The Bulwark

This page details people, events, and organisations from the /tg/ Heresy, a fan re-working of the Warhammer 40,000 Universe. See the /tg/ Heresy Timeline and Galaxy pages for more information on the Alternate Universe.

"Bring us your best, for we will take them all."

The Bulwark
WIP
Battle Cry	"Hold fast! "
Number	XXVIII
Founding	First Founding
Successors of	N/A
Successor Chapters	The Ramparts, The Rubble
Primarch	Sebastion Rex
Homeworld	The Arelon System
Strength	80,000 at the beginning of the Heresy.
Specialty	Prolonged Siege Warfare
Allegiance	Renegade
Colours	Dark Slate, Light Mahogany, Light Silver

Summary of Legion XXVIII

Numeration: The XXVIIIth Legion

Primogenator: Sebastion Rex

Cognomen (Prior): The Gatekeepers

Observed Strategic Tendencies: Siege Warfare, Expansion and Occupation Operations

Noteworthy Domains: The Arelon system and various smaller sectors within the Empire

Allegiance: Unaligned

During the Great Crusade, the Bulwark was used to bolster the defenses of any planets that weren't currently a warzone; after conquering a planet, the Bulwark would leave behind a garrison to keep watch over the planet instead of another Legion wasting its potential resources doing so. Due to this, the Bulwark Legion didn't see action nearly as often as other Legions.

Legion Doctrine

WIP

Legion Colors

A Sergeant in Bulwark livery

Notable Legionnaires

The Sacred Band; Members of the Inner Wall

WIP

• Arch Forfender Ostaco

- Tower of Fortification Division

• Arch Artillerist Yakobus

- Tower of Artillery Division Survived to join the Ramparts

• Arch Quartermaster Sedonar

In charge of resource management within the Legion, Sedonar considered his job to be one of the most important within the Legion, despite his brethren often looking down on him. Tower of the Inventorial Division, Sedonar ensured that all Bastions were properly outfitted and supplied before, during, and after every campaign. A genius with numbers, it was very rare for Sedonar to make even a trivial clerical error. However, he could not have predicted the betrayal of Magister Arkemidea; Sedonar was the first to lose his life in the carnage wrought by Dz'larhonz.

• Arch Confessor Rivela

- Tower of Informational Division

• Arch Examiner Giuseppe

- Tower of Recruitment/Training Division

• Arch Magister of the Inner Wall Callisto Arkemidea, First to Lead

What would normally be a logistical nightmare is counterbalanced by Arch Magister Callisto Arkemidea, Tower of the Management Division. As every Tower had a specialized role, Arkemidea made sure that each Bastion properly meshed with each of its brother Bastions in order to achieve optimal operational performance. However, his pivotal role within the Legion eventually lead to his downfall; ensorceled by the Dark Powers after an encounter with a daemonic artefact, his lust for power lead to his summoning of a Greater Daemon within the chambers of the Inner Wall on Arelon.

• Arch Strategist Giacomo

- Tower of Strategy Division

• Arch Constructor Soste

- Tower of Manufactorum Division

• Arch Navarch Albimare

- Tower of Naval Division

• Arch Adjudicator Andarro

- Tower of Mechanized Divison

Legion Gene-seed Status and Defects

WIP

- Lyman's Ear; Defective

- Catalepsean Node; Defective

Legion Tactics

On the offensive the Bulwark have limitless patience. Once an LZ has been cleared by the Vanguard, pre-fabricated fortresses and other defenses are brought in from orbit. Slowly expanding out from a central beachhead, the Bulwark's fortresses will continue to grow in number until a good portion of the planet is covered entirely by them. At this point, the Bulwark need only wait for their enemies to assault their defenses and summarily be shattered upon them. However, if this tactic does not work, bribes may be offered to key members of the resistance in return for their cooperation. As a third and final option, all areas outside of the control of that planet's Bastion will be devastated via mass missile and artillery barrages. As this wastes valuable resources, this option is only used in dire or rushed circumstances.

