Salamanders - Heresy Era Personnel: Vulkan - Vulkan served as the Primarch of the Salamanders Legion. He was an extraordinary craftsman and stout war leader. Vulkan was one of the few Loyalist Primarchs to survive the events of the Horus Heresy and the Great Scouring, though he later disappeared mysteriously. Approximately a thousand standard years after the end of the Heresy, Vulkan hid 9 sacred artefacts he had created around the galaxy for his Chapter to find, as a test to see if they were worthy of his leadership. He then disappeared to an unknown destination, leaving his Chapter with the message that whenever the Forgefather of the Salamanders had found all nine items, Vulkan would return to lead his Chapter to victory over the enemies of the Imperium in its final days of greatest need, according to the signs foreseen in the Chapter's sacred prophetic texts, the Tome of Fire.Legion Commander Cassian Vaughn, "The Fallen Master" - Cassian Vaughn was the first Legion Commander of the XVIII Legion before the discovery of the Primarch Vulkan. Cassian was mortally wounded in battle against the Orks, but such was the esteem in which Vulkan held this warrior that he undertook to fashion for him a unique Dreadnought sarcophagus of unsurpassed sophistication and resilience known as the Dracos Revenant, or the Iron Dragon. It was forged of a nigh-impregnable and unknown alloy said to come from deep beneath Old Earth that none save Vulkan was able to master and shape to his will. At Istvaan V, Cassian fought with unmatched fury, first spearheading the attack against the enemy then, as the second wave showed their true colours, standing fast though all around him were slaughtered. Eventually, his armour was burned through and pierced in a dozen places by a blizzard of heavy weapons fire, but he fought on, crashing into the encircling foe and leaving a trail of devastation in his wake. Dracos was only stopped by an orbital lance strike that glassed an entire battlefield. When Xiaphas Jurr and the crew of the Ebon Drake arrived at Istvaan V a year later, they were to uncover the battered shell of the Dragon Revenant, far from intact but not yet willing to surrender to his final inevitable death. Called "The Twice-Dead" and the "Avatar of the Sacred Flames" by his brothers, Cassian Dracos returned to the battlefields of the Imperium to enact his vengeance, but he would not be as once he was. His time beneath the black, blood soaked sands of Istvaan V had left him changed, fey and of unpredictable temper and able to exert a disturbing control over the creations of the Machine God and those bound to them. The Salamanders Chapter has continued over the millennia to have fallen Battle-Brothers interred within this Ancient's sarcophagus.First Captain Artellus Numeon - Numeon was a Terran-born Salamanders officer who served as the First Captain of the Legion's elite 1st Company, known as the Fire Drakes, during the last days of the Great Crusade and the Horus Heresy. He also served as Equerry to the Primarch and commanded Vulkan's elite personal Honour Guard, the Pyre Guard, which was comprised of Veteran Battle-Brothers of the Salamanders Legion. Sworn to protect the Primarch, these were warriors set apart from the rest of the XVIII Legion. Terran-born like their commander, they did not always fully appreciate the earthy sentiments of the Nocturnean culture in which Vulkan had been raised, but they knew their duty deep within their genetically-enhanced bones. Numeon was present during the tragic events of the Drop Site Massacre on Istvaan V where his Legion was nearly decimated. He survived the Traitors' trap and eventually made his way off the scoured planet, to carry on the war against the Warmaster's Traitor Legions. Joining a group of Loyalist survivors led by one of Ferrus Manus' former bodyguards, Numeon was then recovered by the Salamanders' Strike Cruiser, Fire Ark, which would become their base of operations for the following months. Performing hit-and-run attacks, the Loyalists around Artellus Numeon picked up the trail of a Dark Apostle of the Word Bearers and his quest for a terrible weapon, rumoured to be the Emperor's power made manifest. En route to the world of Traoris, the Fire Ark picked up an archeologist known as Sebaton who soon revealed himself as the Perpetual John Grammaticus, an immortal agent of the mysterious Cabal. As Loyalists and Traitors desperately searched to retrieve the mighty weapon, the Loyalists perished one-by-one until only Numeon and Grammaticus