vizn3r/warhammer40k-lore huggingface dataset:
Siege of Vraks - The First Assault on the Citadel: At the epicentre of the network of service roads which criss-crossed the Van Meersland Wastes, linking habitation areas with armouries, defense laser batteries and the defensive rings which now lay blasted and shattered in the wake of the 88th army 's advance stood the great Citadel of Vraks. Looming imposingly upon a tall pinnacle of volcanic rock, up which, by dint of several switch backs the mam road made its way to the Great Gate. Up and up the road climbed its serpentine way towards the majestic entrance, wrought of carved granite blocks now long worn by wind and weather.Within, above the grey waits and parapets of the Citadel's wall, rose the spires and pinnacles of the Basilica of St Leonis the Blind. From humble beginnings the original tower that commemorated the death of the martyred missionary in the 38th millennium had grown into a massive cathedral, where pilgrims of the faith came m hordes to visit the bones and relics of the long dead saint A huge edifice in carved stone, the Basilica of St Leoniss was not the tallest building within the Citadel. Higher still rose the censorium tower once the abode of Vrak’s chorus of astropaths and a centre for interstellar communication. It formed part of the Citadels inner ward, separated from the mam fortress by a sheer gorge that cracked the flanks of the citadel rocs. The censorium spire reached skyward, where lightning storms danced around its pinnacle, and from it the whole panorama of the surrounding lands could be seen in detail.For the observers now watching the approaching Krieg regiments, the surrounding land far below and as far as they could see, had become a blackened pit of smoke and fire. The boom of the guns, once a distant rumble of thunder had become an ear-splitting cacophony of ceaseless explosions that surrounded the fortress. Shells smashed into the hillside or flashed and sparked off the Citadel's powerful void shield curtain every minute. Dust and smoke lay as thick as autumnal fog in dense grey clouds that roiled and boiled as more shells impacted. Down on the plain amidst the fire, shrapnel and choking smoke clouds the slaughter of murderous battle continued daily, ceaseless. Inside, the Citadel was now full of the materials of war. The last redoubt of the defenders was bristling with men and weapons. Outside the safety of the void-shield protected walls, the slopes were thick with weapon pits and observation posts, covered trenches and camouflaged sniper holes pocked every face. Bunkers, pillboxes and dug-outs scarred the surrounding landscape as well. The rebel forces had laboured hard to tum the Citadel into an impregnable fortress, the mighty rock upon which the rising tide of the Emperor’s armies would break and fall back, break and fall back, time and again. Despite months of Imperial Navy bombing raids and long-ranged artillery bombardment by the largest guns the Imperial Guard regiment could muster, the Citadel stood badly damaged but defiant. Now after 18 years, the finale of the great siege was about to be played out.
Siege of Vraks - Plans of the 261st Regiment: Colonel Tyborc had picked up the Inquisitor's poisoned chalice, now he must drink deeply from it. First he had to build up his regiment ready for the fight, more shells, more ammunition, more fuel and more men would all be requisitioned from the stockpiles and ferried forwards. Then he gathered his staff and began to study the holo-maps and details the Inquisitor Lord had provided. Taking up positions in the forward trenches that now surrounded the Citadel, the 261st regiment would attack from three directions simultaneously. From the north, aimed at the Cardinal Gate. From the west, aimed at captunng the Lower Gate and destroying the outlying defences and defence laser silo that in turn guarded the St Leoms Gate, and the most powerful strike would come from the south-east aimed at the Great Gate. Each attack would be led by an entire infantry company, each in fifteen Gorgons. 1st company from the north. 7th company from the west and 15th company from the southeast.Their attack could only begin after the bombardment korps' barrage had had its chance to work. Then, as the bombardment concentrated on the fortress itself. Tyborc would send forth his Gorgons. These big assault earners would push the lead companies through the remaining outer defences and only disgorge the guardsmen when the slope became too steep. The infantry would then advance uphill on their own, under the covering fire of any tanks that could find their way forward into firing positions at the foot of the hill. It would be a three-pronged attack, each prong aimed at capturing one of the gates. When the Gorgon-mounted companies stalled, a second infantry wave on foot would be close behind, to push through the first wave and onwards up the slope. The third wave would do likewise. The fourth wave would contain most of the regiment's grenadier squads, and it was these guardsmen that would carry the assault to the gates and fight hand-to-hand for the bastions at each entrance. At the great gateway Tyborc planned to deploy Atlas recovery vehicles, each equipped with a heavy dozer blade to sweep the service road of mines and allow a company of Leman Russ to push up the road, in single file, and support the grenadiers' assault Fresh reinforcements would also be waiting to strike directly up the road to hold the objective once it was taken.The Great Gate would be the main focus of the attack, and demanded the largest commitment of forces. The other two gates, the Cardinal Gate and Lower Gate, were far harder prospects. Here each attack would be a strong diversion, carried forward with enough men and machines to pin enemy forces in place, and if the enemy faltered, then they may even have a chance to take the gates. But it was at the Great Gate that Tyborc hoped to win his foothold. If he did then his mission would be complete and another regiment would take over the assault. By then the 261st would be a spent force, casualties would be very high but he knew that was why Krieg regiments had been chosen for this war.
