Inspirational Friday - 07/11/2014

[Tenebris]

Hello and welcome to this week's Inspirational Friday. We have quite a spooky week behind us and the frater did a great job in recreating the grimdark atmosphere of the Warhammer 40k setting. I must say that I was hard pressed to choose a victor this week for all posts were excellent. It seems that we have quite some writers here on the B&C board and it is always a great thing to see new people to join us every week.

 

The victor of Inspirational Friday 31/10/2014 is Dizzyeye, a newcomer who showed us the grim (or some would say exalted) fate of an aspirant in a Chaos Warband. I liked his post because not only it showed the horror that usually a slave of suitable stock will experience in order to become a demigod but the added notion that even the creation of the astartes is a monstrous act in itself, reminiscent of Frankestein for the result is very much the same. 

 

Thus Dizzyeye, step forth and claim your reward!

 

http://shrani.si/f/e/r4/KG83M5z/7/friday-award.png

 

 

As I have said this week it was really hard to choose from the posts for every single one of them was awesome. A honorable mention goes to the veteran Kierdale for his truly spooky story, to SlaveToDarkness for his ironic but still scary story and to forte who made a great entrance with his story. In short this week's Inspirational Friday was an epic event thanks to all this awesome stories.

 

Now, as per order of business let's see what I will have you do this week... hmm...

 

Inspirational Friday - 07/11/2014 - CHAOS STRONGHOLD

 

Ahh here we have a nice title, nice indeed. This week I will have you write about a Chaos stronghold. It can be a fortress, an asteroid base, a derelict ship, a space hulk... anything really. Every Chaos warband has a base of operations, some even command a veritable fortress or have planetary domains but all do keep a stronghold of sorts, their prime keep, their refuge.

 

This week I want you to explore this fundamental aspect of every Chaos warband. How have they built or claimed their stronghold, how they maintain it, which arcane technologies it harbors and how the warband defends this stronghold of theirs. It is a very core concept for every Chaos warband for having a base of operations is very important for the continued existence and operation of any Chaos host. 

 

As all things Chaos feel free to go into the realms of the bizarre, insane or plain grimdark. I know that the Iron Warriors among you would particularly enjoy this iteration of Inspirational Friday as will the renegade hosts of the Lost and the Damned.

 

As I have said above, feel free to explore this important facet of every Chaos warband and I really look forward to see this mighty bastions of the Dark Goods loom above the martyred desolation of the Chaos worlds, or reigning supreme in the cold emptiness of the void... Who knows, maybe some warbands enjoy more "exotic" strongholds too, like in the belly of a void whale or in the crystal forests of Sortiarius... In short go wild with imagination when you devise the stronghold of your Chaos warband...   

 

 

Let us be inspired!

 

 

Tenebris

[Kierdale]

Congratulations, Dizzyeye!

Well done!

[Dizzyeye01]

I am humbled, thanks for the praise :)

 

This'll be an interesting one to do, ah ideas....

[Conn Eremon]

I completely forgot about this last week. Ah well, I don't think I would have had anything meaningful to post anyways. Can definitely see why Dizzyeye won, though.

 

 

I am going to try and remember this one!

[Hidicul]

Designation: Symphony of Torment

Design: Cruiser

Class: Hellbringer

Dimensions: 5.3 km long, 0.8 km abeam at fins approx.

Mass: 30 megatons approx.

Crew: 115,000 approx.

                The Symphony of Torment was given to Alaric, The Lord of Pain by Abaddon for the 12^th Black Crusade. Determined to be worthy of the honor shown by the Warmaster, Alaric was with the fleet that captured the first of the Blackstone Fortresses. Alaric also helped to capture a second fortress before damage to his ship forced him back to the Eye of Terror.

                After his retreat, Alaric had a team of warpsmiths re-fit The Symphony of Torment. Using parts from other vessels that were beyond repair, the warpsmiths were able to enlarge the ship to the point that it was able to serve as a mobile base for Alaric’s warband, The Children of Pain, carrying enough supplies, the warbands daemon engines, and having room to spare for prisoners, slaves or cult members. The warpsmiths were also able to add more weapon batteries to the hull making it so that The Symphony of Torment can outgun all vessels of its size and some bigger than it.

                The Symphony of Torment took part in the Battle of Medusa during the 13^th Black Crusade. While The Children of Pain deployed to Medusa’s surface to help in the outflanking of the Iron Hand’s mobile fortresses, The Symphony of Torment set about destroying any vessels that tried to bring reinforcements to the besieged planet.

                Since the 13^th Black Crusade, The Symphony of Torment has been spotted in Segmentum Pacificus. It is unknown what The Children of Pain are doing, but it appears they are searching for something.

[Lucio]

The Crimson Slaughter base themselves in the space hulk, Lost Hope, which over time has been adapted by the chapter into a twisted fusion of demonic flesh and metals. Each warband loyal to Kranon has their own area, and rivalries between the warbands tend to lead to raids to steal resources from each other.

 

The Bizarre Bazaar is the area on which we will focus serves as a home for the Quintos, remnants of the 5^th Company banded together under Veteran Sergeant Fulcus, who cut down their captain Lucius after he proved loyal to the Imperium. Fulcus claimed a great basilica dedicated to trade and commerce, part of a former orbital outpost that became part of the Lost Hope nearly 5,000 years ago. As a devotee of Slaanesh, Fulcus saw value in the wide open courtyards, and scattered remnants of shops, and encouraged his cultist followers to set up all manner of stalls, diversions and bloodsports in the area.

 

Over time, the Bazaar grew into a thriving hub, providing Fulcus and his warband all manner of twisted diversions in which to participate and slake their lusts on. Some of the finest slaves in Lost Hope pass through the fleshmarkets here, and many exotic drugs, fine fabrics and other riches stolen from the warbands raids make their way to the stalls. Life is perilous for those who aren’t members of the Quintos, Fulcus himself doesn’t care for the fate of individuals in his domain, so traders are regularly killed in exotic rituals, or rendered in the vats to provide components for demonic war machines or served up in barbaric feasts. That said, an ever present flow of new inhabitants winds their way through the twisted corridors of the Lost Hope, hoping to find fame or fortune, for compared to some of the other vaults and halls, the Bazaar seems like a paradise on the surface, it’s lethal nature hidden behind a façade of beauty and Fulcus wouldn’t have it any other way.
 

