Pariah Crusade
The Pariah Crusade or Nephilim War is a campaign of the Psychic Awakening and Indomitus Crusade.[1] While initially a standard Imperial expedition to investigate the fate of the Nephilim Sector, it has since escalated into a four-way conflict involving Humanity, Chaos, and two differing Necron factions.[9e]
Contents
Overview
Initial Imperial Expedition
Prelude
The campaign was overseen by Battle Group Kallides, which moved into the Nephilim Sector to investigate the Pariah Nexus. Commanded by Groupmaster Marran, the Imperial forces consisted of Imperial Guard, Imperial Navy, Mechanicum, House Terryn, House Mortan, Ultramarines, Black Templars, Sisters of Battle, and Legio Castigatum. Also present were Ordo Xenos detachments under Lord Inquisitor Kyria Draxus. Imperial forces soon found the effects of the Pariah Nexus to be malign, with Imperial Guard forces that landed on worlds in the region often abandoning their posts, falling into panic, or simply becoming unresponsive. Space Marines and servants of the Omnissiah complained about headaches. Void-traffic was non-existent and communication all but impossible. Cities and worlds were found nearly entirely depopulated. The effects of the nexus only did not seem to effect the Adepta Sororitas.[1a] In time the Imperials dubbed this effect the "Stilling".[4a]
As Imperial forces pushed on, they were unaware that they were being observed by the Necrons under the command of the Cryptek Szeras.[1a]
Battle of the Mesmoch Pylon
The trigger for war came when a Vanguard strike force of Ultramarines made planetfall on Mesmoch in the Zeidos System. On Mesmoch, the Ultramarines discovered a towering Pylon wrought from Blackstone which was several miles in circumference. The assault upon the Mesmoch Pylon went poorly from the start. Warp Drive failures and stilled crews meant that only two-thirds of the requested warships and troop transports reached Marran's mustering point in time. Formations of Necron warships swept from the void to oppose the Imperial attack. Many Imperial ships were destroyed by the time Marran's forces reached Mesmoch, either by the Necron warships or orbital defenses. Imperial carriers disgorged waves of infantry onto Mesmoch's surface. The Ultramarines. Black Templars, and Deathwatch led the attack, establishing beachheads to the north and east of the Pylon. Six entire Imperial Guard Regiments followed while the Warlord Titan Deus Redemptor was landed from orbit.[1a]
Necron phalanxes marched out to oppose the attack as the Imperial Battleship Triumph unleashed an orbital bombardment on the Pylon itself. Despite a massive Lance attack, the pylon was undamaged due to Quantum Shielding. Ground attack thus became the only option to destroy the Pylon, but while the Space Marines had carved a path within a half-mile of the Pylon's base, the Imperial Guard were faltering due to its effects. The Necrons struck with Monoliths and Doomsday Arks at this weak point in the Imperial attack and damaged the Deus Redemptor. Only the Space Marines were able to prevent the defeat from becoming a full rout. Squad by squad they staged a fighting retreat, providing rearguard cover as Imperial forces limped back to their extraction zones. The Deathwatch Kill Teams Amaeus and Thannyr died to the last holding the Necrons back. A fercoious counterattack led by Marshal Ghehart of the Black Templars repulsed the Necron forces seeking to finish off the Deus Redemptor and saw horrible casualties on both sides. Evacuating Imperial transports were mauled by Doom Scythes and Tomb Blades. The attack on the Pylon had been a humiliating defeat.[1a]
Vie Almus Majoria Counterpush
In the wake of the disaster at Mesmoch, Battle Group Kallides reeled as it attempted to investigate the Pariah Nexus.
Battle Group Kallides, lead by Field Marshal Bigelis Thao, struggled to gain a foothold on the world of Vie Almus Majora, with a disastrous initial defeat at the Battle of Ishlarn Thermokarst, wherein 20 armoured regiments and 10 Infantry Regiments were encircled and nearly destroyed - these regiments included; Chancyllian Ironclads, Gabikhan Thunderers, Pteroni Highryders, and the Gelzoan Light Infantry. Imperial forces were eventually pushed back over a number of months to a small region. Only after the victory on Cherist, and the realisation that Faith could prevent the Stilling, did the Counterpush begin to succeed. The Marshal's plan for a counterattack won approval from the supporting Darkspires, Sons of Orar, and Harrowers Chapter. A breakout, assisted by Space Marines lighting strikes, was successful.[2a]
Kalliphor Engagement
The battles for, around, and on, Kalliphor were so brutal and disastrous that the losses shaped the rest of the Pariah Nexus Campaign. Losses included: 30-40 Million Dead, or Stilled; 373 Starhips of the Imperial Fleet and their crews lost, including Naval vessels His Imperial Majesty, and His Divine Purpose.
