Stone Men

Stone Men
Stone Skull and Henge
Battle Cry	*The sound of meteors screeching through the atmosphere*
Number	XXVII
Founding	First Founding
Successors of	N/A
Successor Chapters	N/A
Chapter Master	Johannus Osmosius
Primarch	Onyx Lithus
Homeworld	Neolithus(sucked into the warp), now Methuselah IV
Strength	50,000 at peak, now between 7000 and 5000 (200,000 if auxiliary forces and allies are counted)
Specialty	Close combat/deep strike
Allegiance	Fedelitas Constantus
Colours	Brown and grey (sometimes steel blue)

Summary of Legion XXVII

Numeration: The XXVIIth Legion

Primogenator: Onyx Lithus(also known as "The Indestructible")

Cognomen (Prior): Defenders of Cragg(A world the Legion protected from Corsair raids before Onyx was found).

Observed Strategic Tendencies: Close Combat, Mass Drop Deployment, Naval Bombardment, Astra-Geological Assault

Noteworthy Domains: (pre-heresy) The Neolithus System (Primary), tithe rights to five other asteroid based colonies. (post heresy) methuselan system, domain over the ghoul stars.

Alliegence: Fedelitas Constantus

"I am not, a complex person. I am merely a warrior. A son of Onyx, sworn to fight for the Emperor. Do not expect poetry to flow from this mouth, I am but a tool for war. And I will protect the innocent and uphold justice. That is all I have to say, for that is all I am."

Captain Jarace of the First Obsidian Strike Force, M.30

Characterized by their love of solid rock and hard work ethic, the Stone Men are one of the most honorable, brotherly, and just Legions in the whole Imperium. Both blessed and cursed by their geneseed, most Stone Men stand far above their fellow Legionnaires but unfortunately their geneseed takes a considerable amount of time to mature making recruitment a slow and arduous task. Still, they make great use of their stature to bring swift and crushing victory. Though many remark on their odd qualities and personalities after the Heresy.

Legion Tactics

"The Stone Men fall, and every enemy dies." (Quote attributed to Iren, Marshal of the Terrancotta First)

Pre-Onyx

Due to the late discovery of Onyx and the Stone Men's lack of sufficient gene-seed production, their growth was stunted in the early days of their legion. Their leader was a famous warrior of a long-lost royal house of knights, Duwayne Johanneson. He and his 9 warriors were usually sent on small strike-force missions, and were famous for sustaining incredible amounts of damage, and still completing the mission. One famous mission being the reclamation of the West Worlds Entente, under control of the rogue mutant warlord Jebediah C'nah, a fearsome fighter who could render himself comepletely invisible. The campaign crescendoed in an epic siege of the warlord's fortress on the world of Summerian Slamis prime, where Duwayne and his warriors broke through C'nah's defenses, and He challenged him to a one-on-one duel to the death. Duwayne and C'nah grappled for many hours, until Duwayne finally managed to get the upperhand and use a legendary ancient martial technique known as the "Rock Bottom". Before he used this epic finishing move, he famously shouted the words "Dost thou smell what the rock is cooking?". Interpretation of this phrase is widely debated, and some even attribute it to the fact that he hadn't eaten his rations earlier, and was expressing his hunger. Many believe this grand event set the precedent for the Stone Men of extensive use of grappling and hand-to-hand combat, a skill enhanced by an STC discovered by the Stone Men themselves in an assault on a space hulk dubbed "the Hogan Hulk" for advanced power fists. He also defeated an eldar titan many years before in hand-to-hand combat, driven by Stoyaven Austein, a name which translates to "Cold as Stone". Many believe this was the origin of Duwayne's nickname, "the rock", and possibly even the Stone Men themselves.

