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Ghosts From the Void The weaker tenants of the main Flee from their rage in vain, The vast menhaden multitudes They massacre o’er the flood; With lashing tail, with snapping teeth They stain the tides with blood. And so it came to pass, that in the 903rd year of the 41st millennium, a century before the Imperium would be shaken to its core and everything forever changed, Lugft Huron, Lord of Thorns, Chapter Master of the Astral Claws, and self-proclaimed Tyrant of Badab, did declare "just seccession" from the Imperium and, in so doing, ignite what was then the greatest conflict of our age. Alas, such was not to be, and if we could have seen what was yet to come within the next, darkest millennium, we might have counted ourselves lucky to be spared the horrors that came after Badab. Brother fought brother in a decade long war that saw seventeen warrior-brotherhoods of the Adeptus Astartes clash against each other in open conflict. Billions died and entire Chapters of Space Marine were condemned to crusades of Penitence, and even now, considering the horrors they would have to confront before that term was ended, it is impossible to say whether or not they survived. The war was brutal and bloody, with countless tales of equal parts valor and dishonor. These stories are too numerous to be told in full. The combatants found themselves embroiled in a dark cloud of violence the likes of which few had ever seen before -- at Sacristan, Angstrom, Crow’s World, and all the others, even unto Badab itself, at that final decisive battle. But the shadows hold no terror for those born of it. From the Outer Dark came the silent ones, those ancient predators, and where they reaved in Badab, nought was left but a red wake and silence. Like beasts of old they struck, and just as quickly were they gone. They were the sons of the Void Father, the bloody Nomads, the Maws of the End. They were the Carcharodon Astra, and with their coming, death did come to Badab. Badab Primaris 913.M41 Kawainga knelt in meditation in the stomach of the Nicor, remembering the battle. The traitors had been unprepared for the savage assault of the Pale Nomads, who had struck from the shadows. He had been there, at the head of the assault as his void brothers had launched their attack the only noise was the roar of chainsword engines, and then the cries of the Tyrant's human auxilia as they fell like wheat before a reaper. Then came the bark of bolters as the Astral Claws turned and opened fire on those they had once called brothers, not caring for the lives of the auxilia who may be caught in the cross fire. The bolts screamed through the night air, shredding the mortal soldiers and impacting against the unyielding ceramite of the Carcharadons. Kawainga struggled to clear his mind, clear away the screams of the soldiers, find his inner peace. Here in the hold of the ship, the silence was broken only by the beating of his twin hearts, and the rippling of the water he knelt in, disturbed by his shaking arms. He tried to push from his mind the memory of the Astral Claw who had forced his way through the wave of humanity, intent on seizing the banner that Kawainga had borne for so long. The Claw had fallen, struck down by the snarling teeth of a chainsword chewing through his gorget. Here in the dark hold, Kawainga remembered the end of the battle, standing among the corpses of friends and foes alike, drenched in gore, but victorious. He remembered the silent ride back into orbit, the joyless task of cataloging and honoring his fallen brothers. He wished he didn't. He wanted to revel in the glory of their victory, in the knowledge that they were doing the Void Father's work and that the banner he bore was a symbol of righteousness. But he couldn't, not when so many had died, and for what? They had thrown away their place by the Void Father's side for nothing more than avarice, and a desire to be free. Deep in the hold, Kawainga knelt in silence, pushing the previous night's events into his subconscious, and preparing for the battle he knew would come soon. Ancient Kawainga of the Carcharadons Astra Depicted as he was during a skirmish with renegade forces on Badab Primaris