House Accolon
This page details people, events, and organisations from the /tg/ Heresy, a fan re-working of the Warhammer 40,000 Universe. See the /tg/ Heresy Timeline and Galaxy pages for more information on the Alternate Universe.
‘As he stood upon the battlefield, axe-blade raised high,
Behind the aegis of his shield roared defiance to the sky.
Tell thy brothers, near and far, of the blood and fire of war,
That on this day did Byrhtnoth’s fate, by the shield bore.’
(Laid of Dux Byrhtnoth ‘The Shieldbearer’, Knight of Accolon.)
The Knights of House Accolon have a long and hallowed history among the ranks of the Knight Households of the Imperium. They fought in the Siege of the Throneworld, and their King and Liege Lord entered the halls of Legend for her part in the Siege, being granted the eternal title The Blade of Terra, by the hand of the Emperor's Praetorian and becoming a saint in the Imperial Cult. Loyalty is everything to the Lords of Accolon: loyalty to each other, to their liege lords, to their house, to their ancestors, to the memory of their King and the Throne of Terra she died to defend. That loyalty has endured everything a cruel galaxy can throw at it, and it merely grows stronger the more adversity threatens.
History
In the centuries since the Heresy, the Knights of Accolon have become famed for their service to the Emperor during those dark times, and the martyrdom of their King at the very Climax of the Heresy on the soil of Terra Itself. And yet the Knights of Accolon were once a dozen fragmented Households on a world split by war, and it was only through the rise of a single individual who had the wisdom, the martial might and the knowledge to unite all the Knights of that world under her banner that the Household that would play such a part in the great war would come to be.
At the time that the Great Crusade first left the orbit of Sol to conquer the Galaxy, the many households of Cattegirn were at each other’s throats in the long winded series of wars that had split the planet ever since the fall of Old Night.. The Planet had been cold, bleak but rich in metals, and many households of Knights had come into being from the goods of the earth. Additionally the capacity to manufacture small numbers of Knights was maintained, which kept their numbers stable despite the casualties in battle after battle. The Histories of House Accolon do not name when the wars between these houses first began, but by M30 they had been going on for countless centuries. Unity was a dead and distant dream harboured by very few, but one of those was the scion of a minor Knight Household named Artur Eld. He would be the first to try and unite all of Cattegirn beneath his banner. Artur Eld won several small victories and established a power base and a following of loyal Knights, and then made preparations to bring war to all of Cattegirn.
It was at this time that his Knights set off on an unknown quest. No records remain to say where he went and what he found, but whatever it was it augmented the power of his Knights and made them near unstoppable. Thus armed, he set off to end the Wars which ravaged Cattegirn.
Over the course of a dozen battles he vanquished a number of Knight Households, binding them to himself and incorporating their martial strength into his own host. This included the Battle of Guinnion, in which Artur led the storming of the breach and laid low the Knights of Ælfheah.
The Twelve Battles he fought led to the union of over half of all Cattegirn under his banner. He forged all the disparate Knight Households into one, which he named the Knights of Accolon after an old myth of Cattegirn. The other Households, fearful at his power soon united and made war against him, and he would spend the rest of his life trying to finish what he has started, and growing ever more fearful that he would die before all Cattegirn was united as one. Many feared that without an heir his death would lead to the collapse of his realm and the return to the eternal cycle of wars he was trying to end. Seeing an opportunity, the powerful leader Wystan who had grudgingly bent the knee to Eld had his ambitious daughter Myra try to seduce Artur. She failed, but still bore his child, who she named Medrat, and who would eventually try to undo all of Artur’s works.
Artur took to wife Gwenythh, the daughter of Syal of Ghent, Queen Regent one of the most powerful of the remaining Knight Households, the Knights of Nidhoggr. Four years after their marriage, she gave birth to a child, but instead of the expected son, it was a daughter, who was named Arturia after her father.
