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Verydian Hawks - Verydian Hawks: Verydian HawksSpace MarineChapterFoundingThe Verydian Hawks were reinforced with Primaris Space Marines during the Indomitus Crusade after meeting up with the crusade's Fleet Tertius. |
Verydian Hawks - Chapter Colours: The Verydian Hawks' Chapter colours are not listed in current Imperial records. |
Verydian Hawks - Chapter Badge: The Verydian Hawks' Chapter badge is not listed in current Imperial records. |
Vespasia - Vespasia: VespasiaAgri-worldAcheros SalientAchilus CrusadeJericho ReachHadex AnomalyStigmartusChaos CultThe Cellebos Warzone has been deemed critical for the Acheros Salient and any attempts to expand beyond this battlefront have been put on hold until the situation in that zone stabilises.For this reason, the Imperium has yet to begin a formal push to recover the world of Vespasia even though the planet was scouted some time ago.In spite of that fact, the Achilus Crusade has a vested interest in establishing Vespasia as a Compliant world as soon as the resources become available to do so.This planet is a verdant place, friendly to Humanity's colonisation, and home to a rich bounty that could greatly assist with the crusade's resource difficulties.Much of the planet's surface is actively used for agriculture in addition to substantial aquaculture and a preponderance of wild game.Terran species that were introduced during the ancient Jericho Sector's golden age remain plentiful, though they have diverged from the source stock.Vespasia was never densely populated, and its time apart from the Imperium has not changed that. Its proximity to the Hadex Anomaly, however, has had a substantial effect.The natives have completely forsaken the Imperial Creed. The planet's vast agricultural resources are managed by slaves descended from Imperial citizens. A ruling class of mutants holds the population in check. The forces of the Stigmartus provide the system's defences and security, in exchange for a generous tithe of the planet's harvests.These slaves live under the threat of starvation and constant degradation from their overlords. Because of the numerically superior underclass, agents of the Ecclesiarchy have begun an unauthorised initiative to infiltrate the slaves' culture. They hope to trigger a rebellion in the name of the God-Emperor.The risks of arming a culture that has not yet pledged its allegiance to the Imperium is substantial. So substantial, in fact, that the Ecclesiarchy agents have not attempted to garner the approval of the crusade's command elements.If the attempt fails, the arms and training could be commandeered by the Stigmartus or could create an entrenched local government that would need to be overthrown later. Word of such a failure could lead to a further breakdown between the factions that make up the crusade.As these agents are operating without the support of the crusade, they have had to make sacrifices that might otherwise be deemed unacceptable. Few of the natives have been subjected to any sort of genetic screening for mutation.They are currently operating without fleet elements, even though the Stigmartus have a small fleet patrolling the system. The training provided to the slaves is based upon Ecclesiarchy standards, rather than the more rigorous methods advocated by the Adeptus Munitorum.These challenges may doom the effort to failure, particularly if Stigmartus forces can be reallocated to deal with the uprising.There is minimal evidence of any xenos threat on Vespasia. A few marble-like arches have been noted in some of the deepest parts of the planet's wilderness. Their origins are unknown but likely predate Human colonisation. No other ruins are mentioned in Imperial records. Many believe that if the taint of Chaos is cleansed, the system could be ripe for Imperial Compliance. |
Vespasia - Deathwatch Activity: The threats to the Imperium on Vespasia cannot be easily resolved with brute force. The Ecclesiarchy has created an awkward situation that is unlikely to be resolved in an effective manner. The situation could come to a head and begin deteriorating quickly.The Deathwatch has considered the need to take a direct hand, if only to prevent further strife within the forces of the crusade. Rescue missions, tactical strikes, or the assassination of Ecclesiarchy agents to eliminate the evidence are not beyond possibility. |
Vespasian - Vespasian: Vespasian was one of eleven lord commanders of the Emperor's Children Legion during the Great Crusade and the beginning of the Horus Heresy.Unlike his counterpart Eidolon, Vespasian was immensely likeable, for his incredible abilities as a warrior and commander were tempered by a rare humility for an Astartes of the IIIrd Legion that made others warm to him immediately.Following the Cleansing of Laeran and the onset of Slaaneshi corruption within Fulgrim and the Emperor's Children, Vespasian took note of the change in character of the Legion as a whole.Over time a rift grew between the once-favoured lord commander and his increasingly egotistical primarch. When Vespasian attempted to seek audience with his lord, his efforts were repeatedly rebuffed.When he eventually confronted Fulgrim over the rot and corruption that plagued the Emperor's Children, he finally realised the full extent of the malign power of Chaos. Fulgrim murdered the valiant lord commander with the poisonous Chaos blade known as the Kinebrach Anathame. |
Vespasian - History: Following the Cleansing of Laeran, the rot of Chaos corruption had begun to spread throughout the entirety of the IIIrd Legion. Lord Commander Vespasian, one of two officers with the rank of lord commander within the rigid hierarchy of the Emperor's Children, staunchly adhered to his Legion's ethos of perfection through honour, refusing to allow himself to fall to the rampant hubris and arrogance that had become more common within the ranks of the IIIrd Legion as the Great Crusade progressed.Over the course of many solar months, Vespasian consulted other like-minded battle-brothers within the Legion, including the 2nd Company Captain Solomon Demeter, about his growing concerns and fears for the future of the Legion.Vespasian was present during the meeting between Ulthwé Craftworld Farseer Eldrad Ulthran and his Primarch Fulgrim upon the Aeldari Maiden World of Tarsus. He had heard the the dire warning presented to them of the Warmaster Horus' corruption by the then-unknown Ruinous Powers of Chaos and the inevitable rebellion and civil war that would follow. The primarch had rejected such accusations outright.Influenced by his Laer daemonblade, Fulgrim ordered his delegation to attack the seditious xenos. Lord Commander Vespasian reluctantly followed his primarch's orders and destroyed Tarsus and the rest of the Aeldari Maiden Worlds the 28th Expeditionary Fleet had recently encountered using Exterminatus.Weeks later, Fulgrim's fleet was ordered by the Council of Terra to rendezvous with Horus' 63rd Expeditionary Fleet to inquire about reports of the Luna Wolves' recent conduct and acquire information in regards to the grave injuries Horus had sustained on Davin's feral moon.Vespasian was excluded from this delegation to the Warmaster, further demonstrating the growing rift between the lord commander and his primarch.Following this visit to the 63rd Expeditionary Fleet, Fulgrim announced to his senior commanders that he would lead a small force to join Ferrus Manus and his Xth Legion at Callinedes IV in the Callinedes System under the pretense of clearing it of an Ork infestation. The rest of the Legion would rendezvous with the Warmaster's 63rd Expeditionary Fleet at the Isstvan System to halt a growing rebellion.But the IIIrd Legion wasn't to fight alone, for they were to deploy alongside the Death Guard and the World Eaters. Though the warriors of his Legion cheered in adulation at the prospect of fighting with their brother Astartes, Fulgrim's amusement turned instantly to sorrow as he understood that, but for Vespasian’s stubbornness, a great many of these warriors would have made a fine addition to the army of Horus' planned crusade against the Emperor.Vespasian's refusal to allow his Astartes to sample the heady delights of Chief Apothecary Fabius's chemical stimulants and surgical alterations, had condemned the warriors under his command to death in Horus' trap for the Loyalists on Isstvan III since they could not be trusted to betray the Emperor.Fulgrim realised he should have disposed of Vespasian much sooner, and the mixture of guilt and excitement at the deaths he had set in motion proved to be a potent cocktail of sensations. When the planned massacre on Isstvan III was done, the Loyalist chaff would have been cut from Horus' forces, and they would be a sharpened blade aimed at the heart of the corrupt Imperium.Vespasian met his end after the operation conducted by the IIIrd Legion to cleanse Callinedes. The lord commander was denied audience with the primarch, a most unusual occurrence, after numerous requests. A dark shroud had hung over Vespasian ever since the battle on the deep orbital of the Callinedes System.The primarch spearheaded the assault during the pacification of the Diasporex's Deep Orbital DS191, leading the 1st, 2nd and 3rd Companies. During the assault, Captain Solomon Demeter, commander of the Emperor's Children's 2nd Company, found himself unsupported by the 1st and 3rd Companies as the battle-plan had required.Overextended and in real danger of being cut off and destroyed, the 2nd Company was only saved from certain destruction by the unplanned and timely arrival of the 10th and 13th Companies under the commands of Captains Saul Tarvitz and Lucius, two junior officers that Demeter had found himself associating more and more with as he was systematically frozen out by the IIIrd Legion's high command.A dark shroud had hung over Vespasian since witnessing these events and he felt obliged to act after he observed Solomon Demeter's 2nd Company being intentionally abandoned by both Captain Julius Kaesoron's and Marius Vairosean's companies.Within solar hours, the 2nd Company was in transit to the Isstvan System to rendezvous with the three other Legions ordered to pacify the rebellious world of Isstvan III. Finally seizing the opportune moment, Vespasian confronted Fulgrim in his stateroom on his flagship, the Pride of the Emperor, over the growing corruption and decay of the IIIrd Legion's ideals.The lord commander discovered, much too late, the malign influence of Chaos that now held sway over his primarch. With the sibilant whispers of the Daemon-possessed silver Blade of the Laer urging him on, Fulgrim murdered Vespasian in cold blood by stabbing him in the neck with the Kinebrach Anathame that had been gifted to him by Horus. |
Vespid - Vespid: The Vespid are a unique species of insectoid aliens who are members of the T'au Empire. In the T'au Lexicon, they are called "Mal'kor." This derives from the T'au words for insect, "Mal," and air, "Kor."The soldiers of the Imperium often refer to them as "Stingwings." The Vespids' homeworld is a gas giant called Vespid, three light-years to the galactic south of the T'au's D'yanoi Sept. |
Vespid - History: When the T'au first encountered the Vespids, they saw a species of great potential value to the Greater Good and came to greatly covet their crystal-based technologies.Although the species had developed a reasonably stable planetary government and were able to utilise its advanced technology for a wide variety of uses, it had not yet achieved space flight.T'au Water Caste cadres established contact yet were unable at first to communicate with the species. This was not a mundane matter of vocalisation or the understanding of language, for the Vespids have an utterly alien mindset. Initially, the T'au were not only unable to communicate but incapable of getting the Vespids to even register that they were fellow sentients. As a result, little progress could be made beyond crystal trade agreements.The matter was eventually resolved at the command of the Ethereal Caste, who issued instructions for the construction of an interface device that forged a connection between the two species and facilitated communication.The moment the device was employed, the Vespid not only registered the T'au as fellow sentients, they instantly understood the concept of the Greater Good and their place within it.By gifting senior Vespids with "Communion Helms" fitted with the interface device, the T'au are able to communicate with the species at large. The will of the T'au Ethereals is disseminated to those Vespid under the command of these "strain leaders," and they become able to decipher their role as befits the Greater Good. Needless to say, certain factions within the Inquisition would very much like to learn more about the workings of this Communion Helm device, believing that it may actually be controlling the Vespid to some extent. |
Vespid - Physiology: The Vespid are a vaguely insectoid species, though this narrow term is an imperfect one that fails to account for many aspects of their unusual physiology.Their bodies are encased in a chitinous exoskeleton and sport many lethally sharp barbs. They see by way of three pairs of eyes, one pair perceiving the ultraviolet range, one the normal visible light spectrum, and the last the infrared.It is assumed that the Vespids see in all three ranges of the electromagnetic spectrum simultaneously, and therefore have a perception of their surroundings unique to their species.The Vespid possess a pair of extremely sensitive antennae that constantly collect information from their surroundings. Vespid claws are described as being diamond-hard and are used to tunnel into rock to create their hives.Vespids can fly by way of a pair of hard chitin wings, which also emit a continuous ultrasonic tone with which the species appears able to modulate and control the workings of their crystal-based technology. |
Vespid - Homeworld: The world of Vespid is a gas giant, its dark, violet-hued skies wracked by continuous and violent storms. This environment would appear an unlikely crucible for any form of life, let alone a sentient species, but the Vespid are far from conventional in their biology.The upper layers of the planet's atmosphere are host to many thousands of floating islands of rock, kept aloft by lighter-than-air gas trapped within. The islands are flat-topped and become narrower towards the base, giving them the appearance of vast, floating stalactites.The Vespids make their homes within these structures, using their diamond-hard claws to hollow them out like termite mounds. Because the islands are so large, the air pressure varies significantly between topmost and bottommost levels.The lower levels are host to all manner of exotic and unique types of crystal, which only the larger female Vespids have the constitution to reach and harvest.These crystals are the basis of the species' technology, one type of which is used in the construction of the deadly Neutron Blaster utilised by the race's Stingwing warriors in battle. |
Vespid - Culture: Vespid forces working with the T'au Fire Caste are organised into warrior squads called Stingwings. These squads use their diamond-hard claws and Neutron Blasters to harass enemy heavy infantry such as Space Marines and Ordo Tempestus Storm Troopers.The Stingwing commanders, called "Strain Leaders," wear Communion Helms, gifted to them by the Ethereal Caste, which allows them to keep in contact with both Shas'Ar'Tol command and the other members of the Strain.One cultural trait the Vespid share with the T'au is that, like the T'au, the Vespid are highly deferential to their leaders, obeying them without question.The Vespid, unlike the mercenary Kroot, believe in and fight for the Greater Good alongside their T'au allies, which brings a sort of camaraderie with the rest of the T'au Empire's multispecies armed forces that the Kroot do not share.Conversely, there exists an unspecified "cultural incompatibility" between the Vespid and the Kroot, causing the two species to engage in only limited contact with each other.The Vespid possess voidships called "nest vessels," which resemble giant stalactites. |
