Chrysalis

Abyssal Legion Armour is known by many names, Runic Armour, Legion Plate, Abyssal Armour. As far as I can determine, no 'official' nomenclature exists. At least, if one did in the past, it has since been lost. Instead, the terms used tend to vary from region to region, or Legion to Legion.

For the purposes of this text, I shall use the term Abyssal Armour, as that is the most commonly used in my own deployment.

Legion records from The Rending are surprisingly robust in some areas. Fortunately, the creation of the armour is one such field of study. Though others would doubtless refute such a claim, the Legion was the first surface dwelling organisation to penetrate deep into the Dungeon. Desperate to survive, the early leadership would reach out to any branch that they thought would pull them from the surging currents. A great deal was discovered, and utilised, that is now forbidden.

What they eventually learned was that in order to survive, it wasn't enough to just defend the surface. The means and materials required to destroy the monsters weren’t to be found there, but deep in the Dungeon itself. It was the confluence of several discoveries that led to the development of the first suits.

Lapisvitae. The living stone. Harder than steel, highly responsive to mana and able to be grown to a desired shape, the material was perfect for creating arms and armour that would respond well to enchantment. Unlike others, the Legion has never prioritised using the stone for weapons, but instead highly prized its defensive properties and included it in our armour. The usage can vary, depending on where the armour was forged, but most typically Lapisvitae is used to form the chest plate, thigh guards and gorget. The slabs of living stone are grown to the desired shape and fused to the metal using means I shall not elaborate on here.

The second major discovery was what came to be known as Abyssal Iron. Difficult to mine, impossible to work, the stuff was so highly prized by the early Legion that they founded their central fortress on top of the only known node. Not all suits of Abyssal Armour are made out of this metal, it's too rare for that, but the best ones are. Despite being notoriously hard to work with, the Iron possessed several properties that the Legion prizes. First, it's indescribably tough. Second, it conducts mana to an absurd degree, whilst also being resistant to magical damage, a contradiction I cannot begin to explain. Third, it was discovered that the Iron could hold captive the 'essence' or 'soul' of a monster. Trapped within, the creature would lend a portion of its own strength and will to metal, turning the monster’s strength against its own kind.

The third discovery was the baptism through which each Legionary is reborn, their bodies adapted to accept the flow of mana to a higher degree than other mortals. On its own this wasn't relevant, but when both Baptism and Abyssal Armour became common within the Legion, a method was developed where the one would connect to the other. A feedback loop, where the armour would feed mana into the body, through the channels forged by the absorption of liquid mana, where it strengthened the Legionary, and then back into the armour, powering its enchantments.

In this way the Legion solidified its already considerable strength and paved the way for modern patterns of Abyssal armour. Though much has changed over the centuries, (the types of enchantments used, the preferred shape and layout of the armour, the monster core array) the basic three components remain the same. Living Stone plate. Abyssal Iron frame. A Legionary with mana in their veins.

• 'Origins of the Legion - a

Vibrant! It's not my fault if Crinis doesn't want

worried about you! If you weren't the sort of ant that

"ALRIGHT! FINE!"

and play with this moron for a while

"Yay-yay!"

sure. This isn't

I'll order you if I have to. I promise I won't fight the invaders and I'll retreat if they find me,

Alright. But be careful!

[Okay, okay.]

gigantic, hideous insect-child. With her new passenger on board, the

FINALLY!

how she manages to cram so many words into such a small amount of time. And she never seems to run out! I actually believe she's mutated her pheromone gland to increase her supply so she doesn't have to worry about running out! Otherwise there

my antennae with her irritating scent, I can finally concentrate. I give my idle sub-brains a kick and they almost begrudgingly get back to work, spinning together the Gas magic construct, the advanced

for me to try this little trick on her. Ah well,