War Scribes

"What meaning has conquest if the next day brings only ruin? What merit has an empire if it cannot be sustained? The glories of Mankind must be restored, and so we shall go to the ruined places and make them live again, and our Imperium shall have no end."

Quote attributed to Primarch Arelex Orannis, upon assuming control of the II Legion

War Scribes
Battle Cry	"Humanity Ascendant!"
Number	II
Founding	First Founding
Successors of	N/A
Successor Chapters	Knights Draconian, Knights Penitent, Iron Scribes, Sons of Whitestone, Sons of Atalantos, Sons of Orannis, Lore Bearers, Shrouded Host, Sky Renders, Venom Quills, Lightbringers, Rekindlers
Chapter Master	Ulreg Astelos
Primarch	Arelex Orannis
Homeworld	Whitestone (Destroyed), now the Atalantos Worlds
Strength	100,000 at peak
Specialty	Ranged combat
Allegiance	Imperium of Man
Colours	Grey and purple

This page details people, events, and organisations from The /tg/ Heresy, a fan re-working of the Warhammer 40,000 Universe.

Summary of Legion II

Ranged Combat, Data Analysis and Collection, Tech-Intuition

Legion Doctrine and Chapter Cult

"These are the words of our Primarch and gene-sire, Lord Arelex Orannis. Here are the codes we live by, recorded for all time. Let there never be doubt in your minds of the correct path to take, in any given situation. We know the truths of the universe. We have seen the terrors that lie beyond the path of righteousness. The evidence is insurmountable and clear, and to defy or ignore it is the purest folly. Now, Initiates, repeat after me, the Oath of Orannis!"

"First Address" recited by the Chapter Master of the War Scribes for each new graduating class of Initiates, at the completion of their training and gene-seed implantation.

The Oath of Orannis

• Never shall the War Scribes use the tools of the Xenos, for those tools will betray them.

• Never shall the War Scribes use the winds of the Warp, for those winds will sweep them away.

• Never shall the War Scribes use the powers of the Mutant, for those powers will renounce Mankind.

• We solemnly swear and affirm that we shall uphold the ancient traditions of the Chapter, of the Primarch, of the Emperor and his Imperium.

• We shall serve with our whole hearts, our whole bodies, and our whole minds. Though the powers of the Warp howl about us, though the Xenos swarm from the Galactic Core, though the Mutant ever lurketh in the shadowed places, forever onward will we carry the Imperium's torch.

• We seek the enlightened future promised us by the Emperor, and we seek the glorious past promised us by the Primarch.

• The glories of Mankind are our sacred quest, and nothing will stay us from that goal.

• Our righteousness will shake the stars, and our will shall be done, for it is the Emperor's will that we do so. Ave Imperator!

"Good, Initiates! Now, repeat after me the Five Truths of the Primarch, as passed down through the Chapter Masters of old, to remind you that a War Scribe sees beyond the veils that blind lesser warriors! Rededicate yourselves to the ideals of the man who could hold the Galaxy itself in his mind! Honor the gifts of planning, of logistics, of strategy on the grandest of scales that the Primarch has granted his children!"

"Second Address" recited by the Chapter Master of the War Scribes for each new graduating class of Initiates, at the completion of their training and gene-seed implantation.

The Five Truths of the War Scribes

• FIRST TRUTH! All things proceed from the Highest Scale, from the Galaxy around us. Our Primarch knew this truth, unto which lesser men are blind!

• SECOND TRUTH! Planning is the highest achievement of a Marine, for Mankind is more than a mere beast, acting upon instinct and nothing else. Killing the enemy in battle is right and proper, but winning the battle at cost of the war is utter heresy. The War Scribes seek always to understand the grand scale, the big picture, the ebb and flow of the Galaxy itself. Who leads the troops? Where are they going? What will they find when they get there, and how shall they best overcome the threat? A thousand thousand questions, all of which the War Scribes are charged to answer!

• THIRD TRUTH! Logistics is our supreme struggle, for war is impossible without materiel. To master the Galaxy, we master its resources. Careful stewards are we, neither treating our charges too laxly nor pressuring them beyond their means. Harshness when it is called for, not for brutality's own sake, for misuse is heresy!

• FOURTH TRUTH! Though the Galaxy is forever at war, each war has an end. As we are stewards of the Emperor's Imperium, so must we see to his empire after a war has passed. The War Scribes must always be builders as well as destroyers, for to abandon the Emperor's people to their fates is to spit in His very face, a capitol offense! Let lesser Marines blunder from war zone to war zone, leaving nothing but ash in their wake. The War Scribes hold themselves to higher standards!

• FIFTH TRUTH! Our Primarch was a master of the technological realm, and so are we, his children. Ancient Mankind could snuff stars with a gesture, and destroy armies of xenos at a glance. Wherever we go, whatever we do, we shall always keep our eyes open for the relics of greater eras, and seek to return them to the Imperium's service!

• This we swear, in the Emperor's name, in the Primarch's name, and the Imperium's name! Ave Imperator!

Legion Colors

The Legion's livery is unpainted ceramite gray, with only a small amount of purple trim. They go about their business garbed in thick shrouds, cloaks, and robes, in honor of their Primarch's childhood journeys into the unforgiving wilderness of his homeworld in search of lost treasures, and to represent their roles as keepers of knowledge. A warrior of the War Scribes is also never caught without at least a few pouches or satchels of important items, in case he is called upon to record some new tidbit of lore or explore a mighty ruin.

Legion Gene-Seed Status and Defects

The War Scribes and their Successors exhibit a wide array of genetic abnormalities, growing more pronounced in those Chapters that spend more time near the Galactic Core. Successors in other areas of the Galaxy tend to exhibit only very minor defects, or even none at all. While not particularly notable for stability, there are no mutations inherent to Arelex's descendants, but their Progenoids do respond to increased ambient radiation.

Cosmetically, the War Scribes are known for their general hairlessness. It is very rare for them to have much more hair than peach fuzz on their heads, and they are almost always beardless and bald. Their skin color varies wildly depending on how recently they've been exposed to radiation due to an overactive (though highly effective) Melanchrome system. A War Scribes Marine might begin the day as a bone-white albino, and end the day looking as if he had been carved from pitch black coal or obsidian. Occasionally, reddish or purplish hues may appear as the Marine's body processes cellular damage and expels dead cells through the bloodstream.

A Marine's body attunes itself to the environment in which it lives, and nowhere is this more true than for the War Scribes. Even within their power armor, the radiation of a million blazing stars near the Galactic Core still leaks in, and when they are deployed to the blasted wastelands within the Core they must withstand the punishment.

Their bodies have adapted to absorb hard radiation and convert it to internal power, at the cost of some of their bone density and two implanted organs, the Omophagea and the Neuroglottis. For the War Scribes, these glands do not work at all, though for some of their Successors they do if they're in an area with less radiation.

The signature mutation of the War Scribes is their Betcher's Gland, however. Far from being the relatively useless organ so often ignored by other Marines, it is central to the War Scribes' bodies.

Instead of producing acid, the Gland serves as a sort of sacrificial organ to concentrate and store energy from radiation or radioactive sources, protecting the Marine's body from excessive rad-levels. When deadly radiation falls on a War Scribes' skin, the Melanchrome supercharges briefly, and the Black Carapace underneath channels the energy into the Betcher's Gland. While this is a useful adaptation, it is quite painful, and the Scribes try to cover up as much as possible. In addition to their Power Armor, their signature cloaks are lined with lead and other radiation-absorbing or reflecting compounds.

Science is as much art as tool in the 40th Millennium, and the intense Galactic radiation has caused one particularly unusual side effect which despite all their enormous storehouses of lore and technology, they cannot explain. Through their Betcher's Gland's energy storage, the War Scribes can occasionally unleash the stored energy in a manner akin to Tyranid Bio-Plasma bursts. This process is extremely painful and the Glands then go dormant for a week or two to recharge, so the Scribes use it only rarely. Additionally, though they are a First Founding Chapter, it is a fairly extreme mutation and they have no wish to draw the Inquisition's attention more than they have to.

If a War Scribe leaves the Galactic Core for too long, the Betcher's Gland will simply wither and die if they do not take steps to consume radioactive materials, which will keep the Betcher's Gland charged, though it does cause them nausea and puts stress on their immune systems.

Legion Tactics

Calm, methodical, and somewhat predictable, the War Scribes have a rare gift among Space Marines. They are *brilliant* when planning grand campaigns, masterful at plotting out multi-stage wars of conquest on Sector or Segmentum-wide scales, and are experts at ensuring that the troops have the supplies and other necessary logistical materiel. All Marines are masters of war, but the War Scribes' leadership is capable of holding an entire battlefront in their minds, examining each detail with a careful eye. They are a "big-picture" Legion, concerned more with collective success than individual heroism, and fall short in understanding how combat works on a squad level. To master the large scale, they gave up some of the small.

Some Legions appreciate the War Scribes’ assistance in their wars, utilizing their unique perspective on war and its making. Others deride them for their personal shortcomings and deem them unfit warriors, for it is a rare War Scribe indeed that exceeds the individual combat prowess of other Legion's soldiers.

They lack the bloodlust that most other Legions exhibit, preferring a solid, relentless advance, backed by the highest technology they can muster. Where other legions favor boldness and aggression, the Scribes favor tried and proven methods, and seek to be assured of victory before the battle even begins. They are dour warriors not given to emotion on the battlefield, but to those that earn their trust, they will go to the ends of the Galaxy to assist them in their times of need.

