Index traitoris: Sigil Daemonic

[NecroShadow]

(There are still areas that are in need of extra info and other key individuals to throw in, but any feedback on their lore and info so far would be most appreciated)

Origin/history

Born from the heresy likes many of their fellow hosts, the Sigil Daemonic began life as the chapter of the same name, having been brought into existence on the orders of the primarch along with a collection of other chapters to bring further destruction upon the throne world of Terra. Yet they were driven back along with their fellow chapters and hosts, eventually uniting with their legion upon the Daemon World of Sicarus where they would officially be reborn as the 22nd Host. The Host spent some time upon the daemon world, however it was once news reached them that the Imperium had grown to worship the Emperor that they set out upon their unholy crusade. They vowed to burn all the religious sites that they came across, and to destroy those that held the belief of the Emperor above the true pantheon of Chaos. Their crusade would grow as the greater good of the T’au was made apparent to them, for it was another belief system that denied the true glory of the Chaos Gods. It was so that they operated and assaulted religious sites throughout the millennia, yet it was the opening of the Great Rift that has brought them to their greatest power. With the this event they have been able to raze the religious sites of the Imperium Nihilus and corrupt the once holy relics at will, yet now the effects of the Indomitus Crusade are making themselves known, the Sigil Daemonic must once more face their loyalist counterparts. Little do they know the extent of Vulgrim’s plans, and of the slaughter it will bring.

Home world

While the host remain predominantly fleet based, they maintain a holding upon Sicarus in the same way that many of their fellow hosts do, for they ensure that they will return on occasion to the seat of the dark council in order to receive new orders and replenish supplies if they are needed.

Recruitment

The Sigil Daemonic benefit from still having an organised Apothecarion within their host, the command of which falls to Kal Garan, the Primus Medicae and “Blessing gifter” of the host. It is under his supervision and the judgement of the Dark Apostle himself that they will judge and choose the strongest and most zealous of their Militia and slave stock to be inducted into the process to become fully fledged marines, the process having shifted into a mixture of medical procedures and dark ritual that Kal Garan is uniquely qualified to perform.

Combat doctrine

As is the case with all Word Bearer Hosts, the methods of war are dictated by the favours and preferences of the Dark Apostle who leads it. As such the Sigil Daemonic favour the use of massed bolter fire to eliminate their foes, the warriors also carrying flamers to burn the followers and scriptures of the corpse emperor and autocannons to destroy their temples and icons of reverence for it is through these tools that vulgrim seems to aid the will of the Dark Gods to its fullest. He has specialised the different Congregations to suit different fields of war however, meaning they will not forfeit the use of other armaments if it would provide the superior ability within a battle. Before each battle they will enact dark rites or chant extracts from the Book of Lorgar in order to prepare themselves for the battle, in turn acting to weaken the walls between the materium and immaterium to better aid the summoning of Daemonic allies that appear in many of their assaults.

Organisation

The Sigil Daemonic are organised into four types of Congregations, the 8 Congregations formed from two of each type with each led by a Diabolist when not being led by the Dark Apostle, his First Acolyte or Coryphaus. The Blessed Congregations are filled with warriors who are most favoured by Chaos with mutations and powers along with the Possessed who allow Daemons to inhabit their bodies in unholy symbiosis with their own souls. The next two Congregations are the Cinerai Congregations, specialising in rapid assault using Raptors and Chaos Marines armed with flamers. They use these unholy flames to burn the religious texts and practitioners of enemy faiths, ensuring only the Creed of Chaos will continue to exist. Then there are the Iconoclast Congregations, masters of heavy weaponry who work to destroy the statues and temples of their foes at range. As such they have large numbers of Havocs and heavy weaponry armed Marines amongst their warriors, including the use of Daemon Engines to destroy the structures with contemptuous ease. Lastly there are the Orator Congregations who are the line infantry divisions of the Sigil Daemonic, comprised of an even mix of foot soldiers, Havocs and Raptors in order to tackle with whatever threat comes into place. They’re also known to be accompanied by large masses of human cultists who seek to gain the favour of the Gods and their demigod masters, happily throwing themselves in the way of blades and bullets, believing that their proximity to the Word Bearers bring the attention of the Dark Gods upon them.

