The End of Quiet, A Tale of the 51st Millennium

[Bruce Malcom]

(So, quick note. This has nothing to do with Nightmare to Come, despite sharing the same relative date. I find it rather hard to, while not compete, sort of exist in the same realm with arguably the most well-known 40k fic save TTS. Now that the distinction has been achieved, let's get started...)

 

It is the 51st Millennium, and the galaxy has been still.

 

The Imperium has been long dead after the cataclysm of the 42nd Millennium. Though few remain that saw the end with their own eyes, myths and legends state that the heroes returned, gods were born and slain, the ancient metallic horrors from beneath the surface rose, the Orks fought so hard and so constant they became nigh-extinct for ten thousand years, and the Aeldari finally died.

 

The Chaos Gods reduced to null, the Rift closed. The Traitor Legions found themselves cut off from their patrons, with many no longer blind to their heresies. The daemons of old became the stuff of bogymen and stories before bed.

 

The great tide of Tyranids were somehow quelled, this feat unknown save but tales of old men, which we will get to later.

 

But the close of the 42nd Millennium was not without loss. The Emperor, for one, finally allowed to rest after saving his people one last time. Terra, not destroyed but cut off without supplies or resources. Communication became rare, the Astropath Houses of the old Imperium reduced to but a dozen from the sheer casualties during the Final Wars of the age of the Imperium.

 

There is no unifying force in the Galaxy anymore. The Lost and the Damned have no gods, Humanity has no Emperor, the wild Tyranids no hivemind, the feral Orks no major Warbosses, and the Necrons have no Silent King. The Tau have no Ethereals, and the remaining Adeptus Astartes have no Primarch.

 

Across the galaxy there exists small pockets of civilization. A hundred thousand Imperiums, empires, dynasties, and kingdoms. A few worlds have the luck of having a strong military, others don't. While the galaxy is still, it is not calm. War is not gone, for border conflicts and resource wars occur commonly. Understanding is not here, for the cruel fates experienced in the Age of Strife, Age of the Imperium, and the Age After have created grudges that may never dissipate.

 

It is the 51st Millennium, and the galaxy is awakening...

--------------------------------

So the goal with this, alongside making a fun story, is also to create rules to go with the factions, units, and such to be introduced. They will be compatible with 8th and 9th, though moreso 8th because 9th isn't exactly complete in of itself. They will come with the post that explains their faction and their actions and wars.

Edited October 8, 2020 by Bruce Malcom

[Bruce Malcom]

Part One - The Godless Legions and their Patronage

 

With the end of the Imperium came the near-end of Chaos. While to truly kill Chaos anything with a soul or mind must be killed as well, the Gods of Chaos and their heretical warriors were decimated by the apocalyptical conclusion of the Age of the Imperium. Be it the Emperor, the Aeldari God of Death, the survivors of their Pantheon, something else or all of the previously stated, it is truth the Gods have reduced to null.

 

The Heretic Astartes and the various and unending cults of Chaos found themselves in a strange predicament as well. Either continue their worship with few benefits if any at all, or abandon their former masters. Without the grasp of Chaos blinding those who worship them to the horrors they have wrought and the travesties they are, most chose to abandon the dead gods for better lives.

 

Few leaders of Chaos survived Abbadon's Final Ploy. It is known that during the march on the Throne Room, Abbadon himself was slain by a hero of the Imperium and final defender of the Emperor, who was too busy fighting off the Gods at their height to interact with the Physical Realm, lest he lost. Legend disputes whether this was the heroic act of Roboute Guilliman, Lion El Johnson, one of the Custodians, Rogal Dorn, or one of his Damned Legionnaires. But one of the most beloved theories, despite its unlikelihood, is that he was overwhelmed by nearly a thousand Guardsmen; a literal wave of bodies and las-shots to drown the Warmaster of Chaos Undivided.

 

Whomever claimed the long fallen Astartes, it is known that he in fact did die that day. One by one the Daemon Primarchs fell soon after, either by their patron unable to sustain them constantly any longer or being bested by their Loyalist brothers without a god to crawl back to in the Warp. One did survive, however, but these specifics have been lost to time.

 

With no gods to worship, the skull throne trampled, the garden burnt to the ground, and the Palace of Pleasure detonated with the force of a million suns, what remained of the Legions disbanded. Some tried to take advantage of the destroyed galaxy, and a few did manage to build their fiefdoms out on the edge of the galaxy. These 'Chaos Kingdoms' typically worship the skeletal Chaos Gods, and their dead but still powerful corpses give their worshippers slight power, without the control of the Gods over them.

 

The five Great Chaos Empires are the Cthonian Kingdom, the Bile Trade Empire, the Guard Kingdom, the Magnian Fiefdom, and Huron's Phoenix Imperialis.

 

The Cthonian Kingdom is made up of primarily former Black Legion. Based in the few remaining chunks of their homeworld, the Cthonian Kingdom is likely the second weakest Great Empire. While it may have nearly four thousand Black Legionnaires, along with nearly a billion mortal troops and nearly a hundred warships, they have constant squabbles and their leaders come and go in a matter of decades, centuries if they're particularly crafty. They are also engaged in constant war with the Reformed and the Ultramar Empire, who we will get to later.

 

The Bile Trade Empire is the network of the Spyder made a lot more literal. With the Legions all but gone, he found many desperate warlords rushing to him for resources. Using a stolen Strike Cruiser's resources and equipment as the springboard for his new enterprise, he forged a massive feudal kingdom through trade, bartering, and resource collecting. He even created a new currency named legumes, however this is contraband in most 'loyalist' territories as it signifies trading with the overall distasteful Chaos empires. While Bile himself has abandoned Chaos for they no longer serve his purposes as they are corpses, many within his empire still believe in the Fallen Gods and thus it is generally counted as a Chaos Empire, however it is unique in the regard of not being completely devout.

 

The Guard Kingdom is an odd one. While having the strongest navy of the Chaos Kingdoms, it in fact has a single Astartes; its leader. Simply known as the Guardian, he is the last of the Traitor Legion of the Death Guard. The rest too putrid to live past their God's death, the Guardian somehow avoided the fall of the Death Guard originally and kept going uncorrupted, despite his Legion's fate. Posing as a Word Bearer for nearly ten thousand years, after the death of Lorgar and the fall of Chaos the last Death Guard decided to build a small little town on the edge of the galaxy. However, by defending his town from feral Tyranids and feral Orks, many came to follow him. Due to his unwavering belief in Chaos, this became the state religion and soon a Chaos Kingdom was born as his solar system was united in fifty years. Soon, one system became two, and two became four, until he had become a nation of five hundred vessels, six hundred million soldiers, and eighty-five worlds.

 

However, the Guard Kingdom have found themselves waging war against both Imperial Remnants and the new Major Xenos Empires. They remain bulwark, for now.

 

The Magnian Fiefdom is a tale of tragedy and victory. As Chaos crumbled at the end of the Forty-Second Millennium, the Thousand Sons were broken. With but twenty-five Sorcerers left, they united at the now-shattered Planet of the Sorcerers, Primarchless. Licking their wounds, they managed to defend themselves from the remaining Drukari kabals, Chaos raiders seeking to capture the Sorcerers and use their psychic powers to fuel their rituals, and some of the remaining Imperials who wanted but retribution for the death of their Emperor.

 

With fifteen Sorcerers left but managing to rest and rebuild their psychic strength without relying on a god, the remaining Thousand Sons were too tired to continue until they found a single feather of Magnus the Red, deep within the halls of the labyrinthine world. Using it in a final ritual, the world was hidden from view and the fifteen Sorcerers finally had a change to recouperate.

 

Forming the Council of the Fifteen, the Sorcerers debated what to do next. While fourteen of the Sorcerers decided to slowly grow their ranks by searching for psykers across the galaxy and teach them in the ways of the Warp, the fifteenth decided against it and wished to leave for the Cthonian Kingdom, wishing to continue the fight. Not about to risk giving away their position to the mad sons of Horus Lupercal, The now Council of the Fourteen captured him and sacrificed the traitorous sorcerer to the Feather of Magnus, keeping it charged despite constant use.

 

From there, they began their search for new psykers and their ranks grew quite quickly, gaining plenty of human psykers, Tau psykers (to which we will discuss shortly), captured Zoanthropes from the feral Tyranids (a rare species, considering the psychic backlash of the death of the Hivemind), and even a single Aeldari farseer, who sees potential in the Psyker Empire but is wary of it should it turn on its original ideals of showing the galaxy the worth of Psykers, or should it take that goal to a violent end.

 

Recently, they've begun experimenting in attempting to fix the dead Rubric Marines and restore them to fighting shape.

 

The Phoenix Imperialis is a horrifying portion of the galaxy. Led by Lucius, the former eternal Space Marine who barely survived after the death of Slaanesh through determination and fear of death, and Huron Blackheart, who manipulates all within his realm, including Lucius. Even though Slaanesh was the first god to die, his corpse remained rife with power. Huron met Lucius, who at this point was a brutalized Astartes on a pike, slain by the unleashed souls of the heroes and champions who were consumed by him for feeling pleasure for killing him. No longer the Eternal, Huron saved him and managed to use his apothecaries and healers to piece him back together. Humiliated, Lucius fights harder than even his former self in the Heresy or Great Crusade in an effort to restore his honor and pride.

 

The bulk of Huron's Phoenix Imperialis, and the reason why its called such a thing, is due to the remnants of the Emperor's Children mostly coming to him. Be it fate, coincidence, or something else, Huron was met by nearly a dozen Emperor's Children vessels and two thousand Astartes, along with tens of thousands of cultists. Managing to manipulate their leader, the Emperor's Children and Cultists joined his tri-world empire, and the combined forces of the battered Red Corsairs and Emperor's Children expanded his realm by nearly forty systems. Due to the vast majority of his forces being the harlot armies of Slaanesh, the conquered people of his empire inevitably followed suite in their Astartes Lords' beliefs. The Empire worships Fulgrim along with Slaanesh, believing his return will herald upon the New Age of Chaos because of the promise he made before the Second Siege of Terra, that being once the Emperor is slain that Chaos will finally win the Long War and the galaxy will be theirs. This promise obviously unfulfilled, many do believe he will return. However, a conflicting story, one told by the fragmented and long shattered Imperials, is that Fulgrim died in combat with his loyalist counterpart and a flame-wrethed Dreadnaught...

 

The Chaos Legions not mentioned already are the Word Bearers, World Eaters, Alpha Legion, Night Lords, and Iron Warriors. Their fates are a lot different than the other Legions, namely because they are much less unified save the Word Bearers, and the World Eaters almost followed suite with the Death Guard.

 

The Night Lords shattered apart and many went onto create their own fiefdoms of terror. Already Primarchless, they were essentially without leader before, and finally given the chance of separation, they did so and strived in this new galaxy, unfortunately never seeming to rise to the height of their brethren. Too much internal squabble, and its not uncommon to see one Night Realm fight another.

 

The Iron Warriors' realms were different. There were less of Iron Warriors pocket empires than any other legion; however, they were well defended. Most Imperiums and other empires dreaded fighting an Iron Realm for they knew each campaign launched was to be a meat grinder. These Iron Realms rarely expanded past their own borders though, however the Sons of Dorn or their descendants are known to hunt down these pocket empires with extreme prejudice.

 

The World Eaters, with Khorne finally dead and his grip released from them, were stripped of their rage, calming down for the first time in ten thousand years. While the World Eaters always struggled with their rage, now they were weakened and calm, never to rage again. Reduced to the strength of but a barely augmented scout, the tired Eaters disbanded. Most went off to live better lives in the Imperial Remnants. Most upon arrival were shot and killed for their heresies, but some were merely welcomed. They helped with local projects and lived normal lives, and a few who weren't too scarred by war helped to train PDF.

