Iron Legion

Introduction

Not everyone dies from a knife in his or her back, a horrible disease or a lack of nutrition. Even in the Dark Ages, some managed to live (and eventually die) to a ripe old age, or at least wear down their bodies through alcohol or other such vices and subsequently cut down their natural life spans. People such as these would often find themselves joining the ranks of the Iron Legion.

Leadership of the Legion

The Legion of Iron has a highly political structure headed by their leader, The Ashen Lady, and her Council of Ministers. There are 11 Ministers in total, and each has control over their own particular area in the Legion and has the closest thing to complete authority as one can have in Stygia. While not much is known about them individually, everyone knows what they are in charge of:

Minister of Economics: The wraith that oversees the finances of the Legion. This pecuniary strategist watches the flow of trade in Stygia and plans around these trends in order to work on maintaining an economic stronghold over other Legions.

Minister of Defense: This wraith not only has say over matters of defense of the Legion, but also into research of better tactics, equipment, and even Arcanos to use against the forces of Oblivion.

Minister of Construction: The overseer of all construction projects for the Legion, in matters of both defense and general construction. These projects are not only meant for buildings Stygia, but in the whole of the Shadowlands.

Minister of Research and Development: While many different Ministers are in charge of research in their own fields, this wraith manages the research for all of these areas. He ensures that all projects are assigned to the appropriate wraith and that the necessary tools are fielded to accomplish whatever task needs to be done.

Minister of Recruiting: Put quite simply, this wraith is in charge of finding and bringing new enfants into the Legion. The Reaper corps reports to him, and he is the ultimate decision maker in whether a new wraith will continue or, or be forged into something.

Minister of Training: This wraith is in charge of coming up with new ways to train wraiths in the Legion, and new methods to be used by the other departments in the Council; this also includes testing new wraiths to see where they should be placed in the Legion, and preparing everyone for the next Maelstrom.

Minister of Planning: This wraith is in charge of planning the locations for new Necropoli and sending out resources to the Legion.

Minister of the Military General: This wraith heads the Military for the Legion, and is the second in command when war breaks out.

Minister of Legion Relations: The head of public relations, this wraith deals with all matters of diplomacy and politicking on behalf of the Iron Legion.

Minister of Intelligence: As the name suggests, this wraith deals with collecting and disseminating any information gathered for the Legion, along with conducting counterintelligence missions.

Minister of Special Projects: While the Minister of the Military General oversees the Legion’s military ranks, and the Minister of Training comes up with the programs to train new recruits, this wraith develops programs and manages for other miscellaneous organizations within the Legion, such as the Communiques and the Advocates.

The Ashen Lady

Before she became the Ashen Lady and the leader of the Iron Legion, she was the queen of a Celtic tribe in southern Britannia. When she eventually passed, she continued to aid and advise her people. Her kindness did not go unnoticed in the Underworld, and when Charon began to assemble a more Roman style of government, he selected her to be one of his senators. Since that time, she has come to serve him and the Hierarchy as a whole loyally and continues to share her wisdom and charitable nature. She believes that even in the afterlife the study of art and philosophy is critical to maintaining and building a stronger Stygia. She applies this philosophy to her own Legion as well, instilling in every mind her own values in hopes that her wisdom will carry on throughout the ages. In this she has also established what has now become the three virtues of the Iron Legion: Efficiency, Order and Patience.

Members of the Legion

Military of the Legion

While all Legions have a vested interest in keeping themselves protected, the Iron Legion has an additional interest. Their Spectre Brigades not only patrol Byways and in ships throughout the Tempest, but they also work closely with the Minister of Research and Development, using new weapons and tactics in order to better develop ways of combating Oblivion.

While the Iron Legion does have some military presence, it perhaps has greater strength in its non-military population.

