Scale Bearers

"We will have this world, Sarkus. Whatever force your WAAAGH may bring, we will smash it into the ground. Our Sors shall make meals of your Squiggoths. Our tanks will make scrap of your machines. Our Bolters will make a thin green paste of your Orks, and mighty Thagomizer will make a fine white powder of your skull. All that you are will be trampled beneath the might of the Imperium, and all that you have burned shall be avenged. So ask yourself one question, Sarkus - do you fear death? Death has come for you."

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.

Scale Bearers
Battle Cry	"Imperator Rex!"
Number	XXV
Founding	First Founding
Successors of	N/A
Successor Chapters	A number, including the Beastmasters, Violet Serpents, and Knights Saurian
Chapter Master	Olit Okirus
Primarch	Tiran Osoros
Homeworld	Solnhofen
Strength	91,000 at the beginning of the Heresy, 1,000 as of M41
Specialty	Fast attack (both bikes and Sors)
Allegiance	Imperium of Man
Colours	Forest Green and Gold

The Scale Bearers are fast attack specialists who fight alongside the reptilian warbeasts known as Sors (native to Solnhofen) and often use them as mounts. They have deployed biological weaponry on occasion as well, most notably on Kras Xenkoh. (They probably learned it from the Life Bringers - this could also be why they don't use it anymore.) Led by the Primarch Tiran Osoros until his death during the Hektor Heresy. Their homeworld of Solnhofen is covered in vast jungles, and serves as their main source of recruits as they replenish their numbers, but other worlds have contributed Astartes to the Legion, including Kras Xenkoh and Krate Shias.

Their defeat at the hands of the Iron Rangers early on in the Heresy left them scattered and devastated, and their efforts to rebuild since then have proven only moderately fruitful.

Legion History

Sacred Band

The XVII Legion Astartes were noted to have served admirably-- though without distinction-- during the initial stages of the Merican Campaign. This would change during the fighting in the Merican Dustbowl. The center of the continent was a vast wasteland, home to countless numbers of 'Road Warrior' tribes fighting amongst one another for dwindling resources in the shadow of burned-out hives.

As the armies of the Emperor moved inland they were fiercely opposed by these violent waste-dwellers, who cooperated for the first time in their history to face the invaders. Too clever to face the massed regiments of Thunder Warriors or the infantry of the Imperial Army in pitched battle, the nomads used their high mobility technicals and weapon-bikes to strike at supply convoys, isolated Imperial Army forces and exposed flanks. The actions of the 'Road Warrior' tribes slowed the Emperor’s advance to a crawl, and he ordered his son Hektor Cincinnatus to defeat or subjugate the tribes so the advance across Merica could continue. In desperation Hektor permitted Rychad Owain of the XVII Sacred Band to copy the tribes' own 'bike' techniques for use against them. The XXVth heavily modified these captured bikes so that each could bear a Marine's weight as well as weaponry, and set a series of successful counter-ambushes which wiped out the fighting strength of one prominent tribe and proved the XXV's use of 'fast attack bikes' as an effective tactic.

Legion Colors

The colors of the Legion are a dark green (reflecting the color of the jungles of Solnhofen) with a gold trim. The pauldron on which the Legion's badge is painted, however, is a watery blue - perhaps reminiscent of Solnhofen's rivers.

Legion Tactics

While the Chapter of the 41st Millenium retains its use of Sors in combat, many Astartes of the Scale Bearers find themselves riding Sor-themed bikes instead. In either case, they are capable of reaching the enemy quickly and striking with great force. There are also records of them using biological warfare during the Great Crusade, but they are not on record as having done so since the Heresy.

Legion Organization

While the Scale Bearers differ little from the norm in their system of ranks, there are certain special positions that exist within the Legion to facilitate its way of life and style of operation.

Mayasaron - Drawn from the ranks of the Apothecaries, these veteran Marines serve as the biological equivalent of Techmarines, attending to the injuries and growth of the Legion's Sors. They are often assisted by specialized Chapter Clerks known as Veterinarii. This rank disappears some time in M35, after the Sor population drops low enough that it is little warranted.

Dainonikon - Drawn from the ranks of the Librarium, they use their psychic powers to bolster the combat effectiveness of Sors by driving them into violent frenzies or making their skin less penetrable by various weapons. Like the Mayasaron, these disappear sometime in M35, though the rank can still be found in the Violet Serpents successor Chapter.

