There is no record of the source from which the XX took their gene-seed, but what is known is that the XX were not selected for full implantation and mass recruitment until relatively late on – limiting them initially to a mere few thousand Legionaries as the Unification Wars wrapped up and the Great Crusade began. The evidence of their operations is partly construed from its absence. Little to nothing is known about how they were originally founded, and the historical record has been pieced together from fragments and anomalies unknown Legiones Astartes units conducting abductions, assassinations and other clandestine missions where no Legion presence is otherwise recorded in the area. The XX were, even amongst the Trefoil, singular and unique in the level of secrecy and security that the Emperor himself imposed. They each had, it seems, a unique purpose, although the exact nature of it is always going to be guesswork. The Alpha Legion, the Salamanders and the Space Wolves were all members of the “Trefoil ,” Legiones Astartes kept veiled and distant from the other Legions in the shadowdays of the Unification Wars. “What follows then is a fragmentary, and in parts contradictory, record…” He’s kindly given me his insight and thoughts, which I’ve put in the usual “guest writing” way in the body of this article! In all seriousness, Josh is a well known figure in the UK Heresy scene, who has the Hydra tattooed on his heart a true aficionado of this Legion. As with all things Alpha Legion, it could all be lies… Once I’d worked it out, and found a USB hidden inside the Mastodon I’m currently building, I realised it was a wealth of information written by the mysterious on Instagram – rumoured to be called Josh.

I put the word out, and I received a coded message stuffed into my pillowcase, wrapped in snakeskin. In writing this article, I knew I had to seek out some secret disciples of Alpharius himself (perhaps they are Alpharius? We can’t be sure). Eighteen Legion Overview articles, and it is fitting that the final one looks at the final Legion, the Alpha Legion. Of all the mighty forces the Imperium commanded during the Great Crusade, there were none so wound about with falsehood, supposition and paradox than they….” In our final article, we look at the Alpha and the Omega, and fill this article with hearsay, lies and facts of questionable provenance, as we look at the XX Legion – the Alpha Legion. The Space Marine Legions of the First Founding make up the core factions and conflict of the Horus Heresy.

Horus heresy novels worth reading