Loxodontii

Loxodontii
Battle Cry	"Beware the Musth!"
Number	XIII
Founding	First Founding
Primarch	Ashur of Banipal
Homeworld	Babylon V
Strength	~90’000
Specialty	Fast deployment, armoured warfare, protecting/harrassing supply lines
Allegiance	Chaos
Colours	Codex Grey, Bestial Brown, Dwarf Flesh/Brazen Brass, Bleached Bone

This page is part of the Warmasters Triumvirate, a fan re-working of the Warhammer 40,000 Universe. See the Warmasters Triumvirate page for more information on the Alternate Universe.

The Loxodontii were the XIIIth Legiones Astartes. Led by Ashur of Banipal, their dedication to reuniting humanity into one great family was by far their most inspiring attribute. Their preferred strategy was to quickly deploy marines via transport into combat, escorted by bikes, and to force the enemy into submission simply by outmaneouvering them, denying them any points of strategical interest. Through the lax discipline of their Primarch, they were an easy target for the whispers of Chaos and became instrumental in corrupting other Legions to join the Ruinous Powers. Their betrayal rooted so deep that it led to them capturing and enslaving their own Primarch, forcing him into Daemonhood to be used as a mighty beast of war. Where once they were the tireless protectors of the common people, they now devolved into cannibals with barely an animalistic mind driving them to fight, kill and eat.

History

Pre-Primarch History & Reunion

The XIIIth Legion, often dubbed "Packmules" or "Workhorses" for their focus on supply lines and dedicated transport vehicles for their Astartes squads, was created following the Unification Wars and consisting mostly of recruits from Achaemenidia. Through the initial stages of the Great Crusade, their expedition fleets were spread farther from each other than any other legion, leading to a strong sense of independence and self-reliance among the chapters that, at times, made upper command rather suspicious of them. Nevertheless, they tirelessly brought many planets to compliance and dutifully supported their legionnaire cousins whenever needed.

Ashur was the tenth Primarch to be discovered, and upon being reunited with his gene-sons fostered their chapter structure as the core of their identity, hoping it would create a strong sense of loyalty from the bottom up towards the Imperium as a whole. He also instructed them further and further into the near-religious adoration of their warmachines and wargear as his homeworld had left a serious animistic mentality imprinted on his worldview. While their new identity as "Loxodontii" gave them new vigour and the fresh blood in the form of Babylonian recruits allowed the Terranborn legionnaires to bridge the gap with their Primarch more easily.

Their time was cut short, though, as Ashur ordered the chapters to continue as they had before, contained within themselves but always an extension of the legion and the Imperium.

The Great Crusade

The Loxodontii were one of the slower legions to bring worlds to compliance, often dedicating their resources to a careful diplomatic approach instead of a decisive military strike. Ashur himself was the most hesitant when it came to bring arms, while his chapter commanders displayed less patience. Whenever combat was inevitable, the XIIIth would employ large numbers of transports to allow its infantry optimal mobility and protection, escorted by biker-squads to intercept possible counter attacks. While their goal was unmistakably to conquer the planet, outmost care was undertaken to leave its infrastructure and public service installations as unharmed as possible, as the Loxodontii believed it would allow the planet a much easier transition into becoming a functioning contributor to the Imperium's colossal economy. This, of course, left them vulnerable to stalemates as enemies would use these positions as cover for their own troops, forcing the legionnaires' hands.

Over the course of the Great Crusade, one Stargazer by the name of Barabash slowly but steadily sowed the seeds of corruption among the chapters, founding warrior lodges that further strenghtened the bonds of brotherhood among the Astartes of the XIIIth. As the Loxodontii had become highly superstitious through their primarch's influence and the influx of Babylonian recruits, the belief in the ancient Babylonian gods and the Otherworld, which was now believed proven to be the Warp, became deeply rooted within the individual Astartes. This made them susceptible to the whispers of Chaos as translated by their very own Stargazers, whose psychic abilities were strongly enhanced by the Warp, further providing assumed evidence of the righteousness of their words.

