Ankhetekh Dynasty

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The **Ankhetekh Dynasty** is a Necron Dynasty that is newly-awoken from their aeons-long slumber and is with the Sautekh Dynasty one of the most military-minded dynasties of the entire species. Their domain is located on the Eastern Fringe and exists within the shadow of the mighty Sautekh, but they are not subservient to the much larger Dynasty, the Ankhetekh have no masters save their own Lords and will fight to destruction to ensure this continues. Conquerors and exterminators, the Ankhetekh have always existed on the outskirts of the Necron Race, even when they were creatures of flesh and blood. They possess a reputation as planet killers and acted as the solar executioners of the War in Heaven under orders of the Silent King, who often utilised this ruthless dynasty to exterminate a race or planet that proved especially defiant. During the battles following the War in Heaven the Ankhetekh Dynasty were especially destructive as they were finally unleashed against those who had wronged them.

## History

The Ankhetekh Dynasty like all necrons were once creatures of flesh and blood, part of a galaxy spanning empire, their species was known as the Necrontyr, a short lived people, they spread out from their homeworld in slow moving stasis crypts, colonising much of the Galaxy and founding many Dynasties as they went, the Ankhetekh among them. Even at this early stage the Ankhetekh were known for their bloodthirsty nature and were used by the ruling Triach of the Necrontyr as shock troops and planet killers, their lives spent in thousands of wars. As the Necrontyr expanded ever outward, inevitably the bonds that had bound them began to fray as the Dynasties struck out on their own, soon their entire race was engaged in all-out internecine conflicts known to Necrontyr history as the "Wars of Secession." The Ankhetekh broke from the Necrontyr, fighting many battles during this time as they attempted to expand their domain at the cost of rival Dynasties

In order to end this all-consuming conflict the Triach engineered a war against a common foe, an ancient reptilian race known as the Old Ones, the Necrontyr had first encountered the Old Ones as they had spread across the galaxy, whereas the Necrontyr lived short and uncertain lives, the Old Ones had long ago mastered the secrets of immortality, a secret they refused to share. Such a war was simplicity itself to justify, for the Necrontyr had ever rankled at the Old Ones' refusal to share these secrets of eternal life. So did the Triarch declare war on the Old Ones.

At the same time, they offered amnesty to any secessionist dynasties who willingly returned to the fold. Thus lured by the spoils of victory and the promise of immortality, the separatist Necrontyr realms abandoned their Wars of Secession and the War in Heaven began, it was a war the Necrontyr lost.

Forced back to their Homeworld within the Halo Stars the Necrontyr spent many millennia seething at their failure, the Ankhetekh themselves fumed at losing all they had bled and died for, the Necrontyr's anger slowly transforming into an utter hatred towards all other forms of intelligent life and an implacable determination to avenge themselves upon their seemingly invincible enemies. Thus did a second War of Succession begin, a war more destructive than those that come before. Had it not been for a chance encounter the Necrontyr would have torn themselves apart for they had discovered a new race of godlike energy beings known as the C'tan, how the Necrontyr communicated with these beings is unknown but communicate they did, the power of these star-born creatures was incredible, the raw energy of the stars made animate, and the Necrontyr called them the C'tan or "Star Gods" in their own tongue, some Necrontyr actively sought the C'tan's favour and oversaw the forging of physical shells for the C'tan to occupy, cast from the incredible living metal called necrodermis. Thus clad, the C'tan took the physical shapes of the Necrontyr's half-forgotten ancient gods, hiding their own desires beneath cloaks of obsequious subservience. For the Necrontyr these were the gods they had worshipped many years before and great temples were built for them, some Necrontyr worshiped Mag'ladroth the Void Dragon, others Nyadra'zatha the Burning One, the Ankhetekh, for their part came to worship both Kalugura, Lord of Destruction and Llandu'gor, the Flayer, seeing in them the means to return the greatness.

