Crimson Lions

''“Barbarians. Backwards brutes with no understanding of science and technology, clinging to superstition rather than embrace the modern age. Yet for all that, they are dangerous brutes and loyal in ways that put us all to shame. So do I fear the IInd? I'd be a fool if I didn't.”''

- Absalom Vaughn, Primarch of the IIIrd

Warriors of rage yet of shields, the Crimson Lions stand tall among their cousins, both literally and metaphorically. For when the Crimson Lions appear on the battlefield, it is always with a roar, always advancing behind their shield walls. Yet, within their Primarch's empire of Mycenae, the Crimson Lions have shown the discipline and patience necessary for administration. Each Crimson Lion marches forward into battle with the history of his service on his skin as they add tattoos to represent their growing records of service with their veterans covered from head to toe in red pictograms. At the head of this legion of clans is Hectarion, a Primarch of warrior's prowess and berserker's rage. That very rage would become a temptation as their enemies sought to use it against them.

Exiles and Adventurers
The earliest roots of the Second legion can be traced back to the warlike Terran state of Jurfik. Located in the north of the Albyonic territories once called Angle-land, Jurfik’s warlike people had not only survived the wars of the Age of Strife, they had in fact thrived. When the Emperor revealed himself to Mankind, Jurfik's empire was at its zenith. From its heart in Jurfik itself, it stretched out across the north of Terra, spanning much of Albyon and Hibernia, either as conquered territory or vassal states, western Norsca and Frysa. At the head of this empire were the warrior kings of Jurfik. While they ruled their empire alongside their Thegns, these kings were warriors first and foremost, as evidenced by their frequent wars with the realms of Ursh, the Jermani and the Suomen nomads. They took the technology and gene-lore of Albyon for their own armies, fielding proto-Dreadnoughts and ironclad gene-brutes against their enemies.

However, Jurfik’s succession was frequently disputed as, upon the king’s death, rival petty kings would each seek to install himself as king of all Jurfik or to carve out a larger realm for himself from amongst Jurfik’s vassal kingdoms. The resulting civil wars were often brief and brutal, with one side rapidly emerging as the victor and the losers being forced to flee along with their supporters. These exiles often sought to find pay as mercenaries in the armies of Terras other rulers, with many winding up in the armies of Kalaggan, the tyrant of Ursh. However, when his realm was conquered by the armies of the Emperor, the exiles from Jurfik found another employer: the Emperor of Mankind himself.

While many of the warriors who took up employment as mercenaries in the Emperor’s armies were too old to attempt the process that would transform them into legionaries, the youngest of their number were not. So, while their elders became soldiers of the Imperial Army, these young warriors found a place in the Emperor's armies as warriors of his Legiones Astartes and while some were taken into the Ist Legion, the vast majority were recruited to the IInd Legion.

The Conquest of Jurfik
For years, this continued, with young warriors coming from Jurfik to serve the Emperor in His legions and with this trickle of recruits, the II legion gradually grew and because of its use as a source of warriors, the Emperor left Jurfik as it was. However, in the final decades of the Unification Wars the Emperor’s eyes fell on Jurfik, one of the last techno-barbarian states that was still unconquered. Seven years prior to his first invasion, as the IInd legion was fighting in the Shakletian deserts, an exile named Hakon “the Red” had come to seek service in the Emperor’s armies.

Hakon was a scion of Jurfik’s royal house and had, upon the death of King Eirik “Blood-axe”, risen up to try and seize the throne of Jurfik for himself. However, Hakon’s small kingdom was unable to raise an army anywhere near the size of that raised by his rival, King Knut, who defeated him in battle, exiling Hakon and his Hirth. Seeing in the Emperor a chance to win the kingdom he had initially lost on the battlefield, Hakon swore allegiance to the Master of Mankind  and in exchange the Emperor promised to win Hakon’s kingdom for him.

As was his custom, the Emperor first sent envoys to try and negotiate a settlement whereby the men of Jurfik would join their cause to his. At first, the men of Jurfik listened. However, when the envoys suggested that, as part of this new settlement, they would send annual tribute to the Emperor and Hakon, who had sworn himself to the Emperor, would replace King Knut as ruler of Jurfik, the men of Jurfik grew enraged. King Knut’s younger brother, Prince Rollon, hacked off the envoy’s hands and, after the bleeding had been staunched, King Knut told them:


 * "You are not suggesting a partnership of equals. You are suggesting conquest by another name. Well if that’s whatyour master wants, I have something I’d like you to tell him. If that truly is his intent, then we are ready to meet him on a field of his choice and settlethis the old way. If he wants to conquer our lands, lands that we ruled beforemy grandfather’s grandfather was born, then he can do it the same way aseveryone else and pay in blood for it."
 * — King Knut

The gauntlet had been thrown down, and the Emperor was ready to pick it up. He sent a large force to subdue Jurfik, mainly composed of mortal units drawn from Ursh and Jermani, who had long ago learned to hate the warriors of Jurfik. However, when the two armies clashed at the battle of Mount Batonicus, the Emperor’s force was destroyed. The men of Jurfik used their skirmishers to lead the Emperor’s forces on and on, further into a mountain valley from which there was only one exit. Once they were too far in to escape, the trap snapped shut. The warriors of Jurfik’s Hibernian and Caledonian vassal realms swarmed down into the valley and into the rear of the Emperor’s armies, completely surrounding them and slaughtering all save a few whose lives were spared so that they could tell their Emperor what had happened.