At her nativity, Artur decided to not publicly announce Arturia's birth or gender, fearing his subjects would never accept a woman as a legitimate ruler. He decided that as she was his child she would also be his heir. So her death was faked and she was sent to live with the most loyal of Artur’s Knights, the young, brave and strong Dux Uktar, the son of one of his great enemies and a child of the foreign Seaxe people from the western ocean who Artur had defeated early in his campaigns. Uktar, a noble and dutiful man if still wedded to the culture of his people, became her foster father. Uktar raised her as his own alongside his two sons, Kai and Shrike. He taught her to ride and fight and shoot and hunt, had her educated on chivalry and academics, and had a suit of armour forged for her to wear. He did not treat her as a woman, but as a warrior, and as a knight. Great hopes were placed upon her, and as she grew, she looked to become a King as wise and great as her father, one who would be able to finish his task and bring unity to all Cattegirn.
All these hopes were dashed when Myra found out about Arturia, and sensing her time had come, she publically unveiled Medrat and brought him to the Iron Hall, the great keep of Artur and the oldest of the Knight Strongholds on Cattegirn. Shocked, he tried his best upon meeting his Bastard son, but would not budge on the issue of succession. His daughter would rule after him, not some bastard son. Furious, and spurred on by his mother, Medrat had Artur poisoned and took his throne, claiming as his father’s only son he was the only heir. Uktar, upon hearing the news was tortured. He had grown to love Arturia as a true father, and did not want any harm to come to her. However he did not want the foul Medrat to rule, And after a year of Medrat’s tyrannical rule, when the foes of House Accolon won several victories and the dream of unity was growing ever more dim reluctantly he revealed all to Arturia, and asked her to take up her father’s banner and stop her bastard brother’s reign.
Arturia, despite being young, and unprepared, was courageous, determined and had a strong sense of justice and duty, and to prove that she was her father’s daughter went alone into a broken ruin that was once a Knight Holdfast and came out with Caliburn, a mighty Knight Mount that she controlled despite her lack of implants. This proved that she was machine-touched, and truly the heir to Artur Eld. Raising her father’s banner, she led her father’s loyal knights to face those who had sided with Medrat. For two years she fought many battles, always at the forefront, always taking the burdens upon herself, with her brothers at her side. Many Knights who disliked Medrat sided with her, including the great knights Gawyne and Bedieve, two of her father’s foremost servants. She met up with and slew Medrat in a great battle near Lake Camaln, and when his followers laid down their arms turned on the league of enemy Knight Households, defeating them one by one until all of Cattegirn answered to her. Her father’s dream had been made real and the Knight World was one.
Barely five years later, as rebuilding was still underway, mining operations were expanding and King Arturia was still healing the wounds of the long wars, the old scanners that still watched the empty skies suddenly found hundreds if signals coming from the stars. The King mobilised her Knights and made ready in case of a challenge from the heavens. But what came was a golden hulled dropship, landing before the assembled host of Knights, and what emerged was a living god clad in gold.
The Emperor Himself had come to Cattegirn.
To this day questions are asked as to why the Emperor Himself, at this time still prosecuting the Great Crusade alongside his Sons, would deliberately seek out and land upon an obscure Knight World far from the most vital war zones of the time. Some say that there were relics of the Dark Age of Technology on Cattegirn that the Emperor wished to obtain first rather than the Mechanicum, others that even then he saw the potential in the young King of Cattegirn and wanted her in his armies. The truth will likely never be known, but what is known is that the King of Cattegirn and the Emperor of Mankind met and spoke in private, and when they were done the King announced that from that day forth she and all her subjects would be servants of the Emperor, riding and fighting at His command for the unity of all men, not just those of Cattegirn. A week later she would leave Cattegirn along with over half her Knights, joining the Emperor’s own 1st Expeditionary Fleet where for a full decade she would fight alongside the Custodians and the chosen warriors of the Imperial Army, before leaving and beginning a long period of service alongside many of the Astartes Legions, gaining accolades and battle honours by the dozen.