Siege of Vraks - The Inquisitor and the Bloodthirster: As Anggrath was launching his rampage into the Grey Knights, Lord Rex was approaching the Cardinal Gate, having gathered about him all the survivors he could. Most of the gate and its two towers lay in ruins, the artillery bombardment having torn away the masonry stones and left little but craters and rubble. The incendiary shells had also scoured the surrounding walls clear of defenders.Then the Bloodthirster plunged from the boiling skies like a meteor, dark wings spread as it landed in the remains of the gateway, blocking their passage forwards. An’ggrath roared in defiance, cracking its whip in a challenge to any to stand and fight it. The guardsmen quailed before it and shrank back. Here was a creature from their darkest nightmares, all the malevolence and violence of the human soul drawn together into the perfect killing machine. Only the Ordo Malleus could stand before it - and so Lord Hector Rex did.The Bloodthirster and Inquisitor fought, sacred sword against daemonic axe, unbendable will and the blessing of the God-Emperor against insatiable battle lust and the strength of the Blood God. It was a battle that had been raging for the last 10,000 years, the Emperor protecting humanity from the dark gods of the Warp and from the darkest recess of the human psyche Inquisitor Rex was bathed in holy light, whilst white fire crackled from his blade and brow, lashing the Daemon with the power of his mind, striking unseen psychic blows. The Bloodthirster was all fury and strength, but what strength! Its blows shattered stone and gouged the earth as Inquisitor Rex dodged and parried time and again, until his storm shield had become useless wreckage. Both were wounded, but An'ggrath never tired of battle and bloodletting, and the Inquisitor was being worn down strength sapped by the impact of blow after blow that could have sliced a tank in two.In the end it seemed that the inquisitor Lord had met his match. Finally he must meet his doom, as the Malphius had prophesied. Lord Hector Rex was tired beyond the limits of a mortal man, and An’ggrath roamed in glee at his impending victory and the slaughter he would wreak in its wake – for who now could stop his reign of destruction?But with the very last of his strength Inquisitor Lord thrust Arias deep into the Bloodthirster's chest, plunging it into the Daemon's heart and channelling all his psychic power through it. Shrieking in rage and torment An'ggrath vanished, cast back into the Warp.
Siege Shield - Siege Shield: The Siege Shield is an enormous bulldozer blade, larger even than most Dozer Blades, that is used primarily by Space Marine and Chaos Space Marine Mars Pattern Vindicator Siege Tanks. These massive Dozer Blades allow their attached vehicles to shoulder aside battlefield detritus without risk, and offer a high degree of protection from frontal attacks.Siege Shields differ from regular Dozer Blades not only by their massive size and thickness but because they cover the entire front of the Rhino chassis, with only a view slit for the driver and a reinforced cut-out section for the vehicle's Demolisher Cannon. Siege Shields are used to help the vehicles make their way though terrain that would normally be inaccessible to them, such as the ruins found during urban combat. These blades push aside rubble and dangerous objects such as tank traps and barbed wire.The Siege Shield can also be found on the rare Land Raider Ares used by the Dark Angels and their Unforgiven Chapters and the uncommon Sabre Tank Hunter. Due to the central placement of the weapons used by the Deimos Pattern Vindicator and Deimos Pattern Vindicator Laser Destroyer they are unable to be outfitted with a Siege Shield, at least according to current Imperial records.
Siege Shield - Sources: Codex: Space Marines (7th Edition) - Space Marine Vehicle EquipmentCodex: Dark Angels (6th Edition), pg. 65Codex: Chaos Space Marines (6th Edition), pg. 68Codex: Blood Angels (5th Edition), pg. 61
Siege Titan - Siege Titan: A Siege Titan was a Titan of the Collegia Titanica deployed during the Great Crusade and the Horus Heresy. It was among the largest grades of Titan, standing taller and possessing more tonnage than even a Warlord-class Battle Titan.A Siege Titan, as the name implies, was designed specifically to assault and destroy enemy fixed fortifications. The Siege Titan's armament reflected this tactical role, as it was armed with a Disruption Field-wreathed wrecking ball on one arm and a multi-headed siege drill on the other.Siege Titans were deployed at the Battle of Beta-Garmon, remembered as the "Titandeath," during the Horus Heresy.
Siege Titan - Notable Siege Titans: Atranican (Siege Titan) -  Atranican was a Siege Titan of an unknown Titan Legion that fought at the Battle of Beta-Garmon during the Horus Heresy and was destroyed during the combat on Beta-Garmon II.
Siegebreaker Cannon - Siegebreaker Cannon: A Siegebreaker Cannon is a type of Imperial ballistic weapon employed atop the carapace of the Dominus-class Knight Castellan. Siegebreaker Cannons are unsubtle gun turrets, fired by Servitor-brain sub-arrays slaved to the pilot's targeting systems.They are capable of laying down a pounding bombardment of heavy ordnance to entirely carpet an area in flame and shrapnel and serve as effective area-denial wepaons for the super-heavy Knight Castellan.
