Sky Reavers

''“Captain, this is Fighter XV-212, it’s hell up here! They’re moving too fast, none of us can lock on to them. It’s hard enough to dodge the anti-air fire from the ground, but they’re circling around, picking us off one by one and there’s nothing we can do. It’s inhuman, sir, no man could pull those speeds or turns off. Permission to …”''

- Last recorded transmission from enemy combatant XV-212 during the Assault on Koccichi by the XIIIth Legion

The fast moving lords of the air, the Sky Reavers aim to dominate the sky above any battlefield before committing to any ground operations. Their superior aerial skills, combined with the numerous modifications they have made to their aircraft, makes them highly mobile foes who can strike from any angle. Their primarch, Aato, is a caring and scientifically-minded Primarch, looking to form close bonds with his brothers and protect his homeworld above all. This love of his homeworld would fuel his scientific experiments, as he began obsessed with finding a way to travel vast distances without the need for the warp to guarantee the survival of his home system. It was this obsession that would lead him and his legion down a path away from the light of the Imperium.

Origins
The XIIIth Legion was founded towards the end of the Unification Wars, raised from the conquered people of Nordyc in the aftermath of the Battle of the Red Frost. The people of Nordyc were fiercely independent and had resisted the Emperor’s advance, requiring the deployment of the Thunder Warriors to break the back of the Nordyc resistance. The people who made up the first initiates into the XIIIth retained their techno-barbarian flair for technology, with individual modifications of weaponry and vehicles promoted within the legion. The first actions of the XIIIth were in rapid strikes, dropping onto targets from the skies and coordinating air strikes. The XIIIth proved designed for aerial combat, with their geneseed allowing them to fly at speeds and pull off manoeuvres no others could do. It was on the eve of the Great Crusade that the XIIIth gained their cognomen, as they formed the vanguard of the Emperor’s forces pushing into the Sol System. The Emperor noted their eagerness to begin the conquest, and dubbed them the Void Seekers, appointing them to be amongst the advanced elements of the conquest.

The Great Crusade
The XIIIth played a significant role from the very beginnings of the Great Crusade, using their speed to travel ahead of the main Expeditionary Fleets and identify targets that would be the scenes of the toughest battles in the Sol System. While many legions boasted of the number of victories they had achieved, the actions of the Void Seekers saved the Great Crusade an uncountable amount of time by their scouting.

However, early on in the Great Crusade, a psychological flaw in the legion’s geneseed manifested itself, with individuals falling into deep despair and many legionaries feeling a void within their souls. Instances were recorded of XIIIth Astartes withdrawing from their brothers and volunteering for testing experimental developments in technology, often with fatal results. Some within the legion came to take their cognomen as a sick kind of joke, as the feeling of emptiness became known as the Void. Depression did not claim all who felt this, though, as after 815.M30 many more were inspired by the discovery of the first Primarch, Araphel, to seek out their own gene-father. First amongst these was Legion Master Juhani Laurila, recruited into the legion after the end of the Unification Wars but a skilled fighter and possessing a sharp tactical mind. He took it as his personal mission to find his gene-father and he rallied the legion around this idea to help stave off the Void.

The most notable additions the Void Seekers made to the Great Crusade were in the field of technology, being responsible for aiding the Mechanicum in developing new aircraft and anti-aircraft weaponry. Notable examples are the Talaria Superiority Fighter and weapons such as the ‘Stiletto’ SRAAM, providing both the Legiones Astartes as a whole and the Void Seekers particularly with dominating air power. The techmarines of the Seekers became specialised in the maintenance of aircraft, and were the ones who created the first Accipitrine Dreadnoughts to accompany the Legion into the skies. This innovation formed several links with the Mechanicum as the XIIIth were one of the legions most enthusiastic about the techmarine program on Mars.

The Void Seekers travelled perhaps the furthest of any legion during the Great Crusade, moving with incredible speed between campaigns and discovering more human civilisations than any other. They did not stay long after the necessary compliance actions were completed, as the Seekers deep down were motivated solely to find their gene-father. They would have to wait for over a hundred years, losing many brothers to the Void, but eventually a Rogue Trader fleet discovered a new system and were engaged by vessels from one of the worlds. Word was soon sent to the Emperor that another of his sons had been found.

The Sky's the Limit
A small planet, the gravity of Maraparatiisi is less than a tenth of Terra’s, making aerial combat the norm. Most of the inhabitants live in the clouds of the world in cloud cities, travelling via airship and flyers. There are continents below the clouds, but they are covered in dangerous flora and fauna that has resisted all attempts at colonisation. When the colonists from the Golden Age of Technology arrived, these planets were bio-engineered to be a food source for the settlers, meant to compensate for the lack of agri-worlds nearby, but the ravages of Old Night have seen these plants rapidly mutate beyond their initial purpose. These plants have become a highly sought after resource in the cloud cities as they were used to produce lots of strange drugs and chemicals, that if used in the right way acted as stimulants that increased the reaction speeds of its users.

