text
stringlengths 27
208k
|
|---|
Theyn - Unit Composition: 1 theyn for every 9-19 Hearthkyn Warriors
|
Theyn - Wargear: Void armourWeavefield CrestAutoch Pattern Bolt PistolIon Pistol (As replacement for Autoch Pattern Bolt Pistol)EtaCarn Plasma Pistol (As replacement for Autoch Pattern Bolt Pistol)Autoch Pattern BolterIon Blaster (As replacement for Autoch Pattern Bolter)Concussion Gauntlet (As replacement for Autoch Pattern Bolter or Ion Blaster)Plasma Axe (As replacement for Autoch Pattern Bolter or Ion Blaster)Plasma Sword (As replacement for Autoch Pattern Bolter or Ion Blaster)Gravitic Concussion GrenadesEye of the Ancestors
|
Thief of Revelations (Audio Drama) - Thief of Revelations (Audio Drama): Thief of Revelations is the sixteenth audio drama for the Horus Heresy Series that was not originally released as part of an anthology or other release. Thief of Revelations was published online in November 2013 by the Black Library as an audio CD that included the audio drama Hunter's Moon. The audio drama was later republished in prose format as an e-book and as a stand-alone audio CD. The title was also published as part of the Legacies of Betrayal main series anthology novel and again as a part of The Razing of Prospero omnibus.
|
Thief of Revelations (Audio Drama) - Official Synopsis: The Thousand Sons -- a Legion whose destiny was irrevocably altered at Prospero, and yet who now seem to dance only to fate's tune. Ahzek Ahriman and Magnus the Red cast their psychic sight over the galaxy, seeking any clue as to what the future might hold and where their true allegiance should ultimately be placed.
|
Third Covenant, The - Third Covenant, The: The Third Covenant was a Blackshield warband that first appeared during the middle years of the Horus Heresy in the early 31st Millennium. They operated across several sectors to the galactic north of the Great Core, into which they ultimately vanished towards the end of the Heresy.Several studies have been made of The Third Covenant in an effort to identify its members, but most have proven unsuccessful, as each Blackshield of this warband went to great lengths to conceal his origins.
|
Third Covenant, The - Warband History: Known for operating in the region to the galactic north of the Great Core during the chaos of the Heresy, The Third Covenant was especially secretive about its origins. Its members even renounced their own given names and used instead terms derived from other, more esoteric sources.The group is of particular interest to later generations of Imperial agents because, having rejected the teachings of their own gene-sires (Traitor and Loyalist alike), they turned to other, more shrouded doctrines. Ostensibly, The Third Covenant fought for the Warmaster Horus' cause, but in truth it pursued its own goals often only tangentially co-aligned with those of the Arch-traitor and his allies.
|
Third Covenant, The - Warband Colours: Blackshields of this group wore a typically heterogeneous mix of elements taken from defeated foes, often painted over with black. In places the ubiquitous black heraldry would be worn away to reveal the colours of the original owner.
|
Third Covenant, The - Warband Badge: Of particular note was the mythological hippocampus worn upon the right shoulder as the icon of The Third Covenant. The many esoteric sigils betrayed the Covenant's true allegiances -- to powers other than Terra or even the Warmaster Horus.
|
Third Covenant, The - Source: The Horus Heresy - Book Six: Retribution (Forge World Series) by Alan Bligh, pg. 229
|
Third Sphere Expansion - Third Sphere Expansion: The Third Sphere Expansion was a series of campaigns unleashed by the T'au in the Eastern Fringe to continue the military expansion of the T'au Empire and spread the Greater Good across the galaxy.It began in 997.M41 in the wake of the Great War of Confederation against the Orks and was led by Commander Shadowsun. It saw extraordinary T'au victories over the forces of the Imperium of Man at the Battle of Mu'gulath Bay and in the Prefectia Campaign.But the expansion ground to a halt not long after, due to the difficulties encountered in crossing the region known as the Damocles Gulf following the disastrous Second Agrellan Campaign of 999.M41 and increased resistance from the Imperium of Man, which had led to the assassination of the Ethereal Supreme Aun'Va.
|
Third Sphere Expansion - History: The growth of the T'au Empire can be charted in three distinct stages. Called the First, Second and Third Sphere Expansions, each of these vast outward surges has seen massive military forces and wave upon wave of T'au colonists set out into the stars. Each has seized new worlds and assimilated new races for the Greater Good.In their earliest days, the T'au almost tore themselves apart as their technological innovation far outstripped their cultural development. It was only the coming of the Ethereals that rescued them from this dark period. These mysterious newcomers united the entire race, directing their efforts in a surge of incredible advancement and mutual benefit that culminated in the First Sphere Expansion.This was a heady time for the T'au, who stepped from their caves out into the stars with breathtaking speed. Losses were high among early colonists who pushed the boundaries of the possible with every new leap they took. Hostile flora and fauna as well as catastrophic accidents claimed many lives, but under the protection of the mighty Fire Caste the T'au established one colony after another.As they stretched outwards, they discovered that their homeworld, T'au, lay amid a dense cluster of viable exoplanets, and one by one, frontier colonies became settled and worlds civilised. As each star system blossomed, it was designated a Sept and named after its prime, or Sept World, each a teeming hub of culture and military strength that formed the heart of a whole settled system.The millennia-long First Sphere Expansion saw the T'au assimilate their first alien cultures, the Ethereals guiding the absorption of the Thraxians, the Nicassar, the Kroot and many others. It also saw their first conflicts with the omnipresent menace of the Orks, a foe with whom no reasoned diplomacy could ever succeed. Soon enough, the T'au learned to hate the Greenskins for their mindless savagery, and resolved to avoid or destroy on sight every Ork they found.By the end of the First Sphere Expansion, the T'au had secured eight glorious Septs, but this was a fraction of what the Second Sphere Expansion would achieve. From the empire's spiritual home of T'au, the orders of the Ethereal High Council raced out along relays to its furthest comers, pushing always for greater advancements, new innovations and mightier weapons.With the invention of the ZFR Horizon Accelerator Engine that allowed T'au starships to achieve relativistic velocities in realspace close to that of the speed of light, the T'au fleets were able to push much further into space, and with a military force more impressive than any seen before in T'au history, the Fire Caste seemed ready to face whatever threats the distant stars held in store.Neither Ork WAAAGH! nor Tyranid splinter fleet could arrest the impetus of the Second Sphere Expansion, and it was not until the T'au crossed the treacherous Damocles Gulf that they encountered a foe that stopped their advance in its tracks.
|
Third Sphere Expansion - Damocles Gulf Crusade: Beyond the Damocles Gulf, the T'au encountered the Imperium of Man. Initially the T'au Empire annexed dozens of worlds on the ragged edge of the Emperor's realm, not realising the true scale of the threat they faced. The Imperium's sledgehammer response came in the form of the Damocles Gulf Crusade in 742-745.M41 according to the Imperial Calendar.The T'au had never faced military strength in such concentrations, or wielded with such uncompromising belligerence, and their holdings beyond the Damocles Gulf were swiftly crushed. Worse, the Imperial forces used strange, reality-splitting space engines, the Warp-Drive, to rapidly pursue their quarry as they retreated back to the frontiers of the T'au Empire.The Imperial armies fell upon the Sept World of Dal'yth, and were only driven back at great and terrible cost. The T'au were shaken by the shock of defeat, and the Ethereal High Council knew that, should their people's confidence not be swiftly restored, cracks would form in their carefully-orchestrated beliefs.Rather than let this come to pass, the council placed the legendary Commander Farsight at the head of a mighty coalition fleet and sent him back across the Damocles Gulf to reclaim those colony worlds that had been lost to the Humans.The tale of his initial successes, and of his subsequent mysterious disappearance, has been officially expunged from T'au history, yet its marks remain to this day. Regardless of his eventual fate, O'Shovah had served his purpose. In recapturing the worlds lost to the Imperium, he restored the confidence of the T'au in their destiny.
|
Third Sphere Expansion - Great War of Confederation: Throughout the T'au Empire, recently-built colony fleets were filling up orbital docks in anticipation of the call to launch a new Sphere of Expansion. Even as preparations were underway, warning signals flashed across the T'au Empire's relay lines in 975.M41. An age-old foe had returned in numbers beyond imagination; the Orks were back.They came from beyond the shroud of the Western Veil Nebula, the ragtag Ork armada emerging from the swirling gas clouds as suddenly as if they had materialised out of nowhere. As the first scans were picked up, the Earth Caste technicians believed their sensors were malfunctioning, for the size of the greenskin fleet was staggering.The Ork invasion was composed of some dozen separate WAAAGH!s, each with a Warboss vying for overall supremacy. Only the decrepit state of the Orks' spacecraft and their incessant in-fighting allowed the T'au Empire time to react. Whilst many of the T'au panicked over the immensity of the looming threat, there was one who saw that, as always, if the Empire worked together, they could defeat even an invasion of this magnitude.Aun'Va -- now Ethereal Supreme -- remained as calm as still water. He gathered the leaders of every Sept in order to form a comprehensive plan of action. Those Septs closest to the Ork threat -- Vior'la, Sa'cea, and Tau'n -- would combine forces in a delaying attack. Behind them, all other Septs would rush troops and starships towards the front to serve as the next wave of counterattacks.Across the empire, the Air Caste scrambled their fleets converting trade ships and colony transports into troop carriers to accommodate the forces needed to stem the green tide. As the united T'au advanced to confront the oncoming Orks, initial engagements took place along the outermost regions of the empire.The T'au Navy launched hit-and-run attacks to lure pursuing Ork ships within range of orbital defence stations. The combined firepower of fleet and orbital bases caused heavy Ork losses, although several stations were destroyed when Ork sabotage ships crashed into the vast structures, allowing numerous Greenskins to disembark and wreak havoc. Fire Warrior defenders were soon deployed aboard the remaining orbital stations and many desperate battles in the depths of space ensued, some lasting for many Terran months.As the individual tribes of the Greenskins separated to follow their own pursuits, the fighting spread across space and over more than a dozen surface locations. Wherever Orks made planetfall, additional T'au ground forces were landed to reinforce the area, even on barren moons, for the aliens had to be denied any chance to scavenge supplies or set permanent roots within the territory of the T'au Empire.With the threat of being overrun forestalled, Aun'Va deemed the time was right for the next step of his master plan. Terran centuries before, when the Ethereal High Council knew that Commander Puretide, the greatest living T'au military strategist, was rapidly degenerating and would soon die, contingency plans were put into motion. The Earth Caste had long been preserving Puretide's memories -- seeking to build a sentient, artificially intelligent holograph that would look, act and most importantly, think like him.At the time, however, there was no assurance that this would successfully replace the indispensable instructor. So, as a safeguard, it was ordained that several of Puretide's top students would be placed in stasis -- a time-proofing process that was then newly devised by the Earth Caste. This meant that, in future times of war or expansion, the Empire could still call upon masters of the art of war. Now, with the largest Ork invasion ever seen already within their borders, Aun'Va determined that a leader of great destiny was needed.One of those cryogenically frozen was a recently promoted T'au Commander by the name of O'Shaserra, Commander Shadowsun. Of her generation of Fire Warriors, there was only a single rival who could match O'Shaserra's boldness and tactical abilities. That other warrior, O'Shovah, was not frozen, but rather chosen for glory, leading the T'au's expeditionary force to reclaim their colonies after the war with the Imperium.By the time O'Shaserra had completed her reindoctrination, the fighting had been going on for half a dozen Terran years; the massive Ork invasion was now spread across the borders of many Septs. With their superior weaponry and the cohesion of their forces, the numerically inferior armies of the T'au had been able to check the disorderly Ork hordes.It was a stalemate, as the disparate greenskins could not gain the momentum or unity to drive towards a Sept World, and the T'au could not eradicate the aliens from their realm. Taking leadership over a Hunter Cadre, Commander O'Shaserra joined the fray. After a daring string of victories, she earned control of a command -- a formation of many cadres.By the time Sa'cea Prime's largest moon, Vay'harra, was proclaimed clear of Orks, Commander O'Shaserra's name was already becoming well known. From there, she led major victories on the dawn worlds of Kormusan, and finally on the K'resh Expansions.With each triumph, more T'au forces were freed to apply additional pressure to the fractionalised greenskin forces. After the total massacres of the K'resh Expansions, the power of the Orks was broken.The Great War of Confederation, as it came to be known, lasted a dozen Terran years and firmly established a new hero in the hearts and minds of the T'au. O'Shaserra, now called Commander Shadowsun, had proven herself to a new generation -- her tactical manoeuvres at every level of command were executed flawlessly and she was not without personal heroics.Her penchant for infiltrating battlefields and launching deadly ambushes was already legendary. A bright new future for the T'au lay ahead.
|
Third Sphere Expansion - Third Sphere Expansion Begins: With the Ork invasion defeated and a new hero risen to lead the Fire Caste, Aun'Va knew the time was ripe to declare the Third Sphere Expansion in 997.M41 as the Imperials reckoned time.With more established Septs to draw resources from, this drive to expand the size of their realm was undertaken on a scale never before attempted by the T'au Empire.As bold and dynamic as the previous Spheres of Expansion had been, they had been confined to the dense star clusters that surrounded the planet T'au. The scope of such expansions was limited -- the T'au did not have the population needed to spread further, and they had not yet fully learned to harness the full power of alien auxiliaries to aid their cause.Technical constraints proved a barrier as well, for the Earth Caste have constantly been seeking ways to develop starcraft with faster engines to allow them to bridge the vast gulf of empty interstellar space between star systems.Aun'Va knew that now was the time for the T'au to seize their destiny. The Great War of Confederation had served to put the T'au on a total war setting -- as the Ethereals pressed each caste for greater production and higher efficiency.The Ork invasion had proven a harsh training ground for the Fire Caste, but they had now replaced the casualties of the long, drawn-out campaign.Furthermore, many Fire Warriors and their Commanders had gained invaluable experience. They were now better trained than ever to coordinate their efforts with other Septs and with the T'au Navy. The amount of alien auxiliaries at hand for deployment to the Fire Caste was greatly increased, especially the availability of the Kroot.In order to reach those more distant systems earmarked as desirable by advanced scouts, the vast armadas of T'au starcraft had been outfitted with the latest Earth Caste modifications.The ships' propulsion systems were upgraded so that when magnified by Impulse Reactors, the new ZFR Horizon Accelerator Engines could obtain faster speeds -- propelling T'au starcraft forwards at hitherto unthinkable velocities just shy of the speed of light itself.To further lessen the burden on those space-faring craft with the longest journeys, the Earth Caste had outfitted transport craft with large stasis chambers -- allowing Hunter Cadres or whole commands to shift to far distant battle zones Terran months or years away without actually aging a day in the process.While all Septs sent fleets to aid in the great expansion, the largest gathering of force was at the northern and western extremes of the T'au Empire. There, massed at the ports and orbital docks of Dal'yth, Sa'cea, and Vior'la, were huge flotillas.In addition to the fighting classes of starships, the T'au Navy also provided whole armadas of transports to carry armies, colonists, pre-fabricated domes, T'au Drone builders and all manner of equipment. This massive force was to be led personally by Commander Shadowsun -- the newly appointed highest-ranking Fire Caste officer.Their course was to cross the Damocles Gulf, travelling past the Gri-lok asteroid fields. Target destinations had been meticulously planned out -- all planets and moons desired for colonisation were well-marked on the fleet's holomaps.Those worlds that had indigenous populations had already had many preemptive visits by Water Caste traders and ambassadors in order to explore possibilities for a peaceful annexation.Some of the planets branded for absorption into the T'au Empire were worlds that belonged to the Imperium of Man. In these cases, Aun'Va's timing of the Third Sphere Expansion could not have been better.Water Caste agents and Gue'vesa -- Human helpers who had sworn loyalty to the T'au and the Greater Good -- confirmed what the Earth Caste had already reported via intercepted vox transmissions: due to wars elsewhere, the number of Imperial defenders at the borders of their territory was much reduced.Some Imperial planets, those open to bribery or idealists that wished to escape the pressing yoke of servitude to an overbearing tyrant, lay down their arms at their first opportunity -- welcoming Water Caste ambassadors with pledges of cooperation.Most Human worlds, however, rejected T'au overtures -- mistrusting all aliens or perhaps simply more frightened of the repercussions they would suffer at the hands of their own people. For those frontier worlds that resisted, Shadowsun and her armies swept down in a series of precision strikes.The Human Planetary Defence Forces proved insufficient to even slow the T'au down, much less them hold off.The northernmost sector past the Damocles Gulf was soon wholly in T'au hands, while to the galactic west, the sectors adjoining the Red Sun Systems were cleared of Hrud, Orks and rebel Humans.Fleets of Water Caste Indigenous Inhabitants Liaison conclaves were deployed to begin their long integration process for those aliens that wished to seize upon the enlightenment that was being offered.The Earth Caste, eager to exploit their new domains, was already dropping producer domes upon recently-seized planets rich with resources. In order to keep the drive going outwards, the T'au needed to establish fuel sources closer to the front lines of expansion.Linked back to the T'au Empire by long chains of relay communication stations, the expansion had already claimed dozens of new worlds -- yet this was only the start.
|
Third Sphere Expansion - Shadowsun Triumphant: Buoyed by her initial successes, Shadowsun rapidly led her armies deeper into Imperial territory. She seemed to be everywhere at once, driving her forces onwards.At the forefront of the offensive, the Fire Caste spearhead were already en route to their next targets before the consolidation forces that followed hard on their heels had fully landed on the newly conquered planet. Here, Shadowsun was using the old Puretide maxim: "Follow up a victory by striking quickly, and you will win another."As Shadowsun passed into the Imperium's interior she encountered ever greater resistance, and she saw that to overextend her forces would deplete the momentum of the attack. Instead of crashing headlong into well-defended planets, she split her fleets, scattering them to a dozen headings. Each began a devastating series of hit-and-run attacks against which the Imperium could mount no effective counter.At length, the Imperium settled into a static defence of a handful of their most key worlds. Shadowsun exploited this strategy too, for it allowed her to again marshal her forces together and launch a massive attack on the planet of her choosing. Her first target was the Hive World of Agrellan, a gateway planet to the Dovar System whose orbit safeguarded a rich cluster of Imperial planets called the Gilded Worlds.Transports of fresh Fire Caste warriors and many of the newest T'au weapon prototypes were rushed to this battlefront for what would surely be a pivotal conflict. Aun'Va himself came to inspire the Fire Caste, and upon seeing him, the T'au knew their victory was assured.At last, the largest class of T'au Battlesuit was unleashed, and under Shadowsun's inspired leadership, its use proved a resounding success; everywhere one strode, victory followed. Fittingly, it was this new XV104 Riptide Battlesuit that delivered the killing blow during the final engagement -- laying waste to the massive Imperial heavy tanks that had so long blocked the gates to the world's capital hive city.Although the Imperial defenders fought with their usual fatalistic grit, it was not long before the hive city corridors ran with blood and only a few isolated pockets of resistance remained. The planet of Agrellan, renamed Mu'gulath Bay by the T'au after it was integrated as a new Sept World, belonged to the T'au after only a single solar day of combat and soon the whole star system would follow.As such, among the other worlds added to the T'au Empire during the Third Sphere Expansion, three full new Septs were created: Ksi'm'yen, Fi'rios, and Mu'gulath Bay itself.
|
Third Sphere Expansion - Zeist Campaign: The anticipated counterattack from the Imperium fell upon the Zeist Sector during the Zeist Campaign of 999.M41, and this too was part of Shadowsun's plan. As a diversion, this far-flung region was sacrificed for the Greater Good of the Third Sphere Expansion.While many seeded T'au colonies fell to the elite forces of Mankind -- their vaunted Space Marines -- the effort tied down the majority of the Imperium's rapid strike forces and allowed the main T'au assaults to scythe deeply into more desirable neighbouring star systems.The worlds of the Imperium toppled one after another before the precision onslaught. By the time the Zeist Campaign ended, the T'au's Third Sphere Expansion had already enlarged the T'au Empire by 133% of its prior size. The T'au showed no sign of stopping their aggressive expansion in the Eastern Fringe despite their losses in the Zeist Campaign.
|
Third Sphere Expansion - Voltoris: Yet the commanders of the Imperial armies were infuriated that Agrellan had been taken at all, let alone in so short a time. After regrouping, the various dignitaries assigned to reclaim the lost Imperial worlds held a council of war.They agreed to stage purposefully slow retreat towards the Feudal World of Voltoris, drawing Shadowsun's fleet after them into an area where she would be badly outmatched.The Imperium laid a deadly ambush, using Voltoris' most defensible area -- the fortress of Furion Peak -- as its anchor. The T'au, so sure of their orbital recon scans, vastly underestimated their foes.Within the forests and gulleys of that proud mountain were Colonel "Iron Hand" Straken's Catachan Jungle Fighters, Shadow Captain Kayvaan Shrike's Raven Guard, and Kor'sarro Khan's White Scars, all hidden from sight by the psychic mists of the Stormseer Sudabeh.When Shadowsun's army made planetfall at the foot of Furion Peak, the jaws of the Imperial trap closed. Being psychically inert, the T'au were baffled by the storm-magics of the White Scars Astartes, who then led the charge to engage their foes at close range.Power Fists, Chainswords and even Combat Knives took a heavy toll upon the beleaguered T'au. Shadowsun hunted down and slew Stormseer Sudabeh, causing his mist-spell to dissipate, but by then the gates of Furion Peak had yawned wide.Scores of Imperial Knights sallied forth, cannons blasting the T'au army until the forest road was a churned mess of craters. Many of Shadowsun's most trusted teams had to give their lives to secure her escape. She swore to honour their sacrifice by redoubling her efforts in the expansion of the Third Sphere.
