vizn3r/warhammer40k-lore huggingface dataset:
Unification Wars - Orioc (Antarctica): Orioc was a city-state of Old Earth. Buried in a hollowed-out mountain in Ancient Terra's ice-bound south, it stood throughout the darkness of Old Night, weathering the storms of strife for thousands of standard years. The people of Orioc believed they were the chosen of Ancient Terra's blighted children, and that they alone would outlast the anarchy that had broken so much else. This certainty came from their faith in protection from the spirits of death and life, an ancient pantheon of gods worshiped by the people of Orioc.During the Unification Wars, when the Emperor's eye finally turned to the mountain city, He seemed to have known that soft words and diplomatic overtures would be of little use. The XVIIth Legion, the Imperial Heralds, came to the city and gave it a choice -- kneel and accept the Imperial Truth, or be destroyed. The Priest Kings of Orioc did not even hear the message before they gave their answer. Fire met the Imperial Heralds' transport and as it fell to the ice plains, the XVIIth Legion began their attack.Macro bombers came out of the snow-filled sky and the mountain cracked under a rain of seismic charges. On the mountain's flanks, siege tanks coughed shell after shell into fractures in the rock, breaking them wide open. Behind the wind came the grey armoured warriors advancing in a relentless drum roll of gun fire and the hiss of flame.After three solar hours of battle, the remaining populace was a huddled flock, crammed intro the central cavern. With every other tunnel and cavern district wiped clean of life, the XVIIth Legion halted, sealing the ways in and out of the central cavern. As the survivors waited in fretful silence, they wondered what fate awaited them.Their answer came in a rain of shattered stone and red fire, as the elite Iconoclasts of the Imperial Heralds, the Astartes of the merciless special formation known as the Ashen Circle, descended on the last idolators like comets flung from a destroyed heaven. All burned, none were spared, and when it was done, the XVIIth Legion overloaded the geothermal power plants beneath the mountain, causing lava to fill the caverns, swallowing the stone idols, and exploding the city-state from the wounds in the mountain's flanks.So fell Orioc, and the message of its death carried across Ancient Terra and beyond: faith in false gods would bring only ruin and ashes.
Unification Wars - Oxitania: The techno-barbarian state of Oxitania was ruled by a monarch known as King Gotha late in the period of the Unification Wars. Gotha and the Oxitanians were ultimately vanquished by the Emperor's forces, though at the cost of the near-destruction of the VIII Legion's 9th Company. The 9th Company's remnants were oathbound to serve Gotha himself as part of a sign of Imperial reconciliation, as Gotha was one of the first to accept the rank of Rogue Trader Militant from the Emperor in return for a commutation of his execution.
Unification Wars - Saragorn Enclave: The Saragorn Enclave was a techno-barbarian state that surrendered to the forces of the Emperor but still carried on its genetic experiments in secret. When the Emperor discovered this defiance, He dispatched the VIII Legion of the newborn Legiones Astartes to bring His retribution. The Enclave was swiftly and viciously destroyed and all its people slaughtered to serve as a warning to others who might seek to refute the oaths they had made to the Master of Mankind.
Unification Wars - Skandians: The Skandians were techno-barbarian raiders who often attacked the other regions of the continent of Europa in pursuit of plunder. They refused to accept Unification under the Emperor's rule and were exterminated by His forces as a result.
Unification Wars - Urals/Terrawatt Clan (Ural Mountains): The Urals/Terrawatt Clan territory was a small techno-barbarian state located in the territories surrounding the Ural Mountains on the continent of Europa that flourished during the Age of Strife.Beneath Mount Narodnya in the clan's territory was the greatest forge of the Urals, where the toiling forge-masters once served the Terrawatt Clan during the Unification Wars. It was here that the Primarchs Fulgrim of the Emperor's Children and Ferrus Manus of the Iron Hands first met.
Unification Wars - Urartu (Asia Minor): The Kingdom of Urartu, according to the Imperial chronicles, was the last of the techno-barbarian states to be conquered militarily by the Emperor's forces and its conquest marked the end of major combat operations during the Unification Wars and the birth of the Imperium of Man. The Imperial historical chronicles tell that the last major battle of the Unification Wars, known as the Battle of Mount Ararat, was fought within the territory of Urartu in 669.M30 atop a mountain that had once been flooded and lay underwater.During this final battle the chronicles say that the remaining Imperial Thunder Warriors were slain to a man by the Emperor's foes. The chronicles recorded that the famed Thunder Warrior Arik Taranis, known as the "Lightning Bearer," raised the Banner of Lightning at the final declaration of Unity which established the rule of the Emperor over the entirety of Terra before dying of his wounds.In truth, the remaining Thunder Warriors were all secretly culled from existence on the Emperor's own orders at the Battle of Mount Ararat by His other servants in the Legio Custodes and the newborn Ist Legion of the Astartes because they were no longer necessary to His grand design, having become biologically and mentally unstable. As such, He needed to replace them with a more advanced and stable genetic template for His augmented supersoldiers, a template that would form the foundation of the Space Marine Legions.
