vizn3r/warhammer40k-lore huggingface dataset:
Darnath Lysander - Assault on the Viashan Star Fort: With the vessel secured, Thunderhawks ferried the rest of the company aboard, along with the Storm of Wrath’s first officer and enough autonomous Servitors to man the ship's helm and engine room. Thus manned, the Kroozer headed deeper into the Viashan System. It was a long and tense voyage. Everyone, from Lysander down to the rawest Scout, knew that the Kroozer wouldn't last long if the ruse was discovered, at which point the four Thunderhawksnow lashed down in its docking bays would be their only chance of survival. Nevertheless, fate smiled upon the 3rd Company; between the anarchic -- and often erratic -- behaviour of the Ork vessels in-system, and Epistolary Darsway drawing upon the mystical power of the Chapter relic known as the Bones of Osrak to cloud the Orks' suspicions, the Kroozer sailed on unharrassed.Only when the 3rd Company's purloined vessel made final approach to the star fort's docking spur did discovery seem inevitable, but Garadon had planned for this. At the Sergeant's command, Darsway contacted the Storm of Wrath, which had made its own leisurely way in-system to the very edge of the estimated Ork sensor range. Thus far, the Battle Barge had gone unnoticed, but that changed as its captain brought the mighty vessel's engine to fullpower and bore down on the nearest Ork Battleship.The response was immediate, the comm-channels instantly jammed as, driven by equal parts enthusiasm and outrage, dozens of Ork vessels came to new headings and moved to intercept the intruder. All at once, the 3rd Company’s captured Kroozer was forgotten amongst the anarchy. At Lysander's command, more power was coaxed into the engines, and the Kroozer set on course for the central docking spur.Millions of Terran miles distant, the Storm of Wrath, the first stage of its mission completed, broke off from its attack run, and drove hard for the outer system. The Orks, unaware that the Battle Barge had only ever been intended as a lure, gave reckless chase, their vessels increasingly strung out as the fast pulled away from the slow.No one aboard the captured Kroozer had any inkling of the star fort's docking procedure, but it had never been Garadon's intention to make such an attempt. Instead, the Kroozer tore into the docking spur in the manner of a vast Boarding Torpedo, its prow sheering through dozens of decks before buckling under the incredible pressure. Hundreds of Orks died in the impact, some crushed by the Kroozer, others blasted out into the void by their own atmosphere before pressure doors clanged shut across the ravaged docking spur. Before the Kroozer had fully come to rest, the 3rd Company blew its external hatches and began their assault. Minutes later, they were through the first pressure door and into the undamaged sections of the docking spur.
Darnath Lysander - A New Threat Approaches: By the time the Storm of Wrath had returned to Kalin, Garadon had drawn plans to end the Orks of the Magor Rift for good. With their base of resupply destroyed, the Greenskin starships would be easy prey for the Imperial Navy, and once the fleet was driven off, the Crusade of Thunder could retake Viashan from its brutish conquerors.Lysander concurred with his Sergeant's appraisal of the situation, and ordered the Storm of Wrath to break orbit. As he did so, however, Epistolary Darsway received an urgent message from Phalanx. A Tyranid infestation had taken root in the Drashin System. At less than a hundred light years from Terra, this placed the rapacious xenos a mere stone's throw from the Imperium's heart. Accordingly, and at Vladimir Pugh's order, all Imperial Fists strikeforces, including the Crusade of Thunder, were summarily recalled to confront this threat.The war against the Orks would have to wait.
Darnath Lysander - Infestation of Drashin and the Fall of Malodrax: In 970.M41, while facing the Tyranids during the campaign known as the Infestation of Drashin, Vladimir Pugh was slain while assaulting a Space Hulk that had brought the Great Devourer's infestation to the world of Drashin. Though Lysander was offered the chance to become the new Chapter Master of the Imperial Fists, he refused the honour, not believing himself worthy, and the command was given to Vorn Hagen, the Captain of the 5th Company, in his stead. However, Lysander was restored to his position as Captain of the 1st Company as a result of his heroic actions on Drashin and the death of that company's Acting Captain Julan at the hands of the Tyranids.In the aftermath of the Infestation on Drashin, it became apparent that the entire campaign had been engineered by that hated enemy of the Imperial Fists, Warsmith Shon'tu, in an attempt to damage the Chapter and kill as many of its heroes as possible. Following that revelation, the Imperial Fists decided to seek vengeance for the death of their Chapter Master against Shon'tu, deploying the full might of the Chapter against his Fortress World of Malodrax. The Crusade of Thunder ultimately ended with the Fall of Malodrax and the Exterminatus launched against that world in 971.M41.
Darnath Lysander - Recent Actions: Lysander continued his illustrious career with the Imperial Fists in the decades after the death of Chapter Master Pugh and the final Fall of Malodrax. He commanded Task Force Gauntlet on the world of Vernalis in the Segmentum Obscurus, a mixed force of the Imperial Fists' 1st Company, elements of the 5th Company, and several Scout Marine squads of the 10th Company, and defeated a Chaos Space Marine warband consisting of Emperor's Children, the Traitor Imperial Guard regiment called the Roaring Blades and daemons that were led by the Arch-traitor Sybaris.In 998.M41, Lysander defeated the Iron Warriors Warsmith Shon'tu once more in the Battle for the Endeavour of Will, saving the Imperial Fists starfort Endeavour of Will from being captured by Shon'tu and earning the Warsmith's eternal emnity as a result.Lysander also apprehended the mutant Sarpedon, the Chapter Master of the tragic Renegade Soul Drinkers Chapter.
