Index Traitoris: The Unleashed

[Lord Ferox Heartcleaver]

Index Traitoris

 

 

The Unleashed

The Unleashed are a World Eaters descended warband, with forces drawn from several of the warbands that emerged from Skalathrax and newer recruits. The warband is led by the Chaos Lord Ferox Heartcleaver, a mighty warrior rumored to have served as a Champion of the World Eaters during the Great Crusade and Horus Heresy. The warband that formed the initial core of the Unleashed was known as the Princes of Slaughter. The Princes of Slaughter were one of the warbands that spearheaded the Dominion of Fire, and they were able to put entire worlds to the chainaxe during the surprise of the first waves. It was at the end of the final battle of the campaign that the warband participated in that Ferox took control. He had been one of the terminator bodyguards of the warband leader, and as he stood by the triumphant champion, his rage finally boiled over entirely, and he rammed one of his lightning claws through the champion's weaker armpit armor.

 

As he wrenched the claw from the former champion's corpse, he addressed his comrades, speaking on how the World Eaters had weakened. They only posed true threats to the Imperium when led by Angron, who only rarely began campaigns. Instead, Ferox espoused keeping constant pressure on the Imperium, and ensuring that their raids truly weakened the area, rather than simply killing whatever they came across. The only way to defeat the Imperium was to bleed it before making the killing strike. He renamed the warband the Unleashed, as they had broken the fetters that had kept the Imperium from drowning in blood, and the warband broke from Angron's push.

 

Since then, the Unleashed appear fairly frequently, being responsible for countless raids, attacks, and wars against worlds with some importance, though often while Imperial forces have been distracted elsewhere. The early instances of this were during the Dominion of Fire and the Imperium's push to reclaim the region, when they slaughtered entire worlds that had been left less protected due to the war effort. They have also fought other warbands and Space Marine forces so as to increase their strength, either by forcing Traitor Marines to join or by capturing and breaking the most skilled loyalist marines that they can. Most recently, they've focused their attacks on Imperial space near the Cadian Gate, possibly at the behest of Abbadon or one of his lieutenants.

 

Home World

The Unleashed operate out of a Space Hulk that they have named End of Peace. The Space Hulk was claimed by them in early M36 in a bloody war against its prior denizens, a colony of orks. Even now, pockets of greenskin spore exist on the Hulk, though this is just as much to provide something for the devotees of Khorne to kill as it is a result of the craft's size.

 

End of Peace has been fitted with massive arrays of guns, both for sustained bombardment of planetary targets and to cut apart enemy spacecraft. While many of these guns have been salvaged from Imperial craft, some guns are preexisting arcaeotech that had been a part of the hulk when it was captured or xenos guns that have been added since. A small warband with close ties to the Dark Mechanicus was absorbed specifically to work the guns, and there are many cultists assigned to assist in that task. The ship originally used by the Unleashed, the Red Tide, is maintained as a scout craft and combat support, and is most often kept docked to End of Peace.

 

Combat Doctrine

Like other Khornate forces, the Unleashed are largely reliant on assault. However, they are far from reliant on the straightforward frontal assault. Their berserkers, along with those marines that have not yet been granted the Butcher's Nails, often use stealth, night attacks, and attacks from unexpected directions, though human cultists are often hurled into frontal assaults without a second thought.

 

Marine and berseker squads, the backbone of any true assault, are always made up of eight marines, including any attached leaders, at least until this is reduced by casualties. These squads have proven effective many times, even against numerically superior squads of loyalist marines. Squads that have lost members are consolidated after battle, so all squads in the Cohort are once again eight strong.

 

Marines that have not yet been changed into true berserkers often enter battle in a Rhino, so they can get into position to remove enemy armor and fortifications with meltaguns or use their bolters to suppress enemy infantry before they charge in. Berserkers usually follow on foot, so they can use the wreckage of the more disposable first wave's Rhinos and other sources of cover more effectively.

