vizn3r/warhammer40k-lore huggingface dataset:
Moirae Schism - Moirae Schism: The Moirae Schism was a religious schism and civil war that tore the Adeptus Mechanicus apart during the Nova Terra Interregnum in the 35th Millennium.The rebel Forge World of Moirae from which the heresy that afflicted the Mechanicus spread was destroyed by a retaliatory Exterminatus action carried out by the Martian Mechanicus, but not before its heretical creed split the wider Adeptus Mechanicus in two.The ensuing conflict drew Titan Legions and even those Space Marine Chapters affiliated with the Adeptus Mechanicus into the turmoil. The schism took a heavy toll on the Adeptus Astartes, resulting in the destruction of dozens of Space Marine companies and the excommunication of several Iron Hands clan companies, which went on to found the Sons of Medusa Chapter.It took over two Terran millennia of desperate warfare before the Moirate doctrines were considered fully purged from the servants of the Machine God.
Moirae Schism - Nova Terra Interregnum: During the early years of the 35th Millennium, the Imperium was divided in half after the rebellious Ur-Council of Nova Terra dismissed the authority of the High Lords of Terra and claimed separate rule over the Imperium's Segmentum Pacificus.This was a period of division and civil war known as the Nova Terra Interregnum in which the Imperium was shattered into warring and disparate factions which cut across the lines of the Adeptas and turned former allies against each other.During this period it was not just the Imperium which suffered from civil strife. The Adeptus Mechanicus was also afflicted with division and internal warfare brought about by doctrinal differences and competing powers.One of the most acrimonious of these conflicts was the Moirae Schism, a dogmatic battle between Martian Cult Mechanicus orthodoxy and a radical creed based upon the prophetic writings of a triad of tech-mystics based on the minor Forge World of Moirae.
Mole Launcher - Mole Launcher: A Mole Launcher is a specialised Missile Launcher that is used by the Death Korps Engineers of the Death Korps of Krieg Astra Militarum regiments as well as other Imperial Guard engineering units. The weapon fires special explosive ammunition known as burrowing or breaching torpedoes that are capable of digging through almost any obstacles and detonating on the other side.The torpedo itself is an advanced weapon that carries a powerful drill in its nose that enables it to burrow through rock and earth. A breaching torpedo is also outfitted with a small power field emitter which lets the torpedo slice through rock very quickly, and a guidance system, linked to the Engineer squad's control panel, which is used to manually guide the torpedo to its target.Once the target is located, the torpedo burrows up to the surface and explodes, allowing the Death Korps or other Astra Militarum regiments to unleash surprise attacks from beneath a vulnerable enemy-held bunker or building. The Mole Launcher can also be used to blast an opening into an enemy tunnel or trenchwork and cause a sudden, catastrophic collapse.
Mole Mortar - Mole Mortar: The Mole Mortar is an inverted standard mortar and infantry support weapon that fires a burrowing sub-surface missile, known as a tunnel-torpedo, into the ground. The tunnel-torpedo then burrows towards its target, bypassing all surface obstructions until it suddenly erupts from the ground and explodes beneath its designated target. The tunnel-torpedo is a self-guided munition and is able to track its target through metres of solid rock using advanced archeotech now lost to the Imperium.The Mole Mortar was invented by the Engineers Guild of the Squats and was later adopted for use by the Astra Militarum once the Squats joined the Imperium of Man and began to serve in several Imperial Guard regiments. The Mole Mortar was used by the Guard to penetrate certain fortifications or emplacements that had proven too strong for conventional infantry weapons to damage. As a result of its unique form of attack, the Mole Mortar could penetrate its target from below where it lacked all structured defences.The Mole Mortar was also deployed by the Adeptus Mechanicus' regiments of cybernetic Skitarii soldiers, who used it as a close support weapon. The Skitarii would unleash the Mole Mortar's tunnel-torpedoes on the most heavily armoured enemy units from below and then exploit the confusion in the enemy lines after the Squat weapon had done its deadly work. With the genocide of most of the Squat race following the Tyranid assault upon the Squat homeworlds in the late 41st Millennium, the Mole Mortar has become a weapon now rarely deployed in the Imperial armed forces' arsenal.
Molluscoid - Molluscoid: A Molluscoid is a large, snail-like Daemon of Nurgle that is protected by a hard shell very similar to that of Terran gastropods. A Molluscoid is surrounded by the virulently infectious fluids and rancid smell that defines all the daemonic servants of the Plague Lord.Horticulous Slimux, the daemonic Herald of Nurgle who serves as the "Grand Cultivator" of the Garden of Nurgle in the Realm of Chaos, makes use of a Molluscoid he has affectionately named Mulch as his steed.Molluscoids leave extraordinarily toxic and infectious trails of slime in their wake wherever they move.