Siegfried - Siegfried: The Siegfried is a modified variant of the Land Crawler utility vehicle commonly found by the billions all over the Imperium. The Siegfried is lightly armed and thus is mostly used as a scout and reconnaissance vehicle by the forces of the Astra Militarum.The Siegfried was first developed out of necessity on the Death World of Krieg during the 500-year-long civil war that consumed that world and was intended to replace the Sentinel walker that was deemed unsuitable for the rugged battlefields of Krieg.Although the Siegfried is no longer used by the regiments of the Astra Militarum's Death Korps of Krieg, who prefer to use the more versatile Sentinel, the Siegfried is still used by large numbers of other Imperial Guard siege regiments.The Siegfried replaces the regular catalytic engine of the Land Crawler with a more powerful gas turbine engine so that the improved power-to-weight ratio provides the Siegfried with nearly double the top speed of the Land Crawler.While the Siegfried is heavily armoured, it is usually kept in reserve and is rarely deployed to the front, although many Imperial Guard siege regiments use them to quickly exploit breaches in the enemy's defences when an opportunity reveals itself.Like the Sentinel that the Siegfried was meant to replace, its main weapon is a Multilaser.
Siegfried - Adeptus Mechanicus Technical Specifications: The Adeptus Mechanicus has not released official technical specifications for what is essentially an unconventional modification of a non-military vehicle.
Sigillites - Sigillites: The Sigillites were an ancient, secretive organisation of men and women present on Terra in the strife-ridden millennia before the appearance of the Emperor of Mankind and the start of the Unification Wars.They were dedicated to the collection, rescue and protection of the greatest cultural artefacts in the history of Humanity, including ancient weapons technologies, from the chaos and tumult that afflicted Terra during the Age of Strife and destroyed Humanity's early interstellar civilisation.According to their only known and perhaps last surviving member, Malcador the Sigillite, the Regent of Terra, they had existed during the Age of Technology even before Old Night had consumed the galaxy.At some unknown time before the Emperor's rise, the Sigillites were disbanded or scattered, but their ancient fortress in the Himalazian (Himalayan) Mountains and the artefacts and knowledge they had managed to collect there became the foundation of what would later become the Imperial Palace.Malcador had carried on the work of the Sigillites, seeking to preserve all the great artefacts of Human history.The Sigillites remained active in one form or another at least until the founding of the I Legion of the Space Marines during the Unification Wars.Malcador took his byname of "the Sigillite" from his membership in the secretive group, though the Imperial public believed the Emperor had given the name to him to symbolise his position as the Master of Mankind's "seal-bearer" or regent.Two of the treasures the Sigillites had once protected -- the ancient paintings Mona Lisa by Leonardo da Vinci and Sunflowers by Vincent van Gogh -- were Malcador's most prized possessions, proudly displayed in his personal quarters in the Imperial Palace.
Sigismund - Sigismund: Sigismund was the first captain of the Imperial Fists Legion during the Great Crusade and the Horus Heresy eras and the first Emperor's Champion. Sigismund's was a name that echoed through the Great Crusade even before the darkness of the Horus Heresy made him the stuff of Imperial legends.Born on Terra and raised to the Legiones Astartes as the Great Crusade was at its height, he ascended in rank and renown thanks to a simple fact: he was a warrior of unparalleled lethality and ability. Beneath the primarchs there has perhaps never been a warrior more skilled in combat.On the battlefields of hundreds of worlds and the dueling floors of every Legion he was never defeated, except on one occasion (and only through treachery) when he received a headbutt to the face from the Night Lords' infamous First Captain Jago Sevatarion.The fire of the Crusader always burned brightly in him and if one warrior could embody the Great Crusade's spirit of noble conquest it was Sigismund. Those who faced him in the circle of blades, or stood beside him in battle, speak of a fury shackled by an iron will and an inherent genius for dealing death that bordered on the supernatural.It was his skill and fire that brought Sigismund to command the Templars of the Legion's 1st Company, and the most exalted position in the Imperial Fists beneath Rogal Dorn himself.Following the tragic events of the Heresy, the Space Marine Legions were broken down into smaller Chapters. Sigismund would go on to become the first High Marshal (Chapter Master) of the newly formed Black Templars Chapter after the Second Founding in the early 31st Millennium.
Sigismund - History: Sigismund served beside the Imperial Fists Legion's Primarch Rogal Dorn himself, and would fight throughout the entirety of the Great Crusade. Famously brash and headstrong, he had a tendency to attack the enemy head-on, no matter the danger or mission he had been sent to accomplish. This tendency might have been a problem if he had not been such a superb warrior who could defeat almost any opponent.A sombre and deadly warrior, both indefatigable and remorseless in the fray, Sigismund was to onlookers less a mortal warrior but rather some unstoppable agency of the dark fates. This led none other than the Blood Angels' Primarch Sanguinius to remark of him he seemed, "...less my brother Dorn's champion, and more Death's himself..." Sigismund's skill was legendary, even among the transhuman warriors of the Space Marine Legions and none could match his instinctive talent for dealing death and finding the merest chink in his enemy's guard to exploit their undoing.At some point, late in the Great Crusade, the Imperial Fists served alongside the brutal World Eaters Legion for a significant amount of time. During these campaigns, Sigismund became a close comrade of Assault Captain Kharn, Equerry of Primarch Angron.The two warriors went even so far as to refer to each other as "oath brothers." These bonds were forged in the fighting pits of the XIIth Legion's flagship, Conqueror, where Sigismund made an impressive name for himself, earning the epithet of "the Black Knight."The tradition of using chains to bind weapons to one's arms was originally started by the World Eaters, a tradition which eventually spread to the other Space Marine Legions after its popularity had extended beyond the World Eaters' fighting pits.Sigismund took to the custom with his usual zeal, binding his knightly weapons to his wrists on dense black chains. This practice of wearing Devotion Chains would later be adopted by the Second Founding Black Templars Chapter.
