The Ghost Knights

[Plaguecaster]

Here it is after many unsuccessful attempts I have finally finished my fluff for my Renegade chapter The Ghost attempts with all the advice I have got I have just about changed it completely so it should be free of any mistakes but if anyone finds anything that does not make sense or just wants to ask a question about it feel free to be a honest as possible.

The Ghost Knights

Before embracing Nurgle

After embracing Nurgle

Battle cry: "Death Walks with Us"

Origins and fall to Chaos

The Ghost Knights were a fanatically loyal crusading chapter which fell to the worship of Nurgle becoming dark necromancers due to their morbid obsession with death revering the Emperor as the god of death. Founded in the early M38 as part of the 23rd founding they were tasked with protecting imperial worlds along the edge of the Segmentum Pacificius from pirates and raiders.

Nearly six hundred years after their founding the Ghost Knights received a distress call from one of their primary recruiting worlds; a space hulk was slowly drifting towards the planet with all those who entered it disappeared. Librarian Michael Alexander leads a small strike force to cleanse the Space Hulk inside they find it teeming with disease infected mutants, fighting their way through the mutants Michael leads the strike force into the center of the space hulk where they find a Chaos temple with a rusted plague infested altar saturated with dark sorcery. As the Ghost Knights prepared to destroy the temple, the mutants summoned a plague ridden greater Daemon which slaughters over half the strike force. Grievously wounded by the Daemon, Michael summons all his magical power unwittingly tapping into the power of the chaos altar in an attempt to banish the Daemon. Though it nearly kills him Michael unleashed a powerful magical blast that destroyed the chaos temple as well as banishing the greater Daemon, with the destruction of the Daemon the surviving members of the strike force destroyed the hulk taking their fallen brethren with them. When the strike force returned to their chapter Michael was harshly screened for any taint of chaos, whilst there was no evidence of any taint unknown to the rest of the chapter he begins to hear voices of comfort and reason in his head who he believed was from Death who the Ghost Knights worship.

In the next two hundred years with the guidance of the voice in his head, Michael rapidly rose through the ranks of the chapter gaining great honour and glory for the chapter eventually becoming Chief Librarian with many of the chapter believing that Michael was favoured by Death. When he became Chief Librarian he also became the spiritual leader of the chapter's death cult with the entire chapter seeking guidance from him including the Chaplains, through Michael's spiritual guidance other members of the Ghost Knights began to hear the voices until it spread to the entire chapter. Through the voices the chapter slowly realized the truth of the galaxy that the Imperium of man is a lie and the Emperor has abandoned them.

Michael eventually became chapter master after the previous one under guidance from the voices stepped down for the favoured one (as Michael was known), under his leadership the Ghost Knights began spreading their cult to all their recruiting worlds preaching that death is inevitable, it is only through the worship of death that you will be saved from a hostile galaxy of lies and deceit with those who fall in his name are reborn as holy deathless warriors. With their recruiting worlds converted to the glorious worship of death they began to amass an army of faithful who were utterly dedicated to the Ghost Knights, launching a crusade to spread the worship of death they began to convert Imperial worlds to their cult attacking those who resisted.

Eventually Inquisitors of the Ordo Hereticus shocked at the heresy of the Ghost Knights declared them traitors amassing a massive imperial army with elements of the Black Templars to purge the tainted Ghost Knights eventually bringing them to battle on the Hive world Skanda. Even with their zealous followers the Ghost Knights were nearly utterly defeated by the superior might of the Imperial army with only four hundred battle brothers remaining lead by Michael who was wounded by an Emperors Champion. In desperation the Ghost Knights called out to their God for salvation it was then they discovered the true identity of their God Death who was Nurgle the God of death and decay, knowing there was no turning back they resolved to die fighting to the death than to be executed without honour. Whispering to Michael the voice which was Nurgle showed him that if he gave himself body and soul to Grandfather Nurgle then the Ghost Knights would be saved, knowing he would be damned for eternity but desperate for his chapter to survive Michael agreed. Nurgle increased Michael's sorcerous powers tenfold who immediately channelled all his powers into a psychic shockwave which not only opened a warp rift from which a horde of Nurgle Daemons emerged but it also dragged the souls all the dead back into their bodies in an unholy parody of life (or unlife) bound to the will of Michael. Facing the combined might of the Ghost Knights and their unholy allies the Imperial army was utterly destroyed with the dead being added to the horde of undead. After the battle the remaining Ghost Knights swore themselves body and soul to Nurgle fleeing to the Halo Zone on their remaining ships taking with them their army of the undead establishing a stronghold in the Halo Zone from which they launch raids against the Imperium spreading the cult of Nurgle using the dead as a weapon.

