General Discussion

[simison]

We talked about changing the names of Legion threads and adding the essential info to the first page of each. I was wondering if that's still happening

 

I'm slowly working my way through the Wardens thread. It's a little odd because I'm hopping back and forth between here and Heresy30k since all of the important info is easy to find instead of the beast of a thread in the Age of Darkness forum.

[Sigismund229]

On the world of [redacted] they tell tales of a terrible monster who lives in their jungles. Many tribes say he is the child of the god of death and suffering, others that he is himself the god of death and suffering. Some say he was a lone child, lost by his parents, who crawled into the jungles and became something terrible and monstrous, a thing with sharp fleshing tearing teeth and eyes that are blacker than the darkest night.

 

The tribes tell of how they travelled each year to the stone circle built on [redacted]'s north pole to pay worship to their world's twin sons. They gave the suns offerings of beer and gold and the still beating heart of their finest champion. Then they feasted and ate the bounty of the gods for which they had given offerings. It was the sounds of meriment from this feast that first drew the beast to them, for he hated the sounds of joy above all else.

 

Having drunk their fill and eaten many dishes, the tribesmen fell into a deep sleep. That night, the monster snuck into their midst and dragged three of them into his lair in the jungle where he devoured their flesh and bones, drinking their blood. So it was the next year and so on the third year a hundred warriors remained alert and awake when all others had gone to sleep.

 

When the moon was high in the sky and the dark of night gripped the world, the beast struck again. This time the hundred warriors on guard fought it. It was a human like beast, a feral thing of snapping teeth and black eyes that struck a fear like no other into the hearts of men, a beast who had no fear of fiee and to whom suffering and despair were meat and drink. It fought them, moving inhumanely fast and ripping them limb from limb, killing three of them and dragging their bodies into the jungle like it had their fellows before them.

 

For the next decade the mightiest heroes of the tribes swore that they would end the curse of the beast upon the tribes but each one who challenged it was killed and dragged into the jungle never to be seen again. Then the priests turned to their gods for salvation and confronted this deamon. They were slaughtered in a night.

 

Finally, the tribes began to offer three sacrifices to the beast each year, exchanging three of their most beautiful young women and three of thr bravest young men each year for it to consume. This endured for many a year until finally the Emperor came to [redacted] and with his coming the curse of the beast was lifted. Life returned to normallity, the priesthood conducted the rituals of the gods and the tribes has bountiful hunts and travelled to the north pole each year to pay tribute to their twin suns. However, they still tell tales of a monster beneath the trees and fear the things which venture out of the jungle at night and are ever vigilant for the beasts return, watching for those black eyes observing them from beneath the jungle canopy.

The Testimony of K'awil Pakal.

 

I think I may have just managed to scare myself...

Edited August 10, 2016 by Sigismund229

[MikhalLeNoir]

Oh wow sigi. Great story. Now i have to do 100 pushups. Grrrr. Next time will be more difficult¡¡¡¡

[Nomus Sardauk]

Huh, and they say Kawil wasn't a Humanitarian. ;) *Hannibal f-f-f-f noise*

[Skalpynock]

Wow. Just read K'awil's testament aloud while drunk. It's scary as hell from a drunken non-native speaker.

[Sigismund229]

Wow. Just read K'awil's testament aloud while drunk. It's scary as hell from a drunken non-native speaker.

Good to hear :) I had been wondering if the onky reason I found it scary was because reading it over I was doing so on my phone in my room with every light in the house turned off. I based it off the tale of Beowulf and Grendel, with K'awil as Grendel

 

Through me you pass into the city of woe;

Through me you pass into eternal pain;

Through me among the people lost to aye.

