Mourning Lords

Mourning Lords armorial with warband iconography.

Mourning Lords Legionary armor.

The Night Lords were always known to be among the most ruthless and truly evil of the legions. After the events of the Horus Heresy, this sentiment only grew, as their actions fell further to serve Chaos. There were those who forged their own path in this legion, but all shared the brutal disposition of their Primarch, Konrad Curze. One such group reviled not only the Empire, but also their brothers in Chaos, and defected to lead the quest they believed they had been set upon by Curze himself. They are the **Mourning Lords**.

## Warband History

### **Victims of The Warp**

Early in the Horus Heresy, The Night Lords were dispatched to the far East of the Empire, to harass and distract the Imperial forces in that part of the galaxy, thereby preventing the Dark Angels from coming to the defense of Terra. This move, known as the Thramas Crusade, also aimed to establish a new base of operations for the Night Lords, after the destruction of Nostramo. After wresting control of the triple forge worlds of Triplex, Curze sent warbands out to bring neighboring worlds under their control. One such warband, while en route to the hive world of Serk, the warband was beset by a Drukhari raiding party emerging from the warp. The ensuing battle raged, with the Night Lords warband driving the raiding party to flee into the warp, where the warband pursued. The warp closed behind the warband, and it seemed as though they were lost to the Immaterium.

In the early 38th Millennium, however, the warp reopened over Serk, and from it emerged the two battle barges of the warband, tattered and scorched. After orbiting the planet for over a month, much to the trepidation of its citizens, the warband made landfall outside the capital city, Guayota, and began constructing a base of operations and repairing its heavily damaged ships. An assault was made against them by the Imperial Guard garrison of the city, who were utterly slaughtered, their hands laced together into a chain that was dropped into the city center the next day. After this defeat, the Nobles of Serk dispatched signals of distress to the Imperium, however, the city was overrun in mere hours after the messengers departed. In the aftermath of the takeover, the warband began to notice large discrepancies in the imperial defenders, and the distinct lack of order they were accustomed to finding on loyalist imperial planets. Among the captured population, the Night Lords found an aged man by the name of Gabriel Vendrus who went undressed to be tortured and bore all the scars they did from their creation surgeries. Upon intense interrogation, they discovered that Gabriel was a former Ultramarine neophyte of the 10th chapter, who had gone into hiding following the proclamation by Lion El'Johnson that the Thramas sector was declared perdita, almost 8 millennia prior.

This, compounded with the information gained from the city and its nobles, revealed to the warband just how far into the future they had been flung during their time in the warp. Enraged after Gabriel revealed the fate of their Primarch, the captain of the warband, Endro Keranas, flayed Gabriel, but was convinced to extract the Ultramarine gene-seed from him to preserve their future. The warband then used the enslaved population to repair their battle barges and departed before Imperial reinforcements could arrive, leaving numerous testimonies and evidence that the people of Guayota had willingly helped them, resulting in the massacre of the planet's population by the Inquisition.

### A New Covenant

The warband travelled immediately to the planet Tsagualsa, as Gabriel had told them regarding their Primarch. There, they found the ruins of Konrad Curze's fortress. Inside, they found nothing but the ruined heraldry of their legion, and an empty, crimson-stained throne. When he approached the throne, Endro saw a vision of the events that had transpired there millennia ago, and heard his Primarch utter his prophecies of "a delicious and balanced justice," and took this to be his purpose in the new millennia, given to him by Konrad himself. After sharing this vision with his men, Endro orders the armor of the warband to be repainted white, signifying their rebirth with a new purpose, with deep blue trim, to symbolize their devotion to their deceased Primarch. Every marine took a vow to uphold the *Justice of Curze*, and the warband donned the name 'Mourning Lords,' though whether the first word is 'Morning' or 'Mourning' remains a mystery, as the name is only ever spoken by the warband.

### Konrad's Retribution

After departing Tsagualsa, the Mourning Lords slipped in and out of Imperial territory, making their way to the Eye of Terror, raiding and enslaving along their path. Once there, they located and reunited with others from their Legion, under Krieg Acerbus. Upon laying eyes upon the Daemon Prince form of Krieg, the Mourning Lords become enraged and engage in fierce close combat with their former brothers, losing a large number of their men and just escaping due to a simultaneous revolt of the enslaved population of Krieg's camp. After departing, the Mourning Lords traversed the Eye of Terror, and found safe refuge on the planet Sublime, operating in secrecy and abducting humans to rebuild their numbers. As they regrew, they began using the gene-seed of the Ultramarines obtained on Serk, as well as that of their own legion from corpses from their battle with Krieg's warband. As such, the general sentiment of the warband began to shift, until they departed Sublime, after being discovered by a patrol of Emperor's Children by complete chance. Departing the Eye of Terror, the Mourning Lords made their way along the fringe of Imperial territory, slaughtering both Imperial and Chaos worlds as they went, as Endro took his vision of justice to mean both the Imperium of Man and the forces of Chaos deserved equal persecution, in order to deliver the *Justice of Curze* upon the galaxy. Returning to Serk, the Mourning Lords reclaimed the city of Guayota, claiming Serk as their new homeworld.

