vizn3r/warhammer40k-lore huggingface dataset:
Gothic War - Abaddon's Defeat: The Blackstone Fortresses had been rendered all but ineffective, their power systems drained. Abaddon managed to escape into the Warp with two of them, after a lengthy chase to the edges of the Schindelgheist System and a jump into Warpspace dangerously near to the gravity well. The Imperial fleet closed in on the third, unleashing all of their weapons, although still to little effect. Finally, two strike cruisers from the Angels of Redemption Space Marine Chapter, combined with Shark Assault Boats from the Divine Right, boarded the isolated Blackstone Fortress in an attempt to recapture it. Ensign Goldwyn was part of the Navis Imperialis boarding party during this mission and he was the source of the reports which described what they discovered. There was no crew aboard the Fortress. The interior of the Fortress bore little resemblance to what the Imperial forces recognised and there was no sign at all of the modifications made by the Tech-priests, as if their intrusion had been totally expunged. The walls pulsed with energy, the surface of which had become a deep, veined black, the opposite of the harsh white-painted walls and corridors that had marked out the Fortress' interior during the time of Imperial control. The Imperials had been aboard for only an hour when a high-pitched whine filled the air and the walls became reddish in colour. The Imperials had no sooner left than, without warning, the Fortress suddenly began to break up and slowly shattered into thousands of fragments.At about the same time as the recaptured Blackstone Fortress destroyed itself, the other Fortresses across the Gothic Sector also self-destructed. We know now that the Fortresses under Abaddon's did not destroy themselves in a similar fashion, as the events of the 13th Black Crusade and the Terran Crusade would prove that the Chaos Warmaster had managed to maintain his grip upon the ancient engines of destruction. How or why the other remaining Blackstone Fortresses were obliterated remains a mystery. Inquisitor Horst believed that some things were just too dangerous to be allowed to exist and someone or something had decided that the Blackstone Fortresses were counted amongst that number.
Gothic War - The Stain is Cleansed: With Abaddon's fleet gone, the attention of the Navis Imperialis was turned on the other Chaos warfleets. The Warp storms had decreased to almost their normal level and scores of Imperial warships poured into the Gothic Sector. Many of the Chaos Warmasters followed Abaddon and fled back to the Eye of Terror, to nurse their hatred and bitterness until another opportunity to attack the realm of the Corpse Emperor presented itself. Four battlegroups, each consisting of several dozen capital ships and Escorts, systematically engaged and destroyed many of those who remained, eradicating each in turn. In the Port Maw Sub-sector, titanic running battles between Admiral Storn's second Cruiser battlegroup and the warfleet of Heinrich Bale lasted for two standard years, as the Chaos ships slipped from system to system, turning to fight when the odds were in their favour, fleeing before the Emperor's wrath at other times. The battle for Quinrox Sound claimed yet more lives as solitary Chaotic vessels sped through the debris, picking off the occasional Imperial Escort or Cruiser sent to hunt them down.Although the battles across the stars were drawing to a close, it would take a further eight Terran years to retake the worlds that had been captured by the forces of Chaos. Many of these worlds were utterly devastated, their populations enslaved or sacrificed to the Ruinous Powers, the lands ravaged by war. Slowly but surely, the Imperial Guard scoured these planets of the taint of Chaos. The missionaries and confessors of the Ecclesiarchy set about restoring faith in the Emperor and the Inquisition hunted down those who had collaborated with the followers of the Dark Gods. However, the fight against the Archenemy is never truly finished, for there are worlds within the Graildark Nebula that still await the Emperor's fleets to free them. There are scattered Chaos ships and even two or three warfleets that still roam the darkness between the stars of the Hammerhead Deeps and the Cyclops Cluster, waiting for their chance to strike again.As more warships of the followers of Chaos departed or were destroyed, Ravensburg ordered two of the large battlegroups to concentrate on the pirates who had grown powerful during the carnage. They were each hunted down in turn, like the Chaos fleets, many of the bands breaking up and seeking sanctuary in forgotten star systems and in uncharted asteroid fields. The Orks of the Cyclops Cluster became the target of extensive Imperial pogroms, forced from worlds where they had enslaved millions, smashed from star systems where their crude ships had preyed upon Imperial shipping. Twenty years of continuous warfare had left deep scars and it would still take centuries of blood, sweat and toil to repair the harm, both physical and spiritual, that had been wreaked by Abaddon the Despoiler and his minions.
Gothic War - Rewards of Victory: The cost of an Imperial victory had been high for the Imperial Navy, and Battlefleet Gothic in particular, both in terms of human life and in the numbers of ships lost. Great sacrifices had been made and great heroes had met the challenge. Only through the determination, courage and loyalty of every man and woman serving in the Imperial Navy had the war been won.The High Lords of Terra recognised the efforts of the entire sector fleet and the name of each crewman who served in the war, from Lord Admiral Ravensburg to the lowliest rating on the smallest merchant ship, was engraved upon a specially constructed monolith, which stands ten times the height of a man in the Chamber of Heroes in the Imperial Palace on Terra.Inquisitor Horst slipped away to pursue his duties elsewhere and it is rumoured that he dedicated the rest of his life to hunting Abaddon and determining the ultimate fate of the Blackstone Fortresses the Despoiler had escaped with. Of the success of this self-imposed mission, no report has ever been made and Horst himself was seen only twice more, once during the Second War for Armageddon, and when he aided the successful search of his fellow Inquisitor Katarinya Greyfax for the Eye of Night after 999.M41, a quest that seemingly cost Horst his life.Through these dark times, the Gothic Sector had survived and life would eventually return to normal for the brave men and women of the Imperial Navy -- the endless battles with Eldar Corsairs, the search for smugglers, the crushing of Heretics and Renegades, and the thousand other jobs for which Mankind depends upon the men and women of the Imperial armed forces.The Imperial victory in the 12th Great Crusade bought nearly nine Terran centuries of quiet for the realm of the Emperor before Abaddon the Despoiler launched the greatest invasion of Imperial space seen since the time of the Horus Heresy...