Meanwhile, Ashur became increasingly disillusioned with the Great Crusade. The Emperor had promised him upon their first meeting that he would be instrumental to bringing humanity together as one glorious empire that would rule the galaxy as family, however as he encountered more and more planets who refused his offering and could only be brought to compliance through military action, he began to struggle with himself. On one hand, he wanted to be the dutiful son, making his father and his brothers proud, standing above his emotions, on the other hand when he looked upon the ruin the brutal campaigns left behind it made him weep inside and he knew all too well that many would still hate him as a malicious conqueror, and curse the Emperor as just another tyrant. His brother Rahman often tried to give him comfort, opening a world of indulgence to Ashur into which he would escape more and more often.

While the 1st and 3rd chapter of the Loxodontii constantly accompanied their primarch on his expeditions, all the other chapters slowly but steadily declared for Barabash in secret. While they were still ordered to keep their intentions hidden, very soon they could not control their urges anymore, indulging into manhunting and cannibalism. Once these reports became too numerous and detailed to ignore, Ashur decided to make a stand and clean his chain of command. He ordered all chapters to rally in orbit around Babylon V, their homeworld, where he would execute all the traitors himself. However, Barabash could not have planned for a better opportunity to spring his trap. While the entire upper chain of command of the Legion was rallied in the launching bay of the Anu, Ashur's flagship, they braced their weapons against the Astartes of the 1st and 3rd chapter, killing nearly all of them and wounding their primarch so much he had to submit. Yet, they could not bring themselves to kill him, however they did not need to do so, anymore. Barabash felt a darkness explode within Ashur's soul, a sense of grief, guilt, hate and despise, his disillusionment overwhelming the Lord of Bronze and Bone. He was broken, and ready to be filled with the Primordial Truth. As a safety measure, he was chained with an archeotech-collar which numbed his mind and made him docile enough to control.

Brotherwar

The diplomatic conference on New Hope had ended in utter disaster as Malcador the Sigillite had been murdered and civil war had been declared. During these events, survivors of the 1st and 3rd chapter of the Loxodontii had escaped their brothers' slaughter and made to Holy Terra in order to reach Je'she of the Watch and to report the vile treason. A group of volunteers consisting of the Golden Mountain and Doomsingers would go on their way to annihilate the Loxodontii and to hopefully rescue Ashur of Banipal. What they found upon arriving on Babylon V was an entire legion's fleet infighting, murdering each other in gruesome boarding actions and insane bloodletting. The Loxodontii themselves had engaged in mindless self-indulgence after their primarch's capture, and the Stargazers with help of Lambach Kropor's very own Warp Claws had prepared a ritual that would doom the legion's soul forever. As more and more sacrifices were made and the Loxodontii's frenzy reached a peak high, the powers of the Warp flooded into realspace and pervaded Ashur's body, grasping at his very essence. The corruption was sudden and powerful - Ashur had been elevated to Daemonhood against his will. His mind shifted between his embittered mind, delirious awareness and bestial frenzy.

Just as he ascended, the punitive fleets of the Doomsingers and Golden Mountains delivered several killing blows to the Loxodontii's fleet, and the once strong family splintered into various smaller warbands and fled into all directions of the galaxy. It was only through the efforts of Barabash installing Enlil of the 6th chapter as new leader of the Loxodontii when they would again rally under one banner - That of Marduk Engur, Warmaster of Chaos.

Until that point, each warband murdered and trampled their way through Imperial space, terrorising planets and consuming everything they could find. One particular planet, called Xan'La, was where a warband of extremely violent Loxodontii were engaged by a contingent of Corsairs Gallant. While the Corsairs maintained the tactical advantage, slowly bleeding their erstwhile cousins dry, the warband's anger kept them going forward despite all odds. After months of gruesome combat, an Exterminatus fleet of the Titan Marchers arrived, called in by a distress signal from the planet itself. However, instead of saving the population, the furious astartes of the XVIIth Legion unleashed their board weapons upon Xan'La, obliterating the entire planet and all chaos traitors and despised separatists.

