The Alefim, second legion, called the bulls of Apis, the wrath of Moloch and the Taurii

Hi, this is Olvebanipal again with some more background information on the second legion. This time we will look at the early days of the crusade, and Apis' most loyal soldiers, the Bekhrum Sharruti.

The Bull meets his father

Apis quickly accepted his new role as head of a legion of super-humans. During his years of expanding the Sargonite Empire, he had come to view himself as more than a man. He now ruled as the god-king of hundreds of thousands. His word was not only law; it was the very fabric of his subjects’ universe. The first wars of expansion were extraordinarily brutal and vicious. Entire populations were skinned, blinded, crucified or deported for resisting his laws. Word of his atrocities spread, and many cities surrendered even before he could reach their walls.

Although Apis was described as a bloody-handed tyrant, he was also praised as a warm, friendly man, and his subjects loved him. He would give distribute the spoils of war to his citizens, and walk the slums of newly conquered cities. Here he would feed the poor, and adopt many orphaned children. This made him popular amongst the common people, and secured a stable empire. The people knew that he was as caring as a father to those who followed him, but a savage, cruel master to any who opposed him.

When the primarch of the second met the Emperor, he did it as Apis-bel-nisheshu, god-king of the Sargonite Empire. The Emperor of the Imperium of Man was an inferior, not a god. But Apis could see the advanced technology and great power the Emperor wielded, and decided to join his father in the crusade. This would give an army with which to later dethrone his creator. From the moment Apis met his father, he was intent on taking his role.

How Apis saw the Emperor

It is curious that the Emperor accepted the apparent fanaticism in his second son, but as with the flaws of his other sons, who knows what plans he had for him. The Taurii, or Alefim in Sargonite, became one of the most fearsome legions in the Imperium of Man, but their loyalty to their primarch was much stronger than to that of their Emperor. The most loyal of Apis’ subjects could be found in the Bekhrum Sharruti, the hand-picked men of the king.

The Bekhrum Sharruti

Excerpt from the scriptures of Magos Historicus Hadradatus Archos

[…]To his enemies, Apis was known as Moloch, the raging, black bull of destruction, heralding the coming of the end. Only those who loved him called him by his true name. This duality in the view on the primarch of the Second, also survived through the crusade, and the enemies of the Imperium learned to fear the coming of Moloch.

It may seem strange that this towering, horned figure of terrible myth was also loved by many. The White Bull became the patron saint of the oppressed and downtrodden. He became the father of the fatherless, the protector of the weak, or so he wanted the people to believe. To his fellow primarchs, he was an enigma. One day a caring brother, the other day a tornado of hate and fury.

We have no sources other than the interviews with his surviving legionnaires. There is especially one such interview, or confession rather, that is especially intriguing: the tale of Apisreshishi, “Apis-has-lifted-my-head,” Rab-kisri of the Bekhrum Sharruti.

Source: https://images-cdn.fantasyflightgames.com/ffg_content/Dark-Heresy-2nd/core-book-previews/preview-2/DH19-art-adeptusadmin.png

Excerpt from confession of Apisreshishi of the IInd Legion

++++++Subject: Apisreshishi, former legionnaire of the second legion+++++

++++++Interviewer: [Redacted]+++++

Subject description: The legionnaire sits bound in great chains. His eyes dart nervously continuously, never resting. His long, braided, black hair is wet, and his face is streaked with sweat, in spite of the room’s low temperature.

[Redacted]: So, you have finally come to your senses? Are you ready to confess your sins, legionnaire?

[09.35 seconds pause]

Subject: I… I will tell you my story. [Subject’s eyes continue to scan the room as he talks.] I was born in the city-state of Uruk, in the Karakalla delta. I was the third son of … [subject pauses, he looks as if he tries to remember something. After 05.14 seconds, he closes his eyes, his brow furrowing.] …it does not matter…

When my father left for war, my mother tried to keep us all fed, but… it…. It was hard. Word of my father’s death… It… [The subject closes his eyes. His manacled hands reach for his face, but cannot reach it.]