Sigismund - Horus Heresy: Sigismund led a squad of Templar Brethren that accompanied his Primarch in a boarding action to rescue survivors of the crippled Eisenstein. He was under the command of Battle-Captain Nathaniel Garro, formerly of the Death Guard, who had brought word of Warmaster Horus' perfidy to Rogal Dorn following his treacherous actions during the Isstvan III Atrocity. Following these startling revelations, Dorn went into temporary isolation to take some time to absorb the gravity of such dire portents.Once he came to a decision, Dorn ordered Sigismund to undertake a mission to the Istvaan System to evaluate the situation and assist any surviving Loyalists. During this period of isolation, Sigismund struggled with this terrible news of the former brethrens' treachery. He eventually met one of the Eisenstein survivors, Euphrati Keeler, a former Imagist, and now zealous adherent of the Lectitio Divinitatus.Her faith in the Emperor would prove so absolute that it would provide psychic protection against the powers of Daemons summoned from the Warp. Keeler would go on to become one of the earliest Saints recognised by the Imperial Creed. She informed the First Captain that the Warmaster would eventually strike out for Terra. When he finally did, Sigismund would be forced to choose where he would make a stand.Keeler also shared a vision with Sigismund, showing him the death of the Imperium, as well as his own. One of these choices would result in Sigismund's death---death and sacrifice far away, under the light of an unknown star, alone and unremembered. The other choice would result in war without end. Long before Sigismund's own end, his father Dorn would need him. Deeply affected by their conversation, the usually stoic First Captain's resolve was severely shaken.As a result, Sigismund requested that he be allowed to remain by his Primarch's side. Thus, command of the Retribution Fleet passed to the veteran Captain Yonnad. Alhough the Primarch didn't understand why Sigismund would make such a request, he trusted his son and acceded to his plea without question.
Sigismund - Siege of Terra: At the conclusion of the Horus Heresy during the Siege of Terra, Sigismund was chosen to serve as the first Emperor's Champion. Personally singled out by Rogal Dorn himself, Sigismund was bestowed with the high honour of serving as the personal champion of the Emperor. Though humbled by the honour, he was disturbed by only one thing -- it seemed wrong to him to obscure the sacred colours of his Legion.The Imperial Fists Reclusiarch who bestowed the sacred blessings upon his armour and wargear told Brother Sigismund to fear not, for Dorn himself had ordered it to be so. Sigismund's heraldry was changed to black to show that he served the Emperor directly, as did the Reclusiarch and his fellow Chaplains. As such, he had been marked out in the sight of the Emperor.Reassured, Sigismund strode across the war-torn scenes of carnage, of hell on Earth, challenging any and all Champions of Chaos to single combat as well as anyone else unfortunate enough to cross his path. When Rogal Dorn accompanied the Emperor and Sanguinius in the boarding of Horus' flagship, the Vengeful Spirit, he left most of his Imperial Fists behind to look to the defence of the Imperial Palace.Sigismund was left behind in order to lead the Imperial ground forces against the Traitor Legions, until Dorn returned. Since that time, the Black Templars Chapter has continued to honour Sigismund by maintaining the practise of naming an Emperor's Champion.
Sigismund - Second Founding: Emperor's Champion Sigismund, the first captain of the Imperial Fists Legion, was chosen by his primarch as the first High Marshal (Chapter Master) of the newly created Black Templars Chapter during the Second Founding.The Chapter took upon themselves the black and white panoply of Sigismund's personal heraldry at the Siege of Terra. Chosen as the Emperor's Champion for his fervent faith in the Emperor and his undying devotion to Mankind, those zealous warriors who became Black Templars sought to emulate their former first captain's heroic example.Seeing the strife that beset the Legiones Astartes during the days of the Second Founding, Sigismund determined that a gesture of supreme faith was needed. As High Marshal of the Black Templars, Sigismund swore a mighty oath that upon leaving Terra, he would prove his loyalty, never resting in the prosecution of his duties against the enemies of the Emperor.It is an oath that every subsequent High Marshal has renewed, and so the greatest and longest Imperial Crusade in Imperial history was begun, a crusade that has continued unbroken for ten thousand Terran years.
