#askmalal

1. (The Lion)

“Well, they are certainly effective. And exceptional. And by thunder, Perturabo would have you know it.”

2.(Redacted)

“If PTSD were a Legion. They are equal parts bitterness and love of duty. Pray the bitterness does not seize primacy.”

3. (Fulgrim):

“All the stubbornness of the Thespian Hoplites at Thermopylae without the panache. And like the Thespians, they are often doomed to be forgotten.”

5.(Khan)

“Too many tanks. To little initiative.”

6.(Russ)

“If I were to say I fear but one of the Legions, it would be the Fourth. Against them, even the strongest foes fall in ranks and columns.”

7.(Rogal Dorn) “My brother has often bragged that his Legion could hold a quarter inch of ground against an invasion fleet if so directed . And, do you know something? I believe him. As do I believe he would waste their lives, especially the Olympians, were -HE- so directed.”

8.(Konrad Curze)

“They smell of oil, rust, and graveyard loam. But they get the job done.”

9. (Sanguinius)

“Not an inch of gilt. Or lace. Or whimsy. Brutally efficient.”

10.(Ferrus Manus)

“They are, for the most part, hardbitten men. Not without their merits as individuals, but men beaten in to a sort of collective that values the phalanx over the fire team and sees the legion itself as an apex hunter whose weaker parts must be excised, from time to time. Begin command of a Legion with a decimation order, and this is the result. I am not so certain this is a good thing.”

11.(Redacted)

“Cranky bastards, like my brother. But when you can get them to loosen up, they are just as human as any other man. Some day all sons must come home from burying their dead amongst wine dark stars. And I wonder what will happen then.”

12. (Angron)

“They rely too much on artillery, too little on cold steel. “

13.(Gulliman)

“Exceptional logisticians, which of course is understandable given their father. I know of few Terminator companies who excel in the siege as they do.”

14.(Mortarion)

“One would think that Hellenes would have a better sense of humor. They certainly excel in tragedy and drama… If you listen carefully, you can almost hear the sound of the whining over the sound of the bolter fire.”

15.(Magnus)

“Good soldiers. Well read. A bit boring.”

16.(Horus)

“Better that they adorn themselves in nothing but cold ceramite and iron. They would, otherwise, never be able to scrub themselves clean. And I do not speak here of mud.”

17.(Lorgar)

“His lack of faith reflects poorly upon them…”

18.(Vulkan)

“They are passionate men forced to do dispassionate things. I like the average man among them very much, but I fear the tragedy he could become.”

19.(Corvus Corax)

“They’ll just give any Legionary a gun and stick him in a hole these days, it would seem. Poor bastards.”

20.(Alpharius Omegon)

“Their father is unworthy of them.”

*hand signs* Welcome back to my library! Try not to bump your horns on the chandelier this time, yeah?

Alastor Rushal is elusive indeed. So much so that I’ve only found one novella in one book in which his name is mentioned a total of 9 times. These pages are most of what we know about him.

He was a Raven Guard captured - or more likely defected to - Night Lords at Isstvan V. He was tortured including by Sevatar. He had his tongue cut out as part of that torture. He struck out his own armor markings and fights with Sevatar. Sevatar insisted that Rushal join the Kyroptera, over the objections of other Night Lords captains. He has a badass weapon called a “meteor hammer” that’s described as more of an energy weapon in the form of a huge flail with a mace. I think of it as similar to the sci-fi version of the Witch King of Angmar’s weapon.

Unfortunately we don’t know anything else, really, as the authors seem to have dropped the thread on this guy. We don’t know his motivations, why he turned, what exactly happened to him at Isstvan? All open questions that Black Library may never answer.

SEND ME A FACE ASK!!!

You know when you done wrong when even the third eye disapproves XD.

The Dark Angels

2 (Redacted)

“They are a formidable order of warrior monks. I know that Lion’el doesn’t particularly care for that turn of phrase, but that is what they are, truly.”

3 (Fulgrim)

“They have all of the skill they could want. But what is skill without passion?”

4 (Perturabo)

“Masonic ritual has no place in warfare, let alone modern society. Neo-Paganist nonsense.”

5(Khan)

“They are an admirable group of men, the Lion’s boys. But, mark me, I have never seen one laugh. I am not sure I can trust a man fully, who doesn’t laugh from time to time.”

6(The Russ)

“The Astartes of his Legion are fine soldiers. But they have taken on the aspect of a cloistered order, leaning hard into boiled vegetables and matins, cold cells, endless hours of ritual. Thus makes them tough men; it has also made them exceedingly dull.”

7(Rogal Dorn)

“War is not a beautiful thing. Not unless it is waged by a Cohort of the First. Then, there is a spectacle worth witnessing.”