Vespid - Sources: Codex: T'au Empire (8th Edition), pg. 73Voice of Experience (Short Story) by J.C. StearnsCodex: Tau Empire (4th Edition), pg. 16Codex: Tau Empire (7th Edition), pg. 35Deathwatch: Mark of the Xenos (RPG), pp. 26-27White Dwarf 316 (AUS), "Index Xenos - The Vespid", pg. 66Farsight: Crisis of Faith (novel) by Phil Kelly, Ch. 6, pg. 64 |
Vespid (Planet) - Vespid (Planet): Vespid is the homeworld of the Vespids, the intelligent, insectoid aliens who are loyal members of the T'au Empire. Vespid is located three light years to the galactic south of the T'au's D'yanoi Sept.The planet Vespid is a gas giant with dark violet-hued skies, afflicted with continuous and violent storms. The Vespid race lives in the higher atmospheric regions where the storms are less intense.Most of Vespid, like the majority of gas giants in the galaxy, is uninhabitable. This environment would appear an unlikely crucible for any form of life, let alone a sentient species, but the Vespid are far from conventional in their biology.The upper layers of the planet's atmosphere are host to many thousands of floating islands of rock, kept aloft by lighter-than-air gas trapped within. The islands are flat-topped and become narrower towards the base, giving them the appearance of vast, floating stalactites.It is within this thin atmospheric band that life, against all odds, has evolved. The planet is now home to an incredible variety of lifeforms, many of which compete with the Vespid for these floating islands, while others scrape out an existence at higher and lower levels of the gas giant's atmosphere.The Vespids make their homes within these floating structures, using their diamond-hard claws to hollow them out like termite mounds to create their residential hives. Because the floating islands are so large and extend so deeply into the atmosphere, the air pressure varies significantly between topmost and bottommost levels.The lower levels are host to all manner of exotic and unique types of crystal, which only the larger female Vespids have the constitution to reach and harvest. These crystals are the basis of the species' technology, one type of which is used in the construction of the deadly Neutron Blaster utilised by the race's Stingwing warriors in battle.Though the Vespid have long hollowed out these islands to form their living spaces, their now advanced technology allows some Vespid to live both higher and lower within the atmosphere than the habitable zone. |
Vespid Stingwings - Vespid Stingwings: The Vespid Stingwings are Vespid auxiliary troops that serve alongside their Fire Caste and Kroot allies in the military forces of the T'au Empire in pursuit of the Greater Good. The Vespid provide auxiliary troops to T'au armies, who value them for their skill at negotiating dangerous ground at high speed.Stingwings make ideal mobile reserve or flanking troops, though the T'au rely on the technology known as a Communion Helm that is issued to the Strain Leaders to communicate with the Stingwings and coordinate their actions. |
Vespid Stingwings - History: The Stingwings hail from the storm-wracked, high-pressure world of Vespid where they evolved amidst drifting, lighter-than-air rock islands. Each island is an independent nation with its own leadership and traits. Upon first contact with the T'au, the Stingwings displayed no hesitation in joining the T'au Empire and now fight in T'au armies where they are afforded an uncommon respect by the warriors of the Fire Caste.There are a number of characteristics that make the Stingwings extremely valuable to the T'au, mainly due to the way that they were well-equipped to prosper in their homeworld's harsh and lethal atmosphere. The first factor is the Stingwings' weaponry. Each Stingwing carries a Neutron Blaster fitted with a crystal harvested from the deepest reaches of Vespid's cloud seas. The weapon was designed by the T'au Earth Caste and is capable of emitting a short-ranged but deadly stream of radiation that will ignore all but the most sturdy of armour and reduce biological matter or delicate machine components to cinders.The second advantage is their wings, which makes them one of the few sentient species encountered in the galaxy capable of unpowered flight; a Vespid can weave in and out of cover to close in on their foe. Those few warriors who have survived a Stingwing attack state that they appear from nowhere, darting out of concealment to unleash a devastating burst of neutron fire.These two features combine to dictate the most common tactic used by the Stingwings. The T'au frequently direct their allies to attack through dense terrain -- the type of ground from which the enemy would scarcely expect the T'au themselves to approach. It often comes as an unpleasant surprise to the enemy when he discovers the flank he thought was anchored by dense terrain has in fact been infiltrated by fast-moving aliens.The T'au, specialising as they do in combined arms warfare, launch mechanised and Battlesuit attacks at key enemy points, timed to strike at the exact moment the Stingwings assault. The Stingwings are often integrated into T'au Hunter Cadres that are configured as fast-moving, highly mobile forces, where they act as scouts alongside infiltrating Pathfinder Teams.Vespid have also been deployed as reserves for cadres possessed of a high number of Crisis Teams, their speed and maneuverability allowing them to respond to orders and react to threats with astonishing speed. It is a great compliment to the Vespid as a species that the Fire Caste regards the Vespid Stingwings as skillful and reliable allies, an honour yet to be paid to the mercenary Kroot of Pech.Due to the fact that the species' biology allows them to operate in both low gravity and toxic environments, T'au void stations often have at least one Stingwing unit available to repel boarding actions.To date, the T'au Empire has fielded Vespid Stingwings in a number of campaigns against the Imperium of Man where they have gained a terrifying reputation and are already subject to a number of battlefield myths.One early account that was believed by many was that the Vespid were prone to consume their fallen. This tale was taken as canon by many in the Imperium's upper command echelons, but is now believed to have been a simple case of misidentification between the Stingwings and the more barbaric Kroot.The name "Stingwing" was in fact an appellation coined by the Imperial Guardsmen of the 15th/11th Army Group that was posted to defend the Imperial frontier worlds bordering the northern marches of the T'au Empire. The name is entirely appropriate to the aliens' style of attack and they are feared by almost every sentient race that has faced them in the field. |
Vespid Stingwings - Wargear: Antennae - A Vespid's antennae control minor olfactory nerves. Like a Terran insect, a Vespid "smells" with its antennae. It is also of note that Vespid have no visible auditory receptors.Mesoplarum Armour - A Vespid wears armour into combat to protect key body parts, including major internal organs and the frontal portions of their limbs. This armour is made of a material known as Mesoplarum, and is of T'au manufacture. Mesoplarum is a similar composite material to that worn in the armour of T'au Fire Warrior infantry and the Vespid are believed to be capable of manufacturing this material in their own production facilities, and may now be doing so in large quantities.Communion Helm - The Communion Helm worn by senior Stingwing officers, or Strain Leaders, appear to facilitate communication between the T'au and the Vespid, whose mindsets and cultures are very different. Without the Strain Leader to convey T'au instructions, the remaining Stingwings will likely become disoriented and unable to coordinate their actions with those of their allies.Oceli - Adult Stingwings have three pairs of "eyes" known as oceli. The uppermost pair is believed to see in the ultraviolet spectrum, the middle in the spectrum of visible light and the lowest in infrared.Triple-Segment Armoured Tarsus/Claw - The Stingwings' diamond hard claws allowed them in ancient times to excavate tunnels in the rock of their drifting islands on Vespid, though mechanical devices now perform this function. These claws can also be used to devastating effect in melee combat, where they can rend and tear armour from their foes.Vestigial Sternite/Armoured Tergite - All Vespid have a vestigial stinger. No post-battle reports exist to indicate this has ever been used as an offensive weapon, despite inital rumours to the contrary.Wings - Vespid wings allow them to fly and make them nimble when moving on the ground. They consist of membranes covered in sclerotised veins that are protected by an armoured, exoskeletal shell like that of a Terran beetle when closed. |
Veteran (Imperial Guard) - Veteran (Imperial Guard): A Veteran, sometimes called a Hardened Veteran, is a trooper of the Astra Militarum who has survived multiple battles and has become a skilled and efficient warrior for the Emperor of Mankind.Within the disgraced forces of the Penal Legions, such as the Savlar Chem Dogs, Hardened Veterans are instead known as "Hardened Criminals."Veterans are sometimes assembled into what is known as a Veteran Squad to be placed within less experienced platoons or companies. Imperial Guard regiments are often called upon to fight gruelling wars of attrition lasting standard years or even solar decades.As time passes, each company will shrink in size as casualties take their inevitable toll. Those that survive are the hardiest troopers in the Astra Militarum.Their battlefield training has been honed in the fires of war, forging them into warriors who have learnt how to fight and kill with lethal efficiency. Veterans are the battle-hardened elites of the Astra Militarum, the first squad in an assault and the last in a retreat. |
Veteran (Imperial Guard) - Role: Astra Militarum Veterans are natural born survivors. They have escaped ambushes, negotiated mine fields, fought a myriad of foes and lived to tell the tale. Their continued existence, despite the dangers they face, is testament to both their skill at war and their natural survival instinct.In extremely rare cases an entire company may endure the grim wars of a campaign and emerge largely unscathed, their practised skill, peerless cunning and supernatural luck allowing them to avoid heavy casualties. Legendary reputations follow such companies of Veterans, and each new engagement brings them greater renown amongst the rank-and-file troopers.But in the vast majority of cases, only a single squad of combat-hardened Veterans will survive the slaughter of their company. Such squads are attached to larger regiments where it is hoped they will assimilate quickly and their skills may rub off onto less-experienced shoulders. These Veterans may not be from the same regiment or even the same homeworld, and so may introduce brand new combat-tactics and an entirely different war-ethic to their foster regiment.Although Veteran Squads technically remain part of the same rigid command structure, these grizzled survivors function best when allowed a certain amount of free rein. They provide valuable battlefield experience and may employ unconventional but effective tactics that are not taught by the Tactica Imperium.Veterans excel in all aspects of warfare, from close-range firefights to heavy demolitions work. Veterans are all inevitably deadeye shots and such warriors are usually kept together to bolster the line, their superior marksmanship making the difference between defeat and victory.Many Veterans carry weapons and wargear not commonly issued to the massed ranks of the Imperial Guardsmen. An extra plasma blast here or a gout from a Heavy Flamer there can make the difference between life and death.Veteran Squads acquire these non-standard armaments from a variety of sources. Some are "borrowed" from Departmento Munitorum stores, whilst others are battlefield trophies prized out of the cold, dead hands of a fallen enemy. Some squads have in their number a Veteran Heavy Weapons Team. These are the last survivors of Heavy Weapons Squads, who have ample experience in operating their devastating weaponry. |
Veteran (Imperial Guard) - Combining Regiments: With few exceptions, new recruits are not added to existing Astra Militarum regiments. Under-strength formations are instead simply merged together to concentrate the number of Veterans. Where possible, the formations joined are from the same homeworld, as was the case when the Cadian 12th and 78th were merged after the Fall of Ice Hive Magnox.Sometimes, however, two very different regiments are combined, such as when the Catachan CLXXXII was merged with the Elysian 90th. As this took place on the Departmento Munitorum Armoury World of Prosan, the composite regiment was designated the "Prosan 314th." The new regiment became expert in airmobile jungle warfare after being issued Valkyries during the Saikong Justification Wars. |
Veteran (Imperial Guard) - Unit Composition: 1 Veteran Sergeant9 Veteran Guardsmen |
Veteran (Imperial Guard) - Veteran Sergeant: Flak ArmourLaspistolFrag GrenadesChainsword, Power Sword or Power Fist (Optional melee weapon)Bolt Pistol, Bolter or Plasma Pistol (Optional replacement for Laspistol) |
Veteran (Imperial Guard) - Veteran: Flak ArmourLasgunFrag GrenadesShotgun or Autogun (Optional replacement for any Veteran's Lasgun)Vox-caster (Can be taken by 1 Veteran)Heavy Flamer (Optional replacement for 1 Veteran's Lasgun)Mortar, Autocannon, Heavy Bolter, Missile Launcher, Lascannon (2 Veterans can form a Veteran Heavy Weapons Team by sharing one of these heavy weapons)Sniper Rifle, Flamer, Grenade Launcher, Meltagun, or Plasma Gun (3 Veterans can replace their Lasguns with one of these special weapons) |
Veteran Intercessor - Veteran Intercessor: A Veteran Intercessor, who is often part of a Veteran Intercessor Squad, are Primaris Space Marines who have earned the coveted Veteran status in their Chapter and earned the right to serve in the elite 1st Company.Since the Ultima Founding, Primaris Marines have wrought illustrious records as their tallies of victories have grown longer. Whether they were Firstborn Astartes who have crossed the Rubicon Primaris, were originally forged on Mars by Belisarius Cawl during the Ultima Founding or recruited directly by their Chapter, they now fight as part of that valiant brotherhood that is the 1st Company.Veteran Intercessors, like other Veteran Marines, usually wear white helmets to indicate their status and the Crux Terminatus upon their power armour shoulder plate as their tactical role insignia. Veteran Intercessor sergeants bear red helmets with white stripes to designate their rank and status.Veteran Intercessors can also take on the Assault Intercessor role when they engage in a close support rather than battleline capacity. |
Veteran Intercessor - Unit Composition: 4-9 Veteran Intercessors1 Veteran Intercessor Sergeant |
Veteran Intercessor - Wargear: Mark X Tacticus Power ArmourBolt PistolBolt RifleFrag GrenadesKrak GrenadesAuto Bolt Rifle (Optional replacement for Bolt Rifle)Stalker Bolt Rifle (Optional replacement for Bolt Rifle)Heavy Bolt Pistol (Optional replacement for Bolt Pistol and Bolt Rifle)Astartes Chainsword (Optional replacement for Bolt Pistol and Bolt Rifle)Hand Flamer (Optional replacement for Veteran Intercessor Sergeant's Heavy Bolt Pistol)Plasma Pistol (Optional replacement for Veteran Intercessor Sergeant's Heavy Bolt Pistol)Power Fist (Optional replacement for Veteran Intercessor Sergeant's Astartes Chainsword)Power Sword (Optional replacement for Veteran Intercessor Sergeant's Astartes Chainsword)Thunder Hammer (Optional replacement for Veteran Intercessor Sergeant's Astartes Chainsword)Astartes Grenade Launcher (1 for every five Veteran Intercessors in squad) |
