vizn3r/warhammer40k-lore huggingface dataset:
Nocturne - Promethean Cult: The Salamanders and the people of Nocturne are deeply influenced by a set of religious and cultural beliefs collectively called the Promethean Cult, which is a variation of the standard Imperial Cult that has been officially recognised by the Ecclesiarchy as a non-heretical faith. The Promethean Cult calls on its followers to emulate the deeds and be true to the teachings of Primarch Vulkan as well as providing service to and worship of his father, the Emperor of Mankind.Prometheans believe deeply in the virtues of self-reliance and self-sacrifice for others, long-defining cultural values of the Nocturnean people, who have struggled to survive the harsh environment of their volcanic and earthquake-wracked homeworld. They hold a firm belief in isolationism, the tenet that only through spiritual meditation and exploration performed alone and in isolation from others can a person gain a true understanding of both themselves and how they can best honour the legacy of Vulkan and serve the will of the Emperor.Prometheans make use of fire in many of their rituals and ceremonies and believe that they must be cleansed by the pain of fire before every major undertaking or initiative. The hammer, sometimes called "Vulkan's Sigil," the forge and the anvil are also important symbols for Prometheans due to the importance of smithing in Nocturnean culture. Promethean believers also hold sacred the words of the ancient ritual book known as the Canticle of Immolation, which is often read by Salamanders Chaplains during the Chapter's various ceremonies.For the Salamanders Space Marines, Promethean beliefs manifest themselves most readily in the form of honour-scarring. Before and after every battle they engage in, a Salamander Astartes will have a symbolic scar burned into his body and another after the completion of combat, if he survives. Veteran Salamanders who have served the Chapter for hundreds of Terran years and thousands of battles will have their entire body covered in honour-scars, including their ebon-skinned faces, which only receive the honour-scars after all the other skin on their body has already been so marked.As the Promethean Cult openly calls on its adherents to venerate the Loyalist primarchs and follow the Emperor loyally, it is not considered heretical by the Ecclesiarchy and instead has received official sanction as one of the accepted variants of the Imperium's state religion.
Nocturne - Regions of Nocturne: Nocturne has nine settled "realms," seven known "Sanctuary Cities" and two other locales of great spiritual and practical significance to the native population. Each city-settlement serves as the focus of the Chapter's recruitment and their governance on the planet, anchoring the Salamanders to the mortal Humans for whom they fight, and each city-settlement exhibits its own unique influences on the Chapter's traditions. The Nine Regions of Nocturne include:Hesiod - Known as the "Seat of Kings," Hesiod is the largest of the Sanctuary Cities of Nocturne.Themis - A city on the edge of a great desert noted for its physically-imposing residents, Themis is also known as the "City of Warlords."Epimethus - Known as the "Jewel City," Epimethus is Nocturne's only ocean-bound Sanctuary City. This tall spire juts like a dull blade into the sky. Epimethus is surrounded by other, much smaller satellite structures, which are the numerous drill rigs and mineral harvesting platforms that rake the ocean floor or mine its deepest trenches for ore.Heliosa - Heliosa is also known as the "Beacon City."Aethonion - Aethonion is called the "Fire Spike."Clymene - Clymene is named the "Merchant's Sprawl" because of its key role in commerce both between the Sanctuary Cities and off-world merchants.Skarokk - Skarokk is known as the "Dragonspine."Mount Deathfire - The "Fount of Life and Death"; Mount Deathfire is the largest volcano upon Nocturne and a sacred place to the Salamanders Chapter and in Nocturnean religion and culture.Ignea - The "Cold Labyrinth of the Underworld"; Ignea is a vast continent inhabited primarily by a transient population of nomads often looked down upon by the wealthier permanent residents of the Sanctuary Cities.
Nocturne - Vault of Remembrance: A Vault of Remembrance is located within each of the seven Sanctuary Cities of Nocturne. Located within the highest echelon of the Chapter Bastion within each city was the sacred chamber were a battle-brother of the Salamanders could reflect and offer supplication in memoriam for his slain comrades. These temples are vast, echoing spaces. The harmonies of phonolite-chimes echo off each one's darkened walls. Hewn from volcanic aphanite, they rise up like geodesic intrusions and taper off into a craterous aperture that lay open to Nocturne's fiery-orange sky. Black and fathomless obsidian formed a hexagonal expanse, serving as the massive chamber's floor.Stout columns of deep red felsite buttressed the half-ceiling, shot through with veins of fluorescent adamite. The rare volcanic rocks and minerals used to fashion these magnificent temples were harvested after each Time of Trial, and the stark and frigid winter that followed in its wake. Such artefacts of geological beauty could be found throughout Nocturne. The most precious were protected within the stout walls of the Sanctuary Cities and their Void Shield generators.Iron braziers around the chamber's edge gave it a fiery cast, their flames flickering in the lustrous faces of the polished rock. The vault appeared luminous and abyssal in the light's reflection -- a diabolic temple raised from the bowels of the world. At its nexus a giant pillar of fire roared, tendrils of a memorial flame lashing from a core of white heat. Ordinarily, a slain Salamander was incinerated in the Pyreum, a massive crematoria forge that existed beneath Mount Deathfire, Nocturne's greatest volcanic peak.According to Promethean lore, the essence of the departed would be passed on into his suit of power armour when his ashen remains were offered up on the pyre-slab and he was returned to the mountain. But memorials or remembrance for the departed were always carried out within the Vault of Remembrance located in the Sanctuary City Chapter Bastion of which the lost battle-brother had been a part.