Sigismund - Ultimate Fate: In 781.M31, five standard centuries after his retreat from Terra, Ezekyle Abaddon, now the Chaos Lord and Warmaster of Chaos known as "Abaddon the Despoiler," returned to Imperial space at the head of a host of Traitors and Daemons. It was the Imperium's first encounter with the newly renamed Black Legion and the return of a brutal and bitter enemy many had thought lost to the graveyard of history. This was the first of the thirteen Black Crusades.Since the Great Scouring, Abaddon had remained within the Eye of Terror, rebuilding the Black Legion as a vengeful reflection of its former glory. At last, the Black Legion and the other Traitors returned to realspace, the first chapter in their Long War against the Emperor ready to be written in the blood of Imperial worlds. The new regents of the Imperium, the High Lords of Terra, did not expect the Traitor Legions' return, and so were unprepared to face them, but not all of the Emperor's servants had forgotten His wayward sons.During this first incursion into Imperial space, Abaddon faced Sigismund, the High Marshal of the Black Templars Chapter. By this time, Sigismund was a Veteran of more than a thousand standard years. Age had ravaged him, yet he burned with life. Sigismund informed Abaddon that he had sought the former first captain as Terra burned in the fires of the Horus Heresy, hunting for him day and night. Always lesser men had blocked his way. Always they died so that he might live. He also told Abaddon that he had never stopped searching for him, not through all the long years.Then the two ancient warriors raised their blades -- the primarch-slaying Lightning Claw known as the Talon of Horus and the ebon-bladed Black Sword as both warriors prepared to fight one another to the death. Sigismund badly wounded Abaddon and drove the Black Sword through the Chaos Lord's chest, but the Despoiler proved the ultimate victor, disembowelling and slaying the High Marshal with the Talon of Horus.Abaddon claimed Sigismund's corpse and delivered it upon a captured Black Templars frigate to Terra with a short message declaring the start of the Long War of the Heretic Astartes against the servants of the Emperor:We are returned.
Sigismund - Appearance: Sigismund was a sturdy, thickset Astartes, his hair a dark blonde with a patrician face that echoed the same austere lines as his primarch, Rogal Dorn.His face was only marred by a scar from under his right eye that ran down his cheek all the way to his jawline. His eyes were coloured a bright, sapphire blue that matched the colour of the ocean.
Sigismund - Wargear: Artificer ArmourIron HaloBlack Sword - The Black Sword was a paragon blade of unknown provenance which took the shape of an ancient two-handed blade of lustreless black metal. The Black Sword was able to cut through stone and metal without effort or mar to the blade. In the hands of a warrior such as Sigismund, the Black Sword was deadly beyond belief, and alien warlords and mighty warriors without number fell before it.Master-crafted Bolt PistolFrag GrenadesKrak Grenades
Sigma-Drakoni Union - Sigma-Drakoni Union: The Sigma-Drakoni Union is a league of the Leagues of Votann that is located in the galactic core. It is a martially-inclined league that prizes honourable combat greatly. Its Kinhosts are held to a strict code of conduct at all times, and take an unusual degree of pride in their heraldry and decorative insignia.
Signum - Signum: A signum is a man-portable, tactical communication and data management cogitator employed by the Adeptus Astartes and the Adeptus Mechanicus which allows the user, usually a Space Marine sergeant, to access a myriad of useful battlefield targeting data and pass that information on to their fellow combatants, allowing for more accurate and coordinated fire by the entire unit.Signums are available to members of a Deathwatch Kill-team as well as Techmarines, Firstborn Devastator sergeants, Desolation Marine sergeants and the Tech-priests known as Enginseers who serve alongside the Astra Militarum. While useful on its own, pairing a signum with the interconnected power armour autosenses of a squad of Space Marines allows them to strike their foe with deadly and inescapable coordinated precision.
Signus Campaign - Signus Campaign: The Signus Campaign, also known in some records as the Battle of Signus Prime, was a major Imperial military action conducted at the close of the Great Crusade and the start of the Horus Heresy in ca. 005-006.M31 by the Blood Angels Legion to cleanse the Signus Cluster -- a trinary star system of the Segmentum Ultima near to the galactic centre. The Primarch Sanguinius' IX Legion was ordered by the Warmaster Horus to cleanse the 7 worlds and 15 moons of the Signus Cluster of xenos invaders and release the humans settled there from the Nephilim, their xenos-overlords.Unaware of Horus' perfidy and determination to betray the Emperor of Mankind, Sanguinius willingly obeyed his brother Primarch and immediately set out for this volatile region of space. Unbeknownst to the Blood Angels, they were blindly walking into a deadly trap, for the Signus Cluster and its central world, Signus Prime, had fallen prey to agents of the Ruinous Powers and become a veritable Realm of Chaos -- a system of hellish Daemon Worlds under the rule of a Greater Daemon of Slaanesh known as Kyriss the Perverse.After his corruption by Chaos, Horus hated and feared Sanguinius more than any of his brother Primarchs and wove many strategies to ensnare or slay him, though all ultimately failed. The Warmaster hoped to turn the Blood Angels' hidden genetic curses, later known as the Black Rage and the Red Thirst, against the IX Legion in order to enthrall them to the Blood God Khorne and turn yet another Space Marine Legion to his cause.Ultimately, Horus' plan would fail and the Blood Angels would cleanse the Signus Cluster of its daemonic infestation, but a darkness would forever after stain the souls of the Blood Angels Legion. This terrible curse would continue to manifest in the centuries to come as the great Flaw that would afflict the Blood Angels and all of their Successor Chapters.
