The Immortal Ninth

Time and time again the pride of?the IXth Legion was to fall on the field of battle, yet the records of their valour make common mention of the same handful of warriors and champions. Some remembrancers and historians have taken this to indicate a long history of redoubtable heroes, even going so far as to compile these records into a number of?epic stanzas, forming the separate entries into a single legend. Yet, the true reason for the longevity of certain names within the order of battle for the IXth Legion is far less heroic.

第九軍團(tuán)的自豪一次又一次地隕落在戰(zhàn)場(chǎng)上，而關(guān)于他們勇氣的記錄共同提及了少數(shù)幾個(gè)相同的戰(zhàn)士們和冠軍們。某些記述者們和歷史學(xué)家們已經(jīng)記錄了這些來顯示這些令人敬畏的英雄的悠久歷史，甚至將這些記錄編輯成許多史詩的詩節(jié)，將這些分散的條目組成了一部獨(dú)立的傳奇。然而，某些姓名在第九軍團(tuán)戰(zhàn)斗序列中能長(zhǎng)壽的真正原因遠(yuǎn)不（僅僅）是因?yàn)橛⒂隆?/p>

Since its foundation, the IXth Legion had operated in the most extreme battlefield conditions and necessity had forced upon them a number of practises that might otherwise be seen as monstrous. One among these, fostered by the nature of their design and the conditions under which they fought, was the consumption of fallen captains by their followers in order to preserve their hard-won skills and experience. As a mark of?honour as well as practicality, it also became accepted that recruits took the names of?those whose skills they absorbed, and lieutenants would assume the names of?their captains. Such was the resemblance of?each member of?the IXth to their flawless brothers that most outsiders failed to notice this subtle brand of immortality. The most famous example of which being the figure thought to have served as the IXth Legion's first and only master, other than Sanguinius himself Known to history as Ishidur Ossuros, this warrior is commonly held to have commanded the IXth from Unity to the discovery of Baal in late M30，yet a closer examination of the records shows that name died numerous times, only to be replaced by another.

從其建立開始，第九軍團(tuán)就在最為極端的戰(zhàn)場(chǎng)情況下運(yùn)作，必要性也迫使他們采取了很多在其他方面會(huì)被認(rèn)為是可怕（行徑）的行為。其中一項(xiàng)就是：當(dāng)連長(zhǎng)們戰(zhàn)死后，他們的追隨者們要吞食他的遺體以保護(hù)他們來之不易的技能與經(jīng)驗(yàn)——這是被他們的設(shè)計(jì)特性和他們的作戰(zhàn)情況所促成的。作為一種榮譽(yù)和實(shí)用性的標(biāo)志，新兵們吸收某位軍團(tuán)戰(zhàn)士的技能后采用后者的姓名也變得可接受，而副官們也會(huì)取得他們的連長(zhǎng)們的姓名。這是第九軍團(tuán)的每位成員與他們完美無瑕的兄弟們的相似之處——大多數(shù)局外人都不能注意到這種微妙的不朽烙印。在被視為第九軍團(tuán)的第一位與唯一的主宰的人物中，最為著名例子除了圣吉列斯本人之外就是在歷史上被稱為伊斯杜爾 奧蘇羅斯的戰(zhàn)士，他通常被認(rèn)為在從統(tǒng)一戰(zhàn)爭(zhēng)到M30后期發(fā)現(xiàn)巴爾的時(shí)期指揮著第九軍團(tuán)，而對(duì)于（相關(guān)）記錄的近期調(diào)查現(xiàn)實(shí)擁有這個(gè)名字的人死了很多次，只是（戰(zhàn)死后）用另一個(gè)人替換。

Over time and battles past count, this practise became an honoured tradition of?the Legion, a visceral ritual that bound the survivors together despite their often disparate origins. Yet as much as it bound those of the IXth Legion to each other, it forced them away from their brethren among the Imperial Army and other Legions. In the years before Sanguinius' return, no few of the other Primarchs expressed a distaste with the practises of the IXth Legion, though they could not dispute their success on the battlefield. Such was the legacy of mistrust and barbarism that the IXth carried with them, one pressed upon them by the brutal necessity of?their calling.

隨著時(shí)間和戰(zhàn)斗過去，這種行為變成了軍團(tuán)受尊敬的傳統(tǒng)，它是一種無論出身（只是）將軍團(tuán)幸存者們團(tuán)結(jié)起來的發(fā)自內(nèi)心的儀式。不過，就像這種行為將第九軍團(tuán)的戰(zhàn)士們彼此綁定在一起，它也（以相同的程度）迫使他們遠(yuǎn)離帝國(guó)軍與其他軍團(tuán)中的兄弟們。在圣吉列斯回歸之前的歲月中，不少其他原體表達(dá)過對(duì)于第九軍團(tuán)行徑的反感，雖然他們也不能質(zhì)疑第九軍團(tuán)在戰(zhàn)場(chǎng)上的勝利。這便是第九軍團(tuán)所背負(fù)的不信任與野蠻的遺產(chǎn)，這是由第九軍團(tuán)天職的殘酷必要性所施加給他們的。