Korivin Conflict

**This article, Korivin Conflict, was written by Emperors Potato, Lord of Dawi and Spuds. It may be linked to any page without asking for the author's permission.**

## Campaign

### Conflict

System-wide conflict consisting of a series of battles across many worlds.

### Outcome

Stalemate until the War for Rika, also known as the War between Brothers

The **Korivin Conflict** was a war of very large scale containing battles not only with chaos, but with Xenos forces of great variety across the Korivin System. The Korivin System was very important to the Sanctus Sector, producing rare resources. When it came under attack a large amount of Red Crusaders forces were sent to relieve it. In the Sector the battle had already begun, both the Sisters of Battle and Imperial Guard pushed back to the shrine world Hopeshield. Like angels of the Emperor came the Red Crusaders, to bring salvation to the realm.

After fighting Orks, Necrons and the Forces of Chaos, they managed to take back a majority of the system with great effort. Almost the entire company of Simon had been annihilated, his annihilations allowing Word Bearers to get a foothold on the system. Then the campaign grinded to a halt shortly after a covert mission by Mortigar, when led by Galahad the Word Bearers repelled the attacks of the combined Imperial forces, even killing Turallion.

At this, the Imperial forces were forced to pull back, and the major Korivin War had ended. Now began the war for Rika, the world the Word Bearers were entrenched on. Many years after the Korivin conflict the war for Rika ended in a stalemate, settling the war for control of the system for the foreseeable future and restoring its supplies to the people of Sanctus.

## The Campaign

* **The Start of the Korivin Conflict (100.M42)** - Turallion Lurdisant was trying to make his way to the Korivin system to check on it. This system was a important part of the sub sector and sector of Sanctus, containing a forge world, a shrine world, and a hive and fortress world. A system of great import that was being swarmed by enemies of the Imperium. As he landed on Shrine World Hopeshield he saw chaotic beasts rampaging across the streets as sisters held what they did. Unable to continue without aiding them, he ordered his men to drop and give them support. With his strentgh added to theirs they were able to save a few streets, and stall the Daemon attack. He then met with the cannoness and governor. The system was reportedly in chaos. Ork pirates had arrived, Necrons awoke on the forge world, chaos was coming to the system with Word Bearers told to be on the way. Imperial forces had no chance. Even the ships they sent out to gather help had been intercepted by pirating eldar. Turallion swore his help in the defense, and sent a vox message to gather as many Red Crusaders as they could spare. Korivin was of vital importance, both to them and evidently to the enemy. Two would soon come, the Third and Fourth under Perciville and Simon, famed Grail Knights.

* **The Shields of Hope (101-102.M42)** - Perciville arrived first. He helped Turallion secure the shrine world, continuing the street drops and defenses all over the shrine worlds cities and shrines. The shrine world was bountiful, a former mountainous paradise, but its green lands had been despoiled, and a waterfall on a one mighty mountain now spewed chaos beasts due to the aftermath of some dark ritual. The marines had to stop it. Turallion and Perciville dropped forces to the waterfall. Twisted, chaotic versions of the planets animals attacked them, some rode by crazed cultists and followed by even more insane chaotic marines thirsty for blood. These hordes began to break the attack, causing Turallion to call for more Red Crusader reinforcements. Then the sisters of battle arrived. With the sister and reinforcements arriving they began to push the beasts back to the waterfall They saw the waterfall became black whenever it touched a stone, and the stone must be causing its corruption. Foolishly Perciville grabbed it. And its chaotic energies destroyed his arm, causing him to fall backwards into the waterfall. He was dragged out by Turallion. Perciville's arm was shriveled and black, armor and all. Turallion sliced it off with his power sword, at Perciville's beckon, so the corruption did not spread. A sister stepped forward. Against both grail knights urgings she grabbed the stone with a prayer on her lips, and was fine. She crushed it in her hands and ended the waterfalls corruption, astounding the marines that she could where Perciville couldn't. Perciville was slightly angered but was still impressed. No matter the cause or who took the stone and destroyed it Hopeshield was saved, and prepared to be used as a base to help Damat.

