The Re-Establishment of Legion Zero

The Re-Establishment of Legion Zero by Legate Crocius Furmero

Who are We? The Redguards have their Sword Singers, the Bretons have their Lion Guard, and the Nords have their Companions, but what elite martial force do those of us who hail from the Cyrod have? Legion Zero is the answer you seek. We are the Empire’s insuppressible powerhouse who are only summoned to battle if the Empire is need of desperate measures. Those who fight in the Legion are said to fight with such ferocity and skills paralleled by no other on the mortal plane. Regardless if we are on the offensive or the defensive, there simply is no defeating us. The intensity and vehemence of our training and discipline has made even the most skilled and hardened combatants in Tamriel question how we are still alive and many deem it inhumane; as a unit we function like a Dwarven war machine. From Auxiliary to Legate, every rank sports the finest, most durable armor the Cyrodilic Empire can forge.

The Re-Establishment:

The lion’s share of Cyrods may want to alleviate the subject and maunder on and on with justifications about the Empire’s most meager performance during the better part of the Great War, but let us sit down, and accept the undeniable actuality: we got our arses handed to us on a fine Altmeri platter. Sure, the war might have ended in a “stalemate”, but even the most feeble-minded of the imbeciles in Tamriel were able to see that the Aldmeri Dominion displayed a most dominant performance over the Empire during the conflict. Dominion troops were using weaponry, technology, and magick that our soldiers would have never dreamed of seeing on the battlefield. Had it not been for the pure strategic brilliance credited to the great tactical minds of the generals of the Empire, we Cyrods would be servants of some Altmeri king sitting on a throne in a secluded isle whom we will never make contact with, or worse yet, our very presence on Nirn would be at stake. After Emperor Titus Mede II was assassinated by an unknown Dark Brotherhood assassin in 4E 201, the firstborn son of the former emperor, Andromedus Mede, was elected by the Elder Council to sit upon the Ruby Throne shortly after the demise of his predecessor. The young Emperor was abandoned with a chaotic Empire on the brink of complete political disarray. He was well aware that the surname he bore was tainted with cowardice and asininity throughout his own Empire, so he had to perform a task most drastic in order to gain respect from his citizens and cleanse his family name of its stigma; he re-established Legion Zero. I am certain that many of you have read or heard of Legion Zero during the Planemeld. When the Lord of Brutality commenced his assault on the Imperial City; while the other Legions evacuated the capital along with many of its citizens, Legion Zero was the one legion inside the walls that was left standing. Although they had survived, the God of Schemes captured and incarcerated them, and forced them to consume the Blood of Coldharbour, eventually transforming them into his Mind-Shriven servants. After the Imperial City was retaken by the three alliances, the remnants of Legion Zero were purged of their Daedric curse, then relieved of duty. Legion Zero would then be terminated for the next millennium and its name spoiled with infamy. That is, of course, until Emperor Andromedus Mede inherited the Ruby Throne and reinstated the retired Legion as a special operations unit, reserved for only the most physically and mentally blessed Cyrods in all the land.

Application:

One is simply not recruited into Legion Zero as to rather being born into it. Selective breeding is the method for how each soldier is bred for combat. A Cyrod couple must be thoroughly interviewed, evaluated, and examined by an officer of high stature within the Legion to determine whether or not their child will be able to conform to the minimum requirements to serve in Legion Zero. Both the mother and father of the unborn applicant must be in peak physical condition and possess no physical or mental defects whatsoever; all of this is determined with a physical examination and a series of tests for the body and mind. If the progenitors pass the inspection, after their infant is born, the child must undergo its own series of tests and examinations to determine whether or not it is capable of service. If the child passes its inspection, then it will be assigned to a training program accordingly to its birthsign, and that, dear reader, functions just how you’d think it would: children born under the Warrior will proceed to train as infantry and as tacticians, children born under the Mage will proceed to train as healers or battle mages, and those born under the Thief will proceed to train as scouts, bowmen, and for reconnaissance.

Training:

Legion Zero trains like no other military body on the face of Nirn. The Empire has paid good Septim to hire only the best, most accomplished individuals in Tamriel, including some of the remnants from the highly esteemed Sword Singers from Hammerfell. Legion Zero is headquartered in an undisclosed location in Northern Colovia. At the age of 10, all recruits initiate their legitimate physical training and embark on an eight year training camp until they are 18 years of age, which is when they are officially promoted to soldiers. All recruits are taught survival skills paramount for surviving each and every one of Tamriel’s climates and terrains. For physical training, the aim is to mentally and physically break our soldiers down, so that nothing else can on the battlefield, then build them back up to be stronger and more fierce than ever before. A day in training for our soldiers would typically be structured like this: soldiers are to awaken at the crack of dawn, run 15 miles, barefoot, in the rugged Colovian wilderness which must be completed in an hour and a half or less, then swim across a river and back that is one and a half miles wide, both of these activities must be performed with weighted backpacks. Following that, all soldiers must report back to the training field where they are to be instructed advanced technique on every sort of weaponry (depending on the day) for two hours, then they must utilize their skills taught to them for a three hour live, fast paced sparring session with various exhausting physical exercises scattered throughout the sessions. After a brief recess for lunch, soldiers resume their training with various debilitating exercises such as sprints, long and high jumps, numerous pushing and pulling exercises, horseback combat training, and a five mile partner carry with their assigned comrade. Soldiers return to the dining hall for supper then proceed to the classrooms for academic lectures to finish up the day. Legion Zero soldiers are exceptionally educated individuals; aside from physical training, all recruits are educated in the philosophy, the tactics, the ethics, the history, and the sociology of war. In addition, they study the the religion, history, and lore of all of the cultures in Tamriel. As for weapons and magick training, those born under sign of the Warrior are trained to be proficient in weaponry of all sorts, while those born under the Mage spend limited time training with arms and more time training under all schools of magic with, of course, the exception of Necromancy, due to its banishment throughout the Empire by the Mages Guild. All soldiers are constructed to be shining paragons of Imperial citizenry; each and every recruit is instructed to follow the sacred 10 Commands of the Nine Divines made manifest to us by our most holy father, Akatosh.

