Eternal Zealots

"In the name of the Gods! Before all species, go forth and enlighten! Let none be spared the truth of the Primordial!"

Aubrey, speaking out to his Legion moments before descending on Terra.

Eternal Zealots
Battle Cry	"Lazarus Lives!" "For the Dark Gods!"
Number	XVI
Founding	First Founding
Primarch	Aubrey Vokrii-Kendov
Homeworld	Lazarus(Purged)
Strength	120,000
Specialty	Close Combat, Chaos Undivided
Allegiance	Chaos Undivided
Colours	Grey and Green.

This page details people, events, and organisations from The /tg/ Heresy, a fan re-working of the Warhammer 40,000 Universe.

Summary of Legion XVI

Numeration: The XVIth Legion

Primogenator: Aubrey the Grey (also known as "The Surgeon")

Cognomen (Prior): The Emerald Doom

Observed Strategic Tendencies: Close Combat, Strategic Strikes, Tactical Decapitation, Planetary Pacification.

Noteworthy Domains: The Lazarus System (Primary), Campeche, Tithe Rights to five systems in tributary fiefdom.

Alliegence: Traitoris Maximus

"The enemy has a collection of tumorous growths in their head. It is not their fault. We shall take but a moment to cure them of their cancerous leadership."

Legion Grand Mentor Zachery Irisus, M.30

Proud, passionate, and self-righteous, the Eternal Zealots fought with barely matched enthusiasm during the Great Crusade. Their tolerance and acceptance of Xenos assistance painted them with scorn by their fellow humans, despite them spreading their healing hands and their scientific philosophies of the Imperial Truth across the Imperium. Leading ultimately to their censure when the Xenos they so ardently crusaded for betrayed them. The Legion's Primarch Aubrey, dismayed at the response of humanity towards the actions of only a few was easy to deceive by Uriel Starikov. Now the Legion pledges themselves to the four Dark Gods of Chaos.

History of the Eternal Zealots

The XVIth Squad of the Sacred Band

The Sixteenth Squad of the Sacred Band were prototype Assault Marines, taking the fight to the enemy with their chainswords.

Varus Tithonus, The Soul Drinker

Varus Tithonus, the sixth of the ten sacred band members.

Varus was primarily the commander of the second chapter until "The Betrayal" in which he was promoted to first chapter commander after Commander Abram Bateen died protecting their Primarch.

During his deployment to Vermillion II he made contact with an Eldar Farseer who in turn, warned him and showed him the horrors that were the Necrons, after they were awoken prematurely from their slumber.

After Lazarus was destroyed, Varus changed his name to Lazarus.

"So long as I live, Lazarus shall never die."

Lazarus Tithonus, Newly Instated Commander of the First Chapter

His inspiring words would go on to inspire the first chapter and their war cry; "Lazarus Lives"

Varus soon found a taste for Eldar blood, during the Sacking of Valshada, coming to hate the eldar with a passion after being deceived by the farseer on Vermillion II. After the Heresy, he pledged himself to Slaanesh, in his service he had brought many wailing souls to 'She who thrists' by the end of his spear, 'Soul Rend'.

Galle Nacht, The Everlasting

Galle Nacht, the fourth of the ten sacred band members. Galle is the first of any of the Zealots first commander to ever retire the position without the cause of death. He soon took the position of Chief Apothecary and protected the Primarch tirelessly as a member of his personal retinue.

Galle's brute strength tactics which brought the Emerald Doom to fame, while effective, soon lost their edge becoming a relic of the past. As the legion adapted upon Aubreys arrival, it was soon realised by Galle himself that he should step down from Captaincy. During the decade of reformation, Galle Nacht studied under the Primarch personally in the medical arts and soon became an expert, only falling short of Aubrey himself, it was great shock that Galle Nacht stepped down and allowed Commander Abram of the third to take the honourable position. He soon took up the position of Chief Apothecary, putting his new skill to use, so that he might undo the damage he knowingly did in the face of despair upon his legion.

The Chief Apothecary pledged his shield and hammer to Aubrey, tirelessly defending him on the battlefield. Even after the Heresy he remained Aubreys guard until the Primarch disappeared on his personal quest.

Origins: The Emerald Doom

Upon the creation of the XVI Legion, they were blessed with the name Sixteenth, born with a chainsword in one hand and a bolt pistol in the other.

the Sixteenth had a task set unto it by the Emperor himself: to destroy all idols and houses of false faith, to be the sharp edge that would wipe out all opposition to the Imperial Truth.

They took to this task with a zealousness that unnerved their friends and terrified their foes, being called barbarians and madmen.

