vizn3r/warhammer40k-lore huggingface dataset:
House Devine - Post-Heresy: As the events of the Horus Heresy neared their tragic conclusion nine standard years after the fateful betrayal at Isstvan III, Horus was confronted and defeated by the Emperor aboard his flagship, the Vengeful Spirit, though the Master of Mankind was mortally wounded and had to be interred within the cybernetic life support mechanisms of the advanced psychic augmentation technology known as the Golden Throne.Though Horus lay dead at the hands of the Emperor, so high was the cost of victory that many Loyalists sought solace in hounding the fleeing Traitors across the stars rather than face the task of rebuilding the shattered Imperium. This campaign of vengeance is now known as the Great Scouring. The surviving Loyalist Knight houses with the strength to fight unanimously joined in this crusade of retribution. Believing the honour of the many to be stained by the treachery of the few, the Imperial Knights hunted down the Knight 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 House Cadmus, House Terryn and House Borgius annihilated the turncoats of House Devine as Imperial forces reclaimed Molech. But there were rumours that some of the traitorous Knights of House Devine went unaccounted for.Presumably when Horus was defeated and Molech was reclaimed by Imperial forces, the survivors of this Chaos-corrupted Knight house fled alongside the Traitor Legions into the Eye of Terror, where they remain to this day.Corrupted by the insidious influence of Chaos, many of the pilots of these Renegade Knights have long since died, their souls continuing to live on as Daemons, trapped within the shells of their war walkers. Even the Knights themselves have been "blessed" by the Dark Gods, as they now wield massive organic claws, tails and other horrendous daemonic weapons.
House Devine - Notable House Devine Knights: Banelash (Knight Errant) - The Knight Errant mount of Albard Devine.Argent Sabre (Questoris Knight Paladin) - A Knight Paladin that served during the Great Crusade and Horus Heresy eras. Argent Sabre is depicted above shortly before the fall of the Legio Crucius Imperator-class Titan Paragon of Terra during the Battle of Molech.Argent Vindicator (Questoris Knight Paladin) - The Freeblade Knight Paladin mount of Leoke Argent.Balefire (Cerastus Knight Lancer) - Balefire was a Cerastus Knight Lancer that served during both the Great Crusade and Horus Heresy eras. When House Devine turned against their allies during the Battle of Molech, Balefire acted without hesitation, falling upon those it was previously assigned to defend. The Knight soon exemplified the wanton decadence practiced by House Devine. Favouring brutal strikes against an enemy household's leadership, long was the list of Knight houses that bore a grudge against Balefire and its pilots.
House Devine - Notable House Devine Personnel: Lord Cyprian Devine "The Hellblade"  - Imperial Commander of Molech, Knight Seneschal and head of House Devine at the time of the Horus Heresy. Cyprian was loyal to the Emperor, but was assassinated by his son Raeven Devine.Cebella Devine - Adoratrice Drakina consort of Lord Cyprian Devine, mother of the twin siblings Raeven and Lyx Devine and secret occult practitioner of the forbidden faith of the Serpent god of Molech.Albard Devine - First scion and heir of Lord Devine, it was Albard who eventually led the house into damnation, killing his two half-siblings to claim rulership of the house during the Battle of Molech.Raeven Devine - First Knight and second scion of Lord Cyprian Devine, half-brother of Albard, who killed his father Cyprian so that he might rule the house in place of his older brother. Raeven and his sister were slain in turn by their half-brother Albard during the Battle of Molech.Lyx Devine - Daughter of Cyprian and Cebella Devine, half-sister and Adoratrice Sybaris to Albard, she was the twin sister and lover of her brother Raeven Devine and was ultimately slain by her half-brother Albard when he took back control of the house during the Battle of Molech. Lyx was an unsanctioned psyker and secret occult practitioner of the faith of the Serpent god of Molech.
House Devine - Loyalist Legios: Legio CruciusLegio FortidusLegio Gryphonicus
House Devine - Traitor Legios: Legio InterfectorLegio MortisLegio Vulcanum ILegio Vulcanum IILegio Vulpa
House Devine - Loyalist Space Marine Legions: Blood AngelsUltramarines
House Devine - Traitor Space Marine Legions: Death GuardEmperor's ChildrenSons of Horus
House Devine - House Strength: House Devine exhibited a distinct preference for the deployment of Cerastus Knight armours, with Divisio Militaris records indicating that the household numbered roughly 200 before the invasion of Molech, with over half that number being Knight Lancer and Knight Castigator armours, marking Devine as a Secundus-grade house.It is estimated that, contrary to the rapid decline of many households' numbers during the Horus Heresy, the strength of House Devine actually increased during this tumultuous era. This growth can be attributed to two factors: the scavenging of Knight armours from the Loyalist households on Molech and the ready acceptance of Dark Mechanicum war machines in the household's ranks, with Devine Scions serving as test subjects for the various twisted designs produced by many traitorous Forge Worlds.
House Devine - House Colours: The colours of House Devine were maroon, deep purple, white and gold. Since their fall to Chaos, the war walkers of House Devine are now clad in bright pink or purple pastels, the garish colours commonly used by those who serve the Pleasure God Slaanesh.
