Editing Thunder Kings (section)

= Legion Organization =

The Thunder Kings are organized along largely traditional lines. When reunited with their primarch, he rearranged the legion to consist of 12 Grand Companies, each correlating to one of the tribes of Alessia. When Brennus first organized these companies, they numbered about 5,000 marines each, but by the beginning of the Heresy would grow to about 10,000.  These Grand Companies are each commanded by a Dunn Rig, or “Fortress King”, most of whom were uplifted from the chiefs of the Alessian tribes, or a close blood relative. Each Grand Company is further divided into smaller 1000-2000 marine units called “Clans”, which usually consist of marines of similar temperament and combat specialty; each of these clans is led by a champion, or Chabad Rig (Chariot King). Usually a unit of 500 will have its own sub-chief, known as a Rouster; often this position will be filled by one of the Filid. Squads are known as Kerns, and they are led by warriors known as Curadh ("Champions"). Individual Clans are largely independent; while they are ultimately subject to the decisions of the Dunn Rig (As the Grand Companies are ultimately subject to Brennus, the Ard Rig or High King), in practice they are usually left alone to complete their objectives. The Tribes are responsible for the training and equipping of Astartes in affiliated clans more than anything else. 

In the modern era, the Thunder Kings and their successors act largely as Codex Chapters. As the clans were used operating as fairly small, independent units, the process of splitting apart came naturally. Given their sanction by the Imperium, they also knew it was that or die out as a force entirely. All of the original Second Founding Chapters are crusading chapters; in the millennia since the beginning of their original Penitent Crusade, several successor chapters have been granted the right to a homeworld. The Thunder Kings chapter itself, however, is still on crusade.

'''5th Grand Company'''
{{Infobox Spess Mahreen Chapter
|Name = Scean Realta, "Star Eaters"
|Heraldry = 
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|Chapter Master = Dubh Thought-Stealer
|Primarch = 
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|Specialty = Close Combat Shock Assault
|Strength = 
|Allegiance = Traitor/Khorne
|Colours = Pre-heresy: Blood Red and Black; Post-Heresy: Blood Red and Forest Green
}}The Star Eaters made their home in the darkest, oldest forests of Alessia's easternmost subcontinent. The people there had long been under the thrall of dark priests and fell-handed warriors worshiping the ancient Crow Queen, the most bloodthirsty aspect of Alessia's war goddess. When Brennus conquered them, he did not outlaw the Queen's worship outright, but he did command that the ritual beheading of enemies be ceased. Heads taken in honest battle could be given to the Queen, but innocents were forbidden. Dubh Thought-Stealer viewed his command as a way to distance himself from the Primarch, who he viewed as having upset the natural order of Alessia. Though the ships of the Star Eaters were often meticulously clean, all held one or more hidden charnel shrines to the Crow Queen. Most were unaware that she was an aspect of Khorne, but few would have cared in the slightest. They were easily led to betray Brennus with the promise of being able to openly enact their old rituals, and also the knowledge that their patron would bestow upon them new and fantastic power. The Scean Realta were known for their height, even among a legion of giants, and they favored violent melee combat above all else. The commonly used two-handed weapons of all sorts, forgoing the shields so common in other tribes.

'''7th Grand Company'''
{{Infobox Spess Mahreen Chapter
|Name = Slaigo, "Shell Hoarders"
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|Chapter Master = Berit Goldteeth
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|Specialty = Medium-range Assault
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|Allegiance = Traitor/Slaanesh
|Colours = Pre-Heresy: Gold and Purple/Post-Heresy: Forest Green and Pink
}}The Slaigo, whose name meant "Shell Hoarders", were the richest tribe of Alessia. Their territory contained both plentiful sites for mining gold and vast deposits of the shallow-water plant most of Alessia used for tattoo ink and body paint. When Brennus conquered them, he set on them higher tribute than other tribes, reasoning that they could stand to contribute more to the good of their world. This set them against him from the very beginning, as there was nothing a Slaigo took more pride in than his collection of gold trinkets and adornments. The Slaigo took these attitudes with them to the stars, deliberately picking an expedition fleet that took them far from Brennus. Once past the High King's immediate notice, they demanded higher than normal tax payments of their subject worlds, and skimmed off the top for themselves. The Slaigo were easily lured to Slaanesh with the promises of being able to loot the Imperial Palace (so large that there would surely be plunder however late they got there), and were actually corrupted well before Ostium. The average member of the tribe would not admit to worshiping any god, but the lust for gold makes them slaves to the Fae Eater. The Slaigo fight using weapons effective at mid distance; they do not wish to risk their fine cloaks and ornaments, but nor are they cowards who would shy from battle. Many marines among the Slaigo have taken to grafting bionics onto themselves, feeling that a new hand or arm could hold a flashy gun. A truly superlative warrior may replace his face with a bionic plate, and with it a hidden laser concealed into a jeweled eye.