Legion Equipment

By the 41st Millenium, Scale Bearers tend to be outfitted mostly in Mk. 6 power armor (or "Beakies," as their hated enemies the Orks have taken to calling them), and equipped with the Codex-standard assortment of weapons. When it comes to the use of the varied and mighty Sors, however, the creatures' own natural weapons are considered as much a part of the Chapter's armory as any Bolter or Chainsword. That said, they are far rarer than they once were, as few worlds to which the Scale Bearers have regular access boast environments conducive to their wellbeing any longer.

Legion Doctrine

The Scale Bearers' main focus, that of mounted warfare, is a tradition that began with the larger-than-usual contingent of bikes the Legion was granted from Terra, in the days when they were called the Imperial Riders. For a good portion of the Great Crusade, this carried on, until the fateful day when the Legion's Primarch was discovered on the primitive world of Solnhofen.

Tiran Osoros, along with the recruits from the tribal peoples of Solnhofen, brought with them not only the ubiquitous Sors, but a number of artefacts of the planet's culture. The smoking of various herbs endemic to Solnhofen itself was echoed in the Legion's use of Lho sticks when meeting with friends, and even offering them to comrades when meeting before battle - a practice not normally found amongst Astartes. From the village of Yrash Pak, they brought the idea of the Victory Totem - a wooden monument erected in a defeated enemy's capital after the fighting had ended. Over time, the Terrans among the Legion were worn down by attrition and vastly outnumbered by the sons of Solnhofen.

The result was a steady shift from more... pragmatic Terran methods, as it were, to the perhaps more boisterous warfare of the Solnhofens. Tiran himself introduced several maneuvers to his Marines that his old tribal army had applied during his youth, the most notable being the "Pouncing Ceeloh." In this formation, scouts, smaller Sors, or Imperial Army forces (depending on which is present) charge and shatter the unity of an enemy formation while a Scale Bearers bike squad approaches in a single-file line. As the enemy scatters or simply becomes confused, the line unfolds into an encirclement, which then peppers the enemy from without. Meanwhile, these opposing forces must also continue to fend off the Imperial elements that have already pushed into their lines. This tactic, obviously, proves more useful against tightly-packed and numerous armies - and against such tactless enemies as the Orks, the Legion has been more than willing to bring brute force to bear.

In addition, the Legion holds to a tradition of painting their close combat weapons before the battle - a sort of stylized "splatter" pattern is painted in red onto the part of the weapon that will face or strike the enemy. This is believed to prepare the weapon for the blood it will inevitably be covered in during the fighting. This paint is, of course, removed during the cleaning of weapons after the fighting, unless another battle is imminent (that is, within three days).

Notable Members

Astartes

Lukas Ilion - a Marine from Kras Xenkoh, notable mainly for sending his serpentine Sor Aleph to kill Warboss Sarkus on Henom IX, as well as taking charge of what remained of a contingent of the Legion after seeing his Primarch fall in battle against Merrill.

Olit Okirus - Chapter Master of the Scale Bearers as of 999.M41.

Rychad Owain - A member of Squad XXV of the Sacred Band, pledged from the Legion during their time as the Imperial Riders. The oldest member of the squad.

Karles Onatel - A member of Squad XXV of the Sacred Band, pledged from the Legion during their time as the Imperial Riders. Known for a rivalry with Adwaer Kopp.

Adwaer Kopp - A member of Squad XXV of the Sacred Band, pledged from the Legion during their time as the Imperial Riders. Known for a rivalry with Karles Onatel.

Josyf Hereran - A member of Squad XXV of the Sacred Band, pledged from the Legion during their time as the Imperial Riders.

Robyt Bakkir - A member of Squad XXV of the Sacred Band, pledged from the Legion during their time as the Imperial Riders. Known for being the most hot-blooded of the squad.

Dang Zhimin - A member of Squad XXV of the Sacred Band, pledged from the Legion during their time as the Imperial Riders.

Jan Ostram - A member of Squad XXV of the Sacred Band, pledged from the Legion during their time as the Imperial Riders.

Jak Horn - A member of Squad XXV of the Sacred Band, pledged from the Legion during their time as the Imperial Riders. Known for being the most unorthodox member of the squad.

Jorjes Cuvyer - A member of Squad XXV of the Sacred Band, pledged from the Legion during their time as the Imperial Riders. Known for a more gloomy outlook than that of the others.

Laran Lambe - A member of Squad XXV of the Sacred Band, pledged from the Legion during their time as the Imperial Riders.

Dreadnoughts

Garen Baryon - one of the few remaining Terrans in the Legion (and later, the Chapter), this ancient Astartes was present at Ullanor before his interment. After his grievous wounding during WAAAGH! The Beast, he was interred and has continued serving the Imperium. During his life, he was known to have red hair, which matched the head crest of his otherwise green Sor.

