Knight Worlds - A Legacy of Honour: Age of Terra (M1-M15) - A combination of an enormous boom in population and Terra's rapidly-diminishing natural resources in the 3rd Millennium leaves Humanity's birth planet on the brink of anarchy. As these problems increase in severity, Mankind begins to look farther afield -- towards the stars. Mars is the first planet to be terraformed and settled. Colonial expeditions to explore space beyond the boundaries of the Sol System meet with success. However, the settlements furthest from Terra are forced to become increasingly self-sufficient due to the limitations of sublight interstellar travel.Age of Technology (M15-M25) - STC technology is mastered by some of the greatest scientific minds in Mankind's history and heralds a golden era of discovery, innovation and expansion. By harnessing the other-worldy gifts of the Human mutant psykers known as Navigators, Warp travel is developed, enabling starfaring ships to swiftly travel enormous distances across space. STC systems transform the way that new colony worlds are settled. The first Knight Worlds are established as Human colonies begin to flourish on more than a million worlds across the galaxy. Towards the end of this remarkable era, the ever-increasing number of Human psykers and an over-reliance on technology ultimately leads to the downfall of Mankind's glorious expansion, which descends into turmoil, anarchy and war.The Knights Stand Alone (ca. M23) - Influenced by the Thrones Mechanicum of their Knight suits, the aristocracy of the feudal societies established on each Knight World remain conservative and most are instinctively mistrustful of any psykers in their midst. As a result, many of the Knight Worlds resist the madness that grips so many other Human colonies. Though daemonic possessions and devastating psychic backlashes do indeed threaten many Knight Worlds, the military strength of the Knights and their rigid societal organisations largely serve to protect them. The ancient records of many knightly houses bear reference to this troubled time, of Knights duelling gigantic Warp entities or battling knee-deep against an endless tide of daemons from beyond the veil of reality.Age of Strife (M25-M30) - Human worlds throughout the galaxy are isolated by Warp Storms of terrible ferocity. A disastrous age of suspicion and dread begins as internecine conflict tears Human civilisation apart. Fear and superstition lead to a regression in Mankind's mastery of science and many technological marvels of the previous age are lost to paranoia and war. Aliens and daemons alike prey on Humanity's vulnerability, and although many planets are subjugated or lost, the surviving Knight Worlds continue to stand firm through this turbulent time -- however, none do so without earning scars that linger to this day.The Emperor Arrives on Mars (ca. M30) - Knight Taymon Verticorda, of House Taranis, is the first representative of the Mechanicum to encounter the Emperor on His arrival on Mars. In His guise as the Omnissiah, the Emperor forges an auspicious alliance between Mars and the newly unified Terra that forms the backbone of his fledgling Imperium. This pact becomes known as the Treaty of Mars, otherwise known as the Treaty of Olympus Mons to the Mechanicum. Preparations are made for a great undertaking to reunite the lost worlds of Mankind.Great Crusade Begins (ca. 798.M30)The First of Many (ca. 850.M30) - The Knight World of Chrysis is rediscovered. The Mechanicum uses its influence to claim exclusive trading rights with many of the Knight Worlds that are later found. Forge Worlds are established near mineral-rich Knight Worlds, and bonds of mutual respect and military support become commonplace between the Mechanicum and the knightly houses.Horus Heresy (ca. 005-014.M31) - In an act of staggering treason, the Warmaster Horus declares himself the rightful ruler of Mankind. The base treachery of the Emperor's favoured son shatters the newly founded Imperium and sets the galaxy aflame. Brother fights brother as fully half of the Space Marine Legions side with the Archtraitor Horus, alongside numerous Titan Legions and countless regiments of the Imperial Army.A Devine Treachery (009.M31) - On the planet of Molech, the sudden defection of House Devine proves to be the pivotal factor in the defeat of the Loyalist forces seeking to halt Horus' relentless advance on Terra. As the Warmaster unleashes a massive coordinated assault, the planet's defenders are thrown into disarray when the plasma reactor of the Imperator Titan, Paragon of Terra, is destroyed. Thousands of Loyalists are immolated in a blinding flash as a miniature sun erupts from the Titan's core to leave a smoking crater half a mile wide. In the wake of the catastrophic blast, a spearhead of Traitor Titans marches through the gap in the Imperial lines. Caught between the treacherous Knights of House Devine and Horus' rampant forces, the shattered remnants of Molech's defenders are slaughtered without mercy.Death of Traitors (ca. M31) - Horus lies dead at the hands of the Emperor. But so high is the cost of victory that many seek solace in hounding the fleeing Traitors across the stars rather than face the task of rebuilding the shattered Imperium. This campaign of vengeance is known as the Great Scouring. The surviving knightly houses with the strength to fight unanimously join in this crusade of retribution. Believing the honour of the many to be stained by the treachery of the few, the Imperial Knights hunt down the knightly houses that sided with Horus with extreme prejudice, seeking to redeem their tarnished reputation. Filled with righteous indignation, a combined strike force of Knights from Houses Cadmus, Terryn and Borgius annihilates the turncoats of House Devine as Imperial forces reclaim the Knight World of Molech.Defiance on Vorinth (544.M32) - An Ork WAAAGH! of unprecedented scale sweeps into Imperial space. Hundreds of worlds are devastated before the Ork menace is finally defeated. Lying directly in the path of the enormous Greenskin armada, the Knight World of Vorinth is one of the first planets to fall. Though they fight bravely, the Knights of Houses Illius and Nero are impossibly outnumbered and die to the last in combat with the all-conquering Orks. With the main Greenskin host advancing on Adamant Keep -- the stronghold of House Illius -- the surviving Knights of both houses gather for one last charge. The Orks are totally unprepared for the sudden ferocity of the Knights' counterattack and suffer heavy losses as the Battle Cannons of the Knight Paladins blast smoking holes in the Ork lines. The Knights Errant take advantage of the stalling Ork assault to crash into their crude vehicle squadrons and carve them to ruin. Only when a mob of twenty Stompas rampages into the fray are the Knights finally overwhelmed. Twice, the solemn tolling of the Bell of Lost Souls is heard as Terra mourns the passing of the rulers of Houses Illius and Nero.Aphex Wars (369.M34)A Long-Awaited Return (784.M34) - After more than a century of self-imposed exile as a Freeblade household detachment, the Agaron brothers return to the Knight World of Silverdawn after the death of their father. The siblings are welcomed back as heroes after the disastrous reign of their sire. Basilio, the eldest of the three, re-establishes trade with the nearby Forge Worlds of Estaban III and VII.War of Recovery (104.M36) - Twelve full houses of Imperial Knights accompany an expedition led by the Adeptus Mechanicus into the system of planets known as the Mortuam Chain. Despite the fighting against the region's xenos overseers dragging on for more than a standard century, the campaign is ultimately a resounding success. Many Human colonies are freed from alien servitude. This is an irrelevance to the Adeptus Mechanicus, compared to the priceless fragments of STC archeotech that are recovered.Betrayal (550.M37) - The Occlusiad War, also known simply as the Occlusiad, is a major conflict that begins in 550.M37 on the northwestern fringe of the Segmentum Obscurus between the Imperium of Man and the Heretek known as the Blind King. For the first time in thousands of years, a knightly house betrays its oaths of loyalty, joining the Apostles of the Blind King to cause ruinous destruction across the northwestern fringe. Though the Blind King's rogue Tech-priests are eventually defeated, the traitorous Knights of House Drakon remain unaccounted for.Hunt for AndronicusJustice (986.M38) - More than a thousand standard years after betraying their oaths of loyalty to the Imperium, the Traitor Knights of House Drakon re-emerge at the head of a twisted host of daemon machines created by the Dark Mechanicum. The Warp-forged monstrosities are finally defeated amid the desecrated ruins of the Forge World of Solemnium, after the Iron Hands Space Marine Chapter brings them to battle. However, it is the actions of a single Freeblade Knight that travels with the Space Marines that determine the course of the war. Known only as Justice, the Freeblade displays an incredible aptitude for destroying the Traitor Knights, earning seven confirmed kills during the course of the war. Rumours abound in the wake of the conflict of quite how the lone Knight achieved such a mastery of combat against others of his kind. Of their enigmatic ally's past, however, the Iron Hands would not speak. Despite some of House Drakon's Knights escaping Imperial reprisal, their strength is now greatly diminished.Red Harvest of Dalanthe (888.M39) - When a harvest moon hangs in the skies above Dalanthe, the agri-workers put the children's stories of the Gorehaunter to the back of their minds. Though many citizens deride him for it, the Freeblade Knight known as Vigilantus stands on silent guard at Dalanthe's High Templus for three long solar months. When a Warp breach opens during a riot in Executioner's Square, a goliath of brass and bone rampages out through the populace. It is met in battle by Vigilantus. Though the Knight is torn limb from limb, his last