Iron Warriors Investigated

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+++Thought: Against the Alien and the Traitor there is no fair way to fight.+++

Sire

Our working relationship with the Sky Lords Adeptus Astartes has borne fruit. The Sky Lords captures one of the Traitor Astarte Iron Warrior operatives on Hexis. After “Interrogation” - most likely the consumption of the traitors Grey matter and information absorption through their Omophagea*, the Sky Lords have forwarded the operational methods of the Iron Warriors of Lycurgus Stahl.

The subject for interrogation was referred to as “Legionary Sarkow” in the report and information gleaned was this interrogation along with supplementary commentaries of my own.

Legionary Sarkow

Sarkow was recruited and inducted into the Iron Warriors during the “Iron Empire” following Horus’ failure. Sarkow did not become part of the 144th Grand Battalion at this time but rather served under several different Warsmiths during the Scouring. This was due to incessant war with the besieging Imperial forces that attrition and injury were high as well as increased intrigue and backstabbing to gain position. Thy Sky Lords appear to go into great length on this period and Sarkow’s own experience, seemingly having a measure of pride that the Ultramarines and their Chapters were involved in those sieges. However I digress - should you wish to study this period I can forward this information in another data burst. Sarkow, like most of his Legion escaped to the eye following the fall of Olympia. Sarkow was not a native Olympian but rather a recruit from the Meratara Cluster Garrison**. It appears that following the Heresy Sarkow had spent much time in several Warbands, particularly during a “War of Iron”, that the Imperium have no record of. Eventually his foul deviancy apparently came to a head as mutation began to take hold, withering away parts of his flesh. Apparently, Iron Warriors commonly abhor mutation and Sarkow sought treatment along with a number of other mutated traitors. Finding the citadel of the disgusting Fabius Bile of the III Legion, where he was recruited by an “Nicator” into the 144th. Most interestingly, somehow, Stahl was able to reverse a great deal of the mutation that had taken hold and replace with augments that tissue which could not be saved.

Designation

The traitors following the arch heretic Lycurgus Stahl refer to themselves as the “144th Grand Battalion”. Fragmentary records refer to a 144th Grand Battalion as being part or attached to Expeditionary Fleet 707 in M30. This believed to be the, or at least one of the Expeditionary fleets that conquered the Aleph Sector. Sarkow certainly believed that it was his Legion that conquered the Sector and it belonged to them by right of conquest, though Sarkow was not present at the time of course.

From Sarkow’s experiences it’s suggested that Iron Warriors crave order, and as a result, while many Iron Warrior warbands are chaotic, the larger ones retain large elements of military order we would find familiar. As an aside this has previously been identified during the Hydra Cordatus Massacre where a force under command of who was believed to be Barban Falk displayed strongly stratified structure. The 144th have created a cult of sorts around Stahl, who is believed to hold their “Freedom”. Nevertheless, what “freedom” this is from we have no idea, the Storm Lords simply suggested that constant urge to be “free” permeated Sarkows thoughts.

Nevertheless there are a number of designations of organisational structure within the Iron Warriors. At the head is the 144th Grand Battalion overall, which is the designation of the overall Warband. Beneath this is the Grand Companies, Each controlled by a trusted Commander. Each campaign force is referred to as a “Cohort” and may comprise of several Grand Companies. Beneath the Grand Companies are the Line Companies, and the Armoured Centuries, the smallest warbands are referred to as the Dekathlea - a word of unknown origin. In addition there is a specialist group known as the Stor-Bazashk, who are responsible for artillery. In addition, there are number of “warrior lodges” that are distinct from historical records from among the traitors. These groups, referred to as Brethren, appear to represent schools of thought within the Iron Warriors and how they consider each battleplan. These brethren use Olympian names and refer to the society on that dead world. The Brethren are: The Dodekatheon - the “Stone Brethren”, the Apolakron - the “Steel Brethren”***, the Kheledakos - the “Void Brethren”, the Lyssatra - the “Thunder Brethren”, the Tyranthikos, which simply translates to the “Dominators” in Low Gothic, the Thitokana - the “Brethren of Slaves/Harvest”, the translation is unclear and lastly the Sikotra - The Brethren of Purity. There are of course human auxiliary units and designations which I will go into in due course. Lastly I wish to divulge some information on a shadowy group that Sarkaw referred to as “the 25” and held in great esteem and fear.

