Lore:Legion Zero

Legion Zero soldiers ganging up on a straggler

Legion Zero was a regiment of the Imperial Legion that was formed during the Planemeld. Their ranks consisted of those within the greater Legion who swore loyalty to Molag Bal and the Worm Cult,^[1]^[2] seduced by the promise of riches and power.^[3] The Legion cooperated with the Xivkyn occupiers and transformed the Elven Gardens District into their base of operations. There, they established drill yards, a great forge, and a foundry to produce siege equipment for the Daedric forces.^[4]

Members of Legion Zero were forced to drink a potion as a form of initiation. Known as the Blood of Coldharbour,^[5] this poison was deathly cold, tasted of decay, and slowly corrupted the imbiber. They became aggressive and erratic, gradually transforming into Mind-Shriven thralls.^[6]^[7] Their battlemages wielded forbidden Daedric magic.^[8]

Legion Zero's regimental colors are dull red^[9] and black.^[10]

HistoryEdit

The Second Empire of Tamriel was dissolved in the Second Era, kicking off a period of unrest known as the Interregnum. Molag Bal's Daedric army invaded the Imperial City at the height of the Alliance War, and all Legions were recalled to City Isle in its defense.^[11] Many regiments could not make it into the City despite these orders, as the Daedra occupied the city swiftly and cut off most reasonable points of entry.^[12]

The precise details of Legion Zero's origin are largely unclear, but their involvement in the Imperial City's fall is documented. Legion Zero is described as having betrayed the city, as they allied with the Worm Cult^[13] and ceded authority to Mannimarco. The King of Worms gave the legionaries present within the city an ultimatum: fall in line or face death. Those who refused were to be captured and executed. Divided between the Empire's loyalists and those who would become known as Legion Zero, the Imperial Legion tore itself apart from within.^[14] The upper echelons of the Imperial Legion, including Empress Regent Clivia Tharn and her generals, were complicit in handing the city over to the Daedra.^[15]

Defiant to Mannimarco's whims, at least three of the Legion's commanding officers holed themselves up with loyalist troops in the Arboretum, the Temple District, and the Nobles District. They held out for a short while, until the Daedra overwhelmed the city.^[14] Of the three or so groups of loyalist legion soldiers left in the Imperial City, only one survived. Led by Captain Anatolius Caudex, they were known as the Immortal Eight, and they held the forum in the center of the Nobles District while they waged war against Legion Zero and the forces of Molag Bal.^[16]

While not all members of Legion Zero necessarily joined willingly or were enthusiastic about their service to the Daedra, a number of the rank and file soldiers who were well on their way to succumbing to the Mind-Shriven affliction were seemingly ignorant to the true scope of the Daedric invasion. Some soldiers were content with Daedric rule so long as they were paid on time—and they were paid rather generously. Others were under the impression that the Daedra would eventually depart, passing control of the city to Legion Zero in their stead.^[13]