Vash113 Posted November 9, 2010 Share Posted November 9, 2010 (edited) Alright so I've finally gotten around to whipping this up in between edits to the Deathwatch article. This is still a draft and I'll be trying to add information from Imperial Armor books and a few other things shortly but I wanted to get this up and see what the OI thinks. Have at it! [center; background-image:url(http://www.bolterandchainsword.com/hq2.gif); background-repeat: no-repeat; background-position: 8px 2px; padding: 12px 8px 12px 8px; border: 1px solid #DDD; margin-left: 0 auto; text-align: left; color: #fff; text-indent:50px; font-size:130%; width:50%;">Grey Knights: A Comprehensive History[/center] History Reputed to date back to the second founding, although this is uncertain, the Grey Knights Chapter was created in the utmost secrecy. Designated Chapter 666 the Grey Knights have no successor Chapters for they were created from specially engineered gene-seed reputedly on the direct orders of the Emperor although this is impossible to prove. After the devastation of the Horus Heresy the necessity for a military branch capable of facing the dread forces of the daemonic became apparent, as such the Grey Knights are permanently attached to the Ordo Malleus daemonhunters of the Inquisition. To this day the Grey Knights form the militant arm of the Ordo Malleus, for no other warriors in the Imperium can hope to stand firm against the forces of the daemonic and no other Chapter of the Adeptus Astartes can claim to have never lost a single marine to corruption or treachery. The Grey Knights are trained and conditioned to the highest standards and armed with the finest weaponry the tech-adepts of the Imperium can devise. The daemonhunters of the Grey Knights can face the most terrifying of foes without fear and are conditioned to fight on through wounds that would kill or cripple 'lesser' Astartes. Their lives are filled with monastic ritual, self-denial and meditation to ensure no chinks form in the Grey Knights mental armor through which the whispers and seductions of the daemonic can infiltrate and to strengthen the Grey Knights souls to withstand the many gibbering horrors of chaos on the battlefield. Yet they are ever few in number, thus the Grey Knights can only face the most dire daemonic incursions, facing the most deadly of foes in the most desperate of battles. Chapter Symbol http://i107.photobucket.com/albums/m307/Vash113/40k%20Images/1Grey_knights_codex-1.jpg While shielded by baroque suits of armor and equipped with blades and halbards the Grey Knights are not just warrior knights but scholars and keepers of forbidden lore. Over the many millennia the Grey Knights have accumulated a wealth of dark knowledge, locking it away in the Archivum Titanis and the Librarium Daemonicum on Saturn's Moon Tethys. The Grey Knights are amongst the Imperium's greatest heroes yet their victories and sacrifices will never be known to the people of the Imperium, the Chapter's fallen honored only in the shadow wreathed halls of the Fortress of Titan, the names inscribed in the rolls of honor unknown to the people they fought and died for. Recruitment The Grey Knights recruit from the most fierce and savage tribal cultures on Feral worlds throughout the Imperium. Potential neophytes are brought to the Chapter's Fortress Monastery built into Titan, one of Saturn's moons. There the initiates to the Chapter undergo rigorous training and conditioning to weed out all but the strongest before the recruits undergo the most advanced bio-augmentation surgery and conditioning. Aspirants to the Chapter are not just required to meet the strictest physical standards, they also must show latent psychic potential. All Grey Knights are potent psykers who must undergo strict conditioning to allow them to resist the corrupting influence of chaos. Organization The Grey Knights are not organized like any other Chapter of the Adeptus Astartes. The Chapter Master of the Grey Knights is traditionally a member of the Inquisition's Inner Conclave. The Grey Knights maintain a number of Companies within the Chapter's structure however the exact organization and disposition of these Companies is, like much of the Grey Knights structure and history, unknown. Even the ranks within the Grey Knights use a different ranking system to the other Chapters of the Adeptus Astartes. When an aspirant to the Chapter is elevated to the rank of Battle-Brother or Knight he is permitted to wear his own personal heraldry and is assigned to a squad under the command of a Justicar. Task-forces and 1st Company Terminator Veteran squads are commanded by Brother-Captains. The most experienced and accomplished warriors in the Chapter, who have faced the direst foes of Mankind and emerged victorious are known as Grand Masters and form the senior officer cadre of the Chapter. It is the greatest dream of every battle-brother of the Chapter to someday reach the vaunted ranks of the Grand Masters though few ever earn that honor. Dreadnoughts are rare within the Chapter, for honorable service and death in the fires of battle are the goals that define the lives of the Grey Knights battle-brothers, who wish for nothing more than rest in the darkness of Titan's crypts at the end of their service. Despite this no Grey Knight would willingly forsake their duties, and for some seriously wounded in battle, this means accepting a continued existence within the armored sarcophagus of a Dreadnought war machine. Though not commonly deployed to the battlefield the Grey Knights do maintain a number of specialists such as Apothecaries and Chaplains who maintain the mental, physical and spiritual health of the Chapter's battle-brothers. Based out of their Fortress Monastery on Titan the Grey Knights launch rapid-strike forces to every corner of the galaxy numbering anywhere from a single squad to hundreds of warriors. The Grey Knights are technically an autonomous organization, with a chain of command and structure separate from that of the Inquisition, however in practice the Inquisitors of the Ordo Malleus are the Chapter's masters. Despite this Ordo Malleus Inquisitors aren't necessarily able to demand Grey Knight's support, usually having to request the Chapter's assistance and provide a good reason for why their request is dire enough to warrant the Grey Knight's involvement. This seems in part to be because of the limited number of Grey Knights, the Chapter's strength is spread thin throughout the galaxy and there are simply not enough Knights to fight every battle, the Grand Masters have to decide what threats are urgent or dire enough to justify dispatching the Chapter's warriors. Additionally the Grey Knights are not directly privy to the politics, operations and machinations of the Inquisition. While somewhat strained at times this arrangement has endured for ten thousand years. The Titan Fortress-Monastery The moon of Saturn known as Titan has been transformed over the millennia into the domain of the Grey Knights, the entire moon tunneled through and filled with vaults, chapels, armories, dormitories and crypts dedicated to the warriors of the Chapter. Much of the Fortress-Monastery is abandoned and uninhabited at any given time however, for the warriors of the Chapter are not numerous and over time various chambers have waned in use, fallen into decrepit disrepair or forgotten in favor of other facilities while crypts are filled up over time and left unattended in favor of emptier burial vaults. Entire chapels are dedicated to various heroes of the Chapter like the Mandulian Chapel built in honor of Grand Master Mandulis, while other halls and chambers are named after famous battles or significant events such as the Fallen Dagger Hall where Grand Master Kolgano challenged his warriors to a contest of arms. The halls of Titan are many and varied, home to the finest warriors of the Imperium, only a rare few know of the Fortress' existence and fewer still have ever been granted the honor of setting foot in Titan's halls. Below even the burial crypts lies an ancient necropolis where the Chapter used to lay its heroes to rest. While it is not common knowledge even the secretive Grey Knights practices evolve over time. Now the Chapters dead are buried side by side as brothers and equals, but it was not always thus. The last burial in the Chapter's necropolis took place over nine hundred years ago. In the heart of the Grey Knight's fortress monastery lies a great basalt wall with the names of every fallen Grey Knight carved into its surface. A silent memorial to their sacrifice. Despite the Grey Knight's presence the fortress of Titan existed long before the Ordo Malleus was ever formed. It's surface is completely covered by battlements and fortifications, carved over millennia. The gravity on Titan is slightly greater than Terran standard due to the super-dense core injected into the heart of the moon sometime during the Dark Age of Technology. While Titan houses the Grey Knights themselves, the furthest moon of Saturn known as Iapetus is home to the Ordo Malleus' docks, where the ships of the Grey Knights are maintained, serviced and prepared to carry the daemonhunters through hell itself. Beliefs The Grey Knights are zealous and fervent warriors, whose faith is a weapon unto itself and one of the greatest strengths of the Chapter. Battle-brothers of the Grey Knights gird themselves against corruption and sin in all its many forms, living stoic, monastic lives devoid of distractions, their entire being dedicated to their sole mission; to battle the daemon wherever it may be found. The battle-brothers of the Chapter live only to serve and wish for nothing else than to rest undisturbed in the depths of Titan in death. Because of this mentality the Grey Knights deploy few Dreadnoughts, for the eternal half-life within the sarcophagus of a Dreadnought denies the Grey Knight interred within the rest he deserves. Nevertheless the warriors of the Chapter do not forsake their duties, even faced with the most severe injuries and as such the Chapter maintains and fields a number of Dreadnoughts for only in death does duty end. Those battle-brothers of the Chapter whose bodies can be recovered from the field of battle are interred beneath the surface of Titan with their weapons and wargear. The Grey Knights status and resources allowing them to forsake re-using arms and armor wielded and worn by previous heroes of the Chapter though this was not always the case and has only become common practice for the Chapter in the last thousand years. The Grey Knights do not follow the dictates of the Codex Astartes, instead each Battle-Brother caries a copy of the Liber Daemonica, a text compiling the Grey Knights knowledge on battling the dread forces of the daemonic as well as the rites, rituals and prayers of the Chapter itself. The catechisms written within the Liber Daemonica cover everything from battle-chants to burial prayers. Every battle-brother carries his copy of the holy tomb within an ornate compartment built into the chest-plate of his armor, so that the teachings and tenets of the Chapter are always with the Grey Knights no matter where they face the daemon. Combat Doctrine The Grey Knights do not fight like a Codex Chapter, forgoing normal means of deployment and methods of prosecuting campaigns, instead specializing in ultra-rapid strikes against high value targets before withdrawing just as quickly. The Grey Knights principle method of enacting such strikes is the Teleport Attack though the warriors of the Chapter will also utilize Thunderhawk and Drop Pod insertions and, when necessary, armored assaults to reach their target as quickly and efficiently as possible. The Grey Knights mobile manner of warfare limits the variety of armored vehicles available to the Chapter. Vindicators, Whirlwinds and Predators are all absent from the Grey Knights armory, the Chapter preferring to rely on Dreadnoughts and Land Raiders for all their armored needs. The Grey Knights will also intone catechisms and battle prayers during combat, condemning the daemon and extolling courage and honor in the virtuous. These prayers act as a physical repellent to the traitor and the