One by one questoris detachments of Knights would leave Cattegirn to serve in the Great Crusade, until a bare skeleton force was left behind to train future Knights. But as battle honours and trophies began to filter back, all of the people of Cattegirn began to celebrate the exploits of their chosen warriors as they fought at the bleeding edge of the Emperor’s war of unity, just as they had fought in their King’s war for unity. Regular shipments of Knight Armours from several Forgeworlds periodically came in as part of the Emperor’s own promises to the King of Cattegirn, which allowed the world to remain independent of the wider Mechanicum to the distaste of many within the Order of Mars. The Knights of Accolon fought at the forefront of many battles, fighting with honour and fury and gaining many accolades from the forces they fought alongside. No less a person then Primarch Arelex praised the charge of Thegn Yvain during the Vogsphere Compliance, while a banner of House Accolon is known to have hung in the victory chamber of the Resolve, the Flagship of the Void Angels Legion. Though that banner represented a less then noble victory, when over a tenth of the Household was destroyed during the Igwen Compliance due to the foolish bravery of one of the most famed Knights in the Household, the outsider Abdul Al-Sherar, known as "The White Knight". His exile would prove to be fateful, not only for the Househoild but also for the Void Angels in the years to come. The fame of House Accolon brought them many enemies though, and other Knight Households routinely commented negatively on the fact that the head of House Accolon was a female in defiance of most knightly traditions, which led to much ill feeling between them and occasional bouts of violence.
The foremost Knight Household Detachment comprising two dozen Knights were resupplying at the Forgeworld of Mezoa after the end of the war against the dregs of Ullanor when the news of the disturbances in the Isstvan Sector came to light. Arturia did not hesitate to order a full Household Detachment of seven Knights under the command of one of her foremost Thegns, Thegn Esclabor to join the assault against the Traitors on Isstvan. Soon news came through of the Warmaster’s treachery and the butchering of no less then four loyal legions, and at this the King swore that she and her Knights would stand against the traitorous Warmaster and fight and die to deny him his victory, and that is just what the Knights of Accolon did. The order went out that all Household detachments were to seek out and fight the traitors wherever they may be, though the many Knight detachments were scattered across the stars, and soon Household detachments of Accolon flocked to their nearest traitor warzones to fight. On a dozen warzones across the Imperium the Knights of Accolon fought and died to deny the traitors their victory. Some of these battles were the great and famous like Zhuko V and Rosskar. Other battles have been lost in the fog of war. In every case the Household fought till the end, and one by one they died. By the time of the Siege of Terra, almost all of the Knights not on Terra were dead, and the Siege of Terra would see all the rest fall, including the King of Cattegirn herself, who gave her life to try and hold back the tide of traitors and defeat the cursed First Traitor Aubrey Himself. When the Heresy was over the Household was all but extinct with only three Knights remaining. The shattered remnants now faced an uncertain future.
Matériel Strength
At the outbreak of the Heresy Household records have that there were two hundred and seven tested Line Knights split over three dozen different Household Detachments across the Imperium serving with a dozen expeditionary forces, with another nineteen newly raised Aspirants scattered among that number. Of all those Knights, only three would survive the Heresy to return to Cattegirn. Losses were compounded by the fact that the moment one world was secured by the Loyalists, the Knights would move on to confront the nearest traitors to their current position, and refused to stop this cycle of moving and fighting until all the Knights were destroyed. Additionally, several detachments serving alongside traitor forces were brought down before they knew the extent of the treachery going on around them. The Knights of Accolon used every type and make of Knight with no preference, each Knight choosing his make of mount based on his own temperament. It is known that numbers of the Mechanicum Knights, the Maegaera and Stryx were comparatively rare compared to Cerastus and Questoris Knights. Additionally the Household had a large number of Transport vessels for moving the Household detachments around, which would come in great use when the Heresy broke out.
Ranks of Accolon
- Dux Bellorum: The head of the Knights of Accolon. The name translates roughly to ‘Duke of Battles’ or ‘Duke of Dukes’.
- Thegn: The Seneschal equivalent within the Household, Thegns are the most veteran and seasoned of all the Knights.
- Dux: A Line Knight of the Household, equivalent to the Scion rank used elsewhere.
- Gedriht: Veteran Knights who have yet to advance to the rank of Thegn, Gedriht are the solid heart and the forlorn hope of the Accolon Households.
- Geoguth: roughly translating to the Knights Dolorous or Uhlan of other Households, Geoguth are characterised as 'up for it,' comprising the younger and braver Knights ready to prove their prowess.
- Guguth: The ‘Destroyers’ of the Household, Guguth are the ones tasked with destroying tanks, buildings and smashing all before them. They are a humourless lot with none of the flash of the Geoguth or the tempered steel of the Gedriht.