Nocturne - Hesiod: Hesiod, the "Seat of Kings," is one of the seven Nocturnean Sanctuary Cities that house most of the planet's people deep below ground where they are safe from the terrible earthquakes and volcanic eruptions that so often devastate the world's surface.Hesiod's people are relatively wealthy and they harbour deep prejudices against those Nocturnean clans that choose to live nomadic lives outside the Sanctuaries, especially the nomads of the continent of Ignea.
Nocturne - Mount Deathfire: Mount Deathfire was a massive volcano in the Pyre Desert that was home to the great salamander reptiloids called "fire drakes" that were part of the legendary contest between Vulkan and the Emperor over 10,000 standard years ago. Mount Deathfire is still the location for the last trial faced by the young aspirants who wish to join the Salamanders Chapter.Within Mount Deathfire is a sacred cavern where the rites of Immolation are carried out. This chamber is known as the Pyreum, a massive crematoria where the bodies of slain Astartes are returned to the sacred fire of the mighty volcano. According to Promethean lore, the essence of the departed would be passed on into the armour when his ashen remains were offered up on the pyre-slab and he was returned to the mountain.This sacred chamber was held in a deep basin of volcanic rock, girded by layers of reinforced heat-retardant ceramite so that it pooled briefly before flowing onwards from one of the many natural outlets in the rock. There were no lanterns in the cavern, for none were needed. The lava cast a warm and eldritch glow.Though ostensibly carved from rough rock and intended to look like a natural cavern, the Pyreum was actually a sacred place built by Master of the Forge T'kell. Millennia old, its artifice and functionality were still lauded in the current decaying Age of the Imperium. T'kell had fashioned the vault under the careful auspice of the Chapter's primarch, Vulkan, and had been amongst the first of his students upon his apotheosis to primarch of the XVIII Legion.These same skills T'kell would impart to future generations of Salamanders, together with the arcane secrets learned from the Tech-priests of Mars. The first Master of the Forge was long dead now, and others walked in his mighty stead, but his legacy of achievements remained. The cavern of the Pyreum was but one of them.Within this mightiest of Nocturne's volcanoes lies a labyrinth of tunnels and catacombs so vast that two individuals could spend solar months abroad in its depths and never meet one another and never even witness a sign of each other's passing. Much of its subterranean darkness was uncharted. Only Vulkan had ever known its every shrouded corner, its every tunnel and chamber. Beasts slumbered in the lowest deeps, old creatures jealous of Man and his dominance of the surface.The unique acoustics of the rock, the veins of phonolite and other aurally conductive minerals within its composition, allowed the plaintive wailing of such creatures to be heard far from their dwelling places by mortal Nocturneans. Few natives ever braved the mountain depths for that reason. It was the province of the Salamanders alone and so these passages often lay deserted.
Nocturne - Dragonspire Ridge: One of Nocturne's many craggy ridges and sub-mountain ranges that web the surface of Nocturne, the Dragonspire Ridge is connected to the Serpent's Fang.
Nocturne - Serpent's Fang: The Serpent's Fang is a huge chain of predominantly granite mountain peaks that dominate the surrounding deserts. One of the lesser mountain chains of Nocturne, it is famed for the granite forests that dwell in its shadow.
Nocturne - Cindara Plateau: A spike-shaped rock, with an immense flat top, the Cindara Plateau stands high above the ash of the Pyre Desert, providing observers with an unparalleled view of the surrounding region. In order to earn a place in the Salamanders' ranks, aspirants are required to climb this igneous spear. Those who do not die in the attempt from the plateau's numerous hazards are met by an induction party of Salamanders battle-brothers and welcomed as a neophyte of the Chapter.
Nocturne - Pyre Desert: A vast region of ash desert, the Pyre Desert is where the vast Cindara Plateau is located, and due to its hostile conditions, it is also the site of the "Burning Walk." This is where battle-brothers of the Chapter who have been incapacitated or find their faith sorely tested undertake a self-imposed exile and time of testing. This region is plagued by sand storms and it is said that in the desert the sun never truly sets.
Nocturne - Arridian Plain: The Arridian Plain is a vast hunting ground, prowled by men and beast alike. It is home to Themis, the "City of Warrior Kings," where the surrounding land breeds hard men. As an arid, desert region of the region of Themis, the Arridian Plain is a particularly unforgiving landscape preyed upon by some of the deadliest creatures native to Nocturne, including the Leo'nid and the monstrous Scorpiad.
Nocturne - Scorian Plain: The Scorian Plain is one of many Nocturnean deserts frequented by the mortal population to gather sauroch, a saurian bull-like creature that is herded and consumed as livestock. This expansive ash desert is an ideal breeding ground for the native sauroch and a hunting ground for the more predatory creature known as the sa'hrk.
Nocturne - T'harken Delta: As befits it's name, the T'harken Delta is an area of land bordering alongside the eastern Gey'sarr Ocean. It is a region of the Arridian Plain and a hunting ground of the fierce leo'nid. Bordering the Sanctuary Cities Clymene and Skarokk, it is also represents the confluence of several acid veins and molten sulphur rivers.
Nocturne - Themian Ash Ridges: A series of ridges out on the Arridian Plain. A vast plateau of ash and rock formed over one edge of the Arridian Plain, the Themian Ash Ridges overlook the region of Themis. These ridges are are also known for the highly poisonous ash-adder that riddles its many crags and blind sinkholes.
