House Accolon

The Sworn Knights of House Accolon
Household Grade	Secundus
Patent	Warrant of Imperial Immediacy issued by the Emperor Himself and ratified by the Imperial Court, 900.M30
Warden Domain	Cattegirn
Cognomen	The Swords of Promised Victory, the Sons and Daughters of Cattegirn, ‘The Blades of Terra’ (Post Heresy)
Allied Legions/Forge Worlds	Multiple commendations and accolades from 12 Legions (see ref: Knight/Legion co-operation), ties with the Forgeworlds of Neutros Scrayaer, Incaldion and Lucius.
Allegiance	Fidelitas Maximus

This page details people, events, and organisations from the /tg/ Heresy, a fan re-working of the Warhammer 40,000 Universe. See the /tg/ Heresy Timeline and Galaxy pages for more information on the Alternate Universe.

‘As he stood upon the battlefield, axe-blade raised high,

Behind the aegis of his shield roared defiance to the sky.

Tell thy brothers, near and far, of the blood and fire of war,

That on this day did Byrhtnoth’s fate, by the shield bore.’

(Lay of Dux Byrhtnoth ‘The Shieldbearer’, Knight of Accolon.)

The Knights of House Accolon have a long and hallowed history among the ranks of the Knight Households of the Imperium. They fought in the Siege of the Throneworld, and their King and Liege Lord entered the halls of Legend for her part in the Siege, being granted the eternal title The Blade of Terra, by the hand of the Emperor's Praetorian and becoming a saint in the Imperial Cult. Loyalty is everything to the Lords of Accolon: loyalty to each other, to their liege lords, to their house, to their ancestors, to the memory of their King and the Throne of Terra she died to defend. That loyalty has endured everything a cruel galaxy can throw at it, and it merely grows stronger the more adversity threatens.

History

Artur the Uniter

In the centuries since the Heresy, the Knights of Accolon have become famed for their service to the Emperor during those dark times, and the martyrdom of their King at the very Climax of the Heresy on the soil of Terra Itself. And yet the Knights of Accolon were once a dozen fragmented Households on a world split by war, and it was only through the rise of a single individual who had the wisdom, the martial might and the knowledge to unite all the Knights of that world under her banner that the Household that would play such a part in the great war would come to be.

At the time that the Great Crusade first left the orbit of Sol to conquer the Galaxy, the many households of Cattegirn were at each other’s throats in the long winded series of wars that had split the planet ever since the fall of Old Night. The Planet had been cold, bleak but rich in metals, and many households of Knights had come into being from the goods of the earth. Additionally, the capacity to manufacture small numbers of Knights was maintained, which kept their numbers stable despite the casualties in battle after battle. As the Age of Strife erupted, refugees fleeing the catastrophes besetting countless worlds converged on Cattegirn, seeking a place to stay. Each of the many Households dealt with the crisis as they could, some welcoming the new arrivals with open arms while others sought to bar them. By the time the Age of Strife was in full swing there were several different groups of people living on Cattegirn, each with their own customs and beliefs. And as the populations grew, these came into conflict. The Histories of House Accolon do not name when the wars between these peoples and the Knight Houses that ruled them first began, but by M30 they had been going on for countless centuries. Technology had stagnated and Terra was a mythical homeland across the sea of Stars. Unity was a dead and distant dream harboured by very few Knights, and none could make those dreams a reality. None, that was until the head of a minor Knight Household ruling the Kingdom of Lorges named Artur Eld was born in 889 M29. He was bold and ambitious, and when he became a Knight one of his visions while sitting in the Throne Mechanicum was of all the Knights of Cattegirn bowing before him. With this vision still running through his head he decided that he would unite all of Cattegirn beneath his banner, the Dragon of Lorges. Artur Eld fought hard and won several small victories against neighbouring powers, establishing a power base and a following of loyal Knights, and then made preparations to bring war to all of Cattegirn.

