vizn3r/warhammer40k-lore huggingface dataset:
Talasa Secundus - Death Guard Assault: In tightly organised infantry formations, the Death Guard swarmed over the Space Marine defenders, reaping a terrible toll on the Imperial lines, their bloated bodies absorbing bolter rounds as they marched forward. The two armies clashed in furious hand-to-hand combat. The Primaris Space Marines were greatly outnumbered, but fought with great skill, picking out opposing champions and besting hulking Plague Marines in brutal duels. Still the Death Guard came on, climbing over the dead and dying to reach their enemies.Marching amidst his putrid troops was the hulking form of a Death Guard Lord of Contagion. Wherever this giant warrior stepped, the life around him withered and rotted as Nurgle's blessings worked their putrid magic.Captain Petricias knew that he had to act in order to avoid a crushing defeat. Only the death of the Lord of Contagion would halt the Death Guard's advance. He would have to engage this mighty enemy in single combat.Meanwhile, the Novamarines under Captain Lobos were being swamped by Daemons and Plague Marines. Lobos, seeing that the line would soon break, ordered the Space Marines to fall back to the hive city and regroup until reinforcements arrived. Amongst the Silver Templars, however, these calls fell on deaf ears.Petricias had made his decision. He blocked out the enraged bellows of the Novamarines captain, his mind utterly focussed on slaying his chosen target. He ordered his troops to clear a path. The Silver Templars fought with a frighteningly cold precision. They exchanged few words, moving as one to cut through the enemy lines until they were surrounded on all sides by hordes of Plague Marines.Dozens of Silver Templars fell, but eventually they cleared a route to the enemy commander. Petricias wasted no time with words, charging directly towards the scythe-wielding Death Guard Lord. The duel between the two warriors was epic, with the Silver Templars captain suffering terrible wounds that would have killed a lesser man.Despite his injuries, Petricias' superior combat skills still showed, and with a final swing, he cut down the Death Guard Lord. With their chain of command disrupted, the Death Guard assault began to grind to a shuddering halt. The Space Marines pursued the faltering warriors of Nurgle as they retreated, putting hundreds of them to the sword and chasing them from the planet's surface.
Talasa Secundus - Seeds of Discord: The Silver Templars had carried the day, but the event had driven a wedge between the Swords of Novaris and their Novamarines allies. The Silver Templars' attack had left gaps in the Space Marine lines and the Novamarines had been surrounded and nearly overwhelmed by hordes of advancing Plague Marines.Captain Lobos had lost fully half of his warriors after the Silver Templars charged from their positions. He did not mask his fury at the Silver Templars' failure to obey direct orders. Captain Lobos grieved at the devastating losses his warriors had suffered and vowed never to forgive or forget the disobedient and reckless behaviour of the Silver Templars.Captain Petricias refused to admit to any error, coldly pointing out that the death of the enemy commander had surely saved the day, and that losses were always acceptable in the pursuit of victory. This argument did little to calm Lobos, who, at the conclusion of the conflict, left the planet in disgust. Despite both Chapters being scions of Roboute Guilliman, a bitter enmity would linger between many members of the two Chapters from then on.
Talasa System - Talasa System: The Talasa System is an Imperial star system located in the Realm of Ultramar in the Ultima Sector of the Segmentum Ultima.  It is the home system of Talasa Prime, the Fortress World that serves as the headquarters watch fortress and archetypal training world of the alien-hunting Deathwatch Chapter and their allies in the Ordo Xenos of the Inquisition.Talasa Prime was granted in perpetuity to the Deathwatch by the Ultramarines.
Talasa System - Notable Worlds: The worlds of the Talasa System, in order from those that orbit closest to their star to those that are the farthest away, include:Talasa Prime (Fortress World) / (Deathwatch Watch Fortress) - Talasa Prime has been gifted in perpetuity to the Ordo Xenos of the Inquisition and the Deathwatch Chapter by the Ultramarines. It now serves as the foremost watch fortress of the Deathwatch and one of the primary training centres for that Chamber Militant of the Ordo Xenos. Talasa Prime, the archetypal training world for the Deathwatch, maintains an Aquila pattern watch fortress in addition to dozens of attendant watch stations. It has a wide variety of kill-teams, each tested against those xenos races that would encroach upon Ultramar's borders. Overall command of the watch fortress as watch commander is entrusted to Watch Master Mordelai, a humourless and extremely efficient proponent of the Malleus war doctrine, who has the long-standing trust of Chapter Master Marneus Calgar of the Ultramarines himself. Like most watch fortresses, Talasa Prime maintains five Watch Companies, numbered Primus to Quintus, comprised of four kill-teams of varying types each.Talasa Secundus (War World) / (Hive World) - Talasa Secundus is the most heavily populated world in the Talasa System, home to many hive cities. During the 13th Black Crusade, Talasa Secundus was one of the many worlds of Ultramar that were invaded by the Chaos forces under the command of Abaddon the Despoiler. The planet was again assaulted during the Plague Wars of the Era Indomitus, this time by the Heretic Astartes of the Death Guard. The Chapters of the Silver Templars and the Novamarines engaged in a fierce battle to liberate the world from the mortal and Daemonic servants of Nurgle.Talasa Tertius (War World) / (Industrial World) - During the 13th Black Crusade Talasa Tertius was one of the many worlds of Ultramar that were invaded by the Chaos forces of Abaddon the Despoiler.Danarch (Feudal World) (Blockaded) - During the 13th Black Crusade, Danarch was also assaulted by the forces of Chaos and was blockaded by a Chaos Warfleet.Falan's Reach (Fortress World) - During the 13th Black Crusade,  Falan's Reach was one of the many worlds of Ultramar that was assaulted by the forces of Chaos.Uldregor (Agri-world) - Uldregor is an Agri-world that provided produce for the hives and factory cities of Talasa Secundus and Talasa Tertius. It also came under assault from the forces of Chaos during the 13th Black Crusade.
