Unit Profile: The Sages of Enmity

 

Born of the Ultima Founding the Sages of Enmity Chapter of the Adeptus Astartes began life as members of the Unnumbered Sons of Guilliman, known also as the Grey Shields. Drawn from the genetic progeny of Ferrus Manus these men fought within the mighty armada of the Indomitus Crusade, plying the stars to arrest mankind's headlong plunge into ruin. When the devastation of the Praeses Vahlandia was discovered by the Crusade upon their arrival in the Sector, the sanction was given to form a new chapter to stand sentinel in Vahland. 

The Sages' Chapter Master, Zhong Kui. was chosen for his even-handed temperament and capable mind for political maneuvering, a useful skill in the often tumultuous political, religious, and military organizations that make up the Vahland Sector. Master Kui, after much discussion with his new Chaplains, based the Chapter's heraldry on the tragedy of their Primarch, The helm and arms of each brother would bear a blood-red pigment, symbolic of their father's sacrifice, and referencing the chapter's teachings where the origins of a warriors power lie in the mind and are channeled outward through the arms. In contrast to the fiery red, the core of their armor would be a slate gray showing their immovable resolve and acting as a symbolic metaphor for their role as the bedrock of humanity, for without the constant sacrifice and strife of the Astartes, the dominion of Mankind would surely topple.

The Chapter's Organization follows the Codex standard as laid down by Primarch Guilliman but has the quirk of the Order Youxia [You-She-Ha], which is a variation on the Crux Terminatus Honorific within other chapters, it essentially signals personal veterancy, meritorious adherence to the cult and creed of the chapter, and highlights the Brothers aptitude in combat. The Youxia, make up all manner of ranks throughout the Chapter, and each bear specially forged power blades and a ritual plumed helmet as a signifier of the honor they bear. 

The Liberation of Haspis Marina was the first conflict that the Chapter took part in, Vahland Sector's capital world, it was paramount that the new stewards of the region take part in freeing its highest offices of the taint of Chaos. A brutally hard-fought campaign, which lasted for 7 Months, the action saw the Sages of Enmity and hundreds of other Imperial formations sweep through a Chaos Tainted Coalition led by major elements of the Word Bearers. The aftermath of this action would have deeply resonating aftershocks, with many of the traitor coalition fracturing across the Sector and going on to launch their own campaigns in the years that followed, some of the Sector's most notorious villains and most glorious heroes fought at Haspis Marina, such as Galgathrax the Unwholesome, and Captain Corporis of the Sons of Medusa. The Campaign is memorialized on the Chapter Standard with a flaming sword plunging through 9 spheres wrapped with a twisting serpent, noting the Emperor's Sword wielded by Robute Guilliman, the nine worlds of the Haspian system, and its occupation by traitors.

Following the victory at Haspis Marina, the Sages of Enmity journeyed to the nearby system of Iocles, where the Chapter founded its homeworld, in the high altitude mountain ranges of the systems prime world, adopting its barely industrialized society as theirs. Master Kui, favored the world for its similarity to Medusa, the world of their gene line's progeny, and for its supposed "Sage Kings" who operate fledgling client states amidst the bones of a once ascendant Dark Age of Technology civilization. 

When the 1st Jornathii Ork War began, some 93 years following the Liberation of Haspis Marina, the Sages of Enmity had several smaller campaigns throughout the Sector under their proverbial belts. The Orks of the Skinner Worlds had been a spot of anxiety for the Chapter, Ork Empires are notoriously volatile, and prone to violent land grabs. The Sages were scattered throughout the Vahland Sector, when the initial Ork landings occurred on Jornath, dealing with threats from a number of great and lesser Xenos and Heretic forces. It was hoped that the Jornath system, being the seat of some of the Urient Sub-Sectors most prolific trade guilds, and noble families would be able to bring to bear such overwhelming manpower and equipment that a landing by Orks in such numbers as were present on the world in the Early War period would not greatly threaten regional stability. When the Emerald Scream incident occurred, triggering a major fleet deployment of Orks from the Skinner Worlds, it became clear to the Sages of Enmity that they would be required to aid in the defense alongside those Astartes and Imperial Guard Armies already present in the system. 

The Sages of Enmity arrived shortly after the Fall of Ankou, in fact, their 2nd, 4th, and 6th Companies arrived in the system during the final hours of the Battle for the High Civitans Palace, during which they joined forces with the withdrawing portions of Battlegroup Ankou, and took positions with the Jornathii System Defense Fleet and Battlefleet Vahland where the took part in what is still the largest orbital fleet action in the Sub-Sectors history.  When the Orks broke through and began landing forces in the Writt Expanse, near Hive Oakenzid, the Sages of Enmity took to the ground alongside thousands of other Astartes and millions of PDF and Guard troops. In that time many great actions occurred, with members of 4th Company neutralizing a formation of Xenos Gargants under Traggazog Metalcap, and the 2nd leading the push of 10th KCC, the 7th Chonn Heavy Infantry, 32nd Antinar Deepers and the 12/16th Oakenzid Conscripted Levy in the jaws of Ur Bloodstamp, one of the Starflaya's prime lieutenants, resulting in the death of that great foe at the hands of Color Sgt. Felica Janol of the 32nd Antinar Deepers, earning the respect of Captain Hóng tāo. The 32nd to this day bear the Sages Chapter marking on their regimental banner, alongside the mummified skull of Ur Bloodstamp, which hangs from the banner pole. 