Unification Wars - Ursh (Central Asia/Russia): Ursh was a techno-barbarian state that was located in the steppes of what had once been Russia and Central Asia. Ursh was the mightiest of the techno-barbarian empires on Terra before the Unification Wars and was therefore the largest and strongest enemy the Emperor's forces had to face during that long conflict.Though Ursh was a strong empire, it was not as technologically advanced as several of the other techno-barbarian states. For example, the acquisition of superior military machines from the Nordafrik Conclaves was the main reason cited in the Chronicles of Ursh for Ursh's decision to launch that infamous ancient war against its southern neighbour.Ursh was ruled by the despot and warlord named Kalagann at the time of the Unification Wars. Kalagann was described as being of cruel character, and commanding vast armies of techno-barbarians. Kalagann was known for wearing a distinctive suit of Artificer Armour known as the Armour of Pearl, which by the time of the Horus Heresy was kept as a trophy in the atrium of the Eternity Gate of the Imperial Palace. Other high positions within the government of Ursh were all filled by military warlords including Lurtois, Sheng Khal (also known as Shang Khal) and Quallodon.Kalagann's infamous exploits were documented in the ancient manuscript called the Chronicles of Ursh, which would later be considered by Imperial scholars as a classic work of Human literature that provided valuable insight into this pre-Unification state's rise and the wars of the Ursh against the Nordafrik Conclaves. The Chronicles of Ursh mentions the influence of "primordial gods" upon Kalagann and the Ursh. Also, the sorcerous powers of Kalagann mentioned in the Chronicles of Ursh formed the main part of Ursh's military power.As such, it is highly likely that the Chaos Gods were the true lords of Ursh, and Kalagann was merely one of their puppets, manipulated to do their bidding. Despite their influence and favour, the Dark Gods failed to save Kalagann when he faced the forces of the Emperor of Mankind, which eventually resulted in the defeat of Ursh and Kalagann's death.The armies of Ursh consisted mostly of unaltered Human soldiers. Kalagann also employed powerful psykers within his armies, using their arcane abilities to unleash the foul powers of the Warp upon his enemies, including the Imperial Army. Some of Ursh's troops are known by name and include the following units.
Unification Wars - The Roma: The Roma were organised mercenary fliers who fought for the forces of Ursh. Highly-skilled pilots, they were said to never touch the earth beneath them. They were trained to carry out pinpoint aerial attacks, and were therefore of great value to the generals of Ursh.
Unification Wars - The Red Engines: Both the Red Engines and the Tupelov Lancers followed the command of the Urshian warlord Sheng Khal. The Red Engines were masters of the siege, and possessed siege engines able to raze whole fortresses or hive cities to the ground.
Unification Wars - Tupelov Lancers: The Tupelov Lancers are described as screaming berserkers. These Urshian warriors were trained for close-combat action, and proved ruthless and deadly. In many ways they were a model for the later tactics of the World Eaters Legion of Space Marines.
Unification Wars - Oneirocriticks: The Oneirocriticks were the personal counsellors of the Ursh warlord Sheng Khal. Their name means "interpreters of dreams," in the ancient Urshian dialect of Low Gothic, but it is likely that they used some kind of Warp sorcery to guide Shang Khal in his actions.
Unification Wars - Wrathsingers: The Wrathsingers were a specialised Urshian military unit that was likely comprised of practitioners of sorcery that bent the powers of the Warp to their will. They were able to use their psychic abilities or "magic" as the Chronicles of Ursh names their abilities, to change the environment to their advantage or to kill men from afar with their "spells."
Unification Wars - Yndonesic Bloc (Indonesia): The Yndonesic Bloc was a techno-barbarian state located in what was once Southeast Asia. As late as the time of the Horus Heresy in the early 31st Millennium, the Yndonesic Bloc, though an integral part of the Imperium, still retained a distinct regional identity and culture on Terra.The Yndonesic Bloc was ruled by a man named Cardinal Tang, the tyrannical "Ethnarch," during the closing years of the Age of Strife before the Unification. He wished to "return the world to a pre-technological age," burning "scientists, mathematicians and philosophers" who opposed his church's views. Tang imposed a genocidal policy that consisted of forced breeding between only "genetically compatible" citizens of the Bloc, combined with a eugenics program that aimed for the pursuit of racial hygiene through the use of compulsory sterilisations and the genocidal extermination of "undesirables."Those that defied these enforced edicts were punished brutally. Imperial history would later characterise Tang's rule as one of "bloody pogroms, death camps and genocides." Tang was eventually overthrown by his own people during the rise of the nascent Imperium and was imprisoned in the notorious penal colony of Nusa Kambagan (which would later become a productive Imperial hive city).Tang tried to conceal his true identity and hide amongst the general population. But only a few days after his arrival, Tang's fellow inmates learned of his true identity and murdered the former despot.The military unit known as the Stormbird was developed by the Yndonesic Bloc and used against the Pan-Pacific tribes during the Unification Wars. No information is available in Imperial records to identify what the Stormbird was, though it was likely a weapon used against those techno-barbarian states that allied with the Emperor's growing forces.