Signus Campaign - Sanguinius Betrayed: Using his knowledge of the Blood Angels' genetic Flaw, Horus believed he had found a way to sway his "beloved" brother's Legion to his cause and the service of Chaos. In his capacity as Imperial Warmaster, Horus ordered Sanguinus to gather his entire Legion and make for the Signus Cluster, a trinary star system located in the Ultima Segmentum near the Eastern Fringe. His IX Legion was to cleanse the 7 worlds and 15 moons that comprised the Signus Cluster of xenos invaders and release the humans settled there from their xenos-overlords, a species called the Nephilim.To further entice Sanguinius, the Warmaster informed him that he had found the means by which the Blood Angels would be able to excise the darkness from within their souls, and rid themselves of the Flaw. If Sanguinius obeyed the Warmaster's command in this matter, then Horus promised him that the Blood Angels would find a new freedom. Sanguinius had no reason to doubt Horus, for they were as close as two brothers could be. Many of their fellow Primarchs were even jealous of the closeness between the pair, especially now that Horus was the supreme commander of the Great Crusade. Sanguinius relished the opportunity to once again prove the value of their bond, and so the Blood Angels Legion gathered in its entirety and duly set course for the Signus Cluster, unaware that they were heading into a terrible trap.
Signus Campaign - Signus Daemonicus: For untold generations, the Signus Cluster had been a centre for human civilisation. Great hive cities littered the seven worlds of the Cluster and huge industrial complexes burrowed into the fifteen moons. But amongst the uncounted millions settled within the Signus Cluster lurked sinister Chaos Cultists.After his own corruption, Horus had set many plans into motion to prepare for his rebellion against the Emperor of Mankind. One of these had been to send agents to Signus Prime, the capital world of the Signus Cluster, from Davin and other worlds with a strong Chaos presence. These agents infested the rabble of the Signus Cluster and in their teeming numbers hid the witch-cabals that later summoned daemons to Signus. When these agents and Chaos Cultists received a signal from Horus not long before the Istvaan III Atrocity in 005.M31, they rose up in a violent insurrection and seized power within the Signus Cluster, summoning daemons into realspace to lead them and rule over the star system.Daemons soon stalked the hive cities and established foul palaces across the entire star system. The human population of the Signus Cluster was enslaved, reduced to fodder for the minions of Chaos. Powerful summoning spells cast by the witch-cabals allowed the daemons free reign over Signus. In addition to this, thousands of Signan psykers had been possessed by Warp entities and become Daemonhosts.The Signus Cluster had become a veritable extension of the Realm of Chaos within the Warp in only a short time, and a demesne of daemons. Kyriss the Perverse, a Keeper of Secrets and one of the Greater Daemons of the Pleasure God Slaanesh, now ruled the Signus Cluster. The 7 worlds and 15 moons of the trinary system were in thrall to this mighty daemon lord and its teeming hordes. The daemons were aided by the machinations of the Chaos Cultists. These bands of madmen opened their worlds to the creatures of the Warp, conjuring powerful summoning spells and offering themselves up for possession.The rest of the human population of the Signus Cluster had been annihilated or enslaved, their only fate to be consumed by the horrors of the Warp. The entire star system became a charnel house, a place of evil and a home for the creatures of the Immaterium. There was never so base a betrayal as this one, for Sanguinius looked to Horus as a brother, and never would have believed he, his Legion and literally billions of people would be sacrificed to the foul denizens of the Warp.
Signus Campaign - Dire Portents: Not long after arriving in-system, the Blood Angels discovered wrecked voidcraft drifting beyond the edges of the Signus Cluster. The IX Legion's scouts found the wreckage of more than a dozen different voidships drifting in the gravity shadow of the Signan world known as Phoros. Civilian haulers, Defence Monitors, and shuttles were found in the drifiting debris. Many of these voidcraft were not even Warp-capable. Their trajectory suggested that they had been fleeing from the inner worlds of the system. Soon the Blood Angels' Expeditionary Fleet was rife with rumour, as stories began to circulate about something unusual that had been discovered by the Blood Angels' scout vessel Numitor.After docking with the Blood Angels flagship Red Tear, the Frigate Numitor had had the docking cylinder to itself, and as a precaution all auxiliaries and non-combatant mortal crewmen were dismissed to other duties. Meros, a junior Blood Angels Apothecary serving in the 9th Company and a complement of his fellow Astartes Apothecaries were summoned to the Battle Barge's flight deck with little explanation as to the reason. Meros wondered why armed Battle-Brothers were needed to escort a medical party on the deck of the Primarch's own flagship, but no explanations were forthcoming.Multiple medicae had been gathered from amongst the Blood Angels fleet and assigned a number of bodies to examine, and were then to pool their findings. Donning their full suits of Power Armour, the Apothecaries were to observe all biohazard procedures and report anything anomalous immediately. Each Apothecary found four coffins set aside for him to examine. The medicae wondered why the corpses had been brought aboard the Red Tear, but this was standard operating procedure since the Red Tear had the most advanced medicae laboratories and technical facilities of any starship in the IX Legion's fleet.As they opened the containers and examined each body in turn, the Apothecaries quickly discovered heaps of clothing, curiously laid out in the shape of a person. Taking samples of blood they discovered that the vitae had somehow been altered. Each vial of blood, when held up to the light, showed that instead of crimson fluid, the matter within the crystal tube was thick and sluggish, an oily paste almost purple in colour. Upon closer scrutiny of the corpses, the Apothecaries quickly discovered that the bodies lacked rigidity as they were sunken and shriveled in a way that suggested a peculiar form of decay. Much to their shock, they learned that that there were no bones within the corpses.The bodies were little more than bags of skin and meat in the shape of a human being, misshapen under the weight of their own mass. Even more strangely, the Apothecaries could not figure out how the bones had been removed. The assembled Apothecaries were ordered by First Captain Raldoron not to discuss what they had seen without permission from their commanding officers.