Time and again they struck like a furious wind, seeking out the people, places and items which spoke of the power of sorcery, false gods and the irrational and destroying them. While the other squads of the Sacred Bands fought their fights to defeat foes and take ground, the Sixteenth Squad fought to destroy false belief and usher in the light of the Emperor’s truth, the only truth. It was they who demolished the mighty heads of the ancient God-Kings from the Black Mountains of Merica, they who destroyed the House of the Wind Talkers and who burned the fanes of the Emperyite, every time showing the inhabitants what it meant to oppose the new truth the Emperor was determined to bring forth.

It was during the earliest conquests beyond Sol in those stars whose light could be clearly seen from the skies of Terra that the Legion earned its first name. The Sixteenth, at the time barely three thousand Astartes strong, was unleashed upon the Theocrats of Campeche. The Astartes lacked the numbers to make a full scale assault upon all the temple-cities, and so they painted their armour green to better blend into the dense jungles, and struck at temple after temple, burning each to ashes and slaughtering the guards before fading back into the foliage.

The terrified locals began to refer to them as ‘the Emerald Doom’, after an ancient myth of their world, and the Legion soon took to referring themselves as such during their increasingly bloody assaults as they slowly tightened the noose.

After six months the the largest Temple City was stormed and sacked and the planet was finally pacified, The Legion departed, but kept the name they had earned on that world, and from then on they were known as the Emerald Doom. The Legion was granted a right of tithe for Campeche and many thousands of Campechians would end up serving within the Legion in the years to come.

The Legion moved from conquest to conquest, primarily engaged in the destruction of religiously motivated human empires, though countless Xeno races were also ground under by their fury.

Though they were never close to their brother legions or highly respected by them, their task was a vital one and they gained numerous battle honours the equal of any other front-line Legion. The Emperor Himself commanded them on several occasions against foes that He decreed were deserving of destruction, and they were closely aligned with the Emperor and His own views on the future of the Imperium.

As brother Legion after brother Legion were reunited with their Primarchs, some wondered if the Primarch of the Emerald Doom had been lost, for they remained fatherless long after almost all their fellows had found their gene-sires. The Legion did not seem to take notice. They had a task appointed unto them by the hand of the Emperor, and Primarch or no they would fulfill it.

However, this coincided with a sudden degradation in the Gene-Seed of the Emerald Doom which set the legion on a slow slide towards destruction. Cancerous growths within the Progenoid Glands made over half of them unusable. Though they continued to fight despite the ailments which beset them, every battle casualty was now difficult if not impossible to replace, and in a single campaign against the Ethernarchs of Unova a full quarter of the Legion was lost, with almost no way to recover those casualties.

The Legion’s aggressive drive against the foes of the Emperor was dooming them, and fears were voiced that the Legion would soon die. Finally however, as the Legions reached the most distant shores of the Galaxy, on a lone world near the very edge of known space, a discovery was made that would change everything. It would save the Legion but ultimately spell the doom of the Emperor’s dream, the dream the Emerald Doom had fought so long for.

Their doctor was found.

The Healing Warrior of Lazarus

Lazarus was an unremarkable world. Countless others like it existed all across the Imperium.

It was a developing civilised world not that unlike Terra in the days when it still had green lands, blue oceans and a clear sky. It had a settled populace and links to other worlds across the stars. However there was one key and massive difference in those worlds. Lazarus had been settled by a Xenos Race, the Tarellians.

It was on this world that the infant Aubrey had landed, and surprisingly he had not been killed out of hand, but rather brought up within this alien environment. He had come to manhood learning both the ways of the Healer and the warrior, fighting with his ‘brothers’ against Ork Pirates and Eldar raiders, duelling with those with whom he had disagreements and healing the sick and wounded. He rose through the ranks of the Xenos, putting down several rebellions against him in the process. For a long time he assumed himself alone and unique within the Galaxy. Events were to prove that wrong.

When Lazarus was found by the 219th Expeditionary Fleet in mid-901, halfway through the Great Crusade, plans were laid to take the world, slaughter the Xenos and then open it up to human colonisation as had happened thousands of times before. However when the first ships landed and the 499th Solar Auxilia Cohort landed they found themselves facing an army of Tarellians led by a massive, unmistakably human figure, who led a charge which routed the human invaders. In the wake of this incident orders were sent out inquiring what to do next.

Aubrey meanwhile was in turmoil. He’d finally found ones like him, and they were his enemies. He did not know what to do, or what this meant, but he was determined to stand with the people who had given him a home and a purpose, even if that meant fighting those beings from the stars who looked like him.

After several months a massive Warfleet entered the system bearing the Icon of the Warriors of Dawn and led by the Bucephalus itself, the mighty flagship of Hektor, the first Primarch and beloved of the Emperor. He had heard the news and guessed correctly that it was a Primarch, one of his lost Brothers who was on this world.