Events resulting in such casualties include the deaths of 2 Million men and women of the Kalliphorian Free Companies in the bunkers beneath the Glastojun Mountains due to assault by tens of thousands of Flayed Ones.
Alongside the many deaths, there were great victories. These include: The Charge of the Heskian Light Dragoons, and the Siege of Traanaxis Hive, where the ratlings of the 337th Abhuman Auxiliaries allegedly assassinated hundred of high-ranking Necrons - holding the Hive long enough for the Heskian Light Dragoons to relieve them.
The sabotaging actions of the Haephosian Tritons resulted in the collaspse of a Tomb Complex into the Tranzpasian Ocean, preventing the 78th Division of the Aeronautica Imperialis - the 'Fire Jackals' - from being overwhelmed by the Necron air/space forces deployed from the complex.[2b]
Battle of the Gates
As imperial forces faced collapse, Groupmaster Marran mobilized his reserves and tried to recall the more far-flung of his task forces; however, due to the effects of the Pariah Nexus, Astropathic communication were largely ineffective. Faced with this, he deployed swift messenger ships but there was doubt over whether Navigators could guide the ships to their destinations due to the warp nullification field of the region. On Paradyce IV and Kalliphor Imperial forces suffered further defeats at the hands of the Necrons. Amidst the panic, the Sister of Battle Ephrael Stern came before Groupmaster Marran. The Daemonifuge requested a chance to restore Imperial spirits by leading a counterattack. Stern chose the world of Cherist, a major Necron transportation hub based around three Dolmen Gates as her target. Marran put his faith in Stern and approved the plan.[1b]
The Imperials found Cherist to be a vicious Ice World, though the climate effected the Necrons little. Yet the Imperials did not balk and forces from the Order of Our Martyred Lady and the Order of the Bloody Rose swept down onto the planet from Invasion Cathedrums. Stern herself led the invasion against the Dolmen Gates complex located at Cherist's south pole. They were supported by Imperial Guard and Knights of House Mortan. Due to Quantum Shielding, orbital bombardment was impossible and the only viable route for the Imperials was up a wide valley dotted with destroyed Human structures. The Imperial attack began with a ferocious barrage from the Invasion Cathedrums. Unshielded Necron structures were pummeled into ruin but thanks to their quantum shielding the core structures remained unharmed. The Necrons themselves responded with salvos of weapons Pylons which destroyed one of the landing craft o house Mortan.[1b]
The Imperial forces were able to establish a beachhead under heavy fire. The Sororitas Invasion Cathedrums unleashed two dozen squads of Seraphim and Zephyrim. Meanwhile Stern herself descended from dropships and marched at the head of more than 2,000 Sisters. They advanced into the ice shard storms under ferocious fire alongside several thousand Guardsmen and supporting tanks. However Phaeron Shemvokh of the Nihilakh Dynasty was unconcerned and organized a counterattack down the valley aboard his Catacomb Command Barge. As Necron Warriors marched forward, Tomb Blades rained death down onto Imperial tanks and artillery. Heavier Necron war engines drifted in their wake, annihilating entire squads of Guardsmen and Battle Sisters. Phaeron Shemvokh and his Lychguard intended to lead their own attack to split the Imperial lines in two.[1b]
Stern for her part was assured that Kyganil would bring the might of the Ynnari to aid the Imperials. Yet to her horror it was not Eldar who emerged from a nearby Webway Portal but rather Necron reinforcements. Yet it was at this moment that the centermost Dolem Gate exploded thanks to the efforts of the Seraphim and Zephyrim. The act improved Imperial morale and Stern redoubled her efforts. Stern was able to unleash her full power, transforming fully into the Daemonifuge. The Necrons were shocked, as the Pariah Nexus should have suppressed such warp activity. Yet he was ignorant that this power was motivated by pure faith, not Warp-spawned energy. Imperial Knights stormed down from the high ground to hit the Necrons from both sides while at the same moment Stern swept down upon Phaeron Shemvokh. The duel that erupted was ferocious, but ultimately Shemvokh and his Lychguard could not hold back Stern's fury. One by one the Lychguard fell and in the last moment Shemvokh's Barge was blasted from the sky, reducing his body to wreckage. The fighting raged on for another hour, but the outcome was clear. By the time the last of the Dolmen Gates was smashed the Necron defenders were in tatters.[1b]
