The battle disturbs a slumbering Necron tomb, some of whose occupants join the hostilities with an apparent focus on destroying the Chaotic insurgents over the Ork defenders. The Crusade of Rust began to carve its way across the Ultima Segmentum, seeking to establish a trail of destruction across the stars that would stand in testament to the warband's strength.īattle of Arakor City - An uneasy alliance of the Rust Lords and a Slaaneshi daemonic host attacks an Ork Waaagh occupying the burned-out remains of Arakor City on Argyle IV, an industrial world on the edge of the Great Rift. The warband declared a vengeful crusade against their former brethren and the Death Guard, determined to vindicate their actions by demonstrating their improved prowess in the siege and attritional warfare they had sought to master further through their pledge to Nurgle. Loathing his own lack of strength in controlling Nurgle's mutations and enraged at the perceived betrayal of his legion brothers, Griegus declared himself a Warsmith of a new Grand Company, which took the name of the 'Rust Legion'.
The ritual was noticed by the other Iron Warriors of the Grand Company, and Griegus' troops were forced to fight their way out of their own fleet and into exile. Griegus himself watched his body warp and merge into his armour, forever rendering him as a half-desiccated corpse of iron and rust. The ritual spiraled out of control, and every Astartes of the company became trapped inside suits of armour sealed tight by rust as hard as ceramite.
Griegus' overconfidence in controlling the effects of Nurgle was proven evident. However, the promises of greater endurance were incredibly tempting to a siege-oriented force such as the Iron Warriors, and Griegus' misguided belief that he could control the influence of Nurgle eventually led to the warband's conversion to worshippers of the Plague Father.Ī ritual was conducted by Griegus' entire company of Astartes, held in secret lest they be discovered and destroyed by other forces within the Grand Company to which they were pledged. His commanders were initially reluctant, constrained by the legion's cultural abhorrence to the potential for mutation in pledging too closely to any one Chaos god. Equally enraged and impressed by the resilience of the Death Guard forces he had faced, Griegus began to impress upon his troops the benefits of Nurgle's gifts in resilience and strength. One of the surviving Iron Warriors from this war was a Captain by the name of Griegus Bak, who barely escaped death himself in one of the last rearguard actions of the war. Despite inflicting massive losses upon the forces of the Death Guard, the Iron Warriors were eventually forced to withdraw after the maladies of Nurgle gradually rendered their forces incapable of continuing to fight. The conflict saw the Iron Warriors pitched against the Death Guard for control of the Temple of Ascension on the world of Dysactis. The Rust Legion are a comparatively new warband, formed in the aftermath of the War of Rust and Ruin in early M42. Rust always triumphs in the end." ~ Griegus Bak, 1st Warsmith of the Rust Legion They sneer and spit, but who is now the strongest on the siege line? Who is now capable of laying the greatest fortresses low with half the number of troops as our brethren? Let them keep their iron. Led by self-proclaimed 'Warsmith' Griegus Bak, the Rust Legion have been seen on battlefields of siege and attrition across the Ultima Segmentum. They are unusual for a warband of Iron Warriors lineage in that they are singularly devoted to the Chaos god Nurgle. The Rust Legion is a self-declared Grand Company and splinter warband from the Iron Warriors legion.