Veteran Marines - Veteran Marines: Veteran Marines are those Astartes in the Loyalist Space Marine Chapters who have gained considerable experience in the service of their Chapter and often serve in the Chapter's elite 1st Company which is comprised solely of Veteran Squads or as an elite corps or Command Squad within a Chapter's other companies. Veteran Squads are exclusively a part of the 1st Company of the Chapter.A Veteran Marine's tactical role icon is based on the cross-like Crux Terminatus worn by the Chapter's Terminators. There are many variations of this symbol and the Codex Astartes not only approves the use of these variations but also encourages the Master of the Chapter to regularly change the symbol to confound the Chapter's foes. |
Veteran Marines - Company Command Squads: Company Veterans form the fighting centre of the company Command Squad. They will often serve as the company captain's bodyguards, a small but elite strike force or a bulwark on the battlefield, ready to lead an offensive or shore up any flagging battle line.All Company Veterans are hand-chosen warriors; they may be selected for their long and accomplished service, or simply for their courage and combat abilities.The Chapter Armoury is opened for these Veterans, allowing them to equip themselves for the task ahead; for instance, those expecting to find themselves in the press of melee might trade Bolters for Power Weapons and Storm Shields, while Veterans serving in a more back-field role have a variety of ranged weapons available to them.Regardless of armament, it is their role to protect their commanding officer and any of the company-level specialists that might attach themselves to the company command in which they dutifully and valuably serve. |
Veteran Marines - 1st Company Service: Of all the fighting formations that make up a Space Marine Chapter, it is the 1st Company that is invariably the most powerful and feared. For a Space Marine to join the prestigious 1st Company is for him to have won renown on battlefields uncounted and to have earned the respect of his battle-brothers through deeds of blood and fire.Most such Veterans have served as sergeants elsewhere in their Chapter -- sometimes for centuries -- before being accepted into the 1st Company, but a notable few are elevated after performing singular acts of insane heroism. These Space Marines are legends one and all, warriors who have become part of the Chapter's history, and it is every battle-brother's ambition to join the ranks of their Chapter’s most elite company.Each and every member of a Chapter's elite 1st Company is proficient in fighting with all the various types of weaponry available to the Adeptus Astartes. With their Veteran status comes the right to select weapons of personal choice from the Chapter's Armoury and, as a result, Veteran Squads are much less rigid in composition and battle doctrine than other Space Marine formations.Veterans are most often assembled and equipped to deal with the requirements of a specific theatre of war, such as embarking on seek-and-destroy missions to slay an Ork Warboss and his bodyguard of Nobz, or crippling an inbound wave of Aeldari Aspect Warriors before they can reach the battlefield.In most Chapters, there is a rivalry of sorts between the Veteran Vanguard and Sternguard elements of the 1st Company. They compete endlessly for honours and hazardous combat duties -- the glories and shames of their adherents celebrated and atoned for by all. Despite this rivalry, Vanguard and Sternguard Veterans remain battle-brothers above all else, and fight unto death for one another. |
Veteran Marines - Role: Veterans are exceptional warriors, even by the elite standards of the Adeptus Astartes. They excel at all forms of combat and are supplied with the best equipment the Chapter has to offer. They are normally at the forefront of the fighting, leading by example, inspiring the less experienced troops around them with their determination, fortitude and skill in battle.Those Veterans of the 1st Company who have been trained in the use of Terminator Armour are entitled to wear the Crux Terminatus honour badge. Of course, this great stone badge is fixed to the left shoulder of the actual Terminator Armour suit. If the Astartes is not fighting in a Terminator suit he will carry and display a small metal version of the Crux. Supplementing this badge will be various painted or stencilled Crux on the Astartes' armour. Collectively these markings are known as Terminator Honours.All of the battle-brothers and the sergeants of the 1st Company are Veterans, vastly experienced Space Marine warriors who have seen many combats and have survived them all. All of these Astartes would have been recruited from within the ranks of the Chapter's Battle and Reserve Companies.A Sergeant of the 1st Company will have received special leadership training to fully equip him for his additional command responsibilities as the leader of a squad, although any of the Veteran battle-brothers is capable of leading the squad should the Sergeant be taken out of action.Space Marine Veterans can be deployed in multiple ways on the field: Individual Veterans are often detached to another Company to serve as Squad Sergeant, granting their younger battle-brothers the benefit of their many standard centuries of combat experience.The most esteemed of the 1st Company's Veterans will serve as either their captain's or the Chapter Master's Honour Guard. The remaining Veterans will form up into either Terminator Squads (when the use of the rare and invaluable Terminator Armour is warranted), or either as Sternguard or Vanguard Squads. |
Veteran Marines - Types of Veteran Squads: Space Marine squads that are designated as Veteran Squads include:Sternguard Veteran SquadVanguard Veteran SquadVeteran Intercessor SquadBladeguard Veteran SquadTerminator SquadTerminator Assault Squad |
Veteran Marines - Unit Composition: 1-4 Firstborn Veteran Marines1 Firstborn Veteran Sergeant4-9 Primaris Veteran Intercessors1 Primaris Veteran Intercessor Sergeant2-5 Primaris Bladeguard Veterans1 Primaris Bladeguard Veteran Sergeant |
Veteran Marines - Wargear: Of all Space Marines, Veterans are most likely to have a mix of different patterns and configurations of power armour within their ranks. Space Marine power armour is individually produced, with each suit adapted to its wearer.Each Veteran Astartes treasures his suit and repairs and maintains it religiously. Furthermore, in their careers Veterans are likely to have acquired an extensive personal catalogue of honours and blessings. These will be displayed on the Astartes' armour, enhancing its customised look.The standard loadout of Veteran Marines includes a Bolt Pistol, chainsword, Frag Grenades and Krak Grenades. Most Veterans carry far more individualised wargear, however.As in a Tactical Squad, two of the battle-brothers of a Sternguard Veteran Squad may be chosen to carry other weapons into combat. One Space Marine may be designated as a Heavy Weapon Trooper and will carry one of the three types of heavy weapons available to the squad: the Heavy Bolter, the Lascannon or the Missile Launcher. These options dramatically improve the tactical flexibility of the squad and improve its chances of success in a wide variety of combat situations.This is equally true for the Special Weapon Trooper who may be chosen to carry one of the following weapons: Flamer, Meltagun or Plasma Gun. The Flamer is useful for clearing obstacles of enemy troops and can be especially deadly in confined areas. The Plasma Gun is a medium-range armour-piercing weapon useful against foes with a preponderance of body armour. The Meltagun is particularly effective against armoured vehicles although it has a very short range.The Heavy Bolter is an anti-personnel weapon with limited use against armoured troops or vehicles. The Lascannon is a potent anti-tank weapon with few war machines able to withstand its lancing beam. The Missile Launcher offers a multi-role use, able to load and fire various different types of missiles. Frag Missiles provide effective anti-infantry support, whereas Krak Missiles add a vital tank-busting capability to the squad.Vanguard Veterans, on the other hand, often equip themselves in a similar way as an Assault Squad, favouring the Jump Pack, Bolt Pistol and close-quarter weapon combination that has served the Astartes so well over the millennia since their inception.However, as befits their seniority, Vanguard Veterans have access to a much larger choice of weapons drawn from their Chapter's Armoury, and it is common to see such a squad wielding devastating weapons such as Relic Blades, Lightning Claws and Thunder Hammers. The whole Veteran Squad will also usually carry grenades, of which the most common types are anti-personnel Frag Grenades or anti-armour Krak Grenades.Other grenade types are occasionally used on special missions but are generally restricted to the use of officers and squad leaders.Instead of a Bolt Pistol and chainsword a Veteran sergeant can wield any two of the following weapons if they can be wielded in a single hand: Bolt Pistol, bolter, chainsword, Combi-flamer, Combi-grav, Combi-melta, Combi-plasma, Grav-pistol, Lightning Claw, Plasma Pistol, Power Axe, Power Fist, Power Maul, Power Sword, Storm Bolter, Thunder Hammer (cannot be chosen by a Sternguard Veteran sergeant).Veteran Squads are often provided with armoured transports; usually Rhinos (armoured personnel carriers) but sometimes Razorbacks (Rhinos with a cupola-mounted heavy weapon). This enables the Veteran Squad to advance quickly on the battlefield or rapidly redeploy to a new sector of combat.Bladeguard Veterans are those Primaris Space Marines who have earned the right to serve in the elite 1st Company of a Primaris-only Chapter raised during the Ultima Founding or later, those who serve in the 1st Company of an already-extant Chapter alongside their Firstborn brethren, or those who are already Veteran Marines and have crossed the Rubicon Primaris. Bladeguard Veterans are melee-focussed Astartes who are equipped much like technologically-advanced versions of the knights of ancient Terran legends. They wear Mark X Tacticus Power Armour and are outfitted with Heavy Bolt Pistols, master-crafted Power Swords, Frag Grenades, Krak Grenades and Storm Shields.Bladeguard Veteran sergeants can swap out their Heavy Bolt Pistol for a Neo-Volkite Pistol or a Plasma Pistol.Likewise Intercessor Veterans are those Veteran Primaris Marines who still make use of ranged weaponry unlike their more melee-focussed Bladeguard counterparts. They also wear Mark X Tacticus Power Armour but are outfitted with Bolt Pistols, Bolt Rifles, Frag Grenades, and Krak Grenades as standard. Additionally, they may choose to use Heavy Bolt Pistols, Auto Bolt Rifles, Stalker Bolt Rifles, an Astartes Grenade Launcher and chainswords.The Veteran Intercessor Sergeant can make use of the standard weaponry for an Intercessor Veteran or swap one or both of them out for a Hand Flamer, a Heavy Bolt Pistol, a Plasma Pistol, a Power Fist, a Power Sword or a Thunder Hammer. |
Veteran Marines - Iconography: The Codex Astartes prescribes standardised iconography for the Veteran units of any Codex-compliant Space Marine Chapter. Every Veteran member of a Chapter is entitled to display their elite status using a white helmet. A Veteran sergeant's helmet is red with a white stripe to designate their Veteran status. A Veteran's power armour, regardless of pattern, features white or silver-trimmed shoulder plates.The icon that designates the Veteran's tactical battlefield role on the right shoulder plate is a stylised Gothic cross which is derived from the Crux Terminatus whether the Space Marine is a Terminator or not. A smaller cross of similar style, usually referred to as "Terminator honours," is carried on the left knee plate. |
Veteran Squad - Veteran Squad: A Veteran Squad is a tactical designation applied to certain Space Marine combat squads.The warriors of a Chapter's elite 1st Company are formally recognised as Veterans, individuals who have achieved such magnificent deeds as to raise them head-and-shoulders above even the august assemblage of their battle-brothers. These are the Chapter's finest, and they are the terror of their foes.The designation began to be used in the wake of the reforms made to the Codex Astartes and the Adeptus Astartes themselves in the Era Indomitus after the resurrection of the Primarch Roboute Guilliman and the introduction of the Primaris Space Marines. |
Veteran Squad - Types: Space Marine squads that are designated as Veteran Squads include:Sternguard Veteran SquadVanguard Veteran SquadBladeguard Veteran SquadVeteran Intercessor SquadTerminator SquadTerminator Assault Squad |
Vexilus Praetor - Vexilus Praetor: A Vexilus Praetor is a veteran of one of the Shield Companies of the Adeptus Custodes, the elite bodyguard of the Emperor of Mankind, who bears aloft a proud standard known as a Magisterium Vexilla or simply a Vexilla, to war. More than just standards to inspire adulation or terror, a Vexilla's built-in technologies provide invaluable battlefield support to the Custodians fighting in their shadow. Each Vexilla is created on Terra, painstakingly fashioned over a period of one hundred Terran years by the oath-sworn artisans of the Tower Aquilane. Each Vexilla is a towering banner topped with the Imperial Aquila, the ultimate symbol of the Emperor's authority.Upon their completion, these beautiful standards are borne amidst processions of craft-thralls, Adeptus Ministorum Priests and heraldic Servitors to the Auric Eyrie, where they are held upon stasis-podia until required. Some Vexillas are purely ritual in purpose, and are carried in procession and parade through the endless leagues of the Imperial Palace. Most, however, incorporate potent technologies suited specifically for deployment upon the field of battle. |
Vexilus Praetor - Role: The Adeptus Custodes are a glorious and much celebrated force. In the earliest days of the Imperium they marched to war alongside the Emperor Himself, presenting a magnificent spectacle which echoed the majesty of the Master of Mankind. Just as their weapons and armour have always been fashioned to reflect His martial glory, so too are the proud standards known as Vexillas, which are borne to war by some of the most veteran Custodians.The Custodes alone are permitted to display it as their foremost heraldic icon, and its inspirational effect upon those around them is nothing short of electric. Hefted high above the anarchy of the battlefield, the Vexilla forms a golden beacon of truth and light that fills true servants of the Emperor with awe. Beneath the winged shadow of the Aquila, even the humblest defender of Humanity feels the touch of the Emperor upon their soul. Meanwhile, the enemies of the Imperium cower in dismay; dread clouds their minds and saps their strength at the thought that the Emperor's greatest warriors are poised to tear them apart.Those Vexillas carried by the veterans of the Shield Companies typically belong to one of several patterns. Most common is the Vexilla Imperius, the mere presence of which fills nearby Custodians with inviolable determination and lends fresh strength to their limbs. Whether this effect is purely psychological, or if there is some crypto-technological aspect to the phenomenon, is unknown beyond the Tower Aquilane. It is enough that it works, and works well.The Vexilla Defensor is borne into battle where the foe brings overwhelming firepower to bear. Built into this proud standard is a refractor-field generator of prodigious power, whose protective umbrella crackles out to ward all nearby allied forces from harm. The deployment of these Vexillas has spawned more than one legend and parable; to the unenlightened, the effects of the Vexilla Defensor look as though the Emperor is extending direct protection to those who fight at the side of his favoured warriors.The Vexilla Magnifica incorporates photophantasmic fluctuators and psycho-amplifactor clarions. Those who dare to assail its bearer or his comrades find themselves blinded by the searing radiance of the Emperor’s glory, their gunsights rebelling and their optic nerves burned out even as their thought patterns are smashed to fractal shards. Such standards are borne at the forefront of an attack, placed where they can best blunt any attempt by the foe to launch a counter-offensive of their own.In addition to these technological marvels, all Vexillas incorporate Empyrically-hardened Teleport Homers. These are most commonly used by the Adeptus Custodes to call in sudden strikes by fresh waves of Custodians, or, on rare occasions, even summon a Contemptor Dreadnought or Venerable Land Raider from the especially large, ancient and powerful Godstrike Pattern teleportariums aboard their warships. Whether blunting the enemy's sudden assault, exploiting a breakthrough in the foe's lines, or wrong-footing their victims with a sudden shift in the flow of the battle, such technology has many uses for the Ten Thousand, and fits perfectly with their style of warfare. Combined with the inspirational effect they have upon allied Imperial forces, and the Vexilus Praetor's own veteran combat skill, it is easy to see why few Shield Companies march to war without Vexillas rising proud above them. |