|
Third Sphere Expansion - Prefectia Campaign: Directly in the sights of Shadowsun's new offensive was the Dovar System. Around the star Dovaris orbited the four Gilded Worlds, a system impossibly rich in precious metals. Yet mountains of platinum and gold are as meaningless to the Greater Good as notions of individual wealth.The only resources precious to the T'au are those that can be turned to their empire's expansion -- such as energy sources that can drive the ever-evolving technology of their growing fleets.The Fortress World of Prefectia near the Dovar System was not only an ideal staging post from which to engineer the collapse of the entire Dovar System, it was also an untapped reservoir of geomagnetic energy. The Imperium, in its typically myopic way, had fashioned the world into a planet-sized fortress, for it stood between the xenos-haunted reaches of the Eastern Fringe and the Gilded Worlds.In their ignorance, they had harnessed but a fraction of Prefectia's potential and exhausted the planet's garrison the better to wage war upon Agrellan and Voltoris. This was a fact that offended and appalled the Earth Caste scientists who studied it; properly terraformed, Prefectia would become a dynamo that would boost the T'au's conquest of the entire Segmentum Ultima into overdrive.So it was that Shadowsun's expeditionary force turned its attention to Prefectia, the united castes bringing ruin to the planet's bastion networks and munitions hives just as they had to Agrellan. The Imperial commanders, in many ways glad the T'au had pressed no further towards Dovaris, sent in their legions for a new phase of war.It was a battle that would ultimately go the T'au's way, and the Prefectia Campaign of 999.M41 represented yet another defeat in the face of the growing power of the technologically-advanced xenos.The T'au overcame what remained of the Imperium's defences, and had just begun to set up their own installations when the Imperium struck again. Elements of several Space Marine Chapters, foremost amongst them the Raven Guard and White Scars, executed a series of simultaneous planetstrikes, initiating a seek-and-destroy mission to swiftly eliminate the T'au forces' leadership. Kor'sarro Khan, Captain of the White Scars 3rd Company, personally vowed to decapitate Commander Shadowsun, for she had first outmatched him on Agrellan and then escaped his blade again on Voltoris.Using herself as bait, Commander Shadowsun took advantage of the Imperium's fixation on slaying her in order to spring a masterful trap. Many casualties were inflicted upon the Space Marines, including the Raven Guard Chapter Master, Corvin Severax, who was slain by Shadowsun herself, to be replaced by his subordinate Shadow Captain Kayvaan Shrike. Not even a large contingent of Imperial Knights from House Terryn of Voltoris could turn aside the devastating T'au counterattacks.Only through heroic actions were any Imperial forces able to retreat off-planet. Their foe defeated, the T'au believed their expansion into the Dovar System and beyond could now continue unopposed while the Imperium nursed their wounds. In this prediction, the T'au ultimately proved to be profoundly mistaken.On Prefectia it was the deployment of the KV128 Stormsurge Ballistic Suit, the first in a new generation of T'au super-heavy war assets that served as mobile artillery, that proved to be the turning point.Besting the forces of both the Raven Guard and White Scars Astartes as well as the Imperial Knights of House Terryn, Commander Shadowsun had claimed what the T'au believed to be their greatest victory yet.With the fighting withdrawal of the Space Marines and the evacuation of House Terryn's assets, the remainder of the Imperial forces upon Prefectia soon followed suit. Shadowsun, her forces already enveloping the last centres of resistance, had secured her dominance beyond doubt.The expansion of the Third Sphere would continue apace. The deployment of the Stormsurge KV128 Ballistic Suit was by no means limited to the battle on the edge of Goliath's Eye. In every T'au theatre of war, the looming artillery walkers emerged.Some of their number, in a practice pioneered by Commander Sternshield, were used as the centrepieces of a variant Kauyon where the lure was not only the bait to draw in the enemy army, but the tidal wave that broke it against the unyielding cliff of the wider T'au force. Others formed roving gun emplacements that added daunting firepower to the Tidewall Rampart gun clusters.They strengthened the T'au's stranglehold upon Prefectia day by day, blasting apart the remnants of Imperial occupation, pulverising the gun-gargoyles encrusting each dormant hive and toppling the statues of the planet's former owners from every plinth.In a matter of Terran months, the Fortress World had fallen completely to its Fire caste conquerors, just like Agrellan before it. To great celebration, Prefectia entered the T'au Empire as the T'au Sept of Vas'talos, which means "boundless scope" in the T'au Lexicon.Soon enough, plans were being made for the next stage of the Third Sphere Expansion. Many of the shas'ar'tol believed the consolidation of their gains to be the next step, the better to build the foundation from which they would strike further into Imperial space.Aun'Va overruled the Fire Caste council in person, the wisdom of his speech so obvious his commanders felt foolish they had not reached the same conclusion themselves.The T'au expeditionary force would divide its strength, one half pushing further into the Dovar System whilst the other returned to ensure the supply route to Mu'gulath Bay remained intact.Across every Sept World, colony and orbital station, Prefectia was already being portrayed as the T'au's greatest victory yet. Already plaudits were being given and speeches being made, the Water Caste extolling far and wide this latest glorious manifestation of the T'au's destiny. Much mention was made of Commander Shadowsun, her image broadcast across unnumbered holoscreens on a daily basis.The grand Kauyon she had staged upon Prefectia was hailed as a work of genius. She had slowly escalated the engagements against the Imperium's shock troops, many true believers in the Tau'va giving their lives in battle to goad the enemy further and further until they attacked in force, then trumping them with the true strength she had concealed all along.In this manner the Supreme Commander of the Fire Caste had personally slain what the T'au believed to be the grand monarch of the Space Marines, a grim-faced figure in black armour who had long directed the Imperial war effort, but had only now been lured into the open by Shadowsun's masterful Kauyon strategies. With the death of their greatest leader, the Water Caste excitedly reported, the armies of the Imperium would be cast into disarray, caught in a power vacuum which it would take them many of their years to escape.Featured prominently on every holoscreen from one end of the T'au Empire to the other were the Ghostkeel Battlesuits and Stormsurge Ballistic Suits that had given the Fire Caste the edge they needed to defeat the warmongering brutes of Humanity.At the end of every triumphant broadcast, serene images of the Ethereal Caste would dominate the screen, telling the T'au that every life lost in the furtherance of the Greater Good was a life well-spent, and that no true follower of the Tau'va could believe otherwise.These broadcasts were kept on loop for many Terran days, not purely for the sharing of information, the betterment of unity and the raising of morale, but also because the Ethereals knew well that conviction was amongst the T'au's strongest weapons. The battle for Prefectia was won, they said, but the war against the corrupt and bloated empire of Mankind was only now beginning. They had little idea how right they were.The sheer scale and ambition of the war for the Eastern Fringe was becoming one of the wonders of the T'au Empire, feted loud and clear by every one of its citizens. News of the morbid, brutish race they had outwitted and outfought spread far and wide. Every new clutch of T'au youngsters was told stories of greedy, rotten Humans that sought to smother the stars, suffocating all light and hope without ever knowing why.The news of the Great Victory was also broadcast to those civilisations that had allied themselves with the T'au Empire, and even many who had not. There were those amongst them who realised that under the triumphalist claims was buried a death toll that likely spiralled into the billions.Some of their number, those who had come to truly understand the Imperium of Man, realised that the grandiose war the Water Caste spoke of had every chance of drowning the T'au Empire in an unremitting tide of death.The news soon reached a chain of star systems coreward of the Damocles Gulf, long abandoned by the T'au Empire. There, a legendary leader, Commander Farsight, gathered his people and made ready for a war that would change the history of the T'au forever.Upon Prefectia, the T'au Empire had proven itself a force to be reckoned with. On a strategic level, their warsmithing was impressive, and their carefully prepared traps had lent them a tactical advantage time after time. The greater battle, however, was yet to be won -- not only for the worlds surrounding the Damocles Gulf, but for the T'au's place in the galaxy.The Imperium had lost Prefectia to Aun'Va's expeditionary force, expertly commanded by the military genius of O'Shaserra. Ultimately, though, the Imperium considered that world of little strategic value. There were more vital targets in the Eastern Fringe, targets to which warfleets had already been despatched via the fickle tides of the Warp.Countless regiments of Astra Militarum, orders of Adepta Sororitas, and macro-level war cohorts from the Adeptus Mechanicus were inbound, slowly but unstoppably, to the greater war zone. According to the assessments of Imperial strategos and war savants, there was no way the T'au could conquer the Gilded Worlds without either abandoning the surrounding star systems or leaving their own heartlands poorly defended. Both were courses of action they believed the T'au would never take.As for the battlegroup assigned to the reclamation of the worlds recently taken, they too had greater plans reaching fruition. With the focus of the Fire Caste High Command upon Prefectia, the Imperium turned its eyes once more towards Agrellan, renamed Mu'gulath Bay by its presumptuous T'au conquerors.Though the twelve great hive cities of that world had been brought low by Shadowsun's masterful offensive, and though the planet's rad storms and toxic atmosphere made it all but inimical to new life, the location of the planet made it valuable indeed. More than that, it had become a symbol for the T'au Empire -- a symbol of triumph over Humanity that the Imperium could not abide.The Imperium spans a million worlds, and with every cycle Holy Terra describes around Great Sol, dozens are lost and dozens more settled in the Emperor's name. Yet rarely does a Chapter Master of the Adeptus Astartes die in battle, and rarer still one of the First Founding, those whose predecessors fought at the side of the legendary Primarchs.Such fallen heroes are not to be forgotten, but to be avenged. Through the inky void the Space Marines and their allies headed for Agrellan once more, intent on striking the T'au defenders there whilst the pride of the Fire Caste was consolidating its gains in a different star system. The slight upon the honour of the Adeptus Astartes would be repaid a hundredfold.There was revenge to be wrought, and in such matters, the Imperium is expert indeed.
|
Third Sphere Expansion - Second Agrellan Campaign: Following the great victory upon Prefectia, Ethereal Supreme Aun'Va gave an impassioned speech. It was an awe-inspiring sight, the Ethereal hovering over the crater-ridden battlefield, the burnt-out frame of a fallen Imperial Knight as his backdrop. It was a broadcast viewed by every member of the T'au race, even those too young to walk.In his victory speech, Aun'Va announced another T'au triumph. He praised the leadership of Commander Shadowsun, and acknowledged the mastery of the Fire Caste. The Ethereal Supreme spoke of how the T'au race stood now on the precipice of greatness. Before them lay endless possibilities -- they had but to seize them.Once, the Damocles Gulf had thwarted their expansion, as had the rule of the Imperium of Mankind. The T'au had now overcome these obstacles to stand once again victorious.Aun'Va announced that the Third Sphere Expansion was only just beginning, and called upon each Sept World by name to give more of themselves to the Greater Good.Just as the frontline soldiers of the Fire Caste were asked to give everything in defence of the Tau'va, so too must each citizen of the T'au Empire; production must double, new technology must be developed and every part of society must be made more efficient.It was a staggering statement, for the T'au Empire was already on a war footing -- production was running at maximum capacity simply to supply the enormous amounts of materiel needed to fund the Third Sphere Expansion. Yet Aun'Va was asking for more.To this request, the T'au responded with earnest devotion. If the great leader of their people asked, it would be done. There would be no questions and no qualms about the cost, only ardent efforts to increase production by any means necessary.With the foe gone from Prefectia, Aun'Va began to plan the next phase of the expansion. Half of the Fire Caste forces on Prefectia were sent to aid in the exploitation of the Dovar System -- suppressing or eradicating native populations, protecting Earth Caste installations and safeguarding Water Caste diplomatic actions.The remaining forces were to return to Mu'gulath Bay. There, they could briefly refit and train while the war council laid plans for the next wave of planetary invasions. It was generally accepted that the Imperial hold upon the region had been broken, and it would be a long time before their forces returned in great numbers.The Imperium had suffered a series of losses that would have set the T'au Empire back generations, including the latest blow -- losing the "King" of the Space Marines. It would take them some time to recover from such shattering setbacks. In their understanding of the Imperium and its ways, the T'au could not have been more wrong.Even before Agrellan was attacked, the aggressive infiltration of the T'au Water Caste had been marked. Astropathic choirs broadcast warnings and armies were already mobilised before the T'au's lightning fast invasion was complete. The T'au success only increased the magnitude of the Imperial response.That many of the region's lesser holdings had previously given into T'au bribes and manipulations had only increased the Imperium's desire for retribution. Perhaps the only thing the Imperium was less tolerant of than xenos invasion was the betrayal or corruption of its own. The seditious, those who would lure Mankind to their doom, were loathed above all.Forces were mustered, congregating in numbers beyond the scope of what the T'au believed possible. The vast armadas and armies of the Imperium were slow to gather momentum and had to span distances the T'au could not fathom, but once Task Force Retribution was finally launched into the Warp, there was no stopping its single-minded mission to reclaim the territory once ruled in the Emperor's name.The warriors of the Astra Militarum would not halt until they had raised the glorious banner of the Imperial Aquila where it rightfully belonged. And so, when the task force emerged from the Warp with klaxons blaring, it was as close to Agrellan's orbit as they dared, to maximise the advantage of surprise.Soon all wrongs would be revenged a hundredfold.The Second Agrellan Campaign, as Imperial savants would later name it, began well for the Imperium. Task Force Retribution's naval contingent was led by Lord Admiral Hawke while its Astra Militarum elements were commanded by the Cadian Lord General Troskzer from space.With the aid of the Raven Guard, the Imperial Navy successfully claimed the space above Mu'gulath Bay from the T'au orbital stations and fleet. The ground invasion was then led by the forces of the Astra Militarum, the Skitarii Legions and the Legio Cybernetica, screened by elements of the Raven Guard commanded by Kayvaan Shrike and the White Scars again led by Kor'sarro Khan.Troskzer and Shrike deployed their forces at three primary locations on the planet. These three fronts, the central, eastern, and western spearheads, would converge at the largest T'au installation located at the old capital hive city, Agrellan Prime.The ground invasion went well, and though Commander Shadowsun sprung yet another of her traps, the assault proved clumsy and hastily assembled, and it became apparent that the Imperial forces would weather the assault.Then the skies turned red. For Commander Farsight and the forces of the Farsight Enclaves had come to aid their estranged brethren.Shocking all sides, O'Shovah himself appeared on the field, followed by his command team The Eight. They led a great Mont'ka assault on the Imperials. The Imperial commanders realised that with the arrival of the T'au reinforcements, victory had been snatched from their grasp and the world could not be reclaimed. They ordered a withdrawal in force, moving to Blackfossil Ridge amid a heavy supporting bombardment.They were joined by the Space Marines, who were evacuated from the field by Thunderhawk gunships save for the White Scars contingent under Kor'sarro Khan, determined to claim the head of Commander Shadowsun as they had sworn.The tide seemed to turn again when an Officio Assassinorum Execution Force appeared on the battlefield, determined to slay the T'au's most important leaders. As chaos erupted among the T'au forces with the Assassins' attacks, Shadowsun managed to rally the T'au and withstand multiple reinvigorated Imperial assaults.However, while in her mobile command post, Shadowsun was suddenly assaulted by a Callidus Assassin disguised as the Ethereal Aun'Kar. Shadowsun was wounded, but with the aid of a force of Pathfinder bodyguards managed to take down the shapeshifting Imperial operative. But other members of the T'au Empire's critical leadership were not as lucky.The Ethereal Supreme Aun'va, trapped on Mu'gulath Bay at the time of the unexpected Imperial invasion in the wake of his speech heralding the great victory on Prefectia, was attacked by a sinister Culexus Assassin in his hidden bunker in the ruins of the hive city of Agrellan Prime. The Culexus psychically overwhelmed all of Aun'va's bodyguards before successfully hunting down and slaying the Supreme Leader of the T'au Empire.Task Force Retribution had been intended to scour the xenos race known as the T'au from Agrellan, as those who had dared to confront the Imperium must learn of the consequences. That mission had been deemed a failure, and other elements within the task force now took precedence, and the evacuations of the Astra Militarum forces began.The Space Marines that escaped Farsight's ambush had fought their way to evacuation points and returned to their orbiting spacecraft. They were in the process of rearming and coordinating their redeployment when they heard.A new lord general had replaced Lord Troskzer, and his first act had been to issue an order calling for the Astra Militarum's immediate withdrawal from Agrellan. All Chapters looked to Kayvaan Shrike, for the Adeptus Astartes were under no authority but their own, and they wished to see what their highest ranking officer would do.Shrike announced that the Raven Guard would depart within the solar hour. So the Adeptus Astartes quickly embarked for other destinations, as there were more distress calls than Imperial forces to answer. Theirs was the way of war, and the concerns of one campaign or planet mattered little to them. Kor'sarro Khan, however, was enraged.Once again the Khan was denied, once again he had failed to bring back the head of Commander Shadowsun. He was stubborn-minded enough to disregard what others were doing and continue with his own dwindling company of White Scars, but an additional command came.This one originated from the White Scars Chapter Master Jubal Khan. The remnants of the 3rd Company and its support were needed urgently back at Chogoris -- there could be no delays. The Khan was needed to help fight the Traitor Marines of the Red Corsairs.Either not content with their triumph, or not wholly convinced of their foe's retreat, the T'au Empire counterattacked the retreating Astra Militarum and Adeptus Mechanicus forces as they made their way towards designated pick-up points across the planet's surface, often and without mercy.Ambushes slowed the Imperial forces or drained off their strength in hopeless pursuit. Yet worst of all were the air strikes. Imperial atmospheric flyers were concentrated around the landing zones, leaving the retreating masses on the ground open to the T'au Air Caste's endless strafing attacks and bombing runs. Beaten, bedraggled and showing the signs of early-stage rad-sickness, the foot soldiers of the Astra Militarum dragged themselves onwards beneath the blazing sun.In the end, many high-ranking officers of the Imperial Guard were winnowed out from the massed retreat and ferried to the landing zones aboard Valkyries. Those taken were the most highly decorated of their kind. Special operations airlifted out High King Tybalt of House Terryn and his remaining Imperial Knights, who returned to Voltoris for much-needed repairs.In addition to key officers, heavy equipment was given priority. Far away, members of the Departmento Munitorum had rightfully reasoned that it was those items that were far harder to replace than the many millions of men that would soon be abandoned to their fate, though approximately fifty percent of the surviving Astra Militarum ground forces managed to make it off-world before the end came.After disbanding the Task Force Retribution, Lord Admiral Hawke received a special gift from the Adeptus Mechanicus -- a specialised torpedo warhead capable of unleashing a very particular form of Exterminatus upon Agrellan by the unusual gasses present in the atmosphere of its northern hemisphere into a planetary firestorm.The Third Sphere Expansion was over.Mu'gulath Bay burned. The chain reaction sent unnatural firestorms sweeping over the lands of the T'au Sept World. This was beyond the T'au enviro-engines' ability to halt or control. Anything not beneath a protective shield dome was doomed. And only a single shield dome remained -- the massive one that spread over the city that the T'au called Lo'vasht'au. Many millions of T'au died, as did those soldiers of the Astra Militarum left behind by the foe.When the Kor'vattra finally arrived they did not recognise the planet. The news they brought was worse still. Fires did not burn upon Mu'gulath Bay alone; the strange phenomenon known as the Damocles Gulf had become a roiling inferno. Those labyrinthine passageways through the region that it had taken the T'au so long to discover were untenable once again.For many Terran days, those trapped beyond the vast barrier were faced with the unsettling truth that they might never travel back to the Sept Worlds, that they were cut off forever from the T'au Empire. Communications could pass through the barrier, but starships could not.Earth Caste engineers, however, were working ceaselessly to perfect a shield that would protect starcraft from the highly corrosive gases. Early tests were positive, as some ships survived the passage across the Damocles Gulf, but the failure rate was high.Commander Shadowsun had recovered from her wounds, although she still grew weak quickly. As Supreme Commander of the Empire's Fire Caste, she spent long sessions with the Ethereal High Council, for there was much to plan and discuss. Terrible rumours swirled around the T'au Empire, but all fears and doubts were silenced by the announcement that, in a matter of Terran 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.Commander Farsight was gone from Mu'gulath Bay, returning to exile in his Farsight Enclaves. His exit was sudden and without notice, for he left before the Ethereal High Council reached the inevitable conclusion that he must be captured and tried for treason to the T'au Empire.Shadowsun knew she would be ordered to apprehend Farsight by the Ethereal High Council to force him to undergo a Trial of Judgment, a task she knew that she would carry out reluctantly but loyally. In truth, Shadowsun suggested that Farsight leave the system before those orders were given to provide her former ally a head start in making his escape.Farsight left behind the roiling flames of Mu 'gulath Bay even as the hologram of the dead Ethereal Supreme began its broadcast to the Septs. While his warriors began their dangerous journey home, they listened to Aun'Va's speech. He spoke of the Empire's tragic losses, of how they would make them stronger. He spoke of how, more than ever, enlightenment must conquer savage barbarism. Aun'Va's image spoke of never underestimating their foe again.It was only near T'lasla -- a planet earmarked for future T'au colonisation -- that the Enclaves fleet had received the distress call. In response, Farsight deployed his forces to the aid of T'lasla -- and the defeat of the Tyranid hordes of Hive Fleet Leviathan.
|
Third Sphere Expansion - Aftermath: The events of the Second Agrellan Campaign brought the Third Sphere Expansion to a close. Unable to easily navigate the Damocles Gulf for a time in the wake of the Exterminatus action launched on Mu'gulath Bay, and forced to deal with the political ramifications of the death of the Ethereal Supreme, the T'au Empire paused for a short time in its rapid expansion to lick its wounds. The T'au eventually launched their Fourth Sphere Expansion not long afterwards. But it ground to an almost immediate halt in the early 42nd Millennium due to the birth of the Great Rift, which caused the loss of many of its forces amid the chaos roiling the Immaterium as the Noctis Aeterna descended upon the galaxy. However, the T'au eagerly launched a new venture, the Fifth Sphere Expansion, as soon as the Warp Storms dissipated enough along the Eastern Fringe to allow such a massive undertaking.