Yet this chance would ultimately doom the entire Necrontyr race for one of the C'tan came before the Silent King, known among it's own kind as the Deceiver, it spoke of a war, fought long before the birth of the Necrontyr, between the C'tan and the Old Ones. It was a war, he said, that the C'tan had lost. The Deciever promised the Silent King a means to strike back at the Old Ones, to claim what was rightfully theirs, it offered Immortality. For many long months the Silent King debated with his Triach and finally came to a decision, he agreed to the Decievers proposition, their diseased flesh would be replaced with bodies made of the same living metal as the C'tan's. The Necrontyr's discarded organic husks would be consumed and their cold, metal forms would then be free to pursue their great vengeance against the Old Ones and the rest of a hateful universe, freed forever from the weaknesses of their hated flesh. To the Ankhetekh and many other's the biotransference was a betrayal of all they had stood for, a deep hatred of the C'tan and the Silent King himself burned within them, many dissented and for a time it looked like a third War of Succession would be fought but in the end, when faced with death they all agreed and so one by one the Necrontyr walked into the bio-furnace's. What blasphemous procedures the Necrontyr were subjected to within the raging bio-furnaces cannot be known, but certainly, each was stripped of flesh and of soul, their body replaced by a shell of living metal animated by what remained of their guttering self. Above each furnace swooped and dove the ethereal true-forms of the C'tan as they glutted themselves on the cast off spiritual detritus and life energy of an entire species; growing ever stronger.

It was only when the Silent King himself emerged from the bio-transference process and looked upon what had become of his people that he saw the awful truth of the pact he had made. As Szarekh watched the C'tan feast on the life essence of his people, he realised the terrible depth of his mistake. With great sorrow the Silent King beheld the fate he had brought upon his people: the Necrontyr were but a memory, and the soulless, undying Necrons had been reborn in their place.

Anger welled within him as he realised he had been betrayed but his anger cooled, now was not the time for vengeance, that would come later, right now there were others to fight. Renewed by their devouring of the life energies of an entire species, the C'tan were now unstoppable, and with the legions of the Necrons marching in their wake, the Old Ones were doomed. Only one thing truly remained of the old Necrontyr -- their burning hatred for all the other living, intelligent species of the universe.

Legions of the undying living metal warriors set out into the galaxy in their Tomb Ships and the stars burned in their wake. The Old Ones' mastery of the Warp was now countered by the C'tan's supremacy over the physical universe, and the ancient enemies of the Necrons suffered greatly in the interstellar slaughter that followed. The Ankhetekh played a pivotal role in many of the battles fought during the War in Heaven, their violent nature barely tempered by biotransference, legion after legion of the Ankhetekh marched to war at the Silent Kings command but their allegiance was illusionary, where once they were staunch supporters of the Silent King, his betrayal had embedded within them a hatred of him that surpassed even their hatred of the C'tan, only the Kings Command Protocols kept them in line.

With the C'tan and the Necrons fighting as one, the Old Ones were now doomed to defeat. Glutted on the life force of the Necrontyr, the empowered C'tan were nigh unstoppable and unleashed forces beyond comprehension. Planets were razed, suns extinguished and whole star systems devoured by black holes called into being by the reality-warping powers of the Star Gods. Necron legions assailed the Old Ones in every corner of the galaxy. They brought under siege the fortresses of the Old Ones' many allies amongst the younger intelligent races of the galaxy, harvesting the life force of the defenders to feed their voracious C'tan masters. In the final years of the War in Heaven the Necrons finally gained access to the Old Ones webway, the C'tan known as Nyadra'zath, the Burning One, had long desired to carry his eldritch fires into that space beyond space, and so showed the Necrons how to breach its boundaries. In the wake of these victories, the C'tan and their undying Necron servants now dominated the galaxy. The last planetary bastions of the Old Ones were besieged and the intelligent races they had once nurtured became cattle for the obscene hunger of the C'tan.

For unknown reasons, but probably because their individual hungers for mortal life energies knew no bounds, the C'tan ultimately began to fight amongst themselves for both sport and out of spite as they unleashed destructive forces beyond mortal comprehension. In the course of the C'tan's struggle against one another, destruction on a colossal scale was unleashed. New cities were built by the efforts of millions and then smashed down once more. As the "red harvests" of the C'tan and their Necron servants grew thin, C'tan eventually devoured C'tan, until only a few were left in the universe and they competed amongst themselves for a long age.

