Trovalis — Moderatus of Augustus Secutor's Lascannon.

Moderatus Velor Balventius

Magos Tsenzhor — Tech-priest operator of the Augustus Secutor's auspex suite.

Magos Prendivian — Tech-priest operator of the Augustus Secutor's Void Shields.

Legion Allies[]

Vassal Knight Houses[]

House Procon Vi

Knight Houses[]

House Cadmus
House Hyperion
House Konor
House Megron
House Vyronii

Space Marines[]

Legion Strength[]

Numerous descriptions of the Legio Solaria's tactical strength make note of the increased number of Warhound-class Scout Titans within its ranks, which far outnumbered that of any other Titan class.

Such instances were rare amongst Titan Legions and a census of the Legio Solaria's strength prior to its deployment to the Beta-Garmon cluster recorded a total of 104 god-engines of which 61 were Warhound class, marking it as a Secundus-grade Legio.

It should be noted that the strength mustered in the Beta-Garmon System was not the sole battlegroup of the Legio Solaria and several other Imperial Hunters battlegroups, of considerably smaller size, were unable to join up with the principal strength of the Titan Legion due to the effects of the Ruinstorm.

The Legio Solaris also held close bonds with the Knight house of Procon Vi, which hailed from the same world as the Great Mother. Over two dozen household banners were assembled alongside the Legio Solaria at the Beta-Garmon cluster, enhancing the Titan Legion's strength and tactical flexibility.

Legion Appearance[]

Legion Colours[]

The colours of the Imperial Hunters are pale mottled green, white and red.

Legion Badge[]

Imperial Hunters Livery Shields — Example *Legio Solaria* iconography

The Legion badge is a winged claw, as depicted upon their banners and armoured Titan hulls, which tells a tale of oaths and allegiances between the Forge World of Tigrus and the Imperium.

The claw is adapted from the holy symbol of Pahkmetris, the huntress goddess of Procon, sister world of Tigrus, and from whom the Imperial Hunters draw their informal name.

Such pagan superstitions are seldom tolerated within the Imperium, however, and so when the allegiance between the Imperial Hunters and the Emperor was made, the wings of the Aquila were added to show the bonds between them.

Below the icon of the Legio, campaign honours and oaths of alliance are often shown, such as a star map depicting the warzones fought in by an individual Titan. Below this is the signum nobilis, or symbol of rank, that records the Titan's place within its maniple.

Sources[]

Adeptus Titanicus - The Horus Heresy: Titandeath (Specialty Game), pp. 14-17, 35-39, 91-95
Adeptus Titanicus - The Horus Heresy: Rulebook (Specialty Game), pg. 14
Space Marine (2nd Edition), "Combat Phase," pg. 45
The Horus Heresy - Book Nine: Crusade (Forge World Series), "When Dreams Become Nightmares," pg. 46
Servants of the Machine-God (Anthology), "Gates of the Devourer" by David Annandale
The Lost and the Damned (Novel) by Guy Haley, Chs. 8, 29
White Dwarf 30 (February 2019), "Vassal Knight Houses," pp. 128-133
White Dwarf 109 (UK), "Adeptus Titanicus", pp. 14-15
White Dwarf 111 (UK), "'Eavy Metal", pp. 77-78
Gates of the Devourer (Short Story) by David Annendale
Warlord - Fury of the God-Machine (Novel) by David Annendale
Mortis (Novella) by John French, Ch. 7
Titandeath (Novel) by Guy Haley, Chs. 1-3, 10, 15, 29-32
Games Workshop Online Store - Legio Solaria Transfer Sheets
Warhammer Community - The Horus Heresy Weekender 2019 Live Blog (02 Feb 2019)
Warhammer Community - Titandeath: The Legions of the War for Beta-Garmon (18 Jan 2019)