Insurrectionists' Strategium

[Big Bad Squig]

PART 5 - FINAL PART

 

It was him.  Koschei though at first that it was merely another vision, but the Godslayers stood still, watching on with shock.

                “Koschei Kharkovic,” the Legionnaire said.  “So glad to finally meet you.”

                “What are you?” the Primarch spat back, stepping forwards alone amongst the bodies.

                “Were you not listening?”

                Koschei stopped, confused for a moment.  Recognition flashed across the faces of the assembled Space Marines.

                “Nurgleth,” came the whispers, quiet at first, building into a chant.  “Nurgleth.  Nurgleth.”

                “Indeed,” responded the Legionnaire.  “Nurgleth is my name.”

                “Why are you here?” Koschei asked, infuriated, brandishing his knife.  “I was rid of you!  I have told you!  Over and over I have told you!  Leave me be!  I serve Icarion no more!

 

**********

                Of all the things that had transpired that day, to Babichev the revelation was unexpectedly unsurprising.  The legionnaire speaking to Kharkovic, Nurgleth, had been dead only moments ago.  Babichev’s home was under siege by invisible creatures that bled gold.  A disagreement between brothers was unimportant.

                “It was necessary,” replied Nurgleth, smiling.  The Primarch spat at the legionnaires feet, looming over the creature’s frail and battered body.  Babichev squinted against the light.  Coughed.

                “Why are you here?” Kharkovic repeated.  Nurgleth smiled again.

                “To make good on my promise.”

 

**********

                “Your promise.”

                “Correct,” Nurgleth said.  “My promise.  The promise I made to you so many years ago.  The promise for which you betrayed your father.”

                Koschei was vaguely aware of movement in the corner of his eye.

                “The promise for which you turned against your family.”

                A noise behind him went unnoticed.  Koschei’s vision was focused entirely on the creature standing before him.  On the dent on the left side of the warrior’s breastplate, where the dagger would slip through, cutting into one of the astartes’ hearts.

                “The promise for which you murdered your brother.”

                Koschei’s blade darted forwards.  Caught in mid-air by Nurgleth’s hand, pulled free of the primarch’s grip.  Snapped into two and cast aside.  He swung a colossal haymaker at the side of the Legionnaire’s skull.  The fist seemed to carve through nought but empty air.  Nurgleth remained where he was, staring on smugly.

                A shiver-inducing wail made Koschei turn.

 

**********

                Babichev clutched his forehead with both hands.  The light pierced his skull, burning into his brain.  He coughed again, tasting the red splatter that accompanied it.  He dropped to one knee, groaning once more with the pain.  The ground stank of noise, unending noise, assaulting Babichev from all directions.

 

**********

                It was Maksim, the Captain, on his knees and screaming.  Not only him, Koschei saw with horror.  It was every one, each and every Godslayer.  Screaming and holding their heads.

                “What have you done?” he demanded, attempting in vain to take hold of the Legionnaire.

                “I promised you I would make all men equal,” Koschei heard over the cries.  “And that I have.”

 

**********

                “Equal in death.”

                Those were the only words Babichev could discern amidst the mangled conglomeration of lights and sounds and pain.  He tried to answer, but it came out as nothing but a formless howl.  His entire body started to shake.  Fell to the floor.  Felt the cold stone against his face.  He opened his eyes.  For a moment he saw, and then all the colours and shapes and forms tangled themselves together in a bright, graceless mess of fear.  And then that too disappeared.

 

**********

                As Koschei’s sons shivered and died around him, the sickness and genius of Nurgleth’s joke surfaced.  He looked around for a moment at the thrashing mass of orange and grey and crimson in shock.  And then he began to laugh.  A harsh laugh that burned the throat as it left.  Koschei fell to his knees.  Rested his fist on the ground, immobilised by laughter.  And slowly it turned to tears, unstoppable tears and choked wails.  He placed his head quietly onto the ground, closing his eyes and weeping.

 

**********

                Maksim Babichev rose to his feet.  Looked down at the stains his blood had left on the ground.  A figure lay kneeling amongst the bodies.  He stretched out his arms, walking towards him slowly.

 

**********

                A gentle hand rested itself on Koschei’s shoulder.  He leant up, turning.  Rose to his feet.  It was Maksim.  His arms open.  Koschei smiled.  He took his son’s hand in his.

                “Maksim Babichev.”

                He saw Maksim look up through the tears.  Open his mouth.

                “Thank you for your service.”

 

                Koschei drew him into an embrace, hearing his teeth clatter together as he tried to bite at the Primarch’s exposed ear.  He lingered for a moment.  Then drew the combat knife from Maksim’s belt, pushing it slowly through his power armour until the movement stopped.  He let his body drop quietly down onto the floor.  And with that, he fled, pursued by the lumbering corpses as he retreated, weeping, into the ruined city.