However, far from breaking the Emperor’s resolve to see Jurfik conquered, this defeat strengthened it. Changing His planned campaigns to account for this defeat, the Emperor began to assembled a second invasion force. However, He would lead this second invasion in person and at its spearhead would not be His mortal soldiers, nor even the famed Thunder Warriors, but the entire Fifth Legion of the Adeptus Astartes, an enormous force to send against one realm.

This second invasion was far more successful and inflicted a number of defeats upon the proud warriors of Jurfik. Eventually, outside the hive of Jurk upon the crossing known as Sternfald Bridge, the warriors of Jurfik turned and fought the Imperial forces in a pitched battle, intent on going out in one last blaze glory and joining their comrades in the halls of their gods. The battle that followed was vast and bloody, with the blood of those who had fallen pooling and flowing down the dry river bank on either side of the crossing to form a new river beneath the bridge that gradually became choked with the bodies of the slain. At the centre of this whirlwind of slaughter were King Knut and his Hirt, standing in the centre of the bridge, fighting beneath the raven flag of Jurfik and cutting down any who attempted to cross it.

The climax of the battle came at dawn on the second day, when King Knut and his Hirt charged the Emperor and the elite of the Vth legion. As the leaders of the two armies met, the Emperor beneath his eagle standard and Artorus beneath the raven of Jurfik, their bodyguards clashed with a terrible roar that could be heard for miles. While the Emperor and King Knut were both skilled warriors, the outcome of their duel was not decided by martial skill. King Knut was not killed by the Emperor, as is often claimed, but by an unnamed Prussan Jaegar who put a precision shot through Knut’s neck, leaving the King of Jurfik to fall down to the Emperor's feet. While Knut’s Hirt and the nobility of Jurfik launched a last-ditch attempt to rescue their King’s body and the battle raged on for another seven hours before the warriors of Jurfik conceded defeat, King Knut’s death was a turning point. The Emperor had won.

However, when the remaining warriors of Jurfik knelt behind Prince Rollon, the last surviving scion of Jurfik’s royal house aside from Hakon “the Red”, the Emperor did not order their execution as many had expected. Instead, seeing the marital potential of these proud warriors, he offered them a choice: they could either join his growing armies and fight for him or they could refuse and die as free men. It is likely that many would have chosen the latter. However, out of respect for him, the Emperor refused to allow any desecration of King Knut’s body and instead returned it to the men of Jurfik so that they could bury it in accordance with their custom.

A grand funeral procession followed, with the remaining members of King Knut’s hearth carrying the ship on which their King’s body was laid out. Their path to the Great Northern Lake was lined by warrior of Steel Blades on one side and the recently created Second legion(as of yet unnamed and formed from exiles of Jurfik), a last act of respect by the Emperor for the dead King. After setting the ship on fire and pushing it out onto the water of the Lake, once it had passed out of sight, the last of King Knut’s warriors knelt to the Emperor and swore their sword’s to him, for by his actions they had come to see him as a man of honour, as worthy of their service as their former king had been.

Blood Wolves
Many thousands of these warriors who swore their swords to the Emperor would undergo the gene implantation required to turn them from normal men into legionaries. Where before the Second legion had been overshadowed by many of their brother legions, even many who were founded later than them, this fresh influx of recruits brought their numbers up to the point where they were on par with most of their brother legions.

However, the Second legion still lacked the experience that many other legions had won during the Unification Wars. While the Second legion had officially been given their trial by fire in the Shakletian deserts, the vast majority of the Second legion were untested in war, new recruits to the legions, with only a select few having fought on Terra. Therefore, the true trial by fire of the Second legion would be in the Imperial vanguard of force sent to conquer Luna. Launched at Luna in earth based rockets, the Second legion were the first of the astartes to land on Luna's surface after the Sixteenth legion's scouting forces. The initial positions in front of the Second legion fell in minutes, overrun by the legionaries who fought with a savagery in close quarters combat that would remain unrivalled among the legions until the discovery of Theoderaf and Ezharion. Storming on as the other legions began to land behind them, the Second legion fought their way inside the underground complexes of Luna. There, they met the monstrous half-machine beasts that the Gene-cults had created to protect themselves, easily capable of ripping through the power armour worn by the legionaries of the Second. Yet they did little to stop or even slow the Second legion, who charged heedless into their ranks as the warriors of Jurfik had done for centuries. As the other legions followed the path carved out by the Second into the Gene-cults complexes to begin the systematic annihilation of resistance on Luna, the Emperor received a communication from the Gene-cults, begging him to "call off his wolves" and offering an unconditional surrender.

