vizn3r/warhammer40k-lore huggingface dataset:
Kaurava I - Places of Note: Kaurav City - Kaurav City is the capital of the planet and the entire star system. It is part of an immense urban area that stretches through the Dussala and Vyasastan Precincts. It is home to many universities, libraries and a cathedral of the Ecclesiarchy. Kaurav City is a patchwork of new growth and decaying neglect. Fresh structures are raised amongst collapsed, burnt out, and decaying buildings.Dussala Precinct - The Dussala Precinct forms the southern suburban stretch of the great leviathan metropolis of Kaurav City. It is also the central headquarters of the Imperial presence in the star system and the proud home of the 252nd Conservator Regiment of the Astra Militarum. Throughout Dussala, military and civilian life have blended remarkably well -- there are few Dussalan families who do not have at least one child enlisted in the 252nd Conservator Regiment.Vyasastan Precinct - The Vyasastan Precinct forms the eastern suburban edge of the immense metropolis that is Kaurav City. Due to the conflict between the Sisters of Battle and the Astra Militarum that broke out in the Kaurava System, the populace of Kaurav City and its extensive suburbs largely fled the civil conflict between two Imperial forces.Sama District - The Sama District is the single metropolis in the barren northern lands of Kaurav I called Sama. It became the Preceptory of the Adepta Sororitas' Order of the Sacred Rose when they arrived in the star system as part of their Imperial Crusade. The Sisters of Battle chose this city to serve as their headquarters for its spiritual symbolism. The Sama District was much like the Imperium of Man, likening the sisters to a force for order rising out of a dusty and violent wasteland.Jalaganda Lowlands - The Jalaganda Lowlands of Kaurava I are a busy centre of interplanetary commerce within the star system and is home to the only Ancient Gate on Kaurava I which connects it to the other worlds of the Kaurava System instantaneously through the Warp. The other part of Jalaganda is a humid land of silty rivers, canals, and mud-hut villages.Shakun Coast - The Shakun Coast is a small province by the shore of Kaurava I's Shakun Sea that is famous for its health benefits, and for the wealthy and powerful of the system who tend to have second homes along the water. It has several proper cities, and numerous poor fishing villages. This province is known for its famed museum of xenos and mutant curiosities, which was later closed by Governor-General Vance Stubbs, who deemed it blasphemous.
Kaurava II - Kaurava II: Kaurava II is the second planet of the Kaurava System that is known across the Lithesh Sector for its agricultural and food processing industries. Its northern continent is a harsh, forbidding land, while its southern continent is more temperate and extensively settled.The planet was infested with Feral Orks from the Rok Clawz klan long before the first Imperial presence colonised the world. Kaurava II has two moons: Irridene and Orridune.
Kaurava II - Northern Continent: Lands of Solitude: The Lands of Solitude are located on Kaurava II's northern continent, which is also called Solitude. Its name originated from the fact that no one but hermits and nomads could survive there long. These nomads sustain themselves by hunting the prized and dangerous game found in the northernmost reaches of Solitude. The Blood Ravens Space Marine Chapter claimed a relatively habitable basin near the center of the region as its headquarters upon its arrival in the Kaurava System.
Kaurava II - Southern Continent: Rokclaw Mountains: The southern continent of Kaurava II is home to a series of mountains called the Rokclaws that are so massive that their peaks were said to be visible almost anywhere on the planet. This area served as the headquarters and final bastion of the Kauravan Feral Orks. The mountains were a notorious place in Kauravan culture as the system's Astra Militarum contingent had never been able to breach the Orks' defences there until the arrival of Governor-General Vance Stubbs, the new Imperial Commander of the 252nd Conservator Regiment and Imperial Governor of the Kaurava System. The mountains were later renamed "Stubbs' Peaks" in honour of his victory over the Kauravan Orks.Cerulea: The province of Cerulea was an idyllic and fertile land that was mostly settled by farmers and fishermen, who provided much of the star system with its food. Cerulea's warm seasons were long, and its winters were temperate.Monse: The province of Monse was a patchwork of city and farmland that contained an Ancient Gate to Kaurava II's moon Orridune. The province was so exposed to Orkish invasions from the Rokclaw Mountains that over time it has grown to be one of the best fortified and developed parts of Kaurava II.The Skerries: The Skerries were a group of approximately one hundred islands along the southern continent of Kaurava II's eastern edge, many of which were large enough for only a single village to inhabit. These islands contain a lander pad for interplanetary traffic with the moon Irridene, and numerous fisheries.The Forgotten Isles: The Forgotten Isles were a group of islands located off the southern continent of Kaurava II's western coast; they were half-shrouded in silver mists. Its people were known to be a secretive folk, not leaving the isles and not welcoming strangers, which aroused suspicions of heresy from the off-islanders. The isles were first discovered by Tur Turgold, the fifteenth of Kaurava II's First Settlers, and he was the ancestor from whom the settlers of the Isles believed they inherited their isolation, terse speech, and general secrecy. The largest island of the Forgotten Isles was called Tilk.