Darnath Lysander - Wargear: Lysander is armed as befits an Imperial Fists First Captain:Indomitus Pattern Terminator Armour - Captain Lysander utilises the superb protection of master-crafted Indomitus Pattern Terminator Armour, to lead the Veterans of the Imperial Fists' 1st Company in deadly melee combat and boarding actions.Fist of Dorn - The Fist of Dorn is a legendary  master-crafted Thunder Hammer traditionally wielded by the Captain of the Imperial Fists' 1st Company. The weapon is shaped to resemble a gauntleted fist that is holding each end of the warhammer's head. The arcane technologies built into the Fist of Dorn allows it to strike with far more powerful blows than that of a normal Thunder Hammer, and the weapon was designed to be most effective when used to assault heavily armoured vehicles and fortifications. Captain Lysander still wields the Fist of Dorn, the ancient weapon given to him by his predecessor Kleitus as Captain of the 1st Company of the Imperial Fists.Storm Shield - Storm Shields are large and heavy shields that can house extensive webs of defensive energy field generation circuitry in their thick plating. The shield's generated energy field can fend off bullets and blasts from afar, whilst the physical shield itself protects against melee attacks. Captain Lysander's mighty Storm Shield bears the heraldry of his Chapter and includes mulitiple Purity Seals and a Teleport Homer.
Data-Slate - Data-Slate: A data-slate, also spelled dataslate, is an electronic digital storage device similar to a tablet computer that is commonplace throughout the Imperium of Man.Flat and rectangular, data-slates are widespread throughout Imperial space. Data-slates are the primary means of storing and reading printed text, picts, schematics and other media such as video or audio recordings.They are cheap and easy to make, and many contain a single media recording, such as text, and can only play that single file. Others can re-record new information or transmit and receive data from other digital devices such as cogitators.They are also sometimes used on various more advanced worlds and regions of the galaxy as the primary means of transmitting the local digital currency as payment for goods and services.Since they are seen throughout the Imperium, most authorities would never think to closely examine what information was actually on a slate carried by a "loyal" citizen going about their daily business.
Dauntless-class Light Cruiser - Dauntless-class Light Cruiser: The Dauntless-class Light Cruiser is a light scouting Imperial cruiser and escort vessel like those that have always been a mainstay of the Imperial Navy's fleets throughout the Milky Way Galaxy.An ideal light cruiser carries enough firepower to drive off opposing escorts and enough fuel and supplies to remain away from Imperial fleet bases for solar months of subjective time.The Dauntless is a popular class of light cruiser, as fast and manoeuvrable as a frigate but with a ferociously powerful frontal Lance armament for its size.The Dauntless-class is a vessel more commonly seen operating on its own or in squadrons in either deep space or planetary systems. It is a very reliable starship and the class has a long history of being a dependable and formidable frigate in times of war.
Dauntless-class Light Cruiser - Role: Escort vessels are widely employed in the Imperial Navy to protect the more vulnerable capital ships of a battlefleet so that they will survive in combat long enough to bring their heavy weapons batteries to bear on the foe. The Dauntless-class Light Cruiser is an ideal heavy escort for most Imperial battleships.As well as its escort role in the Imperial fleet, the Dauntless is also used as a fleet reconnaissance vanguard, acting as the eyes and ears of fleet commanders.Dauntless-class vessels often operate well in advance of the main fleet and use their auspexes to glean information on the enemy ships that they then relay to the main fleet, which can determine where and when to engage the enemy that will prove most advantageous.The appearance of a space hulk is one event that can put an Imperial star system in jeopardy. It is often a Dauntless-class cruiser that is the first Imperial warship to intercept and investigate these haunted leviathans because of their impressive speed and their role as scouts. The Dauntless-class Light Cruiser is also often the Imperium's first choice when it needs a starship to serve in a primarily non-combat role.For instance, Adeptus Mechanicus Explorators regularly use this type of starship as a way of exploring the galaxy in search of lost technology and new worlds for the Imperium to settle. This ideal light cruiser carries enough firepower to protect itself on extended missions and enough fuel and supplies to remain in deep space and away from naval bases for months at a time.It is worth noting that many branches of the Imperium other than the Imperial Navy have been known to use this class of ship, including several Chapters of Space Marines, including the Ultramarines, who make use of them in their large Chapter fleet.Some of the most powerful Rogue Traders have also been known to use a Dauntless-class Light Cruiser as their flagship, though only the wealthiest and most well-connected Rogue Traders possess the pull with the Imperial navy to acquire a warship of this type.
Dauntless-class Light Cruiser - Armament: The Dauntless-class carries weapons that can finish off a crippled battleship or cruiser, making this light cruiser an incredibly dangerous starship for its size.The Dauntless-class' armament includes an average-sized port and starboard weapons battery as its primary weapon of engagement at short range.Enough firepower is contained in either battery to turn a hostile escort vessel into a smoldering wreck or to cripple a similarly-sized enemy light cruiser.However, the real strength of the Dauntless-class comes in the form of its prow Lances. Located on the "wing-tips" of the vessel and on the prow where a ram would normally be, these Lances can make short work of any escort and can ensure the Dauntless is a constant thorn in the side of any enemy cruiser.Some Dauntless-class ships are not outfitted with Lances and have had them replaced with prow Torpedo Tubes instead. Dauntless-class variants outfitted with Torpedo Tubes are usually found accompanying the more common variants outfitted with Lances in small squadrons or in the battlefleet itself where they are expected to get close to the enemy. Neither of these variants of the Dauntless-class are any less capable than the other at carrying out their intended roles in a battlefleet.