When the Second legion emerged from the subterranean passages of Luna, they were a terrible sight to behold. Their armour was dented and cracked, much of it (their lower legs, arms and in some cases mouths espacially) was covered in blood and many of them carried chainblades whose teeth could no longer move because they were clogged by clotting blood and many carried skulls taken as trophies from the fallen defenders of Luna, which they would later encase in silver to wear on their armour. By the far the greatest trophy taken by the Second was the head of Cardinal Tang, which they would hang from their banner. It was from this appearance when they emerged from Luna's tunnels that the Second legion earned their name, the Blood Wolves.

The Razing of Jurkfik
The Blood Wolves had fought in the Great Crusade for scarcely three years when they received the Emperor ordered them to return to Terra. While in the later years of the Great Crusade, elements of the Halcyon Wardens would be recalled to the homeworld for its defence, this was no such honourable recall. Instead, they had been recalled to fulfill a darker purpose. They had been called back to sanction their own homeland.

Crowned king of Jurfik, Hakon the Red had soon grown to chafe under the shackles imposed on his rule by the Emperor. Just three short years after the Emperor won him his crown, Hakon declared Jurfik's independence from the newly formed Imperium, slaughtering his Imperial overseers. For four months, the warriors of Jurfik waited, standing ready for when the Emperor's hosts inevitably returned. Finally, as what passed for the Terran winter began to set in, the Emperor's response came and the skies of Terra began to rain fire. The Blood Wolves had come.

Rather than launch a conventional assault, the Blood Wolves had decided to launch an all out drop pod assault for maximum shock. So it was that hundreds of drop pods burned their way through Terra's atmosphere and slammed down amidst the outer precincts of Jurk, Jurfik's capital. From out of the drops pods adamantium bellies emerged thousands of roaring legionaries, their bolters screaming and chainblades howling.

While the warriors of Jurfik had fought the legions before, those had been the sober warriors of the Fifth legion, not the roaring, bloodthirsty maniacs of the Blood Wolves who now butchered their way through the streets of Jurfik's capital, their gunmetal armour painted red by the blood of those they had slain. Within the space of four hours, King Hakon the Red had been killed and vox messages were being sent to the Third begging them to cease and offering unconditional surrender.

However, the Second did not stop. Instead, the slaughter continued for the Blood Wolves' rage at this betrayal was only made greater by it being their own people. They felt forsaken, orphaned, homeless and so were determined to enact a bloody revenge, unleashing not only their own impeccable anger but also their full arsenal of chemical and nuclear weaponry. By the time the sun began to go down on Terra, Jurfik's hives burned with chemical fire whose choking black smoke rose up to block out the sun. The Blood Wolves' lust for blood vengeance had been slaked.

The Orphaned
Following the razing of Jurfik, the Blood Wolves returned to the Great Crusade. However, this time it was not in the gunmetal armour of years gone by. They now wore armour painted grey by ash, the lower legs and arms red by the blood of their own people.

The Shakletian Wastes
One of the II Legion's first deployments was to this region in Terra's frozen south, where the native tribes had severely slowed the Thunder Warriors' advance. Against their might the Shakletians were overmatched, leading them to accept the Emperor's overtures and offer up their youths to be the first aspirants of the XIV Legion.

The Pacification of Luna
The II Legion's ferocity in this battle helped deliver Luna into the Imperium's hands, and earned them their early moniker "the Blood Wolves".

Siege of Vrissan
Clan Karakal fought a costly battle at Vrissen to destroy the Dark Eldar raiders who had troubled the surrounding region. The aliens' depredations were halted, but the foe fled the battlefield, leaving the warriors of Karakal to vow that the task would one day be completed.

The Compliance of Koretia
The Crimson Lions and Halcyon Wardens fought to conquer Koretia after its rulers had Imperial diplomats killed. In this battle Alexandros was assailed by a Titan-analogue, only for Hectarion to halt and cast down the machine with his sheer physical might.