daemon, instilling dread and despair in the Grey Knights foes and strengthening the resolve of the Chapter's warriors. Unlike other Chapters of the Adeptus Astartes the Grey Knights are trained and conditioned to fight as individuals as much as members of a unit. For the Grey Knights recognize that against the terrible foes they face each marine will inevitably face his own battles, cut off from his battle-brothers. Each marine is trained and conditioned to fight on no matter what, alone or with his brothers so that while a single Grey Knight stands the mission may still be accomplished. The Grey Knights are expected to operate in everything from large task-forces to single squad operations and must be prepared to face any foe even when far from their Chapter brothers. Unique Wargear, Relics and Abilities Because of the Chapter's unique purpose and combat doctrine the Grey Knights are equipped with all manner of specialized weapons and wargear that are not available to other Space Marine Chapters. The Shrouding -The collective psychic presence of the Grey Knights is focused in battle through prayer and incantation to constantly confuse and disorient their opponents, stunning and blinding the corrupt with the Grey Knights shining purity. The Aegis -The armor worn by all Grey Knights has an elaborate matrix of hexagrammic wards and sigils worked into the armored plates that when combined with the psychic might of the Grey Knights themselves wards away all but the most potent of psychic attacks. Nemesis Force Weapons -The Nemesis Force Weapons are unique and specialized weapons. They can take any form but are most commonly halberds or swords and the power of the Nemesis Force Weapon directly relates to the psychic strength of its wielder. The more experienced and powerful the Grey Knight, the more capable his force weapon. Psycannons -The Grey Knights utilize a specialized heavy bolter known as a psycannon. This blessed weapon fires psychically infused bolts capable of repelling and mortally harming both the psyker and the daemon. Incinerators -Revered weapons filled with blessed promethium the Incinerators of the Grey Knights are anathema to the corrupt and the daemonic, the holy flames these weapons spew are death made manifest to the enemies of the Chapter. Holocaust -The Holocaust is a psychic ability unique to the Grey Knights and primarily employed by the Chapter's Terminator elite. The battle-brothers of the Grey Knights channel their psychic hatred through their Brother-Captain or Grand Master until it bursts forth in a purging flame, incinerating all those foes foolish enough to stand before the Grey Knights. The Canticle of Absolution -A rite used to banish daemons and purify used by the Chapter, also known as the Six Hundred and Sixty Six Secret Words. The Liber Daemonicum -The Liber Daemonicum is a repository for all the Grey Knights knowledge on their dread foes and the Chapter's most sacred rites of battle. Every battle-brother of the Chapter carries a copy of the Liber Daemonicum within an ornate case built into the chest-plate of the warrior's armor. The Codicium Aeternum -This dread tome contains the Grey Knights and Ordo Malleus' knowledge on many of the daemons the organization has faced and defeated in the long millennia of their existence. In the tomes madness stained pages reside knowledge and calculations on where and when various daemons will manifest again and the means by which they can be defeated. The Chapter Fleet The Grey Knights utilize the finest rapid-strike vessels to transport the warriors of the Chapter to all corners of the Imperium. The Grey Knight's fleet includes many Strike Cruisers, extremely fast vessels heavily modified from those used by other Chapters of the Adeptus Astartes, with larger drop pod bays, heavily reinforced facilities for Inquisitorial personel and sophisticated hexagrammic wards worked into every surface of the ship. The Strike Cruisers of the Grey Knights are simply superior to anything found in use by other Chapters of the Adeptus Astartes, designed and manufactured to the highest standards to transport the Imperium's most elite troops swiftly and surely. Thunderhawk Xinonius -Thunderhawk in service to the Chapter. Strike Cruiser The Rubicon -The Rupicon served Grand Master Tencendur during the capture of the renegade Inquisitor Valinov and later transported Justicar Alaric and his strike team during the Hunt for Ghargatuloth. The Rubicon sacrificed itself to deliver Justicar Alaric and his warriors to the surface of Volcanis Ultor. Strike Cruiser The Valour Saturnum -The Valour Saturnum participated in the Purging of Khorion IX. Strike Cruiser The Vengeful -The Vengeful participated in the Purging of Khorion IX. Legendary Battles The Purging of Salinas Four thousand years ago a fell Daemon Prince known as Ustaroth arose on the world of Salinas. The Sons of Guilliman responded to the threat but could not stand before the terrible might of the Daemon Prince fell trying to defend the people of Salinas in the shadow cloaked city of Khaturian. A decade later the Grey Knights arrived at the head of a Crusade and the daemon was banished by the great hero of the Chapter Ignatius. Though the taint of chaos was purged the mere presence of the Daemon Prince had worn the barrier between the material and the immaterial realm of the warp dangerously thin. Since the defeat of Ustaroth the Grey Knights have maintained a secret outpost on Salinas, ever vigilant for the forces of chaos to reappear and attempt to once more lay waste to a world of the Imperium. The Purging of the Garon Nebula When the forces of the Lust God rose to commit acts most heinous within the Garon Nebula the Ordo Malleus entreated the Grey Knights to respond in force. Grand Master Ganelon traveled to the Nebula to purge the forces of chaos from the region. Witnessing the evil done to the region by the Lust God Grand Master Ganelon made war upon the corrupt minions of Slaanesh. Outnumbered and surrounded by the servants and Sorcerers of the Prince of Excess Ganelon's doom seemed certain. Yet in their arrogance the servants of chaos attempted to corrupt Ganelon, offering him anything he could desire, but a Grey Knight is not so easily turned and Ganelon responded by asking the Lord Sorcerer what could possibly outweigh the satisfaction of a warrior's duty done, what could possibly outweigh the great gift the Emperor had bestowed on Ganelon, that is the strength and courage to prosecute his duty. The Sorcerer's lies were broken by Ganelon's faith and the Grand Master cleaved the head from the fell Sorcerer in a single blow breaking the strength of the chaos forces in the Garon Nebula and freeing the region from the corruption of the Prince of Excess. The Purging of Khorion IX A thousand years ago the Grey Knights fought a terrible battle on the world of Khorion IX, purging the world and banishing the mighty Daemon Prince Ghargatuloth back to the warp for a thousand years and a day. Two hundred and fifty Grey Knights under the command of three Grand Masters, Mandulis, Malquaint and Ganelon, traveled to the planet aboard two Strike Cruisers, hammering into the planet's surface in a rain of Drop Pods and driving desperately towards the trenches where the dread daemon resided. Many of the Grey Knights fell during the battle, including Grand Master Mandulis and Grand Master Ganelon. Grand Master Ganelon and a hundred Grey Knights landed far off course in the center of Ghargatuloth's daemonic hordes. Cut off from the objective Ganelon formed his warriors into a defensive circle, the Grey Knights fighting to the last against the daemonic minions of the dread Daemon Prince. Grand Master Malquaint and seventy warriors landed too far from the objective to reach it in time and instead formed a fighting wedge that cut deep into the daemon horde before grinding to a halt, at which point Malquaint and his warriors killed as many of the foe as they could to draw them away from Ghargatuloth long enough to give Mandulis a chance. Only Grand Master Mandulis and the three squads under his command reached the Daemon Prince, and though he died in the effort Mandulis struck the daemon a blow so terrible it banished Ghargatuloth to the warp for a thousand years and a day. Though the daemon would return, it would never forget the bite of the Sword of Mandulis, the lightning-bolt inscribed blade that so grievously wounded the Lord of Change. 1st War for Armageddon In the third century of the 41st Millennium the Hive World of Armageddon came under assault by a tide of evil led by non other than the Daemon Primarch Angron. A fleet of immense proportions emerged from the warp with the colossal Space Hulk the Devourer of Stars at its head. Angron's fleet smashed through the Imperial fleet desperately trying to defend the Imperial world below and darkened the skies with wave after wave of drop ships carrying all manner of psychotic killers to the soil of Armageddon. A tide of daemons, cultists and a veritable horde of Angron's World Eaters Berserkers swept across Armageddon Prime like a plague, annihilating all that stood before them in an unstoppable tide of blood. As if that were not enough the arrival of the chaos horde uncovered treachery in the hearts of Armageddons defenders, drawing fully half of the Imperial Guard stationed on Armageddon to turn against their brothers. Without a hope of turning back the Blood Gods killers the loyalists still fighting for Armageddon Prime retreated to the south, risking the hazardous journey through Armageddon's extremely hostile equatorial jungles to reach the continent of Armageddon Secundus where they could rally and send calls for help. While the frenzied killers of Angron's horde raised monuments of corpses and bones in worship to the Blood God the defenders prepared. Chapter Master Logan Grimnar and the Space Wolves arrived while Angron's forces were still forging their way through the equatorial jungles and the Space Marines wasted no time. The Great Wolf rallied the scattered Imperial defenders with his courage and rousing oratory, raising an army numbering in the millions from the tattered remnants of the Armageddon Steel Legion, PDF units and armed civilian militias. This force he arrayed along the banks of the mile-wide river Chaeron, digging in to await the arrival of the chaos horde. So it was that when Angron's killers finally broke through Armageddon's equatorial jungle they met an army steeled and ready to drive them from the Emperor's domains. Outnumbered a thousand to one the Space Wolves counter-attacked, striking into the chaos horde in an armored assault before falling back to the south bank of the river and inciting the psychotic invaders into a reckless chase into the guns of the defenders. Hours of killing ensued as Armageddon's defenders mercilessly gunned down the vile chaos forces while the Space Wolves waded into the river where the resistance was fiercest to cut down the traitors with blade and bolter. Yet even as Angron's horde broke against the Imperial resistance the Daemon Primarch himself arrived with a bodyguard of a dozen dread Bloodthirsters. None could stand before the chosen of Khorn, none save for the Grey Knights. Days before his arrival Logan Grimnar sent a call for aid to the daemonhunters of the Ordo Malleus and the Grey Knights had answered his call. At the height of the battle fully a hundred Grey Knight Terminators under the command of Brother-Captain Aurellian teleported into the heart of the chaos horde to meet Angron and his chosen head on. Though nearly all fell to the blades and claws of the chaos scum in the epic conflict that ensued the Grey Knights were victorious, banishing Angron and his Bloodthirster bodyguards back to the warp. Their job done the surviving Grey Knights paused only to clasp hands in a sign of mutual respect with the Great Wolf and his Guard before returning to their waiting strike vessels in a flare of light. The Hunt for Ghargatuloth As the dark tide of Abaddon's 13th Black Crusade spilled from the Eye of Terror the Ordo Malleus stumbled upon the trail of the Daemon Prince Ghargatuloth. Banished one thousand years ago by Grand Master Mandulis the Daemon Prince