Valus The Siege Smith
Appearance: Valus has been entombed inside his armor which is a drastically modified suit of Terminator armor with many weapons and servo arms attached to it. The armor is unadorned and largely unpainted except for the legion sigils and the legion colors painted onto the pauldrons. Before he entombed himself into his armor he was much like the other Primarchs, giants among men and carrying a charisma of command. Valus was no exception being about the same height of his brothers but noticeably more broad and muscled. What is more notable is the many cybernetic cables and wires tracing under his flesh, While he is certainly more human than the Techpriests most still believe that he is a leader specific for the Mechanicus though there is very little friendship between the Primarch and the Techpriests of Mars.
Psyker Status: Iota- His powers are small but highly focused, his power revolves entirely around technology granting him deep and intrinsic understanding of almost any technology he obtains. However his power has limits, some ancient Dark Age of Technology relics are beyond his understanding and certain xenos artifacts resist his perception.
Ideology:Valus is a dutiful soldier, crushing the enemies of the Imperium but he has always been resentful of his Father's decree halting his research into Automated combat machines. While he has not exactly stopped his research he has been put in his place by the Emperor and acts as the proper soldier. His goals are not even known to himself really, he is just going through the motions of the great crusade waiting for something to change or waiting for some purpose to arise.
Wargear:
Invincitus Terminator armor: The Invincitus armor is a suit of armor forged by Valus himself integrating dark age of technology relics into the armor to make it nearly unstoppable as the armor has an Ion force shield like that of the Knight titans. Even before the armor plating gets struck he can shrug off apocalyptic firepower.
Iron-Hail: Customized twinlinked Heavy Bolter used as a gauntlet mounted weapon more than able to shred infantry and light vehicles in moments.
Hell-Hammer: The hell hammer is a modified heavy plasma cannon fueled by the relics in the Invincitus. The cannon is mounted on his shoulder as a devastating mortar he can fire into the distance to blast holes in the enemies formations. However it can also be shifted to fire forwards and is more than capable of tearing through a super-heavy tank in mere shot or two.
The Claw of Valus: the Claw is more or less a dreadnought fist attached to his arm with all the force it can generate, crushing heavy infantry in its grasp or smashing a tank into the ground.
Life and Times:Valus fell to the world of Hellheim, a desolate and blasted world torn by civil war between mighty Forge complexes run by a Mechanicus remnant and towering hive cities. Valus was taken in by the Mechanicus and taught Enginseeing becoming, his understanding grew more quickly than any other pupil of the Mechanicus had ever seen but Valus was not drawn to the religious nature of the tech-priests. He began asking questions bout machine intelligence and trying to understand things that the Tech-priests knew was forbidden. The resistance shown to Valus made his learning more difficult but not impossible it took many years extracting tidbits of knowledge near what he was really searching for to glean the answers he wanted. He was still a child to the tech-priests however and was not allowed to do more than carry oil, ask questions and learn the rites of the machine god.
As Valus turned 12 and the Tech-priests could no longer give any real barrier to him, because he knew the rites better than most of his teachers. He attained the full rights of an Enginseer along with several machinery implants to assist him in his duties. This was mostly so he could converse in binary and give him a pair of servo-arms to assist him in his work. Along with his rank however was a laboratory where Valus could conduct his research however he wished so long as he did not delve into the forbidden arts of artificial intelligence or any other Heretek exploration. Valus always skirted the edge of the law gleaning understanding from related but not directly forbidden practices. This changed however after a particularly devastating attack from a nearby hive city crippling many manufactorums in the forge revealing a hidden vault deep within the heart of the forge. Valus climbing down searching for wounded and tech he could sabotage from his rival enginseers found an ancient and broken machine having been slain and locked away for many thousands of years.
The thing he found was a Man of Iron, it was destroyed but it was entombed here very carefully as if every scrap, wire, and rivet was accounted for. Valus took the dead thing and every one of its pieces back to his lab and hid it away. When the forge was working at acceptable efficiency again Valus returned to his studies and to the shattered Man of Iron machine. He quickly understood many parts of it, such as how the joints and skeleton worked or the alloys in the armor plating. However its mind was a mystery to him, He spent months toiling away trying to understand how the thing could think and act. When he found the pieces of machinery that must have been its mind. The technology resisted his best efforts to understand how it worked but it did give him hints. Once he believed there was little he could further learn from the dead machine he decided he had to build his own. Still in secret he built a robot with some level of intelligence of its own, it wasn't even as intelligent as servitor only able to follow a few very simple commands such as move forward and pick up an object. Valus did refine the process until the machines, still only following simple commands could carry them out without direct inputs of individual steps in sequence.
