Editing Onyx the Indestructible (section)

===The Great Crusade===
[[File:Stonemen.jpg|thumb|200px|right|Colours of Onyx's Eighteenth Legion, the Stone Men.]]
A lesser ruler than the Emperor might have been startled by the sudden appearance of a towering, heavily-armed warrior in the heart his realm. Not so for the Master of Mankind. When Onyx stepped from the Webway onto the soil of Terra in late 908.M30, he was greeted by a squad of the Emperor's bodyguard, the famous Adeptus Custodes, who praised the Primarch and offered to take him to his father. Tempering his justified suspicion of golden-armoured giants, Onyx agreed to their escort on the condition that he retain his weapons. In the Emperor's throne room, the meddling separation of Chaos was finally ended, though surviving accounts all agree that there was great friction in the meeting. The Emperor is said to regarded His wayward son coolly and asked why he had taken so long to return to his birthplace. This opening prompted an exchange of tales. Onyx began by recounting the story of his birth from the sky and how he had fought monsters on the first day his lungs drew breath, then impetuously asked what the Emperor had been doing at the time. This began a long exchange of tales and boasts, in which Onyx pitted the saga of his journeys from Neolithus to Sgathan-Ra and through the Webway to Terra against the Emperor's record in [[Great Crusade (Hektor Heresy)|Great Crusade]]. At the end of the telling, Onyx angrily insisted that he was born of the sky and not a man, to which the Emperor wryly observed that nobody present was born of a man. Hours of bragging and insulting one another blew over and the two clasped hands in friendship, then Onyx knelt to offer his services to the Great Crusade of Mankind.

These services were much needed. The [[Stone Men|Eighteenth Legion]] had been enhanced with Onyx's genetic material but their gene-seed had decayed over the decades. Fresh samples of the Primarch's genetic code invigorated the Eighteenth's gene-seed and allowed the Legion to expand its ranks rather than merely keep pace with losses. While the genewrights laboured, Onyx prepared to test his Legion's true worth. Observing the success of other Primarchs in relocating to the planets on which they had matured, Onyx conferred with Imperial scholars regarding the likely location for Neolithus then mustered his 44th Expedition Fleet to reclaim his homeworld. After much exploring, Onyx finally tracked down Neolithus and was surprised to discover that the world had been conquered by a [[War Scribes]] [[Expedition Fleets (Hektor Heresy)|Expedition Fleet]] several years prior and was now in a state of revolt. The Neolithans had stayed true to the teachings of Onyx and resisted the rule of any other monarch. A six-regiment garrison of [[Fischetti Numeri]] was confined to what was rather grandiosely dubbed the planetary capital - in truth, little more than a fortified spaceport. Onyx drew on his authority as a member of the War Council and commanded the Imperial garrison to depart, for which the Numeri were duly grateful.

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<center>'''PROVE YOUR STRENGTH'''</center>
[[File:Tollund Ötztal.jpg|right|160px]]
In his last days on Terra, Onyx had a rare opportunity to meet with a handful of his brothers, among them Roman Albrecht, Brennus, and Tollund Ötztal. Hektor Cincinnatus suggested that the towering Onyx might be the strongest of the Primarchs, but what was a "might be"? He suggested that Onyx show his strength in a few rounds of barehanded sparring. Onyx eagerly accepted and squared off with Roman Albrecht. The Lord-Knight put up a better fight than might have been expected given the difference in size, but without a sword in his hand he was no match for Onyx. Brennus fought the second round, showing his fury and power but faring no better than Roman. While Tollund Ötztal looked on, Hektor himself gave Onyx a stern test before admitting Onyx the better. Roman and Brennus moved to congratulate Onyx, but Hektor urged them to be patient and pushed forward the Primarch of the Mastodontii. Though Onyx was undoubtedly stronger than Tollund Ötztal, he was outdone by dishonourable tactics and put to the ground. Hektor declared Tollund Ötztal the victor without Onyx's word of submission and the bout was over.
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Onyx's great stature was instantly recognized by the Neolithans. Within a week of the Primarch's landing, the planet had transformed from a hotbed of revolt to a peaceful, happy world. This tranquility was somewhat disturbed by the revelation that Onyx was no longer their God-King, but the Neolithans could endure the thought that their hero's father was their rightful master, especially when the Emperor was a distant name and Onyx the nearby reality. With his homeworld's loyalty assured, Onyx set up the Eighteenth Legion's base of operations and looked to the local youths for fitting recruits. Along with more commonplace activities such as setting up training areas, Onyx sought out a fitting cave to house his comrade Adj'Manax. The crystalline entity settled on Neolithus and in years to come its offspring would be recruited to the Legion. Just as Adj'Manax had shielded Onyx in their adventures, younger crystalline entities merged with the armour of the Eighteenth to provide the elite of the Legion with unparalleled protection.