Vexilus Praetor - Vexilius Praetor: Custodian ArmourGuardian Spear, Castellan Axe or Storm ShieldMisericordia |
Vexilus Praetor - Vexilius Praetor in Allarus Terminator Armour: Allarus Pattern Terminator ArmourBalistus Grenade LauncherMisericordia |
Vexilus Praetor - Sources: Codex: Adeptus Custodes (8th Edition), pp. 40, 46, 52, 63-64 |
Veyoris Akioh - Veyoris Akioh: Veyoris Akioh is the Rogue Trader Diaz Lan's seneschal, handling the light cruiser Horizon's Pride's most important matters of commerce and information brokering.Most of the senior command circle of the starship seems accustomed to the presence of Adeptus Astartes -- not surprising given Lan's appointment as the Achilus Crusade's Deathwatch liaison.Akioh is the exception. He consistently finds excuses to avoid their path, to leave any location they arrive in, and to interact with them as little as possible.In truth, Akioh is an unsanctioned psyker. His skill in telepathy makes him exceptional at his job aboard the Horizon's Pride, and so Lan fastidiously does not question his seneschal's prescient flashes of insight into people and events.A deeply religious man, Akioh is not certain that the Emperor's holy warriors aren't able to see straight through to the Warp taint in his soul. He thus minimises contact whenever Deathwatch representatives are on board, particularly if they include a Librarian.If cornered into conversation, he is polite but obviously nervous. He attempts to stick to simple topics of mutual interest, such as war tactics or the progress on the Achilus Crusade's salients.Should Akioh's secret be realised, he plans to penitently submit himself to judgment, vowing that no one aboard the ship knew his secret. |
Vicente Sixx - Vicente Sixx: Vicente Sixx was the short-lived primus medicae and Chief Apothecary of the XIX Legion, the Raven Guard, in the wake of the terrible losses sustained by his Legion during the Drop Site Massacre.A novice by most standards, Sixx's promotion was dictated by dire need as the Raven Guard's Primarch, Corvus Corax, had been granted technological and arcane knowledge by his father on how to improve the XIX Legion's gene-seed and thus enable the Raven Guard to rapidly recover from its terrible losses at Istvaan V far more quickly than the Traitor Legions would readily expect.The Emperor provided Corax with undifferentiated Primarch genetic material taken from His own laboratories, and the Raven Lord assigned Sixx the task of using it to perfect a new way to create Astartes rapidly. Unfortunately, the Raven Guard had been infiltrated by members of the Alpha Legion during the Drop Site Massacre and these Traitors proceeded to sabotage the project. Sixx was slain by the infiltrators even as he sought to rectify his errors. |
Vicente Sixx - Origins: Little is known about Vicente Sixx before the horrific events of the Drop Site Massacre on Isstvan V, when the traitorous Warmaster Horus Lupercal dealt a crippling blow to the XIX Legion and its allies from the Iron Hands and the Salamanders Legions.During this massacre, the Raven Guard's Apothecaries were a designated target of the Alpha Legion Headhunter squads and suffered heavily. By the time Commander Branne successfully exfiltrated the Raven Guard survivors, only seven Apothecaries were amongst their numbers. With merely fifteen years of experience, Vicente Sixx was the most senior surviving Apothecary and thus promoted to primus medicae while still aboard the Avenger. |
Vicente Sixx - Voyage to Terra: Having briefly stayed in the Isstvan System to confirm the utter destruction of the Raven Guard's faithful allies, the warriors of the Therion Cohort which had sacrificed their lives in a diversionary attack on Isstvan IV, the Avenger escaped pursuit and entered the Warp with a course set for Terra.Primarch Corvus Corax intended to personally rally the Throneworld to inform his father of the calamity that had occurred in the Isstvan System, but more importantly, he would ask for the Emperor's help in rebuilding his Legion. Although plagued by rising Warp storms which severely slowed their progress, the Avenger reached Terra unharmed, giving the survivors on board time to reorganise themselves, patch their wounds and mend their equipment.With so many of the Raven Guard's Apothecarion now gone, it is generally presumed that Sixx had far too many patients to set foot on Holy Terra, an assumption which would later be confirmed. So it was, that while Corvus Corax sought the means to rebuild his Legion, Vicente Sixx stayed on board the Avenger, still struggling with his new responsibilities as primus medicae, and still ignorant of the great task that lay ahead.In his great wisdom, the Emperor had revealed to Corax one of His greatest and best guarded secrets -- the location of His old gene-wright laboratory where, in the distant past, He had created the twenty primarchs. The prize Corax sought was therefore no mighty weapon but knowledge -- knowledge in the form of a pure strand of undifferentiated primarch DNA -- unaltered and un-tampered with.With the assistance of one of the Emperor's most trusted advisors, Archmagos Genetor Nexin Orlandriaz, Corax would decipher the Emperor's works and thus be able to alter the Raven Guard's gene-seed, effectively creating a new breed of Legiones Astartes -- one that could transform a Human youth into a Legionary in a matter of solar weeks if not days, where the current generations of Astartes had needed standard years of training and careful genetic augmentations to become what they were. |
Vicente Sixx - Father of the Raptors: With the Avenger's return to Deliverance, work on rebuilding the Raven Guard Legion could truly begin. Corax had wisely decided to keep the project a secret and had therefor decided not to conduct the experiment in the more secure but also far more obvious location that was the Ravenspire, but in a quite isolated training facility known as Ravendelve.Located deep within the radwastes of Kiavahr, its isolation would be of no consequence as unknown to the Raven Guard, other forces were already well aware of the XIX primarch's intent. As the Legion's new Chief Apothecary, Vicente Sixx was naturally informed of the project's exstence and brought in, although in truth his contributions in this first stage would be modest: while Corax used his psychically-imprinted knowledge on the undifferentiated primarch gene-seed to unravel its secrets, its application fell to Orlandriaz. Still lacking confidence in his medicae abilities, Sixx was all too happy this was to be the case and placed himself in the role of liaison between the enthusiastic magos and Legion command.Despite the extensive amount of data retrieved from the Emperor's laboratory, initial progress was slow, mainly due to the complexity of the primarch gene-template. The Emperor and His Biotechnical Division had engineered the Legiones Astartes and even the Legio Custodes by selecting different strands of genetic materiel, but the possible permutations numbered in the millions and would have taken standard years to investigate. To add to this difficulty, a vigorous debate had erupted between Sixx and Orlandriaz, with the Martian magos suggesting that the XIX Legion would best be rebuilt by creating an entirely new gene-seed from scratch rather than trying to improve the Raven Guard's existing gene-seed.If that was to be the case, the Raven Guard's number could quickly be swelled by the use of cloning techniques that would allow the Legion to quickly recover from its losses. Corax, however, quickly resolved the matter, dismissing the use of cloning techniques as an ultimate resort and using his Emperor-given knowledge to narrow down the number of genetic-strands that would need to be examined before the implantation of the first altered gene-seed.The first test-subjects were however not to be Human, and the first batch of tests were thus conducted on animals which were kept in the lower levels of Ravendelve. During this time, Sixx grew increasingly into his new role as Chief Apothecary, implanting the modified gene-seed into the test subjects and generally keeping the over-ambitious ardours of Orlandriaz in check.Overseeing the procedures and protocols of gene-seed implantation in Ravendelve led the magos to devise a mean to increase productivity by at least ten percent, whereas as a staunch traditionalist born of Deliverance, Vicente Sixx had to dissuade him from enacting his plans. With the primarch pressing for results, Orlandriaz began pressuring Sixx and Legion command to bring in the Kiavahrian Mechanicum to use its vastly superior resources to further the project, a step from which Sixx always had to discourage him, for the secrecy of their current endeavours had to be maintained.However the animal tests proved disastrous. Most of the test subjects had heavily mutated under the influence of the primarch gene-seed, growing over-sized slabs of muscles, bony protusions and even in some cases additional limbs. Most had become true aberrations, including a bicephalic giant snake with a barbed tail, and a green mouse the size of a dog with the claws of a wolf. Yet amongst this cavalcade of horrors a few successes had been attained: perfect specimens, healthy and strong which had matured from infancy to adulthood in less than forty solar hours.Based on the analysis of these subjects, Sixx and Orlandriaz established that it would only take seventy to eighty solar hours to grow a boy into a Legionary. While encouraging, these results did not satisfy Corax, who ordered animal-testing stopped while simultaneously requiring Sixx and Orlandriaz to increase the pace of their research. With something approaching relief, Sixx set out to euthanise the first test subjects while resolving to return to base cell-analysis.Orlandriaz was confident that he would be able to eliminate some of the most mutagenic gene-strands by this step, which was fortunate as Sixx would never risk the life of a Human by implanting anything less than a perfect genetic template.He was quite sure that Commander Branne would also never allow it, and Corax's appointed messenger, Commander Agapito, also seemed to validate his decision. He understood that the primarch wanted to press the matter and return his Legion to the battlefield as quickly as possible, but while he was still in charge of the implantation procedures, Sixx would never risk the recruits' lives.However Sixx's misgivings were only short-lived. Thanks to the increasing involvement of Corax the work on the new gene-seed quickly progressed until eventually Orlandriaz deemed it safe enough for its first Human implantations. Ten recruits were selected to be the first to receive the new gene-seed and thus become the first of the new advanced Astartes that they were calling "Raptors." To limit the risk of rampant cell reproduction, the candidates were put in a short-lived cryobiotic state, for the accelerated cell-growth put the recruits' bodies under heavy metabolic stress.In stark contrast to the previous generations of Raven Guard, the Raptors would be grown with every organ and their valuable Progenoid Glands fully developed. Despite their precautionary measures, one of the candidates died as the rapid growth of his organic tissues led to complications with an undetected minute heart defect.Despite this first casualty, for which Sixx secretly blamed Orlandriaz's haste, the initial nine Raptors, or the "First Nine" as they would soon be called, were all perfect specimens of Legionaries. With the introduction of a new, refined version of the gene-seed that would cure its host from any previous physical weakness, the numbers of potential new recruits for the XIX Legion would be near limitless. |
Vicente Sixx - Treachery: With the primarch's blessing, implantation of the Raptor gene-seed was increased, but due to the limited capacity of Ravendelve's infirmary, each generation of Raptors was limited to a hundred individuals before steps could be taken to increase productivity. Unknown to Sixx and indeed a great part of Legion command, including the XIX Legion's primarch, Ravendelve's garrison had been infiltrated by Alpha Legion Legionaries having taken the face and identity of fallen Raven Guard at Isstvan V.These double-agents most notoriously included one of the Raven Guard's senior officers: Commander Agapito, designated messenger of Corvus Corax and military liaison between Sixx, Orlandriaz and Legion headquarters, or so at least some were led to believe. These infiltrators were in constant contact with other elements on Kiavahr, namely one of the XX Legion's twin-primarchs -- Omegon -- who directed the operations from afar.Calling upon his allies within the Dark Mechanicum, Omegon devised a mean to sabotage Sixx's work. Well hidden in the underground network of Nabrik, Kiavahr's main city, wheels were set in motion to unravel the Raven Guard's efforts. Whilst this operation largely stayed secret, Commander Branne was tipped off as the rise in non-Legion and non-Mechanicum communications clearly indicated something was bound to happen.For reasons of his own, Branne chose neither to warn Corax, nor Sixx or any other officer of the Raven Guard. By this time, the Raptor company already numbered five hundred warriors and they had been tested in battle against an outpost of the Word Bearers Traitor Legion.Thanks to the continuous improvements of Sixx and Orlandriaz -- both on the gene-seed itself and its implantation procedures, the overwhelming majority of recruits had been transformed with no physical consequences or side-effects, and even rejection rates were non-existent as the gene-seed allowed the organs to be grown naturally inside the novitiate's body.Through Sixx's and Orlandriaz's efforts, the newly named Raptor Company began to form at a rate never attained before: fifty solar days to turn an unaugmented Human adolescent into a trained and combat-ready Legionary.When a diversionary attack was launched against Ravendelve to disturb the implantation progress, Sixx unwillingly helped the Alpha Legion gain access to the gene-seed storage as the Raven Guard sergeant charged with securing the infirmary was in truth also one of the infiltrators.Handing the infiltrator his personal data-spike so as not to be disturbed whilst he implanted the new gene-seed into yet another batch of recruits, Sixx gave the Alpha Legion access to what they coveted the most. Yet the gene-seed was not stolen on that occasion, but tampered with: the infiltrator introduced a virus which would lay dormant within the gene-seed, awakening only after implantation had been successful.Its true effects were unknown to the infiltrator, and perhaps even to its creators within the Alpha Legion's Order of the Dragon, but the Raven Guard and those recruits implanted with the corrupted gene-seed would quickly discover the truth of what was intended.The next one hundred recruits to be augmented received the virus-corrupted gene-seed which triggered uncontrollable genetic mutations in the Raptors' bodies that manifested simultaneously and in the same way for all the afflicted: a tightness in the chest and a flaming agony that locked limbs tight in place which inevitably caused the Raptor to fall to his knees before a creeping and burning pain crawled up their bodies.Horrified by these sudden changes, Sixx and Orlandriaz suspected a sudden manifestation of non-Human genes that had lain dormant in the gene-seed and did everything to alleviate the pain of the Raptors: conducting emergency operations to those worst afflicted, amputating vestigial tails that had unexpectedly grown, cutting claws, filing teeth that suddenly pierced gums.Some Raptors were mad with pain and as a precautionary measure, Corax ordered the Raptors put in the cages of Sixx's former animal lab-experiments. Tormented by this turn of events, Sixx promised the Raptors that he would do everything to revert their condition, but even with the primarch's help he did not know where to start looking and even to his own ears his words rang hollow.With more than a thousand Raptors now incapacitated, Legionaries from the Talons were ferried down from Ravenspire to secure and guard the compound. This proved to be a wise decision as within the week Ravendelve was attacked by secessionist elements stirred up by the agents of the Alpha Legion. |