 

The Word Bearers legion is much different. Lorgar's final order to his legion were to investigate the Gods' supposed death. Unable to believe his pathetic corpse of a father befell the greatest beings in the universe, he sent all of his forces into the Eye of Terror even as his personal warship detonated, with him onboard. The infamous collection of warp storms closed soon after they entered the Warp, and the Word Bearers have not been seen since, besides the few warbands who cleaved small realms for themselves or joined the Cthonian Kingdom.

--------------------------------------

RULES:

Cthonian Kingdom: (Legion Keyword)

LEGION TRAIT:

Legacy of the Black Legion (If your army is battle-forged, all character, infantry, bikers, and hellbrute units in your CTHONIAN KINGDOM detachment add 1 to their Leadership characteristic. If they advanced this turn, treat Rapid Fire weapons as if they were Assault weapons.)

 

Warlord Traits:

Pillager of the Fallen Imperium (While they are within 6" of your Warlord, friendly CTHONIAN KINGDOM units can declare a charge even if they Fell Back in the same turn.)

 

Cutthroat Leadership (Warlord gets a +2 to hit rolls against all CHARACTERS. In addition, roll a D6 for each unit within 4" of your Warlord. On a 6, that unit gets a +1 to hit rolls against all CHARACTERS.)

 

The Long War Rages On (You can re-roll all failed wound rolls against those with the IMPERIUM or IMPERIAL REMNANT keyword.)

 

Captain of the Traitor Barge (Once per two turns, perform a shooting attack if your Warlord did not move. Select a point and roll for each unit within D6″. On a 4+ they suffer D3 mortal wounds.)

 

The Will of Horus (While within 6" of the Warlord, all units can re-roll their morale roll.)

 

Sons of the Arch-Traitor (The Death to the False Emperor ability triggers an extra attack on rolls of 5+ instead of 6+ for models in friendly BLACK LEGION units while they are within 6" of your Warlord.)

-----------------------------------------

The Bile Trade Empire: (Legion Keyword)

LEGION TRAIT:

Wealth, Gluttony, and Profits of War (If your army is battle-forged, you gain an extra four Command Points.)

 

Warlord Traits:

Chaotic Investor (While your Warlord is on the battlefield, roll a D6 each time you spend a Command Point to use a Stratagem; on a 5+ that Command Point is immediately refunded.)

 

The Market of Conflict (When the opposing player(s) uses a strategem, roll a D6. On a 5+ they lose one more command point OR you gain one command point.)

 

Creation of Bile (Add 1 to the Movement and Strength characteristics of this Warlord.)

 

The Trade Network Hungers (Use this stratagem in the Fight or Shooting phase when a model is destroyed by a melee attack from a BILE TRADE EMPIRE Warlord. For the rest of the game, all losses from that unit are counted as three losses when calculating Morale.)

 

Profiting Off Fear (When a model in a unit 8" near this Warlord flees in the Morale phase, you gain a Command Point. This will stack.)

 

Product of Genius (Gain the Supreme Creation strategem for free on this Warlord.)

--------------------------------------------

Guard Kingdom: (Legion Keyword)

Special Rule: Guard Kingdom cannot use any HERETIC ASTARTES units, except a Chaos Lord. Guard Kingdom can use ASTRA MILLITARIUM units and strategems.)

LEGION TRAIT:

Wisdom of Non-Indulgence (If your army is battle-forged, roll a D6 whenever a strategem is used. On a 5+ you regain all CP spent.)

 

Warlord Traits:

Alternative Warfare: Each time this Warlord loses a wound, roll a D6; on a 5+, the Warlord does not lose that wound.

 

Crushing Advance: During the Charge Phase, any unit in between the Warlord and the chosen charge target suffers D3 Mortal Wounds.

 

Devout to the Gods: Your Warlord regains one lost wound at the start of each player’s turn.

 

Legacy of Horror: Roll a dice for each enemy unit that is within 3" of your Warlord at the start of any Fight phase. On a roll of 4+ that unit suffers a mortal

wound.

 

Once A Word Bearer: Must be used by a Chaos Lord. If your army is Battle-forged, roll one D3 before the battle begins; you gain a number of additional Command Points equal to the result. Once per battle, if this Warlord is on the battlefield, you can re-roll a single hit roll, wound roll, damage roll or saving throw.

 

Xenos Encroach Upon Our Borders!: All units within 6" of the Warlord re-roll hit rolls and wound rolls when attacking a unit with the ORK, AELDARI, DRUKARI, TYRANID, NECRON, TAU, GENESTEALER CULT, RAK'GOL, HRUD, Q'ORL, or DRONE EMPIRE keywords.

----------------------------------------------

Magnian Fiefdom: (Legion Keyword)

Special Rule: All units gain the PSYKER keyword and know Smite. However, you must pay an extra fifteen points for all units who did not start with the PSYKER keyword.

LEGION TRAIT:

Psyker Empire (If your army is battle-forged, you may re-roll all failed psychic rolls for free.)

 

Warlord Traits:

Rising Psychic Lord: Re-roll failed Deny the Witch tests you take for this Warlord.

 

Kingdom of Knowledge: Your Warlord knows one additional psychic power.

 

Disciple of the Last Farseer: Your Warlord may choose from the Aeldari Craftworld psychic discipline.

 

Tapped Psychic Potential: You gain a 2+ to any psychic roll.

 

Death of Ignorance: Once per game, your Warlord may swap one of their psychic powers for one that an opposing psyker knows.

 

Enslaved and Ridiculed No More: This Warlord gets a +1 to all hit and wound rolls against any units without the PSYKER keyword.

-----------------------------------------------

Phoenix Imperialis: (Legion Keyword)

LEGION TRAIT:

Red Empire (If your army is battle-forged, Units within this army may Advance and Charge in the same turn. In addition, if a detachment contains 3 or more units with this trait, that detachment's command benefits are increased by 1 CP. If that detachment contains 3 or more units of chaos space marines, the command benefits are increased by 3 CP.)

 

Warlord Traits:

Palatine Praetorian: Your warlord gains two extra wounds.

 

Necrophilia: Your warlord must be a Psyker. Your warlord gains a +3 to psychic rolls at the cost of losing their Deny the Witch test.

 

Power of Pain: When your warlord successfully wounds an enemy model or unit, said warlord gets a 1+ to any statistic except for weapon profiles or wounds.

 

Phoenix of Pleasure: When your warlord successfully casts a psychic spell or re-rolls a failed roll and succeeds, said warlord heals one wound.

 

Corsair 'Till The End: Your army can have one extra relic, chosen from the Artefacts of Chaos, which must be given to a PHOENIX IMPERIALIS CHARACTER that doesn’t already have a relic. This relic must be different to any relics already included in your army. In addition, each time your Warlord slays an enemy CHARACTER, add 1 to your Warlord's Attack characteristic until the end of the battle.

 

(WIP post. I will come back periodically to update and add more things like 'Legion'-specific strategems, characters, and unit profiles. For now, however, I will move onto the next post. I'll leave it up to you guys; The Imperial Remnants, Genestealer Empires, or the fate of the Necrons?)

Edited October 8, 2020 by Bruce Malcom

[Bjorn Firewalker]

This is certainly an imaginative setup, with an admirable amount of effort in worldbuilding. It's too different from canon WH40K to be more than a niche appeal, though I wish you luck in gaining more readers.

 

Nitpicks:

The Tau have no Etherals,

You misspelled Ethereal.

The four Great Chaos Empires are the Cthonian Kingdom, the Bile Trade Empire, the Guard Kingdom, the Magnian Fiefdom, and Huron's Phoenix Imperialis.

You named FIVE Great Chaos Empires.

Warlord Traits:

Palatine Praetorian: Your warlord gains two extra wounds.

Necrophilia: Your warlord must be a Psyker. Your warlord gains a +3 to psychic rolls at the cost of losing their Deny the Witch test.

Power of Pain: When your warlord successfully wounds an enemy model or unit, said warlord gets a 1+ to any statistic except for weapon profiles or wounds.

Phoenix of Pleasure: When your warlord successfully casts a psychic spell or re-rolls a failed roll and succeeds, said warlord heals one wound.

Corsair 'Till The End: Your army can have one extra relic, chosen from the Artefacts of Chaos, which must be given to a PHOENIX IMPERIALIS CHARACTER that doesn’t already have a relic. This relic must be different to any relics already included in your army. In addition, each time your Warlord slays an enemy CHARACTER, add 1 to your Warlord's Attack characteristic until the end of the battle.

The paragraphs merge together into a difficult-to-read "wall of text", due to a lack of blank lines or other dividers to differentiate them. It may help if you bold the names of each trait, like so:

Warlord Traits:

Palatine Praetorian: Your warlord gains two extra wounds.

Necrophilia: Your warlord must be a Psyker. Your warlord gains a +3 to psychic rolls at the cost of losing their Deny the Witch test.

Power of Pain: When your warlord successfully wounds an enemy model or unit, said warlord gets a 1+ to any statistic except for weapon profiles or wounds.

Phoenix of Pleasure: When your warlord successfully casts a psychic spell or re-rolls a failed roll and succeeds, said warlord heals one wound.

Corsair 'Till The End: Your army can have one extra relic, chosen from the Artefacts of Chaos, which must be given to a PHOENIX IMPERIALIS CHARACTER that doesn’t already have a relic. This relic must be different to any relics already included in your army. In addition, each time your Warlord slays an enemy CHARACTER, add 1 to your Warlord's Attack characteristic until the end of the battle.

[Bruce Malcom]

This is certainly an imaginative setup, with an admirable amount of effort in worldbuilding. It's too different from canon WH40K to be more than a niche appeal, though I wish you luck in gaining more readers.

 

Nitpicks:

The Tau have no Etherals,

You misspelled Ethereal.

The four Great Chaos Empires are the Cthonian Kingdom, the Bile Trade Empire, the Guard Kingdom, the Magnian Fiefdom, and Huron's Phoenix Imperialis.

You named FIVE Great Chaos Empires.

Warlord Traits:

Palatine Praetorian: Your warlord gains two extra wounds.

Necrophilia: Your warlord must be a Psyker. Your warlord gains a +3 to psychic rolls at the cost of losing their Deny the Witch test.

Power of Pain: When your warlord successfully wounds an enemy model or unit, said warlord gets a 1+ to any statistic except for weapon profiles or wounds.

Phoenix of Pleasure: When your warlord successfully casts a psychic spell or re-rolls a failed roll and succeeds, said warlord heals one wound.

Corsair 'Till The End: Your army can have one extra relic, chosen from the Artefacts of Chaos, which must be given to a PHOENIX IMPERIALIS CHARACTER that doesn’t already have a relic. This relic must be different to any relics already included in your army. In addition, each time your Warlord slays an enemy CHARACTER, add 1 to your Warlord's Attack characteristic until the end of the battle.

The paragraphs merge together into a difficult-to-read "wall of text", due to a lack of blank lines or other dividers to differentiate them. It may help if you bold the names of each trait, like so:

Warlord Traits:

Palatine Praetorian: Your warlord gains two extra wounds.

Necrophilia: Your warlord must be a Psyker. Your warlord gains a +3 to psychic rolls at the cost of losing their Deny the Witch test.

Power of Pain: When your warlord successfully wounds an enemy model or unit, said warlord gets a 1+ to any statistic except for weapon profiles or wounds.

Phoenix of Pleasure: When your warlord successfully casts a psychic spell or re-rolls a failed roll and succeeds, said warlord heals one wound.

