Therion Cohort
The Therion Cohort was a regiment of the Imperial Army from the planet Therion, active during the Great Crusade and Horus Heresy.[1a][1d]
Contents
History
Great Crusade
During the Crusade, the Therions were assigned to the Raven Guard Space Marine Legion. They fought alongside the Raven Guard and Imperial Titans of the Legio Adamantus and Legio Victorum in bringing Isstvan III into compliance.[1a]
Horus Heresy
Outbreak
At the outbreak of the Heresy, the Therions were initially stationed at Deliverance while the bulk of the Raven Guard travelled to Isstvan V to join their fellow Legions to crush Horus and his rebellion. However, the Therion's commanding officer, Marcus Valerius, had a vision that something terrible was going to happen. He persuaded Commander Branne Nev to go to the Isstvan System.[1b][2] The vision proved correct; the Raven Guard had been targeted for destruction in the Dropsite Massacre. Thanks to the presence of Commander Branne and the fleet, the remnants of the Raven Guard (including their Primarch, Corax) were able to escape Istvaan V and fled the system in the hopes of warning the Emperor.[1a][1b][1c][2]
Narsis
The Cohort eventually recovered from the losses on this campaign[1e] and later assaulted the Perfect Fortress on Narsis, a stronghold of the Emperor's Children. As Corax did not wish to massacre the civilian populace, orbital bombardment to weaken the Fortress's defences was not an option, and so the Therions conducted a landing under fire as a distraction for a fierce counter-strike by the Raven Guard. Unable to break the fortress's defences, the Cohort were forced to withdraw and suffered horrible casualties as a result before the Raptors landed. At least ten thousand soldiers were lost in the battle.[1f]
Euesa
Two and a half years after the assault on the Perfect Fortress[3], the Therion Cohort would assist the Raven Guard under Commanders Branne, Aloni and Soukhounou[4] in an assault on Euesa.[3] Seven hundred thousand soldiers of the Cohort under the command of vice-Caesari Marcus Valerius were supported by armoured and combat engineer units of the Capricorn 13th Suppression Regiment and Lothor Pioneer Corps, along with Titans of the Legio Vindictus. The loyalist Imperial Army units suppressed anti-orbital defence batteries located near or in the city of Milvian, enabling the Raven Guard to perform a drop assault from low orbit that decapitated the enemy's high command.[3]
Yarant
During the Battle of Yarant, Valerius revealed that the worshiped the Emperor as a god, enraging Corax and causing the Cohort to be banished from his sight. The Cohort went on to take part in the Battle of Beta-Garmon.[5]
Organisation
The Therion Cohort was split up into Companies (at least six) and Phalanxes (at least three).[1f]
The Cohort utilised a nonstandard nomenclature for its rank structure. Ranks in the Cohort included vice-Tribune[1f], Tribune[1f], Praefector[1a], sub-Caesari[1f], vice-Caesari,[3] and Caesari.[1e]
Heraldry
The Therion Cohort wore red and gold.[1a]
Assets
Vehicles
Known Members
- Marcus Valerius - Commanding officer during the Horus Heresy.[1a][3]
- Antonius Valerius - Praefector.[1f]
- Magellius - Praefector.[1f]
- Tigurian - Praefector.[1f]
- Calorium - Tribune.[1f]
- Callista - Vice-Tribune.[1f]
- Pelon - Aide to Marcus Valerius.[1b]
Sources
 |
- 1: Deliverance Lost (Novel)
- 2: Raven's Flight (Short Story) — Shadows of Treachery (Anthology)
- 3: The Divine Word (Short Story) — Legacies of Betrayal (Anthology)
- 4: Corax: Soulforge (Novella), pg. 32
- 5: Valerius (Audio Drama)