I think some of my siblings died that winter. We were left on our own for most of the time, as mother was… away finding food. I think… I think we had a neighbour, who would come into our room at night… I don’t know… [The subject clenches his fists.]

[Redacted]: How old were you when your father died?

Subject: I think I was about ten summers… I… I think father gave me a wooden horse for my birthday.

[Redacted]: Was it about this time that Apis and the Sargonites conquered Uruk?

Subject: Yes… He came in the winter, outside of the war season. The streets… red…. He came as a god of fire and death… furious... without mercy…. [The subject’s eyes freeze for a fleeting moment, as if he is somewhere else.]

I could not find my mother… I.. I think… I think he came for us when we were looking for her.

[Redacted]: Who? Apis?

Subject: Yes… Or Moloch as we called him, the rampaging bull of chaos and destruction… He… He came for us though the smoke. At first he seemed a horned demon… His huge silhouette, an omen of death. [The subject’s gaze focuses on the table in front of him.] But as he came closer… we could see his eyes. He was smiling. He was smiling at us, with the kindest, warmest eyes I have ever seen. [The subject’s eyes turn to [redacted]. We knew who he was then.

[Redacted]: What do you mean? You knew he was the lord of Sargon?

Subject: [The subject’s voice is firm. His eyes are focussed and clear. He takes a deep breath.] We knew he was our only true father. He had always been our father, and now he had come for us…

Forged in the flames of war

The Bekhrum Sharruti, the handpicked men of the king, were more than mere legionnaires. When Apis conquered a city, he would put the men and women to the sword, but he would spare the children. Both the girls and boys were trained to become rulers in the new divine kingdom of Sargon. Contrary to tradition, the girls became learned scribes, priestesses and bureaucrats. The boys became soldiers, and the fiercest of them was initiated into the brotherhood of the Bekhrum Sharruti.

These orphans were sure that Apis was a god and their true father. They were his most loyal followers, and when the primarch of the Second was reunited with the Emperor, the Bekhrum were the first to receive the gene seed.

It is very important to remember that the priesthood of Mars were especially intrigued by the rediscovery of Sargon, as it was the source of an incredible potent metal. This bronze-like substance became known as Sargonium in High Gothic, and the Mechanicum soon established close relations to Apis and the Second. In the fires of the forges of Nimrod, the tech-savants of Mars forged magnificent armours and weapons for the Second legion. The Bekhrum Sharruti received the finest of these marvels.

The power armour of the Bekhrum Sharruti was incredibly strong, forged with sargonium.  Their helmets were moulded in the shape of a fierce bull, to honour their father. The Bekhrum favoured close combat, where they wielded their power glaives with terrible fury. In the trenches they formed solid phalanxes of glaives and shields and cut through the enemy with ease.

What we learn from the interview with Apisreshishi, is not only his great love for his father and god, but also the purpose of the Bekhrum. They were not the veterans or the most elite troops of Apis, but aspirants to the King’s Guard. The Bekhrum were fanatical warriors, but only some of them received the honour of donning the royal terminator armour. We can see that Apis’s heresy was apparent already from the start.

So in the same way that the Vlka Fenryka hone their youngest in the flames of combat, so did the Taurii. The lessons and indoctrination in the Bochum made some of the finest legionnaires in the Imperium of man, but this heresy was soon to be put down.

So that was it for now. Feel free to leave questions and comments below.

- Olvebanipal

The Bull of Sargon

The description for this picture was:
"King Hammurabi goes to war, his chariot drawn
by a specially toughened breed of ass."
Pic: Roger Payne

Pic: Roger Payne

This is the second post about the story of the second legion. This time I focus on the story of their primarch, Apis.

Under the command of Ashur Tiglatus, the legion grew and became an efficient machine of war. They refined the tactic of long skirmishes, combined with brutal close combat, now known as the flight of the arrow and thrust of the spear. This doctrine was efficient against arrogant and foolhardy enemies, but if the thrust of the spear was not enough to break the enemy moral, then the Taurii were locked in furious hand-to-hand, which deprived them of tactical flexibility and inflicted terrible casualties. This weakness, their new-found primarch was planning to mend.