The Burdening
The Burden is a genetic defect endemic to the Crimson Lions' gene-seed. Its cause is unknown, nor is it ever likely to be so and while numerous theories have been put forward by members of the Crimson Lions apothacerion and librarius, none can be proved conclusively. While it only ever comes upon a legionary in its full form in the heat of battle, there are many symptoms of it that can start many days, weeks, months or even years before the legionary in question succumbs. Foremost among these are hallucination and falling body temperature. A marine who is starting to succumb will start to see the shadows of dead comrades at the edges of his vision and will suddenly start to feel colder as his body cools down, only keeping his internal organs warm, giving his skin the greyish tint of a dead body. These two symptoms always appear in a marine beginning to succumb and when he begins to suffer them, a Crimson Lion knows his days are numbered, as do his comrades. All that then matters is how long it takes him to succumb.

To a legionary in the full grip of the Burden, their world becomes nothing more than a ghostly echo of reality. Their vision becomes clouded by mist and plunged into darkness, as if they were among the dark tunnels of the other world, with a gold light shining far off in the distance. Their limbs feel cold, as if they were already dead and their nostrils are filled with the stench of death. Even their hearing is affected. The voices of their comrades are nothing more than whispers, sounding as though they come from beyond the veil between worlds. Louder than these whispers, the afflicted marine hears the screeches and cackles of banshees and the wails of lost souls, while the distant gold light sounds of laughter. The afflicted space marine even stops seeing the people around him. Instead, in their place, he sees shades, sick parodies of humanity with starving bodies that crawl with maggots and have claws instead of fingers and mouths filled with fangs. At the corners of his vision, the marine sees golden, winged figures riding eight legged horses, always just ahead of him, only just out of reach and always riding towards the golden light, seemingly leading the marine towards it.

Aside from this hallucination, a marine afflicted by the flaw benefits from what many apothecaries theorize is a spike in the levels of adrenaline and testosterone in their system. Strength floods through their bodies and they are able to accomplish feats no sane legionary can dream of, tearing through tanks as easily as through flesh. However, in order to fuel this spike, their bodies begin to consume non-essential organs and, in extreme cases, parts of the marine's brain responsible for things like language or taste, unessential for the legionary's immediate survival. This has been noted to seemingly reduce the marine's ability to feel anything other than anger as his other functions are consumed by his own body.

In the grips of the Burden, a legionary can no longer distinguish between friend and foe, with both being echoed as shades in his deranged mind. Because of this, they are unsafe to have as part of a shield wall and as soon as they start to display symptoms of the Burden, they are quarantined. Abandoning their shields, they charge into battle before even the getae and even if they survive the battle, if they succumbed totally they are sought out and killed by a member of the Leighai.

Legacies of Mycenae
As with many legions, the home world of the Crimson Lions is their primarch’s home world of Mycenae. Around 23% larger than Terra and orbited by its twin moons, Feri and Hasti, Mycenae is a feral world whose technology is similar to that of ancient Terrans in the early Iron Age.

The terrain of Mycenae is similar to how many believe north Europa used to appear as it is largely covered in grassland and dense forest of trees that can rise up to a hundred metres in height interspersed with towering mountains. While warm in the summer months, in the winter as the snows fall the temperature drops rapidly and the grasslands are wracked by snow storms which are so fierce that they rip off the skin of any who are exposed to them and upon Mycenae’s oceans, these storms raise up enormous waves that swallow entire ships never to be seen again and winds blow so strong that ships are capsized by them.

This hard climate also breeds tough predators against which the Mycenaeans are constantly locked in a game of cat and mouse with. The two most famous of these predators are undoubtedly the stone lions and drakfaraigge. The stone lions are enormous beasts who are without a doubt the apex predators on the land of Mycenae, often coming to 12 metres in length and having pelts so tough that they withstand axe blows. Combined with their sheer size and the fact that they often hunt in packs, this makes stone lions tough beasts to hunt and it is a point of immense pride for a Mycenaean warrior have hunted and killed a stone lion, even among the gene enhanced Crimson Lions. Next to these apex predators on the land are the drakfairagge, who indisputably rule Mycenae’s oceans. Resembling serpents but with thick scales and thick bone crests on their heads, none know how large the drakfaraigge are for any who have seen the whole body of one vanish beneath the waves, taking their knowledge with them. The most that many see of them are their scaled necks and heads, which still rises 10 to 15 metres out of the waves. With a bite powerful enough to snap a ship in half, drakfaraigge are only very rarely defeated by Mycenaean warriors and in the vast majority of cases they will devour their prey and vanish beneath the oceans. Because of this, it is the drakfaraigge that the warriors of Mycenae fear above all else that inhabits their world’s oceans, despite the various Magos Biologis theorizing that those found on the surface are only juveniles.

These dangers that they need to battle on a daily basis, from the unforgiving climate of their home to its deadly predators, have forged the people of Mycenae into a hardy and warlike people. Living on Mycenae’s grasslands in summer and migrating to the mountains or forests in the winter to escape the snow storms and waist deep snows, the tribes are often at war with one another. Mainly these wars take the form of raids to steal another tribe’s cattle or take members of other tribes as slaves or battles over the best grazing land or the most sheltered patches of land as winter sets in. Even in the depths of winter the tribes fight each other and launch their warriors out over the oceans of Mycenae, this time over the basic necessities of life such as food so that they might survive the winter.