'''9th Grand Company'''
{{Infobox Spess Mahreen Chapter
|Name = Áitribh Phortaigh, "Bog Dwellers"
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|Chapter Master = Rugadh Tairneach, "The Eater of Souls"
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|Specialty = Sorcery
|Strength = 
|Allegiance = Traitor/Nurgle
|Colours = Pre-heresy: Snot Green/ Post heresy: Forest Green and Snot Green
}}The Bog Dwellers were the smallest of Alessia's tribes, no larger than a few thousand individuals when Brennus brought them into his alliance. They were largely a tribe of sorcerers and shamans, victims
of the great purges of Alessia's past under Arl mac Teogh. They lived in the least inhabitable swamps and bogs of Alessia's southern hemisphere, and their environment led them to a worship of the natural
forces of rot and decay, and their place in the cycle of rebirth. They practiced an unusual form of sorcery: willing sacrifices were tattooed with prayers and questions for the spirits of the otherworld,
and cast alive into bogs to drown. They would then be raised up to read messages in the patterns of decay on the body. The most worthy would instead be raised up as undying guardian mummies. The Bog Dwellers fell to chaos after suffering the ravages of plague magic on Ostium. Infected with a virus that neither medicine nor magic would assuage, those few who lived gave their lives to the Lord of Decay to survive. Those who died were reborn as hulking, rotted mummies; a parody of the tribal guardians in Astartes plate.

The surviving members of the Bog Dwellers still sing a traditional Alessian song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nd8cBOVleHw

'''11th Grand Company'''
{{Infobox Spess Mahreen Chapter
|Name = Siúlóirí Taibhreamh,"Dream Walkers"
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|Chapter Master = Arl Oceanseer, "the Last"
|Primarch = 
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|Specialty = Anti-psyker combat
|Strength = 
|Allegiance = Traitor/Tzeench
|Colours = Dark Blue and Forest Green
}}The Dream Walkers were one of the eldest Tribes of Alessia, having once been the leaders of their world. The ancient High King Arl mac Teogh, known as “Gleaminghand”, had led a purge of sorcerers and warlocks during his rule. Only the Goffanoi, at that time a fairly small sect, were deemed "pure" enough to survive; the fact that they sealed magical energies into cold, reliable steel set them apart from other magical traditions. These wizard-smiths rose to prominence under Arl, while practitioners of other arts were hounded nearly to extinction. The Dream Walkers did not retain their position of power over the other tribes across the centuries, but their smiths and priests were still quite respected. The Tribe as a whole were zealous worshipers of Dag Ceith, a being described as having attained mastery over its form, and immunity to the ravages of magic. When the Dream Walkers were uplifted as Space Marines, they were confronted by a galaxy of sorcerers and magic users, and used their influence to re-enact Arl's Cleansing. As they fought more twisted psykers and sorcerers, they began to hear soft whispers in their dreams, whispers of the power of the old times. Of how Dag Ceith had blessed Arl Gleaminghand with symbols of great power, and that these symbols could be found within the very texts and tomes of the sorcerers he had slain. The Siúlóirí believed the whispers, which they ascribed to Ceith itself, and they began plundering the lairs of sorcerers after slaying them. The Goffanoi began etching dark symbols onto the hidden parts of the Tribe's weapons and armor, and tribal champions had them engraved into their very bone. The Tribe found its soldiers able to resist or repel harmful warp energy, and in some cases gained limited control over their very bodies. They increasingly slackened their crusade against the sorcerers, more often enslaving them to use in their plans. By the time of Ostium, they had been swayed against the Emperor, led by Dag Ceith (revealed as a mask of Tzeentch) to view him as the paramount offense, the head of a sorcerous tradition in dire need of purging.