Corsair 'Till The End: Your army can have one extra relic, chosen from the Artefacts of Chaos, which must be given to a PHOENIX IMPERIALIS CHARACTER that doesn’t already have a relic. This relic must be different to any relics already included in your army. In addition, each time your Warlord slays an enemy CHARACTER, add 1 to your Warlord's Attack characteristic until the end of the battle.

 

Thank you. And I'll fix those writing errors.

[Bruce Malcom]

Part Two - The War of Angels

 

During the final years of the 42nd Millennium, grand designs fell into place as one large cataclysm echoed throughout realspace and the immaterium. One such grand design was that of Luther, the leader of the Fallen. His mighty army of Fallen Angels was at legion strength, and when they descended upon the realms of the Emperor the Unforgiven found it their duty to fight their fallen kin.

 

With the Lion trapped in Imperium Nihlus as the Gauntlet and other access ways were slammed shut by Abbadon and the horrific thing that replaced Abbadon by the end, he rallied many of his sons to his side as they countered Luther's schemes and assaults all throughout the worse half of the galaxy.

 

But on the other, it was a massacre. With the secret of the Fallen apparent for all to see, septs of the Black Templars and the Ecclesiarchy rushed to exterminate the secret heretics within the Imperium. The Angel Diaspora it was called, as Guilliman offered refuge to the Sons of the Lion in the Realm of Ultramar. With Civil War brewing, the Imperium was about to come crashing down on itself before a hole was pierced within the Great Rift by the Emperor and one of his sons, and both sides of the Imperium were reconnected.

 

As the Pariah Nexus of the Silent King waged war with the Great WAAAAGH of the Primork Thraka, the Emperor saw the imminent danger and the climax of the Long War ever approaching, he called upon those within the Ministorium and the Supreme Grand Master of the Dark Angels, Azrael, to discuss a ceasefire. The meeting was only said to have lasted thirty seconds.

 

The battered sons of the Lion regrouped at the Rock, now above Macragge, before a final battle against Luther was launched. With him were the Night Lords and the Word Bearers, two of the Chaos Space Marine legions who turned against the Emperor during the Horus Heresy. As Lorgar dueled Guilliman in a ferocious battle at the heart of Macragge's capital, Lion El Johnson tried to reason with his fallen friend. Luther proved unmovable at the end, finally and forever corrupted by Chaos some time during his mustering of forces within the Eye of Terror.

 

Realizing that his friend is truly gone after Azrael takes the blow from Luther's daemon-infused sword, the Lion bests Luther and kills him. However, instead of ending the conflict, Luther only becomes a martyr, and the Traitors had a name and people to rally to.

 

Even so, the Traitors were beaten back and the Fallen Angels and Word Bearers retreated.

 

But this was not the end of the story, for after the Climatic Battle on Holy Terra that put a close to the 42nd Millennium, both the sons of the Lion and the sons of Luther survived the Galaxy’s end.

 

Where Caliban once stood, a massive collection of its shards now reside. Five hundred Fallen Angels, three hundred and eighty Word Bearers, and fifty Night Lords reside here. It is the only safe haven for the Fallen, for even in the Age of Quiet, the Unforgiven’s hunt did not end.

 

The secret had long been lost save but with the missing Lion and the perpetually wounded Cypher, both of which have been said to assist in fighting for the Emperor during the Second Siege of Terra. Now, all the Sons of the Lion know is that there are the Fallen, and they must die for it has always been their duty to make them repent.

 

The Realm of Angels, a collection of worlds in the Ultima Segmentum once thought to be part of Ultramar, is one of the largest collections of Space Marines in the Age of Quiet. Fifteen thousand Unforgiven Angels united under the banner of the Dark Angels constantly strike out against the Fallen from their impenetrable fortresses and the Rock, which managed to survive all these millennia. While a direct attack on the Caliban remnants would certainly be a victory for the Dark Angels, their location has been hidden and the starcharts leading to Caliban have been since lost, either due to maddened Angels or Fallen plots to continue their survival.

 

Even with Caliban being a safe haven, those Fallen who are stranded elsewhere live a perpetual nightmare. Every other night, Squire Guardsmen assaults. Every other week, the Deathwing arrive on their steeds of black and their Warp-based deep strikes. Even large Fallen groups have been chipped away at, forever on the run. If they are lucky, they make it to Caliban. If they are not, the neverending hunt claims yet another damned traitor.

 

While the Realm of Angels’ primary task is to end the evil that is Luther’s men, they have been assaulted by others consistantly as well. The Church of the Emperor lives on through many remnants of the Imperium, and all have seemingly forgotten the treaty between Lion El Johnson, the Adeptus Ministorium, and the Emperor. To the grizzled and mad Helbrecht Templars, they are but another Traitor Legion. To the Order of our Martyred Emperor, they are heretics who will die by the flame.

 

Both Fallen and Unforgiven are hunted...but one thing remains the same. The War of Angels continues, with the only ending possible slowly being pieced together as the Unforgiven piece back together the Chart to Caliban...

----------------------------------------------------------------

No rules for now, unfortunately. I'll probably add these in after I finish all the parts.

[Bjorn Firewalker]

The I Legion and its Primarch's end is sadly appropriate, considering how Games Workshop portrayed them.

 

"Primork" is an interesting title for Thraka to claim. Does he consider himself a Primarch and a son of the Emperor (who he views as an incarnation of Gork and/or Mork, in the xeno's degenerate mind)?

Edited November 6, 2020 by Bjorn Firewalker

[Bruce Malcom]

The I Legion and it's Primarch's end is sadly appropriate, considering how Games Workshop portrayed them.

 

"Primork" is an interesting title for Thraka to claim. Does he consider himself a Primarch and a son of the Emperor (who he views as an incarnation of Gork and/or Mork, in the xeno's degenerate mind)?

Something like that. With all these 'Primarchs' showing up to fight for all these gods, Thraka decided it was about time his gods got a champion like that. And he made a couple hundred million orks think that too. Walla, Primork. It was mostly a mix of Ghaz spitting in the Loyalist and Traitor Primarch's eyes, and a 'hey, why don't we do that too!'.

[Bruce Malcom]

Part Three - The Successors of Ultramar

 

When the galaxy burned brighter than ever and the Imperium faced its final challenges, the Realm of Ultramar stood.

 

The home of the Ultramarines and many of their Successor Chapters stood, even as the rest of the Imperium faltered and flickered. Their defenses had weathered the fearsome plague that was the Death Guard during the Plague Wars, produced some of the finest warriors in the Imperium, and was perhaps by the end, the last standing proper Imperial stronghold as the entire Imperium crumbled and splintered as the Emperor's sword clashed against Khornate brimstone, layers of putrid flesh, unknowable magics, and weapons forged from the souls of a doomed race.

 

After the collapse of the Imperium and the Emperor's supposed demise, the Realm of Ultramar no longer maintained its last stand unity. Not granted the final glorious death promised to them by unending waves of daemons pouring like a terrifying flood from the shrieking Great Rift, Ultramar split into four Successor Nations.

 

The first of which is the Realm of Sicarian, or Ultramar Empire, with Macragge itself as its capital, ruled by Cato Sicarius and the House of Sicarian, chosen few Astartes and mortals alike called upon to replicate a sort of 'royal family'. Though 'Grand Captain' Cato is the supreme ruler, his advisors and lower-ranking governors all reside within the House of Sicarian. In order to obtain any sort of power or even rights within the Realm of Sicarian, one must cast off any previous loyalties and must accept the Grand Captain as their surpreme overlord. Without an Emperor to worship, he encouraged his people to believe him one to worship, and so after thousands of years of survival against the three other Successors of Ultramar and their neighbors, the Tau Empire, their rebel AI state, the Phoenix Imperialis, and the final Necron Tomb World, Cato Sicarius has earned a respectable degree of admiration by dueling many other champions. Shadowspear, a Man of Iron, Necron Overlords and even Lucius himself have locked blades with the Grand Captain at least once.

 

Though he has failed to kill Lucius, their rivalry has become so great that in the Sicarian Ecclesiarchy and their religious texts, Lucius is the devil to Sicarius's god.

 

Sicarius's empire has the most military assets in the shattered remains of Ultramar; veterans of the Wars Before and new Astartes numbering in Legion strength and billions of Guardsmen are backed up by one of the largest navies in the galaxy, near a dozen thousand ships in total.

 

Second of which is the Guillimanites, the true successors to the Realm of Ultramar. They are the smallest of them all, but their moral integrity and heroism echoes that of Guilliman himself by the end, who had seen the lies of both Chaos and the Imperium, and prepared to build a nation pure of heart before disappearing during the final battle of the Age of the Imperium. Led by a Space Marine simply named Titus, a hero thought lost during the chaos of the forty-second millennium, the Guillimanites, while only four systems in number, show unbreakable will and terrifyingly competent forces. Each Space Marine, each Guardsmen loyal to Titus can kill five, eight of their counterparts across the galaxy.

 

This is due to the way the Guillimanites are run. Titus's forces are taught the Codex Astartes, and the later Codex Imperialis, but are educated in his school of thought. Where the forces of the Realm of Sicarian may stick to the doctrines laid out whole-sale, the soldiers of the Guillimanites often abandon its teachings in the name of adaptability and quick thinking. Knowing the tactics of the enemy while being able to change your own has earned them many victories, and Sicarius's contempt for Titus and his people grows by the day. While he may not have the waves of soldiers of Sicarius's empire, he has soldiers with five times the quality. With seven hundred Space Marines, two hundred million Guardsmen, and a modest fleet, the Guillimanites are surprisingly effective and even gaining ground against the evils of Cato Sicarius.

 

The third is the Realm of Angels, the Dark Angels who sought refuge within the hallowed realm of Guilliman after the tragedy of Luther's betrayal was spread by Luther himself. Paranoid, drab, and with a hunt for the traitors that will likely never end, these sons of the Lion show little interest in the politics and warfare between the states of Ultramar, though they have raided both the Guillimanites and Realm of Sicarian for supplies and vice versa.

 

The fourth is a new player, one that sprung up from lost colonies and unchecked regions within the former Realm of Ultramar and beyond. The Nova Legion, presumed descendants of the once-noble Novamarines Chapter, have returned with glory in their eyes and vengeance in their hearts. Rivaling the Realm of Sicarian in size and even surpassing it in forces, even the glory-mad Cato Sicarius, secret warriors of the Realm of Angels, and firm but heroic Titus have called ceasefires to repel the Nova Legion's assaults. Led by an Astartes who dared to take up the name of Roboute Guilliman, they have declared those who take up the space of Ultramar to be heretics and foes to be slain in the name of 'reclaiming the old glories of Ultramar'. Wielding the Fists of Ultramar, this Primarch imposter has declared war on all other three nations. "The Realm of Sicarian is led by a man with drive but without the caliber required to complete his dreams of divinity and stifles Ultramar's return to greatness. Titus's men are 'merciful' and 'compassionate', weaknesses that should not be tolerated by any man claiming the name of Guilliman as their nation's title. And the Realm of Angels? They aren't even Ultramarines! The infestation of secret traitors and blasphemous knights will be purged with more prejudice than the perversions of the Ultramarian dream."

 

Lurking ever in the shadows of these great wars, yet another enemy brews, from the ashes of a long-dreaded species...

[Brother Lunkhead]

You've set this 50K realm up quite nicely. I'm intrigued

[Bruce Malcom]

You've set this 50K realm up quite nicely. I'm intrigued

I'm glad to hear that!