The Grand Companies

The Grand Companies vary in size greatly, the smallest thought by Sarkow to be the size of the Imperial Space Marine Chapter, and the largest thought to be in the region of 30,000 Astartes, though this is unconfirmed, certainly this is what Sarkow believed. Each Grand Company is commanded by a Commander, sometimes given other Epithets by their men, however it is noted that Stahl does not care for such things. Each Grand Company was largely autonomous, each owing allegiance to Stahl through him “saving” a great number of their members, along with the Iron Warriors deep psychological need for order. A Grand Company will contain Legion Astarte, Dark Mechanicum, armour, some void transport and human soldier support along with massive logistical support unknown in other more fractious traitor warbands. One thing that is not present within each Grand Company is significant void warships, which Stahl maintains direct control of. Sarkow was not certain how many Grand Companies there were however he believed that there were no more than 11, more likely no more than 10. This would place the overall Astartes under Stahls command somewhere between 10,000 and 300,000, the size of a Legion in itself. I find this hard to believe as the operational strength of the Iron Warriors before Heresy was, according to records to be around 200,000 Astartes. Sarcow seemed to be aware of it, and the Sky Lords said that the “true strength” of the 144th was a subject of discussion within its own ranks, a widely held belief that many of the Iron Warriors themselves are held in stasis till Stahl can find a cure for whatever warp malady afflicts them. The Sky Lords report that Sarkow felt little fear in death, not believing it would truly happen, even during his vivisection**** he believed that he would walk again as he had served Stahl well. The Sky Lords report that a common belief held by the 144th is that Stahl, a former Apothecary, along with his Sorcerers, can resurrect dead Astartes, Sarkow believed he had seen it with his own eyes*****. In my opinion, it is likely that Stahl commands an astarte force of at worst 40,000, no more and likely no more than 10,000 are in fact active. Despite this, a force of 10,000 is a significant threat to the Imperium, traitors have done more with far less.

Cohorts

“Cohorts” within the 144th are analogous to Imperial Crusades, but refer more to active warzones the 144th is involved in it appears. There are likely three Cohorts active, Cohort Perseus, Cohort Hadron, and Cohort Enceladus. Cohorts seem to be formed on an “as need” basis and Stahl assigns and overall commander to these Cohorts, who in turn assign a commander to each planetary campaign, should the cohort be engaged in multiple warzones in a subsector.

Line Companies

A Line Company are roughly analogous with a Battle Company being between 80 to a 140 Astartes in size. The battle company itself will comprise solely of Astartes, though it will have human auxiliaries and war machines from the Armour Centuries attached who are operating within the same warzone. Each Line Company is commanded by a Captain, and supported by a First and Second Lieutenant and support staff. When a larger warband is absorbed into a the Battalion, it is first normally designated as a Line Company. These new companies quickly suffer attrition, and a Lords troops folded out through injury, this quickly erodes a Lords powerbase and ensures that each Legionaries loyalty is to Stahl.

Armour Centuries

Armour Centuries, or simply “Centuries” are the remnants of the former maniples of robots and armoured companies that existed before the Heresy. Since that time much of the technology has been modified or even new war machines have been created. These have all been folded into the Centuries. Each Century is commanded by the Warpsmith responsible for the machines and will number anywhere between 20 to over 100 machines. The Warpsmiths are pulled from boh former Techmarines and former Mechanicum who owe loyalty to Stahl. The Smiths themselves maintain a ranking structure similar to the normal rankings of the 144th, however their specialisms greater than even the tech adept Iron Warriors is recognised.