The Cold Heaths of Cattegirn
Cattegirn is an old world, trapped in a time well before man left Terra. The planet is far from its blue star, and much of it is bound up in great ice caps. The habitable lands between the northern ice cap and the equatorial sea are covered in great windswept moors and mighty forests. Life is hard and short, which suits the lords of Accolon. They refused any improvements to the lives they life from the Mechanicum, for the ways of the past preserved them through old night and were the ways their King once fought to defend, and make them a formidable foe to face.
The vast areas of uninhabited forests, heaths and fells are home to many creatures, from the great Wyrms that prey on the shaggy Elkens the people of Cattegirn farm, to the mighty Corvens of the icy seas, all of which provide many foes for the Knights to kill.
The people of Cattegirn are known as the Seaxe, named after the long daggers they use. Their culture is harsh, based on the blood feud and punishment by ordeal. Some feuds have lasted centuries, being passed down generation by generation. The plunder from this is the glue of loyalty, and loyalty means everything to the Seaxe.
Many separate petty kingdoms exist on Cattegirn, jostling for land and wealth. The once-true Kingdom of all Cattegirn fell apart after the Heresy when the King died, and the surviving Dux of Accolon left things the way they were. This endless conflict keeps the nobles of Accolon sharp and skilled for when they must leave Cattegirn to ride beyond the stars. All of these wars and conflicts are fight in the ancient matter of pre-industrial Terra, with sword, axe and round shield.
The community of Cattegirn is a rural one, where primarily all classes of society live on the land. At the top of the social system are the royal houses of each of the Kingdoms. Very few of the Kings are also Knights, though many of their sons are, and they are mindful of the call from the Great Hall of Accolon. Below the kings are the eoldermen, the ruling nobility who provide most of the Knights. All Knights are sworn to their House before any King or Lord, and when the muster to war comes, all other pursuits are abandoned. It is known for entire wars to suddenly cease as nobles from across the kingdoms leave Cattegirn to ride in the stars.
Livery Of House Accolon
The overcast, rain-sodden skies of Cattegirn only rarely clear to reveal the deep blue colour that the Knights have taken as their own. This blue is trimmed with silver, the colour of the rare sunlight that reaches the surface and white, the colour of the breeze-pushed clouds.
Each individual Knight of Accolon will add personal marking to his Knight, including campaign markings, army badges, Space Marine Chapter symbols and other such emblems as a sign of the many battles that Knight has fought and the loyalty shown to the allies that a Knight has fought alongside. The more markings a Knight has, the greater their standing is and the more they are respected.
The Dux Bellorum of the Household, in addition to his own heraldry bears the markings of the hallowed once and future king of Cattegirn, Arturia Eld, to show that he is the chosen castellan who will guide the Household in her absence until her return at the end times.
Noted Knights Of House Accolon
- Arturia Eld, King of Cattegirn "The Sword of Promised Victory": 'The Blade of Terra', 'King of Cattegirn', 'Saint of Knights', all of these titles given to a single Household leader, one among many. And yet the actions of Arturia Eld remain long after the Crusade and Heresy have long passed, and have become legend. Born the only child of Artur Eld, the great uniter of Cattegirn, she was adopted out to one of his Knight Vassals to protect her. Raised as a paragon of chivalry and virtue with a string sense of duty and loyalty, when her father was assassinated she rose up against the usurper. On the first of the many myths surrounding her, she found and tamed an ancient Archeotech Knight Suit, Caliburn, despite having no implants to control it with. Defeating her bastard Brother, she united all of Cattegirn under her banner. Shortly afterwards the Imperium came to Cattegirn, and no less a figure then the Emperor Himself came to Cattegirn, though the reasons why are still debated. Arturia led her Knights into the Stars, and soon gained a reputation for near superhuman feats. Her cool temper both on and off the battlefield, her unshakeable faith in the Emperor, her tempered bravado and her clear concern for her warriors and subjects made her an awe-inspiring though distant figure to her Knights. Even the Primarchs were known to listen to her counsel on matters of war, and the Primarch Arelex's great work Knights of the Imperium was inspired by her actions during the Ultima Crusade. Her seemingly perpetual state of bountiful youth and her incredible battle skills brought her many suitors, from the bravest of her own Knights Abdul Al-Sherar, to the heads of other Households, Rogue Traders and Imperial Army Commanders. But she would take no husband until the task the Emperor set for her was done and the Crusade was won. When the Heresy broke out she immiedeitly dispatched her Knights to hunt down the traitors, and when she learned of the Northern Massacres, she swore a mighty oath that as long as a single Knight of Accolon drew breath, the Traitors would be hunted down and destroyed. With that she threw her household into the storm. Eventually she ended up on Terra as the Warmaster unleashed his full fury upon it, and it was there that she finally met her end, standing alone against the entire might of the Traitor Legions, hoping to cross blades with either Hektor or Aubrey. Her Knight Caliburn was never recovered and her body never found, and some speculate that it was taken as a prize by the Traitors as they fled Terra. Some even claim that she didn't die on Terra, and is even now waiting for the end times to return to the Imperium and lead the Knights for the final battle. She has since become an Imperial Saint, worshipped on a thousand worlds. On many of those worlds though the legends have been corrupted and distorted, to the point where the Saint of Knights is considered a man.