House Devine - House Arms: Prior to the Imperial Compliance of Molech, the original heraldry of House Devine was a "naga" (a serpentine creature native to the planet) that stood rampant. The adopted heraldry of the entwined Imperial eagle-and-naga was incorporated following the nearly bloodless Compliance action that brought Molech into the Imperial fold in 869.M30.This dual heraldry symbolised House Devine's equally divided loyalty between their house and the Imperium. But some of the more haughty Nobles of Molech viewed this updated heraldry as a monstrously arrogant means of Imperial control, one which seemed to suit the emergent galactic Human empire perfectly.As the naga was also heavily utilised in symbology associated with the planet's ancient worship of "serpent gods," House Devine altered its heraldry to include an Imperial Aquila, showing it as dominant over the old ways. This alteration, first borne by many of the household's Knight armours during the Battle of Molech, was viewed as a constant reminder of Imperial control by the more hardline elements of House Devine's nobility.Following the treachery of House Devine against the Emperor, many of its Knights removed any evidence of the Imperial Aquila, proclaiming that the household was no longer shackled to a foreign master; that many amongst the household quickly adopted the Eye of Horus or symbols of the Warp entities the Traitors called upon was a fact largely ignored by those who had long derided the Emperor.
House Devine - Sources: Adeptus Titanicus - The Horus Heresy: Rulebook (Specialty Game), pg. 72Adeptus Titanicus - The Horus Heresy: Titandeath (Specialty Game), pg. 95Adeptus Titanicus - The Horus Heresy: Doom of Molech (Specialty Game), pg. 46Adeptus Titanicus - The Horus Heresy: Traitor Legios (Specialty Game), pp. 74-77Codex: Imperial Knights (6th Edition), pp. 28-29, 102-103White Dwarf 190 (UK), "Epic: Slaanesh War Machines," by Gav Thorpe, pg. 27The Imperial Truth (Anthology), "The Devine Adoratrice" (Short Story) by Graham McNeillVengeful Spirit (Novel) by Graham McNeillWarhammer Community - Doom of Molech: What's In the BookWarhammer Community - What is the Battle of Molech?
House Donar - House Donar: House Donar was an Imperial Knight house. Known as the "Preceptor House," House Donar served as the warden of the Western Marches of the continent of Molechari on the Knight World of Molech during the Horus Heresy.House Donar was destroyed at the Battle of Molech while guarding the Preceptor Line along the western edge of the Kushite Eastings, the trackless jungles of Kush, located to the east of the planet's capital city of Lupercalia. Unleashing the power of Chaos sorcery, the Death Guard Traitor Legion was able to push through the jungle of Kush on Molech. These dark arts annihilated every life form the Death Guard forces came into contact with within the jungle.This devastation pushed many of the powerful mega-fauna that inhabited the Kush jungle out of the region and into the Preceptor Line, where they were slaughtered by the Knights of House Donar. Yet many of these creatures survived and continued to storm through the Preceptor Line, destroying many of House Donar's defences.Badly weakened by this Traitor stratagem, the Knights of House Donar made a last stand against the Traitor Titans of the Legio Mortis and were slain to the last Noble.
House Donar - Origins: The history of House Donar records that the first Donar Scions were descended from the Guardian Preceptor, the bladesmaster of the ancient high king of Molech. In those lost days, the people of the continent called Molechari were plagued by the beasts of Kush, the huge monsters ranging out into the Western Marches to hunt among the scattered Human settlements.When the old high king passed, the Preceptor walked into the east to face these beasts. On the edge of the great jungles of Kush, the Preceptor planted his blade in the ground and vowed that as long as his house endured, the lands of Mankind would be defended.Centuries later, the Scions of House Donar ruled over the Western Marches and the Preceptor Line. An ancient defensive wall erected against the jungle macro-fauna, it ran hundreds of kilometres from the peaks of the Untar Mesas in the south all the way to the storm-lashed Azure Coast in the north. Along its length, watch towers stood sentinel against the deep jungle beyond, while ramparts, each large enough to accommodate a Knight armour, provided firing platforms.It was a matter of pride for House Donar that as long as the wall had stood, the Western Marches lived free of the horrors of the savage mallahgra and other beasts that had once ranged deep into their lands.Over the years, House Donar became one of the preeminent hunting houses, often competing with House Devine for the venator's glory during Lord Cyprian's beast hunts. These hunts served a dual purpose, both honing the skills of the Scions and thinning the numbers of monsters living close to the edge of the Kush.Baron Balmorn Donar and his firstborn, Robard Donar, the lord and Seneschal of House Donar, respectively, were principal among these hunters.They regularly sallied forth from their watch upon the Preceptor Line to exterminate nests of arcanodons or xenosmilus, dragging the creatures' carcasses back to their fortress as trophies, each kill having honoured the Guardian Preceptor's ancient oath.