Apis-bel-nisheshu, meaning “Apis is the lord of his people” in Sargonite, was one of the more lucky primarchs. When the powers of corruption scattered him and his brothers from their fathers embrace, he landed on the isolated world of Sargon in the Segmentum Obscuris. This planet was not a frozen wasteland, a dark, nightmarish hell or a toxic inferno. Sargon lay relatively close to the system’s sun, so its surface was arid, except for fertile river valleys and deltas. The fertile lands were controlled by quarrelling city-states, who were in constant war against nomadic desert tribes and ambitious neighbours. The name Sargon came from the name of the empire that Apis had carved himself, and even that was just a small part of the whole of the planet.

Pic: Roger Payne

Although the city-states were wealthy, their technological level was based upon the mastery of stone, iron, wood and horses. There were no lasguns, or even gunpowder. That is not to say that the Sargonites were not cultured or bad artisans. In fact, the cities of the fertile river-belts were marvels of architecture. Huge, stepped pyramids rose to the sky, and the nobility rode their chariots in wide, paved boulevards. These projects were designed by highly educated masons and built by peasants during the inundation of the river.

One of the largest buildings in a city-state was the barracks, called the Bazakhatum in Sargonite. Here lived the professional soldiers of the ba’al, the lord or king. They were a closed warrior caste, with their own families travelling beside them while on campaign. The idea was that the children would get used to army life, and the soldiers would fight to the death to protect their family in battles. Apis was found in the desert by an unknown soldier from the city-state of Sargon, and he was taught in the ways of war.

As all primarchs, Apis soon towered over his fellow Sargonites, and he made a name for himself in the wars of the ba’al. He was an idol to the people of the city, spoke of as a demi-god, and a descendant of Apis, the Sargonite god of strength and fertility. Thus he adopted the name, much to the irritation of the priesthood. After a while, Apis became a thorn I the eye of both the ba’al and the priests. Their first plan was to send him on a Uriah’s post. The plan failed, as the mighty primarch survived the suicide mission and was received in Sargon with a great triumph.

The second plan was to hire some of his fellow soldiers to murder him in the night, but the ba’al and his co-conspirators only learned that the entire army was more loyal to the champion than to their lord. Apis was shocked when he heard about the treachery of his master, but would not at first believe the story of his fellow soldiers.
But when Apis was assaulted by robed men in the street, and he found out that they were priests, he knew that he was the target of a conspiracy. He gathered his most trusted comrades, and marched on the temple of Kingu, lord of the gods. There, he slew the entire priesthood, and smashed the altar of Kingu. His men were shocked, and waited for him to be struck to the ground by the wrath of the lord of lords, but he stood in the holiest of the holies and laughed, mocking the gods.

Pic: Roger Payne

Then he rode into the palace of the ba’al. The bodyguard of the lord did not offer any resistance, and Apis found the ba’al crying in hiding in his harem. Apis grabbed him by his oiled, curled hair, and dragged him through the streets of Sargon. In the market place, he blinded the treacherous king, and broke his spine with his bare hands.

The onlookers shouted praises, and hailed Apis as their new ba’al. But that was not enough for the primarch. He was the son of the bull of heaven. He was a god, and would rule as one. Thus the age of the Sargonite Empire, began. Apis refined the army, and conquered huge swathes of land. Wherever he came, he smashed the altars and icons of the local gods. In their stead, they would build monuments to his honour.
It was during this expansion that the Legio II Taurii found their primarch.

Halleluja!

PRAISED BE!

At the Forge World Weekender this last weekend, they revealed info about the sixth book in the Horus Heresy series. As Moses from Mount Sinai, Garro from the heresy30k forum delivered the news for us. Like Aaron I had been dancing around a golden calf, the calf known as counts-as.