Aato Väyrynen’s stasis pod did not crash-land as many of his brothers’ did, his stasis pod slowly drifted into Maaparatiisi’s atmosphere, the low gravity of the world barely pulling on the pod. It is impossible to know how long Aato moved through the atmosphere, though later conversations with Aato would reveal that he awoke at some point and was conscious when he was found. He was collected by a group of airships, thinking the pod to be debris to be salvaged. On the journey back to the cloud city of Raipio, Aato studied the voidsmen and aircraft, Aato had aged enough in his pod to be able to learn to speak from listening to the voidsmen, and when he arrived at the harbour of Raipio he slipped off the ship and escaped into the city. There he lived amongst the homeless and orphaned children, many children of voidsmen who died in battle. He earned food by sneaking into the harbour and stripping ships for parts to sell or create unique devices to sell on the black market. During this time Aato also encountered Maraparatiisi’s dark secret: the pernicious drug trade made from the deadly flora. Many of the homeless that Aato lived aside were former pilots and voidsmen who had lost out in the highly competitive aeronautical systems, having resorted to performance-enhancing drugs to keep pace with younger pilots to the point that their lives were ruined.

Aato lived on the streets for a few years, until one day he found the opportunity to stow away on one of Raipio’s most grand warships. Taking to the skies, his ship was attacked by a rival city, and the warship suffered severe damage and began to fall. As the crew began to evacuate, Aato refused to abandon ship, and worked to repair the damage by himself. He managed to get the warship heading back towards Raipio, but even with his innate aptitude he was unable to save the ship. Aato retreated to the peak of the ship, and jury-rigged a thruster to launch Aato himself at Raipio’s harbour. He barely managed to reach the harbour, throwing himself forward and landing hard on the city floor. The survivors of the warship saw him and his efforts, and the voidsmen picked him up and took him back to the Raipian Air Base.

It was here that Aato found his true calling, as his skill in engineering and piloting were discovered and honed alongside Raipio’s many voidspeople. He began improving on the designs of the aircraft and worked to improve safety and save the lives of the pilots, rapidly climbing up the ranks from a mere engineer to senior overseer. These new aircraft propelled Raipio to a position of prominence on Maaparatiisi, winning several air battles and gaining control of cities that had opposed Raipio for generations. Aato led the fleet on many occasions, working on modifying his own personal airship to surpass any other vessel on the world. As leader of Marapaatiisi, Aato began expeditions to planets within the system, which the scientists of Marapaatiisi had named after the mythological hero of Vesa. While many different kinds of resources were found, the worlds were not capable of maintaining self-sufficient colonies. He coupled this with attempts to fix the social problems of his world, seeking to end the dependencies on the planet’s drugs and elevate the next generation of citizens. While his infrastructure and engineering achievements were great and replete with success, his social reforms proved less so as while education rates increased exponentially a thriving black market of drugs continued to operate.

The Imperium would eventually discover the Vesa System, with a Rogue Trader vessel being detected by a scout vessel from Marapaatiisi, which returned to Marapaatiisi and alerted Aato. Aato responded by mobilising his fleet and making the Rogue Trader at the outermost world of Jaakkola. As soon as the Rogue Trader met Aato, he knew he was in the presence of a Primarch, and word was sent back to Terra to inform the Emperor that another of his sons had been found. When the Emperor and Aato met face to face, Aato was won over by the Emperor’s own love of science and promise that the Imperium would help heal a galaxy disunited by warpstorms.

Second Wind
The reunion of Aato and the Void Seekers would be the most important event in the legion’s history. Upon meeting their gene-father and being taken to his homeworld, many of the marines suffering from the Void felt at home for the first time in their long lives and felt an extremely strong bond to Maaparatiisi and Aato. For Aato, the reunion was both a joyous and deeply saddening moment, seeing the low morale of his sons and the lengths they had gone to to try and fill the Void. His reforms mainly focused on the culture of the legion, turning the formerly dour and morose XIIIth into the optimistic and forward-looking Sky Reavers. Recreational activities were promoted and the Hevoskurssi were founded, with Aato taking part in the first race weighted down to make the contest fair. Fairness would become a hallmark of Aato’s impact on the legion, as the legion’s command hierarchy would become more open to input from all marines and even Aato himself was not above criticism. Though some of his stricter brothers viewed this as insubordination, the choice spared the legion any festering feelings of alienation amongst the Terrans, whose experience helped shape the new Sky Reavers.

Tactically little changed in the Sky Reavers, as Aato was pleased with the aerial preference of the Void Seekers and the limited technological innovation displayed. Technological innovation would only increase following Aato’s rediscovery, as entry into the Rautasiipi became highly valued within the legion and Aato’s friendships with other technologically-minded Primarchs helped spread ideas. The Accipitrine Dreadnought becoming available to all legions was the most notable example of this, earning the Reavers much respect from their fellow legions. Not all legions welcomed the newly invigorated Sky Reavers, with some viewing Aato’s peaceful rise to power and his preference for avoiding fights with his speed as proof of cowardice or lack of martial skill. This did not discourage the Reavers, who knew their worth and would go on to prove it through their actions.

Pushing the Borders
The Sky Reavers embraced the Great Crusade with new-found spirit, with their expeditionary fleets racing to the outer frontiers of the Crusade. The Reavers would serve on innumerable battlefields, preferring to deploy in comparatively small numbers and leave most of the slow, mopping up operations to their Imperial Army allies. It would not be uncommon for the veterans of the legion to have served on hundreds if not thousands of worlds by the end of the Great Crusade. This dispersal also saw the legion serve alongside many other legions, in contrast to other dispersed legions like the Dune Serpents. To complement this direction, Aato worked to build up a formidable arsenal of flyers and transports for the Reavers, forming relationships with several minor forge worlds to keep the legion hangars filled. As a form of repayment, the Reavers offered up some of their modifications to the Mechanicum, many becoming commonplace across the Legiones Astartes.

