Thomas Gaudin

Thomas Gaudin
Discovered (world)	Sturmundrang
Discovered (period)	c.877.M30
Legion	Tenth
Heraldry/Sigil

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.

Appearance

‘Loud, hot-blooded, boisterous and brave’ was how Gaspard Lumey once described Thomas Gaudin. Gaudin was a massive figure, his body barely contained by the suit of Cataphractii armour he wore. A restless spirit, Gaudin was energetic and always busy. What was always noted was his deep, booming voice that always seemed to be on the brink of deafening.

Youth

Not much is known of Gaudin's early childhood once he landed on Sturmundrang, only that the planet was mired in a bloody and stagnant civil war that had lasted for centuries. The use of chemical and nuclear weapons had rendered the very air caustic to breath, so much so that it was impossible to survive for more than a few minutes on the scarred surface without a breathing apparatus and a body suit. Domed settlements shielded against the atmosphere rose out of the desolate plains, some cultivating food and others manufacturing equipment. it was for control of these settlements and the roads between them that the many armies fought. Warfare was all about machines, with armoured vehicles clashing against one another for control of the vital highways.

What records do exist speak of how he was raised in the neutral domain of Moritzen by its ruling Lord. His pod had been found by a searching expedition looking for archeotech among the wastes, and given the child was somehow still alive despite the toxic atmosphere, Gaudin was recognised by his surrogate family as a truly valuable individual, rising to take over after the Lord’s death from respiratory illness caused by prolonged exposure to the atmosphere.

Though small, thanks the neutrality of his foster domain, Gaudin's home had a very small standing army of men but a fairly sizeable reserve of vehicles, mostly infantry fighting vehicles and tanks. These vehicles were the lifeblood of war on Sturmundrang as they were sealed from the caustic air, using recycled air filtration systems and were able to refill air tanks for ground troops. Gaudin noticed how stagnant the fighting was on his world and how the endless series of clashes led to little result and the continued decline of the planet and wished not only to enhance Moritzen but also the whole planet. Having studied the way war was waged and enhanced it with his own ideas, Gaudin now planned to use the few troops he had to revolutionise warfare on Sturmundrang. The army of Moritzen was small but under Gaudin they were given specialised training in mobile warfare and all the supporting arms that usually stayed back at base were mechanized so they could go out into the wilderness along with the armour i.e. artillery, supply, communication and medical care. This would allow his forces a greater period away from a dome settlement and a greater radius of action. Long since sickened by the seemingly endless and brutal war, Gaudin vowed to use his new army to unite the planet under one banner.

Gaudin's cradle: the Death World Sturmundrang

Using this small, well trained and highly mobile force, Gaudin set out beyond the borders of Moritzen and began his crusade across the war-torn, toxic surface. Having been taught that mercy is a necessary and sadly rare virtue among leaders by his adoptive father, Gaudin offered terms to all those who would listen. If they refused to listen to them or refused to obey them, Gaudins army would crush them under track and boot, using fast strikes to cut them off and leave them isolated and unable to fight back. Gaudin knew that sometimes you could win without fighting, and often forced enemy forces to surrender without a shot being fired. In rare cases a pocket of resistance managed to halt the roaring advance of the crusaders, sometimes for days, weeks or even months. Impressed by the guile and courage shown by these men, Gaudin would allow any survivors who were willing to either join his army or to return home to their families. In many cases, impressed by the jovial giant they willingly joined his forces and were placed in veteran companies, acting as the spear tip in his advance.

His armies spread out, taking dome after dome, using the resources from each to fuel the continued crusade. His armies never stopped moving and never looked back. Gaudin himself was restless, always leading from the front, only stopping to negotiate surrenders and terms before setting off again. Finally, however the last great dome-city fell before his might, and Gaudin was struck by the enormity of what he’d done. He’d united Sturmundrang under his banner.