Vicente Sixx - Death: The first sign of enemy activity was a long-ranged bombardment of the Magnus Casei, an Imperator-class Titan of the Legio Vindictus which had been standing guard over Kiavahr for several Terran centuries. With the Raptors still indisposed, the Talons garrisoning Ravendelve quickly manned the walls and the facility's Macrocannon towers. With the looming form of the Imperator-class Titan, only sporadic fire could be directed towards an armoured column of Guildsmen, escorted by four Warhound-class Scout Titan that were approaching the curtain wall.Divided between the need to repel the Magnus Casei and scare off the more agile Scout Titans, the defence turrets were soon overwhelmed, allowing the insurrectionists to close in upon Ravendelve. Much to Sixx's disappointment, neither Commander Agapito nor Commander Solaro, who were both present, stepped up to coordinate the defence. Commander Branne's transport had been confirmed en route to Ravendelve but failed to arrive before the attack began.Emmitting a distress signal that was directed at the Ravenspire, Sixx's call was immediately put through to Corax himself, who was even now boarding his own transport to reinforce Ravendelve. Sixx warned Corax that the attack was likely aimed at Ravendelve to seize the primarch gene-seed and he asked the Raven Lord for permission to destroy it.Yet Corax would not so easily destroy the sole means he had of rebuilding his Legion swiftly and he ordered Sixx to seal the infirmary and put the gene-vault under lockdown. The curtain wall continued to hold the enemy at bay when the first Raven Guard reinforcements began to arrive.A Thunderhawk bearing the colours of the Raven Guard which had just delivered its complement of troops veered off course and attacked Ravendelve's gatehouse, killing many Legionaries and allowing infiltrated Alpha Legion Astartes to take both the gatehouse and the landing pad, thus cutting Ravendelve off from further reinforcement.Enacting Corax's final orders, Sixx began the lock-down procedure of the facility's Apothecarion and gene-seed vault. But with no one to turn to, he resolved to personally make the short trip to the next armoury to fetch the necessary demolition charges should circumstances require him to ensure the destruction of the primarch gene-seed to prevent its capture by the Traitors.Sixx was immensely relieved when upon reaching the elevator that would take him directly to the armoury he encountered Commander Solaro, flanked by a squad of Raven Guard Legionaries, a relief that quickly turned to shock when the commander stabbed him through the chest with his Power Sword.Left for dead by the overeager Alpha Legion infiltrators, Sixx managed to crawl into the elevator and descend to the Raptors' holding cell. With supreme discipline, the Raptors had stayed in their "quarters" when the attack began, and the bleeding Sixx handed over his access keys to the armoury and tasked a young recruit named Navar Hef to ensure the primarch gene-seed samples were kept safe.Too weak to go on, and confident he had done his part in safeguarding the XIX Legion, Sixx died as the recruits he had helped to turn into mutant monsters took the fight to the Alpha Legion. |
Vichres - Vichres: Lord Militant Vichres was one of the senior Imperial commanders that served under Warmaster Slaydo during the Sabbat Worlds Crusade. Vichres died in 760.M41 on the world of Cociaminus during the Sabre Bridge Incident when he and 47 of his men were ambushed by enemy armour. |
Vichres - History: Lord Militant Vichres was one of the most senior Imperial officers to die during Operation Newfound, the opening campaign of the Crusade to liberate the entire Newfound Trailing Group within the Sabbat Worlds Sector. Vichres was a long-time friend and stalwart supporter of the Warmaster Slaydo. In 760.M41, during the Imperial assault on the world of Cociaminus, Vichres was sent to depose General Forgues whose behaviour had become increasingly erratic. It was later rumoured that he was actually replaced following a heated argument with the Warmaster. Not an especially gifted tactical commander, contemporaries described Vichres as solid and reliable. It was known that the Lord Militant had a particular talent for leadership and was often found at the front line dealing with his subordinate officers first hand and mixing with the regular line soldiers as the opportunity permitted.Vichres' visible leadership made him a popular figure amongst his troops, but may have been a contributing factor to his demise later that year on Cociaminus. Advancing to a forward position to coordinate troop dispositions, Vichres was given flawed intelligence reports suggesting that the highway at Sabre Bridge was clear for safe passage. In what came to be regarded as the "Sabre Bridge Incident," 47 men in his retinue, including Vichres himself, were killed in an enemy armour ambush. This source of erroneous intelligence was never firmly established, though it is highly suspected that is was a devious trick orchestrated by the Forces of Chaos. Vichres was later buried with full military honours at the Imperial Temple at Harshen, though his tomb was later most disgracefully defiled and robbed by the Chaotic forces in 766.M41. |
Victors - Victors: The Victors is a Loyalist Space Marine Chapter of unknown Founding and origin. Almost nothing is known about this Chapter in Imperial records, except that it was created some time after the Second Founding. |
Victors - Chapter Colours: The Victors primarily wear orange-red Power Armour. The knee guards and greaves are black. The white squad specialty symbol -- Tactical, Devastator, Assault or Veteran -- is located on the right shoulder plate. A black Roman numeral is stenciled in the centre of the squad specialty symbol, indicating squad number. The colour of the Aquila or Imperialis on the chest guard indicates company number in accordance with the dictates of the Codex Astartes -- i.e. White (1st Company), Yellow (2nd Company), Red (3rd Company), Green (4th Company), etc. |
Victors - Chapter Badge: The Victors' Chapter badge is a stylised white letter "V", superimposed over a white, open-faced rectangle, on a field of orange-red. |
Victory-class Battleship - Victory-class Battleship: The Victory-class Battleship is a powerful battleship of the Navis Imperialis that is suspected to be a class that had its origins in a heavily modified variant of the Retribution-class Battleship. In its internal layout, the Victory-class greatly resembles the Retribution-class. It is possible that this design is the product of grafting lance weapons systems onto a Retribution template in an attempt to replicate the successful Apocalypse-class Battleship by replacing its broadside Macrobatteries and prow torpedo tubes with lance batteries and a Nova Cannon.The Tech-priests of Mars refuse all requests for access to their records by historitors of the Navis Imperialis, so the origin of this class remains unclear, though one vessel, the Conqueror, is known to have particularly distinguished itself as part of the Imperial Army's Armada Imperialis during the Great Crusade in the late 30th Millennium to bring the Emperor's light to the galaxy after the end of the Age of Strife.When Hive Fleet Behemoth, the first major Tyranid hive fleet, encountered the Imperium of Man in 745.M41, four Victory-class Battleships met the threat of the Great Devourer -- the Victory, Argus, Conqueror, and Hammer of Scaro. |
Victory-class Battleship - Notable Victory-class Battleships: Argus - A notable Victory-class vessel, the Argus was one of four such vessels that met the Tyranid threat of Hive Fleet Behemoth head-on during the First Tyrannic War in 745.M41.Blade of Judgement - The Blade of Judgement was a Victory-class Battleship that served in the Indomitus Crusade Fleet Quartus. During the Indomitus Crusade, it served in Task Force Tempus Indomitus Quartus-Cerastus 116 which took part in the Battle of Karseyn Strait. However, the Blade of Judgement was declared lost after it disappeared while attempting to exit the Warp and take part in the battle. Despite this, the Blade of Judgement would later appear several times to aid Fleet Quartus' forces and help propel them to victory. This included aiding Task Force III in battle with xenos warships near Tragya, saving the remnants of Task Force II from destruction at the hands of Vordori Flayers and aiding Task Force VI against Heretics near Bauhax, where it destroyed the capital warship Colossus Nox. It also aided the Black Templars of Castellan Grastmund in the Vordex Incident. In each case the Blade of Judgement mysteriously appeared and then vanished after Fleet Quartus' foes were defeated. It never responds to any vox transmissions sent to it, but Fleet Quartus psykers have reported hearing strains of Imperial hymnals, as well as wails and screams coming from the Blade of Judgement. In one case, the survivors of Task Force II even reported that ghostly apparitions of guardsmen descended from the Blade of Juedgement and came to their aid. All of the battleship's appearances since being declared lost have been compiled into reports, but the Inquisition has ordered that several parts be left heavily redacted.Conqueror - A notable Victory-class vessel, the Conqueror was one of four such vessels that met the Tyranid threat of Hive Fleet Behemoth head-on during the First Tyrannic War in 745.M41. The Conqueror had a long, proud pedigree that stretched back over ten millennia, having particularly distinguished itself during the Great Crusade to bring the Emperor's light to the galaxy after the end of the Age of Strife. The Conqueror led the Imperial Expeditionary Fleet that cleansed the Stabulo System of the deviants that polluted the Segmentum Tempestus at that time.Divine Right - The Divine Right is under the command of the Navis Imperialis Lord Admiral Janzig Danathios. It serves as his flagship among the Imperial forces that are defending the besieged Pankallis Sub-sector.Hammer of Scaro - A notable Victory-class vessel, the Hammer of Scaro was one of four such vessels that met the Tyranid threat of Hive Fleet Behemoth head-on during the First Tyrannic War in 745.M41. The Hammer of Scaro was rebuilt with prow torpedoes instead of its Nova Cannon after receiving severe damage ramming the Ork Space Hulk Gungedrinka at the Battle of Lexus.Tribune - The Tribune was born in the orbital yards of Inwit in the years after the coming of the Emperor when the Inwit Tech-wrights built ten battle barges as tribute to the Emperor and in honour of Rogal Dorn's command of the VIIth Legion. The Tribune and its nine sisters were variants of the Victory-class and all displayed the hand of Inwit's weapon-craft and mentality woven into their fabric. Heavily armed and armoured, it was a ship made to give and take damage in the thick of a battle line, its design and precise configuration honed by decades of the Legion's experience in void combat, and communication and command systems woven into its structure that showed the intent that the Tribune and its sisters would lead the Imperial Fists in their later conquests. The Tribune served as the flagship of Fleetmaster Alexis Polux at the Battle of Phall. She was destroyed in action against the Iron Warriors' battle barge the Contrador at the very climax of that devastating fleet confrontation. The Tribune is listed as participating in over three hundred major fleet engagements and countless smaller clashes throughout more than a century of war. The Tribune's long and glorious service came to a fiery end when Fleetmaster Polux was forced into the desperate measure of sacrificing her to escape the Iron Warriors' attack at Phall with as many of his Imperial Fists and crew as possible. Drawing the mighty Contrador into a boarding action that saw the Tribune overwhelmed by the vengeful sons of Perturabo, Polux led his own sally, hundreds of his warriors crossing over to the Contrador to take her intact even as the Tribune floundered. Even before the Contrador was taken, the Mechanicum Enginseers left on board the Tribune enacted the Fleetmaster's final command, overloading her plasma reactors and destroying herself, the bold defenders who remained to draw the enemy, and hundreds of Iron Warriors. Though a terrible loss, the Tribune's sacrifice allowed thousands to escape that they might serve their Primarch and the Emperor another day, adding crucial numbers to the defence of Terra.Victory - A notable Victory-class vessel and the first of the class, the Victory was one of four such vessels that met the Tyranid threat of Hive Fleet Behemoth head-on during the First Tyrannic War in 745.M41.Vigorous - The Vigorous served in Battlegroup Phaedra of Fleet Quintus during the Indomitus Crusade. It served as the flagship of the battlegroup after the destruction of the Emperor-class Battleship Pax Imperialis. After successfully crossing through the Great Rift, the battleship was transferred for service to the Order of Our Martyred Lady when the contingent of those Sisters of Battle accompanying the fleet lost their own voidship Daughter of the Emperor while reclaiming the Shrine World of Cion from the forces of Chaos. |
Victrix Guard - Victrix Guard: The Victrix Guard, also known as the Victrix Honour Guard, are an elite formation of Ultramarines chosen by the Primarch Roboute Guilliman after his resurrection in ca. 999.M41 to accompany him on the Terran Crusade.They were later instituted during the Era Indomitus as a formation of the Ultramarines Honour Guard hand-picked by the primarch himself as a reward for exemplary service.During the Terran Crusade, the Victrix Guard acted as Guilliman's bodyguards and diplomatic envoys, and they sought to excel in every aspect of battle and statecraft alike.Veteran Marines with countless standard centuries of combat experience between them, the Victrix Guard advance fearlessly into battle with their Bolters thundering and their heads held high.At their head strides a band of Ultramarines Honour Guard led by none other than Captain Cato Sicarius himself, the hot-blooded master swordsman of Talassar.A true gathering of courageous heroes, the Victrix Guard are more than capable of cutting their way through entire armies of foes, heaping their bodies in gory mounds for the enduring glory of Ultramar and the ever-lasting realm of the Emperor Himself.In the wake of the Terran Crusade, Guilliman eventually redeployed members of the Victrix Guard to serve with the Ultramarines leaders who remained behind on the Chapter homeworld of Macragge. |