Tredica Expedition
Szeras was intrigued by the Human "miracle", studying its effects diligently. As Szeras and his Crypteks plied their science, the war raged on - the Vic Almnus Majora counterattack, the Death March on Paradyce II, the Battle of Vorlian Wash - each conflict saw the Imperial forces resurgent. The effects of the Pariah Nexus started to lessen due to the Imperial power of faith. Yet the Imperials had yet to destroy a single Pylon and were no closer to understanding the Nexus' purpose. They were simply holding the Necrons at bay. It fell to Lord Inquisitor Kyria Draxus to rectify this. Draxus settled upon the Tredica System as her target. Located deep within the Nexus, it had been scouted by a squad of Tempestus Scions. The survivors brought with them a trove of information and details of the interiors of several Necron Tombs. Identify the most significant structure in the Nexus yet encountered, Draxus wished to plunder its secrets. Draxus hand-piked her expedition, designated Task Force XIV. It was comprised of Deathwatch, Black Templars, Sisters of Battle, Tempestus Scions, and a conclave of Tech-Priests from Stygies VIII. They would go to Tredica, not to destroy the Pylon but rather to gain intelligence.[1c]
In truth, the Tempestus Scion scouts had been allowed to escape by Szeras, who had implanted them with Mindshackle Scarabs. Yet at the same time Draxus had recognized the signs of Scarab influence and knew of the Necron trap. To counter this, she brought Epharel Stern with them as she was a force that the Necrons had yet been unable to counter.[1c]
By the time Task Force XIV reached the Tredica System they had lost one of their ships to becalmed Warp tides and had fought several skirmishes with Necron forces. Regardless, they immediately swept into action. Marshal Kurtz of the Black Templars led a divisionary raid against the world of Tredica Decitor while a combined strike of Battle Sisters and Tempestus Scions fell upon the xenos platforms orbiting Tredica Fortis. Draxus led her own force in the true strike at the former prosperous Hive World of Tredica Ardaxis. This was the largest of the three worlds slaved to the Necron void-obelisk initially encountered. It was this world that gave off the strongest energy signatures in the system, and from here that the scarab-enslaved Scions had "escaped". Three colossal Pylons rose from the planet's surface; one from the frozen night side, another from the scorched day side, and the third and largest from the hazy band of the planet's time-locked terminator. It was towards this pylon that Draxus' Inquisitorial Cruiser Paladin's Shadow moved.[1c]
Thanks to the cruisers Eldar technology, it was able to approach seemingly undetected to the planet's orbit and unleash gunships down towards the tomb structures. There was no sign of the foe as the gunships touched down and delivered their compliment of Deathwatch Space Marines, Battle Sisters, and Tech-Priests. However as the gunships left, Szeras sprang his trap. Green Dolmen Gates opened up which disgorged flights of Doom Scythes and Night Scythes. The former shot through towards the retreating gunships while the Night Scythes launched strafing attacks on the Imperial forces. Next marched forward an elite force of Necron Immortals and Lychguard, Szeras at their head. Refusing the Crypteks order to surrender, Draxus immediately employed the knowledge she had gleaned from the Scions helm-vids in combination with forbidden knowledge provided by Xenarite Tech-Priests. Rather than panic as the Necrons expected, Draxus instead had her force smash through the Necron cordon towards the nearest teleportation gate.[1c]
Though they suffered heavy casualties, the Imperial forces were able to reach the gate and the Xenarite Priests Draxus had brought with her did their work to suborn its Machine Spirit. Before the Necrons could overrun the defenders the Tech-Priests prevailed and the Imperial forces suddenly vanished. Szeras turned from irritation to rage as the other portals exploded thanks to the efforts of the Deathwatch, foiling any pursuit. Within the gate, the Imperials found themselves deep within the Pylon's base. They sought the device the Xenarites described as Mnemetic Crystals which they could plunder for information. The Imperials had to fight through both Necron Warriors and Canoptek constructs with every step they took. With their numbers dwindling, Stern led them to their destination. Letting the Emperor guide her steps, the Daemonifuge led the way to a vast chamber in which immense stalactites and stalagmites of Necron machinery glowed. At its heart was a imprisoned C'tan Shard, powering the entire structure. The Imperial forces found the Necron crystals nearby and the Xenarites labored to extract knowledge from them.[1c]