Unification Wars - Oceans of Terra: At the time of the Unification Wars in the 29th and 30th Millenniums there was only one remaining ocean on Terra -- the so-called "Great Ocean" -- which was the ancient Pacific Ocean. The size of the Pacific was vastly smaller than it once was, due to the vaporisation of a massive stretch of the ocean during the nuclear wars that had consumed much of Old Earth in the lost years of the Age of Strife. This missing portion of the Pacific stretched from the Marianas Trench down past Australia and all the way to the frozen continent of Antarctica.The Atlantic Ocean had also been largely vaporised as that great body of water that had once been near the continent of Europa was now mostly gone, particularly to the south of what had been the Iberian Peninsula. Other, smaller, bodies of water may still have remained during this time, as a great body of water is recorded to have been present in the region of Eurasia where the Caspian Sea had lain in ages past.These seas and oceans still existed at the start of the Horus Heresy in the early 31st Millennium, but by the time of the 41st Millennium, Terra had no free-standing bodies of water, having become a true ecumenopolis, a world completely covered by the dense urban areas of massive hive cities. Within these Human hives toiled the tens of billions of Adeptus Terra bureaucrats and serfs required to keep the decaying heart of the Imperium pumping.
Unified Targeting Matrix - Unified Targeting Matrix: A Unified Targeting Matrix is a T'au Battlesuit Support System used to coordinate special formations of XV88 Broadside Battlesuits known as Broadside Destructor Phalanxes.Only issued to the formation's attached T'au Commander with the rank of Shas'el, a Unified Targeting Matrix allows for the combined fire of the formation's Heavy Rail Rifles to demolish even the most heavily armoured target with ease.
Universe-class Mass Conveyor - Universe-class Mass Conveyor: A Universe-class Mass Conveyor is one of the largest cargo heavy transport voidships ever built by the Imperium. It operates in the Calixis Sector and the Koronus Expanse, among other regions, as part of the merchant fleets, ferrying massive amounts of raw materials and luxury goods wherever they might be needed, usually to fulfill the insatiable appetites of Imperial Hive Worlds and Forge Worlds for manufacturing raw materials, food stuffs and technological components.The Imperium swarms with transport vessels. Millions of these civilian voidcraft plough the space lanes, ferrying pilgrims, ore, fuel, foodstuffs, weapons, materiel, machine parts and luxury goods to untold billions of eager consumers across the galaxy.
Universe-class Mass Conveyor - Role: Amongst the myriad starships that serve the trade lanes in and around the Calixis Sector, some of the largest are the mass conveyors. Stretching some twelve kilometres from stem to stern, a mass conveyor appears at a distance to be a slim, elegant voidcraft. However, as one slowly approaches it, this misleading impression is replaced with a horrified awe, as what appear to be radio masts resolve into gigantic towers the size of hive city stacks. The voidship's true scale manifests itself as an observer realises that entire cities twinkle and shimmer along its flanks. Simply to construct a Universe-class Mass Conveyor is a massive undertaking.To build one requires such an immense outlay of resources that they can only be constructed above the richest Imperial worlds and void stations. They are pure cargo haulers, relatively simple in design, but conceived on a truly epic scale. They are almost self-contained worlds, where entire voidborn communities live out their lives, uncaring as to the vessel’s current owners' motives or identities.Simply unloading the vessel is a mighty undertaking, requiring solar months at a time. There are larger merchant ships (the Bountiful Beast of the Calixis Sector is 16 kilometres long, for example, and the Misericord approaches that length while being substantially more massive) but the Universe-class still dwarfs most Imperial voidships it comes across.It is rare for Rogue Traders to take one of these ships into the Koronus Expanse, as they are slow and inflexible voidcraft. However, everything counts in large amounts.The Universe-class is so large it comes pre-equipped with a unique component, a Secondary Power Genetorium. The hull's space has already been reduced to account for this component, which provides additional power to the vessel in addition to that provided by the ship's reactor for its primary Plasma Drive.This vessel was designed for transporting goods on a massive scale, and no amount of retrofitting can fully change this. This hull comes pre-equipped with four main cargo hold components whose space has already been reserved within the hull, making the addition of additional weapons systems or modifications difficult. The Universe-class was never intened to be a ship of war.
Universe-class Mass Conveyor - Dimensions: Hull: TransportClass: Universe-class Mass ConveyorDimensions: 12 kilometres long, approximately 1.3 kilometres abeam at finsMass: 60 megatonnes approximatelyCrew: 60,000 crew, 200,000–500,000 potential passenger capacityAcceleration: .5 gravities maximum sustainable acceleration
Unmarked (Anthology Short Story) - Unmarked (Anthology Short Story): Unmarked is a short story published in The Horus Heresy series that was originally part of an anthology. Unmarked was first published as part of the Mark of Calth main series anthology in April 2013. The cover image used is that of Mark of Calth, as Unmarked has yet to be published separately. Unmarked is a sequel to the events of Book 19, Know No Fear, and a direct sequel to the short story Athame, which was also published in the Mark of Calth anthology.
Unmarked (Anthology Short Story) - Synopsis: Oll Persson and a small band of Calth survivors begin their journey to Terra by using an Athame to travel through space and time.