With every day being a battle for survival, the people of Mycenae grow strong or they die. Indeed, as winter closes in, often the tribe’s eldest warriors will announce that they are going hunting. Come summer, they are sometimes found with their fingers blackened from frostbite and tears of agony frozen upon their cheeks. More often, they disappear into the wilderness never to be seen again. Yet, despite its brutality, this warlike life forges them into ideal recruits for the legions and it is from these savage and warlike tribes that the Crimson Lions often hail.

Legion Organisation and Structure
Of all the legions, it was the Crimson Lions who deviated furthest from the precepts of the Principia Bellicosa and the standard structure and hierarchy of the Legiones Astartes. Based on the structure of the barbarian tribes of their homeworld, the IInd Legion's structure was confusing and hierarchical. In addition to this, a warrior's rank within the Crimson Lions did not always show how much authority he possessed, for the sons of Mycenae respected skill at arms and courage more than rank and had a profound respect for any who displayed these two qualities.

The Lion Pack
The largest units employed by the Crimson Lions were the Clans. Unlike the more common Grand Company or Chapter, the Clans had no fixed size. Instead, their numbers constantly fluctuated depending upon their leader’s personal charisma and the Clan’s martial success, meaning that a Clan’s size could be anywhere between a few thousand to many tens of thousands of legionnaires. In another variation from standard organization, the Clans were not numbered. Instead, each was named after its founder or another significant figure within the Legion.

Unlike many legions who operate in companies of a fixed size and position within the legion, the Clans of the Crimson Lions are ever changing in size and their prestige and influence within the legion fluctuates as frequently as their size does. The tides of which clan is in ascendancy is shown by their Myrvallen's position at the feast of the Allfather. The more influential the clan, the closer their Myrvallen will be to Hectarion at the feast table.

In addition to this fluctuation, the Clans ever changing nature and habit of taking recruits not only from Mycenae but also other suitable worlds within the Dominion leads to a considerable and in many cases surprising amount of variation in the Clan’s culture and while the culture of Mycenae is still ascendant, there are echoes of many other cultures in many clans, including those of the earliest Crimson Lions who hailed from Albion.

Clan Mycenor
Roughly analogous to the First Companies of other Legions, Mycenor are led by the Primarch himself. Chosen from amongst the ranks of the other Clans, each member of Clan Mycenor is a hero whose deeds are many and numerous. Indeed, many of the legionaires who make up the ranks of Clan Mycenor are able to boast of having accompanied the primarch in his campaigns when he was still just a tribal leader on Mycenae. Clan Mycenor also contains two unique brotherhoods, the Improdoi and the Inoroiar, the Crimson Lions terminator combat and planetary assault specialists respectively.

Fighting wherever the battle rages fiercest, the sceathai of Clan Mycenor fight in the frontline of the shield wall alongside their primarch and as suits their role as his shield-bearers they are granted the full range of the IInd Legion armoury from which to choose their equipment, with many choosing to clad themselves in hulking suits of terminator armour while wielding a shield to fight in as part of the shield wall.

Clan Balda
Clan Balda is an oddity in that the Terran marines who constituted many of its first members did not hail from Jurfik but instead from Giwanedd. A mountainous realm, Giwanedd had long remained independent of Jurfik yet seeing the threat of the Imperium had sent its warriors to fight alongside those of Jurfik. Called sons of the storm by the warriors of Jurfik, many of them possessed a psychic ability which they had, for many centuries, used to safeguard their realm from foreign invaders. This heritage was present in many of the hirdband of the Blood Wolves, scattered until Hectarion brought them together in Clan Balda which continues to bear more resemblance to these early warriors than the boisterous sons of Jurfik.

Balda are often of quieter temperament than their brothers in other clans, they boisterous natures tempered by many winter night spent hunting in the peaks of Mycenae’s mountains. Masters of manoeuvring at speed in tight surroundings, they favour long-range weapons over melee combat, their culture suppressing some of the Getae’s more boisterous tendencies. However, the legionnaires of Balda are implacable once the hunt is joined for, like all Crimson Lions, they take savage delight in the hunt and spend much of their time on their home world hunting amidst its forests and mountains.

Myrvallen Gwythdr Antathos of the ancient Mawddach wartribe leads the Clan, one of the few psykers to hold such a lofty command within the Legions. It was at his instigation that they chose Ceredigia as a secondary base after Mycenae, the Myrvallen deeming the mountainous, rain-swept world to be 'just like home'.