In the years following the 1st Jornathii Ork War, the Sages have been active in advocating for a number of significant military expeditions in the Sink of Erasmus, and the Skinner Worlds to neutralize the significant threat posed by these dens of the aliens and heretics before they can again sally out to sew havoc through the sub-sector.  As the Chapter ages, they have continued to refine their Cult and Creed, focusing on a methodical and dispassionate response to threats, and placing special credence to rapid ruthless strikes to eliminate their targets. 

The Western Marches: Battle of Wraithwood

 Some time ago now, my friend Chris descended upon our realms here in North Carolina once more to darken the skies with crossbow bolts and cause the ground to rumble with the clattering of a thousand dice. He brought with him a very lovely force of 15mm Renaissance figures painted up as a the retained men of a noble house within the Kingdom of Wallonce in his Western Marches setting.  We played two games of Dragons Rampant during his visit, this first game he squared up against our other friend Chris (I know, it gets confusing), who brought a sizeable force of very spooky skeletons to plague the realms of men with.  As this was in October of last year, I'm a little hazy on the exact disposition of forces and a direct play by play, but I'm going to attempt to catalog the tenor of the game as best as I can below

The Game Size was 24pts and they were playing the "Into the Valley of Certain Death" Scenario, which sees both armies attempting to move off the opposing table edge, through the enemy army and a table filled with dangerous terrain. 

The Retinue of Lord Hollowell of Wallonce

Painted by Chris H.

Lord Hollowell [Elite Foot]

-Goader

Pikemen Militia [Light Foot]

Halberdier Militia [Light Foot] 

                                                Crossbow Militia [Heavy Missiles]

                                               

                                               Alchemist's Company [Scouts w/ 'Spellcaster']

   The Unquiet Dead of the Wraithwood

    Painted by Chris Mc.

   The Bone Lich Mull'Occm [Light Foot w/ Undead]

    4x Skeleton Warriors [Light Foot w/ Undead]

 

    Skeleton Archers [Light Missiles w/ Undead]

 

                                                 Wraiths [Lesser Warbeasts w/ Undead]

An overview of the table before deployment, the forest stands, and the giant mushrooms are all counted as dangerous terrain for the purposes of this scenario, no doubt the evil magic tainting the Wraithwood has seeped deep into the roots of the trees, and encouraged them to new heights of arboreal malice.

A view of the Walloncian line, the ranged arquebuses and crossbows deployed to the right, and the pikes and halberdiers on the left, both wings using the hostile terrain to their advantage, encouraging the undead host to march through a hail of bolts and bullets across dangerous and rough terrain to get to grips with them

The undead, however, have the numbers to weather the fire, and the Wraiths have the 'ranger' ability allowing them to cross through terrain features without distress (after all, who best to traverse the Wraithwood but the Wraiths themselves)

multiple Regiments of Skeleton Warriors move to engage the Walloncian Pikes along the left flank, but several units falter in the rough terrain or fail to organize well enough to charge just yet. Resulting in several Undead units strung out in dangerous terrain, with only one unit making it into close quarters with the Humans on the left.

The Wraiths on the Right have better luck, crashing into the Alchemist's Company and causing some casualties. If the Wraiths can continue to roll up into the Crossbows, it could prove disastrous for the Humans, by taking away their ranged advantage. 

Lord Hollowell and his retainers survey the battle, waiting for the most opportune moment to commit to the fight in earnest.

The Undead were repulsed from the Pikemen and lost a scattering of other units to the restless spirits of the trees. Walloncian strength of arms was holding the line firm for the moment.

Taking decisive action in the center, the Halberdier Militia charged into the entangled Skeleton Warrior units. They made some good progress in causing damage to the skeletons, but not as much as they would have hoped, and were rewarded for their bravery with a hail of arrow fire from the Skeleton Archers, which did a brutal number on the unit, and broke the spirit of the rest, causing them to flee. The Pikes slew another depleted unit of Skeletons but were overwhelmed at last by the last of the Undead's reserve, collapsing the entirety of the Walloncian left.

The Right faired little better, with the Alchemist's Company being slain or fleeing from the Wraith's attack. The Crossbows finished off the battered unit of Wraiths, but they too found themselves overrun by the last of a damaged Skeleton Warriors unit.

Lord Hollowell stands alone. defiant in the face of the Wraithwood's evil

While things might appear grim for the Men of Wallonce, a unit of Elite Foot with a leader is a daunting prospect in Dragons Rampant, and Chris H. did a lot to whittle down the threats on the table with his foot and missiles, before ever engaging with the Elite Foot. Essentially the Humans have a very powerful, heavily armored unit, capable of moving and performing actions reliably, versus the remaining undead force which is comprised primarily of light archers and lightly damaged light foot.

The Archers open fire onto Lord Hollowells Retinue, but struggle to score damage against their Armor 4, despite getting a fair number of hits.

