Black Book - Insurrection (PUBLISHED)

[MikhalLeNoir]

Wardens of light are now sworn vrothers to stygian anx egale warriors too. We are too nice ro hate someone(most of the time)

[Big Bad Squig]

Serpents would probably be Distrusted Allies with the Berserkers

[Grifftofer]

Thanks guys. Those have all been updated.

[bluntblade]

Considering the aftermath for the ambushed Legions, a lot will depend on where Icarion draws his borders. Has anyone got thoughts on that issue?

 

I've looked at Griff's map and it might be a good idea to do an Insurrection, version, including the ambush sites.

[Big Bad Squig]

Finalised Godslayers rules for Book 1:

 

Godslayers Rules (Book 1)

 

Legiones Astartes:  Godslayers

 

Psychic Suppressants:  Adamantine Will

To The Last:  If the army’s Warlord is slain, all models with this rule gain Feel No Pain (6+) and Stubborn.  Additionally, Godslayers may never voluntarily Go to Ground.

Lanterns of Humanity:  Destroyer Squads, Vigilator Consuls, Recon Marines or any models equipped with phosphex bombs or shells may not be included in a Godslayers army.

 

Legion Specific Weapons:

 

Any Character with the Legiones Astartes (Godslayers) special rule may take any items from this list:

 

Ripper Glaive

Any Independent Character with the Legiones Astartes (Godslayers) special rule replace their combat blade with a Ripper Glaive for 20 points.  A Ripper Glaive is a weapon with the following profile:

 

RNG: -   Str: +1   AP: 3      Melee, Two-handed, Rending (5+)

 

Kingslayer Knife

Any Character with the Legiones Astartes (Godslayers) special rule replace their combat blade with a Kingslayer Knife for 10 points.  A Kingslayer Knife is a weapon with the following profile:

 

RNG: -   Str: User   AP: 4      Melee, Murderous Strike, Rending (5+)

 

Zbruchan Repeater Shotgun

Any Character with the Legiones Astartes (Godslayers) special rule replace their boltgun or bolt pistol with a Zbruchan Repeater Shotgun for 5 points.  A Zbruchan Repeater Shotgun is a weapon with the following profile:

 

RNG: 12”   Str: 4   AP: -      Assault 3

 

Zbruchan Fire (Relic)

Zbruchan Fire is a unique suit of Terminator Armour, crafted for the first Godslayers Legion Master, Prometear Thyris.  Only one model in a Godslayers army with the Independent Character special rule may take Zbruchan Fire, which replaces the model’s power or artificer armour, for 50 points.  It confers a 2+ armour save, a 4+ invulnerable save, and the Slow and Purposeful, Eternal Warrior and Feel No Pain special rules.

 

 

(LORD OF WAR) Koschei Kharkovic – 415 pts

Primarch of the Godslayers, The Dreamer, The Light In The Darkness

WS: 7  BS: 5   S: 6   T: 6   W: 6   I: 6   A: 4   Ld: 10   Sv: 2+

                            

Unit Composition:

·         1 (Unique)

 

Unit Type:

·         Infantry (Character)

 

Wargear:

·         The Black Mantle

·         God’s Hand

·         Blade of the Pariah

 

Special Rules:

·         Primarch

·         Preferred Enemy (psykers)

·         Sire of the Godslayers

·         Bulky

·         Psychic Suppressant

 

Warlord Trait:

·         Intimidating Presence

 

God’s Hand:  RNG: -   S: x2   AP: 1   Melee, Unwieldy, Concussive, Specialist Weapon

 

Blade of the Pariah:  RNG: -   S: User   AP: 3   Melee, Murderous Strike, Piercing Blow, Psy-bane

Psy-bane:  Gains the Instant Death special rule when targeting a psyker.

 

The Black Mantle:  2+ armour save, 4+ invulnerable save, Aegis

Aegis:  Destroyer weapons suffer a -1 modifier on the Destroyer chart when targeting Koschei.

 

Sire of the Godslayers:  Feel No Pain.  All friendly models with Legiones Astartes (Godslayers) gain Feel No Pain (6+). If Koschei is slain, all friendly models with Legiones Astartes (Godslayers) gain Feel No Pain and Fearless.