[simison]

How is it every time I make a throwaway comment it becomes a fully fledged thing? Goddamn people, do not trust me.

 

Need I remind you that it was a throwaway comment of mine that started this project? Seriously, you have to be more responsible with your throwaway comments, or crap like this happens.

 

 

 

Fair; the Jackals and the Ghost Walkers have gotten little love recently (although I'm sure for valid reasons).

 

@simison:  I don't have dates, but the rough outline of the Godslayers is:

  - Turn to Icarion

  - After a fair amount of time fighting for the traitors (5-10 years-ish), return to defend Zbruch

  - Emerge after c. 6  months as the corrupted Godslayers

 

 

The timing is a little awkward, given that this happens at latest in year 10 of the Insurrection with another 10 years to go before the Insurrectionists fracture. If you still want the year when Koschei returns to Zbruch to stay the same, we could have a Warp Storm descend on the system. It locks the Godslayers in for a decade in real-time, but it is only 6 months to them. This could be the event that forces Icarion to introduce small bits of Chaos into his legions to maintain his advantage and starts the spiral from there. The Godslayers return to the war right after the renegades defect. How does that sound? 

 

Invictus has RL keeping him busy for the moment which is why we aren't seeing any Jackel work lately. Depth, I'm not sure. I can't remember the last time I've seen him in here. 

 

Or we could have Malal use the opportunity to try and usurp Tzeentch following K'awil's death and so a brief civil war breaks out between Malal's legion(Ghost Walkers?) and the Grave Stalkers?

 

Although we are working with a hand tied behind our backs somewhat as we just know so little about the Ghost Walkers

 

That would be a very interesting scenario. I'm not sure if the Ghost Walkers will fall to Malal (that's up to, Depth). But, at this point, I think we should make Malal officially active in the BotL canon (especially given how hard GW tries to keep him around, might as well reward him with an actual presence) barring any powerful counter-arguments. 

 

Even if Depth nixes his legion falling to Malal, since the key requirement is hatred of Chaos (with a good dash of self-loathing), I imagine Malal could find recruits in any legion, given the right circumstances. (I typed out that sentence and noticed just how well Koschei fits the bill, hilarious irony there.) 

[Big Bad Squig]

Oh, I thought the Insurrectionists fractured at the ten year mark. I had intended for the timings to coincide; in that case call it 20 years until the attack on Zbruch

[Sigismund229]

Even if Depth nixes his legion falling to Malal, since the key requirement is hatred of Chaos (with a good dash of self-loathing)

Hmmm....this gives me an idea for the Black Guard...thanks very much sim!

 

Back on topic(ish): I'd say a warp storm on the way to Zbuch would be a good way of justifying the time gap. Also, perhaps Koschei searching desperately for a way to reverse the effects and only re appearing a few years later?

 

Btw, Squig, is Koschei unaffected by the event which transforms his sons? I thought that was when he asceded to deamon princedom?

[Big Bad Squig]

We decided back when we were using the old timescale that Koschei should ascend later, but seeing as we're using the extended one now, that might be more likely to happen.

[simison]

Oh, I thought the Insurrectionists fractured at the ten year mark. I had intended for the timings to coincide; in that case call it 20 years until the attack on Zbruch

 

Ah, that's fine. Yeah, just think of the Insurrection as lasting 30 years for an easy reference number.

 

In that case, the corruption in the other legions is becoming more and more obvious which adds almost a desperate tone to Koschei's fall. He knows what's happening to the other legions, he remembers the whispers from before, I'd bet that he's getting nervous about what's going to happen to his sons right before Zbruch happens. 

 

And yeah, I agree with your point earlier. When Koschei takes his entire legion back to Zbruch, Kozja sees the opportunity for him and Jade to make their break for it, smashing through the Grave Walkers and K'awil. 

 

EDIT: I can only imagine the sheer amount of panic that hits Icarion when all of this happens in the span of a month. He goes from outnumbering the Loyalists 10-7, when suddenly the Godslayers disappear, the Jackels go renegade & head towards the galactic edge, and Kozja & Jade kill K'awil before establishing their own empire in another corner of the galaxy. That's 10-7 his advantage dropping to 7-6 his disadvantage. For five months, Icarion has completely lost his legion advantage. The situation demands that he invokes the forces of Chaos just to maintain his momentum. 

Edited March 25, 2016 by simison

[Skalpynock]

I had completely forgotten about the Revolutionaries murdering K'awil and the Jackals going rogue. Thanks for the reminder.

[Doctor Perils]

I know this might very well be late, but what about making K'awil fall to Malal and Coch'ise to Tzeentch.

