The Dominion of Storms - The Coming of Hope

[Kelborn]

Hello there,

at long last, it is about time to publish my newst project; a DIY version of the Dominion of Storms.

Mentioned on the galaxy map during the Horus Heresy, which was don by Forge World, it inspired me to recreate this region as the setting for all of my selfmade chapters, warbands and the like.
Though it took me some time, I enjoyed it quite a lot. I also started to write something down in the fan fiction section but don't expect any great writing skills.

In this thread, I will upload every project I'll work on, including my Storm Riders chapter which was published a couple of weeks ago.

Long speech short, I hope you will enjoy reading it and as allways: comments and criticisms are welcome.

Cheers,
Kelborn

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The Dominion of Storms

(Ancient depiction of the realm known as the Dominion)

 

(depiction of the realm known as the Dominion in the late 41st Millenium)

 

(current depiction of the realm known as the Dominion in the beginning of the 42st Millenium)

In the Imperium’s eastern border lies a huge and desolate area of space, its common name on astronavigation charts being the “Dominion of Storms”. This region of void was renowned for the ferocity and frequency of the ethereal gales that beset vessels that dared sail the Empyrean there. But still, within the raging storms and hideous nebulas, which prevented every attempt to unify this realm under a single rule, there are regions which are not constantly plagued. In these stellar oases, entire systems can be found which were as well colonized in ancient times, like the rest of the known galaxy. Separated from one another, different cultures and governments had developed, each of them being able to sustain themselves. Nevertheless, trading and few diplomatic connections were established, though it was nearly impossible to maintain this rare contacts as the constantly moving storms did their part to separate them again.

Ignored during the Great Crusade and left behind to be brought into compliance when the Imperium had consolidated itself entirely, this region cam into prominence during the dark days of the Horus Heresy. Used by the traitors Lorgar and Angron as a cutoff to bring death and betrayal into the realm of Ultramar, it was quickly acknowledged by both sides of the war for its potential of being a bastion and waypoint for the future.

While Horus advanced to prepare his strike on Terra and Lorgar and his brother Angron led their Legions through the Dominion of Storms to hide themselves before bringing annihilation to Ultramar, the hordes of the Traitors nearly ignored the Dominion in their backs. But there were others, who were more long-sighted.

Perturabo, Primarch of the IVth Legiones Astartes Iron Warriors became interested in the wider Dominion as it was not only a perfect base of operations but further a source of yet uncovered resources and potency. Tasking a strike force of his own Legion to conquer it, Perturabo concentrated on the larger scale of war.

But there were others, who laid their hands on this precious zone. Small in numbers but fierce in battle, black clad members of the Legiones Astartes arrived in the southern regions of the Dominion. Having renounced their heritage and not considering themselves as belonging or beholden in any way to their Primarch or their erstwhile brethren, none can tell where they have come from or who they previously were. After their arrival, they started to fortify the Domerian cluster, one of many small and isolated empires within the Dominion of Storms. From there, they started their own crusade, holding up the ideals of the Great Crusade. Within the borders of the Dominion, they quickly came to know as the Phantom. Known for their secretiveness and success on the battlefield, they declared themselves as the sworn guardians of the Dominion. It was them, who tried to stop the fleets of Lorgar and Angron, binding at least a small portion of their so called Shadow Crusade.

But yet another side of the war joined them in their lust for conquer, the Brotherhood of the Storm Riders, members of the Vth Legiones Astartes White Scars. In search for the remains of the Ullanor Orks, the sons of the Great Khan joined forces with the Phantoms to secure the Dominion for the Imperium. After that and after learning about the betrayal of Horus, the Legionnaires under Thoruk Khan sought to join their Primarch again.

It was then, when the Phantoms were alone again, that the strike force, sent by none other than Perturabo, the Lord of Iron himself, arrived at the borders of the Dominion, ready to take it for their own means.

Soon, the wheal of death and war would spin again.

Timeline

• Pre Imperial era
  • Sometime between M15 and M19 - The Creators downfall: The ancient race known as Quoraz conquered the entire region which will later be known as “Dominion of Storms”. They used their advanced technology to form this region how they wanted it to be, including rearrangement of whole star systems, intense terraforming and even shaping some of the native species into sentient races as laborers and servants. By this, the xenos races of Arak, Tul’vyr, Abashi and Rai’Q came to live. While the first three races were designed to serve as labourers and workers, the Rai’Q was shaped to reminiscent their creators, keeping a part of their intelligence to protect the realm of the Quoraz. Unfortunately, the Rai’Q learned much while serving until they gathered their forces and tried to overthrow their masters, resulting in an apocalyptic war which ravaged the entire realm of the Quoraz. After nearly 100 years of constant war, the Quoraz were able to kill nearly all Queens of the Rai’Q who served as a vital connection between their swarms and therefore ending the war. Without them, the remaining Rai’Q fell to anarchy, killing everything in sight and destroying their own achievements like bio ships capable of flying through space which were destined to carry them to the borders of the galaxy. The last Quoraz learned from their mistakes, sealing the remains of their kingdom with multiple storms and nebulas. No one shall ever enter or leave this new Dominion of Storms. Too few to keep a race alive, the last Quoraz died a couple of years before the awakening of the Emperor. Since then, the Rai’Q had never shown up, although rumors claim that one queen might have survived but was never found. The other races of the Quoraz were now isolated, each of them developing differently. The Abashi of Hanaii regressed into savage barbarians, while the Arakk and the Tul’vyr formed an isolated but peaceful society on Uldunar.
• M30 – M31 – Great Crusade
  • 006.M31 - A home within storms: An unknown fleet under the leadership of black clad Astartes entered the unsecured region of the infamous Dominion of Storms, discovering a couple of habituated planets which introduce themselves as the Kingdom of Domeria. Acknowledging the potential of the entire dominion concerning resources and the offered possibilities, they decided to remain, to secure and fortify the Domerian cluster and to explore this mysterious realm even further. Unbeknown to the rest of the Imperium, they began their own crusade to unify the worlds of the dominion.
  • 007.M31 - The Green Tide: A sizeable fleet of Orks, which had once belonged to the forces of Ullanor fled into the Dominion of Storm as they were hunted by members of the Legiones Astartes. When they reached the Domerian cluster, they were welcomed bywell prepared forces of the black clad Astartes, who named themselves the Phantoms. In trying to overwhelm them, the Orks stretched their forces too thin, resulting in their systematically annihilation.

• M31 - Horus Heresy / Great Scouring
• 007.M31 – The Shadow Crusade: Using the unstable and dangerous Dominion as a cut off for their unholy Shadow Crusade to bring war to the realm of Ultramar, the fleets of Lorgar and Angron were scattered within the restless storms. Some ships like the Catechism of Revelation were lost forever. Others like the Tenacious Zeal and the Eternal War, both part of a small portion of the impressive traitor fleet, were separated from the bulk of their crusade, travelling separately through the void. In doing so, the infamous Preachers of the Truth Word Bearers chapter and the 26^th World Eaters Company discovered several planets and systems as well as numerous resources hidden within the storms. When the Phantoms’ scouts found them, they were immediately engaged by the whole forces of Domeria, resulting in several ambushes and battles within the borders of the Dominion.
• 007.M31 - Treachery uncovered: The Storm Riders brotherhood of the V^th Legiones Astartes entered the realm of Waniku, which as well is a part of the Dominion like the Domerian cluster, searching for elements of the Ullanor Orks which had fled before the might of the Imperium. None could be found. Instead of them, they were faced by combined forces of the Word Bearers and the World Eaters, fighting against an unknown force of Astartes Legionnaires. As they had been separated from the wider Imperium for a couple of years, the White Scars under Thoruk Khan had not heard of Horus' great betrayal and the atrocities that were committed. Therefore, they were caught off guard when both, the XVII's Preachers of the Truth chapter and the XII's 26^th company attacked them, as the Sons of the Great Khan had officially sided with the Emperor during the second battle of Prospero. Alongside the unidentified force, which had offered a pact to destroy the aggressors, the Storm Riders faced the traitors, ravaging nearly half of the Waniku sub sector, until finally facing them on YT-1300, an uninhabited world at the edge of the Waniku sub sector. In this final confrontation, Warp storms erupted because of a breaching warp engine and several dark rituals done by the Diabolist of the Word Bearers, forcing the loyalist to retreat and trapping the traitors within, resulting in the renamed Dreadstars.
• 008.M31 - The Departing: Thoruk Khan and his men decided to return to their Legion to fight at their Primarchs side. The black clad Astartes, who introduced themselves as Phantoms, declared that they would remain to secure the Dominion and its numerous routes through the SegmentumUltima. Furthermore, they assumed additional forces of the traitors within the Dominion. When being asked to which Legion they belonged, the Phantoms replied that they were the loyal sons of the Emperor, the last ones of his Ghost Legion and there was nothing more to say about it.
• 009.M31 – The Iron Dawn: Tasked to claim the Dominion of Storms and its assumed resources by their Primarch Perturabo, the 117^th Grand Battalion of the IVth Legiones Astartes Iron Warriors passed the borders of the Dominion, right after the battle of the Dreadstars. A long and devastating war erupted, when they were intercepted by the loyalists’ forces of the Phantoms, ravaging a wide area and several planets of the Dominion. In making use of guerrilla, ambush and infiltration tactics the Phantoms were able to slowly decimate the Iron Warriors’ forces. During the last battle in the orbit of Pheistos, a subdivision on the Iron Warriors fleet renounced their heritage and their traitorous Primarch, pledging their true fealty to the Imperium. They allied themselves with the Phantoms, destroying the remains of the 117^th Grand Battalion. As it turned out, these loyal sons of the Iron Warriors were heavily outnumbered and have waited for the right time to pledge their true loyalty and to inflict as much damaged upon their treacherous Legion. Both, Iron Warriors and Phantoms joined forces, resulting in the foundation of the Phantom Blades.
• 011.M31 - A bastion of calm: In the final days of 011.M31, under the command of Arceas Odenathus of the 10th Chapter, the Ultramarines moved to assault the world of Desperation, in the northern borders of the Dominion of Storms, seeking to establish a zone of Loyalist control in the Dominion.
• 013.M31 – Honourum retaken: When Arcaes Odenathus, captain of the Ultramarines, rallied the scattered Imperial garrisons across the Dominion of Storms in order to recapture Honourum, the Phantom Blades heeded his call for aid. Fighting against the stationed World Eaters and Word Bearers garrison, they proved their worth in retaking the former outpost of the Ultramarines. Experienced in fighting the traitorous sons of both, Lorgar and Angron, the Phantom Blades were a decisive factor in the loyalists’ assault.
• 024.M31- A new home: The Storm Riders brotherhood under Thoruk Khan returned to the Waniku sub sector, claiming the world of Aukkaja as their new home. From then on, they are the sworn guardians of Waniku and, alongside their allies of the Phantom Blades chapter, of the entire Dominion of Storms.

• M32 – The Forging
• 035.M32 - Death from below: The Storm Riders chapter and a fleet of the Departium Munitorum discover Tanyaba and the nearby ocean world Kajio, which was the home of House Toho, who furthermore were facing annihilation by an unknown, amphibious xenos race. After defeating the native Nagazh, Kajio and Tanyaba joined the Imperium.
• 076.M32 - Who's da Boss?: After being defeated by House Valcorian during the war against the Beast, the Grinskull Freebootas under Kaptin Dabossa, headed for something new to plunda! When they found the realm of Waniku cluster, they immediately set course for it. Defending their home against this new threat was the first challenge for the relatively newly founded Storm Riders and their new allies of House Toho.
• 079.M32: Rise of the Beastslayer:Tanyaba, famous for its vast and diverse forges, was declared to become home of a new Titan Legion, Legio Gojira. Making use of the same modifications House Tohos Knight Suits had, Legio Gojira was able to fight under water for a certain amount of time.
• 354.M32 - Horrors of the past: An ancient, insectoid race awakens and threatens the entire realmof Waniku, House Toho, the 26^thAlphic Scorpions, a Militarum Tempestus regiment and the first Titans of the newly risen Legio Gojira engaged them while the Storm Riders and Phantom Blades chapters are distracted elsewhere.
• 354.M32 - Hunting the moon: The Phantom Blades hunted the Cabal of the Reaping Moon, a band of Dark Eldar pirates which had its own kingdom within the more unstable regions of the Dominion.