The Old Ones, desperate in the face of total defeat crafted even more psychically attuned races, the Aeldari, the Jokereo and the Krork and they once again battled the Necrons and their C'tan masters. But this meddling in the Warp brought forth eldritch horrors such as the Enslavers, the final defeat of the Old Ones was at hand.

The Necrons now controlled every part of the Galaxy but the anger the Silent King felt millennia ago still burned within him, throughout the final days of the War in Heaven he had bided his time until the C'tan could prove vulnerable, with the total defeat of the Old Ones that time had come. The C'tan didn't realise the danger until it as too late, impossibly powerful weapons were brought to bear but the C'tan had existed since the beginning of the galaxy and proved impossible to truly destroy, instead each was shattered into thousands of shards and imprisoned within mighty tesserect vaults, none fought harder during this time than the Ankhetekh, the anger that they had felt for many years finally let loose, they unleashed weapons of such terrible potency that the very stars themselves were destroyed, on the planet Ghostgora within their domain they shattered the C'tan Kalugura into untold numbers of shards.

Victory was theirs but millions of Necrons were dead but they were finally in control of their own destiny once more. But the time of the Necrons had passed, for now. The Necrons would allow the Enslavers to take what was left of the sentient life, in time more races would evolve and the Necrons would be there. So it was that the Silent King ordered the remaining Necron cities to be transformed into great tomb complexes threaded with stasis-crypts. The Silent King's final command to his people was that they must sleep for the equivalent of 60 million standard years but awake ready to rebuild all that they had lost, to restore the Necron dynasties to their former glory.

This was the Silent King's final order, and as the last Tomb World sealed its subterranean vaults, Szarekh destroyed the command protocols by which he had controlled his people for so long, for he had failed them utterly. Without a backward glance, Szarekh, the last of the Silent Kings of the Triarch, took ship into the starless void of intergalactic space, there to find whatever measure of solace or penance he could.

And now the Great Sleep is ending and the Necrons have awakened and Galaxy will tremble.

### Time Of Awakening

The Great Sleep lasted for more than 60 million years, during this time many dynasties were lost, destroyed by natural occurrences or the machinations of others and even for those that through luck or design managed to survive the aeons the awakening was not all as they had hoped. Not all dynasties awoke at the same time and those that did found that the awakening was slow and not always successful, some retained their memories and personality but for most, the long years had robbed them of all that they once were, becoming mindless automata. One of the hidden tyrannies of bio-transference was how it entrenched the gulf between the rulers and the ruled, for there were not enough resources to provide all Necrontyr with living metal bodies that possessed the density of engrammatic pathways required to retain the full gamut of personality and awareness. Thus, the very finest necrodermis bodies went to those individuals of the highest rank within Necrontyr society: the phaerons and Overlords, their Crypteks and Nemesors. For the professional soldiery, the merely adequate was deemed appropriate. As for the common people, they received that which remained: comparatively crude mechanical bodies that were little more than lobotomised prisons for their minds. The Ankhetekh Dynasty itself began to awaken some time in the aftermath of the Great Eye opening, brought to awakening by ancient AI Nodal Command programs, the Ankhetekh had suffered greatly during the War in Heaven, it's legions had been devastated by the battles and when they entered the Great Sleep they were a shadow of their former power and during the many years that passed that power was further eroded. Despite this the Silent Kings decision to destroy his Command Modules was the beginning of a new era for the Ankhetekh, no more would their lives be wasted by those who did not care, the Silent King was no longer their master, now their destiny would be in their hands. They awoke to a very different Galaxy, the Aeldari were still present though much reduced in power and the Krork still existed, albeit much different to those the Ankhetekh knew, the dominant force within the Galaxy were creatures that called themselves Mankind.

The first confirmed encounter with the Ankhetekh Dynasty occurred in the Imperial year 099.M42 when a combined force of the Adeptus Mechanicus and the Astra Millitarum was annihilated on the planet Ghostgora. Ghostgora had been claimed by the Adeptus Mechanicus sometime in early M42 when they had inadvertently stumbled across Ghorstgora as they moved to investigate the worlds on the edge of the Tau Empire in the aftermath of the Great Eye opening. The Mechanicus had established a small relay beacon on the world but it's population had never exceeded 50 as a result of it's hostile climate for Ghostgora is a desert world, it's red sands stretch as far as the eye can see and with very little natural resources, contact had been maintained but it was intermittent and all contact was lost early in 098.M42. A large force from Malchaasran's Forge was sent to the system aboard the Endeavour-class Light Cruiser Hand of Iron, rendezvousing with with 357th Valhallan in orbit a strike force was immediately dispatched to ascertain what had happened to the outpost.

