Bloodied Claws

Bloodied Claws Warband icon.

Warband colour scheme of the Bloodied Claws.

### **Specialty**

Terror Assaults, Psychological Warfare, Strategic Decapitation Strikes, Multi-Vector & Sub-Orbital Attack, Ship-Borne Assaults & Boarding Actions, Daemonic Summoning

### **Allies**

Sepktraal Cult of the Silent Forge (Dark Mechanicus), Prophets of the Blighted Path (Word Bearers)

### **Colours**

Midnight-Blue and Gold with Lightning iconography.

## Pre-Heresy

### **Colours**

Midnight-Blue and Gold with Lightning iconography.

The **Bloodied Claws** are an infamous Chaos Warband made up of the remnants of the Night Lords 42nd Company. Unlike the vast majority of their traitorous brethren, who either look down on those who serve Chaos with distain or view the Chaos Gods as nothing more than a tool to be used to suit their needs, they have become devout worshippers of the Ruinous Powers.

## History

**ORIGINS**

For much of the Great Crusade the 42nd Company were attached to the 809th Expeditionary Fleet under the command of Captain Naraka and the 13th Company, taking part in a number of compliance actions and earning the moniker '*The Hungering Claws*' for the sense of restlessness several of their number seemed to suffer from in between engagements.

Siding with their Primarch Konrad Curse in joining Horus Lupercal's rebellion against the Emperor, they were present for such major events of the time such as the Dropsite Massacre, Thramas Crusade and the Battle of Terra but primarily ran a series of terror campaigns during what would become known as the Dark Compliances.

Following the death of Horus and the Traitor Legions defeat on Terra the 42nd Company, along with the rest of the Night Lords Legion, returned to Tsagualsa in the Eastern Fringe, and remained there until the Ultramarines and their newly formed successor chapters stormed the planet.

Captain Vakarath and what remained of the Hungering Claws managed to escape the planet and get to their battleship, the Dauntless class cruiser known as *Darkness Incarnate* and fled into the Eye of Terror.

For countless realspace centuries they lived the piratical life that was common with most of their kind; surviving, but never thriving, by raiding isolated sectors for supplies and slaves or selling their services to larger forces in attacks against the armies of the Imperium for the price of being able to scavenge the battlefields of equipment, all the while their numbers dwindling till only two score remained.

Having seen how Chaos had changed those he once fought alongside during the Heresy, the Captain put any under his command that showed the slightest hint of being tainted to death, but still corruption had taken root.

**MUTINY**

Unbeknownst to Vakarath one of his officers, Sergeant Navir Teskian, had given himself over to the Dark Gods and had sat in wait, plotting the Captains downfall.

He managed to convince many within the Claws including the high ranking members Draytos and Lycerl, the companies only remaining Techmarine and Librarian, that a change of leadership was needed and, in a single night of bloodshed, all those who would remain loyal to Vakarath were slaughtered.

The Captain himself was set upon by the trio but, while he was mutilated beyond recognition, he somehow lived. They connected his shattered body to one of the many torture devices on board and a life support system so he could suffer an eternity of pain, his screams echoing along the corridors of the *Darkness Incarnate* for all to hear.

From this arose the Bloodied Claws, named so because once it was over Navir proclaimed...

*"Brothers, the Gods have answered and we are reborn! As children of Nostramo we hungered, as soldiers of the Imperium we hungered, as traitors and outcasts we hungered, but now we have glutted ourselves on blood and we shall never go hungry again!"*

...the remaining Astartes pledged themselves to the Ruinous Powers, removing the bat-winged skull they now saw as a symbol of their failures from their armour and replacing it with the 8 pointed star of Chaos.

**REBIRTH**

Navir, Draytos and Lycerl made a pact, vowing that they would not allow the petty infighting that had torn their legion apart after the Primarch's death to be their fate as well and, though the Claws now found themselves with only a dozen Astartes to their name, that they would strike back stronger than before.

