"I have served alongside the Legiones Astartes before, but these Imperial Fists are a breed apart. They seek no praise and all the honours and badges of glory more then not at all -- but when the dark presses close and the claws of the unknown reach for the throat of our armies, there are no other warriors I would choose to stand beside me, for they fight like the titans of legend!"
- —Agastan Kanto, First Sword of the Antikan Regiments
First Captain Sigismund of the Imperial Fists, commander of the VII Legion's elite Templar Brethren, the first Emperor's Champion and later the founding High Marshal of the Black Templars Chapter; seen here at the time of the Horus Heresy.
The Templar Brethren, also called the Templars, were the elite 1st Company of the VIIth Legion, the Imperial Fists, during the Great Crusade and Horus Heresy. They were the Guardians of the Temple of Oaths aboard the great fortress-ship Phalanx, and the Legion's most highly accomplished warriors. Warriors of unequalled zeal, the Templar Brethren's relentless determination and matchless skill were the hallmarks of this deadly company, whose punishing recruitment protocol ensured that only the finest Imperial Fists bore their proud heraldry.
A trio of Imperial Fists Legion Templar Brethren stand resolute against the foe.
Though their duty bound them to the Temple of Oaths, these dauntless warriors were found wherever the Imperial Fists carried the Emperor's Great Crusade to unify Mankind. They bore the best wargear that the armouries of the VIIth Legion could provide: ancient archeotech, the newest creations of the Mechanicum and more common marks of weapons forged with exacting precision. With their superior skill in battle and the finest weapons at their disposal, they were at the spearhead of the Emperor's Great Crusade to unify Mankind.
A trio of Imperial Fists Legion Templar Brethren, arrayed in the finest wargear available.
Excelling in close combat, the Templar Brethren wielded Power Swords in battle, whilst their Combat Shields provided much-needed protection as they fought on the frontline in addition to their ornate Artificer Armour. Few enemies of Humanity seldom survived the first shattering charge of the Templar Brethren and had little chance of overcoming their defences. At the leading edge of battle, these warriors inspired their brothers with their unyielding courage and the blood-red path they carved through their foes.
History[]
Primarch Rogal Dorn of the Imperial Fists, surrounded by his elite Templar Brethren.
Within the Imperial Fists Legion of old, there were many formations from squad to household whose names and deeds shone bright in the days of the Great Crusade. When mentioning such elite formations one cannot pass over the Templar Brethren. Raised by their primarch Rogal Dorn during the first solar decade of his command of the VIIth Legion, the Templars were the warriors charged with guarding the Temple of Oaths aboard their mighty flagship, the Phalanx. No fane of superstition or misguided religion, this secular temple was dedicated to the humanist ideals of the Great Crusade and the Imperial Truth and the sacrifices these demanded.
There, beneath the tattered and burned banners of defeated enemies and the statues of dead heroes of the Legion, the Imperial Fists returned to renew their perpetual oaths of loyalty to their Emperor and primarch. Each oath made by a son of Dorn was carved on the walls, floor and ceiling, etched for all eternity in black granite. Besides Dorn and the Emperor, only the Templars were permitted to enter the Temple of Oaths unbidden.
The Templar Brethren of the Imperial Fists Legion
Nominally comprising the elite 1st Company of the Imperial Fists Legion, the Templars' strength rarely actually fell below 1,000 warriors, and their members were drawn from Veterans across the Legion. Skill at arms was not enough to earn such a responsibility, for each Templar was a warrior in whom the Crusader light had come to burn with undimmed brightness. Zealous, remorseless and tempered by many solar decades of war, they were exemplars of what it was to be Imperial Fists of the Great Crusade.
Besides the primarch, only one other position commanded unconditional authority over the Legion as a whole. The first captain of the Imperial Fists was also always the commander of the Templars, and by tradition the finest proven warrior within the VIIth Legion. As guardian of the oaths of every Imperial Fists warrior, the first captain held not only great authority, but commanded respect from all of his brothers. During the finaly says of the Great Crusade and throughout the Horus Heresy, that warrior was First Capatin Sigismund, the future founding High Marshal of the Black Templars.
Unit Composition[]
- 4-9 Templar Brethren
Wargear[]
An Imperial Fists Legion Templar Brethren squad charging into battle.
Optional Wargear[]
- Legion Vexilla
Optional Wargear (Chapter Champion Only)[]
An Imperial Fists Legion Chapter Champion and his fellow Templar of the 1st Company stand ready to face the foes of Mankind.
- Solarite Power Gauntlet - These augmented Power Fists were greatly favoured by the officers of the Imperial Fists Legion. Crafted in imitation of the ancient relics of Terra, their nigh-indestructible casings were fashioned in weapon forges fed from the fires of the Phalanx's vast plasma core, and so served as a spiritual link to their primarch as well as embodying their Legion's heraldic icon in the shape of a powerful weapon.
Sources[]
- The Horus Heresy Book Three: Extermination (Forge World Series) by Alan Bligh, pp. 62, 64, 268, 270
- Horus Heresy Chapterbook (Anthology), "The Dark King," by Graham McNeill
- Riven (Short Story) by John French
- Forge World webstore - Imperial Fists Legion Templar Brethren