Victrix Guard - History: While originally an ad hoc unit formed by Roboute Guilliman to accompany him on the Terran Crusade, the Victrix Honour Guard have since been officially instituted as a formation of the Ultramarines by Chapter Master Marneus Calgar.To many outsiders, the Victrix may appear as an elite within an elite. It is certainly true that no Space Marine can join them without having first served in the Ultramarines Honour Guard, but the skills and attributes that make them warriors apart are not purely martial.They are instead appointed by Roboute Guilliman himself for their selflessness in battle and their ability to cast aside their own personal glory to ensure that the Chapter is always victorious.Issoros Praernon; Trismerus Gerorian; Morvio Tarilis. None of these names are celebrated across the Imperium. But without their sacrifice, Corpus Helix, the Ultramarines Chief Apothecary, might not have been able to evacuate precious gene-seed from the recruiting world of Cietara before it was overrun by Mortarion's Death Guard.Chaplain Ortan Cassius could have failed to prevent the fall of Agnuna to the world's Genestealer Cult and may have lost his life to its Genestealer Patriarch and a horde of Genestealers.Master of the Forge Fennias Maxim might have been unable to reach the broken Void Shield generators aboard the Battle Barge Severian in time to restore them before the ceaseless attacks of WAAAGH! Grorgnork destroyed the ancient warship.Hundreds of Ultramarines knelt as their bodies lay in state, and it is in these battles, as well as many others, that the bonds of brotherhood between the Ultramarines' commanders and the Victrix Guard have been made unbreakable. |
Victrix Guard - Combat Doctrine: The Victrix Guard's creation not only suits Guilliman's desire to have his sons' ranks made up of dedicated specialists, but also represents his firm belief that the shield is as important as the sword.The wargear they bear demonstrates this. Any foe that hopes to defeat the Victrix Guard must first break through Storm Shields as large as a mortal man, and if they are somehow successful in that regard, must outmatch the Victrix's breathtaking skill with a blade.The Gladius itself is a representation of the Victrix Guard's role. It is best employed in quick, precise thrusts that nonetheless land with deadly force, an efficiency not purely for metaphor.In battle, Victrix Guard can expect to be hard-pressed beyond almost all of their Battle-Brothers, and every stab of their swords must slay an enemy if they are to be successful.Only deployed for campaigns of the greatest importance, they will be assigned to senior Ultramarines officers to ensure their personal protection at all cost. |
Victrix Guard - Unit Composition: 1 unit of Ultramarines Honour Guard4 units of Sternguard Veterans or Vanguard Veterans, in any combination2 Victrix Honour Guard (Era Indomitus) |
Victrix Guard - Wargear: Artificer ArmourPower Sword (Gladius)Ultima Storm Shield |
Victrix Guard - Notable Campaigns: Terran Crusade (999.M41) - The Victrix Guard was first assembled by Roboute Guilliman to accompany him on his successful Terran Crusade to reach the throneworld of the Imperium after his resurrection so that he could speak to his father the Emperor of Mankind.Indomitus Crusade (ca. 999.M41 - ca. 111.M42) - Elements of the Victrix Guard accompanied Roboute Guilliman throughout the century that the Indomitus Crusade lasted.War of Beasts (Unknown Date.M42) - The Ultramarines Chapter Master Marneus Calgar, newly transformed into a Primaris Marine, launched the counter-invasion of the xenos-tainted planet of Vigilus with the veteran warriors Lethro Ados and Nemus Adranus -- two of his most trusted aides from the Victrix Guard -- always at his side. |
Victrix Guard - Notable Victrix Guard: Cato Sicarius - Cato Sicarius was recognised by Roboute Guilliman as the commander of the Victrix Guard.Dibus - Dibus was a trusted member of the Victrix Guard who accompanied Roboute Guilliman during the Indomitus Crusade.Lethro Ados - Lethro Ados was one of the two members of the Victrix Guard who served as Marneus Calgar's bodyguards and aides during the War of Beasts.Macullus - Macullus was a trusted member of the Victrix Guard who accompanied Roboute Guilliman during the Indomitus Crusade.Nemus Adranus - Adranus was one of the two members of the Victrix Guard who served as Marneus Calgar's bodyguards and aides during the War of Beasts.Issoros Praernon (KIA) - Praernon was slain aiding Corpus Helix, the Ultramarines Chief Apothecary, in evacuating precious gene-seed from the recruiting world of Cietara before it was overrun by Mortarion's Death Guard.Trismerus Gerorian (KIA) - Gerorian was a member of the Victrix Honour Guard slain aiding Chaplain Ortan Cassius in preventing the fall of Agnuna to the world's Genestealer Cult. Cassius might have lost his life to its Genestealer Patriarch and a horde of Genestealers without Gerorian's intervention.Morvio Tarilis (KIA) - Tarilis was slain aiding Master of the Forge Fennias Maxim in reaching the broken Void Shield generators aboard the Battle Barge Severian in time to restore them before the ceaseless attacks of WAAAGH! Grorgnork destroyed the ancient warship. |
Viduity (Anthology Short Story) - Viduity (Anthology Short Story): Viduity is a short story published in the Gaunt's Ghosts series that was originally part of an anthology. Viduity was published as part of the Sabbat Worlds anthology in November 2014, and has yet to be released as a stand-alone e-book. |
Viduity (Anthology Short Story) - Synopsis: Elodie, Tona Criid and Ana Curth, take charge as they investigate a string of suspicious injuries turning up amongst the single women in the civilian population dedicated to handling the Astra Militarum's supply trains. |
Vigilance Quadrex - Vigilance Quadrex: Vigilance QuadrexImperialSegmentum PacificusGenestealer CultCult HydraicFor hundreds of Terran years this organisation has sent broods of Purestrain Genestealers from the orbital dockyards of Vigilance Quadrex. Though many have been subsequently destroyed, many more have started the Cult Hydraic anew, their colours flown on a dozen Imperial worlds across the Segmentum Pacificus. |
Vigilant Guard - Vigilant Guard: The Vigilant Guard was a Militarum Regimentum of the Astra Militarum whose regiments were raised from the Imperial Sentinel World of Vigilus.The Imperial Guardsmen of the Astra Militarum are recruited from hundreds of thousands of Imperial worlds across the galaxy, and each regiment has its own customs and traditions as a result. The Guardsmen recruited from Vigilus were known for one thing above all -- their unwavering faith in the Emperor. |
Vigilant Guard - Regimental History: The troops of the Vigilant Guard were already aligned with the Imperial Creed upon inception, for most of their number hailed from the Hive World's Hyperia hivesprawl, where the Imperial state religion was a way of life. The appointment of a standing body of Adeptus Ministorum Priests to their ranks saw their ever-burning belief in the God-Emperor fanned to a blazing inferno.Sent to fight alongside the Vigilus-based Orders of the Adepta Sororitas on hundreds of occasions, they witnessed so many miracles over the years that they had iron-clad faith in the old Imperial maxim, "The Emperor Protects" -- and, if the logisticians of Hyperia were to be believed, they were quite correct.Many are the stories of true and faithful Vigilants having enemy kill-shots turned away by their devotional medallions, lights in the sky guiding them to lost comrades, or ruined buildings suddenly collapsing upon ravening xenos raiders just before they could plunge into the Vigilant lines.This intense belief manifested in several ways. Firstly, the Vigilant Guard were far more superstitious and reverent than their more pragmatic peers in other regiments. In the early 41st Millennium, when several battalions from the Cadian Gate were shipped to Vigilus and given the ongoing task of training the defenders to the high standard of the Cadian Pattern regiments, this dissonance was a cause of conflict between the more military-minded Cadians and the faithful of the Vigilant Guard.The endless rites, services and obeisances that the high command of the Vigilants demanded of their men rankled many of the Cadian officers. Proctor Commander Hallatar of the 23rd Vigilant Guard was so unbending in his insistence that every tradition and rite be adhered to that some Cadian footsoldiers started to call him the Little Pontifex. For them, this behaviour was a drain on their resources, a drag factor on their teachings -- an unnecessary indulgence that would ultimately do more harm than good.All that changed with the opening of the Great Rift and the start of the War of Beasts on Vigilus. The Vigilant Guard were not troubled by the nightmares that afflicted the rest of the populace; they awoke fresh and rested after each sleep. Where the Vigilants fought they fought hard, fixing bayonets and charging gene-cursed Aberrants and even Purestrain Genestealers when needed.The Cadians grew to respect their allies, and even attended their religious services. Though they were strange company and believed every war hymn to be literal truth, something about the Vigilant Guard inspired hope in the time of war. |
Vigilant Guard - Notable Vigilant Guard: Proctor Commander Venedar - During the War of Beasts, Venedar became the Proctor Commander, the overall leader of all the Vigilant Guard regiments stationed on Vigilus. |
Vigilator - Vigilator: A Vigilator, usually a member of a Vigilator Cadre, is a Sister of Silence who serves in the most-senior tactical role granted only to the most experienced of Null Maidens. These sisters were members of the Execution Blade-equipped close combat elite of the Silent Sisterhood -- it was their task and the task of cadres like theirs to close rapidly in combat with enemy psykers and dispose of them with the bloody certainty of a power sword strike, preferably one inflicting a decapitating blow.While they relied not only upon their power as psychic Nulls, but also their skill and speed as well as the protection of their advanced Vratine Armour to defend them from harm in such close assaults, to serve as a Vigilator was still to invite peril and death, but this was an honour that the Silent Sisterhood's ranks aspired to above all. |
Vigilator - Role: As the most senior of the mainstay of the Silent Sisterhood's tactical formations, the Vigilator cadres are often deployed in battle in order to identify and excise the key components of an enemy force at closequarters. Whether their quarry is a single Rogue Psyker among a civilian hab-block or an Imperial resistance movement thousands strong, they serve to root out the command centres responsible and remove them, allowing the other units deployed in tangent to destroy the scattered resistance.In larger detachments, the Vigilator cadres also provide a greater level of versatility to the frontline assault, and the effect of their sweeping blades on the ranks of a cult rabble or rebel militia is as much a psychologicalweapon as a direct tool of war. As their name implies, the Vigilators' charge outside of direct militant action is often to oversee the collection of the Great Tithe and the escorting, under threat of death, of individuals to the Black Ships. |
Vigilator - Unit Composition: 4-14 Vigilators1 Vigilator Mistress |
Vigilator - Wargear: Vratine ArmourExecution BladeBolt PistolHand Flamer (As replacement for Bolt Pistol)Needle Pistol (As replacement for Bolt Pistol)Frag GrenadesKrak GrenadesPlasma Pistol (As replacement for Vigilator Mistess' Bolt Pistol)Power Weapon (Any type) (As replacement for Vigilator Mistess' Execution Blade)Power Fist (As replacement for Vigilator Mistess' Execution Blade)Proteus Neuro-Lash (As replacement for Vigilator Mistess' Execution Blade)Kharon Pattern Acquisitor (Dedicated transport) |
Vigilator - Notable Vigilators: Sister Kaeria Casryn - Casryn was an Oblivion Knight of the Steel Fox Cadre of Vigilators during the Horus Heresy. In the War Within the Webway, Sister Kaeria was paired with the Custodian Diocletian Coros. During this conflict, the two formed a strong bond and grew to become close comrades. Coros had fought alongside the Silent Sisters for several solar decades and was able to understand Kaeria's meaning by simple facial expressions without having to sign to him in Thoughtmark. As a result, Sister Casryn eventually accompanied the Custodian outside the Imperial Webway as they attempted to recruit reinforcements for this clandestine war. Later on, Sister Casryn would help implement the Unspoken Sanction as decreed by the Emperor, as she oversaw the sacrifice of a thousand captured psykers in order to power the Golden Throne long enough for the Emperor to leave it for a single solar day, to help bring the War Within the Webway to a successful conclusion, closing off the Imperial Webway from the gateway into the Imperial Palace. During the Siege of Terra, Casryn was one of those chosen to come before Malcador the Sigillite before he ascended the Golden Throne and carry out the final tasks he gave to them before his death. At his command she gathered captive psykers to sacrifice to the Golden Throne to aid Malcador in his struggle to power the ancient device while the Emperor confronted Horus upon the Vengeful Spirit. |
Vigilus - Vigilus: Vigilus is an Imperial Hive World in the Vigilus System of the Segmentum Obscurus that represents the terminus of a key route -- the Nachmund Gauntlet -- through the Great Rift from the Imperium Sanctus into the Imperium Nihilus.As a result, Vigilus has become a heavily contested strategic location and the source of conflict between several of the different starfaring species and factions of the Milky Way Galaxy in the early Era Indomitus of the 41st Millennium. The campaign to claim Vigilus became known as the War of Beasts and in its later phases the War of Nightmares. After its start, Vigilus was designated a War World and a Sentinel World by the Imperium.Xenos forces including Genestealer Cults, Orks, the Drukhari and the Craftworld Aeldari all launched assaults on the world. Even worse, the Black Legion Chaos Lord Haarken Worldclaimer, a Raptor, was sent to claim Vigilus for Chaos in the name of Abaddon the Despoiler.The planet Vigilus had always been famed as a strategic linchpin of the Segmentum Obscurus. When the Great Rift opened, its status escalated from important to indispensable. So vital was Vigilus to the Imperium that when a teeming WAAAGH! of Orks burst from the Great Rift, the system's defenders responded with terrific force.The Astra Militarum and Adepta Sororitas forces already stationed on Vigilus contained the Ork invasion and kept it from wrecking the densely populated hivesprawls, while several Space Marine Chapters sent reinforcements from the Stygius Sector and beyond. The latter waves were led by none other than Marneus Augustus Calgar, Chapter Master of the Ultramarines, and with him came some of the finest minds in the Adeptus Astartes.These counter-assaults pulled Vigilus back from the brink. The psychic apocalypse of the Great Rift had disabled the planet's defences and made it vulnerable, allowing the Orks to raid from the wastelands, barging through each defence perimeter to wage war in the city sprawls. In conjunction, a great uprising of Genestealer Cultists was triggered, revealing an infestation that had festered upon Vigilus for hundreds of Terran years.As the various starfaring races of the galaxy desperately tried to prosper in the horror-filled reality of the Imperium Nihilus, millions of eyes turned towards Vigilus. Were it to fall, so would the hopes of all trapped in the Dark Imperium. With the Cadian Gate broken to the west and War Zone Stygius raging to the east, Vigilus was wide open to invasion by the forces of Chaos.That invasion ultimately came in the form of the Black Legion and Abaddon the Despoiler. The Despoiler was determined to seize Vigilus and eliminate the innate properties that allowed it to hold open the Nachmund Gauntlet with the aid of the altered blackstone deposits located in its crust and that of its counterpart on the other side of the gauntlet, Sangua Terra.Yet the forces of the Imperium held firm despite these challenges, and ultimately maintained the Emperor's grip on the planet. Though various xenos and Chaos factions remained among Vigilus' myriad hivesprawls, the locus of conflict between the Imperium and the Archenemy moved elsewhere in the galaxy.Though Vigilus suffered appalling destruction and loss of life, in the wake of the War of Beasts it took its first step on the long road to recovery. It remained a key route of resupply and communication with the Imperial forces fighting to take back the Imperium Nihilus. |