 

Psychic Suppressant: All blessing and maledictions within 6" inches immediately cease to effect. All psykers within 6" inches suffer -2 leadership. He and his unit may not be targeted by any psychic powers, and he grants all units fully within 6 inches +2 to Deny the Witch rolls.

 

 

(HQ) Karl Volkov – 220 pts

First Captain of the Eighth

WS: 7   BS: 4   S: 4   T: 4   W: 4   I: 5   A: 4   Ld: 10   Sv: 2+

 

Unit Composition:

·         1 (Unique)

 

Unit Type:

·         Infantry (Character)

 

Wargear:

·         Cataphractii Terminator Armour

·         Volkite charger

·         Lucifer Glaive

 

Special Rules:

·         Independent Character

·         Legiones Astartes (Godslayers)

·         Eternal Warrior

·         Master of the Legion

·         Feel No Pain

·         Fearless

·         Furious charge

 

Warlord Trait:

·         Bloody Handed

 

Lucifer Glaive:  RNG: -   S: +1   AP: 3   Melee, Murderous Strike, Piercing Blow, Deflagrate

 

 

(HQ) Alexander Kharkovic – 230 pts
He Who Lived
WS: 6 BS: 5 S: 4 T: 4 W: 3 I: 5 A: 4 Ld: 10 Sv: 2+

Unit Composition:
· 1 (Unique)

Unit Type:
· Jump Infantry (Character)

Wargear:
· Artificer Armour
· Kryl’ya
· Archaeotech Pistol
· Thunder Hammer

Special Rules:
· Eternal Warrior
· Master of the Legion
· Legiones Astartes (Godslayers)
· Primarchkin
· Otherworldly Protection
· Pariah (Secundus)

Pariah:
Alexander Kharkovic automatically possesses the following abilities:
· Psychic Void:

Upgraded to 12” range

· Indomitable Will:

Upgraded to 6” range

Kryl’ya: Confers the jump unit type, and the Jink and Thunderous Impact special rules.
Thunderous Impact: The Unwieldy special rule conferred by Alexander’s Thunder Hammer is ignored during the first turn of a combat into which Alexander charged, using his jump pack.

Primarchkin: Alexander passes Look Out, Sir! rolls on a 2+. In addition, should Alexander be slain, and Koschei Kharkovic is present on the battlefield, Koschei gains the Rage and Hatred special rules.

Otherworldly Protection: Alexander has a 4+ invulnerable save

 

 

(ELITES) Goliath Terminator Squad – 200 pts

Goliath Terminators were first born from a need to combat larger xenoforms encountered on the fringes of the Segmentum Pacificus during the early years of the Great Crusade.  Using enormous, two-handed power glaives called Rippers, Goliaths make up the majority of Karl Volkov’s First Company and are the legion’s fighting elite.  Although they excel in all forms of combat, Goliaths are trained foremost in the art of the beastslayer, being able to bring down even the largest of monsters with a well-placed jab or slice. 

 

Goliath Terminator                WS: 4   BS: 4   S: 4   T: 4   W: 1   I: 4   A: 2   Ld: 9   Sv: 2+

Goliath Terminator Sergeant  WS: 5   BS: 4   S: 4   T: 4   W: 1   I: 4   A: 3   Ld: 10   Sv: 2+

 

Unit Composition:

·               4 Goliath Terminators

·               1 Goliath Terminator Sergeant

Unit Type:

·               Goliath Terminator – Infantry

·               Goliath Terminator Sergeant – Infantry (Character)

Wargear:

·               Cataphractii Terminator Armour

·               Combi-bolter

·               Ripper Glaive

 

Dedicated Transport:

·               A Goliath Terminator squad numbering five models may take a Land Raider Phobos as a Dedicated Transport or a Spartan if ten models or fewer. Note that if an army contains a character that has one of the Rites of War special rules (see page 189), other Dedicated Transport options may be available for the squad.