• M33 - A galaxy aflame
• 087.M33 - The Scion of Madness: In the first years of the 33rd Millennium, the government of the Waniku realm lost contact with a convoy of the Adeptus Mechanicum, near Kuabos. The last transmission was about a giant, unknown ship of unknown class on its way to intercept the convoy. When the 4rd Tribe of the Storm Riders chapter found the missing convoy, nothing was left behind except the wreckages of the convoys' ships. Within the cold bones of the dead crewman, they found a message which was left behind: "You were found of being weak and corrupted. The galaxy will be purged of your existence. The Iron Fist will be your doom."
• 089.M33 - The Fist strikes: Kuabos was attacked by the Scion of Madness. Cold and efficient logic coupled with the savagery of daemon machines secured the renegades victory. The inexperienced defending Skitarii and Taghmata regiments stood no chance against a foe, which had waged war since the Great Crusade of the Emperor and the horrors of the Dark Mechanicum. Helldrakes and Forgefiends tore the defence systems apart, while Legionnaires and masses of adjacted auxiliary forces raided the hive cities Furisa Tertius and Secundus. Furisa Primus fought fierce and was spared from the atrocities the others had to endure. Killing every soul within the hives and scavenging everything useful, left both hive cities as massive, silent graves behind. When reinforcement had arrived, the warband of the Iron Fist was already long gone.
• 176.M33 - The genocide of Konig Secundus: When the Imperium lost contact with the entire star system of Konig Secundus and its surrounding outposts at once, a nearby crusading fleet of the Soul Drinkers chapter was recruited to engage the incident. With an emergency strike force, consisting of elements of the 26th Alphic Scorpions and the Phantom Blades chapter on route to support them, the Soul Drinkers hurried to arrive as soon as possible. Entering the outer rims of Konig Secundus just in time to support the last survivors of the local Astra Militarum, the Soul Drinkers witnessed the carnage which was unleashed here. The Scion of Madness hung deep in the lower orbit above Konig Secundus, the defending fleet scattered around it. There was nearly no response from Konig Secundus itself but those survivors, who had gathered within the southest fortress, Tal Dabor. Engaged by the Soul Drinkers fleet, the Scion of Madness was long enough distracted until imperial reinforcements had arrived. Outnumbered and in a desperate battle for survival, the Iron Fist was about to flee. Sacrificing much of its warmachines to secure the escape, the Scion of Madness was barely able to flee but it made it into warp. As both sides had taken heavy casualties and with the completed genocide on Konig Secundus' people, no one dared to call that a victory.

• M35 - The Time of Schisms
• 143.M32 - The Sons of the Lion: High Cardinal Alonsus declared the independency of the Kuljantis cluster within the SegmentumUltima, near the Dominion of Storms, renaming it the Four Heavens. Alongside the Angels of Redemption were the Phantom Blades sent to deal with the seemingly corrupted Alonsus and his priesthood of Westshire. Instead of dealing with the fanatical armies together, the Angels of Redemption went straight for the High Cardinal in a decapitate strike while the Phantom Blades systematically engage the whole cluster, purging it from its heretical belief. In doing so, they encountered a black clad Astartes warrior who was responsible for the corruption of the High Cardinal and his priesthood. After taking the Astartes into custody, they were faced by the Angels of Redemption. The following argument between both chapters lead to a bitter feud as the Phantom Blades were forced to surrender the traitor to the Sons of the Lion. Curious about the unusual behaviour of their so-called allies, the Phantom Blades decided to find out of what had happened to the scions of the Dark Angels in order to led them threat a fellow Astartes chapter.

• M36 – Age of Apostasy
• 351.M36 - The Children of the Sun: After years of preparations, a chaos cult rose on the beautiful shrine world of Omoke. With every shrine or temple they destroyed, the barriers between the mortal and daemon realities were weakened until the Children were able to summon the first demons. With the whole planet drowning in blood, the combined forces of the Storm Riders 1st, 3rd and 7th Tribes and the Tempestus Scions of the 26th Alphic Scorpions were able to hold the demonical forces at bay, while a small contingent of the mysterious Grey Knights cleansed each temple from its demonical incursion, reassembling the barriers between the planes and ending the constant stream of daemons. Cornered, the Children of the Sun fought desperately and it was revealed that an ancient and long thought defeated enemy had founded the cult: The Preachers of the Truth. Hearing that their old nemesis was still out operational, made the Phantom Blades immediately focused all of their forces to find and hunt down every living member of the Word Bearers warband.
• 666-937.M36 - The Tion Hegemony: During the so called Age of Apostasy, many revolts and insurrections arose because of all kind of demagogues, chaos conspiracies and oppressed populations. But the records of one specific were locked deep within the archives of Terra and the holy Inquisition: The Scions of the Sigilite. On Hephelios Primaris a man named Tion, who proclaimed he to be the reborn Malcador the Sigilite, was born. Not only did he look like him, but he also shared memories and visions of the Emperors closest advisor. As he gathered more loyal followers he tried to spell before the local governments of the Dominion. All of them denied accepting him as the true Sigilite. Therefore, he left the Dominion in search of other, more open followers. And he did found them. In the subsequent years, Tion the Reborn Sigilite, as he was named by his loyal followers, was able to gather various followers. About 200 planets, several regiments of the Astra Militarum and Ordo Tempestus, an order of the Adeptus Sororitas and three chapters of the Adeptus Astartes pledged their fealty to him, resulting in the founding of the Tion Hegemony. When the Hegemony declared its independence, the High Lords of Terra at last reacted. The subsequent attempts of peaceful negotiations resulted in a disaster. War erupted, which lasted for nearly three hundred years and shook the Imperium in its foundations as more worlds and another two Astartes chapters joined the Hegemonies' cause. A devastating civil war arose, which was halted by a crusade of nearly insane size as 15 Astartes chapters and hundreds of Astra Militarum regiments were recruited to end the reign of the pretender. The gigantic Crusade of Truth was divided in three smaller crusades to engage the vast Hegemonie from different sides. Led by the Ultramarines, the Black Templars and the Carcharodons chapters, these three crusades of truth, revelation and justice were, though acting separately, successful. The war and the Hegemony itself ended when the still living Tion the Reborn Sigilite was captured by the Carcharodons, judged guilty by the Ultramarines and executed by the Black Templars. This long lasting campaign took the Imperium many centuries to finally recover from it and still, the name Tion was whispered behind closed doors within the formerly Hegemony.

• M37 - Age of Redemption
• 399 – 402.M37 - Bonechewa-Waaaagh!!!: BossSkullswalla, one of the last descendants of the mighty Shadowtooths clan, invaded the Waniku sub sector with countless bloodthirsty Orks. Undefeatable on the ground, the only way to stop him was to confront his fleet in space. Imperial forces under the leadership of the Storm Riders chapter lured him in a trap between the gravity of Monsuna and its asteroid belt, resulting in his utter defeat. The few surviving Orks, which were able to flee, crash landed on the near world of Kumula. There, they were hunted down until they lost every bit of technology, turning them into primitive wild Orks which fought each other. Therefore, Kumula was then renamed into the Green Hell.
• 589.M37 – Rise of the Forsaken: The former chapter of the Blessed Blades were said to be loners, rarely fighting at the side of other imperial institutions as they have seen themselves to be superior and the chosen sons of the Emperor. In the early years of the 37^nd Millennium, the Imperium lost contact with them because of the outcomes of the warpstormDionys. Their entire home system was caught in one of countless erupting warpstorms of that time. They were declared to be lost forever. Centuries later, near their former home of Elia-Hathel, a warband clad in the colours of decay appeared out of nowhere, assaulting nearby systems. It is assumed by high ranking members of the Ordo Malleus, that the so called Forsaken are the remains of the former Blessed Blades chapter. In 589.M37, they entered the south-western realm of the Dominion of Storms for reasons unknown. A strike force consisting of the Knights of House Toho and the Phantom Blades was sending to intercept them. After several devastating battles, the Forsaken were at least put to rest.

• M38 - A Time of Unrest
• 527.M38 - Xenos in shepfur: The 3rd Tribeof the Storm Riders chapter supported a Deathwatch Killteam led by Inquisitor Xulvias and brother captain Maxamius of the White Consuls chapter in hunting down a rising genestealer cult hidden deep within the hive cities of Hana. Though heavy tensions between the Astartes leaders and the loss of Inquisitor Xulvias, they were able to overcome their differences and extinguish the Xenos cult.
• 973.M38 - Bread and Excess: Over generations, the rulers of Polymus became more and more decadent, ruthless and addicted to wealth, power and sensation. When they enacted the creation of a gigantic coliseum for brutal sports like gladiator fights or entire war scenes, the Inquisition became curious of them. Lord Inquisitor Tobeas Markucien recruited the nearby living Phantom Blades to engage the seemingly corrupted cast of rulers. After several months of infiltration, espionage and the like, the loyal forces of Markucien and captain Damios of the Phantom Blades found out that the upper echelons of Polymus’ society were indeed corrupted by the god of pleasure. The following campaign took nearly two years and annihilated entire cities until the cult, later known as the Seekers of Pleasure, was annihilated.

Worlds of the Dominion

Because of its numerous, dangerous and unstable storms and stellar phenomena, it is not possible to name the Dominion of Storms a single realm. Instead, several stellar oases in between these storms permitted mankind to colonize many untouched planets, leading to the foundation of a handful of independent kingdoms and empires. Those listed below are the most considerable as for their importance for the Imperium and their decisive history:

