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Attack Bike - Formations: Ravenwing Attack Squadron - The Ravenwing Attack Squadron consists of one Ravenwing Assault Bike Squadron or one Ravenwing Attack Bike Squadron and one Ravenwing Land Speeder Squadron or a single Land Speeder Vengeance. Dust clouds billow behind the Ravenwing Attack Squadron as it hurtles into battle. Striking swiftly, the 2nd Company huntsmen drive hard into the midst of the enemy, many foes falling before they even realise their danger. With massed firepower, the Attack Squadron mow their victims down in huge numbers. They plough a bloody furrow through the heart of battle, bursting from the foe's rear ranks before wheeling about and diving back into the fray once more. It is these high-speed attacks for which the Ravenwing are rightly feared, yet this is not the only trick they have to play. Should some vital quarry be sighted, or a mighty enemy strongpoint need to be purged, the hunters activate their Teleport Homers and -- amid a crackling storm of light -- summon the merciless warriors of the Deathwing to join the fight. |
Attack Bike - Notable Users of the Attack Bike: The Assault Bike has been in use by the Adeptus Astartes since the Great Crusade, and the Traitor Legions took theirs with them after the Horus Heresy. In the 41st Millennium most, if not all, Space Marine Chapters make use of the Assault Bike in some fashion or another. Below are some of the more notable users of the Assault Bike:White Scars - The White Scars Space Marine Chapter make the most widespread use of Space Marine Bikes of all variants. The White Scars' homeworld of Chorgoris is comprised of large, wind-swept steppes and grasslands. The Astartes of the Chapter who are recruited from Chorgoris are taken from the savage horse riders of the steppes, and thus the entire Chapter is already adept at mounted warfare. The White Scars deploy Assault and Attack Bikes during nearly all of their campaigns.Dark Angels - The Dark Angels Chapter make heavy use of Attack Bikes in their 2nd Company, the Ravenwing. The Ravenwing is a highly specialised unit that is intended to make use of mobility and speed to defeat the enemy rather than heavy firepower. The Ravenwing is made up of Attack and Assault Bikes, along with Land Speeders.Space Wolves - The Space Wolves Chapter gives the use of bikes over to their Blood Claws Neophytes. These Blood Claws, known as Swift Claws, make use of Attack and Assault Bikes in lightning fast hit-and-run attacks. Since Blood Claws are considered very headstrong, the use of an Attack Bike allows them to give vent to their need for wild, head-on assaults at breakneck speed.Ultramarines - The Ultramarines Chapter makes use of Assault and Attack Bikes for the purposes and in the manner dictated by the Codex Astartes.Black TemplarsSalamandersRaven GuardEmperor's ChildrenWorld EatersWord BearersDeath Guard |
Attack Bike - Adeptus Mechanicus Technical Specifications: Technical specifications for this vehicle have not been released by the Adeptus Mechanicus. |
Attack Bike - Sources: Codex: Ultramarines (2nd Edition), pg. 70Codex: Blood Angels (3rd Edition), pg. 9Codex: Dark Angels (3rd Edition), pp. 8, 10Codex: Dark Angels (6th Edition), pg. 47Codex Adeptus Astartes - Dark Angels (7th Edition) (Digital Edition), "Ravenwing Attack Bike Squad (Datasheet), "Ravenwing Attack Squadron (Formation)"Codex Adeptus Astartes - Dark Angels (8th Edition), pp. 43, 45, 109Codex: Space Wolves (3rd Edition), pg. 11Codex: Black Templars (4th Edition), pp. 40, 59Codex: Dark Angels (4th Edition), pp. 17, 26-27, 66-67, 85Codex: Space Marines (3rd Edition), pp. 12-13, 19, 28-29Codex: Space Marines (4th Edition), pg. 37Codex: Space Marines (5th Edition), pp. 68, 117, 140Codex: Space Marines (6th Edition), pp. 84, 174Codex Adeptus Astartes - Space Marines (7th Edition) (Digital Edition), "Space Marine Bikes", "Attack Bike Squads"Codex Adeptus Astartes - Space Marines (8th Edition), pp. 74, 168, 170Codex: Blood Angels (5th Edition), pp. 30, 76, 93Codex Space Wolves (5th Edition), pp. 33, 60, 90Codex: Chaos Space Marines (3rd Edition, 1st Codex), pp. 15, 24Codex: Chaos Space Marines (3rd Edition, 2st Codex), pg. 33Codex: Chaos Space Marines (4th Edition), pg. 27White Dwarf 331 (UK) "Blood Angels Official Codex: Part II", pg. 22Warhammer 40,000: Apocalypse (6th Edition) (Digital Edition), pg. 173The Horus Heresy: Collected Visions (Background Book), pp. 22, 352Imperial Armour - The Horus Heresy: Betrayal - Book One, pp. 212, 237 |
Attack Craft - Attack Craft: Attack Craft is a catch-all term used for the small spacecraft and aircraft that are deployed from larger starships' launch bays in support of naval warfleets during combat operations. They are divided into five general categories depending on their size and role:Fighters - Fighters, along with Interceptors, are the smallest Attack Craft, using their speed and firepower to intercept and destroy other enemy Attack Craft and ordnance.Bombers - Bombers are lumbering spacecraft that lack the speed of fighters, but carry enough firepower to threaten capital ships.Assault Boats - Assault Boats are small, spaceborne transports designed to pierce the hull of an enemy starship and deposit a single or multiple squads of soldiers for a quick hit-and-run attack.Aeronautica - Aeronautica includes all small crafts that are designed to support planetary military operations, including atmospheric fighters, interceptors, and bombers along with troop transports and military cargo transports and drop ships.Support Craft - Support Craft are small spacecraft designed to support diplomatic and mercantile operations either on a planet's surface or for transport between different starships.The most notable Attack Craft of all the major starfaring species in the galaxy are listed below. |
Attack Craft - Imperial Navy: Fury InterceptorFaustus InterceptorStarhawk BomberShark Assault BoatMarauder BomberLightning Air Superiority FighterThunderbolt Heavy FighterAquila LanderArvus LighterBoarding TorpedoDevourer DropshipScapula-class Deep Space Fighter |
Attack Craft - Space Marines: Thunderhawk GunshipStorm Eagle GunshipStormraven GunshipStormbird GunshipStormtalon GunshipThunderhawk TransporterFire Raptor GunshipFire Raptor DestroyerBoarding TorpedoAstartes Landing CraftEagle-class ShuttleArgo-class Dropship |
Attack Craft - Chaos Attack Craft: Swiftdeath FighterDoomfire BomberHell BladeHell TalonDreadclaw Assault BoatHarbinger Super-Heavy BomberHeldrake Daemon EngineBoarding TorpedoDoom Wing Daemon EngineFire Lord Daemon Engine |
Attack Craft - Dark Eldar Attack Craft: Raptor FighterRazorwing BomberSlavebringer Assault BoatImpaler Assault Module |
Attack Craft - Eldar Attack Craft: Darkstar FighterEagle Bomber |
Attack Craft - Necron Attack Craft: Doom ScytheNight ScytheNight ShroudTomb Blade (older variant modified for spaceflight) |
Attack Craft - Ork Attack Craft: Fighta-BommerOrk Assault Boat |
Attack Craft - Tau: Barracuda FighterTiger SharkTiger Shark AX-1-0Manta Missile DestroyerRazorsharkSun Shark |
Attack Craft - Tau Allies: Demiurg Attack Craft |
Attack Craft - Tyranid Attack Craft: The Tyranids use a wide variety of organisms that are roughly equivalent to the other starfaring species' fighters and assault boats, but their vast diversity defies categorisation into distinct classes. |
Attack Moon - Attack Moon: An Attack Moon was the Imperial designation given to a class of massive Ork vessels that were encountered by the Imperium of Man during the War of the Beast from 544-546.M32. These massive voidcraft served as the flagships of the group of giant Ork Warlords who were each known as The Beast.An Attack Moon were capable of almost instantaneous travel through a hyperdimensional realm known as "subspace" and was outfitted with a powerful gravitic weapon known as a "Gravity Whip" that was capable of ripping apart even the largest of Battleships or even other planets. |
Attack Moon - Construction: Ork Attack Moons, like the much smaller Roks, were constructed from a core that included the hollowed-out remains of large asteroids and small planetoids or moons. At the height of The Beast's reign of terror in the mid-32nd Millennium, the Orks were capable of using technology that surpassed even that available to the Imperium of Man. The Attack Moons were capable of Faster-Than-Light travel over large distances without the use of the Warp, which made possible instantaneous interstellar travel for Ork forces from one location to another, and were outfitted with immensely powerful gravity-based weapons capable of destroying entire planets.The hollowed-out moons were covered in a vast pattern of fused wreckage and interconnected metal plates, thick enough that kinetic or directed energy attacks against the moon's surface were completely ineffective. The Attack Moon's most obvious external surface feature was that of adjustable plating capable of moving, shutters the size of inland seas and raised portions the size of entire mountain ranges that were capable of forming the stylised image of an Ork face, and could move in time with the words spoken by the Great Beast. The vast and monstrous tusked maw could stretch open wide, allowing Ork warships and transports to travel outwards from the core of the Attack Moon. The eyes burned with the magmatic light of the moon's core.An Attack Moon was capable of appearing through subspace closer to a planet than the laws of physics allowed, causing immense destruction upon the world it visited as its gravity field was completely disrupted by the tidal forces generated by the sudden arrival of the massive Ork planetoid. When an Attack Moon appeared over a target world, it emerged from subspace close enough that the sound from its titanic, Ork-shaped maw was capable of travelling to the planet's surface, heralding the arrival of the Great Beast. |
Attack Moon - Function: Attack Moons were capable of FTL travel through the creation of what were known to the Adeptus Mechanicus as "subspace" corridors, a hyperdimensional realm that existed "in-between" the Materium and the Immaterium. A safer method of travel than through the Warp, subspace travel nonetheless was not entirely instantaneous and did require some travel time, with the arrival of the Attack Moon at its destination in realspace heralded by strange gravitational phenomenon, culminating with the moon flickering in and out of existence until it fully materialised. While transitioning from one planet to another the receiving planet would be subjected to greater and greater gravitational and tidal stress, resulting in sudden climate change, earthquakes and other geological catastrophes.In truth, an Attack Moon was neither a true planetary sphere nor an independently operating voidcraft. It was actually just the terminus for the Ork subspace tunnel dubbed a "WAAAGH! Gate" by the Greenskins. This allowed it to deploy endless waves of Orks warships and landing craft from the origin point.Once the Attack Moon arrived in-system, usually impossibly close to its target, the moon would disgorge an endless stream of Ork warships to protect itself and Assault Craft to begin planetary invasion. Once a world was completely under the control of the Orks, a special gravitic nexus facility would be constructed on the planet's surface, a match to an existing facility on the moon's surface. Once constructed and activated, the gravitic nexus would begin the slow process of tearing the planet apart, with massive chunks the size of mountains being lifted into the maw of the Attack Moon, eventually to become part of the moon itself, expanding it and growing it over time.The Attack Moons of the Great Beast were not just simply massive transport vessels or war machines, but instead they were advanced prototypes, as the Orks sought to perfect their gravitic planetoid concept. The ultimate version of the design, known as an "Attack Planet," was to be finished at The Beast's homeworld of Ullanor, and was intended to attack Terra itself while the smaller Attack Moons served as mere beacons to guide its travel.The Orks built an unknown number of Attack Moons during the War of the Beast, and several were destroyed by Imperial forces during the war at great cost. Imperial records of that era do not indicate what became of the remaining Attack Moons after the Orks' ultimate defeat at the Third Battle of Ullanor. It is believed that those that remained were hunted down and destroyed by Imperial forces or were ultimately abandoned as the surviving Orks inevitably fragmented and their lessened WAAAGH! energy led to the loss of the technical knowledge needed to build and maintain the Attack Moons. |
Attack Moon - Armament: In addition to the Attack Moon's ability to destroy a world by merely translating into realspace too near the destination planet, it also possessed immense tractor beam emitters capable of tearing a world to pieces, the Attack Moon boasted a considerable arsenal of surface weapons and powerful Void Shields even more powerful than that found on most Battleship-class vessels.The Attack Moon's primary weapon was a "Gravitic Whip," a massively powerful gravity weapon that took the form of a green tentacle-like whip of energy that struck out towards its target and either tore it apart near instantaneously or wrapped around it and slowly crush it as the gravitic shear intensified. The weapon drew upon the great Ork energy sources buried deep within the vessel, and could be seen visibly charging for attack as coils of green energy coruscated up the pylons that directed the flow of Gravitic Whip energy to its target.A Gravity Whip was capable of fending off entire fleets on its own, with each flail of the energy whip tearing apart Cruisers with ease, destroying entire wings of Attack Craft and causing untold destruction against larger voidships. Fortunately for the Imperium in the 32nd Millennium, the weapon required a truly massive amount of energy to activate and needed to recharge itself between attacks. This gave Imperial Navy battlefleets enough time to close and engage the moon directly before they could be entirely crushed by the action of the Gravity Whip. |
Attila - Attila: Attila is a Feudal World of the Imperium of Man located in the Ultima Segmentum that maintains a late Iron Age civilisation and almost no advanced Imperial technology. This barbaric world is also the homeworld of the famed Rough Riders of Attila mounted regiments of the Astra Militarum. |
Attila - History: Attila is a Feudal World that is somewhat smaller in size than Terra. Humans colonised Attila many thousands of standard years ago during the Dark Age of Technology and adopted a nomadic lifestyle almost immediately. The original landing site of the colony, the planetary capital of Khanasan, has grown into the only city on the whole world. This bustling metropolis is a gathering place for the nomadic tribes of Attila and the centre of its government.The bulk of the population are nomads who keep their herds across the vast steppe-lands. They subsist on the herds of ovigors, gigantic, shaggy and savage animals native to Attila. The ovigors' rich flesh and dark blood form the basic subsistence diet of the steppe tribes. During the summer months, the Attilans drive their herds towards the heart of the continent, following the spring thaw in search of new grown pasture. In winter time, they retreat towards the outer grasslands abutting the coasts, and there their animals find enough grazing to keep them alive until the year turns.Attila's society was once composed of fractured, scattered nomadic tribes who spent their lives herding their animals and warring with one another for food, land, horses, and dominance. For standard centuries they existed like this, perfecting both their ways of war and the breeding of their unique horses, until the Imperium rediscovered them and began bringing them back into the Emperor's fold.Attila is a rugged and striking world, slightly smaller than Terra, dominated by broad, arid steppes. Its single continent spans nearly half of the planet, with the rest being deep, impenetrable seas. At the centre of Attila's single continent is a vast desert. Brutally extreme in its temperature variations and weather patterns, it is a baking desert during the summer season and a howling, icy expanse of sand, snow, and wind in the winter, and so remains uninhabited.Between these deadly lands of the continental centre and the more habitable coasts is a belt of rich steppe and savannah lands thousands of miles deep that rings the central desert, punctuated by mountain chains, mighty inland lakes, and vast rivers. These lands are home to nearly all of the planet's population. Only towards the continent's coasts does the grassland give way to verdant forests, encircling the entire continent with a thin, arboreal fringe of dense, tall evergreens.This scant habitable area is defined by a stunning array of rolling plains, soaring mountain ranges, deep inland seas, and powerful, rushing rivers. There is only one city on Attila, the bustling metropolis of Khanasan. It is here that the Attilans have their government, their main trading centres, and the small, barely tolerated Imperial and Ecclesiarchy missions.The Attilans themselves are a hardy, passionate, small-framed people with nut-coloured skin, black hair and eyes, and striking, weather-beaten features. Some Attilans sport long braids or tangles of hair, and many Attilan men sport impressive moustaches that fall across their craggy faces.Attilans of both genders tend to be bandy-legged and long armed, with broad shoulders and piercing eyes. They move with the loping, bow-legged gait of lifetime riders, and are graceful and elegant in the saddle. Some undergo ritual scarification as a part of their coming of age ceremony -- long, deep, vertical cuts are made in their cheeks, into which ashes are rubbed to encourage scars that mar the Attilans' faces.As with most Feudal Worlders, few Attilans take the time to learn to read and write, consumed as their lives are by warfare. Written language is largely the domain of scribes, and even many of the elite see little reason to concern themselves with this specialised task. While the Attilans possess the understanding of technology required to wield their weapons and sufficient knowledge of august tech-rites to maintain their own equipment, life on Attila does not prepare them for many of the arcane machines and devices that they encounter in the service of the God-Emperor.The Rough Riders of Attila's warrior prowess is founded upon their tradition of never-ending battle, especially amongst themselves, for the tribes of Attila respect only power and a tribal chieftain or king must be prepared to demonstrate his might to doubting rivals. When a lord of the Attilans defeats an enemy he decapitates the beaten man's head and has his artificers turn the skull into a drinking cup as a permanent symbol of his victory.Attilans have little respect for medals awarded after a battle's conclusion and feel that the only symbols of merit worth owning are those won in the heat of battle, whilst their warriors' blood is still hot in their veins. As such, the most valued trophies of war amongst the Attilans are the scars earned from cheating death and the skull of a worthy foe.Attilan life is innately tied to various animals. Two species are of particular importance to them: the ovigor, a herd animal that provides critical sustenance and, of course, the mighty horses of Terran descent that the Attilans ride into battle. Horses serve as the faithful companions and mounts, and ovigors make up the core of the Attilans' staple diet on their homeworld.The Attilan's native variant of the Imperial Creed uses iconography of the horse and rider to represent many aspects of the holy. Work, play, and the passage of seasons all centre on herding the ovigor, as the Attilans move them to the centre of the continent during the summer for the good grazing and into the temperate lands near the forests for the winter. Their deep bond with the horse as both a working and fighting animal is one reason that so many Rough Rider regiments are raised on this planet.The Attilans have lived alongside their mounts for standard millennia. Their entire cultural identity is centred around these tough, compact, and reliable horses, and the creatures are used not only as mounts and work animals, but for food, materials, and in the Attilan's various religious rites. The Attilans and their horses share a deep bond of culture, tradition, service, and affection. When in the field, far away from Imperial logistics, Attilans can even drink small portions of the blood of their mounts to sustain them, draining off small amounts of blood at a time and mixing it with foraged plants to create a nourishing slurry that they heat over a fire.The Attilans excel at raiding and skirmishing, and are used by the Astra Militarum as guerrilla fighters to great effect all across the galaxy. Their cavalry charges are in part terrifying and in part inspiring for their allies to behold, a striking testament to the will of the Attilans and the unyielding might of the Imperial Guard. To their enemies, these roaring walls of horses, soldiers, and volatile speartips must seem nothing less than the hammer of the God-Emperor Himself, smiting those who have woken His ire by provoking the Attilans. |
