Legion des Damnes - Printable Version

[color=#FFFFFF]As mentioned before, the Legion was based off the original Gallic Navy, but was founded later in 99 A.G.S., 13 years after the landing on New Paris. To understand why it was even founded we must take a look at the situation going on at that time. Millions of Gallic people of all classes were trying to build a new life on a never before seen or known planet. They were all depressed and disappointed by their former Alliance partners who made them not worthy of having an own sleeper ship. Thus, many conflicts began to raid between the people and the crime rate increased dramatically. Each day new rogue groups were founded to unleash terror upon humble citizens. It was that time of chaos when Queen Madeleine chose one man out of his people to solve this situation once and for all. He was known as Comte Andre Le Benevole (Lord Andre the Helper). It was during those darkest times when the first ideology and principes of the Legion were created. Andre believed that every man and woman has to be valued by what he/she can do for a certain purpose, no matter what origins or beliefs he/she has. And so, he made up a small squad of loyal men, and the fundament for the Legion has been set. He and his men were travelling from town to town, from village to village and from fields to fields to unite the people to believe in Gallia and the Queen. Those who did not agree to this were simply executed infront of everyone. Thats how he managed to unite even rogues with merchants and humble citizens to create the perfect population, although under heavy military surveillance. After their great success on New Paris, the Queen ordered them to the recently colonized Planet Lyonnais, where under-paid workers were striking and damaging the whole colonization process.Back then, they were called "The Damned Ones", as most men in this squad were damned to death. So, they arrived and, with most of the workers back to their contruction sites, within 3 months the colonization could start again. Queen Madeleine was so delighted by their success that she finally created The Damned Legion. However, one day before the official foundation of the Legion, Andre was murdered silently and thus a new leader had to be elected. It was a man named Leon du Sable, one of the very early relatives of the current leader Enzo. A great nubmer of people, from every part of Gallia joined, and it really became a Legion. Most of them were simple commoners, but a great number of former prisoners and criminals have also been recruit by Leon, in accordance with the main ideology of the Legion. Those men have either been damned to death in their former life, or are now damned to death (again), as they would be sent to the most dangerous missions, also "suicide-missions", long time before the Navy would finally arrive, if it even arrives.

The exact date of the foundation of the Legion was 104 A.G.S. After the death of the Queen, the newly-ascended King Josef grants the Legion pure independence as military group (they still have to respond to the King). The goal has been finally reached, and Leon started a total overhaul of the Legion, including ranks and members, and those rules by him have hardly changed even until our date today. As time passed on and new planets were discovered and inhabitated, the Legion stepped more and more into the shadows, finally becoming unknown to the majority of the Gaulois. During the Golden Age they completely vanished from the surface, heavily operating in the background. Everything was running perfectly for Gallia: The cities were flourishing, the wealth was rising, the population was happy, politicians were fair and crime and corruption was too low to be dangerous. And all that while the Legion was controlling from the background, undetected by their clever methods: Members of the Legion could not be percieved as law-enforcers; they were dressed as usual citizens, did the same as usual citizens and acted like them. People all around Gallia didnt notice those hidden agents around them, so that they acted as they were not under surveillance, and exactly that was the source of the Legions success. If incidents amongst civilians happened, they reacted quickly as law-enforcers; much more quickly than the actual police, solved the problem and then stepped back into the shadows before the police even reached the location. Of course this was not always the case, but it was enough to keep greater incidents from happening and rogues from uniting to a bigger group. That was the real secret behind the Golden Age of Gallia.

In the Dark Ages however, things were starting to get worse, as some politicians started to get corrupt and throw critics at the King. Most of these politicians were liberal, and most of them were those who would later join the Council. As it was much harder to hide the murdering of greater numbers of politicians, the Legion tried to place their agents to keep the majority of Gallics from listening to the Liberals, leaving the actual assassination a matter of the Royal Assassins. But as they failed, the politicians gained more and more admirers and later finally created the Council (720 A.S.). This was the time when the Legion has first suffered a loss in over 700 years; it was their first and last loss. King Louis IV disbanded the Legion and called all members into the Navy to aid for the upcoming civil war. With the Council gaining more and more influence over the Gallic population, their power was finally so big that they declared war in 794 A.S. The war started and the Council gained control of the two border system, Champagne and Languedoc. When the Council finished their way through the minefield to Orkney and thus opening Gallia to whole Sirius, King Louis V. needed a new ace in his hands to eliminate any remaining traitors. He knew his only hope to ban these unworthy scum was to recreate the Legion, which was disbanded from 720-816 A.S.

King Charles XI called in the only descendant of Leon du Sable, the man who had the most success wtih the Legion and made it so papoular that it was engraved in the Gallic history.
The last du Sable was a young man named Enzo who, when the Royal Searchers found him, was in a club in the Gallic underground on New Paris, living the life of a street gang leader. Thats how the leader of a small mobster gang became Lord Mareshal. When Enzo asked the King why he chose him over his most feared Lords, he answered: It was a du Sable who made the Legion what it was, and it will be a du Sable who will make the Legion os the Damned what it will be. Enzo swore infinte allegiance to the crown and the King and was finally granted the highest rank of the Legion. Before the King gave him orders, he passed him the Bible of the Legion and the Blade of the Legion. As the nomination finally ended, the King published his orders to the Legion:.

[color=#FFFFFF]After Enzo read the Legions Bible, he gave their main ideology a new sense. The most important rule of the Legion is: Every man and woman has to be valued by what he/she can do for a certain purpose, no matter what origins or beliefs he/she has.

This is why most Legionnaires are former criminals/prisoners. Most of them simply join the Legion because else, they would be executed. Of course, as Legionnaires they are also damned to death, but not at a fixed date. Most of them choose this way because they can live on, regardless of the fact that it's a very brutal and hard life. This is why, in the Legionnaire Initiation Ritual, a small portion of unknown poison is injected onto the body. Technically it serves as a substance to locate the Legionnaires, whereever they are, as some of them could turn their backs on the Navy and become criminal again, so it's a security method. But the primary sense of this injection is the acceptance of death. Who does not accept that will be killed on spot. Of course, not many survive the poison and die aswell, but those who do survive become true Legionnaires, that have already faced death and don't have to worry about dying "again".

Currently the Legion is composed of:
+ 1% Nobles
+ 4% Fallen Nobles
+ 15% Former Navy
+ 30% Commoners
+ 40% Former Prisoners/Criminals

all that at a survival rate of the Initiation Ritual at an average of 69 per cent.

"First in, last out"

Legionnaires would go right into the battle, before the Gallic troops came, holding the position for as long as possible and taking all the fire. If the Gallic troops faced a loss, the Legionnaires would secure their retreat with every effort possible, even sacrificing their own life, as they should not face a loss of honour in any way, because they are damned to death.