Beliefs

The host holds to the word of Lorgar and the beliefs of their fellow Word Bearers, but they also demonstrate a preference to fight against more religious or zealous foes like the Black Templars, Sisters of Battle and Tau since they see their faith in their own religions as blasphemy against the Chaos Gods.

Appearance

The Sigil Daemonic share the common colours of their legion, the red armour coloured like dried blood while their shoulders are black as coal. They’re then trimmed with dark silver detailing and metallics, framing the bone coloured inscriptions transcribed from the Book of Lorgar that adorn their plate on areas.

Notable characters

-Dark Apostle Vulgrim

Raised upon Colchis, Vulgrim has lived through the Heresy and can claim the honour of having strode into battle in the shadow of the Primarch within his lifetime. He fought upon the grounds of Terra, killing many loyalist Astartes and Custodes during the battle before the Word Bearers were forced to retreat. It is with this wealth of experience that he has commanded the Sigil Daemonic from it’s inception the few years before the Battle of Terra, guiding the religious fury of his warriors and forming a hardened collection of veteran soldiers. He strides into battle bearing his Corrupted Crozias, ensuring it never leaves the battlefield unmarked by the blood of his foes while his archaic bolt pistol finds its target with unerring accuracy, be it from the dark blessings bestowed upon its bearer or the predatory will of the Machine Spirit residing within. In the last millennia, Vulgrim has evolved his unholy crusade from one merely focused upon the destruction of holy sites dedicated to the false deities of the unenlightened, now seeking out relics of unholy strength and one’s dedicated to other pantheon’s which he can corrupt to the will and glory of the Dark Pantheon.

-Coryphaus Askaroth

A Colchis born veteran of many campaigns even before the events of the Heresy, Askaroth had found himself amongst the ranks of the Anointed in the time before the Battle of Terra, a battle in which he fought alongside Dark Apostle Vulgrim. It was from this conflict together, Vulgrim having taken Askaroth under his command after the terminator warrior’s squad had been decimated, which would lead to his instatement as one of the Anointed amongst the Host after the settlement on Sicarus. In the next millennia, Askaroth would prove his dedication to the Host and Vulgrim, eventually succeeding his predecessor after his death in the battlefield against a Chapter of Guilliman’s brood. Even with his accession to the rank of Coryphaus, Askaroth would not bear new war gear for he was too used to the combi melta and chainfist that he had carried all through the Heresy and the era afterwards. In the current time he serves the Host honourably, leading the Anointed of the Host into war or providing the Dark Apostle with military advice when called upon as is his duty, serving all while being willing to lay his life down for his superior if needed.

-First Acolyte Malus

Brought into the legion after the Heresy, Malus had never seen the days of the Great Crusade nor had he walked to war with the Primarch upon the battlefield, however despite these elements he has no less fire of faith than his seniors. Having been brought into the ranks of the Host’s aspirants after his fierce dedication to the dark creed was noted by Dark Apostle Vulgrim, he would grow to become a favourite of Kal Garan who would favour him with lessons and advice as he performed his medicae duties. Over the next millennia, Malus would gradually rise in the standings of the Host, moving from a mere line infantry to a member of the Dark Apostle’s own chosen retinue as he strode to war upon the world of Solus. It was during the conflict upon this world that Malus would gain his position as First Acolyte, the raw zeal with which he fought against the warriors of the Ultramarines pleasing the Dark Apostle into granting him the position of First Acolyte at battle’s end. Ever since he has shown his zeal is not lacking, his assaults upon the followers of the Corpse Emperor showing the full unholy fury that even a warrior of the Heresy would respect, his power fist crushing even the heaviest armoured foes.