Attilan Rough Riders - Attilan Rough Riders: The Attilan Rough Riders, also referred to as the Rough Riders of Attila, are an elite Astra Militarum mounted regiment whose members have been recruited from the Feudal World of Attila, an ancient human colony located in the Ultima Segmentum.The ancient Attilan Rough Riders are one of the most famous Imperial Guard regiments, alongside the likes of the doughty Cadian Shock Troops, the intractable Valhallan Ice Warriors, and the stoic Death Korps of Krieg.The Imperium of Man recruits some of its most ferocious mounted warriors from this barbaric world. These specialised mounted cavalry regiments have a bloodthirsty reputation and they fight all over the galaxy in the name of the Emperor of Mankind. |
Attilan Rough Riders - Regimental History: On Feudal Worlds such as Attila, where it is normal for warriors to fight from horseback, the Imperium recruits mounted regiments of Imperial Guardsmen known as Rough Riders. The Attilan Rough Riders are recruited from such a world, where fierce nomadic tribes and warrior horse-lodges have perfected the art of cavalry techniques through thousands of Terran years of bloodshed.It is said that Attilans are born in the saddle, for they are amongst the greatest horsemen in the galaxy. The Attilan breed of horses they prefer are thick-set beasts, ill-tempered and likely to bite or kick anyone unwise enough to give them the chance to do so.Such mounts are bred for power and strength, and many are given bio-chemical treatments intended to enhance their combat potential. Trained for a life of battle, these warhorses do not shy away from the enemy or panic easily. The riders depend upon their mounts a great deal, and value them more highly than any treasure.In adverse conditions a warrior will draw off some of the animal's blood and drink it to sustain himself, enabling the Attilans to survive without food or water for many days. This gives them the ability to operate behind enemy lines without supplies. |
Attilan Rough Riders - The Spinward Front: Attilan Rough Rider regiments operating in the Spinward Front of the Calixis Sector's Periphery Sub-Sector have been used to shockingly good effect by Lord Marshal Ghanzorik. Recognizing their aptitude for guerrilla fighting and both anti-infantry and anti-armour warfare, the Lord Marshal has deployed the Attilans under the command of the implacable Commander Tenzing, a protégé of the famous Attilan war chief Mogul Khamir.Under the leadership of Tenzing, the Attilans have spent most of their time in theatre battling Orks and the human Separatists of the Severan Dominate, using their knowledge of skirmish warfare to cut a swath through the Ork and human forces alike, and sowing much discord throughout their enemies’ armies.Of particular note in the Spinward Front is the 264th Attilan Rough Riders, a regiment that have won some note in the Spinward Front battling the various Renegades and marauders who have struck at the flanks of Imperial supply lines and worlds left vulnerable by the major push against the Severan Dominate. Although they have participated in few of the major operations against the Separatists in the Spinward Front, the populations of several Imperial worlds owe their continued existence to the swift reactions of the 264th. Commander Khutulun, one of Tenzing’s most prominent pupils, has led the 264th on the worlds of Sisk, Sinophia, and Oriad, using the mobility of her force to harry and intercept groups of raiders as they land and before they can strike at vulnerable targets. Currently, the 264th is on the world of Cepyrsk, where it has been assigned with purging a larger group of Renegades who have entrenched themselves in Garhive, the world’s main hive city.Unfortunately, in recent months, the campaign has ground to a halt thanks to a number of aircraft possessed by the Renegades of the Dominate. Without a dedicated core of anti-aircraft weapons, the Attilans, and Krieg Guardsmen stationed on Cepyrsk have been forced to fight a defensive battle, holding on until the proper support arrives. Commander Khutulun and her Attilans have been particularly aggravated by this turn of events. The Attilan Rough Riders favour the offence, using swift Rough Riders to throw the enemy into confusion before decisively crushing them with the bulk of their forces. As such, Khutulun has made targeting the airfields a priority, and hopes to rout the renegades defending these key locations with a set of rapid, aggressive strikes by her vanguard units while the aircraft engage the rest of the Imperial Guard at Garhive. |
Attilan Rough Riders - Regimental Culture: Attila's society was once composed of fractured, scattered nomadic tribes who spent their lives herding their animals and warring with one another for food, land, horses, and dominance. For centuries they existed like this, perfecting both their ways of war and the breeding of their unique horses, until the Imperium rediscovered them and began bringing them back into the Emperor's fold. Attila is a rugged and striking world, slightly smaller than Terra, dominated by broad, arid steppes. Its single continent spans nearly half of the planet, with the rest being deep, impenetrable seas. At the centre of Attila's single continent is a vast desert. Brutally extreme in its temperature variations and weather patterns, it is a baking desert during the summer season and a howling, icy expanse of sand, snow, and wind in the winter. The steppes and savannah for which the planet is known ring this central desert, and are home to nearly all of the planet's population.This scant habitable area is defined by a stunning array of rolling plains, soaring mountain ranges, deep inland seas, and powerful, rushing rivers. At the very extremes of the continent, all along its long coastline, are dense forests of tall evergreens. There is only one city on Attila, the bustling metropolis of Khanasan. It is here that the Attilans have their government, their main trading centres, and the small, barely tolerated Imperial and Ecclesiarchy missions. The Attilans themselves are a hardy, passionate, small-framed people with nut-coloured skin, black hair and eyes, and striking, weather-beaten features. Some Attilans sport long braids or tangles of hair, and many Attilan men sport impressive moustaches that fall across their craggy faces. Attilans of both genders tend to be bandy-legged and long armed, with broad shoulders and piercing eyes. They move with the loping, bow-legged gait of lifetime riders, and are graceful and elegant in the saddle. Some undergo ritual scarification as a part of their coming of age ceremony -- long, deep, vertical cuts are made in their cheeks, into which ashes are rubbed to encourage scars that mar the Attilans' faces.As with most Feudal Worlders, few Attilans take the time to learn to read and write, consumed as their lives are by warfare. Written language is largely the domain of scribes, and even many of the elite see little reason to concern themselves with this specialised task. While the Attilans possess the understanding of technology required to wield their weapons and sufficient knowledge of august tech-rites to maintain their own equipment, life on Attila does not prepare them for many of the arcane machines and devices that they encounter in the service of the God-Emperor.The Rough Riders of Attila's warrior prowess is founded upon their tradition of never ending battle, especially amongst themselves, for the tribes of Attila respect only power and a tribal chieftain or king must be prepared to demonstrate his might to doubting rivals. When a lord of the Attilans defeats an enemy he decapitates the beaten man's head and has his artificers turn the skull into a drinking cup as a permanent symbol of his victory. Attilans have little respect for medals awarded after a battle's conclusion and feel that the only symbols of merit worth owning are those won in the heat of battle, whilst their warriors' blood is still hot in their veins. As such, the most valued trophies of war amongst the Attilans are the scars earned from cheating death and the skull of a worthy foe.Attilan life is innately tied to various animals. Two species are of particular importance to them: the Ovigor, a herd animal that provides critical sustenance and, of course, the mighty horses of Terran descent that the Attilans ride into battle. Horses serve as the faithful companions and mounts, and Ovigors make up the core of the Attilans' staple diet on their homeworld. The Attilan's native variant of the Imperial Creed uses iconography of the horse and rider to represent many aspects of the holy. Work, play, and the passage of seasons all centre on herding the Ovigor, as the Attilans move them to the centre of the continent during the summer for the good grazing into the temperate lands near the forests for the winter. Their deep bond with the horse as both working and fighting animals is one reason that so many Rough Rider regiments are raised on this planet.The Attilans have lived alongside their mounts for millennia. Their entire cultural identity is centred around these tough, compact, and reliable horses, and the creatures are used not only as mounts and work animals, but for food, materials, and in the Attilan's various religious rites. The Attilans and their horses share a deep bond of culture, tradition, service, and affection. When in the field, far away from Imperial Logistics, Attilans can even drink small portions of the blood of their mounts to sustain them, draining off small amounts of blood at a time and mixing it with foraged plants to create a nourishing slurry that they heat over a fire.The Attilans excel at raiding and skirmishing, and are used by the Imperial Guard as guerrilla fighters to great effect all across the galaxy. Their cavalry charges are in part terrifying and in part inspiring for their allies to behold, a striking testament to the will of the Attilans and the unyielding might of the Imperial Guard. To their enemies, these roaring walls of horses, soldiers, and volatile speartips are must seem nothing less than the hammer of the God-Emperor himself, smiting those who have woken his ire by provoking the Attilans. |
Attilan Rough Riders - Regimental Organisation: The world of Attila is primitive, having reverted to a pre-industrial way of life during the Long Night of the Age of Strife. On such a barbaric world, the horse is the most important type of transport, and horses are found throughout human space having been brought by early colonists during the Dark Age of Technology. Even the Imperial Guard, with its legions of machinery and armoured vehicles, has a place for mounted warriors. Regiments of Rough Riders are sometimes deployed wholesale, especially where terrain is unsuitable for tracked vehicles.A squad of skilled mounted cavalry can be used as an effective assault and skirmishing force, able to move rapidly over the broken ground, climb steep slopes and gallop along narrow ravines. However, it is more common to divide mounted regiments and allocate Rough Rider squads to fight alongside conventional infantry regiments, thereby spreading the horsemen over a wide battlefield.They can then act in the roles of scouts, patrols and fast response troops. Rough Riders are also used to operate out on their own beyond the reach of normal lines of communication, deep within enemy territory. Because of their use of living mounts rather than machines, they need neither fuel nor maintenance and, unlike vehicles, they cannot be easily traced with Auspex or scanner. This enables them to harass enemy troop movements by using guerrilla tactics. |
Attilan Rough Riders - Regimental Tactics: For the most part, the Attilan Rough Riders are raiders and skirmishers. They use guerrilla tactics honed over thousands of standard years of tribal warfare. They specialise in using terrain features and light cover to hide their movements, appearing suddenly over a rise or from behind a ridge and riding quickly down on their enemies, lances levelled and screaming all the while. This shocking spectacle rarely fails to shake enemies and scatter their formations.Once the initial charge is over, the Attilans wheel their mounts around and charge back into the thick of the enemy, using their sidearms and sabres with shocking efficiency to cut the enemy to ribbons. In the middle of these melees, the horses themselves also prove devastating weapons, biting, kicking, and trampling everything around them. The Attilans are also well trained in fast attack anti-armour tactics where their speed, agility, and pinpoint accuracy with the hunting lance can disable all but the most powerful armoured vehicles. |
Attilan Rough Riders - Regimental Appearance: The Rough Riders of Attila's uniforms consist of personal armour made of scale or lamellar, leather or hide greatcoats, leather riding gloves, boots and a traditional and distinctive Attilan wide-brimmed fur riding hat. Every squad of Attilan Rough Riders chooses a distinctive Astra Militarum skull motif which is branded onto each of their horses. Apart from this and the other Imperial Guard icon on their shoulder armour, they wear little or no insignia.The Attilans present a barbaric appearance, especially with the ritual scarification upon their cheeks -- long knife cuts of white tissue which stand out against each man's weather-beaten skin. These marks are cut into a rider's cheeks as a young man, and ashes from the camp fire are rubbed into the wounds so that they leave deep and prominent scars. The Attilans also are known to make extensive use of tribal tattoos as well.Attilans tend to wear their hair in long, unkempt braids, or long and matted. They do not wash themselves or clean their clothes, believing that to do so would affront the spirits of water that they superstitiously believe people their land. This tradition has proven hard to break, despite considerable effort on the part of the Adeptus Ministorum preachers in the barely-tolerated Imperial mission in the Attilan capital city of Khanasan. Indeed, it is said that the stench of an Attilan is as powerful a weapon as his hunting lance. |