Grabiya's Theorem - Grabiya's Theorem: Grabiya's Theorem was the posited solution put forth by Terran gene-wrights during the Great Crusade era of the late 30th Millennium to solve the diminishing stability of the Space Marines' gene-seed stores that became rampant through over-use.The creation of new gene-seed supplies was strained due to the heavy losses the Space Marine Legions of this era took in rapidly expanding the Imperium of Man.This theorem demonstrated that a sample of a primarch's genetic code could be used to stabilise and rapidly expand the supply of that primarch's existing Astartes gene-seed stocks with what was hoped to be "minimal deviation" and mutation from the baseline genetic code.
Grabiya's Theorem - History: As the Great Crusade continued the expansion of the newborn Imperium across the galaxy in the late 30th Millennium, the re-discovery of the primarchs and their newly adopted homeworlds helped to stem an impending crisis that was not widely known of at the time outside of the exalted ranks of the Imperium's ruling War Council.Namely, this was the diminishing stability of the Astartes' gene-seed itself through over-use and the increasing need of the Imperium for ever greater numbers of Space Marines in the field.This was a matter that was only exacerbated as the expeditionary fleets of the Great Crusade pushed ever wider afield into the galaxy. Imperial forces could no longer be concentrated as easily as before, and attrition was taking its toll as the years of near-constant battle became solar decades.Slowing the pace of the Great Crusade's progress was simply not an option for the Emperor of Mankind, and so the simple truth was that more Space Marines were needed and they needed to be created faster than had been done using the gene-seed cultivation and Astartes organ implantation methods of the past.A secret conclave of gene-wrights under the Emperor's direct supervision posited the solution that became known as Grabiya's Theorem, which demonstrated that a sample of a primarch's genetic code could be used to stabilise and expand Astartes gene-seed stocks with what was hoped to be "minimal deviation."Alongside this accelerated gene-culturing technique, other previously unavailable genetic engineering technologies were put into effect, reducing the processing time required to create a battle-worthy Space Marine to a single Terran year in some cases.Such accelerated gene-seed cultivation techniques, along with absent, inadequate or over-forceful psycho-indoctrination techniques, were later found to have produced unseen fundamental flaws in the Astartes subjected to them.Many Imperial scholars since have come to believe that the drive to create larger Space Marine Legions at an accelerated speed played a crucial role in the degradation of the sanity and psychological make-up of certain Space Marine Legions and paved the way for the horror of the Horus Heresy that was to come in the early 31st Millennium.
Graham McNeill - Graham McNeill: Graham McNeill is a game developer for Games Workshop. He was born in Glasgow, Scotland and studied architecture and then building surveying at the University of Strathclyde and Glasgow Caledonian University from 1989 – 1996. In 1996 he started work in an architects’ office designing new flats and commercial properties, until he saw an advertisement for a writer in the December 1999 copy of White Dwarf.In February 2000, Graham started work for Games Workshop as a staff writer for games development, writing articles for White Dwarf and many of Games Workshop's tabletop wargame army-specific books. In May 2000 he started writing for the Warhammer 40,000 team, but also kept up writing articles for White Dwarf. Graham was heavily involved working on codexes for the various factions of Warhammer 40,000 until 2006. After leaving Games Workshop in 2006 he became a fulltime freelance writer, but currently continues to produce novels for Black Library at a regular pace.Graham plays both T'au and Necron armies in Warhammer 40,000, though he started with the Ultramarines. He also enjoyed Warhammer Fantasy Battles, in which he played an Empire army.