The Coming of The Emperor

Though the war was over, Gaudin didn’t rest on his laurels. Now that the planet was united, it was time to make the planet more hospitable and to expand the Dome Settlements for the next generation. He already had plans to conquer the other worlds that old stories told bordered Sturmundrang, and hoped to find out the lost secrets of spaceflight in order to further this. Gaudin threw himself into this new effort with the same energy he has shown while conquering the planet. But as Gaudin was laying plans to try and terraform the atmosphere so that it would no longer be as inimical to human life and prepare to spread warfare beyond the confines of Sturmundrang, ships began to enter the system.

The Fleet of Rogue Trader Claude Louis Rigau, a Pathfinder to the Vth Legion stumbled across Sturmundrang, and despite the planet’s lack of resources the detection of comm-chatter coming from the planet convinced him that there was human life there. He broadcast to the planet, announcing his arrival and the coming of the Imperium. What greeted him was a booming voice asking him who he was and what right he had to be making demands. After some back and forth, Rigau agreed to come down to the planet alone but for a few chosen aides to meet with the Planetary leader.

Rigau wrote of the dominating presence of Gaudin, how his massive size and loud voice had him nearly pinned down. Rigau knew almost instantly that this was a Primarch, one of the Emperor’s lost sons. Gaudin was curious about this human empire and the Emperor who claimed to lead it. He declared that he would only join the Imperium if this Emperor of theirs came to him personally. Rigau agreed, and sent his message to Legion Master Antoine Antonelle: A Primarch has been found.

The Great Crusade

With their father now restored to them, a new name granted and the Legion united and complete, it was immediately dispatched to the very forefront of the Great Crusade, where Gaudin immediately set out to put his oaths into action in the name of his father and his cause. In warzone after warzone, bloody battle after storming campaign the Crusaders lived up to their name and the legacy that name gave them, as the foremost instrument of the Emperor’s Great Crusade.

The Crusaders became famed for their swift conquests, though these conquests were never as neat as those of Winged Victory, or as complete as those of other Legions. But the zeal that filled the Crusaders was one even the Eternal Zealots had to admire. They were true believers in the Crusade and prosecuted it with all their might.

It was described that at no point was Gaudin happier than during this time. He threw himself entirely into the prosecution of the Crusade, every waking hour dedicated to pushing the boundaries of humanity further and further. Some of his brothers openly questioned whether he would cope with the Crusade ending, or whether he would fall apart without the endless drive of warfare to sustain him.

As the Crusade reached its terminal stages, the star of the Crusaders shone all the brighter, though never enough to eclipse that other Legions like the Scions or the Wolves of Dawn. Time and again the Emperor used them as one of his personal instruments, to reinforce, support and prosecute campaigns that He Himself saw as important to the overall progress of the Great Crusade.

High in favour and honour though they were, the Crusaders’ status did not sit well with some of their brother-Legions. The Mastodontii, the only Legion to exceed the Crusaders in the number of vehicles and in the skills of armoured warfare were known to both respect and dislike them for their ‘abuse’ of their vehicles' Machine Spirits and their cavalier attitude to collateral damage, as well as their relentless drive and love of warfare.

At the same time that Hektor was appointed Warmaster, Gaudin was himself granted the tile of the Praetorian of Terra. As Hektor would take over push the Great Crusade on to final victory, the Crusaders would withdraw with the Emperor to Terra to establish a guard around Him there, though for what reasons was not revealed to Gaudin. Gaudin took up his new position, though privately he was dismayed that he would miss out on the many campaigns that still had to be fought.

As the Heresy began to break upon the Imperium, the bulk of the Crusaders Legion was still in the mindst of a full scale withdrawal to Terra. Due to the many requirements of the Great Crusade, not all the detachments had been able to comply with the order, and it is estimated that about half the Legion was absent by the time Hektor’s treachery became known, and of that half two thirds would never reach Terra at all.

The Crusaders were never among the most numerous of the Legions, with the most conservative estimate of the Legion around the time of the Heresy giving them around 105,000 line Astartes, with a considerable armoured reserve, second only to the Mastodontii Legion, though while the Mastodontii favoured heavier vehicles like the Fellblade and Typhon, the Crusaders preferred faster vehicles such as the Predator and Sicaran. The Crusaders also used a specially modified pattern of Rhino fitted with ‘Lucifer’ pattern engines to increase its speed, vital for the type of warfare the Legion espoused.