• Waniku: Of regular size for a sub sector, Waniku is governed by a council, consisting of representatives of each colonized world, with the Warchief of the Storm Riders chapter acting as the head of all military forces of Waniku. Notable planets of Waniku are:
  • Aukkaja– Ocean and Adeptus Astartes homeworld - first planet of Waniku being rediscovered by the forces of the Imperium; became the homeworld of the Storm Rider Brotherhood of the V Legiones Astartes White Scars after the Horus Heresy and the following Second Founding
  • Hana – Hive World - Hana is one of the most productive worlds within the Waniku sector.
  • Hanaii - Death World - It spends much of its time eclipsed by another planet, causing it to have long periods of twilight and nighttime. Every couple of months, the planet slips out of eclipse and is blasted by harsh heat from the sun. The primitive Xenos population, known as the Abashi, often seeks shelter in the planet's vast and thick forests, but during this period, forest fires are also frequent. During the eclipse period, the Xenos population is constantly on the run and hiding from Hanais variety of dangerous creatures. To survive, Abashi learn to be extremely adept at stealth and hunting. Place of ScholaProgenium of the 26th Alphic Scorpions, who are using the planets special environment and natives, sometimes along with their allies of the Phantom Blades chapter, as their training ground.
  • Kalo - Agri-world - This planet and its orbiting moons have a Mediterranean climate, making them ideal for agriculture.
  • Kaijo - Ocean and Knight World - Homeworld of House Toho, the Nagazh race and the giant Ke'mano monsters
  • Koya – Feral World - Koya is a Storm Riders Training World used largely for increasing the tactical and strategic skills of the Chapter's Neophytes. Having several drastic climate zones this world is ideal for their training process and maneuvers.
  • Make’ao - Dead World – Before the Great Crusade, Make’ao was well known as Ka’mala, the proud jewel of Waniku. It was a world full of life, beauty and all kind of arts. Destroyed by life-eater bombs during the conflict between the Storm Rider brotherhood and the World Eaters' 26th company in the first years of the Heresy.
  • Omoke- Shrine World - spiritual center of Waniku, the damage done by the rise and fall of the cult known as Children of the Sun was nearly total, changing its beautiful surface for all eternity as the continent Hiboja was ravaged entirely, turning it into a barren world
  • Pal Harboris- Hive world - While Tanyaba is the industrial center of the Waniku sub sector, Pal Harboris is well known for its giant, orbital shipyards. Every imperial force, be it imperial navy or Astartes chapter, of the entire Dominion is delivered by the lords of Pal Harboris. Their ships are well known to be perfectly balanced in terms of arms, protection and speed. Specially customized ships for the Storm Riders and Phantom Blades chapters are produced as well. Recently, Pal Harboris had suffered a horrible catastrophe. About 70% of its shipyards were heavily damaged, nearly the entire docked fleet was stolen and the population took casualties in the millions as three hive cities were nearly vaporized as a distraction by the infamous Alpha Legion. It will take years until they will have recovered.
  • Tanyaba - Forge World – Tanyaba is a Forge World ruled by the lord magi of the AdeptusMechanicum. Home of LegioGojira
  • The Dreadstars- place of the final showdown between the Storm Rider Brotherhood and the traitorous World Eaters forces, Warp Storm erupts and swallowed entire system, since then it became a bastion and refuge for all servants of Chaos from cultist to space marine and even daemon. Nowadays, the storms have lifted for reasons unknown and a huge army of chaos followers emerges from the Dreadstars. A strike force consisting of elements of all nearby imperial forces, the Inquisition and the mysterious Grey Knights gathered to engage this new thread of old times.
  • The green Hell - Once known as Kumula this planet is a former Death World, covered entirely with jungle. Remains of Bonechewa clan fled to this planet after the disastrous ending of the Bonechewa-Waaagh!!!. Degenerated to wild Orks without proper technology.
• Domerian cluster - small cluster of handful of planets in the southern realm of the Dominion
  • Polymus - Civilised World, seat of power of the Domerian cluster
    • Sheda, penal moon of Polymus
    • Arexis, fortress moon of Polymus
  • Neptus - Paradise World, being the crown jewel of the Domerian cluster
  • Klepiames – Agri World, supplies the Domerian cluster with food
  • Taspar - Death World, homeworld of the mysterious Phantom Blades chapter, home of the deadliest predators of the Domerian cluster, including the Helenian Nighthunter and the Hydarian serpent, a harsh planet with several climatic zones, which make Taspar the ideal trainings world of a Astartes chapter, habituated by a couple of native kingdoms, technology level is at ancient bronze era
  • Pheistos – Industrial World, center of Domerian industry
  • Elemes, mining moon of Pheistos
• The Yurai nebula – a giant and strange nebula in the northern realm of the Dominion; it is assumed that it is not a natural but rather an artificial phenomena of unknown origin
  • Craftworld Umare, A medium sized Craftworld, the Eldar of Umare are lead by Runeprophet Alveras, they believe that enemies like the Orks, Necrons, Tyranids and especially the powers of Chaos can only be defeated if the Eldar and the Imperium would stand together. The tried several attempts to join forces with the Imperium, their greatest success being to have become the allies of one of the Emperors Sons. At least they say so. If that would be true, it would be of great insight about what happened to one of the Lost & Forgotten Legions. Since the days of the Horus Heresy they hide within the dangerous Yurai nebula, allying themselves with the nearby imperial forces, for example the Storm Riders, against a common foe.
  • Shen-Jian - Maiden world, allied with craftworldUmare, first world to be conquered by the Eldars of craftworldUmare to establish a safe haven for those who had lost their home in the recent time
  • Illyas’ Tear - Maiden world, allied with craftworldUmare, second world to be conquered by the Eldars of craftworldUmare to establish a safe haven for those who had lost their home in the recent time
  • Quel'Doraj - Dead world, formerly the third world conquered by Craftworld Umare and first to fell beneath the emerging Twilight Crusade of the powerful chaos champion known as Dal'Gun
  • Sharjaszh, daemon world, former homeworld of the peaceful Arakk and Tul’vyr races, conquered by Dal’gun and turned into a daemon world, formerly known as Uldunar
• The eternal Storms – several closely gathered stellar storms (ion, warp and other), either created on purpose or it is the result of an unknown event (for example the destruction of a planet system or to lock something up)
  • Fel-amor, hidden base of the Dark Eldar force known as the Cabal of the Reaping Moon
  • Nyg-Sarthu- Daemon and Fortress world, hidden center of Dal’Guns emerging forces and his seat of power as well as the former homeworld of the extinct Quoraz race
  • Hyperias - unique space station, a seemingly ancient space fortress, heavily armed and defended, all who tried to enter it where perished or driven off, there are some rumors and legends that it might have belonged to a Space Marines Legion of old, which disappeared from one day to the next, some even claim that it is still inhabited

Known Forces

Imperium of Mankind

• AdeptusAstartes

• Storm Riders, successor chapter of the White Scars; Deriving from the stormy world of Aukkaja, the Sons of the Great Kahn protect the realm of Waniku. Known for their fast and merciless strikes, the are an important part of the loyal forces of the Imperium.
• Phantom Blades, a secretive brotherhood, not much is known about them. Making use of infiltration, sabotage and feints, they lured their enemies into death traps, overwhelming them in surprise assaults. These black clad Astartes are hunting in the dark, watching over their home, the Domerian cluster and the wider Dominion of Storms.

• QuestorisFamilia; Household Toho
• CollegiaTitanica; LegioGojira
• Astra Militarum

• Ashigaru regiments of Kaijo
• Dustwalkers of Hana
• KaloanPraefectors

• Ordo Tempestus; 26th Alphic Scorpions

The alien, the heretic, the mutant

• Orks

• Bonechewa clan
• GrinskullFreebootas
• Shadowtooths clan

• Dark Eldar; Cabal of the Reaping Moon
• Chaos Space Marines

• The Forsaken [formerly known as the Blessed Blades]
• Preachers of the Truth [Word Bearers]
• Nightmarchers [former part of the Storm Riders]
• The Iron Fist [iron Hands]
• Wolves of Apocalypse [Wolf Brothers]

• Chaos Cults

• Brotherhood of Kain (Tzeentch)
• Children of the Sun (Nurgle)
• Carnage Incarnate (Khorne)
• Seekers of Pleasure (Slaanesh)

• Daemons; Butchers of Katharax [KhorneDaemonkin / remnants of 26th World Eaters company]

Neutral

• Eldar; YuraiEldar [craftworld Umare and Maiden worlds]

Edited December 31, 2018 by Kelborn

[Race Bannon]

:tu:

 

Gojira ... I get that.

[MikhalLeNoir]

Fine work mate.

 

Are the quoraz the same as the old ones?

[Kelborn]

Thanks. ^^

 

Well, to be honest. I haven't thought about the Old Ones while writing the Quoraz. My initial thought was a mix between Starcrafts Xel'Naga and Warcrafts Titans.

 

Maybe they are or maybe they were created by the Old Ones as well and left in the Dominion, don't know. I'll leave that open for the time being. :)

 

As I was too tired after uploading this, I edited some bits here and there a couple of minutes ago. Added another event in 011.M31 for example, rewrote some bits and so on.

 

More to come but later on. Don't want to bombard you. ;)

[Doctor Perils]

My, someone has been a busy bunny ! :)

 

Off the bat, I'd say that the region you've defined as the Dominion of Storms is too large: heck, it's larger then the Segmentum Solar! I'd crop it to maximum just around the four northernmost items you placed. Even then, I fear it might be too large to focus on everything, but I have confidence in you :)

 

The Dominion of Storms also lies to the north of Ultramar. To stem some of the Shadow Crusade, the Phantoms would be better off being based in Ultramar in the first place, pledging allegiance to Guilliman and Imperium Secundus...

 

 

Next, I'd recommend against speaking directly of the Primarchs' wishes. Deciding what's on the Primarchs' minds is dangerous, as can be demonstrated by your line

 

While Horus focus lied on Terra and Lorgar wanted nothing more than to bring annihilation to Ultramar

This is actually rather far from the truth, as can be seen by reading several of the Horus Heresy series' books: In Molech, you see Horus try to rise in power, and he is constantly re-conquering worlds to the traitors cause, not striking directly for Terra. In Fear To Tread, we see Lorgar trying to turn Sanguinius to Chaos, and he is generally trying to lure more people to the Dark Side, not just thinking of the destruction of Ultramar. In fact, Calth was destroyed not only to start off the Shadow Crusade, but to show the Dark Gods his devotion (as well as destroying the more troublesome elements of his own legion)...

 

(I like the world of Millenium Falcon :P)

 

Otherwise, looking very good so far :)

[Kelborn]

Thanks, Thorn.

 

As allways, your comments are wellcomed.

 

Size:

 

Yeah, it is incredibly large. But as far as I had understood it, I imagine it to consist abou 80-90% of storms, stellar phenomenas, etc. Therefore, I will concentrate on a couple of systems / clusters as my stage points. Good thing is: there is enough space to add new stuff.

 

Shadow Crusade:

 

Though I'm currently reading The First Heretic and after that, I will read Betrayer, I'm guided by the HH campaign books of FW. There it is said that Lorgar and Angron travelled through the Dominion in order to get to Ultramar secretly. Furthermore, it is stated that their fleet scattered as well, giving me the chance to let a part of them fight against my guys.

 

Wishes of a Primarch:

 

Yeah, I should revise this, you're right.

 

(he he, hoped that someone would get the reference )

 

Overall information:

 

As we are heading towards the Age of Endtimes, I decided to put all of my by now written M40, M41 fluff into earlier centuries and wait with those millenias until we got to know more about it.

Therefore, M33-35 are targets right now, including a larger campaign called the Twilight Crusade. In total, I will do  about 2-4 campaigns: The Iron Dawn (Phantoms vs Iron Warriors), Twilight Crusade (Dominion loyalists vs. forces of Chaos( and Bonechewa-Waaagh!!! (Storm Riders vs. Orks).

 

*edit*

The following is just a short brainstorm about a possible, future expansion of the Dominions fluff.

 

Furthermore, I'm thinking about a faction of renegade marines as my main antagonists within the Dominion. Because of that, I made some shenanigans about one of the lost Primarchs and his Legion which might be hiding within the Dominion:

 

http://orig02.deviantart.net/f14c/f/2016/202/0/3/dilian_sheet_base_by_kelbornsr-daauxog.png

 

Here's the text:

Dillian, the Second Son, the Lost Brother, the Sufferer, the Betrayer

Dillian, the second son, was the Primarch of the infamous Void Stalkers Legion. While most of his brothers did not stay long in the ethereal realm known as Warp during their kidnapping, he stayed there for years. As he faced the ruinous powers of the Dark Pantheon right away, he changed drastically. He went blind, though gaining a strange but useful form of spectral sight, enabling him to see both, mortal and ethereal realm at the same time.

After his landing on a yet unknown world, he was raised by spiritual tribesmen, who taught him more about the phantoms, how they had called the demons. Shortly after his ascendence to become the new spiritual ruler of the gathered tribes, he was discovered by the Emperor, being the second to be found.

Because of his abilities and knowledge concerning the dark pantheon, something the Emperor wanted to keep a secret, Dillian was given control of his very own Legion. Together, they should prevent demonical invasions and hunt down those responsible for.

Over the time, Dillian met a Xenos race known as the Cabal. The convinced him that to defeat Chaos itself, its most precious prey had to die: mankind.

 

And some information about his Legion:

 

Name: Void Stalkers

Culture: American natives / Aztek; demons = wraiths in their culture, totem warriors can fend them off, Primarch acted as high shaman and wraith hunter

Specialty: hunting cults + demons (was greatly inspired by the Lightning Bearers ^^), overwhelming strategies in combination with sabotage

Special units:

the Wraith Hunters, like their Primarch they ritually sacrifice their normal eyesight in order to gain the precious spectral sight which enables them to see the mortal and ethereal realm at the same time

 

the totem warriors: as the Legions philosophy drastically changes through the GC, they believe that in order to fight fire, you need fire. Therefore, they started to improve some of their warriors with unholy runes and sorcery, making them superior but fragile as well

 

Because of their radicalisation and their ruthless behavior, the Emperor sanctions them. During the GC, the Primarch met the Cabal and was convinced that mankind must die in order to defeat the dark pantheon.