Legion Equipment

WIP

Pre-fab Fortresses; - built on Doward - Legion keeps large stock at all times

Diggers; - Used to circumvent enemy frontline infantry defenses - Primarily used by Grapples

Hades Breaching Drills; - Entrenched enemies may need persuasion

Moles; - Used to undermine possible enemy defenses

Nodes; - explained in the Ramparts section, will move here eventually

Legion Characteristics

WIP Serious, driven, and dour, the Bulwark are fierce defenders who value personal toughness and stubbornness. Any conquered planet is seen as a valuable resource to the Imperium of man, but not so much that excess Astartes lives should be shed taking it. Due to this, the Bulwark almost seem paradoxical; they seek to preserve a planet and its resources, but would rather destroy the majority of a planet than lose a company of Marines.

Outside of the battlefield, the Marines of the Bulwark are a stoic and self-reflective sort, often spending large amounts of time in solitude and meditation to contemplate their true nature and contribution to the Legion. A pragmatic people, the Bulwark follow the Emperor only because their Primarch says so; to them, he is merely a man to follow, not a demi-god to worship.

Psykers are treated just as any other Marine in the Legion; they bleed, die, and fight the same, so they are treated the same. As it stands, however, this is rarely a problem due to Arelon's low psyker-to-Initiate ratio in comparison to other Legions.

Techmarines, however, are held in higher regard due to the Legion's dependence on their equipment functioning properly. Due to this, the Bulwark sends large amounts of their Marines to be trained by the Mechanicus in the technological arts.

Chaplains do not exist within the Bulwark; the pragmatic nature of Sebastion Rex deems them to be useless to his anti-dogmatic troops.

Legion Organisation

"Is the mighty mountain composed of a single stone? Are walls built of single bricks? Nay, brethren, and nor shall we be split asunder." An excerpt from Primarch Sebastion Rex's first speech to his new Legion

After the discovery of their Primarch, the members of Sacred Band of the Gatekeepers were promoted to positions of higher authority within the Legion, with each member receiving a position worthy of his skills. While formerly each Chapter had been a well rounded force, Sebastion deconstructed the traditional organizational system in favour of each Chapter, now referred to as a Bastion, being specialized in its purpose. Each member of the former Sacred Band would become the head of their prospective Bastion, instructing their subordinates in the ways of their trade.

Each of the Towers, as they were now entitled, kept their command center aboard their prospective capital ship within the primary fleet. From this launching point, mixed forces from each Bastion intermingled to form what was referred to as a Palisade, or mixed fighting force.

Each Bastion supported roughly 8,000 Space Marines of their prospective role within the Legion. Each Palisade, formed from members from each Bastion, usually consisting of around 10,000 Space Marines, was then broken down into Bunkers of 100 Marines and 20-50 armoured units, with each of these Bunkers being broken down into 2 groups; Anchors and Grapples. Anchors acted as the defensive force that protected the beachhead and fortresses from enemy assault, while the Grapples slowly set footholds into enemy territory in order to expand their own borders.

The Ramparts

Restructured Bulwark Spiritual Successor; Siege and Colonization Specialists

A Sergeant of the Ramparts.

Warband History

The mighty empire of the Bulwark had fallen. Shattered by the combined forces of the Silver Cataphracts and the Steel Marshals, the Bulwark never quite recovered. After the Heresy had run its course, the empire rose again, but it wasn't quite the same. Some planets seceded from the union and the vastly undermanned Bulwark simply could not stop them. Without their Primarch, they could not continue to expand their borders and prosper, as they had before. Instead, they fought every day simply to retain a semblance of their once sprawling empire.

Sebastian's last great act as Primarch had been to hollow out one of the moons of Arelon to form an impregnable fortress of rock and ambition. During the events of the Crucible, Sebastian ordered the entire 1st Bastion into the fortress, which came to be known as "The Folly of Rex" or simply "The Folly." Seeing this act as cowardly, many officers stayed on the battlefield and died with their Primarch. However, the captain of the 1st Bastion, whose name has been lost in the annals of history, was one of the few who chose to enter The Folly.

Emerging days later to scenes of devastation, the captain and the remains of his company wept bitter tears for the loss of their brethren. It took several weeks to merely collect the gene-seed of their fallen allies and enemies. During this time, the remains of the Bulwark splintered into factions; some wanted to leave to find their own path, some to surrender to the Loyalists, and others to side with the Traitors. The Chapter Master of the 1st company, the most trusted equerry of his Primarch, only sought one thing; to build his own empire upon the ashes of the last. Seeing no other course of action, the Chapter Master assumed the title of Keep and took a new name; Indomitus. Indomitus would go on to become Emperor of a new domain as his forces reconquered worlds that had once been under their Legion's control.