act is to decapitate the raging Lord of Skulls with a blast from his Thermal Cannon, banishing it back to the Warp for another thousand years.The Many Quests of Theodric the Wanderer (853-999.M40)Not Even in Death (854.M40) - A trio of Knights from House Krast join Space Marines from the Ultramarines Space Marine Chapter to defend the Mining World of Gorvax against a host of Eldar Ghost Warriors from Iyanden Craftworld. A Knight suit's Throne Mechanicum takes control after its pilot is slain by a xenos sniper, the echoes of spirits long dead guiding the unmanned Knight into battle once more. The Knight carves its way through countless wraithbone constructs before two Wraithknights, the largest and mightiest of the xenos walkers, finally bring it down in an epic duel of giant war machines. Though the Eldar are eventually defeated, victory on Gorvax does not belong to the living.First Contact (112.M41) - The Imperium makes first contact with the Knight World of Kragh after a localised Warp Storm, which has been raging for over twenty millennia, finally abates. Though much of the planet's surviving technology is revealed to be incredibly archaic, the Knight suits remain in remarkable condition thanks to a long-lost piece of STC technology. Initial attempts to integrate Kragh into the Imperial fold are met with open hostility as the planet's two knightly houses react to the perceived threat with deadly force. Peace is finally brokered by Baron Jakobus, a venerable Knight Seneschal greatly respected by both houses -- but the fragile ceasefire is jeopardised almost immediately as a trio of Tech-adepts attempt to recover the priceless STC archeotech and return it to Mars.Sport for Commorragh (154.M41) - A Dark Eldar raid captures a House Cadmus Knight for bloody sport in the arenas of Commorragh. He bravely duels the creations of the Haemonculi for thirty solar days before eventually being rendered down by three Engines of Pain.Duel of the Crimson Glaives (178.M41) - The Eldar assault the agri-moon of Tarvel III, destroying hab-complexes in the search for ancient artefacts. Three Freeblades band together to defend the beleaguered citizens and become known as the Crimson Glaives. As soon as the last Eldar raider is driven from the moon, the Knights vanish without trace.Tarsok Incursion (230.M41) - Knights of House Taranis battle a daemonic incursion on the world of Tarsok V, taking the fight to the towering Great Unclean One that leads the daemonic horde. Wading through a tide of Plaguebearers, Seneschal Halver's Knights advance on the corpulent horror while billowing clouds of flies sizzle against their Ion Shields and form drifts about their feet. The daemonic lord drowns one Knight in a tide of bile, and crushes two more beneath its weeping bulk. Yet the Knights' Reaper Chainswords carve through its rancid flesh and with a final, gurgling roar the Great Unclean One is banished. The remaining Daemons fade slowly from view, leaving the planet's surviving defenders to count the cost.Slaughter on the Fireplains (246.M41) - Knights of House Raven crush WAAAGH! Smogbelcha on Voth amid geysers of geothermal flame, despite suffering heavy losses of their own.Disaster on Nalibraxis II (632.M41) - During the Yoladrian Crusade, detachments from House Cadmus land upon the swamp world of Nalibraxis II. Marching in support of Catachan Jungle Fighters infantry regiments, the Knights are caught in a sorcerous ambush by forces of the Thousand Sons Traitor Legion. With the Catachans dead or devolved into mindless Chaos Spawn, the remaining handful of Knights resolve to fight their way back to their extraction point. Power armoured automata and scuttling Daemon Engines surround them, yet the surviving Nobles fight their way to freedom. After the battle, House Cadmus vows revenge upon the forces of the Thousand Sons, determined to expunge this stain upon their honour.Shadows Over Icnarus (784.M41) - An ancient evil awakens on the Frontier World of Icnarus, Human settlements vanishing one after another. Panic-stricken, its citizens retreat to the coastal city of Inmoran and a riot erupts around the planet's only spaceport. Rising from the sea, rusted metal warriors march into Inmoran killing all in their path, a blazing god of light at their fore. Just as all seems lost, a lone Imperial Knight appears. In a titanic struggle, the unknown Knight drives the invaders back into the sea and shatters the bindings of their god, sending it screaming into the ether.On The Trail of Traitors (883.M41) - Three entire knightly houses join forces with the renowned tank ace, Commander Pask, and his Cadian 423rd Regiment to exterminate a Renegade Titan Legion. All of the Knights at Pask's disposal are deployed in one of the largest armoured conflicts in the Imperium's history. Knight Anthonis, of House Cadmus, wins much honour during the final battle, preventing Pask's Leman Russ Tank from being crushed beneath the mighty tread of the Traitor Warlord-class Titan, Endless Hate, by blasting apart the war