Kaurava II - Moons of Kaurava II: Irridene: Irridene was an icy but habitable moon following some measure of Imperial terraforming that provided a vital route for Kaurava's interplanetary trade. It has a small industrial city, complete with factory beds, depots, and a commercial spaceport.Orridune: Kaurava II's second moon was secretly settled by the T'au, who renamed it Nan Yanoi ("Sword Moon" in the T'au Lexicon) and constructed a military complex upon it. Within solar days of their arrival, the T'au's Earth Caste had already created a localised atmosphere, produced water supplies and a great plateau using their advanced terraforming techniques. The T'au then constructed a massive artillery emplacement as part of their plan for the conquest of the Kaurava System on behalf of the Greater Good, called the Ar'Ka Cannon, which could fire on any habitable territories in the system.
Kaurava III - Kaurava III: Kaurava IIINecronTomb WorldKaurava SystemDue to its inhospitable environment, Kaurava III was of little use to the Imperium of Man other than as a Mining World and a small Imperial mining industry was established there.The planet's single moon was accidentally destroyed by an attempt to bring mining to it, the subsequent explosion resulting in a ring of dust and ice that now encircles Kaurava III. The rest of the former moon's debris descended upon Kaurava III's surface, resulting in untold death and destruction.The planet was also the site of a massive battle between the forces of the Necrons and the Aeldari forces of Craftworld Ulthwe many millennia ago. The Necrons were defeated by the Aeldari and retreated back to their ancient tombs beneath the Immosan Desert to await a more hospitable time to begin their crusade to conquer the galaxy once more.
Kaurava III - Places of Note: The Upper Wastes (known as Essel Ir-Talith to the Aeldari): The Upper Wastes of Kaurava III are a region full of mesas and other barren rock formations that covers the northern reaches of the planet. The few Imperial mining outposts here were wiped out by the Aeldari of Craftworld Ulthwe on the order of their leader Farseer Caerys when they returned to Kaurava III to meet the threat of the awakening Necrons. In millennia long past, the Aeldari had constructed their war operations center in the Upper Wastes to fight the Necrons, and erected an intricate network of illusions and traps to protect their secrets.Coastal Immosa: The vast, red desert of Immosa that covers a considerable part of Kaurava III was also home to the entombed Necrons far, far below its surface. The Imperial forces in the star system never suspected the Necron presence there; and by the time they did learn of its existence, crossing into the Immosa desert was a death sentence at the hands of those genocidal entities.Principian Badlands: The Principian Badlands were a territory full of jagged and uneven "rocklands" so dangerous that it is almost impossible to traverse them on foot. At Principia's far western edge lies the Cape of Despair.Cape of Despair: The Cape of Despair was the place where, during the past battle between Aeldari and Necrons on Kaurava III, the summoned Essence of the C'tan Deceiver made the Aeldari believe that the cliff they were fighting on was an endless plane, and the Necrons were weak and defenceless. All but one of the Aeldari's Aspect Warriors succumbed to the Deceiver's grand illusion, and that Aspect Warrior was later made an Avatar of Khaine. The Deceiver later slew him for this affront to the C'tan, but the tide had already turned against the Necrons at that point and they retreated to hibernation in their tombs beneath Kaurava III's red sands.Nirraein: Nirraein was by far the most populated region of Kaurava III due to the vitally important Ancient Gate that was located there. Nirraein was home to four small Imperial cities: Immur, Throne, Karrusk, and Timmolin. The region's relative wealth also allowed for a modest amount of terraforming, hydroponics, and security from the savage outland beasts of Kaurava III. It was also home to the famed Kauravan gladiatorial arenas and speed-racing courses.Broken Lands: The Broken Lands of Kaurava III were once home to the largest and most developed Imperial population on the planet, yet they became barren and lifeless, earning their name due to the resultant meteoritic debris from the freak mining accident that destroyed Kaurava III's moon.Kier Harrad: Kier Harrad was possibly the only region of Kaurava III that was not covered in barren rocks. Kier Harrad contained several lakes, rivers, prairies, and a few villages. Once per Kauravan III's year, cold and bitter rains pummeled the greater part of these lands for several weeks.
Kaurava IV - Kaurava IV: Kaurava IV is a Civilised World of the Imperium and the outermost planet of the Kaurava System. It was on this world that a massive Warp storm erupted, plunging the entire star system into chaos and warfare as nine separate armies from some of the most powerful intelligent species in the galaxy descended on the four worlds of the system to battle for control of this strategic territory.The planet possessed two continents (the southern continent is called Parmenie), and a moon called Lacunae.
Kaurava IV - Northern Continent: Marconia: Marconia was the planetary capital of Kaurava IV and it was isolated from much of the upper continent of the planet by the Morholt Range of mountains. Prior to the onset of the Kauravan Warp Storm, this province was comprised of dozens of aggregated Imperial cities which served as centers of learning, art, and industry for the star system.Tristam Plains: The Tristram Plains was the province of Kaurava IV which contained the majority of the planet's land along its equator. The general lack of warmth on Kaurava IV due to its distance from the system's sun mades the Tristram Plains the best farmland on the world by far.Peninsula of Iseult: Once a beautiful patchwork of cities and rolling farmland, the Peninsula of Iseult served as the headquarters for the newly arrived Alpha Legion Chaos Space Marines led by the Chaos Lord Firaeveus Carron and was soon twisted by the powers of Chaos Undivided into a nightmare realm dedicated to the Ruinous Powers. Many suspected that the peninsula was in fact the very heart of the Kauravan Warp Storm itself (which turned out to be true when the Storm dispersed upon the destruction of the Alpha Legion's stronghold in the region).Morholt Range: The Morholts were a great mountain range that crossed the entire northern continent of Kaurava IV, from top to bottom, and was so rugged and uneven that it was both uninhabitable and impassable to humans (Gurmun's Pass offered the only land-passage between the northeast and the southwest of the Morholt Range). The lower stretches of the Morholts were full of vertiginous peaks and waterfalls thousands of meters high. Before the arrival of the forces of Chaos on Kaurava IV, the Morholts were known to be verdant and fertile. They were soon little more than battered wastelands full of strife as the Alpha Legion and the Dark Eldar's Black Heart Kabal battled for the single Ancient Gate located there.