* **Simon's Honor (104-106.M42)**  - Simon arrived at the hive world, Riga. He helped set up defenses and preapred to sue steel rain tact4ics. Because a ork fleet was incoming, Roks powering at full force towards the planet. Planetary defenses did their best but could not hold back the Roks that tumbled into the planet over and over, through day and through night, mercilessly barraging the city and unleashing. hordes of Orks. Simon was told the other Red CRusaders would still come to enforce him later, and thus swore to hold out as long as possible. He held brave defenses of every city he could expend his marines to, but city after city fell and defense after defense failed. It became evident that they had no hope of keeping the entire planet. He withdrew his forces to the capitol and its surrounding area, stationing his marines In orbit to drop when needed. When the Ork horde sped to the city, or dropped there by Roks his Red Crusaders landed. The defenses were pushed back to the city center. And they had what would surely be their last stand. Simon organized his men around the statue of the Emperor, believing it would be glorious. And it was for the start, Orks crashed against the marines and the planets defenses, and they even began to fail against the steel wall of men the Imperium held. But then something terrible happened. The Word Bearers arrived in the system. And not just them, but night lords to. And they both chose to drop on Emperors Square. The emerging slaughter was the most horrible Simon had ever seen, he watched hundreds of yeares of training die before him as his marines died to vicious chaos marines, or carved with reckelss abandon by careless orks. The horror of watching his men died led to him doing something he never thought he would ever do. Call for a Red Crusader Retreat, abandoning the other Imperial forces. 7 Red Crusaders, half of the last of his original 50 followed him. The others were disgusted at his call and stayed, fought and died. He and his men escaped on a small vessel to report to Turallion...but they knew there fate. They were shamed. Turallion, leader of the campaign sent them back to Sanctus. They had no fighting force, and were to become shamed.

* **The battle of Helkiln (105-106.M42)**  - Turallion saw that forge world Ariag was under attack. He sent Perciville to relieve the fortress world while he took his own men to the forge world. The mechanicus was fighting bravely against Necrons, but they surely couldn't last to long as necrons erupted all throughout the world. Turallion landed in the mechanical labyrinth that was its capital and contacted its tech priests. He met with a council of the most influential, the generals in the current war and discussed strategy. Necrons wouldn't stop attacking the heart of the worlds forges, a city called Helkiln. Helkiln had to be held at all cost, because it had a Titan being repaired within. Something the necrons could not be allowed to take. The space marines needed to aid them in protecting Helkiln when the Necrons attacked again. The necrons attacked soon indeed, legions of mechanical beasts descending on the city and marching with no care for personal safety, bent completely to the will of their lord. Necron Lord Almud the Magnificent. Almud expected space marines, and when drop pods attacked his rear he was prepared. Out from the scared iron and sand covered ground previously hidden Necron forces attacked, the space marines had not expected this and thus were taken off guard. Quick rearrangement of orbital drops was held within the marines vessel and more reinforcements were deployed. The necrons proved to be no match to assault marines, but the force was considerably weaker then it should have been and they didn't think that they could continue pushing the main Necron army on their own. They pulled out to augment the main Mechanicus force instead of push that flank, as they had not the numbers. They landed once more near the Mechanicus stand on the cities borders, and watched the might of the Imperium's technology drive back the beasts. But the necrons were many, and they were not. They began to be pushed back, and it was said even that so confident were the necrons in victory that Almud would soon appear. And appear he did, leading his hordes with staff in hand towards the city, and breaking through it. Times were dire for the defenders who kept losing street by street, unable to halt the Necrons organized advance. Turallion had a message. The titan was near activation status. He planted his chapters banner in the ground and declared that they would make their stand on that spot, not telling his men of the titan, simply trusting they would have faith. As they were in a moment of respite, all of the men kneeled and prayed to the Imperator, still kneeling when Necrons appeared around the street. They guarded the passage to the Titan. At Turallions orders they drew bolters and opened fire, shooting down many necrons before melee could begin. After another hour of fighting echoing metal noises sounded from nearby, and the titan awoke. And so, the battle turned. The titan stomped through the streets, and drove out the necrons. Together with the fast cavalry of the Mechanicum it rode down retreating necrons, but sadly was not able to catch Almud who escaped. Helkiln was saved. But, the marines had to be on the move. They already made plans with the mechanicum for a assault on the Necrons, a counterattack to win back the planet. Turallion swore by the emperor, it would be so.