The War Scribes prefer to engage the enemy as a disciplined force, presenting an iron wall of heavy equipment and powerful ranged weaponry suitable for mowing down any opposition. Their equipment is of high quality, and vehicles and weaponry considered rare by other Legions is commonplace in the War Scribes' ranks.

If the enemy closes to melee range, the War Scribe's carefully orchestrated fields of fire are less of a benefit and more of a burden, and their formations are slower to respond to unexpected changes on the battlefield than other Marines might be.

Orbital support is commonly employed in order to thin the enemy's ranks before engaging them with direct-fire weaponry, and this tactic has proven quite successful at suppressing Necron forces near the Galactic Core. Unfortunately, when the Scribes fight on inhabited worlds, they tend to cause a great deal of collateral damage in pursuit of an efficient victory. If a Hive Spire must be destroyed by a lance battery in order to prevent a Daemonic incursion, then they will fire on Imperial citizenry without hesitation. Still, they do not act with malice, but with an eye towards the good of the Imperium as a whole.

Legion Equipment

Their favored weapons are Dark Age relics, though there are precious few that survived the chaos and destruction of the Isstvan Massacre and the destruction of their homeworld, Whitestone. Most of what remains from the Dark Age is noncombat gear, primarily advanced manufactorums and data storage facilities, which the War Scribes and their successors draw on to maintain their advanced equipment.

The War Scribes Legion roamed far and wide, recovering many of the Great Crusade's most notable blueprints and STC fragments, unlocking their secrets and sharing them with the other Legions. The Emperor encouraged this, seeing it as a way to ensure that His sons had a supply of material outside of the Mechanicus' control. Though minor, this trickle of equipment gave many Legions a crucial advantage in their wars, even as it laid the seeds of resentment that would later cause the death of the War Scribes' Primarch.

The War Scribes Legion is replete with these devices compared to almost any other Imperial force. In their arsenals are large quantities of Jetbikes, Fellblades, Rapiers, Cerberus Tank Destroyers, Contemptors, Javelins, Sicaran Tanks, Typhon Siege Tanks, and Deimos-Pattern vehicles. Where other Space Marines might have lost such patterns of equipment, the War Scribes are expert record-keepers, and their warfleet has critical data well dispersed and backed up, so that even great loss may be recovered from.

The War Scribes are able to equip their ranks with Volkite weaponry, a legacy of having acquired the necessary blueprints for such weapons and their factories early in the Great Crusade. Additionally, the War Scribes field Destroyer Marine squads, armed with nuclear, biological, and chemical weaponry from the Age of Strife, since by and large, the enemies they face deserve nothing better, and sometimes cannot be killed without these terrifying weapons. The Galactic Core is a dangerous place, and the Imperium loses nothing by irradiating already irradiated worlds, if it kills xenos in the process.

Even in the 40th Millennium, the Chapter and its successors will have access to much that the rest of the galaxy has forgotten, and their armies will look much as they did in the Great Crusade, an army from a more enlightened time.

The Memoriam

"This shall be my final work, my final gift to the Legion I could not protect. But most of all, an apology to the warriors I misused, who suffered because of my quest to rekindle a dead flame. I was not up to the task I set myself, and because of that our homeworld is doomed, and perhaps our Legion with it. These suits of armor will be the last shards of my love for you all, and they will never fail you as I have. Even when I am gone, I shall protect you. Live on, and live well. Become better men than I."

Early in the history of the War Scribes, Primarch Arelex was taken by a strange, fickle mood while on a long Warp journey. He wandered about the flagship until he arrived at the armory, where he took a suit of Terminator Armor and began to tinker with it. Over time, the Primarch embedded numerous failsafes, backup protocols, multilayered force fields and advanced technologies, until it barely resembled the original suit. Though a wonderfully fortified example of the smith's craft, its true genius was the incorporation of small Dark Age relics recovered from Whitestone itself, part of a self-repair mechanism for mining machinery in the deepest and most treacherous caverns. Even if the armor was torn asunder, shattered into ten thousand pieces, so long as one remained, it could rebuild the whole suit, given time and resources.

This priceless artifact was stored away, perhaps never to be seen again. Arelex was a Primarch who followed his intuition, something of a fickle person who at times moved without real purpose, to the chagrin of his fellow Primarchs. This sort of thing was common in Warp transit, away from the wonderfully intricate problems of war and logistics, giving his mind little to do. For most of the Great Crusade, this wondrous device slumbered.

Only in the final weeks of the War Scribes' existence as a Legion was the armor retrieved from the deep vaults, when it became clear that the Mechanicus battlefleet was coming to destroy the War Scribes. It is said that Arelex somehow knew of his approaching destiny, and with a strange air of calm, he proceeded to forge nine more such armors, replicating the original in exacting detail and using up the last of the self-repair artifacts.

Ten suits of wondrous Terminator armor he built, offering unparalleled protection to the warrior inside. For most of the battle for Whitestone, these ten suits of armor, worn by the greatest champions the War Scribes had to offer, fought alongside Arelex to defend their world. Seeing that the battle was lost, Arelex ordered his Legion to leave the planet, signing the Orannis Accord with the Mechanicus in his own blood, and the ten armors went with his men.

From that day to the current era, the armors have been designated the Memoriam, and one is given to each of the Captains of the War Scribes Chapter, including the Chapter Master. It is these ten men that are charged with remembering the locations and passwords to the War Scribes vaults, repositories, and naval command, guarding the essence of the Chapter eternally.

In times of greatest need, the Memoriam is assembled around the Chapter Master, and as a single unit they bring destruction to the fiercest foes. In this way, the Chapter carries with them the memory of their Primarch in a very real, visceral way.

War Scribes Legion Naval Arm

Sol Invictus, Fortress-Monastery of the War Scribes

Sol Invictus
Segmentum	Ultima Segmentum
Sector	Atalantos
Sub Sector	Varies
Population	1,000,000 Chapter Serfs and Support Staff, Several Companies of War Scribes
Planetary Governor	Chapter Master

The Sol Invictus is the greatest treasure of the War Scribes, the supreme monument to their merit as a Legion. Primarch Arelex himself wrested the immense vessel from a close orbit around the Galaxy's central black hole, a struggle lasting the better part of a year. The Sol Invictus was awash with radiation and gravitic tides, and only the Primarch's unconquerable desire to see this Dark Age relic restored to Humanity's service allowed Arelex to survive the hellish descent towards the singularity. Even when the behemoth vessel was removed from the gravitic tidal zone and all its deadly energy, the War Scribes could not even approach the vessel to assist their Primarch for three more years, so intense was the lingering radiation. For those three years, Arelex dwelled on the Sol Invictus alone, every day being injured and burned, every day healing himself back together with his Primarch's vigor and the ship's medical bay. Eventually, the fires of the Core cooled, and the War Scribes Legion took their first steps into a true technological marvel.

Upon being presented with the vessel as a trophy of war, the Emperor was so impressed with Arelex's determination to capture the behemoth fortress that he gifted the ship to the War Scribes to be their Monastery forevermore, the orbital counterpart to the Basilikon Atalantos. The Scribes would have a permanent residence within the Atalantos Worlds in order to eternally defend the Imperium against Necron threats from the Core, but the Sol Invictus would carry the Legion to the farthest corners of the Galaxy to enact the Emperor's justice whenever required.

In the glory years of the Great Crusade, the Sol Invictus was seen far and wide, leading many of the Crusade's thrusts into unknown stars, serving as an enormous safe haven for the fleets to rearm, refuel, and repair. In the waning years of the 40th Millennium, the Sol Invictus rarely leaves the Atalantos Cluster because the Necron threat has reached such a fever pitch, but when it does, for the briefest of moments Humanity is reminded of the Imperium's ancient strength.

Equipment: The Sol Invictus is almost as large as Triton, Neptune's largest moon, though it lacks the internal volume of a spherical body. Endless reserves of material are stored within, everything needed to subjugate a planetary system and then prepare it for Imperial colonization. Though backups of all the War Scribes' carefully gathered knowledge are scattered in secret locations across the Atalantos Cluster and worlds beyond, the Sol Invictus houses a central repository where all is gathered in one place. Everything the War Scribes have ever learned is here, at the Primarch's, and later the Chapter Master's disposal.

The Sol Invictus contains row upon row of archaeotech foundries, some are original to the vessel and some were installed by the Primarch in later years. Though they are ever more resource-hungry with each passing year, these facilities are capable of keeping the War Scribes high-tech armies in fine condition and resupply, as well as the majority of their Successors.

Everything else one could want in a Monastery or a space station is present here as well. Conference rooms, training halls, barracks, medical facilities, communications arrays, laboratoriums, sensor equipment, rank upon rank of nested void shields, power cores capable of nearly limitless vigor, mighty engines and titanic Warp Drives, and every type of ship-based weapon one could imagine. The Sol Invictus is a world unto itself.

The primary armaments are a trio of colossal energy projectors at the vessel's prow. Two are smaller devices, useful for punching holes in enemy capital ships and more rapidly rechargeable for combat situations. The central energy projector, much larger than the other two combined, is used primarily for planetary subjugation and destruction. While not capable of outright destroying a planet, the main cannon is more than capable of scorching a continent with a single burst.

For the direst of circumstances, a Chapter Master is one of the few individuals authorized to perform Exterminatus. The Sol Invictus produces and stores two-stage Cyclonic Torpedoes for the War Scribes' use, generally against Necron Tomb worlds at the Galactic Core. These worlds contain no life upon them, so the Cyclonic weapons carry little risk of collateral damage, and the Scribes are not shy about their use. More than one Dynasty hiding in the Core's glare has been snuffed out thanks to the timely intervention of the Scribes, but dozens, if not hundreds, still remain. And some have awakened.