Clan Briganda
Of the various clans beneath Clan Mycenor, it is currently Clan Briganda that is in ascendance as the most powerful. Much of this is due to the charisma of Myrvallen Serenos. For the past two decades he has led his Clan from the chaos following his predecessor’s death that led to Clan Briganda's split between Clan Briganda and Clan Karakal and in that time his Clan’s numbers have swelled to their present strength of 38,000 legionaries.

With this great strength, Clan Briganda have brought more worlds into compliance in recent years than any of their fellows in other clans and accomplished many great victories such as the Veroch war against the Orks of Waaagh! Thargetha. With victories such as these, it is hardly surprising that Myrvallen Serenos currently bears the honour of being the Myrvallen seated at Hectarion's right hand side during feasts.

Clan Ikenos
Clan Ikenos are a clan of a long and proud past that can trace their roots back to the legion’s unification with their primarch. In those first days they were led by Myrvallen Ikenos, the scion of the one the Sakseath tribe's most prominent warrior families and one Hectarion's most stalwart companions. In those days they were the most prominent of the clans and it was Myrvallen Ikenos who sat at Hectarion's right hand side. While the clan has since declined in power and influence they are still influential and Myrvallen Tincomos sits close to the head of feast table.

The current leader of Clan Ikenos is Myrvallen Tincomos. He has led Clan Ikenos in dozens of wars and bears the distinction of having been at the vanguard of the Crimson Lions battle line at the battle of Darrak, where the IInd fought the horrors of the warp. Wielding his two handed slashing sword, he fought his way through the warp spawned horrors with his curadhi fighting by his side, many of them wielding weapons similar to their lords, until they were ordered to withdraw by the primarch and even then, Tincomos was the last of the Crimson Lions to board the Stormbird.

Clan Karakal
Of all the clans, Clan Karakal is the newest. It was formed when Cruach Karakal lost his bid to win leadership of Clan Briganda to Myrvallen Serenos. As a result, Cruach and his supporters broke away from Clan Briganda and formed Clan Karakal. Because of its youth and relatively small size, Clan Karakal is among the less powerful clans, surpassing only Clan Tauran.

As a youth, Myrvallen Cruach Karakal was born into the savage tribes of Mycenae’s far north. Running across the frozen wastes of his home, he hunted the great ice bears of the north. As with many youths of the north, he grew to be a fearsome and ruthless warrior with few qualms about using every weapon he could against his enemy, painting his body in their blood and using the frequent dawn assaults of his people. In these years he reaped a fearsome tally in rival tribe’s menfolk and was soon inducted into the Crimson Lions. Now, as Myrvallen his clan is largely composed of savages from Mycenae’s north and from world’s with similarly savage inhabitants, such as the hive world of Mortax.

Despite their small numbers, Karakal have earned infamy through their merciless approach to the Great Crusade. While the rank and file adhere to the breacher methods of the wider Legion, Myrvallen Karakal used Destroyer units as the template for his curadhi, the dreaded Black Guard. They eschew some Destroyer weapons such as rad-grenades, but their ruthless conduct outdoes even those fearsome Astartes, save for the Blood Boilers of the VIIth Legion. As such, they are only deployed when no quarter is to be given, typically led by the Myrvallen with his huge, two-headed power axe. In addition, they often go helmless and paint their faces with swirling black patterns and dye their eyes red with the henna root so that they resemble deamons from hell as they attack in the low light of dawn.

Clan Daran
Numbering 18,000 Crimson Lions, Clan Daran is led by Myrvallen Erran. In recent years their power has grown and they are well regarded, even if not revered, for their servive alongside the Fire Keepers and Godslayers.

Their Myrvallen is a character of dubious renown within the legion for he is by far the youngest of the Myrvalli, having seen scarcely four decades service. He rapidly rose through the ranks, being selected for his Myrvallen’s curadhi straight from the getae and then being elected as Myrvallen. As such, his youthful belligerence has yet to be tempered by age and he continues to throw himself forwards with a similar ferocity to the getae and many say that if he had not risen through the ranks as he had then he would have joined the sperothai.

While Clan Daran has always had a reputation for feasting and drinking hard, under Erran this reputation has been enhanced a hundred fold and while they are not the most powerful of the clans, their victory celebrations have become legendary across all the legions. Niklaas himself posited that the banquet they held on Barbarus was the only cheerful thing the death world had ever seen.

Clan Tauran
At just 2,000 Astartes, Tauran constitute the smallest clan following a brutal war of attrition on Treyatan. With these losses, their influence waned to the point where they are now the weakest clan, their Myrvallen seated farthest away from Hectarion. They survived through the adoption of hit-and-run tactics, using jetbikes to lure their enemies into the teeth of their infantry. Myrvallen Tyrconus and his curadhi go so far as to ride jetbikes into battle.

The deserts of Ayni Prime contribute nearly a fifth of the Clan's intake, and little of their Jurfik or Mycenaean heritage and legacy survives today. They work alongside relatively few of their fellow Clans, who largely regard the men of Tauran as eccentrics.