Mon-keigh - Mon-keigh: The Mon-keigh were an ancient xenos species that was exterminated by the Aeldari millennia before their first contact with Mankind. The Mon-keigh are described in Aeldari stories and legends as a species of sub-intelligent, cannibalistic beasts that lived in the twilight realm of Koldo. These misshapen monstrosities invaded the Aeldari lands and subjugated them for many cycles, until they were eventually cleansed from the galaxy by the hero Elronhir.Since then, Imperial scholars surmise that the word mon-keigh, also spelled mon'keigh, of the Aeldari Lexicon refers to any non-Aeldari species they deem inferior and in need of extermination. In general, it is now a pejorative term used to describe Humanity.
Monarchia - Monarchia: Monarchia was the name of the capital city of the planet Khur, built as a beautiful shrine to the God-Emperor by the Word Bearers Space Marine Legion during the Great Crusade.Monarchia, along with its false temples of Emperor-worship, was destroyed by the warriors of the Ultramarines Legion as an object lesson in the folly of false religion. The entirety of the XVIIth Legion was then forced to kneel in the ashes of their devotion by the psychic power of the Emperor Himself, while the Ultramarines stood over them in judgement, that which they had seen as worthy devotion now labelled treasonous, a concept they found incomprehensible.Suffering such a humiliating rebuke at the hands of the Ultramarines, this insult would apparently fester within the XVIIth Legion and drive them and their primarch Lorgar Aurelian willingly into heresy and service to Chaos in the wake of the subsequent "Pilgrimage of Lorgar" that the primarch would make to determine if there did exist any beings worthy of his worship.The dialect of the people of Monarchia was known as Uhturlan.
Monglor Ogryn Auxilia - Monglor Ogryn Auxilia: The Monglor Ogryn Auxilia are an Ogryn Abhuman Militarum Auxilla regiment that hails from the troubled world of Monglor. Monglor recently has become a great source of consternation, as a large percentage of the Ogryn population has traitorously rebelled against the Imperium and even now fights fiercely against the Angels of Redemption Space Marine Chapter hastily redirected onto the planet.The one regiment remaining loyal to the Imperial cause has been consigned to the battle for the hive city of Helsreach on Armageddon, where questions of loyalty become secondary in the face of overwhelming invasion. The Abhumans seem to be devoted to the Emperor's cause and have exhibited great valour and force of arms, however they will remain under full surveillance indefinitely. There is little other information on this obscure Abhuman regiment in official Imperial records.
Monodominant - Monodominant: A Monodominant is a member of a Puritan faction of the Inquisition that believes in the philosophy known as Monodominance; namely, that the only way the Imperium of Man may survive is if every other faction in the galaxy -- xenos, Chaos or Heretic -- is destroyed.To the Monodominant, there can be no tolerance of heresy, no matter its degree or kind, and the only possible punishment for heresy is death. Monodominant Inquisitors are utterly ruthless, unforgiving, and militant. They will meet any form of sin or deviation with swift and final judgement.It is a philosophy that allows for no margin of toleration and places Monodominants into dispute with any other Inquisitor who does not share their uncompromising view. Often, Monodominants come into direct conflict with any Inquisitor who is Radical in their outlook.The goal of the Monodominants is a simple one: the complete and total destruction of every alien, Heretic, witch, mutant and non-believer in the orthodox Imperial Creed in the galaxy. They have absolutely no tolerance for any form of aberrant behaviour and resort to drastic military solutions in order to enforce their will. No other faction of Inquisitors resorts to the use of Exterminatus so readily, destroying entire worlds in their quest for Human supremacy of the galaxy.As would be expected of such a militant group, the Monodominants are one of the few factions of the Inquisition who are open with their beliefs, spreading xenophobia and intolerance before them, inciting whole populations to rise and purge themselves of their wickedness. Inquisitors who follow this path are ruthless and unforgiving and frequently leave untold devastation and slaughter in their wake.Many others within the Inquisition see the Monodominants as incredibly narrow-minded and frequently doing more harm than good. It is a brave Inquisitor, however, who openly voices such an opinion. Monodominants tend to be bombastic, zealous individuals, and they often surround themselves with equally direct characters.Acolytes with a background amongst the Adeptus Arbites are often found in their cadres, as these individuals may have seen so much criminality over the course of their careers that their hearts have become hardened to the galaxy. Hierophants of the Ecclesiarchy, too, are often found accompanying such Inquisitors, their fiery sermons bolstering the cadre's resolve to do that which must be done.
Monodominant - History: The Puritan Monodominants have their roots in an age now all but lost to the scholars of the late 41st Millennium. In the 33rd Millennium, Inquisitor Goldo penned his seminal text Monodomination -- the Right of Man to Rule the Galaxy in the Emperor's Holy Name. This multi-volume epic drew upon the venerable Inquisitor's vast experience of dealing with aliens and came to the conclusion that the only way that Mankind could rule would be if every alien race was exterminated, leaving Humans as the sole inheritors of the galaxy.At the time it did not receive a great deal of support -- its overly pessimistic view was seen as the last, bitter words of a devout, but aging Inquisitor. It was not until Inquisitor Jeriminus of Paelutia brought the work of Goldo to light, several standard centuries later, that the philosophy finally found a growing body of supporters among the new breed of young, hot-headed Inquisitors.