Nocturne - Acerbian Sea: A sulphurous oceanic body, to the north of the Pyre Desert, the Acerbian Sea is frequented by dredgers and hunters of the native gnorl-whale. So immense is this sea that it ranges from highly acidic to almost frozen in the extreme north. Rumours persist that the ocean depths harbour the legendary "leviathans," a species of water-borne deep drakes of Nocturnean myth. The location of the "Jewel City," Epimethus, the Acerbian Sea is noted for the range of life found in its depths, particularly the immense, rock-skinned gnorl-whales.
Nocturne - Gey'sarr Ocean: The vast eastern ocean of Nocturne, the Gey'sarr is highly volatile, harbouring many black smokers and underground faults that erupt sporadically in spumes of super-heated water and steam from the ocean bed. Though it seems to be a strange place to live, the people along its coast have been moulded into stronger and more resilient forms.The Time of Trial also brings great rewards. Rich veins of gems and metals are revealed, enough to be mined by the people to pay for livestock and food on the interplanetary market of the Imperium. Tradition is revered strongly of Nocturne, especially the tradition of smithing, as is evident by the presence of numerous "Great Forges," all across Nocturne.
Nocturne - Ignea: This Nocturnean continent's people provide comparatively few recruits for the Salamanders, as they do not live in the large subterranean Sanctuary Cities but are instead nomadic clans that take refuge for only short times in the various cave systems of the continent, preferring the freedom of constant motion to a more settled existence.As such, they are generally economically much poorer than the settled clans that live in the Sanctuary Cities and they are viewed with disdain and prejudice by the people of those settlements. It is this prejudice and their lower socioeconomic status that usually prevents the Ignean nomadic clans' youth from successfully completing the trials required to become a Salamanders neophyte.
Nocturne - Fauna: Though this hostile world would seem inimitable to life, surprisingly, Nocturne is home to a wide variety of native fauna, including:Dactylid - A winged, saurian creature. Also known as the "dactyl," it is related to an even larger, more monstrous genus called the dactylon.Drygnirr - A diminutive fire-lizard, the drygnirr is considered a totemic creature and is often associated with visions and prophecy.Golem - Animated statues of onyx carved psychically by the members of the Chapter's Librarius.Gorladon - A monstrous draconian creature with a tri-horned, bone-plated skull.Gnorl-whales - A large, aggressive ocean mammal with a gnarled forehead covered in a layer of volcanic rock. They are commonly hunted by Epimethian spear-fishermen for their meat and hide.Lacertid - A barbed and blade-shelled reptiloid creature native to the Scorian Plain.Leo'nid - A solitary reptiloid apex-predator of the Arridian Plain. Often hunted by Themians for their scaled hide and mane.Pyre-worm - A carrion creature with an armoured, spined body, pyre-worms are scavengers and eaters of the dead.Sa'hrk - Deadly saurian desert pack-predator.Sauroch - A sauroch is a Nocturnean cattle-analogue. Bovine and saurian in aspect, saurochs are commonly found ranging the deserts in slow, lumbering herds. The lesser breeds are fairly placid, but the larger saurochs are much more aggressive and deadly.Scorpiad - Massive, arachnid-like monster. Caught by Ignean trappers out on the Arridian Plain and then purchased by the Themian Gladiatorial Guilds for use in the hell-pits.Serrwyrm - A long, chitinous creature with six reverse-jointed legs ending in claws designed for burrowing. With a tough chitin shell and a tendency to hunt in packs, the serrwyrm is a lethal opponent.
Nocturne of Oblivion - Nocturne of Oblivion: Nocturne of Oblivion was an enigmatic Aeldari Harlequin Solitaire present in the Dark City of Commorragh following the betrayal and capture of the newly raised Rogue Trader of House von Valancius by the Drukhari Haemonculus Tervantias the Archmachinator. Nocturne helped the Rogue Trader and their retinue escape Commorragh and the Haemonuclus' horrific Anatomical Opera in the bowels of Commorragh.He aided the Rogue Trader in reuniting with their companions and told them how to gain the attention of the Archmachinator who would prove essential in the Rogue Trader regaining their retinue and eventually escaping from the Dark City.Later, Nocturne was among the Aeldari the Rogue Trader Calligos Winterscale had captured on his world of Quetza Temer in the Koronus Expanse to hunt as part of his desire to seek vengeance against the Aeldari for their assaults upon his worlds in Winterscale's Realm. By this point, Winterscale's bloodlust had begun to corrupt him into serving the Chaos God Khorne. The outcome of Winterscale's final encounter with the Rogue Trader of House von Valancius on Quetza Temer is unknown, but if the Rogue Trader failed to redeem Winterscale and turn him away from Khorne, Nocturne joined the Rogue Trader alongside other Aeldari to fight and slay their captor. If the Rogue Trader also fell to Chaos and joined with Winterscale, Nocturne fought against them both.If the Rogue Trader aided Nocturne and his fellow Aeldari on Quetza Temer, he later returned to the Expanse, snuck onto the world of Dargonus, the capital planet of the von Valancius Protectorate, and left a special gift: a case of Aeldari crafting, unmistakably ancient and precious, adorned with the rune of an eye within a triangle. Only the Lord Captain knew what it contained, though Nocturne candidly warned them that his gift was drawing the von Valancius dynasty into a "deadly dance, a shaking doom, that all will freeze within the threads of terror's loom." He them promptly vanished back into the Webway.Nocturne of Oblivion speaks only in riddles. He always makes clear what he is trying to say by gestures if he is not understood, but his dialogue with any interlocutors is never obvious.