remained. Having retrieved the weapon, Grammaticus then betrayed Numeon by shooting him in the eye with a concealed digital weapon. Although severely wounded, Numeon attempted to go after Grammaticus but was shot in the back by Dark Apostle Elias. He then lost consciousness and was left for dead. Awakening in agony, he saw that both Grammaticus and the weapon were gone. Numeon managed to depart the planet and succeeded in re-joining the Fire Ark, only to be taken prisoner by another Word Bearers force embarked upon the Shadow Crusade. Fortunately for Numeon, the Word Bearers vessel was boarded by the Ultramarines of Sergeant Aeonid Thiel, and Numeon was liberated and escorted to Macragge, where he reuniting with the remnants of his shattered Legion and his fallen Primarch. Considered by many to be the rightful Legion Master of the XVIII Legion, Numeon -- secretly convinced that Vulkan was still alive or might be resurrected -- convinced Roboute Guilliman to let them depart upon the Charybdis, a Salamanders vessel, in an attempt to break through the Ruinstorm and bring Vulkan's body back to Nocturne. Through his faith in his Primarch's imminent return, Numeon successfully federated the survivors of the XVIII Legion into a new brotherhood, The Pyre, which would succeed through much hardship and countless sacrifices to reach Nocturne. Having been trailed by the Death Guard Legionary Commander, Malig Laestygon, Numeon and his fellow survivors successfully linked up with Lord Chaplain Nomus Rhy'tan and their fellow Salamanders remaining on Nocturne. Together, they managed to vanquish the invaders and brought Vulkan's body to the sacred ground beneath Mount Deathfire. However, once the proper rites had been conducted, Vulkan didn't emerge from the fiery pit he was submerged in. Waiting for over a week, this turn of events sufficiently broke Numeon's spirit. As the next Time of Trials drew near, Numeon renounced his rank and position. Stripping off his power armour, he departed from his fellow legionaries and stealthily wandered away into the burning ash wastes around Mount Deathfire, where he offered himself as a final sacrifice so that his father and Primarch could be restored.Pyre Warden Ari'i - The title of Pyre Warden, unique to the Salamanders' Legion and equivalent to the rank of Legion Praetor, carried much respect within the XVIII Legion. As a highly trusted officer, Pyre Warden Ari'i was present at the Dropsite Massacre but did not fight on the ground of Istvaan V, as Vulkan had entrusted him several suits of Primarch-forged Terminator Armour, which are believed to have prefigured the modern-day Centurion-armour used by the Adeptus Astartes. Vastly powerful, this technology was to be deployed to Istvaan as part of the second assault wave but deemed too valuable a price to let fall into enemy hands. Ordered to flee by Vulkan himself, Ari'i would take his ship, the Hearthfire, through the blockade and into the Warp. Joining the Iron Hands vessel Phorcys, Ari'i would continue to fight the Traitors and temper the Iron Hands' desire for vengeance with Nocturnean calm.Firedrake Captain Rahz Obek, "Firebearer" - Rahz Obek was a senior officer of the Salamanders Legion, and a captain of one of the companies of the Firedrakes, the XVIII Legion's most dangerous and able warriors. Chosen to be left behind with a small garrison and a few voidships on Nocturne's moon, Prometheus, whilst the bulk of the XVIII Legion travelled to Istvaan V, Captain Obek struggled deeply with the task at hand. When the first rumours of Vulkan's death reached Nocturne, Obek and his men were overcome with grief and shame. The company became "the Unscarred", erasing the honour markings upon their armour, refusing to bear new honour scars and even abandoning their individual names as a sign of their shame. Some Firedrakes chose to join the expedition assembled on board the Ebon Drake, but many remained on Nocturne. When Artellus Numeon brought Vulkan's coffin back to Nocturne and isolated himself in meditation, Obek was approached by Forgefather T'kell to join him in his endeavours to fulfil the Primarch's final wish: to hide and safeguard the seven powerful artefacts the Forgefather had been able to save from the Primarch's personal vault. To make sure that these artefacts would never fall into the wrong hands, Vulkan had revealed the existence of a secret armoury, designated as "The Wrought". Obek took what was left of his group of veterans, a mere fifty-one warriors, on board the mighty