6th Legion

The 6th Legion is one of the few Legions in the imperial Derican army that can date its existence back to the First unification war when the Derican kingdom at the time needed new soldiers to fight in the ever-expanding war against their neighbours.  

Notable characters

Josselyn Ashglade:

Growing up as the youngest of 5 siblings in a poor family, Josselyn didn't have much to look forward to in life so when she heard the announcement that the kingdom needed soldiers and that a legion would be raised from volunteers from her town and that the first thousand would receive two years pay as a bonus. Having joined up it turned out that Josselyn had a special talent for scouting, after the legion and she had finished their training she was transferred to the scouts in the legion where she quickly rose through the ranks and gained such a reputation that when a newly transferred commander to the legion dismissed her warning on the basis that he had been in the military for longer than she had been alive, the rest of the scouts and the legion by extension refused to move out until the commander took into account Josselyn´s warning.  

Fendrel Duststone:

Fendrel was the son of the local noble near the town that the 6th legion was being recruited from, being in town the day of the announcement he decided to join up and he would later say that he did it because he wanted to create a name for himself and not rely on the name of his family, Some say that it was Fendrel that is the reason the 6th Legion gained the nickname of "The Fire Legion" Fendrel was the Knight Commander in charge of the legions magic users and that he during one of the first battles the legion partook in ordered so much fire-based magic to be thrown downrange while the rest of the legion marched towards the enemy that he had to create openings in the newly created wall of fire and that the sight of a legion without fear seemingly walk through fire made the enemy army turn around and flee.  

Banners/symbols

  The legion makes use of the regular imperial banners where their symbol of a giant eagle is shown sitting on the number 6 with the legions motto underneath it.   The use of the giant eagle as their symbol dates back to around a year after the formation of the legion, after having completed their training and being deemed ready for combat, the legion was marching along the road when someone spotted a giant eagle following them, turned out that the eagle had taken a liking the sound of the marching songs and it kept following them and ever since the legion has had a giant eagle both as a symbol but also as a mascot, the current giant eagle that is following and living with the legion is a descendent of the original eagle.

successes

  Over the years the legion has experienced many successes such as the battle of Buzard where the legion thanks to its vastly superior scouting force were able to spot an enemy army moving towards their position and set up an ambush.  

Failures

  Not seen as a failure at the time but during The Decade of 5 Emperors the legion would for some time fight for the rebels but would defect after their officers were replaced by others more loyal to the rebel side.

Their defining moment

  The moment in history that would make the legion famous and on everyone's mind was the "Battle Of the Burning Plains" where the legion fell into an ambush while crossing an open field, the legion being attacked by all directions and with the commanding officers quickly being killed due to targeted spells and arrows the soldiers showed their ability to think on the spot and formed a large circle with their shields covering as much as possible and placing the magic users in the middle and on certain intervals along the outer wall they were able to both heal and throw offensive spells towards the enemy who by this point in the battle outnumbered the legion by 5:1.   Luckily for the legion by having failed to show up at the meeting point on time, the legions they were supposed to meet up with had sent out some scouts and they had reported back the ambush to the other legions who then had rushed towards the battle but when they arrived they were met with a legion that looked like it had just marched through the nine hells and back, soldiers leaning on their shields with blood and sod covering their faces and all around them the grass, bushes and other vegetation had been burned to the ground.   Reports gathered from soldiers after the battle tell that roughly an hour before the relief force arrived the 6th legion running low on both magic and arrows decided that if they had to go down, they would go down fighting so as a last-ditch effort the magic users would cast the most powerful fire magic they had left and at the same time the rest of the legion would sally out from their position and engage the enemy It turned out that the enemy was not expecting that the legion still had so much energy left that the attack caught them by surprise and after some fighting the enemy broke and retreated.

Trivia

  • The legion sees the 9th Legion  as their natural rival.
  • Their "first in, last out" motto is gained from a saying the soldiers would tell each other when they noticed that their legion was normally the first one to engage the enemy and also the last one that would retreat if needed.
  • The legions giant eagle technically outranks everybody in the legion even the commander, it was honourable given the rank of "high general"
  • The legion is one of the oldest still standing legions in the empire.

Structure

Commander: highest rank in the legion   Knight Commander: In charge of the different cohorts that make up the legion.   Sergeant Major: lead sections of the cohorts but also helps the Knight Commander in the daily duties.

First in, Last out

Founding Date
386
Type
Military, Army Brigade
Alternative Names
The Fire Legion
Formation Type
Training Level
Elite
Veterancy Level
Decorated/Honored
Leader Title
Official Languages
Related Ethnicities


Cover image: by Marco Dente
Character flag image: Giant Eagle by Caeora

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