Kiln of Humanity

The ***Kiln of Humanity*** is the flagship of the Ashen Crows Legion, one of the most powerful vessels to sail the stars under the banner of the Imperium. Unlike its sister ships however, the *Kiln of Humanity* was not a warship first, but a relief ship, Galvarian proclaiming that the vessel that carried his flag would be a savior foremost, its role as a destroy a permanent second.

## History

Beginning construction shortly after the *Herald of Destruction* was deemed a success and the Emperor’s decree each Primarch would be gifted one of the newly created Gloriana-class Battleships as their personal flagship, the vessel that would one day bear the name of *Kiln of Humanity* had one of the longest construction times of any of her sister ships, Galvarian mandating refits and rebuilds as the Mechanicum worked upon the ship within the Ring of Iron, ensuring the vessel matched his vision for what his flagship had to be.

When it was finally launched, Galvarian christened her, taking control of her instantly and striking out into the galaxy once more. At 24 kilometers in length, the *Kiln of Humanity* is amongst the largest vessels within the Imperium, matching the War Bears *Mordu*, and only being eclipsed by the Star Guardians *Herald of Destruction,* and the faux-Gloriana used by the Dragon Lords, *Furiar Imperator*. However unlike those three vessels, the *Kiln of Humanity* was lightly armed, still superior to any other vessel class within the Imperium, but compared to her sisters, had comparatively little bite.

Far from being a design flaw however, this was as intended by Galvarian, for its role was not simply a battleship, but a vessel for use in matters of peace and relief. Mounting some of the thickest armour and a staggering number of void shield arrays, the *Kiln of Humanity* was phenomenally well protected, able to take a truly astronomical level of punishment without compromising its integrity. Pushed through the void by extended engines to ensure this behemoth is not as ponderous a beast as it could be, the *Kiln of Humanity* is able to wade through the firepower of entire fleets without slowing, able to provide aid when requested.

To further augment this role, the *Kiln* has extended cargo bays, many of these fitted out for human occupation, the great vessel able to carry thousands of non-combatants in comfort, or at a push, tens of thousands held in poor conditions in the event of planetary evacuations or other, similar events. While many of his brothers would scoff at the thought of using such a powerful warship as a relief barge, Galvarian never wavered, never relented, and never allowed the *Kiln of Humanity* to become what he described as a ‘base weapon’.

## The *Nest*

More of a mobile laboratory or a dropship than a piece of one of the greatest warships known to mankind, the *Kiln of Humanity* had a final feature that set it apart from its sister vessels, and was the true reason the vessel had taken so much longer to finish than others of her kind. Possessing a duel bridge design, itself rare within the Imperium, the primary bridge of the *Kiln* was in actual fact a separate vessel, able to detach from the larger flagship at will, acting alone as the situation demanded.

In this role, it could act both as a dropship of frightening potency, able to ferry thousands of warriors to the surface of a world all but impervious to weapons that would destroy lighter dropships many times over, or as a mobile laboratory ship, Galvarian’s personal workspace. Indeed, numerous times during the Great Crusade, this vessel would be deployed to a xenos world, Ashen Crows being deployed from it to capture and return native xenos fauna and flora, or even live sentient specimens to the laboratory for further investigation and study.

Officially, this ship had no name, galvarian never deigning to provide it with one, simply referring to it as the bridge of the *Kiln of Humanity*. However, owing to Galvarian’s own commonplace occupation of the vessel, a nickname was soon assigned to the ship, and as with so many things, it soon stuck, and thus was the *Nest* given its name.

The final noteworthy part about the *Nest*, was its position as the theoretical base of operations for the Morathan Seekers of the XIth Legion, those warriors blessed by Galvarian with personal oversight and training. Their order provided the standing garrison for *Nest* at all times, rather than the Kiln Wardens who provided security for the rest of the flagship, and even though many more Seekers travelled with other legion deployments far from the Primarch, the *Nest* was always their truest home, where each of them had finalised their retraining, and where each had knelt before their lord, pledging a new Oath of Moment to the calling of the Morathan Seeker, reaffirming their loyalty to Galvarian, even above the legion itself...

 Technical Specifications

* Length: 24 Kilometers
* Role: Evacuation, Relief and Scientific Missions
* Date of Construction: M30.941