House Manticos - Notable Campaigns: Horus Heresy (005-014.M31) - While the Imperium of Man tore itself asunder in the great interstellar civil war known as the Horus Heresy, Adrastapol had prospered under the aegis of High King Rhoderic Tan Chimaeros. But the taint of Chaos had also taken root on Adrastapol as both House Hydrax and House Medusos openly declared for the Traitor Warmaster, Horus Lupercal, and waged a war of conquest that took a heavy toll on the remaining Knight Houses. The Loyalist Houses, led by High King Rhoderic, vanquished the Renegade Knights.Ork Wars (Unknown Date.M41) - When the Ork Warboss Skarjaw led his WAAAGH! to the Knight World of Adrastapol, the Knights were slow to react. Before their full strength could be gathered several keeps of House Manticos were destroyed and burnt to the ground, leaving the House severely depleted. Belonging to one of the most savage and feral tribes of his race, Skarjaw and his Orks rode to battle on towering Squiggoths. These great beasts can easily pose a threat to Imperial Knights, a fact the defenders of Adrastapol soon became painfully aware of. High King Rhoderic Tan Chimaeros leads an alliance of all Houses into battle, but the Ork leader is slain by another Knight: the young Tolwyn Tan Draconis which led a daring and unexpected surprise attack against Skarjaw and his closest retinue. With Skarjaw slain, the cohesion of his WAAAGH! was broken and the fractured Greenskins were targetted by the coordinated and unified Imperial Knights. The devastation left by the Orks, however, uncovers the presence of a Chaos Cult within House Manticos' ranks, a discovery to which the other Knight Houses react with implacable brutality. House Manticos is purged and its name falls into disgrace. Yet in the remains of one of House Manticos' fortresses, High King Gerraint Tan Chimaeros saves the life of Alicia Tan Manticos and falls in love with her.Donatosian War (Unknown Date.M41) - Through the laxity of its rulers, Chaos Cults had taken roots on the Industrial World of Donatos Primus. These cults grew powerful enough to overthrow the Imperial planetary government in place and kill the local Planetary Governor with the help of Chaos' most dangerous warriors: a warband of Chaos Space Marines. Seeking to further his own goals, the enemy leader -- the Word Bearers Dark Apostle Varakh'Lorr -- led his Word Bearers to fight the remaining Loyalist regiments of the Donatosian Planetary Defence Forces and the incorruptible Adeptus Arbites. While vastly outnumbered, the Loyalists were able to hold some cities and to issue a general call for aid before astrotelepathic communication broke off. The Imperium acted with uncustomary swiftness, despatching a sizeable army of Astra Militarum regiments under the general command of High King Tolwyn Tan Draconis. Hailing from such different worlds as Cadia, Mubraxis and Tanhollis, these regiments of the Imperial Guard would support the gathered might of no less than six Houses of Imperial Knights: the High King's own Household, House Draconis, and its allies from Houses Minotos, Chimaeros, Pegasson, Wyvorn and Manticos. After an initial success that left the Imperial forces ready to strike at the very heart of the enemy's strength, the Imperial reconquest of Donatos Primus was put in jeopardy when fully half the contingent of Imperial Knights turned Renegade and followed Viscount Gerraint Tan Chimaeros into service to the Dark Gods. Visibly in league with the Word Bearers, the Renegade Knights of Houses Chimaeros, Wyvorn and Manticos turned their guns upon their former allies, who only escaped total destruction by the heroic sacrifice and tactical accumen of High King Tolwyn. To oppose Gerraint's claim to the throne, the Loyalist survivors chose Tolwyn's son and designated heir, Danial Tan Draconis, as their new king. Danial was a young Knight who many saw as unfit for the task ahead. With barely 50 Knights remaining out of several hundred originally deployed, the remaining Loyalist Knights could not assault their enemies head-on but needed to tread carefully. A limited counterattack turned into another disaster as House Chimaeros succeeded through duplicity and the use of sorcery to unleash another ambush on the remaining survivors that proved equally murderous. Left with little more than two dozen Knights, Danial finally assumed the true mantle of the High King and lead his Knights in a desperate but ultimately successful second assault on the Valle Electrum which eliminated all the enemy commanders and paved the way for ultimate Imperial victory.