Dauntless-class Light Cruiser - Design: Hull: Light CruiserClass: Dauntless-class Light CruiserDimensions: Approximately 4.5 km long, .5 km abeam at fins.Mass: Approximately 22 megatonnesCrew: Approximately 65000 crewAcceleration: 2.5 gravities max sustainable acceleration
Davian Thule - Davian Thule: Davian Thule was a Space Marine captain of the Blood Ravens Chapter and the Force Commander of the Blood Ravens' deployment of 3 companies, including elements from the elite 1st Company, sent to the world of Kronus during the Dark Crusade conflict that developed on that Necron Tomb World in the 41st Millennium.Captain Thule is deemed to be using the same ship, the Blood Ravens battle barge Litany of Fury, as Captain Gabriel Angelos once commanded during the Blood Ravens operations on the lost world of Tartarus, but the whereabouts of Captain Angelos, the commander of the Blood Ravens' 3rd Company, during the events of the Dark Crusade is unknown.Following his service on Kronus, Thule went on to command the defence of Sub-sector Aurelia (in the PC game Dawn of War II) during the First Aurelian Crusade from an attack by a splinter hive fleet of the Tyranids.He was badly wounded during this campaign and returned to the Chapter as a cybernetic Dreadnought.
Davian Thule - Morga: When the Chaos witch Morga seduced the planetary governor of a once-prosperous and loyal Imperial colony, the Blood Ravens retaliated, purging the world of all life. Morga however, survived.She proved to be a deadly foe and slew the Blood Ravens' expedition Force Commander and most of his command staff of Veteran Space Marines. It was the young initiate Davian Thule who ultimately killed her, proving his mettle early on.
Davian Thule - Cadia: Before the Kronus campaign, Captain Davian Thule commanded the Blood Ravens' 4th Company on Cadia. There, his Astartes dropped on the Iron Warriors Traitor Marines who were marching towards the city of Kasr Sonnen. The battle went heavily in the favour of the Blood Ravens.However, word came that the forces of the Black Legion was en route as well, and orders came down from the Chapter Master to withdraw. Thule resisted and pressed his advantages until the Chapter Master threatened to have him removed from command.Thule and the Blood Ravens withdrew, leaving the Cadian Astra Militarum regiments to fend for themselves against the Black Legion.
Davian Thule - Kronus (Dark Crusade): When Captain Thule arrived on the besieged world of Kronus, he sent an order to the planet's Governor-Militant and Astra Militarum commander General Lukas Alexander to evacuate all of the world's civilians and Astra Militarum personnel to allow the Blood Ravens to begin their purge of the planet.However, General Alexander refused, which forced the Blood Ravens to fight their fellow Imperial soldiers to achieve their objective.Thule regretted having to kill his fellow brothers-in-arms, an action for which he and the Blood Ravens later came under investigation by the Inquisition's Ordo Hereticus until they were cleared of all charges, but orders were orders -- Kronus had to be purged of the Necron and Chaos taint -- and that campaign was ultimately a victory for the Chapter due to Thule's heroic efforts.
Davian Thule - Aftermath of the Dark Crusade: When the Blood Ravens proved victorious in the Dark Crusade, they collected their spoils of war and preserved some of the Chapter's secrets on the planet. The Inquisition's Ordo Hereticus questioned their actions in assaulting fellow Imperials, but Captain Thule was eventually cleared of all suspicion by claiming that he was just "following orders" from his Chapter Master just as General Alexander had been following the orders of his Segmentum Command.The Inquisition ultimately reported that the problem on Kronus lay with the Imperium's convoluted bureaucracy and lack of clear lines of command and not with the taint of Chaos or heresy.The darkest time for the Blood Ravens Chapter in its history began after the triumph in the Dark Crusade. The survivors of the shattered 1st Kronus Regiment of the Astra Militarum now bore a deep hatred for the Blood Ravens, even though Captain Thule had arranged safe transport for the guardsmen who actually fought against his Astartes, and Thule and the Blood Ravens Chaplain had honoured the dead body of Governor-Militant Lukas Alexander for following his orders so fervently. However, the Blood Ravens had also executed every one of the soldiers of the 1st Kronus Regiment's 5th Company for their rebellion against the rest of the regiment.Captain Thule and the Blood Ravens 2nd Company also succeeded in their mission to wipe out the Necrons of Kronus, with Thule personally planting the Melta Bomb deep within their catacombs beneath Kronus' Thur'Abis Plateau.The Blood Ravens' 2nd Company later adopted the motto "Victory Over Death" in reference to this great victory.