House Donar - Battle of Molech: It had long been held that the jungles of Kush, a formidable natural barrier populated with dangerous beasts, effectively denied an invader ingress from the east. To this end, Tyana Kourion, lord general of the Grand Army of Molech, had kept her best troops back for the defence of Lupercalia and commanded only second line Imperial Army companies to hold the Preceptor Line.Fortunately for the defenders, its protection was not the responsibility of the Imperial Army alone. House Donar, one of the ancient knightly houses of Molech, held dominion over the lands bordering the great Kush, and their household fortress was incorporated into part of the ancient defensive wall.When news came of invaders landing on the eastern shore of the continent of Molechari in 008.M31 during the Horus Heresy, the Knight armours of Donar massed upon the Preceptor Line. Unbeknownst to the defenders, the Primarch Mortarion and his Death Guard Legion were forging a path through the jungle even as they waited, fell Warp magicks turning its once verdant reaches into a sea of death.Driven forth before the destruction of the jungle, tens of thousands of massive creatures stormed the Preceptor Line, emerging in a frenzied rush to fall upon the defenders. Ravaged by hordes of beasts driven from the jungles, the already crumbling Imperial defences had taken further damage to the point that they represented little more than a line in the sand against the advancing Traitor Titans.Despite having expended large amounts of ordnance on destroying the rampaging packs of azhdarchid, xenosmilus and stone serpents, among other macro-fauna, the Knights of House Donar stood their ground. Even as the jungle fell into blackened ruin before their eyes, devoured by the Life-eater Virus, Lord Balmorn, Baron of House Donar, bade his Knights to hold the line.That they faced the vanguard Titans of the Legio Mortis did not diminish their courage and when the first Titans were sighted emerging from the miasmic clouds that had once marked the jungle's edge, Lord Balrnorn mustered his Knights and issued the order to charge.Though valiant, the efforts of House Donar proved fruitless and the house was destroyed to the last Knight.
House Donar - Notable Campaigns: Battle of Molech (009.M31) - Molech was a Knight World ruled over by House Devine ever since the Emperor Himself led an expedition to bring it into the fledgling Imperium and left a significant garrison there. The planet thrived under the rule of Devine, the populace of its capital city of Lupercalia never knowing the true reason why the Emperor had taken it upon Himself to lead the force that claimed it. Unfortunately for the citizens of Molech, the Traitor Horus knew exactly what lay beneath the city that had been named in his honour -- a Warp Gate which, it was said, had allowed the Emperor to convene with the Ruinous Powers themselves. When Loyalist forces became aware of the Traitor fleet's approach, they mustered at Molech. As well as a trio of Titan Legions -- the Legio Gryphonicus, Legio Crucius, and Legio Fortidus -- there were elements of each of the Imperium's fighting forces, including nearly a dozen Knight houses which owed fealty to Devine, including House Donar. The Traitor force was equally impressive, featuring no fewer than four Titan Legions: the Legio Vulpa, Legio Interfector, Legio Vulcanum I, and the infamous Legio Mortis. As the Warmaster Horus unleashed a massive coordinated assault, the planet's defenders were thrown into disarray when the Plasma Reactor of an Imperator-class Titan, Paragon of Terra, was destroyed. Thousands of Loyalists were immolated in a blinding flash as a miniature sun erupted from the Titan's core to leave a smoking crater half a Terran mile wide. In the wake of the catastrophic blast, the spearhead of Traitor Titans marched through the gap in the Imperial lines. At the height of the battle, House Devine revealed its true allegiance to the Warmaster, its treachery unveiled at a pivotal moment, heralding a slaughter from which only a handful of Loyalists escaped. Caught between the treacherous Knights of House Devine and Horus' rampant forces, the shattered remnants of Molech's defenders were slaughtered without mercy. They were totally defeated, so brutally that only one in a hundred of the troops of the Imperial Army survived the campaign. After his passage through the portal into the Realm of Chaos, Horus won the full blessing of the Ruinous Powers as their champion. His drive on Terra seemed unstoppable.
House Donar - House Homeworld: Molech has a long history as a Frontier World; its Knight houses protected it from the darkness of Old Night during long standard centuries of isolation. Though it lies within the borders of the Segmentum Solar, that most civilised centre of the galaxy within which Terra rules, its position at the very end of the Elliptical Way makes its planets difficult to reach via routes through the Warp. Molech is close to Terra in terms of size and orbit, sitting as it does within the primary biosphere of its star system.Similar to Terra, Molech also has a large moon. Though not as influential as Luna, it regulates the tides and seasons on the world below, making the planet more habitable for Humans. In time, as the planet was developed by Humanity, this moon, as well as several of Molech's smaller celestial bodies, would become outposts for orbital defence networks and fuelling stations for void ships contributing to its impressive defences.Four major continents grace the surface of the planet, divided by clear warm waters at the equator all the way to frozen seas at each pole. The two smallest continents, Estara and Neuropia, remain rugged wilderness realms, home to hunters and remote mining operations. These undeveloped lands lie far to the east and north of Molech, respectively.Next in size and importance is the southern continent of Arcanius, an industrialised landscape of manufactoria and smoke-shrouded cities. Centred around the vast metropolis of Clockwork City, Arcanius produces the wealth of Molech's manufactured goods and is home to its tinker guilds and tech-slaves. The Knight houses tolerate Arcanius for it is here that many of their Sacristans receive their training in the ways of maintaining their Knight armours.Molechari is Molech's principal continental landmass, the seat of power of its Knight houses and Titan Legions. Sprawling across the equator of the planet, its thousands of kilometres of landscape comprise the southern steppes of Tazkhar, the high mountain peaks of the Untar Mesas, the jungles of Kush and the huge agri-belts arrayed around the planet's capital city -- Lupercalia. These heartlands of the Knight World were where the Battle of Molech was fought during the Horus Heresy.