Post-Onyx

When Onyx appeared, he quickly set to work organizing the now-shunned legion. He used his strength to discipline them, and put their iron wills to work with incredibly intense training, even by space marine standards. Before long, the ceramite armor used by most of the imperium had grown to weak and brittle for them to use. A new ore called Neolithite became standard issue for Stone Men forces. Onyx's forces, armed with nigh-indestructible armor, were an unstoppable force to the foes of the imperium. Attacks would begin with heavy bombardment by naval vessels WHILE drop pods and deep strike operations took place. The bombardment was meant to act merely as a distraction while the Stone Men destroyed the armies from within. Power fists, normally used for punching, found a more fitting place in the ranks of the Stone Men as simply larger hands to grasp bigger weapons, or simply crush the enemy in their grasp. The Stone Men dealt almost exclusively in heavy weaponry, with standard bolters replacing bolt pistols, heavy bolters and meltaguns replacing standard bolters, and all manner of insanely large weaponry as "heavy weapons" (one account even describes an enraged marine using a torn-off Gaspard Lumey cannon as an improvised weapon. This account is hotly disputed, as the firing mechanism isn't adapted for personal handling.). Almost all the vehicles of the Stone Men were armored with pure, molded Neolithite (although later ones were armored with a plasteel/Neolithite alloy dubbed "Neolithium", leading to the Stone Men tradition of older=better), meaning they could simply charge the enemy and break through by sheer push force, or outlast them during defensive operations by holding their ground. sneakier targets or guerrilla warfare were especially difficult for the Stone Men however, as they refused to kill or endanger innocents. In some rare cases, Stone Men have been seen coming between fire (enemy or Imperial) and innocents, protecting them with their toughened bodies. Onyx himself has said that these special cases are taken care of, but some suggest this means he is secretly honoring them for their altruism. The Stone Men usually work alone and as a single force, with only guard regiments and other low-level grunt forces (possibly because they relate to the common men and women of the imperium more than their knightly brothers). The only exception to this being the great War on the Colossi, and of course, the Hektor Heresy.

Post-Heresy

Due to the lack of resources, small numbers, remote location, and numerous, horrific enemies, the Stone Men had to adapt many new strategies to combat the strange, new evils they faced; many without the help of Onyx.

Asteroids became a invaluable resource, as they fortified themselves in the meteor fields of Methuselah. They could be used for all manner of purposes, ranging from weapons, transports, fortifications, even make-shift exterminati. Asteroids were much slower than most other planetary weapons, but thanks to the relatively predictable nature of the fringe warp, they could be sent through temporary warp portals directly to a planetary surface. They could also deliver entire platoons of Stone Men directly to the planetary surface, or to an enemy ship. Weaponry is sparce at the edge of the galaxy, so the Stone Men can't exactly be picky. Practically anything will be recycled, bar heavily chaos-taintes equipment.

Legion Equipment

Stone Men armor and color pattern

Clad in a stony ore, called Neolithite, found in asteroids and wielding powerfists and heavy weaponry, they are nearly indestructible, yet moderately small in number and almost completely unable to increase the size of their ranks. They are all rather simple, preferring to stay away from politics and intrigue. They know only one thing: the enemies of the Imperium are great; We must be greater.

Legion History

Before Onyx was uncovered on Neolithus, the Stone Men were an infamously troubled legion. Constantly penalized from disobeying orders, the young legion was nearly exterminated, if not for the discovery of Onyx, the last Primarch. He instituted rigorous training, and intense reform that shaped the Stone Men into a force to be reckoned with. They first displayed their newfound discipline by stopping a WAAAGH of epic porportions at the doorstep of the Imperium. The battle took place on the harrowing surface of Fenris, where the Stone Men stood like immovable mountains, jutting out from a sea of green and red. Their courage and strength earned them the honor of leading a great crusade into the segmentum ultima. In the Segmentum, they fought numerous xenos empires, such as the amorphic ghourb, which could fashion melee weapons from their gelatinous tentacles, the Xioxinid, a race of creatures fueled by nuclear hearts that could melt an entire bane blade, and even a race of warp creatures known as the violatius, which seduced the minds of human men and women then used them as conduits to feed on their emotional energy. The greatest of these xenos threats was the almighty Jormmund. These titanic beings of crystalline, silicon shells were resistant to almost all forms of energy weapons, incredibly durable, capable of turning entire mountains into starships, and could dwarf an imperial titan in sheer magnitude. They commanded a legion of slave species, ruling over them by threat of desrruction, and were a threat to the entire imperium. They could only fly at near light speeds, meaning the Stone Men could spend a few years fortifying their next target; however, this usually only slowed them down. They even reproduced through spores that could traverse space, meaning they could appear on any planet in any system nearby. The Stone Men had to call upon other legions in order to finally defeat them, and even had the sons of fire burn every world they had fought on to make sure the spores were completely eradicated. Through all these battles, The ruinous forces were watching, and they knew that for their plan to succeed, they needed to cripple the the mighty Stone Men. A warp storm consumed Neolithus, and overtook over 30,000 marines, as well as destroying their stock of gene-seed. the remaining 20,000 marines and the entire fleet traveled to Isstvan, pursuing a distress signal from their fellow astartes (whom they thought were also being assailed by chaos). They arrived to find their own battle brothers fighting each other, and the confused chapter launched a full-on assault into the frenzy. After the loyalist marines had fled thanks to the massive diversion the Stone Men created, the Stone Men themselves retreated, unwilling to risk the massive casualties they had endured on their homeworld. the remaining fleet managed to escape to holy Terra. Onyx wished to seek guidance from his father, but when he arrived he found that even Terra itself was under attack! They attempted to defend the sol system from hordes of ravenous daemons and chaos space marines. this ended in disaster when the pride of the Stone Men, the great Mount Everest summit-class battle barge was besieged by chaos. In a last ditch effort to ensure the survival of the remaining Stone Men, the Grand Admiral Regis Tungsten and a force of 5,000 naval marines held their ground long enough to let the remainders escape. The Admiral then sent the battle barge careening into the eternal flames of the sun, ensuring it would never fall to chaos, although reports suggest that it may have been salvaged from the warp by the ruinous powers themselves, so great its power was. Weakened and only 7,000 in number, the stone men forsook the Imperium, retreating into deep space around the ghoul stars in the pale shroud. They locked onto the farthest object they could find and disappeared for 10,000 years.