It was at this time that his Knights set off on a quest to gain an advantage against their potential future foes. Cattegirn was rich in Archeotech brought by the refugees fleeing the rise of Old Night, and several of the lost Holdfasts of the Knight Houses were rumoured to have vast stores of technology from the golden age of Mankind’s empire. For over three years the Knights of Lorges searched, and finally deep in the northern wilds they found one of the lost Knight Holdfasts. Several relic Knights were recovered from their long slumbers and many new Knights brought into his Household, along with powerful weapons and upgrades that made his Knights an unstoppable force on the Battlefield. Thus armed, in 945 M29 he set off to end the Wars which ravaged Cattegirn.

Over the course of a dozen battles he vanquished a number of Knight Households, binding them to himself and incorporating their martial strength into his own host. This included the Battle of Guinnion, in which Artur led the storming of the breach and laid low the Knights of Ælfheah and the Battle of Meacredy where Sixty Knights clashed on the banks of a winding brook.

The Twelve Battles he fought led to the union of over half of all Cattegirn under his banner, from the Icebound Ocean to the Rockspine Peaks. He forged dozens of disparate Knight Households into one, which he named the Knights of Accolon after an old myth of Cattegirn about one of the heroes who founded the Colony on the planet. The other Households, fearful at his power soon united and made war against him, and he would spend the rest of his life trying to finish what he has started, and growing ever more fearful that he would die before all Cattegirn was united as one, leaving his heir with the difficult task of concluding his wars. Many feared that without an heir his death would lead to the collapse of his realm and the return to the eternal cycle of wars he was trying to end. Seeing an opportunity, the powerful leader Wystan of Caercalarund who had grudgingly bent the knee to Eld after the Battle of Meacredy had his beautiful and ambitious daughter Myra try to seduce Artur. She failed, but still bore his child, who she named Medrat. This child would eventually try to undo all of Artur’s works.

A clash of Heirs

Artur took to wife Gwenythh, the daughter of Syal of Ghent, Queen Regent one of the most powerful of the remaining Knight Households that had refused to bow, the Knights of Nidhoggr. Bringing them into the fold was well worth the marriage, but the two parties ended up growing fond of one another and their marriage was unusually happy for one of political convenience. Four years after their marriage in 879 M30, she gave birth to the long-awaited heir. But instead of the expected son, it was a daughter, who was named Arturia after her father.

At her nativity, Artur decided to not publicly announce Arturia's birth or gender, fearing his subjects would never accept a woman as a legitimate ruler. He decided that as she was his child she would also be his heir, regardless of her sex. In one of the hardest decisions of his life Artur came to the realization that his daughter had to grow up away from him to keep her safe from his many enemies. So her death was faked and she was sent to live with the most loyal of Artur’s Knights, the young, brave and strong Dux Uktar, the son of one of his great enemies and a child of the foreign Seaxe people from the western ocean who Artur had defeated early in his campaigns. Uktar, a noble and dutiful man if still wedded to the culture of his people became her foster father. Uktar raised her as his own alongside his two sons, Kai and Shrike. He taught her to ride and fight and shoot and hunt, had her educated on chivalry and academics, and had a suit of armour forged for her to wear. He did not treat her as a woman, but as a warrior and a knight. Great hopes were placed upon her, and as she grew she looked to become a King as wise and great as her father, one who would be able to finish his task and bring unity to all Cattegirn.