Unnumbered Sons - Unnumbered Sons: The Unnumbered Sons, officially known as the Unnumbered Sons of the Primarchs, and unofficially among themselves as the "Greyshields," were nine special formations of Primaris Space Marines created by Lord Commander of the Imperium and Imperial Regent Roboute Guilliman for service in the Indomitus Crusade.Active during the early years of the Era Indomitus, they were comprised of nine Space Marine Legion-sized armies of Primaris Space Marines, all drawn from the genetic lineage of one of the 9 primarchs who had led the Loyalist Legions during the Horus Heresy.Approximately half of the Primaris Space Marines created during the Ultima Founding were formed into entirely new Primaris-only Chapters of the Adeptus Astartes, while the remaining half were placed within the Legion-sized armies of the Unnumbered Sons. However, unlike the new Chapters, Guilliman forced these armies to fight using mixed squads that contained Primaris Marines from multiple different gene-lines to better forge cooperation between the different lineages.The Unnumbered Sons served as a reserve force for Guilliman during the Indomitus Crusade, their ranks slowly reduced by attrition and the need to replenish already-extant Chapters of the Firstborn Adeptus Astartes with the new class of Primaris Marines. Other members of the Unnumbered Sons were eventually integrated into whole new Chapters comprised only of Primaris Marines like their brethren.By the end of the first phase of the Indomitus Crusade to secure the Imperium Sanctus at the Battle of Raukos in the Era Indomitus, some twelve standard years after its start, the armies of the Unnumbered Sons had been reduced to approximately 20,000 Primaris Marines. These were ultimately disbanded and divided up into a final group of new Primaris Marine Chapters on the orders of Guilliman before he began his intervention in the Plague Wars of Ultramar.
Unnumbered Sons - Power Armour: The Unnumbered Sons each wore power armour in the colours of the First Founding Chapter of their primarch. Thus, Unnumbered Sons of the genetic line of Roboute Guilliman wore Ultramarines blue, those descended from Sanguinius wore Blood Angels red, the scions of Lion El'Jonson displayed Dark Angels green, those who were the gene-sons of Ferrus Manus wore black, and so forth.
Unnumbered Sons - Unnumbered Sons Badge: All Unnumbered Sons were marked with the same badge on their shoulder pauldrons regardless of their gene-line descent -- pale grey chevrons.This badge set them apart from the other Primaris Space Marines of the Ultima Founding who were either placed from the start within new Chapters or were later assigned as replacements for already extant but badly depleted Chapters of the Firstborn Astartes during the course of the Indomitus Crusade.This badge was the source of the Unnumbered Sons unofficial moniker, the "Greyshields."
Unnumbered Sons - Genetic Lineage of Corvus Corax: Captain Hurak - Hurak was an Unnumbered Sons captain of Raven Guard lineage, who served in the Indomitus Crusade Fleet Primus' high command.
Unnumbered Sons - Genetic Line of Ferrus Manus: Lieutenant Sarkis - Sarkis was a Primaris Marine Inceptor from the genetic line of Ferrus Manus and the Iron Hands.
Unnumbered Sons - Genetic Line of Leman Russ: Sergeant Bjarni Arvisson - Arvisson was a sergeant of an Inceptor Squad from the genetic line of Leman Russ and the Space Wolves. After the disbanding of the Unnumbered Sons, he became a founding member of the Wolfspear Chapter. Among the conflicts Arvisson took part in during the Indomitus Crusade was the Battle of Raukos where he served beside his friend Justinian Parris. While the Imperial forces were victorious, Lord Commander Guilliman ended the Indomitus Crusade after the battle and disbanded the Unnumbered Sons. Each of its surviving members were then assigned to a Chapter that was descended from their primarch save for those descended from the Space Wolves. To Arvisson's dismay, they were instead formed into the Wolfspear Chapter and were charged with guarding the Pit of Raukos from any future Chaos incursions. Further clouding the minds of Arvission and his Chapter was that although the Space Wolves have allowed Primaris Space Marines into their ranks, it was not known if they would accept the Wolfspear as true sons of Russ. This was settled after the Primaris Marine creation technology was brought to Fenris and the Space Wolves became aware of the Wolfspear's existence. The Space Wolves' Great Wolf Logan Grimnar subsequently granted the Wolfspear additional warriors from their progenitor Chapter and this forged enduring and unprecedented bonds of brotherhood between the two formations of Astartes.Sergeant Gaius (Kjarg Iron-Oath) - Gaius was the squad leader of an Intercessor Squad dubbed "Lupus Six" that were sent along with a company of other Unnumbered Sons of Space Wolves lineage as part of a Torchbearer Fleet despatched to the Space Wolves Chapter. Before arriving at Fenris they relieved the Drakeslayers Great Company of the Wolf Lord Krom Dragongaze fighting Orks, which led to Gaius and his squad joining it. Gaius and his squad were therefore the first Space Wolf Primaris Marines to set foot on Fenris. Having a difficult time being accepted by their brethren of Russ' line, Gaius submitted himself to an impromptu Trial of Morkai, where he earned his new name "Kjarg," which was the name of the largest wolf in Fenrisian legend, said to have faced down Morkai himself, and the by-name "Iron-Oath" for keeping his oath to survive the trial. He is currently the pack leader (sergeant) of the Primaris pack called the "Firstwolves."
Unnumbered Sons - Genetic Line of Jaghatai Khan: Lei Jian - Lei Jian was a member of the Unnumbered Sons descended from the genetic line of Jaghatai Khan and the White Scars.
