Warhammer 40K: Ollanius Pius – Saint of the Astra Militarum
Today examine the legend of Saint Ollanius Pius, mythic embodiment of what a Guardsman should be – and his conflicting origins.
Ollanius Pius is a legendary figure, said to be a Guardsman who sacrificed his life to save the Emperor during the Siege of the Imperial Palace. He is considered a Saint within the Imperial Guard and his image is often displayed on regimental banners. The Order of Ollanius Pius is the highest military honor awarded in the Imperial Guard:
“…Lucian lifted the winged medal of the Order of Ollanius Pius. Bearing the golden face of an angelic youth, laurel leaves arrayed across his noble brow, the medal represented the very highest honour a mortal man could earn in the service of the Imperium.”
Conflicting Origins of St. Pius
The question is which of the following two men is the true origin of Ollanius Pius? Or perhaps both of their tales have intertwined over the millennia.
Ollanius Persson was born as one of the mysterious Perpetuals, and has lived so many lives that he has forgotten his true age. However, he estimates that as of the Horus Heresy he was roughly 45,000 years old “give or take”, which would place his birth around 15,000 B.C. in the city of Nineveh.> If this is to be believed, it would make him even older than the Emperor, who according to older sources was born around 8,000 B.C.. Having lived through all of recorded human history, he makes first-hand reference to historical and mythological events such as the being one of the Argonauts, participating in the Battle of Austerlitz (during the Napoleonic Wars), the Siege of Verdun (during the First World War), and the Battle of 73 Easting (during the Gulf War), amongst others.
Ruins of Calth, from which Persson successfully fled.
By the 31st Millennium Ollanius Persson had become known as ‘Pious’ Oll Persson because of his devout belief in the Catheric religion and was a civilian farmer of Calth in the Ultramar system. Before this, he had been a private soldier in the Imperial Army who earned the right to retire; being gifted with service-shares for a plot of land proportionate to his years served (rounded down – the Army always rounded down), he decided to cash them in on Calth, taking on twenty hectares. He chose Calth for two main reasons; the first was that if service-shares were used to buy land on a world newly-opened for colonization, travel-fares to that world were paid for. The second was that, out in the farther reaches of the Imperium, under the banner of the “New Empire” being forged by Roboute Guilliman and his Ultramarines, Persson felt that it would be easier to practice his faith without incident; religious faith was widely looked down upon in the Imperium as unscientific nonsense.
Persson settled down on Calth, living comfortably enough for eighteen years. The only indicators of his past as a soldier were the fading tattoo on his arm, the battered lasrifle mounted on his wall, and the company of an ex-Army loader servitor named Graft, that could not be dissuaded from referring to Oll as ‘Trooper Persson’. To others, including his neighbors and several employees, he was just old ‘Pious Oll’.
During the Horus Heresy he became wound up in the battle against Horus following the Battle of Calth and worked with John Grammaticus to reach Terra.
Ollanius Piers was an Imperial Army trooper of the Hundred and Fifth Tercio Upland Grenadiers Regiment during the Siege of Terra. During the battle for the Eternity Wall Spaceport, he was interviewed by Historian Hari Harr. Piers recounted his battle for the Pons Solar bridge where he stood before a World Eater until Jenetia Krole arrived to dispatch the traitor. Thinking the story lacked enough significance, Harr changed the World Eater to Warmaster Horus himself.
Later during the fall of the Eternity Wall Spaceport, Piers defended a banner with the image of the Emperor emblazoned on it. He even stood his ground as Angron himself appeared. Piers refused to flee, instead firing his weapon as the Red Angel charged him, shouting “Throne of Terra!” as he was slain.
~Ollanius lives in the heart of every Guardsman who stands firm to hold back the darkness. His spirit lives on to this day.