- Abdul Al-Sherar "The White Knight": Considered the greatest warrior in the Household during his brief time within the ranks of Accolon, Abdul Al-Sherar was not a native son of Cattegirn. His origin was the Order of Bahri, the Thrall-Knights of Forgeworld Al-Sherar. His request to join the ranks of Accolon was unusual for few Knights would ever willingly join themselves to another Household, but none could doubt his earnest courage and so he was granted a place within the King's own Household. He swiftly proved himself a mighty warrior, peerless in battle and a master of single combat. He was even given the rank of Aucteller within the Household, and offered the chance to pursue a suit towards his King. However disaster struck at the Battle of Igwen. Abdul Al-Sherar disobeyed an order from his King and led a sizable detachment of Knights into a maelestrom to support a V Legion assault where they were surrounded and picked off by enemy Tank Hunters. The Battle saw over half the King's household detachment and a full tenth of the entire Household, twenty-eight line Knights lost. Calls were made to have Al-Sherar expelled from the Household for his conduct. His own Knight Mount had been crippled beyond repair in the battle, a stain of disgrace for any Knight. Though the King did not formally make any moves, she did inform him that he would have to redeem himself for his actions and that his suit was over. With that he left the ranks of Accolon to forge his own path, which would see him rise to become the greatest of Freeblades and rival the martial skill of even the King he once served.
- Thegn Kai "Capalus": Considered boorish, rude and uncultured with an acid tongue and a fiery temper, Thegn Kai was nonetheless a brave and loyal warrior who stood with his adopted Sister until the very end. The adopted older brother of Arturia before she became King and the son of Uktar, Kai became a Knight over ten years before the final war against Medraut began. He sided with his own against the usurper and won several honours. When the Imperium came he accompanied his King into the Stars. He was considered her closest confidant and one of the few who could cool her temper when roused, though his own temper was even more volatile and more frequently unleashed. He was considered uncourteous, rude and had a less then stellar opinion of the virtues of chivalry, though he was valued as a naysmith who helped to maintain courtly order. He followed his King and Kin through thick and thin, before finally falling on Terra destroying the Chaos Warlord Titan "Torradon Lux" on day 55 of the Siege.
- Thegn Bedieve "Diademed": The highest ranked Knight to survive the Heresy and the only survior of the King's own Household who fought on Terra, Bedieve was a wise and loyal Knight who was unafraid of disagreeing with his King if he felt it was necessary to do so. He lacked the grim bravery or Uwain, or the flamboyance of Grimir or the martial skills of the one later called the 'Lord of Bones'. But his wisdom ensured the King always kept him close as an adviser and somtimes confidant. It was he who faced the daunting task of rebuilding a Household that was all but extinct in the wake of the Hektor Heresy. To do this he helped cultivate the cult of Arturia as Saint, and welcomed those within the slowly growing Imperial Creed who advocated that belief, allowing the cult to grow in the space surrounding Cattegirn and entrench itself there. Thanks to this and to pressure on the newly-created Mechanicus to repay the debt owed to Accolon for their actions in the Heresy, he was able to secure enough Knight Armours to begin rebuilding the near destroyed strength of the Household, though he was unable to prevent the unified kingdom of Cattegirn from falling apart and splintering into dozens of feudal nations. Bedieve would fall in battle alongside the Void Angels and his old comrade in arms the Lord of Bones, though by his actions the Household would survive the scouring and rise again to serve the Imperium.
