Index Traitoris: House Khlorys

[ThatOneWurm]

“Have you ever seen the Plague Drones of the Fly-Lord? Vicious and loyal, dutiful as well. Is there no better model of chivalry? No higher symbol that a Knight could aspire to in service to the Lord of Decay? To be of the Court is to hold yourself bound by oath and soul to the Plague Father; to serve in feculent honor for all eternity. Is there no greater joy?” -Princeps Belzaii of House Khlorys

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Introduction

Amid the plague-ridden followers in service to the Grandfather of Disease, there are those who had sworn themselves to His teachings in desperation for survival. Pock-marked hulls tainted by their treacherous oaths and surrounded by swarms of filthy flies singing hymns to their feculent Lord, the Knights of House Khlorys are the point of His syringe. A vanguard force that lances into the bloated hellscape of the Imperium to bring His gifts to the beleaguered servants of the Corpse-Emperor. A mercy extended by the Father and the Household to serve in perpetuity either as faithful followers of the Household and their patron, or to serve in death as the refuse and carrion out of which the faithful servants of Nurgle might grow. For where there is death, there is always life.

 

The Iodian Accords

The proud House Khlorys has a history stretching back to when the Corpse-Emperor of Mankind walked amongst his unknowing slaves and sons. An era of war in which Humanity sought to reclaim their lost past, and with a military force the likes of which the galaxy had not seen in some time. But this is not a story of the pitiable sons of the False-Emperor, nor their warrior-sons, the Astartes of the Legions. 

 

The story of House Khlorys instead begins when the Mechanicum Explorator Fleet Iodia-Gamman touched down upon the foul and dank world of Salvir. It was here on this sopping swamp world that instead of finding simple resources, they instead found a world torn apart by techno-barbarian kingdoms, led by noble families and warlords piloting Knights. The importance of this discovery was not to be understated by the Mechanicum of Iodia Tertius, a Knight-World with no ties to the Imperium having yet been established, and a world rife in political strife to be exploited for their gains. 

 

On the Fields of Kelshing the Iodian Accords were signed and agreed upon after much deliberation by Princeps Dispane, High King of House Khlorys. These accords swore them in vassalage to the Mechanicum of Iodia Tertius, and in exchange they would be supplied with raw materials, tech priests, and schema to assist in upkeep and repair of their Knights. In addition, the Suppression Clause of the Accords dictated that in the event of civil unrest on Salvir, the Mechanicum would allow the use and deployment of Skitarii Legions to assist in eliminating unrest. 

Following this agreement, amid the warring kingdoms of the world, the Mechanicum and House Khlorys deployed their forces en masse to eliminate the strife plaguing the planet and unite the world under the banner of House Khlorys. Those that swore subservience to Princeps Dispane were welcomed with open arms, ensuring that either through conquest or bloodline, the only House that would remain on Salvir was that of Khlorys. Such a time would later be recorded by archivists of House Khlorys as The Silencing of Salvir. 

A Bond Forged in Iron

For the Knights of House Khlorys, their integration into the Imperium came smoother than most. Having already been sworn to the Mechanicum of Iodia Tertius, when the forces of Mars made contact they followed their liege lords in step as they swore their oaths to the Fabricator General of Mars, Kelbor-Hal, and to that of the Omnissiah and the Emperor of Mankind. Deployed quickly to utilize the newly acquired military might of their House, House Khlorys, alongside a Legion of their Household Guard were seconded to the 703rd Expeditionary Fleet, nominally commanded by Warsmith Nikolaos of the 94th Grand Company of the IVth Legio Astartes. A vaunted member of the Lyssatra within the sons of Perturabo, the Knights of House Khlorys would form a close bond with these warriors in their wars against the [REDACTED], a foul [REDACTED] strain of [REDACTED]. This war was much in the fashion of the Iron Warriors, a slow and grinding siege warfare; and in the muddy and mired trenches of the Siege of [REDACTED] the Knights of House Khlorys proved themselves in the breaking of the siege. 

 

Engaged in combat with other titanic and cyclopean [REDACTED] that prevented their assisting of the IVth, the scions of House Khlorys would commit to a tactic only tried in the most desperate of measures; The Banquet of Worms. Named for the feeding frenzy of worms seen on their homeworld when carrion is dropped into the mires, the Knights of House Khlorys abandoned tactical reasoning. For each Knight was a lord of war unto themselves, and they made the field churn and blacken with smoke and mud and oil and blood until the siege had been broken. The cost being that of six Imperial Knights, never to be reclaimed again due to the nature of their foes; their stories marked down amongst the Scroll-Halls of Salvir. But amid the destruction and death, there was life, with the appointing of a new heir, through right of blood and valor, to the House should Princeps Dispane fall; the Princess of Salvir, Belzaii.

 

While Warsmith Nikolaos would formerly reprimand them in view of Imperial authorities for their reckless charge and assault, the hazard-striped sash worn around Princeps Dispane spoke of perhaps his grudging respect behind closed doors, as well as their continued deployment to points in battles where a spear must be cast through their walls. It was there on [REDACTED] that House Khlorys swore another oath that would chain their hearts when Horus would rise against his father; an oath to the broken children of the IVth. 

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Hello members of the Liber! Here is my start to an Index Traitoris for my fallen knights of Nurgle; House Khlorys, the Court of Flies. As of this moment this is where I am at with the Lore for the House, and will continue to add to it as more is written! Next up is the history of the House during the chaos and despair of the Horus Heresy and the Great Scouring, where they would eventually pledge their souls to the Lord of Flies, Nurgle.