Kaurava IV - Southern Continent: Parmenie, Kaurava IV's southern continent, was originally colonised by devotees of the Cult Mechanicus. Since that time, many factories have been built on Parmenie to supply the Kaurava System's Imperial Guard garrison with tanks and weaponry. An interesting note is that when the Dark Eldar first began their raids on Kaurava IV, they found Parmenie far more difficult to raid than the world's northern continent.
Kaurava IV - Moon of Kaurava IV: Lacunae: Kaurava IV's single moon, named Lacunae, contained an Ancient Gate, making it vital for interplanetary travel within the system. When the Dark Eldar of the Kabal of the Black Heart arrived in the Kaurava System, drawn there by the massive Warp Storm in the hopes of raiding the human population for souls and slaves, they quickly slaughtered the Imperial population on the moon and seized control of the Ancient Gate.
Kaurava System - Kaurava System: The Kaurava System is the star system in the Lithesh Sector of the Ultima Segmentum of the Milky Way Galaxy where, because of the sudden appearance of a Warp storm, nine separate armies from each of the galaxy's most advanced intelligent species clashed with each other in the Kaurava Campaign.The system was ultimately claimed by the Orks of WAAAGH! Gorgutz.
Kaurava System - Kaurava Campaign: Three armies were already present in the system when the Warp storm was unleashed, blocking all further transportation to or communications with the world: The 252nd Conservator Regiment of the Astra Militarum, the representatives of the star system's original ruler, the Imperium of Man, who had landed on Kaurava I under the newly appointed Imperial Governor-General Vance Stubbs; the feral Ork tribes of Kaurava II led by their Warboss Gorgutz 'Ead 'Unter and the Necrons, who had been slumbering under the sands of Kaurava III, a Necron Tomb World, for millions of standard years and were now led by the newly awakened Necron Lord of Kaurava.First, the Alpha Legion arrived in the name of Chaos Undivided under the Chaos Champion of Khorne Firaeveus Carron, who established a base for his forces on Kaurava IV. It is a mystery as to how the forces of the Traitor Legion arrived in the system: the Warp Storm may have brought them through the Warp or perhaps it was their presence that summoned the rift in the Immaterium.The truth of the matter remains elusive. Second, a Blood Ravens Space Marine force of 5 companies led by the Force Commander Captain Indrick Boreale established a base on Kaurava II to end the danger posed to the Imperium by the xenos and heretics alike in the system.The T'au Empire claimed Nan Yanoi, one of the moons of Kaurava II, as its own as the empire sought to add Kaurava to its own expanding territory and bring the concept of the Greater Good to its formerly Imperial citizens. The Tau built on the moon of Kaurava II a mighty plasma cannon, the Ar'Ka Cannon, by the order of the Tau Commander Shas'O Or'es'Ka.From under the sands of Kaurava III, the Necrons arose, perhaps due to the effects of the Warp Storm.In quick response to the Necrons' awakening, long unused Webway gates flickered to life and brought the Eldar of the Ulthwe Craftworld, led by Farseer Caerys, to fight against their ancient deathless enemies who they knew had reawakened on the world.From the shadows of another ancient Webway gate a raiding Kabal of the Drukhari appeared, looking for souls and new bounty, with the Kabal of the Black Heart's Archon Tahril as their leader. The Kabal of the Black Heart was the single largest and most powerful Kabal in Commorragh, and because of this, they were the dominating power in that hidden city of the Dark Eldar.Last, but certainly not least, the Battle-Sisters of the Order of the Sacred Rose, a sect of the Adepta Sororitas' Orders Militant, better known in the Imperium as the Sisters of Battle, arrived and established a base on Kaurava I. They arrived to cleanse the star system of every last xenos and Heretic, even if such a task led to conflict with the other servants of the Emperor already within the system.
Kaurava System - Outcome: The fate of the Kaurava System depends on the actions taken by the various factions fighting over it: it can be returned to the control of the Imperium, become a new frontier colony of the T'au Empire, become the black heart of the Necrons' next genocidal "red harvest", become the base of the greatest Ork WAAAGH! ever launched, or be twisted into the image of Chaos and become a new Daemon World of the Warp.If the Kaurava Campaign was ultimately won by the Astra Militarum's 252nd Conservator Regiment under the command of General Vance Stubbs, the Kaurava System remained a part of the Imperium of Man. General Stubbs and his men were declared heroes by the people of the Kaurava System.The system began to thrive again thanks to vast rebuilding, mining and terraforming projects that were initiated by Governor Stubbs. The numerous military academies that were built there follwoing the Imperial Guard's victory, turned out superior Imperial Guardsmen who were second in quality only to the Kasrkin regiments of Cadia.Only Kaurava III was left largely barren, due to the fact that it had been the Tomb World where the Necrons had risen. General Stubbs' ability to organise and reform the long-neglected Kauravan Imperial Guard Regiment did not go unnoticed by the Ultima Segmentum Command, and he was promoted in time from the role of Governor-General to control over a small star system.The dialogue in the later PC game Dawn of War II indicated that the Blood Ravens under Captain Indrick Boreale had suffered a terrible defeat in the Kaurava System, with all 5 of the Blood Raven companies under his command destroyed, essentially costing the Chapter half of its manpower in a single campaign. As a result, the Blood Ravens desperately needed to step up their recruiting process in Sub-sector Aurelia, their only remaining recruiting ground. The invasion of that region by a Tyranid splinter hive fleet thus threatened the very existence of the Blood Ravens Chapter.However, in Dawn of War III, released in 2017, Blood Ravens Chief Librarian Jonah Orion mentioned what Gorgutz did to his Chapter in Kaurava, which confirms that the Orks under Gorgutz proved to be the ultimate victors of the battle for the Kaurava System, making it the heart of his WAAAGH!, though no details are provided about how the Greenskins defeated all the other factions.
