The Cult of the Destroyed Father

[Toomanyprojects]

It is a well established fact that the universe in the forty-first millennium is a cruel and capricious place. Alliances and allegiances shift even amongst those who should be sworn brothers to one another, their actions being dictated by cruel and fickle overlords, perceived slights or simple mischance. Even discounting the schism of the Horus Heresy, even loyal chapters of the Space Marines have been known to come to blows (or indeed, outright warfare).

Whilst the oaths and honour codes of the space marines make such inter-chapter conflicts rare, it is a different matter when considering the masses of common humanity throughout the galaxy. Often treated as little more than cattle, it is their lives that are expended in numbers beyond imagination in theall to frequent fraternal conflicts of the Imperium.

It was in this environment that the Cult of the Everloyal began. The origins of their beloved Patriarch 'The Father' were never established as common knowledge, but the loyalty shown by the Cult towards it own adherents and its allies was remarkable even by the standards of their brethren. Genocidal wars were enacted because of the death of a single neophyte or brood brother, and the Cult's staunch defence of its allies in local Astra Militarum led to a failed Tau invasion of their home world. The Imperial Governor proudly puffed out his chest with pride, ignorant of those who had actually saved his world for the Imperium.

Despite these hardships, those involved in the Cult lived a relatively contented life. All felt that their place had been handed down from 'The Father' and were content to enact his designs in blind obedience. Even losses at the hands of hive gangs and the Tau were considered beneficial for the Cult, honing the cutting edge of their war machine until it was razor sharp and could be used to punish their enemies.

The tragedy of the Cult's situation began with the arrival of a splinter of Hive Fleet Irkalla. Despite the instructions of 'The Father', the command of the Cult could not help but feel revulsion at the bio-organisms in the vanguard of the Hive Fleet as they massacred the Astra Millitarum of the planet. Slowly and quietly, they began to withdraw their forces to unoccupied areas of their homeworld in order to fight alone.

The Chief Magus, Nexos and Primus of the Cult then determined to visit 'The Father' in person to obtain his guidance as to how to proceed. To their horror, 'The Father' turned on them the instant they entered his lair, having fallen to the influence of the Hive Fleet and becoming just another Tyranid. The former patriarch immediately killed their escorts and the Cult's chief Locus, who intervened to protect his Primus.

Against all probability, the trio prevailed against their traitorous father, cutting him down in his own throne room.

It was at this point that the war also began to turn against the Hive Fleet. A detachment of the Deathwatch, reinforced by space marines from the Omicron Swords chapter translated in-system and immediately set about destroying the Xenos. Despite their strength, they were sorely pressed by the Tyranids, however, they were to receive aid from a most unlikely source.

After the grief of their father's betrayal and the shock of the actions forced upon them, a cold fury gripped the command of the cult. Forces previously withdrawn were now thrown back in to battle - against the hive fleet. Caught between the two vengeful forces, the Tyranids were forced to retreat.

In the aftermath, the cult reforged itself. Now burning with a hatred for the Tyranids, who caused their father to turn on his children in the ultimate betrayal, the Cult of the Destroyed Father was born. Now using their genestealer offspring for their own ends instead of worshipping them, using their genetic material to foster new generations of cultists. The Cult is essentially leaderless, possessing no single individual who holds the reigns of power; instead the trio of Primus, Magus and Nexos each act as the authority in their own fields of the cult and do not interfere in the affairs of the other leaders.

The reborn Cult of the Destroyed Father has now set its sights on a seemingly impossible goal, to remove the threat of the Tyanid Hive Fleets from the galaxy forever...

Okay, so I'm a little weird in that the one thing I never actually liked about the Genestealer Cults was the Genestealer part of things. It just never seemed particularly 'good' to me and the idea of 'nids jumping out of transports always struck me as a tad discordant. I therefore decided upon the above back story, to allow me to explain both their origins and the total lack of gribblies in my army.

As always with my stuff, rule of cool applies. I'm including what I want to because I want to and damn the consequences of it on the tabletop

Hope to update this thread with semi-regular painting exploits, and first of all here is my Nexos planning an attack on a local manufactorum, hope you all like:

[RandyB]

I wanted that kind of cult status as a fluff option in the new codex. "Disconnected" is a viable relationship between cult and their originating hive fleet, especially as hive fleets get defeated (to the degree that any of them ever are).

[Toomanyprojects]

To be honest, it was an excuse to not have any genestealers in the army :) but I do hope that it shows I've put a bit of effort into making it thematic. I'll represent them on the tabletop with the cult of the twisted helix rules, they suit my playstyle best