 

So what do you think?

 

Currently placed on hold until needed. It is more important to finish the events so far and the Phantom Blades.

Edited July 23, 2016 by Kelborn

[Kelborn]

*****Update*****
 
Added M33-38 as well as a revised version of the previously posted stuff (editing some mistakes, etc.)
 
And here is my second chapter: the Phantom Blades!
 

[table=THE PHANTOM BLADES][/table]

CHAPTER NAME: ..........................THE PHANTOM BLADES
FOUNDING: ....................................2ND presumed, first recorded reference can be retraced to the time of the Horus Heresy
CHAPTER WORLD: .......................TASPAR
FORTRESS MONASTERY: ...........OTHRYS
GENE-SEED (PREDECESSOR): ...UNKNOWN
KNOWN DESCENDANTS: ............NONE
SPECIALTY: ....................................INFILTRATION & COVERT OPS, MULTI VECTOR ATTACKS
BATTLE CRY: ................................."NEVER FORGET, NEVER FORGIVE!" OR "FOR EMPEROR AND DOMERIA!"

 

History

 

Chronicle of secrets
 

D

uring the Age of Darkness, many of forces of unknown origin appeared to continue the Emperors vision of a Great Crusade or to fight either on the side of the Emperor or the traitorous Warmaster Horus. Some of them once belonged to one of the renegade Legions, trying to redeem themselves or to take revenge on their former brothers. Even within the loyal Legions were factions which choose to fight for the Warmaster. And then there were the Shattered Legions, the survivors of the dropsite massacre, who had only revenge in their minds. A unknown number of these splinter factions severed every connection to their former heritage. They started to build their own kingdoms within the war torn Imperium or fought, just for the sake of it, against all others. But there were a few of these so called blackshields who decided to stay loyal and defend the Imperium. One of these loyal and heroic brotherhoods were the Phantoms, a powerful fleet of unknown, origin clad in black armor.Shortly after the horrendous dropsite massacre they hadtravelled into the Dominion of Storms, a vast region with countless stellar Storms and phenomenons, many routes which could act as short ways and an unknown amount of habituated planets and resources.
 
Ignored by the most and left behind to be brought to compliance in a later stage of the Great Crusade, the Phantoms acknowledged it's worth and decided to settle within it and turn it into a new base of operations to strike at the Legions of Horus.
 
When the Phantoms entered the Dominion of Storms, they were already welcomed by the people of Domeria, a small cluster within the Dominion, which also fit perfectly as a staging point to explore it further. They had foreseen their coming and with their arrival, war would follow them well. An ancient prophecy had told them about black clad warriors from far away, bringing ages of war and the subsequent revelation with them. Well prepared, the people of Domeria stood ready to face their fate.
 
Bringing worlds to compliance without any form of violence was something new which impressed the Phantoms Praetor Tosh and his men and therefore, they worked closely together with the local government. Though they were able to expand the Domerian realm and to explore some additional regions of the Dominion, their attempts were stopped by an invading Ork fleet, which fled before the Imperium after their defeat on Ullanor. Though being vast in numbers, the last survivors of the fallen Ork empire still suffered from Ullanor and have not had the time for larger scales of replenishing their supplies or to repair their equipment. Furthermore, the Phantom were used to fight Orks since they had joined the Great Crusade centuries ago. It did not take them long until the last Ork ship was vaporised. The Dominion was save again but an enemy far more dangerous was already on its way.
 
The Horus Heresy - The atrocities of betrayal
 

S

hortly after their victory against the Orks, reports came in that yet anotherfleet of unknown origin was passing the name giving storms of the Dominion. Nearly twice the size of their own, the fleet made no attempts of a peaceful approach. Reaching the borders of Domeria, further information was gathered and given to Praetor Tosh. It consisted of ships clad in different livery, one with the world devouring mawof the World Eaters and the other one bearing a book with an eight pointed star, the World Eaters26th Company and the Preachers of the Truth chapter had arrived.

The Shadow Crusade

Using the unstable and dangerous Dominion as a cutoff for their unholy Shadow Crusade to bring war to the realm of Ultramar, the fleets of Lorgar and Angron were scattered within the restless storms. Some ships like the Catechism of Revelation were lost forever. Others like the Tenacious Zeal and the Eternal War, both part of a small portion of the impressive traitor fleet, were separated from the bulk of their crusade, travelling separately through the void. When the Phantoms scouts found them, they were immediately engaged by the whole forces of Domeria, resulting in several ambushes and battles within the borders of the Dominion.It can only be guessed of how the Phantoms had known about the intentions of the arriving Word Bearers and their allies. Where they present during the Istvaan atrocities? Have they met survivors? Where they even part of either loyalists or traitors? Whatever the case, the subsequent war between them and the sons of Lorgar and Angrontook its toll from both sides and ravaged several, luckily unhabituated, worlds within the southern regions of the Dominion.

Outnumbered, the Phantom Blades retreated and tried to resettle in an uninhabited system to protect and hide Domeria from the bloodthirsty traitors. There, they made use of the systems asteroid rings and difficult gravity pools of its giant planets to enact a hit and run campaign, luring ships in death traps and escaping before the rest of the fleet could catch up. During one of these engagements, the Phantom Blades boarded the cruiser Tenacious Zeal of the XVIIIth Legion. Onboard they hoped to find answers and answers they had found. Not only were they able to download crucial information about the greater plan and important tactical data, they also found the atrocities the sons of Lorgar enjoyed recently. Blood sacrifices, dark rituals and summonings had been conducted, using some of the last surviving, loyal legionnaires they had caught during the Istvaan campaign. They freed the last prisoner in the ships prison cells, Khal Ryddek, a terran born member of the VIIIth Legion. Together, they made the crew of the ship pay for what they had done, before returning to their own ships. The Tenacious Zeal was left behind, prepared as a death trap for those who want to board it.
 
While Tosh and his men had freed Van Ryddek, the enemies fleets had encircled them, leaving nearly no way out. It was then when another force of the Legiones Astartes accidentally entered the system, the sons of the Khagan.
 
Tasked to hunt down those Orks, which were by then already defeated by the Phantom Blades, the Brotherhood of the Storm Riders found three fleets of their brother legions fighting against each other. What had happened here? The Brotherhood of the Storm Riders were isolated from the rest of the Imperium for quite a while. In the meantime, their parent Legion, the White Scars, had already won the Chondax campaign and declared their fealty to the Emperor. While the loyalists network of information had been crippled decisively, the traitors had not. Therefore, the news of the Great Khans decision had spread quickly through the ranks of the traitor Legions. As a result, the hot headed World Eaters directly charged at their new enemy while the Word Bearers continued to fight the Phantoms. Before they were overwhelmed, Thoruk Khan of the Storm Rider Brotherhood led his men against the bloodthirsty World Eaters in a deadly spiral of ships, gunfire and boarding actions. Meanwhile, the Phantoms were discharged when they only had to face one traitor fleet. They quickly adapted and shortly after, they were back in advantage. As it turns out, both Tosh and Thoruk Khan complemented perfectly and soon it were the traitors who fled before them.
 
The fleets clashed against each other for several times again and again, ravaging nearly the whole region known as Waniku, until they finally met in the orbit of an uninhabited world in between two devastating stellar storms, YT-1300. In their desperation, the Word Bearers enacted unholy rituals to summon their new daemon allies. Although they were successful, they were not able to control the powers of the warp, resulting in a Warp storm which engulfed the entire system which was renamed into the Dreadstars. While the Word Bearers and World Eaters were trapped within the storm and thought to be destroyed, the loyal forces of the Phantom Blades and Storm Riders were able to escape.
 
After this disastrous and shocking campaign which uncovered the atrocities of Horus and his loyal followers, Thoruk Khan and his men decided to return to the Imperium, joining their Primarch and take the fight back to the traitors. Tosh instead declared that it was crucial that Horus was not allowed to take the Dominion. It would be impossible to cast him out of it, if someone like Perturabo was able to set his foot here. Therefore, the Phantoms decided to remain in the Dominion, preventing it to be taken by the traitors. When Thoruk Khan asked their leader Tosh about heir origins, Tosh simply replied: "There is no Legion to which we would held up any loyalty. We are Phantoms, the last sons of the Ghost Legion, the Emperors secret blade."
 
The Imperium of man Living in a broken vision

 

WIP
 
 

Organization

 

T

hough adhering to the broad organizational patterns and provisions laid down in the Codex Astartes, the Phantom Blades maintained a high degree of flexibility in their deployments and structures, and in battle favored stealth and well prepared ambushes over all else. That means that in any given deployment, a chain of command was obeyed unquestioningly, but this chain of command was a fluid one, both conditioned and highly decentralised in its manner. While a force would be notionally under the command of a captain (also called Lochagos), the authority held by specialists in particular, such as siege masters or vigilators, was deferred to as a matter of course and was regarded as absolute and not to be questioned in their area of expertise.
 
Furthermore, the Phantom blades emphasised greatly on unity of action and initiative on its warriors that the battlefield co-ordination and responsiveness to changing circumstances that they displayed was arguably amongst the superior to that of the most known Adeptus Astartes chapters.
 
Therefore, as a Chapter, they see the Codex as a highly effective and proven set of strategic and operational guidelines rather than inviolable dogma to be obeyed without question.
 
Besides those differences, they do have unique names for their ranks as well:

• Chapter master = the Leonad, the master of shadows
• Company = Lochoi
• Captain = Lochagos
• Squad = Taxeis
• Sergeant = Taxiarchos
• Techmarine = Tekkares
• Librarian = Orakles
• Apothecary= Asclepis
• Chaplain = Phylosis
• 1st company = Myrmidons
• Veteran Scout Squads = Argonauts

The twelve trials
 

I

n order to become the new Leonad of the Phantom Blades, a Lochagos must pass twelve trials to prove himself worthy.

 

To become the next Leonad, the Phantom Blades equivalent of a chapter master, the candidate had to pass twelve heroic trials, including to hunt down a Nighthunter single handily, destroying a rebellious or heretical cult or to slay a Hydarian serpent. Impossible for a normal human to achieve, passing those trials represent the superiority of the successful new chapter master. This tradition can be tracked back until the day, the black clad Astartes under Praetor Tosh entered the Domerian cluster during the Horus Heresy.To gain the trust of the Domerian and the overall command of their entire military, Tosh agreed to do their bidding, easily passing all twelve trials.

 

It was no only the possibility of becoming the next Leonad, which drove so many Lochagi to the trials but further the desire to test themselves and their abilities.While the first trials were seemingly easy to accomplish for a member of the Legiones Astartes, these trials were revised to better fit their potential.
 

The Tribunal

As it does take its time for even an experienced Lochagos to pass all of his trials, the possibility of having no ruling Leonad is likely. To avoid any loss of discipline or control, the Phantom Blades had established a tribunal consisting of all Lochagos and the leaders of the specialized cadres like the Apothecarion, resulting in a lodge of 15 warriors, including the chapters champion, who acts as the protégé of the Leonad. In the absence of a leader, the tribunal decides over the fate of their chapter. If during this time, the Leonad is needed somewhere to represent the chapter, the chapters' champion will wear the Nighthunters carapace to serve the Phantom Blades.

When a new Leonad was found and elected, the tribunal stepped back for him to take his throne, further acting as advisor to him.