|
Third Sphere Expansion - Timeline: 742.M41 The Damocles Gulf Crusade - Responding to T'au encroachments upon the Eastern Fringe, the Immperium despatches a vast Imperial Crusade force against this new xenos threat. The T'au colonies beyond the Damocles Gulf are crushed, the Emperor's armies then falling upon Dal'yth Prime in great force. A desperate war followed, in which T'au Commanders O'Shovah and O'Shaerra eventually stemmed the Imperial tide, though only at great cost and due to the invasion of the Milky Way Galaxy by the Tyranids' Hive Fleet Behemoth. The retreat of Imperial forces marked the end of the T'au Empire's Second Sphere Expansion.975.M41 Great War of Confederation - From beyond the Western Veil Nebula camean immense Ork invasion. Ethereal Supreme Aun'Va calmly marshalled the entire empire to defend itself as the Tau'va taught. Forces from those Septs closest to the threat -- Vior'la, Sa'cca, and Tau'n -- raced to engage the foe, stalling the WAAAGH!'s impetus. Meanwhile, O'Shaserra was brought out of suspended animation to command the T'au war effort. In the sprawling conflict that ensued, a new legend, that of Commander Shadowsun, was born. From Vay'harra and Kormusan to the K'resh Expansions, Shadowsun stood supreme as the saviour of the empire, and eventual vanquisher of the greatest Ork threat in T'au history.989.M41 Fall of the Lagan System - Decades of Water Caste diplomatic work converted many Human worlds to the Greater Good in the Lagan System. With the help of Expeditionary Cadres, the star system is graded a Class 1 colony, moving steadily towards becoming a full-fledged Sept. However all this preparation comes to naught as the sector becomes a war zone, targeted for xenos cleansing by the Ultramarines Chapter of the Adeptus Astartes. Many Human Gue'vesa and T'au colonists are slain as Lagan becomes a slaughterhouse, its cities reduced to smoking ruins.993.M41 The Nimbosa Annexation - Commander Brightsword, a student of Farsight's way of war, led an attack to claim the Imperial world of Nimbosa. By the time the Imperium brought reinforcements, the T'au were prepared to defend their new planet. The fighting culminated with the infamous Koloth Gorge Massacre, where the forces of the Astra Militarum were so brutally slaughtered that Brightsword was censured, summoned back to T'au due to the remorselessness of his acts. Since this attack, the planet has changed hands several more times and remains a war zone.997-999.M41 The Third Sphere Expansion - The Third Sphere Expansion begins. Vast beyond anything that has come before, it sees the entire T'au species placed upon a war footing. The dynamism with which the T'au seize their destiny is irresistable and dozens of intelligent alien races are assimilated into the empire. Borne far afield by enhanced ZFR Drives, the T'au claim star systems previously beyond their reach and the Empire grows like never before.310.997.M41 Ksi'm'yen Established - The first Sept of the Third Sphere Expansion is declared and used as a staging ground for further advancement.525.997.M41 Defence of the Farsight Enclaves - With his spearhead of eighty XV8 Crisis Battlesuit Teams, Commander Farsight leads a counterattack against a tendril of Hive Fleet Kraken that has entered his territory.998.M41 T'ros Campaign - The T'au complete their annexation of what was previously the Imperial desert Mining World of Taros, renaming it T'ros. It becomes the prime planet of a new Sept; its remaining Humans considered Gue'vesa citizens of the T'au Empire and congratulated on the wisdom of their decision.103.999.M41 War Across the Stars - Across the gulf of space, the T'au Empire knows one victory after another. The awoken Shas'O Kais, another of Commander Puretide's former proteges, seized triumphs that saw the establishment of the Fi'rios Sept. Upon the orders of Aun'Va, the Ghosts of N'dras began covert operations against the Imperium, detonating the Worldcore on Lamdiah and assassinating Cardinal Ambros the Blessed. Meanwhile, Imperial forces later counterattacked and drove the T'au from the Zeist Sector, only to find they have been intentionally sidetracked by Shadowsun, who claimed victory elsewhere.303.999.M41 Zeist Campaign - An Imperial counterthrust attacked the T'au colonies in the Zeist Sector. The Space Marines drove the T'au from many worlds in the sector, and while the losses were regrettable, the T'au gains elsewhere were on such a scale that, even to the casualty-conscious T'au, Shadowsun's diversion seemed not just acceptable, but shrewd.757.999.M41 Battle of Mu'gulath Bay - Commander Shadowsun swept the armies of the Imperium before her like ships upon a storm-tossed sea. Where her foes spread wide she struck at their weakest links. Where they dug in and fortified, she bypassed their strongholds to wreak havoc elsewhere. Dozens of Imperial worlds were seized for the empire. However, upon reaching the Hive World of Agrellan, Shadowsun faced a new strategic challenge. This massively fortified world stood as the gateway to the resource-rich Dovar System and its Gilded Worlds, meaning that it could not simply be avoided, but must instead be conquered for the Greater Good. Accordingly, the commander implemented a masterful strategy, coordinating over twenty separate planetary assaults and ensuring each was spearheaded by the newly deployed XV104 Riptide Battlesuits. Despite the efforts of the White Scars, the Raven Guard, the Imperial Knights of House Terryn and multiple regiments of the Astra Militarum, Shadowsun's audacious battle plan saw the planet won in a single Terran day. During ferocious fighting around the capital city of Agrellan Prime, a significant portion of the Imperial defenders made good their escape, but even this could not sour the incredible T'au victory. Yet there was no time for self-congratulation as Shadowsun drove her forces on before the fires of the newly renamed Sept of Mu'gulath Bay had even died.ca. 999.M41 Voltoris - Shadowsun suffered her first major defeat on the Knight World of Voltoris when the Imperial forces, led by the Raven Guard, the White Scars, the Catachan Jungle Fighters and the Imperial Knights of the ruling House Terryn, finally threw back a T'au invasion force.ca. 999.M41 The Prefectia Campaign - Commander Shadowsun returned to form during her assault on the Fortress World of Prefectia, hoping to open the way to the Dovar System for the empire. The T'au forces overwhelmed the Imperial defenders once more through the execution of her brilliant strategems. Kor'sarro Khan, Captain of the White Scars 3rd Company, personally vowed to decapitate Commander Shadowsun, for she had first outmatched him on Agrellan and then escaped his blade again on Voltoris. Using herself as bait, Commander Shadowsun took advantage of the Imperium's fixation on slaying her in order to spring a masterful trap. Many casualties were inflicted upon the Space Marines, including the Raven Guard Chapter Master, Corvin Severax, who was slain by Shadowsun herself, to be replaced by his subordinate Shadow Captain Kayvaan Shrike. Not even a large contingent of Imperial Knights from House Terryn of Voltoris could turn aside the devastating T'au counterattacks. Only through heroic actions were any Imperial forces able to retreat off-planet.ca. 999.M41 The Second Agrellan Campaign - Determined to eliminate the xenos threat to the Eastern Fringe, the Imperium unleashed a massive Retribution Task Force upon the former Hive World of Agrellan, now the T'au Sept of Mu'gulath Bay, the site of the empire's greatest military triumph. The Imperial assault went well at first but was ultimately blunted by the unexpected intervention of the renegade T'au Commander Farsight, whose forces had travelled from the Farsight Enclaves to aid their estranged brethren. Seeing victory once more eluding their grasp, the Imperium unleashed an Officio Assassinorum Execution Force to destroy the T'au leadership. While Commander Shadowsun was wounded, she survived the assault by a Callidus Assassin. The Ethereal Supreme Aun'Va, trapped on the world by the Imperial invasion, was not so lucky and was slain by a Culexus Assassin. The Adeptus Astartes, Imperial Knights and approximately fifty percent of the Astra Militarum forces deployed for the campaign were recovered before the Imperium delivered its final judgement -- an Exterminatus action carried out by a special torpedo warhead provided by the Adeptus Mechanicus that ignited the unusual gases of the world's northern hemisphere. This unleashed a planetary firestorm that killed millions of T'au and many of the Imperium's own unfortunate troops. In the wake of the disaster, and the effect the planetary ignition also had on the Damocles Gulf, the Third Sphere Expansion of the T'au Empire came to a close.
|
Third War for Armageddon - Third War for Armageddon: The Third War for Armageddon that began in 998.M41 was a massive conflict between the Imperium of Man and the largest Ork WAAAGH! ever raised, led by the Greenskin Warlord Ghazghkull Mag Uruk Thraka. The war was fought on the Hive World of Armageddon where Ghazghkull Thraka had launched his first attempt to seize the planet exactly 57 standard years before.The conflict eventually drew in portions of over 25 Space Marine Chapters, dozens of Astra Militarum regiments, several Titan Legions and caused immense destruction to Armageddon before essentially ending in an extremely narrow Imperial victory, though neither the Imperial nor Ork forces were able to secure complete control over the contested world and fighting is still ongoing across the planet.Following the opening of the Great Rift in 999.M41, Armageddon was cut off from all outside contact for the duration of the Noctis Aeterna. When the beacon of the Astronomican could once more be seen in the Armageddon System, Imperial relief forces arrived to discover that a third faction had joined the war, the Daemonic legions of Khorne and Tzeentch.The Chaos forces were as intent on fighting each other as the mortals present on the Hive World. In several cases the remaining Imperial and Ork forces on the planet had become temporary allies to defeat this new threat to both of them.
|
Third War for Armageddon - Opening Moves: Armageddon is an Imperial Hive World in the Armageddon Sector of the Segmentum Solar with an estimated population of between 100,000,000,000 and 500,000,000,000 people. The massive trade and industrial output of Armageddon makes it a vital part of the Imperium, particularly for the tightly settled worlds of the Segmentum Solar, the very heart of human-settled space.The Third War for Armageddon began exactly 57 standard years to the day after the start of the Second War for Armageddon in 998.M41, and it saw the return of the Ork hordes to Armageddon under the control of the infamous Warlord Ghazghkull Mag Uruk Thraka. He brought with him the forces of three other major Ork Warlords, the Great Despot of Dregruk, Urgok the Unstoppable and the Over-Fiend of Octarius. They each commanded vast Greenskin forces, led by many other Ork Warbosses, to create the greatest Ork WAAAGH! ever faced by the Imperium of Man.Ghazghkull proved to be that most dangerous of Ork leaders, one with both drive and actual ability in abundance. A serious head injury in his youth awoke his "visions" from the Ork gods Gork and Mork which led him on a bloody path of conquest unmatched by any Orks in recent Imperial history. He returned to Armageddon for his "rematch" after decades of planning and testing Imperial defences and succeeded in unifying dozens of Ork tribes and even contingents from several different Ork empires, a level of unity among the greenskins that had never been faced by the Imperium before.
|
Third War for Armageddon - The Orks Regroup: Ghazghkull had not been an idle Ork following his defeat in the Second War for Armageddon. Retiring to his stronghold in a network of Ork-controlled star systems in the Golgotha Sector, he carried on with the master plan that had been divinely revealed to him by the Ork gods Gork and Mork solar decades before. If the Imperium had made one terrible mistake following the Second War for Armageddon it was to believe that Ghazghkull had actually been defeated.In truth, what the Ork gods had revealed to the Warboss, or at least what he said they revealed, was that in order to truly destroy one's foe, you first had to learn all about him. For Ghazghkull, the Second War had simply been a way to learn how the Imperium would react and defend against a major Ork planetary invasion. In effect, Ghazghkull believed that the first invasion had been nothing more than a test of the Imperium of Man's defences.In the five solar decades that followed the Second War for Armageddon, Ghazghkull carried on uninterrupted with his divinely-inspired plan. Having learnt all he needed to know about Imperial tactics and strategy, he began developing the tactics that he felt would lead to his enemies' ultimate defeat. As he did not want to draw attention to himself, these "experiments" were carried out on a much smaller stage than the invasion of Armageddon. From 945 until 959.M41, the Imperium received numerous reports of small Ork raids and attacks against Imperial bases and outposts that were led by Ghazghkull Thraka personally.In 962.M41, an Imperial military base on the world of Buca III was destroyed by missiles fired from an Ork base hidden within an asteroid. The asteroid entered the star system from deep space and bypassed all the Imperial sensors because of its seemingly inert nature before unleashing its potent missiles at the unsuspecting outpost.In 972.M41, the Imperial Agri-world of Chigon 17 was overrun by a huge force of Orks also allegedly under Warboss Ghazghkull's direct command. Despite the fact that Chigon's Imperial Guard defenders were equipped with tanks and other armoured vehicles, they were decisively beaten by the Orks in a lengthy guerilla campaign which rendered the powerful but static Imperial defences wholly useless.In 986.M41 the Imperial Navy battlecruiser Radiant Way and its escorts were lost with all hands in an attack by Ork pirates, again led by Ghazghkull. The Imperium responded in force but discovered that all signs of the ork presence had simply disappeared by the time they arrived in that region of space.Just before the outbreak of the Third War for Armageddon, Ghazghkull allied with the Bad Moons Ork Warlord Nazdreg Ug Urdgrub to launch an assault on the Imperial world of Piscina IV. The Orks used a previously unknown form of teleportation technology that let them maneuver their troops directly onto the planet from a Space Hulk located a large distance away from the planet. The Imperial garrison was taken completely by surprise and only the presence of Space Marines from the Dark Angels Chapter saved Piscina from being overrun by the greenskins.However, this defeat proved to be of little consequence for Ghazghkull as the completion and testing of his new "tellyporta" by the Ork genius later dubbed "Orkimedes" by the Imperium meant that he was finally ready to unleash his full force against the Imperium. After more than fifty years, Ghazghkull and his Orks intended to have their revenge.
|
Third War for Armageddon - Reconstruction of Armageddon: Following Ghazghkull's first invasion of Armageddon, a long investigation of the planet's readiness and defences was begun in 948.M41. In light of the strategic value of Armageddon to the Imperium, extensive works were ordered by the Adeptus Terra to secure the Armageddon System against any future attacks. The Imperial Navy's Sector Command was transferred to the Armageddon System and the naval facility of Saint Jowen's Dock was rebuilt and expanded to accommodate all classes of Imperial Navy warships. Three permanently-manned monitoring stations were established in the outer reaches of the star system, named after three of the greatest heroes of the Second War for Armageddon: Mannheim, Dante and Yarrick. Ground-based and orbital defences were rebuilt and heavily reinforced, gravitic minefields were seeded throughout the star system and a substantial increase in the numbers of sublight system defence ships and monitors was ordered.On Armageddon itself, the long process of reconstructing the hive cities destroyed by Ghazghkull's first invasion was begun. This was a process that was still ongoing over fifty Terran years later. In part, the slowness of reconstruction was caused by the increased number of Planetary Defence Force (PDF) regiments that were raised over this period, despite a lowering of Armageddon's tithe of regiments destined for the Astra Militarum.A military council was appointed by the Administratum to rule over Armageddon and was made up of high-ranking officials of the Imperial Guard, the Imperial Navy, the Departmento Munitorum, the Adeptus Mechanicus, the Ecclesiarchy and the Governor of each of the major hive cities on Armageddon. The council was led by General Kurov of the Imperial Guard, a respected veteran of the Bakkus Crusade.From 949.M41 to 978.M41, General Kurov coordinated a series of xenocidal campaigns conducted throughout the equatorial jungles between Armageddon Prime and Secundus and on the frozen planet of Chosin to eliminate feral Ork infestations which had sprung up in the aftermath of Ghazghkull's invasion. Fifty standard years passed and Armageddon slowly rose from the ashes, its defences stronger and more powerful than ever before. Still, it would not prove to be enough to face the green storm that was coming.The first sign of that coming conflagration was a series of Ork attacks on the star systems surrounding Armageddon and other Imperial worlds nearby. First, the nearby world of Minerva suffered from the depredations of Ork pirates, then the Agri-World of Ruis was likewise assailed by Greenskins. Over a period of solar months, in spite of the heroic efforts of the Imperial Navy, the number of Imperial merchant starships reaching Armageddon was cut in half. Someone seemed to understand that the Imperial forces in the sector were bound by the need to guard the Armageddon System and were not free to patrol the rest of the sector as freely as they normally would.Almost immediately, the Ork pirate raids grew into assaults on Imperial outposts and then into attacks against lightly-held Imperial colonies. Soon, the first full-scale planetary invasions began. Two dozen Imperial worlds came under attack from Orks in as many hours and the Astropaths of Armageddon received constant reports of yet more Ork invasions and atrocities. Every consultation of the Emperor's Tarot prophesied only enormous amounts of bloodshed to come and the sign of the Beast Resurgent.Rumours spread that Ghazghkull was returning to have his vengeance and soon even the most obstinate Administratum adept could no longer deny that an Ork WAAAGH! of gargantuan proportions was engulfing the entire Armageddon Sector of the Segmentum Solar. After the Imperial Navy's Task Force Trajan was presumed lost battling the Orks in the Desdena System, General Kurov sent an astropathic call for assistance to nearby Astra Militarum regiments and Space Marine Chapters to come to the defence of Armageddon once more.
|
Third War for Armageddon - Return of the Beast: On the day of the Feast of the Emperor's Ascension in 998.M41, 57 standard years to the day after the first Ork invasion of Armageddon, augur psychic probes registered a massive disruption in the Warp as an Ork fleet emerged back into realspace and Ghazghkull's greenskin horde descended on Armageddon once more. An alert from the Imperial monitor station Dante was cut off in mid-transmission as the Ork starships swept past in their hundreds upon ramshackle hundreds.The monitor station's final vox reports indicated that an Ork fleet was moving into the Armageddon System, comprising 50 Ork Kroozer and over 300 Escort vessels, accompanied by at least four Space Hulks. The Imperial forces of Armageddon were placed on full alert and seven Imperial Navy cruiser squadrons, led by the Apocalypse-class battleships His Will and Triumph, departed Saint Jowen's Dock in geostationary orbit of Armageddon within 24 hours of the first reports of the Ork invasion. The Imperial fleet, under the command of Admiral Parol, entered battle five days later, catching the lead elements of the Ork fleet in an ambush around the high-gravity world of Pelucidar.Sixty Ork attack ships were blasted out of the vacuum by Imperial fire in the initial engagement, without the loss of a single Imperial starship. Then Admiral Parol's vessels were engaged by heavy squadrons of Ork kill kroozers and swarms of fighta-bommerz racing ahead of the main body of the Ork fleet. The Imperial starships fought valiantly, their weapon batteries pounding the crude Ork vessels into scrap, ravening lance beams incinerating wave after wave of the fighta-bommerz.Nevertheless, the Ork fleet outnumbered the Imperial Navy's defenders of Armageddon by six-to-one and the Imperial starships were gradually pushed back. The Orks made suicidal runs against the Imperial gunners with unbridled ferocity, losing a dozen of their ships in exchange for a single Imperial vessel. At the height of the engagement, Admiral Parol received comm-bursts from the Yarrick and Mannheim monitor stations warning that three more entire Ork fleets were entering the edges of the star system. At the exact same moment, the Triumph was hit by the combined firepower of five Ork kill kroozers and crippled by this heavy fire and massed Ork teleport boarding attacks. Realising that his duty lay in preserving the Imperial fleet for what would be a protracted conflict, Admiral Parol reluctantly gave the order for a general retreat.The doomed Imperial monitor stations were overwhelmed by the Orks a few hours later. By their last count, the combined Ork fleets entering the Armageddon System numbered in excess of 2,000 starships and at least twelve Space Hulks, the largest number of Space Hulks ever to assail a world of the Imperium in its 10,000 year history. Admiral Parol, his command reduced to just five squadrons of cruisers and a single battleship, could do little more than mount hit-and-run attacks against the massive Ork armadas as they moved in-system. Imperial reinforcements would later arrive and then Parol hoped that the Orks command of space could be challenged with more of a chance for success.As they waited, Parol's escorts and light cruisers harried the Orks as best they were able, distracting and drawing off their foes into traps and gravitic minefields. To their dismay, the Imperial Navy vessels encountered dozens of crude asteroid fortresses, or "Roks," in the normally vulnerable rear of the Ork fleets. These incredibly heavily armed weapon platforms proved difficult to assault directly, but the very presence of such large numbers of Roks seemed to indicate a complexity of strategic planning among the Orks that had not yet been seen by the Imperium's defenders.Surprisingly, the Orks did not turn aside to capture the orbital Saint Jowen's Dock. Instead they bombarded it for six days as the Ork fleets moved past, enlivened by repeated attacks from Imperial assault boat squadrons. Ork warriors succeeded in establishing themselves throughout the lower sections of the dock and though the facility remained under Imperial control, it was rendered virtually useless as a dock for warships by damage from the bombardment and constant Ork raids. Only the arrival of two Inquisitorial Ordo Xenos' Deathwatch Space Marine Kill-teams later in the campaign succeeded in driving the Orks back to the isotope storage pits at the base of the orbital station.
|
Third War for Armageddon - Ground Assault: In the final few solar weeks before the Ork forces landed on Armageddon proper, the planet was in a frenzy of activity. Imperial Titans powered up their ancient Plasma Reactors and took up defensive positions around the hive cities, Imperial Guard regiments were mustered and dug in, Space Marines from over twenty Chapters moved into the mountains and wastelands, to prepare to face the Greenskins. Imperial merchant vessels were commandeered and used daily to run supplies and reinforcements to the planet through the besieging Ork fleet, despite the risk. The very last transport to touch down carried a legend to the people of the world, the "Old Man" himself, Imperial Commissar Yarrick. The population cheered as, for the first time in twenty years, Yarrick stepped foot on Armageddon.The commissar met with the military council that governed Armageddon that night and advised them on Ghazghkull's most recent tactics and strategies, and warned against underestimating the powerful Ork Warlord's abilities. General Kurov had always been renowned for his judgment of men in battle and he was deeply impressed by Yarrick's drive and intelligence. He requested that Yarrick take over the leadership of the military council for the duration of the crisis and to general relief, the Commissar agreed.Six weeks after entering the Armageddon System, the vast Ork armada went into battle with the Imperial space stations and weapons platforms in high orbit above the world. Those who had hoped that the powerful orbital defences of Armageddon would keep the Orks at bay were soon proved to be hopelessly in error. The orbital battle raged for three full days and two terrible nights, but by the dawn of the third day, the skies of Armageddon were filled with the trails of Ork landing pods and the incandescent streaks of their attack craft carving runnels through the clouds. Hive Hades, still a ruin following the previous conflict, was the first to fall. In an act of vengeance, Ghazghkull chose not to fight again at Hades. Instead, the entire hive city and its inhabitants were smashed asunder by the colossal impact of giant asteroids dropped from the Orks orbiting Space Hulks. This act of wanton destruction was but a premonition of the monstrous bloodshed that was to come.As the fires of Hades' destruction lit the eastern horizon, the first Ork drop legions clashed with Imperial defenders near Volcanus, Acheron and Death Mire. Ground-based defence lasers and missile silos took a terrible toll on the Orks as they landed, but the hulking survivors regrouped and assaulted the defences with such ferocity that soon more and more of the greenskin horde was reaching the planet's surface unharmed. Feral Orks swept down from the Pallidus Mountains and out of the world's Equatorial Jungles to join the growing numbers of their more technologically-inclined brethren. Where the Imperial defences proved too strong to be taken by frontal assaults, huge mobs of Orks and their war machines were teleported directly into battle from the Space Hulks waiting above. As the ground defences fell silent on the third day of the Ork landings, Yarrick ordered every remaining aircraft on Armageddon to be thrown into the battle in a desperate attempt to destroy as much of Ghazghkull's ground troops as possible before they reached the surface.The sodden yellow skies over volcanic Armageddon became interwoven with the twisting trails of thousands of Ork fighta-bommerz and Imperial Thunderbolts and Furies as massive dogfights proceeded with maniacal fury. The Imperial aircraft had the advantage in that they could return to their armoured airbases to refuel and rearm, whereas the Orks had to reserve enough fuel to climb back up to their starships and Space Hulks in orbit. Yet, the Orks soon secured ground bases and the air battle turned against the brave Imperial pilots as the sheer number of Ork aircraft was brought fully to bear upon them.As the aerial battles reached their climax five days after the Ork landings, Hive Acheron fell to the Orks without warning, captured by treachery from within. Reports spoke of the hive city's power grid being sabotaged and the Orks boiling up from secret access tunnels at the very heart of the great arcology. The instigator of these terrible crimes was revealed to be none other than the infamous war-criminal and former Armageddon Planetary Governor Herman von Strab. He took over the conquered hive city as its new Overlord, announcing that it was his divine right to rule over Armageddon. Ork brute squads stood ready to silence any dissenters who doubted von Strab's new right to rule. Shockingly, much of the old nobility in Acheron welcomed back von Strab as their long-lost prince, choosing to ignore the fact that he had thrown in his lot with some of the most violent xenos known to the Imperium.At Hive Volcanus, on the same day that Acheron fell to betrayal, massed Ork infantry surged over the twenty square miles of defenses atop Volcanus Mount just beyond the hive city's outer suburbs. Seventeen garrison regiments of Armageddon hive militia were routed and the Orks captured many weapons and Imperial fortifications fully intact. Volcanus itself soon found itself besieged, surrounded by a ring of Orkish power and relentless pounded by captured Imperial macro cannons and barrage bombs.Outside Death Mire, the defence went better. The Titans of Legios Tempestor and Victorum with their supporting regiments of the Mechanicus' cybernetic Skitarii virtually exterminated the Orks' Blackfire Tribe in a three-day battle across the Plain of Anthrand. But the Ork landers fell from the skies like an endless storm and the fighting spread across Armageddon like a wild fire until every hive city and factory complex was involved. In many places, Ork attacks were beaten off by the bravery and ferocity of Imperial defenders, but again and again the Orks regrouped and attacked once more, stretching the defenders to the limits of their endurance -- and beyond.As Yarrick had predicted, Ghazghkull's strategies proved effective. The Orks kept an iron grip on Armageddon's airspace, orbital bombardments and fighta-bommerz pounded Imperial forces wherever they tried to form a coherent battleline, pinning them in place while further Ork infantry landings were made to surround them. Where the Orks found themselves outnumbered, they fought with guerilla tactics, striking at their human foes and then withdrawing into the world's harsh ash wastelands before retribution could arrive.Ghazghkull had learned the lessons of Chigon 17 very well and deliberately prepared so that the fighting was scattered and chaotic; precisely the conditions in which Ork warbands thrived and Imperial regiments were denied the support and coordination that humans depended upon to defend effectively. The only Imperial force which consistently defeated the Orks were the Chapters of the Adeptus Astartes. The Space Marines scoured the hinterlands of Armageddon on search and destroy missions to eliminate concentrations of the savage greenskins at every opportunity.
