Thunder Kings
Summary of Legion XXII
The XXII Legion, the Thunder Kings, are the stalwart scions of Brennus, the 22nd Primarch to be discovered by the Emperor. It is rumored that the Thunder Kings claim descent from similar genetic stock as the Thunder Warriors of old, and are thus often simultaneously the subject of both interest and revile as a consequence. They are larger than the majority of other Astartes, yet exhibit no other outward signs that’d betray such lineage. They are seen as a stubborn, albeit noble Legion and Chapter, and are generalists suited to performing competently at nearly any role assigned to them. Notably, they have many successor chapters, with whom the Thunder Kings still maintain contact and friendly relations. After the voluntary burning of Alessia, the Chapter now recruits from a series of worlds located in a group of star systems known as the Soctis Cluster, where they de facto operate a kingdom in miniature within the Imperium.
Legion Tactics & Doctrine
Though the Thunder Kings are generalists, their training harkens back to the days spent among the forests of Alessia. Foremost is patience and wariness, instilled into Marines as a fundamental aspect of war. While fortune might favor the bold, untempered bravado is nearly always the same as recklessness. The Thunder Kings thus excel foremost at operational warfare, at orchestrating and dealing with larger fronts fought wide over numerous continents, worlds, or star systems. It might even be described as a talent for all things organizational, for during the time of the heresy, Brennus' logistical and operational apparatus which included plethora mortal hangers-on was said to operate near flawlessly.
Legion Equipment
Brennus, Primarch of The Thunder Kings
Appearance
Brennus' appearance reflects his upbringing, with the Thunder King Primarch as much as chieftain as he is a warlord and commander of men. He stands at equal height with the Voidwatcher, and possesses a similarly thin build. His pale cheeks and face are marred by tribal stigmas and tattoos, the blue ink showing detailed caricatures of various scenes of both his life and Alessia's history. Most notable is the blue starburst extending out from his left eye; the great serpent writing across the right side of his face. Where the marines of his legion oft bear only the sigil of their tribe, Brennus wears them all, that of each tribe.
He bears his straw-colored hair long and down, keeping it in short braids much like his similarly long beard. To many that gaze upon him, he looks like a barbarian warlord of old, brought into the modern era without any apparent difficulty. His eyes are slate-grey, betraying little, but lacking the fire--the passion--so many of his brothers show in them.
His wargear, though masterfully forged and crafted, has little in the way of ostentation. It is a single suit, more similar to the standard Astartes armor than Terminator. Alessian runes are carved into the sides of his armor, and his belt--a gift from the Emperor--is the most ornate thing he bears; displaying in finely cut goldleaf Brennus' Last Council on Alessia with the tribes. His signature weapon is a relic powersword, bearing the lightning bolt of his Legion upon its pommel, named Fear-Eater, alongside a large, kite-shaped shield.
Youth
Alessia was a world of seemingly infinite, teeming forests, stretching from one end of every continent to the other. Hills and mountains broke up these woodlands with some regularity, and it was upon one of these isolated hills which Brennus' pod came to land. The tribesmen that found him saw a babe, its fist wrapped around the throat of a dead Thunderhawk--one of the great, predatory birds reputed to control lightning and weather on Alessia--and immediately adopted him, viewing their find as an enormously good omen. They raised him among their tribe, and were unsurprised when the god-child grew at a rate far in excess of that of any man; larger and bulkier than any other. The Elders of the tribe fawned over the youth, and believed him to be an avatar of their plethora forest gods. This claim, among many others, eventually incited raids and attacks from many surrounding tribes, forcing the young Brennus into conflict from quite an early point.
Yet warfare on Alessia was not a grand affair of thousands of men and mass formations. The terrain was forever difficult, and rarely even enough to accommodate such tactics. War was a slow process, a series of skirmishes and blood grudges waged over the course of several years. There were more concerns than just your fellow man, for the dangerous woodland predators were only too happy to reap a bloody harvest as well. Thus, the style of war he learned was that of a cold, quiet, and patient hunter. It was a method whereby one carefully observed his prey before striking, and suited their tactics specifically to the given foe.
