The Lay of Larot

[Sigismund Himself]

The Lay of Larot

As requested milord, I have translated the text given to me to the best of the department's abilities. Where the wording has been unclear, a decision has been made by myself to adjust it or a note has been entered. Several of the terms need inside knowledge to comprehend their meaning. It seems that the chapter uses tattooing extensively and several times it appears a particular tattoo is mentioned. Another area of uncertainty is the use of ranks among the chapter, with such terms as Kull and Tar-Kull. Meanings have been estimated, with the greatest probabilities being entered in the Notes.

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Lexmechanic's Note

1: The marines appear to refer to the Emperor as the Eagle. Whether this is a result of translation of the primitive language or if the marines belief patterns are significantly lower than expected is unknown.


2: Author appears to change here, judging by vocabulary and content. Initial stage of Lay appears to be of the tribal people that live on the homeworld of the chapter while the rest of the Lay appears to be written by a marine.


3: Krezka appears to be a tattoo honour marking.

4: Kull may be equivalent to a Sergeant rank. Literal meaning is 'warbearer'.



5: A tattoo or marking that appears to mark the marine as a member of the 5th Company.







6: The Sken is likely to be another honour marking for the Kull position.

















7: Oracles of Change are noted as being a renegade chapter.



8: Untranslatable, possibly a swear word.



















































































































9: Talkar is likely to be the rank of Chapter Master. Literal meaning is 'Supreme War Chief'.




10: Kratag translates as "Gryphon Claw". It appears to be a position within the First Company of the chapter.

Shadow born, he was

In the darkness of midnight
He took fire and steel as his own
For before him only the foolhardy stood
Only of 15 summers, yet man above others
Shadow blessed, eagle[1] touched, vengeance sworn

And so the shades that served the eagle came
Taking the boy, they ascended
For he would face the shadow and the fire
To take them as his own
He would take his place among them
For the eagle wished it so[2]

Youngest of all, only one face-marking to his name
Yet steel he retained and fire he made
Only two combats had his blade tasted
Yet the Krezka[3] he was granted
By his blade and his aim, the eagle claimed the unworthy
Through the shadow, havoc caused

Judged worthy by his Kull[4]
He received the final gift of the eagle
And stepped fully into the shadow
The Fifth accepting him as their own
He received his bolter and the Kjart[5] of the Fifth
Taking his place among his brothers

The green skins of Olot tasted his anger
The foresworn traitors of Raxis were bled dry
And the bearers of the word were thwarted on Talt
Steel was honed, his fire grew ever brighter
And the shadow cloaked him from his enemies
Larot rose, becoming Kull over his brothers
Taking the Sken[6] upon his flesh
And the flesh reaver, Rubilacse, as his own

And so the shadow shared in his victory
As the heretic, xenos and traitor died before his blade
Until the day of darkest despair
When the steel would be bent and fire extinguished
And the shadow provide no home
The day of reckoning, of rage

It was upon Marand that this would come to pass
Upon the orb, traitors walked openly, loyalists long gone
The Fifth attacked the heretics from the stars
Only Larot and a score remained above
In the hives of the darkened planet,
Heresy revealed, a destiny forged

From portals of greatest darkness, Astartes strode
The twisted brethren of the Oracles of Change revealed[7]
Once brothers, now scarzag[8] traitors
In their treacherous footsteps danced daemons
In their thousands, the daemons came
The Fifth sold their lives dearly
Oracles, daemons and men lay at their feet
As they stood alone in the blackened ruins

Larot watched from the sky
Rage darkened his brow as his orders were given
Fate conspired against him and he could do nothing
The Fifth demanded a clean death at the hands of their brothers
Not from the depredations of the daemonic kin
The planet must not fall to the warp-spawned darkness

Larot would grant them this
From the sky rained immovable death
Fire cleansing all below
Till the planet was scoured
And 78 of the Fifth granted their place
In the Hall of the Eagle

Yet from behind the planet emerged another threat
The traitors who had brought warp spawn and death
Escaped from the ruin, their survival now known
The Astartes watched helpless as their foe departed
The Oracles of Change fled from the vengeful survivors
Leaving Larot Worldkiller alone in his rage

He swore revenge upon his soul
That the traitors leader would die
And the Fifth avenged gloriously
Or Larot's soul would not find its place
In the Hall of the Eagle
A death oath sworn, a destiny decided

Anointing three marines as bearers of truth,
He sent them back to the chapter
Left with only 24 brothers and 143 serfs
He cloaked himself in vengeful darkness
And the pursuit of the heretics began