|
Third War for Armageddon - Total War: As the battles raged furiously on Armageddon's surface, Ghazghkull unleashed another of his surprises. Dozens of the great Ork Roks encountered by Admiral Parol's starships began to descend from orbit. Slowed by powerful gravitic force fields, retro boosters and modified Ork traktor kannons, the Ork Roks made landings in the verdant Equatorial Jungles and across Armageddon Prime and Secundus. Many were lost to ground fire or "Orky accidents" but each one that survived became a new bastion for the Orks, a rallying-point and a new citadel. As well as their huge guns and missile batteries, the Roks contained giant teleport arrays created by Orkimedes that were similar to those Ghazghkull has used during the Piscina campaign. These were employed to teleport down Ork reinforcements from their orbiting fleet, including Gargants and heavy artillery, in a seemingly endless stream of greenskins. Commissar Yarrick personally led assaults by the Imperial Guard's Cadian Storm Troopers supported by the Titans of Legio Metallica and Legio Ignatum which destroyed several of the Ork fortresses, but bloody battles around many of the others consumed whole regiments in only hours. For the rest of the war, the Space Marines bore the brunt of eliminating the Ork fortresses where they could, with the Salamanders Chapter winning particular honour for their successes against the Roks along the Hemlock River.Mysteriously, the Orks also made landings in the Fire Wastes and the Dead Lands to the north and south of the main settled continent of Armageddon. Even Yarrick was surprised as these grim lands had always been believed to be uninhabitable and without value. Their value to the Ork Warboss became apparent when weeks later hundreds of tanker-sized Ork submersibles designed by Orkimedes rose from the polluted waters and made landings at Hives Tempestora and Helsreach. The surprise was total and Tempestora fell within days and the dockyards of Helsreach were soon in Greenskin hands. Only a bitter defiance by Hive Helsreach's ganger militias, with supporting companies of Imperial Guard Storm Troopers and Space Marines that had been rushed to the region, prevented the Orks from overrunning the hive city during what became known as the Battle of Helsreach. It was at Hive Helsreach that the Black Templars Chaplain Grimaldus led the defence of the Temple of the Emperor Ascendant, which had stood since Armageddon's colonization (see below).Fourteen days after the initial Ork landings on the planet, the first major confrontation between Ork and Imperial war engines occurred. A ten-day battle raged over the Diabolus factory complex as the Gargant mobs of Warlord Burzuruk and Warlord Skarfang clashed with the Titans of Legio Crucius. Six Titans and eight Gargants were utterly destroyed in the fighting and others needed many months of repair before they were ready to enter combat again. The Diabolus complex was wrecked by the battle, its great foundries and machine shops blasted apart or crushed underfoot by the giant robotic war machines. In the aftermath of the battle Ork Speed Kults swiftly encircled Hive Infernus, cutting it off from all external aid. Mechanised Imperial counterattacks into the ash wastes met with initial success, but when an entire Imperial Guard regiment of Savlar Chem Dogs was surrounded and wiped out by the Speed Freeks, further attempts by the Imperial defenders of Infernus to break out from Ork encirclement were abandoned.As the defenders pondered how to lift the greenskin siege, reports came in of a vast Ork horde rounding the Pallidus Mountains from the northeast. Soon the horde was visible from the hive's spires, a great sea of greenskin warriors which seemed to fill the empty expanse of the ash wastes to overflowing. Towering Ork Gargants strode through the tide, like dreadnoughts rolling on a sea of green doom. The war chants of the Orks could be heard from over 20 miles away, the ground shaking with the horde's progress. Even worse, the sea of war banners swaying over the Orks bore the personal glyph of Ghazghkull himself.As the skies darkened beneath the shadow of Ork Space Hulks high above the hive city and the first orbital bombardments began, the citizens of Infernus knew that doom was upon them. They tried to take inspiration from the legends of Commissar Yarrick during the previous Ork invasion and how he had made the greenskins pay for every inch of ground they took at Hive Hades. Not all were courageous enough to face their fates and thousands fled into the ash wastes to be killed or captured as slaves by Speed Kults which circled the hive city like buzzards.The Adeptus Arbites Arbitrators within the city soon moved to secure the hive, turning back or outright executing any who failed in their duty to the Emperor. As Ghazghkull's Ork army came within range of the city, the great siege guns that had survived the orbital bombardment pounded them, lobbing thousand pound shells into the mass of greenskins until return fire from the orbiting Space Hulks smashed them apart. In the brief lull that followed, Ghazghkull delivered to the defenders of Infernus a messenger. It was Colonel Gortar of the Chem Dogs, horribly mutilated and missing both his eyes and hands. The message the blind and crippled Colonel bore was a simple one that would be heard many times in the months to come across Armageddon as the war only escalated:Surrender or Die!
|
Third War for Armageddon - Black Templars Armageddon Crusade: High Marshal (Chapter Master) Helbrecht of the Black Templars Chapter and three full crusades of his Space Marines answered the plea for aid from the besieged world of Armageddon when the Ork Warlord Ghazghkull Mag Uruk Thraka returned at the head of the largest Ork WAAAGH! seen in living memory. The surrounding star systems and worlds fell quickly to the swarm of Orks, despite valiant attempts by Battlefleet Armageddon to stop the invasion. The WAAAGH! was simply too massive to halt. The Black Templars fought bloody campaigns throughout the ash wastelands of Armageddon, but it was in space that their greatest contribution was made to the defence of the world. The Three Black Templar Crusades assembled at a Chapter Keep on the world of Fergax, and set course for Segmentum Solar. Upon arriving at the war-torn world of Armageddon, Helbrecht's experience of commanding great fleets made him a natural leader of the assembled Adeptus Astartes starships, while Black Templars Marshals Ricard and Amalrich took their Crusades to the surface of Armageddon. The war in space was bitterly fought, with Helbrecht leading many storming actions aboard Ork Space Hulks. The Imperial Navy fleet under the command of Admiral Parol began to whittle down the massive fleet of Ork starships and Space Hulks, and the reduction of Ork ground reinforcements eventually began to tell on the greenskins' war effort. By the commencement of the Season of Fire where the surface of Armageddon becomes hostile to all life because of extreme volcanism, the fighting between Orks and humans had boiled down to an uneasy stalemate.
|
Third War for Armageddon - Fall of a Champion: The Black Templars' success in blunting the Ork invasion was shattered when Helbrecht's Crusade returned to the Space Hulk Malevolent Dread. Earlier in the orbital engagements this Hulk had been heavily bombarded by the Black Templars battle barge Light of Purity, and damaged by charges planted by Black Templars boarding parties. Finally. Helbrecht decided to put an end to the Hulk once and for all and gathered his Crusade and all of his Sword Brethren Terminators to launch a massive boarding assault. An assault of this kind had never before been attempted on such a scale, but Helbrecht was determined to put an end to the gargantuan spaceborne monstrosity.The first stage of the assault was a teleport attack led by the Black Templars Terminators. The Terminators established a perimeter to allow the rest of the Templars' forces to board the Hulk. The Ork response was immediate and the Terminators came under heavy assault. Casualties mounted but Helbrecht was determined to make room for the reinforcements. Thunderhawks and boarding torpedoes made it to the Hulk and joined the fighting at the perimeter. The Terminators held the Orks at bay but it was a tenuous achievement at best.The second phase of the mission began as the Crusade organized into strike teams to lay the heavy thermal charges that would tear the Malevolent Dread in two. Helbrecht himself would lead the most important team, despite having been wounded several times already, Helbrecht was determined to plant the charges that would initiate the chain reaction and destroy the Hulk once and for all. Along with his command squads and the Templars' Emperor's Champion Vosper, Helbrecht pushed deeper into the Hulk.The Terminators had held the Orks at bay during the first phase of the battle, and during the second phase they led the advance, forming the spearhead of the Templars' forces as they fought their way through the twisting corridors of the Hulk. Once they abandoned their relatively secure firing lanes, however, casualties began to increase yet again, but with the support of the entire Crusade the Terminators managed to press through the Ork defenses. As more and more strike teams broke off to complete their individual objectives, the Templars forces became ever more vulnerable to sudden ambush and attack. It was as the Templars broke into a cavernous gap between two of the ill fitting starships that made up the Hulk that the Orks launched their largest assault yet. Over a thousand of the greenskinned monstrosities threw themselves into the bolter fire laid down by the Templars, heedless of their own losses.An audible crack sounded as the Orks smashed into the Templar line. Their advantage lost, the Templars nevertheless managed to hold the line. Vosper and Helbrecht led the counterattack, scything into the Orks with unmatched skill, building a pile of Ork dead at their feet. Slowly the tide of battle turned as the Templars reformed behind their champions to cut through the Ork horde. As the two mighty warriors slashed their way through the Orks they came upon the largest of the foul creatures, the Space Hulk's Warboss, who tore through the swirling melee, cutting down warrior Battle-Brothers wherever he went. Filled with righteous fury, the Emperor’s Champion Vosper called the massive Ork to account and faced the creature in one-on-one combat. Each Templar whispered a prayer to the Emperor as Vosper and the Ork Warboss crossed blades, praying for their Champion who was the very embodiment of all that their Chapter held dear.Vosper attacked the Ork warlord with huge two-handed sweeps of the Chapter's famed Black Sword, driving the creature back step by step and slowly gaining the upper hand. But as the Warboss reeled back from a powerful overhand blow it became enraged and recovered with inhuman speed, driving Vosper back and though the Emperor’s Champion met every blow of the Ork’s sword he could not stop the creature from barreling into him. Knocked off balance, Vosper could not stand aside as the Warboss split his skull in two. Their Champion’s fall was the turning point of the battle. Despite High Marshal Helbrecht’s best efforts, the Templars faltered and the Orks redoubled their efforts. The High Marshal was forced to the ground, swamped by dozens of greenskins. His Command Squad pulled him clear but an Ork Choppa was buried in his chest armour. As the Templars fell back, many were brutally cut down and the casualties for the Chapter went from bad to horrendous. Many groups of Templars found themselves cut off as the teleporter arrays of the Light of Purity overloaded with the strain of teleporting units back on board. Without an effective defensive perimeter there was nothing the Crusade could do to rescue the stranded squads, leaving them to do nothing but try to sell their lives as dearly as possible.By the time the Light of Purity pulled away from the Space Hulk almost half of Helbrecht's Crusade had been lost and Helbrecht himself had been critically injured, only his enhanced body keeping him from joining the Emperor. Finally, with Armageddon's Season of Fire upon the combatants, the fighting on the planet's surface finally stalled as the Orks found it difficult to advance in the face of the world's rampant volcanism. The Space Hulk believed to be the flagship of Ghazghkull Thraka, the Perversion of Pain, departed Armageddon orbit along with the bulk of the remaining spaceborne Ork forces. Swearing a mighty oath to hunt down and slay Ghazghkull before he could threaten the Imperium again, High Marshal Helbrecht took his remaining Crusade forces and pursued the greenskins, but the Black Templar fleet did not leave alone. The Hero of Armageddon, Commissar Yarrick, petitioned High Marshal Helbrecht to allow him to accompany the Black Templars alongside a handpicked force of elite Imperial Guardsmen and as a sign of the esteem in which Helbrecht held Yarrick, the High Marshal granted his request.
|
Third War for Armageddon - Chaplain Grimaldus, Hero of Helsreach: The third Black Templar Crusade on Armageddon was led by Chaplain Grimaldus, who had just recently been raised to the position of Reclusiarch, after the death of his mentor Mordred. Under the direction of the High Marshal, he led over a hundred of his Battle-Brothers into some of the most horrific battles to take place on Armageddon. After a score of successful campaigns, Grimaldus gathered his forces and charged towards Hive Helsreach which was besieged at that time by thousands of Orks who had swarmed up from the icy Dead Lands in the south using Orkimedes submersibles, initiating the terrible Battle of Helsreach. The Black Templars stood their ground at the colossal building known as the Temple of the Emperor Ascendant, a vast basilica dedicated to the Imperial Cult that had stood since the earliest days of Armageddon's colonisation.The Orks attacked with devastating force but Chaplain Grimaldus and his Astartes held out for almost two months. The Orks finally penetrated the Space Marines' defences and stormed the Temple, destroying irreplaceable relics, infuriating the Templars even more. Many of the Hive Militants and Imperial Guardsmen supporting the Space Marines turned to flee, but were rallied by the sound of Chaplain Grimaldus' booming voice echoing through the Temple; "I have dug my grave in this place and I will either triumph, or I will die!"The battle degenerated into a bloody melee in the heart of the building, ending only when the entire edifice began to crumble, eventually collapsing around the combatants. All were feared lost until a day later, when Chaplain Grimaldus crawled from the ruins, bearing the last relics of the Temple and vowing that all would remember the lives that had been lost in the defense of Armageddon. The Black Templar Apothecaries who examined him later were amazed that Grimaldus had survived, much less found the strength to climb from the ruins. When the war finally ended, the citizens of Hive Helsreach honored him with the title of "Hero of Helsreach."
|
Third War for Armageddon - Celestial Lions Crusade on Armageddon: The Celestial Lions are a Successor Chapter raised from the genestock of the Imperial Fists Primarch Rogal Dorn. They were created during an unnamed Founding during the latter years of the 38th Millennium.During the next four millennia, the Lions proved to be a resolute Chapter and true scions of Dorn, fiercely defending the realms of man from the enemies of the Emperor.But the Lions' fierce pride and moral principles that have always governed their Chapter's thoughts and deeds may have contributed to their own destruction.Events that were set in motion over five solar decades earlier during a routine assault on the world of Khattar in 948.M41, proved to be the Chapter's undoing in the wake of the events that unfolded during the Third War for Armageddon.
|
Third War for Armageddon - The Mannheim Gap: The Mannheim Gap on Armageddon was a canyon running through the mountains north of Hive Volcanus. It was a rent in Armageddon's priceless earth, torn open by the slow, active dance of the world's tectonics. Any who dwelled there for more than a handful of solar weeks knew that Armageddon was not a world that slept easy, whether due to Greenskins, dust storms, or yet another war.The Celestial Lions were told the canyon had to be assaulted, for it was a nest of mechanical heresy where the aliens were constructing their scrap iron god-machines or Gargants. Hive Volcanus' forces had to strike before the alien Gargants became active, or the tide would forever turn against the city's defenders. The Astra Militarum could not be trusted to deal such a surgical strike, nor could the hive city organise a mass withdrawal and redeployment of its deeply entrenched Guard elements to make it a plausible option. The task fell to the Lions.Primitive Void Shielding protected the site from orbital bombardment. The Lions had to strike overland, without Drop Pods, marching into the ravine alongside their tanks, attacking in battalion regiments like some echo of the Horus Heresy and the millennia of crude warfare before it. The Lions reconnoitred, of course. They scouted and watched, deeming Imperial intelligence reliable. None of the alien god-walkers were infused with life. But time was not on their side. Every solar hour they spent behind their fortress walls was another solar hour that brought the Gargant machines closer to awakening.Five hundred Celestial Lions Astartes attacked. The last half of the Chapter went to war, knowing that the enemy numbers were beyond the capability of the Imperial Guard to confront. They chose to bring overwhelming force and to strike fast and hard, seeking to counter their crippling inability to strike from the skies. Five hundred Space Marines were involved and some Chapters had taken whole worlds with a quarter of that number.The Lion commanders were right to commit their full fury. Any Chapter Master would have done the same. There was no possible way the enemy could have known such a force was coming to destroy them, and there was simply no way to prepare for an assault by five hundred Space Marine warriors. Strike with ferocity and destroy the enemy and then fall back before getting entrenched in a full-scale battle. It should have worked.In truth, the Gargants were not sleeping, they were simply waiting. Despite this setback, if that was all they had to deal with, the Lions might still have fought their way clear without being slaughtered. They might have even won, despite dying to the last man. The Lions' gold battle tanks raged skywards, streams of Lascannon fire bursting thin shields and scoring holes in the hulls of the towering enemy war machines. Warleaders shouted orders, in control of their warriors even in the heat of battle, establishing where to strike, where to push through the Orks' lines, where to move in defence of tank battalions threatened by enemy infantry.Even when the Gargants awoke, the last half of a noble Chapter still fought to win. They would purge the canyon at the cost of their own lives. Dorn himself would have stood with them that day. But the tide truly turned. The enemy ambush unfolded further as Greenskins spilled from the earth, pouring in hordes from warrens within the canyon sides and the rocky ground. There were thousands of them, roaring beneath fanged war banners and standards made from crucified Celestial Lions taken in other battles. This fresh army surged into the ravine, filling it like sand in an hourglass, blocking all hope of withdrawal and eliminating any chance of victory.Somehow the Orks knew that the Lions were coming. There could be no other reason to bury whole war-clans under the rock, waiting for such an assault. Their overlord was a beast clad in scrapwork armour -- the biggest Greenskin the Lions had ever seen. He ate the dead -- his own, and the Lions. Warleader Vularkh buried the war-sword Je'hara in the beast's belly and carved three metres of stinking alien guts free. It did nothing.The Lions fought back as they fell, but they knew they were betrayed. A traitor, somewhere, had fed word to the enemy, and the Orks made the most of their ambush. But soon, the extent of the treachery was revealed, as sniper fire, deadly accurate, rained down from the canyon walls. Not the solid shell rattle of Greenskin projectile throwers, for the Lions knew how the Orks fought. This was viciously precise laser weaponry, knifing through their officers' helms from above. Deathspeakers, Warleaders, Spiritwalkers, even Pride Leaders, cut down with fire too precise, too clinical, to be that of the Greenskin enemy.It took the Lions four solar hours to fight free. They carved their way back the way they came, abandoning a sea of dead tanks, slain Battle-Brothers and butchered, green enemy bodies. The gene-seed of half the Chapter lay rotting at the bottom of that canyon, unharvested by the Lions' Lifebinders and defiled by the thousands of foes they left alive.The Lions had fled from the field, and the most valiant battle the Celestial Lions ever fought was that retreat. Never had they faced such odds, and the last of them cut their way free, pulling their brothers from the storm of blades and fell back to their fortress with the enemy at their heels. The xenos flooded their forward base before most of their survivors had even arrived. The Celestial Lions had to fight just to escape their own falling fortress. Even then, for every gunship that raced free, another two were shot down in flames.The survivors of the Celestial Lions returned to Hive Volcanus. Only three officers were left at dusk of that day, three officers above the rank of Pride Leader. Deathspeaker Julkhara, who called Reclusiarch Merek Grimaldus of the Black Templars brother; Warleader Vakembi, the last surviving Captain of the Chapter; and Lifebinder Kei-Tukh, the Lion's only living Apothecary. The Chapter's future rested on his skills.But the final insult was yet to play out. The last gasp in this drama of shame and treachery occurred later that same, terrible evening. The Celestial Lions' territory inside the city was a cold foundry, nearly lightless, with a perimeter of rockcrete patrolled by their remaining warriors.Lifebinder Kei-Tukh did not survive the first night after their terrible defeat. The Lions found him at dawn, slouched against their last Land Raider, shot through the eye-lens. The gene-seed he had carried was gone, and he would harvest no more.The depths of the Celestial Lions' plight on Armageddon were dire indeed: they had lost their fleet, their armoury, their officers and almost all hope of rebuilding their Chapter. They couldn't even cling to pride, after the shame of defeat. All that remained to them was the truth. The Lions vowed to survive long enough to speak it. The Imperium needed to know what had happened to them on Armageddon, where they had been betrayed by others who claimed to serve the Emperor.
|
Third War for Armageddon - The Dark Truth: The remaining Celestial Lions then determined to die on Armageddon alongside their brothers, as was right and honourable if the Chapter could not be revived. Deathspeaker Julkhara reached out to Reclusiarch Grimaldus, a fellow son of Dorn, to know the truth behind their coming last stand, and ensure those that shared their primarch's blood never spoke ill of the Celestial Lions' fall.Julkhara sent a lone Storm Eagle from Hive Volcanus to seek help from the Hero of Helsreach -- the zealous Chaplain Grimaldus, who had recently held the besieged Hive Helsreach against thousands of Orks. Convalescing for several solar weeks after being buried alive in the rubble of the collapsed Temple of the Emperor Ascendant, Grimaldus soon received word of the discovery of a crashed Storm Eagle. The downed Celestial Lions gunship had fallen victim to the fearful winds and violent storms that wracked Armageddon's skies, heralding the infamous Season of Fire.Acquiring a Valkyrie from the 101st Armageddon Steel Legion regiment, Grimaldus and his subordinate Chaplain Initiate Cyneric departed the safety of the hive city to investigate the crash site despite the horrendous weather conditions. The air was severe enough to scald unprotected flesh, and while the Astartes' Power Armour offered a shield against the elements, it wouldn't protect them for long.Grimaldus was unable to determine the Chapter origin of the Storm Eagle from its outward appearance, as whatever colours it had borne into battle were long gone, stolen by the storm. Its symbols of allegiance were similarly eroded by ash and dirt in the turbulent air. Smashing his way through the ship's bulkhead with his Crozius Maul, Grimaldus and Cyneric found the body of a lone Space Marine pilot, clad in burnished gold, lying in ungainly repose where the deck met the weapon-racked walls. The Reclusiarch recognised the Chapter's colours -- the Celestial Lions. But this discovery left more questions than answers.Grimaldus couldn't understand what this gunship was doing all the way out in this remote location, so far from Hive Volcanus, nearly half a world away from its point of origin. Removing the dead Space Marine's azure helmet, the faint signs of darkening decay in evidence clearly indicated that he had been several solar days dead. Upon further inspection Grimaldus discovered a hololithic imagifier the size of a human fist mag-locked to the dead warrior's belt.Once freed and activated, it gave rise to a flickering blue image -- the ghost of another warrior in another city -- wearing the heraldry of the Celestial Lions and carrying a skull-faced helmet beneath one arm. Grimaldus recognised the fellow Chaplain as Deathspeaker Julkhara, whose wavering voice brought grim tidings, "Grimaldus. They lied to us about the Mannheim Gap. They sent us here to die."Grimaldus and Cyneric departed the crash site and made their way back to the protective walls of Hive Helsreach. Once safely inside, the Reclusiarch sent a secure Vox message to the Eternal Crusader, the flagship of the Black Templars' High Marshal Helbrecht. When he contacted the mighty vessel, he relayed his orders to a Chapter serf, instructing him to complete four tasks: first, he was to make contact with every vessel of the Celestial Lions Chapter still in orbit so that he could have a full accounting of their war fleet. Second, they were to contact whatever command structure remained in place at Hive Volcanus and to acquire a detailed report of every Adeptus Astartes casualty in that region since the war's commencement. Third, he and Cyneric needed a gunship to return to the Eternal Crusader. If the coming storm hit before arrangements could be made, they would risk teleportation.For the fourth and final order, the Eternal Crusader was to make contact with the ranking officer of the Celestial Lions, garrisoned at Hive Volcanus. He warned that the transmission would most assuredly be monitored, no matter what encryption processes were run. The following message was to be delivered -- Grimaldus knew he had to be careful how he worded his message -- it was only six words. "No pity. No remorse. No fear."Back aboard the Eternal Crusader Reclusiarch Grimaldus met with High Marshal Helbrecht, producing for him the hand-held holorecorder which relayed the dire message from the Celestial Lions' Deathspeaker. The High Marshal inquired as to what the Reclusiarch hoped to accomplish. Grimaldus sought to establish contact with the Celestial Lions to take stock of their losses, and if possible to destroy those who had betrayed them.But the High Marshal knew in his hearts that this would be impossible no matter how much it appealed to him. The High Marshal warned Grimaldus that he risked dragging the Chapter into direct conflict with the Inquisition. The High Marshal sympathised with Grimaldus' cause, for injustice must be stopped and impurity must be purged. But the Eternal Crusader was to set sail in three solar days in order to pursue the fleeing Ghazghkull Mag Uruk Thraka, the Ork Warlord who had led his massive WAAAGH! in the invasion of Armageddon.The Reclusiarch requested to be left behind. The High Marshal was surprised by Grimaldus' request. He was caught between the purity of a war against external enemies, and a just war against an internal foe. Grimaldus would fight both, if he could. The Ork Warlord's death, however, took priority over all else. The arch-warlord responsible for Armageddon could not be allowed to flee from their grasp, for retribution called as loud as justice.But Helbrecht could not overlook that the Celestial Lions' devastating losses were the principal reason he believed his Reclusiarch's concerns were valid. Justice called to them, and at the very least, the Black Templars wished to learn the truth of the matter. He ordered Grimaldus to go to Hive Volcanus to learn the truth of what happened. If the Celestial Lions were destined to die, the High Marshal wished to hear the truth of their tale before it was too late.