Landing in force they found that the outpost was deserted, none of the facility's personnel could be found but there were no signs of battle and all of the equipment was found to be intact. All that was out of place was a massive bore-hole discovered in the lower levels, consulting the outposts log they discovered that it descended to a depth of 4 km, it was clearly not natural but their was no evidence that it had been drilled by the crew. A small force prepared to descend but before it could be carried out they heard the unmistakable clatter of thousands of clawed feet coming from the hole, Captain Staeback immediately ordered a retreat to orbit but it was to late, thousands of scarabs poured from the hole, overwhelming the small force who barely had time to call a warning. Outside the outpost the remainder of Staeback force had themselves come under attack, hundreds of Necrons had phased in along with dozen of giant spider like constructs, their gauss guns scything down the Imperials, getting over their surprise quickly the Valhallans and their Skitarii allies quickly returned fire, downing several enemies only to see them get back up, their grievous wounds vanishing, the living metal reknitting itself and leaving their surfaces as smooth as the day they were made. The skirmish was short and bloody and completely one-sided, the Imperial force wiped within minutes of the Necrons arrival. Quickly realising they were outmatched, Magos Cauldex and his Skitarii force teleported out while the remainder of the Valhallans made all haste back to their landers. In orbit the Hand of Iron quickly set course for the Mandeville Point and the relative safety of the Warp. Upon arriving back at Malchaasran's Forge Cauldex reported all that they had found but there simply was not enough forces available to deal with this threat and the matter was dismissed, upon subsequent examination of the combat logs Cauldex noted that they had not encountered a significant force and that the force comprised only lo ranked Necrons and defence automata and concluded that the Tomb World was only just awakening and represented only an insignificant threat, a conclusion he would never live to regret.

#### Conquest of Malchaasran's Forge

"*The Galaxy turns, what was will be again*"
—Maktlan Svarekh, To the doomed defenders of Malchaasran's Forge
Twelve years to the day the Ankhetekh enacted their revenge on the Imperium for daring to step foot on their world, Malchaasran's Forge would die, drowned in the blood of those that would claim ownership of the Galaxy over it's rightful masters.

With a sudden and powerful disturbance the Necron Fleet appeared over Malchaasran's Forge, the Endeavour-class Light Cruiser Hand of Iron which had carried the Adeptus Mechanicus force to Ghostgora was the first to die, the Cain Class Tomb Ship Undying Conqueror, Flagship the Ankhetekh fleet delivered the killing blow, it's Star Pulse Generator making a mockery of the ships defences, destroying it in a single hit. The remainder of the Imperial fleet engaged the Necron's but were outmatched even though it counted the mighty Exorcist-class Battlecruiser Heart of Oblivion among it's number, the battle was brief and after losing several of it's number the Imperial fleet was forced to withdraw with the Heart of Oblivion the only ship to inflict significant damage on the Necrons, destroying the Khopesh-class Light Cruiser Sceptre of Haddrin and leaving the Scythe-class Reaper Ship Eternal Conqueror drifting in the void with it's engines knocked out although it would be quickly repaired thanks to it Necrodermis hull and was too late to stop it destroying the Mars-class Battlecruiser Gloryforged, the Necron's swept past the wreckage and entered the doomed worlds orbit while the Imperial fleet withdrew to the Systems outlying planets, engaging in hit and run tactics for the remainder of the conquest.

Led by Nemesor Svarekh the Legions of the Ankhetekh began their assault, initially ignoring the outlying cities, Svarekh focussing his assault on the Iron Citadel, the planetary capital. The first attack wave consisted of a dozen squadrons of Doom Scythe fighter craft. They swarmed over the Iron Citadel's fortifications, Death Rays raising great furrows of twisted metal and stone as they ploughed through bastions, ferrocrete walls and the luckless human defenders therein. To their credit, the humans put up a spirited resistance. Hydra Flak Tanks and Defence Lasers scoured the skies, driving off or blasting apart many of the swarming Necron aircraft. Yet each time a Doom Scythe was destroyed, another immediately peeled off from the main group to exact vengeance. Soon, Fort Anan was stripped of aerial defences, and the landings began.