Wave upon wave of Necrons fell upon the shrinking Imperial cordon. Stern led the defense against seemingly endless waves of Necrons while Kyganil wove amongst their ranks. Szeras soon reappeared with an arsenal of Triarch Stalkers and Doomsday Arks in tow. The Sisters and Space Marines began to die to the last, taking as many enemies as they could with them. Yet it was at this moment that Draxus cried out in triumph, finally extracting what she sought from the Necron crystals though it had cost four of the priests lives. Upon realizing that the Imperials were surrounded and soon to be overrun, Draxus smashed the machinery holding the C'tan shard. The C'tan Shard exploded from its bindings, viciously exacting vengeance onto those who had bound it. The few surviving Imperials were able to use this as cover to escape from the structure. Szeras immediately forgot about the Human intruders, instead seeking to contain the enraged Star God. Amazingly enough, the apparently grateful C'tan teleported the Imperials to safety back into their orbiting ships. With what they sought acquired, the Imperials left orbit.[1c]
Arrival of the Silent King
After an extended period of fighting, the Silent King himself arrived on the Tomb World of Xendu to inspect progress on the Pariah Nexus as well as the defense against the Human. Szarekh was met by Szeras, other assembled Necron Overlords, and 3,000 Triarch Praetorians who offered him captured Human Blanks for experimentation. With Szarekh's arrival, the Necron armies that had been held back under Szeras were mobilized for a massive counteroffensive which involved millions of warriors. Szarekh appeared at the front of a number of these battles to repulse the Humans, offering his foes a chance to surrender but much to his grudging admiration never receiving such supplication.[8]
On Rorgaestis III, an army of Barghentine Plains-Rangers and Holassi Sky Commandos Imperial Guard attempted to breakout. The Silent King allowed some to eventually reach their landing craft and evacuate before unleashing five C'tan Shards and a massive force of Annihilation Barges and Canoptek Wraiths to annihilate them. At Bhorsis, he used Crypteks to unleash a trillion Scarabs, tearing apart the besieged Imperials. Meanwhile the Necron Overlord Karep'ta halted his advance on Bhorsis' moon in order to meet the challenge of a Space Marine Captain. This halt was met with Imperial counterattack, an insult to Karep'ta's honour duel that Szarekh reacted to furiously. After evacuating his own forces he deployed his personal warship Song of Oblivion in an attack which split the moon apart.[8]
Meanwhile Phaeron Shemvokh was regenerating from his prior destruction, but enacted his will through lesser Necron Lords. His forces devastated an Imperial fleet at the Gebn Nebula before exterminating its Human population. Orikan the Diviner and his Crypteks led a mixed dynastic army of Szarekhan, Oruskh, and Urtep forces against a Sisters of Battle fortress at Vantis III.[8]
Despite many loyal vassals fighting for him, Szarekh also faced internal squabblings and agendas of the Necrons of the Nephilim Sector. Trazyn the Infinite revealed the location of the Necrons presence in a System by unleashing forces to kidnap the crew of a single Human ship for his own ends. This caused a bloody void battle that forced the loyal Overlord Neshkafar to sacrifice a portion of his fleet needlessly. The ruling Overlord of the Oruskh Dynasty withheld his legions while Oruskh Lord Karifar Lakshmet led 50,000 warriors as part of a struggle to gain favor with the Silent King. While the Smaller Dnyasties of the region such as the Phet'zesh, Uretp, and Mefhamnet often used the war as a stage to settle their own squabbles, with the Mefhamnet annexing neighboring dynasties territories. The Phet'zesh even clashed with the Nihilakh Dynasty legions loyal to the Silent King. Phaeron Vordreska was entirely fixated on getting revenge against Orks of the galactic southeast.[8]
Imperial Counterattack and Reinforcements
As the Silent King consolidated his forces in the Pariah Nexus, the Space Marines under Black Templars Marshal Reikert Arnulf and Imperial Fists Lieutenant Horgek Stornvor launched a counterattack despite advisors to Groupmaster Marran advising a withdrawal. As the Imperials surged forward and scored many victories, Imperial psykers on Cherist enacted a psychic ritual that while seeing the death of many psykers resulted in a temporary breaking of the Pariah Nexus' effects on the world. Cherist was able to reestablish contact with Imperium Sanctus and there was a hope that reinforcements may be inbound.[9a]