One of the main features of the worlds conquered by the Sky Reavers would be the establishment of democracies and the promotion of industry, based on Aato’s own experiences on Maaparatiisi. While the particulars were left up to the populace and the discretion of the Imperial Army commanders still operating on the world, Aato believed that these democracies would prove more stable and prosperous for the Imperium than either draconian Imperial governors or burnt husks. While there were some examples of these democracies failing and falling back into rebellion, there were many more which remained loyal and prospered.

The changes to the legion were not met by appreciation by all in the Imperium. While he was not confrontational at heart, Aato proved firm in his convictions and beliefs on humanity and how war should be waged, buttting heads with those of his brothers who were more brutal during campaigns. On top of this, Aato’s desire to save humanity from the need to use the Warp to travel put him at odds with the Navigator Nobiles, whose power Aato directly threatened. Due to the Emperor’s tutoring on Terra and attempting to bridge the divide, both sides were forced into an uneasy truce, neither one being willing to incur the condemnation of the Emperor. The relationship would continue to be tense for the rest of the Great Crusade, as Aato and the Sky Reavers were forced to hide evidence of their experiments, significantly slowing progress. Because of this, very little practical achievements towards the goal of Warp-free galactic travel were made, a source of great frustration for Aato and the Rautapiisi.

Unfurling Wings
When the Emperor disappeared and the light of the Astronomican was lost, the Sky Reavers suffered terribly compared to other legions. Their home system of Vesa was cut off for months by severe warp storms, an event that Aato had long feared. The Sky Reavers, after recovering from the losses of their ships caught in the Warp, realised the dire need to return to their home and attempted to enter the Warp. What ensued was a nightmare for many, as the dimness of the Astronomican and the volatility of the Warp made the journeys long and straining, with supplies on board running low and many serfs starving to death before even reaching Maaparatiisi. Aato forged ahead, the Lightning Bound straining its warp engines and gellar fields to race for home. When they arrived, they found the Vesa System in a state of deprivation. Shortages of every resource, key infrastructure lying in ruins and riots rocking Maaparatiisi for several months. Aato was forced to take drastic action, voyaging to nearby systems to requisition supplies enforced by his sons and having order restored through martial law. Gradually, Maaparatiisi was able to recover, but several colonies had been wiped out by the deaths of their colonists, cut off from the mother world.

As such, when Aato was summoned to the Conclave of Terra, he departed his home with great reluctance and wishing to conclude this distraction from securing the Imperium. The majority of the Sky Reavers remained to stabilise the surrounding systems and re-establish supply lines to Maaparatiisi. Worlds that had rebelled against the Imperium were brought back into the fold through force if necessary, and the Reavers managed to successfully restore order. Aato paid little attention to the Conclave, signalling his vague support for a Council and not having any particular policies he wished to advance. After the ten days of the Conclave, with everything seeming settled and the customary portion of his legion dedicated to the Reclamation Command, Aato departed speedily for his homeworld. The one political move Aato did make was to form a working relationship with his brother Tenzin, offering a portion of his sons to aid in the stabilising of Segmentum Pacificus. Aato led a small portion of the legion to Ganden to serve under Tenzin, leaving the rest of the legion to fan out and secure the northern frontier of the Imperium.

Aato and Tenzin shared more than a duty to bring peace, though, as the two technically-minded Primarchs held discussions on various issues. The two quickly turned to Aato’s true passion, space travel, and ridding humanity of the Warp. In the superstructure of Ganden, Aato would find the piece he had been missing, a macroscale receptacle that could serve as a node for his links across the galaxy. Aato would begin formatting plans and experiments, and work began on Maaparatiisi on the expansion of Aato’s personal laboratory. By 006, Aato’s business in Pacificus would be concluded, and Aato would depart with his dreams one step closer.

These dreams would be bolstered by the discovery of a mysterious station known as the Dark Glass by elements of the Sky Reavers, reports of its discovery hidden from the rest of the Imperium as the techmarines of the Reavers systematically catalogued and dismantled the station. The tireless work and Aato’s experiments finally bore fruit as the first successful traversal of space without using the Warp. The legion at large continued to operate as normal, launching a grand campaign north as part of the Halcyon Age of the Imperium. These successes were matched by growing controversy for the legion, as the escalating tensions between the Reavers and the Navis Nobilite reached a critical mass with the Attack on the Superbia Solis in 010.M31, drawing the political ire of Terra towards the legion. Aato had failed to build himself a political base of support within the Council of Terra, resulting in the ruling made by the Council being in favour of the Navigators. As the storm clouds of a civil war gathered around Segmentum Solar, Aato decided that the Reavers could no longer remain detached from the politics of the Imperium, as the political strife of the Succession Crisis threatened to engulf Segmentum Solar. He gathered his Expeditionary Fleet and set course for Terra, seeking to act as a peacekeeping force between the two factions. Just how involved the Sky Reavers would become would completely surprise Aato and the Reavers, as a chance stop in the Keld’abe System would alter the history of the legion and the Imperium.

Fall of the Azure Cities
Far into the Great Crusade, the Imperium was expanding in all directions and billions of Imperial Army soldiers and Astartes were spread across the frontiers. The sheer size of the Crusade meant that the legendary Legiones Astartes were unable to be present on every world, particularly if a compliance dragged out or required reinforcement. For the Sky Reavers, leaving their Imperial Army allies unsupported was undesirable, and so the Reavers prioritised speed to travel to as many compliances as they could without dividing their strength. The Fall of the Azure Cities would prove the wisdom of this strategy, as without the Sky Reavers’ timely arrival, the entire 731st Expeditionary Fleet could have been lost.