These are thetrials of Domeria:

• Slay a Hydarian serpent
• Destroy a rebellious/ heretical organization
• Retrieve/ protect a holy artifact
• Protect Domeria from an urgent threat
• Cross the storms of the Dominion
• Pass the trial of the maze
• Defeat a champion of chaos
• Defeat a champion of a Xenos race
• Capture a Plainrunner of Klepiames
• Survive a month on Taspar without any help
• Hunt down a Helenian Nighthunter
• Pass the final trial of shadows

 
Special Units

• Myrmidons: Terminator Squad - A designation, driven from ancient Terran myth and later inducted into the Domerian tongue, was the "Myrmidons". This cognomen appears to have been given to the Phantom Blades most expert shock assault troops, particularly to dedicated 1st company and Dreadnaughts.Clad in Tactical Pattern Terminator Armor of various types, chased with baroque finery and armed with the best available weapons, this made them fearsome close assault and vanguard spearhead units against which few enemies could stand. The foremost task of the Myrmidons was to swiftly isolate and destroy the most powerful frontline troops and potent battlefield assets a foe possessed, and to do so in such an emphatic and bloody manner that not only was a potential threat to the Phantom Blades attack eroded, but the psychological shock of their attack would further damage enemy morale. Like the Helenian Nighthunter, they have waited in the darkness until the right time to strike finally came, making use of their teleportation devices to overwhelm the Imperium's foes.
• Argonauts: Veteran Scout Squad - The Argonaut Squad was a specialized infiltration unit within the ranks of the Phantom Blades, common to all of the chapters' battle formations. Including the most experienced members of the chapter, the Argonauts are a sworn brotherhood of the 10th company. They are the epitome of the chapters tactics, resulting in the creation of an elite unit geared specifically to rapidly inflicting targeted casualties behind enemy lines -- although they were also assigned to assassinations, and the sowing of destruction and chaos behind the lines in mid-battle. These operatives were chosen for their adaptive thinking as well as their ability to improvise. Little else is known of this elite formation, as the Phantom Blades were notorious for the obfuscation and secrecy that surrounded the internal workings of their mysterious chapter. Rumors have it that the Argonauts are as well in charge of a small fleet of scout ships, constantly striving through the Dominion to explore and register this unstable realm.
• Non-Astartes Agents - Of importance also when considering the particular structure and capabilities of the Phantom Blades was its use of human and augmented-human agents and paramilitaries. They made particular use of detached mortal elements specifically trained for tasks of espionage, infiltration and terrorism, and these were beholden to none save the chapter itself in fealty. Most of the time, those network of agents was used to keep information flowing through the Dominion of Storms as sometimes the ways of communication could be interrupted. Furthermore, the Dominion is so large that it needed some time to react to certain threads. Because of that, the Phantom Blades employed numerous mortal agents, to preserve the order on far distant worlds. Operating individually or as part of a cell network, these agents and operatives often had little knowledge of each other or in many cases of who their true masters were, but were uniformly highly trained, psycho-conditioned for ruthlessness and fanatical loyalty, and were often subjected to surgical, cybernetic or biochemical augmentation to further their abilities. The Phantom Blades recruited many of these non-Astartes specialists in every theatre and campaign they entered, commonly members of the other Imperial armed forces, though almost any human could be approached by the Legion for his knowledge or skills. These operatives often remained in their original position, ready to respond to their commands. It may well be that even other loyal imperial organizations like the Storm Riders, the 26thAlphic Scorpions or the Household of Toho are infected with agents as well. You never know.

Recruitment
 

T

he Phantom Blades recruit exclusively from their homeworld of Taspar. A world of shadows and death, the native population learned to adept from birth on. Dangerous predators like the Helenian Nighthunter or the Hydarian serpent lurked in the darkness, a constant threat to the small but vast kingdoms of Taspar. Only in numeral strength and unity the kingdoms of Taspar can hope to survive. Because of that, the warriors of Taspar are well known to be fierce, quickly adaptable and strong in unit. The Phantom Blades preserved the status quo as it guaranteed a constant flow of worthy recruits for their own chapter. As a consequence of their mentality, it was repeatedly reported that from their first hours as Aspirants, the would-be warriors of the Phantom Blades, also known as Shadow Warriors in native tongue, would train and fight together as units, rather than individual soldiers; the success of each one, and even their survival, depending on the success of the unit as a whole. Many of this exercises and trials reminded of those done on Terra during the early years of the Great Crusade before the Primarchs were found. Succeeding Aspirants were said to be in their way as deadly as any of the Adeptus Astartes, but required both intelligence and cooperation to overcome these trials, so that no single Aspirant might alone survive them.

After passing the murderous trials and challenges, the newly inducted Aspirants joined the greater chapter in the 10th company. From then on, they walked in the darkness to bring victims salvation and foes doom.
 

Combat Doctrine

 

A

t a tactical level, the Phantom Blades favoured freedom of manoeuvre and portability of firepower, and its battle tactics showed particular tendencies towards specialised scout and Argonaut squads in opening combat operations, to be quickly followed by the rapid deployment of fast armour, close air support and mechanised infantry units as a main strike force. Attacking from many vectors at once, as well as skilfully employing feints and ambushes, would commonly reveal a foe's weaknesses to the watching Phantom Blades commanders. They would then bring about maximum pressure against the exposed vulnerability, deploying reserves of shock troops, heavy armour and artillery as expedient to deal a shattering death blow. In order to employ these tactics, the Phantom Blades chapter was known to have developed a number of specialised formations and units like the mighty Myrmidons and the secretive Argonauts.
 
A second commonality in observation of the Phantom Blades was its superlative expertise in the arts of espionage, sabotage, infiltration and assassination. The goal of which was to leave an enemy leaderless and fractured, a helpless puppet before the chapters onslaught when it came. In counterpoint, tactics of attrition and the forlorn hope, a bloody slog of trench warfare and static defence, were things shunned by them unless entirely unavoidable, and even then only ever engaged in on their own terms. When the time for an attack came however, it would be a tactical mistake to underestimate their abilities in open warfare. The members' tactical coherence and fluid mastery of complex stratagems deployed by the Phantom Blades in the realms of infiltration and covert assault also made them masters of eloquent manoeuvres, feints and ambush in open battle. To fight them in open battle was akin to fighting a ghostly, vast and crushing entity, which seemed to be omnipresent, but operating under a single malevolent will.
 
In keeping with their willingness to make use of every available resource to achieve success, the Phantom Blades Chapter often takes direct charge of any Imperial Guard units available in a given theatre. Most of the time, they are operating with elite forces like the 26thAlphic Scorpions, a regiment of the MilitarumTempestus order based within the Dominion of Storms. Both organizations are tight closely together, resulting in rumors of a shared origin. Rather than deferring to the organizations intrinsic leadership, these Space Marines deploy their members among the merely human forces and then take a direct hand in their disposition and tactics.
 

Homeworld

 

T

aspar was part of the Domerian cluster, a small group of nearby star systems, which were culturally and administratively connected to one another and were ruled by the Domerian senate. Classified as a death world, it was amongst the most lethal worlds within the Dominionof the Storms. Though it did have several climatic zones, each with its own eco system, overall it was not a comfortable world to live on. As it was orbiting the gas giant Morphes, which itself had an elliptic sphere towards Pollos, the systems sun, it was haunted by drastic winters, extreme heat periods and other climatic catastrophes. Furthermore, it owned one of the deadliest faunas of the entire Dominion. As a consequence, the human settlers hadestablished several, small kingdoms to protect themselves against this conditions. Within their walls, they tried to withstand the constant dangers. Nonetheless, Taspars lethal rate was high enough to sort out the weak. Therefore, it suited perfectly the chapters need of new and worthy recruits.
 
Outside their seemingly safe castles, death awaited. In the deep oceans, the Hydarian serpent, a giant reptile with several heads was waiting for careless fisher to sail across the sea. The fast Polonian eagle dominated the air. Big enough to capture even humans, this predator is the main reason why the people of Taspar dared only to leave their homes in dawn and twilight. But at this time, the most dangerous hunter stalked amidst the shadows, the Helenian Nighthunter, the epitome of Taspars food chain. With a hide nearly as hard as steel, the Nighthunter was capable of killing an entire hunting party. Because of that, killing one was a deed of great renown. Even for a brother of the Phantom Blades chapter, it was a challenge not takes too easy. The only difficulty hereby was, that Taspar was very short on daylight, as it was orbiting a gas giant, which blocked the essential sunlight for most of the time. Like the environment of Taspar, the people had adapted as well in developing enhanced senses to better orientate in the darkness of Taspars long nights.
 
Besides all of the dangers mankind had to face upon its surface, when the sundidshine upon it, one would have called Taspar a beautiful world of wide seas, prosperous plains, huge forests and majestic mountains.
 
Fortress Monastery Othrys, home of shadows
 

W

hile Taspar is orbiting the gas giant Morphes, Asphodel is the single moon of Taspar. Because of the elliptic sphere of Morphes, daylight is rare on Taspar and Asphodel does not even have any daylight at all, being covered in eternal darkness. Furthermore, Asphodel has a very thin atmosphere, which results in a dead moon without any form of life on it. Only their enhanced physiology and superior power armour enables the Phantom Blades to walk upon it.
 
Its jagged surface is dominated by high mountains and deep gorges, mirroring the dark and shadowy character of the Phantom Blades. Within the hideous and deadly gorges known as theScars of Taros, the Phantom Blades have built their fortress monastery. There, at the end of one of its numerous dead ends, they have found the wreckage of a huge battleship of unknown class. It is presumed that theScars of Taros were probably created by the crash landed ship, tearing through the earth until a deadly maze arose in its wake.Two times the size of a standardized battle barge, it seemed to have belonged to one of the Legiones Astartes, but it was stripped from all marks or signsof its former owners. The only thing they had found onboard was one golden sigil bearing the motive of a rising sun.
 
Although being irreparably damaged, negatingany chance flying again, it was still of use for the Phantom Blades. Over the following decades, the chapters Techmarines, later known as Tekkares, worked tireless on its overhaul. With the help of their own forge ship and the resources of the Domerian cluster, they were able to reactivate its most important systems, for example its void shield generators, weapons, secondary systems and so on, slowly converting it into a sizeable and fearsome fortress monastery for their own use. Since then, the newly named Othrys served as the hidden base of the Phantom Blades chapter, including a fully stocked Apothecarium, training grounds, armories and so on. Covered in shadows, protected by ancient technology and only accessible by flying through a lethal canyon with thousands of riffs, tight curves and other dangers, the Othrys is well protected against its foes and curious members ofother imperial organizations.
 

Chapter Gene-Seed

 

T

hroughout their history, the Phantom Blades suffered catastrophic losses on some occasions. In spite of this, as a testament to their perseverance, they have managed to recover each time. This ability to rebuild in spite of massive losses also suggests that their gene-seed is healthy and stable. Under the conditions of rebuilding, the success of each implantation into a Neophyte is crucial for the Chapters survival.
 
Phantom Blades are as intensely loyal as any of the Chapters of the AdeptusAstartes and do not take their duty lightly nor the oaths they take to the Emperor. Unlike the stubborn adherence to duty that other Chapters might possess, which would see a Battle-Brother fight on until claimed by death, the Phantom Blades have instead a grim determination to do their duty. This is not so much a desire to die as it is an acceptance that death is the only end to the path a Space Marine treads, and everything they do is another step along that path and one closer to their eventual demise.Furthermore, they have a tendency to secrecy and independence which distance themselves from other organizations of the Imperium like the Administratum or the Inquisition. Only because of their shared past, they do have some fealty with the Storm Riders chapter, the Samurai of House Toho and the Alphic Scorpions. It is noteworthy that even among these allies, the Alphic Scorpions are the most trusted and are the only ones who were allowed to train on the Phantom Blades homeworld of Taspar. If that is because of their many commonalities or because of another, unknown reason, none can say.
 