With his machines reasonably capable Valus launched a Coup on the forge complex using his machines and a few Enginseers that he had recruited in his time. The forge's servitors and Skitarii where vastly more capable and deadly than the machines Valus made, but he could make them infinitely. Thousands marched from his personal manufactorum at a time taking attritional warfare to its logical conclusion as Valus could make the machines faster than the Skitarii could kill them. Once the Magnos fell and the Forge was under Valus he repurposed every Manufactorum complex into making his simple machines. In mere days hundreds of thousands of them stalked around the forge complex as Valus and his Hereteks refined the machines further, giving them weapons better than simple servo arms to crush and tear. Even a simple Las-gun and blade made each machine a terrible foe when they came in their millions. He launched an all out war on every Hive and Forge around the one he had taken. The losses among his robots was... irrelevant, each could be dragged back to the forge and melted down into ingots ready for the factory lines making thousands of the machines a day. The Hives nor the Forges could stand in his way, Even great Titan god machines could not halt the advance of Valus' machines. They would slaughter the Skitarii protecting the titans and climb into the machine itself killing the crew and shattering components until the Titan fell silent. Valus stayed in his Forge trying to perfect his machines as they did not really think for themselves merely reacted very cleverly to a wide array of inputs but they could easily be out smarted.
Before Valus could find the answers in his quest The Great Crusade fell upon Helheim. The Emperor fearing he had found an enclave of the Men of Iron launched an immediate invasion with Space Marine Legions and Custodes to halt the Men of Iron before they could spread across the galaxy once again. The losses were considerable, Even among the Legions and Custodes. The Emperor knew swiftly that they were not in fact Men of Iron merely an imitation but it still was not a good omen. The Emperor leading Space Marine Legions descended on the Forge where Valus toiled. Valus however did not even know of the invasion as his armies had been dealing with advancing and replenishing losses on thier own for the past year. As the Emperor shattered his way through uncountable hordes of robots he despaired, part of him knew that one of his sons was behind this and he was so close to bringing about another wave of the deadly machines. Even as the Emperor strode into the workshop Valus had been using he wept, dreading that he may have to truly destroy one of his sons and snuff him from the annals of history. Valus was getting so close to actually understanding the broken relic he had found, he was sure and his work so utterly engrossed him that he did not even notice the Emperor walk into the room.
The Man of Iron twitched, Valus smiled to himself, "Yes, that's it! nearly there my friend.." he said before the Emperor sighed looking at is own Son twisted by the Mechanicus implants and so obsessed with something forbidden and dangerous as the Men of Iron. The Emperor inhaled to speak when there was a spark and another twitch from the machine laying on the table followed by a deep static roar of binary from the thing. "No!" shouted the Emperor realizing the dreaded machine had awakened. The Emperor tore it to pieces with his psychic might and ordered the Astartes around him to vaporize what remained, they followed his orders shooting every bolt and wire with plasma so there was no trace save for acrid smoke of ozone and molten metal. Only then, as the machine had been torn asunder did Valus realize anyone was in the room with him. He launched himself at the Emperor in a fit of rage, grabbing and tearing with his multiple servo arms and his swinging with his enhanced strength. "YOU DESTROYED IT! MY WORK!" shouted Valus blind with fury, the Emperor dodged and parried Valus easily until the Primarch could be subdued by the Astartes that would become his own legion. "My son, what you created was one of the greatest scourge this galaxy has ever known. Come we must talk"
Other: Anything that doesn't fit into a specific section, but bare's talking about.
Knights of Iron
Legion Number: V
Legion Strength: 150,000
Homeworld: Helheim was a Hive world on the verge of being a Forge world, all that stopped the transition was the dark age of technology and a long civil war between the hive cities and their factories against the Forges run by the Forgemasters of Helheim. It is a desolate and scarred place were very little of the natural world has survived thousands of years of warfare and whole sale strip mining. Mile after mile of the planet has been turned into a toxic wasteland filled with slag heaps and foul industrial runoff, What is not wasteland is a scarred no-mans land between the hives and Forges pockmarked with shell craters and ancient ruins of long dead Titan god machines.
Favoured Legion Tactics: Unceasing siege tactics, the Knights have the numbers and material support to crush any fortress or defensive line. Their tactics are brutally simple and very much like that of the Imperial Army of trench warfare and artillery bombardment. The Knights never actually being the equal of other Astartes their tactics are more simple but no less brutal in their efficacy. Though worlds conquered by the knights are often left in ruin.
Legion Leadership: The legion is actually quite fractious, few of the knights hold deep loyalty to the legion and are more tightly bound to their company or world of origin. A dozen clans exist in the Legion each bound together for different reasons.