Davian Thule - First Aurelian Crusade: Thule had suffered grievous wounds in the final battle with the Necron Lord of Kronus, including the loss of one of his eyes which the Chapter Apothecaries replaced with a cybernetic prosthesis. Nevertheless, Captain Thule had survived the Dark Crusade and led the Blood Ravens to victory in their campaign on Kronus.Thule was next made Force Commander of the Blood Ravens operations in Sub-sector Aurelia, the Chapter's primary source of new recruits, and was charged with protecting the primary Blood Ravens recruiting worlds of Calderis, Typhon Primaris, and Meridian.During the Blood Ravens' first contact with the Tyranids of the splinter hive fleet assaulting the sub-sector, Captain Thule was badly wounded and poisoned by a Tyranid host that had swarmed over his defensive position.Injured and mortally poisoned, Thule was incapable of commanding and was on the verge of death, until his replacement as the Blood Ravens' Aurelian Force Commander, Aramus, recovered a sample of the venom that was killing him from a Tyranid hive.After Aramus completed the tasks needed to gain the cure for the Tyranid toxin, Davian Thule was removed from stasis, healed and had his ravaged body implanted with the cybernetic life support systems of a Dreadnought combat walker so that he could continue to serve the Chapter.It was later learned that Captain Thule had found and read the records that told the true story of the Blood Ravens' mysterious origins during the Kronus Campaign...but had destroyed them once he had learned the truth about the Chapter's Founding.
Davian Thule - Wargear: Thule is armed with a standard-issue chainsword and Bolt Pistol at the beginning of the Dawn of War - Dark Crusade campaign. When fully upgraded in the game, he carries a Daemonhammer and Meltagun, as well as wearing heavily ornate Artificer Armour, with a backpack-mounted teleporter.In the Dawn of War II campaign against the Tyranids in Sub-sector Aurelia, he is badly wounded and poisoned by the Tyranids.After the player recovers enough of a sample of the poison from the Tyranids, Thule's body is removed from stasis, detoxified and placed within the cybernetic sarcophagus of a Dreadnought. If Thule is further upgraded by the player he can become a Venerable Dreadnought.
David Annandale - David Annandale: David Annandale is an author for Games Workshop's Black Library imprint.
David Annandale - Adepta Sororitas: Ephrael Stern: Heretic Saint (2020, ISBN 1-78496-087-X)
David Annandale - Adeptus Titanicus: Warlord: Fury of the God-Machine (2017, ISBN 1-78496-502-2)
David Annandale - The Beast Arises: The Last Wall (2016, ISBN 1-78496-161-2)The Hunt for Vulkan (2016, ISBN 1-78496-182-5)Watchers in Death (2016, ISBN 1-78496-205-8)
David Annandale - Castellan Crowe: Warden of the Blade (2017, ISBN 1-78496-443-3)Castellan (2017, ISBN 1-78496-730-0)
David Annandale - Deathwatch: The Vorago Fastness (Short Story) (Collected in Xenos Hunters (Anthology) and Deathwatch (Anthology))
David Annandale - Gaunt's Ghosts: The Deeper Wounds (Short Story) (Collected in Sabbat Crusade (Anthology))
David Annandale - Grey Knights: Grey Knights: Sons of Titan (Anthology) (2015, ISBN 1-78496-010-1) collects the following:Sanctus Reach: Maledictus (Novella)True Name (Short Story)Incorruptible (Short Story)The Mourning Tower (Short Story)
David Annandale - The Horus Heresy: Sermon of Exodus (Short Story) (Collected in Sedition's Gate (Anthology) and War Without End (Anthology))The Damnation of Pythos (2014, ISBN 1-84970-752-9)The Unburdened (2015, ISBN 1-78496-034-9)The Noose (Short Story) (Collected in Meduson (Anthology))Iron Corpses (Short Story) (2015, collected in Eye of Terra (Anthology))Ruinstorm (2017, ISBN 1-78496-672-X)The Traveller (Short Story) (Collected in Mark of Calth (Anthology))
David Annandale - The Horus Heresy: The Primarchs: Roboute Guilliman: Lord of Ultramar (2016, ISBN 1-78496-441-7)Vulkan: Lord of Drakes (2018, ISBN 1-78496-776-9)Mortarion: The Pale King (2022, ISBN 1-80026-138-1)The Verdict of the Scythe (Short Story) (Collected in Scions of the Emperor (Anthology))
David Annandale - Lords of the Space Marines: Mephiston: Lord of Death (2014, ISBN 1-84970-797-9)
David Annandale - Necromunda: The Birth of Hunger (Short Story) (Collected in Uprising (Anthology))
David Annandale - Space Marine Battles: The Death of Antagonis (2013, ISBN 1-84970-318-3)Overfiend (Anthology) (2014, ISBN 1-84970-683-2) collects the following:Stormseer (Novella) (2013)Shadow Captain (Novella) (2014)Forge Master (Novella) (2014)
David Annandale - Space Marine Legends: Lemartes: Guardian of the Lost (2016, ISBN 1-84970-930-0)
David Annandale - Warhammer Horror: The Faith and the Flesh (Short Story) (Collected in The Wicked and the Damned (Anthology))The House of Night and Chain (2019, ISBN 1-78193-946-2)From the Halls, the Silence (Short Story) (Collected in Invocations (Anthology))The Summons of Shadows (Short Story) (Collected in Invocations (Anthology))The Deacon of Wounds (2021, ISBN 1-78999304-0)
David Annandale - War Zone: Fenris: Curse of the Wulfen (2016, ISBN 1-78496-087-X)
David Annandale - Yarrik: Yarrick: The Omnibus (2018, ISBN 1-84970-412-0) collects the following:Chains of Golgotha (Novella) (Also collected in Legends of the Dark Millennium: Astra Militarum (Anthology))Imperial Creed (2014, ISBN 1-84970-602-6)The Pyres of Armageddon (2015, ISBN 1-84970-958-0)A Plague of Saints (Short Story)The Wreckage (Short Story) (2013, also collected in The Hammer and the Eagle: Icons of Warhammer (Anthology))Evil Eye (Short Story) (Also collected in Legends of the Dark Millennium: Astra Militarum (Anthology))The Gallows Saint (Short Story)Sacrificial (Short Story)Sarcophagus (Short Story) (Also collected in Legends of the Dark Millennium: Astra Militarum (Anthology) and Crusade + Other Stories (Anthology))
David Annandale - Others: The Carrion Anthem (Short Story) (Collected in Treacheries of the Space Marines (Anthology) and There is Only War (Anthology))Eclipse of Hope (Short Story) (2013, collected in Space Marines: The Omnibus and The Hammer and the Eagle: Icons of Warhammer (Anthology)
David Charters - David Charters: David Charters is an author for Games Workshop's Black Library imprint.