Notable Elements

 

Praetor Tosh, the first Leonad & Khal Ryddek, the Haunter

 
 Great Crusade & Horus Heresy:

• Tosh, the first Leonad, the master of shadows, the Emperors arcane blade; Though the origins of the Phantom Blades can be tracked until the age of darkness, none can say from which Legion they might be descend from. The being known as Tosh was said to be their leader, once bearing the title of praetor.A brilliant strategist and fearful adversary in close combat, he led his forces into many victories since their appearance. After arriving in Domeria, the Tosh had to pass twelve trials before he would be accepted as a new ally and military leader. It was Tosh himself, who lined up and successfully passed all trials. Among these, he had to eradicate an uprising rebellion on Pheistos, called the Minotos band. Another trial was to slay a Hydarian serpent, a nearly impossible task as the Hydarian serpent is known for his ability of self-healing. But the most dangerous challenge was to hunt down a Helenian Nighthunter, a lion like creature living on Taspar, his hide nearly as resistible as steel, it was the epitome of the Tasparian food chain and the deadliest predator of Domeria. Despite the odds, Tosh passed them all, earning the title of Leonad, the master of shadows. Because of that, he was accepted as the overall leader of the Domerian military. Since then, the tradition of the twelve trials occurs whenever a new chapter master needs to be chosen. Only a captain who had passed all twelve trials (mostly on a larger scale, for example destroying a chaos cult instead of a small rebellion), may be elected as the new Leonad.
• Khal Ryddek, the Haunter, the killer with the mouth; A former member of the VIIIth Legiones Astartes, Night Lords, he was captured during the infamous dropsite massacre on Istvaan V, when he tried to warn the loyal Legions about their coming demise. He was nearly beaten to death by none other than Jago Sevatar himself and left behind to die amidst the corpses of the loyalists. There, he was found by the infamous Preachers of the Truth chapter of the Word Bearers Legion. Onboard their ship, the Tenacious Zeal, theyused him to experiment with some ancient, unholy rituals which were given to them by Erebus. In doing so, they changed or activated something slumbering in Khals genes: he became a perpetual. Unable to die, he was tortured, sacrificed and tested for countless times. After months of torture and rituals, he nearly lost his mind and sense of discipline, seriousness and righteousness. When he was rescued by a boarding party of the Phantom Blades months later, he likely joined them in order to avenge his torture. Since then, he beared an unimaginable hate against all forces of chaos. Fighting for centuries against the deadliest foes man can imagine, made him a perfect killer: merciless, cold, highly skilled and immortal. But still, he bears the scars of this mental torture, making him a psychotic, weird example of what it meant to be a Space Marine.
• Bram Radun, the Redfist, the Black Death, first leader of the Myrmidons; A former warsmith of the Iron Warriors Legion, Bram Radun led the151st Grand Battalion, which joined forces with the, then known, Phantoms in order to defeat his own treacherous comrades. Separated from the rest of his Legion during the first years of the Horus Heresy, he victoriously returned to his Primarch from the Heldaxi compliance. Leaving no time to rest, Perturabo adjacted their remains to the 117th Grand Battalion under warsmith Korven Gulemagin order to compensate their lack in numbers. Tasked to conquer the Dominion of Storms, they left their Primary yet again. During the following campaign, Radun and his men got to know about the ascendance of Horus and the rising revolution against the Emperor. Shocked by this revelation, the Ironblades decided to stay loyal to the Imperium in secrecy, waitingfor the right time to strike. During the battle of Polymus, the Ironblades severed their fealties and engaged their former brothers resulting in the destruction of the 117th Grand Battalion. After joining forces with the Phantoms, resulting in the foundation of the Phantom Blades, Radun led the deadly Terminator squads which would later become the first company of the Phantom Blades, the Myrmidons, earning him the title of Black Death.

Post Heresy

• Hektares, the Leonad, the master of shadows;
• Akill, the Black Death, Lochagos of the Myrmidons, 1st Lochoi;
• Orseas, the Void Shield, Lochagos of the 4thLochoi;
• Damios, the Ironspear, Lochagos of the 5thLochoi;
• Demetrius, the righteous hammer, Lochagos of the 8thLochoi;
• Kletias, the Shadowwalker, Lochagos of the 9thLochoi
• The Haunter; Within a chapter of secrets and mysteries, the Haunter is a living legend. As his true identity is only known by his brothers, the Haunter is the faceless death delivered by the Phantom Blades. Khal Ryddek was once a normal legionnaire of the Night Lords Legion until he was captured by the demonical sons of Lorgar. During his torment, a secret power rose from his genes, turning him into an immortal perpetual. Since he had joined forces with the mysterious Phantom Blades right after his rescue, he was becoming more than just a brother. Living and fighting since the days of the Great Crusade, he is now one of the closest advisors to the Leonad and a great example for the chapter philosophy. Only his mental scars have never healed. Therefore, and though being venerated, he is treated carefully as no one knows what will happen while approaching him.

Chapter Relics

• Umbralion, the spear of honor: Umbralion was crafted by the high lords of Mars themselves as a gift to Malcador the Sigilite. Though pretending to be a power spear, it contains several gimmicks. First of all, the user of Umbralion can unlock several blades which expand from its primary blade resulting in the utter destruction of surrounding material. It was a common sight, when a foe was hit in his stomach by Umbralion, he was cut in half just because of the expanding blades. Furthermore, Umbralion contains a miniature version of a teleport device, enabling it to return immediately to its wearer. Therefore, it was not only a fearsome close combat weapon but also one for distant attacks How the being known as Tosh came into the possession of this masterful relic, none can say. Maybe it was stolen during the siege of Terra? Maybe it was a gift to a loyal son of the Emperor? Maybe there was a secret connection between the Phantom Blades and the Sigilite? Whatever the case, it was a perfect and silent weapon for a someone like Tosh, who fought in the shadows of the age of darkness. Since then, it was handed over to every newly elected Leonad of the Phantom Blades. In its long lasting history, it was the demise of mighty Xenos leaders, powerful daemons and traitorous warlords.
• The Nighthunters carapaceA master crafted artificer armor, the Nighthunters carapace was the refitted, personal armor of Tosh, the first Leonad, done by the forges of Pheistos. A gift for his deeds he had done for Domeria, they used his damaged power armor to recreate it and enhance it even further. Among those enhancements was a refractor field generator, capable of protecting Tosh even further. Furthermore, auto senses, backpack and reflexes were modified, resulting in an armor which combined the advantages of both MK IV and VI pattern armors.
• The silent kill A powerful and master crafted stalker pattern bolter, the Silent Kills range and penetration power were improved, resulting in an ultimate sniper rifle for the elite cadres of Argonauts.

Chapter Fleet

• Heart of Domeria (Battle Barge) - The Heart of Domeria was the flagship of the Phantom Blades since the aftermath of the Horus Heresy. Its previous name was lost but in the first years after the age of darkness, a couple of senior members of the imperial navy, recognized this ship as the Arcane Strike, a famous ship which was once part of an unknown fleet of grey clad Astartes warriors, who fought within the borders of the Imperium against reoccurring rebellions on seemingly compliant worlds, shortly before the discovery of the Primarch known as Alpharius. Since then, it was never being seen again, assumed to be lost. The Heart of Domeria has won many crucial void battles and carried the brothers of the Phantom Blades to countless battlefields. Like its parent chapter, it had to endure near destruction for a couple of times but the chapters Tekkares, with the help of specialists of both Pheistos and Pal Harboris, were able to save it and with every reconditioning, customizations were added to enhance its ability of waging war.
• Apex Predator (Battle Barge) - The Apex Predator was one of the reputed and massive battle barge class Battleships of the first generation that formedmuch of the core of the then known Phantoms blackshied force. It was destroyed near the Dreadstars under the concentrated fire of the Steelbinder and Foehammer of the 117th Grand Battalion Iron Warriors Legion.
• Lurker (Strike Cruiser) - Adjactedto the 4th Lochoi, also known as the Shields of Domeria, the Lurker had to endure some of the most intense and brutal void combats in the chapters history. During the horrible Bonechewa-Waaagh!!! it was the Lochagos of the 4th Lochoi, who volunteered to lure the fleet of the Ork warlord into the final trap around Monsuna, which sealed the Xenos' fate. As it had to bear heavy fire and several attempts of boarding actions, the inflicted damage was nearly total. But the chapters' smiths were able to bring it back into operating status after a couple of long years.
• Shadow Hunter (Strike Cruiser) -
• Metheus Anvil (Capital Ship, Forge ship) A potent forge ship, capable of supplying an entire force of Astartes, the Metheus Anvil was once assigned to a expedition fleet of the IVth Legion, the Iron Warriors. When the Imperium was ravaged by the Horus Heresy, it lost contact to numerous forces and outposts stationed in the outer rims of the galaxy. Therefore, none can say how it came into the possession of the Phantom Blades. Maybe it was lost during a campaign and rediscoveredby them. Maybe the Phantom Blades themselves are the descendants of the former fleet. It is one of many secrets surrounding this chapter. Orbiting their fortress monastery on Asphodel it produced all the necessary equipment for the Phantom Blades chapter. Over the years it was modified to ensure the maintenance of the chapters fleet and has become the rally point of itas well. Secretive as they are, only the highest members of Pheistos ruling caste and members of the chapter may have access to it. Therefore, even for representatives of the Adeptus Mechanicum it is difficult to find out about the whole armament of the Phantom Blades.

Chapter Appearance

 
Chapter Colors
 

The Phantom Blades primarily wear black and dark grey colored Power. The Aquila or Imperialis on the chest guard and the squad specialty symbol on the right shoulder guard are silver in color. A black colored Roman numeral is stenciled on the left grey knee pad, while a black numeral in the center of the squad specialty symbol indicates squad number.
 
Chapter Badge
 

The Phantom Bladesgrey Chapter badge is the skull of a Domerian phantom, a creature of legend, centered between two Domerian blades on a field of black. It is interesting to note that the so called Phantoms were firstly mentioned shortly after the Phantom Bladeshad arrived in Domeria. If it is an accident or a well-placed rumor, non can be sure of.

Edited September 23, 2016 by Kelborn

[Kelborn]

Hey there,

 

it's been a while but I'm planning to again work on this project.

 

With the recently published Deathwatch codex and the newest entry about Fort Excalibris, I'm thinking of a small outpost or a ship of the Deathwatch operating within the Dominion as well.

 

While the Storm Riders and Phantom Blades deal with the bigger threats like chaos, etc. this ship might have the task to explore the Dominion in search for new threats, artifacts and knowledge which could help the Imperium. It could be accompanied by either a contingent or a separate ship of the AdMech.

 

Well, let's see where this will lead us to, right? ;)

[Kelborn]

Here is what I currently have in mind for Watch Fortress Mortguard:

 

Within this dominion, ravaged by storms and other phenomena, Watch Fortress Mortguard will be the hidden blade, acting in the background. While both, the Storm Riders and the Phantom Blades deal with the greater, obvious threats like Orks and Chaos, the brothers of the Death Guard are scouting the Dominion as it is not fully acquired after 10.000 years. They will deal with hideous dangers like unknown xenos races or other threats. Led by Veljiar Greyback, a born leader who had fought in countless campaigns, the brothers of Mortguard stand ready to defend mankind and to purge the xenos.

 

Besides the "normal" threats which are already mentioned in the timeline of the Dominion (see above), I have the following in mind:

 

- rising Necron Tomb worlds, will be accompanied by the official forces of the Imperium

- a battle against a homebrew Eldar craftworld and it's croneworlds, then forced to fight with the Eldar against a greater threat (see next point). Afterwards, both forces are departing, leaving each other alone - for now.

- An insectoid race (the Q'rai mentioned in my timeline), which is able to quickly adept to new circumstances. Make use of bio weapons. Trying not to do a Tyranid 2.0 race but rather a mixture of Mass Effects Collector and Warcrafts Aquir (which later splintered into the Nerubians, the Quiraj and the Klaxxi). I already implemented this race in the history of the Dominion. I'm targeting to make something similar in creating three different xenos races scattered across the galaxy). While one tried to harvest humans in order to create an Avatar for their "god" (Mass Effect Collectors), another branch could search for the remains of their creators which are scattered across the Dominion in order to learn how to shape life itself. Still in progress. Have to think about this branch and the remaining third one.