 

Also, when Tzeentch is involved, we shouldn't explicitely state that his plans don't work or that he loses: it might turn out that Malal is simply one of his alter egos, allowing him to control a greater part of the warp without the other gods forming a coalition against him? Or any number of other theories... But I do like the idea of a war between some of the Insurrectionists, even if it is just for show (part of an elaborate plan)

[MikhalLeNoir]

Yeah. Soemhow it makes sense thst the pariah is malals Champion.

 

But one point against malal: although we jave an alternate reality, the chaos gods are the same aren't they? And there are coming lightning bearers from canonverse through and in their universe is no real malal. So isn't that confusing.

Edited March 26, 2016 by MikhalLeNoir

[Doctor Perils]

Yeah. Soemhow it makes sense thst the pariah is malals Champion.

 

But one point against malal: although we jave an alternate reality, the chaos gods are the same aren't they? And there are coming lightning bearers from canonverse through and in their universe is no real malal. So isn't that confusing.

There is no Malal... DOES NOT COMPUTE...

[simison]

Yeah. Soemhow it makes sense thst the pariah is malals Champion.

 

But one point against malal: although we jave an alternate reality, the chaos gods are the same aren't they? And there are coming lightning bearers from canonverse through and in their universe is no real malal. So isn't that confusing.

 

Except the only reason Malal isn't a part of the canon is because of Real Life barriers. GW has specifically tried to work around this in several instances, including the Sons of Malic chapter. Therefore, GW wants Malal to be canon, and can't do it. We, as a non-profit fan project, are free of those restrictions. I see no reason for us not to include Malal.

 

As to the canon versus BotL-verse confusion, it's the Warp. This is the realm where Slaanesh simultaneously was born in M30, yet always existed prior to that because of all of the broken rules of reality. It can handle one more paradox. 

 

I'm especially against having Malal be another persona of Tzeentch. Either we take advantage of our freedom and have him, or we don't. 

 

Now, as to whether or not K'awil and his legion go Malal, I'll leave up to Grifft (which is bad timing, since we'll have to wait a week to hear from him). I prefer what we have because I'd like to see a less static history of the Chaos realm than what we see in canon. And having Malal gain ground at Tzeentch's expense is a major shift I'd like to see. 

[Grifftofer]

Just thought I'd chime in quickly while I have a free moment. I'd be fine with K'awil and the 15th falling to Malal, it might even fit better than what I had in mind for their fall to tzeentch. I'd prefer it if there was a legion to take my place for tzeentch's though, as I think its generally better for the four gods to be somewhat balanced. So if someone is willing to take on that role I will happily switch :)

[simison]

Just thought I'd chime in quickly while I have a free moment. I'd be fine with K'awil and the 15th falling to Malal, it might even fit better than what I had in mind for their fall to tzeentch. I'd prefer it if there was a legion to take my place for tzeentch's though, as I think its generally better for the four gods to be somewhat balanced. So if someone is willing to take on that role I will happily switch http://image.bolterandchainsword.com//public/style_emoticons/default/smile.png

 

The only Traitor legion currently free would be the Ghost Walkers. Perhaps trading between gods can be done, but the other three (Drowned, Berserkers, & Godslayers) are pretty settled into their roles. I think I'll send a message to Depth to get his opinion. 

 

EDIT: Okay, I'm thinking on how going to Malal changes K'awil's and the Grave Stalkers' role in the Insurrection. Instead of being a simple additional source of corruption, I now see him acting as Icarion's lieutenant and his subtle counter to Travier's attempts to infect the legions with Chaos worship. The first twenty years of the Insurrection are no longer simply about Icarion's gradual expansion, but is also about his attempts to fend off the temptations of Chaos. However, he's not entirely successful, and I think the Blood Crusade should be the event that sows the seeds of the Revolution. It is there that Travier finally converts one of his brothers to daemonhood and alarms the Jade General & Kozja. Icarion attempts to mitigate the damage, but when Koschei and the Godslayers disappear, the Revolutionaries and the Jackels see their opportunity and make a break for it. Killing K'awil, while necessary from a military standpoint, destroys Icarion's ability to limit the spread of Chaos, which is accelerated by corrupted Koschei's return.  

Edited March 26, 2016 by simison

[Sigismund229]

Perhaps the GS begin to get "blessings" from Tzeentch or just Chaos and they're digusted by it and are desperate for a way to stop it: enter Malal.(that's how my Black Guard fell, only Malal started turning their skin to stone which I don't think should happen to the GS)

[MikhalLeNoir]

Wahh. My smartphone...

I lime the new direcrion of the grave stalkers

Edited March 26, 2016 by MikhalLeNoir

[Skalpynock]

And it only makes Koschei even more tragic, in that he can't even break off with the Revolutionaries after Zbruch. I've started writing something about that.

