Iron Legion
The Iron Legion is an faction of monsters made of metal and flesh. They are considered an infestation on the galaxy, having only one goal, to make everything a part of the Legion.
Contents
History
For the character, see Iron King.
The majority of time, the Iron Legion does not act as a cohesive group, and are ruled by Bishops, whose only goal was to maintain and propagate the Legion[1]. Rarely does the Legion form strategies to take over civilized territory, not caring who controls the captured planets as long as it has raw materials and living creatures.
Iron Kings
With enough time and supplies, the Iron Legion can create an Iron King. Iron Kings are supremely intelligent and strong, with the ability to control the Iron Legion as one. They have access to the Iron Legion’s hivemind, allowing them to strategize and direct hundreds of battles across the galaxy at once. Iron Kings also have access to all information gathered and witnessed by Iron Legion creatures. Iron Kings are not infallible, and they have been defeated in the past after some extremely destructive wars[2].
The creation of an Iron King’s body is extremely expensive, and the creation of a mind is ten times more so. It is so difficult to create an Iron King, that only five, including the Iron King created in The Captain, have been made throughout history. The previous Iron King that had matured was made was over four hundred years ago [1]. In his lifespan, he had built the Grand Hive and had commissioned a device that allowed the revival of an Iron King, though it was not completed in time to save him. This device was then used by the most recent Iron King to revive himself after Varic Vallenar destroyed the Iron King’s body before his birth.
In Varic's Alternative Lives
In one of Varic's alternative lives, an Iron King was born and took over the galaxy. Varic Vallenar and Sola Kalter, together with ragtag army of survivors, attempted a suicide mission to kill the Iron King at the Grand Hive. Only Varic and Sola managed to make it to the Iron King, and both died soon afterwards. In another life, the Iron King was released by Starhammer.
Iron Hives
Iron Hives are sites of the Iron Legion made of flesh and metal. They can range in size, from the size of taken over ships to the size of small moons. They can also resemble organs and/or be fused with taken over ships.
Grand Hive
Grand Hive is the fortress of the Iron Legion. The Hive is normally hidden from view by a black fog, blocking mundane tracking methods. Unlike other Hives, the Grand Hive has a purposeful look to it, resembling a planet-sized skull made of slick salt-white skin and black iron. The Hive is surrounded by fighter ships, emerging from a hangar bay. The hanger resembles a beast’s mouth, with miles-long spikes that jut out like tusks[3].
Fleet
Ships
Penetrators: Penetrators are short-range boarding devices that jam themselves into ships for the Iron Legion to enter. Each contain 24 Pawns, 1 Sentry, 1 Shepherd, and (optionally) 1 Reaver. Ships are usually attacked after some material.
Hunters: Hunters are the main fighters used by the Iron Legion. They are wedge shaped and covered with insectoid carapace[4]. Generally unmanned, these ships are heavily armed and more maneuverable over short distances. Hunters carry magic that broadcast their recent experiences when destroyed[5].
Iron Legion Creations
Creatures: Iron Legion creatures are fist-sized lumps of flesh and metal with a single eye and a pair of leathery, mammalian wings. They can be found inside colonies, and are used as scouts by Legion.
Parasites: Half metal worms, no longer than a finger and only a little thicker than a strand of hair.
Pawns: Pawns are among the weakest and least intelligent of the creations made by the Iron Legion. They are minimally intelligent, only enough to happily follow orders, and not enough for self awareness or pain. Like other Iron Legion creatures, Pawns have a very repulsive appearance that requires special training to be accustomed to. They look vaguely humanoid, being made up from the spare body parts from the creation of other creatures, so they could come from different species and people. Missing pieces are replaced with machinery. They resemble four-limbed spiders made of flesh and metal.
Sentries: Generally made from one body, Sentries are the larger and smarter versions of Pawns. They can be trusted with more complex tasks such as guard duty[4].
Shepherds: Made from captured mages, Shepherds are the mages of the Iron Legion, using staves of bone and metal. They are black-hooded figures with tubes coming out of the shadow where its face should be. Shepherds are capable of speech.
Reaver: Among the stronger of the Iron Legion creations, Reavers are the result of pushing the original organic body’s physical limits. Their organic structure is kept mostly intact, with metal melted into their flesh. Though their appearance can vary, Reavers commonly have steel grown over their left arm to form a crude blade while the right can use a weapony[6].
Bishop: Outside of the Iron King, Bishops are among the most intelligent of the Iron Legion creations, and collectively rule the Legion in times without a King. Bishops do not have a body themselves, and are instead the consciousness bound to some Iron Hives. Bishops are able to form faces and limbs out of walls to converse. This form can be destroyed, but Bishops do not die until the Hive is destroyed. Bishops can rearrange and manage the structure of a Hive, including releasing weapons out walls, creating spells, and fixing damage. Bishops can also adapt to hostile mage's magic speciality and bring countermeasures. Generally, Iron Hives with Bishops exist for a specific purpose.
Behemoth: Highly resistant to magic, Behemoths are massive beasts, their bodies made from caught astral megafauna and functional cyborg pieces, usually taken from scavenged dreadnoughts. Their size ranges from the size of cities to planets. Each has a unique interaction with subspace, their nature varies based on the body used. Behemoths are made to track down large-scale magic, and can suppress, but not prevent the use of, Aether. Behemoths are very costly to make ― only ten exist in the galaxy.
