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 of the Iron Warriors Legion during the Great Crusade era.

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 30^th and early 31^st Millennia.

They were the keepers of bound Automata of the Legio Cybernetica, those soulless machines sworn to the Legion's service and inducted into their ranks as honourary Legionaries after solar decades of service, a practice that increased as the Horus Heresy inflicted an ever-growing death toll on many Legions' ranks.

Initiated into the rites of the Mechanicum to a lesser-degree, these Astartes 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 combat roles, these warriors were 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.

Others, most notably the Iron Hands and Salamanders, considered it an honour to serve with such unique avatars of the Machine God's craft.

Sources

• The Horus Heresy - Book Six: Retribution (Forge World Series) by Alan Bligh, pg. 232
• - Forge World - Legion Praevian