Final Verdict, Battle Barge of the War Scribes

"Final Verdict", a Legatus-Class Battle Barge assigned to the First Chapter of the War Scribes Legion.

This mighty Battle Barge carried the Chapter's most veteran troops into battle, and was responsible for the deaths of many worlds during the Core Conquests and the Heresy. The blood of uncounted billions of xenos is on this ship's records of honor, and at least as many heretics and traitors. Currently, the "Final Verdict" serves as the War Scribes Chapter's flagship, when not operating from the Sol Invictus.

The ancient vessel is well stocked for war, carrying enough armaments and vehicles of destruction to keep the entire Chapter in the field if need be. Most of its armaments are standard Battle Barge fare, though of higher quality because of its age. The War Scribes have modified the Barge by removing the massed banks of boarding torpedoes in the prow and replacing them with an enormous Mars-Pattern Nova Cannon, for use against Necron vessels which are difficult to damage with lesser guns, and pointless to board with Marines.

Ascent of Man, Gloriana Class Battleship

The Ascent of Man was the flagship of the War Scribes for many years, and served the Legion faithfully. It is regrettable that the retreat from the Isstvan Massacre resulted in the death of the mighty warship, but it was the sacrifice of her and all who served upon her that allowed the remnants of the Legion and their Primarch to escape with their lives. Without that surviving reserve of veteran troops, the War Scribes surely would have been wiped from existence.

After the Ascent of Man was destroyed, the Battle Barge "Final Verdict" stepped in to take its place at the head of the War Scribes' fleet.

Legion Capital Ships

It is well known that the War Scribes, in keeping with the tumultuous nature of the Galactic Core, preferred concentrating their naval resources into fewer, larger vessels. They counted more Battle Barges and Battleships in their ranks than many other Legions.

Sol Invictus (Unknown Dark Age Class)

• Battleships:

Ascent of Man (Gloriana Class)

Lord of Storms (Apocalypse Class)

Force of Arms (Apocalypse Class)

Justified Avarice (Apocalypse Class)

Reclamator (Emperor Class)

Firewind (Oberon Class)

Infinitas Rex (Retribution Class)

Imperion Volant (Retribution Class)

Spiritus Excoriat (Nemesis Class)

Incendio Xenologica (Nemesis Class)

• Battle Barges:

Final Verdict (Legatus Class)

White Death

Farthest Star

Sundown

Pathfinder

Trailblazer

Repentance

Arelex's Pride

Legion's Hope

Shield of Atalantos

Emperor's Justice

Immolatios Heretico

Creed Bearer

Dawn Hunter

Void Predator

• Strike Cruisers:

The War Scribes Legion maintained a force of Strike Cruisers more than 100 strong, using them as much to escort the Battleships and Battle Barges as planetary assault vehicles in their own right.

• Escort Vessels:

The Legion used very few Escort Vessels. Those that did exist were largely deployed to secure recently conquered systems after the Legion had gone. Standard procedure was to be constructing Escort Vessels continually on the march, leaving one or two behind after every conquest. Though this slowed the pace of the War Scribes, it greatly heartened the colonists and warriors left to bring the conquered worlds into the Imperium.

Legion Doctrine

Because of the Scribes love for knowledge, predictability, and the written word, the War Scribes were encouraged by the other legions and their Primarchs to author the Codex Astartes following the events of the Heresy, with the help of the Crusaders, Steel Marshals, Thunder Kings, and Scions.

They disagree with the Mechanicus in many areas, not least of which is their refusal to hoard technology. The War Scribes do not innovate technology, but they do reverse-engineer it at every opportunity, and disseminate the information to the worlds they conquer, and to the Imperium as a whole when possible. In the Great Crusade, their actions were responsible for much technology of war entering the hands of other Legions.

Unfortunately, after the Heresy, the Mechanicus forced the War Scribes to do no more than gather technology, and there is bad blood between them. Though the rest of the Imperium is ignorant of what happened on Whitestone, the armies of the Mechanicus nearly destroyed the entire Legion, and only Arelex's voluntary surrender and execution prevented the War Scribes from breaking with the Imperium altogether.

The blood of their Primarch purchased a treaty that holds even to this day, stating that the War Scribes and their Successors may possess whatever technology they have recovered, past, present, or future, and they may use the Atalantos Worlds near the Galactic Core as a manufacturing base to maintain their supplies, but the descendants of Arelex may never attempt to share what they know or learn without the Mechanicus' explicit permission.

Indeed, though the War Scribes still resent this treaty, they respected their Primarch's sacrifice so much that when a Successor, the Iron Scribes, broke the treaty, the War Scribes destroyed their own Successor rather than dishonor Arelex's sacrifice.

Space Marines know no fear, but the War Scribes don’t handle Chaos incursions very well, mentally or tactically. They can’t predict the unpredictable, and this puts them at a steep disadvantage. Against Material foes though, their brutally powerful weaponry makes them a force to be reckoned with. The War Scribes also prefer to engage the enemy at range, rather than up close and personal. They seek efficiency in battle, and spare little thought for personal glory and honor. Though not incapable of using a chainsword or power blade, the Scribes are almost always at a disadvantage in close quarters.

Notable successors

The Isstvan Massacre nearly destroyed the entire Legion, and they were completely unprepared for their betrayal at the hands of the Traitor Legions. Despite being a respectably large Legion of nearly 90,000 warriors, only one in thirty Marines survived Isstvan, leaving a bare 3,000 to carry their Primarch back home. The only reason the Legion remains a viable force to this day is the multitude of small squads dispatched galaxy-wide to hunt relics, these numbered almost 10,000 and were called back to brace the Legion. Without those emergency reinforcements, the War Scribes would surely have been annihilated when the Mechanicus attempted to sear their homeworld to the bedrock in an attempt to remove the War Scribes' Primarch from impeding their goals to control the Imperium from Mars, rather than Terra.

As it now stands, the War Scribes are a fleet-based chapter, operating within the loose confederation of worlds known as the Atalantos Worlds, for though the Legion survived, their planet was torn asunder in the apocalyptic clash of forbidden, ancient technology. For the briefest of instants, they and the Mechanicus fought as Dark Age Mankind might have, holding nothing back. The War Scribes Chapter of the 40th Millennium looks much like it did in the 30th, wielding Crusade-era weaponry alongside small handfuls of even more ancient relics. They defend their treasures jealously, still remembering their defeat at the hands of the Mechanicus.

Knights Draconian

The first Chapter Master of the Knights Draconian, Nicholai Galilei, served as liaison officer to The Entombed during the Istvaan V campaign. While recovering from the wounds he suffered there, Galilei criticized the War Scribes' strategy for failing to properly co-operate with the other legions present. While the critique was not harshly worded, it created considerable controversy - especially because Arelex Orannis, busy with other duties, did not publicly reply. Internal dissent within the War Scribes made the break-up of the legion for the Second Founding painless: those who agreed with Galilei left, those who disagreed remained in their original colours. Subsequent bust-ups with The Entombed and the Eyes of the Emperor left an embittered Knights Draconian believing that co-operation is largely impossible. Big fans of the Inquisition.

Brothers Itinerant

Brothers Itinerant
Founding	Splintered after Dropsite Massacre
Successors of	War Scribes
Primarch	Arelex Orannis
Strength	unknown
Specialty	Piracy
Allegiance	Renegade

Pirates, Cowards and Traitors. The first Master of Brothers, Neheziah Bo'ash, had been a middling officer of the War Scribes legion. His accomplishments hardly worth mentioning until his first commission to the command of an escort squadron. The man's prowess in ship-based combat became well noted over years leading up to the Isstvan Massacre. It was the beginnings of the massacre that truly forged the brotherhood. Their fleet had come under attack and in the confusion Neheziah ordered the squadron to retaliate against any ship that fired upon them. Having heard reports of massacre on the planet the fateful command of Neheziah came through to the other ships of the squadron. They were to quit the field until they could ascertain the best course of action and regroup with their legion. In the aftermath of istvaan when the squadron made their way to link up with the rest of their legion, they were fired upon. As it was assumed they were in league with the traitors or worse they were cowards.

Through out the duration of the heresy the brothers raided loyalists and traitors alike, looting for supplies and materials for their ships. Any legionnaire unfortunate enough to have survived their attack and refused their offer to join the brotherhood were press-ganged into service. Those who were more easily swayed to join the brotherhood would paint white their face plates and gauntlets It is to represent their mockery of honour and loyalty; having been betrayed twice over. The lenses of their helmets are either replaced or dulled into a dark black to represent their merciless or soulless nature. Over the years since the heresy the brotherhood has acclimated to a number of sorcerers or seers captured from their raids, who are sought after for their ability to fate their raids with success. Should however their fates be wrong one can only imagine the vicious repayment that would be visited upon them.

Other War Scribes Successors

Iron Scribes

Little is known of this Chapter, only that they chose to break the Orannis Accord and share technology without the consent of the Mechanicus. The War Scribes annihilated the entire Chapter, rather than give the Mechanicus an excuse to attack *all* of Arelex's descendants.

Sons of Whitestone

Responsible for defending the Atalantos Worlds against the Necron threat. Generally fights the Ulkhesh Dynasty.

Sons of Atalantos

Responsible for defending the Atalantos Worlds against the Necron threat. Generally fights the Zelrakh-Khemta Dynasty.