Sending a message to those below, he along with a chosen squad of the Heliotaroi, his bodyguards and a company of the Emerald Doom that had been supporting the Warriors in the northern Ultima Marches landed on the planet before the awed Aubrey. Though Aubrey couldn’t speak Gothic, he understood the link between him and Hektor and knew that finally he was no longer alone. Hektor took Aubrey under his wing, mentoring him in the ways of the Imperium and preparing him for the next step. Several months later, another fleet emerged over Lazarus, this one led by a massive barge greater than any other ship in the Imperium.

It was the Imperator Somnium, a void-born colossus of gold and marble.

The flagship of the Emperor Himself.

The Emperor met His son and debated him, seeking to see whether his time among the Xenos had corrupted him or not. Aubrey astutely belayed that supposition, showing a firm grasp of Imperial Methods, the Imperial Truth and the Emperor’s plans for humanity. But on the position of Xenos Aubrey wouldn’t budge. The Tarellians were just as much his people as the humans, and he would not abandon them. Following the advice of Hektor, the Emperor granted a dispensation for the Tarellians of Lazarus, that they were to be allowed all the freedoms of humans within the Imperium, so long as they remained quarantined within the Lazarus Sector. With that decided, Aubrey was granted the command of the Sixteenth Legion based on his Gene-Seed.

The Legion was mustered on Lazarus, though it could only muster a mere five thousand Astartes, a mere fraction of its former strength.

Seeing the battered but unbowed remnants of his Legion before him moved Aubrey, and he vowed that he would restore them. He spoke proudly of their battle honours and the task the Emperor had set them.

‘We are the Emperor’s Zealots, proudly bearing His message, and if we have to wage war eternally to spread it, then so be it.’

With that, the Emerald Doom was no more and the Legion became the Eternal Zealots.

Now that they were reunited with their Primarch, they could create new gene-seed using Aubrey's genome as a template. But that alone would not be enough to stop the decline.

At this time Aubrey met with the surviving leaders of his Legion, though they disapproved of their Primarch’s links with Xenos. Aubrey challenged the Legion Master to a Duel over this, which he won handily.

Upon this he instituted several changes, most notably massively expanding the apothecarion to better prevent gene-seed issues in the future, as well as instituting a ‘mentor’ ranked Consul to ensure the natural zealotry of his legion was directed in the proper way.

So after the future plans of organisation was laid out, Aubrey began an exhaustive effort to find and cure the flaws in his Legion’s Gene-Seed. After a long process using all his skills merged with the new knowledge he had gained from the Genewrights of Luna and the Magis Biologis of the Mechanicum, Aubrey finally corrected the flaw.

Now his Legion began a massive recruitment drive from Terra, Campeche and the hundreds of other worlds brought into compliance when the Legion was the Emerald Doom.

The Hidden Tumor

After the success of the Vermillion II campaign, the Emperor deemed the Legion large enough and proven enough to support more than one expeditionary fleet. So he granted the 71st through 76th Expeditionary Fleets to the Eternal Zealots. Aubrey swiftly set to work, each fleet being rebuilt around a core of Eternal Zealots with the commanders both Astartes and human hand-chosen by him, with the 71st becoming his own fleet and under his own command. A vetting process of the Imperial Army forces and supporting Mechanicum detachments for these fleets was instituted, with those forces who failed the test detached for second line garrison duties. For a full six months Aubrey prepared the Expeditonary forces that would bear his forces and spread his word to the outer darkness.

Each fleet also received a single ship of decidedly non-human origin, and upon sighting them the reason for Aubrey’s secrecy and carefully selected commanders became clear. Each fleet would now have a corps of Tarellian Auxiliaries from Lazarus operating under the Legions direct command. They would use those who Aubrey had grown up with as an additional arm in their struggle against the heathens, the false superstitions and unclean truths of the void.

The Legion now drove forward with relentless momentum. Civilisations were either razed or forced to kneel, countless faiths and belief systems were uprooted and a trail of conquest and compliance spread out behind the fleets of the Legion as they pushed ever onwards, as if trying to outrun and outperform the fleets of larger and older Legions in their haste to spread the Emperor’s truth and grow the Imperium. The Legion lived up to its name in their zealotry in the Emperor’s name.

However numerous races, enclaves and even entire petty empires of Xenos were spared the Legion’s wrath. Aubrey spared those Xenos who would take up the olive branch rather than the firearm and sued for peace when his forces arrived, letting them live under the Emperor’s protection, so long as they obeyed the Emperor’s laws, upheld the Imperial Truth and refrained from violence against Humans. So soon a growing number of Xeno Races were living within what was ostensibly Imperial Territory, cancers deep within the body of the Imperium.