Talassar - Talassar: Talassar is an Imperial Ocean World located in the Ultramarines' Realm of Ultramar in the Ultima Segmentum. Talassar is a planet of stormy seas and islands of rock. It has a single, small continent named Glaudor, which was the site of a major battle between the Ultramarines and invading Orks immediately after the Horus Heresy.Also considered a Feudal World, Talassar is ruled as a grand dukedom by a suzerain of Macragge who is often a captain of the Ultramarines and is the homeworld of the Void Tridents Space Marine Chapter raised during the Ultima Founding. The Void Tridents were tasked by their resurrected primarch Roboute Guilliman with helping to defend Ultramar in the age of the Great Rift.The notable Astartes commander Captain Cato Sicarius of the Ultramarines 2nd Company was born in the Talassarian city of Perusia and raised in the ducal household of Talassar, one of the most prominent of Ultramar's noble dynasties. Here he was trained in the arts of war at a young age. In battle, Sicarius prefers to wield a potent relic Power Sword from Talassar known as the Talassarian Tempest Blade in close combat.An ancestral relic, this fearsome weapon takes its name from the planet's frequent storms. This weapon's energy field is so potent, and the blade within possesses a legendary sharpness so keen, that it has slain many a mighty foe in but a single stroke. Among his many honourific titles, Captain Sicarius is also the current Grand Duke of Talassar.
Talassar - Talassarian Military: Talassar provides its own self-defence through the Planetary Defence Force -- being part of the Realm of Ultramar, it is not tithed and is not obliged to provide Astra Militarum regiments.However, it is so well-administered that it is nonetheless willing and able to provide regiments if the need arises. As the homeworld of the Void Tridents, it is now also protected by that Chapter of Primaris Space Marines' extensive fleet and fortifications.
Talassar - Castra Tanagra: An ancient fortress in the valley of the continent of Glaudor, the mighty fortress of Castra Tanagra had been raised when Roboute Guilliman was young; its walls had withstood the fury of a Greenskin invasion in the aftermath of the Horus Heresy, and the primarch himself had stood upon its walls in defiance of the savage invaders.Built in a circular fashion, with one of its four towers built into the cliff-face, Castra Tanagra was an elegant structure, its curving walls twenty metres high and built from blocks of black marble quarried from the canyons of Prandium. Every Ultramarine neophyte of the Chapter was expected to make the pilgrimage to Castra Tanagra before his elevation to the fighting ranks, but the demands of war meant that few ever returned to study its majestic form.Its walls were carved with images from the first days of the Imperium, glorious, heroic frescoes depicting the Legiones Astartes in their thousands crusading across the heavens with the Emperor at their head.Though Castra Tanagra was a sacred place to the Ultramarines, the damage done to it during its last battle had never been repaired, for Roboute Guilliman had decreed that it forever stand untouched as a memorial to those that had lost their lives here.
Talassar - Notable Talassarians: Captain Cato Sicarius - Sicarius was the former commander of the Ultramarines 2nd Company who was born into one of Ultramar's noble dynasties on Talassar. As a captain of the Ultramarines he serves as the Grand Duke of Talassar.Lord Commodore Theodro Vethrus - Vethrus is the Chapter Master of the Void Tridents Chapter. The lord commodore was originally a noble-born native of Talassar who now serves as the ducal regent of Talassar due to Cato Sicarius' frequent absences from the world in service to the Emperor and Roboute Guilliman.  With the Void Tridents maintaining an indefinite military presence on this world, Theodro Vethrus spends much of his time on his homeworld dealing with matters of state as much as those of his Chapter.
Taldeer - Taldeer: Taldeer, also called Taldeer the Dreamer, was a Farseer of Craftworld Ulthwé and the leader of the Asuryani strike force sent to Lorn V in anticipation of an impending Necron attack. She and her strike force saved General Sturnn's Astra Militarum troops present on Lorn V on two different occasions, without them knowing until much later.When General Sturnn returned the favour by shielding the Asuryani from a huge Ork WAAAGH!, the two species formed a temporary (and uneasy) alliance to further their own goals.Later, Taldeer led an Asuryani strike force to destroy the Necrons that had arisen on the Civilised World of Kronus, where the forces of the T'au Fire Caste were trying and failing to keep the undying xenos at bay.Farseer Taldeer's presence on Kronus attracted the attention of the Imperial General Lukas Alexander, who was tasked with chasing down the farseer after her manipulation of the Astra Militarum on Lorn V.Later, Taldeer and her forces were slain during a siege on Kronus by the Blood Ravens Space Marines. Though her body was lost, Taldeer's soul, like that of all Asuryani, survived within the confines of her Spirit Stone, which was recovered by her kin.With her Spirit Stone in the hands of the Ulthwé, her consciousness was placed within the shell of a Wraithknight piloted by her twin brother Ronahn that would participate in the Asuryani campaign on the world of Acheron alongside Farseer Macha.
