Raven Guard

The XIXth Legion showed a predilection for infiltration and surprise attacks early on. The Raven Guard was deployed in the final years of the Unification War to break the resistance of those who refused to submit to the Emperor. How often this happened is unknown, as they rarely revealed their commitment even after a victory. After the subjugation of the Xeric tribes from the Asiatic Dustfields, new contenders for the Raven Guard were recruited from the ranks of these barbarians. Over time, the uncompromising culture of the Xeric tribes began to rub off on the Raven Guard. The Raven Guard took part in the campaign against Kalagann of Ursh, where they distributed small task forces over the whole area, ready to strike. It is said that Kalagann used psionic weapons and that the Raven Guard was hit hardest. During the conquest of the Sol system, the Raven Guard was only used to conquer the moon Lysithea of Xenos. What happened is not recorded. The Xenos were destroyed, the settlers killed, and many Raven Guard died. Some survivors of this campaign were sent back to the emperor's gene smiths and never seen again. At the beginning of the Great Crusade, the Raven Guard often fought alongside Horus and the Lunar Wolves and their talents complemented each other. They continued to use the same strategy of infiltrating the enemy and then suddenly striking with overwhelming brutality. The Raven Guard Legion remained relatively small during this time. The Raven Guard's heraldic colour was grey and they had adopted the tradition from the Xeric tribes of smearing their faces with dust as war paint. This earned them the nicknames "Pale Nomads" and "Dust Clad" among the Lunar Wolves. Even back then, connections to their primarchs in the gene pool were evident: the skin of the Raven Guard-Space Marines became pale over time and some had darker hair. Corax took command of his legion after the 100th year of the Great Crusade. He combined the fighting style of the Raven Guard with the lessons he had learned in the guerrilla war on Lycaeus. The cultural influence of the Xeric tribes was gradually removed from the Legion during this period.