Sons of Orannis

Responsible for defending the Atalantos Worlds against the Necron threat. Generally fights the Il'Kholas Dynasty.

Lore Bearers

Known for their tendency to engrave their armor and weaponry with words of antiquity, everything from old poetry, to technical blueprints, to mathematical equations. Notable for having extremely good memories.

Shrouded Host

One of the few War Scribes Successors that is not stationed in or near the Core, the Shrouded Host is said to have uncovered some tidbot of data in the Primarch's records that says they will be needed in the fight against Chaos. Accordingly, they are fleet-based, in the space near the Eye of Terror, and maintain little contact with their parent Chapter.

Sky Renders

Notable for their use of Teleport Homers in conjunction with Drop Pods.

Because the Necron threat is so dangerous, and the planets near the Core so inhospitable to Scouts not wearing Power Armor, the Sky Renders have found the traditional deployment of homing beacons via infiltrating Scout Marines almost useless. Though many of the sons of Orannis have adopted this tactic, the Sky Renders are best known for it, using massed Drop Pod barrages to conceal a handful of Pods containing beacons.

The Pods land and the Marines deploy as normal, forming a beachhead, and they are rapidly followed by a massed teleport of Terminators to reinforce the assault point. They also make *extensive* use of Deathstorm Drop Pods containing Whirlwind Launchers and Assault Cannons rather than troops to provide additional weight of fire.

Venom Quills

A 26th Founding Successor of the War Scribes, the Venom Quills fight xenos threats on the Galactic Fringe, and despite their relative youth are quite well traveled. This Chapter favors the use of toxic weapons to rapidly subdue threats, and they keep a reserve of deadly poisons on hand at all times for any occasion or task. When they encounter and destroy a new species of xenos, the Chapter's Apothecaries take great pleasure in rending them down for useful components, sending most to the Genetors or the Inquisition, but keeping any novel toxins for themselves.

Currently they are very busy assisting in defense against the Tyranids. Their toxins are proving useful for now because of their sheer variety, but the Tyranids in their area are rapidly evolving countermeasures. Soon, the Venom Quills will have to come up with a new strategy, or perish.

Lightbringers

Known for using laser weapons almost exclusively, renowned for relentless campaigns and resistance to attrition. Masters of foraging and using weapons that require little ammunition or repair.

Rekindlers

RECORDS SEALED BY INQUISITORIAL ORDER EPSILON-SEC-TWELVE. CEASE ALL ATTEMPTS AT INQUIRY.

Arelex Orannis, Primarch of The War Scribes

By way of conclusion, I should note that writing this text has been tremendously more difficult than the previous "Lives". In each case prior to this, I had the benefit of Arelex's brilliant recall, insightful criticism and careful editing. The loss has been far more devastating than I could have anticipated.

While I am not privy to the full workings of our administration, I have little doubt that Arelex's passing has been just as troubling to their work as it has been to mine.

(Excerpt from Arelex Orannis: as he was, by Gaspard Lumey)

Appearance

Arelex is a bald, hulking mass of scar tissue, shallow gouges from long-healed projectile wounds, and burn marks, signs of a lifetime spent delving into dangerous places in search of relics and lore, and the price that must be paid when attempting to divine the secrets of archaeotechnology. The right side of his jaw and cheek has much of the flesh replaced with bionics, a grim reminder of his near-death on Isstvan.

Shorter in stature than most Primarchs, he stands only a few inches taller than the average Space Marine, though quite a bit broader at the shoulder and extremely muscular. His upper body and arms are overdeveloped and somewhat simian in appearance, because he spent much of his early years dragging himself around in the mine tunnels or using a wheelchair.

If one wished to be unkind, one could even say that Arelex's stooped posture, a legacy of poorly healed spinal injuries sustained when his pod crashlanded, gives him something of an Orkish gait.

Though his body is frightening, the Primarch's pale green eyes are almost kind, a reminder of the gentler man he might have been had his pod not been spirited away.

Primarch's Equipment

• Armor: Arelex's armor is a force-shielded patchwork of different Dark Age relics retrieved from ancient cities and tombs, a bulky, custom fit affair of enormous size painted only with a little bit of purple trim. For scale comparison, it's roughly equivalent to a Centurion Armor in overall shape and heft.

Note: When entering combat, Arelex usually has both his signature weapons with him, though both are two-handed affairs and cannot be wielded at the same time. Generally the Primarch enters battle with his gravition gun deployed first, carrying the Earthstriker strapped to his side, and if the battle enters close combat, Arelex passes the gravition gun to his Equerry, draws the Earthstriker, and wades into the fray.

• Melee Weapon: In keeping with his heritage as a miner and explorer, Arelex wields an upscaled version of the ancient Terran miner's mattock, the faces rotated 90 degrees from one another so that he can break rocks or cut vegetation as he needs, in order to force his way into an ancient tomb. It is a wonder of form and function, equally suited for breaking Ork skulls and prying fallen boulders out of the way. The mattock, known as the "Earthstriker", is nearly as tall as an unarmored Space Marine, weighing hundreds of pounds, and each side of the mattock's head is as long as a Marine's arm. Though deadly sharp and brutally efficient, it has no technological enhancement beyond its fine craftsmanship. For reasons unknown, Power Weapons have no special effect on the metal the Earthstriker is crafted from, and as far as anyone can test, it is absolutely indestructible by any means, no known force even being able to dent its dull metallic surface. Even now, it remains with the Chapter.

• Ranged Weapon: Arelex carries a single weapon when he marches to war, a heavy graviton projector roughly equivalent to that mounted on a Rapier chassis. Indeed, the gun for a Rapier was derived from the graviton projectors native to Arelex's homeworld. The miners who rescued Arelex as an infant used these devices to remove enormous chunks of marble from deep mine shafts, and carry them to the surface. As he grew to manhood, Arelex became expert in their use. Normally these weapons must be mounted on a tripod or a mobile platform, served by two or three men in the manner of a Lascannon, but the Primarch's strength allows him to wield the mighty device with just his two hands and his power armor's assistance. Over the years, Arelex modified the graviton cannon to do a little more than just pull and lift. With it, he can crush, push, lift, drop, and otherwise manipulate his targets as he wishes. Only the toughest of vehicle armor and the strongest of foes can withstand its punishment for long. Arelex never bothered to name his gun, seeing it as more of a tool than anything else, but his Marines took to calling it the "Primarch's Hand", and the name stuck.

Youth

Arelex's pod took a very hard landing, pounding through the crust of his homeworld Whitestone. Underneath the planet's extensive deposits of valuable marble lay an endless maze of geothermal vents and boiling springs. The marble miners and carvers were astounded to see an infant drifting down the boiling rivers, and they managed to catch him before he plunged into a massive lagoon which surely would have been Arelex's end.

Though burned severely and his spine was broken, the infant was alive, and the miners took Arelex's survival to be a blessing, giving him over to be raised by a small priesthood sect of Whitestone, then a fairly obscure group. In their minds, any child who could survive what Arelex did must truly be a blessed being. Though the Primarch's essence within him restored the worst of his injuries, Arelex would forever remain scarred, burned, and unable to stand fully erect and upright.

Whitestone was an ancient land, full of relics, ruins, and holy buildings, and Arelex delighted in exploring all of them. The restrictive life of a "divine messenger" never sat well with him, and he began taking greater and greater risks in his adventures. More than once he was severely injured, spending months in the hospital. Arelex never intentionally rose to a position of power on his homeworld, for he was singularly bad at connecting with the people, preferring the company of the natural world and the cleverest technical works of Man.

Still, almost despite himself, the people of Whitestone rallied around him, seeing his larger size and intelligence as a sign of deific blessing, and the priesthood encouraged this, using Arelex as a somewhat unwitting idol to control the people, who prayed to Arelex and the cult's priesthood for a similar exaltation among their fellow man. He ruled in the priesthood's name, doling out the occasional reward or punishment at their request, but whenever possible he retreated to the wilderness to continue his explorations, which the priests explained as "taking holy communion".

The High Priesthood of Whitestone, casting themselves as the voice of Arelex, "God's Messenger", ruled absolutely. Nothing happened on Whitestone happened without their say-so, and Arelex's trusting nature led him to perpetuate their unjust rule. The Emperor's arrival would not be pleasant for them.

Over time, a few people of Whitestone followed their "prophet" into the wilderness, pursuing Arelex wherever he went. These people at least, Arelex could understand, they were fellow seekers like himself, driven by wanderlust and a need to learn. While the priesthood spoke in his name to the masses, this new cult began to grow in number behind the scenes, and would form the seeds for the first non-Terran War Scribes in later years.

Though the High Priests didn't like Arelex gathering followers outside their influence, they could do little about it without risking his rebellion. It was their hope that by allowing the Primarch his relic-hunting indulgences that they might continue to gather power and set their cult up as the one supreme rule upon Whitestone.

The Coming of The Emperor

Whitestone was very close to Terra, indeed many of the finest Terran monuments and halls of power are made with marble from Whitestone, and the trade links with Terra, though almost destroyed many times, had endured even through the terrible Warp Storms before the Eye of Terror's formation. Thusly, Whitestone was one of the earliest worlds to be visited by the Emperor, and Arelex was the second Primarch to be discovered.