The Everest Summit-class Battle Barge, the largest battleship ever created. pictured exiting the warp along with two emperor-class battleships and a nemesis-class battleship.

Legion Organization

The stone men have three basic tiers of space marines: First is the igneous, composed of (relatively) new recruits, scout marines, and experimental forces. They are named so because their armor is still new, and lacks any significant scarring or burns. The major groups in this tier are the obsidian arrowheads, which act as percision strike forces, the quartz techmarines, which test new technologies developed by the latomus tech preists, and the pumice bludgeons, lightweight scout marines and assault marines for fast, swift actions and operations.

The next tier is the sedimentus, the main bulk of the stone men. these are almost all run-of-the-mill space marines, with a select few terminators. They are named for their armor, as the weaker outside of the ore slowly crumbles away. They are compsed entirely by sandstone marines, and all share the same eternal will that makes sandstond last for aeons.

The third and highest tier are the metamorphus marines. These are the elites of the stone men, almost all are either commanders, leaders, or named heroes. Each has custom equipment and is distinguished by their darker, hardend armor. They are the veterans, and most were there since the founding itself. They are also called the anthracite marines.

Ordo Latomus

In their battles among the ghoul stars, the Stone Men have gathered a cabal of priests known as the ordo latomus, or the stone masons. survivors from the harrowing battles against tyranids, necrons, and all other manner of horrific entities on the fringe of the galaxy can join this prestigious order, meaning it is mostly composed of veteran guardsmen and sisters of battle. On occasion, a xenos may be able to attain priesthood, if sufficient heroism and honor is displayed. The xenos must request admission into the order. The ordo latomus carries out various non-combat roles such as repair, maintenance, research, supply, and administration within the stone men. Their traditional garb is a brown cloak that covers their entire visage along with light armor and weaponry.

Gemstone Preists

Exodite eldar preists from the aftermath of hive fleet azathoth. They are all rocking 80's hair and have even more gemstones than normal eldar. They provide psychic advice, as well as semi-reliable scrying, mind reading, and precognition.

Adeptus Silicates

a rogue faction of adeptus mechanicus preists on the run from the imperium after being set up by a corrupt inquisitor. They were expelled for their "unorthodox" practices, such as preferring to come up with batshit crazy ideas on the fly and test them in the field, as the omnissiah prefers actions to script.

Terrancotta Army

Various rank and file imperial guardsmen and women tasked with the jobs that marines can't do while fighting the elder gods.

Sisters Strata

A long-lost order of sororitas who have since taken a vow of silence, and record the various exploits and information about the stone men, ordo latomus, and ghoul stars

Recent Activity

The distant object they found was in fact the awakening c'tan. after destroying it, necrons begin to rise up and head for the imperium. a new hive fleet, coming from the opposite direction of the others arrives here, hive fleet azathoth. It has weaponry and tactics completely divergent of the other hive fleets, making it a major threat to the galaxy. The craft world protecting the exodite worlds was torn apart savagely by the combined forces of necrons and tyranids on either side. the exodites were only saved when the stone men intervened, sending the necrons and tyranids off to fight one another. The stone men made an ultimatum to the eldar, leave the sector immediately or pledge themselves to the ordo latomus. Many chose to leave, but the remaining eldar formed the basis for the newly formed stone masons

