Garran Crowe - The Black Planet: Daemons are creatures of vindictive hatred, and their endless schemes are spun out over eternity as they fight for the souls of mortals. The Blade of Antwyr contains such an ancient being, and it is no stranger to the servants of the Dark Gods, having crossed them many times in its long existence.So it is that when Crowe faces a champion of one of the Ruinous Powers, the blade sometimes recognises his foe. This often prompts the Blade of Antwyr to try and aid the other Daemon in slaying its captor, renewing its struggle against Crowe or whispering secrets learned from long standard years of watching him fight. Sometimes, however, the blade meets an old enemy it would see sent back into the Warp. In these cases it will offer up aid to the Grey Knight, hoping to see an ancient score settled.Crowe never heeds the Daemon's advice, knowing that truth from such a creature can carry an even higher cost than lies. However, the castellan will take the recorded ramblings of the blade to the Prognosticars that they might be able to glean useful knowledge from them.One such thread of malice from the Blade of Antwyr led to the Battle of the Black Planet in 888.M41, where the blade tried to thwart the plans of Skulltaker, the Herald of Khorne who is one of its ancient rivals. The Khornate Daemon had chosen the planet after being drawn there by the miasma of violence lingering upon it.The world had been almost depopulated after a standard-year-long raid by the Drukhari, its billions of Human citizens reduced to a scattering of half-starved tribes hiding in the ruins of their once-proud cities. Skulltaker knew the planet was ripe for the Blood God and began a ritual to see it cast into the Warp where Daemons would feast upon the souls of the living and dead alike.After the Prognosticars informed him of the impending Daemonic incursion, Supreme Grand Master Geronitan chose Crowe to lead the assault, forming Strike Force Iron Helm to thwart Skulltaker's plans. Teleporting from low orbit, the Grey Knights arrived at the planet's ruined spaceport to find a vista of horrific carnage, headless bodies piled in mounds as far as the eye could see. In the centre of the corpse-choked platforms and landing pads stood an arena crafted from the bones and skulls of the slain.Unopposed, the Grey Knights entered the arena to the howls of Daemonic spectators and the sight of Skulltaker standing in the middle of a sea of severed heads, his Daemonic servants dragging away his latest victim to the mounds outside. The Blade of Antwyr screamed and cursed upon sensing the presence of the Khornate Daemon, even as hordes of Bloodletters descended upon the Grey Knights.Crowe knew that only he could hold back Skulltaker, perhaps buying time for his brothers to break the Daemonic host bearing down upon them. The sword exuded eager bloodlust when Crowe decided that single combat with the prideful Daemon was the only way to prevent it from killing his battle-brothers. Though he was loath to act in a way that pleased the Daemon within the Blade of Antwyr, Crowe called out a challenge to Skulltaker.Before the Khornate Herald could charge, Crowe used a gift given to him by Geronitan for this very purpose: a vial of the crystallised tears of the Emperor Himself. The blessed tears consecrated the ground around Crowe, robbing Skulltaker of a measure of his power. Even with this advantage, it was all Crowe could do to counter the powerful Daemon's blows and resist the unholy strength powering them.The Blade of Antwyr hammered at Crowe's mind, crying out for release and promising a swift end to Skulltaker, if only the Grey Knight would accept. The castellan stoically ignored the telepathic screams of the blade. For solar hours, Crowe and the Herald of Khorne duelled until Skulltaker noticed its form fading as the ambient energies of the Warp weakened across the planet.Totally focussed on slaying Crowe, the Daemon had ignored the actions of Strike Force Iron Helm as it purged the world and sealed the rents in reality. With a final curse and a promise of grim retribution, Skulltaker vanished into the Immaterium, leaving only the hollow, mocking laughter of the Blade of Antwyr in Crowe's mind.