David Charters - Warhammer 40,000: The Emperor's Will (Short Story) (Collected in Crucible of War (Anthology))
David Guymer - David Guymer: David Guymer is an author for Games Workshop's Black Library imprint.
David Guymer - Adeptus Mechanicus: Adeptus Mechanicus: Infinite Circuit (Short Story) (2015, collected in Servants of the Machine-God (Anthology))
David Guymer - The Beast Arises: Echoes of the Long War (2016, ISBN 1-78496-145-0)The Last Son of Dorn (2016, ISBN 1-78496-210-4)
David Guymer - The Horus Heresy: The Primarchs: Ferrus Manus: Gorgon of Medusa (2018, ISBN 1-78496-673-8)Canticle (Short Story) (2019, collected in Scions of the Emperor (Anthology))Lion El'Jonson: Lord of the First (2020, ISBN 1-78999-077-7)
David Guymer - Iron Hands: The Eye of Medusa (2017, ISBN 1-78496-613-4)The Voice of Mars (2018, ISBN 1-78496-808-0)
David Guymer - Others: Cold Steel (Short Story) (collected in The Everliving Legion (Anthology))
David Pringle - David Pringle: David Pringle (born 1st March 1950) is a Scottish science fiction editor. Pringle served as the editor of Foundation, an academic journal, from 1980 through 1986, during which time he became one of the prime movers of the collective which founded Interzone in 1982. By 1988, he was the sole publisher and editor of Interzone, a position he retained until he sold the magazine to Andy Cox in 2004. For two-and-a-half years, in 1991-1993, he also edited and published a critical magazine entitled Million: The Magazine About Popular Fiction.Interzone was nominated several times for the Hugo award for best semiprozine, winning the award in 1995. In 2005, the 63rd World Science Fiction Convention committee gave Pringle a Special Award for his work on Interzone.In addition to his editorial work with Interzone, Pringle is known as a critic and bibliographer of the works of J. G. Ballard. He wrote the first short monograph on Ballard, Earth is the Alien Planet: J. G. Ballard's Four-Dimensional Nightmare (Borgo Press, 1979) and compiled J. G. Ballard: A Primary and Secondary Bibliography (G. K. Hall, 1984). He has also worked as a series editor for Games Workshop, in 1988-1991, commissioning shared world novels and short stories based on their Warhammer and defunct Dark Future games.Pringle has written several guides to science fiction, including Science Fiction: 100 Best Novels, The Ultimate Guide to Science Fiction, and Modern Fantasy: The Hundred Best Novels. His books are less American-oriented and more British-oriented than many similar works. He has also edited two large reference books, St James Guide to Fantasy Writers and St James Guide to Horror, Ghost and Gothic Writers; plus a number of anthologies and illustrated coffee-table books about genre writing.
David Pringle - Warhammer 40,000: Deathwing (1990)Deathwing (Second Edition) (With Neil Jones, 2001, ISBN 0-74341-171-4)
Davin - Davin: DavinworldGreat CrusadePrimarchHorusLuna WolvesLegionWord BearersLegionBoth Davin and its moon were desert Feral Worlds discovered in the 143rd year of the Great Crusade, where Horus' 63rd Expeditionary Fleet linked up with a lost splinter of genetically-divergent Humanity on the surface of the planet. It was the eighth world conquered by that expeditionary fleet of the Great Crusade, and so for a time Davin had the official Imperial designation of "Sixty-Three Eight."Davin is principally known in Imperial history for being the infamous world upon which Horus made his pact with the Ruinous Powers of Chaos and so began the march towards the great civil war of the Horus Heresy. This event took place in the Temple of the Serpent Lodge, an establishment secretly devoted to Chaos Undivided, where he was treated for injuries incurred while quashing a rebellious former Imperial force dedicated to Nurgle on Davin's moon.Following the corruption of Horus by Chaos, the Chaos Cultists of Davin, many of them Chaos Sorcerers, spread throughout Imperial space in the wake of the Traitor Legions' forces to spread the influence of the Dark Gods.The world was destroyed by an Exterminatus action undertaken by the combined Imperial fleet of the Ultramarines, Dark Angels and Blood Angels in the latter stages of the Heresy, in ca. 011.M31.