[Skalpynock]

[i posted it in the wrong thread, my apologies]

 

The starscape window opened before a world that could only be described as a paradise: forests of a bright green bordering oceans of the deepest blue, and beyond the terminator the lights of prosperous cities. But on this day, Alestria would burn. Inside the ship, two hosts of angels were assembled, preparing to lay waste to this heaven among the stars. Orange and white, steel and gold, and among them the primarchs of the Eighth and Ninth legions were staring at the gem below. The order of purgation had come as a surprise to both of them, their legions refusing the use of world-burning weaponry in any situation.

"Truly a tragedy, brother." the pariah observed, bowing his head toward the target.

"Tragic indeed, Koschei, but it is necessary." agreed Darzalas, joining him in the bow.

"How far shall we go in the name of necessity?" Kharkovic lamented "I already have the blood of a brother on my hands, Alexos and Morro are falling to their own madness, and now we are ordered to burn this jewel of a world! Tell me Kozja, how far will we go in the name of the Stormborn?" 

Darzalas put an armoured hand on his brother's pauldron

 "It is unfortunate, and I cannot help but agree with you. The Emperor is a tyrant, Icarion is corrupted; but really, what can we do? The General shares this sentiment as well, but what could three legions hope to do against fifteen?

"We have a saying on Zbruch, 'Better die free than survive under a tyrant', one common to all peoples in the galaxy. Even if we can't make a difference, we must attempt."

"This we shall. But for now, this world must be reconquered." He turned to his warriors, standing in perfectly ordered ranks. "Voitely, are we no better than the likes of Yucahu or Coch'ise? Shall we bring Alestria to the fold by fire, or by example?"

[Sigismund229]

@squig. I had an idea about the Godslayers. Perhaps, through sheer force of will, some of them keep control of their own bodies and become plague marines rather than zombies?

[Big Bad Squig]

If you're looking to be able to create Godslayers with a personality, there are those in which the daemon presence is stronger, making them capable of independent thought and very similar to plague marines (which is reflected by an upgrade to characters and a special unit).  As well as this, the dreadnoughts are immune to the curse because of their life support systems.  I'm wary of having literal plague marines (in the death guard sense) because it that might seem too similar for some people.  If the consensus is against me, though, I would be happy to change that.

Edited March 28, 2016 by Big Bad Squig

[MikhalLeNoir]

Hmm. As nurgle is not only god of death and decay but if life as well, how about making nurgle marines full of life? How about them growing mushrooms like the clicker in "the last of us" or cancer with mutated flesh, growing tumors all over the body. But going away from the rotten look of plague marines.

[Nomus Sardauk]

So, mushroom marines or Deadpool marines? Now there's an interesting concept...

[MikhalLeNoir]

Or that: Please only click if you can handle it. To some it is just plain ugly.

Hidden Content

http://polpix.sueddeutsche.com/bild/1.343849.1357791045/640x360/mysterioese-krankheit.jpg

Edited March 28, 2016 by MikhalLeNoir

[Raktra]

Holy nuts, where's that from?

[MikhalLeNoir]

The poor lad has a mutated pappillo virus and no immunity against it so it grows new cells on a very fast rate.

[Sigismund229]

The Hordes of Death Part2

Ignace's fingers fumbled with his bayonet as he fixed it onto its lug on his lasgun. Then when he looked back over the parapet he was confronted with a pair of ceramite armoured legs. Stumbling backwards in surprise, Ignace tripped over and fell backwards, colliding with the trench wall. From there, low as he was, he could see the face of the Godslayer, rotting with flies buzzing busily about his dirty, blood matted hair. Fumbling with his fingers, not once taking his eyes off of the Godslayer, who was stumbling over the lip of the trench. Finally picking up his lasgun, Ignace took aim and put a lasbolt straight through the Godslayer's eye, killing him for the last time.

 

Getting up, Ignace looked about him. All across the line the Godslayers were stumbling into the trench and piling the Imperial Army troopers to the ground then...Ignace swallowed hard. Eating them alive, tearing chunks of flesh out of them. Even as he looked on, one of them tore a huge, bloody chunk of meat out of Krisjyians. Charging forwards, Ignace drove his bayonet straight through the Godslayer's skull. Pulling it out, he looked around him, feverishly trying to find a way out of this death trap he had become caught in.

 

As he did so he saw ever more troopers get piled to the ground, including the lieutenant. "Up you get" he said to Krisjyians, supporting him. Slinging his rifle over his shoulder, Ignace picked up the lieutenants shotgun and, with Krisjyians being supported on one arm, he set off down the communications trench as fast as he could, desperate to get away from these undead men but at the same time unwilling to abandon his friend.

 

Turning around, he saw a Godslayer lumbering after him. In desperation he fired the shotgun at it single handed, near breaking his wrist but at least stopping the Godslayer in its tracks then he continued to move down the trench as fast as Krisjyians, whose shoulder was bleeding uncontrollably, could move.