|
Third War for Armageddon - The Last Officer: Soon Grimaldus and his charge made their way to Armageddon Prime, where Hive Volcanus was still besieged by the enemy and the winds were more often free of the burning sand and ash that so blighted the other side of the world. The Celestial Lions' firebase was located atop a natural rise in the landscape, supremely defensible, with great battlements and sacred statuary of fallen Imperial heroes staring down at any who would dare bring the fight to those dark walls.The whole site was already in ruin. The pair of Black Templars were honoured for their presence by the remaining Lions. Grimaldus noticed right away that several of the Celestial Lions were plundering their own firebase's supplies, loading up their surviving Thunderhawks with brutal efficiency. The warriors themselves kept at least one hand free to reach for a Bolter at a moment's notice.A lone Space Marine came forward, bearing the black helm of a Pride Leader. He knelt before the Reclusiarch and removed his dark helmet. Grimaldus was greeted by the sight of a face that was a warm, rich brown complexion of a human born to equatorial climes. Though he had never been to the Lions' homeworld of Elysium IX, he had met many of its dark-skinned sons. They were a culture of hunters: proud from birth to death, true Scions of Dorn.Grimaldus did not recognise the warrior who introduced himself as Pride Leader Ekene Dubaku. "Pride Leader" was the Lions' term for a Squad Sergeant. This did not bode well. Dubaku was now the senior surviving Lion who led those that remained. The Veteran Marine explained that there were ninety-six Lions still drawing breath upon Armageddon, and that he had inherited command from Warleader Vakembei, he of the Spear That Hunts Hearts who had been slain eighteen solar days earlier. Grimaldus knew Vakembei, a stalwart Space Marine officer and deadly swordsman.The Reclusiarch inquired as to the whereabouts of Deathspeaker Julkhara. The Pride Leader replied that he had been slain by the "kine" (a Celestial Lions' term for cattle or beasts -- the Greenskins) nearly twenty-four solar days past. Now the surviving Lions were looting what was left of their supplies at their forward base. They had little choice, since it was overrun. Their fallback stronghold was within Hive Volcanus itself, but they risked raids in this forward area every three solar days.Ammunition was low -- production and resupply from their fleet had dropped to almost nothing. Grimaldus wondered why the Celestial Lions had not requested aid from the other Chapters present on Armageddon, but understood that Dorn's blood ran thick in the veins of his descendants. It was difficult to lay such pride aside, even in the face of devastation. Especially then, for that was when a warrior was truly tested. There was no other time more fit for proving that a man was strong enough to stand alone.Dubaku explained that they had swallowed their pride long enough to request aid from the Flesh Tearers and the Black Templars, but the former were as depleted as they were, and the latter were preparing to take the fight out to the stars in pursuit of the fleeing Ork Warlord. The Lions felt they had no right to beg for scraps while being left behind. So they existed by plundering their fallen fortress and looting their own dead.This confirmed for Grimaldus that Julkhara's summons had been a personal one. It had cost his pride dearly to send it. The Reclusiarch was struck by one thing above all else: the Celestial Lions were effectively dead. While a hundred yet remained, the Chapter operated now without a single voice from their Chapter's high command, and their ranking Veteran officer was a squad sergeant.Grimaldus ordered the Lions to finish loading their gunships, then he wanted Dubaku to tell him everything that had happened to the Chapter since they made planetfall. It remained to be seen just what Julkhara expected of the Black Templar, or what Grimaldus could actually achieve for the Lions. It already felt less like he had been summoned to save the Lions, and more like he had been called to hold vigil, watching over the Chapter as it died.The Pride Leader's tale was grim. The Reclusiarch's blood ran cold as Dubaku revealed each new betrayal that had occurred. Grimaldus quickly realised that the surviving Lions meant to die on this world. The Pride Leader confirmed this was true. The Lions intended to die alongside their brothers, as it should be. Deathspeaker Julkhara wished for Grimaldus to know the truth behind their coming last stand, and ensure that those who shared their Primarch's blood never spoke ill of their sacrifice.Cyneric argued that the Celestial Lions should return to Elysium IX, to endure the shame if they must, as the Crimson Fists endured their shame after the Battle of Rynn's World. They had to rebuild their Chapter -- the galaxy must not lose the Celestial Lions forever.But the remaining Lions scoffed at this suggestion. Their Chapter had been savaged beyond resurrection. Men, material, knowledge...all of it was gone. They had nothing to hand down to any generation that would follow them. The remaining Lions refused to flee like cowards. But it was not cowardice Cyneric advocated, it was survival -- survival to preserve precious blood, and to rise again to fight another day.Grimaldus agreed with both opposing viewpoints, for a glorious last stand was no more less respectable than preserving the infinite value of a Space Marine Chapter. But Grimaldus wondered if Cyneric would advocate shame if he were the one facing the prospect of so glorious a last stand. Easier to speak of shame than endure it. And yet Grimaldus was just as determined that the Chapter had to survive.The remaining Lions explained to Grimaldus that the Inquisition wanted to silence them. But the Reclusiarch assured them that this was not the case. They were using the Celestial Lions to make an example. The Lions were in fact the most recent casualty in the Inquisition's campaign to rein in the political autonomy of the Adeptus Astartes. The Inquisition tolerated no attacks on its sovereign rights -- yet the Lions had challenged them. And now all would bear witness to the price of their Chapter's rebellion.The sabotages, the conflicting orders, the ambushes, all would lead to the destruction of a Space Marine Chapter. Millions of Imperial citizens would hear of how the Celestial Lions were killed on Armageddon. A mere handful would know the truth behind their deaths, and each of those would be Adeptus Astartes officers who would tread with much more caution when they dealt with the Inquisition in the future. The lesson would be learned, just as Inquisitor Apollyon's cronies wished.Digesting this information, Pride Leader Dubaku explained to the Reclusiarch that his Chapter would make for the Mannheim Gap and that, though many of the Gargants were gone, it was still a well-defended Ork stronghold. It remained a cancer in Hive Volcanus' territory, and it must fall.This seemed idealistic at best to Grimaldus. He informed the Lions that in fact, it would not fall. Not to a handful of Lions, no matter how noble and proud they were. Dubaku countered that they would die trying, for this was where the Celestial Lions had chosen to die. It had to be there, for then their bones would lie alongside their brothers. Grimaldus inquired if the Lions would fight alone, to which Debaku replied that they would. Volcanus could not spare its Astra Militarum regiments.Even with Mannheim emptied of Gargants in the solar weeks since the massacre -- a fact they still could not be certain was true -- it was still a difficult target, rich with the enemy's presence. Five of the Lions' Battle Companies had failed to take it. A few thousand Guardsmen would be nothing more than spitting into the wind. The Lions could not trust any of the Guardsmen in any case, for the Inquisition's talons were everywhere.After hearing their tale of woe, Grimaldus decided that Cyneric had been right. The Lions' death would be a disservice to the Imperium, no matter the greatness of their glorious last stand; no matter the heroism of individual warriors as they spent their life's blood. The Lions argued that this was how they wanted it to end -- to finish their legacy in fire, not in centuries of painstaking laboratory work to preserve their bloodline. They wanted to die as warriors.Indeed they would, thought Grimaldus, a hundred warriors, dying in glory...and denying the possibility of thousands of warriors who might be needed in a darker future. It was Dorn's way to fight on no matter the odds. Death against overwhelming numbers was no shame to any warrior born of the Imperial Fists' gene-seed. Yet, those were lessons first taught ten thousand Terran years ago, when the Imperium was so much stronger. The last centuries of the current Dark Millennium had all but bled Mankind's empire dry. Yet the Reclusiarch still admired Dubaku for his hunger to taste a glorious death, even if it was a last charge few would remember.Dubaku informed the Reclusiarch that they would not delay the inevitable and were prepared to make their last stand almost immediately. His Chapter would gather their resources the next day at their forward base, and make one last scouting run for supplies and survivors. The Lions would then charge to their final war at dawn the day after. The Pride Leader made one last request of the stern Chaplain. He requested that Grimaldus grant final unction to the surviving Celestial Lions warriors.The Black Templar had only agreed to speak of the Lions' death, and that he understood how it had happened and why they had chosen to act as they did. But now they wished for him to also bless their damnation. The Lions had no surviving Deathspeakers and so they wanted Grimaldus to bless the warriors of another Chapter, sharing the Black Templars' sacred rituals, and vowing before the Emperor and Rogal Dorn that their death would be a noble testament to the Imperial Fists' bloodline.Grimaldus looked upon the surviving Celestial Lions, standing amongst them during their desperate, respectful silence. Grimaldus felt he had no choice, could not grant his blessing to the suicide of the Chapter and refused to perform the requested rite upon the Lions.
|
Third War for Armageddon - Choices: Grimaldus and his charge then departed the Celestial Lions' forward base and made for the Eternal Crusader. He went there to put an audacious plan into motion. The Chaplain knew he could not return to Hive Helsreach, for the Season of Fire played its tempestuous games around the city, harsh enough to kill sky traffic but not quite violent enough to interfere with Vox signals.Utilising the flagship's powerful communication array, he was able to amplify his transmitter's signal to send a message through. Making contact with the Imperial forces on the ground, he relayed a series of orders to one of the Astra Militarum officers present there. It took several more solar hours of coordinating Helsreach's defences from high orbit. Grimaldus knew a great many Guard officers were going to Vox skyward for confirmation in the hours to come.Time passed, as Grimaldus spoke with eighty-one Astra Militarum officers and eleven Naval captains. As his clearance was Rubicon-grade, no one dared to question his orders. Cyneric questioned the senior Chaplain's motives, and wondered if he hadn't exceeded his authority. But Grimaldus argued that the Lions' survival would be for the best and he was depleting Hive Helsreach's defences to march alongside the Lions back into the Mannheim Gap.The Reclusiarch explained that the city was vastly overdefended now, with entire battalions sitting idle and awaiting redeployment. It was an irritating truth; would that they had such a problem when the real war was being fought. The soldiers in Helsreach were actually bored. They did not do well with tedium, especially when left alone with nothing to do and no one to shoot.Cyneric felt that Grimaldus was playing on the people's regard for him. The Hero of Helsreach called them to war. Of course they would follow. But he was sure it was their war. The Reclusiarch argued that it was their world. And it was the only chance the Celestial Lions had, if they were to survive.The Lions' unseen enemies might well allow them to die in the glory they deserved. But their deaths served nothing but to ease the soreness of wounded pride. The Celestial Lions must not die on Armageddon and without help, the Chapter was doomed. Everything depended on just how fast Grimaldus' forces at Helsreach could break out from the storm, and redeploy halfway across the world.
|
Third War for Armageddon - Second Mannheim Siege: Arranging for an Imperial Navy shuttle, both Grimaldus and Cyneric deployed to the surface of Armageddon. Dawn was less than a solar hour away as they broke cloud cover above the Celestial Lions' ruined fortress stronghold. Grimaldus wondered if the Celestial Lions would have already left their fallen fortress by the time they arrived, marching towards their last stand.Besides the remaining four dust-blasted and paint-stripped Thunderhawks possessed by the Celestial Lions resting upon the wide rooftop platform, dozens of inelegant, blocky troop landers had joined them there. Struggling to locate an unmarked, untaken patch of ground, Grimaldus ordered the shuttle to break off its descent, as both he and Cyneric jumped from the ship's rear bay.The pair of Black Templars descended from the sky to the ground by utlising their Jump Packs. Pride Leader Dubaku was taken aback by the return of the Black Templars. Grimaldus replied that he thought that the Lions might appreciate the extra bodies. The Reclusiarch was greeted by General Kyranov of the Armageddon Steel Legion, the acting commander of the Imperial military forces at Helsreach. Within the solar hour a war council was called, ordained before a battalion of revving tanks. The plan was simple -- they would march into the Mannheim Gap, and they would destroy anything that moved or breathed.Dubaku stood with Grimaldus at the heart of the impromptu conclave, his anger a palpable thing. He directed his ire at the Reclusiarch, who he felt had overstepped his authority. The Pride Leader didn't appreciate these interlopers who threatened to interfere with their personal vendetta and their glorious last stand. He argued with Grimaldus that this was the Celestial Lions' fight and no one else's. Dubaku warned Grimaldus that when the time came, when they confronted the Ork Warlord responsible for so many of his Battle-Brothers' deaths, it would be a Lion's blade that killed the creature. Grimaldus vowed grimly that it would be so.And so, the forces gathered from Helsreach marched in long, armoured columns towards the Mannheim Gap. Every hope they possessed that Mannheim would be near devoid of Ork Titans was crushed before the first Steel Legion soldier had set foot on the loose rock slopes leading down into the canyon.The enemy was present in grotesque force. Great sockets in the rigging and stanchions along the canyon walls marked the absence of several Gargants, but many more were undergoing repair or reawakening after fighting in recent battles. The ravine was choked by multitudes of Orks going about their work, and thousands of mouldering corpses piled up into a sea of decaying organic matter.Gold armour, darkened and soiled by waste, showed among the barricades of the looted dead. The dead Celestial Lions had been heaped in undignified repose with their xenos murderers, and their ceramite -- useless to the junkyard heresy that constituted Greenskin technology -- was left to encase the rotting warriors amidst their flesh cairns.The Imperial force advanced over the sea of the disrespected dead, for tearing the barricades down was not an option. The Guardsmen climbed and waded through the sea of bodies or rode on the hulls of their tanks. Above the advance rode the gunship fleet, all flanking the four remaining Thunderhawks in the Celestial Lions' arsenal. The moment they streaked through the ravine's trench, cannonfire began to bring them down in tumbling fireballs.The Steel Legion did not baulk at the sight of such a vast enemy horde. They ploughed into the enemy's disarrayed ranks, slaughtering them to make room on fields of their bodies for the gunships to land. The first hours of the battle were unremarkable only for their ferocity. The Imperial Guard's massed cannonades devastated the Greenskin war machines. In reply, the Orks butchered the Guard at every point along the advance where it fell to men and women with bayonets to hold the line. As was so often the way of the Astra Militarum, they had the stronger steel, but the enemy had the stronger flesh.In such a grinding lock of armies, winning and losing was relative. The Imperial force pushed deep into the canyon as hundreds of men and women fell face down into the dirt. Behind the Space Marines lay a graveyard of tanks, practically all their own, all lost to enemy cannonfire. Lining the canyon's walls were the burning metal corpses of towering god-constructs, holed by missiles and tank shells, melting to slag in the flames of the Imperial Guard's bombardment. Stubber fire rattled against their ceramite harmlessly, but scythed Guardsmen down in droves. Still the Imperials advanced, sloshing through a rising torrent of blood. It was knee-deep on most of the humans, turning all advancement into a sweating wade through filth.Soon the pivotal moment of the battle came upon Grimaldus, as it had so many times before, his heraldry often drawing enemy commanders to him as often as he fought his way to them. It happened again at Mannheim, though he tried to avoid it. The largest of the Orks, doubtless hunting the Reclusiarch by heraldry, launched itself at Grimaldus from behind. It was a thing of blunt fangs, sinewy muscle and hammering limbs -- larger than Grimaldus, and both stronger and faster than him. A Celestial Lion called out to the Reclusiarch, reminding him that the Ork Warlord was the Pride Leader's kill.Grimaldus faced off against the massive beast, swinging his Crozius maul at the foul creature, but the powerful Greenskin moved as if immune to everything thrown against it. Las-fire lanced off the creature, going ignored against its armour, and equally ignored as the volleys scored fingertip-sized holes in its flesh. Celestial Lions charged the creature but the hulking warlord countered their feeble assaults with a sweep of his mighty mangling claw.As Grimaldus was driven to his knees and eventually struck to the ground, Dubaku finally came between the two combatants with a leap and a roar. He held his hand back, bidding Grimaldus to remain away. The Reclusiarch had to force himself to obey, something he would never have countenanced in any other circumstance. But they had fought this battle for a bloodline's pride, and here was the moment of reckoning.Dubaku beat his blade against his chestplate, staring at the Greenskin lord in its powered suit of tank armour scrap. Despite the cacophony of battle that raged all around them, Grimaldus could hear the Celestial Lion's words as clearly as if they had left his own mouth: "In whatever underworld your foul breed believes, you shall tell your pig-blooded ancestors that you died to the blade of Ekene of Elysium, Lion of the Emperor."No one knew it then, but at that moment, the Pride Leader was the last Lion still standing. Dubaku attacked, his Chainsword worthless against the beast's claw. He had just as little hope of parrying the creature's cudgel with his Combat Knife. So what he lacked in strength, he poured into speed -- never blocking, always dodging. The battle did not pause around the two combatants. Soon both the Pride Leader and the Ork Warlord were bleeding from a score of wounds.The Chainsword had found its way through armour joints and plunged into soft tissue; the Power Claw had mangled the Celestial Lion's armour each time it fell. Soon, Dubaku was backing away. Fighting such a beast was no task for one warrior alone, no matter the pleasure of pride. Then came a thunderclap of noise as a massive electrical burst turned the air to charged static. Orks and men in their droves cried out in pain at the sonic boom. The orbital shield was no longer functioning.Somehow at some point in the hours of melee, while the Reclusiarch fought with the Lions, the Steel Legion had laid explosives at the base of the Void Shield reactor. The Emperor alone knew when, where, and how. No sooner had the shield imploded, spitting its static charge in all directions, than a powerful and priority channel Vox-rune chimed loudly in the Reclusiarch's retinal display. Grimaldus activated it as he watched the Pride Leader and the Ork lord stagger around each other, wounded animals too proud to die.Soon Grimaldus heard a familiar voice -- it was High Marshal Helbrecht. He informed the Chaplain that the Black Templars were ready to reinforce their position. All he had to do was give the word. Grimaldus informed the High Marshal to blacken the sky. At that moment the severely wounded Celestial Lion was down before Grimaldus could reach him. The beast clutched Dubaku's arm in its mangling claw, crushing it at the biceps before ripping it free. The Pride Leader retaliated by ramming his Chainsword in an awkward thrust into the creature's throat. Deflected by armour, it barely bit. His assault came at the cost of his leg, as the iron claw scissored through the limb at the knee, dropping him on his back into the slime.Grimaldus was on the beast's back a heartbeat later, securing himself by digging into the creature's armour with his boots as he wrapped his severed weapon chain around its bleeding, sweating throat. The chain garrotted taut, cracking sinew in the beast's throat. The iron claw battered at the Reclusiarch, shearing chunks of ceramite away. It staggered without toppling, gasped without truly suffocating. Even this -- even strangling it with his last remaining weapon -- could not kill it.All Grimaldus could do was buy Dubaku the moments he needed to crawl free, which he quickly did. And Cyneric was waiting, a Bolter in his remaining hand. The mutilated Celestial Lion reached up for it, clutching it one-handed in a pistol grip, and aimed it up as he lay back in the sludge. Grimaldus dropped back, not completely, but enough to pull the chain tighter, adding his weight to his strength, and wrenching the beast's head back to bare its throat.The Bolter sang once, and the kick of something heavy struck near the chain. With a muffled burst, the Ork's head came free, tumbling back over its shoulders and landing with the Chaplain in the filth. The armoured body stood there without anything existing above its neck -- still too stubborn, too strong, to fall.Once he got to his feet, Grimaldus reclaimed his maul from the fallen beast. Then he tossed the thing's slack-jawed head to Dubaku where he lay. The battle continued to rage, as the men and women Grimaldus had led there fought their way further down the canyon. Dubaku looked up at the darkening sky as the Black Templars descended in a massive Drop Pod assault upon the Mannheim Gap. The Lion's only reaction was to rise as best he could, and pull his helmet clear. He ordered the Reclusiarch to help him stand. He didn't want to meet the High Marshal on his back. Cyneric and Grimaldus hauled Dubaku up between them. While they did so, the Guard's Vox link erupted in cheers, as Lord Helbrecht blackened the sky with Templar Drop Pods.
|
Third War for Armageddon - New Beginnings: Reclusiarch Grimaldus bid his farewell to the newly-installed Chapter Master Ekene Dubaku of the Celestial Lions, escorted by his surviving few warriors onto the Black Templars Strike Cruiser Blade of the Seventh Son, with its course plotted for the distant world of Elysium IX. Dubaku now bore a bionic leg and a noticeable limp, his physiology not entirely adjusted to the augmetic replacement yet. The armour he wore was gold war-plate of an ancient Imperial Fists champion, granted as a gift from the Eternal Crusader's Halls of Memory. His cloak was that of Helbrecht's own Sword Brethren, red on black, elegantly cast over one shoulder.It was not known if this was the very same cloak Helbrecht had granted to Dubaku when he forced him to take the oath of lordship over his depleted Chapter. At his hip, bound by chains of black iron, was the flayed, polished skull of the Greenskin Warlord they had killed together. An honour indeed, to be named on a Chapter Master's prime trophy.The Black Templars Honour Guard comprised to bid him good journey consisted of the Reclusiarch, the newly promoted Chaplain Cyneric, and the High Marshal's household knights, clad in ceremonial colours. The Reclusiarch hoped most fervently, as time passed, that Chapter Master Dubaku's efforts in reconstructing the Celestial Lions and training the generation to follow him continued to go well. Grimaldus knew with grim satisfaction that they would most likely never meet again, as Dubaku was sworn to a life of defending what he could hold, and the Black Templars always sailed forth on the attack against the foes of the Emperor.
|
Third War for Armageddon - Salamanders' Return to Armageddon: When WAAAGH! Ghazghkull descended upon Armageddon in 998.M41, many Space Marine Chapters responded as noted above, including the Black Templars, White Scars, Exorcists, Silver Skulls, Iron Champions, Storm Lords -- the list goes on, their raiment every colour under the Emperor's sun. Yet of all those Chapters that fought in the shadow of Armageddon's smoke-wreathed manufactorums and hive cities, the populace remember none with the same gratitude that they give to the Salamanders.The Salamanders had been instrumental in Ghazghkull's defeat in the Second War for Armageddon, but victory had cost them dearly. Perhaps it was vengeance that drove the Chapter to make such a generous contribution to the Third War. Whatever the reason, almost the entire Salamanders Chapter was present in the crucial early months of the war. Under the eye of their bold Chapter Master Tu'Shan, they fought with determination on the most terrible battlefields.When the din of battle grew quiet and the Ork attacks slowed, the Salamanders did not sit idle, but instead launched several devastating counterattacks against the Roks landed by the Orks along the Hemlock River. Preferring the close-quarter fighting to be had in the maze of crudely carved tunnels that lay within the interior of the Roks to the long-range duels in the desert, the Salamanders made their mark. By the start of the Season of Fire, 9 Roks had been destroyed by the Salamanders' attacks, killing untold thousands of Greenskins.The glory of such battles was one shared with many other Chapters, and alone it does not explain the fierce loyalty that the Salamanders engendered in the people of Armageddon. The truth of the matter remains that while some Chapters fought for the Emperor, and others for the renown and glory to be earned, Tu'Shan and his Salamanders fought each battle to save the lives of the people of Armageddon.For instance, during the battle for Hive Helsreach, the Salamanders strike cruiser Serpentine made its way through orbiting Ork armada to vomit Drop Pods onto the shattered streets of Helsreach. Sergeant V'reth, commanding seventy Salamanders battle-brothers, fought alongside the Black Templars of Reclusiarch Grimaldus.V'reth's forces devoted their energies to defending the helpless civilians caught up in the Helsreach siege. To the Templars' disgust, the Salamanders always made sure that their actions prevented civilian casualties, despite the inefficiencies this produced, while the Black Templars were always on the attack. While their differing styles of war put some strain on their relations with the Black Templars, V'reth and his forces ultimately departed the city for the banks of the Hemlock River.On more than one occasion, Tu'Shan threw his Astartes into the most hopeless of battles to rescue embattled civilian enclaves and settlements that other Imperial commanders had been prepared to sacrifice for the sake of the wider war. Indeed it is even rumoured that Master Tu'Shan himself came to blows with Captain Vinyar of the Marines Malevolent after it became known that the latter's men had shelled a refugee camp simply because there were Orks within its perimeter. This act alone won Tu'Shan and his Chapter much renown, although relations between the Salamanders and the Marines Malevolent have never been quite the same.The majority of the Salamanders departed Armageddon following the Season of Fire, but the Chapter's work was not done. The two companies of the Chapter that remained behind on the Hive World did so to protect its major population centres from marauding Ork warbands that would never quite be eradicated. The Chapter's Techmarines have been instrumental in repairing and rebuilding the infrastructure required to maintain such a vast amount of people, and it is certain that they have saved many thousands of lives with these vital but often overlooked duties. The people of Armageddon will not soon forget the efforts the Salamanders made in their name. The legend that the Sons of Vulkan have left behind will surely shine all the brighter with every passing year.
