Aquila Ignis
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History
Little is known about origins of the Imperator Titan Aquila Ignis, as it was first revealed by the Heretical Legio Mortis at the beginning of the Schism of Mars.
The titan was deployed by Legio Mortis during their walk on the Magma City and the defending loyalist Legio Tempestus. Though Aquila Ignis succeeded in destroying the remnants of Tempestus, the destruction of the Magma City by Adept Koriel Zeth unleashes a torrent of lava that destroys the Imperator's main body, leaving only its Hellstorm Cannon behind.1
Involvement in the Dark Crusade
The remains of the Titan's massive Hellstorm cannon were found in Ironworks Bay by the 1st Kronus Regiment. Techpriests had brought this relic to Kronus millennia ago, after it was cut from the heretical Titan during the Horus Heresy. The Cannon was restored to half-functional status and served in the defense of the Guard's planetary capital.
When the Blood Ravens Space Marines overran Victory Bay in their assault, Captain Gregor Vash ordered a Techpriest to "overload the core" of the Hellstorm cannon to prevent it from falling into enemy hands. The Titan cannon began to overload and explode, the blast taking out the nearby combatants. The one Enginseer who survived to be interrogated by the Blood Ravens claimed that he had done what he must to keep the cannon from "unworthy hands".
An alternative, non-canonical ending which plays if Chaos conquers Victory Bay reveals that a daemon of Nurgle resided within the Hellstorm cannon, having been bound there during the Horus Heresy. By releasing this daemon, Eliphas would gain Nurgle's favour.2
Sources
- 1Mechanicum by Graham McNeill
- 2Dawn of War: Dark Crusade