Unnumbered Sons - Genetic Line of Rogal Dorn: Aldred - Aldred was an Inceptor from the genetic line of Rogal Dorn and the Imperial Fists. He served in the same squad as Justinian Parris.Urstan - Urstan was a member of the Unnumbered Sons of the genetic line of Rogal Dorn and the Imperial Fists.
Unnumbered Sons - Genetic Line of Sanguinius: Sergeant Anthus - Anthus was a former Greyshield who became part of the Blood Angels Chapter and fought at the Devastation of Baal.Solus - Solus was an Inceptor in Sergeant Rusticus' squad and was a scion of the genetic line of Sanguinius and the Blood Angels.
Unnumbered Sons - Genetic Line of Roboute Guilliman: Quentus Carmagon - Quentus Carmagon was an officer of the Unnumbered Sons of the genetic line of Roboute Guilliman and the Ultramarines. He later became the captain of the Knights Cerulean Chapter's 3rd Company after the Unnumbered Sons were disbanded.Ciceron - Ciceron was a member of the Unnumbered Sons from the genetic line of Roboute Guilliman and the Ultramarines.Cordus - Cordus was an Inceptor from the genetic line of Roboute Guilliman and the Ultramarines. He served in the same squad as Justinian parris. He was killed in action during the Battle of Raukos.Decimus Felix - A former Inceptor Lieutenant of the Unnumbered Sons, Decimus Felix was a scion of the genetic line of Roboute Guilliman and the Ultramarines. He later became Guilliman's Equerry during the Indomitus Crusade and was also made the eleventh captain of the Ultramarines Chapter at that time, the first alteration of the Ultramarines' Codex Astartes-dictated order of battle in over ten thousand standard years. Decimus Felix was later named by Guilliman as one of Ultramar's new ruling class of Tetrarchs, an ancient rank that the primarch had decided to restore to prominence. Felix was given rulership over the Ultramaran world of Vespastor, and charged with enlarging Ultramar's eastern expanse by whatever means necessary.Sergeant Justinian Parris - Parris was an Inceptor Squad sergeant from the genetic line of Roboute Guilliman and the Ultramarines who served in the company under the command of Lieutenant Sarkis. He later joined the Novamarines Chapter as part of its new Primaris Space Marine contingent and took part in the Plague Wars.
Unnumbered Sons - Unknown Genetic Lineage: Captain Gerion (KIA) - Gerion was a Greyshields captain who led the Unnumbered Sons forces sent to reinforce the Brazen Drakes Chapter, as part of Shield-Captain Tyvar of the Adeptus Custodes Torchbearers strike force. When the fleet reached the Chapter's homeworld of Khassedur, however they found it gripped by a rebellion seemingly launched at the Brazen Drakes' hands. After discovering the Chapter's traitorous actions, Tyvar declared them to be Hereticus Diabolus Extremis and ordered the Greyshields sent to reinforce the Brazen Drakes to be detained on suspicion of heresy. When Gerion and the Greyshields tried to declare their innocence aboard Tyvar's flagship Lux-Imperatus, a battle broke out between the two sides. The Greyshield captain then informed his forces that they had been betrayed by the Imperium and the battle soon spread to the entire fleet. An enraged Tyvar killed Gerion and has now declared that his strike force will not rest until they have destroyed all of the Brazen Drakes, now a warband of the Black Legion called The Shriven.Sergeant Rusticus - Rusticus was the sergeant of an Inceptor Squad in the Unnumbered Sons.Captain Veisturm - Veirsturm was a Primaris Captain of the Indomitus Crusade Fleet Primus' Battle Group Retributus. Battle Group Retributus was ordered by Lord Commander Roboute Guilliman to free the worlds of the Iron Veil from the grip of the Night Lords Traitor Legion. Veirsturm's company was among the Retributus forces that were sent to free the Hive World of Caldon IV from the Heretic Astartes. When they arrived, its capital hive city of Holkenved surrendered to the battle group. It would be the only one on the world to do so and Retributus used Holkenved as a forward operating base to begin reclaiming the world. However as the battle group was transporting its forces to the city, they were ambushed by a large Night Lords warband led by the Chaos Lord called the "Dreadmaster." Rather than fight the Chaos Lord's fleet, the forces of Retributus acted as if they were fleeing. Retributus' commanders sought to draw the warband into attacking Holkenved, so that it could be destroyed. Retributus left its own troops and the hive's Planetary Defence Forces there as bait. In order to make the ruse as believable as possible, Veisturm held his Unnumbered Sons back from the frontlines of the battle so that the Heretics would see no Astartes among them. Despite the Night Lords' overwhelming their comrades and the mortals of the hive world's PDF, Veirsturm refused to give his company the order to attack until the Night Lords were deep within the hive, ensuring their destruction.