was finally on the verge of returning to real space and laying waste to the realms of man. Beginning with the capture of the renegade radical Inquisitor Valinov in the Gaolven Asteroid Belt the Inquisitors of the Ordo Malleus discovered a network of cults and worshipers established by Ghargatuloth to prepare for his manifestation in the material realm once more. Unable to dispatch significant forces to investigate the daemon's return with the forces of Abaddon threatening the Cadian Gate the Grey Knights chose to assign a task-force number three squads and a Terminator Assault squad under the command of acting Brother-Captain Alaric to aid in the Inquisition's investigation. The investigation began in a region of space known as the Trail of St. Evisser, a once prosperous region that had fallen into decay over centuries. Starting at the Inquisition fortress on Trepytos, the former seat of power and authority in the Trail, Inquisitor Ligeia began poring through Inquisition archives for any scrap of information that might indicate the location of Ghargatuloth's return. Ligeia's investigation pointed towards the world of Victrix Sonora. Justicar Alaric quickly mobilized his warriors to investigate. The Grey Knights uncovered an insidious and powerful chaos cult shortly after arriving on the planet, storming the Administratum headquarters alongside the local Adeptus Arbites enforcers and purging the tainted edifice. Despite their success the nature of the cult and its residence in the core of the Administratum complex proved the cult must have been old and influential to have established itself in the seat of Imperial authority on the planet. The Grey Knights uncovered a fetish statue in the Administratum complex that led them to the world of Sophano Secundus. Inquisitor Ligeia made planetfall first with her bodyguard of six Death Cult Assassins to make contact with the local Ecclesiarchy Missionary by the name of Polonias. However shortly after arriving it became obvious to Ligeia that Polonias was in fact much older than he appeared and tainted by chaos. After losing contact with Ligeia the Grey Knights deployed rapidly to the planet's surface where they were ambushed by the local Allking's guard. Thousands of armored cavalry attacked the thirty odd Grey Knights, disabling their Thunderhawks and slaying one of their number but the attack could not stop the fury of the astartes who annihilated their foes and forged on towards the Capitol of Hadjisheim. There the Grey Knights assaulted the Ecclessiarchal Mission Temple at the heart of the city. Inside they battled a horde of daemons and defeated the chaos sorcerer, who they revealed to be the first missionary to the planet Crucien. The daemons summoned by the Sorcerer Crucien managed to bring down one of the Grey Knight's Terminator elite but could not stop the daemonhunters from purging the temple and banishing the forces of chaos. After escaping the collapsing missionary temple the Grey Knights regrouped with Ligeia and her surviving Death Cultists before departing the planet and bombarding the Capitol city from orbit. Unknown to the Grey Knights Inquisitor Ligeia had already been corrupted by the influence of Ghargatuloth during her investigation. The tainted Inquisitor dispatched her Death Cultist bodyguards to the Inquisitorial prison of Mimas, another of Titan's moons. There her Death Cultists aided in the escape of the renegade Inquisitor Valinov instead of recovering the Sword of Mandulis as the Grey Knights believed they had been dispatched to do. When the treachery of Ligeia came to light she was taken into custody and returned at spead to Mimas aboard the Strike Cruiser the Rubicon along with Justicar Genhain. After handing Ligeia into the hands of the Ordo Malleus brother Genhain returned to Titan with the bodies of the strike-forces fallen warriors, overseeing their internment in the Chapter's crypts. With that duty done Justicar Genhain traveled to the Chapter's necropolis with Chaplain Durendin and recovered the Sword of Mandulis that the Inquisition's investigations had indicated may well be critical in banishing Ghargatuloth for a second time. Determined to continue despite the loss of Ligeia Justicar Alaric pored over the Inquisition's intelligence and archives, noting that many relics of Saint Evisser had been removed or stolen by various cults aligned with Ghargatuloth over the centuries. With the daemons influence over the Trail and the apprehension of so many Ecclesiarchal relics Justicar Alaric determined the daemon required the greatest relics of Saint Evisser to complete his return to the material universe and thus the daemon would rise where the remains of Saint Evisser were interred. The exact location of Evisser's remains had long been lost to the mists of time and so the Grey Knights traveled the the decaying Garden World of Farfallen to examine the Ecclesiarchy archives kept on the planet in the palace domains and estates the Imperial cult had maintained there. Within the vaults of the Ecclesiarchal facility on Farfallen the Grey Knights discovered that Saint Evisser had not really been a Saint at all but a chaos tainted agent worshipped by the common people of the Trail to the point where the Ecclesiarchy could not afford to depose him and that his remains were buried and forgotten under the toxic effluent of Volcanis Ultor. Unfortunately the traitor Inquisitor Gholic Ren-Sar Valinov had reached Volcanis Ultor first, twisting the loyal defenders of Volcanis Ultor to his ends and turning them against the Grey Knights. When the Strike Cruiser Rubicon arrived in system it was met by the system defense fleet. Without the time to fight a space battle against the deluded Imperial fleet the Grey Knights chose to sacrifice the vessel, blasting past the defenders with no thought for survival, the ship holding together just long enough to deploy Alaric and his warriors to the surface of Volcanis Ultor. An engine from the Rubicon crashed into the trenches defending Lake Rapax, the resting place of Saint Evisser, obliterating a large section of the defenses and wiping out the command section of the Balurian Heavy Infantry Imperial Guard Regiment and covering the battlefield in a thick blanket of dust and ash. Under this cover the Grey Knights assaulted the far flank of the battle-lines held by the Battle Sisters of the Order of the Bloody Rose. Quite a few Battle Sisters and Grey Knights fell before Canoness Ludmilla recognized her foes and orchestrated a cease fire. Realizing the duplicity the Sisters joined forces with the depleted Grey Knights to break into the waste processing plant on the shores of Lake Rapax, where the tomb of Saint Evisser resided. Canoness Ludmilla and many of her sisters died to hold off the manipulated Balurians, the Canoness herself cut down by the blade of the traitor Inquisitor Valinov himself. Meanwhile the Grey Knights fought their way past the tainted servants of Ghargatuloth to reach the tomb of Saint Evisser and destroy the false saint's remains before Ghargatuloth could rise, aided by the Seraphim of Sister Lachryma. When the Grey Knights reached the tomb they discovered the remains of Saint Evisser were corrupted and animated by the powers of chaos. Many fell to the animated remains before Justicar Tancred wielding the Sword of Mandulis, the Lightning Bolt, defeated the animated remains of Saint Evisser. The explosion of sorcerous energy that resulted killed more of the Grey Knights and their allies and was the final component needed to return Ghargatuloth to the material realm. As Ghargatuloth manifested on the world of Volcanis Ultor it was apparent no conventional force of arms could defeat the daemon prince. Instead Justicar Alaric used the information that Inquisitor Ligeia had lost her mind and soul to discover, the true name of Ghargatuloth. Saying the true name of the daemon bound its essence to the speaker, and spoken by a Grey Knight the name drained the manifesting daemon of its power, allowing the scattered Imperial Guard, Battle Sisters and Grey Knights forces to destroy the powerless daemon utterly. Few survived the battle for Volcanis Ultor. Brother Karlin was the sole survivor of Justicar Tancred's Terminators, while squad Santoro was completely annihilated. Justicars Alaric and Genhain survived along with Tharn, Ondurin, Salkin from squad Genhain and Haulvarn, Dvorn and Lykkos from Squad Alaric. Less than a third all told of the strike-force's starting strength. Yet sacrifice is well known to the Grey Knights, who gave their lives gladly to banish the evil of Ghargatuloth to the warp for another thousand years. The Purging of Chaeroneia The Forge World of Chaeroneia had been lost over a century previously, following an investigation by the Mechanicus into potential tech-heresy amongst the lower ranks of the world's tech priesthood, when it suddenly re-appeared in the outer limits of the Borosis System during the 13th Black Crusade. Unable to dispatch a significant fleet the Ordo Malleus scrambled what forces they could and sent them with all due haste to the Borosis system. Under the command of Inquisitor Nyxos the force was made up of a squad of six Grey Knights under the command of Justicar Alaric, the deathworld veterans of the Mortressan Highlanders transported by an aging troop carrier Calydon, an escort squadron of three brand new Python class frigates fielding an untested configuration dubbed Ptolemy squadron, and an aging but capable warship known as the Tribunicia under the command of Rear Admiral Horstgeld. This modest fleet arrived in the Borosis system to discover a seventh world where there should be no seventh world. Without delay the fleet moved to investigate. Shortly after arrival in system the Inquisitorial fleet was surprised by the arrival of an Adeptus Mechanicus vessel dubbed the Exemplar. Under the command of Archmagos Saphentis the Mechanicus Explorator vessel had come to the system to reclaim the lost Forge World and the technology it contained, Archmagos Saphentis demanded immediate jurisdiction over the operation but could not sway the Inquisition's forces from investigating the planet. Instead the two groups joined forces, and since low orbit asteroids prevented any sizable deployment the Imperial Guard were forced to remain in orbit while a task-force of specialists including the Grey Knights, Interrogator Hawkespur and the entourage of Archmagos Saphentis made planetfall and began their investigation of the planet. It was not long before the investigation team discovered the Forge World had become heavily warped by corruption, its machineries and cities a twisted fusion of metal and flesh. Before the team could learn any more they came under attack from the corrupt tech priests of Chaeroneia and were forced into a desperate running battle, barely escaping down an effluent shoot that mysteriously opened for them. As the team regrouped and sought shelter in the lower levels of the forge-city the Tech Priest Thalassa, who was accompanying the team with Archmagos Saphentis, determined they were in the forge city known as Primus Manufactorium Noctis before the world was lost. The tech priests determined the most likely source of information to be the old datafortress of Primus Manufactorium Noctis, and though it was three days hike distant the team had no other options and so set out for the datafortress while doing their best to avoid the searching patrols of the corrupt tech priests of Chaeroneia. Meanwhile, unbeknown st to the Imperials a fleet of Chaos Warships led by one of Abaddon's chosen had arrived in system. At the fleet's head was the chaos Grand Cruiser the Hellforger, commanded by Urkrathos, one of Abaddon's Chosen elite. Chaeroneia had returned to real-space from the warp to align with the Warmaster Abaddon the Despoiler, sending a chaos warped communication to the Black Legion offering tribute to the Warmaster. To investigate this offer the Warmaster sent Urkrathos. Rear Admiral Horstgeld's fleet detected the arrival of the chaos fleet but could not determine its exact nature. Ever prudent Horstgeld called on all Imperial ships in the system to join his meager fleet and ordered his officers to gather