But in order to do so they needed more soldiers so began seeking out small warbands of Night Lords they deemed to be easy pickings, coming under a flag of truce and offering cooperation they would travel with their new-found "allies" for weeks, aiding them in raids and splitting the spoils of war equally until launching a sudden attack to remove the head of the warband and offer up a choice, willingly offer up you souls to the Chaos Gods or be sacrificed to them!

Those that refused now find their flensed skulls piled around the command throne of *Darkness Incarnate* but many did not and the Claws began to grow in strength and boldness, however this tactic would not always work and occasionally the Claws would overreach themselves, having to make a hasty retreat into the Warp to lick their wounds and nurse their pride, but with defeat comes a lesson to be learned and a new opportunity to be discovered.

On one such occasion the Claws had approached a much larger Night Lords Warband in the hope of gaining control of the two Gladius class light cruisers in their possession and beginning amassing a small war fleet, without responding to Navir's attempts to contact their commander they opened fire and inflicted grievous damage before the Claws were able to fight their way clear and limp away.

They fled to the Screaming Vortex, a permanent Warp Storm located in the Halo Stars of Segmentum Obscurus, and were now easy prey for one of the many Xenos Empires, Sorcerous Covens and constantly warring Chaos and Renegade Warbands that called it home.

Ever deeper into the storm they headed searching for somewhere they could make anchor and much needed repairs to the battle scarred hide of their ship, but continually always having to move on quickly lest they be bordered or destroyed by forces that far exceeded their own.

Eventually passing through to the Inner Ring they came across the world of Mire, a quiet, bleak world of swampland where feral tribes went to war over the most meager of resources, of little interest to others within the Vortex the slaves aboard *Darkness Incarnate* got to work fixing its battle scarred hide as best they could.

But their arrival at Mire had not gone as unnoticed as first assumed, towards the inner edge of the Ring lay the Flaming Tomb, a world of lava and blackened rock, which was orbited by a mighty fortress belonging to the Word Bearers who now set out to discover who had dared to enter their domain.

**STANDING ON A KNIFE EDGE**

The *Darkness Incarnate* was surrounded before they even had a chance to try and revert power to the void shields, outnumbered 10 to 1 the Triumvirs knew that either an attempt to fight or flee would result in their deaths so Navir hailed all ships and requested a parlay.

Tense seconds felt like they dragged on for hours before a response came back from the fleet commander, Lord Naberus of the Word Bearers, agreeing to the parlay and laying out his terms. They were dock aboard his flagship the Destroyer class battleship *Pyres of Sacrament*, unarmed and unguarded or their ship would be blasted from the stars.

Upon disembarking the Triumvirs found themselves faced with 20 red armoured Astartes, each with a boltguns raised, and led by a stern faced warrior with reptilian eyes and script tattooed down the left side of his face who announced himself Captain Sorot, emissary to Lord Naberus.

In the brief exchange tempers flared when Draytos took exception to them being called Night Lords and threatened to rip out Sorot’s throat, for a brief moment it appeared that the Triumvirs would meet their ends, gunned down by those they had once fought alongside so long ago.

Thankfully Lycerl and Navir were able to cool his fury and half-truthfully explained they simply sought a place to make repairs to their ship caused by their former brothers who believed them traitors to their dead Primarch for casting off their former name and embracing the true masters of the universe, the Dark Lords of the Immaterium.

Surprised to hear those descended for the VIII Legion speak of following the Primordial Truth, Sorot permitted them to follow him to an audience with Lord Naberus, he would discern whether they spoke the truth or were simply lying to save their skin.

**TRIAL BY FIRE**

The Word Bearers lead them down a corridor that appeared to be made from muscle and sinew until they were ushered inside a darkened room with a series of lines carved into the floor, eight triangles all pointing towards a circular plinth in the centre that had a series of symbols etched into its edge.

Each member of the Triumvirs was instructed to take their places in one of the outer points and five chained humans were placed into the others. Naberus stood behind them at a pulpit made of bone and read from a book bound in human flesh as the cowering mortals’ throats were cut and their blood began to run down the channels to the central dias.