Graham McNeill - Forges of Mars: Forges of Mars (Omnibus) (2017, ISBN 1-78496-497-2) collects the following:Priests of Mars (2012, ISBN 1-84970-176-8)Lords of Mars (2013, ISBN 1-84970-418-X)Gods of Mars (2014, ISBN 1-84970-723-5)Zero Day Exploit (Short Story)
Graham McNeill - Gaunt's Ghosts: Whose Voice is Heard No More (Short Story) (2021, collected in Sabbat War (Anthology))
Graham McNeill - The Horus Heresy: False Gods (2006, ISBN 1-84416-370-9)Fulgrim (2007, ISBN 1-84416-476-4)Mechanicum (2008, ISBN 1-84416-664-3)The Last Church (Short Story) (collected in Tales of Heresy (Anthology))A Thousand Sons (2010, ISBN 1-84416-808-5)Rules of Engagement (Short Story) (Collected in Age of Darkness (Anthology))The Outcast Dead (2011, ISBN 1-84970-086-9)The Reflection Crack'd (2012, collected in The Primarchs (Anthology))Death of a Silversmith (Short Story) (Collected in Shadows of Treachery (Anthology))Angel Exterminatus (2013, ISBN 1-84970-420-1)Calth That Was (2013, collected in Mark of Calth (Anthology))Vengeful Spirit (2014, ISBN 1-84970-595-X)Kryptos (Short Story) (Collected in Legacies of Betrayal (Anthology))Thief of Revelations (Short Story) (Collected in Legacies of Betrayal (Anthology))Lucius: The Eternal Blademaster (Short Story) (Collected in Legacies of Betrayal (Anthology))The Devine Adoratrice (Short Story) (collected in The Imperial Truth (Anthology) and War Without End (Anthology))The Seventh Serpent (2014, ISBN 1-84970-791-X)Wolf Mother (Short Story) (Collected in Blades of the Traitor (Anthology) and War Without End (Anthology))Luna Mendax (Short Story) (Collected in The Silent War (Anthology))The Crimson King (2017, ISBN 1-78496-834-X)
Graham McNeill - The Horus Heresy: The Primarchs: Magnus the Red: Master of Prospero (2017, ISBN 1-78496-500-6)
Graham McNeill - The Horus Heresy: Siege of Terra: Sons of the Selenar (2019, ISBN 1-78999-102-1)Fury of Magnus (2020, ISBN 1-78999-291-5)
Graham McNeill - Iron Warriors: Iron Warriors: The Omnibus (2012, ISBN 1-84970-138-5) collects the following:Storm of Iron (2002, ISBN 1-84416-530-2)Iron Warrior (2010, ISBN 1-84416-859-X)The Enemy of My Enemy (Short Story)The Heraclitus Effect (Short Story) (Also collected in Planetkill (Anthology))The Skull Harvest (Short Story) (Also collected in Heroes of the Space Marines (Anthology))The Iron Without (Short Story) (Also collected in There is Only War (Anthology))The Beast of Calth (Short Story)The Corpse Road (Short Story) (Collected in Renegades of the Dark Millennium (Anthology))
Graham McNeill - Ultramarines: The Uriel Ventris Chronicles: Volume 1 (Omnibus) (2019, ISBN 1-78496-854-4) collects the following:The Ultramarines Omnibus (2006, ISBN 1-84416-403-9)Chains of Command (Short Story) (2002, also collected in Words of Blood (Anthology) and The Hammer & The Eagle: Icons of Warhammer (Anthology))Nightbringer (2002, ISBN 0-74344-299-7)Warriors of Ultramar (2003, ISBN 1-84416-000-9)Dead Sky, Black Sun (2004, ISBN 1-84416-148-X)Leviathan (Short Story) (Also collected in Crucible Of War (Anthology))Consequences (Short Story) (Also collected in Legends of the Space Marines (Anthology))The Uriel Ventris Chronicles: Volume 2 (Omnibus) (2019, ISBN 1-84970-871-1) collects the following:Ultramarines: The Second Omnibus (2012, ISBN 1-84970-174-1)The Killing Ground (2008, ISBN 1-84416-562-0)Courage and Honour (2009, ISBN 1-84416-720-8)The Chapter's Due (2010, ISBN 1-84416-861-1)Eye of Vengeance (Short Story)The Bone Road (Short Story)Do Eagles Still Circle the Mountain? (Short Story) (Collected in Honour of the Space Marines (Anthology))The Swords of Calth (2021, ISBN 1-78999-808-5)
Graham McNeill - Warhammer Crime: Impurities (Short Story) (2020, collected in No Good Men (Anthology))
Graham McNeill - Warhammer Horror: The Colonel's Monograph (2019)
Graham McNeill - Others: Knights of the Imperium (Short Story) (2014, Collected in Servants of the Machine-God (Anthology))Unforgiven (Short Story) (Collected in Deathwing (Anthology), Let the Galaxy Burn (Anthology), and There is Only War (Anthology))Apostle's Creed (Short Story) (Collected in Sabbat Worlds (Anthology) and There is Only War (Anthology))Business as Usual (Short Story) (2002, collected in Words of Blood (Anthology) and Let the Galaxy Burn (Anthology))Payback (Short Story) (Collected in Crucible of War (Anthology))The Prisoner (Short Story) (Collected in Tales from the Dark Millennium (Anthology))
Graia - Graia: Graia, also known as "The Crown of Miracles," is a major Adeptus Mechanicus Forge World in the Graia System of the Segmentum Tempestus of the Milky Way Galaxy. The planet is home to the Legio Astraman, a Loyalist Titan Legion.The warriors of Graia reside in a geometrically perfect network of void stations that crests the planet in geosynchronous orbits like a glittering diadem. Though the Cult Mechanicus does not make it widely known, this so-called "Graian Crown" is fully capable of traversing interstellar distances. Giant fusion engines allow it to escape its host planet's gravity and move to the nearest Mandeville Point, where it can then travel through the Warp.Graia was the site of an invasion by over 1 million Orks led by the Warboss Grimskull in the 41st Millennium in an attempt to seize the Warlord-class Titans being constructed within the planet's famous Ajakis Manufactorum. The invasion was stopped in its tracks by the intervention of the 203rd Cadian Shock Troopers and the 2nd Company of the Ultramarines led by Captain Titus, and the world was ultimately reclaimed for the Imperium by a full liberation fleet.During the battle, Titus discovered that the Ork invasion had been a cover for the Chaos Sorcerer Nemeroth and his warband of Chaos Space Marines to seize experimental Imperial Warp-based technology that he intended to use to become a Daemon Prince and transform Graia into a new Daemon World under his rule. Titus successfully slew the sorcerer but briefly came under suspicion of heresy himself because of his unusual resistance to Chaos sorcery.Later, Graia was invaded again by the forces of Chaos, this time under the command of the Heretic Astartes Chaos Sorcerer Tumulus Samael who sought to carry out Nemeroth's plan and open a Warp rift that would consume Graia and much of the surrounding region of Imperial space. This attempt was defeated by the heroic efforts of the Ultramarines Sternguard Veteran Malum Caedo who nearly single-handedly slew the Chaos Sorcerer and many of the Chaos Cultists, Chaos Space Marines, and Daemons he had summoned to help him claim the Forge World.