Sons of steel: Forge masters, the only clan truly loyal to the Primarch and legion. Every one of them are Tech marines with extensive augments such as servo arms and mechanical organs, and the only clan who can communicate in binary. The Sons of Steel are those who run the Forges on the legion Battle Barge and Forge ships
Knights Vagabond: The largest clan comprised of several companies who's worlds were taken by the knights. They are more or less the Infantry of the legion. Their loyalty is to each other and not the legion nor Primarch, but their training and loyalty to the Imperium allows them to endure their service to the legion
Vassals of Valus: A small clan who came from feudal worlds and feel loyalty to the Primarch by right of conquest and do not hate him for his success on the battlefield. The clan contains most of the Armored units and command the majority of tanks and artillery in the legion.
Iron Claws: Taken from savage worlds, these warriors are scouts and infiltrator specialists. While the clan respects the primarch for his strength and power their loyalty shifts to whichever clan pleases them at the time.
Blood Wolves: Another clan of Savages who only fight with the legion for the opportunity for bloodshed and to raze glorious fortresses with their might.
The Serpentis: The Serpentis clan are not of a singular type of world but a collection of individuals of the Medicae and Apothecarium. Their loyalty is to the legion soldiers and keeping the warriors alive but are displeased with the Primarch for his wasteful tactics getting many Knights of Iron killed.
The Crow: This clan are a tiny clan but with great power, each are psykers and fulfill the role of Libraium. They are loyal to the Primarch and Legion due to the extensive training and indoctrination they receive for being psykers.
Warlords of Cathos This clan comes from the Empire of Cathos that was subjugated by the Knights fairly early in the Crusade and had taken so many from this empire that they have become their own clan, They are widely dispersed among the legion but many of the clan are in leadership roles as they are one of the older clans, however the highest ranks are reserved for the Sons of Steel in most cases.
The Unbowed: The clan is the only clan that is openly resentful of their place in the legion, thus they are never more than standard line infantry and only fight for the legion due to their duty to the imperium rather than ties to the legion. They believe their world of Garum never surrendered to Valus and they should not be a part of his legion. This is not strictly true however, the world tried to surrender multiple times but Valus ignored the plea and continued his war well past the point of victory into cruelty and barbarism. The Emperor himself rebuked Valus for his action on the world.
The Lost Clan The Lost clan is one Rumored to have existed some time before, Some believe it used to be the Terran Astartes the comprised the legion before Valus was found but the clan has been destroyed. Rumors state that either the clan was destroyed from within in a brief and quiet civil war but others think the former Terran Astartes were sent into the most dangerous and suicidal missions until there were none left.
Notable Legion Members:
Faris Cain Captain of the 1st company, Leader of the Sons of Steel, and right hand of Valus. Faris is one of the few who are deeply loyal to the Primarch and fight for his glory. However he is privy and supportive of the dark secrets Valus works towards in creating great and powerful machines with intelligence.
Athros Kall Captain of the 3rd company, Leader of the Knights Vagabond. Athros is one of the few Knights Vagabond who has climbed the ranks of the Legion through utter perfection in duty and ability. Athros is one of the only non-Sons of Steel who is directly respected by Valus and his input is heeded if infrequently. As the leader of the largest clan he commands great respect through out the legion.
Ulor Dawn Captain of the 8th company, Warlord of Cathos. Ulor is one of the oldest Knight of Iron in the legion aside from those recruited before his empire fell, he has clawed his way up the ranks and uses his position to influence the Primarch to help protect his clan.
Vorac Jor Lord of the Apothecarium and master of the Serpentis, Vorac is often the one raising complaints at the Legion's tactics as wasteful brawls and grueling siege trying desperately to protect the legion from the uncaring Primarch.
Wulric Kvoz Captain and Forge Master of the Legion Forge Ship 'World Eater' and Son of Steel. Wulric is the Astartes who runs the immense forges on the ship that supply the legion with the bullets and armor for their bloody crusade, and every captian knows it, Wulric commands nearly as much power and respect as the Primarch himself.
Inspirations:
Assigned Armies:
1st - 15th Regiment of Rust
85th Terran Imperial Army
Legio Victorum (Titan Legion of Hellheim)
Legio Apocalypse (Titan Legion of Hellheim)
Other: The Legion's vast numbers are due to the cruelty of their recruitment. While there are many Astartes taken from their home world the majority of the Knights are not, most are boys taken from conquered worlds. After successful conquest every boy of the proper age are taken by the Knights of Iron and tested, those who fail either become Legion serfs or shunted to the Imperial army as Regiments of Rust who follow the Legion and fight as conscripts to be thrown into battle with little regard.