Taldeer - Lorn V: Taldeer was sent to Lorn V after the Asuryani recognised that it was a Necron Tomb World whose relatively small population of Necrons was close to awakening from the Great Sleep.Taldeer and her forces allied themselves with a force of the Astra Militarum's 412th Cadian Shock Troops Regiment commanded by General Sturnn, after it became apparent to both the Imperials and the Asuryani that the forces of Chaos and of the Orks were also present on the world.At first aiding the Humans only in secret by destroying strategic Chaos and Ork strongpoints on the world, Taldeer later moved into the open and promised to assist the Astra Militarum forces in recovering an ancient Imperator-class Titan, the Dominatus, dating back to the Horus Heresy, whose remains the Imperials had been sent to the world to retrieve.However, never fully trusting the Imperials, the Asuryani force betrayed the Astra Militarum by trapping them behind a gate with the combined forces of the greenskins and the Chaos Space Marines. This provided the Asuryani with the time to reach the deactivated Titan first, for she had her own uses for the ancient Imperial god-engine.Taldeer then used an Aeldari artefact called an Aspect Stone to destroy several Necron Monoliths that were coming online, the the stone was not capable of destroying them.In desperation, she managed to convince General Sturnn and his troops to assist her once more, despite her betrayal, because if the Humans and Aeldari did not work together, the Necrons would destroy them all.Using the downed Titan's weaponry to provide additional fire support, the Astra Militarum and Asuryani managed to defeat the forces of Chaos, the Orks and the Necrons all at once in a single, decisive battle. Unfortunately, the strain of using its weapons as well as powering Taldeer's Aspect Stone overloaded the damaged Titan's power core, which exploded.The resulting blast killed many of the Astra Militarum troops, and then Taldeer ordered her Asuryani to kill most of the survivors before they slipped back through a Webway gate.For this second and final betrayal of the Imperium, the Astra Militarum formed a special task force dedicated to hunting Taldeer down wherever and whenever she might reappear in the galaxy.
Taldeer - Kronus: At a later time, Taldeer was despatched by Ulthwé to the Civilised World of Kronus, which was also a slowly awakening Necron Tomb World.Though her primary mission had been to eliminate the Necron threat before it could reach its full strength, her discovery that a conflict was underway for control of Kronus by many of the galaxy's most powerful factions led her to decide to claim the world for the Asuryani.The Astra Militarum task force commanded by General Lukas Alexander learned of Taldeer's reemergence onto the galactic scene and arrived on Kronus to bring her the Emperor's justice.The situation was further complicated by the arrival of a force of Blood Ravens Space Marines, who had come to Kronus to recover a cache of Chapter artefacts dating back to the Horus Heresy. Discovering the presence of so many other enemy forces on the world, the Blood Ravens Astartes decided to retake the planet for the Emperor.Though Taldeer and her warriors made a valiant effort to claim Kronus for the Aeldari, the Ulthwé forces on the world were destroyed by the Blood Ravens during a siege, though Taldeer's soul was captured by her Spirit Stone at the moment of her death.It was taken by Azariah Kyras, the chief librarian and Chapter Master of the Blood Ravens, as a trophy of the Kronus campaign. However, Kyras was hunted down by Taldeer's twin brother Ronahn and defeated. Ronahn took back his twin's Spirit Stone and returned her to Ulthwé.
Taldeer - Acheron Campaign: Taldeer's Spirit Stone ultimately came to rest within the sanctum of Autarch Kyre of Biel-Tan, who had learned of an Aeldari prophecy involving the legendary artefact called the Spear of Khaine that had been foreseen by Taldeer while she was still alive.During the Asuryani's search for the Spear on the wandering planet of Acheron during the Acheron Campaign, it was discovered by the Aeldari forces that Taldeer's prophecy was incomplete, and thus could not be trusted to guide the Asuryani's actions.To learn the complete details of the prophecy, Farseer Macha and Taldeer's brother Ronahn broke into Kyre's sanctum in order to steal back Taldeer's Spirit Stone.After successfully recovering the stone, it was placed within an Asuryani Wraithknight piloted by Ronahn, since as the two were the rare Aeldari twins, this made it possible for them to control the massive combat walker.In her new form, accompanied by Ronahn as the Wraithknight's pilot, Taldeer fought alongside Macha and other Asuryani warriors upon the wandering planet of Acheron, aiding the other farseer in her attempt to reach the Spear of Khaine and then in the battle against the Bloodthirster Greater Daemon who had been secretly imprisoned within the artefact.
Taldeer - Canon Conflict: In the Dawn of War series of PC games, Farseer Taldeer hailed from Craftworld Ulthwé. In the novelisation of the games, she called Craftworld Biel-Tan home.Also in the Dawn of War novels, Taldeer is a young, inexperienced farseer from Biel-Tan who is almost killed when she pilots a Blood Ravens strike cruiser into the Warp to find a rift leading into the Webway.In the PC games, Taldeer is an older and far more experienced individual.On this page, we have taken the game storylines to be the more canonical of the two versions.
Tales of Heresy (Anthology) - Tales of Heresy (Anthology): Tales of Heresy is the tenth volume in The Horus Heresy series of novels and is an anthology of short stories.