Graia - History: Unfortunately, the early history of this Forge World has been lost down the long millennia. Across the border sectors of the Segmentum Tempestus and Segmentum Pacificus were located numerous lesser Forge Worlds, which included Graia, which were known collectively as the "Belt of Iron." For much of the Great Crusade, these Forge Worlds helped to mass-produce much needed arms and equipment for the military forces of the expanding Imperium.
Graia - Horus Heresy: With the outbreak of the galaxy-wide Human civil war known as the Horus Heresy, the Imperium was sundered, with many of the Forge Worlds of these sectors declaring for the Traitor cause at the behest of the trecherous fabricator-general of Mars, Kelbor-Hal, while others remained loyal to Terra or in some cases sought to remain aloof from the conflict as much as possible. Strife and tentative conflict between these once-aligned worlds erupted finally into full-scale war in 010.M31, which pitched the Mars-aligned Dark Mechanicum Forge Worlds of Urdesh, Incunabula, Valia-Maximal and Kalibrax against the forces of Loyalist Forge Worlds Graia, Arl'yeth and Atar-Median, while Arachnis and Jerulas Station both fell into the anarchy of civil war.The resulting conflict, later known as the "Dispute of Iron," saw the forge lords, their armies and allied Titan Legions and Knight households turn on each other in protracted warfare. These Forge Worlds' Taghmata's oathbound Knight houses and Titan Legions would devastate scores of Human-inhabited worlds in the region that became the battlegrounds upon which the Dispute of Iron was fought.Following the death of the Warmaster Horus at the Siege of Terra, the Loyalist forces fell upon the Traitor Legions and their Dark Mechanicum allies fleeing from the Throneworld. Those who now ruled in the Emperor's name had neither the ability nor the desire to prevent a war of reciprocity. Thus began the time known in the histories of the Imperium as the "Great Scouring."Many of those Forge Worlds that had colluded with the Traitors were brutally scoured of Hereteks and those who had made truck with the Ruinous Powers suffered the ignominious fate of Exterminatus, while others were brought back into the Imperial fold and eventually granted the Emperor's forgiveness. Graia survived this period intact, and went on to become an industrious and profitable Forge World of the Imperium.
Graia - Samael's Assault: Several standard years after the events of Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine, the Sternguard Veteran Malum Caedo and several of his brethren from the Ultramarines Chapter's Veteran 1st Company were sent by the Inquisition back to Graia on a mission of great importance.Since the Ork and Chaos invasions of Graia that had been unleashed upon the Forge World by the machinations of the Chaos Sorcerer Nemeroth several standard years before, the Inquisition had kept Graia closely watched for the emergence of further threats. Inquisitor Seibel of the Ordo Malleus revealed that rogue Tech-priests of Graia had experimented with the remains of the late Inquisitor Drogan's unstable and unique power source -- a small cylinder wreathed in potent blue energies -- and the experiments had resulted in the opening of a Warp rift that allowed the forces of Chaos to once more invade the Forge World. Malum Caedo and his Sternguard Veteran Squad were tasked with retrieving the power source with the aid of a Servo-skull that had once belonged to Drogan.When the Ultramarines made planetfall, their Drop Pod was severely damaged during the descent and crash-landed on the planet's surface, leaving Malum Caedo as the sole survivor. As Caedo valiantly fought his way single-handedly through the Chaos forces, including Chaos Cultists, Heretic Astartes and Daemons, it was discovered that the Chaos incursion's leader, a Chaos Sorcerer named Tumulus Samael of the Black Legion, sought the power source for his own nefarious plans to transform Graia into a Daemon World under his control and the orbiting battle-fortress of the Graian Crown into a Warp-based weapon. The sorcerer had already managed to learn the location of the power source fragment and Caedo raced to stop him.When Caedo reached the Adeptus Mechanicus vault containing the power source, Samael appeared and gloated that he had already taken the power source. The sorcerer and his minions attacked the orbital void station above Graia and used the power source to enlarge the Warp rift that threatened to engulf Graia and the entire sector.Malum fought his way through the void station before finally reaching Samael, and after a grueling fight, the Sternguard Veteran managed to slay the sorcerer. Inquisitor Seibel arrived at the void station soon after and retrieved the power source for the Inquisition. Without the power source, the Warp rift began to close, but Seibel warned that there were still many Chaos forces left active on Graia, and Malum Caedo prepared for the trials he had yet to face.