-chief diabolist Maldiaz

A diabolist of impressive skill, Maldiaz’s ability to summon Daemonic entities is held in great envy by many of his brethren, for such natural talent is seen as a great blessing from the Dark Pantheon. Having been one of the Librarians brought into being amongst the Word Bearers prior to the Council of Nikea, he would find his psychic gifts tempered towards the summons of the God’s favoured foot soldiers. He would find himself among the ranks of the vakrah jal in the aftermath of the Drop Site Massacre of Istvaan V, fighting in the newly formed chapter and serving with distinction throughout the rest of the Horus Heresy. He would eventually find himself separated from his fellow warriors during the Siege of Terra, only a group of 10 warriors left under his command until his group was saved from destruction by the retreating forces of the Sigil Daemonic. In the aftermath of this, Maldiaz would swear loyalty to Dark Apostle Vulgrim and follow under his command when the host was formed under the command of the Dark Council. In the span of the long war that followed till now, he has studied the dark teachings and trained acolytes into the ways of the warp, now always accompanied by greater possessed retainers who defend his being. He strides the battlefield in baroque armour, the horned skull of his helm giving him a Daemonic visage much like the entities he calls into the materium as much as it echoes the icon on his arcane staff. The flames that erupt from the skulls he bears glow emerald in memory of his former duty amongst the vakrah jal.

-Kal Garan

Kal Garan is an oddity amongst the legion, not only for the lack of obvious mutations he appears to demonstrate but from the fact that he reached a position of such seniority despite his planet of birth. Originating from Terra, Kal Garan was one of the numbers of legionaries to be reunited with the primarch upon Colchis, a planet upon which he swiftly grew to see as his true home. Rising into the ranks of the Apothecarion, Kal Garan would see first hand the victories his Legion brought about and the glorious civilisations left behind by his gene father, all until the Razing of Monarchia. Despite his Terran origin, Kal Garan could find nothing but disgust for the actions of the ultramarines and the Emperor’s edict, yet he swallowed his dark thoughts knowing little of how these would save him in the coming decades. When the remaining Terran Astartes found themselves driven into the most dangerous war zones, Kal Garan was saved by the attentions of one of the senior chaplains who he had divulged his secret anger at the ultramarines to, vouching to the primarch for him to be spared and inducted into the new teachings of lorgar’s dark creed. Kal Garan took to the new rites and beliefs swiftly, striding into war with new fervour as he fought alongside his newly enlightened brethren when the Heresy came about, under the command of the dark apostle who had vouched for him and alongside his favourite student, Vulgrim. He would find himself joining the newly formed Sigil Daemonic as it’s Medicae Primus, serving in this role with the grim humour that had been his trait throughout his service. In the current era he can be seen striding the battle field in his aged mk3 armour, his Narthecarium and helm coloured in the ashen grey of the old legion to identify his position, the clean medicae tools contrasting drastically with the dirty red and grey of his armour. He is always accompanied by a small gaggle of cherubiox, carrying a mixture of incense censers and collections of gene seed storage vessels to help with the retrieval of the essential glands, be it from his allies themselves or their loyalist enemies.

-Daemon Smith Arcadeus

Accompanied by warp enhanced automata, Arcadeus is a cold and calculating individual who seems to bear levels of Daemonic enhancement matching the amount of mechanical augmentation he displays. Having made little disruption amongst the ranks of the Word Bearers throughout the Great Crusade and early Heresy, it was only towards the Siege of Terra that he made his reputation amongst the legion as he led units of Thanatar Siege Automata to eliminate enemies. He, much like Maldiaz, ended up joining up with the retreating collective of the Sigil Daemonic and ensuring he survived the Heresy, unfortunately with his Thanatar unit severely depleted down to it’s last four individuals. In the length of the long war, he had turned to self augmentation as he desired to improve himself to better serve the host, the augmentations growing stronger still as the mutating influence of the warp merged the metal and flesh to the point where one could barely tell the point where flesh ended and metal began. In the current times, Arcadeus is a towering force of armoured plate and augmentations, the tainted smoke emanating from his joints as he moves. His helm consists of a halved iron pattern form, the uncovered area of his face comprised of a metallic skull visage which releases green smoke with each of the daemon smith’s exhalations.