Forge-ship Chalice of Fire, first of the artefacts and departed Nocturne, not knowing that he would never return. Upon reaching "The Wrought", the Salamanders found the location swarming with Mechanicum Skitarii and Servitors, which soon proved to be hostile. The enemy commander, none other than the treacherous Warmaster's own advisor, Regulus, had gained knowledge of "The Wrought" and now sought to obtain the precious artefacts and powerful weapons he suspected therein. After much fighting against Regulus' personal cadre of Sons of Horus Legionaries, and the tragic death of Forgefather T'kell, Captain Obek nevertheless accomplished his Primarch's wish, to safeguard the artefacts that had been saved by T'kell. Roughly ten thousand standard years after the events of the Horus Heresy, the drifting Chalice of Fire was recovered by the Salamanders Chapter, Captain Obek's maglocked armour still standing vigil over the heart of the Chalice of Fire, unbowed, unbroken and bearing the many wounds he had sustained in fulfilling Vulkan's last command.Forgefather T'kell - A Techmarine of legendary skill which rose to become the XVIII Legion's most emminent Master of the Forge, T'Kell built the Vault beneath Mount Deathfire, known as "The Wrought", where the ashes of fallen Salamanders are immolated in lava upon the Pyre-slab, their essence returned to the heart of Nocturne. T'kell built the "The Wrought" under the watchful eyes of Vulkan himself. Prior to Vulkan's departure to Istvaan V, T'kell was given the dubious honour and arduous task of becoming the first Forgefather of the XVIII Legion. Fearing the wonders he had created might fall into the wrong hands, Vulkan ordered T'kell to destroy all of the relics that were stored in the Primarch's Great Vault. T'kell pleaded with his Primarch to leave some of his legacy behind, to which Vulkan eventually agreed. Vulkan gave T'kell the privilege to choose seven of the relics that he would leave to his Legion, yet even these seven artefacts were not to be used in the civil war that followed, but safeguarded in a secret location Vulkan had created. This secret armoury was also known as "The Wrought". Following the destruction of the remaining artefacts in the fiery heart of the Chalice of Fire, T'Kell approached his remaining brothers under Captain Obek and revealed the last order their gene-sire had given him. Seemingly without advising Lord Chaplain Nomus Rhy'tan of his intent, T'kell left Prometheus onboard the Chalice of Fire, the first relic he had chosen to safeguard. However, upon their arrival in the Boron XIII System where Vulkan had established "The Wrought", the Salamanders discovered that the enemy had located the secret armoury and was trying to penetrate it. Worse yet, the detachment's military commander, Captain Obek, had been captured by the Sons of Horus while conducting a reconnaissance mission. As part of the same mission, T'kell himself narrowly escaped capture but had his mechanical parts infected by an unknown form of malignant scrap-code that hid deep within his augmetics. When the rescue mission mounted to free Captain Obek succeeded in opening "The Wrought", the scrap-code took control of T'kell, forcing him to open the gates to the Sons of Horus and their Dark Mechanicum allies. In a desperate attempt to save his brothers, T'kell took his own Plasma Pistol to his head and shot, burning out the augmented part of his brain and falling into a deep Sus-an coma. The venerable Forgefather awoke several solar weeks later to a situation that was much changed. He was on board the Obstinate, a vessel belonging to the Shattered Legions whose master had resolved to obtain the forbidden knowledge of the Keys of Hel to transform his fallen warriors into undead automata. The Salamanders and the Shattered Legions had allied to track down the enemy commander, the Dark Mechanicum Adept Regulus. But upon learning of the true nature of the Chalice of Fire's cargo, Kastigan Ulock of the Shattered Legions decided to seize the Chalice of Fire and the powerful artefacts it contained. Moved by the motives of one of Ulock's few remaining living Battle-Brothers, T'kell sabotaged the dark machinery at the heart of the Obstinate before trying to escape. However, T'kell's escape was thwarted by the undead minions of Ulock, who captured T'kell as he was going to board a gunship and leave the Obstinate. Refusing to help the deluded Iron Hands, T'kell ordered the Chalice of Fire to destroy the Obstinate while he was still on board, sacrificing