Noise Marines - Appearance: Regardless of the faction, warband or Traitor Legion they belong to, Noise Marines wear Power Armour painted in all manner of striking and bold colours. Pinks, blacks and purples are used predominantly in bizarre patterns all over the armour's legs, arms, gauntlets, helmet and shoulder plates. Their senses are so distorted that only the most extravagant shades and patterns register as pleasing to their minds.Though the staccato bark and blast of the Bolter is music to the Noise Marine's ears, many specialise in the use of a variety of outlandish sound-based weapons. The most common of these is the Sonic Blaster. The champions of these twisted hedonists instead use the Blastmaster and the Doom Siren, each of which produces a series of deafeningly loud attacks that disintegrate the target with extreme-frequency psychosonic waves. Noise Marines are also prone to displays of extremely grotesque mutations or surgical alterations, which are considered "gifts" of Slaanesh and are very common amongst all Slaaneshi devotees.
Noise Marines - Sonic Weaponry: The Noise Marines of Slaanesh are warriors whose senses are jaded and dulled by centuries of hedonistic excess. Only the most extreme sensations stir them, hence their use of Sonic Weapons. The louder and more discordant the noise, the more extreme the emotional reaction provoked in the Noise Marine. Sonic weapons use sonic waves to inflict deafeningly loud, psycho-sonically and pyrotechnically explosive results upon their victims.The weapons of the Noise Marines are surreal indeed, so peculiar that their energies can blast through solid walls without losing potency. They are not fired by the twitch of a trigger so much as played like hellish musical instruments, their bursts of psychically resonating noise sliding, thumping and screeching across a dizzying spectrum of sound. By holding his ground, a Noise Marine can coax a deeper, more sustained frequency, or a discordant wail that can literally shake its target apart. Alternatively, should the wielder be overcome with the need to taste the deathly results of his sonic barrages first hand, he can let fly a wave of crippling harmonics even as he strides towards his victims. These salvoes of killing noise hammer the enemy with explosive crescendos that can burst eyeballs and rupture internal organs no matter how well-protected the target.Sonic Blaster - The Sonic Blaster is a Chaos Space Marine sonic weapon used by the Noise Marines. It unleashes waves of crippling and distorted harmonics to rip targets apart. Many Noise Marines equipped with such weapons use them with manic intensity. They run up and down through the various chords and sliding scales so that these devices perpetually howl with a mixture of agony and ecstasy.Doom Siren - The Doom Siren is a Chaos Space Marine sonic weapon used by Noise Marines. The device is made up primarily of an arrangement of pipes and tubes that connects to a Power Armour helmet and magnifies the bearer’s war cries and howls of ecstatic pleasure into a manic shockwave of destruction. The Doom Siren mounts onto the bearer’s shoulders, leaving both of the bearer’s hands free to carry other weapons or perform other tasks.Blastmaster - The Blastmaster is a Chaos Space Marine sonic weapon used by the Noise Marines. It produces a throbbing bass note which is strong enough to burst eyeballs and rupture organs. At different frequencies the weapon can produce different effects, either harming individuals with a varying frequency or destroying an entire area with a single pulsing frequency.
Noise Marines - Unit Composition: 4-19 Noise Marines1 Noise Champion
Noise Marines - Wargear: BoltgunBolt PistolFrag GrenadesKrak GrenadesChainsword (Optional replacement for Boltgun)Sonic Blaster (Optional replacement for Boltgun)Blastmaster (Optional replacement for Boltgun for 1 Noise Marine or 2 Noise Marines if there are more than 10 in the unit)Doom Siren (Noise Champion only)Chainaxe (As replacement for Noise Champion's Boltgun and Bolt Pistol)Lightning Claw (As replacement for Noise Champion's Boltgun and Bolt Pistol)Plasma Pistol (As replacement for Noise Champion's Boltgun and Bolt Pistol)Power Axe (As replacement for Noise Champion's Boltgun and Bolt Pistol)Power Fist (As replacement for Noise Champion's Boltgun and Bolt Pistol)Power Maul (As replacement for Noise Champion's Boltgun and Bolt Pistol)Power Sword (As replacement for Noise Champion's Boltgun and Bolt Pistol)