Monodominant - Monodominants and the Ecclesiarchy: Some within the Inquisition and the Ecclesiarchy believe wholeheartedly in the literal truth of the many teachings of the countless Imperial Saints, and brook no more liberal or adaptive interpretation. These are the Monodominants. For such extremists, the Adeptus Ministorum is the well-spring of truth and purity, and those who mock its teachings are little more than servants of the Archenemy merely waiting to show their true colours.Monodominants believe that Humanity has a sacred destiny ordained by the Emperor of Mankind Himself: to conquer the galaxy, immolating all who deny His divinity and right to rule. Monodominants dream of purging all threats, large or small, and have little time for the moralistic debates of Inquisitors who would contend that there are many shades of grey between innocence and corruption.These bombastic zealots know that to hesitate in the face of even the smallest deviation from the true path is to invite eternal damnation. They cleanse and burn with abandon, loading their retinues of Acolytes with preachers, Confessors, Exorcists and mendicants, surrounding themselves with those who reflect and share their faith.The Monodominant faction of the Inquisition is widely perceived to be one which lacks the subtle political skill of the Amalathian Puritan mainstream or the ruthless pragmatism of the myriad secretive Radical factions. Yet the faction is vocal beyond its size and more influential than it realises. It acts in many ways as the gnawing conscience of the Inquisition, forcing Radicals to rein in their worst excesses and obliging even senior Inquisitor Lords to attend to its sermons.Whilst the Monodominants may regard themselves as noble warriors standing alone against a sea of heresy, persecuted and ignored by their superiors, they in fact embody more than any other group the public face of the Inquisition. Their grandiloquent posturing, ruthlessness and indiscriminate methods genuinely strike fear into the heart of Heretics across the galaxy, and more moderate Inquisitors happily use this reputation to their advantage whilst privately decrying the Monodominant's tactics.For better or worse, then, the Monodominants are a powerful Inquisitorial faction, one with close ties to the Ecclesiarchy whose muddled teachings they slavishly adhere to. Unlike many of the self-righteous "liberal" Inquisitorial factions, they know that they are able to turn to the Adeptus Ministorum for political and financial support.Only a fool would deny the strength of the Monodominants' convictions, and only a fool would ignore the powerful resources they are able to bring to bear.
Monodominant - Monodominant Domains: Wherever the shadow of the Inquisition falls, Monodominants can be found. More than any of the other major factions, they have a presence and a power that spans both the Conclave Calixis and the Holy Ordos. In many ways, they are the heart of the Inquisition's beliefs and core structure and, as a result, can be found throughout the Calixis Sector where the Imperium's presence is strong.Scintilla is often a meeting place for the faction simply because it is the sector's seat of power. Monodominants also have a special interest in the Misericord, which they use as a convenient platform to monitor the core worlds of the sector.However, Monodominants can equally be found at the forefront of the Imperium's struggle against its enemies, fighting aliens on the fringe or purging heresy from within.
Monodominant - Monodominant Operations: Monodominants are constantly engaged in purges of aliens, Heretics, and mutants. In places where their power is without question, such as the world of Dreah, they openly exterminate local mutant populations. Few miss these mutants and fewer still would question the Inquisition's right to eliminate them.In other places, such as the world of Sepheris Secundus, the mutant workforce forms a vital part of that world's economy and therefore its ability to meet Imperial tithes, and is not so easily targetted.Of course, this does not stop the faction from working to slowly erode the mutants' place within that planetary society and sway the queen to do away with them once and for all.
Monodominant - Monodominant Inquisitors: It has been argued that eventually all Inquisitors are drawn to the beliefs of the Monodominant. Often the older an Inquisitor gets and the more they have seen, the more they come to despise everything that is not Human and, as a result, become more heavy-handed in their dealings with their enemies.Mordant Crimson is such an Inquisitor, a harsh and remorseless member of the Ordo Hereticus. His actions on the world of Veran, where he became known as the "Bloody Brand," certainly added to his infamy.It was on this world that after crushing a rebellion, he had the survivors of both sides branded so that they would not forget the treachery they had committed or had allowed to occur.Crimson, like most Monodominants, makes use of only those Acolytes he deems pure enough for the Emperor's service, scorning those who employ psykers or mutants.It is also rumoured that Lord Inquisitor Caidin himself is a Monodominant, though he appears diplomatic enough not to let his suspected loyalty to this faction conflict with his loyalty to the Calixian Conclave.
Monodominant - Monodominant Secrets: Monodominants do not often keep secrets, using information as they find it and punishing guilt as soon as it is uncovered. That being said, Monodominants are said to keep extensive records on all of the important personages within the sector, above and beyond what the Inquisition would normally be concerned with.This truly impressive archive charts each person's worth in the eyes of the Emperor, or more accurately the eyes of the Monodominants. This information is continually updated and assessed by an army of Administratum adepts in the faction's employ who are constantly searching for even the merest hint of corruption or treachery.It is whispered among the members of the Calixian Conclave that the Monodominants also keep a hidden archive especially for other members of the Inquisition.