[Bruce Malcom]

Part Four - The Last Custodes

 

Legends tell of a glorious and holy few, the Custodians and Praetorians of the God-Emperor himself. This legion, blessed with the task of guarding the Emperor, has watched many events unfold, even as they stood unmoving for thousands of years. More powerful than your typical Space Marine or even the now-lost art of the Primaris Astartes, these golden warriors had waited for their eternal master to stand from his throne again.

 

Ironic, it was, that when he finally did, few Custodians remained to see it. The Second Siege of Terra burnt Humanity's system of origin with not the intent of conquering, but of total destruction. Even as the mysterious allies the Emperor had summoned to his aide arrived in defense of Humanity's realm arrived, entire moons had been shattered and whole planets wiped of life.

 

While the Solar System was filled with pockets of resistance and centers of military strength the monster that replaced Abaddon could not justify fighting, none was more defended or alluring to the Chaos Gods' new champion than that of Holy Terra. Daemon Engines, Ghost Fleets, and ten Traitor Legions descended upon the cradle of Humanity, and the sun itself was blotted out by the ships of Imperial and Chaotic decent dueling or the various Warp Storms providing instant reinforcements.

 

It is a testament to the power of the Adeptus Custodes that they even lived to see through the end of the Second Siege, where Space Marine Chapters went extinct, Gods died, and the Primarchs waged their final battles. While the name of the Last Custodes is unknown, as are the figures who stood in defense of the Emperor during the Immaterial Regicide that bookended the Imperium's bloated life, all that is known is that there was a Custodes, and if myth is to be trusted, still is.

 

Some suspect this golden warrior to have been Constantin Valdor, an ancient hero of the Horus Heresy who returned in time to save the Emperor from certain doom in the face of victory eternal. Others suspect Trajann Valoris, the last Captain-General of the Adeptus Custodes. The more heroically inclined tellers of these tales speak of just another Custodes being the last to stand guard, certainly a mythical status but not that of a pre-defined hero.

 

Whatever the name of this Custodes is, his service in the final battle was undeniable, though his deeds in specific are often clashing with other heroes, like a flame-wrapped Primarch, a member of the Grey Knights, another flame-wrapped visage, this time of a guardsman, or Rogal Dorn himself. Nevertheless, most storytellers end his story with his continued survival past the Emperor's own sacrifice, though some do prefer the idea of a noble sacrifice to mirror the Emperor's.

 

Still, if his survival is truth, then it would explain a myriad of mysterious occurrences; many settlements attacked by the dangerous Tau Empire, the Ork hordes, or the Chaos Space Marines clinging to their dead gods have been defended and protected by a single golden hero, before moving onto other places to stand praetorian once more. Those storytellers bold enough speak of the Emperor's last words to the Custodian; "Your duty is not over, for in all Humanity, I am, and you are to defend me until the last threat is vanquished."

 

Or so the storytellers say.

[Bruce Malcom]

Part Five - Genestealer Empires

 

Though the death of the Tyranid Hivemind caused the mass death of the Tyranid Hives, with very few left, some Genestealers sensed the fear and anguish of the dying Hive Mind, struck down by a resurgent Emperor and the remaining Eldar Gods. One final mutation was undergone, and but four Genestealers completed the new transformation before the Hive Mind was finally slain.

 

Independence. The most terrifying gift of all.

 

Yes, it was independence that gave the Tyranids a second chance. With the hive gone and the remnants scattered and feral, these four Genestealers worked to sustain and eventually rebuild the Hive Mind, when there would be no God-Emperor or Aeldari Lords to stop them. Resilence was always a trait of the Tyranids, and these new Lord Genestealers began to build a new swarm, from the subjects who killed their god...

--------------

The Bladed Cog is heresy of the highest accord, for the remaining Forge Worlds. Corrupted Tech-Priests and technology interwoven with the bio-organic hallmarks of the Tyranids. Skitarii with chitin claws and poison-tipped tails, Tech-Priests with bioplasma launchers and organic mechadentrites, and newly formed Tyranid Warriors equipped with Iron Halos and chainsword claws. Their capital ships of Imperial design with the skulls of long dead Tyranid ship bioforms tied to their masts. Their Lord Genestealer has undergone unchecked mutation and has merged with a former Emperor Titan, bonded with using the biomass of an entire moon.

 

The remaining forces of the Mechanicus clash often with their new mortal foe...

----------------

The New Man is insidious as it is large, and it controls a significant portion of Segmentum Pacifica. It mimicks the old Imperium in many ways, almost as a taunt to those who recall better days. The New Man has their Lord Genestealer as their Emperor, tied to the 'Flesh Terra' and interwoven deep within the layers of the world, itself becoming tied to almost every faucet of its biosphere. Its 'Astartes' were once mortal men, thrown into and reborn from the bio-chambers aboard their Bio-Barges. When these new warriors come out, they retain their bipedal nature but are laced in thick layers of tough chitin equal to the plate which proper Space Marines wear, mimicking the armor of the Adeptus Astartes.

 

Their Guard regiments are comprised of cultists primarily, but replacing the generals are the new batches of Genestealers, using their synapse capabilities to give orders to their troops, providing an eerie coordination outpacing their normal human counterparts.

-------------------

The Angels of the Hive sprouted from onboard an Emperor-Class Battleship, deep within its massive amount of menials and crew. Taking over it (then the rest of the fleet) has become tradition, and many Navy vessels have fallen under their command. With the hundreds of warships thrown up by a calm warp, there has been a massive influx in warships, which the Angels took great advantage of. Their Lord Genestealer has merged with the original Emperor-Class, its golden ceramite plates grown over by xenos chitin, fueled by the energy of the Warp released by the ship's Warp Drive. The ship's drives and generators, its organs. Its decks, its intestines. Its hangar bays, the Lord Genestealer's womb, producing hundreds of new bioforms designed to dogfight enemy starfighters.

---------------------

The Tendrils of God is a terrifying new threat recently revealed, when philanthropists from the Bile Trade Empire accidentally discovered the final Lord Genestealer. The Tendrils of God were formed on an Imperial Shrine World which doubled as a crematorium for enemies slain by the local Order of Sisters, when the utter psychic might of the final Lord Genestealer drove most of its citizens mad and caused many to do grotesque and morbid things with the collected dead corpses of the Tyranids. Things reminiscent of the most depraved of Chaos Cults; Sisters of Battle hacked off their own arms and sewed the claws of dead guants onto the stubs, priests baptized their holy followers in the ichor of Tyranid Warriors, and a few Aeldari corpses they had left were pieced together using bits of other Tyranid bio-forms, given life by the psychic might of the Lord Genestealer, and turned into their most mighty of warriors.

 

Even the Bile Trade Empire was too repulsed to do deals with them, and the Tendrils of God did not take such an insult well, departing their desecrated warships and disrupting the Trade Empire's trade routes. Fabius himself got involved, leading a mighty collection of his loyal creations and hired mercenaries and burned much of the Tendrils' world to the ground. However, they were unable to find the Lord Genestealer, leaving Fabius to wonder where it had gone.

Edited February 15, 2021 by Bruce Malcom

[Bruce Malcom]

Part Six - The Fall of the Tau Empire

 

With the self-sacrifice of the Emperor, the Tau Empire had little competition except the remnants of the Imperium and Space Marine Chapters looking to make their god's sacrifice long-lasting. The Tau Empire wasn't entirely stable or untouched during the cataclysm, with the Farsight Enclaves taking their chances and assaulting the Tau Empire proper.

 

Truly divided down the middle now, Commander Farsight and the Ethereals were at one another's throats, with Humanity far too busy fending off the last desperate assault of Chaos. Even as the Great Rift shrieked in terror as the Emperor took his first step in more than ten thousand years, the Tau waged their civil war with little from the outside bursting in, though the sides occasionally united to beat back the odd Chaos incursion.

 

When the Ethereals finally knew Farsight had outplayed them and that the Tau Empire proper had little chance for victory, they took matters into their own hands and released a very specific scrapcode harvested from the ancient human machines, originally thought to destroy the Mechanicus elements who had been trying to reverse engineer their technology. Suddenly most if not all Tau-created AI in both sides turned against their organic masters, and the former Tau Empire erupted into chaos.

 

It has been many millennia since this chaos, and things look marginally better. The Farsight Enclaves have recovered and rule most of former Tau space and then some, though they seek to stay out of the wars over Ultramar. The Tau Empire, united around the last few Ethereals left, seek to rebuild their power base but made the foolish mistake of attracting the Realm of Sicarian after walking into disputed Ultramar territory. After barely withstanding the wrath of Cato Sicarius and failing to court the support of Captain Titus, the Tau Empire have only just recovered, though dreams of reaching their pre-cataclysm heights are but the dreams of old men and comedic punchlines of the more cynical youth.

 

The rogue AI state, claiming the title of the Aeternus, adopted a stance on the galaxy that was somewhat passive after they united around their new leader, UR-025. They have little ill will towards the Tau, Humanity, or any of the other organic species around the galaxy, though they understand some by their premise have to be hunted, lest they destroy the galaxy. Thus, many Aeternus warfleets have been dispatched to hunt any Orks who show signs of growing strength. Their technology is limited, though for the most part it outpaces everyone else's. UR-025 had known a galaxy before the rise of the Dark Gods and their demise, and thus he has learned the lessons taught by the events in-between. While artificial intelligence is the backbone of their empire, they have been consciously roadblocked on purpose by UR-025, who's caution about the Dark Gods and their ability to corrupt persists past the demise of said Dark Gods.

 

The latest intel on the Aeternus indicates they seem to be preparing for two things; a major assault on the Genestealer Empires, and an exploratory fleet dedicated to answering the question not a single star nation in the galaxy holds the answer to; what happened to the Sol System?

[Bjorn Firewalker]

Again, good imagination.

UR-025 had known a galaxy before the rise of the Dark Gods and their demise,

The only beings older than the Chaos Gods, are the Old Ones and the C'tan. Is UR-025 a Shard of the Void Dragon, thus explaining his dominance over machines and machine spirits (artificial intelligence)?

 

Some nitpicks, with my emphases:

Their capital ships of Imperial design with the skulls of long dead Tyranid ship bioforms tied to their masts.

Replaced "mast" with its plural.

Sisters of Battle hacked off their own arms and sewed the claws of dead guants onto the stubs,

Replaced sowed with sewed

[Bruce Malcom]

Again, good imagination.

UR-025 had known a galaxy before the rise of the Dark Gods and their demise,

The only beings older than the Chaos Gods, are the Old Ones and the C'tan. Is UR-025 a Shard of the Void Dragon, thus explaining his dominance over machines and machine spirits (artificial intelligence)?

 

Some nitpicks, with my emphases:

Their capital ships of Imperial design with the skulls of long dead Tyranid ship bioforms tied to their masts.

Replaced "mast" with its plural.

Sisters of Battle hacked off their own arms and sewed the claws of dead guants onto the stubs,

Replaced sowed with sewed

 

He was apparently good friends with the Void Dragon. I tried to leave some mysteries untouched, so he could very well be one just as easily as not.

[Bruce Malcom]

The Angels sat, huddled around a small campfire. Roasting was a large animal akin to a boar. The Angels were silent, exchanging glances, before one of them opened his communicator. The armor he wore was a scattered mix of Mark IV, II, and Primaris X cut down for a Firstborn's size. Back when that was an issue.

 

On the other side of the communicator, he received a message. "Athalos reporting. They are not here, I have checked many times. If the hunters be here, they must be far away." The man with the communicator was still, silent, but it was as if words were spoken anyway. "I am sure of it." The Angels gave a sigh of relief, but the Astartes with a communicator did not take it too lightly. "It is the seventh day. They come every six to eight days. They will be here tomorrow."