more information on the potential closing fleet. As the strike team continued their journey towards the datafortress they were forced to head into higher levels of the forge city despite the risk of detection. As they traveled through warped spires Tech Priest Thalassa discovered that some of the structures were made from a crystalline data medium and while corrupt it offered some information, most pertinent of which was that the planet's recorded date was midway through the forty second millennium, over nine hundred years off from the real space Imperial date. The planet had spent a thousand years in the warp while a mere century passed in real time. Shortly after the strike team left an old flesh work spire the Imperial fleet in orbit identified flagship of the incoming chaos fleet. The only reinforcements that had yet arrived from Segmentum Command were a Pilgrim ship called the Pieta that was barely armed and a refit private yacht called the Epicurus that had been sized and turned into an armed merchantman by the Imperial Navy, these additions were hardly an improvement to the situation. Rear Admiral Horstgeld determined to contact Segmentum Command at Kar Duniash again with details on just how dire a threat the chaos fleet was but in the meantime had to prepare to face the incoming warships as best he could. While Horstgeld prepared Inquisitor Nyxos traveled to the Exemplar to join Fleet Commissar Leung and attempt to convince the ship's acting commander Magos Korveylan to put more effort into contacting the ground team. After traveling through the twisted wreckage of Chaeroneia's lower levels the Grey Knights finally reached the datafortress, passing through a canyon of datacrystal to reach the entrance, although somewhere along the way Tech Priest Thalassa fell behind and most certainly died. Wary of ambush the Grey Knights and their allies were just approaching the datafortress when the corrupt tech magi of Chaeroneia unleashed what they believed were their greatest weapons, hunter programs that could move through any data medium and slay intruders into the fallen tech priesthood's realm. Yet these hunter programs were nothing more than daemons, a foe the Grey Knights knew all too well. The Grey Knights had been initially off balance by the dark horrors of Chaeroneia but the daemons were things they could fight and channeling their faith through parables and prayers the Grey Knights burned the daemons back into their datamedium dens, opening the way to the datafortress. It did not take long for the strike team to gather all the pertinent information they could, although it did take somewhat longer without the data expertise of Thalassa, nevertheless it was long enough for the corrupt tech priests of Chaeroneia to close in. Without an avenue of escape, the very entrance the team had used closed off by the virtually living datacrystal of the fortress, the team was in dire peril when a servitor claiming to be an ally emerged from a new opening in the crystal behind the Grey Knights and their allies. Uncertain but without another course of action the strike team followed a servitor into the depths of the datafortress and further down into old layers of the forge city. In the depths the strike team met their mysterious ally, the incorporeal mind of Magos Antigonus, whose physical form had been murdered by the corrupt Archmagos Veneratus Scraecos a thousand years previously. The Magos had escaped by transferring his mind into the machinery of Chaeroneia itself and had been aiding the Grey Knights and their allies since their arrival. While Magos Antigonus and Archmagos Saphentis reviewed the data taken from the datafortress the rest of the strike team rested, made field repairs to their gear and received basic medical attention from what limited supplies the loyalists on Chaeroneia had managed to gather. Before long the strike team struck out for a transmitter obelisk that had been used to co-ordinate vessels in orbit before the Forge World was pulled into the warp. The Grey Knights and Interrogator Hawkespur were determined to contact Inquisitor Nyxos in orbit with the details of their discoveries on the surface up to that point, principally that the tech priests of Chaeroneia were in league with the Dark Mechanicum, the faction of chaos worshipping tech priests who sided with Horus during the Heresy. After that brief contact the strike team headed into the ash wastes just outside Primus Manufactorium Noctis where they discovered a massive Titan works facility that had produced hundreds of corrupt abominations of flesh and metal melded into the forms of Battle Titans roughly aproximate to Reaver Titans. Now knowing the resources Chaeroneia could provide to Abaddon's Black Crusade the Grey Knights determined to destroy the Titans in any way possible and made for the Titan works. As the strike force came to a quicksilver moat of liquid datamedium marking the outer boundary of the Titan works they came under attack by more data hunter daemons led by the daemon Azaulathis who had possessed the body of Tech Priest Thalassa. Azaulathis had attempted to posses and dominate Magos Antigonus a thousand years previously but the Tech Priests will proved too strong. Enraged by the presence of the daemon Magos Antigonus threw his borrowed servitor body onto the possessed form of Thalassa and together with the Grey Knights defeated the daemon a second time. Brother Archis fell to the daemon during the fight leaving the party small indeed with only five Grey Knights left along with Archmagos Saphentis, Interrogator Hawkespur and a single Tech Guard but they would have to be enough. For at the heart of the Titan works lay an ancient machine from the Dark Ange of Technolgoy known as the Castigator. To kill the strike team the Dark Mechanicus rallied their most deadly creations, Death Servitors housing hunter program daemons and led by Archmagos Veneratus Scraecos. Against this force the Grey Knights and their allies, even bolstered by the loyalist tech priests of Chaeroneia, stood little chance in an outright fight, but that would not stop them from facing the forces of chaos. The Grey Knights fought to buy time, keeping the Death Servitors busy while Archmagos Saphentis and Magos Antigonus fought and defeated the traitor Scraecos. The Archmagos Veneratus was too powerful to kill in direct conflict so Archmagos Saphentis sacrificed himself to keep the traitor busy while Antigonus transferred his mind into the shell of a Warhound Titan. By the time Scraecos realized what was happening it was too late and the dead weight of Saphentis was pinning him to the ground. Before Scraecos could extricate himself and flee Antigonus brought one of the Warhound's massive feet down like a hammer, crushing the heretic tech priest flat. With Scraecos dead the Death Servitors attack fell into disarray. Finally, with it's chief puppet defeated, the Castigator was forced to show its hand. The Castigator Class Titan was the Father of Titans, the first of its kind created during the Dark Age of Technology as a Standard Template Construct for the creation of exact copies of a most potent war machine. It was lost however and the imperfect copies made from its original design were mere shadows of the Castigator's sophistication and potency and the Titans forged in the image of those imperfect copies were even paler reflections of the Father of Titans. The Castigator was not just a war machine however, its machine spirit had become possessed long before by the essence of a daemon, so long ago that the creature of chaos had forgotten its very nature but a Grey Knight knows a daemon when they see one. While Brothers Dvorn and Haulvarn battled the lesser minions of the Castigator Justicar Alaric made his way into the processing core to confront the driving intelligence of the machine. Alaric revealed the true nature of the being and as the Castigator realized its true nature it fully became the daemonic entity it had always been and manifested as something Justicar Alaric could fight and kill. Though formidable the Castigator had never known or faced a Grey Knight and was unprepared to face a daemonhunter, it could not outmatch Alaric who struck off the beings head while Dvorn and Haulvarn caused the plasma reactor of the Titan to overload. While Urkrathos watched in dismay from the bridge of the Hellforger the Castigator melted into a pile of molten slag. Angered Urkrathos moved his ship into higher orbit, determined to punish the world of Chaeroneia for failing to deliver the Castigator as tribute to Abaddon the chaos warlord unleashed the formidable weapons systems of the Hellforger against the Titan Works. The weapons of the Grand Cruiser made short work of the facility, felling hundreds of Titans in mere minutes before powering off into higher orbit and then out of the system, for there was no longer any reason to stay. Brother Cardios died to the guns of the Castigator while shielding Interrogator Hawkespur who had been wounded earlier in the fighting. His sacrifice was not wasted however for Magos Antigonus recovered the unconscious Interrogator and carried her to safety along with the surviving Grey Knights in a borrowed battle servitor body. With the chaos fleet departed and the Castigator defeated the Mechanicus Explorator vessel the Exemplar was able to recover the survivors of the strike team. Inquisitor Nyxos had also managed to survive the space battle and with the survivors rescued from the surface prepared his report to the Ordo Malleus and added another entry to the Liber Daemonicum. The Drakaasi Odyssey When Justicar Alaric and his squad were dispatched to aid in the defense of Sarthis Majoris the squad came into contact with the chaos horde of Duke Venalitor. Realizing the defense had little hope of success with the chaos lord alive the Grey Knights abandoned their defensive positions and struck out for the leader of the chaos horde. Duke Venalitor proved to formidable for Justicar Alaric however and the Grey Knights were defeated and forced into a fighting withdrawal. Brother Thane fell in battle while Brother Haulvarn and Justicar Alaric were captured by the forces of Duke Venalitor. Elated by his capture of not one but two Grey Knights Duke Venalitor returned to the chaos world of Drakaasi within the Eye of Terror in triumph. The duke forced the Grey Knights to battle in the gladiatorial arena of Karnikhal, just one of the dark cities of Drakaasi dedicated to the worship of the Blood God. Brother Haulvarn fell to the blade of Venalitor's own Champion the monster known as Skarhaddoth. Justicar Alaric was not so easily undone, even though he had to assume the aspect of a monster battling for the pleasure of the chaos lords for uncountable time in the gladiatorial arenas of Drakaasi, Justicar Alaric survived. Gathering together dissidents and loyalists among the slaves of Drakaasi Justicar Alaric began to uncover the history of the planet and something known as the Hammer of Daemons. Over time Justicar Alaric discovered that the Hammer of Daemons was really an incredibly ornate ship that had belonged to the daemon Raezazel of Tzeentch. Raezazel had used the ship as a massive pilgrim vessel, weaving a plot of duplicity to please his lord, but the daemon ran afoul at the last moment of Drakaasi and the ship crash landed on the planet. Captured by Duke Venalitor the daemon became a prisoner and servant to the Khornate Chaos Lord. All this Justicar Alaric discovered when he was cast into the lowest deck of Duke Venalitor's slave ship the Hecatomb and confronted the Daemon of Tzeentch. To survive the encounter Justicar Alaric had to cast down his psychic defenses, driving the daemon's probing psyche off in the resulting backlash of energy. For an unknowable period Justicar Alaric fought without thought, his mind swamped beneath the writhing psychic energies and madness swirling through him and he performed horrific acts of violence and mutilation until a Dark Eldar slave named Kelhedros brought him out of his stupor through a therapy of pain. With his faculties regained and his knowledge improved Justicar Alaric defeated the Blood God's Champion Skarhaddoth, manipulated the fickle