Dylo Phoso - like most members of the Scale Bearers, Dylo originates from the planet of Solnhofen, having been the great-grandson of a member of Tiran's tribal army before joining the Legion. He had not been present when Tiran and Keradops fell in battle, and did not take the news of their demise well. His interment took place after an engagement against Craftworld Biel-Tan sometime in M36, by which time he was already ancient.

Tarun Oden - an Assault Marine who joined the Scale Bearers in 948.M37. However, he was nearly killed in a pitched engagement against a Horns of Ruin warband in 113.M38. Now, with the skull of Aelman affixed to his chassis, he brings a quick death to the enemies of the Chapter.

Orjun Tenuso - born on Krate Shias, this Astartes was interred after perhaps the strangest of these incidents - during an engagement against an unnamed Ork WAAAGH, he repeatedly shielded his brothers from the shrapnel released by a number of Ork mines... using his own body. This culminated with him taking a shot from a Looted Tank directly to the chest - buying just enough time for his brothers to place an airstrike beacon.

Callus Dion - The youngest Dreadnought in the Chapter, he was critically injured in a campaign against the Dark Eldar in M40. He has often been seen fighting alongside Garen Baryon and Tarun Oden since then.

Sors

Keradops - The oldest, largest, and perhaps most well-remembered Sor ever to live, this white-scaled beast was Tiran Osoros' friend and ally from childhood. Living up to its name (meaning "hard-headed"), this stubborn creature used the great horns on its head to gore a great many enemies. By the time of its death during the battle against the Iron Rangers that cost Tiran his life, Keradops had grown so massive as to outsize a Gargantuan Squiggoth - no easy feat, to be sure. It would be entirely correct to assume that this beast was a closer friend, and perhaps a closer brother, to Tiran Osoros than even his fellow Primarchs. Its favorite food, apparently, was the leaves of a sort of large tree known only to grow on Solnhofen itself, but it would also gladly partake of Amasec or recaf.

Aleph - This quadrupedal, purple-scaled Sor belonged to Lukas Ilion before the Hektor Heresy, and had an odd love of honey. It was this creature that led the pack of Sors that vanquished Warboss Sarkus on Henom IX, and the beast took great pleasure in crushing the Warboss' skull in its jaws. Supposedly, it had a fondness for honey.

Aelman - This flying, lightly furred Sor belonged to Tarun Oden before his interment. Unfortunately, it was killed in the battle that led to Tarun's placement in the Dreadnought chassis.

Successors

Knights Saurian

Knights Saurian
Battle Cry	"Forward, Sons of Tiran!"
Number	N/A
Founding	Second Founding
Successors of	Scale Bearers
Successor Chapters	Unknown
Primarch	Tiran Osoros
Homeworld	Hael Krek
Strength	967
Specialty	Fast Attack
Allegiance	Imperium of Man
Colours	Blue and Gold

As one of the splinters of the Scale Bearers formed during the Second Founding, the Knights Saurian retained much of the character of their parent Legion. However, their homeworld lying so far away from Solnhofen, they have returned, in a sense, to the tactics of the Imperial Riders as they were before Tiran was brought to them. They share the gene-seed mutation of sporting green scales upon portions of their bodies that the Scale Bearers themselves inherit from their progenitor. Their ability to bring devastation upon the enemies of the Imperium from atop their speeding bikes is not to be underestimated - their campaigns against the Rak'Gol in mid-M39 saved several subsectors from the full force of a raid.

Violet Serpents

Violet Serpents
Battle Cry	"Ssstrike swiftly!"
Number	N/A
Founding	Second Founding
Successors of	Scale Bearers
Successor Chapters	Unknown
Chapter Master	Dytan Oboam (M31), Anel Codar (M41)
Primarch	Tiran Osoros
Homeworld	Ophiuchus
Strength	1,000 at establishment, slightly understrength since M38
Specialty	Ambush and encirclement
Allegiance	Imperium of Man
Colours	Violet, Gold, and Green

While the Violet Serpents have always served with valor and devotion, the Chapter seems to have inherited its parent Legion's penchant for phyrric victories and devastating losses. Even the mass recruitment from Ophiuchus, their homeworld since M38, has not fully alleviated the losses taken in the Fifth Black Crusade and the subsequent action against WAAAGH! 'Otguts, which led directly into an engagement with the forces of Craftworld Thuyelsa. By the end of that fateful march against the Eldar, fewer than 100 Marines remained within the Chapter, and among them, not one was a Dreadnought or even a Terminator.