Monolith - Monolith: A Monolith is a massive mobile fortress used by the Necrons as their primary planetary assault craft. A Monolith combines the properties of a transport craft, armoured destroyer and icon of undying Necron power.Its ponderous form can float across a battlefield upon its anti-gravitic engines, whilst its crystal core pulses with sickly energy that can be manipulated into powerful beams of Gauss lightning which whip out from its weapon mounts.When its massive silhouette looms over a battlefield, it will lay waste to entire armies with strobing torrents of gauss fire and the deafening crack of its Particle Whip.Few armies can stand long before the immense firepower of a Monolith. Living troops are reduced to their component atoms by its punishing gauss flux arcs, while tanks rupture and explode in showers of molten steel as it focuses its energies upon them.By contrast, enemy ordnance has little effect on the shell of a Monolith. When damaged, the war machine’s necrodermis armour reflexively enacts self-repairs; sparking rents in its hull are sealed by living metal and impact craters smooth over as the reactive substance seeks to reassert its original form.The true power of a Monolith, however, lies not in its in offensive capabilities or phenomenal endurance, but in the entrance to a captive wormhole that flickers at its core.This Eternity Gate links the Monolith to the vessels and Tomb Worlds of its Necron Dynasty -- allowing reinforcements to appear at the Monolith's location almost instantaneously.Via these space-folding corridors, an Overlord can summon forth legion after legion of Necron Warriors from the very heart of their Tomb World, with which to drown an enemy planet in its own dead.
Monolith - Monolith Phalanx: Armed with technology perfected before Mankind ever rose from their primordial soup, the Necrons utilise weapons and strategies incomprehensible to all of the other intelligent races of the galaxy. Though the Warp is anathema to the metallic legions of the former Necrontyr, there are many other dimensions that are part of the fabric of Creation they can use of which other starfaring species are wholly ignorant.With their mastery of space-time manipulation, the Necrons were able to create worlds within worlds, stable null fields and all manner of other exotic battlefield conditions. This is most evident in the use of Monoliths in a formation the Ordo Xenos has dubbed the "Monolith Phalanx." In this particular configuration, at certain pivotal places in the four-dimensional universe, the presence of three or more Monoliths within effective range of each other can emit a frequency waveform that distorts space-time and creates a powerful energy field known as a "nodal grid."As witnessed during the Rincairn's Flow Massacre, two or more Monoliths in a Monolith Phalanx near each other can create a "Nightshroud" barrier between them. Enemy shots which pass through this barrier lose energy and strength whilst the Nightshroud also obscures those Necrons behind it. A Nightshroud is also anathema to psykers and as such they cannot cast their psychic powers through it.However, if three or more Monoliths in a Monolith Phalanx are close enough, they can project a nodal grid, which bolsters Necrons within the grid itself by enhancing their already potent resistance to damage, making them all but impossible to destroy. A nodal grid also acts as a null field upon the battlefield, completely draining the energies of psykers within its range. All Necron Monoliths in a Monolith Phalanx formation will always teleport onto the battlefield, their unheralded arrival spelling doom to their enemies.
Monolith - Doomsday Phalanx: To date, there have been no confirmed records of Necrons fielding super-heavy vehicles comparable with the likes of the Imperial Baneblade and the Asuryani Scorpion. Instead, the Necrons seem to favour the deployment of specialised Monolith formations whose combined might is greater than the sum of their parts.Such is the case with the Doomsday Phalanx. First sighted during the Damnos Incident, but since reported in many other conflicts, the Doomsday Phalanx holds at its core a heavily modified Monolith, named a Doomsday Monolith by the Imperium, that is protected by a phase shift energy generator of unknown design, and has been noted to be capable of focusing awesome destructive energies into devastating viridian directed energy beams which can be fired from its Gauss Obliterator.Worse still, a "Doomsday Monolith" is inevitably accompanied by several lesser constructs whose eldritch power it can siphon towards its own cataclysmic ends.
Monolith - Baleful Necropolis: A complex known as a Baleful Necropolis is the most potent of all a Tomb World's defences. These colossal hovering fortresses are more than mere battle stations, but the very buildings of a Necron tomb, raised into the sky to rain destruction upon the luckless invaders.To hold so many massive structures aloft requires a power source beyond the ken of the lesser species of the galaxy, yet a single Tesseract Vault is equal to the task. These multi-phasic prisons not only cage the most powerful C'tan Shards, but also leech and redirect their essence to fuel other arcane devices. Such is the sheer spectacle and destructive fury of a Baleful Necropolis' cyclopean assault that the ranking nemesor will also inevitably commandeer it to spearhead their own phalanxes.A Baleful Necropolis formation usually consists of a single Tesseract Vault that powers eight Monoliths around it. When operating in such a manner, the Tesseract Vault is able to harness a specialised Annihilator Beam weapon, and can draw power from nearby Monoliths to enhance the beam's range. The Tesseract Vault also projects a Supreme Shield Matrix around itself, protecting nearby Monoliths and itself with an energy field that only grows more powerful with every additional Monolith under its protection.