 

Any squad of "unproven" marines is used differently. Four members of the squad are issued heavy weapons, usually autocannons. The squad then sets up in an elevated position, preferably a fortified one, and provides covering fire, light antivehicle fire, and occasional antiaircraft fire. These squads are referred to as the "Teeth of Khorne," like other World Eater Havocs. This task is usually given to squads of newer marines because veterans, feeling insulted at being forced to stay out of close combat and therefore denied an easy chance at attracting Khorne's gaze, may choose to turn their weapons on an allied Rhino or two out of spite.

 

Organization

The Unleashed essentially have three broad levels of organisation. Human cultists are the most numerous part of the warband, and the males make for potential space marine candidates. The rites and methods used by the Unleashed to create marines can work on somewhat older individuals than standard techniques. The most vicious and skillful cultist males are chosen to be advanced into space marines, and are given salvaged power armor and weapons once their apotheosis is concluded. Their first orders are invariably to kill any still-human friends that they had among the cultists, to sever them completely from their humanity. Once a Chaos marine has proven himself worthy, the modifications of the Butcher's Nails are bestowed upon him. Berserkers are shown favor by the Warband's cult, and are the marines most frequently chosen for missions that are likely to bring Khorne's favor. They originally made up the bulk of the warband's marines, and due to the methods used by the Unleashed to preserve its own warriors while causing as much damage as possible, still do.

 

The warband's marines are arranged in "Cohorts," groups of 64 marines, usually deployed as eight squads of eight. The command structure is simple. Cultists and their leaders defer to any marines, but are largely given autonomy amongst themselves. The most cunning, brutal, and ambitious marine in a squad rises to become an Aspiring Champion. Ferox's lieutenants have overall command of their own Cohorts for as long as they can exert the necessary force over their bloody-minded followers. Ferox, of course, has absolute command of his own Cohort, made up solely of berserkers, both in power armor and terminator armor, absolute command over the rest of the cohorts, and absolute command of the hordes of cultists. Only one of Ferox's lieutenants, the Master Chirurgeon Valkis Khorven, does not head a Cohort. Instead, he and his Skull Priests act as ministers to the warband, and oversee the cultist rabble.

 

A small force of Black Legionnaires, a warband known as Horus' Vengeance, attached itself to the Unleashed when they made their most recent treaty with Abbadon. The warband's leader, a lesser commander named Avax Torus, acts as a lieutenant of Ferox's, and his warband is treated as a separate Cohort. This lesser warband's sorcerer, a Black Legionnaire named Kallus Sectur, is only tolerated by the Khornate majority because his sorcery is focused around enhancing true warriors rather than slaying the foe in a cowardly fashion. The Legionnaires inform Ferox of targets Abbadon wishes the Unleashed to attack, and are somehow needed for the Unleashed to collect Abbadon's payments.

 

Beliefs

The Unleashed indulge in the worship of Khorne. Off the battlefield, they glorify him in gladiatorial combat, barely nonlethal combat training, ritual sacrifice of prisoners and cultists, and clearing out new pockets of orks on End of Peace. Unlike many Khornate warbands, however, the Unleashed believe that more blood will be shed for Khorne in the long run if they keep their numbers up, allowing the warband to travel between targets without taking undue casualties in transit and helping to prevent truly suicidal behavior in combat.

 

The warband's cult of Khorne is headed by its Skull Priests, who are led by Master Chirugeon Valkis Khorven. The Skull Priests are the most fanatically devoted of the Unleashed, and potent warriors in their own right. The Skull Priests carry vicious-looking powered mauls as badges of office, and, in a mockery of Loyalist Chaplains, wear skull-faced helmets. Before any battle, each Skull Priest selects a number of berserkers (traditionally eight, though the number of chosen marines varies) whom he feels to be the most worthy and devoted to be equipped to display Khorne's wrath. They are equipped with a skull helmet to mirror their Priest and a massive, two-handed eviscerator. These unholy champions are referred to as Skull Acolytes, and are deployed with their squads to act as inspiration via example. Those that survive the campaign may be selected as new Priests, if the Priest that chose them finds them worthy of the honor. If he does not, they are made willing sacrifices to Khorne, and their skulls are placed in the great shrine in the heart of End of Peace.