|
Third War for Armageddon - Uncertain Future: The end of the Third War for Armageddon is clouded in mystery. Ultimately the campaign was considered a narrow Imperial victory as the world remained largely under the control of the Imperium. Word later reached Yarrick from the Black Templars Chapter fleet in orbit of Armageddon that Ghazghkull had fled the world once the planet's Season of Fire had begun and bogged down the Orks' offensives, possibly in his command space hulk, The Perversion of Pain.With this news, Yarrick gathered together his own forces and gave chase alongside the Black Templars Crusade Fleet, as the Black Templars' High Marshal Helbrecht began a new Imperial Crusade to seek out and finally destroy Ghazghkull.In a daring covert operation conducted by the 13th Penal Legion under the command of Colonel Schaeffer, the traitorous former Planetary Governor Herman von Strab was killed in the occupied Hive Acheron when he was tackled over the edge of a balcony by the Daemon-possessed psyker Lieutenant Kage. Kage had led the 13th Penal Legion into a trap, allying himself with von Strab in his possessed state, but had managed to overcome the Daemon's will just long enough to tackle the treacherous governor and prevent his comrades' execution. Both men fell to their deaths.Though the war is officially over, fighting still continues on the planet at present. Though Ghazghkull has left the world, pursued by Commissar Yarrick with a full Black Templars Crusade at his back, the remaining Orks have come to regard Armageddon as a kind of Greenskin utopia or Valhalla where they can always come to find a good fight. As such, the Imperium must still send more troops into the stalemated battle to keep the planet in Imperial hands and prevent the seemingly permanent Ork infestation from becoming a major threat once more.Countless Orks still infest Armageddon and the conflict between Human and Greenskin continued to rage. For the Orks, the war became known as the "Big Scrap" and "Ragnarork." More Orks arrived in the system with each solar day as word spread of the great battle raging there. The death toll for the Imperium spiraled towards the billions. The Imperials knew one thing, however: whatever the cost, Armageddon must not fall.The state of Armageddon and its surrounding planets is currently dire. Billions of Imperial soldiers and citizens have died, and many of the hive cities of Armageddon now lie in ruins. The damage done to the world by the Third War for Armageddon is some of the most devastating ever suffered by the people of the Imperium.Dozens of Imperial armies were decimated or destroyed altogether by the ferocious combat, and the damage done to the planet itself may take Terran centuries to repair. Most of the settled planets in the Armageddon System have been ravaged by Ork forces, and with Ghazghkull having fled into deep space, it is likely he will quickly rebuild his forces and carve out a new Ork Empire for himself, unless the Black Templars and Yarrick prove able to stop him.Not even the great Warp Storms unleashed by the birth of the Great Rift in 999.M41 could halt the fighting, but they did change its nature. During the period of the Noctis Aeterna, reinforcements were cut off for both sides, and those en route to the system were swept into oblivion in the Warp. Those combatants who remained on Armageddon were forced to face not just each other, but oncoming waves of Chaos Daemons. At times, so desperate were the defenders that Orks and Humans fought alongside each other against the greater threat. Such temporary ceasefires never lasted long.By the time the beacon of the Astronomican burned bright once more and easy travel through the Immaterium was possible in the Imperium Sanctus, an Imperial relief force arrived to find the landscape of Armageddon greatly changed. At the height of the Warp Storms, the Daemonic forces of Tzeentch and Khorne had battled each other as part of their eternal competition in the Great Game.The Orks and Imperial defenders sought cover as titanic Greater Daemons duelled for supremacy. Fully half the planet was reshaped into a hellish landscape reminiscent of many Daemon Worlds -- a nightmare born of the Warp merged with the ruins of a war-torn Hive World.The Imperial reinforcements, led by elements of nine Space Marine Chapters with the Salamanders in overall command, succeeded in halting a Daemonic ritual that would have brought Angron, the Daemon Primarch of the World Eaters, back to the world that had defied him during the First War for Armageddon.
|
Third War for Armageddon - Astra Militarum and Armageddon Planetary Defence Forces: 4th Armageddon Steel Legion8th Armageddon Super Heavy Tank Company13th Penal Legion, "The Last Chancers"14th Savlar Chem Dogs34th Armageddon Steel Legion34th Armageddon Steel Legion Armoured Division51st Armageddon Steel Legion61st Armageddon Steel Legion 69th Armageddon Steel Legion91st Armageddon Steel Legion93rd Armageddon Steel Legion101st Armageddon Steel Legion121st Armageddon Steel Legion121st Armageddon Steel Legion Armoured Division 141st Armageddon Steel Legion199th Armageddon Steel Legion Armoured Division273rd Armageddon Steel Legion276th Armageddon Steel Legion703rd Armageddon Steel Legion Storm Trooper DivisionArmageddon Ash Wastes Militia, 5 RegimentsArmageddon Command Guard, 5 CompaniesArmageddon Hive Militia, 120 RegimentsArmageddon Jungle Fighters Regime, 1 Regiment Armageddon Ork Hunters, 5 RegimentsArmageddon Steel Legion, 25 RegimentsArphista Penal LegionAsgardian Rangers, 2 RegimentsCadian Shock Troops, 15 RegimentsCatachan Jungle Fighters, 3 RegimentsDeath Korps of Krieg, 5 RegimentsElysian Drop Troops, 14 SquadronsHelsreach Dockers' UnionHelsreach Ganger Militia Jopall Indentured Squadrons, 17 BattalionsKrourk Ogryn Auxilia, 2 RegimentsMinervan Tank Legions, 3 LegionsMonglor Ogryn Auxilia, 2 RegimentsMordian Iron Guard, 6 RegimentsNoctan Strike Forces, 6 RegimentsOcanon Phalanx Troopers, 11 RegimentsPyran Dragoons, 10 RegimentsSavlar Chem-Dogs, 6 RegimentsSavlar Chem-Riders, 2 RegimentsSemtexian Bombadiers, 9 BatteriesStorm Troopers, 18 CompaniesZouvan Skirmishers, 4 Brigades
|
Third War for Armageddon - Imperial Navy and Adeptus Astartes Fleet Elements: 5082nd Imperial Naval Wing14 Adeptus Astartes Battle Barges103 Adeptus Astartes Strike CruisersUnknown number of Thunderhawk GunshipsBattlefleet Armageddon 43 Starhawk Bomber Strike Wings36 Squadrons of Escorts6 first-line Cruiser Squadrons9 second-line Cruiser Squadrons12 Light Cruiser Squadrons67 Fury Interceptor Strike WingsMonitor Station DanteMonitor Station MannheimMonitor Station YarrickArchangel - Defiant-class Light CruiserForebearer - Defiant-class Light CruiserEx Cathedra - Armageddon-class BattlecruiserHammer of Light - Armageddon-class BattlecruiserThunderchild - Armageddon-class BattlecruiserGreen Lake - Oberon-class BattleshipHis Will - Apocalypse-class BattleshipLeonid - Endeavour-class Light CruiserTriumph - Apocalypse-class BattleshipInomine Veritas - Emperor-class BattleshipThe Eternal Crusader - Black Templars Flagship (Battle Barge)Light of Purity - Black Templars Battle BargeMajesty - Black Templars Strike CruiserNight's Vigil - Black Templars Battle BargeSanctis Legate - Endeavour-class Light CruiserSerpentine - Salamanders Battle BargeSword of Voss - Endeavour-class Light CruiserVulkan's Wrath - Salamanders Strike Cruiser
|
Third War for Armageddon - Adeptus Astartes: Angels of Fire, 7 CompaniesAngels of Redemption, 4 CompaniesAngels of Vigilance, 6 CompaniesAngels Porphyr, 8 CompaniesBlack Dragons, 9 CompaniesBlack Templars, 3 CrusadesBlood Angels, 1 CompanyCelebrants, entire Chapter deployedCelestial Lions, entire Chapter deployedExorcists, entire Chapter deployedFlesh Tearers, 5 CompaniesImmortal Hearts, 1 CompanyIron Champions, 7 CompaniesMarines Malevolent, 2 CompaniesMortifactors, entire Chapter deployedOmega Marines, entire Chapter deployedRaptors, 5 CompaniesRed Scorpions, 1 CompanyRelictors, entire Chapter deployedSalamanders, 6 CompaniesSilver Skulls, 7 CompaniesSons of Guilliman, 6 CompaniesSpace Wolves, 5 Great CompaniesStorm Giants, 5 CompaniesStorm Lords, 2 BrotherhoodsWhite Scars, 3 BrotherhoodsWidowmakers, 1 Company
|
Third War for Armageddon - Forces of the Inquisition: Ordo HereticusOrdo XenosDeathwatch Space Marines, 2 Kill-teams
|
Third War for Armageddon - Forces of the Adeptus Mechanicus: Ark Mechanicus-class BattleshipCenturio Ordinatus, 4 OrdinatiiLegio Crucius, Demi-LegioLegio Ignatum, Legio Legio Invigilata, LegioLegio Magna, Quarto-LegioLegio Metallica, Demi-LegioLegio Tempesto, LegioLegio Victorum, LegioSkitarii, 14 Regiments
|
Third War for Armageddon - Forces of the Ecclesiarchy: Order of Our Martyred Lady, 3 CompaniesOrder of the Argent Shroud, 7 Companies
|
Third War for Armageddon - Forces of the Adeptus Arbites: 20 Adeptus Arbites Armageddon Precincts12 Punitive Battalions
|
Third War for Armageddon - Forces of the Departmento Munitorum: Departmento Munitorum Engineer Corps, 2 CorpsDepartmento Munitorum Pioneer Corps, 1 Corps
|
Third War for Armageddon - Forces of the Officio Assassinorum: Officio Assassinorum Agents (Numbers Classified)
|
Third War for Armageddon - Forces of the Officio Sabatorum: 34 Agents of the Sabatorum
|
Third War for Armageddon - Forces of the Templars Psykologis: 15 Disruption Squads
|
Third War for Armageddon - Armageddon Prime: Despot Gazgrim's War Horde, 200 Mobs, 18 GargantsBlack Slayers Tribe, 30 Mobs, 4 GargantsFirebellies Tribe, 18 Mobs, 3 GargantsRazor Speed Freeks, 21 Kult of Speed MobsVarga's Drop Legion, 24 MobsWarlord Badfang's Battle Forts, 3 Mobs, 16 Battle FortressesWarlord Gorshag's Big Gunz, 7 Artillery MobsWarlord Rukgor's Gargant Big Mob, 5 Mobs, 6 GargantsWarlord Thogfang's Gargant Big Mob, 2 Mobs, 7 Gargants
|
Third War for Armageddon - Armageddon Secundus: Great Overlord Ghazghkull's War Horde, 400 Mobs, 18 GargantsBlackskull Tribe, 30 Mobs, 3 GargantsBurning Death Speed Freeks, 25 Kult of Speed MobsCrooked Moon Tribe, 21 Mobs, 3 GargantsRed Fin Tribe, 30 Mobs, 4 GargantsRed Wheelz Speed Freeks, 18 Kult of Speed MobsWarlord Burzuruk's Gargant Big Mob, 4 Mobs, 9 GargantsWarlord Kroksnik's Death Traks, 4 Mobs, 32 Battle FortressesWarlord Morfang's Gargant Big Mob, 6 Mobs, 7 GargantsWarlord Morkbad's Big Gunz, 6 Artillery MobsWarlord Skarfang's Gargant Big Mob, 3 Mobs, 6 GargantsWarlord Thugsnik's Big Gunz, 6 Artillery Mobs
|
Third War for Armageddon - The Fire Wastes: Great Slayer Grimskull's War Horde, 60 Mobs, 8 GargantsSlasherzz Speed Freeks, 12 Kult of Speed MobsStompers Tribe, 16 Mobs, 1 GargantVultures Tribe, 16 Mobs, 3 Gargants Warlord Blargrot's Gargant Big Mob, 4 Mobs, 3 GargantsWarlord Rukglum's Big Gunz, 11 Artillery MobsWarlord Skarg's Gargant Big Mob, 4 Mobs, 3 Gargants
|
Third War for Armageddon - The Dead Lands: Great Fiend Gorssnik Magrash's Wa Horde, 250 Mobs, 160 Battle FortressesBlack Cloud Speed Freeks, 20 Kult of Speed MobsWarlord Bogsnik's Blitz Brigade, 12 Mobs, 41 Battle FotressesWarlord Skarsnik's Blitz Brigade, 12 Mobs, 41 Battle FortressesWhite Lightning Speed Freeks, 31 Kult of Speed Mobs
|
Third War for Armageddon - Ork Fleet Elements: 12-16 Space Hulks2000-3500 Fighta-Bommer Squadrons 2100+ Attack Craft80-100 Roks250-400 Kill KroozersSeveral thousand Ork BattleshipsDethdeala - Ork BattleshipGrimzag's Ammer - Kill KroozerKroolboy - Battleship Skullbanga - Space Hulk
|
Third War for Armageddon - Heretic Astartes: World Eaters Traitor Legion
|
Third War for Armageddon - Chaos Daemons: Blood Legions of KhorneScintillating Legions of TzeentchLegions of Excess of SlaaneshPlague Legions of Nurgle
|
Third War for Armageddon - Nomenclature: Due to the fact that the history of the First War for Armageddon against Chaos has been entirely suppressed by the actions of the Inquisition, most of the Imperium, and the citizens of Armageddon itself, consider this conflict to be the Second War for Armageddon, rather than the third.
|
Third War for Armageddon - Canon Conflict: While the 3rd Edition Codex: Armageddon on page 32 lists the Legio Magna as a Titan Legion of the Adeptus Mechanicus that fought for the Imperium, in more recent canon the Legio Magna is now considered a Traitor Titan Legion that turned to Chaos during the Horus Heresy.
|
Thokt Dynasty - Thokt Dynasty: The Thokt Dynasty is a Necron Dynasty whose crownworld is Meghoshta, "The Cradle of War." The territory of the Thokt Dynasty is located in the Segmentum Pacificus.
|
Thokt Dynasty - Dynasty History: The shifting void rifts of the Hyrakii Deeps of the Segmentum Pacificus hid the coreworlds of the Thokt Dynasty and their legions. These planets orbit the massive Meghoshta crownworld in a stately dance across the aeons, and smaller, heavily weaponised planetoids orbit them in turn.Wreathed in sparking blue energy, the crystalline continent-tombs of the Thokt Dynasty feed upon the radioactive power of the void rifts that surround them, the sky overhead thick with rippling darkness and flickering blue comets.The Thokt Crypteks have fashioned rad-receptors into the weaponry of their soldiers, harnessed from the potent radiation of the sparkling blue energy that permeates the rifts in the sky overhead, above the crystalline continent-tombs of the Thokt.A symptom of this choice is that this barely contained energy causes a shimmering azure light to emanate from the eyes of Thokt Necron Warriors', from their Gauss Flayers and even the cracks in their mechanical forms. When the Thokt gather for war, the barely contained power of the Hyrakii void rifts is ready to be unleashed upon their foes.Most recently, in 994.M41 the dynasty's fringeworlds were invaded by the Ork of WAAAGH! Bludtoof. Entire worlds were turned into killing fields in order to grind down the Orks in a bloody war of attrition.
|
Thokt Dynasty - Notable Campaigns: Rise of Ankhnas (Unknown Date.M42) - When the Necrons of the Thokt Dynasty awoke from their great slumber, they found many of their coreworlds dominated by marauding Orks. Protocols were enacted to reawaken the dynasty's warriors, yet on the Tomb World of Ankhnas, the Necrons got more than they bargained for. As the undying legions marched forth from their stasis crypts, they were confronted by a colossal horde of Orks led by Goff Warlord Gazklaw. Without an Overlord to guide them, the Necrons were chopped apart in short order. Their living metal bodies phased out of existence, only to be reanimated back within the tomb complex. Once more their protocols demanded they march forth, which they did, right into the waiting choppas of the jubilant Goff horde. It's said that Gazklaw killed so many Necrons during his time on Ankhnas that his Mega Armour was made entirely of sheared-off chunks of necrodermis that shone like chrome beneath the world's unforgiving sun.
|
Thokt Dynasty - Dynasty Colours: The azure light of the Hyrakii Deeps surrounds the Thokt Dynasty's legions, pulsing in their weapons and illuminating the dull metal of their warriors' forms.
|
Thokt Dynasty - Dynasty Symbol: The Thokt favour the cold blue of their crownworld's immense void reefs.The incomplete circles of the Thokt dynastic symbol show the alignment of the Hyrakii Deeps to the crown and coreworlds of the dynasty's ancestral star systems.
|
Thokt Dynasty - Sources: Codex: Necrons (5th Edition), pg. 68Codex: Necrons (7th Edition), pp. 12, 42, 49, 90, 163-164Codex: Necrons (8th Edition), pg. 26White Dwarf 454 (June 2020), "Index Xenos: Goff Orks", pg. 20
|
Thomas Macabee - Thomas Macabee: Thomas Macabee was a Gue'vesa who was remade into a Pariah by the Necrons of Kronus during the Dark Crusade.Before his transformation, he was an archaeology professor and a prominent Gue'vesa of the T'au community on Kronus. He led an ill-fated archaeological expedition to explore the Necron ruins on the planet.The expedition unwittingly opened the entrance to the Necrons' subterranean tomb complex and awoke the undying warriors.Most of the expedition were slain by the awakened Necron Warriors, with the exception of Macabee, who was discovered to bear the Pariah Gene and thus could be of some use to the Necrons. He was captured alive and remade into the cybernetic construct known as a Pariah.The Maccabee Pariah then acted as the speaker and advisor for the Necron Lord of Kronus during the Dark Crusade.
|
Thomas Parrott - Thomas Parrott: Thomas Parrott was an author for Games Workshop's Black Library imprint.
|
Thomas Parrott - Blackstone Fortress: Fates and Fortunes (Short Story) (2019, collected in Vaults of Obsidian (Anthology))
|
Thomas Parrott - Dark Angels: The Test of Faith (Short Story) (2019, collected in Nexus & Other Stories (Anthology))
|
Thomas Parrott - Eldar: Isha's Lament (Novella) (2019, ISBN 978-1-78999-013-3)
|
Thomas Parrott - Imperial Knights: Loyal to the End (Short Story) (2020)
|
Thomas Parrott - Space Marine Conquests: Masters of Shadow (2020, ISBN 1-78999-165-X)
|
Thomas Parrott - Others: Spiritus in Machina (Short Story) (2018, collected in Inferno! Vol. 2 (Anthology))Salvage Rites (Short Story) (2019, collected in Inferno! Vol. 2 (Anthology))Nexus (Short Story) (2020, collected in Nexus & Other Stories (Anthology))
|
Thoresta - Thoresta: Thoresta is an Imperial Arboreal World where the Human population lives in the planet's trees. Several of its tribes possess genetic adaptations to their environment that have granted them slightly elongated bodies beyond the Human baseline, which provides them with a longer stride.
|
Thoresta - Trivia: Thoresta was created by Games Workshop employee Colin Cubbon and it was featured in White Dwarf 484.
|
Thorian - Thorian: The Thorians are a Puritan faction of the Inquisition that takes its name from Saint Sebastian Thor. This hero, venerated across the entire Imperium, overthrew Goge Vandire, the tyrannical High Lord of Terra who plunged the Imperium into the Age of Apostasy in the 36th Millennium.The Thorians believe that Thor was divinely inspired and that he moved with the Emperor's light burning bright within him. To many Inquisitors of the day, it was obvious that Thor was imbued with a measure of the Emperor's will and charisma. They believed that it was not the first time that the Emperor had acted in such a way, citing such heroes as Saints Capilene and Josmane as previous vessels of the Emperor walking amongst His people.The Thorians believe that the Emperor's near-death at the hands of Horus allowed Him to break the final bonds between the crude matter of corporeality and ascend to assume His true nature as a deity. His spirit wanders the void, travelling as a whisper in the Warp, flitting from place to place and perhaps even time.Thorian dogma holds that the Emperor has manifested His spirit through His chosen vessels many times when His people needed Him, but that these bodies were able to contain only the barest fraction of His power and soon withered and died.They await the day that He shall be reborn and lead His people onwards in a second, and final, Great Crusade. To this end, the Thorians closely study the interaction of consciousness, energy and the Warp, believing that if they can manipulate these energies correctly they can channel the Emperor's spirit into a suitable physical vessel and effectively resurrect the Master of Mankind.There have been many attempts to create a body suitable for such an important ritual, but so far none have succeeded.Followers of the Thorian philosophies constantly scour the galaxy for beings they call "Divine Avatars," individuals of such power that they may able to contain the Emperor's soul once more -- or be turned to evil by the Ruinous Powers.
|
Thorian - History: While the Thorians as a faction have only grown in prominence since the 36th Millennium, the heart of their philosophy is one that dates back much, much further. So-called "resurrectionist" cults and philosophies have waxed and waned throughout the history of the Imperium, and can be traced back to the earliest days of the Inquisition.Now considered to be one of the more Puritan factions, the chequered history of those who believe in the Emperor's rebirth has not always been considered to stand on the right side of heresy. The history of the Thorians is, at its heart, the history of the battle for the Emperor's soul.
