IT: The Pallid Procession [Iron Gauntlet 2020]

[Messor]

 

The Pallid Procession
The Grave and the Cradle

 

 

Origins

“Something you learn after enough time seeding Grandfather’s garden...not every infection births disease. Anything can become an infection and bear worthy fruits. It still begins small, but feeds on its environment, grows, spreads, until at last it consumes its host. Not their body, but their mind and soul. Every emotion, like an open wound, is fertile ground for infection as potent as any disease. Fear. Pride. Hatred. Failure.”

 

Failure. Like a hissing insect that appears without fail to disturb moments of peace. That finds its way into the slightest chink in the armor and bites and stings, getting further in the more one reaches for it. That, in the very moment when it seems to have finally died, begins its fevered attack once more. To hear the living among The Procession tell it, the Chaos scourge of the Halo Stars owes its existence to the failure of one man: Johin Mahlur. The chosen Champion of the Asperos Astra, Mahlur had been given the chance to earn his Chapter glory, and had brought them only shame, which shame had led them to risk everything and would cost them dearly.

 

As the Chapter took its fateful journey through the treacherous pass leading into the Halo Stars, it was buffeted and shaken by the turbulence of the warp. After more than a month withstanding the storm, the strike cruiser Reilios, home of the 6th company, began to list out of formation near the heart of the fleet. Within its hull, disarray. The ship’s Gellar Field was failing and the Immaterium was claiming it. Surfaces of the decks and bulkheads warped and bubbled, crumbled and cracked, changing material in an eyeblink. Bodies were transfigured and twisted. Entities of the Empyrean stalked the corridors. Amid the screams, coughs, and sounds of battle against apparating demonic entities, there were also murmurs of pledged loyalty, and while most stood and fought, there were some that bent the knee. Most who did so were merely making a choice between life and death, but one among them, one who knew that this catastrophe was no accident, was simply making good on a deal.

 

The rest of the fleet continued receiving horrific transmission from the Reilios for hours, until at last it was pulled from its course and violently ejected from the warp stream, pulling a smaller vessel from the Explorator’s fleet with it, both presumed destroyed. 

 

But they survived. The two ships emerged from the Warp together, far from their destination, but mostly intact. Functional, but not unmarked. Both ships bore what appeared to be the accumulated wear and corrosion of centuries in the void without maintenance. The emblems and icons of the Chapter and the Imperium that had adorned the cruiser had crumbled or burned away, replaced instead with symbols of a different allegiance; the trio of circles that represent the Plague Lord, Nurgle. Every living soul aboard both vessels had been changed; a price paid for survival, and for Johin Mahlur’s failure.

Homeworld

Spat out of the Warp under no power of their own, the castoff survivors from the fleet found themselves at the edge of a barren star system somewhere deep among the Halo Stars. Before them were a handful of worlds that were little more than pitted rocks, orbiting a baleful and turbulent star. At first the newly converted children of decay thought that they were meant for these stricken worlds, but as they approached, they found something else. Orbiting the entire star, like a single wisp of gray hair clinging tenuously to a pale head, was an unbroken chain of ships. Wreckage, both ancient and modern, pursuing a silent, ceaseless convoy around the star. From the whisper of Nurgle’s emissaries they learned its name: The Processional of the Damned. The numberless derelict vessels carried all that the Plaguefather’s disciples would need to fulfill his will. From it they would take their name, and their mission.

 

Composed of everything from scout vessels and pleasure yachts all the way up to battleships and space hulks, there are more weapons, artifacts, and secrets in the Processional than on some of the oldest hives of the Imperium. The orbiting vessels come from every age and beyond, and from civilizations human and xenos alike. There is far more hidden among these ships than the emerging warband can hope to uncover on its own. The Reilios and the Demittor, the Mechanicus forge-barque that had succumbed with them, moved to orbit alongside the Processional, only to see the ships surrounding them to part of their own accord, leaving room for both heretic vessels. Entering orbit, the heretics began their explorations. To further reflect the changes to themselves and their ship, the heretic Astartes renamed their corrupted Strike Cruiser “Pursuer of the End.”