I was planning on writing a post on how I use to field my second legion, but the news from the Weekender made me re-evaluate my army choice. First of all, I am going to expand on my Space Wolf army, but only when the seventh book comes. NO, John the Revelator, NOT the book of the seven seals, but almost as great. Secondly, I’m going to field my Taurii using the blackshields list.

Here is the description of the blackshields, given by Garro.

They are bloody perfect for me. The second legion is more or less destroyed, a war band fighting on any side to gain favour in the eyes of their dead primarch and avenge their fallen brothers. They use whatever equipment they can find, and don’t have the means to fight a protracted galactic war anymore.

So far, I have used the rules for the Imperial Fists. This has given me the opportunity to convert Templars, or Bekhrum Sharruti, and make use of teleporters and awesome duel-mechanics. It fitted the theme I wanted, since I could use the Pride of the legion ROW and engage in furious melee. Lately though, I have felt that it’s kind of wrong to use counts-as, a golden calf if you will, an idol to fill the void of a guiding code. When asked which army I play, I would answer: “Well, it’s a homebrew second legion, but I use the rules for the Imperial Fists.” This made me feel a bit like a power gamer, since the rules of the Fists are pretty damn good.

Aaron! REPENT!

Garro didn’t shatter his rumours from the Weekender like Moses did. Arguably, he didn’t know I was playing counts-as, and I don’t think he would care. Neither is he my brother or patriarch. I threw aside the calf and have now joined the flock of the righteous. Well, I’m still not going to paint my models black, but the vague description of the Blackshields from Forge World says I don’t have to. 

REJOICE!

Here is some more information, though I guess you’ve already read it on heresy30k.

·         is a new version of the legiones astartes rule, and uses the standard legion crusade army list

·         adds +1 to the roll to see who goes first
·         are 'by the emperors/horus's command' allies to legions, and fellow warriors to non-legion army lists
·         may not take praetors, command squads, tactical squads, drop pods, dreadnought drop pods or deathstorm drop pods
·         can't use rites of war, but can use the alternative FoCs.
·         may only take a single consul of any kind
·         must have more vehicles than infantry units
may take one or none of the following collections of rules·         gain FNP(6+) but must pass a leadership test to end the movement phase further away from a visible enemy unit then they started. if test is failed they move D6" towards the closest enemy unit they can see
·         gain +1 leadership and rerolls 1s to hit while within 6" of another friendly blackshield unit, however they may not use the leadership value of other models and suffer D3 casualties if they fail a leadership test in the assault phase in addition to other effects. characters gain preferred enemy instead and can not take chaplains nor ally with other astartes
·         up to half of the  infantry units without a dedicated transport gains deep strike but suffers D3 casualties if mishaps in addition to other effects, may take additional wargear options, characters may take rad grenades, after half of the blackshield units have been killed, each turn after, each unit must pass a leadership test or be removed from play
·         may choose one of the following options but may not take allies
option 1: +1 str, +1 toughness, -1I, -1" to charge range, may not sweeping advance
option 2: +1ws, +1bs, -2ld
option 3: gains fear, fleet and rage, -1bs
option 1: +1 str, +1 toughness, -1I, -1" to charge range, may not sweeping advance option 2: +1ws, +1bs, -2ld option 3: gains fear, fleet and rage, -1bs  option 1: +1 str, +1 toughness, -1I, -1" to charge range, may not sweeping advance option 2: +1ws, +1bs, -2ld option 3: gains fear, fleet and rage, -1bs black shields may take a range of replacement wargear options called 'pariah' each confers a bonus over the original wargear, but has a negative attachment as well.·         pariah power armour: +3 armour save but is reduced to +5 against weapons of str6 or higher and ap4 or worse. but you can run and then fire snap shots with pistol, rapid fire and assault weapons.
·         pariah bolter: assault2, 16" range, but if the unit charges after firing, it counts as disordered.
·         pariah flamer: str 3 flamer, but can be fired with the following extras:str 4, torrent, gets hot. the boosted version cannot be used for overwatch
·         Xenos deathlock:  18" str 5 ap5 assault 2 at the end of the shooting phase, but before morale or pinning tests, any unit which has taken unsaved wounds from this weapon must take a leadership test, with a negative modifier equal to the number of wounds caused. fearless models must still take the test, but count as stubborn. if the test is failed the unit suffers an additional D6 wounds which can be saved normally (still ap5). each squad that fires a xenos deathlock must roll 2d6 at the end of the shooting phase, if they roll lower than the total number of XDL shots fired by the squad, then the unit suffers a single wound with no armour saves allowed. this doesn't count for overwatch.  ·         may take a blackshield reaver lord, basically a speical praetor with different wargear options, all the basics are there, plus the pariah gear and some others, while some 'fancy' praetor gear isn't.
·         black shields have a named character called 'nemean reaver' who is believed to be a former dark angel, may also be taken as a knight errant and replaces his blackshield special rules for the knight errant rules for a price.
·         main basic squad is the 'marauders' 5-20 basic marines with lots of basic options and 1in5 can take special/heavy weapons