House Donar - Kushite Eastings: East of the capital city of Lupercalia on the continent of Molechari, the trackless jungles of Kush rise up, a tangled wilderness prowled by dangerous beasts. As effective a barrier as any fortress walls, the jungles effectively divide Molechari in two. No Human settlements stand within them, and only when the wilds thin towards the easternmost coasts do refineries and ports appear, though these are walled against predators from the west.As long as Humans have lived upon Molechari, the jungles of Kush have defined their existence. A nightmare realm of dark animal kingdoms and bestial lairs, any settlement erected too close to the jungle risked extinction. Even great cities such as Archmaga once suffered attacks by raiding beasts from the Kush, and only the presence of Knight armours kept it safe. For a long time, the Kushite Eastings were a no-man's-land to the people of Molech. Eventually though, as Humanity asserted its influence over the world, the dangers of the Kush were driven back into its jungles.The Preceptor Line was constructed along the Kush's western edge, and House Donar was granted the honour of its maintenance and defence. Designed as a barrier against the predatory creatures of the Kush, the wall was upgraded over the years to include gun towers and watch fortresses, its great ramparts widened and reinforced so that a Knight armour could mount them. Despite these improvements, the great scale of the wall and the disregard the ruling House Devine had for the other Knight houses of Molech meant in time large sections of the Preceptor Line fell into disrepair. By the time of the Warmaster Horus' invasion, it was a defensive line largely in name only.Part of the reason for the wall's neglect was the presence of the jungles. The defence had proven adequate to hold the small numbers of predators at bay that once raided the Western Marches, but against a conventional foe advancing overland from the east, it was believed that the jungle itself was a far greater barrier than anything the defenders could hope to construct. Even the Knight houses only entered the shadowy labytinth of ancient trees in numbers, supported by heavily-armed retainers and clad in their Knight armours.As dangerous as the indigenous beasts of the rainforest were, the jungles themselves were filled with perilous terrain, from vine-choked chasms and deep brown rivers to bottomless fens and quicksand flats. During the Traitors' invasion of Molech, a vast swathe of the jungle was consumed by the Life-eater virus, and while this blackened ruin became a battlefield, so too did what little was left of the jungle itself in the battles that followed.
House Donar - Notable Knights: Davard (Knight Errant) - The Davard was a Knight Errant destroyed during the Battle of Molech.
House Donar - Notable Personnel: Baron Balmorn Donar - Lord Balmorn was the ruler of House Donar. He and his Knights made their last stand when the Traitor Titans of the Legio Mortis advanced upon the Preceptor Line at the Battle of Molech.Sir Robard Donar - Sir Robard was the firstborn of Lord Balmorn. He was also the Seneschal and a Lord Scion of House Donar.Sir Davard Donar - Sir Davard was a rising figure in the hierarchy of House Donar. Known for successfully hunting the deadliest of beasts even when the odds were stacked against him, Davard ultimately escaped Molech after its fall and offered his services as a Freeblade. Upon his heraldry, skulls traditionally used to represent kills instead represented those of his banner that had fallen on Molech. Davard was reported to have moved towards Terra intent on slaying the greatest beast of them all -- the Warmaster Horus himself.Luthias — Donar Scion killed in the Battle of Molech.Urbano — Donar Scion killed in the Battle of Molech.Tyrae — Donar Scion killed in the Battle of Molech.
House Donar - House Colours: House Donar Knights were primarily a dark green with portions of their chassis black. The trim was a burnished gold. Various symbols and iconography displayed upon the Knight armours were red.
House Donar - House Arms: House Donar's arms took the form of a horizontal red bar with a trio of black skulls centred within. Below was a red portcullis, which indicated House Donar's duty as the sentinels of the Preceptor Line of the Western Marches of Molechari.
House Donar - Sources: Adeptus Titanicus - The Horus Heresy: Doom of Molech (Specialty Game), pp. 7-11, 48-49, 62-63Vengeful Spirit (Novel) by Graham McNeillWarhammer Community - What is the Battle of Molech? (18 Apr 2019)
House Dorath - House Dorath: House Dorath is a Loyalist Imperial Knight House of the Questor Imperialis that serves the Imperium directly. House Dortah hails from the Styken System far to the galactic northwest in the Segmentum Obscurus. Along with ten other knightly houses to call upon, House Arokon provides a standing guard -- known as the Order of Iron -- upon the surface of the principal planet, the Forge World of Stryken Primus, to ensure this vital world's protection.
House Dorath - House History: Situated far in the galactic north-west, the Stryken System's principal planet is the smoke-wreathed Forge World of Stryken Primus. The system's industrial heart isprotected by a ring of three Knight Worlds in close proximity -- Stryken II, IV and V -- and each is home to several knightly houses. These verdant planets were once Maiden Worlds of the Eldar. The ancient tribes of Exodites that once dwelt there, herding the many different species of giant reptiles and bipedal carnivores, were ruthlessly driven from these worlds by the knightly houses that were established shortly after Mankind's arrival.With the combined might of no less than eleven knightly houses to call upon, including such luminaries as Houses Dorath and Arokon, the Forge World of Stryken Primus has no Titan Legion stationed upon its surface. The planet instead focuses on supplying munitions in enormous quantities for the Imperial forces defending the Cadian Gate. A standing guard of Knights -- the Order of Iron -- is always present on the surface of the Forge World to ensure its protection. Drawn from amongst the greatest and most capable Nobles from each House, competition to be accepted into the Order of Iron is fierce, and it is considered a great honour to join their ranks. The head of the Order is given the honorific title of Forge Warden, and leads the Knights in battle as if he were a ruler of his own knightly house. House Dorath's valiant Knights have ever dominated the ranks of the mighty Order of Iron.