lords of Drakaasi into open war and lead a slave revolt that managed to seize and capture the still functional wreck of the Hammer of Daemons. Recovering his wargear from Duke Venalitor's trophy room Justicar Alaric defeated the chaos lord and departed the planet aboard the captured vessel. Justicar Alaric did not remain aboard the Hammer of Daemons for long. Before the ship had even broken Drakaasi's atmosphere Alaric had departed aboard a shuttle. The faithful aboard the Hammer of Daemons were not bound for the same destination as Alaric. Unknown to Alaric the prison of daemon Raezazel had been destroyed in the rioting on Drakaasi and the daemon of Tzeentch had managed to make it aboard the Hammer before it took off. Enraged Raezazel killed everyone aboard before one of the faithful re-activated the ship's autopilot, taking the ship into the warp rift where Raezazel had promised to deliver a ship full of ignorant faithful into the clutches of Tzeentch. With everyone aboard the Hammer dead at Raezazel's hands the daemon's promise was broken, the torment Tzeentch would visit on Raezazel is unimaginable, but a fitting end for the corrupt. Justicar Alaric took the shuttle away from Drakaasi, activating the vessel's distress beacon and falling into a deep hibernation induced by his Sus-An Membrane. For seven months Alaric remained in suspension as his shuttle drifted before a salvage team following in the wake of an Imperial war fleet discovered the shuttle. Believing it to be a savior pod from a warship the salvagers believed they could ransom the high ranking crew to the Imperial Navy, they had not anticipated the shuttle's contents to be a Space Marine. While the scavengers debated what to do Alaric woke and ordered them to take him to a world of his choice or he would kill them all, believing he would and could do just as he said the salvagers complied immediately. Alaric's destination was the decaying garden world of Belsimar, one of the few locations around the eye not under assault by the forces of chaos and just as importantly the world possessed an abandoned Inquisitorial fortress. There Alaric was picked up by Inquisitor Nyxos and Interrogator Hawkespur, who promised to conduct rites of purity for Alaric to cleanse his mind, body and soul from the corrupting influence of his ordeal on Drakaasi. Whether Alaric will return to active service with the Grey Knights or whether he will serve the Inquisition in another capacity is as yet uncertain. Inquisitor Nyxos voiced his high hopes for Alaric outside the normal service of a Grey Knight, but whether that is the path for Justicar Alaric is unknown. The Mission to Salinas Receiving portents of something exiting the Eye of Terror and arriving on the world of Salinas the Grey Knights dispatched Brother-Captain Leodegarius to investigate. Taking only a small detachment of Grey Knights to the relative backwater world Leodegarius discovered the arrivals were a pair of exiled Ultramarines by the names of Uriel Ventris and Pasanius. Wary of the possibility of corruption, for the pair had spent some time in the Eye of Terror, Leodegarius conducted tests of purity to discern whether the minds, bodies or souls of the Ultramarines had been corrupted by the forces of chaos from their time in the eye. Both Ultramarines were subjected to a series of Ordeals conducted by Leodegarius to ascertain their purity and should they fail any of the tests their lives were forfeit. First came an invasive psychic probing by Leodegarius known as the Ordeal of Inquisition. When the Ultramarines passed that Ordeal it was followed with a scalding test for physical purity known as the Ordeal of the Holy Oils, where both marines were required to plunge their hands into a boiling cauldron of holy oil and retrieve a dagger placed at the bottom of the cauldron. The dagger was a holy relic with shards of the armor of Saint De Haan of the Donorian Sector, an Inquisitor who served the Emperor for over two centuries before he was martyred at the battle of Kostiashak. De Haan was nailed to the defiled cathedral of Trebian but his loyal acolytes recovered his remains and equipment, most of the relics recovered remain in rosewood boxes on the worlds he cleansed of chaos taint, except for the dagger carried by Leodegarius. Anyone corrupted by the touch of chaos could not grip the dagger and remove it from the oil. As an additional test the wounds of those undergoing the Ordeal would be examined after three days, if the wounds showed signs of healing properly it was a sign that they were pure, if the wounds festered their flesh was corrupt. Both Ultramarines passed this Ordeal as well and so they faced the final test. The final Ordeal known as the Judicium Imperator was a test of combat against Leodegarius himself. As a Grey Knight only those empowered by the forces of chaos could triumph in force of arms against him, thus should the Ultramarines succeed and defeat him it would be a sign of their corruption, however despite their efforts both were soundly defeated proving their purity. Accepting their completion of all three Ordeals Leodegarius declared the two Ultramarines pure in the eyes of the Emperor. Yet the situation on Salinas proved more volatile than anyone could have anticipated. The rogue psyker Sylvanus Thayer had led a resistance against the Imperial conquest of his world that had been put down brutally and mercilessly by the Imperial Guard Achaman Falcatas Regiment. The Screaming Eagles, the most brutal formation of the Regiment were dispatched by Colonel Barbadus to destroy the city of Khaturian where many of the families of the Sons of Salinas resistance movement's soldiers lived. Mercilessly the Falcata's burned the city and everyone inside to draw out the resistance's leader and his men. Predictably Sylvanus Thayer led his warriors in a suicidal attack against the Falcata's that saw them all killed and ended the resistance on Salinas. Yet Thayer himself did not die, horribly burned he remained alive, kept from death door by life support equipment in the makeshift medical stations in the regiment's three abandoned Capitol Imperialis command vehicles. Manifesting a previously unknown but formidable psychic potency Sylvanus Thayer forced the souls of the murdered to remain and plague their killers. When the doom train arrived on Salinas and dropped off the Ultramarines and their Unfleshed allies Thayer gained even more power. Under Thayer's influence the spirits of the vengeaful dead possessed the Unfleshed and used them to wreak bloody vengeance on the Falcatas, laying waste to the Screaming Eagles barracks. Determined to defeat Thayer before his unleashed psychic power could rupture the barrier between the material and the immaterial and plunge Salinas into the depths of the warp the Grey Knights and Ultramarines made their way to the abandoned Capitol Imperialis vehicles that had come to be known as the House of Providence. There they confronted the Unfleshed and Thayer. Three of Leodegarius' knights fell to the claws of the Unfleshed and Leodegarius himself lost an arm to the Lord of the Unfleshed, a formidable foe empowered by the wrathful spirit of one of Khaturian's murdered souls. Unable to truly defeat the minions of Thayer in physical combat Uriel Ventris urged Leodegarius to lower his psychic wards protecting Colonel Barbadus and the other officers of the Falcatas and let the spirits have their revenge. Agreeing Leodegarius lowered his wards and within moments the wraiths of Khaturian had enacted their revenge and dissipated. With his vengeance achieved Thayer's tenuous hold on life ended and he expired quietly. Captain Ventris finished off the last of the Unfleshed and the survivors departed the House of Providence. With Salinas cleansed once more the Grey Knights arranged passage back to Macragge for the Ultramarines and departed the world for other missions and other battles. Minor Battles Cleansing of Incunabla -In 999.M41 the Grey Knights Purge an Adeptus Mechanicus geno-lab on Incunabla after the Inquisition discovered evidence of heretical experimentation and possible connections to the Cursed Founding. The Thule Decimation -In 728.M40 the Grey Knights were forced to borrow suits of Tactical Dreadnought or Terminator armor from fully five other Chapters. The defenders or Thule believed they were under assault from six different Chatpers and surrendered within three hours of the initial assault. The Luxor Uprising -The Grey Knight's engage the fell forces of the Thousand Sons Traitor Legion. The Purging of Volandis -The Grey Knights assist Inquisitor Cherone in defeating the possessed Imperial Governor of Volandis. First Scouring of Coriolanthe -A Force of Grey Knights led by Inquisitor Lord Baum battled the Night Lords Traitor Legion and an unknown Traitor Titan Legion, Inquisitor Lord Baum and almost all of the Grey Knights fall in battle while bringing down two of the corrupted Titans. The Purging of Zeus VI -A force of Grey Knights under the command of Inquisitor Jaq Draco purge a chaos cult from the world of Zeus VI. Conquest of Goreswirl -In 772.M41 a Grey Knight Strike Cruiser is dispatched into the Eye of Terror to the daemonwold of Goreswirl. Of the Grey Knights aboard fifty make it to the surface and banish over a thousand daemons of Khorne before the world itself destroys them. Known Characters Chapter Master Orias -Brother Orias was brought low in M39 by the Daemon Prince Plague Lord Herperitus. Mortally wounded but still alive Brother Orias was interred within a Dreadnought Sarcophagus and continues to serve the Chapter to this day. Grand Master Aeneas -Grand Master Aeneas lead the Chapter for 55 years during M37 before he was mortally wounded by the Chaos Sorcerer Ahriman of the Thousand Sons Traitor Legion and was interred within a Dreadnought Sarcophagus. Grand Master Mandulis -A revered hero of the Chapter it was Grand Master Mandulis who banished the Daemon Prince Ghargatuloth back to the hell realm of the warp during the Purging of Khorion IX. Grand Master Mandulis did not survive his encounter with Ghargatuloth, for the daemon's wrath broke the Grand Masters body terribly and its psychic might forced Mandulis' hexagrammic wards to burn so brightly they scorched their outlines into his very bones. Nevertheless his accomplishment was legendary, to banish a daemon for a thousand years was an impressive feat for which a chapel bearing Mandulis' name was built within the Fortress of Titan. ?Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of the daemon, I shall fear nothing. For I am what the daemon fears.? -Grand Master Mandulis of the Grey Knights. Grand Master Malquiant -A vicious and bloody-minded warrior whose lightning claws have cast countless daemons back into the void from whence they came. Grand Master Malquiant participated in the Purging of Khorion IX. Grand Master Ganelon -Renowned for slaying the Vermin King of Kalentia while a mere Justicar, Ganelon attained the rank of Grand Master a mere two hundred and fifty one years after his induction as a Knight. Grand Master Ganelon participated in the purging of Khorion IX and fell in battle against the daemonic hordes of the Daemon Prince Ghargatuloth. Grand Master Tencendur -Grand Master Tencendur commanded the strike force that captured the renegade Inquisitor Valinov and was the officer who deemed the Hunt for Ghargatuloth worthy of support, Tencendur assigned Justicar Alaric to lead a Strike Force as acting Brother-Captain to investigate. Grand Master Kolgano -Centuries past Grand Master Kolgano challenged his warriors to an armored duel with combat knives, promising his ornate suit of bejeweled Terminator armor to whoever could best him. The hall in which this contest took place became known as Fallen Dagger Hall. In time the hall became a meeting place for agents of the Ordo Malleus and the battle-brothers of the Grey Knights. Grand Master Hengril -A mighty hero of the Chapter fallen in battle to the foes of the Imperium. Brother-Captain Stern -Captain Stern is a highly decorated warrior of the Chapter, respected by his peers and responsible for countless successful missions against the forces of the daemonic. The fate of Captain Stern is eternally linked with the machinations of the Greater Daemon of Tzeentch M'kachen. After detecting the daemons involvement with the Cult of the Red Talon a force of Grey Knights led by Captain Stern banished M'kachen to the warp for a hundred years and a day. ?We are the warriors of the Grey Knights, armoured in Faith, shielded by Devotion and armed with Purity of Purpose. But greater even than these, we carry the light of the divine Emperor of Man into the dark places to purge the daemonic wherever it may be found.? -Brother captain Stern prior to the Purging of Xoe Dic Binary, 978.M41. Brother-Captain Martel -Brother Martel commanded a squad of Terminator Veterans during the Purging of Khorion IX. Brother-Captain Ceasarian -Captain Ceasarian served in the burial detail of Brother-Captain Ignatius. Brother-Captain Ignatius -A renowned hero of the Chapter it was Ignatius who banished the fell Daemon Prince Ustaroth back to the hell realm of the warp four thousand years ago on the world of Salinas. Brother-Captain Pelega -Under the command of Brother-Captain Pelega the Grey Knights halted the Godjera Incursion. Brother-Captain Pelega also participated in the condemnation of the Relictors Chapter of the Adeptus Astartes. Brother-Captain Mordia -Captain Mordia is stationed aboard the Ramugan space station situated close to the Eye of Terror. A perfect location from which to observe the eye and launch vital missions against any emerging chaos threats. Brother-Captain Leodegarius -Brother Leodegarius took a small detachment of Grey Knights to the world of Salinas to investigate a pair of exiled Ultramarines who had recently returned from a sojourn within the Eye of Terror. Leodegarius examined the Ultramarines minds, bodies and souls for any hint of corruption before declaring them clean and then fighting alongside them against the psyker Sylvanus Thayer. Brother-Captain Aurellian -Captain Aurellian was initially chosen as a neophyte to the Mortifactor's Chapter on the world of Posul when a delegation of Grey Knight's arrived to take the young Aurellian from the Mortifactor's Chaplains. The Chaplains refused but the Grey Knights would not be swayed and a fight ensued that the Mortifactors lost. Brother Aurellian quickly proved his worth to the Chapter, serving under Captain Pelega during the Godjera Incursion and the Battle for the Kuroniak Basilica and was promoted to Justicar during the Priorian IV Campaign. His greatest achievement however was banishing the dread Daemon Primarch Angron during the 1st War for Armageddon. Brother-Captain Teraqua -A hero of the Chapter. Brother-Captain Zaebus -Officer in command of the 5th Company dispatched to the Defense of Cadia during the 13th Black Crusade. Brother-Captain Fidelis -Former officer in command of the 5th Company dispatched to the Defense of Cadian during the 13th Black Crusade. Brother Fidelis was mortally wounded in battle with Vexcarnel the Blue and is now interred within the Sarcophagus of a Dreadnought. Brother-Captain Valafar -Brother Valafar, interred in the armored shell of a Dreadnought, fought against the forces of Chaos during the 13th Black Crusade where he died a second death. High Chaplain Greacris -A vaunted Chaplain of the Chapter, Greacris composed many sermons and composed the Index Beati eight centuries ago containing parables of some of the Chapter's greatest heroes, including Grand Master Ganelon. ?When Grand Master Ganelon heard the words of the daemon, there was no need to listen. For the words of the Enemy are lies; even those that are true are spoken only in ultimate deceit.? -'The Parable of Ganelon' as related by Chaplain Greacris in the Index Beati. Chaplain Durendin -A renowned hero of the Chapter Chaplain Durendin is rarely seen without his mighty and imposing Terminator armor, one arm of which is painted black to signify his holy office and he bears a pair of ancient Lightning Claws handed down from warrior to warrior since the earliest days of the Chapter. Apothecary Glaivan -While not a field combatant of the Chapter, the Grey Knights nevertheless have need of skilled apothecaries. Over four hundred years old Apothecary Glaivan left the battlefields of the Imperium behind long ago and now serves the Chapter by repairing the wounded bodies of his fellow battle-brothers. Justicar Alaric -A young but promising squad leader of the Chapter Justicar Alaric has survived some of the most harrowing ordeals even a Grey Knight can face and emerged victorious and pure. Many see a future Grand Master in the young leader, in the meantime he doubtless has a long and dangerous career ahead of him. Justicar Tancred -Brother Tancred is a huge and venerable warrior of the Chapter and leader of a Terminator Assault Squad. Only Captain Stern has ever defeated Justicar Tancred in a contest of strength, for the Justicar is massive even for an Astartes and an accomplished fighter. Justicar Tancred served alongside Justicar Alaric during the Hunt for Ghargatuloth. Justicar Tancred wielded the Sword of Mandulis against the animated remains of Saint Evisser on the world of Volcanis Ultor, slaying the corrupted monstrosity, though he died in the explosion of sorcerous energy that ensued. ?Brothers! For Vengeance! For Purity! In hatred be strong, in valour be sure!? ?In vengeance be foremost!? -Battle-cry of the Grey Knights used by Justicar Tancred and his Terminator Squad during the Battle for Sophano Secundus. Justicar Santoro -Justicar Santoro commanded a squad of Grey Knights under the command of Justicar Alaric during the Hunt for Ghargatuloth. Justicar Santoro carries a Nemesis Force Mace, a rare permutation of the weapon as most are forged in the form of swords or halberds. Brother Santoro saved the life of Justicar Alaric on Volcanis Ultor, climbing the back of the animated remains of Saint Evisser to smash the tainted construct's skull apart and free Alaric from its crushing grip. Brother Santoro was crushed to death when the animated remains of Saint Evisser finally succumbed to Justicar Tancred's assault and an explosion of sorcerous energy hurled the Grey Knights away from the tomb. Justicar Genhain -Justicar Genhain commanded a Retributor Squad under the command of Justicar Alaric during the Hunt for Ghargatuloth. Justicar Genhain is one of the best marksman in the Chapter and highly respected for his intuitive knowledge and skill. Justicar Naimon -Brother Naimon participated in the capture of the renegade Inquisitor Valinov but was wounded greviously in the fighting and died from his wounds aboard the Rapid-Strike Vessel the Rubicon. Justicar Weiss -Justicar Weiss commanded the purging of the tainted Basilica of St. Mariel. Justicar Chemuel -Brother Chemuel commanded a Purgation squad during the Purging of Khorion IX. Justicar Justinian -Brother Justinian commanded a squad of Grey Knights during the Purging of Khorion IX. Brother Justinian died to a burst of sorcerous flame that erupted from the tainted ground beneath the Grey Knights feet. Justicar Orthon -A veteran warrior of the Chapter. Justicar Uphur -Brother Uphur was the only survivor of the Kasdeya Incursion and is now interred in the Sarcophagus of a Dreadnought war machine. Justicar Alexos -Member of the 4th Company known as the Pax Mortuus. Brother Cheiron -Brother Cheiron served under the command of Brother-Captain Leodegarius during the mission to Salinas and was the only other battle-brother to survive the confrontation with the psyker Sylvanus Thayer and his minions. Brother Locath -A member of Justicar Tancred's Terminator Assault Squad during the Hunt for Ghargatuloth. Brother Locath fell to the animated remains of Saint Evisser on the world of Volcanis Ultor. Brother Golven -A member of Justicar Tancred's Terminator Assault Squad during the Hunt for Ghargatuloth. Brother Golven fell fighting the tainted followers of Ghargatuloth on the surface of Volcanis Ultor. Brother Krae -One of Justicar Tancred's oldest battle-brothers and a member of his Terminator Squad during the Hunt for Ghargatuloth. Brother Krae fell in battle on Sephano Secundus. Brother Karlin -A member of Justicar Tancred's Terminator Assault Squad during the Hunt for Ghargatuloth and bearer of the squad's Incinerator. Brother deVarne -Brother deVarne participated in the Hunt for Ghargatuloth. Brother Traevan -A member of Justicar Santoro's squad during the Hunt for Ghargatuloth. Brother Caanos -A member of Justicar Santoro's squad during the Hunt for Ghargatuloth. Brother Caanos fell in battle on Sephano Secundus. Brother Jaeknos -A member of Justicar Santoro's squad during the Hunt for Ghargatuloth. Brother Jaeknos fell in battle with the misled Sisters of the Order of the Bloody Rose on Volcanis Ultor. Brother Marl -A member of Justicar Santoro's squad during the Hunt for Ghargatuloth. Brother Mykros -A member of Justicar Santoro's squad during the Hunt for Ghargatuloth, Brother Mykros carried the squad's Incinerator. Brother Mykros fell fighting the animated remains of Saint Evisser on the world of Volcanis Ultor. Brother Lachis -A member of Justicar Genhain's Retributor squad during the Hunt for Ghargatuloth, Brother Lachis' leg was mangled during the drop-pod descent to the surface of Volcanis Ultor. Despite his injuries Brother Lachis continued to fight, providing cover fire for his battle brothers until he succumbed to the guns and blades of the enemy. Brother Grenn -A member of Justicar Genhain's Retributor squad during the Hunt for Ghargatuloth. Brother Grenn fell to the animated remains of Saint Evisser on Volcanis Ultor. Brother Salkis -A member of Justicar Genhain's Retributor squad during the Hunt for Ghargatuloth. Brother Salkis lost an arm to the animated remains of Saint Evisser on Volcanis Ultor. Brother Ondurin -A member of Justicar Genhain's Retributor squad during the Hunt for Ghargatuloth. Brother Ondurin carries the squad's Incinerator and acts as the Squad's unofficial second in command. Brother Tharn -Psycannon bearing member of Justicar Genhain's Retributor squad during the Hunt for Ghargatuloth. Brother Horst -The second Psycannon bearing member of Justicar Genhain's Retributor squad during the Hunt for Ghargatuloth. Brother Lykkos -A member of Justicar Alaric's squad during the Hunt for Ghargatuloth, Brother Lykkos bore the squad's Psycannon. Brother Lykkos survived the battle with the Daemon Prince Ghargatuloth but fell fighting the Dark Mechanicus on the surface of Chaeroneia. Brother Dvorn -A member of Justicar Alaric's squad during the Hunt for Ghargatuloth, Brother Dvorn wields a rare Nemesis Force Hammer and was the biggest and strongest member of the squad. After the Battle for Sarthis Majoris Brother Dvorn was inducted into the Terminator retinue of legendary Brother-Captain Stern. Brother Vien -A member of Justicar Alaric's squad during the Hunt for Ghargatuloth. Brother Vien fell to the heretic followers of Ghargatuloth on the world of Volcanis Ultor. Brother Haulvarn -A member of Justicar Alaric's squad during the Hunt for Ghargatuloth. Haulvarn was a skilled swordsman who fought alongside Justicar Alaric all through the hunt for Ghargatuloth and he survived the dread horrors of Chaeroneia. Brother Haulvarn met his end in the arena of Karnikhal after he and Justicar Alaric were captured while fighting the forces of the Blood God on Sarthis Majoris. Brother Clostus -A member of Justicar Alaric's squad during the Hunt for Ghargatuloth. Brother Clostus did not survive the battle for Volcanis Ultor, falling in combat with the Sisters of Battle. Brother Archis -A member of Justicar Alaric's squad during the Purging of Chaeroneia, Brother Archis carries one of the squad's Incinerators. Brother Archis fell in battle against the daemon Azaulathis on the surface of Chaeroneia. Brother Cardios -A member of Justicar Alaric's squad during the Purging of Chaeroneia, Brother Archis carries the squad's second Incinerator. Brother Cardios lost a leg to a Photon Thruster energy weapon in the Titan works of Chaeroneia. Despite his injury Brother Cardios fought on valiantly, driving off many of the daemon controlled Death Servitors of the Dark Mechanicus single handedly before sacrificing himself to shield Interrogator Hawkespur from the