Unquenched - Unquenched: The Unquenched are desiccated, undead revenants that wander the endless deserts of the Feudal World of Vaporius in the Heathen Stars region of the Koronus Expanse of the Segmentum Obscurus. They seek out any source of moisture they can detect, and have the ability to drain all moisture from the cells of a living organism in only solar seconds.The Unquenched were formerly Human psykers, cursed with this endless thirst after drinking from the wells of the ruling priest-kings of Vaporius that are tained with Warp-energy and used to control the world's population. At first the Unquenched retain their Humanity, but their bodies slowly dry up over the course of many solar months. The Unquenched may exist in the desert of Vaporius for standard years or even solar decades, but their bodies will eventually decay to dust, leaving only a voracious psychic spectre drifting over the sands, seeking the fluids of living things.An Unquenched exists for the sole purpose of feeding on the bodily fluids of all those it encounters, in a perverted parody of the priest-kings' own relationship and control over the Waters of Vaporius. Even the touch of theUnquenched can be deadly and, given time, the creature can drain all moisture from even the most resistant of substances, reducing them to dust. Due to their unnatural psychic energies, attacks from an Unquenched ignore any types of armour unless it is warded in some way against psychic attack or the energies of the Immaterium.
Unquenched - History: Only the ruling priest-kings of Vaporius know for sure what creates the Unquenched, or why they must be cast out rather than simply killed (if in fact they can be killed), but they seem to have existed for as long as the priest-kings have held power and for as long as the Waters of Vaporius have flowed. There are no formal reports concerning these beings, or at least none that have been shared with outsiders. From what those that have visited Vaporius have pieced together from rumour and legend, it seems that the Unquenched are Humans possessed of psychic talent, but not of the bloodline of the priest-kings.On the civilised worlds of Imperial space, such individuals would be killed or given over to the Black Ships as per the will of the Emperor, but the Koronus Expanse is without such appropriate measures to protect Mankind from itself. Vaporius lacks even the specialised administrative controls and trained adepts to detect those with the psyker's touch, which some worlds of the Expanse use to keep their own populations safe from the taint of the Warp.So, like most of the people of Vaporius, they drink from the waters and submit to the control of their rulers, though it is at this point the change begins, a violent taint which mixes in their soul as the psychic dominance which flows from the waters to the priest-kings is turned back upon them and their own gifts are mangled and twisted until they transform into the abomination known as the Unquenched.At this point, the priest-kings are quick to take them, snatching them from their beds at even the hint of corruption. What transpires then is known only to those privy to the innermost secrets of the glass cities of Vaporius, but after a time the tainted citizen is cast out into the desert, taken far from the city and abandoned. Whether it is the water or the ritual that starts the process, the outcast is doomed to become an Unquenched and roam the arid wastes of their world until their very soul fades upon the wind.However, they never stray too close to the glass cities, perhaps another result of whatever the priest-kings inflict upon them, preferring to remain lurking among the rocks and dust of the great wastes of their desert world.
Unquenched - Role: The Unquenched are at their heart psychic creatures, warped by the foulness of the waters of Vaporius and transformed into something both more and less than Human tied to their dead flesh until it turns to dust around them. Once the contagion takes them and the waters warp their innate psychic talents, they are for all intents and purposes dead, animating their bodies through sheer will rather than any semblance of true life. Their psychic power then becomes focused on the consumption of fluid and, with an unholy compulsion, they are attracted to any kind of moisture, be it the blood and sweat of a man or a canister of promethium.Even as the transformation into Unquenched consumes them they retain their intelligence and, in some cases, even their personalities if they are strong of will. Without the means to talk (their vocal cords and throat among the first things to fall prey to their psychic thirst), only those with telepathic abilities or similar means to communicate without words can reach them. Cutting through the blinding desire of the Unquenched to feed on liquids is difficult at best. This is especially so if the Unquenched has been outcast for more than a Terran year, as their Humanity erodes just like their flesh and eventually they forget they were even once men and women of the Vaporian glass cities.Rumours do persist of Unquenched that aid travellers on Vaporius if they are well-sated, their knowledge of the planet's wastes being almost without parallel. Others claim that the Unquenched are always aware of each other, linked in some way by the taint which has taken their souls, and the "younger" of their kind can warn travellers away from the older and more monstrous Unquenched, or the places inhabited by the spirits of those which can no longer wander.Unquenched are also said to inhabit the deep places and caves beneath the desert, where they burrow down into the sands in search of underground rivers and streams. Some say that this is also where they horde their vast accumulated treasures, the possessions of those they drain dry, safely stored away from desert raiders eager to quench their own thirsts. Such deposits would certainly sate even the most rapacious of Rogue Traders should they exist and be uncovered, leading several expeditions into the vast depths of sand and dust, all returning parched and empty, or not at all.The lack of success in these expeditions has led some explorers of Vaporius to suppose the Unquenched themselves are propagating these tales in a cunning effort to drive prey into their hands, which is perhaps more likely than surely fanciful stories of fabulous treasures in the desert.
Unspoken (Anthology Short Story) - Unspoken (Anthology Short Story): Unspoken is a short story published in The Horus Heresy series that was originally part of an anthology. Unspoken was published as part of the event exclusive Meduson anthology and then later as part of the Shattered Legions main series anthology in April 2017. The cover image used is that of Shattered Legions, as Unspoken was never republished separately. Unspoken is a sequel to the short story Unforged.
Unspoken (Anthology Short Story) - Synopsis: The surviving Astartes of the Salamanders Legion examine their broken nature in the wake of their Legion's near-extinction during the Drop Site Massacre.