 

Gene-seed

 

Brother, you have been leashed to a corpse. Its fall has dragged you closer to your own annihilation and obscurity. We will break your fetters and give you the chance to claim immortality and true glory. You shall be unleashed against those who enslaved you. But this will be a difficult and painful road...

--Valkis Khorven, to a Battle-Brother of the Angels Encarmine who has been chosen to be converted.

 

Because of the warband's use of Chaos rituals in the formation of new marines, the geneseed of the Unleashed has become rather corrupted and mutated. Most of these mutations have served to aid them in their worship and service of Khorne, though some have caused issues as well. The most common include enhanced strength, even over an ordinary marine, increased aggression, and a tendency towards self-mutilation, occasionally to a debilitating degree.

 

The warband's Master Chirugeon, Valkis Khorven, is also the leader of the warband's Skull Priests, whose duties blend those of religious leaders and apothecaries. He is responsible for the creation of new marines. The rites used are a foul mix of warp-based power and crude bastardizations of more conventional practices. While the exact nature of these rites are unknown beyond the warband's Skull Priests, they definitely include blood sacrifices and the summoning of a lesser daemon of Khorne. Marines created in this fashion are particularly prone to physical mutations. Often, these mutations eventually stabilize, but occasionally, the marine will succumb to full possession or even spawndom, in which case they are consigned to the gladiatorial pits until they are brought down. Other marines in the warband are former prisoners who are viewed as having distinguished themselves in battle before their capture, their minds broken and reformed through weeks of effort by senior Skull Priests.

 

Battle-cry

The Unleashed use several warcries. The three most common are as follows.

Blood for the Blood God! Skulls for the Skull Throne!

Let the Imperium burn, and deliver its slaves to Khorne!

We are unleashed!

 

 

Obviously, this is all rather incomplete at the moment. But that is part of why I put it up, no? Critique away!

EDIT: New additions are bolded. Other changes are fairly minor details, wording changes, and the like.

[Captain Semper]

I really like it! Seriously, it looks well thought out and original!

 

The only thing that I found unconvincing is the creation of new marines by older cultists... I mean creation of marines is a very complex and delicate process, and I doubt any war band such as you describe will posses the knowhow to bypass such procedures. Maybe you want to add some depth on that particulat part? I.e. What's going on with the apothecaries? Do they use Warp induced techniques to achieve the end result? Do marines created that way have a fundamental flaw?

 

Other than that The Unleashed seem to me a great background! Well done :blink:

[The Nephilim]

Solid thoughts so far. I gotta agree with Semper, though. I don't see a Khornate warband maintaining the wherewithal to implant new geneseed. I think you'd either have to go about it like the Iron Warrior's daemon marine incubators, or more likely, either barter with another warband for new marines or steal loyalist marines. As to the stealing idea, which I think is more realistic, you'd still run into the problem of reversing the psycho-indoctrination loyalists receive. As far as the stealing loyalist marines goes, I love the idea of some Khornate body-snatchers running around and subjecting some newly created marine's mind to the horrors of the warp, Khorne-flavored of course.

 

Imagine the psycho-trauma involved and the very unstable and viscous killers it would create. Most delicious.

 

 

***Edit***

 

Oh and bookmarked by the way. Though I find Khorne bland, you've got some very original ideas here.

[Lord Ferox Heartcleaver]

Okay, I'll think up a more in-depth description of the required rites. Shouldn't be too difficult, lots of blood and warp use coming up.

[Lord Ferox Heartcleaver]

Made some additions, mostly because I like the new Raptors as they are, and don't necessarily want to buy them only for the jump packs and weapon arms. So they get to be their own, more Undivided (or rather, Undecided) part of the warband. So they're a newer idea and in need of development.