[Conn Eremon]

Amentius – World of the Jade Brotherhood, Lost Home of Ancient Kings

 

The world of Amentius was once known as the Neter-khertet, or the land of the all-bridge. It was an appropriate name, for the world was a hub in an ancient kingdom, a focal point for trade and commerce. And, like the rest of this epochs-spanning kingdom, rotten to the core. The debaucheries of the Eldar kind gave birth to the fourth power, which spilled from its demesne and enveloped their kingdom whole. A younger race will call it the Eye of Terror, and will cast its rejects, exiles and traitors within.

 

The Jade Brotherhood did not come by Amentius through normal means. They did not travel the reality-bending space between stars to come across a harbor in the storm. They fought their way to it, from the inside out, and by conquest claimed it. Like many of the fractured survivors of the Fifteenth Legion, the Jade Brotherhood were torn asunder by the magicks of Ahriman, and like so many others hunted him in spite of their lord father’s command of exile. The Jade Brotherhood followed his scent into the great Webway portals, but there the two were separated forever. What ultimately became of the sorcerer-in-exile is unknown to the Jade Brotherhood, for they were too busy fighting for their lives against a race that refused to accept that death had already claimed them.

 

The witch-soldiers of the Thousand Sons had become even more formidable since torn from their home world, and the hundreds-strong Rubricae were unflinching, stoic and efficient in the art of killing. But the Eldar were everywhere, their familiarity with the twisting paths of the Webway allowing them to strike and fade at will. The Jade Brotherhood was dying, but far from dead. The Circle of Seven, the Akh’naton, those sorcerers who had escaped Ahriman’s curse, enacted a ritual as their brothers in dust protected them. At key points in the Webway structure, the Rubricae detonated with alchemical fury, blasting holes into the eternal expanse of the Warp. Utilizing this spillages of the raw energy of Chaos as anchors, the Circle gripped the Webway with their minds and pulled it into reality.

 

Fifteen kilometers the structure plummeted to Amentius’ surface. Though rational and stable within the Warp, the broken rules of reality within the Eye of Terror asserted itself over the impossibility that exploded into existence. The structure twisted and tore as it fell, trying and failing to reconfigure itself into a more logical form. The shock of impact, shattering its lower reaches and sending an expanding network of cracks upward, enforced a modicum of stability. As the layers of corpse dust settled, and the groans of protesting wraithbone reverberated throughout the skeletal remains of a megapolis, the Akh’naton and their decimated brothers exterminated those that had survived.

 

For centuries going on millennia, the Jade Brotherhood has turned the paradoxical structure into a fortress. The Doati Stronghold contains far more space within than seems apparent from without. In fact, from the outside it looks like nothing more than a knotwork of corridors and spherical structures, impossible to pick apart and somehow supporting its own weight. The structure intersects with itself, seeming to occupy the same place more than once, though to focus on this causes severe pain in the eyes. When under bombardment, as Doati has suffered multiple attacks from the many enemies of the Akh’naton, always the structure remains, untouched as it was before, in spite of the rubble about its base, proving damage done. To infiltrate the keep, or invade from the Warp, is to fight upon an ever-shifting battlefield. Often an enemy has followed a straight course, only to find themselves trapped in looping corridors, backtracking only to return to the same place. The Jade Brotherhood has painstakingly familiarized themselves with their hold, though any attempt at permanently mapping it leads only to madness.

 

But Doati is more than their base, their home. It is their mode of travel, a doorway to everything and everywhere. Where the Webway tunnels were severed, sealed portals remain. Doati remains connected to the Webway by some esoteric means known only to the Akh’naton, and quite possibly by their design. These gateways open across a thousand thousand places, as if somehow linked, that any doorway can become a passage to Doati and Amentius beyond at the will of the Circle. For thousands of years, the Jade Brotherhood has maintained Doati. Within its serpentine depths are treasures sought by countless others, from the crown of the first king to the tomes of the Black Watches. Many times the Jade Brotherhood has defended their home from the jealousies of others, beating back hordes. Once, when betrayed by fellow brothers, sons of the Cyclops, was the Jade Brotherhood cast from Doati.

 

 

But since they cast their armor in black in exchange for the Warmaster’s aid, it has never since left their possession.

[Soldier of Dorn]

++ACCESS DATAFILE <LEGIO_TRAITORIS_6245k2/cross_ref_6304632>

+++FILE BEGIN <UKARIAS, WORLD OF TRAITORS>

'...but infamous amongst even the Traitor Legionaires of the Eye is the daemon-world of Ukarias, the World of Traitors.

 

Even rogues and scum need a place to trade, and to barter, for no individual or organization is wholly self-sufficient. Ukarias provides that place. The World of Traitors provides anything a warband might need. Chaotic Apothecaries are established in every settlement, ready to provide additional Astartes to any Warlord whom might aspire to one day lead a mighty warband. Slavers provide additional raw flesh, ready to be consumed or sacrificed depending on the capricious whims of the purchaser. Anything is permitted, for on Ukarias, there is no law bar one- caveat emptor. Let the buyer beware.

 

The Capitol of Ukarias is a sprawling city, made in mockery of the Imperial Hives. It is divided into four major districts, one for each of the Ruinous Powers, and uncounted smaller divisions, each in their turn devotional to a lesser god or daemonic power. At its center lies the Palace of Chaos Undivided, the seat of power, built in imitation of the Palace of Terra. It is where the Regent of Ukarias himself rules from, for nothing of Chaos can go without being dominated. Such is not the nature of Chaos.

 

Many warbands base themselves on the World of Traitors, awaiting the call of a Black Crusade. One such warband is the Cabal of the Eye Singular, led by the Thousand Son Ptolemy Nhexor. Unlike many of the other warbands, the Cabal of the Eye Singular is based upon Ukarias not by choice, but by necessity. They are hounded by their enemy, and the only place they are safe is the World of Traitors. Who the enemy is, and why they would feel safe on Ukarias are, quite frankly, two equally great mysteries. I can theorize about the former, but the latter? Ukarias is, quite possibly, the most dangerous place in the galaxy. But I digress. This report is on a planet of Chaos, not the mad insights of a traitorous Sorceror.

