House Taranis - Notable Campaigns: The Emperor Arrives on Mars (ca. M30) - Knight Taymon Verticorda, of House Taranis, is the first to encounter the Emperor of Mankind on His arrival at Mars. In his guise as the Omnissiah, the Emperor forges an auspicious alliance between Mars and the newly unified Terra in the Treaty of Mars that forms the backbone of His fledgling Imperium. Preparations are made for a great undertaking, the Great Crusade, to reunite the lost worlds of Mankind.Schism of Mars (007.M31) - When open civil war erupted all over the Red Planet as the civil war within the Mechanicum known as the Schism of Mars began, many Titan Legions and their vassal Knight households had already pledged their support to the Fabricator-General Kelbor-Hal and his co-conspirators of the Dark Mechanicum. House Taranis was rife with discord and quickly torn asunder, its warriors turning against one another as each swore themselves into the service of those deemed worthy. Those beyond the Red Planet were not spared from death and destruction simply by their abscence as each fragment of House Taranis sought its own path. During the subsequent Horus Heresy, elements of House Taranis found themselves fighting both for and against the Imperium.Defence of Ryza (012.M31) - Amongst the echelons of the Cult Mechanicus, Ryza stood second only to Mars in power and prominence by the end of the Great Crusade. Located within the Ultima Segmentum, its position was secured by its raw manufacturing power and its tactical location that, since Ryza first forged treaties with the Imperium, served to fuel the reach of the Great Crusade eastwards across the galaxy. Above all else, Ryza possessed unparalleled expertise in the engineering and production of plasma technology. In war, the luminaries of Ryza turned their efforts towards the continued support of the Imperium, refusing to be swayed by the honeyed promises of the Warmaster Horus and his emissaries. To this end they dispatched calls for aid, and offers in kind, to those forces scattered across the Ultima Segmentum and beyond. So it was that when the Warmaster bade his allies to seize the Forge World, it stood guarded not just by the formidable might of the Legio Crucius but the resurgent power of several other Legios and Knight houses. Amongst their number stood both House Taranis and House Zavora, ancient households bound to Mars since the Age of Strife, and both the Legio Honorum and Legio Osedax, all lent portions of their strengths to Ryza in accordance with treaties negotiated with their patron worlds. Yet, despite the might assembled upon the world, it paled in the face of the force marshalled against it, for some amongst the Dark Mechanicum, twisted kin of the Loyalist Mechanicum, dearly wished to claim the wealth and knowledge of Ryza as their own, bringing forth all manner of horrors to lay the world low. Though the war had ravaged much of the surrounding segmentum, Ryza had remained free of taint and conflict despite, or perhaps because of, the power it wielded. Yet its growing power had not gone unnoticed and, when time came for the Warmaster to assault the Segmentum Solar, he moved to enforce his will upon those who had escaped notice and might yet threaten his flanks as he marched upon the cradle of Humanity. The resurgent might of Ryza proved too powerful an enclave to ignore, for it served as a waystation for Imperial forces and, left unchecked, might yet unite resistance if the absence of the Warmaster's allies allowed his foes to rally. Seeking the elimination of the threat Ryza posed, the Warmaster bade his supporters amongst the Dark Mechanicum to fall upon the world, promising them vast rewards should they succeed. He cared little as to how they achieved such a goal and while the Warmaster desired only that the world be crippled beyond recovery, the Dark Mechanicum held more sinister ambitions for Ryza, seeking the creation of a new Hell-Forge for their profane experiments. It fell to Yuritus Omicron, Fabricator-Locum of Estaban VII, to conquer Ryza. In accordance with the Warmaster's wishes, Omicron assembled the might of the Legio Magna and Legio Vulturum, promises of vast riches awaiting their patrons should their aid bring success. With them came a decad of Titans from the Legio Mortis, their presence demanded by the Warmaster to ensure victory. In all, nearly 140 Titans were assembled, their gathered might a portent of doom for the world of Ryza. These Titan Legions were not to walk alone, for the Knight houses of Morbidia and Oroborn had been amassed alongside them.The Relief of Endeavour (012.M31) - The fall of Salvation Isthmus opened a path for the Traitors to fall upon all of Ryza. Splitting in two, the Traitor forces laid siege to both continents, still desiring to claim as much of the world intact as possible. In the days following the fall of the city of Endeavour, what Loyalist Titans were able moved to recapture the city. Few in number and drawn mostly from the Legio Osedax, they were faced with a wall of Titans standing atop the broken fortifications of the city. Endeavour itself was surrounded by barren plains that offered little cover, ensuring any assault upon the city would be in full sight of the Traitors and, against such numbers, the Legio Osedax had little chance of survival, even with the assembled might of House Taranis and Zavora by their side. Torn between duty and pragmatism, the commanders of the Legio Osedax moved to debate their options, proposing a retreat and the appointment of a new leader. This course of action was not condoned by the Knights of House Taranis and Zavora, for they were loathe to see another world they protected burnt in the fires of the Warmaster's ambition. As the sun rose on a new day, the Knight houses assembled and, as one, charged across the empty plain towards Endeavour, directly into the teeth of the Traitors' guns. Few of the charging Knights survived but those that did broke the Traitor line, using the confines of the streets to even the odds and bring down superior foes. Outside of the city, the Legio Osedax moved into action, hoping their numbers could tip the battle in the Loyalists' favour and push the Traitors from the city.Battle of Balltura (Unknown Date.M31)War of the Beast (544-546.M32) - The War of the Beast was an enormous Ork WAAAGH! of massive proportions, not seen since the Ullanor Crusade at the tail end of the Great Crusade. This invasion nearly brought the Imperium to its knees as the Greenskins