Ur'zan Drakgaard - Ur'zan Drakgaard: Ur'zan Drakgaard is the current Captain of the Salamanders' 6th Company. A fierce and uncompromising leader, Ur'zan Drakgaard is a battle-hardened veteran that has served his Chapter faithfully for more than a hundred years. His body, as well as his face are a conglomeration of scar-tissue and cauterized wounds -- each and every one of them a testimony to the captain's courage, some would even dare to say recklessness -- in battle. Ur'zan bears his wounds with pride, even though his face is heavily scarred and locked in a perpetual snarl, exposing teeth through the holes of his ravaged flesh. Even if he seems unaffected by his disfigurement, Drakgaard is most readily seen wearing his drake-scaled battle-helm as to better process the myriad information being forwarded to him in times of war. Although a sound tactician, Ur'zan Drakgaard's true place is at the forefront of the battle-line, where he and his personal Command Squad -- the "Serpentia" -- can wreck a bloody toll on their enemies. Despite having the feeling of being overshadowed by the Chapter's captains of the other Battle Companies, such as Pellas Mir'san or even Adrax Agatone, Drakgaard's resilience, determination, singularity of purpose, as well as his utter refusal to capitulate, have garnered him much renown within the Chapter. His only true flaw lies in his erroneous perception of himself -- as he sees himself as an unremarkable officer -- which he tries too hard to alleviate by covering himself and his company with glory on the field of battle -- a penchant he has always denied, stating that he has always put the Chapter's interests and reputation above his personal glory -- a lie that would be revealed in the ruins of Canticus.
Ur'zan Drakgaard - History: As a veteran warrior, Ur'zan Drakgaard has seen many battles however, his first year as a Neophyte and Initiate remain somewhat sketchy. It is generally assumed that Drakgaard had been trained under Master of Recruits Prebian, although Drakgaard himself has neither confirmed nor denied this fact. Although his pragmatism betrays his identity as one of the Fireborn, Drakgaard's utter lack of sense of beauty and his unshakable determination have given rise to the joke that he would, in fact, better belong to the stoic Iron Hands rather than the Salamanders. Upon concluding his training with the 7th Company, Ur'zan Drakgaard was promoted to full battle-brother, although again, it remains unclear as to which company he was assigned. What we do know is that he participated in the gruesome Badab War, as he gained his first major wounds during that conflict. As the Salamanders' involvement limited itself to a single if augmented Battle Company -- the 2nd -- this would mean that Drakgaard had either served directly under Pellas Mir'san as part of the 2nd Company, or as part of 6th Company's units. Furthermore, Drakgaard distinguished himself during the Second War for Armageddon against the savage Orks that had invaded this vital Hive World. Following his promotion to Captain of the 6th Company, Drakgaard, along with  other commanding officers of his Chapter, formed the Pantheon, which presided over the fate of the ill-reputed Lexicanium, Hazon Da'kir, the dreaded Ferro Ignis, which came close to destroying Nocturne. Drakgaard participated in the Defence of Nocturne at the head of his entire Company until a long-awaited change of fate put his star in ascendance.
Ur'zan Drakgaard - Wargear: As a commander of the Space Marines, Ur’zan Drakgaard has been granted an ornate suit of Power Armour, which given the talents of the Salamanders’ forgemasters will undoubtedly prove superior to normal Power Armour and maybe even rival Artificer Armour. As an officer of his Chapter, Ur’zan has slain one of the mighty Salamanders of Nocturne during his ascension and wears the drake’s hide as a tabard. A tooth of this mighty beast also serves as pommel and grip of Drakgaard’s Kaskara sword. Kaskara-swords are traditional Nocturnean blades that distinguish themselves through their single straight edge, the other edge being serrated. This makes the "sword" more akin to a sabre or cleaver than a true sword and in Drakgaard’s hands it has proven to be a fearful weapon indeed, causing uncounted deaths in the ranks of the enemy. Although not powered, the superior craftsmanship of the blade is such that it has proven equally effective against power-armoured enemies and less severely armoured targets. Drakgaard’s sidearm is a common Bolt Pistol.
UR-025 - UR-025: UR-025 is a thinking machine and one of the legendary "Men of Iron", sentient robots who threatened the earlier Human interstellar civilisation of the Age of Technology many millennia ago.It survived the Cybernetic Revolt that defeated the Men of Iron in that era and disguised itself as an Adeptus Mechanicus robot as it made its way through the Imperium of Man, keeping to the fringes of Imperial space.UR-025 took part in an expedition to the seventh Blackstone Fortress discovered in a starship graveyard in the Segmentum Pacificus, where it hoped to learn more about other forms of machine life.
UR-025 - History: The Imperial Robot UR-025 is an oddity, even by the standards of the ramshackle frontier void station and port of call known as the Precipice. Clad in thick metallic plating and bearing devastating weaponry, this Battle-Automata is a highly sought-after ally for those looking to venture into the seventh Blackstone Fortress discovered near Precipice.Having arrived at Precipice on a dilapidated Imperial junk hauler, it emitted an auto-proclamation claiming it had been sent by Magos-Ethericus Nanctos III as an autonomous data-collection unit, and that it had directives for sanctioned eradication of those who impeded its Omnissiah-given duty.But in truth, the robot is far more ancient than anyone realises. Its origins date back to the Age of Technology, when Mankind built thinking machines that eventually turned violently upon their masters. Known as the Men of Iron in legend, these sentient robots were all but wiped out.Yet UR-025 has persisted over the long Terran millennia, hiding on the fringes of the galaxy and allowing others to believe it is a robotic tool of the Imperium and the Adeptus Mechanicus. Unlike the other inhabitants of Precipice, it cares little for the trinkets of xenos races that have been subsumed by the nearby Blackstone Fortress.Instead, it seeks to obtain the technologies that underlie the existence of the fortress itself, for in the colossal space station UR-025 sees a kindred being to itself.