Kaurava System - Worlds: The Kaurava System contains four planets:Kaurava IKaurava IIKaurava IIIKaurava IV
Kayleth - Kayleth: Kayleth was an Eldar Autarch of Craftworld Alaitoc and the supreme commander of the Eldar war host sent to Typhon Primaris during the Third Aurelian Crusade in the hopes of stopping the impending destruction of the planet and the countless Eldar souls hidden within an ancient Craftworld buried within it. In the Eldar ending of Dawn of War II - Retribution that mission proved a failure, but Kayleth was successful in recovering the Spirit Stone of the slain Farseer Taldeer of Ulthwé.
Kayleth - Sources: Dawn of War II - Retribution (PC Game)
Kayvaan Shrike - Kayvaan Shrike: Kayvaan Shrike is a famed officer of the Raven Guard Space Marine Chapter. A former Shadow Captain of the Raven Guard's 3rd Company, Shrike now serves as the current Raven Guard Chapter Master or "Master of Shadows" in the wake of the Prefectia Campaign of 999.M41 when the former Raven Guard Chapter Master, Corvin Severax, and a large contingent of the 3rd Company were slain in a T'au ambush.A master of stealth and infiltration, Kayvaan Shrike strikes from the darkness, fast and lethal. By the time his foes can react, it is already too late and darkness has claimed them.
Kayvaan Shrike - Youth: Shrike was born on the Imperial Forge World of Kiavahr, and as a boy, demonstrated a preternatural ability for stealth and espionage. As a youth, he worked as a runner for the Tarkal Guild, a gang that operated within the hive city Shrike lived in. But it was an incident in his late teenage years that set him on the path to destiny -- he had been pursued by a rival gang for solar days on end.He'd managed to evade them for a solar week, feeding on rancid fungi and brackish water as he fled his pursuers. But the gang members weren't the only ones following Shrike; high above, in the gargoyle-studded spires of the city, the Chaplains of the Raven Guard, who often traveled stealthily through the cities of Kiavahr, looking for Neophytes for the Chapter, were observing the progress of the hunt with growing interest.When Shrike was finally cornered, he fought viciously and killed four rival gangers before being overwhelmed. His captors took him back to their base and tried to torture him for information, but he resisted, and escaped after killing three more of his tormentors. Realising he was a prime candidate for recruitment into the Adeptus Astartes, the Raven Guard Chaplains descended from the spires using Jump Packs to rescue the boy before his pursuers caught and killed him.Shrike resisted the Chaplains, believing them to be another gang, but in his weakened and exhausted state, the boy was no match for the Space Marines, and was taken back with them to the Raven Guard's fortress-monastery on the moon of Deliverance to be trained. But Shrike proved to be no passive pupil, and often resisted and evaded his tutors within the depths of the fortress. But as time went on, and Shrike learned more about his duty to the Emperor of Mankind, he directed his energies more appropriately and became one of the Raven Guard's most promising Neophytes in centuries.As a Neophyte he soon proved his prowess, earning the right to a warrior name to mark his entrance to the Raven Guard 10th Company. The forename "Kayvaan" honoured some memory from his gang days of which he would not speak, while "Shrike" he chose for the swift hunter-hawks that nested high in the Diagothian Mountains.He had encountered these avians many times during his formative trials on Kiavahr, and had been struck with admiration for their fearless surprise attacks on seemingly superior prey.Decades passed. Shrike progressed through the Chapter's Reserve Companies, proving himself at every turn. But it was not until his ascension to the ranks of the 3rd Company -- the "Ghoststalkers" -- that a glimpse of Shrike's greatness was revealed.Here, immersed as never before in the Path of Ambush, Shrike proved himself amongst the finest proponents of this sudden and deadly style of warfare that the Chapter had ever known. It was no surprise when Shrike earned the captaincy of the 3rd Company, following Shadow Captain Corvin Severax's elevation to the rank of Master of Shadows.
Kayvaan Shrike - Hunt for Voldorius: During this time, Kayvaan Shrike also led the 3rd Company for a brief campaign to the world of Quintus, which had been infiltrated by the Night Lords and Alpha Legion Traitor Legions and been led into rebellion against the Imperium by Kernax Voldorius, a Daemon Prince of the Alpha Legion and the leader of the Chaos Space Marines and the other Forces of Chaos on Quintus.Kayvaan Shrike joined with Kor'sarro Khan, the Captain of the White Scars Chapter's 3rd Brotherhood (Company) and that Chapter's Master of the Hunt, to bring down Voldorius and restore Quintus to the light of the Emperor in a campaign later made famous as the Hunt for Voldorius.The ancient rivalry between the White Scars and the Raven Guard was thousands of Terran years old, but the two Captains forged an uneasy alliance. Their combined efforts led to victory, and Shrike and Khan fought side-by-side to defeat the Daemon Prince in close combat. Shrike returned to the Targus battlezone, parting from the Khan on terms of respect.
