Imperial Knights - Age of Honour and Vengeance, M1-M32: Age of Terra (M1-M15) - A combination of an enormous boom in population and Terra's rapidly-diminishing natural resources in the 3rd Millennium leaves Humanity's birth planet on the brink of anarchy. As these problems increase in severity, Mankind begins to look farther afield -- towards the stars. Mars is the first planet to be terraformed and settled. Colonial expeditions to explore space beyond the boundaries of the Sol System meet with success. However, the settlements furthest from Terra are forced to become increasingly self-sufficient due to the limitations of sublight interstellar travel.Age of Technology (M15-M25) - STC technology is mastered by some of the greatest scientific minds in Mankind's history and heralds a golden era of discovery, innovation and expansion. By harnessing the other-worldy gifts of the Human mutant psykers known as Navigators, Warp travel is developed, enabling starfaring ships to swiftly travel enormous distances across space. STC systems transform the way that new colony worlds are settled. The first Knight Worlds are established as Human colonies by the Long March colonists and begin to flourish on more than a million worlds across the galaxy. Towards the end of this remarkable era, the ever-increasing number of Human psykers and an over-reliance on advanced technology ultimately leads to the downfall of Mankind's glorious expansion, which descends into turmoil, anarchy and war.The Long March (ca. M15) - Generational Long March colony ships depart from Terra, making centuries-long voyages to settle the planets of distant star systems using sublight reaction drives. Some of the pioneer groups take with them STCs capable of creating Knight suits, and from them the first Knight houses are born.A Chivalrous Code (ca. M15) - As the Noble houses that rule the Knight Worlds are established, so too do the principles of duty and obedience become synonymous with the mighty war engines. Though the cultures that develop on disparate Knight Worlds are as varied as their environments, each adopts strikingly similar notions of virtue that would, in later millennia, come to be known as the "Code Chivalric."The Knights Stand Alone (ca. M23) - Influenced by the Thrones Mechanicum of their Knight suits, the aristocracy of the feudal societies established on each Knight World remain conservative and most are instinctively mistrustful of any psykers in their midst. As a result, many of the Knight Worlds resist the madness that grips so many other Human colonies at the dawn of the Age of Strife. Though daemonic possessions and devastating psychic backlashes do indeed threaten many Knight Worlds, the military strength of the Knights and their rigid societal organisations largely serve to protect them. The ancient records of many knightly houses bear reference to this troubled time, of Knights duelling gigantic Warp entities or battling knee-deep against an endless tide of Daemons from beyond the veil of reality.Age of Strife (M25-M30) - Human worlds throughout the galaxy are isolated by Warp Storms of terrible ferocity. A disastrous age of suspicion and dread begins as internecine conflict tears Human civilisation apart. Fear and superstition lead to a regression in Mankind's mastery of science and many technological marvels of the previous age are lost to paranoia and war. Aliens and Daemons alike prey on Humanity's vulnerability, and although many planets are subjugated or lost, the surviving Knight Worlds continue to stand firm through this turbulent time -- however, none do so without earning scars that linger to this day.The Emperor Arrives on Mars (ca. M30) - Knight Taymon Verticorda, of House Taranis, is the first representative of the ancient Mechanicum to encounter the Emperor of Mankind on His arrival on Mars. In His guise as the promised Omnissiah, the Emperor forges an auspicious alliance between Mars and the newly unified Terra that forms the backbone of his fledgling Imperium. This pact between the Emperor and the fabricator-general of the Red Planet becomes known as the Treaty of Mars, otherwise known as the Treaty of Olympus Mons to the Mechanicum. Preparations are made for a great undertaking to reunite the lost worlds of Mankind.Great Crusade Begins (798.M30) - The Emperor leads His long-planned undertaking to reunite the lost worlds of Mankind. The Emperor's fleets spread out across the galaxy, uniting Human worlds one by one and annihilating all who pose opposition to His rule. Those Knight Worlds that are discovered are quick to swear oaths of allegiance to the expanding Imperium of Man, with the Noble houses pledging their fealty to various Explorator fleets and Titan Legions of the Mechanicum. The Knights themselves become invaluable warriors in the Great Crusade, and by their indomitable power countless other planets are humbled. Yet in the vastness of the galaxy there are Knight Worlds upon which the Emperor's envoys never arrive. These planets continue to cleave to their traditions of old, watching the skies for the incoming threats that have hounded them during the long Age of Strife.First of Many (ca. 850.M30) - The Knight World