himself so that the undead Iron Hands might finally know peace.Lord Chaplain Nomus Rhy'tan, "The Voice of Fire" - During the Great Crusade era, the direct promulgation of the doctrines of the Primarch Vulkan, influenced by the teachings and culture of his adopted world of Nocturne, were already being distributed by the "Voices of Fire" -- a body of chosen Legionaries of which Nomus Rhy'tan was one. Many of these Astartes went on to become the Legion's first generation of Chaplains, and Rhy'tan, already highly regarded as a confidante of his Primarch and a renowned orator and instructor, became senior among them by popular assent of his peers. Before departing for Istvaan V, the Primarch bade the Lord Chaplain to remain behind at Prometheus with the Legion's Neophytes and instructors as regent in his stead, and with a heavy heart Rhy'tan obeyed, and in doing so was destined to survive, the future of his Legion in his hands.Chaplain Phaestus Var'kir - Phaestus Var'kir was a member of the Igniax, the formation that preceded the Reclusiam inside the Salamanders Legion and one of the first pupils of the great Nomus Rhy'tan. Sole Chaplain amongst the warriors of the Pyre, Phaestus Var'kir would stand countless vigils over his Primarch's dead body on Macragge after the events of the Death of Vulkan. Embarking upon the Charybdis with his fellow Salamanders, Var'kir, lacking Artellus Numeon's conviction that their Primarch could be reborn, provided counsel but very little guidance, having lost his faith. Most notoriously, he tried to convince Numeon to abandon his fruitless quest of reviving the Primarch, claiming that the notions of rebirth of the Promethean Creed were only spiritual, and could not manifest as true. It would only be after facing the horrors of the Neverborn and seeing his brothers' nascent faith in their task that Var'kir would revise his judgement. Through his mastery of the art of divination, Var'kir would succeed with Epistolary Ushamann to guide the Charybdis and reach Nocturne. But fate being a fickle mistress, Var'kir was never to tread the soil of his home world again. As the Charybdis approached their final destintion, they were attacked by both the Death Guard and the Word Bearers. The courageous Chaplain decided to remain aboard the doomed ship and defend the bridge, while Numeon and the surviving battle-brothers of the Pyre covertly brought Vulkan's casket planetside.Chaplain Xiaphas Jurr - Xiaphas Jurr, known as "The Prophet of Fire", was a member of the Igniax, the formation that preceded the Reclusiam inside the Salamanders Legion. He was trained as a Chaplain by the great Nomus Rhy'tan himself. The Keeper of Nocturne charged Xiaphas with the important task of going to Istvaan V to investigate and determine the fate of their lost Primarch Vulkan. After visiting the war-scoured ruins of Istvaan V, he left that benighted world with his faith renewed and a strange power had taken roots in the once benign rituals he practised. Where once he sought desperately for answers, now his prophecies held the power to define the future; it was this power that would ultimately lead Xiaphas Jurr and his Disciples of the Flame down a dark path to an end long since hidden within the Salamander's sealed vaults.Chaplain Zau'ul "Firefather" - Zau'ul was a member of the Igniax, whose existence preceded the formal existence of a Reclusiam within the XVIII Legion. Zau'ul was also a member of the Unscarred, that company of Firedrakes that was ordered by Vulkan to remain behind on Prometheus as the rest of the Salamanders Legion travelled to Istvaan V. Chaplain Zau'ul suffered an existential crisis upon learning of the death of his gene-sire. Contrary to many within the Legion that maintained that Vulkan somehow yet lived, Zau'ul believed Vulkan to be truly dead. Artellus Numeon's failed attempt at bringing Vulkan back to life saw the last embers of his hope and faith die. Yet his mission as a Chaplain was to comfort those of his fellow Legionaries in need of spiritual guidance, so he kept his convictions secret. When Captain Obek and Forgefather T'kell called for one last voyage, Zau'ul gladly accepted the mission to escort the Forgefather and the sacred artefacts of Vulkan to their final resting place. Chaplain Zau'ul remained on board the Chalice of Fire during most of the fighting in the Khorion System, standing vigil over Vulkan's artefacts, distressed at not being able to help his brothers on the ground. During one of his vigils he made a fateful decision: to