The Emperor was most unimpressed by a Primarch who had not mastered his world, and was disappointed that Arelex was content to let the priesthood rule in his name. The Imperial Creed forbade such religious organizations, and the Emperor tracked Arelex into the wilderness in order to speak with him. Horrified by his son's ruined appearance, the Emperor was nevertheless impressed by Arelex's love of humanity and desire to elevate them through reclaiming ancient glories. Perhaps even more than that, the Emperor appreciated Arelex's utter fearlessness when it came to hunting archaeotech. This, the Emperor could use.

Almost singlehandedly, Arelex had brought his world from the precipice of disaster to the beginnings of a technological Renaissance, powered by the wisdom of ancient Man. Unlike most men, Arelex kept nothing for himself, destroying that which was unsafe, and giving freely of himself that which was useful.

This generosity, though useful, could not be permitted to make His son soft, and the Emperor knew that no Primarch could be allowed to remain a passive observer of the galaxy. The Emperor ordered Arelex to lead his people, and tear down the priesthood that was parasitically using Arelex to their own ends. The debate lasted several hours, because Arelex was reluctant to slay those who had raised him. What exactly was said to finally convince Arelex to go to war is unknown, but all that Arelex himself ever said was that the Emperor "Showed me what I needed to see".

Taking up his personal armament, an enormously powerful hand-held gravitic device formerly used to carve out immense loads of marble from Whitestone and lift it out of the mines, Arelex systematically tore down what had been built in his name. Denouncing the parasites who had ruled Whitestone, he commanded his people to serve the Emperor just as they had been serving himself.

From now on, the people would know that there were no Gods, just greater degrees of Humanity, with the Emperor being the exemplar of all they could someday be. No priesthood would lie to them again. Though Arelex had no reason to believe he could follow through on his promises, he optimistically told the people of Whitestone that someday they would be as he and his father were, and the technology of ancient eras would bring them there.

The Great Crusade

Joining Arelex on the Crusade were the warriors of the II Legion, almost one hundred thousand strong and chomping at the bit for their Primarch to rejoin them. Despite the Emperor's urging, the II Legion's conquests were slow and methodical, driven by an insatiable urge to thoroughly examine the conquered planets, seeking treasures undreamed of in the technologically deprived Imperium. Though their blades were bathed in blood, the II Legion held the pen in equal regard to the sword, and for that, they were derisively dubbed the Scribes of War by Gaspard Lumey, Primarch of the Void Angels. Later, the II Legion adopted this moniker as a title of honor, viewing their pursuit of ancient lore as a point of pride and honorable conduct, shortening the name to War Scribes.

Most of the marvels they recovered remained with the Legion, but quite a few of the Great Crusade's weapon types came from Imperial re-engineering of relics gathered by the War Scribes, and this contributed to the success of other Legions, buying the War Scribes a modicum of tolerance for their slow pace of advance.

The War Scribes conquered the least number of planets for the Imperium, mostly securing a broad swath of worlds in the Ultima Segmentum near the Galactic Core, but they also strengthened those planets more than almost any other Primarch, ensuring their economies, militaries, and technological levels were as robust as possible, forming a strong bulwark for the innermost heart of the Imperium, guarding the way to Terra against threats from the Galactic Far East.

As the Scribes pressed deeper into the Core, they found themselves on the front lines of a deadlier threat than any before, the Necrons. What had begun as an expedition to find Dark Age relics had also become a fight to contain an enemy whose presence none had suspected, hidden in their Tomb Worlds for uncounted millennia. Because of the scale of the awakening Necron armies, Primarch Arelex set himself against them, knowing that they would surely crush his Legion without his direct assistance. Though the Necrons had superior technology, the Primarch's beautifully crafted war plans consistently outmaneuvered them.

Over time, almost 10,000 of the most aggressive War Scribes split into smaller squads, ranging far and wide across the Galaxy in scouting expeditions, and their reconnaissance proved quite valuable to Imperial strategy and planning. Arelex himself was responsible for integrating the data, developing the skills he honed in mapping his entire world and applying them to the entire Galaxy. More and more, Arelex found himself drawing up the maps and plans of the Great Crusade alongside the Emperor, and though the burden of overall command was never his, and Arelex would never be Warmaster, his logistical and planning talents were woven into many aspects of the Great Crusade.

Unfortunately, his Legion was too easily blinded by their own gear, and despite their best efforts, could not focus themselves on the task of conquest as well as the other Legions could. More and more, the War Scribes came to rely on simplistic tactics, assuming that their superior weaponry and armor would see them through any challenge. Though they and their Primarch could understand how the Galaxy needed to be conquered on a grand scale, actually making it happen on the tactical level eluded them.

One unforeseen side effect of the War Scribes thoroughness in their conquests was the formation of a group of planets highly dedicated to the principles that Arelex espoused; exploration, renewal, a love of learning, and a refusal to let personal differences cloud their vision of the greater Imperium. Over time, these worlds near the Galactic Core, a few dozen in number, became known as Atalantos, a realm where the past had not *completely* vanished, and the glories of old were forever in the minds of the people, driving them to regain them. Whitestone was not among these worlds, being so close to Terra and now firmly integrated into the Imperium, and so the War Scribes primarily recruited from Atalantos, the world for which the area was named.

Though militarily powerful and politically integrated, the brief flowering of technological glory that came to define Atalantos would not last. After the Heresy, without Arelex to help maintain the most temperamental relics, things steadily took a downward turn, though it is to the War Scribes' credit that their tireless labor has kept the rate of decline much slower than elsewhere in the Imperium.

Only by ruthlessly exploiting the available manpower and relentlessly driving into the Galactic Core for more mining worlds could the hungry Atalantos Worlds maintain their status, and in so doing they have attracted the attention of more than one Necron Dynasty, awakened prematurely by the tread of the War Scribes' boots.

Arelex forged friendships with several other Primarchs. Kleisthenes and Arelex proved to be fast friends in particular; while they conversed in person rarely, due to Kleisthenes often being at the forefront of the Great Crusade, they would discuss their shared love for history and the finer aspects of empire-building and governing. Many other Primarchs were true friends, some preyed on Arelex's detachment and naturally trusting nature, and sealed the doom of his Legion on Isstvan.

At the Council of Nikaea, Arelex was at the very forefront of the campaign to ban all Psykers from the Astartes. He distrusted their unpredictable powers to an incredible degree, shocking many who had previously thought Arelex almost totally detached from most worldly affairs. Even in the most brutal fighting, Arelex maintained an almost unnatural calm as he attempted to analyze the unfolding battles, but in the council chambers of Nikaea, he spoke with as much bloodlust and hateful fervor as a die-hard Gorger. He argued that the Imperium must not clutch such a viper to its bosom, and that they were beset by enough threats from outside without adding distrust of their own comrades into the account. When the Emperor banned Librarians, Arelex rejoiced, and to this day the War Scribes and nearly all of their Successors refuse to use Librarians at all.

The Heresy

Sent to Isstvan to bring the Traitor Legions in line alongside several other Loyalists, Arelex threw himself into the fray with gusto. Betrayal enraged the Primarch, as loyalty was one of his deepest-held values, and he was unusually focused on the task at hand. Fearlessly, the War Scribes advanced, certain that their careful planning and superior firepower would carry the day.

Unfortunately, the Traitor Legions had studied the War Scribes well, and the Black Augurs along with several other Traitor Legions, completely outmaneuvered the War Scribes, throwing them into complete disarray with a series of well planned strikes form every quarter. Arelex nearly suffered a complete mental breakdown when confronted with the truth of what his traitorous brothers represented, and what they wanted to do to the Imperium, and at the critical moment, could offer no advice and gave no orders to the Legion. He was unprepared for Chaos, and unprepared to slaughter those he had once called brothers, and out of 90,000 War Scribes deployed, only 3,000 survived to drag Arelex off the field and evacuate him.

To reinforce the Legion, all the exploration squads were immediately recalled, and more than 10,000 warriors returned to bolster the Legion's ranks. If not for their absence from Isstvan, Imperial scholars agree that the War Scribes would be no more than a footnote to history. Immediately, an urgent call for recruits was sent out to all the Atalantos Worlds, and a massive wave of War Scribes was created. Arelex suffered mightily during this time, as his Legion's need for gene-seed drained him severely. While he labored to heal his Legion, he could think of nothing but his own failures.

Within the Basilikon Atalantos, greatest fortress of the Atalantos Worlds, Arelex entered a deep depression, smouldering with anger and feelings of betrayal. Shame at the needless loss of his Legion burned him from within, and the faces of all his soldiers he had gotten killed with his incompetence paraded themselves through his nightmares. The man who emerged from within the Basilikon at the head of a mostly rejuvenated Legion was a wholly different being.

No more was Arelex a warrior who fought for peace and knowledge, this Primarch had become a rampaging monster, gathering the most powerful, most inhumane archaeotech he could muster, and unleashing them indiscriminately on any planet that even vaguely hinted at betraying the Imperium. Battered and broken, the War Scribes merely followed their Primarch, going where he ordered them, and killing what he told them to. They did not participate in the Defense of Terra, heaping shame upon failure. The survivors of the old guard prayed that their Primarch might regain his former self, but the freshly minted Scribes were prepared to make war upon the entire Galaxy in vengeance, and thirsted for blood.

More than a hundred worlds burned, rendered blasted wastelands at the touch of weapons not seen for thousands of years. The Ultima Segmentum near the Galactic Core reeled at Arelex's wrath. Many traitors were killed, but far more innocents were delivered unto the pyres of paranoia. The Emperor issued an edict demanding that Arelex return to Terra and participate in its defense, where the Emperor could talk some sense into the uncontrolled Primarch, but the message was never delivered.