Transport craft followed in the wake of the first attack wave. Night Scythes flew low over the wreckage of crashed Necron flyers and Imperial bastions. Small arms fire scattered across the Night Scythes' armoured hulls as their flickering teleportation invasion beams delivered the assault troops into the heart of the humans' defences. Phalanx upon phalanx of Immortals and Necron Warriors stalked through the fresh ruins, Gauss Weapons blazing in unnaturally precise volleys as they drove the Faeburn Vanquishers back, Guardsmen drying in droves as the Necrons scythed them down, Imperial lines breaking all across the defence. The Skitarii of Magos Cauldex held firm for a time, their ingrained programming holding them in line even as they were slaughtered by the implacable Necrons.

In the Habs outside the Citadel, Cauldex had assembled every defender he could spare, opening fire on the Necrons as they came within range, at this point a massive Megalith descended on the world, a vast floating fortress, green fire lanced out from its flanks, blasting valkyries from the air or crippling them on the ground, Monoliths detaching from it's sides as it did so, their firepower added to the barrage assailing the Imperial forces.

The Imperials tried desperately to hold off the assault, lascannon fire flickered through the ruins, the beams converging to pierce the Monoliths' necrodermis hulls. The mighty Shadowsword super-heavy tank Hunter of Vengeance added it's incredible firepower to the defence, it's massively powerful Volcano Cannon able to inflict significant damage to the Monolith's. However, the Megalith was now close enough to the ground to bring its invasion beams into play. Ghoulish viridian light flickered over the battlefield as the teleport beams activated, delivering Doomsday Arks, legions of Necron Immortals, as well as Svarekh and his personal Lychguard, into the thick of battle. The Imperial's were forced to retreat, overwhelmed by the Necron force.

Cauldex and what remained of his forces withdrew to the Iron Citadel, for a solar day they held out before three Doomsday Arks converged their fire on the great adamantium gate. For a handful of moments it glowed an angry red, then burst into fragments with an ear-splitting crack and the Necrons flooded in. At the climax of the Slaughter Svarekh beheaded Cauldex with a single sweep from his Warscythe, the Iron Citadel had fallen and with it any hope of saving Malchaasran's Forge, their vengeance complete the Ankhetekh vanished as sudden as they had arrived leaving behind only the memory of the terror they had inflicted.

## Known Entities of the Ankhetekh

Information regarding the leaders of the Ankhetekh Dynasty are scarce at best, as currently the Imperium has positively identified only two of these figures, Phaerakh Nephenakht Akanusakh, the Supreme Overlord of the Ankhetekh and Maktlan Svarekh as he led the armies of the Ankhetekh against the Imperium on Malchaasran's Forge. What little information has been gathered was gained through the study of ancient steles and fragments of masonry of ancient xenos temples, believed to have been erected by the Necrontyr.

**Phaerakh Nephenakht Akanusakh** 'Nightmare of the Charnel Distortion' -Nephenakht Akanusakh, the Nightmare of the Charnel Distortion, also known as the Planet Killer and the Charnel Queen is believed to be the supreme leader of the Ankhetekh Dynasty. Combined the Honorific "Phaerakh" has been suggested to be the female equivalent of the more common title of Phaeron, and when combined with one of the names she is know by would effectively make the Ankhetekh the second known Necron Dynasty to be ruled by a female Overlord after the Maynarkh, she has yet to be encountered by the Imperium.