The Bulwark had failed. Its mighty defenses had been breached and its mighty leader slain. Seeking to distance his empire from that of his failed predecessor, Indomitus renamed his Legion; they were now to be known as the Ramparts, the mighty crowns upon the towers of order.

Notable Members

Indomitus the Impenetrable - 1st Keep (Chapter Master), formerly Tower of the 1st Bastion (Chapter) of The Bulwark.

- Formerly the Equerry of Sebastian Rex, Primarch of the Bulwark, Indomitus now strives to rebuild his Primarch's once mighty empire. A consumate strategist, Indomitus rarely leaves the comfort of The Folly, instead trusting his Towers to do his bidding. What is an empire without an Emperor?

Yakobus - Tower (Captain) of 1st Stronghold (Company)

Ghurayus - Tower of 2nd Stronghold

Warband Combat Tactics

"The only way to ensure victory is to eliminate resistance." - Indomitus, Keep of the Ramparts

While the Ramparts practice a combat doctrine very similar to that of their Founders, they differ in that instead of focusing on attrition-based siege warfare, the Ramparts focus on artillery barrages to conquer worlds. Via orbital bombardment, the Ramparts clear an LZ for their pre-fabricated fortresses to touch down.

If the enemy has a stranglehold on the space around a planet, specialty fortresses come to the fore; akin to Kharybdis drop pod but the size of a Storm Eagle, these towers are dropped from orbit in groups of 3-5. Each tower, called a Node, houses a squad of 8-12 Marines.

Each Node possesses a modular defense system that can be configured with various different heavy weapons, such as heavy bolters or plasma cannons. Once at least 3 Nodes have touched down, void shields are transmitted between them, creating an isolated section of enemy real estate.

Pointing their weapons inward, the squads would then clear a beachhead within their void shields. Once several of these beachheads have been made, their void shields would be linked to create a much larger staging area for the rest of the occupation force to land.

Once this LZ has been established, the artillery barrages begin. Battery after battery of Manticore Missile Platforms and Earthshaker Cannons bombard the area around the LZ, clearing a path between Node groups in order to further reinforce their positions. Any assaults upon the Node forts are repulsed with heavy weapons fire; the Ramparts need never step foot outside their defence lines. Eventually, these Node forts will encompass large portions of the combat zone. Instead of attacking their enemies, the Ramparts will simply continue to launch Nodes further and further into enemy territory until there is nothing left.

Resistance is met with overwhelming force; unlike other forces who must use their supplies wisely, the supply lines of the Ramparts extend however far they need to, ensuring they never run out of ammunition or other supplies. In this way, while a barrage of Deathstrike missiles would likely be sufficient against a major hive city, the Ramparts might issue two or three of said barrages to completely devastate it.

However, no evidence of this mass destruction is ever left behind; due to the thriving empire at the heart of the Ramparts, they export populaces as others might products. Transplanting a populace that is already loyal to them, the Ramparts effectively instantly colonize a world with pre-fabricated, self-sustaining cities that will eventually expand into the planet beyond. In this way, instead of spending years colonizing planets, then fortifying them, the Ramparts form Fortresses from each of their conquests; what was once an offensive defense is now a defensive offense.

Warband Homeworld

The Folly, a former moon of Arelon that has been hollowed out and made into a fully autonomous space station.

Warband Appearance

Like their predecessors, the Marines of the Ramparts are stout and solid, favouring heavier armour than Space Marines usually opt for. Clad in sandstone and slate coloured power armour, the Ramparts have shattered all aquilas upon their armor, declaring their secession from the Imperium.

The Rubble

A typical Marine of the Rubble.

Leaderless remnants of the Bulwark Empire; siege specialists for hire

Warband History

Those remnants of the Bulwark who did not join Indomitus and his Ramparts were given a small corner of the Empire to themselves in order to engage in whatever they pleased after the Bulwark collapsed on itself. They now issue small strike forces to various locations within the Imperium, only surviving reprisal due to their contract with the Ramparts; 35% of their income and gene-seed in return for protection.