 

Special Rules:

·               Legiones Astartes (Godslayers)

·               Stubborn

·               Monster Hunter

 

Options:

·               The Goliath Terminator Squad may take:

·         Up to seven additional Goliath Terminators ………………………… 35 pts per model

·               Any model may exchange their combi-bolter for a volkite charger … 5 pts per model

·               Any model may exchange their Ripper glaive for one of the following:

·         Power fist …………………………………………………………………………….. 5 pts

·         Chainfist ………………………………………………………………………………. 10 pts

 

Ripper Glaive:  RNG: -   Str: +1   AP: 3      Melee, Two-handed, Rending (5+)

 

 

(TROOPS) Suppressor Squad – 210 pts

The Soul-Eater Curse exists within all Godslayers, from lowly initiates to captains and chaplains.  Although it is latent in most, in those chosen it will blossom throughout the marine’s life.  While, when fully matured, they may be promoted to high ranks, when younger these pariahs will be assigned to Suppressor Squads, to prove themselves.  While one suppressor marine on his own would be no more than an irritation to a psyker, in large clusters, bolters raging and chainblades revving, these squads are able to project a veil of darkness across the battlefield that only the sharpest minds can penetrate.

 

Suppressor Marine         WS: 4   BS: 4   S: 4   T: 4   W: 1   I: 4   A: 1   Ld: 8   Sv: 3+

Suppressor Witchbane  WS: 4   BS: 4   S: 4   T: 4   W: 1   I: 4   A: 2   Ld: 9   Sv: 3+

 

Unit Composition:

·          9 Suppressor Marines

·         1 Suppressor Witchbane

Unit Type:

·         Suppressor Marine – Infantry

·         Suppressor Witchbane – Infantry (Character)

Wargear:

·         Power Armour

·         Bolter

·         Bolt Pistol

 

Special Rules:

·         Legiones Astartes (Godslayers)

·         Twisted Brotherhood

 

Pariah:

Suppressor Squads automatically possess the following abilities:

·         Psychic Void:

o   Upgraded to 12” range

 

Options:

·         The Suppressor Squad may take:

o   Up to fifteen additional Suppressor Marines ……………… 12 pts per model

·         The Suppressor squad may buy up to 25 points of upgrades from Pariah Abilities

·         All models in the unit may take a combat blade … 2 pts per model

·         The Suppressor Witchbane may exchange their bolter for one of the following:

o   Combi-weapon ………………………….................................. 10 pts

o   Power weapon …………………………………………………………. 10 pts

o   Power fist ……………………………………………………............... 15 pts

o   Lightning claw …………………………………………………………… 15 pts

o   Plasma pistol …………………………………………………………….. 15 pts

o   Heavy chainsword ……………………………………………………… 5 pts

·         The Suppressor Witchbane may take melta bombs ………………… 5 pts

·         The Suppressor Witchbane may upgrade to Artificer Armour … 10 pts

 

[simison]

Athrawes, how about we use Icarion's telepathic declaration as the chapter quote?

[bluntblade]

Whereabouts in the galaxy are our ambush points? Trying to work out how certain survivors would make it back to the Imperium.

[simison]

Madrigal Purge is easy enough, it's right next to the Maelstrom. The others, I'm less certain. I think Daer'dd's ambush is in the Ghoul Stars? While the Underwater Madness takes place in Tempestus? 

[bluntblade]

So the Iron Bears' survivors have to cross almost the entirety of Icarion's domain. Is he likely to claim much of Tempestus early on? I'm trying to decide whether a certain Scion will leave the world via a loyalist or Insurrectionist craft.

[Chief Captain Redd]

Most of the Bears when retreating head towards Huron which is relatively close to the Ghoul Stars. It's just Redd's 4th are already on Terra and the Dragon randomly ends up at Terra because of warp storm weirdness.

[bluntblade]

Cool. Beyond what happens to the survivors, it'll help if we can establish where the borders of the two empires are, as that'll dictate where most of the battles are.

[simison]

Cool. Beyond what happens to the survivors, it'll help if we can establish where the borders of the two empires are, as that'll dictate where most of the battles are.

 

Griff has been trying to keep track of that in the Galaxy thread.