Clan Askar
Numbering 21,000 Astartes and commanded by Myrvallen Hothor Flokissen, Askar are one of the Legion's most prestigious Clans and seated close to Hectarion. Known as the Wardens of the Cadian Gate, they stand guard over this volatile region of space, on the outskirts of the Dominion of Mycenae.

During their long wardship of the Cadian Gate, Myrvallen Hothor and his clan have adopted some of the customs of the feudal worlds from which they frequently draw recruits, notably Caliban. Among these customs is the quartering of the clan’s sigil with that of the legionary himself, a sigil which often depicts one of his deeds. Hothor’r own sigil depicts the great pair of jaws that once belonged to a great saurian beast that he felled on Ibsen.

Clan Garda
Commanded by Myrvallen Venutius, Clan Garda have ever been in the middle of the feast table, not at the far end like some clans but never as ascendant as clans such as Ikenos or Briganda. Having fought their way through the heavily fortified Iron citadels of Gorryk and Troja, Clan Garda has great experience in siege warfare. Foremost among their strategists is Rix Tironnos Fort-Breaker, who masterminded the destruction of several daunting fortress' on such worlds as Gorryk and Troja.

Unlike legions such as the Fire Keepers, the legionaries of Clan Garda are less adept at reducing a fortress by slow calculation and well placed artillery. Instead, they are masters of storming a fortresses walls and breaking their way in with axe and bolter smashing aside any resistance they encounter.

Warriors of Garda frequently attribute these collaborations to maintaining their humanity and willingness to treat opponents mercifully. Defeated opponents are often surprised by the treatment they receive from their conquerors.

Like all clans, Garda makes extensive use of the shield wall. However, when they assault a fortress many have likened them to a barbarian horde as each warriors attempts to out sprint and climb his fellows and win the glory of being the first over the walls of the enemy fortress.

Clan Senonos
At 28,000 Astartes, Myrvallen Vellocatos' Clan dwarfes most of their fellows. Of all the clans, the legionaries of Senonos keep the Curse closest to them and so they tend to be the most aggressive in war and lose the most brothers to the Curse. As a consuequence of this their getae tend to take a few years longer to settle into the disciplined mindset of the shield walls, demonstrating a cheerful irreverence for unit cohesion and caution.

Other than their appearance and conduct, Senonos conform to most IInd Legion practices and are well-regarded by their fellows, a certain exasperation with their getae notwithstanding.

Clan Siluros
Commanded by Myrvallen Deraeddon the "Ripper of Cthonia", the Terrans who constituted the early Clan Siluros originated from Cambrai and Dublay. However, these influences have been somewhat diluted by wide-ranging recruitment throughout the Dominion’s feral worlds and a large intake of Cthonians. Deraeddon and his Clan are famed amongst the ranks of the Crimson Lions for their wielding of flaying knives as a sigil, rather than displaying their Clan heraldry on the right shoulder guard. The primal ways of the tribes are also evident in their fondness for weapons such as axes and mauls, although this has little effect on their overall tactics.

Their code of honour is also well-known, a curious mix of Cthonian, Cambrai and Mycenaean ideology, as well as the ways of several tribal societies. This is known as the "Rules of Engagement", based on an expectation of honest, straightforward engagements and a willingness to surrender when the Lions are clearly victorious. If their enemies adhere to these rules they will generally be treated magnanimously.

Those who flout them, however, can expect neither mercy nor a quick death, as the flaying knives leave their sheaths. It is noted that neither the enemy populace nor the rank and file are targeted for such retribution, although both military and political leaders alike meet with grisly ends for their perceived transgressions. As a result, the broader Legion holds the Clan at arm's length, often withholding them from more delicate compliances.

Clan Enthos
While in most respects a perfectly normal Clan of Crimson Lions, Enthos is defined by a widespread technological expertise among its Astartes. This began with their origins among the tech-keeps of Cernath, which spent decades fighting to preserve its position between the might of Jurfik, Frank and Merciac, as well as the Hiberin raiders of Ulesur and Dublay. Consequently, the people of Cernath were forced to maintain technological superiority over their neighbours.

This attitude survives today, and has been nurtured by a proportion of recruits hailing from industrialised planets, and even a few Forge Worlds within the Dominion. As a result, a high of Clan Enthos learn to maintain and improve their equipment, or even construct it themselves, and a large portion of the Clan are techmarines, known as Madrai. They are easily recognisable, as ornate suits of armour are commonplace among their ranks and all carry a small hammer upon their belt as a sign that they have mastered the smith's craft.