The mysterious world of Vodrolla was discovered in 931.M30 by Rogue Traders scouting ahead of the 731st Expeditionary Fleet and identified as a resource-rich world worthy of being claimed by the Imperium. As the Expeditionary Fleet approached, they detected signs of human civilisation upon the world as multiple large settlements became visible. These settlements were tightly compact and surrounded by thick walls made of an unknown stone material, and further scans of the world determined that the majority of the population of the world were congregated in these settlements. The iterators and diplomats of the Expeditionary Fleet descended to the cities and declared that the Imperium of Mankind had come to bring all of humanity back into the fold and unite the Galaxy, but the rulers of the cities were deeply suspicious of these arrivals who wielded highly advanced technology. These cities were led by assemblies of oligarchs, with elected leaders acting as spokesmen during the negotiations. The arrogance of the Imperial diplomats and the stubbornness of the cities led to a breakdown in negotiations and the Imperial Army began offensive operations.

At first, all seemed to be going as well as could be hoped. The Imperial Army armoured divisions made quick progress and the entire world outside of the cities was secured in short order. The cities proved tougher to deal with, as the strange blue mineral that the walls were made of was extremely resilient to the bombardments of the Imperial Army, and the defences mounted on the walls were able to inflict heavy casualties on any units that attempted to storm the walls or gates. The cities also proved immune to subterranean assaults, as the bedrock upon which the cities were built was similar to what the walls were built of. Testing found that the material had remarkable repulsion abilities, scaling dramatically the larger the object or the speed that it approached the mineral.

As the sieges of these cities reached the end of the first month, the ground began to rumble. The Imperial Army rushed to their stations, just in time to see a miraculous sight, as the cities they had been sieging and shelling rose from the earth. The cities ascended into the skies through the aid of the repulsion minerals, as the foundations of the city were revealed to have been reconstructed during the siege. Attempts by the Imperial Army to assault the cities as they rose proved ineffective, with the strafing runs of Lightning Strike Fighters or Thunderbolt Heavy Fighters were intercepted by the cities’ anti-air weapons and it was not long before the cities soared out of range of the Imperial Army’s artillery. The Imperial Army was forced to admit that they did not have the means of defeating the cities of Vodrolla. And so, they sent out calls for aid.

These calls would reach the Sky Reavers’ main Expeditionary Fleet, led by Aato Väyrynen himself. Aato determined that the world of Vodrolla could not be allowed to defy the Imperium for the additional months or years it would take the Imperial Army to marshal enough airpower. Within the day of receiving the news, the 19th Expeditionary Fleet was preparing to change course. The sieges continued in futility for an additional month, the Imperial Army unable to do much on the ground and the valuable nature of the world prohibiting orbital bombardments. The rebels proved equally unable to inflict a decisive blow on the Imperial Army, able to reign fire down but lacking the forces to capitalise on these strikes. The stalemate continued until one day, with little warning, the Sky Reavers arrived.

Aato determined that a display of the might of the Imperium was in order, and so as the Sky Reavers fleet approached the world, one of the cities was selected as the target. At the furthest range of the fleet, the Flyers were deployed. Hundreds of fighters poured out of the fleet in expanded squadrons, Xiphons and Lightnings loaded with all kinds of weaponry. The air defences of the city fired solidly for minutes at a time before overheating, unable to even dent the numbers of flyers in the sky. The flyers spun and danced, dodging the missiles and lasfire as they began to unload their payloads. Phosphex rained on the city and the populace burned, as the flyers swooped and circled around to attack the foundation of the city. Kraken and Sunfury missiles targeted one side of the foundations, loosing scores of projectiles to take and dislodge the mineral. While cracks were made, the fighters were unsuccessful in their objective. Regardless, the second wave of the air assault began as Storm Eagles and Thunderhawks raced across the void. The city’s defenders, reeling from the bombing runs, were caught completely in the lurch and overrun with ease by the assault forces of the Reavers. The city fell within the day as the Reavers took the walls and fires spread throughout the night.

The next morning, the Sky Reavers revealed the final step of their plan. Huge amounts of ordnance and demolition materials were brought up to the city from the Imperial Army base below, and they were all planted on one side of the city yet again. This time, the plan was a success, the explosives planted around the construction that held the city to the mineral being obliterated and large clunks of the mineral and the city they had been built on falling away. The city, now off-balance, slowly tilted, causing the tilting to accelerate until the city was sent crashing back down to the planet below. The first city had fallen.

Aato called on the leaders of the remaining cities to see reason and surrender now that resistance was futile, but the fall of the first city had stiffened the resolve of the cities and the desire to defeat the invaders. Black smoke was seen rising from the cities as the factories were pushed to their maximum and began to cannibalise their very cities as attempts to send mining crews to the surface were thwarted. Aato, though disappointed, promised them punishment for their refusal.

The Sky Reavers high command met with the Imperial Army generals to get a proper lay of the land and any information on potential weaknesses. The Sky Reavers took their time to manoeuvre their battle barges into position, preparing their aircraft and scouting with Assault Squads and Taivelia Falcons. These probing strikes would target isolated orbital defences or sabotage the manufacturing centres, keeping the cities’ defenders on edge and unable to rest unperturbed. Aato decided that the cities would be assaulted all at the same time, to prevent aid travelling between the cities and to show the might of the Imperium. The Imperial Army was to play a part in these as well, with every Auxilia Arvus Lighter and VTOL craft made ready and incorporated into Aato’s battleplan. Within a week, the assaults were ready.