During the Siege of Terra, the Loxodontii mostly ravaged hub blocks and battled their enemies on open fields. However, thanks to their massed Mastodon-transports, they managed to breach the outermost defense of the Imperial Palace, unleashing their Daemonprimarch Ashur of Banipal upon the Sentinels and Je'she of the Watch, who held them at bay until all the other loyalist forces could have succesfully retreated to the next ring of defense.

Post-Brotherwar

The Loxodontii again splintered into their warbands, their own base instincts now fully controlling their every step. They have become little more than beasts, only looking to feed and fight and appease their uncaring gods. Only one chapter always remained as one, united by their bloodthirst and beastial cunning unique among the Loxodontii: The fearsome 4th chapter, having taken their monicker "Mantikhor" as their new official name.

As they had fully embraced Chaos and the Primordial Truth, they await the coming of the Leviathan foreseen by the Leviathan Host and Marduk Engur

Homeworld

Babylon V was an arid feudal world subject to unconscious Chaos worship since Old Night. A strong sense of mysticism, occult sorcery and animistic polytheism pervaded both the urban priesthood as well as the rural shamans, giving rise to many theological disputes. After the Loxodontii fell to Chaos, they used Babylon V as one giant altar to the Ruinous Powers, sucking the planet into the Warp. Since it always had been close to the Maelstrom, it only added to the Warp anomaly's mass.

Legion Doctrine

The XIIIth legion maintained a large assortment of armoured transports and bikers, often maintaining their machine to a higher degree than their personal body armour. Their primary concern was mobility and safety in numbers, moving their dedicated transports in groups of 3 or more to deliver personnel to engage the enemy quickly, claim tactically superior positions or targets of interest before a defense could be mounted. The Astartes were free to pick a weapon of their fancy, most however would keep to the boltgun out of simple versatility, or a bolt pistol coupled with either a close combat weapon or a riot shield. Highest priority in their combat encounters was to keep infrastructure intact and public service installations unharmed as to make transition as easy as possible.

Scout marines were highly respected, as their importance to weaking key positions for the oncoming transport assault was clear to all legionnaires.

Heavy weapons, as well as combat tanks, were used carefully, as their potential for collateral damage was considered undesirable. Whenever inevitable, devastators and predators were employed alongside transports and bikes.

After their fall, their overall military approach remained, although the focus on close combat somewhat increased.

Legion Culture & Personality

The Loxodontii are considered amicable and kind hearted up until their fall, embracing their fellow Astartes and even mortal auxiliaries as friends and part of a greater family. Their bond to their primarch was so strong that even though they had completely fallen to Chaos, they could not deliver the killing blow, and some say that their frenzy was just an attempt to escape their own sense of guilt over their betrayal in the first place. Their rampant superstition was visible to everyone who saw their battle preparations: They adorned their own faces, armour and vehicles with symbols of good fortune and mystical protection, they chanted hymns in the harsh Babylonian language to pray to the Emperor and the Babylonian gods and spirits and they were deeply afraid of psykers of any kind, ironically ignoring their Stargazers' psychic potential.

Ashur of Banipal was the most empathic and emotional of the primarchs, burdened with the wish to appease all his brothers and his love for most of them. Even his fear of psykers could not truly overrule his respect and love for his brother Lambach Kropor, although he would always be torn over his contradicting principles.

Gene-seed flaws

The Loxodontii gene-seed was considered stable for the most part, with average numbers in dysfunctional specimen. A noticable flaw however was the drastical increase in hunger and thirst, requiring massive amounts of nutrients to be delivered to Loxodontii expedition fleets. Their Betcher's Gland was known to malfunction, leaving them without the ability to spit acid.

Legion Organization

In what sub-groups is the legion divided?

Special units

The Breachers

Often utilised in situations of small confinement where the Loxodontii cannot employ their vehicles to great efficiency, the Breachers are used as speartips in boarding actions as well as combat indoors. Utilising shields and bolt-pistols to pave the way for more heavily armed battle-brothers, they still carry their boltgun strapped to their backs in order to provide more adequate fire support if cut off from otherwise offensively equipped personnel. The Third Chapter was renown for employing the Breachers on as many occasions as possible, sometimes even taking the role of riot police or bodyguard for their primarch when planetside.