Graia - Notable Campaigns: The Burning Goliaths (170.M37) - The Skitarii of Graia join the Legio Ignatum ("Fire Wasps") in hunting a trio of Traitor Titans. The traitorous god-engines are brought to battle in the shadow of the mountain-sized Castle Retross, though the Chaos host that spills from its gate slowly begins to tip the balance. Victory is only secured when Skitarii arc weaponry overloads the Machine Spirits of the Traitor engines. As the castle is razed, its tumbling walls are lit by their giant, flaming corpses.The Macharian Conquests (392-399.M41) - Led by Mars, Graia and Gryphonne IV, many Forge Worlds send armies to aid this massive crusade of Lord Commander Solar Macharius, the Imperium's greatest Astra Militarum commander of all time and a recognised tactical and strategic genius on a par with the primarchs themselves. This crusade took place on the far western edge of the galaxy within the Segmentum Pacificus, reaching as far as the border of the galaxy with intergalactic space and even reaching into the unknown regions of the Halo Zone. The furthest extent of the crusade reached just beyond the edge of the Segmentum Pacificus, where not even the blessed light of the Astronomican could penetrate the dark void.Graia Assaulted (Unknown Date.M40) - When attempting to initiate Warp travel, Graia's "Graian Crown" of linked void stations is assaulted by Necrons and nearly destroyed.To Punish the Usurper (983.M41) - Upon the lodestone world of Knuthor, a nation of feral Humans worships their Ork slavers as prophets of the primitive deity King Thug. When the nearby Forge World of Graia learns one of the Ork Roks is built around a fabled Ark Mechanicus, it sends forth its Skitarii Legions on a priority intercept. Within a solar year of the travesty coming to light, both xenos and primitive Human alike have been scoured from the planet, and the salvaged pieces of the Ark Mechanicus borne reverently back to Graia.Second Tyrannic War (993.M41) - Graia is one of the worlds reported to have been attacked and devoured by the Tyranids' Hive Fleet Kraken.The Rust Fields War Begins (ca. Unknown Date.M42) - In their greed to claim natural resources to fuel their manufactoria, a coalition of Forge Worlds led by Mars and Graia sends mining fleets to exploit the vast belt of asteroids known as the Rust Fields. Although its interior has never been explored, its exterior is incredibly rich in all manner of metals, minerals and frozen promethium seas -- a tumbling horizon of asteroids that stretches across three sectors. Soon after operations are begun, however, it is discovered that Greenskin clans rule the interior of the Rust Fields. So begins a great war that draws in untold numbers of additional Imperial forces as the Adeptus Mechanicus fights to retain its foothold.
Graia - Graian Crown: The Adeptus Mechanicus military forces of Graia reside in a geometrically perfect network of void stations that crests the planet in geosynchronous orbits like a glittering diadem. Though the Cult Mechanicus does not make it widely known, this so-called "Graian Crown" is fully capable of traversing interstellar distances. Giant fusion engines allow it to escape its host planet's gravity and move to the nearest Mandeville Point, where it can then travel through the Warp.This unique FTL transportation capability is used to not only transport Graia's military forces across the galaxy as needed, but also allows the Forge World to exploit the resources of distant worlds. Once a suitable resource-rich planet has been discovered, the Graian Crown's chorazine shunt thrusters lock it into a stationary orbit over the target world like a mechanical tick. Fleets of industrial harvesters then descend and begin leeching the world of its assets to be consumed by Graia's manufactoria.Should an enemy be foolish enough to to attempt to board the Graian Crown during this process, the megastructure's production subroutines will immediately adapt to the threat. Hundreds of freshly-built Skitarii and armed servitors will begin pouring off the Graian Crown's production lines every solar minute, while servo carts will deliver vast quantities of ammunition to its immovable defenders. And even as the invaders are being fought, the extraction of strategic resources from the target world below the Graian Crown will continue unabated.While the knowledge of the Graian Crown's ability to move through the Warp on its own is suppressed by the ruling Tech-priests of Graia as much as possible, both the Necrons and the Daemons of Chaos have learned of the capability. This has led both foes to repeatedly attack the Graian Crown. Graia's forces have been forced repeatedly to defend it from being overrun or captured. Yet so great an economic and military advantage is this immense battle fortress to the Adeptus Mechanicus, that the value of its use to Graia far outweighs the potential risk of losing control of the Graian Crown to a hostile force.
Graia - Notable Locations: Adris Habitation Block - A primary residence for Graia's indentured work force of Adeptus Mechanicus thralls.Bastion Primus - The Forge World's primary on-world fortress and centre of authority.Defence Battery "Goliath" - Destroyed during the Greenskin invasion of WAAAGH! Grimskull.Kalkys Facility - This facility was used as a laboratory by Inquisitor Drogan before his death to develop his experimental, Warp-based power source.Laochan Gate - The Laochan Gate is a possible portal into the Webway.Manufactorum Narses - A major Graian manufactorum.Manufactorum Ajakis - Known also as the "Titan Manufactorum," it is able to produce Titans, even the mighty Warlord-class Titan.Orbital Spire - Destroyed during the invasion by the Orks of WAAAGH! Grimskull.Orbital Spire - Destroyed during the invasion by the Orks of of WAAAGH! Grimskull.
Graia - Refusal to Yield: Steely minded tenacity and the refusal to retreat are more than just character traits of those who serve Graia. Indeed, such qualities are hardwired into all who bear the Forge World's symbol.
Graia - Graia Iconography: The warriors of Graia bear the icon of the solar cog. The rising sun at its heart signifies the dawn of a new age, while the cog that surrounds it shows that the Tech-priests of Graia intend to be its masters.
Graia - Graia Forge World Colours: Like other Forge Worlds, Graia maintains its own Skitarii forces to protect its interests, annihilate the enemies of the Tech-priests, and fight at the vanguard of the Quest for Knowledge. The Tech-priests of Graia and their Skitarii Legions accentuate the deep crimson of Mars with the bright red of spilt blood.Their detractors believe this is because Graian warriors take an unhealthy interest in each spray of gore that jets from their victims, but the Tech-priests of Graia claim their interest in warfare represents only their desire for enlightenment. Wearing fully-sealed battle raiments and electromagnetised cybernetics, the Skitarii of Graia have fought space battles across the silvered exterior of their masters' spaceborne metropolises in the Graian Crown.War machines hailing from Graia carry the colours of death -- blood red, funereal black and bleached bone. Graia's Kastelan Robots commonly bear white iconography upon the black slabs of their battlehide, while the markings of its Kataphron Battle Servitor clades are black upon their bone-coloured plates.