House Dorath - Notable Campaigns: None listed in current Imperial records.
House Dorath - Notable Knights: None listed in current Imperial records.
House Dorath - Notable Personnel: None listed in current Imperial records.
House Dorath - House Colours: The colours of House Dorath are not listed in current Imperial records.
House Dorath - House Arms: The arms of House Dorath are not listed in current Imperial records.
House Draconis - House Draconis: House Draconis is currently considered the most influential household of Imperial Knights upon the Knight World of Adrastapol as its current ruler is the high king of Adrastapol, a crown House Draconis only recently gained in the wake of the Donatosian War.Like all of Adrastapol's remaining three Knight Houses, House Draconis has sworn fealty directly to the Imperium of Man and has thus escaped the more strict tenures of the Sidon Protocols with which the Adeptus Mechanicus ensures the loyalty of those Houses sworn directly to its service.In the wake of the dire events of the Donatosian War where fully half of the Knight houses of Adrastapol turned Renegade, House Draconis' loyalty and that of its allies have been doubted and it is no secret that the house has now come under the close scrutiny of the Inquisition.With the help of the Adeptus Ministorum, House Draconis laid waste to the keeps of the Renegade houses and awaited the arrival of their judge. For years no news reached Adrastapol until on the eve of the Second Ork War an Inquisitor arrived.While still reeling from the losses inflicted by the Ork invasion, the Knights of House Draconis are beginning to mobilise to hunt the last Traitor of House Chimaeros who brought such infamy to their world.
House Draconis - House History: Like many Knight Houses, the origins of House Draconis are shrouded in mysteries. As with most Knight Worlds, their homeworld was first colonised during the Age of Technology, but the only reliable sources confirming this are the memories embedded in the Thrones Mechanicum of the oldest Draconis Knights.House Draconis started as merely one of several Knight Houses to claim Adrastapol as their home, and of these it was neither the most powerful, nor the most influential. But the house quickly developed a reputation for temerity and martial excellence, and even nowadays it is said of the Draconis Knight that the fire of their heraldic beast burns brightly within their breast.The association of House Draconis and fire is best exemplified by the location of House Draconis' ancestral fortress, the Draconspire, a mighty keep built in and around an active volcano. By the time the Great Crusade reached Adrastapol and the Knight World formally joined the Imperium of Man, House Draconis had developed much of its identity, but it lacked the political influence it would later acquire.When Adrastapol joined the galactic empire that is the Imperium of Mankind, it was one of eight remaining Knight Houses beside House Hydrax, House Manticos, House Medusos, House Minotos, House Pegasson and House Wyvorn under the aegis of House Chimaeros which held the crown of the high king of Adrastapol.The Imperial Knights of Adrastapol were included in many expeditionary fleets which would expand and protect the borders of the Imperium, but Imperial archives are void of House Draconis' efforts during this great endeavour. The next reliable data in Imperial archives concerning House Draconis dates back to the troubled times of the Horus Heresy and the reign of High King Rhoderic Tan Chimaeros.When the Warmaster Horus Lupercal turned against the Emperor alongside half of the Space Marine Legions and Titan Legions as well as countless regiments of the Excertus Imperialis, he also managed to convince the Imperial Knights of Houses Hydrax and Medusos to follow him into sedition. Naturally, the remaining Loyalist Houses of Adrastapol formed a great alliance that would confront and ultimately defeat these Renegade Knights.
House Draconis - Succession of High King Gerraint: In the years that followed Skarjaw's death, the balance of power on Adrastapol continued to fluctuate. Having suffered severe casualties, both Houses Pegasson and Manticos needed time to rebuild their strength, but whereas the first remained independent, House Manticos became a client of House Chimaeros.The growing love between Gerraint Tan Chimaeros and Alicia Tan Manticos was plain to see, despite their great difference in years. Once she was of age, Gerraint officially chose her as his consort and from this union a son was born, Luk Tan Chimaeros, the future Knight of Ashes. Having to track down the surviving Orks and the various fungal-based lifeforms that had accompanied them, the Knights of the remaining Houses had much to do.A whole generation of Knights grew up hunting down the Feral Orks and burning their nests to cleanse the soil of their homeworld from their nightmarish influence. Heeding Alicia's counsel, High King Gerraint became a wise and much beloved ruler. As the birth of his second son coincided with the birth of Danial Tan Draconis, Tolwyn's own son, it was decided to raise the two boys together, their own friendship mirroring that of their fathers.Once Adrastapol had been purged of the greenskin threat events took a turn for the worse. The Imperium of Man once again called upon the Adrastapolian Knights to march to war in one of its colossal campaigns. Sources regarding this particular campaign, the Galhorm Crusade, are scarce and virtually nothing is known about it in current Imperial records.Yet, for the Adrastapolian Knights and especially House Chimaeros, the crusade's outcome was nothing short of a tragedy. Not one to shirk his duties, High King Gerraint fought at the frontlines of the crusade and was severely wounded. The damage to his body was so great that he was forever after forced to rely on the strength of an augmetic brace to move outside of his Knight's Throne Mechanicum.However the scars on Gerraint's body were nothing compared to those on Gerraint's soul, for amongst the score of Knights slain in this crusade was also his firstborn son and designated heir, the Kingsward Gedric Tan Chimaeros.The rules of succession to the throne of the high king of Adrastapol are complex, but one of its most important tenets is that the current sovereign has to assure the continuity of his bloodline by siring a legitimate male heir. With Gedric's death, Gerraint's bloodline was in jeopardy, even though he was also the father of the young Luk. Luk's claim to the throne was not considered a legitimate one because he was the product of a second marriage.At a great conclave, the leader of the various Knight houses elected Tolwyn Tan Draconis as their new ruler, the first time in Adrastapol's long history that this honour was granted to House Draconis. While he shared his friend's grief over Gedric's death, Tolwyn Tan Draconis did not dare refuse the crown and thus became the new ruler of Adrastapol.