Noise Marines - Sources: Black Crusade: Core Rulebook (RPG), pp. 160-161Black Crusade: The Tome of Excess (RPG), pp. 26, 28-29Codex Heretic Astartes - Chaos Space Marines (8th Edition) (Revised Codex), pp. 86, 143Codex Heretic Astartes - Chaos Space Marines (8th Edition), pp. 84, 135Codex: Chaos Space Marines (4th Edition), pg. 39Codex: Chaos Space Marines (3rd Edition, Revised Codex)Index Astartes I, "Children of the Emperor - The Emperor's Children Space Marine Legion"Warhammer 40,000: Index Chaotica - Noise Marines (Digital Edition)White Dwarf 230 (US), "Bitter and Twisted - Chaos Space Marines"Fulgrim (Novel) by Graham McNeillAngel Exterminatus (Novel) by Graham McNeillTreacheries of the Space Marines (Anthology), "The Masters, Bidding" (Short Story) by Matthew FarrerChaos Space Marine ForcesCommandChaos Lord • Exalted Champion •  Chaos Champion • Aspiring Champion • Sorcerer Lord • Daemon Prince • Daemon Prince of Nurgle • Daemon Prince of Tzeentch • Death Guard LordSpecialistsExalted Sorcerer • Sorcerer • Warpsmith • Dark Apostle • Master of Possession • Master of Executions • Lord Discordant • Warsmith • Death Guard Sorcerer • Lord of Contagion • Malignant Plaguecaster • Plague Surgeon • Tallyman • Scarab Occult Sorcerer • Scarab Occult TerminatorsTroopsChaos Space Marines • Havocs • Chosen • Chaos Terminators • Possessed • Greater Possessed • Khorne Berzerkers • Plague Marines • Noise Marines • Rubric Marines • Obliterators • Mutilators • Chaos Spawn • Fallen Angels • Noxious Blightbringer • Foul Blightspawn • Biologus Putrifier • Blightlord Terminators • DeathshroudFast AttackChaos Space Marine Bikers • Chaos Space Marine Raptors • Warp TalonsChaos DreadnoughtsHelbrute • Ferrum Infernus Dreadnought • Chaos Contemptor Pattern Dreadnought • Sonic Dreadnought • Berserker Dreadnought • Leviathan DreadnoughtVehicles and Daemon EnginesChaos Rhino • Chaos Predator • Infernal Relic Predator • Chaos Vindicator • Chaos Land Raider • Chaos Land Raider Proteus • Infernal Relic Land Raider Achilles • Land Raider Hades Diabolus • Relic Sicaran Battle Tank • Maulerfiend • Forgefiend • Defiler • Brass Scorpion • Blood Slaughterer • Blight Drone • Foetid Bloat-drone • Kytan • Plague Hulk • Venomcrawler • Myphitic Blight-haulerHeavy Vehicles and Daemon EnginesSpartan Assault Tank • Fellblade • Decimator • Typhon Heavy Siege Tank • Lord of Skulls • Death Wheel • Plaguereaper • Plagueburst Crawler • Silver Tower of TzeentchAircraftHeldrake • Stormbird • Thunderhawk • Chaos Storm Eagle • Chaos Fire Raptor • Hell Blade • Hell Talon • Harbinger • Chaos Dreadclaw • Kharybdis Assault Claw •  Fire Lord •  Doom WingSummoned DaemonsBloodletters • Plaguebearers • Horror of Tzeentch • Daemonette • Nurglings • Beast of Nurgle • Plague Drone • Flamer • ScreamerLost and the DamnedChaos Cultists • Poxwalkers • Pestigor • Plague Zombies • Plague Ogryn • Thrall Wizard • Tzaangor • Tzaangor Enlightened • Tzaangor Shaman • Dark DiscipleChampionsMagnus the Red • Mortarion • Abaddon the Despoiler • Kharn the Betrayer • Typhus • Ahriman • Huron Blackheart • Fabius Bile • Cypher • Haarken Worldclaimer • Invocatus
Nomus Rhy'tan - Nomus Rhy'tan: Nomus Rhy'tan, known also as the "Keeper of the Keys of Prometheus," and "The Voice of Fire," was the Lord Chaplain of the XVIII Legion, an important figure of the Salamanders Legion throughout the days of the Great Crusade, and Horus Heresy eras during the late 30th and early 31st Millennia.The Lord Chaplain had been entrusted by the Primarch Vulkan himself to stay behind on their homeworld to act as the Regent of Nocturne and Prometheus.Left behind to supervise the training and initiation of the Legion's next generation of Neophytes, Nomus Rhy'tan quite literally held the future of his Legion in his hands.
Nomus Rhy'tan - History: When the Chaplain-edict promulgated by the Council of Nikaea came to the Salamanders Legion, it fell on fertile grounds. Unlike other Legions of the Legiones Astartes, the XVIII Legion had to be united, having been deployed piecemeal over several different war zones during much of the early decades of the Great Crusade. The reunification with their gene-sire and Primarch, Vulkan, heralded a new beginning for the Legion where Terran-born and Nocturne-born Legionaries would come together and built unshakeable bonds of brotherhood.In his wisdom, Vulkan had drawn from the stories and mythologies of his home planet the elements that would become known as the Promethean Cult, a spiritual discipline to federate and unite the Legion in brotherhood and direct their path as Vulkan had foreseen it. To help to spread this doctrine influenced by the teachings and culture of his adopted world of Nocturne, Vulkan created a body of chosen Legionaries versed in the teachings of the Promethean Cult known as the "Voices of Fire" or Ignax.Nomus Rhy'tan was amongst the very first to be introduced into this caste. Little is known of Nomus Rhy'tan before he was accepted amongst the Ignax except that he was one of the newly-introduced Nocturne-born Legionaries. As an Ignax he was reputed to be a renowned orator and instructor, teaching both other Ignax and Legionaries in the way of Vulkan, but what made him invaluable to the Salamanders was his friendship with their Primarch to whom he often acted as confidante.So it was that when the Chaplain-edict was imposed the Ignax naturally became the first generation of their Legion’s Chaplains. Rhy'tan -- always popular amongst his peers -- was unanimously voted by them to become the Salamanders first Lord Chaplain. As an outwards sign of his new responsibilities, Vulkan presented the newly-elected Lord Chaplain with a weapon he had forged himself for his friend, a mighty double-handed warhammer known as Darkstar Falling, which was rightly later regarded as one of the most treasured relics of the Legion.