Signus Campaign - A Shadow Falls: In the days after the Blood Angels fleet passed inside the orbit of Signus VI and destroyed that world, the mood of the IX Legion shifted. To make matters worse, while the mission to Holst-Prime Hive had been underway, word had come to the Blood Angels of the final communication from the starship Helios, lost with all hands under strange circumstances. The fleet continued to explore the seemingly cursed star system, moving at battle speed towards the inner planets on a direct course for Signus Prime, the cluster's capital world and heart.Ever since entering the Signus System the Blood Angels had been assaulted by strange occurrences that remained unexplained. A malevolent influence attacked the minds of the non-Astartes personnel. The superhuman will and training of the Space Marines protected them from this psychic attack, though their mortal crew and the auxiliary troops of their fleet faced the power of Chaos for the first time in their lives. There were hundreds of reports throughout the fleet of crewmembers and a contingent of Remembrancers committing suicide, unable to cope with the malevolent, whispering influence of Chaos on their fragile minds.
Signus Campaign - Daemon Lord Revealed: As the Blood Angel flagship's klaxons blared out their warnings in the wake of the psychic assault from Signus Prime, Sanguinius and his Space Marines took control of the situation. They quickly erected psychic baffles and restrained deranged mortal crewmen. Unbowed, Sanguinius and his senior officers planned their counterattack. Despite the fact that they had never before fought against such a foe, the Blood Angels were sure that they would prevail. But the Blood Angels' fury was soon cooled when the dark power behind the strange occurrences finally saw fit to reveal itself.A handful of Servitors in the chamber where the Blood Angels officers were assembled stumbled as one from their alcoves and joined in a keening chorus, puking blood and processor fluids onto the mosaic floor of the Blood Angels flagship. The cybernetic automatons died, each falling apart like deconstructed puzzles made of meat and brass. Sanguinius drew his deadly blade and called out for the malevolent presence to reveal itself if it dared.The remains of the Servitors writhed and conjoined, as the parts assembled themselves into a new body. The torso appeared as an androgynous mutation with four arms and quivering, muscular flesh; a head grew into something like that of a great goat, with horns and a sharp, snorting muzzle. The newborn creature flexed and stood tall, looking down on the Blood Angels. It traced claw-fingers over its form, toying with the bloody meat it was made from, and emitted a wet, orgiastic gasp.The vile creature revealed itself as Kyriss the Perverse, a Greater Daemon of the Master of Pleasure, Slaanesh. He declared that the Signus Cluster was his demesne in the name of his Dark God and challenged the Primarch to take it back from him. As the last word faded, the broken pieces of metal and meat came apart into an ugly pile, the animating power of the monstrous daemonic proxy abruptly withdrawn. Enraged, Sanguinius ordered his Legion to make for the surface of the planet below. They had walked the road the enemy had laid out for them long enough. Sanguinius was determined to not allow such a vile creature to live.
Signus Campaign - Daemonic Assault: The Blood Angels Legion finally confronted the true enemy that now controlled the Signus Cluster, the daemonic servants of the Ruinous Powers of Chaos. Upon the ash wastes later remembered as the Plains of the Damned, the ferocious Space Marines confronted the vast, nightmarish horde of Chaos Cultists and packs of monstrous daemons.Sanguinius swore to personally confront and vanquish Kyriss the Perverse, the Greater Daemon of Slaanesh who controlled the Signus System, leading his elite companies to besiege the defiled palace composed of the bones of the murdered the daemon had erected as its headquarters upon the world that was known as the "Cathedral of the Mark." Awash in blood, the Blood Angels valiantly fought the Forces of Chaos, cutting them down by their corrupted thousands. The Plains of the Damned became a charnel house as the Blood Angels forced their way into the very heart of the Greater Daemon's realm.On the battlefield that was Signus Prime, Sanguinius was confronted by the infamous Bloodthirster Ka'Bandha, a Greater Daemon of Khorne. The daemon taunted the Primarch, revealing Horus' planned treachery against the Emperor. Enraged, the angelic Primarch fought the brutal Bloodthirster in single combat. Seizing the initiative during the battle, he surprised Ka'Bandha with his frenzied assault, stabbing his Power Sword into the daemon's chest, ripping open a gaping wound. The massive creature roared in fury and pain, lashing out with his whip at the Primarch's legs. Sanguinius was momentarily unbalanced as his legs were crushed in the whip's coils. The daemon then smashed Sanguinius to the ground with the flat of his axe. The winged hero of the Imperium was stunned, helpless before the Bloodthirster's wrath. As his vision cleared, he looked up at the monster that towered over him. The Greater Daemon taunted the Angel one final time, let out a mighty bellow and then struck out across the battlefield, slaughtering 500 Space Marines with huge swathes of his massive axe. They psychic backlash of the deaths of so many of his sons traumatised Sanguinius, and the Primarch fell into unconsciousness.