take one of Vulkan's sacred artefacts and use it against the enemy if necessary. When the deluded Kastigan Ulok tried to seize the Chalice of Fire and the artefacts it contained, Zau'ul faced Ulok's henchman, a former Raven Guard swordmaster who killed many of Zau'ul's Battle-Brothers and severely wounded the Chaplain himself. With his fading strength, Zau'ul made use of his artefact, the Song of Entropy, killing the former Raven Guard on the spot, thus safeguarding Vulkan's legacy before he died.Chief Librarian Lord Umojen - Lord Umojen was the Salamanders' Chief Librarian during the latter part of the Great Crusade and the Horus Heresy. Umojen had to disband the Legion's Librarium in accordance with the Edicts of Nikaea. Umojen was not present on Istvaan V to witness the Dropsite Massacre, but events situated him on Terra prior to the Siege of the Imperial Palace. His mission there as well as his ultimate fate remain unknown.Epistolary Ushamann - Member of the Pyre, the fellowship of warriors on board the Charybdis on their dangerous voyage back to Nocturne during the dark days of the Horus Heresy. Epistolary Ushamann was a telepath of great skill who had served the XVIII Legion since before the Edicts of Nikaea. Ushamann had been a student of Ra'stan whose training techniques focussed on abstention and denial of power. Reinstated into the Librarius after the Drop Site Massacre, Ushamann would struggle to re-use his power, but would prove of paramount importance not only in battle but also in plotting the course of the Charybdis. After the death of their Navigator, Ushamann -- working in concert with Chaplain Var'kir -- would take the Charybdis to Nocturne, an act for which he would pay with his life, but a sacrifice he was all the more willing to make in order for his lord Vulkan to be restored.Apothecary Atesh Tarsa - Former Apothecary of the 24th Company of the Salamanders Legion, Atesh Tarsa was counted dead for many standard years -- one of the innumerable bodies left on the black sands of Isstvan V. Only later would the Legion discover that Tarsa had survived and joined the crew of the legendary Sisypheum.Apothecary "Saurian" - This unidentified Apothecary of the XVIII Legion was encountered by Captain Obek and Forgefather T'Kell on board of the Obstinate, a vessel of the Shattered Legions. Saurian was a survivor of the horrendous Drop Site Massacre and long believed himself to be the sole living gene-son of Vulkan still alive in the galaxy. To encounter a full demi-company of his kin in a backwater system like Khorion XII came as a shock to him. True to his oath as an Apothecary, Saurian cared well for his wounded brothers, his medical skills saving the lives of several of Captain Obek's Firedrakes while they were his new master's prisoners. Most importantly, perhaps, Saurian kept Forgefather T'Kell alive after he had shot himself to burn out the scrap-code infection that was making him turn on his brothers. Saurian had no love for the commander of the Obstinate, Iron Father Kastigan Ulok, for he had turned to the proscribed knowledge of the Keys of Hel to turn its crew into undead cybernetic automata. With the sole remaining living Iron Hands Legionary onboard and the reawakened T'Kell, Saurian chose to betray Ulok by shutting down the blasphemous machinery at the heart of the Obstinate. Though he died in the fight that ensued, Saurian had made sure that the wounded Salamanders could all be retrieved by the Chalice of Fire before the Obstinate, and the monsters it carried, were destroyed.Chosen Kobal Ru'than, "True Blade" - Serving as a part of the Bodyguard Phalanx of the Lord Protector Da'Ru, 3rd Line Company, Ru'than took part in the infamous Drop Site Massacre of Istvaan V. In the final hours of the massacre, Lord Protector Da'Ru ordered his phalanx, including Ru'than, to form up around him and led a charge into the heaviest concentration of the approaching enemy. Fragments of Chosen Ru'than's distinctive Terminator Armour were later seen as trophies adorning Night Lords armoured units.Firedrake Terminator Sergeant Gor'og Krask, "Wyvern" - Member of the Unscarred, Squad Sergeant of Captain Obek's only Terminator Squad.Firedrake Sergeant Barris Kal'sho - Master Barris Kal'sho was the commander of Firedrake Squad Kal'sho during the Great Crusade and opening days of the Horus Heresy. During the Drop Site Massacre on Istvaan V, he led his squad in capturing Fortification Omicron-633, part of a chain of small ferrocrete bunkers erected by the Death Guard. Squad