 

Over the course of years and decades that followed, the corrupted survivors explored and cannibalized the surrounding ships, while the tainted Mechanicus dragged multiple vessels together to build a dark, floating forge. The Astartes and their subjects refitted and repaired a handful of other ships, and began to launch scouting missions into the dark corners of the Halo Stars and towards the Asperos Astra’s original destination. When at last they found the Manifest Frontier, the loyalists’ newfound home, they set about watching them, dispatching agents into their midst to observe, and planting new seeds of corruption in the hearts of their wards. A handful of the choicest recruits were spirited away back to the Processional, where they joined the ceaseless salvage and restoration effort on the various wrecks. Others are outfitted with scout ships and sent into the darkest corners of the Frontier, pursuing secret objectives.

 

The Processional now has pockets of activity throughout its orbit, some ships having been returned to full functionality to serve the heretics' naval and transport needs, while others have little more than flickering engines and lights, and corridors full of whispers, some new and some ancient. The bulk of the work done in the Processional is carried out by undead, whose living masters push them ever harder to prepare the ships for their destiny. Still less than a fraction of its potential has been uncovered. The secrets and power it contains are of extreme importance to certain denizens of the Immaterium. And what is important to them is important to the Pallid Procession.

 

Recruitment

There are few living Astartes in the Procession compared to many warbands, most of these being the original members of the 6th Company that made pacts with the Plaguefather in exchange for their lives and their power. Due to Nurgle’s gifts, none of these traitors has yet tasted death. The rest of the 6th company, however, was not lost...or more accurately, not wasted. With the powers of the Empyrean, the traitors raised the dead of the 6th, binding them to their cruel will. These undead Astartes are now the Procession’s deadliest shock troopers, and though some have been destroyed, their reanimated nature makes them extremely difficult to permanently eliminate, and many of them continue to “serve” despite tremendous damage.

 

The bulk of the warband is composed of the surviving crew from the Pursuer and the Demittor, who command zealots and cultists that have been spirited away from the colony worlds of the Manifest Frontier. Supplementing their lack of numbers are great hordes of undead, raised by means of pestilent sorcery. While the Procession exercises its powers quite liberally to cull and harass the colonists, it is also very cautious in it’s approach to tempting away other Marines of the Asperos Astra. It is rarely worth the risk to commit substantial forces against the Chapter’s established defenses, but probing strikes against convoys and isolated outposts can sometimes yield new “recruits.” With great care, the Procession has slowly and subtly grown, and they continue their implacable advance with all the inevitability Nurgle’s children are known for.

 

Advancement among the Astartes within the Procession is at the sole discretion of the Black Warden, Calvera, and hinges on much the same kinds of deeds expected of the mundane mortals in their service: providing information. As the Procession scours the Manifest Frontier from its heaviest fortifications to its darkest unexplored corners in search of the hidden power they desire, the favor of their master is reserved for those who provide the most valuable intelligence.

Combat Doctrine

Warfare as conducted by the Procession is a strange contradiction, a matter of subtlety executed by brute force, where a success will leave the enemy wondering why they came under attack at all.

 

Lacking the numbers of elite (or even particularly coordinated) troops found among the Asperos Astra and the colonist militias, the warband compensates using waves of undead chaff to draw enemy attention and absorb fire. These hordes are composed of both simple reanimated dead, as well as more robust zombies created with an iteration of the Walking Pox known in the Frontier as the Withering Pox. The walkers created by the Withering Pox often appear shriveled and emaciated, rather than the typical swollen and pustule ridden form of pox walkers, but are still possessed of a frightening density that makes them deceptively hardy. While the pox walkers are usually gathered into their own hordes, it is not unusual for some to be mixed among the simpler plague zombies, where they are difficult to pick out until they are already upon the foe and their unexpected strength and ferocity is too late to stop.

 

With the tide of undead at the front, the Procession’s firepower, borne primarily by the undead members of the 6th, can then be brought to bear with minimal interference. Their focused fire is used to target perceived weak points in their target’s defences, creating greater opportunity for the hordes to break through and overwhelm defenders. More entrenched enemies are ideally faced with too many shambling corpses to be able to contribute meaningfully to the battle.

 

Using the frontal assault as a distraction, the sorcerer leading the force will take advantage of the chaos sown by the pressing hordes to slip through a vulnerability in the enemy defence, whether discovered or pre-prepared, to accomplish the Procession’s main objective, or to fall upon an unsuspecting enemy flank with psychic fury, taking them off balance and leaving them all the more exposed.