As the Imperials scored several victories on Tredica, Ig, and Gornal, they nonetheless suffered exhaustion and supply shortages due to attrition while the effects of the Pariah Nexus took a toll on their mental strength. Soon enough, the Imperial attacks were blunted in the face of new Necron counterattacks the deeper they moved into the Pariah Nexus. Using their superior technology and immunity to the Pariah Nexus' effects, the Necrons were able to rapidly outmaneuver incoming Imperial forces and swiftly move forces to confront them. Despite this, the Imperium were not the only foes for the forces of the Silent King. Some rogue Necrons like Trazyn and Phaeron Vordeska were accused of pursuing their own agendas in the region.[9a]
Soon enough, the Necrons had reversed most of the Imperial gains and were launching increasing attacks on the Argovon System, Zeta IIX Hespus, and Vertigus System. At the Myrtika System, Imperial forces were completely routed. Imperial defenders quickly found themselves isolated on their own garrison worlds, facing a steady siege of surging Necrons.[9a]
As the war once again turned against the Imperium, reinforcements that had heard the message from Cherist arrive. Roboute Guilliman himself had received the report, and dispatched Battle Group Hephaestus of Indomitus Crusade Fleet Primus under Groupmaster Vikraen to reinforce the Nephilim Sector. This force was further augmented by Mechanicus forces led by Belisarius Cawl himself.[9a] Cawl utilized a number of technological innovations to circumvent the dangers of the Pariah Nexus, such as utilizing ancient Archaeotech and combining both psychic and technological. The Archmagos introduced the Noctilith Decree, which ordered that all captured Noctilith was to be used to assemble large devices of Cawl's own design dubbed Liminal Abraisers. Hauled by grav-tethers from ships, they utilized a warp-positive charge to counteract the warp-negative charge of the Necron Pylons and wear away the barrier of the Pariah Nexus' effects. No such precedent or record for the design of Liminal Abraisers existed, leading to much suspicion as to where Cawl had gotten the concept. To ensure rapid progress, enormous mobile ship-forges were set to accompany the fleet to assemble these devices. Cawl hoped to secure the region before Indomitus Crusade Fleet Primus under Guilliman himself arrived.[9b]
Despite all these precautions, the Imperials could not fully nullify the Pariah Nexus and thus many ships of Battlegroup Hephaestus were scattered upon entry into the Nephilim Sector. Many of these were under the command of rival Magi, who would pursue their own designs with regards to captured Blackstone and Necron technology as opposed to deferring to Cawl. Cawl had predicted this would become a problem, and different Mechanicum sects within Hephaestus soon began to schism and pursue wildly differing agendas, some of which went entirely against the goal to utilize Noctilith. While many Mechanicum forces sought out blackstone, the Space Marine, Sisters of Battle, and Imperial Guard contingents with Hephaestus sought out surviving Imperial garrisons to relieve and reinforce.[9b]
Necron Schism
Hephaestus elements under Magos Psolt first encountered large amounts of Imperial survivors on Paradyce. There, they found a mix of Imperial Guard and Ecclesiarchy elements battling besieging Necrons. The first act of the arriving Imperials was to drive away the Necron Tomb Ships in orbit, Psolt ordered that relief forces be sent to the surface to destroy the remaining xenos constructs. Similar actions repeated throughout the region, and all but the rescued Space Marines showed extreme exhaustion.[9b]
It was then, as the Imperials battled Necrons from various dynasties, that the forces of the Sautekh Dynasty under Imotekh the Stormlord struck. The Stormlord had long been apprehensive at the return of the Silent King. Imotekh considered the Necron machine-forms to be perfection, and opposed the Silent King's plans to reverse Biotransference. Thus, Imotekh sought to foil Szarekh's plans at their earliest phase. So it was that across the warzone of Hephaestus Necron forces engaging the Imperials would suddenly withdraw, sabotage others, and in some cases even turn on themselves as Sautekh and Sautekh loyalist armies made their move. Imperial commanders were beleaguered at this sudden development. At Vertigus II, Cawl himself was commanding Mechanicum, Iron Hands, and House Taranis forces against the Necrons when suddenly another Necron army arrived to ignore the Imperials and assault their own. Cawl was able to rapidly determine that a civil war had erupted amongst the Necron race as soon enough all the aliens on Vertigus II had been destroyed or disappeared.[9b]