Davin - Imperial Compliance: Davin's known history only covers the brief time of Imperial rule. The indigenous Davinite warriors at first attempted to resist the Imperial takeover when the expeditionary fleets of the Great Crusade arrived at the Davin System, but quickly surrendered, completely outclassed in military terms.The warrior tribespeople, despite having genetically deviated far enough from baseline Humanity that they could have been declared mutants or Abhumans, were allowed to remain mostly intact after they surrendered to the Imperial forces. This was because they had impressed Horus during the campaign with their battlefield courage and their willingness to learn and adapt to a new way of life.The actual Imperial Compliance military campaign on Davin was short, and the Luna Wolves left soon after the surrender of the Davinite warriors, taking with them their concept of the warrior lodge which was established within several of the Legiones Astartes against the express wish of the Emperor and the dictates of the Imperial Truth.The re-education and shepherding of the Davinite people into the light of the Imperial Truth was left to a detachment of the Word Bearers Legion led by Kor Phaeron, while governorship of the planet itself was given to Imperial Commander Eugen Temba, a personal friend of Horus.Davin's native population was relatively small, and after Imperial Compliance, Imperial settlers were directed to begin colonisation.When the Word Bearers later turned to the service of Chaos in the solar decades before the start of the Horus Heresy, Davin's native tribespeople would provide many of the twisted Chaos shamans who allowed direct communication with the Dark Gods and aided the Word Bearers in laying the foundation for the rebellion of the Heresy. The Word Bearers actively allied with the Davinites and supported them in their heretical worship of Chaos.
Davin - Luna Wolves' Warrior Lodge: After Davin was brought to Imperial Compliance, the nomadic hunters of Davin taught the Luna Wolves of their tradition of creating a lodge for their tribe's warriors. The warrior lodge created by the Luna Wolves in imitation of this Davinite custom was a way for members of all martial classes and ranks within the Legion to meet as friends, where captains could speak freely to their line Astartes, and vice-versa.Though the Luna Wolves embraced this custom, it was kept as a secret gathering because of official Imperial disapproval for the creation of secret societies within the Legiones Astartes until after the 200th standard year of the Great Crusade when Captain Garviel Loken discovered its existence within the heart of the XVI Legion. At the start of the Horus Heresy, the Astartes of the lodge began to make decisions that would have far-reaching consequences for the Luna Wolves and then the Sons of Horus, ultimately leading them along the path of damnation.
Davin - Plague Moon: Recalled to Davin at the request of the Word Bearers Legion, the Luna Wolves returned to the world in the 203rd standard year of the Great Crusade. Erebus, the First Chaplain of the Word Bearers who was accompanying the Luna Wolves as a representative of his Legion, had told Horus of how the Imperial Commander he had left behind as Davin's planetary governor, Eugen Temba, had turned Traitor.Enraged that a man he had considered a friend and had personally recommended would turn on the Emperor, thus damaging his own honour, Horus attacked Davin's moon himself with a spearhead of 400 Luna Wolves Astartes, 3 Titans of the Legio Mortis, including the infamous Imperator-class Titan Dies Irae, and 4,000 troops drawn from the Byzantine Janizars regiment of the Imperial Army.Heavy tanks could not be deployed, as mysteriously the deserts which had once dominated the moon's terrain had transformed into plague-ridden swamps, filled with the reanimated zombie-like corpses of the Imperial Army soldiers Horus had left behind on Davin with Temba. Horus led an assault into Temba's lair, inside his massive downed Imperial starship called the Glory of Terra. While Horus and 200 of his Astartes were inside, the mighty ship's remaining superstructure collapsed, cutting Horus off from the rest of his warriors. Alone now, Horus made his way through the bowels of the ruined starship in search of Temba. He found the Imperial Commander on the bridge of the ship, just as he killed Verulam Moy, one of Horus' captains.Horus killed the horrifically mutated Temba, but was struck by the Kinebrach Anathame, a Chaos-tainted xenos sword, in the process, a weapon that had been stolen from the Interex world of Xenobia by Erebus when the Luna Wolves had briefly made contact with the Interex before coming to Davin.The Anathame, an artefact sacred to Nurgle, the Chaos God of disease and despair, poisoned Horus until he was unable to walk and came close to death. The Mournival, a group of Horus' most trusted officers and advisers in the Luna Wolves, rushed him back up to his flagship to save the primarch's life.Appearing to be a dirty yellow-brown from orbit, Davin's moon had originally been identified as being similar to Davin in atmosphere and climate. Some time after the Imperial pacification of Davin, the warping effects of the Ruinous Powers, particularly that of "Nurg-leth" (Nurgle), had grossly altered the moon's once-temperate ecosystem.Most of the forest cover vanished, and much of the formerly arid moorland transformed into a particularly noxious and fog-bound swampland which eventually would conceal the mass-graves of the Imperial Army garrison. Even the atmosphere had altered to become so toxic that it was now unbreathable to normal Humans like Imperial Army troops without the assistance of rebreathers.A significant landmark was created by the wreck of the large Imperial starship Glory of Terra. After the death of Eugen Temba, Nurgle's power seemed to withdraw from the world, making it somewhat less foul in general, as well as clearing most of the murk and fog from the atmosphere.
Davin - House of False Gods: Unable to cure Horus of the supernatural Chaos toxin injected by the Anathame using Imperial medicae technology, the Luna Wolves' warrior lodge, now 300-strong, decided to bear Horus to the Temple of the Serpent Lodge on Davin, as Erebus, long a secret devotee of the Ruinous Powers like the rest of his Legion, told the Luna Wolves it was a house of healing.The Temple of the Serpent Lodge was a massive building called the Delphos located inside a large crater. Within, Erebus corrupted Horus by exposing him to the will of the Chaos Gods, who manipulated Horus' emotions and his latent jealousy towards his father the Emperor and ignited the spark of cruel ambition within the Warmaster that would begin the Horus Heresy.Emerging from the Temple apparently healed, the 63rd Expedition rejoiced at Horus' return to full health, never realising that the seeds of corruption and treason had already been laid within his heart.