Attilan Rough Riders - Wargear: What follows is a list of the most common items of wargear issued to the members of the Attilan Rough Rider regiments:Laspistol or Bolt Pistol - Attilan Rough Riders often carry compact weapons like a Laspistol or human-sized Bolt Pistol in addition to the standard Hunting Lances utilised in mounted cavalry charges. The Attilans utilise these additional weapons once their initial charge is complete.4 Charge Packs - Charge Packs are powerful capacitor batteries used almost exclusively by Imperial laser weapons. The Charge Pack's size and make varies depending on the class of the weapon. In all cases, it provides shots equal to the weapon's full clip value and can be recharged when emptied.1 Hunting Lance - The Attilans carry a long and lethal Hunting Lance as their primary weapon. The hunting lance is roughly half again as tall as a man, is balanced and reinforced to absorb the shock of charging and thrusting, and is tipped with a bayonet-style mount that allows the trooper to use a number of speciality tips depending on their mission. These tips range from anti-armour tips using shaped charges or melta technology to mono-edged blades and even deadly plasma tips that rely on the detonation of a small plasma core to inflict their damage.1 Sabre - Attilan Rough Riders often utilise heavy, curved, single-edged sabres designed for the kind of heavy hacking and slashing that fighting from horseback entails, following a mounted cavalry charge.2 Frag Grenades - Frag Grenades use a combustible charge and special fillers of shrapnel fragments which make them potent anti-personnel weapons. Imperial Frag Grenades are roughly the size of a clenched fist and covered with a heavily notched shell, both to increase the shrapnel produced and provide a more secure grip for throwing.2 Krak Grenades - Krak Grenades are crafted with powerful concentrated explosives designed to punch holes in armoured targets such as vehicles or bunkers. While stronger than Frag Grenades, Krak detonations do not produce a blast effect and their more focused explosion makes them less practical as anti-personnel weapons.2 Smoke Grenades - Smoke Grenades release a dense smoke which only obscures basic eyesight and optical based systems. They do not block detection systems that use heat or other spectral bands outside of normal human eyesight, but are much more widely available and easier to construct.1 Mono Knife - The Mono-Knife is a one-handed melee implement that is one variant of the ubiquitous back-up melee weapon for warriors all across the Imperium, be they lowly hive scum or the elite soldiers of a Planetary Governor. Some, such as the Catachan Fighting Knife, are designed for a specific purpose, whilst others are more generic in nature.1 Flak Jacket and Flak Helm - For protection, the Attilans wear a specially designed light flak armour based on their traditional lamellar riding armour that gives them adequate protection while not encumbering them overmuch or limiting their range of movement.Gas Mask - A simple breathing mask that covers the nose and mouth or entire face, these offer much better protection than filtration plugs.Poor Weather GearRucksackMess KitWater CanteenBlanket and Sleep BagRechargeable Lamp–Pack - Sturdy and reliable, glow-globes illuminate many an Imperial paveway and cathedral. Most portable ones are roughly the size of a clenched fist and can shine strong, yellowish light a dozen or so metres in width, lasting roughly five hours before their power pack needs recharging or replacing.Grooming KitDog Tags2 Weeks' Rations1 Horse - The most important component of both the Attilan's training and wargear loadout is the redoubtable warhorse. Compact, powerful, and generally ill-tempered, these creatures have been bred for centuries for intelligence, fearlessness in battle, and incredible endurance. Their powerful muscles and impressive stamina grant them the ability to travel at a consistent and moderately quick pace across the kilometres of trackless steppe that make up the Attilan landscape. While the creatures obviously cannot actually fly, some riders describe a mounted charge as being akin to airborne, and the comparison is not entirely inapt. These creatures have the ability to cover short distances in surprisingly fast sprints that bring their riders within striking range much more quickly than their foes typically expect.1 Saddle2 Saddlebags1 Set of Riding Tack - This consists of reins, harness, ect. that is necessary for maintaining a mount.Imperial Infantryman's Uplifting Primer - A standard-issue Imperial text that covers a vast variety of topics, this book is possessed by all members of the Imperial Guard as part of their standard-issue equipment. The Primer is a basic guide that details everything a Guardsman needs to know: principles and regulations of the Imperial Guard, issued arms, attire, apparatus, and equipment, basic battlefield policy and Imperial Guard organisation and structure, elementary battlefield medical instructions, and a detailed guide on the foes of the Imperium. No Guardsman should ever be found without possession of a copy of the Uplifting Primer for the punishment is severe. |
Attilan Rough Riders - Notable Attilan Rough Rider Regiments: 264th Attilan Rough Riders - The 264th Attilan Rough Riders are a regiment that have won some note in the Spinward Front in the Calixis Sector's Periphery Sub-sector, battling the various Renegades and marauders who have struck at the flanks of Imperial supply lines and worlds left vulnerable by the major push of the Imperial Guard against the forces of the Severan Dominate. Although they have participated in few of the major operations against the Separatists in the Spinward Front, the populations of several Imperial worlds owe their continued existence to the swift reactions of the 264th. |
Attilan Rough Riders - Notable Attilan Rough Riders: Mogul Kamir - Mogul Kamir is the fiercest mounted warrior of the Attilan Rough Riders. He rose to take control of his tribe at a young age. As a fierce warrior and natural leader, Kamir easily rose to a position of leadership over his own squadron of Rough Riders. Mogul Kamir's squadron has carried out some of the Khanasan's fiercest mounted charges within all of the Imperial Guard's Rough Riders regiments. His headstrong attitude often sees him recklessly charging the enemy. Kamir's body is a testament to pain and a lifetime of battle, riddled with scar-tissue and other signs of uncounted notable endeavours in the heat of battle. Many a warlord's skull adorns his massive hunting-lance, both a testament to his courage and a proclamation of his skills as Attila's greatest warrior. Like his fellow Attilan tribesmen, Kamir is proud and aloof except in battle, when he turns into a snarling daredevil oblivious to mortal danger. His lust for combat is a matter of pride amongst the Attilans and only the fiercest and most skilled of warriors are allowed to ride with him. Kamir is a cunning ally who has the ability to turn the tide of battle with a single charge.Commander Tenzing - Tenzing is a a protégé of the famous Attilan war chief Mogul Khamir. Utilising Attilan Rough Rider regiments in the Spinward Front, they have been used to shockingly good effect by Lord Marshal Ghanzorik. Recognizing their aptitude for guerrilla fighting and both anti-infantry and anti-armour warfare, the Lord Marshal has deployed the Attilans under the command of the implacable Commander Tenzing.Commander Khutulun - Commander Khutulun, one of Tenzing's most prominent pupils, has led the 264th Attilan Rough Riders on the worlds of Sisk, Sinophia, and Oriad in the Spinward Front, using the mobility of her force to harry and intercept groups of raiders as they land and before they can strike at vulnerable targets. Currently, the 264th is on the world of Cepyrsk, where it has been assigned with purging a larger group of Renegades who have entrenched themselves in Garhive, the world's main hive city. Unfortunately, in recent months, the campaign has ground to a halt thanks to a number of aircraft possessed by the Renegades. Without a dedicated core of anti-aircraft weapons, the Attilans and Death Korps of Krieg Guardsmen stationed on Cepyrsk have been forced to fight a defensive battle, holding on until the proper support arrives. Commander Khutulun and her Attilans have been particularly aggravated by this turn of events. The Attilan Rough Riders favour the offence, using swift Rough Riders to throw the enemy into confusion before decisively crushing them with the bulk of their forces. As such, Khutulun has made targeting the airfields as a priority, and hopes to rout the Renegades defending these key locations with a set of rapid, aggressive strikes by her vanguard units while the aircraft engage the rest of the Imperial Guard at Garhive. |
Attilan Rough Riders - Trivia: The Attilan Imperial Guard regiments are largely based on the Hun and Mongol nomadic hordes that rampaged across the Eurasian continent in the 5th and 13th centuries AD, respectively. Their name derives from the nickname of the 1st United States Volunteer Cavalry's during the 1898 Spanish-American War. The Attilans' practice of "drinking the blood of their mounts" is in fact a reference to one of the more common practices of the Huns, Mongols, and other Eurasian steppe nomads. |
Attilan Rough Riders - Source: Codex: Imeprial Guard (5th Edition), pp. 21, 44, 66Codex: Imperial Guard (2nd Edition), pp. 17, 40-41, 90Only War: Hammer of the Emperor (RPG), pp. 12-16, 119-120, 133, 136 |
Atum Sum - Atum Sum: Atum Sum is a prodigiously skilled Chaos Sorcerer of the Thousand Sons Traitor Legion who has been active in the Jericho Reach. Indeed, he is even known to the Inquisition as an acolyte of Ahriman, one of the Legion's greatest sorcerers. He also bears the Mark of Tzeentch, carved beneath the flesh of his cranium.Sum is steeped in the power of the Warp, and a known master of the daemonic. It is said that the daemonic servants of Tzeentch attend him as lesser men command the loyalty of stooping servants, though the veracity of this claim seems unlikely to those versed in the ways of the God of Change.Furthermore, he appears to have an uncanny mastery of the ebb and flow of possibility, manipulating the shifting tides of the Warp to appear at any time and place he desires. It is doubtless true that Atum Sum is a dire threat to the Imperium, for his appearance is often seen to precipitate daemonic incursions of the most destructive kind.Needless to say, Atum Sum's appearance in the Jericho Reach is a cause for dread, and several groups within the Inquisition have already set in motion plans to discern his purpose and if possible, oppose it.To date, the sorcerer has been encountered in the warzones surrounding the Hadex Anomaly, leading some to suspect that he is involved in some grand scheme to utilise the weird energies streaming from it.Some have even claimed that Atum Sum has conversed with the Anomaly, or with some vast, unknowable intelligence deep inside and beyond it.Whatever the truth, several Inquisitor Lords of the Ordo Chronos were known to be mustering a coalition to stymie his plans when they disappeared, suggesting that his powers are an order of magnitude greater than any had dared believe. |
Atum Sum - Abilities: Because Atum Sum has the ability to perceive the ebb and flow of the Warp, he can predict and to a degree manipulate the chaotic passage of time within it.He can use this power to disrupt the normal process of cause and effect in realspace, seemingly cheating death as he explores one branch of probability to its ultimate conclusion, before backtracking to a previous branch of a possible outcome.To this end, his foes find that time and again they believe Atum Sum to have been killed, only for him to reappear at another point in space and time to continue his unknowable mission.Further compounding the issue is his mastery of a power known as "Warp Time." To those who know it, the timeless nature of the Warp grants them the means to defy the normal limits of time, hastening his movements and reflexes such that his enemies appear to be moving in slow motion.This manifests as the sorcerer surrounding himself with a field of dimensional instability, warping the passage of time. The greater his mastery, the more devastating his combat abilities, speed, and aversion to harm. |
Auger - Auger: An Auger, also sometimes known as an Auger Array, is the Imperium of Man's High Gothic name for the standard high-powered suite of active and passive scanners used by starships, vehicles and some ground-based facilities.These scanners can include radar, infrared detection, ultraviolet detection, lidar, chemical assays, sonar, spectroscopy, and other technologies, all intended to detect and analyse sources of energy and other phenomenon on planets or in the void of space.Augers are most useful for detecting incoming enemy spacecraft, unmasking vital installations on hostile worlds, and for carrying out detailed scans of spatial and planetary discoveries. |
Aun'El Shi'Ores - Aun'El Shi'Ores: Aun'El Shi'Ores was a member of the Ethereal Caste of the T'au Empire. He served as the commander of the T'au forces sent to secure and hold the world of Kronus. He, along with Shas'O Kais, was the leader of the Fire Caste forces sent by the T'au to protect their colony on that world and bring the wayward planet back into the T'au Empire's fold. He was a faction leader in the PC game Dawn of War - Dark Crusade.In the non-canonical ending where the T'au won the campaign the Imperium of Man came to call the Dark Crusade, Aun'El Shi'Ores, with the help of his Fire Caste commander Shas'O Kais, expels the 6 other races' forces from Kronus and brings the planet into the T'au Empire. He makes the world a full Sept of the T'au's Third Sphere Expansion in this ending.But in the canon outcome, during the invasion of the city of Or'es Tash'n, the Ethereal was quickly targeted by the Imperial forces of the Blood Ravens Space Marine Chapter who sought to deal a harsh blow to T'au morale.Given that the Blood Ravens' ending is the canonical version of events on Kronus, Aun'el Shi'ores was killed in the assault on Or'es Tasn'n, despite being heavily guarded within the T'au citadel and surrounded by his elite bodyguards. His corpse was recovered by Shas'O Kais, who was emotionally shattered by the Ethereal's death, before it could be seized by the victorious Space Marines and taken back to T'au for burial as the crumbling T'au forces fled the planet. |
Aun'La Tsua'Malor Viorla - Aun'La Tsua'Malor Viorla: Aun'La Tsua'Malor Viorla, or simply Aun'La, is a supposedly low-ranking member of the Ethereal Caste of the T'au Empire.Currently, he resides in captivity within the Deathwatch's Watch Fortress Erioch in the Jericho Reach where he is considered to represent threat level infrared.Many among the watch fortress' leadership believe that Aun'La may in fact not be an Ethereal at all, but an attempt at misdirection and misinformation by the T'au in the Reach. |
Aun'La Tsua'Malor Viorla - History: Aun'La was captured by a Deathwatch kill-team on a T'au courier craft in transit. In an exceptionally difficult operation undertaken by Battle-Brother Pellas, the Gladius-class Frigate Thunder's Word slipped deep into T'au-controlled space and intercepted the Aun's craft as it passed through an uninhabited star system.Precision weapons fire crippled the smaller ship's drives and a boarding party easily overpowered the xenos inside. The courier craft was rigged to suffer a catastrophic drive failure and the Thunder's Word disappeared into the void without sighting any other T'au ships.As far as is known, the T'au are unaware that the Aun has been captured and believe him to have been killed in the accidental explosion of his ship.Some in the Ordo Xenos in the Jericho Reach have cast doubts on the operation, however. Everything went a little too smoothly for wary Inquisitors to entirely trust the prize that seems to have fallen into their laps.From the incautious transmissions that first alerted the Deathwatch to the Ethereal's travel, to the route taken and the absence of T'au fleet units in the area when the capture attempt was made, they see a set-up.The T'au are fanatically loyal to their ruling caste and to put even such a low-ranking Ethereal at risk seems an act of uncharacteristic negligence.Sensorium and augur scanning of the Aun'La have revealed no notable deviations from standard T'au morphology. There are no signs of extra cranial nodes that might implicate psychic control, no pheromone glands, no sub-sonic augmentations.The conclusion being drawn is that this supposed "Ethereal" is nothing of the sort and has been purposefully given up to misdirect the enemies of the T'au.All xenos are routinely examined down to a molecular level for concealed weapons and explosives before being brought to Watch Fortress Erioch, and the Aun'La is thought to pose no threat at present.Nevertheless he is carefully watched at all times and kept fully quarantined from the other T'au prisoners of Magenta sector while the watch fortress' governing Chamber of Vigilance ponders his fate.Some are moving for a full vivisection to settle matters once and for all while others are content to watch and wait for any underlying T'au scheme to reveal itself. The matter stands unresolved. |
Aun'shi - Aun'shi: Aun'Shi is a member of the T'au Ethereal Caste. A modest T'au hero of many battles, Aun'Shi longs for peace but is bound by duty to his comrades to wage war.Lionised by the Fire Caste as everything they believe a T'au leader should be, he is seen as a good luck charm by those Fire Warriors who have served with him. Aun'Shi is more comfortable in the company of Fire Warriors than many members of the Ethereal Caste and will frequently accompany a squad into battle.Hailing from the proud martial Sept of Vior'la, Aun'Shi is an indomitable Ethereal whose iron will has steeled the resolve of multitudes of T'au across many frontiers. A dedicated student of the fighting arts for virtually all his life, he has a level of expertise with the Honour Blade that few T'au can match.Thanks to his long career and many exploits, Aun'Shi is also seen by the Fire Caste as a sure sign of victory, and he is greeted everywhere he travels with many salutes and deep, respectful bows. |
Aun'shi - History: At the time of the battle that catapulted Aun'Shi to the position of a full-scale hero of the T'au Empire, he was already nearing the age when an Ethereal can choose to retire to a life of contemplation within the Temple-domes of their caste.Due to his many successes, Aun'Shi was entitled to spend his last years on the paradise world of the Au'taal -- an honour accorded to only those who have excelled in their drive for the Greater Good. Aun'Shi's last assignment was to bolster a new T'au colony named Kel'tyr.Established on a planet that turned out to be infested with Orks, the colony's progress had been slow, but with the arrival of reinforcements and Aun'Shi's canny alien-fighting guidance, the Fire Warriors were soon able to clear the main continent. This allowed the Earth Caste to construct great cities and better establish the exploitation of Kel'tyr's natural resources.On his final inspection tour, however, Aun'Shi became trapped in the settlement of Fio'vash when a horde of Orks surrounded the compound. With their Shas'vre beheaded by the Ork Warboss, the Fire Warriors began to panic. Leaping to action, Aun'Shi used his famed Honour Blade to cut the Ork leader in two, planting the weapon's haft between the shorn halves of the twitching corpse. Heartened, the Fire Warriors steadied their firing line.Again and again the Orks were repelled from the ever constricting perimeter. Despite the growing mounds of dead, the Greenskins hurtled forwards and everywhere they reached the T'au lines, Aun'Shi was there to meet them. Tirelessly he chopped the savages down, but always, they returned.As the Orks finally closed for the kill, a relief force arrived. When they reached the only building that remained standing in Fio'vash, they were surprised to find Aun'Shi still standing guard over the few survivors, his blade dripping with Ork ichor.News of Aun'Shi's deeds travelled fast. Aun'Va knew well that the T'au must have new heroes, and here was an Ethereal, a living legend amongst the Fire caste and the saviour of Fio'vash. Rather than allow such a valuable warrior to fade away, it was decreed that Aun'Shi should continue in his duties and lead fresh expeditions.Known as the "Aged Wonder," Aun'Shi continues to bring great fortune to the Fire Caste, leading them to yet more victories from the forefront of the Third Sphere of Expansion.At an unknown point in time, Aun'shi was captured by the Drukhari whilst investigating Commander Farsight's past on the world of Arthas Moloch.At present, Aun'Shi is reported to be leading a T'au expedition to reclaim the Farsight Enclaves for the empire. |
Aun'shi - Wargear: Honour BladeEMP GrenadesPhoton GrenadesShield Generator |
