Endrabian Heresy

The **Endrabian Heresy** was a series of calamities that struck several Sectors of Segmentum Pacificus in 157.M42. Initially a localized rebellion against Adeptus Arbites' authorities on the industrial world of Endrabios Gamma, the Heresy ultimately resulted in the loss of ninety-nine star systems to the Lord of Change, Gra'ndruz the Fleshweaver, and its vassal Chaos forces, including the Chaos Space Marines of the Ebon Talons.

A grim echo of the Badab War, the Heresy largely consisted of a fratricidal war between imperial forces, many of which ultimately turned Renegade or Traitor. Both Xenos and Chaos warbands involved themselves on one or both sides of the conflict, particularly Craftworld (Add Name) and Drukari, Orks of WAAAGH! Ugskraga, the Fleshweaver's Host, Hive Fleet Kronos, and the Villsid Skinsmen.

## Background

Following the destruction of Cadia during the 13th Black Crusade two years prior, in 001.M42 the Noctis Aeterna swept across the Imperium, completely blocking the Astronomican and rendering warp travel longer than a handful of lightyears impossible. The Great Rift fell across the galaxy, cutting off travel, communication, and thus imperial authority. The northwest portion of the Segmentum Pacificus lay across the Great Rift in the Imperium Nihilus, cut off from the regional capital of Hyderabad. These areas were frequently subject to incursions by Orkish and Chaos forces.

As the majority of the Imperium’s armed forces committed themselves to the Indomitus Crusade, localized defense fell increasingly on the retinues of feudal lords, underequipped PDF formations, and armed forces aligned to strains of the imperial bureaucracy. Food, munitions, and needed medicines were in short supply, much of the Segment’s reserves having been tithed to the crusaders. Unrest was common. Bread riots and religious fervor gripped many urban areas throughout the Segmentum, and in order to contain the emergency many planetary governors subordinated their PDF regiments to local Adeptus Arbites authorities. They crushed all rebellion with brutal efficiency.

In 089.M42, the forces of Waagh! Ugskraga invaded imperial space. Consisting of over one trillion Boyz, Ugskraga’s armada was classified by the Departmento Munitorum as a Waagh! of only moderate size. Nonetheless, the overstretched imperial forces of the region were not able to effectively resist, and the Waaagh! landed on over two hundred worlds, disgorging Orkish spores that continue to spawn Boyz to this day.

Waaagh! Ugskraga invaded Endrabios Gamma in 134.M42, and within seven months had overrun 40% of the planet’s surface. Their advance was halted by the 53rd Pacificus Regiment of the Imperial Guard and the Order of the Grieving Lady of the Sisters of Battle, who engaged the Orks in a grinding war of attrition. A rough stalemate continued until 147.M42 when the war interrupted a promised shipment of blessed candlewax to the Rogue Trader Jonas Robert-Chou. Using bribery and blackmail, the Rogue Trader was able to divert a fraction of the Indomitus Crusade to Endrabios Gamma under false pretences.

The diverted Crusading forces landed on Endrabios Gamma in 153.M2, including elements of the Sanguine Host, Mentors, and Emperor’s Talons Space Marine Chapters. The Sanguine Host was led by Captain Rafael Tamill, while the Emperor’s Talons were led by Captain Antanic Qex.

## Sowing of the Heresy

By 157.M2, the Crusaders and the Astra Militarum had confined the Orks to two of Endrabios’ seven continents. As Imperial Authorities regrouped to plan the next campaign against the Ork infestation, the planetary Adeptus Arbites began to shift from a war footing to their traditional duties of enforcing the Emperor's peace. This period of mass rebellion was particularly embarrassing and enraging for the Arbites, and they moved swiftly to reassert their authority.

In 3.157.M2, Justicar Ratibos Frake declared from the planetary capital that the Hive City of Sepulchre Tertius was guilty of treason for failure to sufficiently aid the war effort. Arms production in the Hive had lowered by 38% year over year, while the population in the Sepulchre’s mid-levels had fallen by 56% due to famine, plague, and the liquidation of striking workers by Frake’s Arbites. The Justicar declared that, as the Hive had not fulfilled its Tithe duties amidst the holy struggle against the Xenos infestation, they had in turn forsaken the right to exist amidst the Emperor’s realm. Thus, he sentenced the entirety of the Hive to immolation.

Less than an hour after Frake’s declaration, what little remained of the Ecclesiarchy on Endrabios Gamma, backed by the might of the Order of the Grieving Lady, contacted the Arbites as they marched on Tertius to demand a stay of execution. A massive shrine to Saint Andrew the Torchbearer stood in the center of Sepulchre Tertius. As the Shrine held not only the blessed Saint’s uncorrupted body, but many other minor holy artifacts, the Ecclesiarchy demanded that the Arbites give them three weeks to remove the Shrine from Tertius before its heretical inhabitants were liquidated. The Arbites refused, and as their columns grew closer to the Sepulchre the Ecclesiarchy sent out a call to arms to defend the Shrine, and by proxy the condemned city.

The Crusader Space Marine forces, as the strongest military formations remaining on the planet, were thrust into a kingmaker position. While the Sisters of Battle were naturally aligned with the Ecclesiarchy, the Imperial Guard was unable to intervene, both due to the slaughter of many of its personnel by the Orks and ongoing containment efforts across the Greenskin front.

The Endrabian Heresy began here, as the Space Marines split between the two sides, their ultimate loyalty to the Emperor drawing them into differing interpretations of his holy will.

The notably pious Emperor’s Talons, who were amidst a penitence crusade for their responsibility for the tragedy on Kastia Delta, declared for the Ecclesiarchy. The small detachment of Mentors who had embedded themselves with the Talons joined as well. However, the Sanguinary Brotherhood, who are known to seek justice and the punishment of those who disobey the Emperor’s will, declared for Frake’s Arbites.

## First Battles of the Heresy

As the cobbled-together Adeptus Arbites column traversed the bloodsoaked wastelands between Sepulchre Primus and Tertius, they received a crackling vox transmission from Captain Antanic demanding they turn back. The Arbites refused, denouncing the Talons as heretics, and in less than a minute the first engagement of the Heresy began.

The Emperor’s Talons descended from all sides, firing from squealing motorbikes and roaring Land Raiders while company Veterans plunged into the formation’s heart on whining jump packs. While the rank and file assaulted the flanks and rear of the unprepared formation, Lieutenant Talas led the chapter’s Vanguard Veterans in an attempt to capture Ratibos Frake. The eleven veterans landed amidst the roar of lasgun fire, shrugging off hits from the Arbites' weapons with ease. They plunged into the army’s command vehicle, chainswords whirring-

Only to discover that Justicar Frake was not in command. Lieutenant Talas and his men arrested the leader of the army, a Judge, and demanded he order his men to return to their barracks. Only as he refused did the Space Marines hear the shrill buzz of incoming aircraft.