engine's descending leg scant moments before impact. Pask survives to lead his force to a great Imperial victory.Reawakening (975.M41) - In the Vidar Sector, the Knight World of Avarris is almost overrun by Necrons from the Sautekh Dynasty. Reawakening from their long slumber deep below the planet's surface, the Necron legions emerge and immediately begin a campaign of mass genocide against the planet's Human population. It is only the skill of the Knights, and the effectiveness of their Ion Shields at repelling the deadly firepower of the advanced Necron weaponry, that brings the massacres to a halt. Though many are slain in the fighting, Avarris' three knightly houses slowly gain the upper hand in the conflict. As the bitter fighting grinds on, embattled household detachments of Imperial Knights gradually begin to drive the Necron forces back to their tomb complexes, and set about destroying them in their lairs.The Dragon Slain (993.M41) - Segmentum Command dispatches a relief force to evacuate Yorvith before it can be overrun by Hive Fleet Kraken. At their head ride a lance of Knights Errant from House Griffith, whose thunderous charge scatters the xenos swarms around Solartis spaceport. As battle rages and refugees flood aboard the evacuation ships, a Trygon erupts from the ground and winds itself around Sir Brannach's Knight. The noble Knight wrestles with the mighty bio-horror amid showers of sparks, before jamming his Thermal Cannon between its jaws and vapourising its skull in a spray of ichor. The evacuation craft take to the skies just minutes later, Griffith's Knights limping aboard the last ship moments before its ramp slams shut.Battle of Burning Skies (998.M41) - A tendril of Hive Fleet Leviathan falls upon the Agri-World of Eireius, xenos bio-horrors rampaging across its floating jungles and vapour islands. A detachment of House Raven Knights are the first Imperial reinforcements to reach the planet, rallying the beleaguered defenders around the towering Eirebian spire-cities. In the micro-gravity of Eireius the Knights leap hundreds of metres from one spire to the next, their guns hammering Harpies and Hive Crones from the sky. Even the might of the Imperial Knights cannot save the planet, although their bravery buys time for its population to escape into the void.Red WAAAGH! (443.998.M41) - Warlord Grukk of the Red WAAAGH! ploughs into the densely populated Sanctus Reach, his crusade's juggernaut momentum smashing past the Space Marine homeworld of Obstiria to plunder the planets beyond. The Imperium prepares to make a stand upon Alaric Prime, a Feudal World of linked archipelagos and crumbling gaols. When a flotilla of Ork rust-ships make planetfall, the knightly houses of Alaric lead their Cadian allies in a worldwide counterattack. Warlord Grukk's bullish tactics take a heavy toll on the Human defenders before the legendary Freeblade known as Gerantius, the Forgotten Knight, joins the conflict, tipping the war into a new phase of desperate battle.A Blade in the Void (512.999.M41) - A Chaos wolf pack attacks the Imperial heavy transport Penitent Blade while en route to the war zones of Heloeum. When the vessel is boarded, the Nobles of House Krast mount their Knight suits and prepare to repel the Traitor Space Marines. In the vast vaulted cargo halls of the ship, the Knights crush the Traitors underfoot and blast apart their vanguard of Terminators and Helbrutes. When a fresh wave of Chaos boarders are sent against the Penitent Blade, the Nobles order the cargo hall doors opened, so they might engage the incoming assault boats. Their craft scattered and destroyed, the Traitors retreat into the void.Fall of Agrellan (757.999.M41) - The T'au Empire's Third Sphere Expansion surges through the Damocles Gulf before striking hard and fast upon the Hive World of Agrellan. Though the Imperial forces are hard-pressed to counter the brilliant tactics employed by Commander Shadowsun, the timely arrival of several household detachments of Knights from House Terryn soon stems the tide. Time and again, the Knights sally forth from the hive city of Agrellan Prime, breaking through the xenos lines to take a heavy toll on formations of Broadside Battlesuits and Hammerhead gunships, using their Ion Shields to counter the devastating impacts of the T'au's rail weaponry. Only the mass deployment of prototype Riptide Battlesuits forces the Knights to cease these attacks, a course of action that ultimately changes the course of the war.13th Black Crusade (995.999.M41) - Houses Krast and Arokon join the Imperial forces rushing to reinforce the Cadian Gate against the Chaos hordes spewing forth from the Eye of Terror. The inbound Knights of House Arokon are feared lost amid the fierce etheric tides of Warp Storm Baphomael. However, news soon filters back to the Imperium that four household detachments of Knights bearing Arokon's colours have been seen taking the fight to the Forces of Chaos, shattering two large formations of Iron Warriors siege tanks with righteous fury.