The Necron schism allowed the Imperials to contact most of the surviving elements of Battle Group Kallides within the Pariah Nexus. It was said that Groupmaster Marran himself had fallen during a desperate defensive action on Cherist, though his body was never recovered and he was posthumously declared a Imperial Saint. There was similarly no signs of Arnulf or Stornvor, though it was said that they had pushed through Necron lines and continued towards the heart of the Nephilim Sector. Whatever the case, command of Imperial forces within the Pariah Nexus effectively transferred to Cawl and Groupmaster Vikraen, who were able to establish a solid foothold throughout the northern Nephilim Sector. Despite this, the production of Cawl's Liminal Abraisers met with little success due to low noctilith harvesting quotas and Mechanicum division. It was then that Inquisitor Draxus reemerged, boarding the Zar-Quaesitor to meet with Cawl and reveal she had feigned her own retreat. Draxus was certain she now had the secret to bringing down the entire Pariah Nexus.[9b]
Silence and Storm
Szarekh quickly sought to utilize Orikan the Diviner to figure out Imotekh's next move, but the Diviner rebuked an audience and instead pursued his own agenda. Meanwhile, Imotekh's forces managed to capture three full systems in the northeastern Pariah Nexus while exhausting a Nephrekh Dynasty attack through attrition. He then used a Dolmen Gate to personally lead an attack on the distant Myrtika System. His target was the valuable world of Vergoyz Alphic, which hosted a significant Pylon cluster necessary to maintain the Pariah Nexus. Szarekh charged Nemesor Uthmek with repelling Imotekh's coming attack. The Silent King required absolute victory, not only for his designs on the Pariah Nexus but also to ensure more Dynasties do not flock to the Stormlord's banner.[9c]
The sparse Imperial forces present on Vergoyz Alphic were quickly crushed between the two opposing alien armies, though the overall Imperial commander Magos Lundkest watched the battle safely afar in his command ship. It was at this point that a flotilla under Inquisitor Draxus arrived in-System, leading an elite host of Martian Skitarii and Deathwatch Space Marines. With Uthmek's forces bogged down fighting Imotekh's forces, only a sparse garrison remained in the Pylon complex. This was Draxus' target, and the Pylons were swiftly captured as her and Lundkest's reinforcements established a defensive perimeter around the complex. Uthmek's forces quickly turned face to meet the Imperials, and for his part Imotekh quickly retreated through the Dolmen Gate that he had opened. As the Imperials held the perimeter, Draxus and her entourage journeyed inside the Pylon complex and were able to cause the entire structure to begin to implode. Though much of the Imperial host managed to flee, Vergoyz Alphic suffered a devastating blast that wiped out most of Uthmek's remaining army. Draxus quickly disappeared after the engagement, her objective achieved.[9c]
Escalating War
While Draxus had achieved her objective, her actions represented a major escalation to the Pariah War. Until this moment, the Silent King had been content to treat these Human interlopers as a minor nuisance and even a degree of honor. However he now saw them as lacking any honor or respect due to their actions against the Pariah Nexus. The Silent King's full fury was unleashed and he vowed to annihilate every Human within the Nephilim Sector. Meanwhile, Cawl's fleet slowly attempted to build his Liminal Abraisers but found themselves compounded by the differing agendas within his own Mechanicum forces. Many of the Mechanicum Magi were searching the region for Archaeotech, discovering not only forbidden weaponry and even Ordinatus engines but also sinister technology with terms such as the Yoctoparticulate Crucible, Dvorel's Necrocastigatrix, and the Cyclophox Determination.[9d]
The Silent King's first act of this new extermination campaign was to order Phaeron Nektarrik of the Thokt Dynasty to assault the Lomorr System. Nektarrik's armies were further augmented by the technological horrors of a trio of Technomandrites known as the Eyes of the Void. Steering clear of Cherist's formidable defences, Nektarrik instead struck at the neighbouring world of Torantis. Unleashing a massive army of war engines, not even the Warlord Titan Dracos Apocalystor could stand before her. As the world was overrun, two aegis fleets under the Magos Oradi and Manipulus-Prime Behzt arrived to meet the Necrons. Oradi wielded an ancient weapon dubbed the Ark of Oblivion, which was fired like a missile from his flagship ExMachinus. The device exploded amidst the Necron fleet in orbit, unleashing a huge contramolecular shockwave which vibrated three Tomb Ships into slurry. While a considerable number of Imperials were caught in the crossfire, the weapon decisively turned the battle in the Imperium's favor.[9d]