Eventually the growing bureaucracy of the Imperium finally brought the Eternal Zealot’s wrongs to light, as the aexector tributi administrators sent out by Malcador to take census and determine tithe levels for the growing Imperium stumbled upon several of those Xenos races that Aubrey had let live. Violence swiftly flared up and several Expeditionary fleets had to be diverted to prosecute the enemies that lay deep within Imperial Territory, especially when one race, the Ayurath, began a series of counter raids on human-inhabited worlds which led to a general war which saw most of a sector fall to them before a Chapter of the Void Angels en-route to re-joining their parent Legion was diverted to destroy them. And the evidence was clear when captured Xenos were interrogated and stellar charts of conquest were consulted: all the Xeno races were in territories taken by the Eternal Zealots.

Once the truth was revealed, it was only a matter of time before the Emperor would be moved to censure the Eternal Zealots. They had endangered the very course of the Great Crusade by their actions, and they had to be brought to heel. However as the Emperor laid his plans and consulted with a chosen few of his sons, events on Aubrey’s home world of Lazarus took over and the Emperor’s hand was forced.

The Betrayal

Aubrey’s ‘rule’ on Lazarus had never been absolute, and there had been several rebellions against him before the arrival of the Emperor. After his arrival a massive Fortress-monastery was established to cement his position and a standard Defence Network of orbital weapons platforms, space docks and fortified barrack-complexes built for the Legion. Human Serfs were established on-world, which swiftly drew the anger of the native Tarellians, many of whom thought that the Humans were taking over the planet and driving them out. As the human population grew, and more and more Tarellians were drawn out to join the Legion’s auxiliary forces, resentment grew that Aubrey was sacrificing the Tarellians for his own desires and that he had abandoned them. The ancient towns and cities of the Xenos were replaced with arcology complexes to support the Fortress Monastery and the native Tarellians were forced to work “quotas” in large industrial complexes while the human settlers were perceived as living the high life. The Imperium was now a curse to the people of Lazarus, they were completely destroying their way of life, their culture and traditions being ground up as the Imperium continued to develop the world.

This official policy of brutalist colonization and colonial exploitation finally drew a response, and a tight resistance network among the Tarellians came into being. This resistance grew, soon having connections within the auxiliary components of all the major Expeditionary Fleets, including the newly raised 77th through 80th that had been recently granted to Aubrey as a reward for his conquests. They spread the tales of the conditions on Lazarus, of the rumours of Aubrey’s motivations and his abandonment of the Tarellian peoples who had raised him and given him the life he now lived. Slowly but surely the Auxiliaries were poisoned against their benefactor, and plans were drawn to take revenge.

During the compliance of Seventy-One Twenty-Four the Tarellians sprang their trap. Those corrupted elements turned on their benefactors, which turned an offensive into a bloody shambles. In the midst of this the Primarch went missing and the Captain of the 1st Company was wounded, and as he escaped he ordered a message sent to Lazarus, and a second to the nearest Astropathic Waystation to be relayed to the Core Imperium. A Terran Veteran who had always sat ill at ease with his Primarch’s Xenophilia, he trusted that his message would arrive where it could do the most good.

Near simultaneously on Lazarus large elements of the native population rose up in revolt. They seized a number of industrial complexes and barrack-complexes, and even took over an entire wing of the Fortress Monastery. However that drew a swift response from those Zealots stationed on-world. Several chapters of the Legion were present on Lazarus for rebuilding and rearming along with training new recruits taken from worlds across the Imperium to fuel the newest additions to the Legion’s power, and they were the first to respond to the crisis. But there was less than five thousand Astartes on Lazarus, and the rebel Tarellians were well armed with Bolters and other Legion weaponry and well entrenched. So they dug in, sent distress calls to the Legion and waited for reinforcements.

When the Emperor received that message, he knew the time to act was now. The stage was perfect for the message he wished to deliver, and the chastisement that he was to give to Aubrey. He called to him Bohemnond of the Knights of Justice/Storm Bringers, lord of the First Legion and a paragon of what a Legion and a Primarch should be. This was to show Aubrey both what he was not, and what he should be, to show that even after censure the Legion would have a future, and that what they had done was a mere quirk that had to be set right so the Legion could continue with its appointed task.

So the Emperor ordered a task force composed of a significant portion of the Storm Bringers Legion and accompanied by a force of his elite personal bodyguards, the Legio Custodes and the Imperial Regent, Malcador the Sigillite, to Lazarus. There they would deal with the Tarellians and then show Aubrey the error of his ways.

By the time the Storm Bringers arrived though, the Rebellion was almost crushed. Reinforcements had arrived and the Legion had taken all but the section of the Fortress Monastery still held by the Rebels. The Zealots were surprised when the Storm Bringer fleet entered orbit and a full hundred thousand Astartes of the Storm Bringers landed on the planet. Tense communications went between the two forces as the Zealots tried to ascertain what the Storm Bringers were there for. The Storm Bringers declared they would storm the Monastery and finish the rebels, but surprisingly the Zealots refused. It was an internal matter, they declared, not one that outsiders needed to be involved in. A stand off quickly grew, until a surprise attack by several rebel Tarellians and Storm Bringer counter-attacks against any of the Xenos nearby set both sides off against one another. The Eternal Zealot forces numbered 15,000, far too few to hold out against nearly 100,000 Storm Bringers. But still they managed not only to hold on but to hurt their attackers. For over a week the Eternal Zealots on Lazarus fought against the Storm Bringers despite how unnatural it was for Astartes to be fighting with other Astartes.

