40K Lore: An Astartes Mystery Solved
You may have missed it in all the Eldar hustle and bustle but one of the great Astartes mysteries was solved this week.
It was over a decade ago that we learned that the “Land” series of Space Marine vehicles (Land Raider, Land Speeder, etc…) was named after a man – Adeptus Mechanicus Magos, and technoarchaeologist Arkhan Land.
He was responsible for the recovery of several STC fragments from the Great Librarius Omnis under Mars, and their restoration, notably leading to the recovery of the blueprints for the Land Raider battle tank, the Land Speeder fast attack vehicle, and the Land Crawler multi-purpose heavy utility vehicle, all of which are named for him. It is said he died on Mars while on his second expedition into the Librarius Omnis looking for more technology. Two centuries after his expedition was declared lost, his vox diary was found. It spoke of how his team had been picked off one by one by an unknown entity. There is some debate as to the nature of this entity. Some say it was a sentient virus, others favor a mutant or psychic entity that may have lain dormant in the ancient areas of the Librarius until his meddling awoke it.
The Legion Heracles – described as the “Missing Link” Astartes vehicle bridging the gap between the Land Raider and the Predator. It certainly looks the part, with a very Predator style hull and overall size mounted between two very Land Raider inspired tracks.
The moment I laid eyes upon it, I knew I had to have one. I was so happy with the Horus Heresy books that allow us to hobby enthusiasts to play with the toys that are literally only myth in the 40th Millennium I thought back all those years to white Dwarf 245 and grinned ear to ear like a boy again. Somewhere out there, Arkhan Land is smiling too.
~Here’s to mysteries, and this week’s testament that in time, they may all one day be solved. What’s your favorite 40K mystery you want solved once and for all?