Outraged by such reckless use of advanced weaponry, the Eyes of the Void unleashed their own terrible device in the form of a C'tan Shard of Iash'Uddra. Binding its fragments into thousands of Canoptek constructs, the ravening swarm overran several entire Imperial Guard regiments before sweeping down upon Behzt's landing parties. Utilizing the horror of the C'tan, the Canoptek Swarm reduced the Skitarii forces to fighting one another as their minds were fractured by the Endless Swarm. Vowing not to suffer the same fate as her soldiers, Behzt activated her own final hidden weapon of unknown origin. A dark orb crew around her landing party, then hundred of miles across Torantis' surface. Humans and Necrons alike died in the bubble, which consumed a full third of Torantis' mass along with countless billions. In its wake left a shattered world tumbling out of its orbit, denying the planet to both sides.[9d]
The nightmarish conclusion to the Torantian Campaign repeated in myriad forms across the Nephilim Sector. Apocalyptic reprisals and technological atrocities were unleashed by both sides in escalating insanity. On Thalcifer, Einvahld Veridian unleashed Mohrgar Fex's Hyper-Alembic upon the Oruskh Dynasty legions of Overlord Khutmecc. Necron and Imperial forces alike were both reduced to bubbling slime. In the Zann System, an Imperial push upon a voidborne Necron Pylon triggered a massive naval engagement which was thrown into chaos by a cabal of Szarekhan Dynasty Plasmancers. The Necron scientists bound a dwarf star and propelled it into the Imperial naval formations around the System with devastating consequences, killing billions within minutes. However thanks to the ramming sacrifice of the Chalice Cruiser Silence in Suffering, one of the stellar shackles containing the star's power was destroyed and the Zann Pylon was badly damaged. Cawl learned of the spreading madness soon enough, and issued an immediate decree that forbid the use of any recovered ancient weaponry without proper understanding and approval. However his orders were slow to spread, and many Magi ignored the decree even after they had received it.[9d]
The Silent King watched the developing war with disquiet. Imotekh was making steady gains in the north and eastern Nephilim Sector, while two full Pylons had been destroyed. His "waste" of ancient weaponry and setbacks further agitated his Technomandrites, whose discontent was becoming impossible to ignore. Szarekh knew he needed a clear decisive victory to improve his political and strategic position. To that end, he sought to advance on every Imperial-held system compromising Stornvor's fortress network. Szarekhan, Nihilakh, and Oruskh Dynasty armies intercepted far-ranging Imperial fleets and the Myrtika and Shen'Tai Systems were invaded once again. Crypteks were ordered to use their talents and arcane weapons to swiftly annihilate the Humans, regardless of the collateral cost. At Zeta IIX Hespus, Crypteks of the Nihilakh Dynasty unleashed ten full C'tan Shards in a single warzone. While some Necron warlords pursued their own agendas, only Imotekh's armies did not join the Silent King's new offensive.[9d]
Chaos Strikes
The Skahren Breach
While the new Necron attacks were highly coordinated, Imperial commanders often fought alone due to difficulties in communication. Cawl turned ever towards superweapons, while conventional Imperial Battlegroups were worn down by attrition and the effects of the Pariah Nexus. Matters finally came to a head in the Skahren System, where early in the campaign Battle Group Hephaestus under Dominus Ghelf had successfully driven back Necron forces. The Mechanicum had since set up giant mining engines on the Feral World of Santis-Magna to uncover Noctilith as part of Cawl's attempts to utilize it against the Necron Pylons. However the Imperials were compounded by a near-indestructible Necron Pylon nearby, which took an ever-escalating toll on the miners and soldiers below. To try and protect himself from the many malfunctions and ill-effects of the Pylon, Ghelf sequestered himself in his personal sanctum in the form of an ancient unidentified weapons complex dubbed Shivarik's Constellation.[9e]