Nomus Rhy'tan - Rituals: With victory secured, Nomus Rhy'tan could finally address the more pressing matter of Vulkan's fate. Artellus Numeon found the Lord Chaplain in prayer before Vulkan's golden casket. Nomus Rhy'tan bade Numeon to stay, for he did not believe that Vulkan could be resurrected. As his pupil, Var'kir before him, Rhy'tan lacked the belief that Vukan's state was anything other than the eternal slumber of death.He had heard of the miracles by those few of the Pyre, but did not believe them. The Circle of Fire’s lessons of immolation and rebirth were only spiritual, but by laying Vulkan to rest in the heart of Mount Deathfire, another leader could emerge -- Artellus Numeon, as Vulkan reborn. Should he wish it, Rhy'tan would not challenge Numeon's claim of leadership over the XVIII Legion. Numeon however refused, his faith in Vulkan's rebirth unshakable.Despite his misgivings, Nomus Rhy'tan agreed to conduct the proper burial rituals for his Primarch for he was wise enough to see that the Legion -- or all that remained of it -- was in dire need of a sense of closure. So it came to pass, that the last sons of Vulkan -- by now fewer than 800 in number -- witnessed his passing. Each and every one of them had received the brander's mark that would commemorate the death of their Primarch. Armoured but unhelmed, their drake-hide capes fluttered occasionally in the heat, the Salamanders bore witness to the bier carrying Vulkan to his final resting place.Vulkan was borne to the heart of Mount Deathfire on a bier of granite with Dawnbringer, his mighty warhammer, still clenched in his grip and the Fulgurite spear that had claimed his immortal life on Macragge while in battle with Konrad Curze still jutting from his chest, for none had been able to remove it. Ceremonial chains had been wrapped around the Primarch's arms, legs, torso and neck to bind his spirit to his body, allowing both to be consecrated to the flame.The bier advanced to the monotonous beating of hammers on anvils, and the gathered Salamanders struck their breasts in unison. Before the bier, his head bowed in supplication, marched Lord Chaplain Nomus Rhy'tan. Reaching the mountain's caldera, Rhy'tan raised his fist and silence fell over the chamber before the Lord Chaplain started to recite the traditional verses in the old tongue of Noturne.A cadre of four Firedrakes gathered around their Primarch, holding him aloft while the chains that would let him descend into the heart of the furnace were pulled taut enough to hold him. With the final words of Rhy'tan's speech still ringing in their ears, Vulkan's body was lowered into the caldera.As the Primarch's body disappeared into the magma, the Salamanders daubed their fingers into burning ash and traced the Nocturnean sigil for rebirth on their bare foreheads. Then the Firedrakes let go of the chains and Nomus Rhy'tan destroyed the bier which had borne Vulkan this far with a strike of his mighty warhammer. Thus it was done -- Vulkan had been consigned to the fires of his homeworld.
Nomus Rhy'tan - Ultimate Fate: Nomus Rhy'tan's ultimate fate remains unclear, though he still played an important role within the Legion. Upon seeing that his faith in the Primarch's resurrection had not been answered, Artellus Numeon again withdrew into isolation in order to grieve, leaving Nomus Rhy'tan to organise the Legion and their world for the oncoming Time of Trials.Vulkan had not risen again, and with Numeon indisposed, this left only Rhy'tan fit to lead. The Neophytes had reacted well to their training and had been blooded in battle, and so seven detachments had been formed from their numbers, and it was the hope of all to be able to join the Emperor on Terra and fight for the survival of the Imperium.Speculation ran high whether it would be Artellus Numeon or Nomus Rhy'tan that would claim the title of Legion Master and lead them on this mission. This speculation ran rife right up until the day Artellus Numeon was discovered missing.His armour, weapons and even Vulkan's Sigil were later discovered entombed in the golden casket that had housed the Primarch's body. Soon afterwards, a lonely figure, unmistakably a Salamander, was found, weak but alive, wandering in the ash wastes around Mount Deathfire. Soon, news reached every corner of Nocturne, from the Sanctuary Cities to the Legion's outposts to the fortress-monastery on Prometheus that their hope against hope had been rewarded -- Vulkan lived once more!But of Rhy'tan, and his role in the Primarch's resurrection, there was no sign.
Nomus Rhy'tan - Wargear: Artificer ArmourIron HaloMantle of the Elder DrakeCombi-FlamerBolt PistolFrag Grenades and Krak GrenadesDarkstar Falling - Rather than carrying the more common Crozius Arcanum that was usually carried by Legion Chaplains to denote their rank, Nomus Rhy'tan carried one of the most treasured relics of the Salamanders Legion, an artificer-wrought double-handed warhammer forged by the hands of Vulkan himself. Symbolizing the strength and resilience of the Promethean Cult, the warhammer's head had been crafted from a single block of an unknown obsidian-like mineral the Primarch had wrestled from the gravitational vortex of a dying world. Strange and little understood energies slumbered within, representing the Legion's fury, which made Darkstar Falling a treasured relic as well as a potent weapon.
Noosphere - Noosphere: The noosphere is a cybernetic, wireless information transfer and communication technology system developed by the ancient Mechanicum during the closing years of the Great Crusade in the late 30th Millennium that allows the user to experience the flow of all information through a visual and haptic interface called the "aether."
