Make A Joke About Wolves. I Dare You. (Grimdark WIP) (Patreon)

Hello!

The Lord of Winter and War is here!  Ah, Russ and the Vylka Fenryka, one of my favourite factions in the setting.  As a child, Leman was literally raised with wolves (the ones you see above) before being adopted by King Thengir of the Russ tribe.  Like most Primarchs, he quickly became a living legend, conquering the rival tribes and slaying a butt load of mythical beasts on his Death World (Fenris probably has the most dangerous kinds).  He became known as the King of all Fenris, the Wolf King and this was pretty much unheard of on a world that is in a constant struggle for survival.  

The reunion of the Emperor and Russ is also the funniest.  Russ challenged Big E to an eating and drinking contest which the Primarch actually won.  Then Big E got annoyed and insulted Russ as a glutton.  This triggered a brawl and Big E just knocked him out with a power fist.  When Russ came to, he laughed his loss off due to drunkenness and with bloodied fang, swore fealty to the Master of Mankind.  

Russ received the 6th Legion which he remoulded into the Vylka Fenryka 'Wolves of Fenris', sometimes called the Rout as well.  They soon earned a reputation as an incredibly deadly and unpredictable warriors.  Notable campaigns include the Wheel of Fire, where they destroyed an entire Ork empire.  The Rout were also involved in the Rangdan Xenocides and an Enslaver cull which earned the Wolves an ugly reputation (those campaigns are still very secretive because of the atrocities committed).  It is also heavily implied that Russ was involved with the 2nd and 11th Primarch's disappearances.  All this earned Russ the reputation as the Emperor's executioner while his Wolves became known as the legion that 'did what had to be done.'  

The 6th legion's gene seed is also highly unstable, and there is a chance some members will turn into Wulfen (basically werewolves) during the heat of battle.  Add all this on top of their barbaric appearance means a lot of the Imperium hated and feared them.  But they also have a lot of supporters among common folk because the Wolves can be boisterous and personable.  Ask a guardsman whether they would want a member of the Rout or a Dark Angel fighting by their side and they'll always prefer a son of Russ.  

And despite being an extremely divergent Legion, the Emperor never tried to censor the Rout or change their sometimes shady practices because the Wolves turned out exactly how He intended (they even got a free pass on the psyker issue during the Horus Heresy).  Also, Russ is one of the few friendly Primarchs and is actually quite approachable, even to the common Imperial citizen.  Personality wise, Russ is depicted as a 'Primarch of contradictions' in the novels.  He cultivates a barbaric facade but is actually one of the most insightful and loyal of the Emperor's sons.  For example, he once made a barb at Fulgrim so nuanced even the Phoenician was impressed and made him realise Russ had more 'layers' than meets the eye.  Russ even mulled over dropping the barbarian shtick but Big E basically said 'keep doing what you're doing.'

For wargear, Russ wields the Frostblade Mjalnar and Frost Axe Helwinter (Man, the 6th legion gets all the coolest sounding names).  He also has a combi bolter called Scornspitter which was gifted to him by his brother Primarch Vulkan.  And any weapon forged by the Lord of Drakes will be among the best in existence.  Russ also has one more weapon that is actually quite important in the setting but I'll get into that in a later post.  

Other fun Vylka Fenryka trivia:

• Don't call them Space Wolves.  Most members of the Rout think it's a stupid outsider name (at least according to some novels).  
• If one of them says 'until next winter', you probably ignored step one and are now halfway down a Thunderwolf's gullet.  
• They love to party and invented a drink called Mjod which can actually get a Space Marine drunk.  

Okay, the Silent King coming up next.  Stay tuned!