'''12th Grand Company'''
{{Infobox Spess Mahreen Chapter
|Name = Manaan Drak, "Sea Dragons"
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|Chapter Master = Bron Axefist
|Primarch = 
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|Specialty = Void Combat, Boarding, Scouting
|Strength = 
|Allegiance = Loyal
|Colours = Ice blue
}}The 12th tribe was commonly knows as the "Sea Dragons" by outsiders, although their name in full truly meant "Dragons of the Sea God." They had always been less organized than the other tribes, and mostly consisted of bands of disorganized raiders operating from small farming villages. The fortresses common to most of Alessia were almost absent in their cold northern lands, but they outstripped the other tribes in naval matters by far. Brennus managed to conquer them with relatively little bloodshed, as many clans were happy to ally with him simply for mercenary work. Those who resisted him fled to the trackless waters of Alessia's north pole, and were the last to be brought to heel. When uplifted, the Sea Dragons transferred their affinity for ships of wood to those of metal and ceramite. The Manaan Drak produced all but one of the Masters of the Fleet to serve during the Grand Crusade, and comprised the majority of the ''Lann an Arsa'' as well. The Dragons remained loyal mostly out of respect for Brennus' strength and ability, and a distrust of any entities which could originate in the Warp. In battle, they favored pistols and heavy boarding shields, and always carried a bandoleer of melta charges.

== Fleet ==
Until the discovery of their Primarch, the Thunder Kings had a scanty fleet at best. As they were rarely deployed in any great numbers, they mostly had ships suitable for ferrying small companies of men about. When the legion was united at Alessia, the only request Brennus made of his father was an armada befitting his new status as Legion commander. The Emperor granted this request, and presented Brennus with an ancient Gloriana battleship to serve as his flagship, and command of several expedition fleets to serve his warriors. 

The Thunder Kings felt an immediate sense of reverence towards these ships; their ancestors had sailed from the great blue island of Urth in ships like these. The captains of each tribe claimed the greatest vessels for themselves, and the Legion began a tradition of naming ships as great Alessian fortresses. These fortifications were commonly known as "halls"; on Alessia they were the truest expression of a war-leader's power, and these armed and armored skyships were the ultimate fusion of legend and battlefield prestige. Unlike in many Imperial fleets, Navigators were given the highest of honors and consulted often for their advice. The warriors serving in boarding parties were known as ''Lann an Arsa'', or "Blades of the Ancients"; fierce rivalries often grew over what clan would take the honor of serving in these units. 

Under the leadership of Fleet Master Kral mac Aran, the "Dragontamer", the Thunder Kings Fleet eventually grew to a respectable size. At the beginning of the Heresy, they numbered some 79 battleships, 43 grand cruisers, 150 heavy cruisers, 217 light cruisers, 281 frigates and 327 destroyers. The legion's inherent feelings of respect and awe towards these ships meant that they focused a good deal of their energy on improving and customizing these vessels, and poured many of their resources into the creation of new ships. During it's time in the Great Crusade, the Thunder Kings navy quickly developed a reputation for superior armaments and craftsmanship.  Many of these ships were lost during the Hektor Heresy, especially in the battles of Ostium and Alessia.

'''Notable Ships'''

''Dúnn an Lamh Fad'', "Hall of the Long Arm": Ancient Gloriana Class battleship and rediscovered relic of the Dark Age of Technology, bestowed by The Emperor himself. Brennus' flagship. Even more colossal than its kin and equipped with the "Lance of the Stag Prince", an oversized lance cannon capable of splitting a moon with one shot. Disappeared with Brennus at the end of the First Black Crusade.

''Dúnn an Folamh Gaire '', "Hall of Empty Laughter": Flagship of the 6th tribe, the Painted Men. Destroyed in the Heresy.

''Dúnn an Bean Glanadh'', "Hall of the Washer Woman": Flagship of the Scean Realta. Presumed destroyed during the Breaking of Alessia, but supposed sightings persist into the 41st millenium.