Noosphere - History: The designs for the noosphere was originally discovered by Explorator Laszlo, a hunter of antiquities, sometime before the Great Crusade. In the years before the union of Mars and Terra in the Treaty of Mars in 739.M30, Laszlo made several forays to the third planet of the Sol System, seeking out the remnants of advanced technology left behind by the ancients of the Age of Technology.Buried beneath the great crater of Kebira in the land of Gyptus on Terra, Laszlo discovered a great tomb complex, a vast sepulchre selfishly guarded by the tribes of the Gilf Kebir. Laszlo's Skitarii easily overcame the primitive techno-barbarian tribesmen, and the secrets he discovered beneath the sands were so many remnants of times long forgotten and technologies thought lost forever. Secrets of energy transference, atomic restructuring, chemical engineering and, most importantly, the evolution of Human cognition and digital communication through the noosphere.After discovering the secrets of the noosphere, Laszlo gave the technology to his apprentice Adept Cacye, who in turn gave it to his apprentice, the famed Mistress of Magma City on Mars, Adept Koriel Zeth. After Zeth was provided with samples of the ancient technology she developed it further and gifted it to her allies such as Ipluviel Maximal and Fabricator Locum Zagreus Kane.For those tech-priests who were cybernetically modified with noosphere implants, information and communication are one and the same, a form of collective consciousness that emerges from the interaction of Human minds and where knowledge becomes visible in shoals of light. Those connected to this "aether" through the noosphere are rendered sensitive to such things, and as an individual developed their abilities with the technology, they would eventually be able to see and manipulate more and more of the information that surrounded them. But for the untutored mind, the aether could be dangerous, for it was a realm of thought and emotion created by the noosphere that existed outside of the physical realm.During the Schism of Mars when the forbidden Vaults of Moravec were opened, and Chaos-corrupted scrapcode was released, the singular nature of the noosphere protected Magma City and other Martian forges that utilised it so that the debased and supernaturally-enhanced viral code could not enter their vital cogitator systems. This led to Fabricator-General Kelbor-Hal sending his emissary Melgator to Magma City to acquire this technology and to learn how Magma City survived the scrapcode assault.Melgator chastised Adept Zeth -- if she had freely shared the technology of the noosphere with her fellow adepts then Mars might have been spared the horror of the "Death of Innocence," to which Adept Zeth countered that if perhaps the fabricator-general had put more faith in the noosphere when she had presented it to him, that might have been the case.
Noosphere - Trivia: The noosphere in Warhammer 40,000 is based on the real world concept of the noosphere (alternate spelling noösphere)  developed and popularised by the biogeochemist Vladimir Vernadsky, and philosopher and Jesuit priest Pierre Teilhard de Chardin. Vernadsky defined the noosphere as the new state of the biosphere and described it as the planetary "sphere of reason". The noosphere represents the highest stage of biospheric development, that of humankind's rational activities.
Nork Deddog - Nork Deddog: Nork Deddog is a legend in his own lifetime, an Ogryn whose fighting abilities as an Astra Militarum soldier are almost as astonishing as mental development that can only be called precocious for one of his subspecies. Due to his unusual mental acuity, he quickly came to the attention of the Commissars of the Imperial Guard and Nork soon found himself placed on special duties. Nork's reputation for loyalty is unsurpassed and his skills as an Ogryn Bodyguard have been in high demand by Imperial officers across the galaxy.Though unquestioningly loyal, Nork is no leader. Throughout his long career, he has guarded officers with remarkable military acumen, tactical genius and an innate understanding of the Astra Militarum war machine. Unfortunately, none of this has ever rubbed off on the hulking Ogryn. His singular duty demands all of his attention, and has done for the entirety of his illustrious service. In those rare instances when the subject of his protection is grievously wounded and unable to maintain their command, allied soldiers may appeal to Nork for orders -- after all, he is typically the most decorated and experienced Veteran in a battalion. Such requests, however, are in vain. In Nork's simple mind, he still has but one duty, and he will continue to protect the fallen officer until he is told to do otherwise. Fortunately, having an unconscious officer draped across his shoulder does little to hamper Nork's ability to butcher the enemy.Nork has saved the lives of well over one hundred officers, earning himself a chest-full of medals in the process. Dozens of war zones that would have descended into anarchy have instead seen the banners of Imperial victory raised high thanks to Nork's constant, selfless heroism. During the brief periods of peace between deployments, Nork experiences chronic discomfort whenever compelled to accompany his latest master to a social function or parade drill. However, such embarrassments only encourage Nork to fight all the harder when he returns to the field of battle, determined to prove his worth and bask in the satisfying glow of being the Imperial Guard's finest bodyguard.