Notable events

-the Battle of Terra (014.M31)

-the Knives of Cadre Riloth (unknown date.Early m41)

A cadre of T’au sept warriors had been drawn to the planet of Dominus’ Rest, an imperial planet who had been brought under the Greater Good 7 decades prior. They had returned after communications of dangers from the local megafauna of the planet, seeking to help protect the fearful populace. It was not to be the case however, as the moment Cadre Riloth emerged from their transport vessel they found themselves fired upon by the supposedly T’au loyal populace. The Cadre and populace suffered severe casualties, with only commander Riloth, his personal Battlesuit squad and 2 units of T’au fire warriors remained as they were disabled and held captive. It was at this moment that the marines of the Sigil Daemonic made their presence known, Dark Apostle Vulgrim himself tearing Commander Riloth from the disengaged husk of his Battlesuit. The remaining T’au were taken to an archaic site within the vast jungles by the city, the bonding knives removed from the commander and the fire warrior squad leaders before being used to slit the throats of their squad mates. The commander could only watch in horror as slowly his remaining soldiers were killed with the blades that had been to swear their comradeship, his own throat being slit soon after. It was with this blood, that of the betrayed and those killed with weapons of brotherhood, that an ancient vault opened upon the floor of the ancient jungle ruins, granting Vulgrim access to more of the dark artefacts that he had made his duty to collect for the Dark Gods.

-The Damnation of Malis Primus (unknown date. M41)

Upon the winter equinox of the shrine world Malis, the Sigil Daemonic emerged around the planet at the very hour of midnight. The force landed around the world’s primary shrine city, slaughtering all who lived in Malis Prime along with the resident force of Adeptus Sororitas warriors in ritual patterns, ensuring their blood fell as the ones who spilt it fell into despair. It was planned so that the last soul of the city was slain as the dawn broke, the resident Cannonness’ blood spilling at that exact moment bringing about the manifestation of a Nurglite Daemonic horde across the planet. Their goal achieved, the Sigil Daemonic departed the world with the Cannonness’ now plague corrupted Rosarius taken as their prize, a new relic turned to a tool for the Sigil Daemonic’s dark intents as the planet fell to the Daemons.

- The Feast of Soul Stones (920.M41)

A war host from Craftworld Iybraesil had reacted to visions of a chaos ritual that was forseen to take place on one of the maiden worlds left in the wake of the fall, seeking to halt the ritual no matter it’s goal. The Aeldari emerged from the webway gates, finding an unsuspecting force of word bearers from the Sigil Daemonic which they soon assaulted. Yet it seems their visions had failed to warn them of the full threat that they faced, for the moment they engaged the Word Bearers they found themselves assaulted from behind as multiple companies of the Angeli Luxuriae emerged from the forests behind the webway gate. The battle was short lived, the chaos forces having seemingly planned this encounter to go as it had gone. In the aftermath, the Sigil Daemonic achieved their ritual and brought forth more Daemonic incursions upon the neighbouring worlds while the Angeli Luxuriae glutted themselves on Eldar soul stones and prisoners.

-The Cursed Moons of Thranix (Unknown Date.M41)

Working in conjunction with other Word Bearer hosts to fulfil an old oath, the sigil daemonic take control of an industrial cult to scorch a titanic eight pointed star into one of Thranix’s moons. The effect of their allies doing the same on the remaining moons results in the capital world itself being enveloped in a wave of daemonic possession soon after.

-the Offering of Zealots (unknown date.m41)

Having been carving a path of unholy ruin through the Imperium Nihilus, the Sigil Daemonic sought to desecrate more sites of imperial faith and had begun to eliminate the chapter keeps of the Black Templars as they encountered them. Eventually they found the attention of one of the smaller Black Templar Crusades facing them upon one of the chapter keep locations, resulting in a significant conflict as the entirety of the Sigil Daemonic fought to slay the corpse worshipers. It was in this battle that the Sigil Daemonic first encountered the new Primaris marines, their presence resulting in severe losses amongst the assembled congregations. Despite the unexpected development however, the battle would end in victory for the Sigil Daemonic, their plan having always been to draw a force of Black Templar to them in order to offer the blood of the imperial zealots to the Chaos pantheon resulting in further dark blessings for Vulgrim and his followers.

[Brother Lunkhead]

Aaaahhh….. Word Bearers, my favorite heretics Nice start with your warband

 

I haven't had a chance to give your post a proper detailed read, but as a suggestion you might want to check names and other proper nouns for capitalization 

 

I'm looking forward to seeing more from your Sigil Daemonic.