He earned his tattoos quickly, taking on the great blue snake of the Star-Eaters first. It took him a year to do it, but their defeat was utter and crushing when it came, their forces wiped out entirely. Yet he was magnanimous in victory: the Star-Eaters incorporated alongside his native Thunder-Bearers in a new system, in a united tribal confederation. Thus it would be, that when a tribe was conquered, it would be rapidly assimilated into the fold of the growing tribal council. They were each equally represented, though Brennus always made it clear that he would be the first among equals there.
The wars eventually wound down, with eight tribes making up the tribal council. Together, they made up the greater sum of the planet's surface, but Brennus was determined to bring them all together--and so the Last Council of Alessia was convened. There, all twelve Alessian tribes gathered together and agreed to unite in perpetuity, creating what all hoped would be a permanent and unified state.
As a ruler, Brennus was just but unambitious. Where some Primarchs rose to create shining new empires upon or from their adopted planets, Brennus did no such thing. He was content to peacefully rule over that which he had won, aspiring for little more than the stability and prosperity his campaigns had already won his folk. He would sit as the first upon the tribal council for many years, shaping policy and decision making, but never choosing to deviate much from established custom and precedent. The majority of his work was peacemaking, in keeping the sometimes disparate tribes together and avoiding internecine warfare between them. It isn't clear to what extent Brennus believed what the Elders claimed, that he was the child or avatar of a god, but he certainly made every effort to meet their expectations and comport himself like one.
The Coming of The Emperor
It is unknown what the Emperor thought of Brennus when he finally arrived on Alessia. It had been many years by then since the planet had come under the Primarch's control, and its position on the galactic periphery meant that it took the Imperium some time for the Emperor to reach his son. According to Thunder Kings lore, the Emperor was greeted by his son upon arrival and welcomed into Brennus' private throne-room. There, locking themselves within for several days, the pair conversed without rest. Brennus' deeds were relayed first, and then the Emperor imparted upon him the revelation of his purpose, to serve as a warlord in the name of humanity.
When Brennus emerged, his ordinarily placid features were set with an expression of grim finality. He would take up the sword, to be sure, and he would bring his tribes with him to the stars.
The Great Crusade
It was fitting. They were the 22nd Legion, and he was the 22nd Primarch discovered.
The Thunder Kings had been bereft of a Primarch longer than most legions. Brennus was among the last discovered, and so a joy they had long not felt swelled the hearts of each marine within the Legion's ranks. They had been relegated to fronts bearing little prestige, and had grown bitter with envy as they looked on at the glory others achieved under the helm of their own Primarchs. Worse yet, they were a Legion that was ridiculed: rumors plaguing the XXII regarding its origins and genestock since its very first days. Such Thunder Kings of Terran-stock as Roc Galveoc and Zebulon Uriy managed to keep the Legion together and relatively united, but never managed to stir any fire into them, any great pride. Thus, while they were competent, they were relegated always to a secondary place, assigned fronts of little perceived value.
Brennus was initially dismayed by what he found. A people broken by hearsay and ill fortune, beset by insecurities regarding themselves and their background. There was no identity there, nothing to join them together. He chose to keep the name, reportedly amused by the similarity between it and that of his tribe. The Legion was reorganized along tribal lines, with the original Terran marines inducted directly into his personal tribe. A concerted recruitment effort took place, with many thousands of Alessians being taken into the ranks of the Thunder Kings. The Terran marines longed for identity, and many seized upon the opportunity Brennus offered by adopting Alessian customs and sometimes even names. A new council was established, for the Thunder Kings Legion alone, and each of the tribes yet again given a place upon it.
When the Thunder Kings thus finally pulled themselves from Alessia, they did so with a new face. They were a Legion which had undergone a significant reshaping, being tuned to the direct purpose of their Primarch. They would demonstrate this well over the years, and Brennus would display infinite patience with the demands, complaints, and commentary of his brothers.
They were relegated to many of the same types of campaigns as before, initially. Slow, arduous, and inglorious endeavors. Yet Brennus showed his brilliance there, proving exceptionally competent in dealing with just these styles of fronts. Though it was little quicker than before, these protracted conflicts always ended in utterly comprehensive victories. With time, he was assigned command of out-of-the-way but important theaters, executing long wars with his Thunder Kings over numerous systems and planets. It was in this which they proved to excel: as a patient, conquering force, one which fought to achieve such a victory as to never needs return to fight there again.