At a pre-arranged time, the flyers of the Sky Reavers descended. The air was filled with the roar of thousands of engines as waves of Thunderbolts and Marauders rained hell on the cities and jump infantry fell upon the orbital defences. Aato himself took to the air in his own Taivaan Kauhu, lascannons stremming through the air and missiles flying in all directions. For every flyer struck down by an anti-air battery, two more passed over the walls. Reavers spun and whirled in near acrobatic fashion around the incoming fire, the reflexes of the Reavers proving more than a match for the desperate defenders. The defenders pulled out all of the stops they could, strange techno-abominations strapped with repulsive plates crashed into the assaulting Reavers and the streets of the cities erupting with rifle fire. Although the bolter rounds of the Astartes were deflected by the crude armour, the abominations met the legion’s volkite and melta weapons and eventually succumbed. The legion’s Storm Eagles and Thunderhawks began to launch their landings in the now secure areas, and the cities’ defenders began breaking. The Imperial Army supported the legion by landing their own troops, squads of Grenadiers moving to hold the ground taken by the Astartes. The Reavers swarmed the cities, the various Captains of the Wings spearheading strikes at the government buildings. Leaders were hauled out of their hiding holes as they feebly tried to resist. The leaders were brought to the edge of their cities as the rest of the city was assembled by the victorious Imperial Army. Aato gave a speech in the largest remaining city, extolling the virtues of the Imperium and that the reign of the city states was over. No punishments would be exacted on the people for their resistance, but sacrifices would be required. The Imperium would gladly accept the world’s minerals as a just payment, including that which was used by the cities to float. With that, the leaders were pushed off the edge of the cities and sent tumbling to the earth below.

In the aftermath of the conflict, the Imperial Army took control of the rebuilding of the world, with Mechanicum exploriators beginning the mining process. As the credit for the campaign went to the Sky Reavers, a large portion of the stone was granted at the request of Aato to the Sky Reavers, with many shipments sent back to Maraparatiisi. As quickly as they had arrived, the Reavers left for their next campaign, with the rest of the Imperium hearing about both the Sky Reavers’ arrival and the victory in the same message. None but the Sky Reavers could have brought the campaign to such a swift conclusion, though the rest of the Imperium had little notion of the time and lives had been saved by the skill of the Reavers.

A Sky of Duels
Some within the Imperium had questioned the Sky Reavers’ choice of tactics, asking why a legion would waste Astartes’ supreme combat prowess in piloting, a task better suited to mortals and servitors. However, the Sky Reavers were vindicated many times through the number of their victories. There were even some where the skies were a more important arena than the ground, and none was more famous than the Compliance of 08-72, a campaign that would become better known as the Sky of Duels.

The world of 08-72 was an attractive world for the Imperium to claim, much larger than Terra but still capable of sustaining life. The biomes on the world were each just as huge, large deserts that stretched for hundreds of kilometres, dense forests and swamps, temperate plains, and mountain ranges that ran the length of the world. The world was identified early on as a potential Imperial Frontier World, and the 19th Expeditionary Fleet led by Aato Väyrynen arrived to claim it. Scans revealed signs of a human civilisation that had constructed several large cities and a number of towns and large-scale farms. However, when the Imperium made contact with the humans, they were instead met with xenos emissaries, with members drawn from all the cities of the world. Highly colourful, four-limbed, scaled creatures with sets of wings, the xenos informed the Sky Reavers that the world was called Vosorix and was the domain of the Oissi. There were no humans to make treaties with, as all the humans on the world were their subjects and as such any deals would be made with them. Aato told the emissaries that the Imperium would not let humans remain enslaved by a xenos race, and the emissaries were slaughtered as they attempted to flee the Gloriana.

The Sky Reavers determined that the first target would be one of the three main mountain cities, built at the base of a glacial valley and where a large number of humans had been sighted. Also detected were a number of xenos-human hybrids serving as city guard and soldiers, and a number of the Oissi flew from the mountains to the city and back in a number of trips. The Sky Reavers descended from the sky in a rain of drop pods, smashing the outer defences with relative ease as while the hybrids had rifle-like weapons they lacked heavier armaments. Alongside the Legion, mortal troops of the Imperial Army and knights from House Mordred descended from transports and held the territory. However, the tide suddenly turned as a series of loud screeches echoed from the mountains and swarms of Oissi descended. Most were the size of wolves, but several were as large as elephants, and they filled the sky with the sheer number of them. To the rear, a gigantic awe-inspiring xenos approached, larger than even a Knight and chilling the air as it soared. The swarm of serpentine xenos crashed into the Imperial forces, flyers torn from the skies and the Oissi opened their mouths and spewed forth blasts of ice that froze mortals in place. The sky filled with fire and ice as the Salanien Fighters fought the Oissi and both sides suffered heavy casualties, with even Storm Eagles and Fire Raptors succumbing.

The battle would be decided by Aato himself. Seeing the largest of the alabaster xenos in the skies, Aato rose to challenge him and the two duelled. The Oissi towered over even a Primarch, but Aato was far faster and circled the great beast. Though the xenos was able to land a strike on Aato with its razor-sharp claws, Aato prevailed and slew the xenos with his sword Sky Razor. The death of their leader broke the xenos’ morale, and as they began falling back they were crushed by the resurgent Imperial forces. The following day was spent purging the city of all remaining traces of xenos taint, all hybrids rooted out and exterminated and the humans liberated. A great victory was celebrated by the Imperial Army, but the cost had been far higher than calculated and the high command met to adjust their plans for subjugating the rest of the cities. The speed of the xenos made a slow campaign inefficient, and so Aato ordered a rapid strike on the next city before news of the Imperium’s assault had reached them. The flyers of the Sky Reavers were repaired and rearmed, ready to take the fight to the xenos.