Aun'Va - Aun'Va: Aun'Va was the ethereal supreme of the T'au Ethereal Caste and Aun'o or head of state of the T'au Empire. He was an almost religious figure of awe for the T'au and was also known as the "Master of the Undying Spirit" to his people.Replacing the aging Aun'wei as the leader of the T'au Empire's governing Ethereal Council, he was said to be the oldest of the current Ethereals and it was easy to see his effect on the rapid expansion of the T'au Empire in the 41st Millennium.He sat upon the highest councils governing not just each of the T'au Septs but also the entire empire as a whole in his capacity as the T'au head of state or Aun'o.He has counseled the greatest leaders of the T'au for longer than any can recall, and his hand can be seen at work behind much of recent T'au history, particularly the Second and Third Sphere Expansions.He was the most senior Ethereal upon the T'au's homeworld and capital of T'au. His word was heeded by every member of his caste, for his counsel had ever proven wise and true.But Aun'Va was not merely a spiritual leader, for in T'au history there are many instances of him leading the T'au expansion from the very beginning of their conquests. His presence gave the Fire Caste the will to rid the Si'coa System of the hateful aliens known as the Reek, his words sending them into a righteous rage.Upon the flanks of Mount Scion he pronounced the fate of the Orks of WAAAGH! Grognik — a sentence that was efficiently enacted by ten thousand Fire Warriors.Aun'Va stood and died as supreme Ethereal within the newly won Septs of the Third Sphere Expansion, Commander Shadowsun ever loyal at his side.Across half a dozen new worlds recently brought into the service of the T'au Empire and the Greater Good alike, a million Fire Warriors and many more colonists stood ready to sacrifice all upon a single word of their beloved Ethereal, the Master of the Undying Spirit -- Aun'o'T'au'Acaya'Va'Denta. |
Aun'Va - Ethereal Supreme: After a long rule, the ethereal supreme, Aun'Wei, knew it was time for his Last Walk, the ceremony when an ancient member of that secretive caste disappears forever within one of their mysterious temple-domes.Before departing, however, it is tradition that he nominate his successor as head of the Ethereal Council.So it was that Aun'Va assumed the role of the Great Leader of his people, assuming the title that translates best as "Master of the Undying Spirit" - or, he that directs the Greater Good.This choice was long ordained, for from his beginning, Aun'Va displayed skills that made him a master of his caste. Even without technological aids, he was able to inspire those nearby to impossible acts or bend their wills to comply with his wishes.When his natural talents were boosted through artificial means, Aun'Va could implant powerful auto-suggestions that would last a lifetime and instill unbreakable loyalty.It is whispered by others of the High Council that when Aun'Va asked a question, he would already give the responder the answer.So natural was his skill, so powerful were his methods, that those who agreed with his counsel are never sure if it was ever their idea to do so in the first place.In all his long life, there has only been one T'au who was able to defy Aun'Va, and all know that it is best to not mention his name.Upon waking from cryogenic sleep, O'Shassera was debriefed by Aun'Va alone. Never was the tale of Farsight's betrayal more skillfully told, and the story of his disregard for the Greater Good caused the young commander to shake with rage.Since that day, Aun'Va has had no further fears for the loyalty of the Fire Caste and has set his concentration fully on the expansion of the T'au Empire. |
Aun'Va - Third Sphere Expansion: In his most epic pronouncement to date, Aun'Va declared the beginning of the Third Sphere Expansion. Flanked by a full ceremonial guard, Aun'Va gave a slow, deliberate speech, culminating in a rousing call to arms, a demand to proliferate across the stars; an order for them to seize what must be taken.The guiding light of the Greater Good must reach those worlds trapped in the darkness of their barbaric ways. As his words echoed into silence, untold billions of T'au stood outside the council dome, or listened to the broadcast throughout the empire -- all bowed low as one.Aun'Va praised the works of his people, exhorting each to reach for yet greater heights. He expressed wonder at the latest Earth Caste inventions and applauded the Water Caste, noting the alien diplomats neatly arrayed in attendance.To the Air Caste, Aun'Va dedicated a moment of reflection for their contributions, and for the Fire Caste, the ancient being rose off his hover-dais and offered the old Hunter salute -- a deed no Fire Warrior could witness and remain unmoved.He even offered advice to his caste-brethren, the Ethereals, saying that the only way to lead was from the front. The barbaric races of the galaxy were desperate for enlightenment and only the castes combined, working for the Greater Good, could bring it to them. In this way, all castes were motivated as never before.Aun'Va's next act was to decry the renegade Farsight, naming Commander Shadowsun as the new hero and military leader of the T'au Empire. She would lead the Third Sphere Expansion, but the elderly Ethereal vowed that she would not lead alone, for he himself would lend his counsel, personally heading to the forefront to guide her and the largest armies ever assembled by the T'au Empire.Then, before departing, Aun'Va spoke one last time, reminding every listener that personal sacrifice for the Greater Good of the empire was required from every T'au.True to his word, during the initial stages of the Third Sphere Expansion, Aun'Va was constantly at the front, heedless of personal danger in his zeal.His presence instilled courage, helping to drive the Fire Warriors ever forward. The other Ethereals of the High Council attempted to dissuade Aun'Va from such risks; however, they realised the futility of their admonishments when the saw the holovid clips that were beamed back to the heart of the empire.Every T'au, whether a worker in a factory complex on the busiest Sept world, or an atmosphere engineer converting the air on a barren moon base of a future colony, was required to view such materials.There, they saw the battles of the front line, including Aun'Va on his hover-throne entering a breach in a battered Imperial fortress wall, Aun'Va directing the devastating volleys of a Fire Warrior line, and Aun'Va standing next to the new technological marvel of the XV104 Riptide - piles of recently destroyed enemy tanks in the background.None who saw Aun'Va's noble attempts to persuade the last Human defenders to lay down their arms could help but be impressed. Although the barbarians refused and in the end had to be eradicated, it was still a sight that stirred something in every T'au, triggering a reaction of pride and determination.Aun'Va knew that to achieve victory he needed commitment from the warriors at the tip of the spear, as well as from every citizen behind them. With the Third Sphere Expansion, the empire was on a total war standing; a whole realm committed to conquest and control in an overwhelmingly hostile galaxy.The zeitgeist of the people was pivotal, for belief in progress and continued faith in their own superiority would sustain them in the coming years.All across the T'au Empire morale was high, and all of the castes recognised that with Aun'Va to guide them, they could not fail in their destiny. The T'au would surely bring enlightenment to the galaxy. |
Aun'Va - Spectre of Death: Aun'Va eventually met his fate at the hands of a Culexus Assassin, who was sent to the beleaguered Imperial world of Agrellan Prime as a part of an Officio Assassinorum Execution Force, which occurred during the Second Agrellan Campaign.During the campaign, Aun'Va had become trapped in his personal bunker located beneath the ruins of the old hive city due to the Imperial blockade. Somehow the Imperials had learned of the ethereal supreme's location and despatched the Culexus Assassin to eliminate the wayward ancient.Slipping into and out of reality, the Culexus was a blur to the T'au and their myriad sensors. He passed undetected, save only for an unsettling feeling that washed out in bow waves before his sinister presence.Fear ran before him, causing all nearby to shudder, and slowing or even freezing T'au AI functions. The shifting spectre of inhumanity finally neared his target, blasting Fire Warriors, T'au guards and Gun Drones apart with negative psychic streams of his Animus Speculum, or tore them apart at close range.When he finally reached his destination, Aun'Va knew that death had finally come to claim him. Wounded, his mind aflame, the ancient T'au fled for his life as his Honour Guard, knowing they would die, willingly stepped between the flickering ghoul and their master, absorbing the assassin's onslaught. Fleeing to the abandoned hive city above, terror followed at his heels.When Aun'Va's hover drone malfunctioned, damaged from flight or battle, Aun'Va left it, moving as quickly as his ancient limbs allowed. His flight was for naught, as the Culexus Assassin finally caught its prey. The end of the ethereal supreme was neither swift nor merciful.In the aftermath, the T'au had never before tasted so deeply from the bitter cup of defeat. The great losses they sustained marked the end of an era and a grim entry into a bloody new age of war. For when the Ethereal High Council learned of the ethereal supreme's death, they covered it up.Terrible rumours swirled around the T'au Empire, but all fears and doubts were silenced by the announcement that, in a matter of days, Ethereal Supreme Aun'Va would broadcast a speech, his new statement to be beamed across the Sept worlds and beyond. It was to be a message of hope and courage, a message to be seen by all children of the Greater Good.In truth, it was merely a holographic projection of Aun'va, crafted by the Ethereal High Council to maintain morale lest the empire collapse into despair. |
Aun'Va - Abilities: Although protected by his Honour Guard and a force shield that envelops him and his hover-throne, it was not Aun'Va's way to enter the fight directly.Rather, he guided the Fire Warriors through his wisdom and his ability to inspire his followers to seemingly impossible feats.In his august presence, Fire Warriors have been known to unleash more accurate volleys, enabling them to cut down oncoming opposition, shrug off otherwise mortal wounds in order to continue the battle, or hold their position to the bitter end despite overwhelming enemy assaults. |
Aun'Va - Wargear: Recon ArmourParadox of Duality - This staff projects a protective energy field whose strength grows with the power of the weapons fired into it. |
Auramite - Auramite: Auramite is a material of unknown provenance but extraordinary resilience used to construct the customised, golden suits of power armour known as Custodian Armour worn by the Adeptus Custodes, the bodyguard of the Emperor of Mankind, as well as the golden plate armour of the Emperor Himself. It is said to be similar in composition to the heat-and-shock-resistant ceramic synthetic known as ceramite used in the crafting of Space Marine and all other forms of Imperial power armour.Auramite is an incredibly rare substance, whose natural colouration is a shining gold, a hue entirely appropriate for the Emperor's personal guardians. However, through closely guarded alchemical processes, auramite can be tinted, or its colour changed altogether on a molecular level. It is a costly and painstaking process, but considered far more suited to the Custodians' importance in the Imperial hierarchy than simple repainting.Auramite is almost inert at a quantum level, making it far less of an inhibition to the manipulation of Aetheric energy by a psyker than other protective materials. During the Siege of Terra, the Emperor wore His own auramite battle-plate while fighting His immaterial battle with the powers of Chaos within the Warp. Bare skin is better when unleashing psychic power, but had the Emperor not worn it, the immense energies He unleashed while sitting upon the Golden Throne would have burned His flesh to the bone. |
Auramite - Sources: Master of Mankind (Novel) by Aaron Dembski-Bowden, Ch. 3The First Heretic (Novel) by Aaron Dembski-Bowden, Ch. 7The End and the Death: Volume 1 (Novel) by Dan Abnett, Part 1, Ch. 1Codex: Adeptus Custodes (8th Edition), pg. 22Codex: Adeptus Custodes (9th Edition), pg. 16 |
Auramite Pinions - Auramite Pinions: Auramite Pinions, formally known as a Custodian Jump Harness or Venatari Jump Harness, and also sometimes called an Alular Jump Pack, is a form of winged Jump Pack used only by the elite Venatari Custodians of the Adeptus Custodes.The Auramite Pinions consist of a lightweight suit of vestments which interface with the Custodian's own breastplate. The jump harness consists of hand-bonded and reinforced leather armour enhanced with auramite plating to ensure the protection of a warrior's vital organs. This harness is integrated with the sophisticated Jump Pack, which is hand-crafted into the form of the Raptor Imperialis by master artisans in the spire-tops of the Imperial Palace's Tower of Hegemon.While they share some similarities with the more common Jump Packs used by other Imperial forces, Custodian Jump Harnesses do not rely on the brute force of rocket engines, but on a complex array of null-grav generators and precision thrusters. These complex systems allow the Venatari to cover more ground and with greater precision than other assault troops.The wings of the Jump Pack are incredibly responsive in flight, allowing a Custodian Venatari to soar through the air to reach their target, even under heavy fire. Once on the ground they are no less useful, however; the Auramite Pinions' wingspan can be swept round to deflect opportunistic attacks from the sides and rear, as well as actively used to turn the blade of an opponent in a duel. |
Aurelia - Aurelia: Aurelia was an Imperial Hive World that served as the capital planet of Sub-sector Aurelia in the Korianis Sector of Segmentum Ultima, and was also the original Chapter Planet of the Blood Ravens Space Marine Chapter. The Blood Ravens maintained their fortress-monastery at Selenon, within view of the hive city of the same name. It was a technologically advanced and profitable world that served as the economic heart of the region, and the proud namesake of the entire sub-sector.In the late 40th Millennium, however, a Warp Storm engulfed the planet, summoned by the Great Unclean One Ulkair in his battle against the Blood Ravens. The Blood Ravens' Chapter Master Moriah and Librarian Azariah Kyras sealed the Greater Daemon within the heart of the planet, but the damage was done. Aurelia disappeared into the Warp, and remained there for almost a standard millenium, transformed into a perpetually-shifting Ice World devoid of all life save for daemons and other Warp entities. With the loss of Aurelia, the Blood Ravens were transformed into a fleet-based Chapter who recruited their Aspirants from the other worlds in the Aurelian Sub-sector. In the late 41st Millennium, Aurelia emerged back into realspace at the behest of the Forces of Chaos led by the Chaos Lord Araghast and the former Dark Apostle Eliphas of the Black Legion who wished to free Ulkair and wreak havoc on the Aurelia Sub-sector with the aid of the powerful daemon. Through the efforts of the Blood Ravens' 3rd and 5th Companies during the conflict later known to the Chapter as the Second Aurelian Crusade, Ulkair was banished back to his prison and the Black Legion was thwarted.From that time on, the Imperial Guard stationed a number of regiments to keep watch on the frigid planet, at least one of which later fell under the thrall of Ulkair. The Blood Ravens have been known to draw Neophytes from the children raised amongst these men and women. |
Aurelian - Aurelian: Aurelian is a novella written by Black Library Author Aaron Dembski-Bowden and is part of The Horus Heresy series. The novella was originally published as an A5 hardback novella and available in two editions: 3,000 Gold edition novellas that were differently bound, signed, and with interior art plates, and 3,000 Silver edition novellas that were simply bound and without a signature or interior artwork. The novella was later reprinted as a standard hardcover novella, an e-book, and an unabridged audiobook. |
Aurelian - Synopsis: After the destruction of Monarchia and the Emperor's reprimand of the Word Bearers Legion, the Primarch Lorgar spent many long Terran years searching the stars for the universal truths of the cosmos –- when he finally came to gaze deep into the Eye of Terror, with grim inevitability he found that the Eye stared back. Now, guided by the daemon Ingethel, he undertakes a spiritual journey into the heart of Chaos itself and sees that the entire destiny of mankind and the Imperium could rest upon just a few nexus events. As the Great Crusade burns itself out in treachery and deceit, Lorgar weighs the cost of his ambitions, and sets his course for eternal damnation. |
Aurelian Crusades - Aurelian Crusades: The Aurelian Crusades were a series of military campaigns fought by the Blood Ravens Chapter of Space Marines in the late 41st Millennium for control of the Korianis Sector's Sub-sector Aurelia.As Sub-sector Aurelia was the home sub-sector of the Chapter and the source for most of its neophytes, securing its control from assault by the forces of Chaos and various xenos was of paramount strategic importance for both the Blood Ravens and the wider Imperium.The conflicts would lead to the corruption of a large portion of the Blood Ravens as its Chapter Master and Chief Librarian Azariah Kyras fell to the temptations of the Ruinous Power, but its Loyalist core would be reborn under the leadership of Gabriel Angelos. |