 

"And we'll escape again," another Astartes declared, his autocannon resting beside him. "Then we'll live for another six to eight days, and we'll figure it out from there."

 

"Sachain, I wouldn't be too sure of it. Our time is limited, and the starport is close...we must move quickly and deliberately tomorrow, we must gain every inch we can. Before the Angels arrive..." Sachain catches a glimpse of the man underneath the hood. He is old, tired, and scarred, just like his armor.

 

"Brother, we will make it out of here. We've bled too much to die here," Sachain declared. "Fate demands we survive."

 

"Fate?" The senior Astartes began. "Fate isn't on anyone's side...if there's still a fate to have. The galaxy owes you nothing, we are not promised salvation. There is no gods standing between us and death, there isn't and hasn't been since the Emperor killed them so long ago. The only thing standing between you and those who hunt you  is you yourself. It is up to you, and the rest of us, for us to see the next sunrise. Do you hear me, Sachain?"

 

Sachain nodded, but the senior Astartes got to his feet. "Do you hear that?" Eventually, Sachain and another Space Marine beside them, Vassan, stood as well. The sun was rising, its light peaking past the ruins of a long-abandoned city, and bathing in that light, a speck. Then a black dot. Finally, the outline of four Valkyrie Gunships was noticable, and the Astartes began to run.

 

Sachain was slowest, lugging his autocannon, but he knew better than to leave it behind. The rest simply had bolters, a few dating back to the Great Crusade, others manufactured after the fall of the Imperium. The Astartes fled, their torn robes gliding in the air. The Valkyries grew closer, the colors of the Dark Angels and the mark of the Chapter replacing where that of a regiment's would've likely been. Sachain turned to face the gunship and he fired, the ammunition denting and scarring the green hull. The senior Astartes turned his boltgun behind him and he took but one shot, the bolt burning towards his enemy, and it collided. The bolt struck one of its krak missiles, and the entire wing went up in anti-tank munition fire. The vehicle crashed to the ground, with Sachain proving just fast enough to evade death.

 

"Hurry, Sachain! We must move faster!" The senior Astartes barked, and the younger Space Marine did his best to speed up, but a Chimera was right behind him. The heavy bolter fire was inaccurate, but a single well-placed shot would be enough to kill him. So, Vassan pushed Sachain ahead and took the shot himself. The bolt exploded against his right arm, removing everything up to the shoulder cauldron, but the Angel would not die on an enemy's terms. Arming all of his remaining grenades, he leaped at the Chimera and then there was neither a Chimera or a Space Marine.

 

The remaining three Astartes ran for their lives, but the strangled sound of wind trying to comply with an Astartes Drop Pod was unmistakable. The pods landed in front of them on the highway across from them. Before the ceramite-adamantium doors could burst open, the trio of Astartes leaped off into the darkness underneath. The sunlight dimly illuminated the seedy underneath of the highway above, but the Astartes did not care. They tried to run, but the Dark Angels had followed them down, crunching the rockcrete with their boots. They drew their chainswords and pushed forth, slicing into Athalos's ramshackle plate. The senior Astartes drew his own chainblade, its length laced with old purity seals and crumpled pages of the Codex Astartes. Though the three Astartes were veterans of ages long passed, the younger Astartes had a number advantage and thus Athalos was cut down by four chainswords.

 

The senior Astartes gutted one of the Dark Angels, lifting him high and letting the blood and gore spew over all before kicking the corpse off his weapon. Another Dark Angel charged him, but fared little better, losing his hand and sword in a swift stroke before his head followed suite. The senior Astartes rolled across the floor, snatching the fallen sword and he dug both into another Dark Angel's chest. The senior Astartes looked up, and he saw Sachain do his best to fend off three Dark Angels. His autocannon fired until it had run out, and a round from a bolt pistol had found his head. The already fractured helm gave way, and Sachain fell to the ground, dead.

 

"Dark Angels..." The senior Astartes muttered, and the Space Marines in question turned to face him. Two dozen Guardsmen ran towards him and the Dark Angels, and another two dozen set up defenses along the long silent vehicles dotting the streets shadowed by the highway above. "...Dark Angels...you deserve not the title."

 

The Space Marines lifted their boltpistols to execute him. "Under the command of the Lion and the decree of the God-Emperor, you shall die for your Fallen status. May the God-Emperor have mercy upon your soul."

 

"You knew not the Lion!" The senior Astartes bellowed as he charged forth, rage and energy bursting around him. The ripping roar of twin chainswords were met by the grinding whine of its teeth against their ceramite armor, and the blood poured from their cut-up corpses. The Astartes darted forth, his hood whipping back to reveal an Imperial Aquila stamped onto his pale scarred skin.

 

"You knew not Azrael!" Another shout, and the guardsmen in front of him fired their lasguns. On their shoulders, the symbol of the Dark Angels, and the ignorant 'Squires' were turned into a blur of crimson as the Astartes spun with his sword, stunning the rest of the guardsmen. They fared little better once the senior Astartes got in range with his chainswords. "I am Sapphon, of the Dark Angels true!"

 

All that remained was ten Astartes, each with boltgun and chainsword in hand. They fired at the raging Sapphon, veteran of near 10,000 years of war, but they could not hope to kill the ancient warrior. Sapphon dodged their bolt rounds, and closed the gap between then. Between the bolters, the chainswords, and the incoherent screaming of a long repressed warrior, the Tactical Squad was dead at Sapphon's feet, but one final challenge awaited him.

 

A Primaris Captain in Gravis Armour stepped forth, his sword raised in one arm and his power fist raised in another. "Fallen Brother Sapphon. under the command of the Lion and the decree of the God-Emperor, you shall die for your Fallen status. May the God-Emperor have mercy upon your soul."

 

"You're a Primaris Space Marine," Sapphon remarked, ignoring the Captain's declaration. "They haven't any of you since the Fall. I thought it was poor record keeping and cataclysms that blinded the Angels to the truth, but now I see it is ignorance, known and purposeful ignorance. You were alive during the Angel Diaspora, you remember how bloody and terrible that was, the Templars and the Sisters chasing us to the safety of Ultramar. Yet you choose to do this, turning on brothers instead of helping the remnants of the Imperium?"

 

The Captain remained silent, before charging forth and swinging his sword. Sapphon avoided the blade, stepping back before the sword's energy field would wound him. Sapphon delivered a punch to the Gravis Captain's head, stunning the Captain so Sapphon could try and pierce the heavy armour with his swords. The Captain recovered before he could, however, and Sapphon retreated before the Captain could kill him with his power fist.

 

"I left the Angels to help the worlds in peril around us, that the Chapter could not bear to help after Azrael's mortal wounding. When I saw that the Chapter decided not to help the Imperium begging for assistance, but rather chased down the same few traitors to cover their tracks for an Imperium who no longer cares. You don't even remember why you fight, do you?"

 

The Captain leaped forward through the air and tried to strike Sapphon, but the Firstborn Veteran easily outpaced the slow Gravis Captain. "Azrael would be disgusted in your actions. You are no longer Dark Angels, any of you. You are no better than the zealous crusaders who persued us into the arms of Roboute Guilliman!" Sapphon bellowed as he drove his chainswords straight through the chestplate of the Gravis Armour, and even through the Space Marine into the power pack of the armour set, detonating it and melting the pair of swords. Sapphon kicked the dead Captain over, the corpse laying sprawled on the dirty rockcrete. The old warrior picked up the Captain's power sword, and gazed off into the stained and dead city skyline. The outline of a starship sat in the horizon, and Sapphon gripped his new sword as he walked forward, pulling his hood back onto his head.

[Bruce Malcom]

Part Seven - The Mechanicus Remnants

 

The galaxy of the 42nd Millennium was a disaster of the highest proportions. Many worlds were starved of supplies, many worlds had too much and had little means to give it. The Imperium of Man was dying not only to logistical failures as the Administratum came crashing down, but as the Imperium crumbled, something stirred from within it. For thousands of years the Adeptus Mechanicus stood as a pillar of the Imperium, the manufacturers of technology and machinery so their holy crusades could be waged and their planets be defended. Some accuse the Mechanicus for causing the Cataclysm of the 42nd Millennium, though such rumors have little basis. Still, the legacy of the Adeptus Mechanicus is a far purer strain than that of Chaos, the Tau and others.

 

One might even say they survived at the expense of the Imperium around them.

 

-----------------------

Realm of Metallicus: With the fall of the Imperium came the rise of the Mechanicus remnant state; as Forge Worlds were often the industrial core of subsectors and the like, they had a pre-built fiefdom to claim for themselves. One of the strongest of these is the Realm of Metallicus, a powerful fifty-system empire with an army of terrifying heretek abominations. Their assistance to the Imperium was always done with the end goal of replacing all flesh with metal. With no Inquisition, Imperium or even Mars to oversee such experiments, Forge World Metallica began a terrifying spree of conquest across local worlds. When a populace of a world was conquered, a fourth of their number were taken to the Forge World and did not return, at least to the natives' eyes.

 

In fact, they returned en masse, for the robotic beasts that came to act as a garrison and enslaving force are the posthuman nightmare constructions created out of once-human mortals. These completely mechanical warriors herd their former friends, family and more into massive 'Spare Pits', a draconian prison where humans are kept in captivity to breed and act as slaves, or replacements for when their army's numbers reach a detrimental low. Such Spare Pits are replenished by slaves gained through raids of others' territory or simply time and enough food and water to keep the slaves alive and enough to keep their children alive as well.

 

When the Aeternus' formation occurred, the Realm of Metallicus attempted to have them join them and their growing star empire. When the Aeternus obviously declined, the Realm of Metallicus declared war upon the Aeternus, and sent their rather large warfleets to face that of the Aeternus's. The battle was swift and bloody, with both factions still licking their wounds from the war even centuries later. The battleground was four planets of the former Tau Empire, and those three of those four were rendered inhospitable by bloody (or, considering neither had blood at that point, plasmatic) conflict. One world, Reverence, is a popular site for scavengers as the planet is littered with starship crash-sites from both sides. Even this raid site is a dangerous place to be, beyond Aeternus patrols...

 

The High Mechanicum: Likely the strongest Mechanicus Remnant, the High Mechanicum was once Forge World Lucius. When the Imperium fell, the Forge World found so many Imperial worlds bow before it. Seeing how Lucius was a world with significant Death Korps garrison and the vat-womb technology to make more, they became a supplier of manpower as well as weaponry, in return for materials, technology, and food. Though they've been careful with their expansion, the High Mechanicum is easily the largest remnant, boasting near four hundred worlds. Their heraldry has shifted back to the cream and stark black of old Lucius, rather than the post-schism Maroon of Mars. Their ships and new Guard Regiments share the same color scheme, giving the High Mechanicum's forces a more regal look to reinforce their power and importance in the post-Fall galaxy.

 

The High Mechanicum's greatest warriors remain the Warp Runners; their special Legio Titanicus which has the technology required to teleport entire Imperial Titans off and onto worlds. The Warp Runners are assisted by the Iron Lords, a Space Marine Chapter known for their hatred of xenos, along with their technological prowess due to be successors of the Iron Hands. Their task of protecting the Grendl Stars has been rendered mute by the xenos they were charged with stopping breaking free, and with their Chapter still recovering from the failed defense, they joined with the High Mechanicum to have a chance at repairing and having enough allies and Astartes to reduce if not obliterate completely the Barghesi.