Ivory Lances

Ivory Lances
Battle Cry	"The Lance does not break!"
Number	N/A
Founding	Fourth Founding
Successors of	Scale Bearers
Successor Chapters	Unknown
Primarch	Tiran Osoros
Homeworld	Fleet-based
Strength	224
Specialty	Ambush and bike charges
Allegiance	Renegade
Colours	Ivory and Green

The beginnings of the Ivory Lances were shaky ones indeed - not even a century after the Chapter's foundation did the Astartes an enemy within. The Captain of the Fifth Company had been subverted by the foul workings of Chaos and dedicated himself to Khorne, with nearly half the Chapter falling with him. By the time the loyal Astartes were able to put down their fallen brothers, they had already been declared Excommunicate Traitoris. Now, the Lances continue their work from planet to planet, refusing to turn their backs on mankind, but refusing to subject themselves to the whims of the Inquisition. Such is the fate of the Ivory Lances, their numbers falling by the day and their quest never ending.

Beastmasters

Beastmasters
Battle Cry	"Bay now, the hounds!"
Number	N/A
Founding	Tenth Founding
Successors of	Scale Bearers
Successor Chapters	Unknown
Primarch	Tiran Osoros
Homeworld	Fleet-based
Strength	Destroyed during the Sixth Black Crusade
Allegiance	Imperium of Man
Colours	Mahogany, silver, and ginger

Among the most promising of the Sons of Tiran at first, this chapter was laid to waste during the Sixth Black Crusade of Chaos, having met its end valiantly in the Eye of Terror. The combat against the Gorgers and Black Augurs was especially furious - it was noted, for instance, that the Beastmasters would spend extra time after the engagements destroying the equipment and remains of their fallen foes. Curiously among extinct Chapters, many of their Chapter Fleet's ships survive to this day, the Pax Plateo in particular serving as the ship of a small-time Rogue Trader operating in Segmentum Pacificus.

Knights Cambrian

Knights Cambrians
Battle Cry	"From the depths, rise!"
Number	N/A
Founding	Unknown
Successors of	Scale Bearers
Successor Chapters	Unknown
Primarch	Tiran Osoros
Homeworld	Panthalassa (destroyed)
Strength	Destroyed in M36 by the Necrons
Specialty	Amphibious warfare
Allegiance	Imperium of Man
Colours	Sea-green and jade

How ironic it was that a Chapter dedicated to amphibious warfare and possessed of aquatic warbeasts, serving a role much like those of its parent Legion's companions, met its end upon its own ocean homeworld. When the ancient and hateful Necrons rose from its depths, the Chapter immediately withdrew from combat against the Eldar to defend its stocks of gene-seed. Unfortunately, not only the gene-seed, but the Chapter itself was lost, brought down by a Necron horde of untold size - many of which were the dreaded Flayed Ones. So dense was the infestation, and so active these Necrons, that evacuation was impossible - the planet itself had to be purged in the flames of Exterminatus. Though the oceans returned with time, they sit empty of all life now, the silent seas of a dead world.

Fire Breathers

Fire Breathers
Battle Cry	Burn in the Flames of our Faith!
Founding	Third Founding
Successors of	Scale Bearers
Successor Chapters	N/A
Chapter Master	Smarag Ajdar
Homeworld	Tarak
Strength	900
Specialty	Warbeasts and Fast Attack.
Allegiance	Imperium of Man
Colours	Red and Orange

Solnhofen

Solnhofen
Segmentum	Segmentum Tempestus
Sector	Uhulis Sector
System	Mesazon System
Population	8,738,903
Orbital radius	1.25AU ± 0.23AU
Gravity	0.94G
Temperature	Tropical

Located somewhere in Segmentum Tempestus is the Mesazon system, home to the jungle world of Solnhofen. A primitive planet, to be sure, it is home to a small population of humans who, by the 41st Millenium, adhere to the Imperial Cult in their own (perhaps limited in sophistication) way. This second planet of the Mesozon system boasts vast jungles dotted by large but simple villages. On the planet's (still warm) northern pole, however, rests the Cliffs of Tiran, the Fortress-Monastery of the Scale Bearers. Some 948 kilometers to the southeast sits the northernmost of the villages, Gand Wanunlen, which served as home to the young Tiran Osoros in the time he spent on the planet before the Great Crusade. Now the largest of the villages, Gand Wanunlen is the

History

Pre-Imperium

Evidence found on the planet's southern regions indicate that humanity first settled here sometime in M19, atop the ruins of a primitive xenos civilization. Decayed and faded statues indicate that these xenos were sail-backed with short snouts and long tails, and moved quickly with a semi-sprawling gait. The nonsapient Sors had already been there by the time of the first Dark Age records that have been recovered so far - records that were perhaps made in M26. These records indicate that the Sors were a constant threat to the early colonists, and that those leaving the M26 record were the most recent in a succession of colonial waves, all of which until then had failed to bring the planet to heel. By the time Tiran's genetor-pod arrived in M30, the planet had taken the full brunt of the Age of Strife. Reduced to mere tribes scrabbling about in the few clearings to be found with stone weapons and bone tools, the people of Solnhofen could not have expected ever to see visitors from another planet again. Not until, that is, the arrival of the Primarch of Legio XXV...

