This went so far as to cause some to say that “Horus treated the XIX more like a chapter of his own Legion than one with its own identity and destiny to forge.” When the Great Crusade began, the XIX found themselves operating frequently alongside the Luna Wolves – with Horus using the “blade of the XIX” to augment his own forces. The XIX participated in the Unification Wars, earning themselves a string of victories and a reputation for “cold, ruthless efficiency”, using small battle groups to strike fast, and decapitate the foe. The early Raven Guard inductees were, in turn, set to policing Compliance amongst their former peoples, encouraging a mindset within the XIX of careful watching of conquered populations to ensure “any hint of recidivism” was “crushed utterly”. They were recruited from the Xeric tribes of the Asiatic Dustfields, savage (yet technologically adept) warrior tribes who fought with “relentless fury”. The Raven Guard were a proto-Legion which quickly found its place, standing in contrast to, say, the Thousand Sons. Tragically, however, like their brothers the Iron Hands and the Salamanders, the XIX would be bled white on the black sands of Isstvan V one of the three Legions caught in the Drop Site Massacre in the opening salvos of the Horus Heresy. This skill at subterfuge and stealth would see them held up as an example of Imperial warcraft and ability. They would strike from the shadows, and meld back into them before the enemy realised what had happened. Their specialisms, to which they are still renowned in the distant future of the 41st Millennium, were rapid deployment, armed reconnaissance, and guerrilla warfare.

The Raven Guard are the black-clad scions of Corvus Corax – a liberator, freedom-fighter and deliverer of men. “Those who claim to walk in the light have no right to do until they have mastered the darkness within themselves.” Corvus Corax – Master of the Raven Guard, The Liberator, Chooser of the Slain, The Shadowed Lord.Moritat-Prime Kaedes Nex – The Raven’s Huntsman, “Blood-Crow”.Strike Captain Alvarex Maun – Master of Descent.Raven Guard Darkwing Pattern Storm Eagle Gunship.

Raven guard dark fury assault squad