- I'm thinking of a xenos race which could make use of artificial intelligence in form of golems, etc. comparable design would be the Burning Legion.

 

Watch Fortress Mortguard:

 

- greater theme: either A slightly adapted version of Atlantis with a Paladin or Spectres (Mass Effect) theme

- Mortguard could either be a space station/ battle barge or a fortress on a planet,build upon ancient xenos ruins which could be one of many secrets within its walls

- Three Watch Stations, one being on an Asteroid, one being a keep within a mountain, one being a space ship stationed near to one of the Dominions warp storms

- leader: Watch Master Veljiar Greyback, former Wolflord, nowadays a Black Shield

- fleet: Would a Battle Barge be reasonable? Not really, or? Then let's say, 2 or 3 Strike Cruisers and a small flotilla of frigates, etc.

- strength: 5 watch companies, each consisting of 4 Kill Teams

 

Furthermore, I'm thinking of creating link between Mortguard and the reborn Sigilite (see The Tion-Hegemonie within the timeline). Both could be searching for a lost and powerful fleet from the era of the Great Crusade. Third faction to search for it could be a Black Legion / Red Corsair force.

 

Like I said, a small brainstorm. ^^

 

Feel free to comment on these ideas. :D

I'm open for any suggestions.

[Kelborn]

Community: "Hey Kel, good ideas over here. Please proceed as we really would like to see more and how will going to deal with it."

Me: "You sure about it? Shouldn't we firstly see if it makes sense at all?"

Community: "No way. Did you hear us mourning? No. Everything's fine. The force is strong in you."

Me: "Well, ok...thanks?" Oo

[MikhalLeNoir]

I think you should start a legio. Project based on voodoo

[Doctor Perils]

Interesting stuff here. I think there may be some slight inconsistencies with canon (very slight) - for instance, croneworlds are mostly daemon worlds now, they are those that fell at the same time as the Eldar Empire: I think you're thinking of "virgin worlds" (ie, exodite worlds) but those don't normally belong to a particular craftworld - a craftworld may be sworn to offer protection, but it doesn't really go further politically.

 

Otherwise, I'm slightly saddened that you are using some similar ideas to mine, but of course I've got so many projects going on that there was bound to be some overlap with somebody at some stage - it may indicate that those are good ideas, as "great minds think alike" :D

 

I think you've got some great ideas for Xenos, however I'd be cautious of expanding too much on the Bolter and Chainsword, what with the strict "No Xenos allowed" policy - however, I think we're all aware that some amount of detail is necessary to explain what the human forces are doing. If in doubt, I'd PM the mods if I were you :)

[Kelborn]

Thanks guys. :)

 

@Mikhal: yeah, sounds interesting... Oh wait, I alreday do that. :P

@Thorn:

 

You're right. I meant virgin worlds. I dedicated them to Craftworld zu are as they fall under its protection.

 

We got similarities? To be honest, I havent read all of your stuff, so it is per accident. But I'm curious, what do we have in common? Seems like we indeed had great ideas seperately. Great minds for sure. :)

 

Don't worry, I won't dive into the xenos background too much. As you said, it's just to explain the background of certain actions and campaigns.

 

Think that I'll stick with my initial brainstorm concerning Mortguard.

[Doctor Perils]

 

In fairness, a lot of my ideas haven't been written down yet, and what has been written is just as likely to be on a scrap of paper hidden in textbooks three years old at the bottom of the closet :P

 

Anyway, keep us posted :tu:

[MikhalLeNoir]

Beware!! Kelborn might have his spies all around you. See, he already stile the vodoo idea although i just mentioned it today....OUT OF MY MIND!!! Wait.....where is my mind?

[Kelborn]

Gotcha!

*evil laughter*

[Kelborn]

http://rodswapper.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/alive.jpg

 

 

 

Yep, here I am again, returning to my own version of the Dominion of Storms.

 

Last time, I was spending time on this project, the Deathwatch codex was just released and I was eager to work on the canon Watch Fortress of Mortguard, which is (by accident) placed deep within the realm of the Dominion. Today, I'll take my precious concept and brainstorm and expand it a bit, since I've made a couple of new ideas, themes and the likes.

 

So here is what I got in mind for Watch Fortress Mortguard aka Brainstorm V2.0

Within this dominion, ravaged by storms and other phenomena, Watch Fortress Mortguard will be the hidden blade, acting in the background. While both, the Storm Riders and the Phantom Blades deal with the greater, obvious threats like Orks and Chaos, the brothers of the Deathwatch are scouting the Dominion as it is not fully acquired after 10.000 years. They will deal with hideous dangers like unknown xenos races or other threats. Led by Veljiar Greyback, a born leader who had fought in countless campaigns, the brothers of Mortguard stand ready to defend mankind and to purge the xenos.

Besides the "normal" threats which are already mentioned in the timeline of the Dominion (see above), I got the following:

- rising Necron Tomb worlds (just look on the DW galaxy map, there are several Necron tomb worlds like Thanatos, Moebius and Gidrim) will be accompanied by the official forces of the Imperium
- a battle against a homebrew Eldar craftworld and it's Maiden worlds, then forced to fight with the Eldar against a greater threat (see next point). Afterwards, both forces are departing, leaving each other alone - for now.
- An insectoid race (the Q'rai mentioned in my timeline), which is able to quickly adept to new circumstances. Make use of bio weapons. Trying not to do a Tyranid 2.0 race but rather a mixture of Mass Effects Collector and Warcrafts Aquir (which later splintered into the Nerubians, the Quiraj and the Klaxxi). I already implemented this race in the history of the Dominion. I'm targeting to make something similar in creating three different xenos races scattered across the galaxy). While one tried to harvest humans in order to create an Avatar for their "god" (Mass Effect Collectors), another branch could search for the remains of their creators which are scattered across the Dominion in order to learn how to shape life itself. Still in progress. Have to think about this branch and the remaining third one.
- biggest campaign might be the Twilight-Crusade, a potent xenos sorcerer corrupts his entire race while facing extiction because of the Imperium; he gathers a mighty army of cults, maybe some chaos space marines and other demonic deities, proclaiming the Twilight Crusade to end the Imperium once and for all (basically a mixture of Warcrafts Burning Legion and Twilight-Hammer-Clan), making use of animated golems (Infernals) via sorcery

Watch Fortress Mortguard:

- greater theme: leaning towards a SpecOps / Spectres (Mass Effect) theme, mixed with some Greek influences, looking for xenos technology and artifact for the Imperium to keep them in check and possibly use them for the good of mankind

- Greek influence: I was focusing on the word mors, mortis. Basically Mortguard is yet another term for Deathwatch, so I though, why not making use of it? Mortguard as the center of my Watch Fortress bears a dark and hidden secret. Within its ancient halls, there is a holy chamber. Deep witihn this chamber is a secret of potent mass destruction, only being used in the direst circumstances. I'm considering it to be a caged demon of Nurgle ('cause death, you know?) or Khorne, either given to them by the Ordo Malleus or caged with the help of a xenos artifact. Mors is the ancient, Roman incarnation of death. After doing some research, I found a handful of Greek spirits of death, the Keres, with each standing for a certain aspect of death.

- Other suggestion for this chamber: warpgate, which leads directly into the realm of chaos, held in check by xenos artifacts, agents of chaos are trying to find the location of Mortguard in order to open that gate

- Remember the Area 51 scene in Indiana Jones? Where every potent artifact was stored in order to keep it hidden from the world? I'm considering this for Mortguar as well. Hidden deep within the tempestous realm of the Dominion, the Ordo Xenos and the Deathwatch founded Mortguard to keep an eye on some of the most destructive artifacts and weapons, the Imperium had recovered. Would also fit the "guarding death" theme, which I'm intending. Allied, radical forgeworld grants the storage in order to research xenos archeotech and learn from it, which leads into a tense relation with the rest of the AdMec and more conservative elements.
- Mortguard is a fortress on a planet,built upon ancient xenos ruins which could be one of many secrets within its walls, within these ruins, ancient tomes and prophecies were gathered, which served the Deathwatch well in the past
- Three Watch Stations (names are: Ker, Aither & Nemesis), named after Greek spirits of death, one being on an Asteroid, one being a keep within a mountain, one being a space ship stationed near to one of the Dominions warp storms
- leader: Watch Master Veljiar Greyback, former Wolflord, nowadays a Black Shield
- fleet: normal sized fleet, handful of Strike Cruisers, frigattes, the usual

- strength: normal size; 5 watch companies, each consisting of 4 kill-teams
- ruled by a council of the Watchmaster, an Inquisitor of the Ordo Xenos and a lord of an allied forgeworld, which provides Mortguard with its equipment

- to stick with the Greek / Roman influences, new members of Mortguard have to undergo a harsh and exhausting training, led by Oenomaus, a Deathwatch veteran; they are wellcomed with the following: "Forget everything you learned outside these walls, for that is the world of men. We are more. We are Astartes! Study, train, bleed, and one day your name will be legend, spoken in hushed whispers of fear and awe, within these holy walls of MORTGUARD!  ATTACK!!"

- battlecry: "His will!" "Our hands!"

 

Furthermore, I'd like to integrate some Liber chapters as well. I'd appreciate your help in this. Everyone is free of sending me a character of their own chapters (or canon ones if you want to). I'll promise that I'll make use of each and every character! The first offered characters will become the leaders of Mortguard, the sergeants, the captains, the librarians and so on.

 

So that's the basic idea for Watch Fortress Mortguard. C&C is welcome!

 

Kelborn

 

Forget that for now. I'm currently more interested in updating the overall concept towards 8th edition fluff.

 

Edited August 1, 2017 by Kelborn

[Kelborn]

Brothers,

 

I need your humble advice.

 

I do want to update my Dominion of Storms towards the 8th edition and the Dark Imperium setting. In doing so, I'm revising the Phantom Blades (see above). They once felt right but not anymore. Way too many Alpha Legion shenanigans, which I don't want anymore.

 

The "new" Phantom Blades shall be more focusing on ancient Greek warriors / myths / culture and the likes. Something like Dwayne Johnson's Hercules, dealing with several myths but turning them into something real (i.e. the Hydra being a gang of bandits).

 

 Further, I'm enjoying the Iron Warriors more and more, thanks to the Primarch novelizations of Magnus and Perturabo and FWs great work. Therefore, I would like to turn the Phantom Blades into a former IW blackshield force, which follows their Olympian heritage and focus on siege warfare combined with Perturabo's desire to create something good, something like an Utopia.

Crazy as I am, a single Legions heritage is not enough for me. I love the idea of combined / joined forces of two Legions. Now I've reached a point on which I have to decide and need some advice from you as well.

 

I got two ideas:

 

1) Iron Warriors & terran Raven Guard

Following the Battle of Gate 42, the remaining terran Raven Guard forces were dispatched by Corax himself into Nomad Predation Fleets, heading towards the unknown regions like the Ghoul Stars. My idea includes one of those forces, a DIY chapter named the Dust Devils or Desert Phantoms. In order to redeem themselves for Corax misconduct (nearly came to blows with Perturabo; denying any further collaboration with Horus, etc.) and asks both Primarchs for forgiveness. As they have always been treated like a sub company of the XVIth Legion, Horus accepts their offer and decrees that the Dust Devils shall accompany the Iron Warriors. Perturabo, not wanting them in his ranks, assigned them to a expeditionary fleet, which is tasked with conquering the Dominion of Storms. Long speech short, both forces work very well together and became close brothers. While fighting within the Dominion, does Hours attack Terra. Forgotten and betrayed by their own brothers (they even fought a sub force of Lorgar's Shadow Crusade), do the now called Phantom Blades renew their fealty to Terra and did found (along the Storm Riders) the Astartes Tempestus, the guardians of the Dominion.