Nork Deddog - Wargear: Carapace ArmourRipper Gun - The Ripper Gun is an enormous drum-fed automatic combat shotgun developed for the exclusive use of Ogryn serving in the Imperial Guard. At short range, the deadly hail of low velocity shot produced by a Ripper Gun is so dense that it is all but impossible for the Ogryns who wield it to miss their targets.Frag BombCombat Knife (Ogryn-sized)
Norn-Queen - Norn-Queen: A Norn-Queen, also sometimes referred to as a Splicer-Beast, is the highly intelligent Tyranid bioform that leads the great Tyranid swarms and directs the evolutionary paths they take as they adapt to each new environment or tactical need.The Norn-Queens live upon massive Hive Ships in huge chambers at the centre of the hive fleet and ingest genetic materials. They then churn out through asexual reproduction all the countless types of bioforms that make up the Tyranid hive fleet. All Tyranids have genetic links back to a Norn-Queen, as the only way for Tyranids to reproduce is through this cloning technique. Unlike so many of the other Tyranid bioforms, Norn-Queens are self-aware beings.The Norn-Queens are constantly producing new biomechanical Tyranid organisms, bio-weapons, and voidships from a target planet's recently consumed bio-mass. The Norn-Queens control the fleet and send orders to Tyranid synapse creatures on an invaded planet. The synapse creatures then retransmit those orders through the Hive Mind to the lesser Tyranid bioforms.The Norn-Queens control the evolutionary course of the Tyranid swarm. Upon arrival at a new target world they intend to strip of its biomass, the Tyranids disgorge the "Alpha" swarm of bioforms. The Alpha swarm contains the genetic material of that particular hive fleet's ruling Norn-Queen. These creatures then relay telepathic information to the Norn-Queen on the new world's environmental conditions and battlefield requirements, which spawn the second and subsequent generations of Tyranid bioforms, sometimes with tens of thousands of casualties in the collection of the data.Capture of an Alpha wave Tyranid bioform can lead to the creation of a deadly neurotoxin which can directly affect the Norn-Queen, as was done by the Ultramarines during the invasion of Ultramar by Hive Fleet Behemoth. When a Norn-Queen is killed, the psychic backlash of its death in the Hive Mind -- approaching level Gamma 12 in intensity -- causes nearby Tyranid Hive Ships to calve, creating more Norn-Queens within their interiors. This is an instinctual survival mechanism of the Tyranid species that is known as the "Hydra Effect," and is the reason why when a hive fleet is defeated, it can quickly form splinter fleets that eventually become larger than the original.The forces of the Imperium to date have encountered only a single Norn-Queen during the Battle of Tarsis Ultra. A biological plague created by using a Lictor's DNA as the foundation for the pathogen was injected into the Norn-Queen by Captain Uriel Ventris of the Ultramarines 4th Company. This disrupted the Hive Mind's coherency and the Tyranid creatures reverted to overly aggressive, animalistic behaviours, turning upon one another in an orgy of cannibalism. This action also crippled a tendril of Hive Fleet Leviathan.
Norn-Queen - Tyranid Reproduction: A Tyranid hive fleet's Norn-Queens require a constant supply of genetic material and undifferentiated nutrient bio-mass (a slurry of organic and inorganic chemicals including minerals, proteins, nucleic acids and carbohydrates) in order to clone or genetically craft new Tyranid bioforms. This bio-mass mainly consists of the slurry formed in Reclamation Pools on a target planet's surface that are pumped up into the orbiting Tyranid Hive Ships through massive Capillary Towers created by Tyranid bioforms.Genetic material is also supplied directly to the Norn-Queen by other Tyranid bioforms, such as the Coffin-Crawlers. This raw material is pumped into the great jaws that are located at the top of the Norn-Queen and then synthesised into a new bioform design by the Norn-Queen's genetic shredder organs. The disassembled DNA structures form a biochemical "gene-bank" of millions of different genotypes that can be used to "assemble" a new organism using the biomolecular machinery of the Norn-Queen's metabolism. This organic genetic engineering mechanism is very similar to a Terran mammalian immune system in that it "remembers" the biochemical structure of every DNA sequence it has absorbed just as an immune system can biochemically "remember" every pathogen it has ever encountered.These absorbed DNA sequences provide the raw material for splicing and mutation from which new Tyranid creatures are created. Once a type of bioform has been engineered to meet a purpose determined by the Norn-Queen, more bioforms of the same type can be cloned by all the other Norn-Queens of a given hive fleet.The Norn-Queens are capable of bringing forth new Tyranid bioforms in a variety of different ways, each designed to ensure maximum reproductive efficiency. Most Tyranid bioforms are born live as tiny, hideous larvae or as eggs that must be nurtured further before they hatch and rapidly grow into their mature, adult forms.Clusters of Tyranid eggs spill from the rows of ovipository orifices along a Norn-Queen's flanks, while nutrient fluid-filled depressions on the massive alien mother's upper surface writhe with maggot-like larvae. Fetal amniotic sacs for other bioforms hang like ripe fruit from corded umbilicals, while huge Teleporter Worms burst from incubator pouches on the Norn-Queen's sides to allow newborn bioforms to be quickly moved around the vessel for easy deployment.The simplest Tyranid bioforms often emerge in their fully mature state and then are directed to begin serving their expected purpose by the horde of small Tyranid worker bioforms whose only purpose is to feed and maintain a hive fleet's Norn-Queens.
Nostraman Chainblade - Nostraman Chainblade: A Nostraman Chainblade was an Astartes chainsword crafted in the Nostraman style that was in wide use among the Night Lords Legion's Space Marines during the Great Crusade and Horus Heresy. It was a particular favorite of the Night Lords' feared Contekor Elite Terminator squads.
Nostraman Chainglaive - Nostraman Chainglaive: The Nostraman Chainglaive was a type of Chain Weapon used by the Heretic Astartes of the Night Lords Legion that resembled a great pole arm with a chainsword blade at its tip crafted in the Nostraman style.
Nostraman Chainglaive - Night's Whisper: Night's Whisper is a master-crafted Nostraman Chainglaive that is one of several weapons the Night Haunter had discarded in his gore-spattered sanctum. First Captain Jago Sevatarion, commander of the Atramentar Terminators of the Legion's 1st Company, appropriated it for his final battles against the Dark Angels during the Thramas Crusade, as their armour had proved resistant to the teeth of his old chainglaive.In form Night's Whisper was an elegant Nostraman Chainglaive of archaic make, its archeotech motor tuned to a sibilant purr rather than the discordant roar of more commonplace weapons of the type.
Nostramo - Nostramo: Nostramo was the Hive World enshrouded by perpetual darkness that was the former homeworld of the Night Lords Traitor Legion of Chaos Space Marines and their Primarch, Konrad Curze. The world was ultimately destroyed by Curze himself in the early 31st Millennium during an orbital bombardment by the Night Lords' Legionary Fleet after its people betrayed his ideals of draconian order and reverted to their anarchic, criminal ways.