[simison]

Sig, I remember you said all of the Grave Walker fluff was written. Has anyone done the editing round with it?

[Sigismund229]

Sig, I remember you said all of the Grave Walker fluff was written. Has anyone done the editing round with it?

Not that I know of

[simison]

 

Sig, I remember you said all of the Grave Walker fluff was written. Has anyone done the editing round with it?

Not that I know of

 

 

I'll go through it then, and the pieces I finish I'll post in this thread to signal that they're through the Beta stage.

[simison]

 

THE GRAVE STALKERS

 

Numeration: The XV^th Legion

Primogenitor: K'awil Pakal

Cognomen (prior): The Wraiths

Observed Strategic Tendencies: Infiltration, Hit & Fade, Psychological Warfare, Anti-Psyker Operations

Noteworthy Domains: Kabyieb, Lasaris and Illyria

Allegiance: Tratoris Perdita

 

Chapter Quote

 

For decades the Grave Stalkers were the silent scalpel of the Great Crusade, sent in to achieve through stealth what would be too costly to attempt through sheer force of arms. They became renowned for their ability to subjugate worlds with numbers far fewer than other Legions could bring to bear. K'awil was also known for his ruthless and unique approach to battle. All Primarchs know about the effective use of the enemy's psychology to gain advantage during war, but K'awil seemed to have an especially honed sense of what would break his foes. Time and again, he and his legion would shatter a world's morale so completely that they would surrender wholeheartedly to the expedition fleets that followed. These worlds were noted to be especially compliant, but several Governors made mention of local superstitions that all seem to bear a remarkable resemblance to one another. Stories of ghosts and spirits that strike from the darkness leaving only a single petrified survivor to spread the word of their coming.

 

The legion's self-reliance was as much a matter of their biology as it was of their preferred tactics, and as they were also a legion of Pariahs. Few were able to stay close to so many with the Pariah gene; early Crusade records show that attached Imperial Army units suffered from crippling morale issues in combat zones where Grave Stalkers were also involved. As the Crusade progressed, their abilities became more pronounced, and they became even more isolated from the Crusade's ideals. It is this isolation that is considered the primary reason for their fall during the Insurrection as they had no ties to those that were to protect from the ravages of Chaos, and Icarion was ever silver tongued and persuasive.

 

[Need a quote, Grifft or whoever you pick to make it. Fixed some comma and capitalising errors and a couple of wording problems.]

[Grifftofer]

Cool. Will copy that in now. The quote I've come up with for that part is the following:

 

 

”I have spent time with Expeditionary forces for most of the eighteen Legions. All astartes are inhuman in their size and aspect to some extent, though most try to bury that fact with a veneer of civilisation. Some even take to non war-like past-times in order to become more like those they protect.

But the XVth? They are something else. They don’t seem to aspire to anything, there is nothing of beauty or majesty on their ships. Only the haunted forms of men too long under their yoke.

 

And the rancid smell of fear.”

Ernest Starovni, Remembrancer

[simison]

I like it. 

[Grifftofer]

Good :) Just so you know. I'm pretty much using the stuff that Sigi wrote for me after that intro section. As he did it much more justice than I ever could. (So you don't read/correct mostly the same fluff twice)

[simison]

Got it. Will just double check his posts then.

[simison]

Phantoms and Spectres
While for many legions, the Unification Wars is the murkiest era of their history, for the Grave Stalkers, the Unification Wars is the era in their history about which outsiders know the most with every battle of the Great Crusade being recorded in meticulous detail. The reason for this is that the XV^th are not prone to making records of their own campaigns, and they frequently campaign on their own, out of necessity, while any records their enemies might make of them are often lost following compliance (many suspect them to be deliberately destroyed, although none can fathom why). 

 

The XV^th legion was founded in the late days of the Great Crusade, after much of Terra was already under the Emperor's rule. The XV^th were drawn from the savage denizens of Hy Brasil's deep jungles, groups of tribes who had defended their lands for generations by the simple expedient of making their enemies too terrified to invade. While the warriors of these lands were not as numerous as their counter parts in Albyon or Ursh, they were experts in psychological warfare, willing to use any weakness to their maximum advantage. Strong, fit and utterly ruthless, they were ideal recruits for the Legiones Astartes. 

