The Red Legion
Baal Secundus has always been a militaristic society which is why, over the years, the engineers of the Red Mountain have strived tirelessly to create the perfect soldier in the image of Sigmar. This need for a superior fighter was first brought to light at Sigmar’s death and was exacerbated by the Third Demon Surge of the year 385 in which, from the Kraken’s Strait, surged forth winged demons that easily flew over the humans’ towering defenses. What’s more, at the same time a number of citizens had been corrupted by the demons and attempted an insurrection against the ecclesiarchy. To lead their revolt they had put together a fleet of early airships to attempt to bomb key defensive points in anticipation of the arrival of their demon overlords. As the war dragged on for months, the engineers worked tirelessly bending the laws of nature and forgetting the meaning of ethics to come up with their solution.
What came of this was the Red Legion, a legion of genetically altered humans that answered directly to the ecclesiarchy. The engineers had drawn inspiration from the legions of winged Aasimars that fought back against the demon hordes during the War of the Kings. The transformation process consisted of taking the most devout and capable fighters from the ranks of the army and start to meld their bodies with technology and magic. A typical transformation would include about a dozen grafts ranging from a more efficient nervous system (an operation that took several days which most did not survive) to a stronger body (consisting of doping the volunteers as much as physically possible and then some more) to a pair of wings. As dawn broke on the first day of the year 389 a superhuman legion broke from the side of the Red Mountain and flew straight towards the demons and accompanying heretics. That day thousands died on both sides but throughout it all angelic white wings could be seen soaring from battle to battle with a ferocity that marked the surviving demons’ minds for years to come. It would soon become apparent, however, that the rushed design was not perfect. Far from it, the intense transformation endured by these soldiers and the constant mental strain of the grafts coupled with the unrivaled ferocity they lived through each day brought many to collapse mentally. Driven mad by their body modifications, some members of the Red Legion would attack anyone in sight including fellow soldiers and humans. These fallen were imprisoned when possible and kept in shackles that would break a normal man with their weight. They were kept shackled until the day it was deemed fit to release them in the middle of the enemy to let fly their rage born upon wings.
Sadly little, could be done for that first generation of soldiers to save them from their own minds. Of the 250 made in the fourth century, only one survived intact in both mind and body named Diomedes. He now rules over part of Baal Secundus hand in hand with the ecclesiarchy as the chosen champion of Sigmar. It is said that he has been able to resist the mental strain of his modifications because he had been personally chosen by Sigmar, not only for his prowess in combat but also his devotion, honor and honesty, and fused a part of his godly powers into his champion. Ever since the Third Demon Surge of 385, the process for making Red Legionnaires has gone from dangerous mutations and grafts on any superior fighter to a year long trial in the Ethereal Plane where candidates are of course tested on their physical capabilities but they are especially tested on their belief and honor system, their devotion to Sigmar and their inherent need to protect the downtrodden and uphold the rule of Law. The few that are chosen after this year-long trial ascend into becoming angels. No longer human but projections of Sigmar’s image onto a human framework bringing forth arguably the best fighters on the continent.
What came of this was the Red Legion, a legion of genetically altered humans that answered directly to the ecclesiarchy. The engineers had drawn inspiration from the legions of winged Aasimars that fought back against the demon hordes during the War of the Kings. The transformation process consisted of taking the most devout and capable fighters from the ranks of the army and start to meld their bodies with technology and magic. A typical transformation would include about a dozen grafts ranging from a more efficient nervous system (an operation that took several days which most did not survive) to a stronger body (consisting of doping the volunteers as much as physically possible and then some more) to a pair of wings. As dawn broke on the first day of the year 389 a superhuman legion broke from the side of the Red Mountain and flew straight towards the demons and accompanying heretics. That day thousands died on both sides but throughout it all angelic white wings could be seen soaring from battle to battle with a ferocity that marked the surviving demons’ minds for years to come. It would soon become apparent, however, that the rushed design was not perfect. Far from it, the intense transformation endured by these soldiers and the constant mental strain of the grafts coupled with the unrivaled ferocity they lived through each day brought many to collapse mentally. Driven mad by their body modifications, some members of the Red Legion would attack anyone in sight including fellow soldiers and humans. These fallen were imprisoned when possible and kept in shackles that would break a normal man with their weight. They were kept shackled until the day it was deemed fit to release them in the middle of the enemy to let fly their rage born upon wings.
Sadly little, could be done for that first generation of soldiers to save them from their own minds. Of the 250 made in the fourth century, only one survived intact in both mind and body named Diomedes. He now rules over part of Baal Secundus hand in hand with the ecclesiarchy as the chosen champion of Sigmar. It is said that he has been able to resist the mental strain of his modifications because he had been personally chosen by Sigmar, not only for his prowess in combat but also his devotion, honor and honesty, and fused a part of his godly powers into his champion. Ever since the Third Demon Surge of 385, the process for making Red Legionnaires has gone from dangerous mutations and grafts on any superior fighter to a year long trial in the Ethereal Plane where candidates are of course tested on their physical capabilities but they are especially tested on their belief and honor system, their devotion to Sigmar and their inherent need to protect the downtrodden and uphold the rule of Law. The few that are chosen after this year-long trial ascend into becoming angels. No longer human but projections of Sigmar’s image onto a human framework bringing forth arguably the best fighters on the continent.
Type
Special Forces
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