Kal'sho reached its objective just as the traitorous second wave emerged from its Drop Pods, and were engulfed by a writhing cloud of toxic fog. Low on ammunition and caught between the Death Guard's tenebrous wall of poison and the advancing ranks of Word Bearers, Assault Cadre Chimerae was quickly overwhelmed and scattered despite Squad Kal'sho's heroic efforts to fight their way to their Primarch Vulkan and the main body of Salamanders. Missing in action, Kal'sho was last seen engaged in combat with the Word Bearers abomination units, the Daemon-possessed Gal Vorbak.Firedrake Sergeant Zandu, "Firefist" - Member of the Unscarred and Captain Obek's second-in-command. Died defending "The Wrought" from the Sons of Horus.Firedrake Vexillary Ak'nun Xen, "Flamesmote" - Like his name indicates, Ak'nun Xen was a member of the Unscarred, the company of elite-warriors Vulkan had ordered to protect the Legion's homeworld in his absence. As Vexillary of the entire company, Ak'nun Xen was a member of Captain Obek's inner circle, yet the two warriors did not get along well. Xen's fighting skills were second only to those of Captain Obek himself, and yet instead of becoming Company Champion or Captain himself, the Primarch had made Xen a Vexillary. Xen's ambition had always been to one day join the Pyre Guard, the primarch's inner circle. On him, the Legion's values of brotherhood and humility had been lost. Yet this changed with the fighting on Khorion XII. When Captain Obek was captured by the enemy, and the Salamanders mounted a rescue mission, it was  Xen who saved his captain's life as they were fighting in "The Wrought", almost losing his in return. Reaping a fearful tally of dead with his twin weapons, Drakos, a serrated Spatha, and Ignus, a falchion Power Sword Xen had forged himself in the fires of Dragonspire Mountains, Xen gained much honour that day, but the death of so many of his brothers finally awoke his humility. For the long vigil Captain Obek held on board the Chalice of Fire, he had no sturdier ally than Ak'nun Xen.Legionary Heka'tan - Survivor of the Drop Site Massacre during the opening stages of the Horus Heresy.Legionary Shendrak Nal'kor - Legionary Nal'kor served with Breacher Squad Ar'vak, 17th Line Company, during the infamous Drop Site Massacre on Istvaan V. His squad served near the forefront of the Loyalist advance, holding fast in the ruins of a Traitor anti-aircraft bunker destroyed as part of the initial drop assault. Barricading themselves within after they were cut off, Vox-intercepts indicated that Legionary Nal'kor and his squad were one of the last Loyalist holdout forces to be eradicated, the Alpha Legion forced at last to use massed Vindicator tanks to end the resistance.Legionary Karo Nar'Shak - Legionary Nar'Shak was one of the few loyal Astartes known to have escaped the Dropsite Massacre aboard the Thunderhawk Ohidoran, and participated in the seizing of the Night Lords vessel Warlock before that craft left the Istvaan System under heavy fire. The arrival of the Warlock and its cargo of Legiones Astartes at Agathaon, having evaded capture and destruction for nine months, was near miraculous. Nar'Shak served as a part of Battlegroup "Revenant". This ad-hoc Loyalist Company of surviving Astartes was known to have conducted a series of pin-point orbital assaults on key Cyclothrathe installations on Numinal, successfully disrupting the unity of the Dark Mechanicum forces. Legionary Nar'Shak's ultimate fate following the Horus Heresy is unknown.Legionary Maraeus Orasus - Legionary Orasus served with Legion Tactical Squad Fal'shon, and was assigned to Support Cadre Igax during the Drop Site Massacre on Istvaan V. Squad Fal'shon and four other Tactical Squads were tasked with the close protection of the ordnance squadrons which formed Support Cadre Igax. Expending the majority of their munitions in the early stages of the battle, the Cadre was left woefully unprepared to deal with the second wave's treacherous assault. Surrounded by Alpha Legion units that had approached to point blank range under the guise of friendship before opening fire, Squad Fal'shon fought to the last, expending their remaining munitions, then grappling with the enemy in hand-to-hand combat.Legionary Ra'stan - Former Epistolary of the XVIII Legion's Librarius, Rastan was a survivor of the dreaded Dropsite Massacre. The psychic shock of the treason of the four turncoat Legions and the devastation they unleashed upon the Loyalists was enough to shatter Ra'stan's