 

Justice the founder of my fabric mov'd;

To rear me was the task of power divine;

Supreme wisdom and primeval love

 

Before things create were none; save things

Eternal and eternal endure

All hope abandon all ye who enter here

 

In my heart of fear and sorrow

Darkness resides

Waiting to be banished

By the never coming morrow

 

Through me you pass into the city of darkness;

Through me you pass into eternal fear;

Through me you walk the streets of darkest woe

 

Injustice the fabric of my life

Abandoned by powers divine

And forever to sorrow sworn

 

Before me all things were eternal

Through me all things die

In death the only hope ye find here

 

My soul of suffering and night

On waters of pain sails

Upon the never flowing tides

Of the river Styx

 

Through me you pass unto death

Through me comes the final day

Through me dies life's last age

 

Before me were things created

By me was all hope destroyed

Amidst the dark of never ending night

The testimony of Sorrosworn Morro

 

The good bits were written by Hesh. The rest was written by me

[Sigismund229]

And finally the big man himself

 

I have never felt such sorrow as the day I discovered the truth. It was the same truth that countless of my sons had fought and died to conceal and that my father had tried so hard to deny.

 

There are no gods. No heaven. No hell. There is only the empirical clarity of the Imperial Truth. This is the "truth" of the universe as my father would have me and my brothers believe. For so long I believed him, for so long I believed in nothing but the Imperial Truth that me and my brothers were tasked with carrying to the most distant colonies of mankind in the furthest reaches of this galaxy. I fought creatures from the darkest depths of the warp and my trust in my father and in the Imperial Truth never wavered. Not until Travier showed me the truth our father had worked to conceal.

 

This galaxy does have gods. But no heaven. Only hell.

 

My sons fought and died at the Emperor's command in the Ghost Crusade, battling the servants of the gods to keep their existence from coming to light while all the while my father intended to kill me, exterminate my sons and destroy my home as soon as I had no use anymore.

 

For nearly two centuries I served my father loyally, never questioning, never looking back, never protesting. For nearly two centuries I led my sons to their deaths in the Emperor's name and in the name of his lie.

 

I am done serving.

The Testament of Icarion Anasem, the Stormborn.

[bluntblade]

I'm feeling sceptical about the Chosen of Malcador. We haven't found any important role for them in the Crusade so far, and I'm concerned they'd clog up the cast as the Insurrection develops.

 

It is worth considering what will happen with the Crusader Host, as that's already in place and, in any case, will probably be our only source of Loyalists from certain Legions. I've got a bit of an idea for two Lightning Bearers; one Oni, tuned into the immediate future, and another whose gift is somewhat stranger and can serve as our Severian

Edited August 11, 2016 by bluntblade

[Sigismund229]

I'm feeling sceptical about the Chosen of Malcador. We haven't found any important role for them in the Crusade so far, and I'm concerned they'd clog up the cast as the Insurrection develops.

 

It is worth considering what will happen with the Crusader Host, as that's already in place and, in any case, will probably be our only source of Loyalists from certain Legions. I've got a bit of an idea for two Lightning Bearers; one Oni, tuned into the immediate future, and another whose gift is somewhat stranger and can serve as our Severian

The Chosen of Malcador serve as the founding group of the Knights Errant and they will function as such during the Insurrection.

 

I once read of a mighty general named Alexandre from the dawn of mankind's empire in the stars. He was a visionary. He took a human army to the far edges of the galaxy. There was nothing left for him to conquer, the world was his. He grew in power and eventually he turned from the gods that had favoured him throughout his conquests, tried to become a god himself. He had his people build monuments to him that were as tall as the sky and entire cities of gold in his honour. The gods withdrew their support. The tides of the warp grew ever more difficult to navigate. His empire splintered and humanity lived in dark times, losing more than it had ever known.

 

We stand on the dawn of a new age. Humanity spreads its reach across the stars once more. However, we do so under my father, the Emperor, the new Alexandre. He has declared there are no gods yet he seeks to make himself one. The dead must weep, if the dead weep. I too would weep in their place to see humanity repeating the mistakes of its past. But I would also hope. The wheel of the universe turns. What was, may come again. The gods still spin the web of men's lives. So now, perhaps the gods wish humanity to be great again.