However, despite there being no shortage of recruits, when the XV^th took to the field for the first time against the Perutic mountain clans, they numbered barely 200 astartes. This was because of the XV^th's gene seed being dangerously unstable and killing many of the recruits within a matter of days. This lack of numbers and seeming inability to replace losses quickly meant that for the XV^th to engage their enemies in standard warfare would have been an act of insanity, a suicide mission. 

So it was that the XV^th legion engaged the mountain clans in psychological warfare, launching hit and run raids and after each one, leaving enemies crucified to the mountainside or left out in the snow with their skin stripped from their bodies. Even the astartes' own appearance contributed to the image of savage apparitions come to drag their enemies souls to hell, for within a few weeks, all of the proto XV^th's eyes had darkened until they became black pools and their skin's colour faded, leaving them a ghostly white. In order to exploit this effect to its full, the XV^th often went into battle without a helm and painted their faces to resemble skulls or faces that had been flensed of skin, turning them into the embodiment of the daemons of old Earth. 

Within weeks, their foes were fleeing at imagined sounds or flashes of light in the night and had ceased to venture outside of their cities. However, as the weeks dragged on and turned into months, foraging parties were sent out to try and retrieve food for the starving defenders. Not a single one returned. After four months, the last of the Perutic cities threw open its gates to the XV^th and found that they had been subdued by less than 200 astartes. It was in these early days that the XV^th was given its nickname, as one Perutic monarch reportedly said "Why must we haunted by these terrible wraiths?" once he had become too terrified to even venture outside of his chambers. From then on, the XV^th were called the Wraiths by their fellow legions and those Imperial Army units who served alongside them in the early years of he Great Crusade. 

 

[Ready for PDF]

[simison]

Isolation
As the Great Crusade spread across the stars, the Wraiths were often used as scouts or an advanced guard(as they were on Luna, when a five man squad of the XV^th was sent to reconnoitre the landing zones of Luna's surface), gathering intelligence on enemy positions prior to another larger legion's arrival, or being used to spread terror and panic amongst the Imperium's enemies to weaken resistance and, hopefully, trigger a surrender without a major campaign needing to take place. However, this role is mentioned in few chronicles of the Great Crusade for there was little glory and little recognition in these tasks, necessary as they were. It is thought by some that it was now that the seed for the XV^th's later corruption was planted as the astartes of the XV^th died unrecognized and unlauded (indeed, the XV^th was the only legion to have not won a single battle honour upon leaving the Oortius Cloud), leading to a bitterness within the legion that only grew with every victory of their's that went unacknowledged by the humans they were created to defend.

However, there was another reason for the Wraiths to specialize in roles that placed them well in advance of the main Imperial campaigns other than their particular field of expertise. The first was that, in spite of the recovery of Luna's gene vaults, the XV^th remained small, growing slowly and, in the early years of the Great Crusade, rarely rising above 2000 strong. This lack of numbers rendered them near useless in large scale warfare, lacking the numbers to do any serious damage by themselves and lacking the staying power to protect points of strategic importance effectively. While in another legion, these weaknesses may have been compensated for by a larger number of Imperial Army attached regiments, this was not advisable in the case of the XV^th. In the years immediately after the Great Crusade left Terra, Imperial strategists noticed a frequent and regular drop in morale and effectiveness of any Imperial Army units in the same expedition as the Wraiths. The likely cause of this was the same as the likely cause of the instability that plagued the XV^th's gene seed: the pariah gene. While the XV^th were in no way unique amongst the legions in their possession of this gene, they had a particular strain of the gene which spread fear and unease in the wake of the XV^th. While this enhanced the terror they caused on the battlefield, it was undirected and so a liability to their own side. Because of this, the XV^th were unable to function as a normal legion, lacking the numbers to operate independently yet at the same time being a significant source of unease for unaugmented humans. So it was that the XV^th was used for reconnaissance and sowing terror amongst the enemies of the Emperor, roles which kept them out of contact with the Imperial Army and yet also utilised their skills to the best possible effect. However, then, on an un named world, he was found. The XV^th had finally found their primarch. 