Monolith - Armament: All Necron Monoliths are armed with a large power matrix crystal mounted atop its pyramidal form. This crystal can focus its alien energies to unleash devastating arcs of anti-matter lightning; in other words, the crystal serves as a massive Particle Whip.The explosions caused by this weapon will often affect large areas and can cause great damage to infantry and vehicles alike.Monoliths are also armed with four Gauss Flux Arc projectors positioned around its hull. Effectively batteries of three Gauss Flayers each, these weapons are often used to scour the immediate area around the Monolith clean of enemies.Finally, all Necron Monoliths feature a powerful wormhole portal known as an Eternity Gate which is built into their forward hull face. The Eternity Gate can act as both a dimensional portal to teleport Necrons through from other worlds or elsewhere on the battlefield, as well as significantly aiding their repair processes whilst they do so.It can also serve as another offensive weapon, a so-called "Portal of Exile" which can suck in and banish enemies nearby into oblivion.
Monolith - Ordo Xenos Departmento Analyticus Technical Specifications: The technical specifications for this Necron unit have not been obtained or released by the Ordo Xenos.
Monolith - Sources: Apocalypse (4th Edition), pg. 165Apocalypse (6th Edition), pg. 170Apocalypse Reload, pg. 49Black Crusade: Hand of Corruption (RPG), pg. 81Codex: Necrons (3rd Edition), pp. 2, 21Codex: Necrons (5th Edition), pp. 21, 47Codex: Necrons (7th Edition) (Digital Edition), pp. 45, 175
Monoscope - Monoscope: Though it can be used to project a beam of light, the Monoscope is primarily intended as a pict-capture device and visual uploader for the Tempestus Scions special operations troops of the Militarum Tempestus. Panning left and right as the Tempestus Scion goes about the prosecution of war, each Monoscope can be tapped into by any Scions' Tempestor or Tempestor Prime officer who wishes to see what his subordinate is witnessing. The act of covering up a Monoscope's lens, whether accidentally or by design, is punishable by a full solar day's electro-whipping and a number of days without rations at the commanding officer's discretion.
Mont'au - Mont'au: The Mont'au is the term in the T'au Lexicon that literally translates into the Low Gothic language of Mankind as "the terror." The term refers to the dark and violent time before the Ethereal Caste arose in T'au society to unite all the castes of the T'au behind the concept of the Greater Good.In more recent times, the term has come to be the way the T'au refer to the Forces of Chaos in the T'au Lexicon. The T'au have learned the hard way, like the Imperium of Man before them, that the Greater Good has no meaning to the servants of the Ruinous Powers, who care only for the destruction of all that the T'au Empire has sought to build.
Months of Shame - Months of Shame: The Months of Shame was the unofficial name given to a secret and shameful chapter in Imperial history. It refers to the purges carried out by the Inquisition that followed the First War for Armageddon in 444.M41, and the related months-long confrontation between the Inquisition's Armageddon Containment task force and the forces of the Space Wolves Space Marines. This disagreement threatened to erupt into a full-fledged Imperial civil war between that Chapter of the Adeptus Astartes and the Inquisition. The internecine hostilities ceased in early 451.M41, following an uneasy truce; however, the larger institutional dispute between the Space Wolves Chapter and the Inquisition remained unresolved.
Months of Shame - Origins of Conflict: The Space Wolves Chapter of Space Marines is one of the most idiosyncratic and anti-authoritarian in the Imperium, in terms of both tactical organisation and overall philosophy. In both these areas their practices sometimes contradict traditional norms and Imperial decrees. The Chapter is also fiercely independent. The Space Wolves' peculiar qualities have created problems with Imperial authorities, who have sometimes interpreted Space Wolves' actions as non-cooperative, defiant, or even heretical.The Months of Shame campaign was not the first time the Space Wolves had been involved in violent disputes with other Imperial Adepta. There was a history of clashes with the Adeptus Ministorum in particular, as well as with the Inquisition and others. Logan Grimnar, the Great Wolf (Chapter Master) of the Space Wolves, had been personally involved in some of these incidents, whence he had become aware of the existence of the secret Grey Knights Chapter, and had become highly suspicious and disdainful towards the Inquisition and its methods as a result.
Months of Shame - First War for Armageddon: The First War for Armageddon in 444.M41 was fought and won for the Imperium under the overall command of the Space Wolves and, more specifically, their Chapter Master, the Great Wolf Logan Grimnar. The Inquisition, along with a force of Grey Knights, became involved when the nature of the enemy was revealed: millions of Chaos Cultists known as the Children of Sanguinary Unholiness, and a Khornate army of Chaos Space Marines from the World Eaters Traitor Legion led by the Daemon Primarch Angron and his elite guard of 12 Khornate daemons, the Cruor Praetoria. Grimnar, who as Chapter Master was aware of the Grey Knights' existence, asked for the Chapter's help against this daemonic horde.A hastily mustered ad hoc Brotherhood of Grey Knights, along with other Inquisition forces and as many as 30 Inquisitors, made swift passage to Armageddon in order to join the ultimately victorious fight. The Inquisition task force was under the overall command of Lord Inquisitor Ghesmei Kysnaros, an Inquisitor Lord of mysterious origins who was unaligned with any of the existing Inquisition Ordos.In addition to defeating the threat posed by the Forces of Chaos on Armageddon, the Inquisition was there to guarantee that sensitive information regarding the existence and nature of the Archenemy, and the existence of the secret Imperial assets arraigned against it -- the Grey Knights in particular -- would not spread beyond the planet into the wider galaxy, where it could increase the chance of Chaotic corruption amongst the teeming masses of Mankind. The suppression of these truths is a basic element of the Inquisition's mandate concerning the Imperium's eternal fight against Chaos, and often involves brutal and indiscriminate purges, where Imperial citizens are liable to be executed on mere suspicion, and whole worlds subjected to the horror of the Exterminatus.