 

I conclude this report by stating, most definitively, avoid Ukarias at all cost to body and to soul. You will never, never in your travels find a more vile hive of corruption and insanity. Nothing could possibly be worth the risk to outside observers such as yourselves.

Do not go to this nightmare world. Do not go. Do not go!'

[Carrack]

A collation of reports of the investigations conducted by Throne sanctioned agents of his most holy inquisitor Markus Ignacio, the scourge of heretics and annihilator of the Warp-spawn. This summary focuses on the reconnoiter of the former imperial world Frederic III, the so called Hell Holdfast of the infamous Lord Carrack, Scion of the accursed Black Legion. This collation is done at my hand, interrogator Sevolp at the demands of my master Inquisitor Markus Ignacio, may the Emperor guide his hand and purify his purpose.

 

Preface: a small lighter was able to infil the outskirts of the Frederic system and approach the northern hemisphere of Frederic III using advanced stealth systems and a fortuitous astronomical aligning of the system defenses. This alignment will next occur in 466 standard years, barring unforeseen rearrangement of the systems defenses. Six Throne agents were inserted via low orbital / low engagement grav chute drop. One of these, agent Gamma, was confirmed dead on landing due to striking a cliff face at near terminal velocity, may he rest with Him on Terra. Another agent, Epsilon, likely failed the drop, with unforeseen wind currents carrying her past her designated LZ and auspex range. Her estimated actual LZ is deep into the western sea. The Emperor protects. Agent Chi landed on target and confirmed his landing, but no further contact has been made. The Emperor protects.

 

1. Agent Rho- noviate grade agent our master recruited from a penal legion. Skilled in hand to hand fighting and quick witted.

Agent Rho was tasked with infiltrating the tribal societies that inhabited the fringes of the northern polar regions and conduct a survey of the orbital defense guns and lances to ascertain if this would be a suitable approach for ground invasion.

Agent Rho successfully infiltrated the Ursgatch ( greater white bear) tribe and soon learned that foul Chaos Astartes were using the tribe, along with the neighboring, warring tribes as stock for aspirants. To this end, they stunted technological innovation and embargoed trade with the rest of the world. He heard tales of great tournaments of single hand combat held in the past in order to take larger numbers of aspirants but at present they only took youths who were particularly successful at their rites of passage. The rites of this tribe involved retrieving an object from the den of a White Greater Bear.

In regards to orbital defense of the northern polar approach he was able to survey a fully operational lance array which he believed most closely matched a Mars XII pattern. He said it appeared well defended from the ground and in good order. He was limited in surveying the other site due to the slow mode of travel. (Dog sled?). He was believed captured in transit to a macro cannon battery by a tribe hostile to the Ursgatch. Unconfirmed reports state he was consumed after extensive torture. His psycho indoctrination and and hypnotic failsafes, along with the faith and loyalty of a true agent of the Throne undoubtably protected the operation from such crude measures. Semper Ave Imperitor.

 

2. Agent Xi- Acolyte grade Throne agent. Recruited from Scholam St Cashis (endowed and founded by our master)

Agent Xi was commanded to infiltrate the villages that support the citadel hive known as Howler's Charn, believed to be the principal base of operations for the infamous Slayer of Multitudes, Lord Carrack. She was to survey the loyalty and readiness of these villages, believed to be a bellwether of the majority of the world's population. Once complete she was tasked with finding the most suitable approach to Howler's Charn and assay the exterior defenses of the citadel from ground level.

Agent Xi was, as usual, extraordinary successful in infiltrating the Tancorey Township. Embarrassingly so, she even was placed on some city council within her third week. She reports that the township and indeed most of the world exist as a feudal possession of Lord Carrack. His vassal in charge of the township, and other assorted domains was a Black Legionnaire named Vander. Vander is an absentee landlord who leaves day to day operations to local authority and only makes annual visits to collect the towns tribute of coal and wool. A tribute that leaves the residents destitute and famished but the town has not failed to meet in living memory. Orthodoxy to the Dark Gods is maintained by wandering preachers who call themselves Disciples of Lavam. (Believed to be Dark Apostle of Lord Carrack's warband in charge of his mortal cultists.). Sometimes these false disciples are accompanied by youth gangs from Howler's Charn who prey on those deemed unfaithful.

As to readiness she claims that the town is a miners town and it's people are miners but a rudimentary armory exist and during infrequent holidays and protracted maintenance of mining equipment the able bodied men conduct rudimentary militia training. The pastoral elements of the township are more apt to hunt on the side and engage in rustling that occasionally erupted into almost low level warfare.

The defenses of Howler's Charn are formidable. Agent Xi reports extensive wire and tank traps impede the approaches along with draw bridges, minefields, and something she reported as Daemotraps. These are covered by bunkers, patrols and aerial surveillance. The city itself is protected by a curtain wall of composited metals containing adamantine, as well as obvious void shield generators. Gun emplacements provide enfilading and plunging fire across every approach. Agent Xi observed ship to orbit traffic made with launches propelled by engines only capable of reaching a nearby orbital station. Her reports conclude that there is not any one approach that would prove more easy on an invading ground force.

 

3. Agent Delta- Inquisitor -redacted- recently promoted by - redacted-.

Agent Delta volunteered to infiltrate the citadel hive of Howler's Carn and survey the defenses. If possible he was to gather information on the strengths, movements, and goals of the vile Doom of Kasr Woolten, Lord Carrack. He was also equipped with a frequency emitter, that when activated would interfere with a void shield emitter and allow a brief moment of safe teleportation.

Agent Delta, posing as an envoy of a notorious rogue trader entered the city on the pretense of dealing with a xenotech process to dispose of dangerous radiation. He reported finding great difficulty in getting close to any corrupted Astartes or even any mortals of any significance within Lord Carrack's organization. He did make extensive contacts with the Zanazar Network who openly trade with Lord Carrack. ( reference z-delta II-XXI) After a week of shuffling from minor functionalities and being repeatedly steered to dealing with other third party traders who had a more established relationship with Lord Carrack, the true vetting of Agent Delta began. This was several days of interviewing by mortal servants of the Black Legion conducted in chief by a mutant who held the title of "chief inquisitor", Emperor damn these blasphemers. This week concluded with an interview by Legionnaire Copil. This Copil was irritated with having to conduct this interview and reportedly slapped Agent Delta across the mouth breaking his jaw and shattering his front teeth. Agent Delta, unwilling to put his health under the attentions of the heretics of Howler's Carn, self reports starting an intensive obscura addiction to deal with the injury. The following week Agent Delta is mind scanned by a hunched mutant chained to a psi amp. He reports the sorcery used by the mutant to be the most intense experience he ever experienced but survived with his cover intact largely due to the fuddled, fogged state he was in from excessive obscura.