Wargear

* Necrodermis - Like all Necrons, Nephenakht's body is built from the self-repairing living metal known as Necrodermis. As befits one of her lofty rank, Nephenakht's body is of superior craftsmanship and richly adorned, clearly announcing her status and allowing her to repair even the most grievous of wounds in a matter of moments.
* Nightmare Scythe - The Nightmare Scythre is an ancient and ornamental Warscythe, and is not only a symbol of her august rank, but also an immensely powerful weapon. It is considered to be the symbol of the Ankhetekh and has been wielded by Nephenakht since she was a creature of flesh and blood. Upon the battlefield, the staff can unleash a searing beam of pan-dimensional energy that can make a mockery of even the most heavily armoured foes while it's Hyperphase Blade renders even the thickest armour irrelevant.
* Tachyon Arrow – A Tachyon Arrow is an intricate wrist-mounted energy weapon that, when activated, transmutes a sliver of inert metal into an unstoppable thunderbolt capable of piercing the heart of a mountain. Such a weapon has near-infinite range, and is able to penetrate almost any form of armour, including that of Titans. However, it can only be used once before the guardians of a Necron tomb must tend to its technologies and prepare it for another use.
* Phase Shifter - Using a form of unknown inter-dimensional science, a Phase Shifter is a Necron defensive device that renders its bearer's form hazy and indistinct, as though they were not completely corporeal. Shots and blows can then pass through his mechanical body, meaning that even the most powerful weapons cannot harm him. This is because a Phase Shifter flickers the very fabric of its bearer into and out of a phased state as they move in between dimensions. If improperly timed, even the most powerful blows and shots aimed at the bearer of a Phase Shifter instead pass through empty air.
* Veil of Darkness - A Veil of Darkness is a device of Necron techno-sorcery that can summon dark energies which twist and billow about Nephenakht like a ghostly cloak blown by an ethereal breeze; almost akin to a billowing sheet of tangible shadow that envelops Nephenakht and her allies. When the darkness ebbs, the enshrouded bearer and those Necrons nearby will have disappeared, only to rematerialise mysteriously some distance away on the battlefield later. This allows Nephenakht to swiftly redeploy herself and her fellow Necrons into unexpected positions from which to better destroy the enemy, a tactical advantage that few others can afford
* Shadow Ankh - A Shadow Ankh is a Necron protective device that takes the form of a heavy amulet emblazoned with the Ankh of the Triarch. Much more than a sign of status, Shadow Ankhs contain a small but powerful psychic null-field generator, far more sophisticated than those fashioned by the Adeptus Mechanicus. This is able to nullify the effects of Warp-spawned powers and sever the connection that Daemons and psykers have to the Immaterium through unknown arcane technologies.
* Sempiternal Weave – A Sempiternal Weave is an advanced form of Necron technology used to augment the Necrodermis bodies of members of Necron royalty. A Sempiternal Weave threads a Necron’s exoskeleton with filaments of phase-hardened amaranthite and adamantium, vastly increasing the body’s hardiness to a level that rivals Astartes Terminator Armour.

**Maktlan Svarekh** 'Venerable Warden of the Charnel Eclipse' - Primary Nemesor of the Ankhetekh Dynasty, it was Svarekh who led their Legions in the conquest of Malchaasran's Forge where he enacted a masterful strategy that overwhelmed the defenders and captured the world for his master.

**Khedeset  Korakotakh** - A possible Nemesor of the Ankhetekh Dynasty, his name was discovered on monuments on Ghostgora, he has yet to be encountered by the Imperium.

## Known Tomb Worlds

**Ghorstgora** - Crownworld of the Ankhetekh located within the Dalthacror sub-sector

**Valhyxit** - Core World

### Possible Tomb Worlds

**Gathaelo** - A jungle world situated not far from Valhyxit, it has recently come under attack by the Orks of WAAAGH! Gorskull whose attack has slowed down, some Imperial Scholars theorise that Gathaelo is in fact a Tomb World and the that the Ork Invasion triggered it's awakening and it is this awakening that has tied down the Orks rather than any Imperial defence.

**Oxatras** - A dead world located on the border between the Ankhetekh and the Sautekh, it was scoured of all life by unknown parties, although the Eldar are seen as the most likely. It status as a former Tomb World was confirmed by an Adeptus Mechanicus Explorator but it is unknown as to which Necron Dynasty it belonged, the Ankhetekh or the much larger Sautekh.

**Neptadrach** - An Imperial mining world located a short distance to the galactic east of Oxatras, all communication with the world was lost not long after the Conquest of Malchaasran's Forge, the last transmission received spoke of metal monsters, no further information is available