|
Thorian - The First Hour: The ideal of restoring the Emperor to the Imperium in mortal form is at the heart of the Inquisition's formation. In the dark days that followed Horus' final campaign of the Horus Heresy, during the Siege of Terra, and the Emperor's internment in the Golden Throne, the empire He had created was reeling in the aftermath of the interstellar civil war and the Emperor's ascension.Four individuals, trusted servants of the Emperor during the building of His galactic empire, gathered together to discuss what was to happen. They were divided in opinion, with two believing that the fledgling Imperium could not survive without the Emperor to directly lead Humanity, while the other two were adamant that the Emperor has ascended to a higher plane and that it was folly to interfere with the course of events as they had unfolded.The two "resurrectionists," known only as Promeus and Moriana, left Terra to begin their quest of bringing back the Emperor, while the two that remained acted quickly to establish themselves with the newly-formed Senatorum Imperialis.Known to the surviving Loyalist primarchs as loyal servants, these two began to lay the plans for the formation of an organisation that would combat the efforts of the two dissidents. Thus were some of the seeds of the Inquisition itself sown.With the backing of the primarchs, the two resurrectionist Inquisitors made themselves known to the High Lords and began to recruit like-minded individuals from amongst the adepts and warriors on Terra.Their dream of an organisation dedicated to the protection of the Emperor would not be realised in their lifetimes, even extended as they were by arcane technologies, and the Inquisition as it is known today did not fully come into existence until the 32nd Millennium, by which time the Imperium itself and its many institutions were beginning to grow and spread across the galaxy.Promeus and Moriana were not idle during this time, and in the wake of the news of the Emperor's ascension gathered together a following of their own, particularly amongst those Lectitio Divinitatus cults and sects that were now appearing on many worlds claiming the deification of the Emperor.At some point Moriana and Promeus split, their goal still the same but Moriana determined to use whatever means necessary to achieve her aim.Fearful that Moriana would unleash unspeakable powers of Chaos to achieve her goal, Promeus created a small army of dedicated followers to combat the menace he believed she posed. These two factions clashed many times until Promeus' disciples prevailed and Moriana disappeared, probably into the Eye of Terror.As the Inquisition grew and its presence was felt further and further from Terra, it came into contact with the Promeans. Several hundred standard years had passed since the fateful first conclave, and even then the Inquisition, ever a confederacy of individuals rather than a single body, was pursuing several different agendas.The original intent, to prevent the forced reincarnation of the Emperor, had been diluted over the centuries, and when the Promeans were discovered fighting against an ill-specified Chaos threat, they were brought into the fold of the official Inquisition.Neither the Inquisitors that contacted the sect nor the Promeans themselves were aware of the irony of their cooperation, and thus the first Resurrectionist Inquisition faction was created.
|
Thorian - Rise of Horusianism: For nearly a standard millennium the Promeans continued on their quest, combating threats to the Emperor's realm while seeking a means by which He might be brought back safely to a mortal body. The research of the Promeans rivalled the greatest libraries of the Imperium, but it was dispersed across the galaxy like pieces of a puzzle scattered over a wilderness.By the 33rd Millennium the Inquisition boasted several thousand Inquisitors and hundreds of thousands of agents, but was still little more than individual bands of dedicated men and women pursuing their own goals, with little or no organisation amongst themselves. Thus were the seeds of heresy allowed to take root once more.It is not known whether Moriana herself was still alive at this point, unnaturally sustained perhaps by the energies of the Eye of Terror, but her legacy was to make itself felt again. Over a period of several standard centuries, those Inquisitors that had once claimed to be Promeans began to pursue a new philosophy.Amongst the great number of texts compiled over the millennia by their predecessors was a growing body of information concerning musings on the nature of Horus and his possession by Chaos. Considered by many to be unholy tomes whose secrets were best left forgotten, these texts once more began to be rediscovered and entered circulation and debate.As the resurrectionists took greater note of these works, a splinter philosophy began to form, eventually to be dubbed the Horusians. Unwittingly, they were continuing the work of Moriana, investigating the possibility of using the power of Chaos to restore the Emperor to a mortal form fit for His immense psychic presence. The nature of their works took them to some of the most uncharted areas of the galaxy, in particular around the Eye of Terror, and unobserved by most they grew in numbers and influence.A few true Promeans still remained, and as they became aware of what was happening they were horrified. Only a handful had ever read the first teachings of Promeus, or had been recruited by Inquisitors that had seen his works, but they immediately recognised the hand of Moriana in the beliefs of the Horusians.Now a dwindling faction, spread across the Imperium, the few Promeans that remained did what they could to thwart the efforts of the Horusians, but there was little they could do and by the end of the 34th Millennium the Horusians were a dominant part of the Inquisitorial agenda.It was a woman named Stalia von Dressen that stood against the tide. She had been inducted into the Inquisition by a man named Lord Phoran, who had in his possession a second generation copy of Promeus' original works. This had been passed from master to apprentice for nearly two and a half thousand standard years, and the keepers of the book were all dedicated Promeans.Inheriting this mantle, von Dressen was still young and idealistic. Warned by her mentor of the threat posed by the Horusians, von Dressen made it her life's work to combat this menace and see the Horusians' power broken.Abandoning her normal Inquisitorial duties, von Dressen embarked upon a lifetime of travelling, contacting as many of her fellow Inquisitors as was possible. With the Book of Promeus as her guide, she began to recruit to her cause, particularly amongst the oldest and most respected Inquisitors, as well as creating anti-Horusian cells on the worlds that she visited.Now well-respected amongst the higher circles of the Inquisition, she met Lord Inquisitor Ardlan Baigdan. Between them, they spent two solar decades on Terra itself and using references and clues from the Book of Promeus they found some of the texts created by the original founders of the Inquisition.Though these were truly ancient and terribly incomplete, the two of them pieced together enough information to show them the original schism between the newborn Inquisition and the Promeans. Aged one hundred and twenty standard years old, von Dressen reached a harsh decision. For her entire life she had been dedicated to the Promean cause, and now had to search deep in her heart to admit that it had been a fool's errand.It is a testament to her conviction that Horusianism had to be stopped that she destroyed her copy of the Book of Promeus and, with Baigdan, initiated a pogrom of pro-resurrection Inquisitors. By the time she died, aged three hundred and four standard years, this new order was beginning to establish itself and the Horusians were embattled and dwindling.By the start of the 35th Millennium, the Inquisition had turned full circle and resurrectionism was once again all but eliminated from the Inquisition's goals.
|
Thorian - Reign of Blood: With all but a few Inquisitors having abandoned the discredited resurrectionist agenda, the Inquisition enjoyed a period of relative stability for several hundred standard years. However, during this time a new threat was emerging that would focus the attention of the Inquisition on external forces menacing the stability of the Imperium.Thus it was that when perhaps the Inquisition was most needed, its eye was focusing on new alien species discovered on the Eastern Fringe and events on Terra were rapidly turning to anarchy.The 361st High Lord of the Administratum, Goge Vandire, used a combination of blackmail, bribery and murder to establish control of the Senatorum Imperialis, including also taking the mantle of Ecclesiarch for himself. Using the power of both positions, Vandire set about establishing a galaxy-wide tyranny subservient to his insane demands.A few Inquisitors had tried to warn of the impending catastrophe, but to most of their comrades the seemingly petty machinations of a single High Lord had appeared inconsequential when compared with the threat arising in the Halo Stars.With his Frateris Templars, a corruption of the Imperial Navy and Astra Militarum, Vandire attempted to impose strict rules of behaviour on the populace of the Segmentum Solar and beyond. Deviation in ritual and belief was ruthlessly crushed, while a new dogma was enforced proclaiming the semi-divinity of Vandire himself.Many that have read of these terrible times have wondered how the Inquisition could have allowed it to happen. To understand this, one must look at two things: an oversight of the importance of the Adeptus Ministorum and the temporal power it wielded, and a resurgence in pro-resurrectionism around the world of Dimmamar.
|
Thorian - A New Philosophy: For the first millennia of the Age of the Imperium, certain Inquisitors had become fixated upon the resurrection of the Emperor by restoring or strengthening His crippled mortal body. With the purge initiated by von Dressen and Baigdan, resurrectionism had become an isolated, almost extinct philosophy.However, as the centuries passed, those Inquisitors that were intrigued by the possibilities of resurrection but wary both of the dangers associated with and the prohibitions placed upon pursuing such an agenda, a different approach was taken.These scattered individuals carried out their works in secret to begin with, wary of anti-resurrectionist sentiments throughout the Inquisition. However, as the studies of several progressed and they came into contact with one another, a tangential philosophy was born -- the "incarnationists."The Principles of Incarnationism were simply, yet eloquently, penned by Theodre the Questioning in the works titled Musings Upon the Will of the Emperor:"The Emperor walks among us. He chooses his vessels to do His work, as He has done so since time began. The rotting carcass maintained in the Golden Throne is not the Emperor, for He travels abroad, tending to His Divine Will, instilling His power into those that have been chosen."But what if the Emperor could be granted a body that does not wither and die, that could be His vessel for all eternity to come? I believe that such a thing is possible, that the Emperor yet waits for His new body to be found or created. In essence, a new Emperor will be created to lead Mankind to its destiny and conquest of the galaxy."Though the incarnationists were but a fledgling faction, their numbers included not only several well-placed and highly respected Inquisitor Lords such as Theodre, but also a number of young, dynamic Inquisitors that were keen to be pro-active in an organisation that had become increasingly dogmatic as it had grown and become more established.Thus it was that before he came to prominence amongst the rest of the Imperium, Sebastian Thor was well-known to several agents of the Inquisition. Ever interested in tales of sainthood and remarkable individuals, a number of incarnationists were drawn to the world of Dimmamar, even before the rise of Vandire and his Reign of Blood.At a young age, Thor was noted not for his physical size or skill, but for his presence, charisma and oratory ability; talents, some Inquisitors believed, that verged on supernatural.As was usual in such circumstances, Thor was closely observed to detect the taint of Chaos or alien influence or mutation in his remarkable skills, but was found to be resoundingly pure. Totally pure, which in itself raised eyebrows amongst the incarnationists.The excitement of the incarnationists was felt by other members of the Inquisition, and so it was that those who were not perturbed by growing stories of ancient pyramids at the galaxy's edge were caught up in the growing interest in Dimmamar.Though few would ever realise it, the rise of Sebastian Thor not only halted Vandire's reign, but was also partly responsible for it being allowed to start.
|
Thorian - Acceptance: As the Reign of Blood continued and Sebastian Thor spoke out against Vandire, the Inquisition was content to aid him by shadowy means but otherwise left him be, interested to see whether this potential Divine Vessel would provide some kind of key to them.As evidence of this marked fate grew, such as Thor's astounding ability to generate such great faith in those around him that it could conjure or quell Warp Storms, the incarnationists had found themselves a new focus. While before they had looked for all manner of vessels that the Emperor might inhabit, they began to focus on the saintly, fully mortal Human beings like Sebastian Thor who might provide the final answer. They became known as "Thorians."With their emphasis on finding a natural Human receptacle, close work with the burgeoning Ordo Hereticus and their own devout policies of Daemon-hunting and anti-possession rituals, the Thorians were regarded as stoic, pro-Imperial and Puritan Inquisitors, and thus gained wide acceptance, even if their number was relatively small at first.The Principles of the God-Incarnate were written in the middle of the 40th Millennium by Inquisitor Helsten, and were the compiled dissertations of several Thorian Inquisitors from the Tiberias Conclave.Though not widely known amongst even the other members of the Inquisition, these principles can be said to be part of the foundation of the Inquisition and its mission. With this knowledge under their control and a great determination to destroy the Emperor's enemies, the Thorians have come to be regarded as one of the most Puritanical factions, even though their philosophy was once perhaps the most heretical of all.
|
Thorian - Principles of the God-Incarnate: The Emperor really is a god, His ascension after the fight with Horus very real. Like the other gods, such as those of the Aeldari or Chaos, He exists within the Warp and in essence He is the god of Humanity.The one limitation to any god is that to have power over the physical world, they must rely upon mortals to do their work. The Emperor is in fact the greatest example of this -- the galaxy-spanning Imperium of Man is merely the material instrument of the Emperor.In a similar fashion, the Chaos Gods must have Champions, possess worshippers or temporarily create physical manifestations in the form of Daemons.The bottom line is that the Immaterium is merely a psychic reflection of the material world, and without intelligent mortals, none of the gods would exist.All of the existing chronicles points towards the gods, and other Warp entities, craving after the physical universe. However, what if a god could become a physical incarnation? If a man like the Emperor can become a god, it stands to reason that a god could become a man.This is the idea of the "God-Incarnate," the physical vessel for a god in the material world. The idea of the God-Incarnate is that there will be a certain individual (or individuals) who will allow this to happen -- a god could invest their power into the mortal body and literally become a living god (commonly known amongst Thorians as "Divine Avatars").Without being restricted to the Warp, and therefore restricted to the manipulation of crass, mortal pawns, what power would such a god have?
|
Thorian - Implications of the God-Incarnate: One can imagine that Humanity would be doomed if one of the Divine Avatars were to become the incarnation of a Chaos God. Similarly, the idea of the God-Incarnate is not restricted to Humans -- the Aeldari are striving to create a new god -- Ynnead -- to defeat Slaanesh, while a God-Incarnate of Gork or Mork would be terrible new plague upon the galaxy.However, possibly an even greater threat to the Imperium, and the reason why the God-Incarnate is such a secret that only the Inquisition knows of it (not even the High Lords of Terra are aware of the concept) is that it would be possible to reincarnate the Emperor into a living being again.As far as many in the Inquisition are concerned, the "Second Coming" of the Emperor would be a bad thing. This is quite an understandable position really, and springs from uncertainty. If the Emperor were to become a God-Incarnate, what would happen to the Astronomican? What would be Humanity's reaction to having their god walking among them? Would the Imperium be torn apart by war, as believers and unbelievers in the Second Coming clashed?If the Emperor were in physical form, could He be killed again, and if so would He be destroyed forever, exposing Humanity to the many perils that the Emperor protects them from? Would the Emperor be destroyed if things went wrong, if the Divine Avatar was unsuitable?All in all, many in the Inquisition would rather see the Imperial status quo go unchanged.
|
Thorian - Inquisition and the Magi: It is the real task of the Inquisition to seek out possible Divine Avatars and either kill them, control them or study them according to their personal philosophy. Over ten thousand standard years they have gathered information about what to look for to indicate the existence of an individual as a possible Divine Avatar.Under the cover of rooting out Heretics, witches and mutants, some Inquisitors are searching for individuals that show signs of Divine Avatar-like properties.The Magi (the original philosophical descendants of Moriana) are doing the same thing, only rather than wishing to suppress the God-Incarnate they want to bring it about. Some of the Magi may be trying to create a God-Incarnate of the Chaos Gods, out of selfish hope to either be the Divine Avatar themselves, or by earning the eternal favour of their god for being the most loyal of servants.Others may be trying to reincarnate the Emperor, seeing this as the true way forward for Humanity. So we have the Inquisitors and the Magi both questing after the same thing, but for very different reasons -- an eternity of secret conflict.
|
Thorian - Signs and Portents: The myths and legends surrounding the God-Incarnate tell of the coming of the new god amidst great upheaval, strife and war. Just as the Book of Revelations lays down the horrors of the Second Coming of Christ, or Ragnarok heralds the end of the world, so too will the God-Incarnate's arrival be proceeded by momentous events.There are many Inquisitors that believe the end of the 41st Millennium is just such a time with such tumultuous circumstances -- Ghazghkull's biggest WAAAGH!, the multiple Tyranid hive fleets attacking the Imperium, the reawakening of the Necrons, and a growing Adeptus Mechanicus schism -- all indications of growing turmoil and strife.Similarly, there are indicators that point towards who the Divine Avatar/s will be; shrouded in myths and legends as you'd expect, some of them as simple as "Ten Ways to Recognise the Divine Avatar":"He shall have a great doom upon his brow, he shall be a witch of great power, he shall be altered in the physical form, he shall be able to talk and walk with the animals."Nobody knows all of the signs, and part of the reason for the Thorian faction of the Inquisition hunting down all the psykers, aliens and mutants they can is to study them, to find out what they can about these individuals so that they might better understand the type of person who would become a Divine Avatar.
|
Thorian - Thorian Related Factions: As one can see from the history of the Thorians, the beliefs that have built over time into the Thorian philosophy can be manifested and acted upon in a number of different ways.As well as the Thorians there are other resurrectionist/incarnationist factions, including splinter groups within the Thorians themselves. Here are a few examples of such groups:
|
Thorian - Horusians: Despite the pogroms of the 35th Millennium, Horusian ideals have waxed and waned in popularity ever since the founding of the Inquisition. The Horusian ideal is quite simple, and yet also unpalatable for many Inquisitors, even those with a resurrectionist outlook.Their assumption is that somehow the powers of Chaos that manifested themselves in Horus might be harnessed for the creation of a Divine Avatar, or perhaps in the process of transferring the Emperor's soul from its current form into the body of a living god.Considered Radicals except by themselves, the Horusians are few in number but fanatical in their cause. They tend to be older Inquisitors, frustrated by the lack of answers provided by other resurrectionist theories, and therein lies the danger. Chaos and its power can never be viewed as a quick route to success, for in that direction lies damnation.Quite apart from the normal anti-resurrection arguments, many Inquisitors view Horusians with suspicion, out of fear that their dabbling with daemonic possession and Warp intrusions endangers those around them and the Imperium in general.However, the most experienced Horusians are well-versed in the perils of the Warp and Chaos and so are numbered amongst the most proficient and dedicated Daemonhunters in the entire Inquisition.Like all such philosophies, the Horusians must tread a path along a precipice of dedicated service to the Imperium and the fulfilment of their researches. It is a path that most have trodden wisely, but not all Horusians have remained faithful and, perhaps like Moriana ten thousand standard years ago, succumbed to the lure of the Ruinous Powers.
|
Thorian - Anomolian Beholders: While other incarnationist Inquisitors believe that it is their duty to bring about the Emperor Incarnate, the Anomolian Beholders believe that such thoughts skirt with hubris and heresy.Instead, they are perhaps the most conservative of all the incarnationist factions, their goal being not to create the Emperor Incarnate, but to observe Humanity and await His arrival. They see it as their job to prepare for this momentous event and to stand ready to offer whatever assistance may be needed at that great time.The predominant activity of the Anomolian Beholders is locating potential Divine Avatars and observing them. Only if they are convinced that the vessel is tainted will they destroy it. Much like the original Thorians they are content to examine and research remarkable individuals for signs of potential or corruption.They are more zealous than most to follow up any sign or omen of a possible Divine Avatar, and are amongst some of the most travelled Inquisitors in the galaxy.Anomolian Beholders tend to be pragmatic, down-to-earth individuals, after a lifetime of seeking wisdom and enlightenment, only to have their hopes thwarted time and again. They tend to take a longer view of matters, and despite numerous setbacks to achieving their goals, are always optimistic that the future may hold the answers.This has garnered them a reputation for being level-headed and reliable, and other Inquisitors will often happily overlook their foibles in return for these better qualities.
|
Thorian - Ardentites: Though not truly following a philosophy of resurrectionism or incarnationism, the Ardentites are best discussed alongside such factions. Their somewhat quirky belief is not widespread amongst the members of the Inquisition but had been persistent in various guises for several millennia, either within the broader Thorian ideals or as a distinct faction in its own right.The Ardentites firmly believe in the basic principles of the Emperor Incarnate, but there the similarity with the Thorians end. Rather than a single Divine Avatar, the Ardentites feel it is more likely that the power of the God-Emperor is likely to manifest through a group of people, or more likely the entirety of Mankind.Given Humanity's slow evolution towards being a psychic race, evidenced by a gradual but perceptible increase in mutation and psychic ability, it is the belief of the Ardentites that the ultimate plan of the Emperor to protect Mankind during this vulnerable stage was to disseminate His power throughout Humanity.So it is that the Ardentites do not concern themselves merely with remarkable individuals, but rather attempt to locate evidence of the Emperor's presence in any person expressing proof of talent or psychic ability. This is a vague, unsure process, for none can say what defines evidence of the Emperor's presence, though certainly there is no end of accounts of miraculous events that might be accounted for by intervention by the Emperor.Known sometimes by the rather derogatory title of "miracle-chasers," much of the disdain for Ardentites stems from the erratic behaviour of Inquisitor Voragian Thex, who spent two standard centuries during the 39th Millennium attempting to prove the Ardentite theorems, but was unable to produce a shred of evidence. Having presented his findings at a conclave of his fellow Inquisitors, he was censured for dereliction of duty for devoting time and resources to his baseless beliefs.It is perhaps this defiance of defeat and a rebellious streak that characterises many Ardentites. They are widely regarded as eccentric individuals who see the work of the Emperor everywhere, but they also make great investigators for they will often delve deeper and for longer than others, unwilling to make obvious conclusions from their discoveries but to seek inner meanings and hidden motives in what they encounter.
|
Thorian - Casophilians: Saint Casophili was a Missionary with the Missionarus Galaxia in the early 41st Millennium, spreading the teachings of the Ecclesiarchy to worlds in the southern reaches of the Segmentum Pacificus.It was on the world of Alena III that he discovered minions of the Dark Gods at the heart of several of the feral societies on the world. With few resources to hand, Saint Casophili did what he could to counter this endemic threat and laid the foundations for a full Ecclesiarchy task force to continue his work.However, as he moved from settlement to settlement preaching the word of the God-Emperor, his foes began to take notice. Unable to bear such a threat to their power, the council of priests that ruled the world moved against him and had him captured and tortured, to recant his errant beliefs.The chronicles of Casophili tell of his arduous ordeal at the hands of the twisted priests, to the point at which he died from his wounds. Here the tale of Saint Casophili may have ended, unknown and unrecorded, another pious missionary whose life had ended in the pursuit of his calling.Though Casophili died at the hands of his tormentors, something remarkable happened. Five solar days after his death, the body of the missionary was to be burned upon a sacrificial pyre to the Dark Gods. As the flames took hold of the tarred wood, Casophili roused himself and jumped from the fires.Miraculously brought back from the dead, Casophili confronted his tormentors and the gathered crowd. The story of Saint Casophili's return spread quickly and he led the people of Alena III against their corrupted priesthood.Such an occurrence would naturally attract the attention of resurrectionist Inquisitors, but the faction that have dedicated themselves to the study of Casophili's story focus on one particular aspect of the saint's tale.In his later works, Casophili writes of his experiences over the five solar days between death and resurrection. During this period, the saint tells of a bodiless floating sensation in a gulf of sound and colour. He writes of a clamour of myriad voices, some whispering and others bellowing, swirling around him. He also speaks of a great light that suffused everything, which he believed to be the Emperor.The fact that Casophili's soul returned to his body is not so much of a concern for the Casophilians, for the basic assumption of all Thorian and related beliefs is that the psychic energy of an individual can pass to the Warp and back. The fact that Casophili's writings tell of a place within the Warp where these souls reside is the province of the Casophilians.Knowing that daemonic entities can broach the barriers between the Warp and realspace, the Casophilians dedicate their study to the transition of a Human soul to their universe. They are profound experts on daemonology with regard to ritual summoning, as opposed to accidental or malicious possession.With this knowledge they seek to devise a way to bring forth the soul of a deceased man or woman, and if this proves successful, it will be a major step towards creating the means by which the Emperor's soul can be invested into a suitable mortal form.Rather than the general and rather isolated studies of other resurrectionist factions, the Casophilians openly embrace new ideas on their theories and work closely with Inquisitors of different leanings, gleaning what they can from the experiences of others.In particular, they are often found working in conjunction with an Inquisitor who follows the philosophy of the Anomolian Beholders, for the Casophilians focus on the souls of the dead, while the Anomolian Beholders study the souls of the living.
|
Thorian - Revivificators: Unusually for a resurrectionist cult, the Revivificators have few ties with the Adeptus Ministorum. Their focus is directed towards the transition of the Human soul to the Warp at the point of death. In particular, they study the means by which this can be slowed, halted and, ultimately, returned.This study takes them to battlefields and plague areas, to conduct their investigations on those close to death. They are also frequenters of tombs and mausoleums, hence a certain amount of disrespect for the practices of the Ecclesiarchy. Known as "ghouls" or "ravens" for their somewhat morbid practices, the Revivificators are also known to have learned much from the capture of various Aeldari over the centuries.In particular, they find the principle of the Craftworld Aeldari Spirit Stone intriguing, and have on numerous occasions attempted to replicate the practice of capturing a departing Human soul. So far, such attempts have proved wholly unsuccessful, for Mankind's psychic technology is far inferior to the psychic-engineering properties of Asuryani wraithbone.There are also those that have read Van Hinkel's treatise on the Soultheft Methods of Eldar Pirates, penned by the Inquisitor Lord in the late 39th Millennium. This detailed manuscript contains Van Hinkel's report on interrogations of captured Drukhari, as well as collating information from many other sources previously scattered in various libraries and data-files throughout the Inquisition's fortresses and void stations.The least scrupulous Revivificators have attempted to repeat the torturous practices of the Drukhari, usually on Heretics and other criminals, though not exclusively so. Few amongst the Inquisition know of the grisly dungeons staffed by telepaths and wired with arcane machinery for the detection and extraction of psychic energy.Ultimately, it is the goal of the Revivificators to study the Golden Throne itself and perhaps alter its working so that the Emperor's body might be restored. To this end, it is not only the passage of the soul to the Warp that the Revivificators study, but also the processes by which a corpse may be maintained in a state ready for such a reinfusion of the soul.Access to this knowledge and technologies means that Revivificators often live far longer than even other Inquisitors, the oldest being Inquisitor Lord Verinath, who was shot and killed whilst hale and hearty at the age of seven hundred and sixty three Terran years.