Before his tasks at Neolithus were done, Onyx was summoned by the War Council. Orks from the northern reaches of the Galaxy had begun a migration into Imperial territory and the 44th Expedition Fleet was needed to stop them. The Primarch did not complain at being taken from his home once more, though much dear to him was there, and gathered his men for the long journey to the Segmentum Obscurus. By the time Onyx arrived in the war zone, the situation was heading to crisis point. Many Imperial Army garrisons had been overwhelmed and the strategically important world Fenris had been invaded. Knowing that the Orks could not be defeated by subtle strategy, Onyx directed his fleet to Fenris and fought a stand-up engagement with the savage Xenos. Over the course of a six month campaign, the Eighteenth Legion withstood repeated Ork attacks before counter-attacking and destroying the centre of the horde. Onyx personally defeated the Ork leader, WarBoss GrunKaFist. Tales of the Legion's stoic courage spread quickly and before Onyx's mopping-up operations were complete his men had been rechristened ''The Stone Men'' - and as their leader, the Primarch was dubbed ''The Mountain of Fenris''.

The defining challenge of Onyx's crusades were the ''Kolossomachy'', a six decade struggle against a terrible race of Void-travelling giants. The Kolossi began their invasion of the Ultima Segmentum in 922.M31, striking at Hive World Colossus. Imperial warhips in system slowed their advance but it was quickly apparent that the Space Marines would be needed to halt this menace. Onyx's 44th Expedition Fleet cut short Compliance operations in a nearby sector, leaving behind [[Imperial Army (Hektor Heresy)|Imperial Army]] cohorts to complete their work, and moved to confront the invaders. The Battle of Colossus was a pyrrhic victory for the Imperials, for although the Stone Men boldly teleported into the huge bodies of the Void-going Kolossi to destroy them, the Xenos bombardment killed over two-thirds of the Hive World's population and badly damaged its infrastructure. Imperial Remembrancers dubbed Onyx ''Titan-Slayer'' for his heroics at Colossus but the war had only just begun. Barely ten solar months later, the Kolossi were active again at the Feudal World Basajaun. Here the lack of Imperial fleet assets meant that the Kolossi could invade. Several of the great hulks de-orbited and burrowed into the earth of Basajaun to begin their spawning cycle. Onyx arrived in time to battle young Kolossi as they emerged from the planet's crust. He personally slew fifty of the beasts and his gene-sons accounted for at least as many, but they were forced to withdraw as Basajaun began to break up. The initial engagements convinced the War Council that the Kolossi were a serious threat. Onyx's Stone Men were relieved from other duties so that they could focus on destroying the huge Xenos. [[Shakya Vardhana]], Primarch of the [[Eyes of the Emperor]] soon joined Onyx in this battle, using his precognitive abilities to predict the moves of the Kolossi. Although the Eyes of the Emperor were very different in temperament to the Stone Men, their long years battling the Kolossi together forged a close bond between these Legions.