The campaign the Thunder Kings would best be known for was the War for Agrippa's Cross. A gauntlet of star systems running between the Norma and Scutum-Centaurus Arms of the galaxy, it had been occupied and ruled by Xeno-worshiping humans for many centuries. With such a route having significant implications for the future of developing human worlds in the latter galactic arm, Warmaster Hektor, weary of the slow pace of fighting there, eventually assigned Brennus to the front. There, Brennus displayed caution and patience in spades, managing to win over as many worlds through careful diplomacy, threats, and surgical strikes as he did through open warfare. While the campaign may have consumed nearly twelve years, Agrippa's Cross was a staunchly Imperial holding by the end of it. It was this way everywhere they were assigned, and soon the Thunder Kings earned for themselves a reputation as being hardy fighters that could weather down, with enough time, nearly any foe. Attrition wasn't the reason for it, but instead the careful, considered, and methodical approach they always undertook.
The Heresy
During the Heresy, seven of the twelve tribes abandoned the Emperor and Brennus, heading towards Terra to assist Hektor Cincinnatus. Four of the remaining tribes set out in the same direction, assisting loyalist forces in various skirmishes and battles in the vicinity of the Sol system. It would be almost a year before Brennus lifted himself from Alessia, burning the world behind him, and took his last remaining tribe--his personal one--with him to Terra.
News of the Heresy didn't reach Brennus for some days until it began, by which time he and the majority of his Legion had gathered in orbit around Alessia to both celebrate the completion of a campaign and to recruit once more. When news finally did arrive, seven of the twelve tribes immediately departed, leaving no notice or explanation as to their intentions. As word spread, it became clear that Selioax--who proclaimed himself leader of these rebelling tribes--had thrown his lot in with the Archtraitor. Thereafter, four of the remaining tribes left, with a course bound for Terra itself. Brennus himself remained on Alessia for a month more, brooding silently as he carefully considered his failure; the treason of his sons. He did eventually stir himself, decidedly burning Alessia before following his loyalist sons towards Terra.
The majority of the fighting the Thunder Kings did during the Heresy took place in the Sol system, specifically in orbit around Jupiter and Saturn. The Jovian and Saturnian fronts had begun before the first fighting took place on Mars and Terra, and control of them was assumed by the Thunder Kings once they arrived. It was characterized by several pitched space battles and desperate engagements across the surface of Jupiter's and Saturn's rocky moons. A number of precious archaeotech stations and refineries were lost to Black Augur spite, and the eventual arrival of the Eternal Zealots forced the Thunder Kings onto the defensive. Brennus did his best to keep the front together, and managed to keep the Voidwatcher and Aubrey at bay. The fighting would eventually culminate in the 5th Battle of Titan, where the Void Angels arrived with nearly their entire Legion to relieve the Thunder Kings and decisively destroy the Eternal Zealots and Black Augur forces present.
With the Hektor dead and the traitors fled, the Thunder Kings rapidly set out in pursuit of their traitorous brethren. The assistance of the Void Angels was appreciated in this matter, and Brennus took to this particular task with a zeal it is said he rarely ever exhibited.
Post-Heresy
In the modern era, the tribal structure has been disbanded, and the Chapter no longer recruits from a single world. The loyalist tribes were instead broken off into their own individual Chapters, and are known to maintain close ties to the original Thunder Kings--who are all of Brennus’ original tribe. The Chapter is now mostly Codex Astartes adherent, at least with regards to organization, though it still maintains more Marines than is considered standard--owing to its extended garrison duties in many locations. Most notable is still their fondness for unified tactics, and it is unsurprising to see the Thunder Kings working alongside their brother chapters or with regular Imperial forces in the conduct of a combined front against a greater enemy.
Following the voluntary burning of Alessia, the Thunder Kings instead now recruit from a multitude of planets spread out over a gauntlet of stars known as the Soctis Cluster. With several black holes orbiting the periphery of the cluster, the habitable planets scattered throughout the Cluster are habitually bombarded by erratic seasons, exotic radiation, and altogether experience harsh conditions. It is from these worlds that the Thunder King recruits are drawn, with a permanent garrison maintained on each one.
Other
Notable Figures
Garrick Hammerhand, Foeseeker and Captain of the Colgrist Tribe of the Thunder Kings
After the unification of the twelve tribes of Alessia each chieftain was given voice as lord of his people. This tradition forged a unity previously unknown to the world, one which Brennus carried with him to the stars when he rejoined the Emperor. Each grand company of the Thunder Kings would draw from one of the great tribes for recruits, and as before, the chieftains, now captains over armies of astartes, served as the council for their primarch.