 

The Procession are especially dangerous in the void, where they take full advantage of the endless supply of gutted and abandoned vessels bestowed on them by their master. Fireships and ramming leave wide openings for boarding, both in direct assaults with their massed hordes and by stealthy insertions of sorcerers and their champions. To date, only moderately sized vessels, no larger than the Pursuer have seen use in actions against their enemies.

Organization

Most operations attributed to the Procession are carried out by short-lived cults, whose leadership have very little communication with the true body of the warband. Their value is generally measured simply by the corpses they supply, but occasionally they provide information useful to the warband’s larger aims. Delivering such information is usually the only means by which such zealots can hope to rise into the true ranks of the Procession, or earn any reward beyond knowing their zombified corpse will one day be a weapon for the warband.

 

The humans with real standing in the Procession are more often than not spared from brutal combat service; they are far more valuable to the warband as information gatherers and fomenters of dissent. These select and faithful few operate primarily as solitary agents, searching the Frontier for whispers of the power the Procession seeks, while laying the foundation for new cults.

 

Above most humans, but somewhat distinct from the structure of the Procession are the acolytes and magi of the Demittor, who have combined the gifts and knowledge of their patron with their existing technological prowess in order to keep the Procession equipped with arms and ammunition. As is typical of their kind, most of them would rather spend their time uncovering the secrets and archaeotech in the treasure trove that is the Processional, but they can be relied upon to outfit the warband according to its needs, and occasionally even take to the battlefield.

 

Of the heretic astartes themselves, they are loosely divided into thirteen strike teams, each led by one of the original traitors from the Pursuer. These bands organize themselves largely as they see fit, and carry out the missions specifically given them in furtherance of the Procession’s goals. Their leaders, referred to as Augers by their lessers, each have varying degrees of influence over the powers of the Warp, due mostly to pacts struck during the fall of the Reilios. The more proactive among them have begun to approach the power of true sorcerers, but all have potent gifts they may bring to bear.

 

Commanding the warband’s operations on the material plane is the grim figure known as Calvera, the Black Warden. It is unknown what his exact involvement was in the fall of the 6th Company, but he was the most senior among those who turned, to say nothing of his authority as a Warden of Souls. What had once been an indomitable will as a Warden of the Asperos Astra has now turned toward the dark, entropic designs of the Plaguefather. Under his direction the Procession has harried both the Asperos and the Nonaveridis across the length and breadth of the Manifest Frontier, striking almost without consequence at places thought impervious to assault. Calvera himself takes counsel from none, save the greater daemon that relays the Plaguefather’s wishes. Only a handful of the original heretics are privy to this entity’s nature, but it is known to be the creator of the Withering Pox. To those of the material plane, the being is named The Graywhisper, and is one of the unifying subjects of worship among the various plague cults birthed by the Procession.

 

And then, somewhere at the edge of the Procession’s structure is the enigmatic figure known most commonly among them Pallid Preacher. Even within the warband, no one can confidently claim understanding of this creature’s nature. He often appears at settlements a few days, or sometimes mere hours before the arrival of warband hordes, raving abstractly to the inhabitants about the merits of death and the waiting afterlife. On more than one occasion the preacher’s unsettling sermons have been answered with bullets. While in some places he escapes, in others he, or at least something like him, has been reported killed. Still he appears on the frontlines, heedless of any number of deaths.

 

Beliefs

The Procession doesn’t display the joviality found among some followers of Nurgle, though they do exhibit a grim pleasure in their work. The traitors from the Asperos Astra are a somber group, clad in the corrupted remains of their armor. Uncharacteristic for plague marines, the heretics of the Procession are gaunt, emaciated and parched rather than bloated and gangrenous. Even their ceramite appears more like a hardened, flaked husk than intentionally crafted armor. Instead of the cloying mist of disease that clings to most plague marines, the astartes of the Procession, both living and undead, are followed by dark, dry, clouds of noxious dust that bear the Withering Pox and other deadly pathogens. Though they delight in the suffering of the Frontier’s colonists and any killing and torturing they can exact on the Asperos, the Procession are generally a callous and rigid warband, with a single-mindedness toward their objectives and very little tolerance for failure of any kind. They are committed to the mission given them, which to them will bring vindication against the weak and deferential Asperos Astra, and the Imperium that rejected their strength and denied their glory. 