I, however, doubt his passing of this examination because no further reports were received from Agent Delta other than a scrambled fragment with the name and designation of a Black Legionnaire

Paimun. Agent Delta's incomplete defensive overlay of Howler's Carn is included with this report, what is there is very detailed and will certainly be of use for operation - redacted- the location of the frequency emitter is noted under Delta Prime.

 

Addendum: The passage of bio signs consistent with Agent Delta were reported on - redacted- shortly before the incident occurred there.

[Beachymike123]

The Cogs of Madness

Overview: Formed just after the Scouring immediately after the Horus Heresy, The Cogs of Madness has developed into a moderate sized Forge World, run by the Dark Mechanicus Arch-Magos Chaapoza. It is unknown if the cosmic body Chaapoza landed on was an asteroid or moon that had lost its orbit, only that it was located in the galactic south of the Eye of Terror. Initially formed from the wreckage of his cruiser, the Star Roller, Chaapoza has since expanded and consolidated his power. He not only has his forces at hand, legions of Skitarii twisted in his own image of what he wants them to be, but also a warband of considerable size (the Siege Makers of the Iron Warriors Legion), and the Nihilists, a group of renegades and traitors who have fantastic military training. 

Aside from an impact crater, the Star Roller is no more. It was stripped of all its components over time to create the rest of the world - walls and floors were used as the basis for the oldest parts of some areas, with cogitator banks given a new purpose in their new locations. Over time, with new materials and technology, the base was expanded and has become a sprawling mini metropolis in some parts. However, much of the land is given over to either defense systems or mining, of which the Cogs of Madness has a reputation for the latter. It is believed this is due to the warping influence of the nearby Eye of Terror, but no studies have ever been conclusive. 

Each area of the Forge world has an attached Habitat Block, where Servitors are placed to regenerate lost nutrients for a sleep cycle. Worker-slaves are placed into shared accommodation, which is often nothing more than an enlarged prison cell. Overseers and Dark Tech-priests have their own individual cells as befits their status. In the Central Cog, the oldest area of the world, Chaapoza has his own cell and station that links to every single station on the planet. He in turn has a mind link to the central database, allowing to him to have complete access to the Cogs of Madness's actions at all times, although it is range limited meaning he must be on the world for the link to be fully functioning. If he leaves the world, depending on the distance, there is disruption to the feed. 

There is much trade on the Cogs of Madness. Despite being a Forge world, it doesn't manufacture Titans, although it does have the capability of servicing them. It can, however, produce super heavy vehicles and weaponry, although this will use an incredible amount of time and resources. Trade comes in many forms, and as long as no organisation is of Imperial allegiance, there generally is no shortage of those willing to trade, buy and/or sell. This even extends to xenos, although it should be noted that generally speaking only Dark Eldar and Orks are the main alien traders. The Commorite dwellers usually trade in slaves and artifacts, whereas the Orks are often looking for whatever they can get their hands on but often includes some of the noisiest weapons in the known universe. The only enforceable rule is Chaapoza and Helslash's will, both of whom have a considerable wrath when angered. As long as they aren't made to be fools, then all is fine. If that rule is broken, the perpetrators generally aren't heard of again and new Servitors seem to take their place.

The Central Cog: The oldest of the planet's districts, this is formed mostly from the Star Roller's bridge. Consisting of three tiers, the uppermost is both the command centre for the world and Chaapoza's personal quarters. It is also here that intergalactic communications are sent and received, including requests for creations of war machines and weapons, before they are then sent to the respective factories for construction. The second tier acts as both a general command centre for Skitarii forces and security lookout. Three former Tech-priests are permanently wired in to the main frame, their eyes, vocal chords and ears replaced by wires and sensor feeds linked to all areas of the world. The lowest tier is where all trade takes place - it occurs here so as not to interfere with the manufacturing of war materials on the rest of the world, and so as it is in sight of the security forces. Keep your friends close, and your enemies in plain sight of your weapons, as Chaapoza often states. Much of the defenses are in fact automated and hang from the ceiling, mostly as a reminder that all are being watched. 

Manufactorum Diadris: This is where vehicles are manufactured, mostly based around STCs stolen over the millennia. It is the largest facility on the Cogs, and manufactures mostly Rhinos APCs, Predator and Leman Russ Battle tanks, Land Raiders and the occasional super heavy vehicles such as Baneblades and Shadow Swords. There is also an area for servicing Titans, although only room for up to one at a time. Wrecked vehicles are also transported here, where there is a large area towards the back of the facility for salvaging the machines of war. Overseer Magos Tazik is the Manufactorum's leader, with 14 Lexmechanics and 4 Artisans beneath him, as well as Servitors and several teams of salvaging slaves. 

Manufactorum Scalus: Divided into two tiers, the bottom tier produces mass batches of las-weaponry and heavy weapons such as Lascannons and Missile Launchers, as well as combat gear such as armour, webbing, combat goggles and so on. The upper tier is more specialized and produces Bolters and other specialist weapons such as Plasma Guns and Power weapons of all descriptions. Due to the nature of the goods produced here, Servitors are the general workforce in the lower tier, whereas slaves are augmented and set to work in the upper tier. It is from these slaves that aspirants for the Dark Mechanicum can be selected if they show the right aptitude and ingenuity. Overseer Magos Tabia is the commander here, overseeing 11 Artisans and 27 Lexmechanics, some of whom are from the slaves and been given the most basic rights as a Tech-Priest. 