 

[Ready for PDF]

[simison]

K'awil Pakal
While many of his brothers have entire epics written about the deeds they accomplished on their homeworlds, very little is known about the early years of K'awil, or even the world on which he was discovered. While it was supposedly located in the Segmentum Solar, all other information about the world has been lost or, more likely, destroyed at the behest of K'awil himself. Some believe that he even destroyed the world itself for some slight or other. However, much of what is said about K'awil's homeworld is speculation and rumour and is, therefore, not worthy of being recorded. 

As one of the primarchs, K'awil was scattered across the galaxy by the vagaries of the Warp. While it's unknown what world the young K'awil landed upon, what is certain is that he was never adopted by a family as many of his brothers were, rather he was simply left to fend for himself the second he emerged from his pod. It's entirely possible that it's for this reason K'awil obliterated all traces of his homeworld and possibly the world itself, as punishment on the inhabitants of that world or as an attempt to bury his years roaming the wilds as consequence of this abandonment. What is more certain is that it was this time on his own that led K'awil to become the reserved and shadowy figure he is today, used to keeping his own council and unused to the bonds of brotherhood he might otherwise share with the other primarchs. Yet when the Emperor came to K'awil's homeworld, the young primarch immediately saw that, with this man lay his destiny and so needed little persuading to abandon his lonely life on his homeworld and join the Emperor in the Great Crusade. So it was that K'awil was united with his sons of the XV^th, the Wraiths, then numbering 3000 astartes, and given their command.

 

[Ready for PDF]

[simison]

The Reaping

        Amongst the closed ranks of the XV^th, the time immediately following K'awil Pakal's discovery is known as the Reaping. The reason for this is the first decision taken by K'awil in his role as primarch of the Wraiths (who he re named to be Grave Stalkers). Seeing the pitiful number of recruits who survived the implantation process that would turn them into astartes, K'awil judged that drastic measures were needed to save his sons from a slow and inevitable decline that could only end in the extinction of their blood line. Using his rapidly learnt knowledge of the complicated bio tech that had gone into the creation of the gene seed of the Legiones Astartes, K'awil decided that his the instability of his legions gene seed stemmed from the very thing that made them invaluable: the pariah gene. He thought that the pariah gene caused a gradual degradation of the Grave Stalkers' gene seed, a process that was caused by exposure to the climate outside of the body of a live astartes. So, in order to put the prevent such degradation from occurring, K'awil decreed that gene seed of the dead was not to be harvested and, instead, the gene seed was to be harvested from still living Grave Stalkers which, while condemning the individuals in question to a long, drawn out death, he believed would halt, or at least slow the degradation of the gene seed. So it was that K'awil's command was that every Grave Stalker be forced to partake in a ballot, drawing stones from a jar. A white stone and the space marine would continue to serve the Emperor and the Imperium. A black stone and they would become one of the first to have his gene seed removed. Of the 3000 Grave Stalkers, 1,300 drew black stones, almost half the legion. It was then, when K'awil condemned almost half of his own sons to death that the legion learnt that they were the sons of a truly merciless man. 

 

          However, instead of rebelling against this knowledge, the Grave Stalkers embraced it and made K'awil's nature their own. Soon, the process by which a living Grave Stalker's gene seed was removed from his body became a standard fact of life to the astartes of the XV^th, who viewed it not as the brutal and callous act other legions saw it as but as a measure of their dedication to their primarch and to the Imperium. Slowly, the Grave Stalkers numbers began to rise and they were able to campaign independently, although their tally of compliances would never match those legions whose numbers far exceeded those of the XV^th. However, the compliances the Grave Stalkers did achieve were usually fairly bloodless because, as ever, the main weapon the Grave Stalkers excelled at using was not the bolter or the chain axe but fear which they used as a doctor might use a scalpel, with their primarch appearing to have an innate knowledge of exactly where an when to use terror to break their enemies and when the foe would hold and would need to be finished with conventional weapons. Yet, while extremely effective, the Grave Stalkers use of fear and their pariah gene as their principal weapons lead to them becoming fiercely independent and highly suspicious of any stranger, meaning that, despite their primarch's discovery, co operation with other Imperial forces remained rare and their deeds remained unlauded and unrecognized. 