Finally after eight days of conflict the Warp tore open and the 71st Fleet appeared over Lazarus, led by Aubrey Himself. Burning with anger at his brother’s ‘betrayal’, Aubrey’s fleet faced off against Bohemonds in the skies over Lazarus. Aubrey was livid, for much of his homeworld had been laid waste and thousands of his Astartes had been killed. He prepared to attack the Storm Bringers fleet, when for the second time the mighty ‘Imperator Somnium’ appeared in the skies over Lazarus, and Aubrey was commanded to come over and meet the Emperor.

Aubrey met with the Emperor and Malcador, and there the Emperor made his judgement. He berated Aubrey for allowing rebellion to come to his Homweorld, alone among all the Primarchs. He reminded him of what he had said the day he arrived to Lazarus; that Xenos were never to be trusted, for they were treacherous, selfish beings that wanted naught but their own advancement. They cared not for Aubrey, nor his ambitions. And how the evidence of that was clear before him, in the ruins of Lazarus. Finally the Emperor passed judgement. He had already ordered his own Custodians to join the Storm Bringers in purging the planet clean of all Tarellian life, and furthermore declared the planet under the sentence of Exterminatus. Before Aubrey’s eyes the Storm Bringers and Custodes evacuated the world, before with a single blinding volley from the mighty world cracking guns of the Somnium the Planet’s atmosphere was set aflame and the planet reduced to a dead cinder. Finally the Emperor departed, leaving a Legion humbled and a Primarch chastened. In that moment the fates changed and the doom of the Imperium was set forth.

The Cyfecti

It is at this point that History goes dark. What took place between the destruction of Lazarus and Aubrey re-joining the Great Crusade is unknown, though the blood-soaked legacy of those events is in no doubt. One of the last verifiable reports before these unknown events is from the Primarch Uriel Starikov, one of the last to see Aubrey before his 71st Fleet left for parts unknown. In his report to the War Council, he stated how Aubrey was in utter shock and denial, the pillars of his existence toppled by the Emperor’s actions. Uriel stated his concern, and suggested that a Mentor be tasked to shepherd Aubrey through this time. His recommendation was not carried through with, and one can only wonder if it would have spared the galaxy an eternity of slaughter.

The Emperor had left a personal detachment of Custodians to oversee the Legion for fifty years to ensure the Legion’s would not stray from the path now set before it. But before it could join the 71s Fleet it vanished into the dark. It was believed that Aubrey was doing some soul searching, trying to readjust himself in the new post-Lazarus world. When he returned after nearly a year he revealed that his fleet had been in the region around the great Warp Storm now called the Eye of Terror and had brought over a dozen new worlds into compliance including one named Cadia which would be a site of dark renown in later millennia. After this he threw himself into the Great Crusade with the same vigour he had once held. The Legion once more covered itself in glory, and the Emperor assumed his actions had worked, that the Legion was now remade. He was mistaken.

We do not know how the Powers beyond reached out to Aubrey, though we do know they offered him a purpose, revenge, and the fulfilment of his dream of an Imperium of both Humans and Xenos. He accepted it, and when his Legion re-joined the Crusade it no longer served the Emperor. For fifty years the Legion sowed dark creeds, gathered strength and made ready for a great war against the Imperium, until after Hektor had become Warmaster, when the Zealots brought Hektor to Cadia and thus brought about the near-destruction of the Imperium at his hands.

Culture

When asked by the Primarch why they marched to their dooms so often, it was often that the men would reply; "For the Imperial Truth and all it's glory".

Aubrey had indeed studied the Imperial Truth and saw it was a gift that all of man should benefit from, but not in the method of deliverance it was given, The Zealots henceforth were deemed the keepers of the Imperial Truth and it's prophets, as opposed to it's wildly shaking fist.

Many worlds were subject to their education, Astartes known as "Mentors" overseeing the spread of the Imperial Truth, as well as mentoring their own properly.

On the worlds they came to conquer the Eternal Zealots would stay on its surface teaching science, medicine, and repairing the damage they had caused to the planet after the war was over. This process taught the Astartes of the legion humility, as they had come to recognise what exactly they were fighting for, not just the spread of the Imperial Truth, but so that they may bring peace and understanding to the galaxy. The Legion had been humbled and as such they took on a more peaceful demeanour outside of battle, where they would show their zeal in it's purest form. This endeared many worlds to them, giving them many tithes of warriors and in time made it easier to sow the seeds of corruption.