Home world/ fleet

The Ghost Knights were and still are a large fleet based chapter that recruited from a worlds that they protected, with their fall to chaos they have become deadly raiders that strike Imperial world spreading the gifts of Nurgle by converting any they capture to the cult of Nurgle. They have been known to target worlds that are holy to the imperium with the goal of converting that world to the cult of Nurgle coming into conflict with the forces of the Ecclesiarchy who utterly abhor the Ghost Knights seeking to purge their corruption once and for all. Though most of their fleet was destroyed during there their fall to Nurgle, the Ghost Knights have rebuilt their strength capturing many Imperial ships including the Emperor Class battleship "Glory of Macharius" now renamed "Spectre of Decay" which serves as the personal flagship of Michael Vilepox always seen at the head of the Ghost Knight’s plague fleet. The world they claimed in the Halo Zone Pandemicus is a massive plague choked wasteland where the dead roam the surface with seven mighty fortress cities ruled over by the chapters companies which produce countless weapons, armour as well as Daemon engines belching out toxic fumes, it has become a refuge for many renegades with members of the Dark Mechanicus, and a small iron warriors warband who have sworn allegiance to the Ghost Knights. Though it is almost a Daemon world its greatest defence does not lie in the almost impregnable fortress cities or the fleet that guards it but in the Halo Zone itself. The Halo Zone has always been known as a region of ghost by the Imperium which the Astronomican cannot penetrate as such any imperial fleet becomes lost and disorientated with their Navigators unable guide them through the warp falling easy victim to the Ghost Knights who's ships are guided by Daemonic sorcery.

Combat Doctrine

The Ghost Knights were a highly secretive and fiercely independent chapter who rarely allied themselves with others and even then were known to abandon their allies in battle to fulfil their own agendas or goals resulting in the near destruction or their allies as such they came to blows with many chapters and the Inquisition were about to investigate the chapter before they turned traitor. They were masters of urban combat being as silent as death itself striking from unexpected positions sowing terror into their enemies. They used stealth as well as hit and run tactics to disrupt their enemies leading them into carefully planned killing grounds where they would use heavy firepower to decimate their enemies before launching devastating counter attacks.

They still generally follow the same tactics since their fall to chaos though now they make a large use of daemon engines as well as using daemons and the undead, they make extensive use of viral weapons using created plagues to decimate their enemies as well as covering the battlefield in a toxic fog. On the battlefield the Ghost Knights fight like rotting spectres striking at the enemy position under the cover of heavy bombardment sowing their deadly plagues weakening the enemy before disappearing like ghosts where they overwhelm the enemy with recently reanimated dead led by chaos sorcerers and plague marines who drag down the enemy. The Ghost Knights have been known to ally themselves with other chaos renegades most notably taking part in the chaos invasion of the Sabbat worlds though the chapter only fights alongside others if it furthers the Ghost Knights goals. During the early stages of the Macharian Heresy the Ghost Knights took advantage of the chaos, raiding many worlds coming into conflict with many space marine chapters including the Minotaurs and Black Templars before being driven back into the Halo Zone by their parent chapter the White Consuls.

Organisation

Being an Ultramarines successor chapter the Ghost Knights followed the Codex Astartes although they had a large number of Librarians. The organisation of the Ghost Knights mainly remains the same since their fall to Chaos though now their chapter is led by Michael Vilepox once Chief Librarian now a mighty Plague Marine Sorcerer known as the Liche Knight who the Ghost Knights are utterly loyal to believing him to be favoured by Nurgle. Since they are no longer able to recruit new initiates into the chapter due to the corruption of their geneseed they have been known to capture space marines from other chapters to corrupt them to the worship of Nurgle becoming part of the Ghost Knights. Most disturbing of all is that the fell Sorcerers of the Ghost Knights use dark necromancy to bind the souls of fallen space marines into their bodies forced to obey the commands of the sorcerer. The Undead space marines are a deadly force to fight against as they are near indestructible with their superior resilience due to being dead combined with their corrupted power armour with only the total destruction of their plague ridden and disease infested bodies or the death of the sorcerer who guides them being able to stop them. They wield rusted bolters that fire putrescent slime covered bolts that are infected with all kinds of deadly plagues or diseases which eat through all but the heaviest armour with not even power armour proof against them. They relentlessly shamble across the battlefield firing as they slowly advance overwhelming all in their way dragging down those foolish enough to fight them in clos combat.