Months of Shame - Aftermath: The first indication that there were going to be problems with the Inquisition's post-war plans was revealed months before the end of the war, in the first meeting of Logan Grimnar with the newly arrived Inquisitorial task force. Although he knew that the Inquisition would have to suppress the truth of the war after it was over, Grimnar made clear that he did not wish it to carry out the usual suppression campaign. As there was already mistrust and suspicion of the Space Wolves within the Imperial hierarchy over past disputes and considering the Space Wolves' habit of disregarding Imperial authority, Grimnar's demand seemed either naive or an excuse for a fight, while his manner was condescending towards the Inquisitors. However, in truth Grimnar was genuinely sympathetic to the human element on Armageddon, and questioned the wisdom of saving a planet if its inhabitants and defenders would then have to be "processed" by the Inquisition for the sin of knowing about the existence of Chaos or the secret Imperial organisations arrayed against it. Grimnar had specifically structured the planet's defence and use of the Grey Knights in order to minimise the chances of the remaining civilian population accidentally finding out the truth behind the war and the nature of the daemonic. This strategy to protect the civilians guaranteed "catastrophic casualties" amongst the defenders, both Astartes and mortal humans alike.The Inquisition was not moved, nor did it deviate from its position that it was by law and the Emperor's decree the ultimate arbiter of what was right for the Imperium and Mankind. The truth of Chaos and the existence of the daemonic had to be contained and prevented from spreading into the wider galaxy where it would cause only more suffering. It was far better to sacrifice millions than have to exterminate billions, as had happened in the aftermath of the Horus Heresy. In practical terms, it made sense to the Inquisition to contain the situation on the planet itself, as this would affect a relatively small number of Imperial citizens compared to the damage control that would have to take place if any escaped the planet to spread Chaotic corruption elsewhere. The Armageddon Containment was the result of a majority vote by a conclave of the Inquisitors on duty at the planet, and would entail several directives, including the sterilisation (to prevent Chaotic mutations from being passed on) and quarantine of the entire surviving civilian population of Armageddon in Adeptus Arbites work-camps scattered across the galaxy. This was decided even though the population was generally considered untainted, and had no knowledge of the truths behind the war. A similar fate, or even outright liquidation, awaited the human defenders of the Armageddon Steel Legion and the Armageddon Planetary Defence Forces, who had valiantly faced the Chaotic hordes that had invaded the Hive World. The use of Exterminatus against the world in order to keep the secret of Chaos' existence was not an option: the industrial capacity of the planet was too important to the Imperium and the defence of the Segmentum Solar to be destroyed.
Months of Shame - Containment: Lord Kysnaros, as the ranking Inquisitor present, had overall command of the Armageddon containment mission from his flagship, the commandeered Imperial Navy Battlecruiser Corel's Hope. His attitude to the Armageddon purge was typical of the Inquisition's pragmatic and calculating position: better to sterilise or kill millions on suspicions of Chaotic taint than to have to eventually kill billions in order to prevent the possibility of taint from spreading. As the war was winding down, over the objections of Grimnar (which were broadcast to all Imperial forces), he ordered the start of the first phase: Inquisitorial Storm Troopers began to evacuate the remaining hive cities and to herd the population into camps for "vaccinations" -- in reality, sterilisation by injection. The civilians were told that the evacuation was a "temporary security measure." The planet's human defenders, including at least one million Imperial Guardsmen who arrived for mop-up operations after Angron had been banished, were ordered into barracks pending their own "processing."The Space Wolves on the surface engaged in only minor disruptions -- as they were clearly overmatched on the ground by the more than 100,000 Inquisitorial Storm Troopers and other Inquisition forces. However, they had the advantage in space, with 16 starships present to the Inquisition's 12. Additionally, the Space Wolves' ships were generally bigger, better armoured, and better armed. Grimnar's plan was to help the human defenders and civilians of Armageddon escape the Inquisition by making sure their transports safely jumped into the Warp at the first opportunity. Twenty such transports were already waiting for their human cargoes above the planet.