* **Damat War (105-107.M42)**  - Perciville arrived on fortress world Damat with his forces, ready to fight anything. He heard it was being raided by dark eldar and orks, who would swoop in under cover of night and attack before dissapearing back into the shadows. Or in the Orks case simply landing in a rok and fighting till they die. Perciville arrived. He saw many battles taking place, brave guardsmen holding back hordes of Orks at a river. He landed and went to defend them. together with the imperial guard they drove back the Orks who attacked the river, as his other marines were deployed to the capital city Harperk. At Harperk they were under attack by both dark eldar and Orks, the Dark Eldar scattered at the sight of space marines leaving only the Orks to be rightfully purged. The enemy forces became less and less bold as Red Crusaders established themselves on the world. They had a series of battles across the world, every raid being met with a counter attack by the forces of the Imperium. but the greatest challenge and threat to the worlds was about to come when the main Ork fleet arrived. The orks barreled into the world, landing near the same river they had fought on before. Thousands of angry orks came rushing out of the ships doors and onto trucks, rushing out towards the nearest city. The Red Rusaders were to late to respond to the threat and the city fell to Orks, which only fed there WAAAGH even more. Warboss Skrag who had lead the assault called more and more until fortresses began to be overwhelmed by sheer strength in numbers. The Red Crusaders could do little, as the horde had grown to reach great size they could tak3e on multiple fortresses at once. It made the Eldar yet bolder to, and the raids began to happen once more. The Red Crusaders didn't know what to do in this situation as the world fell. They thought finding a way to lure the Eldar and Orks into a battle would possibly make a good opening for red Crusaders to attack and slay some of the hordes. But how? Eldar have to much guille and cunning to fall into a trap such as that. Then they had a idea, marines on speeders rode out to the orks, then sped towards the city of Elskar which faced major eldar assauts. The orks gave chase, and in the ruins of the city they were led to the Eldari. A massive battle broke out, and as it did Red Crusaders attacked from the buildings, slaying both sides of the battle until so few were left they could no longer find each other within the city and were cut down. The battle continued on the world but the hordes were thinned. Perciville called for help, but the other forces under Turallion were still occupied. He would have to do it himself.

* **Salvation of the Forge World (106-109.M42)**  - The war after Helkiln was just as brutal as that pivotal battle. Necrons wouldn't stop across the world and were lead on by their dark master. Almud continued planning attacks, but now had to be careful due to the Titan that would destroy his forces anytime he neared it. Thus, the battle escalated. The necrons used increasingly powerful devices against the Imperial forces. The escalation made it vastly more difficult for the Imperium to defend the forge word and they had to rely on the titan, Hectorios to win many battles. Turallion was tired of it. he was a tactician, and would act as such., He would convince the titan and guardsmen to go to the base of the Necrons to keep their attention while he would repulse the attacks on all of the cities. He had a meeting, and convinced them to do so. Hectorios, with legions of guardsmen beneath him attacked the necrons home monolith, and the necrons fought back viciously. Series of explosions of red and green could be seen from miles away as Turallion made his move. Necron assaults were beginning to dissipate due to them being called back to the monolith. He came to the besieged cities and ambushed and killed the necron besiegers in devastating combat, but with little damage to the cities. Meanwhile the sheer number of guard and the prescence of their war machine began to topple necron defenses in the monolith as Turallion defended the cities, proving why he was known as Turallion the Paladin. Turallion successfully relieved many cities and by that point most necron forces had returned to the monolith as the situation there was quite dire. The new necron arrivals began tot urn the tide of the battle as Imperial forces began getting pushed back and the titan began taking heavy damage. This was put to a stop however at the glorious, somewhat surprising arrival of the Red Crusaders who descended from the sky like bloody angels. They tore a apart Necron reinforcements and the battle began rapidly swinging between the forces of the necrons and the forces of man, neither gaining the upper hand until Turallion broke into the monolith with his veterans and began purging everything within. Then, he met Almud. They had a powerful duel ion the inside of the monolith, ending with him killing the Necron lord. After this the battle was easily won and the necron threat permanently defeated on the forge world. Another planet had at great pain been regained for the Imperium, and would serve to help the reclamation of the other b rave planets in the besieged system in the surely plentiful battle to come in the Kurivan campaign.