The Salon

This collection of wraiths stay with the Ashen Lady at the Seat of Shadows and make up some of the most talented artists, philosophers and scientists to have ever existed. Once inside the Seat, few ever venture forth, and it is assumed they are treated to the best the afterlife as to offer, much to the dismay of the ‘working’ members of the Legion. Some speculate that the Ashen Lady merely keeps these Restless Dead around for her own amusement; others say she keeps them because these great minds can help guide and advise her. Some even believe that she keeps them so that one day her menagerie may find new and better ways to keep the Quick alive, at least until they are at a suitable enough age to join her Legion. While the truth isn’t quite clear, Reapers of the Legion always keep an eye out for those greats that might be perfect candidates for the Salon, knowing that bringing such individuals to the Ashen Lady will lead to great rewards.

Communiques

While the practice of the Embody Arcanoi is out right forbidden by the Ashen Lady, she does keep a number of Proctors and Puppeteers at her disposal. These wraiths are used to deliver messages and guidance to the Quick, often in the form of ancestor spirits or the like. She claims to do this because she says that in life, the spirits of her ancestors advised her, and that others should be allow to reap the same benefit. But others think that she might be doing this in ordered to help assure more people will be able to live long enough to eventually find themselves in the Legion of Iron.

Advocates

Many found a profession in law their calling in life, so why should the afterlife be any different? Lawyers, judges, magistrates and others that made their living through practicing law find themselves part of the Advocate Corps. Whenever a member of the Legion accuses another member of a crime, it can be guaranteed that at the trial there will be an Advocate there to defend the accused, and often the same courtesy is extended even when a member is accused of a crime in Stygia itself. Now of course just being in the legal profession is not enough for one to become an Advocate. Only those who were honest are allowed to join the Corp, and those that weren’t often find themselves serving the Legion as something else useful, namely as a piece of Stygian steel.

Opinions

The other Legions

While most of the Legions have a healthy respect for the Iron Legion and tend to leave them alone, the Iron are at odds with the Grim Legion and the Skeletal Legion (in particular the latter). All three of the Legions have a strong presence within the Hierarchy in Stygia, and none want to loose any power to the other. The Skeletal Lord holds that those that die of disease or illness, no matter what their age, should fall under his domain, while the Ashen Lady feels that anything that drains any of the Quick and reduces their natural lifespan should be hers.

Vampires

Making a Fetter out of something that has as much longevity as a Child of Caine can be quite beneficial; it is an endeavor that should never be taken lightly. Any wraith that chooses to deal with a vampire should be careful, especially since they all have their own agendas, and should pay particular interest when dealing with the Giovanni or Tremere. Both of these clans are known for their talents with magic, and the Giovanni are especially keen on finding and binding wraiths against their will.

Werewolves

A perhaps greater threat to an unwary wraith are the Garou. These creatures are often known to bind spirits (and subsequently wraiths) into objects, and since they have the ability to cross over into the realm of the Restless Dead, there is a possibility of encountering one of these dangerous and unpredictable creatures. They also often times feel that wraiths and others that inhabit the Shadowlands meet the description of many creatures that follow the entity they call the Wyrm, and if they feel that a wraith they meet fits the profile, they can and will attack on sight.

Mages

While still mortal, Mages have an untold power that can affect the Shroud in ways one can’t even begin to imagine. While none in recent memory have come so far as the Shadowlands, they have been known to cross over, and most would do well just to stay clear of any they come across.

Fae

There was once a time when the wraiths and the faeries did commune with each other from time to time, but that has faded as the fae have left the mortal world. While their fear of Banality is almost akin to the wraiths fear of Oblivion, one should not take that as an open invitation to barter or deal with them. Some of their kind have been known to become wraiths, and even recall some of their life as a faerie. Despite this, it has been reasoned that most of them that try to have contact with the Restless Dead are probably doing so only to fulfill there own dark passions. One should take great care and perhaps just avoid their kind altogether.

[For additional information about the Iron Legion, see The Book Of Legions and The Hierarchy sourcebooks by White Wolf.]