The next day, the Reavers moved out, leaving many of their heavy vehicles behind to guard the city and Aato leading all of the flyers towards the greatest city of the mountains, the home of the titanic vermilion Oissi. However, the element of surprise was revealed as a failure, as the slithering xenos descended upon the Reavers from the peaks of the mountains. The fighting was fierce and the Oissi were as strong as their ashen counterparts, and both sides traded blows fairly evenly. Just as the Reavers were gaining the upper hand, urgent distress calls came in from the city. With one city fallen and another under attack, the third city of the mountains struck out in a pre-emptive attack. Gleaming xenos descended from the clouds, reigning destruction on the city as the Imperial Army and remaining Reavers scrambled to man the defences. These xenos brought with them powerful psykers, who made even Astartes unable to move with their powers. Aato, confronted with the choice to pursue the fleeing xenos or defend his holdings, turned his force back and pincered the attackers from behind. A few of the Oissi tried to surrender or ask for clemency, but they were all wiped out entirely. In the aftermath, Aato sent his Destroyer companies under the command of his First Captain Juhani Laurila to the city of the silver-host  and House Mordred and armoured columns to the red city to purge and show the consequences of resistance. The human refugees from the silver city were marched to the remains of the Reavers’ first base and the rebuilding began.

The conquest of three of the main cities of Vosorix sent the remaining xenos into a panic, generations of mistrust and conflict causing many to try and use the situation to their advantage. Reports came in from all over the world of Oissi fighting over what to do in response and not wanting to let their rivals claim credit for any victories. As the Sky Reavers advanced on the great desert, the two greatest cities both sent embassies to the Imperium asking for their aid in crushing their rival in return for submission. Met by Aato’s Equerry Otto Saari, he told both secretly that the Reavers would support whichever one proved itself the strongest of the two, and sent them both on their way. The two xenos tribes fought a bitter battle for dominion, with one eventually emerging victorious and sending their embassy to make the deal with the Imperium. They were met with annihilation from orbit before they could even return to their city, a great victory for the Imperium as it came with few unnecessary civilian casualties.

With so many xenos slaughtered by the Imperium, the fractious groups of the Oissi came together to oppose the Imperium one last time. If the strength of a single city was unable to resist the invaders, perhaps the combined strength of the remaining five cities. Aato and his council watched as the forces slowly gathered, groups of xenos bickering and clashing but coalescing into a formidable army. While some in the council argued for attacking the separate groups of xenos, Aato disagreed, counter-arguing that breaking the xenos in a single host would be the last stand of the Oissi. His argument would carry the day, and he began gathering his forces. The force was augmented with a high number of augury scanners and the legion’s arsenal of Sicaran Arcuses were brought out. The two forces met in a valley that blocked the access to one of the cities, Aato identifying the enemy’s plan of attack from the height of the valley walls. Just as the xenos had once covered the skies, the Sky Reavers now dominated, with Aato himself riding in his Taivaan Kauhu-Pattern Thunderhawk, a challenge the xenos could not ignore. The writhing Oissi swooped from their vantage points and clashed with the Reavers, but by now the Reavers were ready to counter the xenos’ tactics. The blasts of the Oissi did minimal damage to the ground forces as low flying xenos were ripped from the sky by waves of fire and missiles, and the sky fight was evenly matched. Two extremely large Oissi, both gleaming in the sunlight, sought out Aato as the main target. Though the Taivaan Kauhu’s lascannon batteries bore into the oncoming xenos, the might of two broke the Thunderhawk and sent it careening towards the ground. Aato was able to evacuate mid-descent, and joined his sons in swamping the two giants.

The Horizon Howlers and Taivelia Falcons flocked to their lord, streaming out of Storm Eagles to hack and assail the pair. One of them suffered a major injury to its wing, causing it to attempt to land, whilst Aato kept the other occupied. He and the giant xenos duelled above the fray, the two trading blows until the xenos opened its jaw and swallowed the Primarch whole. The xenos roared a victorious bellow, before the cry became one of pain and accompanied by an ethereal echo. It clutched its chest as Sky Razor forced its way out of its chest, and began falling as Aato burst out and into the sky covered in gore. Aato descended to the ground and located the wounded first giant, its wings obliterated as it fended off approaching Imperial troops. The burnished xenos saw Aato landed and spat a curse at him, though its mouth did not seem to move. In Aato’s mind, the xenos berated him for the Imperium’s arrogance, telling him that the slaughter the Imperium had done was worse than anything the xenos had ever done. Aato silenced the creature, and Juhani Laurila executed it with a blow to its head with his hammer, marking the end of the battle.

The world of 08-72 was declared an Imperial world, and accounts of the battles were heralded far and wide as a great victory for the Sky Reavers. The Remembrancer sketches of Aato personally duelling xenos proved highly popular amongst the Imperial Army and civilians, many interpretations equating Aato to the Terran heroes of old. The fighting on the world continued for a further month as the final xenos were tracked down and killed in extermination campaigns. The dark-scaled xenos hid in their swamps, forcing a gruelling guerrilla campaign that eventually saw the xenos wiped out as the Reavers rapidly withdrew for their next campaign.