As it began to pool around the base a hellish green light sprang from it as an entity of the Warp manifested itself within and, speaking with a voice that sounded almost childlike, addressed the Dark Apostle demanding to know why it had been summoned, he explained that he wanted to know if the Claws spoke the truth and the Daemon turned its gaze upon them.

For Navir and Draytos time appeared to freeze and it felt as if a weight had been placed upon their heads as their minds were probed, Lycerl on the other hand dropped to his knees, letting out an unholy scream as his psychic barriers were ripped apart, light the same colour as that which the Daemon stood with emanating from his eyes as blood began to trickle from his ears.

Flames began to flicker from his hands and quickly spread across his body until his armour blazed like a new-born sun, amongst the screaming only one word could be heard… *“YES”*

The flames extinguished and the Daemon was gone, Lycerl awkwardly began to get to his feet and it was only once he was upright that his fellow commanders noticed he did not stand but floated above the ground, power radiating off him like heat from a furnace, he turned to them and spoke with a voice that sounded like thunder

*“Brothers, I have been chosen, I have seen our futures and the glory that awaits us”*

**A NEW PURPOSE**

For the Word Bearers who now held them captive Lycerl’s sudden rise in power was all they needed to be convinced that the Claws were indeed followers of Chaos, they agreed to allow them the dock at their orbital station above the Flaming Tomb for a price, to assist them in a series of attacks against some of the renegade warbands that called the outer circle of the Vortex home.

In the eyes of Lord Naberus some of their leaders had ideas above their station and needed to be shown their place, these young upstarts had not walked the battlefield alongside Primarchs and the Corpse Emperor or fought the Long War since its inception, to the Prophets of the Blighted Path they were but craven dogs who should be dining on the table scraps left by their betters.

Draytos had his doubts but Lycerl insisted it was the correct course of action, the three agreed that the Claws would aid Lord Naberus on the condition that they be guided in the ways of the Primordial Annihilator as Lorgar had once guided his Legion, if glory was to be their destiny they would not walk towards it blindly.

Naberus accepted the terms and, while Draytos oversaw the repairs of *Darkness Incarnate*, Navir spent much time with the Dark Apostle, whether listening to him deliver sermons to all under his command or in private as they discussed passages within the skin clad book he’d used to summon the daemon when they first arrived aboard the *Pyres of Sacrament*, Navir absorbed all the information he could with a fervor that impressed the Word Bearer’s commander.

Lycerl of the other hand spent his time alone, deep in meditation as he sought to master his new found abilities, the energies a psyker commanded were always dangerous but these were positively volatile, until he felt they were under control a moments loss of concentration could result in death.

Once Draytos had completed his task they prepared to make way, the Word Bearers fleet would split in two and take the fight to the Khornate Pirate King known as Korgin the World Reaver and former Silver Skulls Chaplain turned Champion of Nurgle Vorxec Calvarius, while the Claws were tasked with seeking out a warband that went by the name the Shards of Enmity.

**AN OLD ENEMY ARISES**

Whereas the armies of Korgin and Vorxec were large enough (and in the Word Bearers opinion led by champions foolish enough) to make a move against the Prophets of the Blighted Path, the Shard of Emnity had neither the numbers nor the inclination  to throw their lives away on a suicide mission, they had simply been chosen at random to send a message to all the warbands of the within the Vortex that the Prophets were the true masters of this realm.

After a few weeks of searching the Claws eventually tracked down their vessel, the Gladius Frigate designated, *Vengeance Seeker* in orbit above the planet Messia, a blasted wasteland of cannibalistic mutants and vast stores of Promethium beneath its surface.

Auspex scans showed no activity so the Triumvirs reasoned that the majority of the Shards were on the surface to gather resources, dividing their forces each took command of a squad and launched boarding torpedoes, the plan was simple… each would strike at different locations of the ship, cause as much carnage as possible before returning to the *Darkness Incarnate*.

The crew offered little resistance, almost all aboard were human serfs and the handful of Astartes encountered were swiftly gunned down, cutting a bloody mess through the corridors of the ship Lycerl and Navir worked in a large circle so they would return to their evac-points but Draytos had other ideas, being handed a near empty ship he had decided that he would loot whatever supplies they could carry.