The last of the Skeleton Warriors, move to charge the Humans, but fail to activate sadly, leading to Lord Hollowell's forces engaging and destroying the last of the Skeletal Warriors

With the dedicated melee infantry gone, the game was largely decided. The Skeleton Archers fired off a parting volley into the retinue, effecting no casualties, and vanished into the dark eaves of the Wraithwood, no doubt taking the word of the defeat to their Dark Masters

The Banner of Lord Hollowell stands tall on the battlefield, and the first rays of sunlight break over the gray cast clouds, lightening the heaviness in the air and returning some life to the haunted trees and dead grass. The Dark Magic of the Wraithwood has been repulsed for now but at a considerable human cost, no great reveille will be held this night, merely a stoic toast that those that fell did not do so in vain.

Minor Walloncian Victory. 

Jornath: The New Model Cohort

Art from Art of Morkarr

An Excerpt from Ichan Rechenbacher's "Treatises and Meditations of Post-War Martial Formations on Jornath"

Chapter 4 - The Campaign on Devos IV

When we look to understand the formation of the first formally founded expeditionary Regiments after the conclusion of the first Jornathii Ork War, it is important to understand the restructuring which occurred in Jornath's indigenous military units during the mid-war period. Of course, as explained previously, Pre and Early War Jornathii society relied on a byzantine system of private, commercial and state-funded militias to comprise its Planetary Defense Forces. This puzzle of different units was a carryover from the earliest days of Jornath's liberation in the Great Crusade and was closely tied into its hereditary political system. While the "Cohort System" as it was called, provided a versatile toolkit of various military specializations on a unit by unit basis. It made large scale operations difficult to orchestrate, as each Cohort could vary wildly in its equipment, practices, and command structures, leading to disastrous campaigns such as Operation Remits Maw. When Astra Militarum Officers and Astartes Commanders arrived to stabilize the situation, clerical errors within the Sub-Sectors Tactica Outline of Jornath's Strengths created additional confusion and led to strategic blunders that took several years to recover from.  

When the Emerald Scream event took place, it set a short timeline for the emergency restructuring of Jornath's planetary defense forces. With the alien's astropathic message drawing Xenos reinforcements from the Skinner Worlds into the system, drastic actions needed to be taken. To buy time for this restructuring and to deny the aliens' an uncontested base in system multiple Astartes chapters, knight households, and Guard Regiments formed Battlegroup Ankou. The Struggle for Jornath's Moon has become Legendary in the Sector and is the subject of no shortage of academic analysis.  

While the Angels of Death carved their glory in the stars, the Imperial Guard and the Skitarii Maniples of the Adeptus Mechanicus were finally surrounding and destroying the largest Ork units on Jornath's surface. In the heartland of Kula Province and in those regions unblighted by the alien's presence, a mass conscription effort began, spearheaded by the Mordian Iron Guard. 

The Kula Conservator Cohort, being a watchword for Jornathii Military excellence by this point in the War was used as the model for the restructuring of Jornath’s planetary defense forces. In broad terms, the basic outline of roughly 200,000 men, split across 11 Regiments with an attached force of armor was used to stitch together a myriad of different guildmusters, huscarls and cohorts of various origins and unite their oftentimes contradictory ethics and command structures with a single overarching leadership cadre. This was broadly very appealing as it allowed for local cohorts to retain many of their traditions at a regimental level, while still acting harmoniously with other dissimilar units in service to the Imperium. 

In later years, after the Conclusion of the First Jornathii Ork War, units from the world would be highly sought after by Astra Militarum commanders the length of the Sector and on rare occasions beyond. A Jornathii Expeditionary Regiment represents an army group’s strength of light infantry with associated armor and transportation, able to reliably source its weapons and equipment, due to the political ties of Cohort and Guildmuster Leaders with Jornath’s vast network of merchant houses and hereditary wealth. It was no surprise then that when vicious fighting broke out on Devos IV, that the most illustrious of Jornath’s forces was sent to aid in the fighting. 

The most notable changes to the Kula Conservator Cohort’s structure during the New Model Cohort Reformation, was to separate the administrative duties of the first, second and third regimental commanders, and place them into the hands of a Cohort Command Staff headed by the newly founded position of Regent General, which holds a significant amount of political and martial power, not only on Jornath but in many of the elite circles of the Vahland Sectors nobility. The first Regent General, Calces Brost was killed only three months after inheriting the position during the Ork Reinforcement Fleets’ landings in the Wriit Expanse. He was succeeded by Sarah Moliquare, whose shrewd tactical capabilities and penchant for ruthlessness both on the battlefield and in the ballrooms of Kula Hive. When Moliquare retired to the private sector after the conclusion of the 1st Jornathii Ork War, Bisckell Eckrad ascended to the rank, and was the first to lead the KCC in off world operations. First in a formal blooding against a minor Seccessionist Uprising on Tankore, and then to the War for Devos IV.  

Scholars will note in the official campaign reports filed by the 3422AG, and the Office of the Deputy Plenipotentary for War that the Kula Conservator Cohort’s constituent regiments have added honorifics referencing many actions from aforementioned 1st Ork War for those unfamiliar I will detail them shortly below.