Clan Atrebetos
Upon Mycenae, there are many tribes who revel in telling tales of their people's great adventurers, mighty heroes who sailed the waves to sail to glory in distant lands. However, Clan Atrebetos favour Mycenae’s islands for their aspirants as these hardy folk, used to navigating the turbulent seas they call home, find themselves perfectly at home crewing the vast ships of the Crusade. As a result, the Chapter have shown the ebullient air of adventurers throughout their endeavors, traipsing across the Galaxy with gleeful confidence as they traverse the tides of the Warp to the far edges of the Galaxy. In this they are led by their Myrvallen, Barinthus “Wave-born”. Born to a great dynasty of adventurers, he was the son of the legendary sailor Keros “One-eye” who famously lost his left eye to a drakfaraigge but claimed its head in retribution and never set foot on land in his life. Barinthus was of a similar breed and he captained a longship before he was 16 and when it was swallowed beneath the waves, dragged down by a mighty kraken, he emerged roaring in triumph having carved the beast’s eye out.

Atrebetos revel in their image as pathfinders for the larger Expeditionary Fleets, frequently collaborating with Rogue Traders or even striking out alone. While some call this reckless, the legionaries of Clan Atrebetos care not for they are the sons and grandsons of Mycenae’s greatest adventurers and have utter faith in their abilities to ride the turbulent currents of the void in the same way as they rode the waves of their homeworld.

Cocidii Warbands
While Crimson Lions normally relish the brotherhood of the clans, there are some sons of Hectarion whose wild spirits are too wild and whose hearts yearn too much for freedom. While the belligerence of their youth may have been mastered, the hankering that these souls feel to be free of the constraints of the legion's structure and to simply fight when and where they please is too strong for them to conquer. So it is that these souls choose the path of the Cocidos, the wandering warrior, never settling, always moving, heading wherever their hearts take them and beholden to the orders of no one save themselves, their primarch and the Emperor.

While some legions may baulk at the idea of absolving astartes of their place within the chain of command and simply letting them loose, the Crimson Lions know that to try and prevent these warriors from following their heart's desires will do nothing but invite discord into their battle line. So these free souls are let loose to prosecute the Great Crusade by themselves. However, there are some who choose the wanderer's path for other reasons. Sometimes a warrior who is the last survivor of his squad will choose to leave the bonds of his clan and seek out a glorious death in the stars, other times a warrior simply dislikes the company of others. Yet no matter their reasons, all who choose the wanderer's path are free to go where they please and war against whichever foes of the Emperor they please.

Among these wandering warriors it is a common custom among the Cocidii to band together into warbands of like-minded souls as they wander the stars. Notoriously disregarding of authority save their own, these warbands are unpredictable and unlike the clans there is no single authority figure. Instead, ever warrior in a warband is equal and they can come and go as they wish from a warband or a warzone. While this makes them less than popular with many forces, these warriors care not as they are free to roam where they choose. What warrior could wish for more?

Legion Fleet

 * The Lupa Sanguis (Gloriana-class Battleship) - The Legion's flagship retained its old name under Hectarion's command
 * The Draugren (Lunar-class Strike Cruiser) - Flagship of Rix Thegnir Hralssen, this ship was taken by the Berserkers of Uran at Kartyg on the Day of Revelation and would later be deployed under the new name Lord of the Nightworld
 * Talvikirves (Battleship)
 * Mist (Grand Cruiser) - Clan Balda's flagship
 * Hammer of Mycenae (Battleship) - flagship of Clan Briganda
 * Terra's Blade (Battleship) - Clan Ikenos' flagship
 * Headsman (Grand Cruiser) - Myrvallen Karakal's ship, this grim vessel was the core of his Clan fleet
 * Crimson Axe (Battleship) - flagship of Clan Atrebatos
 * Mycenae's Hand (Battlecruiser) - Clan Daran's flagship
 * Lion's Shadow - Clan Tauran's flagship
 * Iron Breaker - flagship of Clan Garda
 * Wolf's Call - flagship of Clan Askar
 * Maiden of Mycanae
 * Bitterspear
 * Battlecrow
 * Blood Dawn
 * Shield-Eater
 * Befgen's Shield
 * Red Fang
 * Song of the Hunt
 * The Red Pride
 * The Lion's Might
 * Roar of Nemeus
 * Hound of Hulhain

Legion Colours
The Crimson Lions primarily wear crimson coloured battle-plate. The exhausts on the backpack and faceplate are gold in colour. The shoulder pauldron trim as well as the left poleyn (knee guard) are dark gray in colour. A large, embossed gold Roman numeral 'II' is displayed on the right shoulder pauldron, proudly proclaiming their Legion designation as the IInd Legion, while the left shoulder pauldron prominently displays their Legion iconography. A gold Roman numeral displayed on the left poleyn designates Clan (Chapter) number.

Legion Badge
The Crimson Lions' Legion badge is a profile of a large stylised, black coloured roaring lion's head facing forwards centered on a field of crimson.