* **Mortigar VS Chaos (107-108.M42)**  - Warfare in the system descended further and further into chaos as the sheer amount of enemy forces overcame imperial defenses. Chief amongst these threats was the encroaching traitor legions. Word Bearers attacked more planets after they conquered Riga, and nobody was able to breach the world. Mortigar decided it would be him. Taking a team of elite scout snipers (Elite as a scout could be) he decided that he would find and slay the Word Bearers leader, and cause as much havoc as he could. They leaders plotted dark schemes in what was once the governors palace, now ruined and defiled. After praying for luck and safety Mortigar led a squad of scouts into it. They broke into a ventilation system they had been given maps to by the old governor, and crawled through it to where the leader of the Word Bearers should be. They made it. They found him hunched over a table full of maps with Word Bearers guarding what would be the standard door. Mortigar had the scouts quickly shoot the guards in the back of the head, and jumped down Crozius in hand to take out the Word Bearers leader. It was almost as if the traitor recognized him. Mortigar smashed him against the table, shattering his ribcage with the fury of the blow and nearly shattered his skull after his next strike. He knocked him out with the back of the crozius and told the scouts he was dead, when in reality the traitor was merely knocked out. He told the scouts to leave while he finished up with his business, and the scouts wouldn't think a second about disobeying a order from Chaplain Mortigar. They began leaving the perimeters of the building as Mortigar began to find a different way out. He couldn't let the scouts see what he was doing, they could find it suspicious. He picked up the Word Bearers, who he figured out was Lord Darus Dumid, and left the room. Many Word Bearers saw him as he slowly marched through the hall but he quickly dispatched them with his storm bolter. He had a idea, he could steal a ship. He remembered where the dock was and fought his way to it, taking many injuries. But his zeal kept him moving. He made it to the dock, stole a ship, and used its servitor pilots to the best of his ability and flew off in the broken, chaotic old thunderhawk. He took it back to his ship where it was destroyed, and secretly took the Word Bearers to his secret Sanctum. he had some plans for this one. He locked him onto a table, like they once did to him. And he told this Word Bearers..."Your going to answer all of my questions."

* **The End of the War (110-113.M42)** The great war in Korivin was drawing to a close as with a few decisive battles and wars. Now as the time for the full power of the emperor to descend on the fallen world Riga, they had to save it from the Word Bearers. Then, they would have won the war for the system. Turallion engaged the last of the Ork freebooter fleet above Hopeshield, at the end of the epic battle in orbit the last of the ork tribes in the system had been extinguished by the great hand of Turallion. In fact, the strength of Turallion was starting to become more and more noted, some declaring that he would be the next Aengius, a phrase that Aengius found quite funny when he was told. Aengius had been their during the campaign, merely steering it in the right direction and sometimes taking part in battles, sometimes being a battle all on his own and destroying small armies by himself. He planned with Turallion the best way to attack Riga. As they prepared the siege, a new Word Bearers ship came out of orbit. Reinforcements. The Imperial forces failed to break it and it landed on Riga, deploying more chaotic forces. Turallion, not wanting to wait any longer for what would surely be a day long remembered in the history of the Korivin conflict told the guard it was time for them to deploy. Backed up by the finest sisters of hopeshield they did so, descended and landed to fight the chaotic forces in the streets, hab blocks and fields of Riga. As they battled the Space marine began orbital assaults on area of no importance. Armies of heretics collided with those of the guard, but the heretics had something the guard didn't at the moment, and that is space marines. The guard forces were forced to retreat, the sisters holding the line alone. This was not as planned. What's worse, a chaos commander was singled out as being the strongest of the enemy forces, crushing them with a huge mace. And that his skills in battle were matched only by his strategic acumen. The red crusaders decided that it was at long last time for them to deploy. They came to support the retreating guard while some deployed to where they believed the Word Bearers were gathering in their greatest numbers, after softening it up with orbital missiles. The fighting was brutal, but the Red Crusaders had prepared for it. They slaughtered the Word Bearers, only small doubt in their minds for why besieging the world had been so easy. no chaotic navy forces had engaged them above. They would soon learn the true purpose of the war. The dark machinations of the man formerly known as Galahad. The monster of a marine who the guards had feared arrived at where the Red Crusaders engaged the Word Bearers, led bravely by Turallion and Mortigar. He single handedly began turning the battle, bashing his way towards Turallion. Turallion saw him, and quickly recognized him. He figured he could beat him, and charged the formerly perfect knight. This pleased Galahad. Turallion was on the floor, his armor crushed in by a mace within seconds. Turallion did one last desperate swipe up, slicing through the face of the helmet of the chaos lord. Turallion was shocked to see the twisted and scared face of Galahad. It was the last thing he saw. A roar broke through the Word Bearers as they victoriously saw Turallion die, the mace lodged into his once proud helmet. Mortigar and perciville were shocked. Then Aengius arrived. He had been fighting with the guard to cover their retreat though he found it dishonorable, but had deemed this now needed his help more then them. Like a comet his landing caused a thick dust to spread. Under this dust the Red Crusader's began to regroup as Aengius protected them, backing up to a ruined hab block at their backs. With Aengius in front, they held out as long as they could until the Word Bearers simply stopped coming. There were very few left. Meanwhie those that had deployed elsewhere were mostly fine. And thus was the battle of Hive City Lutan. the Red Crusader's, having saved the guard left the world. Mprtigar and Perciville declared that they would try again soon, and would stay in the system. However the first Korivin Conflict was...unsure. The Word Bearers held on to Riga, but the other worlds were secure. Aengius went to take repairs as he had taken damage during the fight, and the once proud and mighty Turallion was dead, killed near easily by a man that they did not know had once been their master. Much mourning was had for Turallion.. They sent a small ship to Sanctus to tell of this news, and that they would stay at Korivin until they had won Riga. Mortigar swore it by the memory of Turallion, as did Perciville, as did Aengius. By the Emperor it would be done.