dread Castigator Titan's weapons fire. Brother Visical -A member of Justicar Alaric's squad, Brother Visical joined the unit after its losses on Chaeroneia and participated in the Battle for Sarthis Majoris. Brother Visical is a veteran hardened by battle against the daemonic, his gauntlets are permanently tinged black from heavy use of the Incinerator he carries. Brother Visical survived the battle for Sarthis Majoris alongside Brother Dvorn, making it to a refinery complex and boarding the last of the fuel container ships to leave the planet. Brother Visical currently serves under Inquisitor Deskanel operating around Agripinna. Brother Thane -A member of Justicar Alaric's squad, Brother Thane joined the unit after its losses on Chaeroneia and participated in the Battle for Sarthis Majoris. Brother Thane fell in battle to the chaos horde of Duke Venalitor on Sarthis Majoris. Brother Gaius -Brother Gaius fell in battle against a Greater Daemon of Tzeentch during the Purging of Khorion IX. Though ripped in half by the daemons claws Brother Gaius continued to hack at the beast with his Nemesis Force Weapon and rasping prayers of hate even as he breathed his last. Brother Jokul -Honored with carrying a revered Psycannon, Brother Jokul participated in the Purging of Khorion IX. Brother Thieln -Bearer of a holy Incinerator, brother Thieln fell in battle to a Greater Daemon of Tzeentch during the Purging of Khorion IX. Brother Trentius -Brother Trentius fell in battle to the daemonic hordes of Ghargatuloth during the Purging of Korion IX. Sources Codex: Daemonhunters Codex: Space Marines 5th Edition Codex: Planet Strike Imperial Armor Vol. 2 Index Astartes: Grey Knights Grey Knights Dark Adeptus Hammer of Daemons The Killing Ground The Inquisition The Inquisition War: Draco Words of Blood: Loyalty?s Reward Realm of Chaos: Slaves to Darkness How to Paint Space Marines Space Marine Collectors Guide Warhammer 40k Compilation Art of Warhammer 40k GW Catalog and Hobby Reference 2004-05 WD109 WD156 WD276 WD277 WD278 Brother Tathelon -Brother Tathelon was wounded during the capture of the renegade Inquisitor Valinov. Tathelon lost an arm at the elbow and was peppered with shrapnel during the fighting but survived his injuries. Brother LeMal -Brother LeMal fell in battle during the capture of the renegade Inquisitor Valinov. Brother Encalion -Brother Encalion fell in battle during the capture of the renegade Inquisitor Valinov. Brother Baligant -Brother Baligant fell in battle during the capture of the renegade Inquisitor Valinov. Brother Gaignun -Brother Gaignun was severely wounded during the capture of the renegade Inquisitor Valinov and died aboard the Rapid-Strike Vessel the Rupicon. Brother Tolas -Brother Tolas was severely wounded during the capture of the renegade Inquisitor Valinov and died of his wounds in the apothecarium of Titan. Brother Evain -Brother Evain was severely wounded during the capture of the renegade Inquisitor Valinov and died of his wounds in the apothecarium of Titan. Brother Numitor -A Knight of the Chapter. Brother Bellanus -A Knight of the Chapter. Agrippa -A Knight of the Chapter. Brother Malosc -A Knight of the Chapter fallen in battle. Brother Lothatus -A Knight of the Chapter. Edited November 14, 2010 by Vash113 Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/214817-grey-knights-a-comprehensive-history/ Share on other sites More sharing options...
Uncle Mel Posted November 10, 2010 Share Posted November 10, 2010 Wow, you have putten a lot of work in this, 32 pages in ms word. I'll read this as soon as I can. when you say comprehensive, you mean it! Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/214817-grey-knights-a-comprehensive-history/#findComment-2558569 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Inquisitor =D= Posted November 11, 2010 Share Posted November 11, 2010 Well you certainly did your research. very well done. I have some notes I took while reading through it. History; "equipped with blades and halberds" change to "equipped with nemesis weaponry" ? Organization second sentence. There is NO chapter master of the Grey Knights. Instead a council of Grand Masters with ONE being a member of the Ordo Malleus' inner conclave. - Not organized into companies. Individual squads. - No 1st company. Terminator armor is bestowed to only the best and most experienced of Knights. - Inquisitors may Request Grey Knight help but they are in ABSOLUTELY no way the "Chapter's masters" Far from it! (May be worthwile to change exact wording of that part as even I had an immediate "knee-jerk" reaction before reading on.) - Add note about Grey Knight Strike Cruisers, Fastest, Most Advanced cruisers the imperium has to offer. Personally I might also add a major Spoiler Alert. Not everyone has read Ben Counters storys and it seems you've chronicled the whole bloody thing in your article. I had to skip over it as I haven't read it and am still not sure if I plan to. What can I say I'm just not a fan of his works. But still my advice stands. When writing about specific battles and such it may be prudent to shorten it and leave out a lot. In staying with typical Grey Knight feel not much is known of their battles, save to the knights who fought it themselves. Also, why describe much of Titan as "Decrepit"? I know very few knights are ever there but that doesn't mean that various servitors or chapter serfs cannot perform such tasks... never mind.... Counter wrote it didn't he?.... Just my input. Hope it helps you. =]D[= Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/214817-grey-knights-a-comprehensive-history/#findComment-2559617 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vash113 Posted November 11, 2010 Author Share Posted November 11, 2010 (edited) Wow, you have putten a lot of work in this, 32 pages in ms word. I'll read this as soon as I can. when you say comprehensive, you mean it! Indeed I do. Well you certainly did your research. very well done. I have some notes I took while reading through it. History; "equipped with blades and halberds" change to "equipped with nemesis weaponry" ? Except equipped with Nemesis Weaponry doesn't sound as interesting. Besides for the most part Nemesis Weapons are blades and halberds, as I note later hammers and maces are extremely rare forms for nemesis weapons to take so I felt like taking a little artistic license to craft a slightly better phrase. Much of the article is a bit of a hodge podge, even for the series so such moments are rare. I may have to go through and just re-write much of it as I'm really not happy so far with the way it flows, and this is because the Grey Knights don't have an extensive Index Astartes to provide the article a backbone and a great deal is cobbled together from the Grey Knight's books. We'll see. I might streamline it later but I still need to add in a few sources before doing so. Organization second sentence. There is NO chapter master of the Grey Knights. Instead a council of Grand Masters with ONE being a member of the Ordo Malleus' inner conclave. - Not organized into companies. Individual squads. - No 1st company. Terminator armor is bestowed to only the best and most experienced of Knights. Well this is... tricky. Various material does suggest the Chapter has companies, just not standard Codex Companies and the material does suggest Terminators are 1st Company Elite. Also where did you get the material about a "council of Grand Masters" specifically? Various sources I've looked into just mention a single Chapter Master. - Inquisitors may Request Grey Knight help but they are in ABSOLUTELY no way the "Chapter's masters" Far from it! (May be worthwile to change exact wording of that part as even I had an immediate "knee-jerk" reaction before reading on.) - Add note about Grey Knight Strike Cruisers, Fastest, Most Advanced cruisers the imperium has to offer. Hmm, perhaps so. It's not that common a notion in most of the Grey Knight's background but is really hammered home in the Grey Knight's novels. Justicar Alaric mentally comments on that state of affairs more times than I can count. I earmarked some pointed quotes I could show if you'd like. Personally I might also add a major Spoiler Alert. Not everyone has read Ben Counters storys and it seems you've chronicled the whole bloody thing in your article. I had to skip over it as I haven't read it and am still not sure if I plan to. What can I say I'm just not a fan of his works. But still my advice stands. When writing about specific battles and such it may be prudent to shorten it and leave out a lot. In staying with typical Grey Knight feel not much is known of their battles, save to the knights who fought it themselves. I may shorten the sections from Ben Counter's books as they are on the longish side right now but I generally don't put in spoiler alerts, all the Comprehensive Histories are major spoilers for the grand majority of a Chapter's background, it seems rather self evident for the serious without a giant header at the top. There was one for the Blood Raven article for a while and it just didn't make sense. If someone doesn't want to read a spoiler just skip over the attendant Famous Battles section as you did. Honestly though, as for the Ben Counter books, they are very bad. I would suggest reading the first novel: "Grey Knight" as that one has the most information on the Chapter with the least implausible story. The series just gets worse after that though. Also, why describe much of Titan as "Decrepit"? I know very few knights are ever there but that doesn't mean that various servitors or chapter serfs cannot perform such tasks... never mind.... Counter wrote it didn't he?.... Yea it's something Counter goes into a couple of times. Basically the idea is various parts of Titan wax and wane in popularity and their state or repair likewise shifts, with various areas being totally rebuilt from time to time as the Chapter's history progresses. This does sort of fit in with the notion that Titan has been a fortress since before the Imperium began, with parts of the fortifications pre-dating the Emperor's Crusade, and the Grey Knight's are just the latest tenants. Just my input. Hope it helps you. =]D[= All input helps. :P Anyway I'm assuming much is going to have to change when the new Codex rolls along, hopefully in Q1 of 2011 if the rumors prove true but I wanted to get a foundation laid down before that. Edited November 11, 2010 by Vash113 Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/214817-grey-knights-a-comprehensive-history/#findComment-2559776 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Inquisitor =D= Posted November 12, 2010 Share Posted November 12, 2010 Well this is... tricky. Various material does suggest the Chapter has companies, just not standard Codex Companies and the material does suggest Terminators are 1st Company Elite. Also where did you get the material about a "council of Grand Masters" specifically? Various sources I've looked into just mention a single Chapter Master. Check pages 6 and 7 of the Daemonhunters Codex. - Paragraph 3, page 6. - Paragraph 2, page 7 - Grey Knight Organization block at the bottom of page 7. I can't seem to locate the blurb about there being multiple Grand Masters but the book does say "and one of it's grand masters is traditionally a member of the Inner Conclave of the Inquisition" Which points to me that there are multiple grand masters.... I'll keep hunting. I'm good at it. :mellow: =]D[= Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/214817-grey-knights-a-comprehensive-history/#findComment-2559885 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vash113 Posted November 12, 2010 Author Share Posted November 12, 2010 Yea that's what I thought, I know of that reference the problem is there are other references to Chapter Masters, and with the Comprehensive History articles it's sometimes necessary to reconcile differing accounts and this is one such situation where on the one hand there's no real mention of who leads the Chapter but hints towards a collective of Grand Masters, yet on the other hand there's multiple references to a Chapter Master. I think I was swayed on this because of the upcoming Codex and the likely expansion of the Chapter organization in conjunction with the book Grey Knight's the material seemed to indicate more along the lines of a Chapter Master and Company organization. I hope to see this expounded upon fully when the new Daemonhunters Codex comes out. By the way Grey Knight also added Chaplains and Apothecaries to the Chapter that hadn't been really mentioned before and a number of other things. Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/214817-grey-knights-a-comprehensive-history/#findComment-2559928 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Inquisitor =D= Posted November 12, 2010 Share Posted November 12, 2010 Arghh... Don't get me started on the thought of Grey Knight Chaplains... I can see how using the Chapter Master idea simplifies things but every rumor I've caught says that the organization will remain the same with some strange new specialist added in. And personally I'm hoping it stays that way, keeps my guys from being "Grey Marines". (You bring 100 marines, I bring 20 Grey Knights.) Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/214817-grey-knights-a-comprehensive-history/#findComment-2560033 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vash113 Posted November 14, 2010 Author Share Posted November 14, 2010 I've made some updates and changes with yet more information from a variety of sources and a few minor tweaks here and there. The post above has been edited to reflect these changes and the article can now be found in the Librarium here, enjoy! Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/214817-grey-knights-a-comprehensive-history/#findComment-2561573 Share on other sites More sharing options...