Kayvaan Shrike - Era Indomitus: With the Raven Guard sorely depleted by the battles of War Zone Damocles, one of Shrike's earliest acts as Master of Shadows was to embrace the gifts of the Ultima Founding.Just as Corax had done millennia before at the introduction of the Codex Astartes, Shrike saw the salvation of his Chapter from a future of uncertainty and want. Such a fate could not be permitted, for as the Era Indomitus dawned, the Raven Guard would be needed as never before.To prove his dedication, Shrike crossed the Rubicon Primaris to become a Primaris Marine. Though not the first Space Marine leader to do so, it was a move fraught with peril and controversy, for the risk to his life was real; many argued that the Raven Guard could ill afford to lose two Chapter Masters in such swift succession.But Shrike could not be swayed from his purpose and, as so often in the past, his quiet conviction was borne out by success. Shrike emerged mightier than before, convincing many of his Shadow Captains of the wisdom of his path.Ever since, the Raven Guard have fought at the forefront in the war zones of a divided Imperium. Even though their contributions are seldom seen by friend or foe, whispers of their victories have spread far and wide, and desperate defenders fight even more fiercely knowing that every solar minute they hold out is one in which the Raven Guard might strike from the shadows and deliver them from their plight.Shrike himself leads many of these campaigns. At heart, he remains the Shadow Captain of a Battle Company, never more content than when striking at the throat of the foe.Yet despite his many victories, Shrike has grown uneasy; he broods on Severax's needless death on Prefectia, born of the same warrior's pride that burns in his own hearts, and fears that his fighting spirit, devoted so completely to the art of ambush, lacks the balance that the Raven Guard require if they are to prosper. Recognising his own strengths and weaknesses, Shrike has resolved to do what is right for his Chapter.Thus Shrike has seized upon the Indomitus Crusade with a purpose of his own. To ensure that whoever follows him as Master of Shadows will be worthier than he, Shrike has scattered his finest warriors across the stars upon missions whose combined purpose only he knows.Unburdened by knowledge of their brothers' missions or purposes, each Shadow Captain and Lieutenant will prove their own mettle and wisdom, laying bare their qualities to the Chapter Master's exacting gaze.Only when Shrike is content will he abdicate rank and duty, stepping aside for a true Master of Shadows to whom he judges himself but the forerunner.
Kebban Sub-sector - Kebban Sub-sector: The Kebban Sub-sector was a region of Imperial space that became infected with Orks during the events of the Psychic Awakening in the Era Indomitus.After being infested with Orks, a horde of these xenos began to emerge from the Kebban Sub-sector to assault the surrounding Imperial worlds. The Inquisition discovered that this WAAAGH! was set to collide with a different Ork horde led by the Warboss Bakrash, enhancing the potential destructive power of both.To prevent this from happening, the Ordo Xenos tasked the Deathwatch with killing Bakrash, but the operation ended in failure. This caused Bakrash to lead his WAAAGH! into the Kebban Sub-sector and make war upon the Orks already rampaging within it.Fearing that a Warlord would soon emerge to unite the Orks, the Ordo Xenos immediately requested the aid of several companies from the Rift Cobras, Templars of the Covenant and the Iron Hounds Chapters of the Adeptus Astartes.The Rift Cobras despatched 3 companies, the Templars of the Covenant 4 and the Iron Hounds 2. The Ordo now believes that the forces of these Chapters will successfully destroy the Orks of this region while the xenos are still focussed on combating each other.
Keep Extremis - Keep Extremis: Keep Extremis is a watch fortress of the Deathwatch Chapter located in the Segmentum Obscurus.To the galactic north of Fenris, Hrud overran the Shrine World of Damhal. Drawn to the rich veins of crystallised time in the world's many stasis-crypts, the chronophagic xenos wreaked havoc. Those regiments of Mordian Iron Guard deployed to fight them become wizened ancients within solar hours, and even a strike force of the Sons of Medusa was lost, overwhelmed by the xenos' entropic projections.Two full Deathwatch Watch Companies from the watch fortress Keep Extremis joined the fight. They were accompanied by a mighty spearhead of no less than eight Deathwatch Dreadnoughts. It was these ancients who lead the final strike upon the Hrud world warren, enduring the creatures' parasitic temporal aura long enough to slaughter their leaders and collapse their tunnels. Recovered from the field of victory, the Dreadnoughts were found to be rusted, inert, silent. Inside their sarcophagi, their biological remains were gone, reduced to nothing but dust by the time stolen from them by the Hrud.