mind. Unable to remember his true identity, Ra'stan was convinced he was a disgraced Captain who had renounced his position in the wake of the Massacre, seeking some kind of atonement for failing his men by discovering the ultimate fate of their Primarch. Highly delusional, Ra'stan's broken mind summoned the image of his true Captain, Captain Usabius from the dead as an etheral companion in his desperate quest. Having found refuge amongst a small group of Loyalist survivors, Ra'stan began to stalk the Urgall Depression for clues or signs as to Vulkan's fate, fully well knowing that time was running out. Locating Vulkan's downed Stormbird gave Ra'stan some measure of hope, and he set out with the fictional Usabius and a true ally in the form of Apothecary Morvax Haukspeer of the Raven Guard to explore the wreck. Sadly, the Apothecary was killed, but Ra'stan's life was saved by a fellow survivor of the Iron Hands who had gone after Ra'stan and Haukspeer. Discovering a survivor amongst the wreckage and tangible proof that his Primarch had not been slain but captured, Ra'stan interrogated the survivor who turned out to be a wounded Librarian of the Emperor's Children. In a last act of spite, the dying traitor granted Ra'stan a vision of a cave where Vulkan had alledgedly been taken. Having perceived Ra'stan's madness, the traitor had secretly hoped to kill Ra'stan by shattering his mind even more. However this attack awoke Ra'stan's own psychic powers and the backlash was enough to kill the already dying Traitor. Setting out on this new quest, Ra'stan found the cave from his visions, but their venture had not gone unnoticed. Having been spotted by an armoured column of Iron Warriors, Ra'stan reached his destination only to find the cave empty: scorch marks on the ground indicated that something had happened but Ra'stan was unsure as to what. Being tracked and followed by the Iron Warriors, a measure of his psychic power manifested itself. Regaining clarity, Ra'stan realized that his companion had only been but a ghost conjured by his broken mind. The awakening of his powers also allowed him to gain some precious knowledge: the scorch marks on the cavern's floor marked Vulkan's departure from Istvaan, the Primarch having been teleported. Vulkan lived. Finding some small measure of solace in that fact, Ra'stan opened his mind fully to the power of the Warp, imbuing himself with the pain and death surrounding him and conjured a powerful psychic explosion, immolating himself, his pursuers and everything in a radius of a few kilometers in psychic fire.Veteran Gravius - Gravius was a Veteran of the Horus Heresy who was discovered by warriors of the Salamanders Chapter's 3rd Company during the 41st Millennium aboard the remains of a warship dating back to the Great Crusade.Ancient Grenn - Once, Ancient Grenn was Consul-Centurion Shar'rac Grenn of the Realm of Epithemus, well respected in the Legion for his devotion both to duty and the teachings of Vulkan. The honour markings on his kneepads and the embossed seal of Nocturne on his dreadnought chestplate recalled the glories of his long career, which culminated in the brutal fighting on Istvaan V from which he barely escaped, alongside a handful of his brethren. It was on Dominica Minor that the tattered survivors, known as the Cadre Sulphaeon, heard rumours of Vulkan's death and the total destruction of their Legion, and when the dread fleet of Mortarion appeared in orbit of their refuge, they pledged to die in its defence rather than flee before their gene-father's murderers. Grenn's ultimate fate is unknown.Tuseok, "The Dragon of Serapis" - Ancient Tuseok, known as "The Dragon of Serapis", was a Contemptor-Mortis Pattern Dreadnought during the Great Crusade and early days of the Horus Heresy. A veteran of the Legion's battles before the XVIII was united with its Primarch, Tuseok bore a long list of honours and advanced to the rank of Captain before his mortal wounding at the disastrous Battle of Khur. Of particular note is his participation with the Saturnyne Armada in the Segmentum Solar pacification campaign. He was also personally recognised for his heroic deeds during the conquest of Serapis by Vulkan himself. Ancient Tuseok did not survive the Drop Site Massacre, though a small contingent of his Cadre Obsidiax was able to evacuate Istvaan V alongside Raven Guard forces, thanks in no small part to the Dreadnought's self-sacrificial actions in repelling attacking waves of Night Lords gunships harrying the escape attempt.