Legion Organisation & Structure
The Sky Reavers are a legion that sticks relatively close to the Principia Belicosa, finding its clarified divisions useful enough that little change was required to the Void Seekers’ original organisation. Aato instead wished to enhance the system to suit his and his sons’ preference for speed, replacing the standard chapters with the Sixteen Wings. For the most part, the Wings operated identically to a chapter, with the First Wing remaining the Wing with the most veterans and terminators and the Second Wing being the greatest flyers in the whole legion. The one unique Wing is the Sixteenth, the final Wing, due to the high number of librarians assigned there. Many of the legion’s librarians, for all the Wings, are first trained there by the Chief Librarian, and the Wing is also known for its smaller size, being a third smaller than the other Wings.

Aside from a minor preference for assault squads over standard tactical squads, the composition of the frontline units was little different. The prominence of jump infantry became more pronounced within the Legion’s elites, with Aato preferring to be accompanied by units of Horizon Howlers, the greatest assault marines in perhaps the entire Legiones Astartes, armed with imitations of Aato’s own sonic sidearm. The first major divergence of the Legion’s formations was its ability to bring firepower alongside its jump elements in the form of the Taivelia Falcons, a form of tactical support squads equipped with jet packs to travel alongside the hammer of the Legion. Their assaults are flawlessly executed aerial swarms, filling the sky with both Astartes and machinery to bring death upon all below them.

The second significant divergence in the Legion’s structure was its large numbers of flying vehicles Each level of the legion’s armouriums are expanded to hold increased numbers of gunships and flyers, in some cases even trading their numbers of armoured ground vehicles for more flyers. These specialised armouriums are tended to by the Rautasiipi, an organisation that intersects the Wings structure of the Legion. Containing the Legion’s techmarines and forge lords, alongside a select number of pilots, the Rautasiipi are the Sky Reavers in charge of the maintenance of existing aircraft and the development of enhancements for aircraft and fast attack elements, and even whole new patterns. While the majority of the Rautasiipi are focused on keeping existing craft, the most technologically skilled members have been responsible for many of the Legion’s unique versions of existing vehicles. They answer directly to Aato himself, and often aid him when he requires assistance in a project. Two small off-shoots of the Rautasiipi are the Patsasvalmistaja and Hautausurakoitsija, containing the Legion’s Praevians and Mortificators respectively. Whilst the Sky Reavers are not known for their automata or walkers, the Praevians forsaking the typical Castellax and Vorax Classes for Artalax and Ursarax Automata and the Mortificators taking to the skies alongside Accipitrine Dreadnoughts.

This abundance of flying vehicles did come at a cost for the Legion as they traded these additions for fewer shipments of other equipment. One such example of this was Terminator Armour, with the Reavers receiving fewer suits than the average legion and as such most of the suits were concentrated within the First Wing. The Legion also rarely fielded armoured columns due to having fewer ground vehicles, and when they did decide to deploy their tanks they only did so once the enemies’ anti-tank weapons had been eliminated by the aerial assaults.

Legion Command Hierarchy
Unique amongst all of the legions, the Sky Reavers put emphasis on the communal spirit of the legion and believe that rank should never interfere with the spread of good ideas. At any meeting or debate, Astartes or mortal commanders of any rank are allowed to speak their mind or put forward ideas for the group to consider, as Aato believes that in this way the best ideas will emerge. This extends down the chain of command, with captains and sergeants being encouraged to accept the advice of their troops, though the final say always belongs to the commanding officer. This system has been responsible for the great technological advancements of the legion, as a radical idea of a newly-trained techmarine may be offered up for discussion without stigma. Despite the free spirit of the meetings, there would be occasions when severe disagreements emerged and feuds were formed between opponents that could persist for years.

This principle was echoed in the practice of Folskan Kottitema, where Aato would hold council with large groups of the legion. In the Lightning Bound and on Maaparatiisi, huge halls exist that can seat thousands of Reavers, where Aato or other speakers can address the legion. These are used to address issues, make legion announcements and open up the floor for requests or ideas. After the initial speech is made, any Astartes present may speak and then discussion continues for as long as there are speakers or the presiding commander calls the meeting to a close. It is considered extremely bad etiquette for a commander to end a discussion with Astartes wishing to speak until there is a pressing reason to do so. How able a speaker an individual was and the quality of their ideas would play key roles in decisions in promoting Astartes or giving key positions to allied forces.

Aato’s grand council of advisors called the Stuurostod is an ever shifting group, as due to its large size it is not possible for every member to be present for every meeting. Any captain of a Wing is open to attend the council, as well as the consular representatives and vexalliaries. As the Heavensphere grew, the grand council included magos from the allied forgeworlds, governors, and imperial army and titan legion representatives, a decision that would earn the legion great loyalty from those under their command. This tradition has been emulated by Reaver commanders operating independently from their Primarch, though usually smaller councils as only the personality and authority of a Primarch can manage such large meetings with respect to all involved.

This approach is not universally popular amongst the high command of the legion, with the more hardline commanders finding the practice of explaining their strategies to allies and lower ranking officers counter-productive. To them, the best strategy may not be the most popular, and so private petitions to Aato are often made when a less savoury solution is required. Despite his jovial nature, Aato took these personal appeals incredibly seriously and was willing to countenance such gruelling strategies if fully convinced. In such cases, the weight of Aato’s proposition in the council would be able to sway the Council towards these more brutal actions.