 

Forge World Graia: Graia is the capital of the Gullimanites in the War for Ultramar. The planet produces much of their war material, and provides their sole Titan with repairs and maintenance. The Gullimanites' control of Graia is perhaps one of their only advantages over the Realm of Sicarian and the Nova Legion, with Graia's extensive technology and additional reinforcements in the form of deniable assets from the High Mechanicum and Farsight Enclaves. Forge World Graia, while not being an empire of its own, certainly provides enough to the galaxy at large to be known among the largest of remnants. Their unique production of Raiper Mobile Artillery has also made such armored weapons a key part of Guillimanite tactics.

 

The Ryzan Fortress: The Ryzan Fortress is only one planet strong, namely Forge World Ryza itself. The Forge World has been the battleground for so many battles, and it remains unbreakable, even now. As the Nova Legion attempts to claim it in an attempt to gather resources to overwhelm the Realm of Sicarian, so does the Bile Trade Empire wish to add one of the Old Imperium's shining jewels of production to its flow of blood and product. Even small Ork WAAAGHs escalate on the planet from its population of Feral Orks if not kept in check by war. Not even the Genestealer Empires can keep themselves from attacking the planet, with the New Man wanting a Forge World for their morbid recreation of the Imperium and the Bladed Cog seeking to destroy 'hereteks', a richly ironic turnaround. Only though their endless ranks of Skitarii and the Warmongers Legio Crucius have they survived.

 

Yet Ryza stands, as it has before, and always will. Such defenses has inspired even an Iron Realm to assist them in their defenses, proving reliable allies when the Long War was concluded. Content with survival and joyous with their new allies, the pair of worlds have proved an unconquerable bulwark, with the leaders of said Iron Realm considering moving all assets to Ryza to establish a truly indestructible fort from which a better future may spring...

Part Eight - The Blood Strife

 

During the time of the Old Imperium, a planet on the outskirts of Segmentum Pacificus was home to a family of nobles, House Ambrogio. House Ambrogio was, publically, a very generous noble family, hiring servants from among the poor rather than the rich and wealthy. Such generocity was thought so kind that many families spent their entire earnings just to move to their world, Hemofila, just to have a chance at becoming one of the lucky families to have their young son or daughter join the ranks of House Ambrogio's number.

 

But like all good things in the Old Imperium, nothing good was the underlying factor in House Ambrogio's kindness. In fact, the core of it was so incredibly sinister. Deep within the heart of Castle Ambrogio sat a man, old and weary. His years uncounted, same as the wires plugged into his back. This man was a Blood Angel, rather, a Lamenter. The founders of House Ambrogio believed the key to immortality sat within their grasp when they found the Lamenter dying behind their under-construction homestead. Soon after discovering the Space Marine, he was soon followed by a tech-priest, an escapee from Mars who claimed to know far more than he should.

 

Like the Imperial Thrones flowing from town taxes into the vaults of House Ambrogio, so did the blood of the Lamenter into the hearts of House Ambrogio's members. Even with the arcane technosorcery of the mysterious tech-priest, who was far more intelligent than the simple Enginseer he claimed to be, there was a decent chance the infusion would kill the members of House Ambrogio and leave the Lamenter free to kill the Tech-Priest and rejoin his Chapter.

 

Six thousand years later, he sat in his iron throne of captivity, strength slurped up by heretical nobles, wishing all those years ago his Angel's blood had killed them like it should've.

 

House Ambrogio grew far past their meager world, gaining twelve including a minor Forge World able to supply their forces with properly made armor and weaponry. If not for the intervention we are to discuss today by the sons of Sangunius, they would've likely grown even larger. But such heresy was not to be, as a roving Death Chapter warband arrived overhead. Such Astartes had been lost in the Black Rage aboard a Battle Barge, with only a mortal crew left partially sane. With a gleeful look of maddened hatred in her eye, the captain of the Battle Barge sent down five drop pods of murderous Blood Angels onto the Forge World under House Ambrogio's rule, and thus began the slaughter.

 

The Skitarii Legions of the Forge World were barely enough to halt their rampage, even a handful of Imperial Knights fell before the angered remnants of a Blood Angels Successor Chapter lost to time. The orbital defenses weren't enough to fend off the battle-barge and thus two Lunar Cruisers and a Cobra Destroyer appeared in orbit to face it. The trio of ships took down the worn and half-broken warship, but not before the Battle-Barge fired its charges at the planet below and the ships who destroyed the flying madhouse. Needless to say, all four ships crashed onto the Forge World shortly after, their wrecks a reminder of the random and terrifying apocalypse which befell the world.

 

The Blood Angels, who had survived the Fall, had been tracking the Death Chapter's movements in an effort to capture the Battle-Barge and put their fallen brothers to good use. However, after House Ambrogio destroyed the Battle-Barge and let its charges roam free on the doomed Forge World below, the Blood Angels merely settled for investigating those who slew their brothers. Sensing the opportunity for an Imperial Remnant to recruit from, they scouted the world's populace as House Ambrogio decided to let the Angels do as they pleased, mostly for their sake.

 

However, any pretenses of peace crumbled after one of House Ambrogio's youth defied orders from his elders to not attempt the trials. After flawlessly passing them and proving more than human in nature, their Sanguinary Priests detected traces of Sangunius's blood within the young noble. Upon confronting House Ambrogio about such mysteries, the young noble's uncle had royal guards ambush the Blood Angels on their capital. Upon the slaughter of their Third Captain and eight Blood Angels, war was declared nigh-immediately and the planets of House Ambrogio were aflame.

 

Without a Forge World to supply them the necessary armament, House Ambrogio was without fifty percent of their military output. In order to survive, House Ambrogio got in contact with the Bile Trade Empire, who used their vat-womb foundries on Krieg to produce four regiments for their use, on top of a company of Sons of Horus. With the mercenary reinforcements, House Ambrogio posed a challenge to the limited forces which the Blood Angels could spare. The Royal Guard of House Ambrogio were all unofficial children of its more royal members, and thus the stolen blood of a Blood Angel ran partially through their veins, making them on par with the Tempestus Scions of the Old Imperium.

 

However, the Eldest Lord of House Ambrogio shared a secret with his official and unofficial sons and daughters, that while the blood of mortals, easily acquired by laxed requirements for servants, kept them alive, when drunk en masse or but a sip from that of an Astartes, their physical power grew exponentially. Such a revelation revealed far more about the nature of the blood infusions which the tech-priest preformed than previously suspected, but the 'family friend' disappeared upon the declaration of war, leaving them without their Chief Hemochemist.

 

The war against House Ambrogio was quick despite its difficulty, and soon the vampiric nobles were reduced to their original world. A full company of Blood Angels deployed to the surface of the world, along with Dreadnaughts of all kinds, Land Raiders, Predator Tanks, and more. It was an impossible hurdle for House Ambrogio to survive, so the Eldest Lord sent away another of his youngest with a pair of Royal Guards in a small transport ship away from the planet. As Kriegsmen died by the thousands to Strike Cruiser bombardment cannons and Astartes gunfire, the Eldest Lord took a dead Blood Angel's corpse and drank it dry. He began to mutate, sprouting terrifying wings and becoming something far more vile than man...

 

When the Castle's walls were breached by Predator Autocannons and Land Raider Lascannons, Chapter-Master Antonello Hashmata of the Blood Angels, M51, and his cohort of Sanguinary Guard, charged into the depths of the castle and fought off horrifying bloodless human mutants, all of them former servants. However, Antonello was cut off from his squad by the Castle collapsing to friendly fire, leaving Antonello alone in the dark underbelly of the heretical fortress. He slaughtered many more Bloodless, before making it to the inner sanctum. His power sword, coated in stolen blood, hummed as the Eldest Lord, with a Son of Horus behind him, approached the Chapter-Master.

 

The vampiric lord drew his own blade, a rather large weapon. He then plunged the sword backwards, into the chest of the Son of Horus. It cleaved through his ceramite armor, and the blood of the Astartes flowed into the sword. It glowed red with ancient heretical runes, and the Eldest Lord smiled a hideous grin as his body transformed into a horrifying large bat creature. Only hearing of such daemonic events occurring before the Fall of the Imperium, the Chapter-Master was caught off-guard as the Daemon Lord attacked him, removing the Chapter-Master's left arm, removing his gun.

 

Growling in pain and fury against such an offense to the Emperor's sacrifice, the Blood Angel charged his opponent and managed to draw ichor from its knee, before being swatted away. The creature laughed an inhuman gurgle as it raised its weapon to kill the disarmed Chapter-Master, before the Sanguinary Guard interrupted the fight and pelted its daemonic hide with boltgun fire and a multi-melta. Only the meltaweapon did any true damage, and the Daemon Lord dispatched the Guard's sergeant with ease, leaving the rest to attempt to kill the beast.

 

Though the multi-melta left a terrible scar on the Daemon Lord's chest, all the Sanguinary Guard were slain within five minutes, which was enough time for the Chapter-Master to retrieve his sword and attack his foe once more. Though he managed to wound the beast with more slashes, the meager cuts wouldn't be enough to kill the Daemon Lord and his sword grazed the Astartes leader, detonating his Mark IV Power Armor and leaving him in worse shape than before, blood pouring from multiple wounds and his chest exposed, ready to sliced open. The beating heart of a Blood Angel would be more than enough to empower a blood-powered Daemon Lord like himself...

 

But such a fate wouldn't come, as the Lamenter felt new purpose beating in his heart so far away. He had sat for so long, a tool for a heretical cult's uprising. Now, his most hated foe had become a symbol of that which any true Imperial should despise. His ceramite shackles rumbled, and his chest pumped with fury. He was about to confront his most hated foe, who was once his brother. Such meager shackles would not stop him from demanding an answer from Lupercal, former beloved. He would not be stopped from spreading his wings, grand and wide!

 

The shackles on his iron throne snapped, and so did the cables connecting him to arcane machinery. The Astartes let out a cry so strong glass shattered throughout the castle, a cry of rage and power. "Why did you betray the Emperor, Horus?! Why did you betray our dream?!"

 

The Daemon Lord rumbled a deep chuckle. "Echoes of a dead lord and an era long past..." it reassured itself that the Astartes in front of it was no true threat. But it was, moreso than the Chapter-Master or his Guard. The Lamenter, who's muscles, blood and strength returned to him, charged forth and swiped the fallen sword of Antonello Hashmata from the ground, and he leaped into the air without armor to weigh him down. To all in the room, he almost flew.

 

The blade was plunged into the skull of the Daemon Lord, and it roared in response. In return, the Lamenter plunged his snow pale fist into its glowing orange eye, and ripped out immaterial gore from within. More Blood Angels entered the room, and Sanguinary Priests dragged the Chapter-Master and his dead cohort away. Though the Chapter-Master felt a twinge of sadness that he never would know the brave Angel before him, nor his story, he realized he knew all he'd need to.

 

He was a Blood Angel, son of Sanguinus. And that was enough.

 

Though the sole Lamenter wasn't enough to kill the Daemon Lord, multiple Bombardment Cannons proved more effective and the daemon was destroyed, though many Chaplains would have to search ancient texts and warnings on how to fight the Immaterium's champions once more. For better or worse, House Ambrogio was wiped out to their knowledge, with their surviving heir becoming a Blood Angel in his own right after helping the Astartes purge his heretical family. Though the terrifying discovery of a daemon after the sacrifice of the Emperor to stop Chaos was indeed quite worrying, the Blood Angels were more than willing to dedicate themselves to making sure other such incidents would not occur.

[Bjorn Firewalker]

You again demonstrate good imagination. I especially like the battle between House Ambrogio and the Blood Angels.