 

Through their cults and, to a lesser degree the mad ministrations of the Preacher, the warband spreads its belief in death as the greatest gift, a liberation from the worry and pain of life. An afterlife awaits the worthy, a second life, which in reality is no more than being revived by one of the zombie plagues to further “spread the word.” Among the cults of the Procession, there is no greater aspiration, and the sorcerers within the warband are honest in delivering this gift to their disciples upon death.

 

Nurgle’s purpose for the Procession among the Halo Stars is known only to the heretic Astartes and a select few of their most devoted followers. Under the daemon’s guidance, they are convinced that somewhere in the Frontier is an artifact capable of animating the entire Processional of the Damned. If found, it would create a fleet the likes of which the Imperium has seldom seen. One which could visit death and devastation upon an entire Segmentum. 

Gene-seed

They share the lineage of the Asperos, but their gene-seed is naturally highly corrupted. Very little of that gene-seed is viable for implantation. Only five successful implantations have occurred since the Procession’s birth, but each of these new plague marines has been increasingly more powerful than the last. Despite the degraded state of their genetic material, most of the failed implantations have at least resulted in mutants useful enough to be unleashed as disposable shock troops.

War Cry

Call: “Every step closer!”

Answer: “Closer to the grave!”

 

 

 

Edited September 26 by Messor

[Messor]

Alright, here're some bones with a bit of meat on them.

[Ace Debonair]

So, two tiny bits of C&C:

Where you mention the Asperos Astra in the short form as "the Asperos", it might be worth re-adding "Astra" at the end. This isn't their article, and using the shorthand version of the name feels... out of place, for lack of a better term.

Secondly (although this isn't really C&C, just trivia): If I recall rightly, the Asperos Astra were an Ultima Founding Chapter. Does that mean we're talking Chaos Primaris marines here?

[UtariOnzo]

Loving the banner, and the theme of slow creeping decay to amass more converts and recruits.

From the text I assume there are still loyalist elements of the Asperos Astra in and around the same area? I also echo Ace in being curious if this is a Chaos Warband made of Primaris Marines. For Nurgle, that'd make for some damned hard plague marines.

[Messor]

So, two tiny bits of C&C:

 

Where you mention the Asperos Astra in the short form as "the Asperos", it might be worth re-adding "Astra" at the end. This isn't their article, and using the shorthand version of the name feels... out of place, for lack of a better term.

 

Secondly (although this isn't really C&C, just trivia): If I recall rightly, the Asperos Astra were an Ultima Founding Chapter. Does that mean we're talking Chaos Primaris marines here?

 

Good call, Ace. The full chapter name would be more appropriate. And yes, these are Chaos Primaris marines.

 

Loving the banner, and the theme of slow creeping decay to amass more converts and recruits.

 

From the text I assume there are still loyalist elements of the Asperos Astra in and around the same area? I also echo Ace in being curious if this is a Chaos Warband made of Primaris Marines. For Nurgle, that'd make for some damned hard plague marines.

Thanks Utari! And that's right, the rest of the Asperos are in the area. They've been more fully detailed here if you're curious, but as this article fills out it will give some more detail on their interactions.

[Messor]

More body added to the organization and beliefs sections. Still considering where and how to beef up things more generally.

[Brother Ezra]

There's some fantastic ideas in here - well done! I really like what you've written thus far. 

 

As for where you could expand on things a bit, maybe you could go into more detail in the 'homeworld' section? I found myself wondering about a couple of things as I was reading that part: How does the Processional 'move'? Is there still a "human" crew in all these vessels? And how does the Processional stay undetected? A fleet of that size should draw some attention, shouldn't it? 

 

I'm also curious about the former Asperos Astra in the Procession's ranks; what do they look like? Are they full-on Plague Marines? Do they still wear their old colours? Is there still something of the Asperos Astra they once were in their characters and ideals, or have they cast their old selves off entirely? 

[Messor]

Great questions, Ezra. I've developed some more of that in both the homeworld and beliefs sections, alongside some small new additions to recruitment and gene-seed. I think there will be more to say regarding the traitors themselves, but I'm still playing with that.