### Fall of Rika

A few years after the Korivin conflict officially came to end in a stalemate between Imperial and chaos forces the Space Marines continued to fight the Word Bearers for control of Rika. The main campaign for the system was over but the chaos forces still remained in strength, causing the war for Rika to begin, also known as the war between brothers. The campaign settled the war for Korivin, though it was notable that it might not have been won if Galahad had staid in the system.

* **The War between Brothers (123-127.M42)** - The generals of the Korivin war were still there. They had been fighting the Word Bearers in a nd around the system for years, but never making any gains even as their zeal stopped them from leaving the system. They had to reclaim the world. Riga was under the control of dark forces, led by their grand general. They set5n scouts to figure out weaknesses of the world. The scouts did not return. Mortigar and Perciville tried to plan some kind of assault but were constantly attacked by chaos, and had trouble planning. Every day Riga seemed to get more and more corrupt, and beyond saving. Perciville pushed to destroy the world by Exterminatus when they could clear a path to it. It was mostly agreed on, as they could not possibly cleanse it, but they were to stubborn to leave it under chaos, even to annihilate it they first had to destroy its protective fleet. They engaged it once more, using fleets of all the Imperial forces in the system. But the chaos forces wouldn't pull back and the battle lasted a long time. A smaller chaotic vessel rammed into ships like those of the guardsmen, and then that ship would go down. The ship had Galahad in it, and he was moving ship to ship with is men to slaughter guard and sisters. But the Imperial forces made it through and broke the blockade, the small chaos ship nowhere to be seen. Then, the marines noticed something. Their cyclonic missiles were all either broken or missing. They could not destroy the world. After a tense meeting it was decided that their was no way they could pull back now, and assaulted the world. Battle broke out all around the chaotic world, Marines sisters and Guardsmen all assailing it at different points, but even their great numbers were faced by a seemingly equal amount of Chaos. Heretics and marines. Perciville was a best friend of Galahad, they had adventured together when younger and fought many campaigns by each others side. And now, Galahad had slain Perciville's battle brother. of course, nobody knew it was Galahad save Perciville. He knew Galahad's fighting style, and realized who it was as soon as he appeared. And Perciville declared whoe ever he was now could not b e allowed to live. They met in the ruins of a imperial chapter and without a word or unneeded movement they charged each other with fervor. And thus began one of the greatest duels in the Red Crusaders history. Harkening back to the duel of Marchise and Aengius of many years past, the two former brothers could predict each others moves, making the battle a seemingly endless line of parries and blocks. Perciville began to get more and more desperate. his men were dying, and every minute he spent fighting was a minute away from commanding as he should. Galahad did not care, he barely showed signs of tiring. HIs face was completely hidden by his black mask, a corruption of the knight like masks commonly used by Red Crusaders. Galahad unleashed dark sorcery and threw Perciville across the room, then charged him once more and they continued the fight. In fact, nobody won. The fight ended when the wall collapsed onto Perciville from artillery, and Galahad walked away to continue the fight elsewhere. His objective was not to kill the armies, but to duel and slay the rulers of the Red Crusaders. He figured even if Perciville lived he could defeat him later. The war for the planet continued, and they began winning. All of a sudden it became evident they were wining due to the lack of Galahad. He had left the system...for a then unknown cause. Near the end of the war Perciville was recovered and healed, and he shared with Mortigar and the others the identity of the black knight. And then he explained why Galahad had left. He believed Perciville dead, and was likely off to kill more heroes.

## Effect

The effect of the Korivin Conflict and the War for Rika was great. The system was saved of course, meaning that resources it had given before began to be exported once m ore to the rest of the Sanctus Sector. But it came at a great cost. Turallion was dead. As was a large amount of the Red Crusader forces sent and a majority of one of the companies, and that's not even mentioning the great casualties suffered by the Guard and Sisters of Battle. The Red Crusaders realized what they were facing in this war, who the black knight was. Their former master, Galahad himself. And they found Galahad's singular goal. To slaughter the Red Crusaders, specifically their heroes. Galahad desired to duel every one of their strongest warriors to the death, and he was a perpetual, so who could stop him? After winning Rika, the Red Crusaders returned to Sanctus to be replenished by Primaris, further intrenching this new type of marine into the Red Crusaders and to prepare for the Red Crusade