Aurelian Crusades - First Aurelian Crusade: The Sub-sector Aurelia of the Korianis Sector had long been deeply important to the enigmatic Blood Ravens Chapter, as both a source of new recruits for the fleet-based Chapter and a major source of technology, weapons and other manufactured items drawn from its capital, the Hive World of Meridian.At an unknown time late in the 41st Millennium, an unnamed Blood Ravens Force Commander and Sergeant Tarkus launched a deep strike onto the desert Feudal World of Calderis to aid Captain Davian Thule and his company of Blood Ravens Astartes in engaging a force of Orks who are threatening the people of Calderis.The Blood Ravens neophytes drawn from the Aurelia Sub-sector were needed more than ever after the Blood Ravens suffered terrible losses during the campaign conducted by the Chapter in the Kaurava System. As the Blood Ravens strike force on Calderis drove away the Orks they were confronted by the Mekboy Badzappa and his Wartrukk. Although the Mek escaped, the Astartes collapsed the mine through which the Orks had been assaulting the human settlement on Calderis and claimed victory.The Blood Ravens next attacked from the Strike Cruiser Armageddon into a hamlet on Calderis where Scout Sergeant Cyrus was waiting for them to help defend against another Ork assault. The strike force managed to fight their way to the Blood Raven commanding the defence of the hamlet, Sergeant Avitus, rescue him and save the hamlet from the Orks.The Blood Ravens then received word that the Orks had attacked two more key locations on Calderis and they understood that someone with more tactical skill than a normal Greenskin was leading the Orks. The first attack was led by a Stormboy Nob named Skykilla and the second by the Warboss Gutrencha.After their defeat of the Orks, the Space Marines extracted information from Skykilla and Gutrencha and discovered that both had visited the Felhammer Mine recently. They also learned that Mek Badzappa was there as well.Sergeant Cyrus remained onboard the Armageddon to provide technical support as the Astartes strike force moved to drive the remaining Orks from Calderis. When the Astartes entered the mine they discovered an Aeldari Warp Spider Exarch and his retinue were already there but they vanished before they could be engaged, just as the Orks attacked.The Astartes were rescued from Ork gunners by Sergeant Thaddeus. They also found Badzappa and his mob under attack by an Aeldari Warlock and a company of Guardians. Although the Astartes slew the Warlock, the wily Ork Mek escaped once again. As the Warlock died, he spoke of the existence of a greater foe that threatened all of the sub-sector, but the Blood Ravens remained unconcerned by what they took to be the random babbling of the member of a xenos race known for their duplicity.The Blood Ravens then travelled to the jungle Feral World of Typhon Primaris to eliminate the Aeldari activity that had been detected on that world. A Warp Spider Exarch was stirring up the Feral Orks of the Evil Sunz Klan located in Typhon's jungles into revolt and he and his force had to be put down.This Exarch mentioned nothing of the so-called "greater foe" once confronted by the Blood Ravens but Thule asked the Aeldari to return to Calderis as Mek Badzappa was launching an attack against the capital of the desert planet, and its citizens were reporting plants mutating and small purple creatures killing livestock.The Space Marines returned to Calderis and finally killed the Ork Mek and his forces, but they were soon attacked by Tyranids drawn from a probable splinter fleet of Hive Fleet Leviathan that had entered Sub-sector Aurelia intent on devouring all of its worlds. Thule was mortally wounded by a Tyranid Warrior and Techmarine Martellus lead the Blood Ravens on Calderis back to safety after they destroyed the Tyranid attack force.The Space Marines returned to Typhon, leaving Apothecary Gordian in charge of caring for the badly wounded Davian Thule. The Blood Ravens killed the Aeldari Ranger Nemerian, who has been stirring up trouble for the Imperium amongst the Feral Orks, and returned to Calderis to kill the Tyranid Warrior who had mortally wounded Captain Thule.After this, the Blood Ravens were faced with three primary objectives to complete: gathering a sample of bio-toxin from the Tyranids that could be used to create a genetic poison against the splinter hive fleet assaulting Sub-sector Aurelia, securing data from an ancient Astronomical Array from the Dark Age of Technology located on Typhon Primaris that could pinpoint a critical weakness in the approaching Tyranid hive fleet, and defending the great hive city of Angel Forge on the Hive World of Meridian.Securing the Astronomic Array granted the Blood Ravens the abilities to unleash orbital bombardments and deep-strikes, defending Angel Forge allowed Sergeant Tarkus to gain a suit of Terminator Armour, and gathering the Tyranid bio-toxin added a Dreadnought to the Blood Ravens strike force, which was actually the revived Captain Davian Thule, his body having been interred within the cybernetic coffin of the Dreadnought.Meridian was the target of constant Aeldari attacks and it was ultimately revealed that the Farseer Idranel of Craftworld Ulthwe had been planning to lure the entire splinter Tyranid Hive Fleet to Meridian using the world's human population as bait. Then the Farseer planned to destroy it to eliminate the Tyranid threat to his Craftworld but at the expense of destroying a vital source of manufacturing for the Blood Ravens.Upon completion of all three objectives, the Tyranid bio-toxin was ready for delivery. However, the Navigators of the Blood Ravens Battle Barge Litany of Fury, which had been making its way to the aid of the Aurelian Sub-sector for some time, were psychically assaulted by the Tyranid Hive Mind, which placed the vessel in grave danger of becoming lost in the Warp.This effectively eliminated any potential reinforcements for the Aurelian Force Commander Aramas -- but the Hive Mind had been weakened by this exertion and sent its Hive Fleet to consume Typhon's bio-mass so that it might replenish itself.The Blood Ravens' strike team deployed to Typhon and administered the engineered bio-toxin to the Hive Mind through its feeder tendrils. In the space battle high above the Jungle World, the Armageddon was destroyed and Apothecary Gordian was killed.As the genetic poison took effect within the hive fleet's bioships, all appeared lost as the strike team possessed no means of retreat and massive waves of Tyranid creatures were preparing to attack. Suddenly, Captain Gabriel Angelos and an entire company of Blood Ravens landed on the battlefield from the recently arrived Litany of Fury and protected the beleaguered Aurelian Blood Ravens strike force from the oncoming swarms of Tyranids.Angelos himself joined the Aurelian Force Commander Aramas' strike force and his aid proved decisive in killing the Hive Tyrant Alpha who was controlling the swarm. With that synapse creature dead, the Tyranid swarms became undirected by the Hive Mind and turned on each other even as the bioships in orbit fell ill and died from the bio-toxin.The Blood Ravens had won the day and the Sub-sector Aurelia and its billions of people had been saved from complete annhilation by the Great Devourer. |
Aurelian Crusades - Second Aurelian Crusade: Just when all seemed to be returning to normal in the Sub-sector Aurelia, the Warp opened up and spat out the former capital world of the sub-sector and ancient homeworld of the Blood Ravens Chapter, the Ice World of Aurelia.Home to the Blood Ravens' ancient fortress-monastery of Selenon and many loyal citizens of the Imperium, the planet was corrupted by a Greater Daemon of Nurgle known as Ulkair. The Blood Ravens' Chapter Master Moriah had attempted to destroy the daemon but failed, and the weakened daemon was imprisoned in the depths of Keep Selenon by Azariah Kyras, then a Librarian of the Blood Ravens.Yet the daemon's influence proved too strong and eventually the shaken Kyras fell to the taint of Chaos. Aurelia itself was swallowed by the Warp and its existence in the sub-sector that had been named after it was all but forgotten.The ice-encased world returned to realspace in the late 41st Millennium bearing the foul hordes of Chaos, a warband of Chaos Space Marines from the Black Legion led by the Chaos Lord Araghast the Pillager and the former Word Bearers Dark Apostle Eliphas the Inheritor, who had been resurrected by the will of the Dark Gods so that he might seek the destruction of the Blood Ravens, now as a member of the Black Legion.Captain Gabriel Angelos and Force Commander Aramus rallied the Blood Ravens Astartes of the 3rd and 5th Company to face this threat, but no sooner did they join combat then the Aeldari and the ever present Orks rose up to cause trouble along with the heretical soldiery of the Hive World of Meridian's noble House Vandis.Before long the entire sub-sector was embroiled in fresh combat against multiple foes with the forces of Chaos causing havoc at will.As the Blood Ravens scrambled to respond to these threats even more dire circumstances came to light as the space hulk Judgement of Carrion returned to the sub-sector. Determined to recover valuable intelligence and ancient advanced technology from the space hulk to aid them against the foul servants of Chaos, the Blood Ravens under the command of the local Force Commander, Sergeant Aramus, assaulted the Judgement of Carrion only to discover the bodies of fallen Blood Ravens from the 5th Company, formerly members of an expedition led aboard the Space Hulk by Apothecary Galan.As the forces of Aramus investigated the hulk they were shocked to find evidence of Galan's corruption by the powers of Chaos, but the truth of the matter was far more insidious.As Aramus and Captain Angelos desperately fought to keep control of the sub-sector and unlock the secrets of both the Judgement of Carrion and the lost planet Aurelia, they were interrupted by the arrival of Apollo Diomedes, the Captain of the Blood Ravens Honour Guard and the right hand of the Blood Ravens' Chapter Master and Chief Librarian Azariah Kyras. Diomedes ordered all Blood Ravens forces to stand down, an order both Angelos and Aramus promptly ignored.As Diomedes got increasingly sterner in his orders, Aramus and Angelos continued to resist the forces of the Black Legion, with whom the Chapter had recently avoided open conflict for an unknown reason.As his investigations continued, Aramus discovered to his horror that the source of corruption was none other than Chapter Master Kyras himself, who had fallen under the sway of the Greater Daemon Ulkair during his earlier campaign on Aurelia centuries before and spread his taint to Galan aboard the Judgement of Carrion.Kyras escaped the doomed world of Aurelia aboard the Space Hulk and had returned to the Chapter with his dark seed of corruption when he met with Galan's expedition.Daring open conflict with Captain Diomedes' forces in their base-camp on Calderis, Aramus attacked Galan, slaying the Traitor and his tainted bodyguard of Terminators, a battle which ended in a confrontation with Captain Diomedes himself.Reluctant to accept the corruption of his political patron within the Chapter, Diomedes found himself torn but let Aramus and his comrades leave Calderis and continue their operations against the Black Legion warband of Araghast the Pillager. The Battle of Aurelia culminated in the death of Eliphas the Inheritor, who seized control of the Black Legion warband by betraying Araghast and leaving him to the mercies of the Blood Ravens earlier in the fighting.Despite Eliphas' machinations, Aramus was able to re-seal the Daemon Ulkair in its icy tomb within Keep Selenon on Aurelia. Even with this victory, Chapter Master Kyras declared Captain Gabriel Angelos a Renegade and Traitor to the Chapter and Sergeant Aramus found himself faced with the knowledge that the Chapter Master was a corrupt agent of the Chaos Gods.Diomedes and Aramus returned to the Chapter to bide their time, while Angelos fled Kyras' wrath. When the time was right the 3rd Company was determined to return and join with Force Commander Aramus and Captain Diomedes to cleanse the Chapter of the insidious taint that lay like a malignant cancer at its core. |
Aurelian Crusades - Third Aurelian Crusade: This third and final campaign in the Aurelian Sub-sector took place ten standard years after the banishment of Ulkair. Despite the banishment of the Greater Daemon of Nurgle and the defeat of the Black Legion, the worlds of the Aurelian Sub-sector remained gripped by constant warfare and bloodshed.More Black Legion forces and Chaos Cults arose to cause havoc throughout the sub-sector, while Imperial forces struggled with the feral remnants of the Tyranid invasion, and Orks continued to ravage the fringes of every world. The Aeldari still raided from the shadows, whispering of the remains of a long-fallen Craftworld.In this situation, the Imperium had finally reached the limits of its patience. In a bold effort to restore full control over the sub-sector, Imperial Segmentum Command sent several regiments of the Cadian Shock Troops of the Astra Militarum to the sub-sector, led by the Ordo Hereticus Inquisitor Adrastia, who had been tasked with conducting an investigation of the Blood Ravens and determining whether they had been hopelessly corrupted by the Archenemy.She was to make her determination before the arrival of a large Ordo Malleus Retribution Fleet, which was ordered to subject every inhabited world in the sub-sector to Exterminatus if the corruption was deemed to run too deep.The Imperial Guard forces quickly took control of the sub-sector's various Planetary Defence Forces. The bulk of these troops had been deployed to Typhon Primaris, a world whose dense jungles provided sanctuary to both aliens like Orks and Tyranids as well as Heretics.However, progress was slow, and the Imperium was increasingly ready to unleash the fires of Exterminatus. But the recently arrived Imperial forces under Adrastia's command actually did more harm than good in the end, as hundreds of Guardsmen fell victim to the whispered temptations of the Ruinous Powers, causing dissension within the ranks.Having uncovered heresy in the highest ranks of his Chapter, Blood Ravens Captain Gabriel Angelos had been branded as a Traitor by his corrupt Chapter Master Azariah Kyras. Unwilling to spill the blood of his brother Space Marines, Gabriel had gone into hiding.There, he gathered what few friends and allies he could, readying himself to oppose the Chaos taint that consumed his brothers. Unable to confront Azariah Kyras directly, the now-Renegade Captain Angelos was forced to rely on those men still loyal to him to help prove that their current Chapter Master was corrupted by Chaos and was the true Traitor.Later, Angelos and his Renegade Blood Ravens determined to eliminate Azariah Kyras once they learned that he planned to use the impending Exterminatus action of the sub-sector by the Ordo Malleus Retribution Fleet as a sacrifice to Khorne and ascend to daemonhood. Unfortunately for Angelos, Captain Apollo Diomedes still believed that Chapter Master Kyras was loyal.During the beginning of the campaign, Diomedes, Techmarine Martellus, Scout Sergeant Cyrus and a respected Veteran Space Marine sergeant known only as "The Ancient," who was in fact the former Sergeant Tarkus, fought their way across Typhon to root out and eventually destroy the Black Legion Chaos Lord Eliphas the Inheritor, resurrected once more by his dark patrons.Diomedes and his Blood Ravens attempted to reach a means of transport off Typhon while escaping the clutches of a local Chaos Cult and Traitor Imperial Guardsmen along the way. Arriving on the world of Calderis, the Blood Ravens fought against their corrupted battle-brothers who were loyal to Kyras, successfully preventing them from purging the planet of all human life.After next destroying a Warp portal on the former sub-sector capital world of Aurelia, Diomedes learned of an attack on the Hive World of Meridian by Traitor Guardsmen and arrived there with his forces.The Blood Ravens succeeded in killing the Traitor Guardsmen present on Meridian and uncovered a transmission from Kyras that not only revealed his location on Typhon, but also finally convinced Diomedes that Kyras had been corrupted by Chaos. Diomedes and his Astartes returned to Typhon Primaris to confront Kyras directly, only to be ambushed by a war host of Asuryani from Craftworld Biel-Tan.Wary of a seemingly sorcerous ritual the Aeldari were carrying out, Diomedes and his Space Marines slew the Aeldari present there. Following this action, Kyras revealed that the Aeldari ritual was actually preventing the Imperial Inquisition Retribution Fleet from arriving at the sub-sector through the Warp.The Inquisition fleet then made the jump into the sub-sector from Warpspace, and initiated the expected Exterminatus action on Typhon Primaris. Diomedes and the Loyalist Blood Ravens escaped Typhon before the Exterminatus was complete, but the once verdant jungle world of Typhon Primaris was reduced to ash.Finding themselves on the Space Hulk known as the Judgment of Carrion, the Loyalist Blood Ravens recovered and determined to stop Kyras once and for all. It was deduced that the Traitor Chapter Master was hiding on the Dead World of Cyrene, Angelos' own lost homeworld.As Cyrene had undergone an Exterminatus action of its own at the order of Gabriel Angelos many solar decades before, the Inquisition's Retribution Fleet had no reason to travel there. On Cyrene, Angelos and his Blood Ravens launched an attack against a joint alliance of Black Legion Chaos Space Marines, corrupt Imperial Guardsmen and Traitor Blood Ravens.Kyras began his ascent to daemonhood as the battle unfolded, drawing on the power created by the sacrifice of billions across the sub-sector as the Inquisition's genocidal actions proceeded. Gabriel and his 3rd Company, supplemented by Terminators of the elite 1st Company, launched an attack on Kyras but were quickly wounded or killed.But the group of Loyalist Blood Ravens under the command of Diomedes then launched their own attack, which succeeded in killing Kyras just as his powers as a newly-ascended Daemon Prince emerged.Diomedes immediately contacted Inquisitor Adrastia and requested that she halt the Exterminatus of the Aurelian Sub-sector since the source of the Chaos taint had been eliminated. The Blood Ravens Chapter was subsequently purged of any remaining Chaos stain, its corrupted battle-brothers eliminated with a bolter shot to the head.Gabriel Angelos was rescued from the precipice of death by the Chapter's Apothecaries, who replaced large portions of his ravaged body with bionic augmentations.For his loyalty to the Emperor and consistent leadership through the myriad crises of the Aurelian Crusades, Angelos was elected the Blood Ravens' new Chapter Master by acclamation.Angelos became the first Chapter Master of the Blood Ravens since Azariah Vidya not to also serve as the Chapter's Chief Librarian, a position now filled by Jonah Orion. |
Auretian Technocracy - Auretian Technocracy: The Auretian Technocracy was a technologically-advanced and peaceful independent human civilisation scattered across several star systems of the Milky Way Galaxy but centred on their capital world of Aureus. The Technocracy had been founded during the isolation of the Age of Strife and reached its height in the early 31st Millennium. Its technology was of a level equivalent to that of the Imperium of Man at the time of the Great Crusade and in some respects was even more advanced as the Auretians had access to several Standard Template Construct (STC) databases that were not in Imperial hands. The Auretian Technocracy was conquered by the Sons of Horus Space Marine Legion on the orders of the Warmaster Horus in the final days of the Great Crusade. Horus was already planning to unleash his great rebellion against the Emperor of Mankind by the time his Expeditionary Fleet made first contact with the Auretians. The Warmaster used the new technologies and STC databases recovered from the Imperium's brutal conquest of the Technocracy to bribe a faction of the Adeptus Mechanicus into providing crucial logistical and military support to the Traitor forces during the Horus Heresy. |