[Llagos_Tyrant]

Reading through this it is really well done. I did have a few questions come to mind. I really like where there headed and enjoy how you've managed to seperate them from the more traditional image of Death Guard and other Nurgle aligned heretics, while keeping some nods to how the Death Guard turned (intentionally or not).

 

The article seems to suggest that there are a number of Sorcerers in the ranks of the Procession and that they are among the more senior leadership but this isn't really explained/explored. Barring the possibility that there were an unusual number of Librarians with the 6th Company when their ship was lost and that most or all of them turned to Chaos, this seems to suggest that quite a few of the marines either psychically 'awoke' after the warp incident, or that they are either gaining powers from their patronage from Nurgle or as reward for some sort of sacrifice or ritual. I think there are some interesting possibilities for you to go into to touch on this.

 

If you wanted to highlight a notable engagement or event for them, you discuss that their leader takes counsel only from a Greater Daemon of Nurgle - but it isn't really touched on how they came to hold counsel. I would be really interested to hear how they brought the Daemon into realspace - was it through a major sacrifice, a battle where they freed it from imprisonment, was it awaiting them at the Procession, or did it board their ship initially and guide them to their current headquarters? This could be interesting to explore (although I might have misunderstood and it could be locked away in the warp).

 

Really enjoyed reading through it and how you've crafted their fall and made them distinct.

Edited April 5, 2020 by Llagos_Tyrant

[Messor]

Thanks for the kind words, Llagos! Great points raised.
 

The article seems to suggest that there are a number of Sorcerers in the ranks of the Procession and that they are among the more senior leadership but this isn't really explained/explored. Barring the possibility that there were an unusual number of Librarians with the 6th Company when their ship was lost and that most or all of them turned to Chaos, this seems to suggest that quite a few of the marines either psychically 'awoke' after the warp incident, or that they are either gaining powers from their patronage from Nurgle or as reward for some sort of sacrifice or ritual. I think there are some interesting possibilities for you to go into to touch on this.

This is definitely something I'm interested in working toward. I don't play Chaos, so I'm still doing some research on the ins and outs, do's and don'ts. The notion I'm favoring right now is that the most, if not all, the original sorcerer's came to power through daemonic pacts. However, this is based on my own perceived need for there to be sorcerers in each key part of the warband to raise and command its undead hordes. I do think there's certainly room in the narrative for some psychic awakening and rituals, though.

 

If you wanted to highlight a notable engagement or event for them, you discuss that their leader takes counsel only from a Greater Daemon of Nurgle - but it isn't really touched on how they came to hold counsel. I would be really interested to hear how they brought the Daemon into realspace - was it through a major sacrifice, a battle where they freed it from imprisonment, was it awaiting them at the Procession, or did it board their ship initially and guide them to their current headquarters? This could be interesting to explore (although I might have misunderstood and it could be locked away in the warp).

Right now I'm operating on the assumption that the daemon directing them has not manifested in realspace yet; it's character is still somewhat undefined. I know that some additional detail will be included in the story for the later challenge, but I agree that some more definition in the Index is needed.

[Llagos_Tyrant]

Sounds really interesting! I'm looking forward to seeing where you take it.

[Brother Cambrius]

It's an interesting spin to not only have these be Ultima Founding Chaos Marines, but also have them be skinny and emaciated warriors over the usual "swell guys" of the Plague Marines etc. Nicely unique and I really love the idea. :tu:

 

Now as these are Primaris Chaos Marines, has there been any interest in this from other Chaos Factions in the local geography of the area, or are they still keeping quiet on their existence? I may have missed this, but what is the Asperos Astra's knowledge of who the Pallid Procession truly are and are they keeping this secret from the =][=?

 

Cambrius

[Messor]

It's an interesting spin to not only have these be Ultima Founding Chaos Marines, but also have them be skinny and emaciated warriors over the usual "swell guys" of the Plague Marines etc. Nicely unique and I really love the idea.

 

Now as these are Primaris Chaos Marines, has there been any interest in this from other Chaos Factions in the local geography of the area, or are they still keeping quiet on their existence? I may have missed this, but what is the Asperos Astra's knowledge of who the Pallid Procession truly are and are they keeping this secret from the =][=?

 

Cambrius

Thanks Cambrius!