Vigilus - Early History: With the opening of the Cicatrix Maledictum and the passing of the Noctis Aeterna in the early years of the 42nd Millennium according to the old Imperial Calendar, Vigilus found itself in that dark region of space known as the Imperium Nihilus, upon the threshold of the Nachmund Gauntlet. As one of the two relatively stable paths between the half of the Imperium that contained Holy Terra, known as the Imperium Sanctus, and the farflung Imperium Nihilus on the other side of the Great Rift, the Nachmund Gauntlet was of immense valueto Mankind.It allowed the Imperium to continue the movement of its forces across the interstellar gulf of the Great Rift, and also to maintain a line of astropathic communication -- albeit an unstable and dangerous one -- with the worlds stranded in the Dark Imperium. Should the Imperium ever truly be divided it would likely fall apart entirely. Hence the importance of Vigilus; it acted as a vital beachhead that kept the Imperium Nihilus under a semblance of Terra's control.None truly knew how or why the Great Rift formed -- but the fight to gain passage across it quickly became intense. Vigilus had always boasted a vast amount of manpower, and had inherited a great number of Imperial Guard regiments since the clearing of the Cadian Gate -- an event the Adeptus Ministorum referred to as the "Pre-tempestine Exodus" -- but it soon became evident that the threats facing the planet would test its defenders to their limit.The world was traditionally ruled over by a loose confederation of elders and nobles called the Aquilarian Council, known to the Adeptus Mechanicus as the "Council of Cogs." The fact that the different delegates could not even agree on a name demonstrates how divided they were; the palatial areas of Saint's Haven were riven by political wars for solar decades. Only the spectre of complete annihilation saw Vigilus' rulers united.At the onset of the xenos invasion, Vigilus' vast and contiguous landmasses were broken only by a series of fortified reservoirs. The dust-bowl wastelands between each city-sprawl were analogous to oceans, and just as difficult to cross. They were not only arid and barren, but also hydrophagic -- in places the chemical composition of their dust dunes was so saline it could desiccate bare flesh in a matter of solar hours.In theory, simply wearing enough protective clothing could have assuaged this. Unfortunately, the dust storms and twisters that were spun out from the giant tempest in the east -- known as the "Vhulian Swirl" -- caused thisdesiccant to creep into every chink of a traveller's armour and clothes. The dunes were hence populated only by tough-skinned or shell-armoured predators that preyed upon the unwary.The planet's rare areas of productive land were highly sought after, but rampant industrialisation saw most of them developed into urban metropolises called "hivesprawls." These were so large they formed entire continents.The world was formally ruled by its Planetary Governor, Lucienne Agamemnus IX. The Agamemnus Dynasty had overseen the planet's affairs from the spires of the capital hive city, Saint's Haven, for Terran millennia. Yet the planet was famous for being a stronghold of the Adeptus Mechanicus.Vigilus' relative proximity to War Zone Stygius, where the Stygius Sector had been invaded by the Chaos forces loyal to the Chaos God Tzeentch, saw it serve as a way-station for incoming Imperial forces, including the Space Wolves and various Skitarii Legions. Its placement in the cosmos alone made it a valuable asset, but its most important export also made it vital for the Imperial war machine.Vigilus was once one amongst a hundred Imperial worlds in the Segmentum Obscurus considered important primarily for the war materiel and manpower it exported. The planet's principal export was its exceptional defensive technology.The Adeptus Mechanicus of Vigilus were blessed with the Standard Template Construct design for psy-tech force fields, and were sanctioned by Mars to put them into production. As well as being shipped out to aid the defences of countless other worlds, these Bastion-class force fields were installed around the perimeter of every Vigilantcontinent as part of a treaty that had been agreed between the Tech-priests and the Agamemnus Dynasty.Until the opening of the Great Rift and the xenos invasions that followed, these defences kept the planet's industry and populace safe from outside invasion. In exchange, the Adeptus Mechanicus were largely left to their own devices on the forge continent of Megaborealis -- one of the "false continent" cityscapes that covered Vigilus' crust -- but as time went on this proved a high price.Much of Megaborealis was given over to the unearthing of a strange black mineral called blackstone that ran like veins through its crust, which the Tech-priests obtained through vast and destructive mining operations. For the most part, these excavations were powered by energy produced in the volatile volcanic region of Storvhal to the south.The deep drilling of the Adeptus Mechanicus' bore-hives caused such violent earthquakes across the planet that many a hive city was toppled, many a ruler's statue cast down, and the water table disrupted to the point that potable water became extremely scarce. Still, the Machine Cult of the Forge World of Stygies VIII delved ever deeper in their search to unravel the mysteries of the universe -- no matter their provenance, or cost.Meanwhile, the gradual but undeniable influence of the Ministorum was to see the Agamemnus Dynasty slowly infiltrated by agents of the Ecclesiarchy. None could gainsay their encroachment, for to challenge them was to challenge faith in the Emperor Himself. The Ministorum Priests installed amongst the local Vigilant Guard Astra Militarum regiments worked ceaselessly to indoctrinate their charges until they too became dogmatic soldiers of faith.As the solar decades slid by, the inner districts of Hyperia Hivesprawl, Vigilus' capital continent, echoed to the march of ever more Adepta Sororitas and their pious Vigilant Guard allies, until some said the Planetary Governor was ruler in name only. Vigilus was becoming host to several distinct Imperial power bases, all determined to pursue their own agendas no matter the cost.The planet's disparate continents came into conflict over resource monopolies many times, but outright war was always avoided due to the efforts of the Aquilarian Council. Unfortunately, as resources were sequestered in ever moreblatant power grabs, the grievances of the Aquilarian Council escalated from bickering and infighting to sabre-rattling and threats of violence that saw the planet brought to the brink of deadly civil war.Then, under the malignant light of the Great Rift that broke across the galaxy, Vigilus and the other planets orbiting its star Astravigila entered a new phase of their tempestuous existence. |
Vigilus - The Great Rift: Before the onset of the conflict known as the War of Beasts, Vigilus witnessed a cataclysm so great it all but split the galaxy in half. The Cicatrix Maledictum ripped from the Eye of Terror in the galactic northwest to the Hadex Anomaly in the southeast. Aside from a few corridors, the rift was all but impassable.When the skies split around Vigilus, many feared the planet would be consumed forever. Instead, as the swirling nebulae dissipated, it seemed that Vigilus had held the Cicatrix Maledictum at bay. The planet's strange aegis linked it with the Knight World of Dharrovar and the distant planet of Sangua Terra to form the corridor known as the Nachmund Gauntlet.Whether it was faith, the Emperor's will, a fluke of quantum entanglement or some other phenomenon that kept this rift passage open, none knew. But the route from the reaches of the still-functional Imperium to the desperate realms of the Imperium Nihilus remained stable. Vigilus became more vital than ever, and not only to the Imperium. Traitor generals and xenos masterminds looked upon it with covetous eyes, and hatched secret plans to conquer it.Drukhari raids struck from the arctic Webway portal on Kaelac's Bane, whilst Craftworld Saim-Hannsent emissaries to warn of a doom to come.A dark new era dawned across Vigilus' desert wastes and overpopulated hive cities. With the sky rent in twain by a Warp rift that bled purple light into the heavens, and civil unrest reaching new heights, draconian laws were put into place by the planet's governing bodies.It was forbidden to look at the night sky on those rare occasions it could be glimpsed through the thick banks of cloud that choked the stratosphere, and a strict curfew was imposed that ensured all citizens would be indoors by nightfall -- or flogged for a full solar hour.The repression that resulted saw many civilians look to new cults and underground orders for succour. Ironically, it was this heavy-handed lawmaking that sowed the seeds of anarchy. With the Warp rift of the Cicatrix Maledictum scarring the Vigilus sky, the doom that many had feared would consume the planet from outside instead began to take its toll from within.Though the worlds of the Vigilus System had not been entirely cut off from the rest of the Imperium, it became ever more obvious that a new and darker phase of existence for its people had dawned. The Great Rift was visible only as a purple blur during the daylight, but at night the immensity of the Cicatrix Maledictum glowered across the sky, its curling extremities and swollen central mass seeming to form screaming mouths and deformed faces when glanced at out of the corner of the eye. It stole sleep and distorted rational thought, even affecting the chronoslates and data-webs of the Adeptus Mechanicus with its anarchic emanations.On Vigilus, the Great Rift became particularly prominent at night, and hence curfews were put in place across all of Vigilus' hive cities. In every hivesprawl it was forbidden to be outside after sunset, lest the Cicatrix Maledictum take that person's attention for so long they become infected by its strangeness and rendered susceptible to psychic phenomena.Even with these precautions, the shape of the Great Rift -- a serpentine mass with the channel of the Nachmund Gauntlet across it -- began to appear in the daubings of madmen and the idle scrawlings of those who thought themselves to be concentrating on something else. More disturbing still, it appeared in natural phenomena as well.After-images of the rift manifested behind the eyes of those who had looked upon it too long, but unlike those caused by strong natural light, they did not fade.Parents looked in horror as they found birthmarks on infants born directly under the night sky when the rift glowered bright, each red weal broken by a thin white line of unblemished skin. Mildew growths and water stains on the walls and ceilings of the Hollows water purification plants formed in shapes that were uncannily similar, if not identical, to the rift in the sky above.The purge-squads of the Ecclesiarchy, operating out of Saint's Haven, tracked down such phenomena with cold efficiency and zealous verve. But soon even they found themselves growing desperate, for as standard years went by, these phenomena became more pronounced. Where the planet's earthquakes rent the land, chasms would fall open in shapes that echoed that of the Great Rift, complete with thin land bridges that corresponded to the position of the Nachmund Gauntlet.To one extent or another, every citizen of Vigilus soon found themselves harrowed by dark dreams and recurring nightmares. The sleep deprivation and foul tempers that resulted spilled over into a hundred new conflicts every day, from small skirmishes and beatings in alleyways to industrial strikes, organised uprisings and spates of assassinations that scoured the upper spires. It was in this state that the world met the first invasion of xenos that would mark the start of the greater conflict remembered as the War of Beasts. |
Vigilus - The War of Beasts: Vigilus is a planetary asset deemed vital to the Imperium of Man's continued survival. Situated on the far side of the Nachmund Gauntlet -- the only stable Warp route through the dreaded Cicatrix Maledictum -- the strategic importance of Vigilus to the Imperium cannot be overstated.Control of Vigilus allows the Imperium to just barely keep its beleaguered worlds in the Imperium Nihilus on the far side of the rift reinforced and re-supplied; to lose it would cripple the war effort against the rampaging forces of Chaos. Vigilus also provides a vital staging ground for the billions of refugees that come through the Nachmund Gauntlet to escape the threat of Chaos (or worse) in the Dark Imperium.Roboute Guilliman himself designated Vigilus invaluable. The planet was something between a sentinel bastion and a staging post for further conquest, and its many Astra Militarum regiments and Adeptus Mechanicus macroclades formed a second line of defence against Chaos incursions from outside the Cadian Gate.Vigilus comprises a number of continent-sized hive city sprawls that in recent years have become filled to overflowing with refugees seeking to escape the horrors besetting the worlds of the Imperium Nihilus beyond its aegis. Each such sprawl is protected by psychically charged Bastion-class force fields that render comatose any who would seek to breach their boundaries, enabling the defenders to slaughter them at leisure. |
Vigilus - The SPEEDWAAAGH!: These force fields proved so effective that even when a vast WAAAGH! controlled by the Ork Warlord named Speedlord Krooldakka literally smashed into Vigilus soon after the opening of the Great Rift, the Greenskins were unable to assail the hivesprawls beyond, and took to seeking entertainment elsewhere by engaging in violent races across the sweeping open plains that separate the vast hivesprawls.However, since the Great Rift tore across the galaxy, these Bastion-class force fields began to experience glitches, and eventually collapsed entirely to leave the hivesprawls open to attack. To make matters worse, the tide of Orks that poured past the inactive force field networks also had other, unforeseen consequences... |
Vigilus - The Claw of the Thirsting Wyrm: For many Terran years, a gene-sect of the Pauper Princes Genestealer Cult calling itself the Claw of the Thirsting Wyrm had been thriving in the shadows of Vigilus. Having taken root in the subterranean depths below the militarised reservoir known as Greigan Hollow, many of their number had never seen the sky before their bloody uprising brought them to the planet's surface.Unbeknownst to the Vigilite defenders, the threat posed by the Ork WAAAGH! that attacked the world's hivesprawls had directly forced the cult's hand, for their long-planned time to rise was still a few solar months off.Despite the initial successes achieved by roving Kill-teams of Adeptus Mechanicus Skitarii sent to counter these new attacks, every attempt to track the Genestealer Cultist threat to its source met with failure. Assailed by xenos from without and within, the Aquiliarian Council that governed Vigilus sent out a desperate call for aid -- unless the Genestealer Cults could be eliminated, Vigilus was as good as doomed. |