Apothecarium: Before the arrival of the Siege Makers, this was used solely for treating the injured mortals and Mechanicus forces. This facility is the most advanced on the planet and has containment fields, purge beds, operating tables, Servitor outfitting points, treatment bays and medicine dispensaries. Since the Siege Makers have taken up permanent residence, an underground tier has been added. Exceptionally well guarded, by off duty Astartes, this underground tier has the facilities to create new Astartes with all the surgical equipment and gene-seeding technology at hand. Also located here is storage for geneseed - that taken from fallen Iron Warriors is given the highest priority, while the rest are generally cared for but not as to the same extent as Perturabo's lineage. Run by Genetor Rolus, with 2 Genetor Apprenti and 12 Lexmechanics. All Servitors here are equipped as Medi-Servitors. It should also be noted that this is the single most heavily defended area of the Cogs of Madness, even discounting the permanent Astartes present here. 

Astartes District: Located here is where the Siege Makers make their home. Having been expanded over the years as the warband has grown, Helslash and his men are largely autonomous from the rest of the world. As can be expected, this area serves more for function than form, and has nothing more than the basics. A mess hall (with modified kitchen to accommodate Space Marine diets), firing range, ammunition creating facilities and individual cubicles all make this area the Siege Makers their base of operations. There is also a vehicle hangar, where the war machines of these Iron Warriors are stored until required. 

Perturabo's Post: Named after the Primarch and gene-father of the majority of the warband, this is where relics and objects of interest are stowed until required. Ancient texts and tomes are also stored here, and it isn't uncommon to find the Sorcerors or visiting mystics to be found here. Occasionally sacrifices are carried out here, and it was within these walls that Robersium sacrificed several sons of Guilliman to bring Ards'wat, Barkesh and several more daemonic entities back to this realm. 

Nihilist Barracks: This is the newest area of the world and where Kryten's Nihilists are located. That said, this is by no means an advanced area. The command centre is nothing more than a large tent with an area for Kryten and his chosen men to sleep and issue orders. Billets are the most numerous thing in these grounds, as well as a firing range and mess tent, and there is also space for worship grounds and shrines and a discipline square. Although Kryten is the leader of the traitor Guardsmen, it is Warsmith Helslash who directs their actions. Chaapoza also stations his Skitarii here too, although they are largely in vats regenerating from battles until they are required again. 

Station Mirama: A large orbiting space port that can refit ships that are docked to the moderate sized station. When a ship docks, requests are sent to the facilities on the surface and each ship is given individual care, although this can sometimes lead to increased repair times (although this is sometimes intentional when a ship full of bounty is asking for assistance). Before mounting a campaign, the Siege Makers and Nihilist forces will form up on board the station and set out on their tasks. 

[Tenebris]

The Tower of Arrogance, Chaos Stronghold of the Arrogant Sons, Black Legion Warband

 

Much will be written on the majesty of adamantium and ferrocrete that is the Tower of Arrogance, the bastion of the Arrogant Sons and one of the most notorious keeps of the Black Legion. Situated on Vainakh this mighty edifice, this fortress of Chaos is indeed one of the countless wonders in the Empire of the Eye.

 

When the Arrogant Sons claimed Vainakh for the Warmaster they reshaped the world according to the vision of the Black Legion. Manufactorums were established, Black Towers were built, cathedrals of Chaos were raised and countless facilities were restored across the planet. The Black Legion created a stronghold on Vainakh, it created a veritable base of operations not only for the Arrogant Sons but for all the warbands under the banner of the Warmaster. 

 

Yet despite this world solely devoted to the support of their Black Legion overlords, the Arrogant Sons created something only for themselves, the Tower of Arrogance. This mighty bastion built in the form of the Chaos Octet is the child of Warpsmith Kalanthrox, a former Iron Hand Iron Father who sided with the Arrogant Sons and one of the most esteemed specialists in the power fields area, a master of the esoteric knowledge of void shields, Gellar fields and the like. 

 

When the creation of the Tower of Arrogance was commissioned by the leading elements of the Arrogant Sons in order to commemorate the triumph in the Battle of the Black Suns and to establish their dominion over Vainakh, Kalanthrox was given freedom undreamed of and all the supplies he could scavenge from the captured world. The Tower of Arrogance came to be as a monument, as a shrine to all of the Dark Gods but above all, as the first and last fortress of the Arrogant Sons, their home.

 

Kalanthrox devised the Tower of Arrogance as a massive Chaos Octet, rising above the surface of Vainakh for twenty standard kilometers, a massive, imperial structure which commands the sight even from the orbit of the planet. The Tower is not the highest structure on the planet, that honor goes to the Black Towers, self sustained and autonomous fortresses where the Black Legion keeps a permanent defense force and form where rules the many regions on the planet, not the highest but most certainly the most impressive.

 

On surface the high walls of the Tower of Arrogance appear to be slab sided bastions of adamantium but in truth the former Iron Hand integrated in the construction of the fortress countless teachings passed in his original legion. Miniaturized weapons and traps are hidden behind shadow panels of ceramite, explosive spikes spear out from the wall able to kill anything with their silver tips, countless turrets are hidden behind ports and if need be whole sections of the walls could be revealed and massive macrocannons exposed to fire upon the foolish would be attackers.

 

Kalanthrox took inspiration from the strongholds of the Xth legion on Medusa when he extensively automated the defenses of the fortress and when he integrated the defense grid with Dark Mechanicus battle drones and kill servitors, effectively assembling a sort of hive mind mentality spread across all the defensive systems of the Tower of Arrogance. The fortress will not only fight with cold precision and effectiveness as only an automaton can, but the defense would be almost organic, like a body fighting its would be attackers.

 

The internal parts of the Tower of Arrogance are precisely divided among the various subcults in the warband. Each cult is given a significant region in the massive fortress and each cult is responsible for the maintenance of their area. For example, the Sons of the Cyclops subcult, the most numerous in the warband, commands the eastern part of the citadel where their holds are filled with vast libraries, observatories, ritual chambers and meditation pods. The whole area given to the Sons of the Cyclops is built according to the sorcerer lore of its inhabitants and according to the design of the Changer of Ways. 

 

This pattern is repeated across the entire fortress, for each of the subcults present in the warband. Not only the cults of the dreaded Dark Gods are present, but also Raptors have a fantastic eerie for them while the Obliterator cult commands the area around the generatorum where they study the weapon lore singular to their cult. 