1st Suetonious Regt: The 1st Regiment spent much of the early portion of the war as a dedicated garrison for Kula Hive when the outcome of many of the early campaigns was still in question. After Operation Gray Jewel, and ground operations on Jornath itself were firmly in hand, the 1st took part in the final destruction of the Ork scrap cities in the Kulan Swampland alongside the Sons of Medusa. When the Ork reinforcement fleets made landfall on Jornath following the Defense of Ankou, the 1st fought in the prolonged halting actions to stopper the massed alien armor formations coming from the Writt Expanse. While they took significant losses, they were in the end successful, and so adopted the name of Jornath’s doomed Orbital Defense Platform, whose bitter defiance prevented the initial Ork invasion from becoming a catastrophic disaster. 

2nd Usamiljen Regt: The 2nd spent a great deal of the war in the North, fighting alongside the Usamiljen Fusiliers and the Guffmans Platz Cohorts during the Liberation of Usamilplatz, Remits Maw, and the Late War Campaigns to bring the alien’s last remaining mountain strongholds to heel. Prior to the Ork War, Kulan high society looked at the northern provinces as backward or at the very least beneath the more cultured mores of society life and the Cohorts, which had been tied into the hereditary political system from centuries reflected this also, leading to a great deal of mistrust, failure to cooperate and occasional inter-unit feuding during the Early War Period, particularly as Supreme Armsmaster Vasinus began his initial campaigns. When the 2nd adopted this honorific, it marked a notable turning point in domestic Jornathii politics, the high esteem and influence that the Kula Cohort commanded, helped to alleviate some of this ill will and internal bias, which would inevitably lead to greater integration of Usamiljen born nobility into leadership roles within the planetary government.

3rd Berhas Regt: The 3rd earned their name in the gruesome Siege of Fort Berhas, during which dozens of battered PDF formations, withdrew to a mountain stronghold following the disaster of Operation Remits Maw. When the Orks launched their Summer Offensive, the Fortress became a defensive loadstone, and was surrounded by massive numbers of greenskins, looking to loot the holdout for its stores of ammunition, vehicles, and atomics. Had it not been for the sacrifices made by the 3KCC and units like them, the War for Jornath may well have taken an altogether more devastating turn for the planet. 

4th Nizajain Regt: The 4th, are named in honor of the final battle of the campaign that saw the Cohort’s 6th Regiment slain to a man. The 4th was positioned along the cordon line of the South Eastern portion of the Ork Exclusion Zone during the beginning of the Ork’s Summer Offensive. When it became clear of the gravity of the situation, the 4th attempted to effect a breakthrough to Bolasku and the 6th through the Salt Marshes along the coast, but took thousands of losses under Ork guns in the attempt and were forced to withdraw. When the time came to Liberate Bolasku years later, the 4th were the first Regiment to enter the city. During the Liberation, they retrieved the 2nd Company Standard of the 6th Regiment, tearing it down from where it hung as spoil from the wall of Smashmek Gragga Snazzrivet’s command center along the Bolasku docks. The banner travels with the 4th still, and is a prized relic of the entire cohort. It flew proudly both on the Cohorts review upon arrival at Devos IV and in the 4th’s first engagement against heretic forces outside Xyphonica. 

5th Oakenzid Regt: The 5th, are named after Oakenzid Hive, which played a major role during the Mid to Late War period of the War for Jornath. When the Ork Reinforcement fleets made their landings in the Writt Expanse, the Hive provided a base for units participating in the massive set piece engagements in the arid south. As casualties began to mount in this theatre, the KCC dropped its Kula only recruiting restrictions, and many of the new Oakenzid born recruits found themselves placed into the 5KCC

7th Bolasku (the 906ers) Regt: The 7th are a prolific Regiment, participating in many of the greatest battles of the War for Jornath, they fought alongside the then 10th (now 11th) under Supreme Armsmaster Vazinas’ in the earliest campaigns to crush the orks in the North, playing a key role in the Sundering of Galjasim which saw the western spur of the super bridge connecting the Mechanicus Forge City/State of Prima Jama with the roadways latticing the Usamiljen Mountains totally destroyed in a calculated feint which would go on to allow the Mechanicus’ forces to play a vital part in the war. They participated in Operation Remits Maw, and consequently found themselves within Fortress Behras after only barely escaping the mountains with the Regiment intact. In honor of their impressive roll of honor, the 7th have 2 honorifics,  the first and the one most commonly associated in official Munitorum and Astra Militarum record is “Bolasku” after the site of the 6th Regiments Last Stand, the second which is spoken more informally by the common soldiery is the “906ers” which refers to the Regiments defense of Fortress Behras, also known by its identifier code H-906.

8th Grehazin Regt: The 8th is named for the Pillars of Grehazin, a rocky string of islets near to Nizajain Isle and another one of the major battle sites in the campaign that saw the 6th destroyed. Elements of the 8th KCC did participate in the fighting at the Straits, alongside Naval Armsmen and Astartes from the Mortifactors and White Scars Chapters. While much of the Regiment was deployed near to Guffmans Platz at the time of the Orks breakout attempt on the coast, the 5th, 6th and 8th Companies were on recruiting and rest duties within Kula Hive itself, and given the experience of the KCC in shipborne small unit actions during peacetime, they were sent into the fray as a favorable option to styme the aliens. 