## Notable Campaigns

### The Persecution of Acerbus

After entering the Eye of Terror, the Mourning Lords encountered their legion brothers under the command of Krieg Acerbus. After realizing the pact Krieg had made with the gods of Chaos, Endro Keranas and his warband violently attacked their brothers, and a bloody brawl ensued, with combat being so crowded and chaotic that hand-to-hand combat and knife combat dominated the battlefield. After realizing Krieg's forces vastly outnumbered his own, Endro and the Mourning Lords retreated to their ships and fled the battle, suffering losses of almost 2/3 of the warband.

## Warband Homeworld

The planet Serk in the Thramas system is the homeworld of the Mourning Lords. In a vast hive world outside the watchful eyes of Ultramar, the warband has no trouble finding recruits and slaves to serve them. The former governor's citadel is now the fortress base of the warband. Inside the citadel, among the many inner workings of the Mourning Lords, resides the flaying pits used by the warband to exact their punishments on the wrongdoers of Serk.

## Warband Organization

The warband maintains a large number of marines in its ranks, due to the ease of recruiting on their homeworld. At any given time, the warband consists of roughly 5000-8000 Astartes, though the exact numbers are unknown as the Mourning Lords do not keep any written records. The warband is split up into raiding parties known as camps, each led by a champion, who is regarded as the fiercest warrior in the camp.

### Leader Ranks

- **Lord of Justice** - The leader of the Mourning Lords is known as the Lord of Justice and is unquestioned in his orders to the warband.

- **Appointed Champion** - The enforcer of the warband, the master champion ensures the orders of the Lord of Justice are carried out.

- **Champion** - Every camp is led by a champion, who is the fiercest warrior in the camp. He answers only to the Lord of Justice and is free to run his camp as he sees fit.

### Camp Ranks

- **Sergeant** - the leader of a squad in a camp gets his orders directly from his champion and leads his men on in battle.

- **Legionaries** - The common marine of the warband, legionaries are vicious but cunning warriors.

- **Neophytes "Pups"** - New recruits are known as pups and are constantly reminded to uphold justice, to ensure every man in the warband understands the gravity of their vow.

### Warband Camps

There are numerous camps in the warband and every one is comprised mostly of squads of legionaries, with various other forms of gear and weapons used, as the warband scavenges gear from its victims. Common gear includes jump packs, bikes, and other small vehicles, and other personal gear. The warband maintains its suits of Cataphractii Terminator Armor from the days of the Horus Heresy, as well as a number of tanks and dreadnoughts that are millennia old, but still in good repair due to time distortion from the warp.

## Combat Doctrine

The Mourning Lords are known for their success at raiding and small-scale assault doctrine. Making use of their small numbers, speed and the element of fear they inflict on their enemies, the warband relies on terrorizing their enemies into surrendering, thereby gaining victory. The warband is brutal and vicious, using public displays of violence both in battle and outside, making examples of their enemies to force compliance. Every encounter with them leaves a plethora of gruesome stories and evidence of their brutality.

## Warband Culture

The Mourning Lords maintain a unique ethos among their ranks, as they make full use of the dichotomy between unrestrained violence and adherence to their idea of justice. Their methods of controlling Serk are brutal and the majority of the population of the planet is either enslaved or in service to the warband, but there is a strong condemnation of senseless violence and unreasonable crime. The warriors do not hesitate to make a display of those who cross them or are caught in wrongdoing but are equally willing to protect the 'innocent' in any situation they come upon.

## Warband Recruitment

Recruitment for the warband is constant and abundant. The human stock at their disposal on Serk is nearly limitless, and because of this new Marines are creating literally whenever the warband decides. Pups are integrated into squads as soon as they show they understand the vow they must take to join the warband and loyalty to the Lord of Justice himself. Pups are considered incompetent fools until they publicly display to their sergeant a persecution of a criminal in accordance with the *Justice of Curze.*

## Warband Gene-Seed

The Mourning Lords use both the gene-seed of Konrad Curze and Roboute Guilliman, though which is used more is unknown. As a result, the warband possesses the disposition for both horrifying violence and calculating genius. The legionaries consider their gene-stock to be their own and unique from all others, and a perfect embodiment of the balance they believe Curze envisioned.