 

           Nowhere was this perceived independence from the Imperium epitomized like the XV^th legion's siezure of the world of Lasaris Prime. A large forge world that was brought into compliance by the Grave Stalkers immediately after their primarch's discovery, the Grave Stalkers claimed Lasaris for themselves, forbidding any member of the Adeptus Mechanicus from setting foot on the world. While Lasaris provided the Grave Stalkers with enough armour and ammunition to equip their entire legion, the damage done to the XV^th's relations with the Mechanicum was irreparable and the Grave Stalkers were forced to depend solely upon Lasaris for their equipment, leading to them lacking many vehicles in the way of heavy armour or large void faring vessels. 

 

          As the Great Crusade progressed and the Grave Stalkers continued to carve their own path across the galaxy, they became ever more detached from the Imperium at large and ever more reserved, beginning to believe themselves isolated and without allies (and in this they were not far wrong, for they were not highly regarded amongst their brother legions either), leading to them being suspicious to the point of hostility to any outsiders, further exacerbating their isolation. However, then, shortly after the Qarith triumph, they were approached by Icarion the Stormborn. While at the time it seemed inconsequential, this visit would be a turning point in the history of the XV^th. 

 

[Ready for PDF]

[simison]

Corruption

           When the Stormborn came to the Grave Stalkers seeking to recruit them to his rebellious cause, he found the task to be more difficult than he had expected. The reason for this was the immense hostility of K'awil and his sons to any from outside of their own number and the mental wall they had built between themselves and outsiders. However, Icarion persevered and even fought alongside the Grave Stalkers for several years, gradually earning their trust, until he finally put to them his proposal to join him. This was a proposal the Grave Stalkers quickly accepted, for they had long gone unrecognized by the people they bled for and held nothing but contempt for the civilians who had taken over the governance of the Imperium, for the XV^th believed them to be untrustworthy in the extreme. When compared to Icarion, who had fought alongside them, bled alongside them and lauded their deeds, praising the bloodless manor in which they brought worlds into compliance, the choice was simple. They pledged themselves, now 10,000 strong, to the Stormborn's cause. 

 

           In the following decades, the Grave Stalkers began to slow down their conquest of worlds and build their numbers, creating hundreds of reapers, held in stasis for the inevitable day when the Stormborn declared his rebellion against Terra and the XV^th was obliged to rise with him. However, their alliance with the Stormborn brought unlooked for benefits, such as the healing of the rift, or at least part of it, between the Grave Stalkers and the Mechanicus, who now began to supply the Grave Stalkers with equipment the Grave Stalkers had had to do without for decades, such as new suits of armour, mainly Mk. IV, and new patterns of ammunition. On each of these suits, the helm was crafted into a masterfully made skull, a nod to the legion's name. Yet these specialised helms also served another purpose other than terror and to honour the XV^th. Each of them had been created at the behest of the Stormborn and they dampened the XV^th's pariah powers, allowing them to serve in conjunction with other forces for limited amounts of time (although this was still rare due to the Grave Stalkers being unaccustomed to serving in any company save their own). 

 

             So it was that when the order came from the Stormborn, the Grave Stalkers readied their chainblades and loaded their bolters without hesitation and prepared to do battle with their fellow legions, for the Stormborn had offered them what the Emperor never had. Recognition, of their deeds and of how they had aided the other legions and their contribution to the Great Crusade, so long overlooked by scriveners and remembrancers. However, the Stormborn also offered a reprieve from the instability that plagued their gene seed, help in finding the root of this instability and eradicating it whilst maintaining the pariah gene. Thus, when the Stormborn called, the Grave Stalkers readied their weaponry and prepared to cast off their ties of loyalty to the Imperium. It was a decision that would change them forever. 

 

[Ready for PDF]