Graia - Manufactoria Capabilities: Many large manufactoria dot the surface of Graia, as one would expect on a Forge World. Ajakis, the manufactorum Captain Titus was sent to secure, is the rare facility capable of creating Warlord-class Titans, and the Graia Pattern Vengeance Launcher, a Grenade Launcher that can "stick" grenades to surfaces. The grenade can then be remotely detonated by the user.Graia also served as Inquisitor Drogan's testing ground for his Warp-based power source and his Psychic Scourge weapon.Graia is also known for producing its own pattern of Hellhound, Manticore, Trojan and Rapier Laser Destroyer.
Graia - Trivia: The original [[Space Marine (Game)|Space Marine video game took place in a parallel Warhammer 40,000 universe where the Ultramarines 2nd Company was commanded by Captain Demetrian Titus rather than Cato Sicarius.This discrepancy was retconned away in Space Marine II where it was revealed that Titus had commanded the 2nd Company many solar decades before Sicarius took up the role. Titus has since crossed the Rubicon Primaris and is now a Primaris Marine lieutenant under Captain Sevastus Acheran's command.
Graia - Canon Conflict: There is some dispute about the location of Forge World Graia in the galaxy. Imperial Armour Volume One and The Horus Heresy Book One: Betrayal place Graia in the Segmentum Tempestus. Other sources, including the 4th Edition Codex: Tyranids, the video game Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine and the short story "Orphans of the Kraken" in the Legends of the Space Marines anthology place Graia in the eastern part of the Realm of Ultramar, in the Ultima Segmentum.
Graia - Sources: Codex: Adeptus Mechanicus - Cult Mechanicus (7th Edition), pp. 28, 39, 91-94Codex: Adeptus Mechanicus - Skitarii (7th Edition), pp. 17, 32, 37, 85-91Codex: Adeptus Mechanicus (8th Edition), pp. 12, 19, 25, 34-35, 95, 98-99, 101Codex: Adeptus Mechanicus (9th Edition), pg. 29Codex: Tyranids (4th Edition), pg. 12Imperial Armour Volume One - Imperial Guard & Imperial Navy, pp. 8, 144, 179Legends of the Space Marines (Anthology) edited by Christian Dunn, "Orphans of the Kraken" by Richard WilliamsThe Horus Heresy Book Six: Retribution (Forge World Series) by Alan Bligh, pg. 31Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine (Video Game)Warhammer 40,000: Boltgun (Video Game)Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine Forums
Grail Abyss - Grail Abyss: The Grail Abyss is a desolate streak of galactic territory at the extreme northern border of the Imperium of Man. It is a celestial wasteland locked between two galactic spiral arms where stable star systems are scarce and rogue planets, energy bleed-outs, cosmic detritus and other navigational hazards are many. Sparsely populated and remote, it makes for one of the most dangerous regions of the Segmentum Obscurus.With the more populous sub-sectors of the Cyclops Cluster and the Manachean Commonwealth, the Coronid Reach and the Mechanicum-controlled domain of the Cyclothrathine Holdfast, the Grail Abyss constitutes one of the regions of the wider Coronid Deeps.Its history is closely linked to that of the famed 7th Expeditionary Fleet of the Dark Angels Legion of the Legiones Astartes under command of Lord Commander Suleiman Grimm. Indeed the 7th Expeditionary Fleet was responsible for the conquest and liberation of many worlds amongst the Grail Abyss and the Cyclops Cluster during the Great Crusade.
Gramarye - Gramarye: Gramarye is an Imperial Industrial World and Fortress World that once served as the original  Legion homeworld of the  Ist Legion before it was reunited with its Primarch Lion El'Jonson on Caliban in the early years of the Great Crusade, sometime after 846.M30. After that date the Legion, now called the Dark Angels, moved to its primarch's home.Gramarye became the seat of power and the site of the massive fortress or "chantry" of the Legion's Council of Masters, comprised of the six voted-lieutenants who each led and served as the master of one wing of the Ist Legion's Hexagrammaton, and which took over day-to-day administrative and strategic governance of the Legion after the death of Grandmaster Urian Vendraig. The chamber where the Council of Masters met in the chantry was known as the "Hall of Council."Once the Ist Legion was reunited with the Lion and it was reborn as the Dark Angels, the great stronghold or chantry of the Legion on Gramarye was demolished in place of a more mobile seat of power following the primarch himself aboard the Legion's flagship, the Gloriana-class Battleship Invincible Reason, though the Dark Angels also constructed an elaborate citadel on their new homeworld of Caliban whose foundation was Aldurukh, the original fortress of the techno-barbarian knights of The Order.In the place of the Ist Legion's old fortress the Lion ordered that a new, far more modest one be constructed that would be used simply to secure the world and its massive industrial sprawl for the Imperium as part of the feudal demesne of the Legion.