## Notable Members

### Lord of Justice Endro Keranas

The leader of the Mourning Lords, Endro shares his brothers belief in brutal justice, and is unforgiving of those who do not uphold it. Known on occasion to flay his own legionaries that break their oath, he is feared equally by his legionaries and the entirety of the planet Serk.

## Warband Fleet

The Mourning Lords possess two battle barges and 3 hunter class destroyers, as well as numerous smaller vessels. All but the battle barges are scavenged, looted or outright stolen from their enemies.

**- *Lion's Bane* (Battle Barge)**

**- *Liberator of Tryplex* (Battle Barge)**

**- *Justus Raptorus* (Hunter-Class Destroyer)**

**- *Penitent Queen* (Hunter-Class Destroyer)**

**- *Bright-Soul* (Hunter-Class Destroyer)**

## Warband Relics

* ***Sanctified Estoc*** - The sword wielded by the Lord of Justice, this blade originates from Terra, and the original creation of the Space marines themselves, and so is regarded as a symbol of the perfection that could have been Konrad Curze.

* ***Fate of the Archivist*** - A weathered paper scroll that recounts the death of their Primarch's first victim. This scroll bears the seal of Konrad Curze, and symbolizes the fall from grace that all the legion has suffered.

## Warband Appearance

### Warband Colours

#### Armor

The Mourning Lords wear armor that is almost entirely white, with midnight blue accents, in homage to their former Legion and Primarch. Legionaries wear Mk.VI power armor, dating back to the days of the Horus Heresy, although these suits remain in good condition due to the effects of time dilation from their excursion in the warp. The left pauldron is white, with midnight blue over the bonding studs, and the tactical belt is also midnight blue. The pack each legionary wears alternates white and midnight blue panels. Certain warriors have also scavenged jump packs, power armor, and weapons from enemies to use for themselves, meaning there exist a select few warriors with unique gear, although these must be approved by the Lord of Justice, and are usually granted, in conjunction with placement of that warrior into a squad with similar approved gear.

#### Helmet

The helmet of the Mourning Lords white, with the 'beak' of the Mk.VI Corvus pattern helmet painted midnight blue. Every legionary wears the standard Mk.VI Corvus pattern helmet, although certain warriors have been granted exception in accordance with their specialized gear they have obtained. Head crests are of midnight blue hair.

#### Rank Designations

Certain positions have physical designator differentiating them from the standard legionary. Sergeants wear a helmet crest in the sideways orientation, while champions and the Lord of Justice wear a similar helmet crest in the straight orientation.

### Warband Name

The Mourning Lords were named thus to signify the warbands rebirth into the new millennium they found themselves in. It is unknown whether the correct spelling is 'morning' or 'mourning' as the warband communicates verbally, and any written communication does not include the name of the warband. There are theories on Serk supporting both spellings, as the warband makes common reference to not only the end of the Night Lords and the dawn of their new purpose, but also to their great remorse over the death of their Primarch, and their inability to aid him.

### Warband Badge

The warband badge of the Mourning Lords is a black depiction of the original Night Lords winged skull, with a halo above the skull and black tears falling from the skull. The badge symbolizes both the pain of losing their Primarch, and the endeavor to deliver the *Justice of Curze* that their Primarch so desired. The warband badge is painted on the right pauldron of each warrior, and worn with great pride outside of the Mourning Lords' citadel fortress.

## Relations

### Allies

The Mourning Lords have no permanent or longstanding alliances, although they are known to align themselves with "untainted interlopers "when needed to defeat their enemies. Many times these come in the form of various xenos races and independent human groups, as the Mourning Lords consider them to be the only ones not intrinsically evil, unlike the Imperium or forces of Chaos.

### Enemies

**- Imperium of Man -** every facet of the Imperium is considered evil to the Mourning Lords, and every imperial adversary they encounter is treated as though they were personally responsible for the death of Konrad Curze. The large majority of the enslaved population of Serk is imported from raided imperial colonies.

**- Chaos -** The armies of Chaos are regularly raided and assaulted by the Mourning Lords, and do battle with them nearly as often as the Imperium itself.

**- Night Lords -** The factions of Night Lords still in existence in the Eye of Terror are more reviled by the Mourning Lords than any other agents of Chaos. the warband takes particular pleasure in torturing and executing members of their former legion, claiming that in doing so they are exacting the *Justice of Curze* upon their brothers.

## Notable Quotes

### By The Mourning Lords

"*It is time to raid grandfather's empire, my friend. I crave the taste of flaying-fear...*"
—- Endro Keranas, Lord of Justice
### About The Mourning Lords

"*This job ain't for me. I don't mess with the Thramas Sector.*"
—- Unknown long hauler

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