As it turned out the Shards were not a well-stocked force with barely enough ammo make it through a long conflict, clearly they were here to give them something to barter with. Furious at himself for wasting time Draytos searched for something to have made the venture worth it, turning a corner he stopped and a dark smile played across his face.

A Castraferrum Dreadnought chassis stood before him, the shattered remains of the warrior within slumbering, if the Prophets wanted a message sent then this would be his message! Ordering his men to locate a lifter he began disconnecting the sarcophagus, as soon as his task was complete they headed for their escape with his prize in tow, the burning remains of its former inhabitant left burning on the deck.

As soon as they we’re back aboard Draytos got to work, carefully installing both the tortured body of his former Captain and the device that had kept him in agony into the Dreadnoughts frame, Vakarath’s sanity long gone he was naught but a blunt force of pain and rage and Dratyos knew he could easily be steered into sharing these with their enemies.

## Beliefs

The Bloodied Claws are wholly devoted to the Gods of Chaos, fanatical to a degree usually only seen amongst the sons of Lorgar.

## Gene-Seed

Members of the Bloodied Claws have the pitch black eyes and pale skin common with all of those from Curze's lineage but exposure to the Warp and their acceptance of Chaos has left their geneseed tainted and unusable, only by absorbing the numbers of conquered warbands do they maintain their numbers.

## Notable Members

**Navir Teskian**

**Draytos Saraan**

**Lycerl the Summoner**
- Lycerl had never been a psyker of great ability but, after making a pact with the Daemon who judged them on the *Pyres of Sacrament*, he was imbued with powers far exceeding what he once wielded. Now a Master of Daemonic Magics, he wore power like a cloak and never put his feet on the ground again, instead floating a clear foot above it. He would never tell his brothers what deals were made with the denizens of the Warp, but they never pressed the matter for both knew that to do so would potentially fracture the bonds they'd made in blood.

**Vakarath**
- Former Captain of the 42nd Company, his body and mind utterly broken by the pain amd torture he suffered at the hands of those who had once been under his command, is now entombed within a dreadnought chassis and twisted by the powers of the Warp to become a Helbrute. When not released upon the battlefield to beat their enemies to a bloody pulp he is shackled in the darkest depths of *Darkness Incarnate* to howl in rage at his imprisonment and baying for the blood of his treacherous brothers.

## Warband Appearance

### Warband Colours

Their armour remains the midnight blue streaked with bolts of lightning and gold trim commonly worn by all of the VIII Legion

### Warband Badge

An 8 pointed star of Chaos with a skull in the centre

## Relations

### Allies

Sepktraal Cult of the Silent Forge (Dark Mechanicus)

Prophets of the Blighted Path (Word Bearers)

## Notable Quotes

### By the Bloodied Claws

"*Brothers, the Gods have answered and we are reborn! As children of Nostramo we hungered, as soldiers of the Imperium we hungered, as traitors and outcasts we hungered, but now we have glutted ourselves on blood and we shall never go hungry again.*"
— Navir Teskian (after taking control of the warband from Captain Vakarath)
"*That is twice you have said that now Word Bearer, I warn you now that if you call us Night Lords once more all the guns in the galaxy will not stop me from tearing out your throat.*"
— Draytos Saraan (addressing Captain Sorot of ths Prophets of the Blighted Path)
"*Brothers, I have been chosen, I have seen our futures and the glory that awaits us.*"
— Lycerl (upon ascending to become a true Chaos Sorcerer)
### About the Bloodied Claws

"*You claim to serve the Primordial Truth, a rare thing to hear from one of your... lineage. Well we shall see if you are truly one of the faithful but be warned, if you are simply lying to save your skin I rip the flesh from your still warm corpse and wear it as a cloak.*"
— Lord Naberus, Dark Apostle ,Prophets of the Blighted Path, Word Bearers

 Tzeentch Warbands
 Nurgle Warbands
 Slaanesh Warbands
 Chaos Undivided Warbands
 Malice Warbands
 Minor Chaos God-Aligned Warbands

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