Tiran's Conquest

Conquest of Solnhofen
Date	859.M30
Scale	Planetwide
Theatre	Solnhofen
Status	Decisive Victory for Tiran Osoros
Belligerents
Tiran Osoros, village of Gand Wanunlen, Sors	villages of Solnhofen, including Sherra Sek, Larun Tya, and Yrash Pak
Commanders and Leaders
Tiran Osoros, Ayl Osoros, Keradops	various village chieftains
Strength
Some 4,000 tribesfolk and a contingent of perhaps 1,000 Sors	Populations of tribal villages
Losses
No official records, estimated at ~700 humans and ~200 Sors at halfway point of campaign	No official records, over 200,000 kills claimed by army of Gand Wanunlen
Outcome
Imperial rule comes to planet as result of Emperor's rediscovery of Tiran Osoros and completion of conquest

After his arrival, the young Primarch was found and raised by the Gand Wanunlen hunter Ayl Osoros, and soon earned his own name of Tiran after defeating and taming his namesake creatures. At this point, his friend Keradops was about the size of a small bull, or perhaps a very large boar. Soon enough, the spark of conquest lit in his eyes, as it had in so many of his brothers. Speaking with the village's chief, he managed to persuade his people to rise in arms against their neighbors. For some half a standard year, Tiran developed the Sor-based tactics that he would pass on to his Legion, conquering and subjugating nearly half of the planet. He would later recount that his army claimed to have killed over 200,000 enemies by the time of the Battle of Larun Tya.

The Great Crusade

As the Great Crusade progressed, the planet provided a number of recruits for the Scale Bearers Legion, and the technology of the people improved slightly. By the time of the Heresy, the people had at last discerned proper irrigation systems, and their pottery designs were improving greatly. These improvements would go well to increasing the pool of available recruits for the Legion that calls the world home.

The Hektor Heresy

A Warp storm over the system during the Heresy prevented the legion that called it home from returning to defend it. Oddly, the traitors who had so swiftly brought an end to Tiran and Keradops did not see fit to burn the planet those two called home. Perhaps they felt it had been enough to scatter their Loyalist kin, or perhaps the population simply posed no threat to their nefarious intentions. In either case, it remained as it always had - a Feral World beneath the notice of the powers above, save for the sons of the man who conquered it.

The Scourging

Being the homeworld of a loyal Legion, this planet was not targeted for the Scourging. It was, however, subject to investigation - how had so few of the Legion's Astartes made it home during the Heresy, never mind to Terra, and how had the populace fared during the Warp storm? The investigation found the planet free of Chaotic taint, though the locals' lack of sophistication chafed somewhat on many of the surveyors.

Age of the Imperium

Little has changed on Solnhofen in the last ten thousand years, save for the adoption of primitive metallurgy and notable improvements in pottery. However, the planet very nearly came under threat in the war against WAAAGH! The Beast, which to this day remains the largest Ork WAAAGH! ever recorded. The Beast's forces sought to descend upon the planet, led by a lesser warlord - Aghrakh Zark. A mere Boy during the Henom IX campaign, and a Nob at Ullanor, this persistent Blood Axe, a Warboss in his own right, found himself at the cusp of his long-awaited vengeance. His forces, unfortunately for him, never made planetfall on Solnhofen, as a combined fleet of the Imperial Navy and the Scale Bearers' own Chapter Fleet laid waste to the voidfaring Orks before they could reach the planet's orbit.

Culture

The people of Solnhofen are a primitive folk, tending towards simplicity of thought and life. Their general character is that of tribes competing for vital resources - conflicts are short, but vary between highly ritualized (in matters of honor) or bloody and frantic (in matters of sustenance or potable water). With the work subdivided relatively evenly among the members of the community, women and children have a greater degree of political power among the tribes of Solnhofen than on many other worlds of such a developmental level. This, of course, is not saying much. What does hold interest is the superstition the locals hold about the pre-Imperial ruins that dot the planet, often containing statues of xenos thought to be extinct since at least M19, when the first human settlers arrived. The planet's natives think the ruins to be haunted by the spirits of the ancient xenos that once called Solnhofen home, who are often blamed for everything from a death in childbirth to milk spoilage.