8(Curze)

“Fear is useless if you know not how to use it. They are butchers of worlds, not slayers of men. They use Exterminatus, and call it ‘peace.’”

9(Sanguinius)

“Everything that the Legions have evolved to accomplish was first developed by the first. They owe is nothing but brotherhood, but we mere children owe them everything.”

10(Ferrus Manus)

“Steel is, ultimately, only as effective as the one who wields it. Their hands could turn rusty blades to adamantite.”

11(Redacted)

“I love my brother. Almost as much as he loves himself. And that is high praise.”

12 (Angron)

“I’m not here for a tournament, you sodding toffs. Put away the tilting helms and get to work!”

13 (Guilliman)

“The First Legion, as it currently stands, is a product of my brother’s mind. As such, it is labyrinthine, complex, and sometimes absurd. There are few better suited to our mission.”

14 (Mortarion)

“Destruction of a world without purpose is a sin. They have committed only a very few…

15 (Magnus the Red)

“And they say -my- sons are full of themselves.”

16 (Horus)

“While he may resent -me-, THEY do not resent -us-. “

17(Lorgar)

“All the trappings of religion, without a hint of the faith.”

18(Vulkan)

“It is a bitter irony to fight as hard as they have to protect innocent lives and then to go, in the space of a breath, toward sacrificing those lives in order to save more in the future. The math does not, ultimately, work well in such a calculation, no matter how well intentioned the mathematician.”

19(Corax)

“Insufferable pricks. But useful.”

20(Alpharius Omegon)

“Insufferable pricks.”

I. The Lion:

“Rarely does a man draw a sword who has tongue sharp enough to match it.”

II. [REDACTED]

“They always say that Mortarion or Perturabo are most intelligent among us. That Sanguinius is the best leader of men. Or that Dorn alone is tactically flawless. Look upon the Empire of Ultramar. Reassess your criticisms.”

III. Fulgrim:

“If my father is warfare perfected, then Roboute is the most direct scion of that perfection, not I.”

IV. Perturabo:

“One of only a few people I am content to acknowledge as an equal. From the standpoint of making war, I exceed him only in the matter of logistics. “

V. The Khan:

“Few who study history realize that the chief and most dangerous quality of the Roman was his viciousness; the capacity of Roman soldiers to refuse to accept that they had been beaten. My brother is the pinnacle of that idea. Underestimate him as a laurel wreath wearing dandy at your peril.”

VI. The Russ:

“The man is exceptional match in all games of strategy.”

VII. Rogal Dorn:

“I bethought myself closest to the ancient legionaries in mannerisms and taste from which our father cast the mold. And then I met him…. I am at best a Germanicus to his Julius.”

VIII. Konrad Curze:

“Pity Caesar, who will suffer the blades of a thousand senators and never die from a one.”

IX. Sanguinius:

“Chief amongst those whom I would fear to face across a battlefield.”

X. Ferrus Manus:

“His humanity and his tolerance are both weakness and strength. His deeds will long outshine our own, humble efforts.”

XI. [REDACTED]

“Never make the mistake of forgetting that he has, from first meeting, analyzed, studied, obsessively considered your every strength and weakness.”

XII. Angron

“Warm, compassionate. But would obliterate a species in a second if he felt doing so would save two more!”

XIV. Mortarion:

“His tolerance and humanity are well displayed. They are, as a consequence, quite easy to exploit. Weakness, no matter its’ intent, is still weakness.”

XV. Magnus:

“I confess I do not understand a man for whom all things can be explored with logic alone.”

XVI. Horus:

“There is a certain, calculated cruelty, in stoicism.”

XVII. Lorgar:

“People believe that Russ or Lion’El are father’s pets. They are wrong.”

XVIII. Vulkan:

“A most honorable man. A most excellent reaper of men.”

XIX. Corax:

“Second of my brothers, so I am lead to understand, to outlaw slavery in his own home star system.”

XX. Alpharius Omegon:

1. The Lion

“My father is the savior of humanity, in a secular sense. Why he chose to reveal himself when he did I’ve no idea. That he is the key to our future I have no doubt. I would die for him a thousand times over. And when you meet him, you will understand why.”

2. [REDACTED]

“He keeps a garden, you know. A garden. The most powerful human being, perhaps the most powerful human being in history, keeps a garden of his own. Oft have I had the privilege to walk it.”

3. Fulgrim

“Art, there is your beauty. Beauty, there is your art. A thousand things might I endure, but never lose my love for him.”

4. Perturabo

“Warfare perfected. Administration perfected. An icon.”