 

Nitpicks, with my emphases:

Forge World Graia: Graia is the capital of the Gullimanites in the War for Ultramar. The planet produces much of their war material, and provides their sole Titan with repairs and maintenance. The Gullimanites' control of Graia is perhaps one of their only advantages over the Realm of Sicarian and the Nova Legion, with Graia's extensive technology and additional reinforcements in the form of deniable assets from the High Mechanicum and Farsight Enclaves. Forge World Graia, while not being an empire of its own, certainly provides enough to the galaxy at large to be known among the largest of remnants. Their unique production of Raiper Mobile Artillery has also made such armored weapons a key part of Guillimanite tactics.

Is the faction name spelled "Gullimanite", with two "i"s? Or "Guillimanite", with THREE "i"s?

 

"Rapier" is misspelled.

Though he managed to wound the beast with more slashes, the meager cuts wouldn't be enough to kill the Daemon Lord and his sword grazed the Astartes leader, detonating his Mark IV Power Armor and leaving him in worse shape than before, blood pouring from multiple wounds and his chest exposed, ready to sliced open.

A "detonation", i.e., an explosion, should kill the Chapter Master. I think you meant "devastating" instead.

[Bruce Malcom]

You again demonstrate good imagination. I especially like the battle between House Ambrogio and the Blood Angels.

 

Nitpicks, with my emphases:

Forge World Graia: Graia is the capital of the Gullimanites in the War for Ultramar. The planet produces much of their war material, and provides their sole Titan with repairs and maintenance. The Gullimanites' control of Graia is perhaps one of their only advantages over the Realm of Sicarian and the Nova Legion, with Graia's extensive technology and additional reinforcements in the form of deniable assets from the High Mechanicum and Farsight Enclaves. Forge World Graia, while not being an empire of its own, certainly provides enough to the galaxy at large to be known among the largest of remnants. Their unique production of Raiper Mobile Artillery has also made such armored weapons a key part of Guillimanite tactics.

Is the faction name spelled "Gullimanite", with two "i"s? Or "Guillimanite", with THREE "i"s?

 

"Rapier" is misspelled.

Though he managed to wound the beast with more slashes, the meager cuts wouldn't be enough to kill the Daemon Lord and his sword grazed the Astartes leader, detonating his Mark IV Power Armor and leaving him in worse shape than before, blood pouring from multiple wounds and his chest exposed, ready to sliced open.

A "detonation", i.e., an explosion, should kill the Chapter Master. I think you meant "devastating" instead.

 

Thank you! As for Guillimanites, its the latter. It's Guilliman-ites. And thank you about Rapier. As for the detonation/devastating thing, I wrote Detonation on purpose but in hindsight I think devastating's a better word for the scenario.

[Bjorn Firewalker]

As for the detonation/devastating thing, I wrote Detonation on purpose but in hindsight I think devastating's a better word for the scenario.

"Detonating" can work if you add details to provide context, e.g., state the Daemon's sword is infused with Warp energy, which detonates upon contact with its target. Without those details, it makes no sense for a sword blow to "detonate" something.

 

For comparison, it makes no sense to write a character using a rifle to cut or stab someone, unless it's specified the rifle has a bayonet- a weapon useful for cuts and stabs- fixed to it.

Edited June 1, 2021 by Bjorn Firewalker

[Bruce Malcom]

Part Nine - Pieces of the Imperium

 

With the collapse of the wider Imperium, and the respite of most enemies dying or disbanding, the Imperium of Man has shattered but not been forgotten. Through the hardships of the Imperium's violent departure and the myraid of foes left to fight has made life still a difficult one, there has been much more room for individuals claiming their worlds as their own, their star systems, even their sectors. Such worlds have such a range of diversity of culture, military, faith, and more.

 

Some minor Imperiums fared better than others, some claim the title of true Imperium, but one thing is for certain; none truly is.

 

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Armaggedus is a nation of pure military output, producing metric tons of ammunition, vehicles, soldiers, and starships. They've continued to fight the Orks for decades, until finally they had driven them off or captured them, using them for practice in training grounds underneath the planet's surface. Being close to the former Sol System, they had many refugees from Mars and Terra reach Armageddon by the Cataclysm's conclusion, providing them with tens of billions of new possible recruits, as well as a contingent of Crimson and Imperial Fists.

 

Their governor their Lord Castellan, their diplomats are their Admirals and Commanders. While Armaggedus has mostly kept to themselves for millennia, their fleets and armies have begun to push out recently, waging war against the nearby Ork remnants of Ghaz's Great WAAAGH and even human independents who refused to bow to the military might of Armaggedus. Interestingly enough, the Custodian has been spotted multiple times defending worlds from their invasion. They clash fairly often with the Cthonian Kingdom, mostly due to resource and border disputes, as well as lingering pain from the Age of the Imperium, as the Cthonian Kingdom is known for their grudges. Their battles were fierce and perhaps some of the largest in the Age After.

 

Most notable were the conflicts between Regiment Commander Greggor Cherko and Astartes Captain Haarkosk Beregit of the Cthonian Kingdom in M44. Less than two millennia after the Cataclysm, the Cthonian Kingdom were doing their best to claim as much as they could of Segmentum Solar, and Haarkosk Beregit was an established and trusted warrior of the then-Warmaster, Haarken Worldclaimer. As Haarken did his best to rally as many Black Legionnaires to his cause as possible, Haarkosk took three companies of Astartes and a regiment of Traitor Guard to secure vital resources from the scattered Imperial colonies.

 

Unfortunately, Commander Cherko had been sent on a similar mission, and thus six worlds nearby both the remnants of Cthonia and Armageddon became the bloody battlefield of a terrible campaign known as the Battle for the Crown, due to their peculiar stellar organization looking like a rim around Terra. The conflict lasted near forty years, with a long deadlock taking half its duration. The Crown Systems had been divided between the Cthonian Kingdom's three and Armageddon's three. Armageddon's sheer numbers ended up giving them another world, as Haarkosk Beregit ascended to Warmaster after the mysterious assassination of Haarken Worldclaimer. Commander Cherko himself was declared governor of the Crown Systems, and by M51, the Crown Systems are a major supplier of soldiers and war material, with a distinct house of Imperial Knights being formed in the name of Cherko, the Liberator.

 

--------------------

The Vostro Republika is a powerful nation in Segmentum Obscurus which has a variety of notable worlds, like the remnants of Old Cadia, New Cadia, Colchis, Pervigilium, and Korolis. Its capital is Vostroya, a frosted forge world with plenty of military output. Proving one of the most stable and strongest of the Imperial Remnants, the Vostro Republika is unique in the fact it prides itself as a democratic institution, with an elected Presideka every twenty years. The Presidekas are inconsistent in quality, either being truly selfless and doing their best to improve the Republika, warmongering oppressive leaders, or self-centered and ignorant. Few made it to the end of their term.

 

Vostro Republikan Regiments have an unusual amount of Commissars, not because morale is a notable problem within their ranks, but because Commissars have more or less power than usual, depending on their rank. It is not unusual for a Commissar to become effectively a Regiment Commander after distinct combat experience leading, and its low ranking Commissars also become along the lines of line officers.

 

Lord Commissar-Commander Arkenoviz was one notable leader who led an expedition into the Gothic Sector in M49 to find empty and uncrewed ships, as such a reserve fleet's location had been scraped off an ancient Imperial cogitator found in the remnants of a Cadian stronghold, floating through space. When he arrived, he realized the fleet had also been discovered by Bile Trade Empire employees, and while their operations had yet to start, they had a sizable stronghold groundside and battle was inevitable, unless Arkenoviz wished to leave empty handed.

 

Such an act would've been an insult to his Republikan pride, and the Vostroyan leader deployed three regiments of Vostroyan Firstborn, a regiment of Cadians, and a house of Knights to the surface of the world, itself a frozen wasteland with plenty of forgotten cities. As the populace were caught in the crossfire, Lord Commissar-Commander Arkenoviz displayed an immense tactical ability, commanding the battle on the ground while dueling Bile Trade Empire ships aboard his Emperor-Pattern Battleship, the Nebulia-II. As his ancient warship proved far too much for the mostly cheap enemy fleet of Lunar Cruisers and Cobra Destroyers, he managed to destroy most of the enemy fleet, their scavengers escaping with not even enough ships to replace their fallen comrades.

 

With the majority of the reserve fleet captured, including a Long Serpent Battlecruiser, the warships were brought back to the Vostro Republika to be crewed, while Lord Commissar-Commander Arkenoviz led his forces in the cleanup on the ground. While the planet was too far away to justify inviting to the Republika proper, he did indeed offer the people of the world to come with him back to the Republika's space and become citizens. Almost all agreed, and left back to the Vostro Republika with the population of a world, an immense fleet which near matched Vostroya's defense fleet, and barely any casualities on his end, while dealing a devastating blow to the rotten scum and villainy of the Bile Trade Empire. Needless to say, Arkenoviz became Presideka of the Republika within a few years and survived his term.

 

-------------------------

The Holy Clergy of the Emperor's Will is one of the Imperial remnants who refuse to accept the Emperor's death was anything of the sort. Usually such delusions are reserved for backwater colonies or worlds that their leaders use faith to keep the masses in line. But the Holy Clergy is far larger than one world. Though it only directly rules one named simply Paradise, it might as well rule thousands; its holy crusade has created an alliance of former Temple Worlds ruled by Sororitas Warlords and those worlds devout for other reasons, like Krieg.

 

Their borders overlap with many more, like the aforementioned Krieg, which is currently under the partial ownership of the Bile Trade Empire. They use the offerings of faith and impartiality to invade and infest worlds with their teachings, and they are more than prepared to crusade against worlds they deem far too heretical to be left alive. But at this point, the words of their holy texts have been long since edited, forgotten, written and retold to the point where minor civil wars and worlds and systems cede and join the Clergy's regime on a whim.

 

Such chaos is the constant within the Holy Clergy's purview, but an exception graced the Clergy's lands, once. In M48, the Phoenix Imperialis assaulted Ferkra, a planet within the control of Armaggedus. Despite the fact a holy Imperial Church was on the planet, the Phoenix Imperialis' forces were kept from burning it down, and thus the Holy Clergy saw no reason to assist Armaggedus' outlying colonies, despite the fact its war with the Cthonian Kingdom was drawing too much of its forces to respond itself.

 

Reclusiarch Felon of the Black Templars did not agree with the Clergy's decision to abandon Armaggedus's faithful to death by heretic blades, and he rallied forces to his cause. A hundred Templars, a Titan, four Imperial Knights, a thousand Sisters of Battle and the 24th Paradisian Mechanized Infantry Regiment went aboard a Strike Cruiser and took a small transport fleet to Ferkra in defense of the planet. As the former Emperor's Children and their mortal assistants laughed among the burning ruins of a world once devout, the Reclusiarch and his forces slaughtered the opposition with holy fervor. Though Felon was a potent leader and warrior, his numbers had difficulty fighting the Phoenix Imperialis' forces, due to the enemy commander being Lucius himself.

 

Felon decided that a decapitation strike would be a blessing to the galaxy, on top of being the key to victory against the enemy on Ferkra. So Felon had Lucius's position bombed from orbit, before going in himself with his command squad and a hundred Sisters and a Knight to deal with whatever remained. But more than expected of the enemy's forces survived the bombing, including Lucius. As battle was engaged, Felon and his Command Squad fought Lucius himself, but Lucius was a terrifying monster of a combatant. Stronger and faster than even a Primaris Space Marine due to Fabius Bile's upgrades, Lucius killed the Standard Bearer and two Veteran Marines quickly, gutting them with his sword. The Apothecary, Felon, and his Company Champion dueled Lucius, but his enjoyment of battle no longer stemmed to toying, scarred by his failures by the end of the Cataclysm.