9th Remits Maw Regt: The 9th are named for the disastrous Operation Remits Maw, an early blunder by Northern Cohort Commanders which saw many of the gains made by Supreme Armsmaster Vazinas after the first Ork landings, lost to poor planning and even worse logistics. The 9th have the particularly dubious honor of being amongst the few Regiments to fight their way north to Prima Jama rather than withdrawing south to the PDF’s rally point of Fortress Behras. Forsaking much of the Cohorts SOP, the 9th acted as light infantry, and fractured on a platoon level to slowly inch their way until they reached the Southern lines of the Krater Cohort and the Skitarii of Prima Jama, preserving much of their number in the process. The 9th is also the Regiment from which the Cohorts Regent General on Devos IV Bisckell Eckrad rose from, and it is no doubt that the pragmatism displayed by the Regiment during this action rubbed off on RgtGen. Eckrad, for it was the belief of many within the command structure of Devos IV’s loyalist forces at the time and the conclusion of academics studying the war years afterward, that these formative engagements under the 9ths notoriously laissez faire commander Major Kenlo “Crash” Ean may well have shaped the KCC’s eventual commander into the capable strategic thinker that he would eventually become. 

10th Guffmans Platz Regt: The 10th are named for the major transit hub of Guffmans-Platz, a town known across Jornath for its thriving bohemian culture. During the war Guffmans Platz found itself as the staging point for many operations into the Usamiljen Mountains from the South, as Imperial forces attempted to crush the Orks between Mechanicus troops in the North and their own lines. Over nearly a decade of vicious fighting, many within the 10th found an appreciation for the Northerners they fought alongside in these campaigns, and when word came that the Cohort would leave Jornath as an expeditionary force, it was a unanimous decision to name the Regiment in honor of their Northern comrades.

11th Vazinas Honourias (The Old Guard) Regt: The 11th, formerly the designation of the Cohorts Armored contingent, was formed of veteran companies from many different Regiments that were refounded over the course of the War for Jornath, the 11th also includes experienced armored units, making the force composition very similar to a Cadian style Shock Troop Regiment. It is an honor for a trooper, squad or vehicle crew to be inducted into the 11th, it acts as a reward for meritorious service in the Cohort to get your “Double Ones”, and the 11th, which is significantly smaller in number than many of the other Regiments is used most often as a de facto Special Forces Group for the Cohort. They are named for Supreme Armsmaster Vazinas, Jornath’s overall commander of Planetary Defense Forces. 

12th Rothresh Mechanised Regt: The 12th are the Cohorts Armored Forces, representing its wealth of Chimera APC’s, Leman Russ’, and other associated mechanized assets. The 12th are named for the Rothresh Industrial House, a major fabrication guild on Jornath based near to Oakenzid Hive, after the Ork reinforcement fleets landed in the Writt Expanse, armored forces became a major factor in holding off the tide of greenskin light vehicles pouring out of the desert. As the weeks crawled painfully by and losses began to mount, the Rothresh foundries, whose chief output traditionally had been agricultural machinery and sea going vessels destined for Oakenzid’s port, shifted their production to the Crocatta armored vehicle, an extreme local modification of the Chimera chassis. Doing this with limited Mechanicus advisory support, and with the fabrication complex itself threatened by Ork Dreadnought formations, this influx of armored pieces is credited with tipping the fighting in the Mid War against the aliens. Thusly the 12th honor this success by carrying forth the name of the guild into the wider Imperium. 

Jornath: Gideon's Lament

+++ ANKOU +++

+0 Days 

Linces Hive

The Scent of the Woods is loamy and fungal.
A lone traveller looks from behind a veil of thickly hanging moss
an Elderly Man bleeds fire into a sacrificial bowl
A sea of stars falls to devour the heart of a faithful son


Epistolary Gideon slammed back to consciousness with a start, reeling within his restraint cradle at the vividness and import of his vision. He looked about the crimson bathed interior of the Overlord, slowly regaining his bearings in the material world, as he recovered from his sudden premonition.

"Brother Librarian are you well?" asked Brother Sergeant Tranent from across the cabin, his tectonic voice rendered sharp-edged by the electronic ministrations of his suit vox.

"Y..Yes, Sergeant, the veil between reality and the emperyan is thin around this world. No doubt thanks to the greenskin's witchcraft" Replied Gideon shaking away the last darkened tendrils of the warp's touch from his mind. He looked into the corner of his visor screen checking the strike force's overview telemetry. The echelon of emerald triangles representing the Dragoon's Overlord and Thunderhawk transports were just now breaching the far side of the debris field of the freshly slain Ork Kroozer blocking the space lanes above Linces' Starport. Gideon blink-clicked the vox rune representing the forces command frequency

"Lieutenant Thade, the warp is unquiet hereabouts, I suspect we will not have an uncontested landing." Gideon spoke into the vox link, and in short order the gruff reply of Lieutenant Thade came back, inhumanly deep, oddly so for a non-primaris Astartes.

"Understood Brother-Librarian, I will disperse the format..."