- Thegn Uwain "Mace": Uwain had been one of those who had fought against Arturia during the wars that had raged across Cattegirn before compliance, and he spent much of his life trying to prove himself to her due to his perceived disloyalty. He became famous for his grim exterior, his coolness under pressure and his rock solid defences. He commanded the Questoris Household Detachment that fought on Zhuko V during the climatic Tank Battle there, eventually falling to the guns of a Fellblade Platoon shortly before the end of the battle.
- Thegn Osmaul "Wallbreaker" Osmaul was a master of Siege Warfare, breaking many fortifications with his Castellan pattern Knight's quake gun. He ended up on Rosskar during the Heresy, where he defended the central pains for several months before finally being destroyed by a Reaver Titan of the Fire Masters a week before the Steel Marshalls arrived to liberate the world.
- Dux Grimir "Ringchaser": Known for his bawdy ways and his fondness for women, Grimir was nevertheless a seasoned Knight and proud warrior. He was a known figure within the ranks of House Walkur, where it is said he broke a hundred hearts and would have been skinned alive were it not for the direct intervention of the King.
Rules
Arturia Eld (HQ: D Points)
The Once and Future King of Cattegirn, Thegn Rex of Accolon, Sword of Promised Victory, ‘The Blade of Terra’
WS | BS | S | Front | Side | Rear | I | A | HP | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Caliburn | 6 | 4 | 10 | 13 | 12 | 12 | 4 | 4 | 7 |
Unit Composition
- 1 Caliburn (Unique)
Unit Type
- Vehicle (Super-heavy Walker, Character)
Wargear
- Excalithon
- The Evalorn Shield
- Phased plasma-fusil
Special Rules
- Super-heavy Walker (Fear, Hammer of Wrath, Invincible Behemoth, Move Through Cover, Relentless, Smash and Strikedown)
- It Will Not Die
- Thegn Rex
Excalithon
Range: - Str10 AP2 Type: Melee, Deflagrate, Tempest Attack, Shatter Strike
Deflagrate: After normal attacks by this weapon have been resolved, count the number of unsaved wounds caused on the target unit. Immediately resolve a number of additional automatic hits on the same unit or model using the weapon’s profile equal to the number of unsaved wounds – these can then be saved normally. Models in the targeted unit must still be in range in order for these additional hits to take effect. These additional hits do not themselves inflict more hits!
Tempest Attack: Rather than attacking normally, Caliburn may make a special attack at Initiative Step 2. This automatically inflicts a single hit against each model in base contact with it using the weapon’s listed profile.
Shatter Strike: Caliburn may halve its attacks (rounding down) and lose Deflagrate and Tempest Attack rules to give them the Destroyer and AP1 stats instead.
Phased plasma-fusil
Range: 24" Str6 AP3 Type: Salvo 2/3
The Evalorn Shield: When Caliburn is deployed, and subsequently at the start of each of the opposing side’s Shooting phases, Caliburn’s controlling player must declare which facing the Evalorn Shield is covering. The choices are: front, left side, right side. Caliburn has a 3+ invulnerable save against all hits on that facing until the start of the opposing side’s next Shooting phase, and the strength of any Shooting attack against it from that facing is reduced by -1, the effect increasing to -2 if the weapon has the Blast or Template rules (note, however, that this strength reduction has no effect on Destroyer or Haywire attacks). The Evalorn Shield is repositioned before any attacks are carried out in the Shooting phase and may not offer protection to Caliburn’s rear. In addition the Evalorn shield also provides a 4+ invulnerable save against attacks in close combat and forces close combat attacks by other Super-heavy Walkers and Gargantuan Monstrous Creatures to suffer a -1 to hit.
Thegn Rex: When calculating the victors of any and all assaults that take place within 24" of Caliburn, the owning player adds +1 to their score. However if Caliburn is destroyed, the enemy gain an automatic victory point.
Knights of the /tg/ Heresy | |
---|---|
Imperial Knights | |
Households | House Accolon - Order of Bahri - House Goda - House Walkur |
Characters | Arturia Eld - Lord of Bones |
Chaos Knights | |
Households | House Castus |
Characters | The Four |