Keeper of Secrets - Keeper of Secrets: The loathsome yet beguiling entity of the Warp known as a Keeper of Secrets, also sometimes referred to as a "Bringer of Temptation," a "Feaster of Pain," a "Slayer of Slaanesh," and a "Despoiler of the Flesh," is a hermaphroditic Greater Daemon of Slaanesh, the Chaos God of amoral pleasure.The appearance of a Keeper of Secrets, more than any of the other Greater Daemons of Chaos, can vary wildly. Each of these huge and powerful creatures are created by the capricious whims of its master -- a unique statement of the Prince of Chaos' particular mood and muse at the time of the Daemon's creation. Some have androgynous faces pierced with rings, whilst others appear more bestial with bovine faces that have fanged maws and flickering forked tongues.All of these loathsome creatures are several times the height of an ordinary Human being. They possess jewel-like eyes, their heads are crowned by a splendid outcrop of horns and they slither forward using the most sinuous and seductive of movements.Embodiments of the alluring power of pleasure, the very presence of a Keeper of Secrets is enough to bring even the most stalwart warrior to their knees in anguish and ecstasy. Pain is simply another sensation to be bestowed upon others, or to be enjoyed when others inflict it, for all sensation is a blessing to a Keeper of Secrets. These potent servants of Slaanesh feed upon the rampaging hope and the thrill of fear to be found within their mortal enemies, as they feast upon terror and despair as well as lust and delight.As despoilers of spiritual purity, Keepers of Secrets are known for taking the noble ideals of others and twisting them to the pursuit of selfish ambitions and self-gratification. A Keeper of Secrets exists to destroy dreams and fulfill nightmares, growing ever more powerful on the intensifying emotions of those that fight them.
Keeper of Secrets - Wargear: Snapping ClawsWitstealer Sword
Kelbor-Hal - Kelbor-Hal: Kelbor-Hal was the fabricator-general of Mars, the political and spiritual leader of the ancient Mechanicum and the magi of the Cult Mechanicus, during the latter days of the Great Crusade and the Horus Heresy in the early 31st Millennium.When the Heresy began he and his like-minded magi swore allegiance to the service of the Warmaster Horus and the forces of Chaos in return for the lifting of the Emperor's restrictions on the research and development of heretical technologies, becoming the first leader of what was later termed the "Dark Mechanicum."In the name of his new allegiance, Kelbor-Hal would unleash the terrible civil war known as the Schism of Mars upon the Red Planet, the sacred heart of the faith of the Machine God.
Kelbor-Hal - Imminent Civil War: Two Terran centuries passed after the signing of the Treaty of Mars, and Kelbor-Hal rose to a position of much prominence within the Mechanicum. He became the fabricator-general of Mars, the master of the Red Planet's mightiest forge city, Olympus Mons.Kelbor-Hal gathered around him a circle of like-minded magi including Urtzi Malevolus, Lukas Chrom the master of the Mondus Gamma forge, and his trusted personal emissary and confidante Melgator.The fabricator-general knew he should be proud of his accomplishments, for he had uncovered more of the secrets of technology than any before him and had overseen the longest reign of increasing production quotas in the Mechanicum's history. But pride, like many other emotional responses, had all but vanished as the organic cogitator once housed in his skull had been gradually replaced with synthetic synapses and efficient conduits for logical thought. The fabricator-general was over 80% augmetic by the final days of the Great Crusade, and barely anything that could be called human remained of his birth-flesh, a fact of which he was supremely proud.The climate on Mars was full of discontent during this tumultuous time in the days just before Horus openly declared his rebellion against the Emperor. There were tense relations between the various Mechanicum magi who governed Mars with sporadic outbreaks of espionage and violence being committed against the various forges that represented the primary sociopolitical units of Mars.There were even unconfirmed suspicions that the various Titan Legions of the Collegia Titanica, the most potent military forces available to the Mechanicum, had already secretly chosen sides in case of a potential conflict.
Kelbor-Hal - Schism of Mars: When the repository of the Vaults of Moravec was reopened, there was all manner of forbidden arcane knowledge and weaponry that had obviously been tainted by the corrupting influence of Chaos stored within.Soon the corruption spread throughout the forges and temples to the Machine God across the Red Planet as "scrap code" -- Chaos-contaminated digital source code that was infected with an arcane computer virus -- infested the logi-stacks and cogitator (computer) archives of the Mechanicum, causing literal Chaos to emerge in any cogitator system that was networked to one of its infected counterparts.It also caused reactors to melt-down, production lines to stop, and whole forges to cease production of weapons needed.The opening acts of treachery had already occurred, yet the fabricator-general could not openly march to war against the Emperor without the appropriate pretense, providing the excuse to silence his detractors and eliminate his rivals. Kelbor-Hal and his allies amongst what would later be called the Dark Mechanicum used the disruption unleashed by the scrap code attack to bide their time and marshal the strength of their forces.Kelbor-Hal and his allies also used the tactics of sabotage and assassination in an attempt to eliminate those who were unwilling to join their cause. But the opportunity to go openly to war eventually presented itself when the Techno-Magi Koriel Zeth, the Mistress of Magma City, declared that she did not believe the Omnissiah actually existed.This open apostasy from the sacred doctrines of the Cult Mechanicus was the excuse the forces of the Dark Mechanicum needed to finally wage open warfare against their enemies, declaring them to be heretics and apostates to the faith that had been sacred on Mars for millennia. Magma City would soon become a focal point in the struggle for those amongst the Mechanicum who remained loyal to the Imperium.Open warfare eventually erupted across the Red Planet as Martian forces, both civilian and military, fought one another in a deadly and escalating civil war whose destructiveness mirrored that unfolding in the wider galaxy between Loyalist and Traitor forces.