Tales of Heresy (Anthology) - Synopsis: When Horus the Warmaster rebelled against the Emperor, the ensuing civil war nearly destroyed the Imperium. War raged across the galaxy, pitting Astartes against their battle-brothers in a struggle where death was the only victor.But long before that, the Legions struggled with their identities and the demands of the Great Crusade.From battles with alien invaders to conflicts within a Legion, and even dealing with a wayward primarch, these stories show the battles fought as the Great Crusade draws to a close and the Horus Heresy begins...
Tales of Heresy (Anthology) - Contents: Tales of Heresy contains the following short stories:Blood Games by Dan AbnettWolf at the Door by Mike LeeScions of the Storm by Anthony ReynoldsThe Voice by James SwallowCall of the Lion by Gav ThorpeThe Last Church by Graham McNeillAfter Desh'ea by Matthew Farrer
Talion - Talion: A Talion is a type of Imperial gunship and assault landing craft used by both the Adeptus Custodes and the Sisters of Silence. It saw extensive use on Terra during the Battle of Lion's Gate soon after the opening of the Great Rift. Little else is currently known about this aircraft.
Talisman of Arthas Moloch - Talisman of Arthas Moloch: A Talisman of Arthas Moloch is a form of rare artefact found on the Dead World of Arthas Moloch by the forces of Commander Farsight. These hexagrammatic talismans were found hanging upon great robed statues during the T'au forces combat against Chaos Daemons on that world.A Talisman of Arthas Moloch possesses strange properties that cause Warp-spawned creatures and psychic powers to falter before it. Whilst the Farsight Enclaves now possess several of these talismans and use them in battle, neither Commander Farsight nor his advisors have the faintest idea of how they work.
Tallarn - Tallarn: Tallarn is a harsh Desert World in the Segmentum Tempestus that is the homeworld of the famed Tallarn Desert Raiders regiments of the Astra Militarum.When it was first discovered by Human settlers in the 29th Millennium it was classified as a verdant Agri-world.However, during the Horus Heresy in the early 31st Millennium, the Iron Warriors Traitor Legion -- intending to destroy all potential resistance before landing -- virus-bombed the planet from space, rendering it an inhospitable desert through the destruction of its entire biosphere.Only then did the Chaos Space Marines land. Tallarn's few survivors emerged from their underground bunkers to stop the Iron Warriors' invasion. Soon, reinforcements from both sides arrived. It became clear to the Imperial forces the futility of fighting over a destroyed planet, but by then there was no turning back.Although it could not be guessed at the time, the Traitor Legion was motivated to attack the world beyond their mere appetite for destruction, for Tallarn was home to a potent Chaos artefact.Since the poisoned environment made it impossible for infantry to operate outside of protective shelter, the only available option for battle was that of armoured tank warfare.The largest tank battle in Human history erupted on the surface of Tallarn, involving some 10 million armoured vehicles. By the end of it, the Iron Warriors were defeated, and the wreckage of over a million tanks littered the sands.Approximately twenty Terran years after the Battle of Tallarn, the official Tallarn Desert Raiders regiments of the Astra Militarum were formed. These regiments specialised in desert fighting and highly-mobile armoured warfare, and were greatly skilled at ambushing enemy forces in the desert.The Tallarn Desert Raiders continued the Imperium of Man's attack on various worlds which had turned to Chaos until sometime during the later 31st Millennium, when they were recalled to their homeworld.The Cursus of Alganar, an ancient Chaos relic of black stone that served as a gateway between the Warp and the physical universe which had led the Iron Warriors to Tallarn in the first place, was discovered deep under the desert sands.Immediately after finding this relic, both the Asuryani of the Biel-Tan craftworld and the Iron Warriors spilled from the sky once more to claim this relic, even as the Daemons of Chaos emerged from the Warp when the artefact activated.After solar months of fighting in a conflict that is known in Imperial records as the "Cursus War," the Craftworld Aeldari and Tallarn Desert Raiders formed an alliance and destroyed the Chaos forces.After their combined victory over the Chaos hordes, both species exchanged rare promises of friendship, before the Aeldari departed in peace. The people of Tallarn re-entombed the Chaos relic beneath the sulphurous sands of their world and turned their backs on it.
Tallarn - Battle of Tallarn: In a devastating surprise attack at the time of the Horus Heresy in 010-011.M31, the Iron Warriors Chaos Space Marines struck the fertile Agri-world of Tallarn. Thousands of virus bombs rained down on Tallarn and the people ran to their enviro-shelters, deep beneath the surface.As they hid, safe from the devastating bio-infestation, the deadly coils of viral DNA mutated as they were programmed to do. Animals, plants, even insects died as the Life-eater virus did its work, destroying the planet's ecosystems and biosphere and leaving an empty shell devoid of life.After seven solar weeks of isolation, the virus had run its course and the remaining people of Tallarn emerged upon the surface. They found a world covered with the acrid slime of plants and corpses not yet decayed -- for the world was completely sterile, without even bacteria to aid the decomposition of its dead. The stench was strong, and more than one person died from it.The Iron Warriors sent their task-force to repossess the world for the Chaos Gods. From underground bunkers the Tallarn's defenders emerged to do battle with the invaders. Soon, reinforcements from both sides arrived, rival space fleets bringing vast armies to fight over the worthless remnants of the dead planet.The Battle of Tallarn raged for many solar months and was the largest armoured conflict of the Horus Heresy. Outbreaks of viral infection from rogue viral DNA residue made it almost impossible for infantry to operate outside their protective shelters or the environmentally sealed compartments of their tanks.The battle was finally decided by the vast armies of tanks deployed by the Traitor and Loyalist forces. When the fighting ended, the empty, putrid desert wastes of Tallarn were littered with the wreckage of more than a million shattered vehicles.
