Starting to write

Hi

Bjørnar, to the left, trying to cheer
me  up after I've seen his glorious
ultramarines

I've changed name since last time, but I guess you already discovered that. This time I'll talk a bit about how I started to write the fluff for my version of the missing second legion.

As I said last time, I had several other attempts at writing the background for my legion. First I sent them to my pals, who gave me some tips, and then I posted it on the heresy forums.

Hobby tip: Make an account on http://heresy30k.invisionzone.com/, people there are very helpful and inspiring. Most of the painted armies they have posted, make mine look like trash.

Especially Uberlord Gendo helped me establish the second legion as a Mesopotamian-themed army. This reception was what made me want to write more, but first I had to begin anew. 

Hobby tip: Just write! The only way to gather your thoughts and ideas into sensible structures is through writing. Listen to inspiring music and write!

This little guy is the actual author behind the Sisters of Battle.
Do like him. Have an inspiring statue or something nearby.

Now, listen to this, while you read the rest of the text. 

The Taurii

The story of the second legion starts during the unification wars on Terra. Most of the legionnaires were recruited from the Achaemenid Empire and the tribes of Gyptus. They quickly adopted the Achaemenid way of fighting, which relied on large amounts of skirmishing bikes and jetbikes, screening an armoured spearhead.

Taurii sergeant
Post-reuinon with Apis

Legio 2 quickly were given the name Taurii, from the strength of their armoured assault, but also because of a rare, genetic flaw, which made some legionnaires grow horns. The name was used to describe their martial strength, but also their stubborn, almost bull-headed behaviour in battle, and their shameful mutation.

It is difficult to say if it was the mutation or their conduct which made them outsiders amongst the legions; perhaps both. After the unification of Terra, few legions had close ties to the second, except from the Blood Angels and the Vlka Fenryka, which had their own flaw, although they never admitted it at the time. Those of the second with the mutation began filing down their horns, both for practical purposes, but also for hiding their shameful flaw.

During the first years of the Great Crusade, the Taurii were sent to subdue the Amorite Federation, a conglomerate of merchant republics. We can see the early military doctrine of the second during the battle of Kesh in this conflict. The Amorite Federation’s seats of power were concentrated in huge cities in vast deserts and plains, and the Taurii understood that a drawn out siege of these cities would be far too costly. Therefore, Ashur Tiglatus, their designated commander at the time, ordered the light cavalry of the legion to harass and goad the wealthy merchants out of their ivory towers.

The rest of the legion were either waiting under the sand dunes, or in orbit, where they could strike when needed. Weeks went by, and the Amorites became annoyed with the constant attacks by jetbikes, landspeeders and bikes. The legion refused the spoiled nobility their precious sleep, and since the Amorite scouts (which the legion had let through the blockade on purpose) did not find any large force of astartes, the merchants struck.

The great gates of the cities of the Amorite Federation opened, and legions of disciplined mercenaries with gaudy armour marched out into the plains. Their speeders and bikes engaged with the light cavalry of the Taurii, and seemed to drive them into the desert, where the Amorite scouts had located the legion scout camps. As the Amorite mercenaries pushed into the desert, the legion cavalry engaged them constantly, keeping them always on guard.

The scorching sun took its toll, and the mercenaries were thirsty and tired. In the oasis, called Kesh, the armies of the different Amorite cities joined forces. By then, their gallantry had worn off. In the distance, they suddenly heard soft thumps, heralding the coming of artillery bombardment. All hell was upon the mercenaries. The shells from the hidden legion artillery tore great, bloody holes in the Amorite ranks. Their transports and tanks were in disarray, as the incoming rounds seemed to come from all around them.

Then, legion Spartans and Land Raiders burst from the sand dunes. They aimed for the weak points in the huge enemy formation, and cut deep into the Amorite host. The transports disgorged legionnaires armed for close combat, if they did not cut through the entire formation. This part of the strategy later became known as “the thrust of the spear.” In the field of Kesh, the moral of the Amorites was already at breaking point when the heavy cavalry of the Taurii attacked. Met with the full might of an imperial legion, their spirit was shattered. With the destruction of their mercenary armies, the Amorite Federation surrendered to Ashur Tiglatus, praetor of Legio II Taurii.

The Taurii were often cruel in victory.

PS: I have no idea why the font suddenly changed. Cursed machine spirit! I must have forgotten to apply the correct ointment.