Beliefs

The Ghost Knights were a morbid chapter that fanatically revered the Emperor as the god of death making extensive offerings to the fallen believing them to live on as spirits who possessed the wargear and armour of others. With their fall to chaos the Ghost Knights realized that Nurgle is the true god of death who they fanatically worship spreading the plagues of Nurgle bringing death and decay to all life in the Segmentum Pacificius. Their Chapter was governed by a Mortuary cult in which Chaplains led countless services making offerings to the dead and holding strange funeral services in which ashes of the fallen were merged with newly forged armour and weapons so the spirits of the fallen lived on to bring death to the chapters enemies. The Ghost Knights revered their Librarians as much as Chaplains as spiritual leaders since they had the powers to communicate with the dead not being held in suspicion or mistrust sometimes even leading companies. Their leader Michael Vilepox is revered as a holy prophet by the Ghost Knights for opening the eyes of the chapter to the lies of the Imperium and the Emperor as well as leading them to a God that loves them.

Geneseed

The Geneseed of the Ghost Knights was that of the Ultramarines from their parent chapter the White Consuls who have sworn to hunt down and destroy the Ghost Knights. Once pure and stable being free of any mutations with their allegiance to Nurgle the Ghost Knights Geneseed has been tainted as well as corrupted.

So what do you think???

[maquise]

Seems interesting enough, but I don't know enough about the lore to check you there.

[Plaguecaster]

Not trying to sound rude but could someone please comment on my DIY chapter please

[Andrew J]

Overall its pretty good. First I would go back through it and make it all past tense. You tend to jump back and forth between current and past tense, making it hard to read. Also go back through and please look at other grammar. You tend to also not make things plural when they should be and the opposite.

 

Onto some things I noticed immediately.

 

The Ghost Knights were a fanatically loyal crusading chapter which fell to the worship of Nurgle becoming dark necromancers due to their morbid obsession with death revering the Emperor as the god of death.

I would fix this a little. The wording is long and drawn out. I would say "The Ghost Knights were a fanatically loyal crusading chapter which fell to the worship of Nurgle. They became dark necromancers due to their morbid obsession with death based on their reverance of the Emperor as the god of death."

 

When the strike force returned to their chapter Michael was harshly screened for any taint of chaos, whilst there was no evidence of any taint unknown to the rest of the chapter he begins to hear voices of comfort and reason in his head who he believed was from Death who the Ghost Knights worship.

Pretty much the same thing with this sentence. Also I thought they worshipped the emperor as a the god of death. Here is how I would break it up. "When the strike force returned to their chapter Michael was harshly screened for any taint of chaos. There was no evidence of any taint detected, but unknown to the rest of the chapter he began to hear voices whisper in the back of his subconscious. He believed they were the words of the Emperor guiding him."

 

After the battle the remaining Ghost Knights swore themselves body and soul to Nurgle fleeing to the Halo Zone on their remaining ships taking with them their army of the undead establishing a stronghold in the Halo Zone from which they launch raids against the Imperium spreading the cult of Nurgle using the dead as a weapon.

This is the first time you mention the halo zone. What is it and where is it? Skanda?

 

 

I dont know that much about Nurgle and I am sure there are other places or people on here who know much more than me but it seems that you have a good basic premise down. I would try to go back and make it feel more "40K". What I mean by that is much more flourishly written. I dont know how much Black Library stuff you have read but there is a certain style that GW tends to write into their stories. I dont know if that helps or not but hopefully my rewriting might give you an idea.

 

Hope that helps!

[Plaguecaster]

Thanks for the advice will immediatly get on rewriting it. Skanda is a made up planet name which I used for when the Ghost Knights turn traitor though the Halo Zone does exist here is a link for more on it http://wh40k.lexicanum.com/wiki/Halo_Zone it is located at the edge of the Segmentum Pacificius and was the reason for the Macharian Crusade ending, Macharius' troops refused to enter the region as they believed it was haunted by Ghosts which is pretty much how I came up with the idea for my chapter in the first place there is also more about it in the Imperial Guard codex on page 13 if I remember correctly.

[Andrew J]

Glad to see I could be of some help! I thought the Halo Zone registered in the back of my mind somehow. Thanks for clarifying for me, I would just mention some more about the Halo zone earlier with what you said to set it up for later too. Maybe put that part into the origins part all story like?

 

Something like:

"At the far edge of the Segmentum Pacificus lies the halo zone. Rumours abound that it is haunted by ghosts and horrors that exist outside of the shining light of the Emperor's Astronomican. Lord Solar Macharius could not even enter the region because his troops were so fearful of the rumours of ghosts that bring death."

 

And then go on to talk about your traitor chapter some more.