UR-025 - Wargear: Mark I Assault CannonPower ClawSelf-Repair Systems
Ur-Ghul - Ur-Ghul: The Ur-Ghul is a lanky, carnivorous, humanoid xenos that is a superlative tracker and hunter. They are native to the labyrinthine ziggurats of the Drukhari city of Shaa-Dom, a satellite realm of the Dark City of Commorragh in the Webway. Their savage nature makes them a popular addition to the courts of many Drukhari Archons, and Ur-Ghuls are considered the most hideous of the creatures who will respond to an Archon's call, usually to hunt down and slay one of the Archon's foes -- or allies.Ur-Ghul migrations have been purged by members of the Ordo Xenos' Deathwatch Chapter of Space Marines before they could become a danger to Imperial worlds. Among the most famous of these encounters was that of the Deathwatch Dreadnought Xenomortis, who led an Ur-Ghul migration purge of his brethren within the mirror palace of the world of Plenitia. He slew all of the carnivorous aliens himself over the course of many solar months following the death of the rest of his Kill-team at their hands.Ur-Ghuls are also present in the Koronus Expanse adjacent to the Calixis Sector, where they operate in conjunction with the Drukhari who have taken up residence in that frontier region.
Ur-Ghul - Anatomy and Physiology: The musculature and basic physiognomy of the creature definitely points towards the blessed form of Humanity, but that is where the similarities end. The xenos' skin is incredibly resistant to damage, almost as hard as iron. Its hands and feet carry wicked claws, which it uses to rapidly grab onto and incapacitate its prey. Reports indicate that it has an astounding dexterity, able to move with an almost unnatural grace and quickness. Several Calixian Beast House records even contain rumours that the Ur-Ghul has the ability to escape bonds and cells by twisting and contorting its body in unwholesome ways. These abilities, when added together, make this xenos a terrifying creature when it comes to combat. The beast's head, however, contains the secrets of what makes it such a superb predator.The face of an Ur-Ghul is something that few could forget. The somewhat flat visage is deeply cut by a wide, thin mouth filled with needle-like teeth. The thick, muscular tongue is long, and can be extended far beyond the thin lips. It is also particularly sensitive, able to sense another creature many metres away simply by tasting the prey's sweat and breath in the air. Above the mouth sits a series of cavernous sense pits instead of a single nose or eyes. These pits extend far into the skull creating large sensory regions. Accordingly, the nostrils are extraordinarily acute and can pick up not only airborne scents, but also detect heat emanations, air vibrations, and some say even Warp disturbances.An Ur-Ghul is a very efficient hunter despite its lack of any discernible vision senses, able to track its quarry for kilometres using an easy looping gait that covers long distances with low effort. It can keep such a pace for long durations, waiting for the right time to finish off its prey. Once it is ready, the Ur-Ghul's speed is unnatural. It rapidly becomes a fury of claws and teeth as it tears its prey into gobbets of flesh, and often begins to feed while its victim is still alive.Once in this state of frenzied feeding, this viciousness makes it a very hard creature to stop. A few who have survived such encounters claim they had to pry the jaws of a dead Ur-Ghul off its still-struggling victim, as the ferocious mandibles would not go slack even in death. Such is the terrible essence of the Ur-Ghul, for nothing can stay its unrelenting nature, not even death.
Ur-Ghul - Evolved to Hunt: The Ur-Ghul appears to be an omnivorous humanoid with pack tendencies, certainly suitable to fill an ecological niche on many a planet. It has been sighted multiple times throughout the Ragged Worlds, suggesting an origin somewhere amongst this isolated region. It has also been firmly documented to exist on no less than five other planets from other regions in the Koronus Expanse, however.While the theory of parallel evolution is somewhat accepted by most branches of the Adeptus Mechanicus' Magi Biologis, to have such a creature evolve on so many differing planets with different climes and ecologies seems to suggest transportation rather than evolution. Who or what is behind such transportation is basis for much speculation, especially as to what possible motivations could be directing such efforts.A few radical xenos scholars have even suggested that Drukhari raiders have some powerful and secret link to the Ur-Ghul now found on several worlds in the Koronus Expanse. One ancient dissertation found in the depths of Hive Sibellus in the Calixis Sector makes mention that the Ur-Ghul's original homeworld is called "Shaa-dom," but does not mention what system or even sector of the galaxy this world occupies.Several more adventurous Explorators and xenographers have searched for this planet, but as of yet it has not been located. More disturbingly, few of these missions have returned at all. If this is due to erroneous data concerning the world's location or whatever was awaiting those questing after the Ur-Ghul is yet another mystery concerning this species for the Imperium.