Auretian Technocracy - History: The 63rd Expeditionary Fleet of the Great Crusade, under the direct control of Warmaster Horus and the Sons of Horus, made first contact with the Auretian Technocracy under false pretenses. By this time late in the Great Crusade, Horus had been healed of the terrible wound he had suffered on the moon of Davin after making his deal with the Chaos Gods to overthrow the Emperor of Mankind. As part of the prepartions required to the massive interstellar civil war he was prepared to wage, Horus needed to gain the backing of the Adeptus Mechanicus, as without the logistical, military and materiel aid that the Mechanicus could provide, no war against the Imperium's Loyalists could be won.After first contact was made with the Auretians by both the Sons of Horus' 63rd Expeditionary Fleet and the World Eaters Legion's 203rd Expeditionary Fleet, Horus invited the Technocracy's leader, the Fabricator Consul Emory Salignac, aboard his flagship, the Battle Barge Vengeful Spirit, under the guise of opening peaceful diplomatic relations between the Imperium and the Technocracy. The Fabricator Consul, who made use of augmetic enhancements much like a Mechanicus Tech-adept, was accompanied by the Auretians' elite warriors, who were known as The Brotherhood and were dressed in Power Armour and made use of Bolter weapons very similar to that of the Space Marines, though they were clearly not genetically enhanced humans and carried no magazines in their bolters. As soon as the Fabricator Consul arrived aboard his vessel, in the course of his welcoming remarks Horus asked the Auretian leader if his people had developed their advanced technology that was so much like the Imperium's own knowledge gleaned from STC databases. When the Fabricator Consul answered in the affirmative, Horus had immediately turned his Bolt Pistol upon Salignac and blew out the back of his head. The Sons of Horus then slaughtered The Brotherhood warriors who had accompanied their leader. Horus justified his actions by claiming that the Fabricator Consul's staff contained a weapon with which the Auretians planned to assassinate Horus to prevent the Imperium from conquering their world. This was an outright lie concocted by Horus to justify the Imperial conquest of Aureus and the acquisition of its STC technologies.This action initiated a 10 month-long-war between the Imperium and the Auretian Technocracy that would ultimately draw in the Sons of Horus, World Eaters and Emperor's Children Legions. The Astartes Legions laid siege to Aureus and after months of slaughter, the last bastion of Auretian resistance, known as the Iron Citadel, finally fell to the Imperial forces after a two-pronged assault led by the Sons of Horus and the World Eaters, who were led on the field by their Primarch Angron. During the course of this conflict, Horus began the process of turning his Legion against the Emperor, identifying those Loyalists who would not turn against the Imperium to follow him into rebellion and forging links amongst the other Primarchs who were willing to join him in turning Traitor.After the fall of the Iron Citadel, Horus met with Regulus, the Tech-priest who represented the Mechanicus in the 63rd Expeditionary Fleet and promised to deliver all of the recovered STC databases from Aureus into the Mechanicus' hands in return for the Mechanicus' support for his rebellion. Regulus eagerly accepted the bargain and then offered to serve as Horus' envoy to Fabricator General Kelbor-Hal of the Mechanicus on Mars, offering him both the recovered Auretian technology and greater political autonomy and the right to research formerly forbidden technologies if he agreed to betray the Emperor. Kelbor-Hal ultimately accepted this offer, which would unleash the civil war within the Mechanicus known as the Schism of Mars and lead to the tech-heresy that founded the Dark Mechanicus. In this way, the Warmaster's conquest of the Auretian Technocracy represented the first major step along the path of treachery that would unleash the horrors of the Horus Heresy upon the galaxy. |
Auric Patricians - Auric Patricians: The Auric Patricians is a Codex Astartes-compliant, Loyalist Space Marine Chapter of unknown Founding and genetic origin. |
Auric Patricians - Chapter Colours: The Auric Patricians primarily wear golden power armour. The power pack, shoulder plates, gauntlets and knee guards are black. The shoulder plates are trimmed in gold. The Aquila or Imperialis on the chest is silver.The golden squad tactical specialty symbol -- battleline, close support, fire support, Veteran or command -- is indicated on the right shoulder plate.A golden Low Gothic numeral on the left knee guard indicates squad number.The iconography on the right knee guard indicates company number, in accordance with the Codex Astartes. |
Auric Patricians - Chapter Badge: The Auric Patricians' Chapter badge is a profile of a large golden skull on a field of black. |
Aurora Chapter - Aurora Chapter: Aurora ChapterLoyalistChapterSpace MarinesSecond FoundingUltramarinesArmouryLand RaidersPredatorsMany of these vehicles are ancient war relics that have fought for the Aurora Chapter since the Second Founding. Its vehicles are manufactured on its homeworld of Firestorm, a planet covered with industrial macrofactorums to rival most Forge Worlds in scale. Their output ensures that the Aurora Chapter's vehicles never need fear ammunition shortages.The Aurora Chapter's name has become a byword for armoured assault across the Ultima Segmentum, which serves as its primary area of operations. |
Aurora Chapter - Origins: The origins of the Aurora Chapter can be traced back to the Great Crusade over ten millennia earlier, when it was still a part of the Ultramarines Legion, then known as the XIIIth Legion, before their reunification with their Primarch Roboute Guilliman.Following their unification with their primarch, Guilliman quickly set about restructuring his Legion's operational doctrine and hierarchy to suit his personal tastes and style of leadership.While the newly espoused doctrine of structured adaptability became deeply ingrained within many of the Legion's chapters, there were some notable deviations from this pattern. Some few individual chapters, through long held preference or some quirk of supply, maintained notable strengths of non-standard equipment or personnel.One of the more noteworthy examples of this was the 4th Chapter, known within the Legion as the "Aurorans," who operated roughly five times as many armoured vehicles as a standard Legion chapter.Before their unification with their primarch, the warrior brotherhood of the XIIIth had, at that time, only in the solar decades after their initial raising on Terra, begun to display its achievements visually.But rather than take on a particular livery and iconography as a whole, individual companies who had come to prominence in a particularly important Imperial Compliance operation or campaign took on additions to their core Legion livery -- which maintained the post-Unification storm grey and gunmetal they had worn since the retaking of Sedna at the edge of the Sol System at the start of the Great Crusade -- to commemorate their greatest achievements.The principally armoured formations of the XIIIth Legion helped halt an Ork advance on the ash plains of Cypra Mundi, and in doing so had saved a city of millions from a savage death. Afterwards, they commemorated the battle by mirroring on their right pauldron the emerald light of the blazing aurora borealis that had riven the skies under which they had fought. Such honours were claimed as the Legion's strength made visible.Following the end of the Horus Heresy, Roboute Guilliman was responsible for the restructuring of the Imperium's military forces. The vast Space Marine Legions would be broken down into numerous, smaller existing formations, known as a Chapter.When the Second Founding of the Space Marines was decreed seven Terran years after the death of Horus and the end of his Heresy, most of the old Loyalist Legions were divided into fewer than 5 Successor Chapters, but the Ultramarines were divided many times. The existing armoured formations of the Ultramarines 4th Chapter became a part of the newly founded "Aurora" Chapter.Since that bygone era, the Aurora Chapter has always been known as the undisputed masters of armoured assault. They boast more Land Raiders and Predators than many other Space Marine Chapters. Ever since their creation, in the Second Founding, they have preferred massed spearheads led by heavily armoured main battle tanks, earning them renown throughout the Ultima Segmentum.Heeding the summons of Ultramarines Chapter Master Marneus Calgar, the Aurora Chapter recently deployed on the Zeist Campaign in support of the Ultramarines against the emergent Tau Empire. |
Aurora Chapter - Eukari Insurrection: Sometime in 330.M41, there arose a destabilisation of relations between both the Aurora Chapter and their fellow scions of Guilliman -- the Emperor's Spears Chapter. Many Successor Chapters hold little affinity with their genetic forebears, but the Emperor's Spears are a key example in the rare cases of a Chapter detesting one of its kindred bloodlines to the point of coming to blows. In this instance, it was over a matter of honour.During the Eukari Insurrection, a strike force of Emperor's Spears came into conflict with a vanguard of warriors from the Aurora Chapter, a close-bound descendant of the noble Ultramarines. However, the Emperor's Spears' 4th Warhost arrived to find the insurrection was already being fought by the Aurora Chapter -- technically a cousin bloodline to the Emperor's Spears.Rather than greet the Emperor's Spears as brethren, the commander of the Aurora Chapter berated the Spears for requiring other warriors to fight their wars inside Elara's Veil. With typical hot blood, the Emperor's Spears replied with a planetary deployment right into the heart of the enemy capital, sustaining heavier losses than the Aurora Chapter's meticulously fought counter-offensive, but stealing all glory of the victory for themselves through three solar days and nights of brutal urban warfare.With the Chaos warlord's still-bloody skull chained to his pauldron, the lord of the 4th Warhost -- Captain Trystance of the Arakanii -- voxed the Aurora Chapter commander and informed him that his warriors had no right to mark the battle on their war banners as a victory, since the Emperor's Spears had "done all the hard work."The exact events that led to continued destabilisations in the Chapters' relations are unclear, though it seems both commanders eventually agreed to an honour duel to end the unrest. Even this engagement is the source of yet more conflict, as both Chapters claim their champion was victorious, and in the skirmish that followed, both Chapters claim the other side fired the first shot that led to several warships sustaining significant damage in the name of Adeptus Astartes pride.A group of representatives from the Ultramarines, acting either as benevolent overseers or unwanted judges depending on which Chapter's perspective is being described at the time, later ruled in the Aurora Chapter's favour. They stated that the Emperor's Spears had acted according to rash, impulsive instincts rather than following the approved guidelines for multi-Chapter warfare laid out in the Codex Astartes and that the glory of the victory was to be equally shared.Such was the bitterness that arose over the Ultramarines' perceived inflexibility (some archives list it as "favouritism") that Trystance of the 4th Warhost swore never to set foot on Macragge even if the planet was imperiled by threat of destruction.No record exists of the Emperor's Spears and the Aurora Chapter fighting together since the event, though there is an apocryphal tale in the Liber Honora Astartes Quintia that says a cargo vessel arrives every ten standard years in the skies above Firestorm, homeworld of the Aurora Chapter, "declaring that it brings a tribute to the Spears' 'beloved cousins.'"This gift is the same each decade: the ship has a hold full of seawater and several hundred abyssal vine-serpents, supposedly a despised -- and incredibly ugly -- breed of oceanic vermin on the Emperor's Spears' homeworld of Nemeton, with no nutritional value whatsoever and a profoundly unpleasant taste. |
Aurora Chapter - Notable Campaigns: Second Siege of Cthonia (013.M31) - A fleet of the Sons of Horus known as the True Sons and Traitor support elements separated from Horus' vast armada and bypassed Sol to attack Cthonia, the XVIth Legion's homeworld. The Imperial Fists garrison, with a small detachment of the Ultramarines' 4th Chapter ("Aurorans") stationed at the Astagar Garrison, were outnumbered and isolated, with nowhere to retreat to, and were forced to rely on the hope of a relief force from Terra to break the siege. However, they were left to fend for themselves as the Siege of Terra, the epic final confrontation between the Traitor and Loyalist forces, took place a standard year into the brutal campaign on Cthonia, forcing both sides to fight a protracted and grinding war of attrition. Only with the timely arrival of a large Dark Angels Legion fleet were the Loyalists able to achieve victory, however, it was pyrrhic at best. Cthonia was destroyed and rendered into a Dead World, serving as a stark reminder of the rewards of treachery, though this action marked the start of the unit cohesion that would lead the 4th Chapter to be split off during the Second Founding as the Aurora Chapter.Armoured Assault on Grylos (282.M36) - The massed armoured spearheads of the Aurora Chapter broke the Ork invasion of Grylos.Eukari Insurrection (330.M41) - The Imperial world of Eukari was struck by a rebellion led by the forces of Chaos in 330.M41. In response, its planetary governor sent an astropathic plea for aid. As Eukari lay within the region of Elara's Veil, it was within the sphere of responsibility of the Emperor's Spears. The Chapter dispatched a strike force led by Captain Trystance to aid the world. When the Emperor's Spears force arrived, Trystance discovered that the Aurora Chapter was already fighting the rebels. The Aurora Chapter commander berated the Emperor's Spears upon their arrival for failing in their responsibilities to guard the Veil and requiring others to fight their wars for them. This angered Trystance and he ordered the Emperor's Spears' strike force to deploy right into the heart of the rebels' capital city. Though they suffered heavy causalities, over three solar days of fighting, the Spears killed the rebel Chaos Lord and thus earned the majority of the glory of the battle for themselves. Trystance then informed the Aurora Chapter's commander that they had no right to mark the Battle of Eukari as a victory on their war banners, since the Emperor's Spears had actually carried out the operation that resulted in the defeat of the rebels. This led to a squabble between the two Astartes captains, which ended in an honour duel between both Chapter's champions. Yet even this failed to stop the bickering, as the duel proved inconclusive and both Chapters claimed they had won the contest. Eventually a shot rang out and both sides attacked in an internecine battle, which resulted in even their orbiting fleets unleashing their weapons upon one another and causing significant damage before a ceasefire was eventually declared to stem the losses. Since both Chapters were Ultramarines successors, the Ultramarines dispatched a group of representatives to finally end the conflict. Upon further review, the Ultramarines ruled in the Aurora Chapter's favour and held that the Emperor's Spears had acted impulsively. The Ultramarines arbitrators also found that the Emperor's Spears had not followed the dictums laid out in the Codex Astartes. As a result, the credit for the victory over the rebels was to be shared equally between the two Chapters. Though the Aurora Chapter was satisfied with this decision, Trystance was infuriated at the outcome, and vowed he would never set foot on the Ultramarines' homeworld of Macragge again even if the home of his primarch found itself imperiled. The Emperor's Spears bitterly claimed the outcome was the result of the Ultramarines' cultural inflexibility as a Chapter and their expressed preference for the Aurora Chapter as an organisation that was more compliant with the dictates of the Codex Astartes than the Emperor's Spears. Thereafter, the Emperor's Spears no longer had a close or cordial relationship with their two brother Chapters.Goru Heresy (650.M41) - When a Chaos-inspired nihilo-cult usurped power in the Goru System, the Aurora Chapter executed a lightning campaign that decapitated the heretics' inner circle and restored order to the region within ten days of their deployment. There was scant cause for celebration however, as the Chapter Master, Lord Herak Nhuson, was killed when the heretic leader unleashed a Warp fuelled psi-vortex as a dying act of spite.Redemption Rebellion (744.M41) - In 744.M41, after joining forces to defeat the Alpha Legion warband responsible for the Redemption Rebellion, the Aurora Chapter and the Knights of the Raven swore a bitter feud against each other, each blaming the other for their grievous losses. This conflict was only ended by the intervention of Ultramarines Chapter Master Marneus Calgar himself.Zeist Campaign (999.M41) - The Aurora Chapter heeded the call of the Ultramarines' Lord Macragge, Marneus Calgar, in the Eastern Fringes of the galaxy to take part in the Zeist Campaign against the T'au Empire in 999.M41. The Aurora Chapter provided armoured support in the form of Predators to help spearhead the assault on the T'au-occupied world of Augura. This world served as a staging point for the T'au forces during their Third Sphere Expansion campaign into Imperial space. But due to the overwhelming force provided by a combined task force assault of close to a dozen Space Marine Chapters, the T'au were forced to withdraw to protect more secure territory within their own borders. Unfortunately, though the Space Marines had won the war and stopped the T'au's seizure of Human territory, it was not possible to sanction a retaliatory thrust into T'au-held space as the individual Space Marine forces were required elsewhere in the galaxy to hold the line against the forces of Chaos during the height of the 13th Black Crusade.Reconquest of the Forsarr Sector (999.M41) - Three standard years after the fall of the sector's vital Hive World capital of Forsarr in the Segmentum Tempestus, the Administratum finally recongnised the true threat posed by WAAAGH! Garaghak. The Aurora Chapter joined a powerful coalition with their brethren of the Revilers and the Death Eagles as well as a demi-legio of Titans of the Legio Astraman and several regiments of Imperial Guard and Ecclesiarchal troops. They took the fight to the Orks and reclaimed the Forsarr Sector for the Emperor. It is unknown if the fact that the Raven Guard's homeworld of Deliverance is also located in the Forsarr Sector prompted this deployment. |