Signus Campaign - Red Thirst: Leaderless, the Blood Angels' fury was unfettered. The brutal violence of the Bloodthirster Ka'Bandha unleashed something dark within the psyche and genome of the Blood Angels, a thirst for blood that would not be slaked until the taint of Chaos had been wiped from the planet. The sons of Sanguinius lost themselves in the riot of killing. The careful, drilled lines of the Legion's companies and Chapters became broken and mixed, and from hour to hour, the IX Legion slowly transformed into something wild. Its Astartes became a red hurricane that tore across Signus Prime leaving nothing in its wake. The Blood Angels fought as they had never fought before, not with cool reason and righteous might as their guides, but with hearts beating for vengeance, a berserker's blood-thirst on their lips, their minds consumed by what later generations of their kind would call the "Red Thirst."Unstoppable, all that stood in their path was obliterated. The foe had gravely miscalculated the will of the Blood Angels. Far from being broken by the vicious, brutal attack upon their beloved Sanguinius, they had been cut loose by it. The bonds that held them in check were slipped, and a darkness previously hidden was fully unleashed. Each of them bayed for the blood of their enemy, but it was a thirst that could not be slaked -- only given respite for a brief interval.The red tide broke upon the walls of the great, blasphemous cathedral with unspeakable violence and the clash of a hundred thousand weapons. Leaderless and out of control, the Blood Angels acted on lethal instinct, converging at the towers of bone with only one impulse powering them forward. Hate drove them into the cohorts of Bloodletters and Daemonettes defending the approaches to the temple, and they tore the daemonic creatures to shreds. The sons of Sanguinius were no longer a Space Marine Legion, but a force of nature laying waste to everything that stood in their way.
Signus Campaign - Cathedral of the Mark: The Cathedral of the Mark was a hellish citadel erected on the blighted landscape, and true to its description there was a sigil of immense size cut into the towers that showed itself to the assembled Blood Angels Legion -- a star of eight. To their horror, the Blood Angels realised that the arching, rough-hewn towers of the blood-smeared cathedral were constructed of unnatural materials. With grim understanding they had finally discovered the mystery of the strange corpses they had discovered denuded of bone.The Cathedral of the Mark had not been constructed from stones and mortar, nor ferrocrete and plasteel. Every metre of its towers, every span and archway was built out of bleached human bone, cemented with fat and gristle. The skeletons of dead Signusi citizens, drawn from every planet and moon in the cluster, from common child to elder noble, had been gathered there to become the raw material for this atrocity.Miraculously unaffected by the Red Thirst, Chapter Master Raldoron, Apothecary Meros and a small strike force of Blood Angels assaulted the Cathedral of the Mark. As the majority of their Legion was gripped in the bloody throes of their genetic curse, Meros and his Battle-Brothers fought through hordes of daemons in order to infiltrate the profane basilica. In the meantime, Raldoron's Adjutant, Brother Mkani Kano, gathered his fellow former Librarians who had been forbidden to use their psychic abilities since the Emperor's Decree Absolute during the Council of Nikaea in an attempt to use their combined powers to wake their Primarch from his dark torpor. Using their combined psychic might, the Librarians sacrificed themselves with the exception of Kano, and miraculously awoke Sanguinius, bringing him back from the edge of the abyss.The angel then arrived at the Cathedral of the Mark to confront both Kyriss and Ka'bandha. The Bloodthirster and the angel fought once more, but ultimately, Sanguinius prevailed and cast the Greater Daemon back into the Warp. The Blood Angels then discovered the source of the rage that had infected their entire Legion on Signus Prime.The Dark Apostle Erebus of the Word Bearers had created a fell device, a psychic construct called the Ragefire, which contained and was powered by the half-dead body of Captain Tagas. Tagas was the former Captain of the Blood Angels' 111th Company, who had been presumed killed in action on the world of One-Forty-Twenty, the planet called Murder by all the Space Marines who had fought there several years earlier.Through the use of the dark sorceries of Chaos, the Word Bearers had created a psychic conduit of undiluted rage that consumed nearly the entirety of the Blood Angels Legion by enhancing the inherent instability of their genetic Flaw. Driven to uncontrollable rage over the fall of their Primarch, the Forces of Chaos hoped that the Blood Angels would lose control of their noble aspect, and willingly give themselves over to the Scarlet Path and the worship of the Blood God Khorne.
Signus Cluster - Signus Cluster: The Signus Cluster was a densely-populated Imperial trinary star system located in the Northern Cross region of the Ultima Segmentum near the Eastern Fringe. Its primary settled world, Signus Prime, became the main battlefield for the Blood Angels Legion and the forces of Chaos under the control of the Slaaneshi Keeper of Secrets Kyriss the Perverse and the Khornate Bloodthirster Ka'Bandha during the Signus Campaign of the early Horus Heresy in ca. 005-006.M31.