|
Thorian - Thorians within the Ordos: The Thorians, with their particular areas of expertise and interest, are naturally drawn towards certain aspects of the Inquisition's role within and outside the Imperium.In their pursuit of the Divine Vessel, the Emperor-Incarnate or research into the ways in which these might be brought about, the Thorians are naturally inclined to specialise their activities towards not only the Warp, but also the Ecclesiarchy and its many saints.However, the Thorian philosophy has always trod a fine line between orthodoxy and heresy, and so many Thorians prefer to work alone and thus do not have access to the higher organisation and resources of any of the ordos. Any cooperation they enjoy, either with other Thorians or Inquisitors of a different philosophy, is quite often on an ad hoc and temporary basis.This situation is quite often reciprocated by other Inquisitors. Although Thorianism is now a widely-held and accepted Puritan faction within the Inquisition, Inquisitors have long memories and records that go back even longer, to a time when the predecessors of the Thorians were not so welcomed.The Thorians themselves are always awaiting a change in feeling towards them, and thus do not enter into confidence lightly with others.These factors mean that integration of a Thorian into one of the ordos, which are hidden organisations within the Inquisition not known to the uninitiated, normally occurs only if a Thorian already within the ordo actively seeks out others of a like-minded philosophy.Thus the Thorians form a sub-group within the ordo, clustered in scattered locations where they have identified each other and feel more confident in discussing their work with others. Even allowing for this, the focus of the Thorians in certain areas means that they can rise to positions of considerable prominence within an ordo, as several have done since the Age of Apostasy.There are even records that show that Thorians have been nominated to the position of Inquisitorial Representative -- one of the High Lords of Terra sitting on the Senatorum Imperialis.There are those that have been worried in the past that giving the Thorians such potential power -- on Terra itself, the seat of the Emperor -- is not only dangerous for the Inquisition but the Imperium itself. Thus, such positions have generally been short-lived as political opponents have gathered support and opinion has swayed against the Thorians.On the whole, the Thorians are less disposed towards the prosecution of their duties within the Imperium itself, and are more concerned with external activities such as daemonic possession and alien technology.In the past, the divergence of a Thorian's activities and pursuit of knowledge have caused friction and even conflict within the ordos, though perhaps no more than those of Inquisitors of other beliefs. The somewhat broad approach that many Thorians have in attempting to find the Divine Vessel or the Emperor-Incarnate means that should a Thorian Inquisitor become inducted into one of the ordos, it is not unusual for him or her to swiftly move into another ordo as well.In this way, for example, a Thorian may spend a few standard years as a Daemonhunter of the Ordo Malleus before their research or investigations lead them to some alien technology used to protect against Daemons, and the Inquisitor is drawn into the organisation of the Ordo Xenos.A Thorian that does access one of the ordos is fortunate, for their self-appointed task requires knowledge of many different disciplines, from techno-arcana to daemomancy, Ecclesiarchy history to xenos psychic abilities.As the ordos exist as a means of sharing knowledge and resources, a Thorian that can access the accumulated wisdom and manpower of one or more of the ordos is much more likely to interconnect the disparate strands of the Thorian philosophy and make a meaningful step forward in theory, or uncover some hidden clue to the nature of the Emperor-Incarnate.
|
Thorian - Ordo Malleus: Most Thorians that enter one of the ordos will be Daemonhunters in the Ordo Malleus. Their predisposition towards the interaction of the Warp and Humanity makes them natural candidates, as well as accomplished experts in the field of daemonic possession and summoning.However, Thorians can also be at odds with the greater goals of the Ordo Malleus, sometimes bordering on Radicalism. While no Thorian would ever condone the use of Chaos and its powers to bring about the Emperor-Incarnate, not since the conflict-filled days of the Horusians, it is not uncommon for Thorians to wish to study their adversary.All Inquisitors believe that knowledge is power and often the best weapon against their various foes, but Thorians have been known on occasion to endanger their mission and those they are sworn to protect, in pursuit of gleaning some extra nugget of wisdom regarding the interaction of the Warp and realspace.This is counteracted by the exceptional wealth of knowledge that a single Thorian can bring to the ordo. In regards to Daemon-hunting, the study of summoning rituals and the signs of possession, the Thorians are unequalled masters.Not only this, but more psykers are drawn to Thorianism in comparison to any other philosophy, and though psykers are vulnerable to daemonic intrusion and manipulation, they also form the best defence against interlopers from the Warp. The combination of these two factors makes Thorians impressive, and very successful, Daemonhunters.It is not perhaps for the power of the Grey Knights that a Thorian is drawn to the Ordo Malleus, but for access to millennia of Daemon-lore. The archives of the Ordo Malleus, hidden in secret libraries and collections across the Imperium, are a treasure trove for any Thorian.With some records dating back to the establishment of the Imperium, the knowledge of the Ordo Malleus, should any one individual ever be able to access it all, contains invaluable information regarding the relationship between mortals and the Warp. Though dedicated to the destruction of Daemons, the reports of daemonic possessions, summoning arcana and banishments are, to the Thorians, merely links in a complex mesh of data that contains important revelations on the Divine Vessel and the Emperor-Incarnate.While other Inquisitors delve into these archives with a view to expanding their armoury against the immortal entities of the Warp, the Thorian approaches them with an eye to weaving them together into a coherent series of theses that may provide the final link in that mesh of knowledge, and allow them to create or discover a Divine Vessel.The Thorians also scour these records with another purpose, to rule out a horrifying possibility -- that the Emperor-Incarnate has arrived and been destroyed, mistaken for a daemonic manifestation. Though the thought of such a thing occurring terrifies the Thorians, they are not so confident that the misguided zeal of others could not have endangered the Emperor's divine will.Even within the Ordo Malleus, the activities of Thorians are closely watched by others. The line between noble vocation and the perils of Radicalism is notoriously thin. The history of the ordo has several occurrences of Thorians, or members of earlier resurrectionist factions, that have strayed over the line.The quest for wisdom is always susceptible to self-interest, and for Thorians with access to the vast repositories of knowledge that the Ordo Malleus holds, it is a constant discipline to maintain their Inquisitorial duties whilst furthering their personal cause.
|
Thorian - Ordo Xenos: In comparison to the Ordo Malleus, there are very few Thorians within the ranks of the Alien Hunters of the Ordo Xenos. The vast majority of alien races, above and beyond their physical threat to Mankind, hold little interest for Thorians.However, there are a few that have specialised in the alien menace, where these Thorians see possible answers to the questions posed by the possible existence of the Divine Vessel. Of those alien races that attract the attention of the Thorians, the Aeldari undergo the most scrutiny and investigation, by far.As master of psychic technology, the Craftworld Aeldari or Asuryani in particular may hold secrets to the method by which the Emperor's soul may be returned from the Warp into the real universe. This alone makes the enigmatic aliens worthy of attention.Once a Thorian can make the mental decision that alien influence might be important to the creation or location of the Emperor-Incarnate, the Asuryani become a natural field of investigation. Throughout their history, what little is known to the Inquisition and Human society, the Aeldari's knowledge of the Warp and its inhabitants far surpasses even the gathered wisdom of the Ordo Malleus.If he is of a mind to look at the Asuryani, a Thorian Inquisitor can find the answers to many of the riddles that confront him. The existence of Spirit Stones prove that, given sufficient knowledge, souls can reside out of Warpspace.The method by which this transference takes place, and the materials from which such a Waystone is made, has eluded Thorians for centuries, yet there are those that endeavour to uncover these secrets.If Spirit Stones were not motive enough to dedicate a lifetime of research to this advanced species then the existence of the Avatars is an even greater lure. If the legends of the Aeldari are to be believed, these daemonic manifestations are each a part of the ancient Aeldari war god Kaela Mensha Khaine.Each Avatar is, it is believed, a soul-fragment of the Aeldari god, and though they are not possessed of the magnitude of power that the Emperor-Incarnate would hold, they may provide the proof needed that a Divine Vessel could indeed house the soul of the Emperor in the corporeal universe.With such possibilities open to them, some Thorians see the resources of the Ordo Xenos as invaluable to their studies. It is believed, though this has never been documented, that the great Inquisitor Lord Bronislaw Czevak was once a Thorian, and it was this that led him on his quest to penetrate the secrets of the fabled Black Library of the Harlequins. That he succeeded is no small testament to his resolve.However, given Czevak's more xenophobic behaviour and philosophy after his admittance to the Black Library, it seems that some questions are best left unanswered. It is certain that Czevak no longer has any time for Thorianism and has, in typically enigmatic fashion, spoken out against the aims of the philosophy.It is not just the Aeldari that can lure a Thorian into the Ordo Xenos, as rewarding as are the possibilities they present. Within the Warp there exists alien creatures that are neither mortal nor daemonic. Investigation of these aliens is not as alluring as the daemonic, but the methods by which they can influence and breach the barriers between Warpspace and realspace are an obvious source of knowledge for the Thorians.Enslavers, Psychneuein, Vampyrs and other Warp creatures are able to extend their will into the real universe, and many of them are capable of transgressing the boundaries that separate the two. If only to avoid intrusion by these creatures on a Divine Vessel, some Thorians have dedicated their lives to a greater understanding of these hideous beings.Both Enslavers and Psychneuein manifest physical influence over hosts in the material universe. Unlike Daemon possession, the pulsing, fleshy Warp gates of the Enslavers are an actual break across the barriers of Warpspace.Similarly, the eggs laid into the brains of their victims by the wasp-like Psychneuein are a physical form teleported across those same barriers. If physical objects can be displaced across the dimensions in this fashion, perhaps they hold the key to how the Thorians might be able bring forth the Emperor-Incarnate.As well as the creatures themselves, the Thorians are interested in the properties of the hosts they pick. A strong psychic connection, as with all Warp manifestations, is the single linking factor, but Thorians within the Ordo Xenos believe that other traits that make a host suitable for Enslavement, for example, may aid in understanding the nature of the Divine Vessel.No Thorian Inquisitor has so far been able to retrieve for study a living specimen mid-infection, but the resources of the Ordo Xenos may yet provide this vital piece of the evidence.It is the threat posed by the creatures to a Divine Vessel that also occupies the minds of alien-hunting Thorians. Wards and technology that prevent against psychic infection are under constant research by the Ordo Xenos, amongst their many other fields of study.If reliable, portable containment fields or other technology can be constructed that could protect a Divine Vessel from Vampyric corruption or Enslavement, then the chances of the Emperor-Incarnate manifesting are greatly increased. Or so say the Thorians.
|
Thorian - Ordo Hereticus: Many Thorians believe that the secret of the Emperor-Incarnate exists beyond current Human knowledge, and though their duties may deal with the threat of the Traitor and Heretic, there is little for them to study to further their cause. It is for this reason that the Ordo Hereticus is a rare choice for a Thorian Inquisitor.Most of those Thorians that are part of the Ordo Hereticus exploit the position for one particular reason -- the ordo's close relationship with the Ecclesiarchy. The history of the Thorians is inextricably linked to the Ecclesiarchy. They are, after all, named after the most prominent Ecclesiarch in the history of the Adeptus Ministorum.It is not just this historical connection that draws a few Thorians to seek out the Ordo Hereticus, for there is a much more practical purpose. The ancient connection between the Ordo Hereticus and the Adeptus Ministorum grants those Inquisitors in the ordo access to the Ecclesiarchy's records.There is a vast wealth of information contained in the annals of the Ecclesiarchs, original copies of the Book of Saints, various incarnations of the Litanies of Faith and other doctrinal material. In particular, theological musings on the nature of the Emperor, and accounts of the activities of saints and Living Saints are all fuel to the Thorian fire.On the whole, Thorians do not necessarily agree with the Ministorum and its multitudinous sects with regard to their view of the Emperor. Inquisitors are, by their nature, pragmatic and not given to fanciful ideologies, whereas the dogma of the Ministorum has in the past caused grief to the Thorians.Inquisitors, should they work openly, attract fear and suspicion even from the innocent, and in an organisation as large as the Ecclesiarchy, there will always be those that would rather the Inquisition were not operating in their vicinity. This hidden resistance can often be avoided by members of the Ordo Hereticus, as many of the Ecclesiarchy see them as allies rather than foes.As with the Ordo Malleus and Ordo Xenos, the resources of the Ordo Hereticus allow a Thorian Inquisitor a vast sum of knowledge and expertise. In conjunction with the studies of Sebastian Thor himself, the tales of other famous members of the Ministorum are scrutinised and checked in the search for signs of the Emperor-Incarnate or a Divine Vessel.By cross-checking these records with the findings of Thorians in other specialties, an Inquisitor can determine if such remarkable individuals were simply gifted, perhaps possessed of psychic powers, or influenced by other, darker entities.If these avenues of investigation are exhausted or prove inconclusive, there remains the possibility that these saints were indeed Divine Vessels and perhaps partook of a portion of the Emperor's power.It is not only those that have been loyal and faithful that attract the attention of the Thorians. The Ordo Hereticus is, after all, devoted to rooting out corruption and disloyalty, not to the praising of martyrs and saints.It is the belief of some Thorians that exceptionally gifted individuals may have been mistakenly prosecuted as threats to the Imperium when in fact they were actually showing signs of potential divinity.In many long centuries, resurrectionism or incarnationism was suppressed or even heretical, and in these periods, the beliefs and learning of the pre-Thorian factions was destroyed or declared Perdita.It is the belief of some Thorians that during these times of ignorance and denial, Divine Vessels, or at least potential Divine Vessels, may have been mistaken for psykers or the possessed. The Ordo Hereticus itself is as old as the Thorians, dating from the Age of Apostasy, but the vocation of the Witch Hunter dates back much further.The records of the ordo therefore predate the investigations of the Thorians themselves by several millennia, much of it contributed by incarnationists and resurrectionists from bygone centuries. To gain access to these old accounts and reports is reward enough for a Thorian willing to balance his studies with the investigation of Heretics and witches.And it is also, of course, the duty of the Ordo Hereticus to hunt down psykers -- they are the Emperor's Witch Hunters. Psychic ability is closely linked to the Divine Vessel by the Thorians, for it is psykers that are closest to the Warp and therefore in contact with the Emperor's soul.The Ordo Hereticus therefore provides valuable information on psykers and their powers, and its network of agents can be used by a Thorian to locate psykers that also display other traits associated with a Divine Vessel or the Emperor-Incarnate.Being assisted in the investigation of these individuals allows a Thorian Inquisitor a greater chance of actually discovering one or the other, should they actually exist.Thorians who themselves do not have psychic powers may therefore enter the service of the Ordo Hereticus in order to gain a greater understanding of these mystical abilities, perhaps the better to predict where the Divine Vessel may appear, or just to have a better level of empathy with those they are seeking.In particular, the most powerful psykers -- those graded as Alpha-level -- are the greatest threat the Ordo Hereticus faces. They are also the most likely candidates for Divine Vessel status, for if a body can contain the power of an Alpha-level psyker -- individuals capable of destroying Battle Titans or controlling whole worlds -- then it follows that the Emperor's divine essence may also be contained within such mortal bodies.
|
Thorian - Ordo Sicarius: One of the Ordos Minoris, the Ordo Sicarius is responsible for investigating and controlling the Officio Assassinorum. By ancient decree, no Imperial Assassin may be deployed without the consent of the High Lords of Terra.This is, of course, immensely impractical and quite often an Inquisitor of the Ordo Sicarius will sanction the Officio Assassinorum under the guise of an edict from Terra. While some believe this to be an abuse of their power, in a galaxy-spanning civilisation, such measures are essential to maintain a level of response required by the sheer scale of the threats to Mankind.Every Assassin is selected from a young age, often from Feral Worlds or the Schola Progenium, and trained for many standard years. The selection process is even more rigorous for Assassins than it is for Space Marines, and perhaps only one in several million candidates will finally fulfil their training and become an Officio Assassinorum operative.It is this perfection of mind and body that is the lure of the Thorian. Not only does the Ordo Sicarius, through the Officio Assassinorum, have access to the historical records of such remarkable individuals, but also is formed in such a way as to allow the identification of possible recruits.A Thorian in the Ordo Sicarius can monitor such activity and, if he or she feels it appropriate, investigate potential subjects for signs of Divine Vessel suitability.There is another, much less manipulative reason for Thorians to operate within the Ordo Sicarius. Thorians are often drawn to powerful individuals, who may well turn out to be daemonically-possessed, Alpha-level psykers or Warp-infected.Such people are dangerous adversaries and an Inquisitor that can draw upon the Officio Assassinorum is much better positioned to deal with these threats. Many a Thorian has ordered the assassination of an important leader having discovered that they are not a Divine Vessel, but in fact something more menacing.The last reason why a Thorian may well end up within the Ordo Sicarius is one of opposites. They believe that to achieve greater understanding of the Divine Vessel, one can study the most repulsive, unholy aberrations within Humanity -- those with the Pariah Gene.Pariahs are individuals that not only have no presence within Warpspace, but actually have a negative impact. They are psychic leeches that absorb Warp energy, not only from psykers but also from normal Humans and other creatures. This ability to draw out psychic energy is central to the Thorian cause, and an understanding of the Pariah Gene may well assist in the creation of a Divine Vessel, or at least further knowledge in the pursuit of the means to bring the Emperor back from the Warp.The Ordo Sicarius is responsible for overseeing the Culexus Temple of the Officio Assassinorum, whose operatives are uniquely Pariahs. Between the Ordo Sicarius and Culexus Temple, a Thorian Inquisitor has a much greater chance of encountering, and perhaps even studying, an Untouchable.The chances of coming across a Pariah, who occur once in several billions amongst Humanity, are virtually non-existent. However, a member of the Ordo Sicarius can gain access to such individuals every few standard years and study them at length.
|
Thorian - Ordo Sepulturum: One of the smallest and most specialised organisations within the Inquisition, the Ordo Sepulturum operates around the Eye of Terror and is dedicated to investigating a specific threat -- the Zombie Plague.Although occurrences of Plague Zombies have been recorded across the Imperium for many millennia, it is in the wake of the Plague Fleets of the Chaos Champion Typhus that they have grown in number to the point where they present a threat to the Imperium in their own right.Before Abaddon the Despoiler's 13th Black Crusade, the incidence of Zombie Plague around the Cadian System dramatically increased. This was noticed by several agents of the Inquisition who were soon in communication, and within a few standard years several more Thorians, most notably Inquisitor Aghastri, were investigating the Zombie Plague and the Ordo Sepulturum was formed.As a combination of both a Chaos infection as well as a physical malaise, the Zombie Plague has always been on the agenda for Thorians to study, but its unpredictable nature and sporadic occurrences meant that it took luck or a tremendous amount of patience to capture Plague Zombies for investigation.With the advent of the Eye of Terror-related epidemic, Inquisitors that had previously been thwarted in their missions to achieve specimens were suddenly confronted with a plethora of test subjects.The Zombie Plague physically degenerates those it infects -- and infection can occur in many ways, including psychically -- but maintains a portion of the life essence of the victim even after physical death occurs. The parallels between the Zombie Plague and the operation of the Golden Throne have not been overlooked.The increased study of the Zombie Plague has led many Thorians to believe that in its unaltered form it may well provide several clues to the nature of the Emperor's life-in-death, but all forms of the "faith virus" so far examined have undergone mutation.That the Plague Zombies still possess a Warp-reflection has been confirmed not only by psychic investigation but also by the fact that several psykers have been able to control these creatures -- psychic manipulation is normally only possible through the Warp-ego of a creature.The possibility that the Plague Zombie infection is an offshoot of Golden Throne technologies is not widely supported and the common theory is that it was spawned by the Dark Mechanicum within the Eye of Terror.Much more rare is the Obliterator virus, which again is a Chaos-born contagion that combines elements of physical corruption with mental disruption. Allowing the psychic manipulation of technology, the Obliterator virus allows for Humans to interact and meld with machinery, not only on the physical plane but also on the psychic and spiritual level.In combination with what has been gleaned from Aeldari psychic technology, the existence of the Obliterator virus lends hope to the idea that an augmented Divine Vessel could be artificially created, should a non-corruptible version of the virus ever be developed.
|
Thorian - Thorians and the other Inquisitorial Factions: The particular beliefs and goals of the Thorians are more specific than many other factions of the Inquisition, and so do not directly clash nor contradict the beliefs of other factions. Thus it is down to individual Inquisitors and their personal activities whether they find common cause or conflict with other Inquisitors.Since the formation of the Thorians, resurrectionists and incarnationists have endeavoured to be more open about their agenda. However, millennia of mutual suspicion and conflict leave their mark for a long time and the Thorians do not cooperate well with Inquisitors with a differing philosophy. This suspicion occasionally gives rise to conflict in itself, regardless of the actual motivations of the Thorian involved.Similarly, Thorians are very likely to be secretive about their work, and may end up conflicting with the goals of another Inquisitor unintentionally, even when no direct clash of goals exists. A Thorian has an inherent degree of paranoia about their ideals, and so is quick to assume the worst of others.The theological connotations of the Thorian agenda can also give rise to conflict of another kind. The majority of Inquisitors are pragmatic with regard to the Emperor, viewing the Imperial Creed of the Adeptus Ministorum as a useful tool to control the Imperium at best, or a distraction at worst.However, there are a small number of Inquisitors, normally those inculcated into the Ecclesiarchy's beliefs through the Schola Progenium before becoming Inquisitors, that object to the aims of the Thorians on religious grounds.These Inquisitors tend to form pro-Ecclesiarchy factions and promote the Ministorum as the best means for reinforcing the faith of the Imperium and using this as a defence against the wiles of Chaos. To them, the thought of interfering with the God-Emperor with any means, whether it risks Him or not, is a violation of the most fundamental kind.Such theological differences are thankfully few and far between, because they tend to run deep. The Pro-Ministorum Inquisitors feel it an obligation to protect the Emperor, while the Thorians will do anything to bring about the Emperor-Incarnate. Conflicts between those striving for these two goals are short and often very bloody and brutal.The Thorians on the whole are considered a Puritan faction after casting off the last taint of the Horusians during the Age of Apostasy. To this end they are naturally opposed to the use of Chaos in any form.This, of course, runs counter to their goals of studying the interaction of Warpspace and realspace and thus they must try to observe such things as they occur over the normal course of events, as opposed to those that artificially engineer such situations to increase their knowledge.However, the Thorians are a lot more lenient when the matter turns to alien technology and contact. This does not sit well with some other factions, who see aliens as just a great a threat to Mankind as the traitorous and the daemonic.To Thorians, the higher goal and the greater gain of brigining forth the Emperor Incarnate is far more important than any temporary weakness of will regarding the xenos threat.They expound the idea that the ultimate threat to Humanity's survival is the lure of Chaos, and the only means by which this can be fully thwarted is to bring about the Emperor Incarnate -- the petty machinations of aliens is little cause for attention.
|
Subsets and Splits
No community queries yet
The top public SQL queries from the community will appear here once available.