House Draconis - Enemy Breakthrough: In the Grand Strategium of the Draconspire, where just moments before High King Danial had been speaking to his long lost friend, all was darkness. Every cogitator, holoscreen, augur array, lumen and even the servitors manning some consoles had shorted out, some of them in a welter of sparks.The Sacristans and Tech-priests present immediately picked up their chants to the Omnissiah, hoping to pacify the offended Machine Spirits and coax them back into life. When even the backup-generatoria refused to kick in, Danial realised how much trouble they were in.Unknown to the high king, Killfist's personal Gargant had approached the Draconspire exterior wall and directed the strange looking cannon of its right weapon-arm at the Human-made mountain. This was no primitive if oversized black-powder cannon like the one the previous Gargants had wielded, but an exotic directed energy weapon.It was so bulky it occupied the whole of the Gragant's right shoulder and part of its torso. It fired waves of debilitating, electromagentic energy that starved any electric device of its power source.When he reached the intermediate wall, Danial soon realised that the Draconspire had not only lost its means of communication, but also its Void Shields, Macrocannon-batteries and wall-mounted guns.Imperial Knights had shut down as well, freezing mid-stride or slouching in uncomfortable positions in their fire-slits. Even the Lasguns of the house militia refused to fire.Unimpaired by the strange energies released, hundreds of Ork tanks and artillery-pieces fired at the Draconspire and for the first time in more than a solar week these shots actually impacted the walls and battlements.Thousands upon thousand of Orks charged directly at the wall, trying to climb them with the help of rocket-assisted grappling hooks. Desperate-looking militiamen cut them down with knives, swords or the butts of their now-useless lasguns.The lord of House Draconis realised that the situation was untenable. With the vox no longer functioning, Danial dispatched runners to every strategic location in the fortress with orders to abandon the exterior wall, retreat to the second defence-line and barricade it.Ancient weapon-cabinets were opened and the antique close-combat weapons and crossbows contained within distributed to the defenders. Barricades were erected between the intermediate and interior walls.Leaving the King's Herald in charge of the defence, the high king departed, not out of fear, but because he knew that without more sophisticated weapons, they were doomed.In truth, the retreat was more of a desperate rush than a coordinated effort. Having mercifully been spared the effects of the EMP-wave through their location higher up the Draconspire, the flyers of the Draconis Household Air Force took off, their Vendettas and Valkyries covering the retreat as best they could.In the Blacksmith District, Sire Garath led a desperate charge of Knights against a group of Stormboyz that had managed to catch up with them.
House Draconis - House Strength: As with the other houses of the Adrastapolian Nobles, the numbers of House Draconis before or after the Donatosian War are difficult to judge.It is generally believed that prior to the Galhorm Crusade, House Chimaeros -- then the house of the ruling High King -- and House Draconis were more on less on equal footing with approximately 110 Knights each, which would place House Draconis in the lower secundus rank.However, in the wake of the gruesome struggle on Donatos Primus, House Draconis' numbers were severely depleted, leaving no more than 10 active suits of Knight armour remaining in their inventory. As with the other Houses, House Draconis heavily favours the Knight Paladin and its other variants, especially the Knight Errant.As proven by the Donatosian War, House Draconis' true strength not only rested in the number of Knight armours it could field, or even the skill and morale of its Nobles, but also in the quality and efficiency of its support cadre.To allow for greater tactical insight and accumen, the leaders of House Draconis had long sought to develop a way to coordinate and expand the sensor-readings of their gathered Knights, combining the fragmented view of each Knight into a global picture of the battlefield.This goal was finally achieved with the creation of the Heavenly Host, a small army of cybernetically engineered Cherubim capable of casting a wide sensor-net over the whole battlefield.Largely ignored by the enemy, these Cherubim allowed House Draconis to keep an eye on enemy movements beyond their immediate surroundings or accurately pinpoint weaknesses in the enemy battleline.
House Draconis - House Colours: House Draconis' main colours are red and black, both displayed in equal proportion on every Draconis Knight's armour. It is generally believed that red is a sign of the House's close ties to the Adeptus Mechanicum, even if its is officially a House of the Questor Imperialis.Secondary colours include a fiery yellow and white, especially on banners, as well as common pyroclastic motiffs such as burning flames, preferably displayed on the black portions of a Knight's armour. These are believed to echo the burning heart of the volcano House Draconis has chosen as its most important domain -- the Draconspire.Usually a Draconis Knight is trimmed in silver or polished metal.