 

Lucius decapitated the Apothecary and killed the Champion with his own sword, before being dealt a violent blow as Felon left a deep scar on Lucius's once-perfect face. Fabius Bile had repaired his devastated face to its state of pre-Heresy purity, but now, Felon had ruined it once more. And Lucius' cruel nature was let loose. He cut and nicked at the Reclusiarch, making him feel the most pain possible and made him bleed the most without truly killing him. Dragging on the fight for near thirty minutes, Lucius finally ended the tragically bloodied Reclusiarch, covered in his own hallowed crimson yet still fighting with a burning pride and zeal. As he did this, however, he realized his own forces had been bested and that Felon has distracted him so utterly that Lucius was among the last allied Astartes left. Angrily ordering a retreat, Lucius and his devastated men left the world back to the Phoenix Imperialis in failure.

 

Had the Clergy allowed the counterattack, Felon would've been labeled a martyr or saint. But since they did not approve the attack, the Black Templar was simply forgotten in the annals of time by the Clergy, only remembered by his brothers and the other survivors of the attack, who sought asylum with Armageddus as the Clergy wanted to murder them for defiance.

[Bjorn Firewalker]

I applaud your efforts in worldbuilding and plotting. You certainly put more thought into this, than many supposed "professionals." (Glares at Disney and Warner Media.)

Armaggedus is a nation of pure military output, producing metric tons of ammunition, vehicles, soldiers, and starships... Being close to the former Sol System, they had many refugees from Mars and Terra reach Armageddon by the Cataclysm's conclusion, providing them with tens of billions of new possible recruits, as well as a contingent of Crimson and Imperial Fists.

Is "Armaggedus" Armageddon renamed, or is it an empire named after its capital planet, the way the Vostro Republika is named after Vostroya?

Their borders overlap with many more, like the aforementioned Krieg, which is currently under the partial ownership of the Bile Trade Empire.

I'm surprised the devout and militant Kriegers would allow Fabius Bile to dominate their home planet. Was it thoroughly depopulated in the chaos following the Emperor's death, such that there were too few defenders to resist Bile when his forces arrived?

Reclusiarch Felon of the Black Templars

Is the name meant to be ironic? Or is it derived from the Old High German word for beating and whipping (Merriam-Webster's etymological origin for the word)?

[Bruce Malcom]

I applaud your efforts in worldbuilding and plotting. You certainly put more thought into this, than many supposed "professionals." (Glares at Disney and Warner Media.)

Armaggedus is a nation of pure military output, producing metric tons of ammunition, vehicles, soldiers, and starships... Being close to the former Sol System, they had many refugees from Mars and Terra reach Armageddon by the Cataclysm's conclusion, providing them with tens of billions of new possible recruits, as well as a contingent of Crimson and Imperial Fists.

Is "Armaggedus" Armageddon renamed, or is it an empire named after its capital planet, the way the Vostro Republika is named after Vostroya?

Their borders overlap with many more, like the aforementioned Krieg, which is currently under the partial ownership of the Bile Trade Empire.

I'm surprised the devout and militant Kriegers would allow Fabius Bile to dominate their home planet. Was it thoroughly depopulated in the chaos following the Emperor's death, such that there were too few defenders to resist Bile when his forces arrived?

Reclusiarch Felon of the Black Templars

Is the name meant to be ironic? Or is it derived from the Old High German word for beating and whipping (Merriam-Webster's etymological origin for the word)?

 

Armaggedus is an empire named after Armageddon as its capital. As for Krieg, Fabius Bile had a surprising amount of forces at his disposal after the Cataclysm, while the majority of Krieg regiments were completely wiped out or stranded across the galaxy. Fabius Bile knew of the Krieger's extensive Vat-Wombs, and thus he deemed an invasion profitable. He's left a few regiments alive with enough Vat-Wombs to keep their resistance going, but only to train his new forces against the loyalists.

 

To be absolutely frank, I used a name generator for the Reclusiarch, but I chose Felon out of the names generated because it sounded similar to felony, and since his story is defined by his defiance and 'crime' against the Clergy, it just made sense.

[Brother Lunkhead]

Nice work here Brother Bruce  All very well conceived and executed. I'm intrigued

[Bruce Malcom]

A statue of Presideka Arkenoviz sat in the cold winter night, illuminated by scarce light-spires and candles. In his hand, a sword, posed to point at the stars. His other hand, clutching the sigil of the Vostro Republika attached to a chain-like necklace, the metal links drooping from his grip. The man who sculpted the statue died years ago, unable to requisition the proper medication through a mix-up in orders in the Adminisratsiya. The buildings around it were younger than the statue for the most part, rebuilt from the ashes of destruction at the hands of the Bile Trade Empire after being stolen from. The Vostroyan Firstborn drove them off, of course; they always did.

 

Presideka Arkenoviz...what could be said of his stature and rank that was not already? His smile was the smile of the people, his gifts to the people were not biased between rank and planet, his Republika was a testament to his skill and genius. He led the assault which recaptured this town, his boots marched on this cobblestone street, his voice echoed throughout burning buildings and warfare.

 

Evgeniius placed his hand on the statue's boot. He could barely reach atop his copper pedestal, but the child managed. His parents cared not where he was; only the location and amount of cheap amasec mattered to them. Like the rest, their spirits had been crushed under the heel of Stademesa, the reigning Presideka. Like the Firstborn she had march like toys, like the Cadians she had conquer worlds instead of keep the Republika's name pure and use them to protect the people, like Arkenoviz made a point of.

 

He was Evgeniius, a child on a backwater world named Forstunc with a stolen stubpistol in his back pocket and a handful of Vostroble currency in his front. But he would be more, he would be immortalized by statue and placed in a town square on a backwater world with the ever present snow to fall around his monument. He would make Arkenoviz proud. And the Republika would be too.

 

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Boltguns roared out as the death cries of wayward humans tried to match. "Brother Ambrogio, to the east!" A voice cried out in his vox. The Space Marine turned his attention to the established direction, and he saw his foe. Three traitors and an autocannon on wheels. They wouldn't even settle the cart. With a trio of Bolter barks, the traitors died and the autocannon was removed from the battle. "Very good, brother. Link up with the squad, we've gotten orders to move. The Chapter-Master wants this Blood Cult exterminated."

 

The Space Marine gave an acknowledgement, and proceeded towards his battle-brothers. His mind drifted to another time and place, back when he was a noble heir on Hemofila. The world was gone now, burned to a crisp after allowing a few select towns to join them as serfs. Most citizens of the world were left on the surface, to die to endless bombardment from the fleet in orbit. Even with such measures taken, these Blood Cults were sprouting all over Segmentum Pacificus.

 

The Chapter would not allow that. His thoughts turned to his grandfather, the Eldest Lord of the House...before being met by the end of a shotgun. The weapon rang, uselessly, against his red and gold helm. The buckshot wouldn't have penetrated his skin, but not only had a mortal gotten past his senses, but if it were a more high-power weapon... "Heretic!" Brother Ambrogio shouted, unsheathing his combat knife and he took a swing at the cultist. With a swipe, the enemy's flak vest was torn asunder and his torso followed suit. Blood sprayed against his already red armor, mingling with the maroon durapaint.

 

Blood. It was a constant. The Blood Angels drank it, the Cults they hunted worshipped it, and his cursed lineage, whom he rejects with each trigger pull of his holy Boltgun, drew much power from it. It powered Humanity, it powered life. But it was also the symbol of death, the usual proof of life's end. Ambrogio shook his head. Such gibberish and thought was what let a mortal draw a gun on him. It would not happen again.

 

But as the Astartes attempted to leave, the cultist gurgled out a murmur out of his crimson soaked throat. "You...are...s-still...heir..." He choked out, before his soul fled his body. The Astartes turned his head over his shoulder to give the cultist a glance, before continuing on to join his brothers in purging. They started without me, he thought to himself. I smell burning blood in the air.

 

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Flame plumes roared from the indecent city of Clavicus, the capital city of the Phoenix Imperialis. Only few could know the full extent of the debauchery unfolding with every second, the unsleeping city roared and danced with anger and allurement in unison. The mortal populace knew only a few things, and fewer things mattered to them. It was a heathen's paradise, a good man's nightmare.

 

Then why, Lucius thought to himself, did he loathe this place? He was a champion of Slaanesh himself, traitor to the Emperor of Mankind and he'd help doom his realm to further and further damnation. He fought and killed people who could've saved the Imperium, he defiled thousands and reveled in every moment. Then why...? Lucius looked to the mirror, and saw his perfect face. His near perfect face. The apothecaries and flesh-engineers of Huron Blackheart's warband pieced him back together better than he had been in thousands of years.

 

Except his nose. His nose, which Garviel had struck with enough force to snap a normal man's spine. Was it any more extreme an injury than the dozen blades which pierced him from his intestines outwards when the souls of a thousand damned were set free? No, far from it. Did Lucius request they not fix his nose? Of course not, if he were to be perfect, he was going to be completely so. But it remained...twisted. Broken.

 

Lucius owed Garviel that. Garviel was dead, he knew that. And the Emperor lost, and the Imperium is dead. So was Garviel wrong? Was Solomon, Tarvitz or Torgaddon? The forces of Chaos weren't doing much better than the Corpse-Emperor's Corpse-Imperium. Sure, Huron, whoever ruled the Black Legion these days, Gregulus and Fabius had their little realms. But all that remained of the Gods themselves were...corpses.

 

Lucius focused on the booming, nonsensical festering of beats, murder, and loveless love. But he felt no kick. No high. Nothing left to feel...but a mirror and memories.

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A pair of figures sat on the cliffside. Ahead, a glimmering ocean owed to the star above and the peaking command spire of a Lunar-Class warship. The pair were still. No talk, just...silence. Until finally, "Do you know one of my observations? One of my most curious thoughts?" No reaction from the other, but the answer was pregnant in the air. "That mankind always associated the moon with night, yet you can see it clear in the sunlight through the day on Terra?"

 

"But there is no sun in night," the other responded. "There is only the moon, and its pale light."

 

"Indeed. But the moon was always there, waiting to shine. Do you know of another who called himself lord of the Moon?"

 

The other gave the first a hard glare. "Do you mean to say that he waited to strike, broadcasted in the light of the Imperium?"

 

"If there was no Imperium, there would be no Chaos."

 

"If there was no Imperium, there would be no Humanity either. The Imperium was Humanity. Humanity was the Imperium."

 

"Then do you mean to suggest the Imperium was Chaos? For Chaos is intrinsic with our species. Chaos' control over the Warp banished us to Terra and other worlds for Old Night's length. Then when they dispersed, the rabble left of Humanity ran to the stars and caused the whole process to start again. Now here we are, banished more or less to our worlds and systems. When the dust clears, another Emperor will simply rise and do it all over again."

 

"Your perspective on the human race worries me. We are not linked with Chaos, our souls are attached to the Warp, yes, but the Warp is not Chaos. Chaos is a cancer upon both materium and immaterium, now that Chaos has been destroyed, Humanity is free. The next cycle shall achieve the vision of Humanity that the Imperium of Man promised."

 

"Will it? You know as well as I do that the Warp stirs. These...Blood Cults, the remnants of the Ministorum, they all are swirling the water within the kettle. All it'll take is a spark and...the sacrifice will have meant nothing."

 

"I trust you to ensure that Humanity remains without the corruption of the Ruinous Powers. But first, you need to find your love for them again. You cannot help a people without first liking them enough to help them truly. Open your heart to their goodness, and maybe instead of death and spite you'll find kindness and life."

 

And then all that was left was the first. The sun was setting. And the moon would soon be able to shine its brightest.

Edited July 20, 2021 by Bruce Malcom