Kelbor-Hal - Acts of Treachery: To help the Warmaster achieve his goals, Kelbor-Hal oversaw the construction of the mighty battleship Furious Abyss in the orbital shipyard of Thule, a former asteroid, which had been towed by the Mechanicum into orbit of the gas giant of Jupiter in the Sol System, far beyond prying eyes and questions.This formidable warship was unlike any other of its kind. It was so heavily armoured that it could withstand even a concerted assault from a planetary laser defence battery. It was the greatest and largest vessel ever assembled by Mankind, unique in every way and powerful beyond reckoning.Kelbor-Hal had sanctioned the construction of such a vessel because it suited his great purpose, namely the burgeoning desire, or rather intrinsic programming, within the servants of the Machine God to gradually become one with their slumbering deity.The Emperor had sought to place restrictions upon the Mechanicum's ability to explore every avenue of knowledge that might lead to a closer unity with the Machine God. Horus had promised to remove all of those restrictions and perhaps open even new vistas of knowledge for the Mechanicum to explore in the form of his allies amongst the entities of the Warp.Faced with such a choice, the question of Kelbor-Hal's allegiance and that of the Mechanicum factions loyal to him had required mere nanoseconds of computation.The Furious Abyss had been intended to become the new flagship of the traitorous Word Bearers Space Marine Legion. None could know of the vessel's existence until it was too late. Steps had been taken to ensure that remained the case. The massive battleship had been created with one deliberate mission in mind: the annihilation of an entire Space Marine Legion.The Word Bearers' ultimate aim as part of the Warmaster's larger plan of conquest was to infiltrate the Realm of Ultramar in the Eastern Fringes of the galaxy and attempt to destroy the Ultramarines Legion and their homeworld of Macragge.In a final act of treachery, Kelbor-Hal had the Jovian shipyards destroyed once the Furious Abyss was complete. There was no time to flee to safety for the workers at the yards and no survivors. Every tech-priest, servitor and menial present at the yards was burned to ash. None would discover the massive starship that had been fabricated upon the asteroid's surface until it was much, much too late.A great deal of precious technology was lost during Thule's destruction and so it proved to be a steep price for the Traitor elements within the Mechanicum to pay for the absolute and certain secrecy required to bring to fruition the Warmaster's plan to destroy the Ultramarines. But in the end, the fabricator-general's will had been carried out and the Dark Mechanicum played its part in the tragedy that would ultimately unfold on a world called Calth.
Kelbor-Hal - Solar War: Following the Solar War, the Loyalist blockade of Mars was lifted and Kelbor-Hal was able to take direct command of the Dark Mechanicum war effort again.Arrogant and preening in his self-importance, he attempted to take credit for many of the achievements of Perturabo and Sota-Nul against the defences of the Imperial Palace during the Siege of Terra.
Kelbor-Hal - Post-Heresy: After the Horus Heresy ended in a pyrrhic victory for the Imperium, the traitorous forces of Chaos that had served the Warmaster were driven towards the Eye of Terror during the brutal military campaigns remembered as the Great Scouring.The Renegade tech-priests of the Dark Mechanicum were also driven from Mars by the resurgent Loyalists amongst the newborn Adeptus Mechanicus. These Renegades fled the Imperium into the far corners of the galaxy and some also took refuge in the Eye of Terror.In exile, the Dark Mechanicum became even more enthralled to the power of the Warp and heretical technologies.The ultimate fate of the traitorous Fabricator-General Kelbor-Hal in the final days of the Horus Heresy is unknown.
Kelermorph - Kelermorph: The Kelermorph is a special Genestealer hybrid who serves as a hero figure for Genestealer Cults and uses his legendary prowess as a warrior and gunslinger to spread sedition and revolution on cult-infested Imperial worlds.
Kelermorph - Wargear: 3 Liberator AutostubsCultist knife
Keriath the Shrouded - Keriath the Shrouded: Keriath the Shrouded was a Lord of Change, a Greater Daemon of Tzeentch, who led a daemonic assault on the Imperial world of Totem IV many millennia ago. During the combat with the Exorcists Chapter of Space Marines who responded to Totam IV's distress call, Keriath possessed the Exorcists' Chapter Master Enoch Trismegistus.With the aid of his Chief Librarian, Goetos, Trismigestus managed to find the willpower to defeat Keriath in a battle fought within his own psyche and force the Daemon to relinquish his hold on the Chapter Master's mind and body. This experience convinced Trismigestus to enter a pact with a Radical sect of the Ordo Malleus known as the Plutonians in which the Exorcists would force their new initiates to undergo daemonic possession and then banishment to make them more effective Daemonhunters.
Kerrack - Kerrack: Kerrack was an Imperial Agri-World that came under assault from the Forces of Chaos and the warband of Chaos Space Marines known as the Slaughterkin and that was eventually cleansed by the actions of the 5th Company of the Star Phantoms Chapter of the Adeptus Astartes during the campaign known as the Scourging of Kerrack.
