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Like most of the embryonic Space Marine Legions, the XVI th Legion drew all of its first recruits from the Terran population. Though it is difficult to be certain based on the existing Imperial records from this lost time, there are indications that many of the XVI th Legion's early intake came from the hunter clans of the Jutigran Bowl and the Samsatian sub-plate slums. Perpetual conflict and the harshness of life on the desolate margins of Terran society had given these people the hard edge of ruthlessness and independence that would serve a Space Marine well.
Vengeful Spirit ( Gloriana-class Battleship) - The Vengeful Spirit was the infamous flagship of the XVI th Legion and the Warmaster Horus during the Great Crusade and the Horus Heresy. It was upon this vessel that the final battle of the Heresy between the Emperor of Mankind and Horus played out and where the Warmaster's life and soul was finally extinguished by the unmatched psychic power of the Emperor. The Sons of Horus were able to recover their fallen primarch's body before they fled the Sol System for the Eye of Terror and the Vengeful Spirit was taken by Horus' successor, Abaddon the Despoiler, as his own flagship. It still often serves in that function at the present. Seeker Squads - Seeker Squads were comprised of a specialised force of Space Marines whose principal task on the battlefield was to identify an enemy's command structure, its warlords, officers, priests, demagogues, whatever form they took, and slay them with a well-placed bolt round while the battle raged round them. The Alpha Legion are said to have first crystallised the use of this tactic and squad configuration, which had with the Emperor's approval spread to the other Legions, although its use sat poorly within the combat doctrine and martial culture of some like the Space Wolves. Equipped with special issue ammunition to assist their efforts, Seeker Squads were primarily composed of the finest shots within the Legion, as a Seeker strike force often only had a small window of opportunity to take down its targets at close range, rather than enjoying the luxury of distance. The First Pacification of Luna in 703.M30 was perhaps the most famous of these early victories for the XVI th Legion, but the breaking of the Coriolis Enclaves and the Five Winter left scars in the collective consciousness of Terran society that persist even now. In the Capridian Sinks, it is still common for traders and gamblers to refer to the Legion's ancient number of sixteen as "the counting of the wolf." One avatar of the increasing influence of the Legion's Cthonian brothers was the late reemergence of Cthonian gang-sigils graven into a given Space Marine's armour that recorded his notable kills and deeds, as well as to which company of the Legion they belonged. This was a practice which accelerated rapidly after the XVI th Legion had transitioned into its new identity as the Sons of Horus following the elevation of Horus to the rank of Warmaster.The XVI th Legion's Great Crusade fleet was likewise accorded to be among the greatest under any single commander's flag, with in excess of one hundred capital ships and perhaps three times that figure in smaller Cruisers and Escorts under Horus' direct command. Taking into account likely losses from the ground war that followed the virus-bombing of Isstvan III, and elements of the Sons of Horus Legion not in the Isstvan System at the time, it would follow that Horus began his war of betrayal with around 70,000-110,000 Space Marines of his own Legion at his disposal, with considerable evidence present in Imperial records that the latter figure is the more accurate.
Renouncing his oath to the Emperor, Horus led his Legion into worship of the myriad Chaos Gods. He then sought to turn many of his fellow primarchs to Chaos, and succeeded with Angron, Fulgrim and Mortarion, who were the first of the 8 other primarchs and Space Marine Legions that would follow Horus and his Astartes into betrayal. However, the Mournival was only a cultural tradition of the Luna Wolves and carried no official weight or duty within the Legion's command structure and was not used by any of the other Legiones Astartes. In the last days of the Great Crusade, the Mournival was composed of four of the most famed officers of the Luna Wolves: First Captain Ezekyle Abaddon of the 1st Company, Captain Horus "Little Horus" Aximand, Captain Tarik Torgaddon of the 2nd Company and Captain Garviel Loken of the 10th Company. Tactical Squads made up half this strength numerically, with the Legion placing in general great importance on the use of Tactical Squads in every deployment. The rest consisted of two veteran units, three reconnaissance units, a heavy support squad and multiple batteries of support weaponry. The Luna Wolves' approach to the Great Crusade was direct and brutal, and their results were often inelegant if unmistakably effective. Though it proved bloody, the XVI th Legion's progress was undoubtedly swift and laurels of victory were heaped upon the Luna Wolves and above all upon their primarch Horus, the most beloved son of the Emperor.Held together by Horus' personal charisma and brilliance as a leader, the command structure of the Luna Wolves and then the Sons of Horus proved highly effective, adaptable and resilient. Combined with the XVI th Legion's skill in rapidly concluding campaigns, it allowed the Legion to flow from one victory to another, forming and reforming to meet each new challenge. Each Son of Horus knew his capabilities and the capabilities of those around him, both by given rank and personal repute, capabilities that were enshrined in a hierarchy determined by deeds rather than the demands of formality.
The XVI th Legion's badge was a wolf's head imposed over an inverted crescent moon when they were known as the Luna Wolves. The Legion badge changed to become a stylised eye over a cross -- the so-called Eye of Terra, which would later be known as the infamous "Eye of Horus" in the Imperium after the XVI th Legion was renamed the Sons of Horus by the corrupted Warmaster. The Dark Gods portrayed themselves as victims of the Emperor's psychic might, and claimed falsely that they had no real interest in the happenings of the material world. Magnus the Red, the sorcerous primarch of the Thousand Sons Legion, had also travelled into the Warp via sorcery to try and stop Horus from turning to Chaos. Magnus explained that the Warmaster's vision was only one among many possible futures, but one that Horus alone could prevent.However, following their corruption by Chaos, the Sons of Horus Legion's Space Marines started to exhibit random genetic mutations, and it is likely that this taint now affects their gene-seed as it has almost all of the Traitor Legions. The regular practice beginning in the Horus Heresy amongst the Legion's Astartes of seeking daemonic possession may also have accelerated the effect. As if to mark a break from the wars of the past, the armour that the first warriors of the Space Marine Legions went to war in was cast in storm cloud grey, and bore only the thunderbolt and lightning marks of Imperial Unity. Over time the different Legions gained their own marks of distinction and character, as well as iconic names. In eschewing formality and fixed structure above the basic level of the company, Horus demonstrated his pragmatism and his preference for waging war with careful precision. Within the Luna Wolves and the later Sons of Horus, squads also commonly had their own honorific or epithetic titles rather than simple numerations: the Illuminators Prime, Death Makers, Jerrok's Reavers, the First Sons, and similar appellations, while some were named for the Sergeant or Chieftain that led them if their leader's own reputation was strong enough alone. The following information is not to be regarded as officially sanctioned and/ or is not written from an in-universe point of view. A detailed explanation of the term "Trivia" as used in the Lexicanum can be found here.
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