Dekathla

The Dekathlea does not have a translation, though it appears to be a bastardised Charybdisian/Olympian word for “war party”. Each Line Company will have 2 or 3 established Dekathla, these are mixed groups of astarte, armour and human troops that are quickly able to launch attack and defence depending on the need. The origins, apparently has its origins in the latter days of the Enceladus sub-sector siege where fluid battle groups were required to quickly react Imperial attacks. Smaller Warbands are formed into a Dekathlea initially when they are first incorporated into the 144th, however like the larger warbands that form line company, they find themselves quickly broken up and old allegiances severed.

The 25

Of all the things that Sarkow divulged, the 25 of the most baffling. To Sarkow, they represented both his hope for freedom, indifference towards death and absolute terror at the prospect of incurring their ire. The 25 appear to be the enforcers of Warsmith Stahl’s will and operate sometimes as shadows, and sometimes as leaders within the 25th. What the Sky Lords could discern is that 1. Sarkow thought of them as immortal, but in a sense different from daemonhood 2. They operate outside the Iron Warrior command structure, listening only to Stahl and 3. Even under the interrogation he was under Sarkow would not reveal their identities out of fear. I would surmise that the 25 are another method that Stahl maintains order and loyalty. Perhaps in some twisted aping of Commissars or Space Marine Chaplains.

The “Brethren”

In addition to the stratified organisational structure of the 144th, there is also the concept of “Brethren”. These brethren are similar to the Warrior Lodges that are believed to have initially caused the downfall of the Traitor Legions, however they have remained in their original function throughout the millennia, through unknown means. Each Brethren function similar to a school of thought, espousing a belief in waging war or controlling their captured worlds. These appear to aide the Iron Warriors in preparing the attacks, the Sky Lords reported being near overwhelmed with information of these meetings, clearly they were important to them. Most importantly, at least to Sarkow, was that the Brethren met without rank or formality, that it was a place of freethought and ideas. Within these Brethren Iron Warriors would play out wargames, either via hololith, or with facsimiles of forces at their disposal or their enemies, playing out wars again and again to determine the best course of action. Each of these meetings were held by those of “Honourable” rank - a rank to display that the individual is trusted to the other Iron Warriors. Apparently Sarkow was close to “Honourable” Horozshka, who held the last meeting - which I may add led to their planned push into the city once more, with this information the Sky Lords and the Imperium were able to stop the assault before it began.

Dodekatheon

The Dodekatheon refers to the “Brethren of Stone” but also the formal name for the meeting where the respected Iron Warriors plan attacks.

The Brethren of Stone are the largest of the Brethren cults. The Dodekatheon as Sarkow understood were descended from the ancient Warcaste Metisraad societies on Terra where the IV Legion their first stock of warriors. Those that ascribe to the theories and teachings of the Dodekatheon learn the art of stone, construction or destruction, by passing or turning against their enemies. According to them, eventually all wars fall to a defensive position, a hard point, and if those hard points can be broken, all the enemy will break. A great number of Astartes are part of this Brethren though only a small number attend the meetings, for the reality is that though it is without rank in the meeting, many jealous Iron Warrior will seek the end of their rival when they have the chance.

Apolakron

The Apolakron are the “Brethren of Steel” though not be confused with the Traitor Astartes of the same name who participated in the War for Vraks in 813.M41. The Apolakron specialise in the application of armoured and mechanised warfare, this has extended to Daemon engines and more esoteric armoured weapons of war. Most Warpsmiths are members of this Brethren. Interestingly, it is often the Apolakron members that broker deals with the so called “Dark” Mechanicus. The Apolakron appear to be descended from the society of Iron Smiths on Olympia that permeated into the Legion before the Heresy.

Kheledakos

The Kheledakos largely comprise of members of those versed in Void Warfare, though their presence at the Dodekatheon is often very small. Their small presence is in no small part that many of the Kheledakos cannot leave their ships are forced to send Hololiths in their stead. In fact, many of the ships under Stahl’s control came to him as their crews were desperate to avoid their degradation into madness. It is believed he has successfully removed a small number of Crewmen from their vessels without killing them. Notably to Sarkow was Captain Darkarta, Captain of the Sword of Olympia was successfully removed from her vessel a number of years ago, and walks the corridors of her ship and planets as needed as a massive robot golem. It is unknown where this originated from, possibly the trader tribes of Olympia, I can investigate further if you wish.