It fell to another Loyalist Primarch, Arelex's friend Kleisthenes, to calm Arelex and remind him of his duty.

And ultimately, it also fell to two Traitor Primarchs, Aubrey the Gray and Inferox the Burned King, to show Arelex what his enemies truly were, and provide a focus for the seething fury within.

Post-Heresy

Once the fires of the Heresy had cooled, Arelex's talents were critically needed. With the Emperor now on the Throne, no one else had the high-level vision to even try and put the Imperium back to rights. In his immeasurable shame and self-hatred for his failure to save his father, Arelex threw himself into the task with an almost insane fervor, welding the broken fragments of Imperial politics together into a structure that lives on to this day, the various political and administrative branches of the Adeptus Terra.

Arelex put the first High Lords in power, cementing the power of the previous Council of Terra and legitimizing their right of succession to the Emperor's rule. To this day, the bond between the War Scribes and the various branches of the Adeptus Terra is ironclad, and they can almost always count on the support of *most* of the High Lords. Initially, the Fabricator-General was not included in this number, because the Mechanicus' stubborn refusal to become fully part of the Imperium rankled Arelex, who viewed their separatism as another Heresy-level schism waiting to happen.

Arelex's greatest struggle, a conflict that would dominate his life following Hektor's defeat, was curtailing the Mechanicus. Sensing an opportunity after the Emperor's withdrawal from power, a shadow war between the High Lords, backed by Arelex, and the Mechanicus began. The Mechanicus desired complete control of the Imperium from behind the Throne, and for the center of true power to be Mars, not Terra. Though neither side was willing to go so far as to break the Imperium in half once more, the Mechanicus came to hate Arelex for denying them absolute power. The AdMech threatened dire vengeance if Arelex did not permit them to become the dominant power in Imperial politics, and time and time again Arelex rebuffed them, drawing support in particular from the nascent Inquisition.

For several decades the struggle raged on, both sides seeking a way to silence their opponents politically without resorting to open war. Arelex's supporters found themselves plagued with mysterious mechanical problems ranging from the annoying to the fatal, and the Mechanicus found their Forge Worlds suspiciously devoid of Imperial support to varying degrees, causing widespread fear for their safety. As much as the Mechanicus believed that technology and its masters should rule all things, it was likewise impossible to survive the horrors of the Galaxy without the Imperium's manpower to defend them. Even a mighty Forge World was but a small snack to a raging WAAGH or Chaotic incursion.

Finally, matters came to a head on Whitestone, where the Mechanicus confronted Arelex and the War Scribes. They had finally come to the conclusion that the thorn in their side had to be removed, and were willing to deploy multiple Titan Legions and an ocean of Skitarii to silence Arelex forever. If the Mechanicus couldn't rule the Imperium from Mars, at least they would ensure that the Imperium could never live without their consent and technology. Arelex represented a wild card, a force potentially capable of breaking their stranglehold on machinery, and that could not be allowed. Whitestone convulsed as Dark Age weaponry was unleashed by both sides, and the fight was so apocalyptic that the planet itself began to come apart.

Arelex, seeing that even at the last he had failed, resolved that his Chapter, his Second Founding scions, and their Successors must live on. Opening a hailing frequency to the Grand Magos in charge of the invasion fleet, Arelex offered his life for his children's. If he would agree to lay down his life, then his blood would buy a truce forevermore, and the War Scribes would merely gather technology, consenting to let the Mechanicus control how technology was dispersed within the Imperium. In keeping with this new offer, the Mechanicus would receive a seat at the table, and the Fabricator-General would forever have a place among the High Lords.

The Orannis Accord was sealed in blood, and as the poor, tortured world of Whitestone came apart, Arelex was wiped from the Galaxy in its death throes. The War Scribes and their Successors would never attempt to challenge the Mechanicus, and though the two factions would never hold the other in a positive light, they would lay down their arms and coexist.

In this, Arelex showed his Legion that for the good of the Imperium, the greatest of sacrifices may be required, and the memory of their Primarch's voluntary death indelibly shaped the War Scribes and their Successors' psychology.

At the very end, Arelex charged his children with a simple task, to "Become better men than I", for at the end of his life, Arelex deemed his failures to outweigh his successes. The interpretation of what exactly his final message means is a point of much debate among the War Scribes and their Successors.

The death of a Loyal Primarch at the hands of forces ostensibly loyal to the Imperium was covered up with the utmost secrecy and care. Despite the War Scribes reaching an agreement with the Mechanicus, the Imperium could not be allowed to know that Imperial forces slew a Loyalist Primarch. The Mechanicus keep the secret to avoid incriminating themselves, and the War Scribes keep the secret because to do otherwise would be to spit on their Primarch's sacrifice, and risk destroying the Imperium they had bled to uphold.

To the Imperium as a whole, Arelex is a Primarch who failed his Emperor, but atoned with everything he had to offer and turned back to the path of righteous servitude. In the annals of Imperial saints, he is known as the "Wayward Son", patron of those afflicted with wanderlust, who feel a burning nostalgia for greater times. Though it would utterly horrify him, there are several cults dedicated to the Changer of Ways who also worship Arelex's memory, for he sought to change the technological stagnation of the entire Galaxy.

Few worship his legacy as they do with other, more noble Primarchs, but many pay him respect for what he accomplished after the Emperor's interment.

INQUISITORIAL RECORD: SECURITY CLEARANCE LEVEL ULTRAVIOLET DELTA-RHO, CLASSIFICATION THIRTEEN. FOR INQUISITORIAL REPRESENTATIVE'S EYES ONLY, UPON ASSUMPTION OF THEIR SACRED ROLE.

Our investigations of the life and history of Primarch Arelex have turned up a crucial omission beyond that which is already known of his life and death. We have calculated the forces and perils upon the dying world of Whitestone to a truly exacting degree, and ten million different cogitators of various strengths, laboring on countless variations of a single analysis, have unanimously spoken.

The armor worn by the Primarch, combined with his known resilience, would have protected him from the planet's destruction, enough for him to have survived with nearly 97% probability. While we have no direct evidence, we can infer that he lived on after his supposed sacrifice. Though the idea is almost too horrifying to contemplate, we must consider the possibility that the Mechanicus has held him captive all these years.

To be honest... I almost do not wish to confirm our suspicions. But out of respect, it is the duty of every Inquisitorial Representative to attempt to uncover this mystery's depths. Surely the War Scribes and their Successors do not know, or there would inevitably be open war between them and the Mechanicus.

The Atalantos Worlds

History of Atalantos

Basilikon Atalantos
Segmentum	Ultima Segmentum
Sector	Atalantos
Sub Sector	Primaris
System	Atalantos
Population	10,000,000
Planetary Governor	Chapter Master

Near the Galactic Core, life is harsh and brutal. Intense radiation coming from the tightly clustered stars and the monstrous black hole at the Galaxy's heart sterilize the life from worlds that draw too close. It is an all too common lament for many young races that the vagaries of gravity draw their system's orbit into this tempest, burning them from existence in the uncaring glare. However, the Galactic Core is also one of the most vibrant places in a Galaxy that elsewhere is cold, dark, and all too dead, filled with a plethora of rare resources and ancient ruins that outlived their luckless owners. Many a planet in this region holds ancient troves of knowledge and relics, left behind after their masters demise.

It was these legends that drew Arelex and the War Scribes inward towards the roiling cauldrons of fire, flush with the successes of the early Great Crusade years and eager to bring back treasure and impress the Emperor. The quest to secure these planets was an arduous one, a slow slog of claiming dead planets, armoring them against the Core's radiation, and then examining them in minute detail for anything useful. Slowly but steadily, the War Scribes pushed the Imperium's boundaries inward, facing off against hideous beings of pure energy, twisted monsters wielding gravity as a weapon, hellish mutants thriving in the wash of radiation, and other things too terrible to mention.

Though progress was slower than any other Legion, and the number of worlds claimed was less than other Primarchs, the Emperor looked upon these unnatural, eerily powerful beasts with contempt and hatred, and proclaimed that it was right and proper that the War Scribes dedicate themselves to their eradication, no matter the cost or time required. Additionally, the War Scribes had indeed turned up many fragmented relics from humanity's past as they had hoped, and the STC fragments had proven very useful for upgrading the armies of the Legio Astartes as a whole.

These planets became centers of Imperial might, flush with resources and greedily exploited by humanity. Life on the surface was extremely difficult, though not impossible, and most of the habitats and industries were deep underground to protect the people from radiation. Each of the War Scribes' planets could match the industrial output of much larger Imperial worlds, and they became one of the primary producers of supplies for Imperial operations in the Ultima Segmentum, greatly shortening the supply chains that otherwise would have to run all the way from Terra or Mars.

Culture of the Atalantos Worlds

If your life has no point, earn points for your family! Enlist in the PDF today, and earn extra rewards for time served!

If your credit's run dry, you can still die! Enlist in the Atalantos Guard today, and get double points for your loved ones to remember you by!

Sample posters from various worlds in the Atalantos Sector

Once, Atalantos was a name to inspire wonder and joy among the Imperium, a shining beacon of what was possible for humanity, and what might someday become standard for the entire Imperium. Such was Arelex's dream. In the modern era however, Atalantos is a realm whose struggles mirror the greater Imperium.

The glories of Atalantos still exist, but without the Primarch's guidance, over time they have become unsustainable on their own, and more inefficient manufacturing techniques and the slow attrition of time have demanded more and more raw materials to compensate. It is not uncommon for an archaeotech foundry to require two or even three times the material and energy to create the same item as it did in the 30th millennium.