When their Primarch discovered the ruinious powers, their warrior monk life style had come to an end, replaced with the barbarism that had come before their enlightenment. The medically aligned brothers who only sought to heal and protect even the meekest of mankind, had become broken twisted into sadists who craved the screams of their prey. The Zealots only sought destruction of the Imperium and the Ecclesiarchy, seeking to unite all under the banner of the dark gods.

Organisation

Tactics

Unlike other close quarter centric legions, the Zealots would not throw themselves at the enemy blindly or commit to costly and dangerous assaults. Zealotry tempered with reason was the motto of the Legion.

Aubrey used his Zealots' ferocity into more elaborate forms of waging war. The people of the worlds he fought usually didn't want to oppose the Imperium, but were forced to do so.

Eliminating the corrupt or misguided heads of these states with a decisive lightening assault allowed the Legion to peacefully occupy the rest of the world as army after army surrendered.

"The patient is not at fault for the disease. Kill it, not the one you are caring for."

(Primarch Aubrey Vokrii-Kendov, On his surgical tactics)

This tactic grew and grew as they faced myriad horrors along the Great Crusade. To Eternal Zealots, one swift and blistering decapitation strike was the clear, perfect prescription could be applied almost any 'lesions'. Their focused wrath came down upon the foolish Corsair Captains and blithering Orkish Warbosses, who, once dead, saw the rest of their cobbled together forces crumble in moments.

Their tactics were soon warped, like many things during the heresy.

They regressed into the callous and brutal barbarism of the Emerald Doom, surrounding themselves with their converted masses who would charge the front lines as the Astartes sought to tear apart the seems that held their enemies ranks together.

Screams of the enemies allies would be heard all across the battlefield from their Torture Transports.

Dark hymns spouted from the blackened mouths of Dark Mentors, driving madness into their hearts.

the Imperiums great beloved heroes and the ecclesiarchial churchs would be executed and defiled in brutal, chauvanistic displays of pure decadance.

The Zealots didn't just kill their enemies, they crushed all hope and destroyed morale, watched their foes flee after watching their heroes fall and their God Emperor fail them.

The Arms of the Zealots

The Eternal Zealots utiliised many of the standard equipment given to them by the Mechanicus, although power armour was in notably short supply due to their position near the Eastern Fringe.

The Zealots developed a two handed chainsword named the "Zweihander", used by especially zealous members of the Legion to cleave through Orks, as their mobs were so massive.

Initiates were known to use Carapace armour due to the lack of any sort of "Scout Armour" during the Crusades, something once shared with their allies the Tarellians.

There was once a material known as "Serpentine Weave" that only Captains and the Primarch himself used in the form of cloaks, tabards and robes. The weave is made from a material synthesized on Lazarus, made originally by the Tarellians to be used in a form of Gorrote wire, when used it would cut through flesh and any armour in the way like butter, it was near unbreakable. The Xenos began weaving the thread together into clothing, no bullet, no acid and no blade was able to penetrate the cloth and yet it was as light and soft as silk. It was near perfect armour, although it was extremely expensive and hard to get a hold of, to dye it was an even more timely, costly process.

Only those of the highest station were gifted with such finery.

The secret of the weave is lost now, with all the Tarellians dead and Lazarus in ashes, only the Primarch knows the secret of this material and it's capabilities, but it is said that it was comparable to adamantium in durability.

Legion Organisation

"Our Brothers from the Emerald Doom are indeed deadly, but the way they are dying out, I might just steal their men for myself and put them to use."

(Primarch Kranios of the Horns of Ruin legion, On the Emerald Doom and their dwindling numbers)

After the arrival of the Primarch many things changed within the legion. Beforehand the legion had become a hoard, similar of that to the Orks, as the Sacred Band members fell one by one, it soon became common place that a Commander would take commander of multiple Chapters.

The Sacred Band of the Eternal Zealots had indeed believed only they had the skill to command such forces but it became clear that the Emerald Doom had become little more than barbarians loosed upon the stars, pillaging and lamenting their inevitably short lives.

Upon being introduced to his Legion Aubrey had sought the advice of his brother Hektor and with him assembled men he deemed able to lead. It took an entire decade of recruiting and organisation until the Zealots set out, forty thousand strong upon the universe.

The Eternal Zealots had become similar in organisation to many of their brother legions, Chapters maintained very individual traditions. The Zealots begun emblasoning their chapters heraldry on the robes they wore. Standard bearers were not used within the legion, as they all carry the pride of their chapter on their robes.

Although the Zealots were similiar in organisation, the methods of training they used is more unique to them and even their Sergeants received some additional training.

Medicae

Aubrey found himself overworked alongside the apothecaries when dealing with the rampant mutation of the legion, he questioned Galle Nacht and Varus Tithonus how the legion was still operating, only to be given a pair of mumbled replies.