Notable Members

Warchief Gaillard; de facto leader of the Rubble. Acts more like a rabblerouser than a leader.

Warband Combat Tactics

Though their morals have been lost, their combat tactics have not. The Rubble still follow the method of siege warfare that the Bulwark once did, but they tend to inject more savagery and barbarianism into their sieges.

Warband Homeworld

The Rubble, being a conglomerate of warbands barely unified at all, have a small fleet of starships at their disposal. The Palazzo, the last remaining Battle Barge after the Crucible, functions as their de facto headquarters.

However, they do retain a small subsector of the Arelon system as a refit point for their ships.

Warband Appearance

The tattered remains of the Bulwark have donned light brown and dark slate armour since their defeat.

Sebastion Rex, Primarch of The Bulwark

Appearance

WIP - Stout, broad - Always wears ceramite helmet; mark of previous Heresy, will be explained in youth eventually - The helmet's surface is pockmarked and scorched; medals of wars - No capes; ever - Very little adornment; pragmatism is stressed in dress - Carries himself carefully, even when in the company of "friends"

Youth

WIP This was all I had; will convert to non-storytime later.

Sebastion was first brought into the spotlight after committing what was deemed to be heresy by the planet's local cult; called the Word of the Hierarch, it had taken over the backwards settlers of the Arelon system and converted them to its zealous cause.

"For the crime of heresy, this man is hereby sentenced to an eternity within this cage of steel. Heresy is the worst form of atrocity possible by an Arelite; This man has spewed blasphemous lies about our Divine and Omnipotent Master, Hierarch Ihnsirt."

A gaunt, pale man in garish clothes read these things off of a digital tablet. He was a Prelate; a speaker of The Word of the Hierarch. The prelate, standing beside a small podium on the stage, droned on, monologuing about the depths and consequences of heresy. His voice, though monotonous, possessed a certain hint of zeal as he described the events to come.

The entire planet watched in awe as the leader of the heretical revolution was interred within a ceramite helmet for his crime against the Hierarch. The helmet, known as the Heretic's Mercy, injected potent analgesics into the victim's bloodstream, essentially rendering them incapable of any further resistance. They would then be paraded in front of the populace before being released into the workforce as a menial slave. This mask was said to be irremovable, trapping the heretic within it forever; the ultimate punishment for those who had committed what was deemed to be the ultimate crime.

For this most esteemed of events, the Hierarch himself had left his gilded palace to preside over the event. His view from the upper balcony of the local town hall was unmarred by any obstacle, leaving him an unobscured vantage point to the public humiliation and essential execution of his worst antagonist.

"May our ancestors have mercy upon the soul of this wretched man who sought to undermine the utopia of our Hierarch May they spare guide his life to serve the people May he learn his place in the world"

These chants rang through the halls of the chapel and out onto the fairground; the choir always did this when a heretic was to be masked. Their chants echoed those of the townspeople who surrounded the platform at the center of the fairground. Thousands of people were in attendance, with hundreds of thousands more watching the events in their homes as it was broadcast; the humbling of a heretic was always a popular event on Arelon.

The watchers of this grim debacle uttered a collective gasp of despair as the heretic overcame the effects of the helmet, broke through his bindings, and assaulted the prelate. The man screamed in agony as the heretic tore his torso from his legs, throwing the pieces in different directions.

More to come as the muse strikes me. I have it mapped out, but I need to actually write it.

The Coming of The Emperor

As the Legions arrived in the Arelon system, they soon discovered Sebastion; rather, they discovered his empire. Sebastion had been found in the forests, and had been looked after by the populace of a small city, constantly predated on by roaming bandit armies and the neighbouring nations and Great Cities. Over the course of his time on Arelon, Sebastion managed to take that small city and turn it into a sprawling empire, the Jewel and capital city of all of Arelon. He had done this by meticulously and patiently fortifying the small city state and all of its conquests. He then interlinked their infrastructures, so that they made an interlocking, interlinked web of citadels that protected each other and their cities.