Most of the Atalantos Worlds are merely enormous mining colonies, fed by an inexhaustible stream of expendable, barely sentient manpower from the seven Remnant Worlds and their associated Hive Cities. These people were mindless savages when the War Scribes discovered them, but through brutal genetic and bionic modification they were raised to the level at which they could use tools. Though useless for warfare, they are almost immune to radiation damage, the heritage of their survival near the Core, and they make ideal slave labor within the endlessly hungry mines. Though life in the mines is brutal, the War Scribes at least make it no harder than necessary. They care nothing for the workers, but they do not impose punishments for no reason, as that would cut the efficiency of the process.

Likewise, the Atalantos Worlds as a whole are a meritocracy, enforced by the Scribes. If you serve well, you are rewarded and your skills are adapted for use elsewhere. If you serve poorly, you are sent to the mines. If you still perform poorly, you are executed. Citizens are tracked and watched at all times, constantly gaining and losing "credits" based on service. Earn enough, and one can advance up the social ladder.

A curious system of passive warfare has emerged because of this. Direct combat hinders *both* parties credits, because time spent fighting is time not spent earning points, and gets them *both* sent to the mines. Instead, families compete to be better producers than each other, so that their rivals will look bad by comparison, and be sent to the mines or the PDF. More than one mining conglomerate has been slain en masse when their rivals edged them out in productivity.

While these policies keep the industrial output of the Atalantos Worlds running at a fever pitch, it places immense stress on the population, who rarely even sleep for fear that their neighbors are getting ahead of them. Suicide was commonplace, until the War Scribes, responding to the steady rise in Necron encounters, issued a decree stating that anyone willing to give their lives to fight the Necrons could earn *massive* points for their families.

Throwing one's life away by suicide is seen as a taboo almost beyond any other, since it carries a very real risk of wiping out your entire family, and possibly other families who relied on your work to support their endeavors. A family related to a suicide will often enlist in the Guard en masse, save for the youngest children and their caretakers, to wipe away the shame on their family name.

Atalantos is a strange land, where people eagerly hurl themselves into the most brutal of conditions, or stare down the guns of implacable monstrosities, but then again Humanity is a strange species. So long as they feel their efforts matter, they will put the whips to their own backs. A 20-hour work day might be brutally hard, but at least it's not as bad as other Imperial worlds, or so the miners tell themselves. "On those miserable planets, they work like dogs and get nowhere. At least we may better ourselves!"

And so they go, and so they toil, and so they live, and so they die.

Hazards of the Atalantos Worlds

Necrons

Aside from the dangers posed by mundane threats like radiation, wandering singularities, rogue planets and supernovae, the Atalantos worlds are often beset by enemies of a more calculating nature. Though the low human population near the Galactic Core offers little food for the Ruinous Powers to feed upon, a significant number of Tomb Worlds have been located in the vicinity during the course of surveying expeditions.

Some of these Tomb Worlds are still inactive, but as the milennia have progressed, the Necron threat has grown significantly. Much of the War Scribes' time is spent containing and repelling these reawakening xenos, attempting to shield the rest of the Imperium from their predation. It is fortunate that the Necron Dynasties seem to despise each other as much as the Imperium, and their infighting has kept the immediate risk lower.

Several Tomb Worlds have been destroyed by the War Scribes, but each time it has come at the cost of a brutally devastating war, a long recovery time, and the depletion of what few Dark Age weaponry the Chapter still possesses. The War Scribes have become more frantic in their quest for relic weaponry lately, spurred on by the fear of being caught unprepared by a major Necron invasion.

Known Active Necron Dynasties

• Ulkhesh Dynasty (Known for excessive proportion of Deathmarks. Escaped notice by larger Dynasties by basing much of their forces in alternate dimensions)

• Zelrakh-Khemta Dynasty (Unusual Dynasty with co-ruling Phaerons. Believed by Imperial Scribes to be a merged Dynasty by the Necron equivalent of marriage.)

• Il'Kholas Dynasty (Known for being largely fleet-based. Since activation of Tomb World, majority of forces have warred with other Dynasties for control of spacelanes and resources. Tomb World largely abandoned.)

Other Xenos

Though the War Scribes and their Primarch shattered many empires of the native xenos, their hateful remnants still remain, lurking in the glare of enemy stars.

Deathpulse

• The deadly xenos species known only as the Deathpulse is composed of pure stellar plasma, riding the currents between stars in endless loops and feeding off any life they encounter. As massive as a small moon, a single Deathpulse creature can sterilize a planet in less than a day. For now, the remaining Deathpulse keep a wary distance from the Atalantos Worlds, held at bay by their vulnerability to plasma weapons, which can disrupt their equivalent of a nervous system. Someday though, they will avenge their dead brethren with the burning of worlds.

Void Eaters

• As insidious as the Deathpulse are bombastic, the Void Eaters live in the shadows and cracks of the Galaxy. Wherever there is a dead world, a dead star, or a dead life form, there may be a Void Eater there, feeding off the essence of death. They are creatures of total blackness, absorbing any light that falls on them into their core, never to be seen again. Their guns are all gravitic in nature, and can twist a man in half with contemptuous ease, or bend a tank back on itself. Though they look like holes in reality, there is a living being of sorts underneath their void-black exterior, and by the grace of the Emperor, sustained bolter fire can bring them down. Las-weapons have no effect on these monsters, nor do plasma weapons or electromagnetic assaults of any kind. When hit by such devices, the blast simply... disappears. There may be only a few Void Eaters, or there may be billions. They are the nightmare that disturbs the thoughts of the Atalantos Worlds, for none can say when they may return.

The Codex Atalantos

Atalantos

Atalantos
Segmentum	Ultima Segmentum
Sector	Atalantos
Sub Sector	Primaris
System	Atalantos System
Population	5,000,000
Planetary Governor	An Veles Rezuhon
Orbital radius	1.08AU ± .2AU
Gravity	1.05G
Temperature	Temperate

Atalantos is the jewel of the conglomerate of worlds that shares its name. More distant from the Core than most of the Atalantos Worlds, its surface is actually habitable for unshielded humans, protected by an unusually strong magnetic field. It is a young world, hot and tectonically active, and its biosphere is energetically fecund. Atalantos has few accessible resources, unusual for a Core World, and instead of producing mineral wealth, Atalantos feeds a dozen mining worlds as one of the most productive breadbaskets in the Imperium. Almost every scrap of land is dedicated to cropland, and the oceans have been channeled and mastered by the Scribes in order to ensure proper irrigation at all times. The light of the stars is bright enough that the night sky is never darker than a deep blue color, and plants grow at all latitudes year round.

The capitol city, known as the Basilikon Atalantos, is a fortress formerly constructed by Dark Age Man for purposes unknown. Though the people that lived within did not survive, the nearly indestructible buildings did, and it was these relics that first attracted Arelex's attention. Much knowledge was recovered from the deep catacombs, and Arelex was able to deliver these treasures to the Emperor personally.

It is here that the War Scribes test their recruits for physical and mental strength. The colossal Basilikon has endless rooms for exercising the body and the mind, and the Scribes have filled the building with everything they need to support the Chapter and its successors. Below the Basilikon are some of their mist advanced manufactorums, assembling the most powerful weapons of war available.

Other Agricultural Worlds

• Kelemvor III

• Belerog IX

• Broken Stone

• Dantolis

Yojan VII, Primary Mining World

Yojan VII
Segmentum	Ultima Segmentum
Sector	Atalantos
Sub Sector	Yojan
System	Yojan System
Population	10,000,000 (Miners) 20,000 (Rogue Traders/Others)
Orbital radius	436AU ± 8.3AU
Gravity	1.24G
Temperature	Temperate/Irradiated

Yojan VII and its massive moon Yojan Beta orbit a brilliant blue giant star of roughly 30 solar masses, only barely avoiding incineration by virtue of their distended orbit, more than ten times as distant from the parent star as Pluto is from Sol. It takes slightly more than 2,000 years for Yojan VII to circle its star, so no man ever celebrates his first Yojan birthday.

Though Yojan VII has less than four million years before its star dies, that is more than long enough for the Imperium's needs. No life exists on Yojan VII, though the planet does possess liquid water and a full water cycle. It is harsh and rugged, barely finished cooling its oceans and solidifying its crust. In the mines dozens of kilometers below the surface, it is said that one cannot fire a mining laser for more than 30 seconds without striking some valuable node of ore or priceless jewel, and the endless conveyor belts and smelters are full to bursting with wealth. No world in the Atalantos Cluster produces such value for the Imperium.

Life in the mines is brutally hard for the indentured servants, but a large number of independent mining companies and even a few Rogue Trader dynasties have also made treaties with the Scribes to exploit Yojan VII's immense wealth. These individuals tend to be able to afford better equipment for their skilled laborers. Both groups, indentured and salaried alike, are required to provide the Scribes with recruits, and those Scribes that come from Yojan VII are tough, rugged individuals even by the standards of Space Marines, well used to backbreaking labor and other tests of endurance.

Other Mining Worlds

As time marches on, the Atalantos Worlds have become more and more dependent on increasing supplies of raw materials to maintain their ancient relics. To meet the demands, even the most barren, blasted planetoids are being examined for mineral wealth, and the War Scribes are claiming them at a breakneck pace.

Most Mining Worlds in the Atalantos Worlds are sparsely populated, largely given over to armies of tunneling machinery and transient populations of indentured servants, slaves, and criminals.