He couldn't just assign apothecaries to every squad, it would be a ridiculous waste of time and resources, he did the next best thing. All marines above the rank of Sergeant were from then trained in basic medicae.

This soon became the pride of their legion, some lauded them as "The Healers of the Imperium", many times Astartes were seen to be tended to wounded Imperial Army soldiers, even in the heat of battle. Many came to question why an Astartes should bother with such trivial pursuits, but it gained the trust of many Army regiments, even though the stigma of their tolerance towards xenos drove others away.

Every Sergeant was entrusted with his squads health, routine checks for any developing cancerous growths would be conducted, with the number of trained personal working towards bettering the legion, their mutation soon became a minor nuisence then a grave curse. These men often accompanied the Mentors on their missions to assist in repairing damage on their conquered worlds, providing medical care to civilians and wounded soldiers alike.

With the amount of dedicated medics within the Legion, some companies were inspired to make a formation of Apothecaries and medical Astartes, leading to the development of the Rhino Apothecarium.

Rhino Apothecarium

The Rhino Apothecarium, known to the Imperial Army as "Mobile Emergancy Room.", "The Battle Ambulence" or "Heals on Wheels." It is simply a Rhino transport remodeled to treat patients in the field as well as to transport Apothecaries or other medically trained Astartes to where they are needed the most. The interior is purely sterile, with an operating table in the centre of the transport, it has a variety of tools available to the attending team, much like a normal medical transport. The transport had minimal weaponry, only sporting a heavy bolter mounted on the top of the transport.

The model was mostly deployed during co-operative efforts with other forces, mostly the Imperial Army. It saw no other service than with the Eternal Zealots, probably because of it's very niche use on the battlefield.

It should be noted that during the Betrayal, Aubrey the Grey was saved by the intervention of a Rhino Apothecarium crew, using the mobile operating room to stabilise his critical condition and kept him alive long enough to develop an antidote to a Tarellian poison.

The Artisans of the Prince

Those with trainings of Medicae were in abundance within Eternal Zealots, their core of healers and dedicated transports becoming mobile hospitals for the marines and Imperial Army in battle. It was they who approached Slaanesh's domain, whether they knew it or not.

The doctors had long become twisted in their chaotic days; their healing ways were broken, and instead they turned their hospitals into places of torture and pain. Slaanesh gifted these men with visions, and as such, they sought the path of the debaucherous prince.

They found that as they tortured their victims they found pleasure, so they turned their once practical medicines into sources of even more pleasure. Their Rhino Apothecarium was transformed, voxs mounted to the outside of the transport becoming a source of morale and fear as men would hear the screams of their foes or allies respectively.

So, Slaanesh gifted these men of medicae the speed in which to carry out their tasks, snatching up men from the battlefield to throw into the pain machines, but also to spark life in their brothers with stimulants and drugs forged by the artisans themselves.

Gray Riders

The Gray Riders were formed by the former Commander Varus Tithonus during his stint as 2nd Commander.

The Riders were formed in repost on Vermillion II, civilian militias had launched guerilla campaigns on the Chapters Mentors and Initiates whilst they attempted to convert the populous to the Imperial Truth.

Tithonus was frustrated that the Legion's generosity would be abused in such ways, that the technology and knowledge they brought would be used against them, he took charge and demanded every initiate be taken out of Mentoring duties and instead, work with starts strike forces to lure out and then destroy the groups.

After a month of capturing, torturing and extracting information from every member of the militia they could find, they rounded up all the conspirators involved and gave Vermillion II a message that would echo through out it's history.

Every one of the Legions bikes were fitted with a single pike, on top of those pikes were heads of the conspirators, a grand parade swept through the capital to the palace, Tithonus himself leading the procession.

When the steps of the palace were reached, Tithonus dismounted his bike, grabbed his pike, the head of the militias general posted proudly upon it, and addressed the populous who had followed their grim ride through the city.

He stated that should any attempt to undermine the Imperial Truth, or take advantage of their generous nature, he and his riders would seek them out, their assault marines descend upon them and their heads put on the palace walls.

After confessing to his Primarch about his actions, Aubrey had relented that his actions had saved causing more collateral damage, including civilian causalities and worked with Tithonus to form a combat doctrine for these men to follow in and out of combat.

The Riders used Fear tactics to break enemy morale, something that led to many victories as the hands of the Zealots. Flanking charges by the lightning pike wielding bikers broke enemy lines, heads posted upon their tips horrified them and many men broke formation to run from the Gray painted carrions.

Even in M41, Tithonus still uses the tactics of the Gray Riders, though their tone and duty has been warped. The pirate warband known as the Warp Riders, led by none other than Tithonus himself, still plague the Segmentum Pacificus, leaving nought but terror in their wake.