Kerrack - History: In 932.M41 the Chaos Lord Mahaur the Harvester of the Slaughterkin warband of Chaos Space Marines sought to assault the Agri-world of Kerrack in the Varsavus Sector of the Ultima Segmentum. He laid the seeds of rebellion by establishing a series of Chaos Cults, the so-called "Charnel Cult" from among the world's population of primitive agricultural workers who spent their lives harvesting the roots of the world's nutrient-rich Cholam trees for processing into sustenance to support the Astra Militarum regiments engaged in the Karthago Crusade. As the cult spread rapidly through Kerrack's population and unleashed a massive rebellion against Imperial rule, the world soon fell to anarchy and war. The ensuing conflict with the local Planetary Defence Forces and Astra Militarum regiments was fought beneath the dense canopy of the swamp-like Cholam forests and in the air between Imperial Navy pilots and the Hell Talons and Hell Blades brought to the world by the Slaughterkin's arrival after the rebellion had severely weakened the Imperial defenders. The Imperial cause was further damaged when the corruption of Chaos took many of the PDF troops, as they turned to the worship of the Ruinous Powers. Once the Harvester took the planetary capital of Calder's Ark, the victory of the Forces of Chaos seemed assured. Deliverance only came when the 5th Battle Company of the Star Phantoms Chapter of the Adeptus Astartes under the command of Captain Calphax arrived in-system to resupply, and launched an immediate and devastating attack upon the rebel stronghold at Calder's Ark, slaying the Harvester and driving the remaining Traitor Marines of the Slaughterkin from Kerrack.
Kerrack - Geography and Culture: Kerrack is a peculiar world where life has always been harsh. The planet is dominated by a single large continent where the human population has naturally concentrated. This vast continent harbours Kerrack's single and most valuable resource: the great forests of mighty Cholam trees, some of them towering more than 200 Terran feet in height. Cholam roots only grow in humid environments, which means that beneath the canopy much of Kerrack's continent resembles a gigantic swamp. Although filtered through ancient technological artefacts that likely predate the birth of the Imperium, the water used to irrigate these forests is highly toxic. The Imperial presence on Kerrack is concentrated in a few factory-cities located on the shorelines. The harvested Cholam roots are processed there into a barely palatable but nutrient-rich grey gruel, before they are shipped to Kerrack's single spaceport at Ven Nys and then on to the overpopulated Hive Worlds across the Imperium and to support the Astra Militarum regiments engaged in the Karthago Crusade.Since its establishment as an Imperial Agri-world, Kerrack's native population has deliberately been kept in a state of servitude and held to a lower technological standard than that of the wider Imperium. Organised in great family-groups, the men and women of the so-called Harvester Clans have toiled under the stern gaze of their Imperial overseers, hacking at the tough, fibrous roots of the Cholam trees. So thick were these forests that only travel on foot was possible, thus severely hindering quick transport of goods and personnel on Kerrack. Clansmen riots and insurrections were few and far between before the Scourging of Kerrack, though not unheard of.
Keshig - Keshig: The Keshig served as the personal honour guard of the Primarch Jaghatai Khan and his subordinate commanders during the Great Crusade and Horus Heresy eras in the late 30th and early 31st Millennia.The Keshig also served as a bodyguard for the noyan-khans (Chapter Masters) who commanded the ordus (divisions) of the Vth Legion.Amongst the ranks of the Vth Legion, the Keshig's Astartes also made up a number of elite sub-formations, including the Ebon Keshig and the Golden Keshig. Most White Scars brotherhoods also included a keshig within their ranks to serve their commanding khans, though these formations were called "minghan-keshig."The Khagan's Keshig were once described as "a whole phalanx of giants in bone-white Terminator plate."This body of troops stood somewhere between a life guard for the Khagan and an elite reserve intended to bolster both the fighting spirit and tactical firepower of line troops.Given the aggressive nature of most White Scars tactics, these units often formed the forefront of any assault, and were comprised of the most skilled and experienced warriors within a given Brotherhood.In the 41st Millennium, the term "Keshig" is still used for the honour guard of the White Scars' Chapter Master.
Keshig - Origins: The first Keshig was raised upon the world of Chogoris by Jaghatai Khan, the future primarch of the White Scars Legion. When he reached adulthood, he began his meteoric rise as ruler of his adopted homeworld. The young khan pursued a campaign of subjugation among his own people, attacking each tribe in turn and offering them a simple choice: death or life under his rule.There were few who opposed him, as his reputation for mercilessness rapidly spread across the plains of Chogoris to every settlement and roving tribe. In his wisdom, Jaghatai treated those who submitted freely with honour, raising many up to his Keshig to fight at his side.His own Keshig and tribe he filled with men and women of talent from across the plains, promoting ability and loyalty to the whole over bloodlines and old rivalries, and within the span of a few short solar decades, the nomadic tribes were unified under his control, naming him the "khagan," or khan of khans. A short while after his ascension to the throne, the Emperor of Mankind arrived to change the primarch's destiny forever.After his reunification with the Space Marine Legion created from his genetic inheritance, the khagan dispersed the Keshig he had raised from Chogoris, the core of his newly-dubbed White Scars throughout the various companies, warriors whose names would grow with the passing of years: Qin Xa, Yesugei, Hasik and others besides. These warriors he trusted to spread his teachings and to lead by example, to stand as his champions among the V Legion as it went to war in his name.
Keshig - 41st Millennium: In the present day of the Era Indomitus, the term "Keshig" still refers to the honour guard deployed to serve the White Scars Chapter Master.Each Astartes is personally selected from amongst the Chapter's finest warriors, and they serve as bodyguards, military advisors and executors of the Great Khan's orders.Every one of these champions has proven himself in battle a thousand times over, and they protect their liege with total devotion.At a kurultai, or gathering of all the Chapter brotherhoods, the Keshig's elaborately worked armour and weaponry stands out even amongst the masterwork wargear of the other Chapter champions present.