Vigilus - Strike Force Icepelt: But the plight of Vigilus would not go unanswered, with the Ultramarines, Space Wolves, Iron Hands and more Space Marine Chapters besides committing their forces to the planet as the conflict raging across its surface escalated. The Space Wolves would prove invaluable in driving several elements of the Genestealer Cults underground once more.A strike force from Ragnar Blackmane's Great Company of Space Wolves, led by the Primaris Space Marine Battle Leader Haldor Icepelt, had been thrown wildly off course as it travelled to reinforce the beleaguered Imperial armies battling the Chaos forces rampaging across the Stygius Sector.Upon receiving the distress signal from Vigilus, Icepelt immediately ordered his ship, Wind of Fimnir, to change course. The Battle Leader was acutely aware that, should Vigilus fall, any retreat from the Stygius Sector could become impossible. Upon arrival, the Space Wolves vessel forced a passage through the flotilla of Ork spacecraft orbiting Vigilus and Strike Force Icepelt made planetfall.By relying on their incredibly acute senses -- a trait of the Canis Helix unique to the gene-seed of the Space Wolves Chapter -- and the instinctive hunting skills inherited by those born of the world of Fenris, the Space Wolves were able to achieve results that even the most advanced technology of the Adeptus Mechanicus had failed to deliver.Within only a matter of solar days, the Space Wolves were on the trail of another Genestealer Cult, the Cult of the Pauper Princes, that had eluded the defenders of Vigilus for so many solar months. But it was only when Icepelt led his warriors into the ruined cityscape of Greigan Hollow that the full extent of the Genestealer Cults menace was revealed and the true battle for the survival of Vigilus began. |
Vigilus - Aeldari Assault: With the Genestealer Cults of the Pauper Princes driven back underground thanks to Haldor Icepelt's efforts, Vigilus seemed safe. However, tragic misunderstanding and ancient rivalries once again brought open war to this crucial world.The Craftworld Aeldari have always been a race of prophets and seers, gifted with preternatural foresight. As the Great Rift yawns across the galaxy, each Craftworld has scrambled to re-align the skeins of fate, conducting lightning raids and pursuing hidden agendas to secure a future for their kind.Foreseeing disaster on Vigilus, the Wild Riders of Saim-Hann dispatched a strike force to assassinate Vannadan the Firebrand, a rising demagogue who had already convinced thousands of citizens of that beleaguered planet to throw their lot in with Chaos. Their mission was a success -- but not one without cost.Upon completion of their mission, the forces of Saim-Hann were rewarded for their service to the Imperium in blood and steel, torn apart by a response force of Imperial soldiers. Interpreting the actions of the Craftworlders as an attack, no mercy was shown, and the forces of Saim-Hann were butchered, retreating with the Spirit Stones of their fallen and an lust for vengeance.Spiritseer Qelnaris of Saim-Hann then sought to vent his righteous fury upon the Imperial forces of Vigilus. His assault was met by a force of Primaris Space Marines drawn from the Ultramarines Chapter.Vigilus also became a target for the various Aeldari factions. Vigilus had become a hub for many refugees seeking to traverse the Nachmund Gauntlet. The Drukhari's ruling Kabal of the Black Heart, who had annihilated whole flotillas of these civilian spacecraft, began spiriting their captured human cargo back to Commorragh. |
Vigilus - The Worldclaimer: Finally, on the orders of Abaddon the Despoiler, a force of Heretic Astartes drawn from the Black Legion under the command of the Raptor Chaos Lord Haarken Worldclaimer has arrived on Vigilus to claim the beleaguered Sentinel World for Chaos. |
Vigilus - Climate: Water was scarce on Vigilus, for the planet had a very low water table, and, aside from the wide-scale recycling operations, there were few ways to replenish used stores. In addition, plant growth and arable farming were a rarity. The planet's food production came from various inventive sources, amongst them cactus farms, vermin abattoirs andsubterranean nutri-vats.These latter methods recycled the fat-rich run-off and nutrient-rich sweat that dripped from the grates of the planet's grossly overpopulated manufactorum habs.As a result, on Vigilus, the kind of water a person drank was a powerful status symbol, indicative of their wealth and position in its society. The majority of people in the underclasses and working populations drank water from deep underground, known as aqua subterra. This was dirty, foul-tasting and yellowish, but affordable.The rich and powerful drank aqua glacius, mined in vast cuboid icebergs on the polar continent of Kaelac's Bane. The faithful flock of the Adeptus Ministorum in Hyperia Hivesprawl drank recycled water purified with holy oils -- aqua sanctus -- whereas the Adeptus Mechanicus drank aqua meteoris, which was mined from frozen asteroids they harnessed with the Greater Omnissian Hoist. |
Vigilus - Hyperia Hivesprawl: At the onset of the xenos invasion of the War of Beasts, Hyperia was the capital hivesprawl of the planet Vigilus, home of the Planetary Governor's palace and the Adeptus Ministorum stronghold that surrounded it. |
Vigilus - Saint's Haven: Together, the strongholds of the Agamemnus Dynasty and the Ministorum formed the capital city-state of Saint's Haven, high-walled, gunstudded and surrounded by a vast, moat-like chasm known as the Ring of Nothingness. It is said that this abyss was bottomless, though some who looked down from the bridges that crossed it at its eight cardinal points reported seeing lights in the deep darkness below.Over time, the Ministorum presence in Hyperia went from being a loose confederation of advisors and chaplains to a vast military force with a controlling interest in the region. The Ministorum were considered by most to be the power behind the throne, and none could deny them -- they were doing the Emperor's will, and His was the ultimate authority. |
Vigilus - Trinity Hives: At the start of the war, the Adeptus Ministorum held de facto political control over a trinity of massive hive cities, known as Sanctifi-Ultima, Hivespire Magentine and Martyr's Pyre. From these strongholds, the agents of the Ministorum and the Adepta Sororitas sallied out to punish any whose faith they feared might waver, and to spread inspiration and courage amongst those that remained true.A legion of Crusaders and Adepta Sororitas, acting under Canoness Superior Temperance Blaise and based at the Abbey Septimus of the Order of Our Martyred Lady, kept the citizenry under strict control, rooting out Traitors and Heretics, and stopping undesirable elements from disturbing their betters in Saint's Haven.The Ecclesiarchy's head representative was the Pontifex Slyne Galluck, a man so obese he had to be conveyed about by an anti-grav hover-bier. He maintained that it was the unceasing prayers of the Ministorum that had kept Vigilus safe for so long, and that as long as the Trinity Hives remained standing, the planet would endure.The Ministorum controlled the water drunk by the people of Hyperia Hivesprawl, called aqua sanctus, which was chemically treated as well as being blessed with holy writ and sanctified with holy oil. Their monopoly of this precious resource saw them gain even more power. Furthermore, any members of the Agamemnus Dynasty who stood against the Ministorum soon found their fortunes take a sharp downturn. |
Vigilus - Industrial Enclaves: To the west of this city-within-a-city were the Industrial Enclaves, an endless maze of manufactorums from which a large portion of the planet's war materiel came. |
Vigilus - Negation District: The Negation District, also in the west, was once a well-maintained gothic quarter, used as neutral ground for the continent's factions to debate the planet's destiny.By the time the Great Rift split the sky, however, this region had become a slum district populated only by itinerants and refugees of the faith. |
Vigilus - Twin Chasms: To the north were the Twin Chasms, mined exhaustively for amethyst since they yawned wide after the Greater Hyperian Quake of 882.292 previo VCM.M41. |
Vigilus - Magnetine Veils: Nearby was Sanctifi-Ultima -- a giant spiral-tipped hive city with huge concentric rings of amaranthec manufactoria around its base. These liquor-sludge distilleries spewed out baleful magenta-hued emissions that were carried across the northern limits of the continent, known as the Magentine Veils. The citizens there were said to lead short and dirty lives. |
Vigilus - Macro-yard: The Macro-yard district to the northeast of Saint's Haven reclaimed voidships consigned to disuse, and enjoyed a thriving black market as a result. Governor Agamemnus assigned troops to defend it in the early stages of the war, and it was put under the purview of the ramrodstraight Proctor Venedar of the Astra Militarum Vigilant Guard.Venedar held the line against the Ork incursions from Hurrikane Rekk, despite constant Deathskull raids and headlong assaults led by war leader Stormboss Stampskul.Unfortunately, though the Macroyards remained inviolate, they relied upon the adjoining Eastgate Bastion Nexus to ferry munitions, and this site was overrun by the Orks of Mob Kommander Grokker. Amidst allegations that the disaster had been the result of a diplomatic feud between Venedar and Lord Commissar Asdan, Tempestus Scions of the 23rd Betic Centaurs and 12th Kappic Eagles launched pitiless counter-incursion strikes to retake the nexus. |
Vigilus - Hubridon Sub-sprawl and the Triadine Plateau: The southeast of the hivesprawl, including the hive of Martyr's Pyre, the Hubridon Sub-sprawl and the Triadine Plateaus, held fast against Ork incursion throughout the war.By keeping the Van Gollick Macrohighway open and hence allowing Astra Militarum and Adepta Sororitas vehicles to redeploy at speed, the major Ork incursions were stymied and eventually forced to retreat.Meanwhile, the tireless efforts of Temperance Blaise's Adepta Sororitas Kill-teams saw each uprising of xenos insurgents among the Genestealer Cults swiftly exterminated before they could gain a foothold. |
Vigilus - Cape of Lost Causes: The southernmost point of the Hyperia Hivesprawl, known as the Cape of Lost Causes, became a stronghold for incursion elements that bled into the city via the Hyperia-Dirkden Fortwall.Though the Brazen Claws Chapter practiced a scorch-and-scramble program of incendiary war across the widest point of the Cape, its tip was still in enemy hands at the time of the Ultramarines' arrival and the skirmish with the Aeldari that came to define the strife in Saint's Haven. |
Vigilus - Megaborealis: The continent of Megaborealis was ceded to the Adeptus Mechanicus in an ancient treaty, and from that time to the dawn of the War of Beasts, they strip-mined almost all of its resources. The rapacious industry of the Tech-priests proved to be the perfect cover for the clandestine deeds that were occurring below ground.Even before the war began, Megaborealis was one of Vigilus’ most dangerous continents. This was thanks, in part, to its tectonic instability and the proliferation of volcanic mountain ranges that crisscrossed it. Yet it was the touch of the Machine God that truly cursed Megaborealis.Over a thousand Terran years before the War of Beasts broke out, the Magi of Stygies VIII forged a pact with Vigilus' then Planetary Governor, Donsor Agamemnus, giving them absolute ownership of Megaborealis. In return, it wasagreed that the Tech-priests would contribute the might of the Adeptus Mechanicus and its aligned KnightHouses to the planet's defence. That agreement, known as the "Pact of Fire and Steel," was swiftly ratified. The Adeptus Mechanicus began their excavations at once. |
Vigilus - Bore-hives: Though Megaborealis' bore-hives looked huge from above, their sprawl was greater still below. Where their immense excavator engines and macro-drills laboured ceaselessly, tunnels, mine workings, underhabs and manufactorums radiated out like tree roots.The majority of these excavations brought up streams of ores and minerals, gems and crude fuels that were funnelled into the upkeep of the bore-hives themselves, and the war efforts of Vigilus' many armies.The bore-hives began their existence as drill engines, each one several Terran miles in length. They were so enormous that they had to be transported to Vigilus within dedicated space-faring barges. Painstakingly manoeuvred into precise low orbit trajectories, the drill engines were launched into the crust of Megaborealis like enormous harpoons, each churning its way down through the bedrock to anchor itself deep within Vigilus’ planetary crust.The tectonic upheaval of this monumental act was so great that the planet's landscape was changed forever. Volcaniceruptions caused the lands to convulse for years to come. Earthquakes of phenomenal violence opened chasms that could have swallowed cities, while a pall of ash and smoke rose above the continent that blotted out the skies.The destruction was judged worthwhile, for deep beneath the planet's surface lay resources that the Xenarites of Stygies VIII believed to be incredibly valuable.After that day -- known as the "Day of the Omnissiah's Claw" -- the drill engines were built up until they transformed into sprawling bore-hives. Thousands of levels and districts rose above ground, comprising laboratories, foundries, shrines, data-stacks, manufactoria, biologus dissection chapels, generatoria, weapon batteries,cogitator networks and countless other arcane facilities.So high did the bore-hives stretch that their uppermost levels pierced the atmosphere, meshing with space docks where lumbering ore barges and manufactorum ships were moored. |
Vigilus - Black Levels: In the underdeeps, below even the sacred bore-points and sump-pits of Dredger's Abyss and Unguent Sprawl, lay the Black Levels. Worked by neuro-wiped Servitors overseen by secretive Magi, these were the mines from which the precious blackstone veins within Vigilus' crust were painstakingly extracted.Gathered in sanctified haulage-reliquaries, the substance was stockpiled deep within each borehive, for the Tech-priests would no more relinquish their grasp upon that extraordinary substance than they would give up their own lives.Underground, billions of labourers lived and died in service to the Machine God. Countless mining clans dwelt in subterranean cities, never knowing the warmth of any light save that of petrochemical lanterns, never seeing any future but one of endless toil amidst the mainways and bore-shafts. It was amongst these clans that an offshoot of the Genestealer Cult of the Pauper Princes spread, bringing corruption disguised as hope. |
Vigilus - Hive Ankhar Tertius: Deep beneath Hive Ankhar Tertius, the infestation first took root when a single, slinking Genestealer escaped from a harvested asteroid. Hidden away in the half-collapsed subterranean district of Piston's Hollow was the tainted broodcathedrum where the Genestealer Patriarch, Grandsire Wurm, often made his nest.The Patriarch was a terrifying figure even to the cultists that worshipped him, yet he was the spider at the centre of the infestation's web, and his will bonded millions. Under this alien despot’s influence, much of Ankhar Tertius' miner militia fell to the cult's sway. Over twenty miner clans based around the rebel hold of Tecton followed suit, concealing their corruption from their Tech-priest masters by dint of diligent labour and ever-increasing yields.This gene-sect was far from the only one lurking beneath Vigilus' crust. Only Grandsire Wurm himself knew the true extent to which his progeny had spread, undetected, through the infrastructure of the bore-hives and beyond. For long years they built their stockpiles of munitions and materiel, suborned positions of authority, stole codes, and laid plans for their day of ascension. This diligence lent them a critical advantage when the first stages of the war erupted on Vigilus. |
Vigilus - Piston's Hollow: Piston's Hollow was a subterraean district of Hive Ankhar Tertius that had partially collapsed. |
Vigilus - Kraxxon: Kraxxon was a region of Megaborealis dominated by petrochemical factories. |
Vigilus - Scelerus: Scelerus was a bore-hive built atop a great thermal stack that yielded practically endless geothermal power. Scelerus provided over half of the energy that kept the countless manufactoria of Megaborealis operational. |
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