 

Pro:

- different Legions, unified by common experiences

- Iron Warrior siege mastery + terran Raven Guards brutal infiltration tactics

- I can still use a commission I've done for the Phantom Blades, including an obviously NL / RG member (black eyes, pale skin)

- both are familiar with attrition and brutality, this being a good beginning for something grimdark

 

2) Iron Warriors & Thousand Sons

After reading Magnus, I really like the idea of those two Legions fighting side by side as they (at least their Primarchs) share a very close bond of kinship, curiosity and intellect. As a result of their bond, did Magnus and Perturabo found an Expeditionary fleet to investigate the Dominion. A region known for its unstable routes and numerous and dangerous storms and stellar anomalies, the Dominion is a suitable challenge for those two Legions. By using the Domerian cluster as a staging point, did the Fleet advanced deep into the Dominion. There, they discovered an ancient tomb world on which they were confronted by a detachment of Eldar. Because of the following battle, was a ancient temple complex heavily damaged, which resulted in the release of a powerful demon. The demon, enraged by its long lasting imprisonment, summons hordes of its minions, fighting against both, Eldar and Legion. They both join forces and are able to overcome the incursion but in the end, the daemon reveals that this was its intention all along. Using the remains of the caging system does the daemon take the entire world, including the orbiting fleet, into a pocket dimension (like the Sigilite did with Titan). The daemon itself was able to escape and turns into the (later) chapters Nemesis. The combined forces of Eldar, Iron Warriors and Thousand Sons are able to break the sigils and return to the mortal realm. Unfortunately, some centuries had past in the meantime. Horus was defeated. The Iron Warriors and Thousand Sons were condemned as traitors and Ahriman did cast the unthinkable Rubric. As they are still adhering to their old vows of loyalty, do the survivors found the Phantom Blades, one of the founding members of the Astartes Tempestus.

 

Pro:

- very different Legions, unified by common goals & experiences; more of a fraternity than a forced one

- Iron Warrior siege mastery with flexible Thousand Sons attachment (could consist of Order of the Ruin or more stealthy Order of the Blindness members)

- already got a nemesis

- could try to turn Domeria into an Utopia of both Legions

- also got a potential flaw with the still occurring Flesh Change (the TS detachment would still suffer from this)

 

Con:

- can't use the mentioned NL / RG member, who is part of said commission

 

Bit in a hurry right now but those are the core points of said themes.

 

Which one could be more consistent / reasonable?

 

Thanks in advance! :)

[Kelborn]

Well...I was hoping for a bit more feedback and advice. ^^

[Doctor Perils]

Hello there Kelborn! Long time no... read? :P I'm getting a bit more settled in at work, so I'll allow myself some time to write up some more C&C for people around here :)

 

I do want to update my Dominion of Storms towards the 8th edition and the Dark Imperium setting.

Great ! :tu: 8th edition fluff is still very new, and we don't yet know everything that's been happening in it, so bear in mind that there's still stuff that might be changing over the next few months, but I'm very happy when I see people excited for the expanded fluff

 

Something like Dwayne Johnson's Hercules, dealing with several myths but turning them into something real (i.e. the Hydra being a gang of bandits).

I haven't seen that film, but am I right to think that you basically want to use a more grounded/realistic version of greek mythology as the chapter's main influence? That could be very cool, as we often seem to focus on a sort of fantasized or pop culture version of historical cultures as influence for our writing - this would be turning that trope on its head, which is very fitting for the 40k setting

 

Further, I'm enjoying the Iron Warriors more and more...

*glances at avatar...* :tu: :D

 

Therefore, I would like to turn the Phantom Blades into a former IW blackshield force, which follows their Olympian heritage and focus on siege warfare combined with Perturabo's desire to create something good, something like an Utopia.

Crazy as I am, a single Legions heritage is not enough for me. I love the idea of combined / joined forces of two Legions.

Ah. Right, I feel like I have to ask an important question before going further (which I will anyway, I just want you to think about too)
"Why?" What does a chapter formed not only of traitor geneseed, but also of either Chimeric geneseed or of two different legions give you that you can't get from a single founding legion? What in fact do you get from using traitor geneseed in the first place? Geneseed should play less then a minor role in the spirit of a chapter, so using two controversial geneseed sources seems like you're giving yourself more trouble then it's worth: you'll end up focusing more on explaining why the chapter isn't exterminatus'd into oblivion rather then focus on the spirit of the chapter itself, the real meat of the matter.


That being said, let's move onto your ideas :)

1) Iron Warriors and Raven Guard:
The idea of Terran XIXth legion being sent away from the Raven Guard is rooted in the story of the setting - however, we also know that very few of them survived gate 42 in the first place, and it seems more then likely that the Carcharadons mostly came from these survivors: with that in mind, it seems unlikely that within those few survivors, there were also another group of astartes that split off from the proto-Carcharadons to ask for reassignment to another legion...
However, I also think that old raven guard legionaries fit with the modus operandi of the Phantom Blades - perhaps, instead of an actual terran-dominated company or chapter, they might have been from another company who showed split loyalties following the battle of gate 42, and Corax eventually saw himself obliged to exile them as part of another nomad predation fleet, separate both from the Terran survivors and from the rest of the Raven Guard fleet? Perhaps their captain/chapter master could have once been a hostage to Corax from the survivors of the Tech-Guilds of Kiavahr, setting the stage for his split loyalties and specialties that aren't quite the same as the Raven Guard from Deliverance/Lycaeus? If you really want to keep the split geneseed and Iron Warriors, a slight emphasis on Kiavahran tech could also prove to be a bonding point with members of the Iron Warriors?

2) Iron Warriors and Thousand Sons:
Wow, that's a very convoluted plot... And does it have to be linked to the Thousand Sons? To me it seems that the Thousand Sons would be able to avert the main psychic problems linked to the Eldar or the Daemon; the Daemon would prove to be more problematic for most other legions, and would therefore be a more interesting Nemesis - also, be careful when using the word "tomb world", as it is most commonly associated with the Necrons. As there is a daemon there, it would seem more likely to be a Crone World?
Also, I seem to remember that you'd once started on a promising Thousand Sons warband/chapter, or am I dreaming?
However, Domeria(sp?) could be an interesting concept here, especially if it's a crone world of some description (not quite a daemon world, but not quite on this plane either) - it could be a very defensible world, but it could also be the source of potential psychic flaws? To be elaborated on...



Really, I'd say that using mixed geneseed is really going to make it hard - however, you do have interesting concepts appearing in both versions. What I'd really recommend you do is try merging all these ideas: a Kiavahran detachment of the XIXth Legion is exiled, forming a new nomad predation fleet, who find the dominion of storms and take over Domeria following an intensive battle with Eldar and/or daemons... Something along those lines?

[Kelborn]

Woah thanks mate. Very appreciate your feedback.

 

Yes, I got a Thousand Sons warband up on my sleeve. It might become one of the major antagonists in the 8th Dominion.

 

Kind of feeling guilty as I'm very close of letting the Phantom Blades face extinction during the opening of the Great Rift. One of their close allies, the 26th Alphic Scorpions of the Tempestus Militares would try to uphold the defenses of Domeria and thus become somehow Greek influenced. The desire to turn them even more into a Greek themed chapter came from reading Perturabo by Guy Haley. Incredibly good novel!

 

But your suggestions regarding terran Raven Guard could be a good opening for a revised Phantom Blades article. :)

Until now, they were of Alpha Legion origin.

 

These days, I'm kind of struggeling in where to start with the 8th edition Dominion. I've started to write down the keyfacts for a imperial crusade, led by Black Templars and Primaris, which was assigned to reconquer the Dominion. In doing so, they arrive within Domeria, realising that the PBs were wiped out and contact to other factions like the Imperial Sons or the Storm Riders was lost long ago.

While the majority of the crusade would head towards the realm of the Imperial Sons, the Alphic Scorpions and a detachment of Primaris would reestablish order within Domeria and try to find the Storm Riders. In doing so, the Primaris take a nearby death world for their own, becoming the Ebonspears, a Primaris & Salamanders successor chapter.

 

Here's the thing:

 

Though I'm enjoying the new setting, it offers me so many possibilities that I'm not sure of which are good enough to elaborate. :/

Here's a short overview of what I've got thus far:

 

- Ebonspears: my attempt of bringing my Predators Legion into canon; African themed, hunters, bit of voodoo culture, still caring for mankind

- Ebon Blades: Dark Angel Primaris successor, which distrusts its DA brothers and still believes that Luther was a good guy

- Warbeasts: Space Wolves Primaris successor, basically the same idea I had a couple of months ago, having companions, fast raiders, etc.

- updating my Storm Riders (White Scars successors) to show what happened to the Dominion after the destruction of Cadia

- updating and revising my Phantom Blades as mentioned above

 

So yeah, for me it's a bit difficult to decide right now. :/

[Doctor Perils]

It might be a good idea to rename the Ebon Blades to Obsidian Blades, or something similar - you already have an "ebon-weapon" chapter in that line-up, and it could form the basis of an interesting theme (namely pre-columbian america, whether aztecs, or mayans, or moltecs...)

 

As to what to focus on first, how about the main alliance sort of thing, how they come about, what the relationships between the chapters are like, what each ones' goal is within their alliance, what the alliance is actually doing in the 8th edition context, etc. Fleshing out elements of each chapter can happen in parallel to that ?

[Kelborn]

Thanks again.

 

I blame it on Guy Haleys Perturabo that I'm constantly returning to an Iron Warrior / Greek based version of my Phantom Blades.

 

How about the following?

 

Sticking to the Iron Warrior / Raven Guard scenario. As mentioned above, said exiled Raven Guard and the Iron Warriors fight alongside for quite a while, slowly conquering the Dominion. While the Raven Guard were cast into exile by Corax, they would like to follow his orders and head deeper into the Dominion. The Iron Warriors would rather stay and consolidate their position, resulting in the divison of both forces. As they fought together for quite a while, some habits and preferences were exchanged and adapted. For example do the Iron Warriors now make use of infiltrators in order to sabotage enemy defenses.

 

While these Iron Warriors slowly became the Phantom Blades (or perhaps maybe Iron Blades?), the Raven Guard vanished and were never to be seen again (possibility to turn them into a renegade / chaos warband). During their isolation do the IW know nothing of the Heresy (just like Khyr Valen), staying loyal to the throne.

 

This way, I can make use of previously written fluff like them fighting against Word Bearers / World Eaters of the Shadow Crusade and so on.

 

As a well known Iron Warrior fan, what do you think? ;)

 

Btw. Have you read Perturabo? I'm tempted to say that this is a must have for every fellow Iron Warrior out there. ;)

[Doctor Perils]

The thing is, you don't need iron warriors geneseed for either Greek or siege themes - a chapter's culture generally takes far more from their homeplanet then from the founding chapter/legion, and all legions were supposed to know every aspect of warfare.

However, I think the possibility of using traitor geneseed is all right - on the other hand, I'd recommend not stating the origins outright: perhaps you could split it into two articles, one speaking of an iron warriors detachment during the Horus Heresy, the other speaking of a chapter with unknown origins set in 8th edition. After all, the setting is split in the same fashion

[Kelborn]

Of course, I do not need the Iron Warriors' geneseed in order to create a Greek chapter.

Thing is that (as far as I know) the Iron Warriors had the most loyal / renegade factions of all Traitor Legions:

 

- Barabas Dantioch

- Khyr Vallen

- Narik Dreygur

 

and some possible loyal successor chapters as well (Minotaurs and Silver Skulls).

 

So I thought that making use of them, would be reasonable as Perturabo had a lot of garrisons out there, which he seemed to forgot / ignore.

 

Your suggestion is really good. Simple and decent. I got ideas for 30K and Dark Imperium but I'm kind of struggeling to fill the time in between. This way, I can focus on said eras. :)