iamnothere Posted November 20, 2010 Share Posted November 20, 2010 Kudos to you Vash113 you made me post on B&C again. I particularly liked the Obituraray. Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/214817-grey-knights-a-comprehensive-history/#findComment-2567537 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jonny Wolf Posted November 22, 2010 Share Posted November 22, 2010 Vash, I'm thinking of starting up a GK army. Thanks for the GREAT article! Jonny Wolf Praise Russ! Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/214817-grey-knights-a-comprehensive-history/#findComment-2569190 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Captain Tezdal Posted November 22, 2010 Share Posted November 22, 2010 Curious, where is the reference to there being a chapter master? Everything I've ever read indicated multiple Grand Masters, nothing really more specific then that. Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/214817-grey-knights-a-comprehensive-history/#findComment-2569504 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vash113 Posted November 24, 2010 Author Share Posted November 24, 2010 Kudos to you Vash113 you made me post on B&C again. I particularly liked the Obituraray. Glad to hear it. Vash, I'm thinking of starting up a GK army. Thanks for the GREAT article! I'm glad you enjoyed it. :cuss Curious, where is the reference to there being a chapter master? Everything I've ever read indicated multiple Grand Masters, nothing really more specific then that. Imperial Armor II page 191 about Chapter Master Orias. The Grey Knights: Index Astartes also says as much, basically the same line as the Codex but replace "one of its Grand Masters serves is traditionally a member of the Inner Conclave" with "its Chapter Master..." and there you have it. Its a bit finicky but until the new Codex comes out it will have to do. Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/214817-grey-knights-a-comprehensive-history/#findComment-2570679 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Captain Tezdal Posted November 24, 2010 Share Posted November 24, 2010 Thanks, just re-read the IA, totally forgot about that. Hopefully it will be sorted out in the next codex. Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/214817-grey-knights-a-comprehensive-history/#findComment-2570724 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skyhawk Posted November 28, 2010 Share Posted November 28, 2010 (edited) Scratch that "chaplain" or I'll claw it out myself... for deamon's sake! The Grey knights never had one and never will. The maniacal typing of one lunatic author doesn't mean it's canon all of a sudden. Edited November 28, 2010 by Skyhawk Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/214817-grey-knights-a-comprehensive-history/#findComment-2574659 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vash113 Posted November 29, 2010 Author Share Posted November 29, 2010 Scratch that "chaplain" or I'll claw it out myself... for deamon's sake!The Grey knights never had one and never will. The maniacal typing of one lunatic author doesn't mean it's canon all of a sudden. Unfortunately the Black Library can't really be ignored off hand and to do so kind of defeats the purpose of the article. I actually expect the new Codex will agree with the Black Library novels. For a Chapter as spiritual, psychically potent and specialized it makes absolutely little sense for them not to have Apothecaries and Chaplains at the very least to see to the Chapter's physical and spiritual health. I also expect the restriction on vehicles and the limitation on unit types will be somewhat removed by the new Codex as well as far as the rumors seem to be indicating. Regardless of all that though, it's in the source material, so it stays whether we necessarily like it or not. Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/214817-grey-knights-a-comprehensive-history/#findComment-2574990 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skyhawk Posted November 30, 2010 Share Posted November 30, 2010 Chaplains are disciplinarians of the Astartes. They keep the rank and file in line and watch over command and discipline. A "spiritual way" it may be but it's all the same purpose. Do you expect the Grey Knights to be in need of discipline on the battlefield? Apothecaries stabilise battlefield casualties and extract the gene-seed. Yet as the they fight the most terrifying of enemies all geneseed of those wounded by daemons would be useless. As a matter of fact how do you expect to treat wounds from a Daemonblade? As noted above, I find the existence of both of those specialties pointless. Case closed. Lets not litter the topic. Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/214817-grey-knights-a-comprehensive-history/#findComment-2576600 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vash113 Posted December 1, 2010 Author Share Posted December 1, 2010 Chaplains are disciplinarians of the Astartes. They keep the rank and file in line and watch over command and discipline.A "spiritual way" it may be but it's all the same purpose. Do you expect the Grey Knights to be in need of discipline on the battlefield? Chaplains are not disciplinary officers, they are not commissars. They administer to the spiritual well being of the Chapter and its battle-brothers, extolling their brethren to greater feats of piety and courage on the battlefield. Yes the Grey Knights may be the purest of all Astartes but you really think some Chaplains couldn't hurt? Especially for such devout warriors I think Chaplains would be integral. Administering to the Chapter's battle-brothers off the field as well as on, listening to confessions and cleansing the battle-brothers souls after each battle, leading prayer services and administering to last rites and internment. These are all important aspects of any Chapter and I see no reason to assume the Grey Knights of all Chapters would not need Chaplains. Apothecaries stabilise battlefield casualties and extract the gene-seed.Yet as the they fight the most terrifying of enemies all geneseed of those wounded by daemons would be useless. As a matter of fact how do you expect to treat wounds from a Daemonblade? That is rather audacious. There's no indication that having a marines head torn off by a Greater Daemon taints the Chapter's gene-seed, in fact if the Chapter didn't recover gene-seed from battlefield casualties they wouldn't last long. No Chapter can manage 0 battlefield gene-seed recovery and survive, none. Grey Knights would receive wounds and require treatment just like marines of any other Chapter, sure their casualty and mortality rates would be higher but I would think that is even more indication that the Chapter would train and maintain among the most skilled and experienced Apothecaries in the Imperium to administer to the most specialized Chapter in the Imperium with very demanding medical needs, to assume otherwise is just illogical. After all every Chapter must maintain apothecaries or there would be no new Marines, Apothecaries are the ones that administer to the transformation process of all Marines. As for treating wounds from a daemonblade well... bandages and holy water would be a good start don't you think? To be more precise, battlefield surgery to remove any fragments of the tainted blade or if necessary amputate the limb and replace it later with an augmetic (requiring both the expertise of a Tech Adept and an Apothecary), apply blessed unguents or holy water to cleanse the wound and stitch the wound shut. There are several noted instances of individuals being treated for and recovering from daemonblade wounds in GW material, daemonblades are vile and nasty weapons but that doesn't mean they cannot be treated. As noted above, I find the existence of both of those specialties pointless.Case closed. Lets not litter the topic. Such a notion just makes no sense, the necessity of both specialist groups is pretty obvious and it seems ludicrous to assume the Grey Knights would maintain no such specialists, heck for all we know they may well have their own version of Tech-Marines and other even more esoteric specialists that we, as of yet, do not know about. The rumors for the new Codex continue to talk about plenty of new units and lots of new material. We ultimately don't know that much about the Chapter and I fully expect the Chapter's background and structure to be significantly flushed out and if your expecting to see no such specialists I think you will be very disappointed. Because ultimately the Grey Knights may be a Chapter apart but they are still Space Marines. They have just the same need (if not more) than every other Chapter to have specialists that find, examine and recruit initiates, administer to the mental, physical and spiritual health of the Chapter, maintain its arms, armor and vehicles, inter warriors within Dreadnoughts and maintain them. Not to mention the Chapter likely also needs specialists able to manufacture and maintain its highly specialized and unique weapons and wargear, tend to the Chapter's arcane Libraries of daemonic and corrupt knowledge, as well as training officers for the Chapter's unique ways of war and combat doctrine. The Grey Knights maintain among the Imperium's most sophisticated and specialized weapons and arcane devices, there's no reason to assume they do not maintain equally sophisticated classes of specialists. But ultimately your right in that it is a closed case, those specialists are in the Chapter's GW published background, therefore they exist and cannot really be ignored unless new material retcons them out. Thanks, just re-read the IA, totally forgot about that. Hopefully it will be sorted out in the next codex. Indeed, I hope the new Codex sorts it out as well, among other things. We will hopefully find out in March at which point I'll most certainly be updating the article with all new information. Ah which reminds me I should add in the mention of the Stormraven from the Codex: Blood Angels... I forgot about that before. Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/214817-grey-knights-a-comprehensive-history/#findComment-2576880 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brother Tyler Posted May 11, 2018 Share Posted May 11, 2018 keep Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/214817-grey-knights-a-comprehensive-history/#findComment-5078890 Share on other sites More sharing options...
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