Grand Annulus - Grand Annulus: The Grand Annulus is a massive ring-shaped stone, bounded by two concentric circles. This unique object can be found at the centre of the Hall of the Great Wolf located at the top of the Space Wolves Space Marine Chapter's mighty fortress-monastery, The Fang, on their homeworld of Fenris. It is a representation of the organisation of the Space Wolves Chapter. Each outer segment is a separately carved stone slab inscribed with the sigil and runes of the Wolf Lord it represents. During feasts in the hall, it is customary for the Wolf Lords and their Wolf Guard to be seated within the area of the hall thus indicated by their "name-stone". The central device, bearing the sign of the "Wolf That Stalks Between Stars", indicates the position of Great Wolf. This stone is rotated to show which of the Wolf Lords currently holds that honoured rank.Each of the stone slabs are as wide as a battle tank, and it takes a dozen of the strongest warriors to lift just one. Utmost care is taken in their construction and installation into the Grand Annulus, for it is said that to shatter a name-stone is to condemn its Great Company to an ignominious end. As Wolf Lords die, their name-stones are removed from the Hall of the Great Wolf and taken to the Grove of Heroes, where they circle the oldest name-stone of all, that of Primarch Leman Russ himself. Here they lie for eternity in huge concentric rings, a reminder of the heroic leaders of the Space Wolves across the ages.
Grand Orion Compact - Grand Orion Compact: The Grand Orion Compact is a minor league of the Leagues of Votann located in the galactic core.It declared the most widespread Grudge in the history of the Leagues when its Votann was destroyed by the Ork WAAAGH! Morbok, initiating the conflict known as the Five Hundred Years' War that lasted until every last Greenskin of that WAAAGH! was dead.
Grand Orion Compact - History: Though they are protected by every means at the disposal of the Kin, some of their precious Votann have still fallen to the predation of foes, much to the shame and sorrow of the Kin.The Five Hundred Years' War was triggered when the Orks of WAAAGH! Morbok overran the hold of Oriâkh's Irongate Kindred and tore apart the Ancestor Core within. The Grand Orion Compact, the league of which Oriâkh's Irongate was a member, swore the most widespread Grudge in recorded Kin history for this death of their Votann, hurling all their might against the Warlord Morbok's Empire of Scrap for more than five Terran centuries, until the last Ork was slain and the insult answered.
Grandfather's Gift - A Mortarion Story (Short Story) - Grandfather's Gift - A Mortarion Story (Short Story): Grandfather's Gift - A Mortarion Short Story is the sixty-second short story published in the The Horus Heresy series that was not originally part of an anthology novel. Duty Waits was first published on day 4 of the Black Library's 2017 Advent Calendar.
Grandfather's Gift - A Mortarion Story (Short Story) - Synopsis: When Mortarion, Daemon Primarch of the Death Guard Traitor Legion, awakes in a strange garden with no memory of who he is, he cannot know what delights await him in its rotting tranquility. Above all things, Papa Nurgle is a generous god.
Grandhall - Grandhall: Grandhall is a Hold World of the Greater Thurian League of the Leagues of Votann located in the galactic core. It is situated in the southern region of Thurian space and lies on a major trade hub near three important Thurian mining epicentres.
Grapnel Launcher - Grapnel Launcher: A Grapnel Launcher is an Imperial device that uses an explosive charge to fire a grapnel hook and its accompanying filament over long distances. A Grapnel Launcher is used to scale vast heights and cross from building to building in dense urban areas. It is a piece of equipment commonly employed by the close combat stealth assault Reiver Squads of the Primaris Space Marines, who always need to be in exactly the right place at exactly the right time, ready to burst forth from their stealthy approach and attack their foe when they least expect it.
Gratzdakka - Gratzdakka: The Ork Warlord Gratzdakka Wur Mekdakka was an infamous leader of the Blood Axes klan and the master of WAAAGH! Gratzdakka which very nearly conquered the Imperial Industrial World of Kalidar. Doubtlessly one of the most intelligent Warlords of his species, Gratzdakka had learned much from his dealings with the Imperium, even mastering Low Gothic to better intimidate those humans unfortunate enough to have been captured. At the height of his power, Gratzdakka carried various titles such as "Arch-Skarlord General," "King of Hive Meradon," "Conqueror of Kalidar," "the Mighty," "the Powerful," "the Foe-Bane" and the "Git-kicker."What truly set Gratzdakka apart from his brethren was his understanding of such diverse concepts as trade, bribery, coercion, political alliances and strategic resources. Where other Warlords would quickly have lost interest in such an insignificant world as Kalidar, Gratzdakka understood that its main resource, psycho-reactive Lorelei crystals, could be used to further enhance the powers of his Weirdboyz, and especially those of Greeneyes, the most powerful Warphead ever encountered by the Imperium to that time.Gratzdakka and his WAAAGH! were ultimately defeated and slain to the last Ork by the Imperial forces deployed to retake the strategic resources of Kalidar.