Months of Shame - Escape from Armageddon: Soon, the first such transport, the Trident of Ilmatha, loaded mostly with defenders but also with civilians, was en route to the Armageddon System's Warp jump-point, escorted by the Space Wolves frigate Runefyre. The ship never made the Warp jump, as its Warp-Drive was disabled by the Grey Knights Frigate Karabela which then proceeded to scuttle the ship; there were no survivors among the Trident's 400,000 passengers. These were the first shots and the first casualties of the internecine war that followed. For their part, the Space Wolves did not retaliate against the firing vessel. Grimnar wanted to see whether the Inquisition would actually go ahead with its plans -- one of the many miscalculations that occurred on both sides.Following this episode, Grimnar ordered all the remaining loaded transports to make orbit at the same time, each protected by Space Wolves vessels who put themselves in the Inquisition ships' line of fire with orders not to fire back under any circumstance. Using this strategy, at least some of the transports would safely make it to the system's Warp jump-points. Kysnaros, who had tried to reason with Grimnar in an exchange that descended into insults and terrible threats, countered by ordering his fleet to fire at the interfering Space Wolves Escorts, as well as targeting the troop transports. However, as Inquisitorial ships opened fire and before Kysnaros' order could be completed, Space Wolves reinforcements lead by the Battle Barge Gylfarheim translated into the system, presenting the Inquisition with overwhelming Space Wolves naval superiority. A triumphant Grimnar then bade Kysnaros to call off the attack and the chase, which the Inquisitor Lord had no option but to do. The majority of the troop transports carrying Armageddon's survivors had survived the brief engagement. Escorted by Space Wolves vessels, they then safely translated into the Warp.
Months of Shame - The Purges: With several witness-bearing transports now safely out of the system, the Inquisition initiated the appropriate contingency. In addition to the transports and their escorting Space Wolves vessels, every person, installation, or world that came into contact with Armageddon escapees, even in the most temporary and fleeting manner, was now liable to be "cleansed" by the Inquisition. Kysnaros apparently had an extraordinary cross-Sector mandate and freedom of action, as his armada ranged far and wide, raining death on anyone or anything whose misfortune was to have crossed paths with Armageddon survivors. Exterminatus was carried out on several worlds, including the planet Tybult, virus-bombed by the specially rearmed Corel's Hope. The planet's fate was sealed when an Armageddon transport briefly stopped at the world's orbiting space docks for supplies. A number of Grey Knights vessels, some veterans of Armageddon and others who had joined Kysnaros' growing armada during the Containment, were also involved. Among them was the Battle Barge Fire of Dawn, the flagship of the 8th Brotherhood of Grey Knights commanded by Grand Master Joros, which also carried out Exterminatus missions during the campaign.Lord Joros was leading the Grey Knights force attached to Kysnaros' armada. This was another ad hoc Brotherhood-strength contingent, steadily increasing in numbers, that joined the Containment campaign after the Armageddon war, along with the few Grey Knights who survived it. Joros became Kysnaros' principal advisor in the interactions with the Space Wolves, as the latter had no experience in dealing with Astartes. Joros advised in favour of appealing to the Space Wolves' instincts as they respected strength and boldness above all. As such, Joros explained that the Inquisition should meet Space Wolves Astartes, at all times, from a position of strength. Overwhelming force and steadfastness of purpose were proposed as the cornerstones of the strategy to be followed, which Kysnaros readily accepted.For their part the Space Wolves, following Grimnar's commands, were engaged in an increasingly successful cat-and-mouse game with the Inquisitorial containment forces. Notwithstanding their losses to the containment fleet, they managed to spirit away several Armageddon transports, safely dispersing their human cargoes in a variety of far-flung star systems.
Months of Shame - Grey Knights Dissent: Within the Inquisitorial containment armada itself, dissent was building over both the scope and scale of the purges, and the violent actions against the Space Wolves -- which in every case went unanswered by them. Some Inquisitors were against the purges from the start, and had voted so in the Armageddon Conclave; the continuing campaign added to their frustration. Increasingly vocal amongst the dissenters was the Fenrisian Inquisitor Annika Jarlsdottyr of the Ordo Malleus. The attached Grey Knights were also frustrated over the course of events, and the fact that they were being used outside of their mission parameters. It was they who provided the campaign with its unofficial moniker as the "Months of Shame." In the dissenters' eyes, the situation was made worse by the fact that Logan Grimnar, even if misguided, seemed to hold the high moral ground, as the Space Wolves never fired back during hostilities.At least some of the dissent was fuelled by the mystery surrounding Kysnaros, and by his aloofness. He was a secretive and inscrutable figure, even to other members of the Inquisition. No reliable information was known of his past prior to his involvement in the First War for Armageddon and the containment campaign that followed. The mystery was enhanced by another unusual fact: Kysnaros was an Unaligned Inquisitor Lord, working outside of the existing Ordos of the Inquisition, and leaving no evidence trail available to them. Unlike other Inquisitor Lords, he had no retinue or servants, and seemed to keep his own counsel. His stature and authority were diminished in the eyes of his detractors by his apparent youthfulness, as extensive rejuvenat treatments made him look like a young man in his 20's. Yet the mandate entrusted him by his unknown masters seemed to be absolute.