Apis be praised, this is amazing! I can actually make a war band with cool and fluffy rules. They will probably not be very great, but the most important thing is that I don’t have to live with the self-inflicted shame of counts-as. I asked Garro about the marauder squad’s options. He answered me, like manna from the sky!

standard marine statline, but with 2 attacks each (sergeant has 3). each starts with a bolt pistol and chainsword or chainaxe

5-20 men, with 1 in 5 taking one of the following·         sniper rifle
·         xenos deathlock
·         flamer or pariah flamer
·         rotor cannon
·         grenade launcher (frag&krak)
·         heavy flamer
·         melta gun
·         plasma gun
·         heavy bolter
·         autocannon
·         missile launcher (frag&krak)
·         multi-melta
·         swap BP for plasma pistol
·         swap BP for hand flamer
·         swap chain weapon for power weapon
any and every model can also take one of these·         lascarbine or autogun
·         astartes shotgun
·         laslock
·         second boltpistol
·         bolter or pariah bolter
·         heavy chainsword
·         lascutter
sergeant can take power fists, lightning claw or thunderhammer and can take a combi-weapon and/or a plasma pistol as additional weapons.the unit gets either power armour or pariah power armour.

This is fantastic. I await the final rules with great anticipation. Until then, walk in the light of Apis. And Garro, if you read this, thank you for the great job of enlightening us humble nerds.



- Olvebanipal

The Athu Elami

Hi, this is Olvebanipal. This time I’ll talk a bit about my take on the BaC cataphractii.

As I’ve stated in an earlier post, I already had ten Space Wolf terminators lying in their sprues. When the Betrayal at Calth boxed set was released, I decided that I wanted to go for the Pride of the legion ROW. It’s easy to field for beginners, as you don’t need too many models. I haven’t converted these guys too much, but I kitted them out with combi-meltas, some of which I took from the tactical sprue. The rest I magnetized with the combi-weapon set from Forge World. I can now choose which combi-weapon to use. The hand of the BaC cataphractii fits ok with the weapons from Forge World. Just use a knife and some patience.

It really was a bitch to fix, and I’m not really satisfied with the result, as the barrels of the bolters don’t align properly. Learn from my mistakes. I’m too much of an easy-way-out-guy.  

I would fall to the easy
path of the dark side
in the blink of an eye.

Anyway, here is some background fluff for this unit.

The Athu Elami

The Athu Elami, meaning the brothers of Elam, was one of the few surviving units from the great chapter of Elam. This chapter’s strength was in its deployment of fast speeders, jet bikes and terminators. When the enemy met with the light forces of the Elamites, they thought they were only facing the scouts of the chapter. Little did they know that the swarms of stinging speeders were the harbingers of the heavy infantry, the Athu Elami.

After the purge by the Vlka Fenryka, very few were left of the Elamite chapter. The stragglers were led by Helu sha Elam, and joined the vengeful, shattered remains of the Taurii. During the years of the Horus Heresy the Athu Elami carried a pair of great knives, with which they would carve the name of Apis in the skulls of their foes.

Shed blood in His name!

-        
  Olvebanipal