Tallarn - A Hollow Victory: The forces of Chaos were driven from the world of Tallarn at great cost at the end of the Horus Heresy, yet for all the millions that had died, there seemed to be little gained from the fight. The planet was destroyed and rendered useless for large-scale habitation, industry or agriculture.The armies of the Imperium might well have given up Tallarn had their commanders realized the extent of the devastation, but once the armies were in motion there was no going back.At the time, the Chaos attack made little sense. It seemed insane that even the fickle Chaos Gods should expend such energy and precious resources fighting over a devastated world of no particular strategic significance.But in the aftermath of the Horus Heresy there were few left to ponder such questions. Amongst the many evils of the time it was just another demonstration of the random destruction created by Chaos.
Tallarn - Tallarn Survives: Within a thousand standard years of the Horus Heresy's end, Tallarn evolved into a very different world from the prosperous civilised planet of former times.Deserts of sulphurous sand stretched from pole to pole and all water disappeared except for a thin residue remaining as vapour in the atmosphere. No vegetation remained on the surface to be exposed to the blistering, wind-blown sands. All that grew was the carefully husbanded crops of the Tallarn themselves, sheltered in their protective horticultural domes.The surviving people of Tallarn now lived in domed towns or in natural caverns hollowed out in the planet's rock. Fierce winds drove the Tallarn into their shelters, corrosive sulphur storms made all surface travel risky, and eventually a system of tunnels was built to facilitate travel beneath the surface.Above their settlements the Tallarn built vapour traps to catch evaporated water from the thin atmosphere. These tall towers still stand above the domes of Tallarn to this day, and all the water they use is caught by these cunning devices and channelled into subterranean holding tanks.
Tallarn - A Secret Uncovered: During the construction of an arterial tunnel, Tallarn miners struck an outcrop of hard, black rock. They were unable to break through this strange substance which was quite unlike any other they had encountered. After some days, they decided to divert their tunnel to go around it.As they did so they discovered something very strange. At first, the black wall seemed like a natural formation, but soon they realized they had uncovered a deliberate construction. The initial excavations revealed a huge wall of strange black rock carved over its entire surface with weird entwined figures. The figures were Human-sized yet not entirely Human, possessing a grace and beauty which rendered their grotesquely inscribed cavorting all the more perverse.Giant earth movers were brought in to dig out the layer of sulphur sand in which the wall was buried, and bit by bit it was slowly and painstakingly exposed to the daylight.The Tallarn soon discovered the wall was not straight but curved, in fact part of a huge, subterranean circle. Carefully their most skilled technicians worked to uncover the entire object, a huge, ring-shaped mound almost half a kilometre across.
Tallarn - Danger Awakes: It was not until the whole circle was exposed that the true disaster happened. With a blast of arcane power, the circle screamed and writhed, its inert form turned suddenly to moaning flesh.Where before there had been carvings now there were the creatures themselves, beings shaped like Aeldari, yet twisted with an uncanny evil, locked together by some sorcerous bond into a sickening embrace of depraved passion.Within the circle itself, blackness boiled and stars wheeled -- stars that belonged in another part of the galaxy altogether.
Tallarn - The Black Library: In the Black Library of the Asuryani, a custodian shivered as he felt an unaccustomed surge of psychic power. Adrift from time and space his mind searched the endless strands of probabilities and found the thread that led to Tallarn.After so long it had been discovered: the Cursus of Alganar, an artefact of evil from before the Fall of the Aeldari, a Warp vortex of unimaginable power, one of the three mythical Gateways of the Gods.His mind shifted into synchronicity with the Farseers of his race, tracing the paths that linked his mind to the craftworlds of the Asuryani. When that knowledge touched the Farseers, the Avatars of Khaine would wake. And Khaine would recognise the work of his ancient destroyer Slaanesh -- Bane of the Aeldari, the Prince of Chaos.
Tallarn - Cursus War Begins: The Craftworld Aeldari strike force sent by the Biel-Tan craftworld emerged from the Webway above Tallarn and struck from the skies without warning or explanation. To the Tallarn it was an unwarranted act of xenos aggression. Little could they imagine that the fate of the entire Aeldari species was bound up with their strange discovery.To the Asuryani there was no time for explanation or discussion. They could not know whether the Humans of Tallarn were in league with Chaos or whether the fierce desert people were unwitting pawns in the Dark Gods' Great Game. As far as the Asuryani knew, the only option was to attack, to destroy the Cursus if they could before it was too late.The Tallarn fought back with their characteristic ferocity. Years of living upon the burning sulphur deserts had honed them into resilient fighters. To the Asuryani the deserts were an unknown quantity. Even the hardy Asuryani Aspect Warriors died under the heat of the sun, whilst the common Asuryani Guardians fell to the lightning raids of the Human desert warriors.But the Asuryani did not give up. They could not afford to abandon their attack. The survival of the galaxy and their species depended on it.