Aurora Chapter - Chapter Homeworld: The Aurora Chapter's homeworld, Firestorm, is an Imperial Industrial World that harbours vast industrial complexes, which together are large enough to rival the manufacturing output of several Adeptus Mechanicus Forge Worlds.Countless millions of indentured menials work the munitorum manufactoria night and day to feed the mighty guns of the Aurora Chapter's tank companies, ensuring that their weapons need never fall silent. |
Aurora Chapter - Chapter Combat Doctrine: The Aurora Chapter's Astartes are known to be the undisputed masters of the armoured assault, and the Chapter boasts more Land Raiders and Predators than any other Chapter (or indeed, several Chapters combined).Their preferred method of battle is therefore, unsurprisingly, a massed attack led by heavily armoured Space Marine battle tanks, a strategy that has earned them renown throughout the Ultima Segmentum and beyond. |
Aurora Chapter - Chapter Relics: Remembrance - Remembrance is a master-crafted Astartes Thunder Hammer. Though the members of the Deathwatch are sworn to set aside their ties to their Chapter during the service in the Long Vigil, they remain Space Marines, forever battle-brothers of the Adeptus Astartes. When the Aurora Chapter lost a task force in the Jericho Reach to unknown xenos foes during the Reach's Age of Shadow, it was the Deathwatch who rescued the survivors and returned the gene-seed of the fallen. Among the losses was a venerable Land Raider tank, ruined beyond repair. The Forge Master of Watch Fortress Erioch at the time took it upon himself to forge its main axle anew as a mighty Thunder Hammer, so that the noble machine could avenge its destruction. Those who have wielded the weapon in battle swear it strikes with the force of a tank bearing down on its foe. |
Aurora Chapter - Chapter Colours: The Aurora Chapter's power armour is painted forest green. The Aquila or Imperialis on the chest guard is gold.A white squad specialty symbol -- battleline, close support, fire support, Veteran or command -- is indicated on the right shoulder pauldron. A black High Gothic numeral, designating squad number, is stenciled in black in the centre of it.The colour of the shoulder pauldron trim designates company number as prescribed by the Codex Astartes -- i.e., white (1st Company), yellow (2nd Company), red (3rd Company), etc.If promoted to sergeant, a battle-brother displays a red skull on his helm. |
Aurora Chapter - Chapter Badge: The Aurora Chapter's badge is a black, lower case Greek letter Alpha turned on its right side inside a white, twelve-pointed star centred on a field of green. |
Aurora Chapter - Canon Conflict: Sources have conflicted concerning the date of this Chapter's Founding; while some claim the Aurora Chapter to be one of the Ultramarines' Second Founding Primogeniture Chapters, others place the date of its foundation as much later. |
Aurora Chapter - Sources: Adeptus Astartes: Successor Chapters (Limited Release Booklet), pg. 14Codex: Space Marines (3rd Edition), pp. 22–23Codex: Space Marines (5th Edition), pp. 30, 48Codex: Space Marines (6th Edition), pp. 30, 141Codex: Space Marines (7th Edition) (Digital Edition), pg. 110Codex: Space Marines (8th Edition) (Revised Codex), pg. 26Codex: Space Marines (9th Edition), pg. 46Codex: Ultramarines (2nd Edition), pp. 9, 41Deathwatch - Honour the Chapter (RPG), pg. 132Imperial Armour Volume Two, Second Edition - War Machines of the Adeptus Astartes, pg. 20Imperial Armour Volume Eight - Raid On Kastorel-Novem, pg. 77The Horus Heresy - Book Five: Tempest (Forge World Series) by Alan Bligh, pp. 70, 73, 80-81The Horus Heresy: Siege of Cthonia (Specialty Game) (2nd Edition), pp. 25, 111White Dwarf 460 (January 2021), "Index Astartes: Emperor's Spears" by Aaron Dembski-Bowden, pp. 44-45 |
Aurora Talons - Aurora Talons: Aurora TalonsSpace MarineChapterFoundingThe Aurora Talons are known for maintaining no less than five "Master Bombardiers" in its command roster. Almost nothing else is known about this Chapter in current Imperial records. |
Aurora Talons - Chapter Colours: The Aurora Talons' Chapter colours are not listed in current Imperial records. |
Aurora Talons - Chapter Badge: The Aurora Talons' Chapter badge is not listed in current Imperial records. |
Aurum (Planet) - Aurum (Planet): Aurum, also known as the "Golden Planet," is a Feral World within the Orpheus Salient of the Jericho Reach. It is currently undergoing integration into the Imperium through recent contact with the forces of the Achilus Crusade.The planet has two main continental landmasses. Each are dominated by arid plains and rain forest zones surrounding a chain of large mountain ranges. The equatorial regions are made up of bands of deserts. The world also possesses relatively small polar oceans.Ruled by an indigenous monarch known as "the caele," the Auran tribes follow a warrior culture found ideal by the Astra Militarum. The current caele is Rylus Darkscourge.Aurum is also rich in promethium, natural resources, and the rare Decavane Crystals which can be used to improve the performance of Imperial weapons. It is overall strategically well-suited to the needs of the crusade. |
Aurum (Planet) - History: Aurum derives its name from the golden glow that suffuses its atmosphere. If it contained so mundane a resource as actual gold ore, it would be of interest only to reckless Rogue Traders willing to risk the untamed Jericho Reach to exploit it.However, Aurum is rich in a far rarer and more immediately useful resource than metal. The unique amber colour suffusing the sky and tinting the planet originates from its rare Decavane Crystals. Decavane Crystals can hold an exponentially larger power charge than standard crystal batteries, making them highly valued for the manufacture of alternate Imperial weapon patterns and other military equipment.The relationship between the crystals and Aurum's environment, if any, is unclear, but it is obvious the planet is exceptionally resource-rich and fertile. Nearly every form of flora prospers when introduced to the rich soil, and herd animals mature quickly and free of illness.Even the native Human population has grown strong and able on this unusually healthy planet, although the native predators are equally flourishing and the Aurans must strive constantly to perfect their martial skills to keep pace with them.Some have theorised that the Decavane crystals emit a subtle, beneficial energy field, while others propose that they are the effect and not the cause of some undiscovered property of the planet. Until the natives allow the Adeptus Mechanicus to perform detailed research, Imperial scholars can only conjecture.For their part, the Aurans attribute their planet's benevolence to the "Soul of Aurum," a male personification of the planet's will. This "Soul" actually has striking similarities to the story of the God-Emperor -- from His creation of 20 sons and their armies to a betrayal by His most beloved child.Their religious parables likewise show roots in the Imperial Creed. The original date of Human habitation can only be guessed at, but the Low Gothic dialect and various cultural artefacts present on Aurum clearly indicate an Imperial history.Since 783.M41, the Imperium has had a presence in Haistand, which passes for Aurum's capital city. Small groups of diplomats and missionaries have resolutely persisted in their efforts to forge a lasting alliance with the natives.Both the previous and current Caele allowed Imperials to land, but not to venture beyond Haistand. Over the last few standard years, the missionaries have observed an unusual number of disappearances; these events are doubly suspicious because the populace, and the Caele in particular, meet inquiries with stony silence.The situation came to a head when Sister Rachayel, a Sister Hospitaller accompanying the Ecclesiarchy, was found dead. As Diaz Lan, the crusade's liaison to the Ecclesiarchy put it:"Her body was found in the mission, with her own dagger through her chest. The locals were eager to call it a suicide due to a weak spirit. She may not have been a Sister of Battle, but no loyal member of her order would throw away her life."Indeed, reports made by Inquisitor Adrielle Quist to Lord General Castus Iacton have documented a series of such deaths among Imperial diplomats to Aurum.Inquisitor Quist would end her report as follows:"This world is critical to the crusade. If these primitives only respect strength, we will send them the Deathwatch. One way or the other, Aurum will be brought into Compliance." |
Aurum (Planet) - Notable Events: 787.M41 - First contact made by Navis Imperialis survey team. Reception is neutral. Post-contact analysis reveals extreme resource value of planet. Aurum is made high priority for re-indoctrination and Imperial Compliance.789.M41 - Larger contact envoy sent to Aurum, including Adeptus Ministorum and Adeptus Administratum representation. Negotiations quickly deteriorate, although adepts confirm Imperial cultural roots before being forced to leave planet.791.M41 - Captain Laurel Mattheos of the Imperial Navy and squad of armed crewmen force contact. Contingent is unexpectedly well-received. Reach agreement to allow Imperial presence in capital city of Haistand.798.M41 - Captain Mattheos killed in action, negotiations resumed by Rogue Trader Diaz Lan. Reach agreement to allow small military outpost for protection of growing non-combatant population in Haistand. Construction begins on "The Aspirance."802.M41 - Rogue Trader Diaz Lan repeats contact. Negotiations fail to allow Imperial presence to extend beyond Haistand.809.M41 - Rogue Trader Diaz Lan re-opens negotiation on previous topic. Attempts to win support by participating in local combat games. Departs planet in critical condition from reptile bites.816.M41 - Rogue Trader Diaz Lan repeats contact. Aurans rebuff Lan and refuse to honour future negotiations with him on grounds he is "not a Man."817.M41 - A Deathwatch Kill-team is brought to Aurum aboard Diaz Lan's ship, the Horizon's Pride, in an effort to broach Imperial Compliance with Caele Rylus Darkscourge in the capital of Haistand. |
Aurum (Planet) - The Malissectors: Eventually it was learned that the mutilated corpses of Imperial agents on Aurum were the work of Genestealers: a deadly, four-armed strain of Tyranid capable of turning other species into their psychically-dominated minions, and hosts for hideous offspring.In many cases the dead were simply victims of a Genestealer's ingrained drive to kill. However, others -- like Sister Rachayel -- forced the creatures into confrontation by actively seeking them out.The Genestealer infestation centres in the settlement of Grensvayl, about 200 kilometres from Haistand in the canyon farmlands. The first infection was over a solar decade ago, giving the brood time to spread through the town's population.For most of this period, Haistand remained ignorant of the infection. However, as Grensvayl fell out of contact, Rylus Darkscourge finally sent a war party to determine the cause. The result was disastrous.While Rylus did not know the Imperium's name for these xenos predators, he had seen them teeming in the infected settlement. He and those within the circle of knowledge dubbed these mantis-like creatures "Malissectors."They understand that the monsters infect, and worse yet enslave, his people. In Auran culture this is a sign of impurity and weakness in the victims: that their bodies and minds could not resist domination.Rylus and his people see the infestation as their own failing. The Caele has worked hard to conceal the Malissectors from the off-worlders so as not to show weakness to an enemy. |
Aurum (Planet) - Culture: Combat is an Auran way of life, encompassing all ages and genders. In the planet's past, scattered tribes warred for dominance. The tribes have been united for several Terran centuries, but the planet's deadly predators ensure that martial prowess remains a necessity.As a result, while the Aurans do farm the fertile land and raise herd animals, traditional hunts remains a staple of their culture. The society has not yet developed currency; they still rely on a barter system.The traditional Auran greeting is to touch one's weapon's hilt to the other party's shoulder. Non-lethal martial challenges are used to solve nearly any disagreement, from domestic quarrels to trade disputes. If a matter escalates to a serious grudge, the natives have a tradition called "splitting the rock of grievance."Aurum's extensive plains make wood an uncommon commodity, and it is unclear if metal ore even exists on the planet. The natives show a relatively advanced understanding of farming and medicine, but their implements tend to be made of rock and bone.Though every Auran is trained in the ways of the warrior, nearly all have a second occupation as well. For most this is farming or hunting, for some it is lorekeeping. In the latter case, the Auran keeps the oral histories and legends of the Auran tribes, giving him a deep base of knowledge to draw upon. |
Aurum (Planet) - Rites of Proving: In Auran culture, positions and titles are give to those who prove themselves within the eyes of the community. The nature of a warrior's proving varies with the standing he is vying for in society. Of these trials, the most honored is the Divested Hunt.This ritual sends a group of warriors to the Reaving Canyons, where some of the planet's most fearsome predators dwell. Using only their skills and the ritual Auran weapons that are a part of the ceremony, they must slay a Diablodon, the king of the planet's midasaur strains.The rules of the Hunt are simple and immutable. Bring nothing with you into the canyons. Take no aid from anyone but yourselves. Return with a trophy -- at least the head -- from an adult Diablodon, and swear an oath that you took its life.Upon returning to the gate that stands between the canyons and the farm fields, two youths on theratryx will be awaiting the warriors. One will race to Haistand to tell the news, while the other leads the victorious warrior back to the capital.The Divested Hunt is a rare occurrence, and locals pay especially close attention to off-worlders when they return than when they arrived (particularly if the victors display the head or similar trophy of a Diablodon).That is not to say that the reception is warm; the Aurans still keep their distance, and seem generally undecided whether they should attack or cheer. Regardless, the caele will await any offworlders who complete the Hunt in his homestead, and welcome them back with sincere praise and congratulations. |
Aurum (Planet) - Splitting the Rock of Grievance: A form of duel, this ritual begins by presenting the other party with two pieces of a quartered stone. Each man then uses their pieces to delineate two corners of the boundary in which they will fight.Most combats are to the first blood but the victor always has the option to shatter the loser's skull. The skull is then also quartered and left by each of the stone markers for one week. |
Aurum (Planet) - Haistand: The tribal capital of Aurum towers on the border between the planet's canyon savannahs and its fertile mesas. Haistand rests on the flat top of a great cliff, where time has tightly packed more stone and wood structures into the same space. A wide road winds up the cliff-side to accommodate a steady stream of natives from the outlying lands.The few space-worthy shuttles that arrive set down in a wide circle where the rich brown soil is exposed. This primitive landing pad at the edge of town is the only accommodation made for off-worlders.Haistand was founded far back in the planet's history as a place for trade between the nomadic tribes of the savannah and the tribes living permanently in the green canyons. As the tribes began to unite into larger groups, Haistand turned into a centre of trade and politics.Millennia later, Aurans still look every inch the part of a warrior people. They stand taller than average Humans by nearly a head, and their bronze-skinned bodies are lean and fit.They mastered agriculture several Terran centuries prior to the 9th century of the 41st Millennium, but combat prowess is still essential for survival and is a skill that their culture values highly.Similarly, their goods and clothing still follow the traditions of their predatory ancestors. Common Auran garments are cut from skins and hides, while interlaced reptile scales form the common basis for armour; their implements of crafting and war are largely bone.Most of the planet's fauna is reptilian, including the unusual saurian strain dubbed "midasaurs." These creatures have incredibly resilient scales that glitter with streaks of gold in Aurum's sunlight.The primary herd animal is the argrax, a slightly less temperamental strain of grox whose larger relatives remain wild on the plains, and are often hunted for food. The primary mount and beast of burden is a sleek bipedal lizard called a theratryx.The Auran reaction to Space Marines varies. In Haistand, their iconic power armour is not a legendary profile, but a point of curiosity. Natives of all ages and genders show an obvious interest in this new breed of off-worlder, but no fear.Haistand's buildings are mostly of primitive but sturdy masonry, and their ceilings are high enough to accommodate most Space Marines because of the natives' natural height. Residences and shops crowd each other and the busy streets, which throng with carts, livestock, and pedestrians. |
Aurum (Planet) - The Snaking Ascent: The road hewn into the cliff that Haistand rests atop is wider than any street to be found in the city. It sees a steady flow of traffic from sunrise to sunset, and must accommodate caravans of traders and argrax herds being driven to and from market.It takes approximately 30 solar minutes to climb the zigzagging path to the city hundreds of metres above. Two ancient columns mark the entrance to Haistand, taller than any structure in the city. These remnants of the planet's lost ancestry each bear a single eagle. |
Aurum (Planet) - The Overlook: The buildings closest to the city's entrance are residences, stacked two or even a perilous three stories high. The buildings along the outer perimeter are riddled with windows -- some open and some curtained by animal hides.This section of Haistand is home to many of the city's tradesmen and guards, as well as providing temporary lodging for local travellers. |
Aurum (Planet) - The Word of Faith: The Word of Faith is the first and only Imperial mission on Aurum. The dead Sister Rachayel served here, protecting its chief missionary, Father Marius.The building itself is not much to look at: a converted single story residence with a meticulously maintained Aquila painted above the door.When the Deathwatch arrived and venture in sight of the mission, they witnessed first-hand the difficult task the Ecclesiarchy had before them. Indeed, Father Marius stood on the steps, doing his best to minister to the disdainful populace. |