Headquarters

Neolithus

Neolithus is the First homeworld of the Stone Men, and the homeworld of Onyx himself. It is located near the border of the Segmentum Solar and the Segmentum Ultima, near where the galactic core meets the sagittarius arm. It is rocky, dusty, and vast, with oceans transitioning into cliffs and rocky outcroppings. Mountains and Deserts dominate the land, with small havens of hospitality near the coasts and rivers. After a massive revolution led by Onyx before the coming of the Emperor, It was unified under the just rule of Onyx and his advisors. After the Emperor brought Onyx into the Imperium, it was industrialized into a fortified mining world as well as a thriving metropolis. A majority of Stone Men neophytes came from here, although the Stone Men had other recruiting worlds nearby. During the Great Hektor Heresy it was consumed by a massive warpstorm conjured by the combined might of Tzeentch and a loose alliance of daemon princes. If not for the heroic stand of the dark-skinned neophyte Johannus Osmosium, all the spare geneseeds and training recruits would have been lost to chaos. He stole two long-dead power hammers from the monument to Onyx's rebellion, and wielded them despite them being uncharged. He slew Daemons by the hundreds and acted as a shield for the escaping acolytes and apothecaries.

Neolithus
Segmentum	Segmentum Solar/Segmentum Ultima
Sector	Neolithic
Sub Sector	Paleogothic
System	Neolithian System
Population	1,000,000,000
Planetary Governor	Onyx
Orbital radius	0.8 AU ± .2AU
Gravity	1.987 G
Temperature	temperate-hot

Methuselah

Now the Stone Men fortify themselves within a massive field of asteroids, shrouded by cold, dark clouds of dust and gas. They orbit a dead, zombified star, which has long since lost it's light. The star was named Methuselah, as calculations predict the star remnant to be over 50 billion years old. This dark, forsaken fortress is actually beyond the ghoul stars, as it's isolation shrouds it from the sensors of attacking tyranids, and is far from any webway for the necrons to stage a meaningful assault. On the larger asteroids and planetoids, massive stone fortresses are carved from the rock. about half of the remaining fleet (500 ships) as well as the remnants of the destroyed craftworld were cannibalized to create a massive network of functional strategic weaponry and facilities. The system has a few other cold, rocky dead worlds, and a single gas giant that emits strange signals periodically thoughout the year named "Jogsototh".

Methuselan System
Segmentum	Ultima Segmentum
Sector	Ghoulan
Sub Sector	Exodia
System	Methuselan System
Population	7,000-5,000 Marines 200,000 refugees, soldiers, technicians, etc.
Planetary Governor	Chapter Master
Orbital radius	3.4 AU ± 1.6AU
Gravity	N/A
Temperature	-100 C

Enemies

In their battles among the ghoul stars, the stone men have acquired a number of enemies, many of which have fallen underfoot the mighty march of the Stone Men. The ones that have managed to last against the rocky bombardment of the Stone Men pose the greatest threat to the Imperium, and if the Stone Men were to fall, it is likely trillions could perish in the deluge of monstrosities that floods from the dark abyss.

Hive Fleet Azathoth

Coming from a separate direction entirely than the other hive fleets, Azathoth is as errant from normal tyranid biology as is physically possible. They manage to use and harness all manner of energies in the form of weapons, such as psyke-rays, tesla-spines, plasma breath, atomic fire, and even stellar artillery. The biomorphs of Hive Fleet Azathoth are so incredibly divergent from known tyranid data, it is possible that they have even evolved into a seperate species. The Biomorphs of this Hive Fleet are almost all energy-based. tentacled gaunt-like swarmers can fire psyker rays like guardsmen lasguns, with massive synapse creatures able to gather the energy into a psyker blast, capable of tearing entire mountains apart. Plasma energy, usually reserved for artillery in normal hive fleets, is everywhere in Hive Fleet Azathoth. Even their methods of feeding are aberrant. They do not simply consume all edible materials on a planet, in fact many worlds they have ravaged have since regrown (albeit into mutant radioactive death worlds). The reason for this is unknown, perhaps some sort of allergy or intolerance as a side-effect of the heavy mutations? This should cause the tyranids to lose biomass and starve, however they seem to draw on some foreign energy source of a psychic/immaterial nature. Perhaps encounters with the unimaginable horrors beyond the stars have caused these harrowing mutations. Yet the gods of the abyss beyond the light of any star in this galaxy are waiting, and even the might of the great swarm cannot escape their maws.

Lord Valgul's Kingdom of Drazak

When the stone men first arrived at the pale wastes of the ghoul stars, they encountered the deranged flesh-craving kingdom of Drazak. These decrepit, flayed husks preyed upon the few remaining human worlds and exodite havens, lead by the (slightly less) deranged lord Valgul. These unorganized raids would be easily traced back to the original tomb world if these were normal necrons, but the minions of Drazak are far from normal. Drazak itself is a mystery, hidden in some unknown cataract of space-time, possibly even the warp. When the reaping comes, and the stone men are not present, pray to whatever gods you hail that you are not found.