Tallarn - The Dark Gods Awake: But it was already too late. The powerful Warp gateway projected by the Cursus grew in power by the minute. The screams and wails of the damned souls of Chaos filled the desert as the dark light brightened and fluxed within its core. Lights and stars swirled and clashed, fountains of spinning incandescence spat into the night sky.The laughter of the Dark Gods rebounded across the sulphur dunes and Aeldari and Humans alike shuddered in terror. From the Cursus poured the daemonic minions of Chaos even as the Heretic Astartes warbands of the Iron Warriors returned to the world once more, called through the Warp from the Eye of Terror by the siren song of the now-active artefact.What emerged from the Cursus were entities indescribable to men. Things that awakened primal terrors in Aeldari hearts -- horrors of slime and flame that cackled and bounded into battle, transparent bodies of pure energy dividing and reuniting in a cascade of colours, vile fleshy things that pulsed with inner power and sucked at the air with poisonous lips.Long-legged abominations carried slender and elegant creatures, the feared Daemonettes of Slaanesh, upon their backs, beautiful and yet sickening to look upon. It was as if all the Daemons of Hell had fallen upon Tallarn.
Tallarn - Battle for the Cursus: The Human commander of the Tallarn Desert Raiders called a truce with the xenos and hurried to the Craftworld Aeldari lines where the alien Seers sat waiting. Knowledge drawn from the Warp had finally opened their eyes.The runestones lay cast upon the desert floor. Hope in union was predicted. Division would lead to damnation, darkness and death. With their fates so clearly predicted, the Aeldari and the Humans of Tallarn joined forces.The two allied races fell back before the Chaos onslaught. Many were caught and destroyed in the early confusion, but the Chaos advance was slowed by the merciless hit-and-run tactics of the Desert Raiders.Humans led Asuryani Jetbike riders into the attack, and soon the Tallarn and the Asuryani were able to regroup. As the Daemon hordes advanced beyond the boundaries of the Cursus, their power waned, as if they were dependent upon its proximity for their power.And so it was, for the tendrils of Chaos, though long, are very tenuous in the physical universe beyond the boundaries of the Warp, and only blood-letting and victory can sustain the link between the Chaos Gods and their daemonic minions.
Tallarn - Chaos Defeated: With skill and cunning the Tallarn drew out the forces of Chaos' battle lines. Choosing their targets carefully, the Tallarn launched one attack after another, always retreating before the Chaos hordes could turn to meet their fire.It was a tactic calculated to drain the power of the horde, and it worked better than even the wily sons of the sulphur desert could have hoped. The Asuryani Seers saw the runes change, saw the opportunity develop. The Daemons were fading from reality fast, their glittering bodies growing ever more transparent, their cries ever weaker.The time had come to hit them hard. With a furious charge the Asuryani and Tallarn threw their remaining strength against the gibbering horde. It was a last effort that would result in absolute victory or utter defeat.The Chaos hordes shuddered and the bodies of the Daemons seemed to fade and dull. The crackle of energy died and the spark of life vaporised into the oily air.Many lay dead, Human and Aeldari warriors alike, gored by monstrous claws, crushed by the sensual caress of a poisoned tongue, or torn apart by razor sharp teeth.Many Asuryani Waystones were collected from the field, and many Tallarn taken back to their domes to surrender the water from their bodies to the hydrotanks. But it was victory nonetheless over the forces of the Archenemy of both peoples.
Tallarn - The Cursus Buried: Once the Asuryani had departed Tallarn in peace, and the people of both races had exchanged their promises of friendship, the Tallarn returned to the Cursus. They found the black stone of the terrible gateway cold and lifeless once more, just as it had been when they had first uncovered it.However, they knew now that the stone was not dead but merely sleeping, awaiting its time again, waiting for the call of its evil masters.The Tallarn buried the Cursus beneath the sulphur sands once more and placed within its circle the mysterious devices that the Aeldari had given them to keep the cursed artefact inactive. Then they sealed the surface with plascrete and turned their backs upon it.
Tallarn - Era Indomitus: Almost ten thousand standard years later, during the 13th Black Crusade of Abaddon the Despoiler in 999.M41, Tallarn was caught within the Great Rift soon after it first cracked open.The world was only saved from Daemonic invasion by the arrival of the fleet of the resurrected Primarch Roboute Guilliman's Indomitus Crusade, which cleansed the world of its Chaos taint. After Tallarn's liberation, Tallarn Desert Raider regiments flocked to join the crusade's forces.
Tallarn - Geography: Tallarn was transformed into a Desert World by the Iron Warriors' virus bombs, and its entire surface is now covered in a great planetary ocean of sand where very little now survives.Underneath the dunes lies a vast network of subterranean tunnels which are used to connect Tallarn's Human settlements. The only one of these settlements currently known is called Dasra City.