 

Specific Areas in the Tower of Arrogance:

 

Chambers of the Disturbed Rest: 

 

Another particularity of the Tower of Arrogance, and a very specific technology imparted by Warpsmith Kalanthrox are the Chambers of the Disturbed Rest,a specific Xth legion techno-lore. The inner parts of the Tower of Arrogance are given to concentric rings of sleeping pods. Vast sleeping chambers where the astartes are interred into a sleeping pod where they are linked with a MIU connected to the noosphere spread across the fortress. In this sleeping pods the astartes are restored, repaired and indoctrinated, their minds subject to countless iterations on tactics, esoteric lore, battle briefings and if need be reeducation. This technology, combined with the psychic lore of the sorcerer coven of the Arrogant Sons yielded impressive results and a very quick recovery rate for the astartes as well as an unyielding loyalty as much artificial as it is gene-coded and psy-shaped. 

 

Entropy Vaults:

 

A specific request was presented by the Nurglite faction in the warband, the so called "Entropy Vaults" a much feared contraption in the service of the warband. In this vaults the Children of Decay experiment in a contained area their biological weapons and bio-sorcery upon living subjects. Each astartes of the Arrogant Sons is required to partake a tour of duty in the Entropy Vaults where he is subjected to various stress tests and the limits of his genenhanced body are explored. Despite the formative value that the Entropy Vaults have for the astartes, their true function is to provide the Nurglites with a stasis contained area where a minuscule fraction of the Garden of Nurgle can be used and explored in a relatively safe environment. A rare occurrence of cooperation between the sorcerers of the Thousand Sons and the scions of Nurgle. 

 

Shrine of the Unspeakable Law:

 

Another specific impressed upon the Arrogant Sons by one of their most esteemed subfactions, the Unspeakable Law of the Night Lords, is the legendary Shrine of the Unspeakable Law. This group of Night Lords hails form the 78th Company of the VIIIth legion and it is led by Marcoman the Lictor, a mighty chaos lord who pledged his allegiance to the Arrogant Sons in return for his life and the continued existence of his impressive library. The Shrine of the Unspeakable Law is essentially a great library where rows upon rows of law books, texts and collections of law cases are collated and archived. The true value of this collection, one of the rarest of its kind in the known universe, is an almost obsessive focus on the countless iterations of human law, of mankind's law, in specific of Legiones Astartes law.

 

Lord Marcoman uses this knowledge in order to act as a judge and administrator for Veinakh and many chaos lords in the Black Legion come before him, in the Shrine of the Unspeakable Law, in order to settle disputes according to the myriad of legion laws, rituals and mores. The importance of the Shrine is well known across the Empire of the Eye and here among the ancient tomes of human and legion law, the Unspeakable Law act as guardians and enforcers of a rare and neutral ground where all claims can be heard and all claimants listened to. Upon the Dais of Judgement, an elevated amphitheater in the middle of the Shrine, ritual duels are fought, capital sentences are decreed and legion law, shattered and deluded as it may be, is enforced by Lord Marcoman who presides the trials sited upon the Judicatium, an ancient and automated throne based upon a dreadnought chassis. 

 

The Hall of Reconstruction

 

Another idiosyncrasy passed onto the Arrogant Sons by their Iron Hands contingent. The Hall of Reconstruction is as much a workshop as it is an Apothecarion. This area of the Tower of Arrogance is the most impressive part of the fortress and here the genius of Warpsmith Kalanthorx was made manifest. Intricate micro shields and stasis fields surround the countless gene vaults were the precious geneseed and astartes organs are stored. Since the Arrogant Sons are a very bastardized warband all known geneseed bloodlines are present in the cryo vaults and each geneline has its complement of surgeons and chirumeks trained in its specifics and implantation. Along with the advanced chiru-pods and hundreds of medical drones the space in the Halls of Reconstruction is shared with dozens of Dark Mechanicus experts in bionic reconstruction. Since the head figure of the warband is an ex-Pavoni sorcerer of the Thousand Sons, tutors in biomancy and thrall wizards expert in this brand of discipline, ensure that all avenues of genetic manipulation, reconstruction and augmentation are explored and practiced. The Hall of Reconstruction is a rare installation in the Eye, and the price that the Arrogant Sons command for its services is exorbitant, yet countless infamous lords and mortal champions were restored from the brink of death thanks to the efforts of this artisans of flesh. Combined with the sorcery lore of the Pavoni temple as well as with the techno-lore stolen form the Iron Hands by Warpsmith Kalanthrox, the Hall of Reconstruction boast a surprisingly degree of bionic reconstruction and tech-lore which is one of the most demanded services on Vainakh.

 

The Temple of the Shattered Realm

 

The Temple of the Shattered Realm is the most holy area in the Tower of Arrogance. This great and artistic edifice is the spiritual heart of the warband and a shrine to all the Dark Gods, but its true function is not veneration but remembrance. In the Temple the warband stores the legion relics claimed across the eras and keeps the individual histories of its members. The Thousand Sons, the most prominent faction in the Arrogant Sons, were always a legion given to remembrance thus the Temple acts as a repository of lore, personal honors, citations, edicts and history which shaped the warband in what it is today.

 

The Temple of the Shattered Realm owes its name to the very act of recollection, were statues are built to commemorate each victory the warband achieved in the Long War, each battle it has fought against the servants of the Imperium and each event which has seen the Warmaster triumph over the realm of his grandfather. The very walls are so saturated with the hatred for the Imperium of Man and for the False Emperor that the Temple is always in constant assault by spiritual entities and false saints created from loyalist souls. It is their constant, unrelenting, but ultimately doomed struggle, the struggle of this betrayed and oh so loyal souls,evokes a sense of foreboding into the traitor souls who pray in the countless alcoves, a sense of restoration, of hope and of direction. The Apostles who preside to the ceremonies, are used to this constant and hateful struggle of the fallen souls and they have created the Casket of Ruination where the remnants of loyalist souls are collected to be tortured and then imbued into the Ruination Warheads so favored by the warband when the total destruction of the loyalist forces is demanded by the Warmaster. 

 

 

Along with this wonders the Tower of Arrogance has yet more to offer to its visitors. The legends of the Well of the Drowned Maiden are know across the Empire of the Eye, so are too the stories about the Unlocked Prison and the Room of a Thousand Doors. Much of this wonders uses the spatial physics so beloved by the Thousand Sons Sorcerers as well as the advanced knowledge in power fields and containment nexuses of Warpsmith Kalathrox. It is wonders such as this which fill the warband's treasury and slave holds as much as their expertise in war and sorcery and it is clear that the Tower of Arrogance is indeed one of the mightiest bastions of the Black Legion in the Empire of the Eye. 