Davin - Destruction of Davin: Following the corruption of Horus, the Warmaster moved to spread the Chaos-corrupted populace of Davin throughout the Imperium in an attempt to maximise the growing influence of Chaos. During the formation of the Ruinstorm after the Battle of Calth, the world became the nexus of that great Warp storm and was enclosed by a massive sphere comprised of the bones of trillions of dead organisms from across the galaxy.Now a Daemon World of madness, Davin was visited several Terran years later in ca. 011.M31 by the combined fleets of the primarchs Sanguinius, Roboute Guilliman, and Lion El'Jonson as they attempted to breach the Ruinstorm and reach Terra. All three primarchs, as well as their captive, the Traitor primarch Konrad Curze, went down to the surface and stood before the Temple of the Serpent Lodge where Horus had been corrupted.However, the Imperials discovered that with the coming of the Ruinstorm, Davin had become the realm of the Daemon of Chaos Undivided named Madail, and a massive battle between the forces of Chaos and those of the Imperium erupted both above and on the surface of the world. During the fight, the primarchs were able to evacuate their forces and then proceeded to destroy Davin by unleashing a hail of Cyclonic Torpedoes. The world that had set in motion the events of the Horus Heresy was no more.
Davin - Natives: In the long years of separation from Terra during the Age of Strife, the inhabitants of Davin physically altered from the baseline Human norm until Garviel Loken noticed they had become almost a separate species.They were taller and more sinuous than Terran Humans, and their features more bestial. Their pupils grew until they filled most of the eye. Their features were widely spaced, and an excessive, almost simian volume of thick hair covered their faces and arms. Despite these mutations, the Davinites retained their Human intelligence, if not their civilised way of life.They regressed to become pre-industrial, nomadic camp-dwellers, with each tribe constantly shifting location across the planet. Davinites characteristically wore animal hides and carried unsafe antique blackpowder revolvers and handguns, and made use of stone or poorly-forged metal knives.Over time, the technological means to travel to the surface of their world's habitable moon vanished, and the nomadic cultures of both worlds grew further apart. When first encountered by the Luna Wolves and Word Bearers some 60 Terran years before the start of the Horus Heresy, the Davinites were keen to embrace the advantages of Imperial life, but their moon-based cousins hopelessly fought against the Space Marines, and were violently subdued.In the aftermath of the fall of Horus to Chaos on Davin, many Davinites took part in an exodus to the stars. Some of those fleets travelled as far as the planet Pythos in the distant Pandorax System.
Davin - Davinite Lodge Priests: Such histories that exist describing the roots of the Horus Heresy reserve a special place for the warrior lodges of the Feral World of Davin. Such descriptions are beyond the scope of this account and much remains lost to the horrors of that time, but any examination of the Warp cults of the ancient galactic civil war must also include some mention of the Davinite lodge priests who were often to be found serving alongside them.These twisted Abhuman magi and demagogues each followed one of the animist and totemic warrior and mystic cults of Davin. Of these, one of the most commonly encountered were initiates of the so-called "Serpent Lodge," into whose clutches the Warmaster Horus fell when wounded on Davin's Plague Moon and who would go on to act as his emissaries, but numerous other lodges were also recorded to a lesser extent.The warrior lodge priests appeared to serve a higher interest than the individual cults and may have been acting in concert with certain conspirators at the highest levels of the Traitors' leadership, in particular the Dark Apostles of the Word Bearers, who it is apparent had a hand in countless atrocities across thousands of worlds. While some lodge priests served as advisors in matters of prophecy and the Warp, others acted as high priests under whom multiple cult bodies could be gathered together.All were schooled in the darkest arts of Warpcraft and were able to call upon and wield the most terrible of Warp-born powers and aberrant psyker abilities, making them one of the most dangerous classes of the Warmaster Horus' allies outside of the Traitor Legiones Astartes themselves.
Davin - Geography and Planetary Conditions: Originally classified by the Imperium of Man as a Feral World, Davin's deserts contained many ruins that indicate that it once supported a more advanced Human culture before the Age of Strife. Davin also possessed notably high mountain ranges, riven with tomb-filled, deep valleys, that descended into wide savannahs and grasslands that in turn ran into the deserts. These tombs were noted to belong to a long line of ancient Davinite kings.Great numbers of horned beasts migrated across its plains, hunted by razor-fanged predators, while serpent analogues were common in the deserts. The uplands had earth of a hard clay that supported scrub vegetation and tall trees, while the river valleys were more fertile and contained the townships that held most of the primitive Human inhabitants of the world.Those Humans who did not live in the townships were likely members of one of the various nomadic tribes. The indigenous inhabitants included a fierce warrior caste that regularly warred with one another before the arrival of the Imperium. This warrior caste were organised into different warrior lodges that each venerated the animistic spirit of a particular form of local predator species, though in truth the native people of Davin were always strongly in the grip of Warp entities who would turn out to the Ruinous Powers.