Aurum (Planet) - The Old Religion: Not far from the Word of Faith stands a much older site of worship. This nameless temple is a stark contrast to the struggling mission. It dates back to Haistand's founding, representing the native religion.If the Aurans' command of Low Gothic was not evidence enough that they must once have been under the Imperium's banner, the tribal altar erases any doubt. The frieze above the entrance features a weathered line of carved warriors.The spacing suggests that once the figures numbered twenty, although two of them have been defaced into only vague outlines. The warriors bear such distinctive features as a cyclopean eye on one and wings on another.Entering the temple, one can see a dozen or so Aurans in quiet prayer, with no apparent priest. One wall displays a well-maintained mural of a golden hero wrestling a four-headed dragon. |
Aurum (Planet) - War Grounds: The war grounds were constructed to rally vast numbers of troops from the planet's diverse tribes in wartime. The establishments of Haistand's most renowned armourers ring the district. At present the grounds are an expanse of open ground in the packed city.The city protectorate who practice here occupy only a minute fraction of the total area, and patches of grass have crept onto the cleared earth with no feet to trample it.The sparring warriors give any Space Marine battle-brothers present curious glances before quickly and deliberately ignoring them, avoiding eye contact as best one can with a Space Marine helmet. If the battle-brothers approach, the Aurans do not acknowledge them until directly or addressed.When this happens, Shieldmaster Zayr the overseer of the war grounds, takes over the discussion. He steps to the front of the group and replies to the Kill-team with curt responses and a hostile gaze. His answers are uniformly unhelpful, obviously meant to discourage further conversation.In particular if the topic of Sister Rachayel or the other killings comes up, Zayr resolutely maintains that the Imperial regime is simply over-reacting to the planet's violent predators. His words and attitude convey a sense that the Imperium is not mentally equipped to deal with the danger of life on Aurum. |
Aurum (Planet) - The Aspirance: The dozen Imperial Guardsmen tolerated in Haistand have dubbed the two-story structure afforded them for barracks and administration "the Aspirance."The stone building sits on a corner of the war grounds, where their members are permitted to drill (usually openly scrutinized by the natives). The Aspirance is Brigadier Heth's headquarters.According the guardsmen's accounts, the previous assignee to the post slighted one of the nearby native warriors with a careless remark. He compounded the mistake by accepting the resulting challenge to battle -- with lethal results.Some of Heth's men have been stationed on Aurum for solar decades; they freely describe their experiences and answer questions. They have also witnessed the same strange occurrences that Sister Rachayel reported.One of the soldiers spoke of winds from the north sometimes carrying an odour that he cannot quite identify, but associates with industry and Hive Worlds. Many of the guardsmen have sometimes seen an odd glow in the western sky at night, when all should be dark.While the militia at the war grounds has never been friendly with the occupants of the Aspirance, mutual respect was burgeoning until mutilated bodies began appearing. Since then, the relationship has been curt and guarded. |
Aurum (Planet) - Hall of Victories: The hall is the largest building in Haistand, and one of the few made entirely of wood. The polished structure is well-maintained, but currently empty. It is only used for the Caele's ceremonies. In previous generations, this meant celebrations before or after battle.However, as the tribes of the planet have made peace, its purpose has evolved to hosting holiday celebrations and feasts for visiting tribal leaders. An empty stone amphitheatre stands immediately adjacent to the hall. |
Aurum (Planet) - Commerce Aisles: These haphazard rows of carts and baskets are the heart of Haistand. The city evolved as a place for the barter society to meet and trade. The goods exchanging hands are representative of the feral worlder's day-to-day life.Baskets of produce and grain from the agricultural mesas crowd the narrow walkways. Bladed weapons are displayed plentifully beside ornaments of bone and glittering gold crystal.Perhaps the most interesting sight is the hanging carcasses of giant, predatory lizards several times the size of a Human. The skins and freshly butchered meat of various midasaur strains fills the nearby air with the scent of blood.One particular merchant, a relatively short man by the name of Beyrr, took an extreme interest in the power armour of a Deathwatch Kill-team, even going so far as to chase after them through the streets.Beyrr pleaded and bargained for them to trade him their "fabulous thinstone armour" (naturally completely ignorant of the personal bond between an Adeptus Astartes and his armour and their lack of interest in material goods).He offered such exchanges as a herd of the local lizard livestock, his own personal residence in the overlook, and axes edged with the diamond-hard fangs of a Diablodon.When all else fails, he makes a more desperate bid. He surreptitiously produced a wrapped object from under his vest. Within the leather folds was a very unusual knife.Its handle was common carved stone, but the blade was a large, curving talon of sleek charcoal black chitin. Unbeknownst to the merchant, it was Tyranid in origin. He swore the blade was extremely rare and could cut through anything. He even promised four in exchange for one of their suits of armour.When questioned, he was not immediately forthcoming to the source of the weapons. Eventually persuaded, however, he revealed that a man named Heydal traded the set of talons to him. However, this was many solar months ago and Heydal does not live in Haistand, presumably having moved on. |
Aurum (Planet) - Caele's Homestead: The Caele's residence sprawls along one of the cliff edges. The main structure is three stories high and ancient, dating beyond the memory of any living Auran.It has a flat roof and striking granite columns at the entrance. Time and the elements have eroded the columns, but large swathes of their original inscriptions remain visible.They portray overlapping ellipses, angles, and vectors. Those with a knack for astronomy can recognise the images as star charts of the systems closest to Holy Terra.Smaller stone annexes connect to the large house by gravel paths. The complex includes a small pen for theratryx mounts, and a large garden of hanging plants. A few warriors come and go from the main building, but they seem to be on errands more than patrol.The homestead's rectangular roof terrace has little ornamentation or appointments, but it does provide a perfect view of the green-stepped farmlands below and the sprawling grasslands bathed in the light of the planet's golden sky. The floor tile shows a worn geographical etching of the surrounding land, with Haistand in the centre. |
Aurum (Planet) - Other Residences: While homes can be found on nearly every street of Haistand, they are most concentrated at the Overlook near the city's entrance, and at the far side. The opposite end of the city contains many smaller dwellings of the farmers who own or work the local lands.They live within the city for convenience and protection, and make the trek down a small network of trails on the cliff's other side that lead to the fertile farming canyons. |
Aurum (Planet) - Grensvayl: Some one hundred and fifty kilometres from Haistand, the town of Grensvayl was once no different from the hundreds of other agricultural settlements that dot Aurum's fertile mesas. The town was built where the Espri River splits into 3 branches, providing natural irrigation to a large orchard on the eastern edge of the town.Indeed, there was once a time when the Commerce Aisles of Haistand spilled over with red pears and handfruit from the Grensvayl orchard.Then the Hereteks of Samech came to plunder Aurum's Decavane Crystals. The Dark Mechanicum of the Jericho Reach's most infamous Forge World have a fascination with xenos specimens. Over a solar decade ago, they brought several Genestealers with them as tools of misdirection and destruction.Their plan had both a short term and a long term goal. For the first few solar years of the heretical machine cult's occupation, the Genestealers did what they were born to do: destabilise and thin the enemy ranks.Their nightly depredations created such an atmosphere of paranoia that a few strange noises or lights from the cliffs seemed just another eerie mystery. Certainly with rumours of lurking monsters, the inhabitants felt little desire to poke around in dark caves.In the long run, the Dark Mechanicum hoped that the infection would spread, leading Hive Fleet Dagon to Aurum and denying this prize world to the Imperium. This fate could still come to pass.Their scheme went smoothly -- at first. The dark magi did not count on the Caele being so quick to react to the odd behaviour of Grensvayl's population. After several unsuccessful attempts to cleanse the settlement, Rylus instituted the fiery quarantine which has stood to this day.While not their ideal outcome, this served the dark magi well enough, as it allowed them to continue their mining unhindered. However, as the years marched on, the number of Purestrain Genestealers increased and the supply of other living beings diminished.Like most Tyranid organisms, Genestealers can subsist on nearly any type of biomatter, but their instincts drive them to hunt animal prey first. The creatures grew ever more predatory and clever as they grew more desperate.Eventually they found a way into the mining caverns, putting a bloody and premature end to the Decavane Crystal collection.Below are some of the most prominent attempts made by the Genestealer Cult to break out into the wider population of Aurum prior to Grensvayl's destruction:806.M41 - Only a few solar months after the Caele sealed off the ravine, a group of infected warriors found an opening where the river used to flow out through underground channels. Fortunately a perimeter sentry spotted the infected warriors as they started to cross the plains. The sentries were able to put the hideous beings down, but at a great loss of life. They promptly sealed the egress points of all three river forks as well.810.M41 - The first sizeable generation of Purestrain Genestealers matured in this period. One night they made a coordinated push through the fire perimeter. Though badly injured, the creatures still nearly overwhelmed the sentries. Only a few Auran warriors survived the bloody night.815.M41 - One of the xenos, possibly the Genestealer Patriarch, had grown in power and cunning over the years. It manifested psychic powers and managed to mesmerise one of the sentries into letting it pass through the barrier. Fortunately other warriors witnessed its escape and managed to bring it down.817.M41 - Karthas persuades Rylus Darkscourge to attempt an extermination of the "Malissectors" of Grensvayl one last time. He leads a war party into Grensvayl with disastrous results. Later that same solar year, a Deathwatch Kill-team finishes what he started, wiping Grensvayl off the face of Aurum. |
Aurum (Planet) - Reaving Canyons: Within the Reaving Canyons, the most dangerous predators Aurum has to offer can be found. Access to it by Aurans is found through the winding farmland of the capital of Haistand, the entrance fissure clearly marked by talismans of protection and splayed Human skeletons that warn of the danger.Just past the threshold stands a weathered stone plinth that, during the Divested Hunt, will rest a selection of worn but reliable Auran weapons: the implements of the hunt. Usually at least three of each weapon type are available in the primitive arsenal.The terraced path is narrow as one enters the network of canyons. From here, Aurum's lauded virility is obvious: grasses grow on sheer slabs of stone; climbing plants flourish as they cling to the rocky walls. A canopy of trees lining canyons' summit mostly blocks the amber sky.Within the shade the vegetation is not tall but dense, and it rustles constantly with the movement of unseen creatures through it. Not long after the entrance disappears from view can muffled reptilian shrieks be heard echoing through the lush maze, the calls of its many inhabitants.Even as the passage widens, it is still only wide enough to accommodate two Space Marines at a time.Where the terrain first differs, it becomes an open pit of high golden grasses, where many wild theratryx nest. Here, clutches of eggs peek out of pebbled mounds at the centre and around the circumference of the uneven ring. The bright, scaly shoulders and heads of theratryx parents are often visible as they prowl through the grass.Branching paths lead to the east and west on the other side of the nesting ground. The western passage climbs upwards to an open plateau where the sky teems with winged reptiles.Called Sky Reavers, their screeching cries increase the closer one draws near, but they are scavengers who prey on weak, single targets. They will not attack a large group unless provoked. The opposite side of the plateau overlooks the broiling red Deadlands hundreds of metres below.The eastern path leads into a damp, dim tunnel through the earth. Over time the trees on the cliffs above have worked their roots through the rock and soil here, and centuries of dripping water and slow growth hollowed out a misshapen cavern between the tangled roots.The passage is forty metres long. It is short enough that light enters dimly from both sides of the passage, as warriors work their way through the tightly packed roots, they occasionally have to push or cut one aside.Such caves are at risk of collapsing if too many roots are removed, burying the unwary alive. If lucky, a given tunnel leads out of a cliff face at the edge of the Deadlands. |
Aurum (Planet) - The Deadlands: This red gorge stands out on the golden-green surface of Aurum like an inflamed wound. Mantle plumes bring magma close to the planet's surface, scorching the ground and regularly venting hot gases.The poisoned air and shocks of high temperature keeps anything from growing in this fissure, earning it and the surrounding plain their attribution in the Auran language.Soon after one enters the Deadlands, the effects of the harsh, acidic air become apparent. Even a Space Marine, with their Oolitic Kidney and Multi-lung, are at risk of suffering fatigue, made only harder without a functioning Mucranoid to protect them from the oppressive heat.Venturing deeper into the broken ground, one can hear the sounds and see the silhouettes of midasaurs moving through the thick fumes. The sulphuric stench becomes punctuated by the even more stomach-churning scent of rotting flesh, issuing from a broken shelf of rock. |
Auruntaur - Auruntaur: The Auruntaur is a Daemon Engine of Tzeentch, created on the world of Q'Sal, located in the Screaming Vortex, a Warp rift that separates the Calixis Sector of the Segmentum Obscurus from the Koronus Expanse region of the Halo Stars. This strange world is ruled over by the powerful Sorcerer-Technocrats of the three cities of Tarnor, Velklir and Surgub. The Auruntaur was born of a catastrophic mishap within the forges of Tarnor during the last ruinous wars between the cities. The Auruntaur literally stands above any war engine produced on Q'Sal. Thus far, only one has been created as its designer and binder, R'Suleir the Grand, sacrificed himself and his life's work to bind a daemonic monstrosity to his construct. When he realised the power of the daemon he had entreated, he sacrificed the entire slave pool and all his apprentices to control the daemon. This created the single largest war creation to come from the planet. Since the loss of the original designer, however, it is unlikely that there will be another, as any construction like it would break the pact which has maintained the peace between the three cities of Q'Sal.Only slightly smaller in height than a Reaver Battle Titan, the Auruntaur is a golden, four-legged creature of destruction, built largely of ensorcelled materials and housing a daemon of immense power. Where the main body is entirely mechanical, the centaur-like upper torso is mostly daemonic. The two arms sport relatively close-range weaponry for something of its huge size, but they are no less devastating to their targets. The right arm is mechanical, covered in spines that almost appear alive but are made of hardened brass. It is tipped with a huge, rune-etched blade capable of slicing vehicles in half. The left arm is akin to that from a gargantuan Flamer of Tzeentch, fleshy and mutable. It vomits forth great gouts of Warpflame, and creatures and vehicles alike are either altered or destroyed under these iridescent fires.The Auruntaur has no head; instead, mounted firmly in the chest, is a single red, cyclopean eye and a platform jutting out mid-abdomen, ringed with spikes suggesting a fanged under bite. Atop the platform, bound by the final incantations of the master artificer, R'Suleir's most accomplished apprentices still struggle to maintain control of the daemon. None of them show signs of aging or fading in power, but there are many who wonder how long that will last and what will happen should any of them falter and the daemon gain control.In generations past, the Auruntaur has awoken to action but none can fathom what drives its actions. It quelled a renegade slave rebellion in Tarnor, but also released a Warpfire plague that burned much of Velklir. It destroyed an entire section of Surgub's outskirts, crashing towers into the sea, but then marched to eradicate an invasion for blood-crazed Khornate warriors. These excursions are thankfully short-lived, few relishing the site of this massive creation marching towards its unknowable destinations. Many of the more power-hungry and mad techno-sorcerers have tried to entreat the Daemon Engine to work for them, but are met with infuriating silence. For the last two hundred Terran years, the Auruntaur has been totally inactive, standing vigil over one of the blighted areas at the equator of Q'Sal as though expecting something to emerge from the dead zone. Entire Chaos Cults have sprung up near it to worship the daemonic machine, their sacrifices perhaps to a god that does not bear witness to their rites. Many of the elite keep wary eyes and Warp-auguries focused on the Auruntaur, afraid both that the mad engine might come to life and that it will not should Q'Sal need it to survive. |
Auruntaur - Ordo Malleus Departmento Analyticus Technical Specifications: The Ordo Malleus has not yet determined the technical specifications for this Daemon Engine, if such a thing is even possible. |
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