Desertion and Treason:

Each soldier is trained to enter every battle with utmost courage and bravery and fight to their very last breath; if it is discovered that a soldier from Legion Zero displayed any acts of cowardice on the battlefield, then said soldier is soon to suffer dire consequences. Deserters, however, arguably suffer the worst of the consequences: after a certain amount of public lashes that varies from legate to legate, the deserter is then branded on the forehead, chest, and back, with an infamous brand that is known by all of the eyes of every citizen of the Empire, a sinister stylized letter “D”, then is stripped of his or her uniform and released to the world, unlikely to find many other occupations or sources of companionship, for desertion is looked down upon by the Empire as the most dishonorable, cowardly act a soldier of the Ruby Ranks could perpetrate. If one in Legion Zero commits treason in any form or manner, for example, say delivering classified Imperial intel to enemies of the Empire, the result could be the removal of the traitor’s tongue and fingers. The explanation behind why Legion Zero esteems honor, courage, and valiance so highly is traced back the original Legion Zero during the Plain Meld. When the Lord of Domination and his hordes of Daedra sacked the capital, all of the Imperial Legions abandoned the city with the civilians and left her for dead. All but one Legion: Legion Zero. It was Legion Zero that stayed behind and fended off horde after horde of Daedra until they were finally overcame and Molag forcefully fed the remaining soldiers the Blood of Coldharbour and transformed them into his Mind-Shriven thralls. That class of fortitude and grit is transferred and taught to today’s soldiers of Legion Zero and is expected out of each and every one of them.

Hierarchy:

The hierarchy within Legion Zero is similar to that of every other Imperial Legion in the Empire. The entirety of the Legion is commanded by a general chosen by the current Emperor, but one enters the Legion by initiating at the bottom of the ranks, auxiliary, then may ascend to quaestor to praefect to tribune to centurion, and then only a select few, with the strongest senses of leadership, may be hand chosen by the general to become legates and command large portions of the Legion. But it is important to note that each soldier is most likely to not be promoted past praefect, yet even promoted past auxiliary, as ascending through the hierarchy of Legion Zero is viewed as near impossible and is considered a great feat to accomplish to any combatant in Tamriel that is worth his or her salt.

Arms and Armor:

The finest combatants in Tamriel deserve the finest arms and armor in Tamriel. Our armor makes Orcish steel feel like cloth; our blades make Altmeri malachite feel like butter knives. Our blacksmiths use combinations of quicksilver, ebony, nickel, and steel: creating a material that is exceedingly lightweight and sturdy. Heavy infantry are equipped with our nearly impenetrable heavy armor and wield a gladius that is said to cut through the hardest of steel with great ease, a spear, and a relatively large shield cut in the shape of the Imperial Diamond. Light infantry and scouts are to carry a spatha of equal sting of our gladii, a shortbow with a quiver of arrows, a smaller shield, and, of course, lighter armor that is composed of leather with metal and chainmail woven in. Bowmen are equipped with with the same lighter armor as the light infantry and scouts, a longbow accompanied by a large quiver of arrows, and a spatha to protect themselves if the enemy somehow penetrates our infrangible lines of infantry in a most unlikely event. Our battlemage units usually are usually equipped with lighter armor as well, a spatha, and are able to cast master caliber spells and incantations under the destruction, illusion, conjuration, and alteration schools. And last, but certainly not least, our valiant menders who follow our soldiers into battle, and heal and strengthen them as they fight, are dressed in high quality cloth robes and are able to perform miracles on our infantry as they utilize their unrivalled skill in the restoration school. In addition to all of this, we are very much aware of who the real enemy is, need I say it, the Aldmeri Dominion, and we now know what they are capable of. All of our armor is superbly enchanted to resist as much magick as possible by our very own master enchanters at the Arcane University in the Imperial City.

An Idea:

Legion Zero is more than a military body comprised of the most elite fighters in Tamriel; we are but a prototype; we represent an idea, a symbol if you will. Many other Imperial Legions are showing the initial steps of following our path that we have carved. The overall objective is for, one day, the entirety of the Imperial Legion to exist at the same caliber that Legion Zero stands on today, and when that day comes, the Imperial Legion will be the most unstoppable force on the battlefield that Tamriel has ever eyes upon, and the Arena will once again be ours for the taking. The Aldmeri Dominion is no way capable of perceiving what is to come for them in this next war.