Dawn Blade - Dawn Blade: The Dawn Blade is a unique, alien artefact sword wielded by the T'au leader known as Commander Farsight to the Imperium of Man. That rebel T'au Commander who founded the separatist Farsight Enclaves on the far side of the Damocles Gulf in the Eastern Fringes of the galaxy recovered the weapon from the pre-Imperial xenos ruins of the Dead World of Arthas Moloch, wrenching it in desperation from a fallen alien statue to fend off the assault of a Bloodthirster daemon following the incursion of the Forces of Chaos upon that deserted planet.The Dawn Blade is older than the Imperium, and was fashioned aeons ago by the strange xenos race that once inhabited the haunted world of its origin. Forged from materials that even the finest Earth Caste minds cannot fathom, its blade is sharp enough to cut through rock and all known forms of infantry and even vehicle armour; and its sculpted surface flickers with unknown energies which paint glittering arcs of destruction as it is swung. Since taking it up on Arthas Moloch, and modifying it for use in battle on his personal XV8 Crisis Battlesuit, it has been Commander Farsight's weapon of choice for close-combat engagements.Unbeknownst to Farsight, the ancient sword has a dark secret. Its blade is made from alien chronophagic alloys. This means that whenever its wielder cuts a life short with the blade, the natural lifespan that he stole from his victim is added to the wielder's own. This has allowed Commander Farsight to live for almost three Terran centuries, far beyond the natural lifespan of the T'au race. Though he has his suspicions that it is the Dawn Blade that has prolonged his lifespan to such a degree, if Farsight ever discovered the horrible truth, he would likely end his own life in ritual suicide then and there.
Dawn of War - Dawn of War: Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War is a real-time strategy computer game developed by Relic Entertainment based on Games Workshop's popular tabletop wargame, Warhammer 40,000. It was released for the PC by THQ on September 20, 2004 in North America.It would spawn a series of sequels that would prove to be the best-selling Warhammer 40,000 video games of all time and would serve as the entry point into the Warhammer 40,000 universe for countless fans.Since the original game was made available, three expansion packs have been produced: Winter Assault in 2005, Dark Crusade in 2006 and Soulstorm in 2008.The Game of the Year Edition was released on September 20, 2005 in the USA and on September 23, 2005 in Europe, containing 4 exclusive maps. Later, the Game of the Year edition and Winter Assault were bundled in the Gold Edition in the USA.Most recently, Dawn of War and the first two expansions were released together as The Platinum Collection in the USA or as the Dawn of War Anthology in the PAL regions. The sequel title, Dawn of War II, was released in February 2009.
Dawn of War - Gameplay: Gameplay is initially focused on base and unit construction. The player starts with a single headquarters building and a few basic units, usually just one construction unit. The subsequent focus of the game then shifts to capturing and holding strategic locations on the battlefield. These control points are captured by infantry squads and provide resources to construct additional units and buildings or unlock certain units in an army's tech tree. Battles are won either by holding a certain number of control points for a period of time or by destroying all of the opposing armies' base structures.
Dawn of War - Resource management: Two primary resources exist: requisition and power. These resources are not harvested or otherwise gathered by the player's units. Instead, requisition is generated constantly by the army headquarters. The player can increase the rate at which requisition is acquired by using infantry squads to capture and control certain "strategic points" on the battlefield. These points can be reinforced with defensive structures that also increase the rate of requisition accumulation. Though resources are unlimited, all sources of requisition will eventually decay, dramatically decreasing their supply rate.Power is gathered by building generators, with each headquarters supporting up to six generators. Additionally, some maps have "slag deposits", upon which more powerful generators can be constructed to produce power faster. As the player progresses up the tech tree, reliance on power increases.In addition to these primary resources, the Orks also have the Ork resource, which represents the Ork species' gestalt psychic field that grows in intensity as the population of Greenskins in a given area expands. The Ork resource is generated continuously by WAAAGH! banners and is used up when creating Ork troops and vehicles. The number of banners and the size of the Ork population determines the Ork's WAAAGH! level which in turn determines the technology tier the player has access to.
Dawn of War - Warfare: Infantry units are given orders as squads rather than as individuals. Most fully reinforced squads consist of about 10 units. The squad moves and attacks as a single entity. Squads can produce and replace their own units anywhere in the field. They can be equipped with special weapons and have heroes or special units attached to them. For example, a Space Marine squad starts with 4 marines, but can be expanded up to 8 standard marines and a sergeant, and individual marines can be equipped with heavy weapons. The player is also free to choose particular upgrades and can specialize each squad for a specific purpose.Infantry units can fight in both ranged and hand-to-hand combat, and most units will have weapons for both types of combat, and if attacked in close combat will respond in kind. Hand-to-hand combat is played out as a series of attack animations between combatants. When one combatant kills the other, a Finishing move commonly called a Synch Kill plays out as the victorious fighter finishes his opponent off. More powerful units, such as Heroes, Walkers, and monstrous Super Units, may have personalized Synch Kills against each other.Vehicles are highly resistant to standard infantry rifles, so they must be targeted with specific weaponry (e.g. rockets) to be destroyed. Vehicles can also be upgraded with multiple weapon systems, usually differentiating between anti-infantry and anti-vehicle armaments. Walkers are a variant type of vehicle that is capable of fighting in close combat.In addition to a typical hitpoint system, infantry units also have morale. Morale applies to a squad as a whole. When morale drops to zero, the squad "breaks"; at this point the squad's accuracy at a range, damage dealt in melee, and defensive capability while using cover are significantly reduced, however the squads movement speed is slightly increased. The squad's morale will regenerate on its own while the squad is not in combat. Some weapon types, such as flamethrowers, are made specifically to demoralize the enemy. Favourable terrain gives units a defensive cover bonus, while water and swamps slow units down and decrease their defensive ability.