Reworked Scale Bearers history

==Sacred Band==
The XXV Sacred Band were noted to have served admirably-- though without distinction-- during the initial stages of the Merican Campaign. This would change during the fighting in the Merican Dustbowl. The center of the continent was a vast wasteland, home to countless numbers of 'Road Warrior' tribes fighting amongst one another for dwindling resources in the shadow of burned-out hives.

 As the armies of the Emperor moved inland they were fiercely opposed by these violent waste-dwellers, who cooperated for the first time in their history to face the invaders. Too clever to face the massed regiments of Thunder Warriors or the infantry of the Emperor’s Imperial Army in pitched battle, the nomads used their high mobility technicals and weapon-bikes to strike at supply convoys, isolated Imperial Army forces and exposed flanks.  The actions of the 'Road Warrior' tribes slowed the Emperor’s advance to a crawl, and he ordered his son Hektor Cincinnatus to defeat or subjugate the tribes so the advance across Merica could continue. In desperation Hektor permitted Rychad Owain of the XXV Sacred Band to copy the tribes'  own 'bike' techniques against them. They heavily modified these captured bikes so that each could bear a Marine's weight as well as weaponry, and set a series of successful counter-ambushes which wiped out the fighting strength of one prominent tribe and proved the XXV's use of 'fast attack bikes' as an effective tactic.

This pattern would be repeated and the XXV Sacred Band became the core of a bike-mounted force, sweeping behind enemy formations and striking at exposed flanks in lightning attacks. The Imperial armies finally saw progress after months of stagnation, as the tribes fell one by one to the advancing Imperial forces. At the conclusion of that campaign when Imperial Forces finally reached the other side of the dustbowl, the XXV Sacred Band was granted the title ‘The Imperial Riders’ by Primarch Hektor, among the first of the fledgling legions to earn a name for themselves.

For the initial stages of the Great Crusade, the Imperial Riders were used as a fast attack force, reinforcing flagging Imperial Army campaigns and striking at elusive foes. The Riders found worthy foes in Eldar Raiders, Dactyls and others who relied on speed and manoeuvrability to win battles. Bikes and mounted squads were at the heart of their formations and they fielded endless varieties of the design. While other Legions adopted bikes, none could equal the Imperial Riders in their mastery of the motorized mounts.

==Primarch Discovery==
Tiran Osoros, future Primarch of the XXV Legion, had landed on  Solnhofen, a primeval world of lush jungles populated by great saurians and tribes of humans who battled them, the elements and each other. Recovered by a hunter named Ayl Osoros, the young Primarch learned how to stalk, hunt and tame the great beasts of the Jungle, never being seen without his Sor companion, a great frilled beast named Keradops, or "Hard-Headed One." Tiran, having been made chieftain of his own tribe by acclamation, began to unite the tribes of Solnhofen, adding each one to his newly-formed tribal confederation by conquest or negotiation. In just over a decade, almost the entire planet was united under Osoros's rule.

As Tiran advanced on the lands of the final holdouts, the Emperor came to Solnhofen and revealed to the Primarch his true origins. The mighty warrior bent the knee to his father and was rewarded with the command of the XXV Legion. After completing the conquest of his world in a single fortnight, Primarch Tiran Osoros formally took command of his Legion.

The secret to Tiran's successful conquest was his uncanny affinity for and influence over the Sors, the massive beasts of his native world. When the Primarch took his place at the head of his Legion, he resolved to use these creatures on the Crusade to fight the enemies of humanity. Osoros introduced the Legion to Sor-style warfare, making the creatures the center of tactical formations and utilizing battle-bikes as skirmishers and flanking forces in support of the Sor-mounted units. Tiran threw himself into his new position with zeal, learning everything he could of the Legion's history and methods of warfare. He required both the seasoned Terran Marines and the new Solnhofen recruits to cross-train on both Sors and bikes so as to better form a seamless Legion, skilled in either task.

The 'Imperial Riders' took quickly to both their Primarch and his odd way of war. They adopted  the name 'Scale Bearers'-- in homage to the title which Tiran had held on his homeworld-- and painted their armour in colors which evoked the jungles of Solnhofen and the skins of the Sors they now rode into battle. Battle-bikes were decorated with paint and animal bones, while the Astartes accented helms with raptor feathers and draped scaly cloaks across their bodies.

==Early Campaigns==
===Palia Ceen Campaign===
Having been given command over the Imperial 49th Expeditionary Fleet, Primarch Tiran began bringing human worlds into the Imperial fold. After liberating several worlds and seeding Sors on those of them whose biospheres were capable of supporting such fauna, the Legion received news of Eldar raids in the nearby Palia Ceen star system. Eager to prove himself against the enemies of Man,  Osoros led a full-half of his Legion into the region, dotted with several primitive human worlds.

The first planet, Aife,  fell quickly, with no casualties among the Scale Bearers or their Imperial Army support forces. As the fleet began to move advance elements towards the second of the Palia Ceen worlds, the Eldar attacked from the void with no warning, cutting the forward elements off from the bulk of the Legion's forces. Simultaneously, Eldar Rangers began harrying the Imperials on the planet below from hidden webway portals.

 With the Imperial Fleet engaging the Eldar in orbit, and Legion and Army forces planetside, the Scale Bearers leading the advance elements towards the second world, Tethra, were forced to close with the enemy and commence boarding actions. Taking light casualties, the Astartes were able to force the raiding Xenos to withdraw. Almost as quickly as they arrived, the Eldar departed back into the warp, and the Imperial forces began to consolidate their strength. It was a pattern that was to continue over the next several months.

The Eldar, striking from an as-yet-unseen Craftworld, saw the worlds of Palia Ceen as important to their inscrutable designs. The Imperial forces which landed on Tethra even found ancient evidence of Eldar activity, which seemed to confirm this theory. Undaunted by the raids, Osoros ordered the fleet to  liberate the remaining worlds of Caer, Necthan, and Belor. The xenos forces remained infuriatingly out of reach, constantly probing the defences of the Fleet and the units deployed on each world. Slowly, they began whittling down the Imperials, while pursuing their mysterious goals.

On Aife, Marines and Army regiments alike began falling ill, with the latter dying and the former being weakened severely. It was discovered that the xenos had somehow infiltrated the garrison's supply train and poisoned its foodstuffs. Examination of the rest of the forces deployed throughout the system showed similarly poisoned supplies. As the Primarch began spreading what little untainted stocks remained amongst his fleets, the Eldar returned in greater force than before, massing around the world of Necthan. Enraged, Tiran took his Legion and deployed tens of thousands on the planet below to face the treacherous aliens. A pitched battle ensued, with the weakened Scale Bearers holding the line against the Eldar forces running interference for their Farseer. Tiran led the Astartes in a massive charge atop Keratops, causing the Eldar to scatter and flee, but by then the goal had been gained. Whatever the Eldar's purposes were in the Palia Ceen system, they had achieved it, and disappeared into the void along with their Craftworld.

==WAAAGH! Of OrkBoss Sarkus==