• To-Lek Prime

• Arphalos III

• Delta Ophan II

• Mologe Valonis

• Fleshboiler (Penal Colony)

• Tenalor II

• Porit-Xen Alpha

• Tikon Eklem

• Firefall

• Blackstone

• Korvis X

• The Bad Lands

• Golden Cave

• Boteh'nel VI

• Ophachix I, II, III

• Teleos V

• Aklan Maklen

• Uriel Prime

The Remnant, Primary Hive System

Bastion Orannis
Segmentum	Ultima Segmentum
Sector	Atalantos
Sub Sector	Remnos
System	Remnos System
Population	14,000,000,000
Orbital radius	1.5AU ± 0.23AU
Gravity	1.11G
Temperature	Temperate

The Remnant is a strange collection of planets, seven strong in all, orbiting farther above the galactic plane than the other Atalantos Worlds. From this vantage point, the spiral of the Galaxy can be partially seen, as well as a good angle on the Galactic Core, above the clouds of interstellar dust. The Remnant worlds are ancient beyond the knowledge of the Imperium to discern, dating back to the Dark Age of humanity. Cut off from the rest of civilization for millennia, the people of these worlds devolved into savagery and barbarism, crawling through the colossal relics of their ancestors with no more comprehension of their potential than a grox has of the inner workings of a Plasma Drive.

When the Scribes came upon these planets, they immediately set to work reclaiming them for the Imperium, and after two decades of brutal culling, genetic manipulation, bionic enhancement and relentless training, the people of the Remnant worlds regained some of their humanity and intelligence after so long living as mindless animals. At the behest of the Emperor, the Scribes constructed a mighty observatory on the largest Remnant world, using its powerful optics to look down on the galaxy and help guide the Great Crusade by spotting threats in its path through the Ultima Segmentum.

Now that the Crusade has passed into myth and legend, these telescopes are used to examine the Galactic Core, seeking new worlds emerging from its furious heat into space where the Imperium may harvest them.

The Scribes lament that the devolvement of the Remnant Worlds' former inhabitants destroyed almost all relics of value, but at least have the consolation prize of seven closely linked hive worlds from which to recruit, and from which to draw an endless stream of indentured labor for the Atalantos mining worlds.

Remnant Worlds

• Thanden (Capitol world and primary Cardinal World of the Atalantos Cluster)

• Keilos (Hive World)

• Volgaz (Agri-world)

• Beneumos (Manufacturing world)

• Xivo (Hive World)

• Cerelex Loja (Hive World)

• Bastion Orannis (Fortress World, Observatory location)

Other Notable Worlds of the Atalantos Sector

Volhak Seinal, the Power Core

Volhak Seinal
Segmentum	Ultima Segmentum
Sector	Atalantos
Sub Sector	Volhak
System	Seinal System
Population	8,000 (Power technicians) 1,000 (Various researchers)
Orbital radius	.5AU ± 1.6AU
Gravity	.32G
Temperature	1200 C

Volhak Seinal is a world forged in death and fire. A remnant of an ancient supernova explosion, the planet collected itself from leftover debris after the death of its parent star. The War Scribes took advantage of the pulsar's raging torrent of energy and set up facilities to tap that endless flow of power.

The planet, though small, is coated in row upon row of power collectors, and an endless stream of vessels plies the transport route to and from Volhak, collecting full capacitors and deploying new empty ones to be filled. The sheer quantity of electromagnetic interference is ruinous to machine spirits, so it is brute manpower that controls these vessels. Few crews survive more than a handful of trips into and out of the system, as no shielding is sufficient to protect the living tissue inside, and this duty is the final punishment in the Atalantos Worlds' codes of law and justice. Only the most heinous criminals are sentenced to this transport run, and their deaths are not lamented.

The Power Core provides much of the energy that fuels the technology of the other Atalantos Worlds, powering the mining equipment and the more power-hungry Dark Age relics, as well as fuel cells for the War Scribes' vehicles.

Strangely, the Volhak Seinal system is one of the few Atalantos Worlds to have never known the touch of Necrons. Something about the pulsar's radiation seems to disrupt their reanimation protocols, and they dare not approach. Were the system not so hostile to human life, it would be a valuable safe haven.

Gomelis and Wolasqu, the Frenzied Worlds

Gomelis and Wolasqu
Segmentum	Ultima Segmentum
Sector	Atalantos
Sub Sector	Talek
System	Talek System
Population	900,000,000 (Gomelis) 1,500,000,000 (Wolasqu)
Orbital radius	1.09 AU ± .03AU
Gravity	.96G
Temperature	Warm Temperate

These two planets appear very friendly and welcoming to human life from orbit, drifting around their parent star at a nearly ideal distance for habitation, and bursting with all manner of flora and fauna. Indeed, perhaps in some long-lost era of humanity, this system was engineered for use by humanity, but any evidence beyond vague genetic links has clouded the truth of this matter forever.

What is known is that Gomelis and Wolasqu are perhaps the richest worlds for 1000 light-years for biomass and species diversity. Some of them bear a passing resemblance to Terran life, causing hypotheses of a common origin, but just as many match no known species. Essentially all of them are deadly to human life though, and they violently slaughtered the original colonists seeking to carve out what they hoped would be a new pair of Agri-Worlds in the vein of Atalantos.

Instead of a garden of Eden they got a vicious pair of hells much like Catachan, but unlike Catachan, no native human population existed to make it worth their while to use as a recruiting world. Instead, the War Scribes blasted holes in the endless jungle from orbit, and the colonists put down armored fortresses and prefab buildings in the craters before the forests could reclaim them. For the past ten thousand years, the War Scribes and the colonists have waged savage war against the irrepressible biospheres, buying land a mile at a time with the blood of millions.

With the passage of time, several Hive cities sprang up on each Death World, armored and sealed against the probing tendrils of the biosphere. It is a tenuous balance, and on more than one occasion the War Scribes' fleet was required to clean the outer surfaces of the armored walls with orbital fire.

The Frenzied Worlds do produce valuable agricultural products, but most of their output goes to feeding the colonists rather than the rest of the Atalantos Worlds. Less than half of either world is remotely safe for human habitation, but the War Scribes have embarked upon this quest, and they will not stop until the Frenzied Worlds are tamed.

The battle for these two planets has entered a new, more intense phase of its existence because of the increased Necron predation of recent centuries. The War Scribes predict that without these two worlds and their potential output, the Atalantos Worlds will be unable to feed the manpower necessary to repel the xenos. Tithes have been increased Sector-wide, and a full quarter of the War Scribes' fleet has been dispatched, along with the entire 5th Company, to bring the planets to heel.

If they must, they will incinerate the entire biosphere and re-seed the world in the fertile ashes. The Atalantos Worlds can accept nothing less than success.

Greyland, the Ancient World

Greyland
Segmentum	Ultima Segmentum
Sector	Atalantos
Sub Sector	Meleau
System	Meleau System
Population	100 archaeologists, occasionally a couple War Scribes Marines
Planetary Governor	None
Orbital radius	3AU ± 0.001AU
Gravity	.87G
Temperature	30 C

Greyland, orbiting the pale white star known as Meleau, is a strange world drifting in a lonely orbit around a lonely star. Two minute moons circle Greyland, along with a large, slender ring system of tumbling debris.

Greyland is the oldest known planet in the Galactic Core, an anomaly in a region of such tumult. Usually, planets in the Core are very young, just born alongside their parent stars, or reassembled after some cataclysmic explosion or impact. Not Greyland. This world is nearly as old as the Universe itself, at least ten billion years of age, if not more, and the Imperium cannot explain how it came to be here. Indeed, the planet is older than the star it orbits!

Imperial scholars suspect that Greyland was somehow moved into our Galaxy for reasons unknown, and this theory is supported by the ring system, which contains uncountable forcefield generators and null-stasis devices, all conspiring to keep the space around Greyland inviolate from all forms of stellar hazards. What is truly odd is that no habitation has ever existed on Greyland of any kind, but evidence of xenos industry, agriculture, manufacturing, mining, and storage is everywhere. It is as if the planet was moved here, ready to become an important world in some xenos empire, but for some reason was never used. These xenos ruins are very concentrated into small areas, and much of it is underground, so from orbit or from the planet's surface, it is nothing but a grey expanse of emptiness.

Though many have considered claiming Greyland for the Imperium, something causes any settlers that attempt to land to leave within a year. It is simply the most boring, quiet, unnatural planet that humanity might choose to live upon. There is no vegetation, no color beyond the black, white, and grey shades of the planet's minerals, and sound itself seems oddly dampened in the still, stormless air. Humanity cannot abide such thundering, crushing *absence*.

The War Scribes use Greyland as a mediation world, requiring prospective Captains to take a pilgrimage into the trackless emptiness and meditate on the Chapter's long history, the lore they've learned, and their place in the Imperium and the cosmos. It is a distinctly humbling experience, forcing the warrior to confront just how small a thing he truly is in comparison to the Galaxy.

A few Scribes return to Greyland time and time again, embracing the peace and stillness and using Greyland as a sort of sensory-deprivation chamber.

RECORDS FOR CHAPTER MASTER EYES ONLY: Greyland is also the cold storage facility for any Chaotic relics the War Scribes uncover and cannot destroy, as well as dangerous archaeotech. Something about Greyland exerts a dampening effect on rogue devices and Chaotic taint, just like it does on the flora, fauna, and any that try to settle upon it. The Inquisition maintains a small presence on Greyland to help keep an eye on such items, and to assist in research and purging efforts.