House Draconis - House Arms: As with the other Knight houses of Adrastapol, House Draconis derives its name and emblem from the mightiest of the mythological beasts of Old Earth. The dracon -- also known as dragon, drakk or drake in other parts of the Imperium -- is a fearsome flying reptile capable of breathing fire and equipped with razor-sharp teeth and claws.House Draconis' crest fields a dracon de gueules (red dragon) on a sable field (black), with a demi-Aquila of the same colour on a bisected field of red.
House Draconis - Signature Weapon: Save perhaps for the strange chimersword, the ancestral weapon of the now deposed House Chimaeros, House Draconis' favoured weapon must surely be the most exotic weapon wielded by an Adrastapolian Noble.When deactivated, a draconblade closely resembles an ordinary broadsword of superior craftsmanship. It would only be on second glance that the observer would notice the inbuilt fuel reservoir that coats the blade in burning flames when activated.More than a mere theatrical effect, the flames of the ignited draconblade can prove deadly in combat, as even a glancing blow can cause an opponent's clothes to catch fire. To maximise the effect of this weapon, the Draconis' swordsmanship relies on large, sweeping movements that leave roaring fire-trails in the wake of the blade's pass.Most opponents, be they man or beast, instinctively recoil from the flames, leaving the Draconis Nobles to go on the offensive. The fire-trails also serve to shield the Noble by blocking the most direct routes for a counterstrike. However, a well-protected enemy may realise that the flames cannot truly harm him and use the blind spots created by the draconblade to attack from an unexpected quarter.As with most martial cultures within the Imperium, it is common for Nobles of House Draconis to name their blades in honour of previous victories. As a veteran of the Ork Wars, Herald Markos Dar Draconis named his impressive blade Orksbane, a name it carried until the weapon was broken in an Honour Duel held against Luk Kar Chimaeros, the Knight of Ashes. High King Tolwyn Tan Draconis used to wear his own draconblade, Drakesclaw, whenever he appeared in public.
House Drakkus - House Drakkus: House Drakkus was an Imperial Knight house of the Questor Imperialis in direct service to the Imperium. It hailed from the Knight World of Tarnis and fought in a number of ongoing battles against the Forces of Chaos, particularly those loyal to the Blood God Khorne. At some point in the past, they formed an alliance with the venerable Dark Angels Space Marine Chapter, and often fought alongside those Astartes as heavy support against the forces of the Archenemy.At some unknown point in time, their homeworld was besieged by a massive Khornate war host. Caught unaware by the brutally swift attack, House Drakkus sent out a call for aid to their Space Marine allies, but before the Dark Angels could arrive, House Drakkus' fortress was overrun and all but one of their Knights were destroyed.
House Drakkus - House History: House Drakkus was presumably founded during the Dark Age of Technology, like most other Knight Houses. Like all Loyalist Knight Houses, House Drakkus was a sworn enemy of the Forces of Chaos and fought countless campaigns against the worshippers of the Blood God. When House Drakkus' homeworld of Tarnis was invaded by a large Khornate warband, the fanatical warriors of the Blood God launched a devastating attack on House Drakkus' keep, Fort Drakkus. Caught by surprise, the House had very little opportunity to maintain a coherent defence, and was soon overwhelmed by the warband of Chaos Space Marines. With little choice, House Drakkus sent an astropathic communiqué for aid from the Dark Angels, with whom they shared an ancient pact of alliance. The Sons of the Lion honoured the agreement and made all haste towards Tarnis to aid the beleaguered Knights.Meanwhile, House Drakkus sought to hold on as they waited for their Astartes reinforcements. The Knights ferociously defended their keep from the bloody-handed fanatics of Khorne. Unfortunately, their efforts proved all for naught, as the overwhelming numbers of the warband and their deadly firepower made short work of the valiant Imperial defenders. All but one of the Knights were destroyed, leaving a lone survivor on the brink of death. Deliverance finally arrived in the form of Master Tigraine, who arrived with a Dark Angels force aboard the Strike Cruiser Fist of Caliban. The Astartes were able to push back the Chaos Space Marines, and evacuated the lone surviving Knight and a few other survivors of House Drakkus to the Fist of Caliban. Once they were safely aboard, the surviving Knight took on the mantle of a Freeblade and the name of Vortigan. He swore that he would continue to honour House Drakkus' pact with the Dark Angels, and vowed that he would not only help cleanse his beleaguered homeworld of the Chaos filth that now besieged it, but also from the invasion of Greenskins led by the Ork Warboss Nekkruncha.
House Drakkus - Notable Campaigns: Defence of Tarnis (Unknown Date.M41) - Following a devastating attack by a large Khornate warhost on the fortress of House Drakkus, the sole surviving Knight and a detachment of the Dark Angels Chapter under the command of Master Tigraine, fought to free the world of Tarnis from the vile presence of the Forces of Chaos and the predations of the Ork Warboss Nekkruncha.
House Drakkus - Notable Knights: Freeblade Vortigan - The sole remnant of House Drakkus, this Knight Paladin fought in the Defence of Tarnis alongside the Dark Angels under Master Tigraine. He was the youngest brother of his fellow Knights Ebissa and Oeric.