[NecroShadow]

Thanks, I’ve sort of had the ideas for their backstory for a while but I thought I’d give a shot at writing it up in the index format. On the capital front, that always has been the bane of my writing. Probably doesn’t help I posted it late at night, but hopefully I’ve managed to weed out the majority of the issues now I’ve had a second read through.

[Brother Lunkhead]

You've obviously put a lot of thought into your Sigil Daemonic, or is it sigil daemonic Either way your article is excellent

 

22nd Host of the Word Bearers: Does the number 22 hold any special significance to the SD or is that just where they fall in the organization chart?

 

Combat Doctrine: Like most Word Bearer warbands the SD seem to favor massed weapons use over strategy. Do they use cultists in human wave attacks to wear down military forces in the usual way? What about the use of daemons, daemon engines, and possessed?

 

Dark Apostle Vulgrim: Sounds like an awesome warrior with a wealth of experience, but how does he maintain leadership? The lore (pun intended) of the Word Bearers shows ambition to be worshipped as zealously is the Chaos pantheon. Are his veterans fanatically devoted to him and always have his back? Is his power and charisma so great that no one dares challenge him. Perhaps he has a familiar that keeps track of the competition.

 

None of the above comments should be construed as critical of your article. They're just some ways to add more depth to your host and it's characters. It all looks quite good. I'll add that it is nice to see a new addition to the IT of The Liber. We Astartes need a good challenge 

 

….and speaking of challenges, I hope you're planning on putting your Sigil Daemonic into The Liber Astartes Swap Challenge Looks to me like they are ready to go  

[NecroShadow]

Well for what I lack in consistent capitals I more than make up for in idea production. Considering the Sigil Daemonic has existed in one form or another for a good few years now I’ve had a lot to put towards it. I’m hoping I can continue to impress when I eventually get my other 7 traitor legion warbands sorted out for indexes, and maybe I’ll have summoned myself a dedicated capitals familiar by then.

 

In relation to the other points, the 22nd element was purely organisational in nature. The organisation section mostly covered it but the Orator Congregations are the main source of cultist use in the Host, the iconoclast for daemon engines and blessed for possessed. I’m also kicking myself now for somehow having called them the Sigil Daemonic and referring to daemon summoning in their key history yet not mentioning summoning in the combat doctrine. I’ll make sure to add that in. I’ll need to consider how Vulgrim remains unchallenged, though he definitely has a collection of loyal warriors to help with it, including some remnants of the vakrah jal that will soon be added to their info.

 

On the challenges I will definitely consider the liber challenge, especially if I can get the next index I have planned completed. Also I’d be perfectly happy to give any Black Templars running around a nice challenge if they want to make a target out of the Sigil Daemonic.

[WarriorFish]

You don't see that many Word Bearers around, so always good to see some The Great Crusade themed bits are good, how they're going around destroying religion that is wrong in their eyes just as before. I especially like how this extends to anything, so they're just as happy/angry burning the Tau down for their wrong beliefs - it's Chaos gods or death

 

You could expand on this diligence too, as a way to help highlight how the Sigil do things differently to their peers? For example the fact that they seek out more religious opponents shows that it is a big deal to them, as they're not just trying to destroy the wrong faiths but also removing their more prominent adherents. For the Sigil sounds like worship of the Chaos gods isn't just about what they can get or even the book of Lorgar - but because it's objectively right in their minds.

 

Could be a lot to play with, I'd be interested to hear what they think of other gods like the Eldar ones...

[NecroShadow]

Well, the word bearers were the first chaos army to get me into the fold, so no better force to have as my first index. I’ll definitely have a think on expanding the diligence aspect, I do imagine they believe the dark gods would give greater rewards for destroying more zealous foes but there’s definitely an element of the “this is the only truth” crusades style to them. Probably more among the line infantry, while Vulgrim is there thinking “now, what boons could I get next”

 

In terms of the Eldar gods, they definitely aren’t fans of them, however they don’t measure up to some of my other legion forces for anti Eldar sentiments. I have one force that is following their legion’s recent war against a certain craftworld, while the other force just likes the shiny stuff you can get from killing them.

 

Also I’ve added in info on some more key individuals in the Sigil Daemonic’s command structure. Hope people like them.