The Lieutenants words were cut off in a haze of static interference, and Gideon frowned within his helm but did not attempt to reestablish the link, as already the emerald triangles were beginning to move into more cautionary approach vectors, hugging the counter ordinance fire envelopes of the Imperial Navy and System Defense ships. Their operation was simple, land and establish contact with indigenous personnel on Ankou, and begin the bolstering of an Imperial defense which might withstand the approaching greenskin fleet.
No one had heard from Jornath's satellite in months, not since the wretched xenos magics had broken over its surface, there was no telling what fate the Ankouvians might have suffered. The whole of the situation made Gideon uncomfortable, it was not the purview of the Ork's to disrupt their targets with massed psychic attacks, or if reports from the Sons of Medusa were to be believed and it was largely impossible for any of gett of the Iron Hands to fabricate anything, vast hosts of the greenskin's reanimated fallen. Something altogether darker was afoot in this system, and he worried at the price the Imperium's defenders would pay to discover it.

Gideon was thrown from his ruminations by a chorus of static hazed vox blurts, and the sudden slamming of the Overlord to one side, which merely jostled the Astartes slightly within their restraint cradles, but which was extreme enough to render dozens of the House Trask Armsmen, also aboard the craft, unconscious from the g-forces involved. Gideon could already hear Sergeant Tranent asking the Overlord's pilots for a situation report,

"Anti Orbital Batteries Brother-Sergeant" came the terse reply from the cockpit. This news was not so much a shock as a disappointment, it indicated that at least some portion of the surface was under opposition control, which made the early stages of their operation that much more difficult. Resolved, Gideon reached out with his mind, grasping out past the steel and adamantium skin of the Overlord, through the tortured void between the descending assault craft to find the mind of Lieutenant Thade, vox traffic could become intermittent or garbled, especially in the midst of a void battle and he could take no chances. He sailed through the blackness of the stellar dark, dodging pillars of incandescent energy spearing up from Ankou's glittering surface, ducking under chunks of starships still ablaze with plasma fire, and through clouds of flash-frozen corpses, and then as gently as a butterfly drifting lazily through an open window, he found the sleek shape of Lieutenant Thade's Thunderhawk and settled gently into the folds of his mind, seeping in through the cracks on his subconscious to walk the pathways of his synaptic nerves.

"Brother Lieutenant. Shall I instigate Contingency Strategies?"

"Gideon, the vox is more than sufficient. You know my feelings about witchery."

"Yes, but still the question stands."

"Such impudence...Take the Starport, I will silence the Guns, Baron Grundel, and the Armsmen will secure the Governor's Palace... Now... get the hell; out of my skull."

A vicious three-way firefight blazed across the Transhive approaches to the Lord Magyar Honorific Starport, the Armsmen under Sir Kalen had just achieved the first barricade from the hands of the mind tainted Ankouvians, whole hosts of crazed civilians had flooded the streets since their contested landing a half-hour before, screeching themselves hoarse in a bastardized imitation of lingua-technis, the Cult Mechanicus' binaric shorthand, and firing all manner of las weaponry and autoguns. No matter how many fell to the disciplined volleys of the Trask Armsmen and the mighty boltguns of the Astartes themselves, the tide of madmen simply pressed on regardless. Before too long, the undisciplined mobs had given way to organized resistance, Phalanxes of partially augmented nobles wielding humming power blades, supported by well-drilled tech adept levies, all chanting the work line cants of the Mechanicus in a steady monotonous chorus, as they lured Armsmen into prepared kill zones of pre sighted heavy weapons or fell upon the Strike force's supporting Armigers with melta charges and industrial drillers. The whole thing reminded Gideon far too much of the filth covered throngs of Chaos devoted lunatics that now plagued every corner of the blessed Imperium, though the fetid stench of the warp was not present. When the Orks arrived it was almost a relief...almost, in a fashion typical to the wretched beasts they had announced their arrival by bringing down the facade of a habitation block with an immense explosion, which had fortunately neutralized the squadron of Ankouvian tanks parked in the vicinity of the building. 

Brother Ancient Reinhart had made short work of the greenskin sappers that emerged with his Onslaught cannon, but as the saying goes "There are always more Orks".  Reinhart was even now advancing in support of Sir Kalen's troops, using the massive bulk of his Redemptor chassis to shield the more fragile human soldiers from the storm of las and slug fire blizzarding around the area. 

Gideon advanced alongside the intercessors of Sergeant Tranent, summoning up walls of kine force to block the deadliest of the incoming fire, poping the fat rockets shrieking in from the Ork throngs occupying the parapets and communications towers to the northwest of the Starport's gatehouse. He stepped over the scrap metal barricade and joined Sir Kalen and Sergeant Tranent behind the hulking form of Brother Reinhart.  The Trask Armsmen were in a sorry state, only about four dozen were still alive at all, and many were nursing bloody wounds, one of the strike force's three armigers had been lost to Ankouvian ambushers, and all of their armored vehicles had been destroyed. He knew that his small strike force could not continue this tenor of fighting for much longer, he didn't need to be a psyker for that level of insight. 