Through the systems, the trail of destruction was followed
The Oracles would be brought to justice
Their leader executed to repay the Fifth
And save a soul from its doom
For four years, the marines followed
Then the world of Kort was found

Upon Kort, the first stirrings of heresy were found
The pristine world had remained loyal for millennia
Lorat's instincts stirred, his suspicion awakened
Could the Oracles be behind this?
4 score serfs and 8 marines descended to the planet
And created cells among the planet

It was not long until resistance was discovered
Chaos cults were found, hiding beneath
Astartes and serf stalked into the shadow
A covert war began in the darkness
Fire purged the corruption
And steel slew the serpent
Civilians lived on, oblivious
As their fate was decided.

Larot walked the shadows of the city
Slaying any who displayed corruption
Only few evaded the net cast
Larot awaited his opponents move
Awaited his chance to strike

Rumours of daemons spread through the city
Larot committed all to the fight
As he knew the Oracles had now arrived
Through the shadow, serf tracked cultist
And Astartes tracked traitorous brethren
Many fell but the heretics paid more
50 Oracles had been purged
But still the leader drew breath

Desperation seized the leader of the Oracles
Chancing his arm, the Sorcerer struck
The Arbites fell as the Dark Kin stalked
The first citadel fell as Lorat gathered strength
As the foe moved on the Palace
The Gryphon Guard struck

Lorat and 17 of his kin still wielded blade
Against 12 Oracles and a Sorcerer
Serfs and cultist clashed as their masters fought
Ambush and counter attack played across the city
Till Sorcerer and Lorat stood helm to helm

The two mighty titans fought blade to staff
Rubilacse fought chaos touched staff
Rage battled against indifference
The Sorcerer gained dominance
Premonition guiding his weapon
Yet Lorat would not yield

Calling on all his rage, Lorat struck
Again and again and again and again
The Sorcerer snarled, his rage palpable
Knocking the Astartes to his back
Weapon long gone
The Sorcerer loomed large, power evident

Darkness descended upon the world
The Sorcerer paused as the sun disappeared
He looked for his foe but Lorat was gone
A chuckle came from the shadow
As the Sorcerer sought for him in vain
Then with one blow, Rubilacse fell
Claiming the revenge of the Fifth
And Lorat's soul
With its head gone, the serpent fell apart
Kort was saved

Revenge had been served
A death oath absolved
Lorat returned to the chapter
To face the Talkar[9]
A hero's return awaited
Lorat Worldkiller, Avenger, Oracle-Slayer
Talkar Maro welcomed the marines
The 11 survivors were accepted into the First
Their legends increased, yet one outshone all

Lorat became Kratag[10], bearer of the Liridna
Still his legend grows as foes fall before him
Lorat Kratag
Shadow-Blessed
Eagle-Touched
Worldkiller
Soul-Death Sworn
Avenger
Oracle-Slayer
Bane of the Greenskins
Slayer of Warpspawn
Bearer of Flame

Lorat is from my Gryphon Guard chapter that I've never fully developed. I've given some clues to the chapters traditions here but hopefully I'll be able to expand the chapter into a full IA (someday, after I've dealt with the Knights Sanguine and Astral Corsairs).

[Commissar Molotov]

I was very impressed by this.

[Sigismund Himself]

I was very impressed by this.

Thanks Molotov :) Was there anything in particular that you liked?

[Commissar Molotov]

Primarily the referencing. The poem itself isn't any great work of literature, and could obviously be improved (of course, it's not bad for a weeks' work) but the best bit, to me, is the referencing throughout the poem and the handy-dandy guide in the right-hand column. It's something I'd like to try myself. Barret's badgered me before about writing an epic poem featuring the Castigators - it features somewhere on my ever-expanding to-do list! But no, I think it's commendable that you tried something different and it paid off.

[Sigismund Himself]

Primarily the referencing.

I was interested in how this was going to be received by people. I thought most people would have preferred it without it and simply had me spell out things like that at the start or end of the poem.

 

The poem itself isn't any great work of literature...

Ouch :D I know there's one or two places where it gets a bit repetitive with wording and a place where it could be taken two ways, so I'll have a look at that. And keeping the reading 'beat' more consistent in parts.

 

It was a good experience because it allowed me to get into some details you wouldn't normally get in an IA and create a cool character at the same time. I tried to be a little more uncommon in my entries and it looks like it came off.