Gratzdakka - History: Virtually nothing is known of the beginning of WAAAGH! Gratzdakka. While records of the Kalidar War are extensive, few sources deal with Gratzdakka himself, and therefore much of the information below had to be pieced together and extrapolated by one of the few eye-witness accounts available: the memory-transcript of Adept Brasslock, Chief Enginseer attached to the 7th Paragonian Super Heavy Tank Company.From his actions as described by Brasslock during the Kalidar War, it also appears that Gratzdakka was fiercely intelligent, as he even attempted to bribe Brasslock in return for his aid. The Tech-priest was first offered "a treasure" -- in truth a ramshackle collection of both junk and precious objects since the Orks had little understanding for what passed as valuable amongst humans.When this did not sway the Adept to help him, Gratzdakka offered instead three captured human female slaves, no doubt former courtesans by the make of their torn dresses. Seeing that carnal desires would not convince Brasslock to betray his people, Gratzdakka offered something he thought more tantalizing -- Brasslock could be rebuilt with Ork bionics and serve as one of his most favored Mekboyz, a position that came with great prestige and gold.Gratzdakka sought to bribe the Enginseer because he wanted Brasslock to teach the Orks how to operate one of the Astra Militarum's most powerful weapons, a captured Shadowsword super-heavy tank and the mighty Volcano Cannon it carried. This fondness for Imperial tanks is a well-documented trait amongst the Blood Axes, but Gratzdakka evidenced a true passion for these Imperial behemoths, for his troops had also tried to capture a Baneblade.Gratzdakka clearly possessed the wit to surround himself with anyone -- Ork or human -- who possessed the skills necessary to further his goals. His WAAAGH! counted among its numbers several competent Mekboyz who had considerably strengthened his horde by building a variety of combat walkers, from Killa Kans and Deff Dreads to the far heavier Stompaz. WAAAGH! Gratzdakka even counted a towering Gargant amongst its ranks, but the Warlord's most trusted and powerful advisor was his Weirdboy, the Warphead Greeneyes, whose psychic powers further protected the Ork Titan, effectively transforming it into the first Ork Psy-Titan ever encountered in Imperial history.Gratzdakka was ultimately slain at the end of the Kalidar War by the arrival of the Black Templars Space Marines of the Michaelus Crusade, which quickly overwhelmed the Greenskin forces on the world.
Gratzdakka - Appearance and Wargear: Brasslock had the misfortune to be captured in the Kalidar War by Ork Kommandoz during a daring raid on the main Imperial encampment. After being experimented upon by both Mekboyz and Painboyz, Adept Brasslock was brought before Gratzdakka where the Warlord began his attempts at bribery.Adept Brasslock later described the Warlord in detail, comparing his size to that of an Alpha Ambull, which would make him tower over even a member of the Adeptus Astartes. Whereas most Warbosses wore little more than rags or the hulking shape of Mega Armour, Brasslock's account states that Gratzdakka wore a finely tailored uniform that comprised a dark long coat, a high cap and boots which Gretchin servants spend many solar hours polishing to a mirror shine.The ensemble was clearly inspired by the uniforms worn by Imperial Commissars, but grotesquely magnified to fit the Ork's stature. On his chest were pinned ranks upon ranks of medals and other military decorations, many made out of precious metal, as were the many rings bristling on Gratzdakka's fingers and teeth.Gratzdakka had also made concessions to Orkish "kultur" by wearing a necklace of teeth, also capped in gold, as well as affixing a big feather in the band of his cap, which made him a somewhat comical figure. About his neck hung a vulgar pendant bearing the crossed axes of his klan. The Warlord's weapons were a pair of heavy Power Axes that hung above his throne.Perhaps even more interesting than the Warlord's own appearance was that of his entourage. Whereas most Greenskins tried to denote individuality through their attire, Gratzdakka's attending Nobz were all similarly dressed as their lord, each carrying tall, brutish Power Axes in honour of their klan's emblem. Many of the weapons were still filthy with dried blood, as these bodyguards also acted as Gratzdakka's executioners.The attending Grots also all wore a mockery of Imperial military uniforms, albeit of poorer quality than that of their masters. Gratzdakka's court also comprised several human slaves, most importantly one eunuch -- named "Dog" -- to act as the Warlord's translator, but free men also walked amongst his entourage. These Renegades were the pirate captains that had allied themselves with Gratzdakka and followed along in the wake of his WAAAGH!.
Grav-cannon - Grav-cannon: A Grav-cannon, also called a Graviton Cannon, is a large, vehicle-mounted type of Grav-weapon used by the Adeptus Astartes. The power of the Grav-cannon is sufficient to rupture organs and crack bones even inside armour, but its primary use is to counter enemy machinery without the risk of secondary explosions. Grav-cannons have been seen mounted on Rapiers and Centurion heavy infantry. Graviton Weapons like the Grav-cannon are devastating graviton-based weapons employed by the Adeptus Astartes based on ancient and forgotten technology dating back to the time of the Dark Age of Technology. Manipulating the very nature of gravity itself, Grav-weaponry turns a target's mass against it, crushing it to pulp under its own weight. This is especially shocking when used against heavily armoured infantry like Terminators, as the hapless warrior is brutally crushed by the bulk of their ceramite plates until only a crimson trickle remains. Space Marine Chapters are among the few warriors of the Imperium to be gifted with the use of Grav-weaponry, and it is considered a sacred honour to wield such a potent weapon.All Grav-weaponry fires a stream of graviton particles which affects the local gravitational field of a target area, making the targeted object either far heavier or lighter depending on the weapon's setting. The Grav-weapon also creates a bass rumble as the waves affect the local air pressure, causing the air to vibrate. The effect is generally non-lethal and can be used to incapacitate foes who need to be captured alive, but the power of the Grav-weapon's highest settings is sufficient to rupture organs and crack bones even inside armour. Some living targets will be affected more variably; a very large creature may be killed under excessive weight, but most targets will either be slowed or completely immobilised. A Grav-weapon is very useful when fighting in a voidship or a null-gravity environment, as well as during demolition and siege work. This is because it is particularly effective against massive objects such as bunkers or fortifications, where the building's great mass can be used against it, causing it to collapse.