War Disposition
The Sky Reavers stood at nearly 143,000 Astartes at the eve of the First Ruin, smaller than many of the other legions, due to the low numbers of available recruits from Maaparatiisi, Aato being unwilling to strip his homeworld of manpower that would be needed to keep it and its colonies functioning. In addition, the Reavers were not accompanied by a high number of Imperial Army allies or allied Knights and Titans that usually bolstered the numbers of the other legions because they were often too slow to travel and deploy to work alongside the Sky Reavers. However, this shortfall did not disturb the Sky Reavers, as their armouries remained some of the most well-stocked of all. Scores of every Flyer the Imperium possessed were available to the Reavers, thousands of Storm Eagles and Fire Raptors darkened the skies of every world the Reavers stepped foot on. These reserves would be bolstered by an alliance with the rising forgeworld of M’Pandex, who sought to raise their profile at the expense of their rival Mezoa.

Alongside the Taghmata of M’Pandex, the Sky Reavers could count on the strength of House Vyronii to stand by them when the time came. Their warden domain of Damaetus III/II had been reunited with the Imperium only recently, discovered by the Sky Reavers during the Halcyon Age and oath-bound to aid them for the service of clearing the Damaetus System of raiders.

The fleets of the Sky Reavers are mostly comprised with numerous smaller, faster vessels and battleships rather than capital ships, the Reavers preferring to outspeed and outmanoeuvre their enemies than face them in a straight trade of firepower. The Legion possesses the greatest number of cruisers in the Legiones Astartes, using their numbers and speed to tear apart even the largest of foes. One of the Legion’s greatest void assets is the Phalanx, a relic that dwarfs anything built by the Imperium. As such, the Sky Reavers have some of the largest fleets out of all the legions, stationed across the borders of the Heavensphere, ready to move out to wherever is needed in the oncoming storms.

Specialist Formations

 * Horizon Howlers - Clad in artificer plate, the Howlers combined evasion with impressive armour to be a nightmare against their foes. More impressively was their unerring cohesion. Although they appeared to be a chaotic bunch, prone to fits of abrupt manoeuvre, the Howlers spent countless hours in drill to perfect group coordination. A sudden retreat of one Howler was nothing more than a feint for a second. A foe prevailing against one Howler would soon find himself assailed on the flank by another Howler.
 * Taivelia Falcons - Embodying the speed of the Sky Reavers, the Taivelia Falcons fly through the skies on modified jetpacks developed by the Rautasiipi based on the designs of the Mechanicum Thallax. Outfitted with a variety of special weapons from flamers to meltaguns, the Falcons are a vital part of the flexible and rapid Sky Reaver assault.

Specialist Vehicles

 * Legion Void Seeker Gunship - A heavier-armed, anti-infantry Storm Eagle.
 * Salainen Fighter Squadron - A lighter fighter flyer, only large enough for a single Astarte and the bare minimum equipment.
 * Sahaquiel - A modified version of the Talaria Superiority Fighter, designed for anti-aircraft combat.

Arvus Lighter Orbital Shuttle
As the Sky Reavers prefer to travel through the skies which they control than over the ground, they were in need of a general purpose transport for their units. The Arvus Lighter is a small, general purpose cargo shuttle that is widely used by the Imperium of Man for many tasks, both in space and on the surface of planets. The Arvus is commonly used by both Imperial Navy warships and Imperial merchant vessels, including Rogue Traders. The Sky Reavers took this normally ignored flyer by the legions and make it a stable of their forces, becoming almost as ubiquitous as the Rhino.

Legion Beliefs
Within the Sky Reavers legion, one of the most powerful beliefs is that the way to victory for the Imperium is democracy. This was shaped by Aato's early history in the unions of his homeworld, where all workers had a say in the running of the factory. This belief has run into the practical needs of a legion of hundreds of thousands of Astartes and worlds of billions of people, and through it the Reavers' unique command structure has formed. The holding of the Folskan Kottitema is a near sacred procedure as it serves both a practical and ideological purpose: to make sure all of the best ideas and strategies are discovered and to show the immense benefit of free thought.

Notable Sky Reavers

 * Aato Väyrynen - Primarch of the XIIIth Legion
 * Captain Juhani Laurila - Captain of the First Wing
 * Kyösti Salminen - Captain of the Second Wing
 * Mikka Salabriel, 'The Ash Hand', the Bringer of Death, the Maailmien Tappaja - Captain of the Third Wing
 * Armas Viitala, ‘Sunsight’ - Captain of the Sixth Wing
 * Tarmo Haavisto, ‘The Ashen Jaw’ - Captain of the Eighth Wing
 * Eino Terho, ‘Cloudstriker’ - Captain of the Tenth Wing
 * Paavo Niskala, ‘The Architect of Castea’ - Captain of the Thirteenth Wing
 * Yrjö Niemelä - Chief Librarian
 * Jaakko Räsänen - Master of the Fleet
 * Immo Nieminen - Pilot in the Fourth Wing
 * Asseri Pirhonen - Lord of the Rautasiipi
 * Otto Saari - Equerry to Aato
 * Andreas Virolainen, Magnus, The Far-Eyed - Future First Captain

Legion Fleet

 * Lightning Bound - Gloriana-class Battleship, Aato Vayrynen's flagship.
 * Void Queller - Warspite Battle Barge, Yrjö Niemelä's flagship.

Legion Relic

 * Crown of Red Death - Discovered mostly destroyed in a crashed vessel on the surface of Maaparatiisi, a weapon of unknown origin was recovered by a team of Astartes and delivered to the Reavers. The various salvageable pieces of the weapon were able to be reconstructed into two different configurations, with the Crown able to switch between the two at will. The six pieces of the Crown were connected to a central Crown, and were able to fire six lower power beams or a single intense beam capable of slicing through aircraft in mid-flight.