The Outriders

Whether it is the nomadic tribes of the far steppes or the nobility of the great cities, riding is a vital part of the culture of Babylon V. Many children learn to sit in the saddle at the age of six, and to take the reins by the age of eight. As the core approach of the Loxodontii focuses on quickly deploying troops through Rhino- and Razorback-transporters, a sizeable portion imitates those tactics of their homeworld and takes to bikes to escort transporters, intercept enemy fast-attack deployments or to deliver hit-and-run attacks on poorly defended outposts.

The Stargazers

The role of chaplain and librarian are united within the rank of Stargazer. Ashur’s homeworld Babylon V is heavily divided between the rural population worshipping the gods and ghosts of their ancestors, while the religious practices of the great cities revolves around the priest caste worshipping the metropolitan pantheon of gods and goddesses. Both cultures however heavily incorporate astrology and astronomy into their practices. It is these common spiritual practices that Ashur enforced in order to help bridge the gap between the recruits from the rural and urban population.

Special equipment

Special equipment only this legion has

Naval Assets

Flagships etc

Notable Members

Barabash, Stargazer of the Fourth

The very first Loxodontii to fall to the Ruinous Powers. Upon his first Warp jump, Barabash was

Annumashi, Chapter Commander of the Fourth

At the time of

Iksuda, The Beastmaster

The most notable Techmarine of the Loxodontii was Iksuda of the fifth chapter, a man whose inherent skill and empathy for the Machine Spirit allowed him to restore all but the most devastated of the legion’s mighty transports. Apart from his technical knowledge was he also a gifted battlefield commander, which became apparent in the many engagements where he’d accompanied mechanized platoons into combat where he could keep the men organised all the while keeping his own machine in tiptop shape. His favourite transport would be named “Iron Tooth” as he’d adorned it with magnificent artwork depicting one of Babylon V’s mighty beasts, giving the front an appearance similar to a grim war-elephant. The life he ascribed to the Machine Spirit was seen by many outside the legion as superstitious, frivolous, even insane, and yet it was this conviction that made Iksuda into the dedicated machinist that he was. Iksuda would befall a twisted fate during the Brotherwar, as during an engagement he would be killed while inside “Iron Tooth” by a particularly brutal anti-armour shell which ripped through the machine’s hull. The Rhino transport itself seemed to roar in pain and grief, as if the Machine Spirit within had felt its beloved brother die, disregarding its own wounds. Grandfather Nurgle stirred in the warp, as Iksuda’s quickly fading soul cried out to his transport’s Machine Spirit, and moved by their bond decided to give them another life. “Iron Tooth”s hull would appear to melt as ceramite plates turned to muscle and rearrange to assume the shape of a huge warrior, before hardening to a pulsating carapace, again. Iksuda and “Iron Tooth” had become one, like a dreadnought and yet so much worse, and while their brutish hands would forever be unfit to maintain a machine, again, the “Beastmaster” could sprout countless mechandrites from the grotesque muscle from which it was made.

Ensi Kiddu Namraru (Contribution from Xun/Gyahdred)

Ensi Kiddu Namraru is one of the Stargazers. Drawn from one of the Amrar-Hatti bands of Babylon V, Namraru found a natural place in the Outriders, though his talent for divination drew him into the orbit of the Stargazers. Trained under Dingir-Gal Nabbu, one of the greatest diviners of the legion, Namraru became a capable leader as well as a ferocious fighter. At battles such as the Siege of Hamaath and the burning of Hiram II his skill in predition allowed his Outrider forces to strike weak points even as they formed. Not merely a support figure, however, Namraru's charisma also made him an able commander, inspiring incredible displays of tenacity at battles such as those in the Yam Zafon belt. Namraru himself took the head of Sharru Humira and looted the Solar Barge Il-Shaddu from its orbital fanes, which would serve him well as a command ship into the dark years of the heresy.

Rules

If available, tabletop rules