 

 

In known history the Warmaster walked the halls of the Tower of Arrogance only twice. First, after the 4th Black Crusade when the mighty Vengeful Spirit was docked in Vainakh for repairs and refitting, and second, after the 10th Black Crusade when the Warmaster in person gifted Warpsmith Kalanthrox with a relic stolen from the Iron Hands in the battle for Medusa. Both times the Arrogant Sons held a planet wide celebration where ritual sacrifice, games of strength and sorcery as well as contests of blade and pistol were held in honor of the Warmaster. The Banner of Ardan was created in honor of the second visit and it is now properly displayed in the stasis caskets in the Temple of the Shattered Realm. 

 

It should be noted that the Warmaster was particularly interested in the Choir of the Broken Eyes, a device created from two hundred throne slaved psykers bound in a single gestalt entity said to be able to pierce the veil of the Warp and see in the future and cry prophecies yet to fulfill. It was with great honor that the Arrogant Sons accepted the Warmaster's edict that a praetorian guard of no less than nine chaos terminators and a host of psyker-scribes will be awarded to the warband in return for the prophecies uttered by the Choir of the Broken Eyes...

 

 

Thus the Tower of Arrogance became a legend in the Empire of the Eye and one of the most prized bastions of the Black Legion. Since then countless years have passed and the Arrogant Sons wisely always invested and expanded their fortress and their world. Such prize always is sought by enemy warbands and the region around the Tower of Arrogance is filled with bones of defeated foes and the revenants of the fallen guardians, but so far the Tower yet remains unconquered and it is safe to assume that should this disaster even happen the retribution of the Black Legion and the Warmaster would be brutal indeed. 

[Warsmith Aznable]

Adeptus Astrologis Designation : 670.CVxx-100-VII-M37-9/i
Broadcast Transponder Identification : The Child of Calamity
Classification : Type VII Space Hulk
Association : Traitoris Extremis - Iron Warriors
Protocol : =][= Ordo Xenos special quarantine, level 4, point of contact +REDACTED+

Description : The Child of Calamity is a large space hulk operated by the faction of renegade space marines known as the “Iron Hounds.” Ostensibly mercenaries and pirates, this warband is confirmed to be based on the remnants of the Iron Warriors 49th Grand Company, who have been documented as occasionally acting in collaboration with other Iron Warriors warbands. A variety of lesser renegade space marine warbands and human militias inhabit the space hulk and operate in vassalage to Warsmith Bolverk, leader of the Iron Hounds. The space hulk also serves as a hub of illicit commerce. While this tends to unbalance trade in whatever sector the space hulk makes appearances in, the mercenary nature of its operators has allowed +REDACTED+ to make regular open forays into the space hulk to collect information on unrelated targets that make connexions through The Child of Calamity.

The physical characteristics of The Child of Calamity are perhaps impossible to measure with any accuracy due to the temporal and spatial distortions inevitably present in the immediate vicinity of the space hulk. In general terms it is agreed by expert observers that the space hulk is larger than a Ramilles star fortress, though how much larger is a matter of debate. The core of the space hulk is of unknown makeup. The parts of the space hulk that are observable have been given three classifications: “entangled vessels”; “post-Imperial structures”; “pre-Imperial structures”.

The “entangled vessels” are just that, void ships and smaller stations that have been docked with the space hulk for a long enough time that several “post-Imperial structures” have joined around them in such as a way as to render maneuvering away impossible. Many of the vessels in this layer are bulk freighters and colony ships, usually identifiable as originating in outlying Imperial systems persecuted for promoting unorthodox political views, practicing illegal iterations of the Imperial Creed, or harboring populations of suppressed abhuman strains. The descendants of these entangled vessels can be encountered throughout the space hulk’s several civilian population centers and serve as a recruiting pool for the domestic and military needs of the warband.

The “post-Imperial structures” are the most visually striking aspect of The Child of Calamity. The space hulk is surrounded by a framework of iron girders and slabs of armor of absurdly large proportion. Rivets easily the size of Thunderhawks adorn the connection plates and iron shields, and monstrous links of chain tether the dozens of lesser stations. Among these out-stations are asteroids dotted with habitats, defense platforms ranging from close anti-air batteries to planetary bombardment capabilities, and naval berths and retrofit cradles. A number of these stations have configurations that serve no identifiable purpose, yet are active and manned.

The “pre-Imperial structures” are of great interest to both the Adeptus Mechanicus and the Ordo Xenos. These objects make up the deepest observable layers of the space hulk. Most of the observable parts of this deep layer are readily identifiable to experts as being of human manufacture dating to the Dark Age of Technology and possibly earlier. A very few of the objects in this classification are not identifiable and provide no hint of origin. All that is known of these is that they disorient the senses and disturb the minds of those who gaze upon them.

Whether or not there is a fourth distinct layer forming the core of the space hulk is unknown. The arrangement and distribution of the three observable layers is suggestive of the existence of a separate core, and the rumors and legends gleaned from the residents assumes that there is a heart of The Child of Calamity that is unlike any other part of the space hulk.

The locomotion of The Child of Calamity is not well understood. It does not actually “move” at all. The spatial and temporal anomalies that accompany the space hulk are collectively referred to as the Utgaard Phenomenon by the residents. The Utgaard Phenomenon is not strictly a warp storm in the traditional sense, though it may appear that way to outside observers. The space hulk and the vicinity around it are a pocket of realspace entangled with an unstable dimension believed to be of the same kind that was used to create the Web Way. The Utgaard Phenomenon itself is what moves, a kind of roving tear or bend in space that fluidly transposes location, meaning The Child of Calamity is located at a fixed point somewhere in the galaxy that is inaccessible directly. It is not known if the Warsmith has any direct control over when and where the Utgaard Phenomenon appears, or if he merely has a measure of influence over ancient machinery beyond his understanding. The Iron Hounds have, however, demonstrated an ability to maneuver The Child of Calamity to specific locations at prearranged times, as evident in their actions during the Arx Rift Containment in mid-M41.