It was into this context that a massive Necron invasion fleet appeared in the Skahren System. Boasting armies from the Szarekhan, Oruscar, and Nihilakh Dynasties, it was a terrifyingly powerful host sufficient to crush the Imperials several times over. Almost immediately, Strike Cruisers belonging to the Silver Templars and Hawk Lords powered out to meet the foremost enemy warships, but these were outflanked by a force of Necron vessels that immediately arrived in high orbit above Santis-Magna. These ships unleashed a punishing bombardment upon the planets surface, and while they took losses in the face of Imperial defenses they managed to land substantial amounts of Necron ground forces. As violence raged, the growingly paranoid Ghelf sought to unlock the truths of Shivarik's Constellation.[9e]
Ghelf was convinced by deranged voices in his own mind to disable the complex's safety regulators, and deep in the void 25 satellites dating back to the Dark Age of Technology suddenly overcharged and prepared to fire. As Ghelf unleashed the ancient weapon, ships on both sides died with every volley of satellite fire. What followed next was a very rupture in reality as the satellites detonated one after another. Their feedback was so intense that even Ghelf's brain exploded within his personal sanctum, and a Warp Breach followed where the satellites once were. Through this breach came the dreaded Wyrmwood, commanded by the Daemon-Smith Vashtorr himself. In the wake of the Wyrmwood came a massive fleet of Chaos Space Marine and Dark Mechanicum vessels.[9e]
After witnessing the death of Santis-Magna, Vashtorr set his sights on the region. Cawl viewed these new developments with frustration, further compounded by the fact that many of his own Magi continued to ignore his orders and pursue their own agendas. He could not help but wonder what Guilliman himself would think of the situation when he arrived. Szarekhan was forced to deal with yet another setback, and funneled new reinforcements towards these new warp-born foes. While the Imperial and Chaos armies did not know it, Szarekh had little political capital left to maintain an offensive posture and would soon be forced into a defensive position. Orikan had now appeared in the Silent King's inner circle, his mind apparently changed by some sort of new grim vision of the future.[9e]
New Arrivals
While Abaddon is not personally involved in the Chaos invasion of the Pariah Nexus, he has nonetheless provided aid to Vashtorr in the form of the Soul Eaters, a Black Legion warband commanded by Draix. While ostensibly allies to Vashtorr, the Soul Eaters forces aboard the Wyrmwood are also acting as Abaddon's spies to monitor the Daemon. Additional aid to Vashtorr has arrived in the form of Word Bearers under Dark Apostle Zakkis Armon, who has ravaged the Ecclesiarchy-held world of Calathir and erected a shrine to the Dark Gods there. The act served to disrupt the Pariah Nexus, infuriating the Silent King and drawing the Necrons into conflict with the Word Bearers.[10]
Magnus' eye has also turned towards the Pariah Nexus. Having foreseen at least one future where Vashtorr actually succeeds in his goal of becoming a true God of Chaos, he and the Cult of Prophecy have initiated a plan to halt the Arkifane's possible ascension. However operating within the Nexus is particularly painful to the Sorcerers of the Thousand Sons, and thus they have primarily deployed ancient pre-Heresy Automata and other robotic thralls from beneath Sortiarius. These forces are led by Suleyman Khefre of the Cult of Knowledge, who has invaded the Forzare System in search of Blackstone. He has since begun plundering the vaults of the Mechanicum in the region, coming into battle with the Imperium's own robotic terrors.[10]
The Pariah Nexus also piqued the curiosity of Fabius Bile. Seeing an opportunity to capture large amounts of new test subjects, he allied with the Flawless Host and struck at Restitution, the homeworld of the Gilded Sons Space Marine Chapter. The exhausted Gilded Sons had already repulsed several Necron assaults, and were thus overwhelmed by Bile's sudden Terata-led invasion. Bile was able to plunder the Gilded Sons Gene-Seed vault and escape, and his forces still haunt the fringes of the Nephilim Sector.[10]
Related Campaigns
- Argovon Campaign[3]
- Battle on Cassothea[5]
- Battle on Vertigus II[6]
Sources
- 1: Psychic Awakening: Pariah [Needs Citation]
- 2: White Dwarf 456:
- 3: Warhammer Community: White Dwarf: Welcome to Flashpoint! (Posted on 08/10/2020) (Last accessed on 8 October 2020)
- 4: Crusade: Beyond the Veil:
- 5: Nexus (Novella), Chapter 1
- 6: Kill Team: Pariah Nexus, pg. 50
- 7: White Dwarf 457, pg. 52-59
- 8: White Dwarf 480, pgs. 18-23
- 9: Crusade: Pariah Nexus
- 10: White Dwarf 501, pg. 93-97
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