"Damnable hard fight sah." breathed Sir Kalen, who attempted to salute smartly, but who was forced to flinch back down behind the leg of Brother Reinhart by a particularly close grouping of shots. Gideon nodded "Indeed Sir, you and your men have done the name of Trask good honor this day. My Dragoons shall claim the battlements in short order, you should bring your armsmen in behind our avenue of advance and use the shelter of the starport to reorganize your formation." 

"By your Order Lord Librarian." Sir Kalen replied, even as Gideon moved next to Brother Reinhart, and slapped an armored gauntlet upon the Dreadnaughts flank. 

"Brother Ancient, shall we punish the aliens for their arrogance?" Gideon asked the leviathan of ceramite.

"Yes Little Brother. We shall find the beasts herdmaster and finish this." barked the harsh voice barking forth from the Dreadnaughts vox grille. Gideon flexed his shoulders and let the power of the warp flow into his fingers with crackling energy. Behind him, Sergeant Tranents Intercessors were forming into a fighting wedge, and Sir Kalen's armsmen began laying down sheets of disciplined las fire. 

"DRAGOONS OF THE EMPEROR!  INTO THEM!" Gideon bellowed through his helms speaker and began to charge.  

Gideon parried the brutish cleaver of one ork, before ramming his blade into the stomach of the beast next to it, tearing the blade free and spinning to face yet another greenskin as a heavy ax blow landed upon his pauldron, he sent a bolt of searing warpfire into the alien's brain for its trouble. The stink of cooking meat and the fungal reek of orkblood pervaded his senses as beyond the scrum of Astartes and Ork bodies the Armigers of house Trask crashed into the swirling melee like the furious judgment of the Emperor made manifest. The chainblades of the knight aspirants sweeping bright gory arcs through the air. 

"Brother Librarian, xenos motorized troops and ground forces have overwhelmed the brothers near to the gatehouse!" Sergeant Tranent voxed between the sound of rapid bolter fire and explosions. Gideon hammered his fist into the nearest greenskin's face, pulling away with the alien's visage caked in blood and began to issue redeployment orders to his forces before a deep machine voice cut across the vox. 

"The gate shall not fall Gideon. I shall hold the right." boomed Brother Reinhart, already the ripping echo of his Onslaught cannon reverberated across the warrens of the Spaceport. 

"No Ancient! The place crawls with orks you need support!" Gideon protested. 

"Silence Boy! I've been culling these foul bastards since you were a novitiate. Rally the force. Secure the Objective. FOR THE EMPEROR!" snarled Reinhart across a private vox link. 

Reinhart's ammunition counter had long since been depleted, but it was no matter, the mighty weapon could slay efficiently as a cudgel just as well. The burning remnants of a half dozen xenos walkers surrounded him, lighting the eaves of the gatehouse with flickering orange light, as dozens of feral aliens clung to his armor, tearing chunks of his blessed plate away even as he slew them with sweeps of his meat clogged cannon or crushed them with his close combat arm. 

He saw Gideon and Sergeant Tranent battling through the tide of greenskins beneath the shadow of the armigers, and through the haze of heat lances, and the smoke of bolter fire, he saw the form of the alien war leader, bellowing to his lieutenants in the savage bleating cadence of the Orks. He had fought this particular breed of alien enough to know that as soon as the creature's command structure was crippled they would surely break under any significant amount of pressure and with the determination only an Astartes would muster in such odds he bellowed his fury and made for the creature. 

Gideon grappled an Ork to the ground by the crude metal jaw sutured to its nerveless flesh and hammered its brains apart on the plastcrete surface of the starports pavement. He returned to his feet just in time to see Sergeant Tranent hack the weapon arm from a greenskin moments away from delivering a grievous downward blow to his head. It was in this frantic moment to moment brawl that he saw the lumbering smoke wreathed form of Reinhart, his form thick with alien warriors clinging to its surface as he plowed into the heart of the ork line, and like a sledgehammer blow the import of his vision in orbit came to him in horrifying certain clarity, and he screamed into the strike force vox network for the ancient warrior to cease his reckless charge. 

Reinhart, blink-closed yet another emergency notification as it appeared across his cognitive link, the whirring of crude xenos saw blades severed the hydraulic feed to his cannon arm rendering the limb little better than a boom of useless metal. Still, he pressed onward, smashing the foe with feet of iron. He was mere meters from the warboss now, and he snarled a challenge through his vox grille even as the orks clinging to his chassis pried the lid of his sarcophagus open. 

"COME AND DIE WRETCHED FILTH! he spat, and for the first time since the Fall of Vellincrest to the Daemon Hosts of the Many Crested King, Hector Reinhart, revered brother-ancient of the Imperial Dragoons, a veteran of 98 campaigns in the Emperors Name and Lance-bearer to Chapter Master Fendrigalo DeMonde at the Chapters rediscovery by the Indomitus Crusade saw his enemy with his own eyes, and moments later slew that enemy, himself and fifty other xenos as his chassis' reactor went critical under his own direction. 

Burning tears of rage streamed down Gideon's face, as he stood over the burning remnants of Reinhart's dreadnaught body. The survivors of Trenants squad and the Armsmen filtered across the killing ground, delivering death blows to Orks not yet fully persuaded to remain dead. A chapter hero had fallen, and in his sacrifice, he had bought the lives of his battle-brothers, he had bought the security of the spaceport and as a result, likely earned Jornath and her citizens much need time to prepare themselves. It was irrelevant to Gideon. He only cared for vengeance bought with the blood of the greenskins now, and he would not stop until Ankou had drowned in an ocean of Orkish gore.