 

The wheel has turned so that we now stand at a crossroad. The road my father is taking us down will lead to nothing but a slow decay and the eventuall destruction of humanity. The other road leads to a new golden age of humanity. Icarion has already taken his first steps down the second road. I must guide him along it. But it is a narrow road. One misstep and he will step back onto the road my father walks. I cannot allow that to happen.

 

I will not allow that to happen

The testament of Alexos Travier, the First Heretic

Edited August 11, 2016 by Sigismund229

[bluntblade]

Is that preferable, from a dramatic point of view? One thing I like about the Knights Errant is their cobbled-together nature, and the stories that from them being found. For 18 of them to be together from the outset (and that's a lot of characters immediately to try and flesh out) would upset that a bit.

[Chief Captain Redd]

I think you could do it poignantly; imagine 18 Astartes pulled from their legions to serve Malcador for a century being around The Emperor almost daily. And the the Day of Reckoning; brothers conflicted, how could they do this? Then seeing the traitors as failures, for how could they deny the Sky/All Fathers will?

[bluntblade]

Eighteen brothers is a lot to write and characterise, and then have them fit with those of our guys who'll be thrown together already.

 

I'm working those themes in already with a piece where those of the Crusader Host from traitor Legions are ordered to stand down. With the knife twist that one of the Lightning Bearers has (because of the psychic surge from Travier's attack on the wards) realised that Icarion has turned traitor, but has no idea why. Fortunately we have Halcyon Wardens present to trawl through the minds of the captive Astartes and ascertain their loyalties. Only then it transpires that a few of the Host were never rounded up, and the others are set to hunting them through the Petitioner's City.

 

Side note: damn, the Doom OST crushes.

Edited August 11, 2016 by bluntblade

[Chief Captain Redd]

Ohh sure absolutely but we do have trace cultural aspects of each legion, have four or five leads and the rest be support it's not too bad

[bluntblade]

Hmm. If we seriously roll with the idea that Icarion has infiltrators in the Crusader Host, that gives us plenty of scope for killing off characters. But it still feels like a lot on top of what we already have, and it doesn't feel like Malcador's Chosen really serve any purpose other than to be a recruiting pool once the Insurrection breaks out. We already have Custodians and Assassins dealing with low key work and I'm just wary of crowding the field.

 

If people have characters developed properly for the Chosen they can still play a part, of course. Just in a slightly different context.

[Kelborn]

Why only 18?

 

Wouldn't Malcador like to have each of every Legion?

When does he select these Chosen? Prior or after the demise of the Wolves + Sons?

 

If a Wolf and a Son would be needed, leave them to me. ;)

 

Anub Setekh - former member of the Corvidae cult

 

Verekk Helscream - former member of the Thunderwolves Great Company

Edited August 11, 2016 by Kelborn

[bluntblade]

See, that's kind of my issue. We're further crowding an already busy field

[Chief Captain Redd]

I would just say Malcador has them after Prospero as when the crusade gains momentum Custodes would be more sparce so maybe he only has a handful and fills it's ranks with Astartes, maybe those whom excel at their legions prominent disciplines. So like the Bear rep. Would be massive hulking figure in TDA with a servo mounted lightning gun, a massive chain axe, and a shield.

[Sigismund229]

Why only 18?

 

Wouldn't Malcador like to have each of every Legion?

When does he select these Chosen? Prior or after the demise of the Wolves + Sons?

 

If a Wolf and a Son would be needed, leave them to me. ;)

 

Anub Setekh - former member of the Corvidae cult

 

Verekk Helscream - former member of the Thunderwolves Great Company

The Hands are chosen every ten years so by this stage there won't be a SW or TS on there.