Initiates

Once the tithes began to flow in, it became apparent that the demand for power armour and gene seed was staggering.

So their Primarch devised a formation that would benefit their demand for strong, capable warriors, as well as helping those in need even more.

The Initiates were placed under the care of the Mentors of each Chapter, each Chapter gaining it's own Initiate reserve.

Training was over seen by the Mentors, shaping the men into not only warriors, but full believers in the Imperial Truth. Scouts assisted the Mentors when planet side, in battle and in repairing the worlds they had taken, It was the Primarchs belief that showing the more human side of the Legion would promote themselves more to the local populous and help things go down more smoothly in the transitional period.

When in battle, a Mentor would lead ten to twenty Initiatives in a zealous charge against their enemies, letting the men get a taste for battle and hardening them to the harsh realities of the crusade. It was, in reality, a trial by fire that would produce only the best of the best, weeding out any un-worthy men, leaving in it's wake a true Astartes.

After Tithonus had instilled the need for the Gray Riders, Initiates would often be selected by a Chapters formation to serve along side them, In reality they acted in a reconnaissance role and a way to draw out the enemy into open combat. Sabotage and Tank hunting was also a part of their operations. When a initiate had fully matured they were expected to join the Grey Riders or the legions Assault squads.

The Auxiliary

The Zealots desired to be the epitome of fair tolerance to all castes and Xenos alike, they used a Xenos Auxiliary which served with distinction, starting with the Tarellians of Lazarus.

The lizard creatures were set the responsibilities of being the Legions shadow, undertaking a number of tasks, with the utmost stealth, especially in the presence of other humans. Many times when a tyrant or false emperor of a world is cut down, it had by at the edge of a Tarellian blade instead of an Astartes sword, it was not uncommon for the Tarellians to be used in the role of assassins, cutting off the heads of generals and rulers upon Aubreys orders, publically it was acknowledged to be the Legions doing, but a select few knew what the Tarellians did during the heresy, most of them are deceased. Tarellians were also talented in the fields of reconnaissance and sabotage, staking out enemy positions, eliminating key defensive structures and armoured support.

Even with other Astartes and Imperium forces present, the Tarellians would still provide ranged support for the Zealots, moving hidden, cover to cover or even using terrain to their advantages.

Because of their tolerance, the Zealots were always second guessed and reviled by the Imperial Army and other Legions.

The Mentors

"Hark! Let no superstition cloud your mind brothers, their curses mean nothing! For we are the bringers of clarity and the enemy of ignorance! Show them the truths that they deny themselves!"

Legion Grand Mentor Zachery Irisus, upon meeting the Necron worshippers of Vermillion II

The Mentors were one of two predecessors to the Chaplains and even Dark Apostles known today by the Astartes.

These "Preachers" taught naught about deities and commandments, only of science and culture, as was needed to spread the word of the Imperial Truth, however this was not their only responsibility.

They were charged with education process on conquered planets, showing the masses the importance of science and shirking the binds that superstition and deities cause upon society. They were also charged with the rallying of troops and reigning in zealotry when needed, a focusing point of the legions power within combat. Inside and outside combat, many Mentors were charged with the training and leading of the Initates of the legion, showing them how the Imperial Truth should be spread to the ignorant, teaching humility and how to become a true Astartes in the art of war.

Great speeches and writ would be expected from a Mentor, if they could not inspire the troops under their command to greatness or convince the populous under their care then they had no place as a guardian of the future Imperium.

With the rank of Mentor also came the perk of better wargear, so that they may continue serving to their fullest on the battlefield. Mentors wore black, green gilded hooded robes over their armour to signify their position. In an almost mocking twist, many have said that these robes gave the Mentors an almost priestly appearance, something that had never ceased to amuse the supposed "Priests of Atheism." A Mentors badge of office came in the form of a Thunder Hammer modified to be held single handedly, although not as powerful as it's elder sibling due to restrictions, it served many Mentors well as not only a weapon but a reminder to the Mentor that carried it.

"In my left hand I carry my gun, to cut down those whom seek to bend the malleable thing that is the mind of the meek. In my right hand I carry my Hammer, so that I may forge greatness from the spirits of the meek, the will to follow the Truth."

Legion Grand Mentor Zachariah Irisus, M30

When the word of the Gods came from the mouth of their Primarch, many at first resisted the touch of Chaos, however more became intoxicated at the thought of actual gods, rather than the false promises they had faced before. Many witnessed the true power of the gods and sought to learn more about them, their rage at the Imperium blinding them to the corruption that their Cyfecti allies had delivered them.

The newly crowned Dark Mentors work closely with the Cyfecti Monks, often leading squads known as Brotherhoods into battle.

It has become their unholy duty to spread the word of Chaos, as well as to defile and besmirch any place of worship, of any deity, that dare claim themselves above the gods of Chaos.