Dread Master

A rare pict-capture of the fearsome 'Harbinger of Death', the Dread Master.

"*His steps are slow and deliberate but do not be fooled. He is quicker than he seems. Many Chapter Masters have fallen to him, foolishly thinking that they were superior to him. Be wary of the Dread Master, or this day may be your last!*"
— Chapter Master Justarian of the 3rd Chapter of the Ultramarines Legion
The **Dread Master** is the current Legion Master of the Eternal Legion and is one of the oldest living Legion Masters of the Nova Terra Regency. He is renowned throughout the entire galaxy by both friend and foe alike, striking terror in the hearts of all who stand before him, and inspiring allies and causing them to go above and beyond many acts of valor. He utilises his reputation with such efficiency that his very presence on the battlefield has been known to change the outcome of the battle. He is constantly guarded by the most feared of the Eternal Legion who are known as the Death Wardens. The Dread Master is the chosen of Konrad Curze as he was one of the few original Night Lords that he has truly cared about.

## History

The Dread Master has long been a figure of dread, as he had already entered into the legends of the Legiones Astartes long before the Horus Heresy. Whatever the truth to the many rumors about this killer's unsavory reputation, none could dispute his ruthless efficiency or long tally of victories. Nothing of the Dread Master's previous life is known, due to the fact that upon assuming the mantle of 'Dread Master', all traces of one's previous life is wiped away. All former connections of an individual's past gets expunged to preserve a sense of anonymity. What is known however is that he is a hardened veteran of the Unification Wars of Terra and of the First Great Crusade and fought many of the battles of the Horus Heresy including the Siege of Terra. What is known is that he led a splinter group of the Night Lords, known as '*The Revenant*', who stayed loyal to the Emperor during the Heresy.

When the Horus Heresy ended, and the High Lords decreed that new Legions would be created from existing gene-stock, the Dread Master was unanimously chosen by his nascent Legion's warriors to lead them in battle. He was one of the few candidates selected for the nascent 'Project Homo Sapiens Novus', where he underwent the arduous process of having his gene-seed boasted to a level far superior to an average Astartes - but less than a Primarch - making him almost as comparable as the Emperor's own elite Legio Custodes.

Since that bygone era, the Dread Master continued to lead his eponymous Legion in the ongoing Second Great Crusade, until the events of the Nova Terra Interregnum, which occurred in the 33rd Millennium. He willfully led his Legion to the side of the Secessionist cause, and fought against his former brother-Legions for the next eight centuries, until the conflict finally ended in an uneasy cease-fire and the Secessionist pocket empire was formally recognised as the Nova Terra Regency. Since that long ago age, the ancient Dread Master has continued to lead his Legion in the defence of Nova Impirator against threats both internal and external.

## Wargear

* ***Armour of Eternal Night*** - The Dread Master's raiment of war is a customised relic suit of artificer-wrought battle-plate, bedecked in spikes and grisly trophies of judgement - flensed skulls and flayed skin of victims those whose sins were found particularly egregious or noteworthy - and now adorn his armour as a warning to others.
* **Iron Halo**
* **Frag & Krak Grenades**
* **Master-crafted Nostraman Paragon Blade**
* **Combi-Bolter/Plasma Pistol**