Months of Shame - Death of Joros: Five months after the containment campaign begun, its cost was rising and its effectiveness diminishing, with no end in sight. As the campaign stretched into months, Grand Master Joros proposed that the Inquisition capture Grimnar. In his opinion, this would result in the Chapter's capitulation, and Kysnaros readily authorised a plan. As part of the plan, Kysnaros asked for a parlay with Grimnar, to which the latter agreed. The opponents decided to meet (with weapons and shields down) in Haikaran, a neutral star system. Kysnaros' mistrust of the Space Wolves was a match for Grimnar's mistrust of the Inquisition. The Inquisitor Lord knew that in similar previous situations the Space Wolves had misled and waylaid Imperial servants: he was not going to allow the Space Wolves to surprise him, and he called the containment fleet to Haikaran. As soon as the Space Wolves parlay flotilla, consisting of Grimnar's flagship, the Strike Cruiser Scramaseax, and four Escorts, translated into Haikaran realspace, the already assembled and waiting Inquisition force opened fire. The four Space Wolves Escort vessels were destroyed with all hands, while the Scramaseax was heavily damaged. Kysnaros then "invited" Grimnar to meet with him and discuss his surrender, the end of the conflict, and the reintegration of the Space Wolves into the Imperial hierarchy.Grimnar agreed, or pretended to. He and his three remaining Wolf Guard members travelled to the Fire of Dawn where all the Inquisitors under Kysnaros were present, accompanied by their retinues. Also present was the entire Grey Knights detachment, lead by Lord Joros. Kysnaros tried to explain the reasons behind his betrayal of the terms of parlay, and offered the Space Wolves peace in exchange for their surrender, or endless and inevitably ruinous conflict for the Chapter if they did not. Grimnar, however, had not come to surrender or be captured -- but to find out who was responsible for violating the "sacred oath of armistice." Lord Joros admitted that he, with a heavy heart, had given the order to fire on the Space Wolves' vessels. In a blinding display of speed and ability, Grimnar killed Joros on the spot, cleaving into the Grand Master's breastplate and throat with his frost-axe Morkai, and ending the Grey Knight's life of service with a single crunching chop. As everyone on the Inquisition side prepared to open fire on Grimnar, Kysnaros ordered them to hold. Over Joros' body, he again tried to alternately appeal to, and then threaten, the Great Wolf. The latter was unmoved. He treated the Inquisitor Lord with disdain, and had correctly guessed the feelings of the Grey Knights towards the containment campaign. Then, as the Grey Knights tried to psychically block them from escaping by teleporting, the Space Wolves shot four of the Grey Knights Justicars who were focusing their collective psychic power, their deaths breaking the binding attempt. The Space Wolves then managed to teleport to the Scramaseax. Kysnaros, outplayed and forlorn over the episode and the Space Wolves' intractability, let the badly wounded vessel and its Astartes slip away into the void.
Months of Shame - Escalation: After the failed parlay and attempt to capture Grimnar, the conflict intensified. In the months that followed, the Space Wolves no longer kept their wrath or their guns in check, and often actively engaged pursuing Armageddon containment forces, destroying several Inquisitorial and Grey Knights vessels. Among them was the Glaive of Janus, which had been the flagship of the Grey Knights' 1st Brotherhood for 10,000 standard years. It was lost along with its entire crew and its complement of over 50 Veteran Grey Knights.The Inquisition sought reinforcements, securing the support of the Red Hunters Space Marine Chapter, amongst others. The Red Hunters joined Kysnaros' armada with their entire Chapter fleet and strength, including the massive Battle Barge In Sacred Trust, under the command of Chapter Master Daemar. Kysnaros had sought the support of the Red Hunters, a Chapter that traditionally aligned itself with the Inquisition, as proof that the Space Wolves did not speak for the entirety of the Adeptus Astartes -- but also because he was unsure of the Grey Knights, some of whom were surreptitiously ignoring the developing campaign and were slow to join it.Casualties on both sides mounted as the armed engagements escalated. At the same time, the containment campaign was meeting with increasingly less success, even as the number of its victims reached into the billions. It was clear that the Armageddon containment was a failure: too many survivors had been dispersed to too many unknown destinations thanks to the Space Wolves' superior cunning and strategy. Yet this remained a hollow victory, as it made the Chapter indirectly responsible for the deaths of even more innocents purged by the Inquisition.Among the Inquisition's dissenters, things were reaching a boiling point. A widespread conspiracy to assassinate Kysnaros, supported by ranking Inquisitors such as Jarlsdottyr and respected Grey Knights such as Hyperion, was taking shape amongst elements of the containment armada. It was the belief of the conspirators that only Kysnaros' death would stop the internecine conflict and prevent it from developing into a full-fledged Imperial civil war. Kysnaros, now often counseled by the more hard-line Red Hunters officers, had in the meantime installed surveillance Servo-skulls on the bridge of every starship in the Inquisitorial armada.As the conspirators' plans were gathering steam, Kysnaros finally tacitly admitted that his strategy had failed. In early 445.M41, after 8 months of campaigning, the Armageddon containment campaign was abandoned. Kysnaros announced a new approach: all containment assets were ordered at speed to Fenris, the Space Wolves' lightly defended homeworld. In an unprecedented, last ditch gambit, Kysnaros intended to hold the planet hostage in order to force Logan Grimnar to agree to the Inquisition's demands. These demands by now had nothing to do with Armageddon, and everything to do with limiting the independence and autonomy of the Space Wolves Chapter.