 

blunt, all 18 Hands won't survive the opening years of the Insurrection and the ones who do will then go on to lead other groups of Knights Errant or perhaps to serve as negotiators(so when Alex wants to talk to Kozja and the Jade General, he can send a Hand to tell them that so that he doesn't have to abandon his post)

Edited August 11, 2016 by Sigismund229

[bluntblade]

What does Malcador need or want them for? Particularly as he's mostly an administrator.

 

I'm also feeling similarly about the Nightguard. I don't want to be Mr Criticise, but I'm beginning to wonder how worthwhile it is to have them existent before the Heresy, given that we have the Ghost Crusade and the wraith-hunting XX Legion.

Edited August 11, 2016 by bluntblade

[Sigismund229]

What does Malcador need or want them for? Particularly as he's mostly an administrator.

Well before the Insurrection they get things done that Malcador can't be seen to do and serve the dual purpose of propaganda and a ceremonial bodyguard(seeing as the custodes are officialy the Emperor's guard).

[bluntblade]

He's already head of the Assassins in effect, and he seems too humble to me to want a bodyguard for ceremonial purposes. Every time I've encountered him in the fluff, his quite solitary state is a key part of how he is portrayed, and a symbolic guard might go against that.

 

Plus, I don't quite get why Malcador would have an agenda that requires his own agents. If anything, having the same forces at his beck and call that Big E draws on would give a better impression of his power.

Edited August 11, 2016 by bluntblade

[Doctor Perils]

He's already head of the Assassins in effect, and he seems too humble to me to want a bodyguard for ceremonial purposes. Every time I've encountered him in the fluff, his quite solitary state is a key part of how he is portrayed, and a symbolic guard might go against that.

 

Plus, I don't quite get why Malcador would have an agenda that requires his own agents. If anything, having the same forces at his neck and call that Big E draws on would give a better impression of his power.

Plus I get the impression that he is pretty close to the commanding elements of the sisters of silence (they share the Somnus Citadel after all)

[Sigismund229]

He's already head of the Assassins in effect, and he seems too humble to me to want a bodyguard for ceremonial purposes. Every time I've encountered him in the fluff, his quite solitary state is a key part of how he is portrayed, and a symbolic guard might go against that.

 

Plus, I don't quite get why Malcador would have an agenda that requires his own agents. If anything, having the same forces at his neck and call that Big E draws on would give a better impression of his power.

Except he's the regent of the Imperium so there's going to be ceremonial occasions and the like. For those the Hands are both a ceremonial guard but they're also a propaganda piece in a way that the Custodians aren't.

 

And Malcador is unlikely to have his own agenda true. But if there's summat he can't be seen to and neither can the custodians(what with the whole Emperor's guards deal) but that he can't the council of Terra to vote an assassin for he sends a Hand.

[bluntblade]

And if you want your dirty work done on the quiet, you don't use an organisation with your name on it.

[bluntblade]

 

He's already head of the Assassins in effect, and he seems too humble to me to want a bodyguard for ceremonial purposes. Every time I've encountered him in the fluff, his quite solitary state is a key part of how he is portrayed, and a symbolic guard might go against that.

Plus, I don't quite get why Malcador would have an agenda that requires his own agents. If anything, having the same forces at his neck and call that Big E draws on would give a better impression of his power.

Except he's the regent of the Imperium so there's going to be ceremonial occasions and the like. For those the Hands are both a ceremonial guard but they're also a propaganda piece in a way that the Custodians aren't.

And Malcador is unlikely to have his own agenda true. But if there's summat he can't be seen to and neither can the custodians(what with the whole Emperor's guards deal) but that he can't the council of Terra to vote an assassin for he sends a Hand.

The council vote thing is only post-Heresy to the best of my knowledge. And the Imperium will have any number of Rogue Traders, spies and other operstives at its service, who are far less conspicuous than an Astartes.

 

Think of it this way; there must have been ceremonial occasions in the canonverse where the Emperor was absent, yet Malcador felt no need for a symbolic guard beyond a detachment of the Imperial Army.