threatened to invade the Throneworld itself. Humanity was only able to halt this advance utilising desperate measures and at great cost in both civilian and various military forces' lives, including those of House Taranis.Cold Trade Wars (Unknown Date.M41) - This campaign consisted of a series of battles that saw the Adeptus Mechanicus forces of an alliance of Forge Worlds defeat a large group of pirates operating from the Halo Stars. The Knights of House Taranis took part in the Cold Trade Wars and aided in the Forge World's victory over the pirates, by destroying the bases that were located on frozen moons and asteroid fields.Tarsok Incursion (230.M41) - Knights of House Taranis battled a daemonic incursion on the world of Tarsok V, taking the fight to the towering Great Unclean One that led the daemonic horde. Wading through a tide of Plaguebearers, Seneschal Halver's Knights advanced on the corpulent horror while billowing clouds of flies sizzled against their Ion Shields and formed drifts about their feet. The daemonic lord drowned one Knight in a tide of bile, and crushed two more beneath its weeping bulk. Yet the Knights' Reaper Chainswords carved through its rancid flesh and with a final, gurgling roar the Great Unclean One was banished back to the Warp. The remaining Daemons faded slowly from view, leaving the planet's surviving defenders to count the terrible cost.Battle of Ontoria XII (Unknown Date.M41) - This was a campaign that House Taranis took part in to defend the Imperial world of Ontoria XII against an unrecorded foe.Defence of Frontis (Unknown Date.M41) - The Defence of Fortis was a lamentable conflict that involved two Knight houses; House Taranis and House Griffith. Amid the ruins of an Imperial city, these two Knight houses came to blows over a vital supply drop. The Knights of House Griffith sought only to rearm their war engines for their next offensive, while the Knights of House Taranis coveted the war materiel for themselves. Exchanging insults at one another, soon the anger of the Knights of both households boiled over. The senseless battle that followed saw both households' Knights ravaged. Finally, the conflict was only resolved when the leadership of each Knight house agreed to a duel. The Knight Crusader Defiance, piloted by Lady Mikaela of House Griffith, strode towards the Knight Warden of House Taranis piloted by Baron Cavanix. The blood of her fellow Nobles was on the baron's hands. Powering up her guns, Mikaela unleashed the full firepower of her Knight as she closed with Baron Cavanix. Heavy Stubbers and Autocannons sprayed bullets across her armoured suit, her Avenger Gatling Cannon cycled through hundreds of rounds of ammunition, the shots driving deep craters into the baron's crimson armour. Her Battle Cannon roared time and again, high-calibre rounds smashing into the advancing Knight. Her Heavy Flamer engulfed him in fire. And still Baron Cavanix marched ever onwards. Lady Mikaela vowed that this Knight would fall and that he would pay for his treachery. As he broke into a run, Mikaela increased the speed of her Knight, racing towards him. The sound of the impact was defeaning. The city ruins shook as Mikaela battered the Knight Warden to the ground, her guns pummelling its armour, her feet lashing out as it tried to rise. Yet Baron Cavanix was not to be defeated. Reaching out with his Paragon Gauntlet, he grasped the Knight Crusader's leg and tore it clean from the hip. Mikaela roared with symbiotic pain and frustration as her Knight crumpled beneath her. She had failed her household. She had lost the supplies, the duel and her honour. Though House Taranis emerged victorious, it was a pyrrhic victory at best, as only the baron's Knight was left standing.13th Black Crusade (999.M41) - During the closing years of the 41st Millennium, Abaddon the Despoiler launched his 13th Black Crusade. This massive conflict resulted in the largest mobilisation of both the Imperial military and the forces of Chaos since the Horus Heresy over ten millennia earlier. Abaddon's strategy was based around the concept of the "Crimson Path" -- to summon enough Daemons to the surface of the Fortress World of Cadia in order to overload the pylons that dotted the planet's surface and held back the tides of the Warp to create the Cadian Gate. Despite the Imperium's valiant efforts, Abaddon succeeded in his efforts by plunging one of the captured Blackstone Fortresses under his command into the surface of the doomed planet and utterly destroying Cadia. This resulted in a massive galaxy-wide tear in reality -- the Cicatrix Maledictum or "Great Rift," which extended from the Segmentum Obscurus all the way to the Eastern Fringe. With the barrier between the material unniverse and the Immaterium torn asunder, this allowed the forces of Chaos and their daemonic allies to pour forth in numbers never seen before, plunging the entire galaxy into chaos and bloodshed.Charadon Campaign (Unknown Date.M42 / 855-1058LRC) - Following the destruction of Cadia and the formation of the Great Rift, an event known as the Noctis Aeterna saw the light of the Astronomican blotted out and astropathic communication all but impossible across much of the galaxy. The Chaos Lord Typhus the Traveler, formerly of the Death Guard Traitor Legion, seized the opportunity to invade the Forge World of Metalica and plunged the Charadon Sector into war. In response, a massive Imperial Crusade consisting of a joint-Imperial force comprised of various military factions, including several Knight houses, was gathered to together to drive back the forces of Chaos. However, despite inflicting severe casualties upon the enemy, Typhus still managed to achieve his objective. By delivering his phage, the Forge World's Prime Industrial Cluster had become infected, creating mutated growths throughout Metalica's mechanical surface and corrupting its ancient data network. Despite their best efforts to eradicate the phage, the Metalican Mechanicus saw the reemergence of this dreaded corruption after supposedly eradicating it, and despite containing it, it appears anew -- again and again -- in an endless cycle of manifestation and purgation. While the region was declared pacified by the Imperium, Metalica was all but crippled while House Raven tragically had lost their homeworld. It would take many standard years of effort and many lives to truly reclaim the region. Abaddon's influence would continue to loom over the sector long after Typhus' departure.