House Drakkus - Notable Personnel: Baron Hengest - The last lord of House Drakkus and uncle to the Knights Ebissa, Oeric and the Freeblade Vortigan, Hengest died in the defence of Fort Drakkus when he faced a Brass Scorpion Daemon Engine.Sir Ebissa - Knight and brother of Oeric and the Freeblade Vortigan, Ebissa died in defence of Fort Drakkus when he faced a Chaos Decimator Daemon Engine.Sir Oeric - Knight and brother to Ebissa and the Freeblade Vortigan, Oeric died in the defence of Fort Drakkus when he faced a Lord of Skulls.Lucius Irynblud - Lucius Irynblud was the sole surviving Sacristan of House Drakkus. He was rescued by the Dark Angels and swore to continue his service with the Freeblade Vortigan.Vortigan - Last surviving member of House Drakkus. On the day of his becoming, Chaos Space Marines wiped out his House. Vortigan now fights the enemies of mankind alongside the Dark Angels to free his homeworld of the vile taint of the xenos and the heretic.
House Drakkus - House Colours: The colours of House Drakkus are turquoise and gold.
House Drakkus - House Arms: House Drakkus' crest is dominated by a pair of stylised wings to acknowledge its allegiance to the Imperium of Mankind. On one side of the shield the House emblem of a great dragon is proudly emblazoned upon Drakkus' traditional field of turquoise crossed by a line of red, and on the other side a white demi-Aquila is displayed on a field of black. This same split is used throughout most Knight House heraldry. In this case, the heraldry symbolises House Drakkus' loyalty -- equally divided between their House and the greater Imperium.
House Drakkus - Sources: Warhammer 40,000: Freeblade (Video Game)White Dwarf Weekly 102 (January 9, 2016), "Regiments of Renown - House Drakkus"Pixel Toys Games - Warhammer 40,000: Freeblade
House Drakon - House Drakon: House Drakon is a Chaos Knight household that repudiated its oath of loyalty to the Imperium of Man in 550.M37, the first to do so in a millennium.Disappearing for more than a thousand years, they reemerged in 986.M38 at the head of a massive Chaos host of the Dark Mechanicum.They were eventually defeated by the Iron Hands Chapter and the lone Freeblade Knight, known as Justice. Though House Drakon's Knights manage to flee, their strength has been greatly reduced.
House Drakon - House History: During the dark days of the Occlusiad War, in 550.M37, for the first time in thousands of years, a knightly house betrayed its oaths of loyalty, joining the Apostles of the Blind King to cause ruinous destruction across the northwestern fringe. Though the Blind King's rogue Tech-Priests are eventually defeated, the traitorous Knights of House Drakon remain unaccounted for.In 986.M38, more than a thousand years later, the Chaos Knights of House Drakon re-emerged at the head of a twisted host of Daemon Engines created by the Dark Mechanicus. The Warp-forged monstrosities are finally defeated amid the desecrated ruins of the Forge World, Solemnium, after the Iron Hands Space Marine Chapter brought them to battle.However, it was the actions of a single Freeblade Knight that travelled with the Space Marines that determined the course of the war. Known only as Justice, the Freeblade displayed an incredible aptitude for destroying the Renegade Knights, earning seven confirmed kills during the course of the war.Rumours abound in the wake of the conflict of quite how the lone Knight achieved such a mastery of combat against others of his kind. Of their enigmatic ally's past, however, the Iron Hands would not speak. Despite some of House Drakon's Knights escaping Imperial reprisal, their strength is now greatly diminished.
House Drakon - Notable Campaigns: None listed in current Imperial records.
House Drakon - Notable Knights: None listed in current Imperial records.
House Drakon - Notable Personnel: None listed in current Imperial records.
House Drakon - House Colours: The colours of House Drakon are not listed in current Imperial records.
House Drakon - House Arms: The arms of House Drakon are not listed in current Imperial records
House Dunstan - House Dunstan: House DunstanImperial KnightQuestor MechanicusAdeptus Mechanicus
House Dunstan - Notable Campaigns: Prosperan Rift War (Unknown Date.M42) - House Dunstan sent 5 Imperial Knights to reinforce the Imperial troops stationed at the Harlecrypt System of the Prosperan Rift in their defence against the forces of the Thousand Sons Traitor Legion.
House Dunstan - Notable Knights: None listed in current Imperial records.
House Dunstan - Notable Personnel: None listed in current Imperial records.
House Dunstan - House Colours: The colours of House Dunstan are blue and yellow.
House Dunstan - House Arms: The arms of House Dunstan are not listed in current Imperial records.
House Dunstan - Canon Conflict: This Knight house appears in the outdated 126th issue of the UK edition of White Dwarf magazine, and the image presented here does not mesh with more recent canon.The Knight shown above is presented as a Knight Lancer, but this type of Knight in its current incarnation does not use such a chassis.
House Durbach - House Durbach: House DurbachImperial KnightQuestor MechanicusAdeptus MechanicusIts house motto is "Strength in Faith, Strength in Steel."
House Durbach - House Colours: The colours of House Durbach are not recorded in Imperial records.
House Durbach - House Arms: The arms of House Durbach are not recorded in Imperial records.
House Feardraken - House Feardraken: House Feardraken is a Loyalist Imperial Knight House of the Imperium. There is very little information in Imperial records about this Knight House, or from what Knight World it originally hails from.The only thing that is known about them, is that they hail from a water-locked world, where in ancient days they were forced to battle giant sea creatures to protect the lives of their people. In an effort to strike fear into the hearts of their foes, the Knights would later adopt the name of the creatures they battled -- thus House Feardraken was born.
House Feardraken - Notable Campaigns: None listed in current Imperial records.
House Feardraken - Notable Knights: Maximus - Knight Errant of Sir Klydance