The following are excerpts from the observations of +REDACTED+ while accompanying his master to a rare meeting with the Warsmith himself:

...glad we weren’t confined to the refit barracks. The last time we were there it was for six months. The food was good enough and they had a holotank we could watch old movies on, but there was nowhere to go and nothing else to do, just stare at the same old faces and walk back and forth between the lounge and the dormitory. There were two small portholes we could look out, one in the lounge and another in the airlock, but there wasn’t anything to see but one of them giant girders...

...the usual vaulted ceilings and echoing chambers. You know? Impossibly long and dusty, with the feel that nobody had been down them in centuries. And then gradual like, so it happened before I even noticed, we was walking out in city streets. The ceiling was so high I couldn’t see it at first. Big enough there were clouds, and I still can’t figure out where the light came from. After I looked hard and long enough I finally saw that it was a big tube, and there was more of this city up on the ceiling! It made me want to drop down and grab onto something, but I didn’t want to embarrass +REDACTED+ so I didn’t...

...scary is exactly what I would call it. Darkness for an eternity in all directions, with nothing but the orange glow of furnaces and forges for seeing. There was a constant hum and buzz and hammering, clattering of parts, rattling of chains... I saw a team of laborers strip the parts out of an old primitive tank, replace the shot-through and melted armour plates, dismount the old guns, and start to put it back together with new pieces that they were manufacturing right there. I don’t know where it came from or what it was capable of before, but before I left it was rolling away with all too familiar weaponry, headed for the Emperor knew where. All of that before lunch...

...the +REDACTED+ habitat was nice, my favorite part. Well, at first, I guess. Clean and modern like nothing I’ve ever seen, and they had the best terminals all over the place that they didn’t even care who used! All the service personnel were disciplined and helpful. After a while we started to figure that the daily PA announcements to vacate and avoid such and such number and color of passageways, a different set every day, was just some elaborate tradition and not the serious thing they treated it like. +REDACTED+ didn’t want to leave the odd numbered blue lounge the day before we left to go deeper, thought maybe he would see what would happen... They found his skull and spine nailed to a bulkhead. No blood, no meat, no sign of struggle, just his skull and spine. When +REDACTED+ demanded to know who had done it, the +REDACTED+ simply said the ship takes what the ship wants and that it was his own fault for not clearing out when he was told to...

...lost all sense of the passing of time. We went through the gates as a group, but I only remember being alone with the Warsmith. It was like a nostalgic, melancholy dream... It felt like the space hulk was a hundred years in my past, and I wasn’t even on it anymore. The sky was full of stars and there was a bright moon. There was trees and a breeze and the air was so fresh and cool, not at all like breathing the recycled air on a void station. There was some kind of insect making noise out in the trees. I don’t know how long I was there. The air was thick with the feeling of a gentle sadness, like suddenly remembering a long forgotten memory. But there was also a feeling of danger, an impalpable threat pressing in on the corners of my consciousness. When the Warsmith and his attendants were with me I was able to forget it and enjoy myself, but as soon as they left me alone it was immediately there again...

...afterward the attitude of the space marines was less surly. His bodyguards were still hostile, and I believe they would have happily thrown us from the balcony of the temple if they had been allowed. Everyone else was at least indifferent, and some were talkative enough that we lingered another few days so that +REDACTED+ could interview as many of them as he was thought useful. I spent most of the time on the Boulevard. It was deep under the main habitat, was long enough and wide enough to race Land Raiders. You couldn’t see from one end to the other. Each company had their own temple, festooned with banners and at least three stories tall. All different types of architecture was represented, and they were all grand designs. The Boulevard was lined with trees, and was as nice as any Imperial Sector Capital I’ve ever been to...

+REDACTED+ wanted to find out more about the +REDACTED+ uprising, so we went to the secondary habitat where all the traders and riff raff do business. After visiting the +REDACTED+ habitats and spending time on the Boulevard, this place may as well have been an Ork camp. The Iron Hounds themselves never went there, and the militias that patrolled it weren’t high on the honour rolls. We were there less than an hour before we got caught up in the cross fire between two competing Rogue Trader houses, and by the time we secured lodgings +REDACTED+ had been directly targeted by an assassination attempt by the very +REDACTED+ we had come to dig up information about. It was pretty exciting, and after the tight security of the inner reaches it was nice to be able to shoot at something...

...worst part of the trip, hands down. These space marines were vassals and clients, not anything like the Warsmith’s own. We nearly did not get out of there alive. Some of the passageways were metal construction space station types, others were hewn directly out of whatever asteroid the station was on. The deeper we got the darker and rougher things became. At the center was a large open area, the hub of this habitat. It had more in common with an under-hive than a space station. There was a large bio-reclamation lake, and different “villages” either on the shore or higher up on the rocky slopes. Bursts of automatic fire and the thump of grenades was a constant background noise. I never saw any of these firefights, but they echoed through the vast chamber nonstop. The warband we went to see, they were one of two renegade warbands in control of one of these villages. Once they had been vassals of the Warsmith, but they had fallen from favor who knows how long ago? Unable to leave they simply existed there, down in the darkness of this forsaken corner of the space hulk. +REDACTED+ made the connexions he wanted, and I suppose if we ever go back they’ll expect us to try to smuggle them out. The Warsmith is probably unaware they continue to survive down there, but of course we could never honor such a bargain. Who knows what damage these feral space marines would inflict if they ever found their way out again?

...as far away from the inner reaches as Terra is to us now, it felt like. The +REDACTED+ was berthed nearby, and this station served void crews and support personnel exclusively. We were surprised to see the Eldar contingent after the xenophobic lectures and propaganda of the habitats, but apparently Eldar are granted some form of exemption. These were Corsair types, arrogant and insulting, but +REDACTED+ took the opportunity to approach several of them yielding, surprisingly enough, the information on +REDACTED+ that we had tried so hard to get on Axis Secundus the previous year. Several of our crew had jumped ship while we were gone, but were easily replaced by voidsmen that had made their way off other ships and spent all their money on the local entertainment. Some things about ports never change no matter how bizarre the location...

++END ENTRY++

Second attempt at getting this in. Last night I almost had it finished, typed it all up in the reply box, then my computer decided to automatically shut down for a software update...