Tallarn - Society: Tallarn's Human population is organised into multiple tribes, which often unite into relatively stable political alliances. These alliances clash with one another on a regular basis and inter-tribal conflicts are a reality of life on Tallarn.Honour and vendetta are interwoven into all the cultural dealings of the Tallarn tribes. The need to avenge any slight leads to the propagation of a culture of vendetta that can cross multiple generations and is maintained with almost religious strictures.The notable tribal alliances include:DorahaMakaliHawadi - The Hawadi is a tribal alliance comprised primarily of teachers and scholars which serves the regiments of the Tallarn Desert Raiders as support staff. The Hawadi is composed of an alliance of 87 different tribes.Ture-nagBanna
Tallarn - Religion: The Tallarn worship the God-Emperor as the "Aba Aba Mushira." The worship of the Emperor was often conducted by the people of Tallarn in a subterranean sacarius chamber, which held a pool where communal bathing and prayer were a part of the worship services as well as ritualistic tattooing.Perhaps the most important spiritual position in Tallarn society is that of the "Orakle." The first Orakle was a Sanctioned Psyker of the Imperium who brokered a truce between the tribal alliances of the Doraha and the Makali when they were engaged in a destructive conflict.In memory of this deed, the most powerful of the astropaths of Tallarn, who were seen as touched by the Emperor's divine grace because of their soul-binding to Him, was chosen by many of the tribal alliances to act as religious guides and political mediators. While not all the tribes of Tallarn recognise the authority of the Orakles, those that do treat them as a Living Saint.But many of the tribes reject the legitimacy of the Orakles outright, holding that no mere mortal can speak for the will of the Emperor, nor does worship of the Emperor require an intermediary. As such, these religious differences can fuel tribal vendettas as in the case of the Banna, who revere the Orakles, and the Ture-nag, whose members were alleged to have killed a prior Orakle.
Tallarn - Language: The Tallarn people spoke various local languages in addition to Low Gothic, each of which was called a Cant. The High Cant was the language of the world's tribal nobility, and there were four separate Cants used for battle, among other Cants specialised for different purposes.
Tallarn: Executioner - Tallarn: Executioner: Tallarn: Executioner is a novella in the Horus Heresy Series of novels, released as an exclusive in hardback format. The novella has since been reprinted in non-limited hardback form, ebook form, and audiobook (MP3) form.
Tallarn: Executioner - Synopsis: As one of the many staging grounds for the forces serving in the Great Crusade, the verdant world of Tallarn has long served as a transfer point for the personnel and war machines of the Imperial Army. Now, destroyed by a deadly virus-bomb attack launched by the battered Iron Warriors fleet, the entire world is reduced to a toxic wasteland where the survivors must fight to defend what little remains of their home. The remnants of the once mighty Jurnian 701st Armoured Regiment emerge from their underground shelters, and the opening movements of the Battle of Tallarn begin... even as more clandestine powers seek to manipulate events on both sides of the conflict.
Tallarn: Executioner - Tallarn Series: The following is the chronological order of the Tallarn Series story arc set within the Horus Heresy:Black OculusTallarn: SirenTallarn: ExecutionerTallarn: IroncladThe Eagle's TalonIron CorpsesTallarn: WitnessThe Tallarn Series begins shortly after book twenty-three, Angel Exterminatus.
Tallarn: Ironclad - Tallarn: Ironclad: Tallarn: Ironclad is a limited-edition release novella in the Horus Heresy Series, released as a Black Library Exclusive in hardback format. Tallarn: Ironclad has since been released as a non-limited hardback, an ebook, and as an audiobook (MP3).
Tallarn: Ironclad - Synopsis: The Battle of Tallarn rages between the Traitor Iron Warriors and the Imperial Army. A carpet of armour covers the surface of the toxic planet: Dreadnoughts versus tanks versus Titans. But what secret purpose drives the Iron Warriors onwards to war?
Tallarn: Ironclad - Tallarn Series: The following is the chronological order of the Tallarn Series story arc set within the Horus Heresy:Black OculusTallarn: SirenTallarn: ExecutionerTallarn: IroncladThe Eagle's TalonIron CorpsesTallarn: WitnessThe Tallarn Series begins shortly after book twenty-three, Angel Exterminatus.
Tallarn: Ironclad - Trivia: Tallarn: Ironclad was originally marketed as the first Horus Heresy Series Limited-Edition novel, however it is both much shorter than a novel and much longer than a novella, at 240 pages.
Tallarn: Siren (Short Story) - Tallarn: Siren (Short Story): Tallarn: Siren is the twenty-eighth short story published in the Horus Heresy Series that was not originally part of a collected anthology. Tallarn: Siren was first published as an e-book.
Tallarn: Siren (Short Story) - Synopsis: In the immediate aftermath of the Iron Warriors' attack, the Loyalist forces on Tallarn mount a desperate mission to locate the last surviving Astropath on the planet, so that they can send a distress call to the rest of the Imperium.
Tallarn: Siren (Short Story) - Tallarn Series: The following is the chronological order of the Tallarn Series story arc set within the Horus Heresy:Black OculusTallarn: SirenTallarn: ExecutionerTallarn: IroncladThe Eagle's TalonIron CorpsesTallarn: WitnessThe Tallarn Series begins shortly after book twenty-three, Angel Exterminatus.
Tallarn: Witness (Short Story) - Tallarn: Witness (Short Story): Tallarn: Witness is the twenty-third short story published in the Horus Heresy Series that was not originally part of an anthology novel. Tallarn: Witness was first published within the event programme for the Horus Heresy Weekender 2015, and later released as an e-book.