Garrick was one such captain, drawn from the Colgrist tribe of the far southern forests. His rise to authority had not been a meteoric one, but rather a steady rise through the attrition of war. His leadership and combat skills were well respected, but promotion by circumstance other than the death of his predecessors never came due to his clash with the patient ideal of the legions ways of war. Garrick was a bold man, favoring decisive action and swift, powerful deployment of the forces at his command. His peers view his command as a reckless one that risks too much for little gain. His retort has always been that fortune favors the bold, and only those who dare will know the glories of victory. To his credit, Garrick's style of leading the charge has galvanized a loyal following of troops within his tribe, forming a solid spearhead that faces the foes of mankind with unflinching resolve and fury. Upon his elevation to command of the 5th grand company of the Thunder Kings, the reputation of his troops was one of great renown and open mindedness, with a willingness to drive home unorthodox and aggressive tactics to gain victory.
Ultimately, the loyal following Garrick possessed would be his only saving grace. When the treason of the warmaster was discovered, so too were the roots of cancer that gnawed at his company. The drive for glory had become brazen in their ranks, spurred on by the success of the equally brazen captain. Yet his loyalty would have prevented them from testing their prowess against the most dangerous game of all: rival astartes. The 5th grand company had been long poisoned by the whispers of outside forces. Proud hunting tradition founded in the forests of Alessia had been twisted by the subtle works of the Children of Armok and their proxies; now the men sought to test themselves not for the edification of their tribe and Emperor, but to vaunt themselves above their kin. Garrick had been seen as the embodiment of this, but his fidelity to his primarch would harbor no treason.
In the end the captain of the Colgrist found his position usurped and his ship torn by a sudden, violent mutiny. His personal guard and loyal men from his days as a lesser officer quelled the fighting, but only after five hours of ceaseless slaughter as brothers in arms fell upon one another. Such bitterness only grew worse when his ship, the Astral Huntsman, was fired upon by the remaining vessels of the company's fleet. Word of the failed uprising had reached the other vessels where similar mutiny had ended swiftly in the traitors favor. Shocked and enraged, Garrick had to be restrained by his men, lest he command his ship on a suicidal final stand. Better, they reasoned, to flee and give word of their losses than to leave Brennus short a captain and the vital news. Fleeing from the treasonous Colgrist fleet, they rejoined with elements of the still loyal Thunder Kings. Swearing vengeance upon the grave breach of faith his men had committed, Garrick joined the marines bound for the Jovian campaign and became the Hammer of Brennus, instrument of the primarch's wrath.
The Hammers of Brennus
The Hammers of Brennus were formed in the early days after the Heresy from survivors of the loyalists that fled annihilation from the traitor tribes. They were added to the roster of one of the tribes decimated in the fighting late in the Heresy to bolster their numbers, the chapter now forms a vengeful, vindictive offshoot of the more temperate parent legion. The Hammers of Brennus hold an eagerness to exact a toll of blood and violence on those who turned from the Emperor's light, and hold incredibly strong ties of brotherhood within their own ranks as survivors and warriors, which extends to the rest of the Thunder Kings and their child chapters. Among the Thunder Kings, it is the Hammers that are first to fight. They respond swiftly to calls for aid (especially from forces facing the Archenemy) and deploy using an extensive number of drop pods form a sudden, explosive presence on the battlefield. From the bitter close combat of planetfall a landing zone is swiftly secured for the rest of the chapter's forces to deploy, allowing a multitude of heavier supplies to be ferried into the hot combat zone under extensive gunship protection. This vanguard force swiftly shifts from a defensive posture to an offensive one once the beachhead is secured. As reinforcements arrive, the chapter turns to a highly aggressive force focused on harrying the enemy and ensuring superiority of mobility by assaulting air and rapid attack assets. This in turn frees gunships from convoy detail, allowing for even greater reach. Ultimately, the Hammers turn the crucible of deep strikes and rapid assault into an art, one which marks the bane of slower, more cumbersome foes. Given their close ties to their imperial allies, it is safe to assume that when Brennus' hammers make landfall, relief is soon assured.