-Your Favorite Madman-

Jornath: The Battle of Solago Bluffs

This week we looked at the Germain 86k Laslock,  the Scrappaboss and the Scrappa Gubbin Krew, to cap off the week, I wanted to post a small scale scenario that would reflect an archetypal skirmish, indicative of the types of engagements typically fought in the Early and Mid War Periods of the War for Jornath that included the new Index Jornath Datasheets. The fight focuses on a confrontation between a Jornathii Planetary Defense Force Unit guided by Mordian Iron Guardsmen and an Ork "Scrappa Warband", essentially Gretchin on garrison duty, as the Imperials attempt to oust the aliens from their dug-in positions overlooking the hamlet of Solago.

Summary: The Battle of Solago Bluffs occurred in the waning days of the 3rd year of the War for Jornath, during the Imperial preparations for Operation Gray Jewel.  Solago is a small hamlet along the Northeastern coast of Manfredi-At-Prima, that clings precariously to the cliffs marking the terminus of the Usamiljen mountain ranges where they drop into the ocean. It had been evacuated during Supreme Armsmaster Vazinas' lightning redeployments following the Sundering of Galjasim in the first days of the war and had remained unoccupied for almost two years, before Orks on the peripheries of warbands in the process of securing the primary highways out of the mountains moved into the area. As the northern cohorts and skitarii fought fiercely to free up these highways to allow for the redeployment of vital manpower for the coming Imperial counter-attack, it became clear that the fast-approaching deadline could not be met, and the winding coastal road was chosen as the fallback option. the 4th Bastion Garrison Cohort of Usamiljen, along with attendant Mordian Iron Guard 445th advisory attaches were tasked by Guild Master Horace Hezital to clear the coastal reaches into the lowlands. The 3rd Company, 6th Platoon, under the direction of Adrian Nemiolo was given the task of liberating Solago's stretch of the coastal highway. The initial fighting was fierce and saw the ork's superior positions and terrain advantage push back the Jornathii. Gretchin Scrappa troops had riven the area with gun nests and had a position of entrenched anti-tank guns located on high ground overlooking the highway preventing the Imperials from making good use of armor to secure the town. In a risky maneuver, the success of which he would later attribute to the Mordian veteran sergeant Charles Vandryke, Adrian Nemiolo led his platoon in a pre-dawn flanking maneuver over the difficult wooded ground north of the town, meeting the Scrappaz without the support of their Ork masters and collapsing the greenskins' defensive lines by sunrise. The Battle of Solago Bluffs is an archetype of the small scale town clearance actions fought throughout the early years of the war and indicative of the sacrifices made by the northern cohorts to break the Siege of Fort Behras.




LISTS

Players made choose to add any upgrades within the datasheets following the guidelines of Open Play using Power Level.


Two Furst Two Gutta Kore 

Klan:  Goffs
Warlord :   Agor Vrak Gogmuncha (Mek)
             
         1x 10 man Boyz Squad
         1x Wartrakk
         2x 10 man Grotz Squads (both of these units have the <Scrappa> keyword)
         2x  Scrappa Gubbin Krews
         1x  Scrappaboss
         2x Big Gunz  (these units must be Kannons)



3rd Company, 6th Platoon,  4th Bastion Garrison Cohort of Usamiljen

Regiment: Mordian
Warlord: Adrian Nemiolo (Company Commander)

         4x 10 man Infantry Squads (all models are armed with G86k Las-Locks) 
         3x Heavy Weapons Teams
         1x 10 man Veteran Squad
         1x Platoon Commander
         1x Command Squad






Mission:

Players will roll off and alternate deployment as normal, however, the Astra Militarum player will receive a +2 to their roll to go first. Standard secondary objectives apply in this mission, those being Linebreaker, Slay the Warlord and First Blood as defined in the Main Warhammer 40,000 Rulebook. For each enemy unit slain, a player will score 1 VP,  the Ork "Big Gunz" will reward 2 VP to the Imperial player for being destroyed, while the Veteran Squad and Platoon Commander will yield 2 VP to the Ork player for being destroyed. The winner of the game will be the side with the most Victory Points at the end of turn 5.

Special Rules:

Dawn Assault: If a model is the target of a ranged attack by another model further than 18"  away on the first turn of the game, the target will receive a +1 to their Save.  In addition the Ork Mek, Boyz and Wartrakk must start the game in reserve.

Prepared Defenses:  So long as they do not move from the point they are deployed, the Scrappa Gubbin Krew, and Big Gunz will receive a +2 to their Save against ranged attacks made against them. If for any reason, these units move during the course of the game, this benefit no longer applies.

   

Thanks for reading!  This post was a part of an ongoing narrative campaign, in the "living setting" of Jornath. For more information about Jornath as a setting, including units, missions, and posts from other Jornath bloggers be sure to click on the Jornath [40k] tab at the top of this page for an up to date list of all posts.

-Your Favorite Madman-