Apophysis the Fractured

The moment onyx shattered the fabric of reality and banished the dreaded C'tan, thousands of tomb worlds awoke in unison under a single creed; protect the C'tan from the few things that can destroy them. namely the stone men. These necrons are the oldest in all the galaxy, hailing from the time when the C'tan lorded over the necrontyr like gods. They seek not the worlds the stone men protect (though they care not if they are destroyed). They seek the stone throne of onyx, and his immortal tomb.

Onyx, Primarch of The Stone Men

Onyx Lithus the Indestructible

Appearance

Onyx was a massive ox of a man, 12 ft tall and with the strength to almost rival that of the emperor. he was simple, however, certainly not a learned scholar. He had a a bald head, grizzled features, and a glorious muttonchops/viking beard combo. His skin was a tan grey, almost as if he was constantly covered in the very stone he worked.

Youth

He landed on a slightly primitive agri-world, where he became a stone worker. Onyx effortlessly drove into the rock, as if it was water and he was wading through it. He saw his fellow workers toil more rigorously, as they were mere mortals. he honored these men, for though they were less powerful than he; they gave more than their weight in spirit and will. This impacted the primarch deeply, and when he saw the gross mistreatment of the workers by their superiors, he set out to usurp these aristocratic rulers. He staged an armed revolt, conquering his local lord in mere days. upon seeing his indulgent throne, he crushed it with his bare hands. He spread the dust over the people, shouting "THIS IS YOURS NOW". He continued on to all the nations of the planet, doing the same. the regents would often try to bribe him, convince him, tell him "you are the real menace!". he listened not to the words of these politicians. they angered him. any of these nations would have failed on their own, but under the protection of onyx, they were prosperous.

The Coming of The Emperor

After becoming the ruler of the planet, the emperor and his crusading astartes came to retrieve him. after his history of mistrust of politicians, he challenged the emperor to a duel. The emperor tried to tell him that he was his father, but onyx would not listen to his words. Tired, the emperor convinced him to settle for an arm wrestle. the match lasted for 3 days, and on the fourth, the table shattered, leaving the two remaining for 12 hours. at the very last minute, the emperor drove onyx's tiring into the ground, fracturing the granite. onyx finally accepted the emperor's words, knowing that only his true father could beat him in a test of strength.

The Great Crusade

Onyx and his Stone Men traveled the far reaches of the galaxy, fighting all manner of foes. He lead one of the strongest legions in the imperium, and became incredibly prideful.

The Heresy

With the destruction of Neolithus and the slaughtering of his battle brothers, onyx became confused and lost. At the battle of Istvaan, he was torn between his battle brothers, choosing to simply hold his ground rather than risk attacking the wrong side. He sought the council of his father, the emperor, only to find Terra under siege. Disheartened by the loss of the great Everest and most of his chapter, him and his Stone Men retreated to deep space.

Post-Heresy

It is said that Onyx regained his faith in the emperor after centuries of thought, though reports suggest he may have died or gone missing during the Stone Men's crusades at the edge of the galaxy. New reports from far flung fringe worlds describe a possible return of the Stone Men. Imperial forces under attack by tyranids reported meteorites using warp-travel bombarding tyranid forces. They also describe 12 ft tall astartes in ancient, cracked armor smashing and melting entire swarms with archaic weaponry. it is this Inquisitor's opinion that the Stone Men are out there, right now, safeguarding the Imperium from threats unknown. things even we may not comprehend. they are silent guardians, waiting at the gates of the milky way, waiting for the enemy.

ADDENDUM

New reports indicate that onyx has either died, or been severely wounded beyond repair. He gained these mortal wounds during a one on one brawl with an awakening C'tan, newly born from a sickly green star. His body was encased in molten rock, sealing him off from any warp incursion. His second-in-command Johannus Osmosius the Impervious immediately control of the order, stopping them from descending into madness. He is an ebony-skinned hero of the Stone Men, and wields twin power hammers.

Eldar priests in the Ordo Latomus report something chilling, however. The battle with the C'tan seemed to have knocked Onyx's mind into the warp, either sending him into the harrowing realm of daemons and the gods of chaos, or into the infinite, starless, black abyss of the intergalactic warp, where shadows move in the darkness, and distant galaxies burn with foreign light. Emperor protect his soul, wherever it is.