Tallarn: Witness (Short Story) - Synopsis: After a somewhat unexpected Imperial victory against the Iron Warriors upon the dead wastes of Tallarn, the world's new Governor-Militant Susada Syn takes to the battlefield. With the wreckage of a million tanks and war machines spread across the planetary surface, Syn and his allies in the Space Marine Legions and Imperial Army survey the carnage, and consider the price that they have paid in blood...
Tallarn: Witness (Short Story) - Tallarn Series: The following is the chronological order of the Tallarn Series story arc set within the Horus Heresy:Black OculusTallarn: SirenTallarn: ExecutionerTallarn: IroncladThe Eagle's TalonIron CorpsesTallarn: WitnessThe Tallarn Series begins shortly after book twenty-three, Angel Exterminatus.
Tallarn (Anthology) - Tallarn (Anthology): Tallarn is the forty-fifth volume in the Horus Heresy series of novels and is an anthology. Tallarn was released in July 2017 as a hardback which includes a full-art hardcover. Tallarn gathers all of the short stories and novellas of John French that deal with the Battle of Tallarn.
Tallarn (Anthology) - Synopsis: As the Warmaster's campaign of galactic domination continues, his generals seek out fresh battlefields to conquer. After leaving the Crone World of Iydris behind, Perturabo strikes out for Tallarn. A bitter, vengeful Primarch, the lord of the Iron Warriors unleashes a deadly bombardment against the world, killing millions but entrenching the survivors. A brutal, all-consuming armoured conflict ensues, the greatest of the war, and one that grinds down all combatants over more than a standard year of relentless battles. But Perturabo's reasons for the attack are about more than unleashing punitive destruction against the Imperium -- he has an entirely darker purpose in mind.
Tallarn (Anthology) - Contents: Tallarn contains the following 2 short stories, and 2 novellas:Tallarn: ExecutionerTallarn: IroncladTallarn: SirenTallarn: Witness
Tallarn Desert Raiders - Horus Heresy: The planet of Tallarn was once a verdant Agri-world when it was first discovered by Human settlers in the Segmentum Tempestus during the 29th Millennium. In the early years of the 31st Millennium, Tallarn was still a fertile planet bathed in the gentle orange light of its twin suns. The surface of this lush planet was covered in oceans, grassy plains and jungles, and its people prospered. But this all came to a brutal end during the dark days of the Horus Heresy.
Tallarn Desert Raiders - Battle of Tallarn: As the Horus Heresy raged across the galaxy, the Chaos Space Marines of the Iron Warriors Traitor Legion struck the planet in a devastating surprise attack. Thousands of virus bombs rained down on Tallarn and the people ran to their enviro-shelters, deep beneath the surface. As they hid, safe from the devastating bio-infestation, the deadly coils of the Life-eater Virus' DNA mutated as they were programmed to do.Animals, plants, even insects died as the virus did its work, destroying the planet's ecosystems and biosphere and leaving an empty shell devoid of life. After seven solar weeks of isolation, the virus had run its course and the remaining people of Tallarn emerged upon the surface. They found a world covered with the acrid slime of plants and corpses not yet decayed -- for the world was completely sterile, without even bacteria to aid the decomposition of its dead. The stench was strong, and more than one person died from it.The Iron Warriors had sent their task force to repossess the world for the Dark Gods of Chaos. From underground bunkers the Tallarn forces emerged to do battle with the invaders. Soon, reinforcements from both the forces of Chaos and the Imperium arrived, rival star fleets bringing vast armies to fight over the worthless remnants of the dead planet, enormous resources squandered fighting over a devastated world of no notable strategic worth.The Battle of Tallarn raged for many solar months and was the largest armoured conflict of the Horus Heresy and the greatest tank battle in Human history. Outbreaks of viral infection from isolated surviving pockets of the Life-eater Virus made it almost impossible for infantry to operate outside the protective shelters of their armoured vehicles. The battle was finally decided by the armies of these tanks and more than 10 million of them participated in the battle.The Desert Raiders rarely met the Traitor invaders in open battle, preferring to strike from the flanks and avoid the strongest elements of the Traitors' battle line. When the fighting finally ended in a victory for the Loyalists of the Imperium, the empty, putrid wastes of Tallarn were littered with the wreckage of more than a million shattered vehicles. To this day, the Tallarn Desert Raiders have a well-deserved reputation as masters of armoured warfare, and their tank crews are amongst the most feared in the galaxy.
Tallarn Desert Raiders - Hollow Victory: The forces of Chaos were driven from Tallarn at great cost, yet for all the millions that died there the Imperium had gained little from the fight. The planet was destroyed and rendered useless for large-scale habitation, industry or agriculture. The armies of the Imperium might well have given up Tallarn for dead had their commanders realised the extent of the devastation, but once the armies were in motion there was no going back.At the time, the Traitors' attack on the Agri-world made little sense. It seemed insane that even the fickle Chaos Gods should expend such energy fighting over a devastated world of no particular strategic significance. But in the aftermath of the Horus Heresy there were few left to ponder such questions. Amongst the evils of the time, it was just another demonstration of the random destruction of Chaos.None realised that the Traitor Legions had been in pursuit of the Cursus of Algaron, a potent Chaotic artefact buried deep beneath the surface of the planet that was left over from the time known as the Fall of the Aeldari. Tallarn would eventually pay a high price for unwittingly housing this artefact when the forces of Chaos returned millennia later to finish what they had begun in the great conflict called the Cursus War.