Editing Helios Angels (section)

==Recruitment and Training==
As the manpower needs of the First Legion grew and came into conflict with those of the other Legiones Astartes, the military enclaves and colonies established by Hektor played an increasingly important role. Institutes were established for grooming young boys to meet the exacting standards of the Adeptus Astartes. The first of the ''Scholae Astartes'' were established spontaneously by the ambitious settlers who saw ties to the First Legion as a means of advancement. In 843.M30, Hektor charged the Legion's Apothecarion and its attendant Serfs with administering the Scholae and providing them with a curriculum.

Scholae Astartes gave a broad instruction. Physical conditioning and fitness were considered of high importance but the ''Praeceptors'' were cautioned against excessive training that might cause developmental problems. Students also received an education in arithmetic, grammar, Terran civics and culture, and foundational sciences.  Every three years, the most promising students, deemed the ''Optimi'', were presented to the First Legion. Other students would continue their education until the age of eighteen.  The uniform education of the Scholae Astartes greatly accelerated the growth of the young Imperium. Graduates outside of the First Legion formed a cadre of well-educated Imperial citizens to staff the ever-growing administration of the Emperor's realm.

When a First Legion formation visited a Schola Astartes, each Battle Brother would adopt those Optimi that pleased him into his household to be sponsored for the Legion's Aspirant Trials. Typically these ''Adoptati'' would be a few years too young to be implanted with the gene-seed, though occasionally an exceptional older boy would be taken on.  Presenting a promising Aspirant was considered an honourable achievement, and seeing one of his Adoptati sworn into the Legion was a moment of great pride for a Herald of Hektor. The bonds between a sponsor and a Neophyte usually endured long into the warriors' careers, and although failure was not tolerated it was not unusual for a Marine's advancement in the Legion to owe much to patronage.

The links forged by the First Legion's system of adoption explain part of their pattern of success and decline. Initially the closeness Hektor fostered among his men gave them a great ''esprit de corps'', with veteran battle brothers eager to share their skills with the next generation and younger warriors devoted to their sponsors. However as the Legion aged, the patterns of interest altered.  Promising warriors without powerful sponsors were passed over for promotion and the junior officer corps began to fill up with mediocrities. The Ephors would make strides to change this, but major change could not occur until after the Ullanor War.