As the Emperor's procession landed on the planet, all manner of anti-ship weapons trained themselves onto the incoming ships; not knowing who these foreign invaders were, the forces of Arelon had erred on the side of caution. Personally meeting these alien arrivals, Sebastion was astounded to meet someone as similar to himself in both appearance and stature. However, despite this, Sebastion would not listen to the Emperor, believing him to be a bigger, space-faring foe like he had faced on Arelon; one that he and his people would weather like a storm.

The Emperor ordered the Silver Cataphracts and the Steel Marshalls to use their siege expertise to force Sebastion out. They did so with ease, although the defenses did give them far more trouble than they expected. Their advanced weaponry and tactics reduced the defenses of Arelon to rubble. Seeing his empire, all he had built, in ruins, Sebastion wept. However, he remained steadfast, standing in front of the main gatehouse to the capital that still remained intact, and challenged his foes to duel him. He fought off many foes, fighting for hours on end, sustaining great wounds, but shrugging them all off. Bloody and beginning to tire, Sebastion finally bellowed a challenge to the Emperor himself as his final gambit.

The Emperor did not accept the duel, but chose to speak with Sebastion, explaining why he had come, and what Sebastion's destiny truly was; to fortify the stars in the name of his father, the Emperor. Sebastion hesitantly accepted this, agreeing to do his best for his father, but the seeds of resentment were already sown in his soul. No matter how close he became to his brethren and father, Sebastion would always remember the screams of his dying world.

His legion, renamed the Gatekeepers after their Primarch's heroic last stand on Arelon, now followed the Great Crusade, reinforcing and garrisoning strategic positions. Using what he learned at the hands of the Cataphracts and the Marshalls to good use, and together with advanced technology, Sebastion began perfecting the art of siege defense.

The Great Crusade

As the Great Crusade progressed, Sebastian began carving out his own network of highly defended, incredibly fortified planets, and steadily expanded this burgeoning empire until he had a prosperous sector under his control. Benefiting from the regular patrols and heavy defenses, the sector economy became robust, constantly growing to keep up with the demand for construction materials, defensive weapons and space ships. He become close to Arelex of the War Scribes and Uriel Starikov of the Children of Armok; they treated him better than his other brethren had.

The Heresy

As his empire grew and strengthened, Sebastion and the Gatekeepers' involvement in the crusades waned. By the time the Heresy began, it had been some time since Sebastion and his legion had done more than fortify and defend against xenos attacks. Remembering the pain he felt at having his mightiest achievement reduced to rubble by the Emperor, Sebastian declared his neutrality, taking his now considerable personal empire with him. Left on the sidelines as the Heresy raged, Sebastion and his Legion refused to side with either force; having been left out of the front lines, they had no idea of what was happening. Brother fought brother as the Heresy continued, leaving the Gatekeepers to sit behind their walls and watch in stoic resignation.

However, Uriel Starikov, Primarch of the Children of Armok and a friend of Sebastion, warned that The Gatekeepers' rivals, the Silver Cataphracts, and the Steel Marshals were en-route to his empire to force him to join them, as they had done back on Arelon. Images of his brethren destroying his life's work enraged Sebastion, and he began preparations to welcome his former brothers with concrete and steel. As one final insult to his oncoming foes, he sent a personal message to their Primarchs.

"You will now know us as the Bulwark, for we will break you upon our mighty defenses and laugh at your death. You will be destroyed in the Crucible I lay before you, but take solace knowing that we will forge your remains into new walls to crush all those who follow in your ill-fated footsteps. We are the Bulwark. Bring us your best, for we will take them all!"

Little did Sebastion know that the the two loyalist legions had been dispatched to provide assistance to the Bulwark, as Sebastion's little corner of the Imperium was perhaps the safest and most secure loyalist sector in the whole galaxy. The Loyalists had planned to use it as a base for a second front, to lure the Traitors into the masterfully crafted defenses of the Bulwark Empire or attack them from behind if they marched on Terra. The Crucible Challenge came as a shock, but assuming the Bulwark's message to mean they had joined Hektor's side, the Cataphtacts and the Marshals did not hesitate in preparing for battle.

The Crucible itself was made up of the 5 worlds of the Arelon system and 2 space stations, all garrisoned and fortified beyond normal necessity or logic. They were dug in for a long, bloody siege. Entire continents covered in garrisons, bunkers, and fortifications, all with their killzones perfectly measured and mapped out. Just as their worlds had once sustained their brothers and provided needed supplies, they now turned these venues inward to fuel their own war machines and create fortresses that spanned for hundreds of miles.