 

So to answer your questions, the isolation of the Halo Stars has dramatically limited the players in the Manifest Frontier; before the arrival of the Asperos, the only notable factions were the (descendants of the) stranded colonists and the Nonaveridis. With the arrival of the Asperos Astra and the later appearance of the traitors, they've become fully half of the major players in the region. So by that token, the Procession bears pretty much the full yoke of the Chaos presence, and the Inquisition's presence is scant. I toyed with idea of introducing a lone inquisitor who had made the trek and begun investigating, but looking back I've noticed that's...already a weirdly frequent occurrence in my homebrews. Jury's still out on that; for now the narrative of the Frontier is in a place with just a few major factions, relatively isolated from the larger galaxy.

[Ace Debonair]

Hmm, so far so good, I'd say. Definitely looking forward to more - up to and including more details about the creature Calvera's taking orders from.

 

Not much to c&c at the moment, soooo I'm gonna have to ask the dreaded colour question.

 

What colours are the heraldry of the Pallid Procession?

[Messor]

The heraldry is still a bit up in the air. I saved a scheme at home that I'm gravitating toward, and I'll edit it into this post after work. It just doesn't evoke the tree they broke away from quite as much as I'd like. The other reason I've delayed putting it up is I used the regular marine painter; it felt weird to use the Chaos one when they are so far from that aesthetic.

 

Edit: Here it is

The gray parts will be silver/rusted silver, and I'm leaning toward making the helmet full red, more like the Asperos. Looks rather plain in the painter, but on a model with some character I think it should get the job done.

[Ace Debonair]

Plain is generally better with Nurgle stuff to be fair, more room to go to town with weathering and wear and the like.

 

My only thoughts are, if you do decide on a full-red helmet, change the eye colour.

I'd say possibly yellow or green for best and most-nurgle-y effect.

[Brother Cambrius]

Thanks for the explanations, Messor! :tu:

 

Ace has it right with the plain colours working nicely and I'd recommend the full red helmet with those yellow/green eyes. Green verdigris would look lovely contrasting with the red.

 

Cambrius

[Messor]

Some new inclusions have been made to the Recruitment, Organization, and Beliefs based on the questions and points raised here. Barring any major issues raised, I feel good calling the article "complete" for this part of the event. I'll edit in model images instead of a painter image for the heraldry, and some of the other narrative points I'm interested in covering will get their chance in the story challenge.

[KBA]

This is fantastic. The idea of the procession combined with your themes is an absolute home run. Taking notes!

[Messor]

Thanks KBA! Just trying to find time now to sit down and paint the models for the next part of the challenge.

[Messor]

Well, I got 80% through painting these fellas for the second challenge before remembering we needed to take pre-paint pictures. A lesson in not procrastinating: you forget stuff.

 

They came out alright for a two evenings at the table. We have here Calvera himself, the Pallid Preacher, and Brother Alvorid.

[Bjorn Firewalker]

Good job on the models.

[Messor]

Thanks. I'm gonna have to revisit them at some point; I don't know if it's the paint job or my photography, but I'm not a fan of these pics.

[StratoKhan]

Hey Messor

 

Enjoyed it so far. Having your Warband be shrivelled and dessicated Nurgle followers is a good twist. It's like the difference between a wet phlegmy cough and a dry burning cough - no less pestilential but very different in feel.

 

Who is Johin Mahlur? He's mentioned twice in the first section and never again. He's a champion of the original Chapter, but a couple of scraps more of information would explain his importance more. Otherwise, if he's not so significant to the purposes of telling the Procession's story, you could just scrap him completely. Calvera is the main man here anyways.

 

Regarding the scant successful implantations, the gene-seed section is very brief - personally I am intrigued and a few extra scraps of information on what kind of powers these new recruits have would be cool. It doesn't have to be super detailed, even just alluding to it a little more would give some substance to this section, which compared to the others is a little more 'bare-bones'.

[Messor]

Who is Johin Mahlur?

 

Glad you asked. Mahlur's story will be expounded in the next part of the challenge, and his significance will become apparent. Once finished, the story will complete this Index entry.

 

I like the idea of including some passing descriptions of abilities relating to the gene-seed, I'll give that some close thought. Thanks for checking it out, StratoKhan!