5. The Khan

“I like him. I like him very much. He has a most astounding laugh. It cools the soul like a rainstorm after a lifetime in a khamsin. It gives one the unfettered joy of a schoolchild once again, and reminds one of the brightest, happiest places in existence.”

6. Leman Russ

“Drank me under the table, once. [REDACTED] came close. Only my father did so. I saw him halt a parade to lift up a child and hear its questions. Speak to him, hear him say a few words. And then accuse me again of mindlessly following him.””

7. Rogal Dorn

“A broader appreciation for and knowledge of literature I have never seen. All the more impressive to discuss, say, Faust, with a man who knew its author!”

8. Kurze

“The Night Haunter fears him. The Night Haunter obeys him. But for me… he makes the nightmares go away.”

9. Sanguinius

“I am no angel. There stands the closest thing one might find to exemplified divinity.”

10. Ferrus Manus

“I have rarely felt love for anyone or anything. He is a rare exception.”

11. [REDACTED]

“Understand that he is what each who sees, hears, feels him needs him to be. He is not as cold, but neither is he as idealistic, as others might say. And the way he presents himself to me will (I grant) be very different from the way he presents himself to you.”

12. Angron

“…Obedience and love do not equate to understanding or forgetfulness.”

13. Roboute Guilliman

“Have you spoken to Caesar Augustus? Have you listened to John the Baptist laugh? Have you seen Napoleon explain his vision for Europe to a group of historians thirty thousand years after Waterloo? I have.”

14. Mortarion

“He is a being of absolute Reason. None of us can truly claim to know him entirely. Divine from that what you will. “

15. Magnus the Red

“I dreamed of a hero during my childhood. I met that hero when I became a man.”

16. Horus Lupercal

“He is… everything.”

17. Lorgar

“The Divine rarely reveals itself without consequence.”

18. Vulkan

“His is the compassion of a thousand burning suns, a million souls. Countless lifetimes. I do not claim to understand every act. But I am without doubt that all are calculated for the greater good.”

19. Corvus Corax

“He did not question my appearance. Did not judge me. He merely asked after my wellness, and embraced me without question. That is a father. That is -my- father.”

20. Alpharius

I (The Lion)

“I am not opposed to culture. I am opposed to over-gilding a lily. I do not assert that they are poor soldiers, far from it. I do assert that there is nothing perfect about war.”

2 (Redacted)

“Bloody sabers are bloody sabers, gilt or no.”

4 (Perturabo)

“They are fine, fine soldiers. The rank and file, at least. The officers are as useful as lapping powder to a sea turtle.”

5 (The Khan)

“What magnificent horsemen they would be!”

6(The Russ)

“A Legionary should be bathed and well cleaned. That is agreeable to me. I am unsure whether he should be the type who might seriously consider wearing his bathrobe to war, if not for fear of soiling it…”

7(Dorn)

“Peacocks are ferocious in defense of their young. When they aren’t strutting about.”

8(Kurze)

“Yes, yes, Fulgrim’s soldiers are a fine looking lot. Voices like angels. A war cry like thunder. Fewer blades sharper. And the subtlety of a fart in a ceramic prison cell…”

9(Sanguinius)

“Make the jokes you wish. Throne knows I have. But those men have earned their aquilas.”

10(Ferrus Manus)

“They host a fine party. They host an even better war.”

11(Redacted)

“Being completely incapable of seeing color, I am assured they are gaudy. Being completely incapable of seeing color, I can say they are gaudy without any need for assurance. But damned well effective.”

12(Angron)

“Yes. Yes. It’s a lovely sculpture. Where is my artillery?!”

13(Guilliman)

“Artists make exceptional killers. And exceptional tragedies.”

14(Mortarion)

“Brilliance amongst soldiers is always under appreciated. In twenty legions of brilliant men, they are once in a millennia prodigies.”

15(Magnus)

“They appreciate a good book, a good drink, a warm hearth, and a hot kill.”

16(Horus)

“Tell me you have seen a coward. You have never seen a coward from Chemos.”

17(Lorgar)

“Between them, they have made a graven image of a Legion, sanctified in blood. And, unfortunately, that image is stained with excess.”

18(Vulkan)

“They are compassionate. Capable of great kindness. Equally capable of a kind of murder that makes a mockery of the word ‘hope.’ We find much in common with them. And much in opposition. This is why we have built the bond we have. This is equally why, if we were pitted against each other, our Legions would likely destroy each other.”

19(Corax)

“Phoenix? I see little of the bird about them but pigeon shite. Good soldiers. They have the taste of a ninety seven year old granny.”

20(Alpharius)

“They certainly get the job done. Vicious, vicious bastards. The twentieth must occasionally wage what would have been called ‘ungentlemanly’ warfare in a previous age. The third often make us blush.”