Archived: Brave Companions

The Brave Companions, also known as the Fist of the Herculean, are a Loyalist Space Marine Legion, owing their allegiance to Cleophus' Imperium. Under the designation of the IInd Legion of Astartes, by coincidence they were the second Legion to be reunited with their Primarch, following the discovery of Liakoura in the open stages of the Great Crusade. Fiercely loyal to their Herculean, they were at the spearhead of his rebellion during the Great Sundering. At present, they remain his most honoured Legion.

Aptly known as the Fist of the Herculean, the tactics of the Brave Companions often rely on brute strength; unlike their rivals the Brazen Beasts, however, this is force tempered with strategy. A favoured tactic of the Legion is to hold the enemy in place with the bulk of its forces, before utilising air power or jump troopers to outflank the enemy, crushing them as a hammer would an anvil. This tactic is not dogmatic, however, and the Legion has been known to adapt to different situations rather well. Chapter Master Tyran Acyrios lauds the Legion as 'students of all strategy'.

Following the conclusion of the Great Sundering and subsequent Great Scouring, the Legion found itself responsible for the governance and protection of a vast expanse of space within their liege's Imperium. They also found themselves facilitating the rebirth of the Liakouran civilisation. All this, combined with their depleted numbers, put great strain on the Legion; as a result, many Chapters were founded to counteract specific problems where the Legion itself was considered too weighty an instrument.

Orator-Sons of Saturn
Once the Emperor of Mankind had achieved unity on Terra following the long-fought Unification Wars, He began planning His Great Crusade to the unite the disparate realms of Mankind. His instruments in doing so were to be the new Adeptus Astartes; mortals made superhuman by a harsh regime of genetic modification. So began the First Founding, where the Emperor created twenty Legions of Astartes to serve him. From the gene-seed of their missing Primarch Cleophus, the IInd Legion of Astartes was birthed. The first recruits for the Legion were from the veterans of the Unification Wars, the Emperor's allies and former enemies alike. Like most of the embryonic Space Marine Legions, the IInd Legion drew all of its first recruits from the Terran population. Due to the clouded nature of ancient Imperial records, it is difficult to decipher where most of the first recruits originated, but sources indicate that many of came from the sprawling industrial hillsides of Albyon. The intriguing landscape and abundance of ancient texts spawned a influx of recruits who were skilled in tactical warfare, serving the Legion well.

Following the unification with the Saturnyne Ordo in the early pacification of the Sol System, Saturn and Titan became the main recruiting ground for the IInd Legion; the famed Orator-Sons of the Ordo's military were recruited into the Legion in droves, soon outnumbering their Terran counterparts. With charisma unparalleled, they soon found themselves in commanding positions within the Legion. As sons of Saturn, the Legion also spearheaded the campaigns against those early enemies of the Imperium on Saturn; the Ringers and the Xenos of Titan both fell to the tempered blades of the Legion, earning them much acclaim and christening them the Sons of Saturn. The rings of Saturn became an early symbol for the Legion. With ample charisma and tactics, the IInd Legion also found themselves emerging as the poster-boys of the Imperium; giving rousing speeches to the other Legions when not on campaign themselves, and acting as a diplomatic corps.

This emphasis on charisma did not preclude acts of violence, however; the Legion remained one of the foremost of the Emperor's sons, and at the spearhead of many a crusading campaign. Unlike their brother legions, however, the Brave Companions were notable in that they always attempted to secure a diplomatic solution before acting militarily; making those times they did engage in military campaigns all the more brutal. Despite this oddity, the Legion remained respected by their brothers; and by the people of the Imperium, who saw them as exemplars of everything the Space Marines ought to be.

Pacification of Amestris
With the Great Crusade progressing smoothly, the Legion was ordered to take the Amestris System by any means necessary. At first, the Legion did what they did best; they talked. They gave rousing speeches on Amestris Prime of the virtues of the Emperor, they caroused with planetary leaders, they tried their hardest to win over the common people. All, however, to no avail. Amestris resisted, testing the patience of the Sons of Saturn. Initially, they relented; they gave Amestris one more chance to repent, lest they face the consequences. Ever the planet of pride, it refused. The Legion then launched their assault of the planet; upon which they discovered the reason as to why the planet had refused to assimilate with the Imperium; it was crawling with Xenos living alongside the Human population. Disgusted at the notion of tolerating Xenos, the formerly wide-eyed Sons ordered the Exterminatus of the planet, deeming it 'lost to Xenos'. The Legion's trust in their capability to achieve with words what others did with war died the day Amestris did.

The Herculean
The Primarch of the Brave Companions landed on Classical World of Liakoura, his incubation pod thrust into the earth of the world's great plains, shattering the continent of Hysa upon whenst he landed in twine. The young babe was not to roam this world alone, however, as it was to be discovered by Queen Thesilea of the Amazons during a raiding expedition, and brought back to her home to be raised alongside her. Since the Amazons valued mostly females the royal court protested her action; but Thesilea saw a spark within the young babe, and took him in as her own despite this. Cleophus was given a life of relative luxury as the son of a Queen, and form an incredibly early age was reared to become a statesman and warrior; a worthy husband to Thesilea's daughter and heir, the Princess Pendasa. Due to his heritage, he outclassed every classmate with which he was paired; no contemporary could outmatch his skill in all fields. He was considered a prodigy.