The space stations were bastions of terrible power, brimming with all manner of anti-ship and point defense weaponry. Maintaining a geo-synchronous orbit around Buhsteados, the 2 stations form a strong middle-point for the Crucible due to their ability to receive supplies from Arelon and Skuhtay while also providing support for Doward and Gauvahl. These stations, formerly functioning as Fortress-Monasteries, possessed large clusters of thrusters that were capable of slow and purposeful advances if needed; however, these thrusters were much more often used to better position their Nova Cannons towards enemy targets.

The Crucible would last the rest of the heresy, and outmatch the Siege of Terra in scale and brutality. Ultimately, the Crucible would leave the Bulwark victorious, but having sustained heavy losses themselves, losing around 55% of their legion. The Cataphracts and the Marshals suffer an estimated 65% and 52% casualty rate respectively. Towards the end of the battle, seeing him in person, Sebastian challenged the Marshalls Primarch, Roman Albrecht to single combat. Roman was a far superior fighter, and lead the fight, but Sebastian's skill at defending kept the duel locked into a stalemate. As both Primarch's anger and desire to best their rival took over them, they began to ignore the battle that had temporarily lulled to watch the two giants duel. Finally, Sebastian struck; parrying a sword stroke, he disarmed Roman, and gave him no respite - not even stopping to gloat. Roman's head flew, and the silence that followed it was deafening. A Primarch, the mightiest of the mighty, save the Emperor of mankind himself, was dead. Before the head of Roman had even hit the floor, the carnage resumed at a higher force than before - deafening cheers from the Bulwark, and cries of anguish and sorrow fueled rage from the Marhsals. Sebastian stood, sword in the air, relishing in the feeling - he had bested one of the 2 mortals responsible for his people, his empire back on Arelon, being destroyed. The feeling did not last long. He had suffered some minor wounds during the fight, but they had weakened him, and he returned to his fortified battle lines. Later in the battle, Sebastian would face the Cataphracts Primarch Constantine while defending a breach in the curtain wall of the capital of the 4th and final world. Constantine was not as close a match for Sebastian as Roman was, but due to Sebastians wounds, Constantine was able to get the upper hand, and mortally wounded Sebastian with a powerful strike from his master-crafted power halberd. Before he succumbed to his wound however, Sebastian grabbed the halberds shaft, and pulled himself down the blade, so he was face to face with his rival brother, nothing but hatred on Sebastians face, but a look of remorse on the face of Constantine. Sebastian tried to say something, and Constantine leant in to hear his brothers last words over the din of battle. "Bring us your best, for we will take them all." He trailed off into laughter, that quickly became a coughing fit as blood poured out of his lips. His lips that smiled. Constantine looked confused, then was engulfed in an explosion that sent all those in a 30 radius flying. Constantine was not dead, but he was no longer conscious; the blast had ripped his lower body clean from the rest of him, and hurled his upper body up, and into the rubble of an outer wall. The apothecaries were able to keep him alive miraculously, but Constantine Komnemnos was in a deep coma, and would never be the same again.

Post-Heresy

Following the aftermath of the Crucible, and the now finished Heresy, the shattered Bulwark fractured into two factions known as the Ramparts and the Rubble. One sought to rebuild their mighty empire; the other sought to forget their weakness and join Chaos.

The Arelon System

Main article; The Arelon System

Forming the epicenter of the Bulwark's activities and that of its successors, the Arelon system is a small system of only a dozen planets. However, each planet plays a part in the larger warmachine that is the Bulwark.

Some worlds are only inhabited by skeleton populations that crew the massive Manufactorums that span the planet, while others function as Agri-world to produce all manner of sustenance. These supplies are kept in-system for Arelon's workers due to their high demand, but this is balanced out due to the fact that Arelon's Manufactorums and shipyards contribute over 75% of their production to the Imperial War effort.

The native Xenos were purged by the human colonists long before the Legion arrived, leaving any resources ripe for Imperial exploitation. This means that freelancers often come from other Segmenta to work the fields or mines.