Lyssatra

The Lyssatra or “The Brethren of Thunder” are solely concerned with weaponry and its application. Where the Dodekatheon focus upon over breaking potential of a fusilade the Lyssatra tend to focus on creating “Super weapons” that will do the job of entire line companies. This can make them unpopular with the rank and file it appears and they the brethren has sorcerers and smiths as members. In addition, those “Obliterators” who are not completely insane are often members of the Lyssatra and serve as ambassadors to their less communicative brethren. I’d postulate that the Lyssatra is why the Iron Warriors as a Legion (not just the 144th) can call so many Obliterators to their banner. “Lyssatra” refers to the chemical and power smiths of Olympia and their secret society, in fact, an informal name for the society was “the burned men” as the most respected of the Lyssatra were always those with the most horrific injuries from their experiments - something that might be an ongoing trend 144th.

Thitokana

I have found no mention of this brethren - “The Brethren of Flesh” outside the 144th. Initially I thought it may be a simple cult to the Dark Prince due to its esoteric name however this Brethren apparently has its interested in the application of Auxiliaries. It’s been seen on multiple occasions engaging the 144th that they make effective use of human auxiliaries and seem to have an inexhaustible supply of Thorakitai as well as captured slave warriors referred to disparagingly as the “Expendable Flesh”. The Thitokana contain a number of Thorakitai officers among and are eminent voices in populace infiltration. The other Brethren adherents look on the Thitokana with disdain, Sarkow included. However interestingly there are several memories according to the Sky Lords of the Thitokana tactics used to great effect - notably in the battles of Mordecai and Minos where agents managed to co-opt the populace into fighting for the Iron Warriors. This brethren is of completely unknown origin, perhaps formed by the 144th themselves for unknown reasons.

Sitotra

The Sitokra are the smallest of the Brethren, but one that is known to enjoy the favour of Stahl. Sitotra is an odd term in the Olympian dialect, having a meaning of “House of Purity”, or in this case “Brethren of Purity”. It is an intensely odd term for disgusting heretics and madmen, but far from an unheard term amongst the traitorous hordes. In the case of the Sitotra, they seem to attract former Apothecaries and Magos Biologis as well as renegade Sorcerers and Librarians. Among all the Brethren Cults, these appear to value esoteric approaches and innovative design, finding an unexpected route in war. The rumoured genetic and flesh facilities in Iron Warrior territories are under the eye of members of the Sitotra. Quite what exactly the Sitotra do was unknown Sarkow, who had little do with them. He knew those that plowed the battlefields recovering the dead and wounded were Sitotra Brethren, and he knew they were mainly interested in biological experimentation. I did hear a rumour that Stahl and Fabius Bile of the III Legion of somehow acquainted and consider themselves peers of a fashion, perhaps this is Stahl trying to setup flesh-mongers to rival the Clonelord?

*I urge you to strongly consider dispatching an infiltration team to investigate the Sky Lords, there is always the risk of contamination. I will attempt to ascertain the name of the Astarte responsible for the interrogation so he can be given the Emperor's Benediction for the sake of the rest of his Chapter.

** As an interesting side note, it appears that this was the location of the infamous “Black Judges”. I found some data cores some time ago on these individuals. Apparently they were heavily bionically modified humans who monitored the outlying systems for signs of genetic deviations, purging populaces such as Olympia every few years. Early records seem to indicate that they were in fact extremely thorough and efficient, if only they were still present today? I do sometimes wonder what wonders of the Omnissiah they had to help detect genetic deviations over an entire sector?

*** These appear to be distinct from the “Steel Brethren” warband of traitor Marines first sighted at the Siege of Vraks in 813.M41.