Insurgos

Insurgos were large Space Marine factions which, for numerous reasons, separated from the bulk of their Legions during the Five Ruins. Larger than the various Blackshield forces which fought during the conflict, there was some overlap between the two categories but the Insurgos were distinguished in a few key ways; they retained or revived much of their Legion's old or existing livery and doctrine, and were much more closely tied to Imperial high command than their counterparts in the Blackshields and Shattered Legion forces.

While the Primarchs were the undisputed masters of their respective legions, not one of these gene-sires was capable of securing the complete loyalty from all of their sons. Many a loyal Astarte would meet their end due to their father’s machinations before the Ruins came to be. Yet, disloyal sons were not always composed of a few renegades. Insurgo was the high-gothic designation for a sizable and well-organised band of space marines that chose a different path from their Primarch.

Thus, while the number of Halcyon Wardens who chose to turn against their father may number upwards of 15,000, only the 6,000 Traitor Halcyon Wardens under the command of the infamous Malis were counted as an Insurgo. Given the secret purges of Primarchs such as Morrigar or Absalom, this ensured that the Insurgos were disproportionately represented by defections from Loyalist legions. This is not to say that there were no Insurgos who took a stand against their erstwhile liege lords, such as the vaunted Dawn Sentinels, but merely that they were fewer in number compared to their mirror counterparts.

Outside of those parameters, there existed a great deal of variation between the Insurgos. Most of them came into being at the onset of the Insurrection as the divide between Loyalist, Traitor and Separatist became clear. Two, however, unofficially came into being during the Halcyon Age, the famed Saturnine Raptors and the Venom Lords. Although all Insurgos comprised the largest organisation of defectors, size was not uniform between Insurgos. The Ember Host, which numbered a scant 200 space marines paled in comparison to the dauntless Saturnine Raptors, a force of over 10,000.

Regardless of power and origin, each Insurgo would carve out their own legends throughout the Ruins. Whether they would blaze bright trails that ended in fire and destruction or were whittled away by battlefield attrition, only a rare few of the Insurgos would survive the civil war.