of Chrysis is rediscovered. The Mechanicum uses its influence to claim exclusive trading rights with many of the Knight Worlds that are later found. Forge Worlds are established near mineral-rich Knight Worlds, and bonds of mutual respect and military support become commonplace between the Mechanicum and the knightly houses. As the Emperor's crusading fleets sweep out across the galaxy, uniting Humanity's scattered worlds one by one, numerous knightly households are with them. It is a time of restoration and glory, in which many houses form strong ties to the Explorator fleets and Titan Legions of the Mechanicum. Others pledge their allegiance and strength to particular primarchs or Imperial commanders. The Knights prove stalwart allies, the devastation they wreak more than compensating for their sometimes stilted or prickly ways, and it seems as though they will play an instrumental part in establishing the Imperium's dominance across the stars.Lust of the Mechanicum (ca. M30) - With unseemly fervour, the Mechanicum uses its influence to claim exclusive trading rights with many of the newly discovered Knight Worlds. New Forge Worlds are established near the most mineral-rich planets.Great Expansion (ca. M30-M31) - Over a hundred knightly houses are discovered and welcomed into the fold of Mankind. Because of the psychological manipulations of the Throne Mechanicum, all of these planets are feudal societies, politically conservative and dominated by the concepts of honour and fealty that characterise their rulers.Horus Heresy (005-014.M31) - In an act of staggering treason, the Warmaster Horus declares himself the rightful ruler of Mankind after being corrupted by the Chaos Gods. The base treachery of the Emperor's favoured son shatters the newly-founded Imperium and sets the galaxy aflame. Brother fights brother as fully half of the Space Marine Legions side with the Arch-traitor Horus, alongside numerous Titan Legions and countless regiments of the Imperial Army. Some knightly houses join the Traitors, either compelled by unbreakable oaths of fealty or tainted by the touch of Chaos. Many more Noble houses fight hard for the Imperium, winning one victory after another against the turncoat forces. On both sides, the bloodlines of a number of Noble houses are brought to an end during the incredibly fierce fighting, their lives callously expended in the name of victory.Battle of Beta-Garmon, The Titandeath (006-013.M31) - Numerous Traitor Titan Legions engage in battle with their Loyalist counterparts throughout the Beta-Garmon star cluster. Knight houses fight on both sides of the sprawling conflict, upholding oaths to follow the god-machines into the fray. Whole households are lost in the war zone, their once-mighty god-engines reduced to flaming wreckage alongside the metallic carcasses of annihilated Titans. House Vextrix, having marched dutifully alongside the Titans of the Legio Mortis, take severe casualties. Those Vextrix Knights who had expressed even the slightest reservation in siding with their bond-lieges against the Imperium are placed on the front lines, where they suffer the greatest losses. The conflict therefore becomes known amongst the nobility of the world of Daxos Gemini as the "Great Cull."Battle of Molech (009.M31) - On the planet of Molech, the sudden defection of House Devine proves to be the pivotal factor in the defeat of the Loyalist forces seeking to halt Horus' relentless advance on Terra. As the Warmaster unleashes a massive coordinated assault, the planet's defenders are thrown into disarray when the plasma reactor of the Imperator Titan, Paragon of Terra, is destroyed. Thousands of Loyalists are immolated in a blinding flash as a miniature sun erupts from the Titan's core to leave a smoking crater half a kilometre wide. In the wake of the catastrophic blast, a spearhead of Traitor Titans marches through the gap in the Imperial lines. Caught between the treacherous Knights of House Devine and Horus' rampant forces, the shattered remnants of Molech's Loyalist defenders are slaughtered without mercy.Great Scouring (ca. 014.M31) - Horus lies dead at the hands of the Emperor following the Siege of Terra. But so high is the cost of victory that many seek solace in hounding the fleeing Traitors across the stars rather than face the task of rebuilding the shattered Imperium. This campaign of vengeance is known as the "Great Scouring." The surviving knightly houses with the strength to fight unanimously join in this crusade of retribution. Knights are at the forefront of many such campaigns, venting their disgust, hatred and outrage upon those Nobles that betrayed them. A higher number of Freeblades join the fighting, exacting revenge for houses lost and homeworlds destroyed. Believing the honour of the many to be stained by the treachery of the few, the Imperial Knights hunt down the knightly houses that sided with Horus with extreme prejudice, seeking to redeem their tarnished reputation. Filled with righteous indignation, a combined strike force of Knights from Houses Cadmus, Terryn and Borgius annihilates the turncoats of House Devine as Imperial forces reclaim the Fallen Knight World of Molech.