All these hopes were dashed when Myra’s spies found out about Arturia, and sensing her time had come she publicly unveiled Medrat and brought him to Artur’s Capital, the Knight Holdfast of Rockerid. Shocked, he tried his best upon meeting his Bastard son, but would not budge on the issue of succession. His hidden daughter would rule after him, not some bastard son. Many of his knights were confused and shocked, for Artur had no children after the death of his previous child over a decade before. Here was one who could take up his cause and lead the Knights of Accolon to their final victory, and the King was refusing him? Furious, and spurred on by his mother, Medrat had Artur poisoned and took his throne, claiming as his father’s only son he was the only heir. Many of Artur’s knights now rallied to the new king and swore to stand with him for the final war to reclaim Cattegirn. Uktar, upon hearing the news was tortured. He had grown to love Arturia as a true father, and did not want any harm to come to her. However he did not want the foul Medrat to rule, And after a year of Medrat’s tyrannical rule, when the foes of House Accolon won several victories and the dream of unity was growing ever more dim reluctantly he revealed all to Arturia, and asked her to take up her father’s banner and stop her bastard brother’s reign.

Arturia, despite being young, and unprepared, was courageous, determined and had a strong sense of justice and duty, and to prove that she was her father’s daughter went alone to search for a Knight of her own, seeking one of the ancient Holdfasts as her father had done before his own rise to power. What she found was the mythical Iron Hall buried in the Rockspine Mountains, the first Knight Holdfast established on the planet in the ancient times and long since forgotten and thought of as a Valhalla-like place to the Knights of Cattegirn. Alone she rode in and came out with Caliburn, a mighty Knight mount of power beyond that of any other that obeyed her despite her lack of implants. This proved that she was machine-touched, and truly the heir to Artur Eld. Raising her father’s banner above the Iron Hall, she led the last of her father’s loyal knights to face those who had sided with Medrat. For two years she fought many battles against both Medraut and her father’s old enemies, always at the forefront, always taking the burdens upon herself, with her brothers at her side. Many Knights who disliked Medrat sided with her, including the great knights Gawyne and Bedieve, two of her father’s foremost servants.

She met up with and slew Medrat in a great battle near Lake Camaln, and when his followers laid down their arms turned on the league of enemy Knight Households, defeating them one by one over the course of two years until all of Cattegirn answered to her. Her father’s dream had been made real and the Knight World was one.

Kings and Emperors

Barely five years later in 900 M30, as rebuilding was still underway, mining operations were expanding and King Arturia was still healing the wounds of Cattegirn’s long wars, the old scanners that still watched the empty skies suddenly found hundreds of signals coming from the stars. The King mobilised her Knights and made ready in case of a challenge from the heavens. But what came was a golden hulled dropship, landing before the assembled host of Knights, and what emerged was a living god clad in gold, and beside him a scale-clad demigod.

The Emperor Himself had come to Cattegirn, along with his son, the lord of the XVI Legion, Aubrey The Grey.

To this day questions are asked as to why the Emperor Himself, at this time still prosecuting the Great Crusade alongside his Sons and heading back to Terra to take charge of Imperial forces opposing the Ruavu Grun, would deliberately seek out and land upon an obscure Knight World far from the most vital war zones of the time. Some say that Cattegirn’s Archeotech haul included relics of the Dark Age of Technology that the Emperor wished to obtain first rather than the Mechanicum, others that even then he saw the potential in the young King of Cattegirn and wanted her in his armies. The truth will likely never be known, but what is known is that the King of Cattegirn and the Emperor of Mankind met and spoke in private, and when they were done the King announced that from that day forth she and all her subjects would be servants of the Emperor, riding and fighting at His command for the unity of all men, not just those of Cattegirn.

In a somewhat-friendly honour duel she fought with Aubrey after calling him the Emperor's Squire, and became the first human mortal to fight him to a standstill. After the fight she bestowed one of her swords and a crown to the Lord of the Sixteenth and swore friendship with him. A week later she would leave Cattegirn along with over half her Knights, joining the Emperor’s own 1st Expeditionary Fleet where for five years she would fight alongside the Custodians and the chosen warriors of the Imperial Army, before leaving and beginning a long period of service alongside many of the Astartes Legions starting with the Eternal Zealots before moving on, gaining battle honours by the dozen as they sought out the harshest warzones to test their mettle against the worst of mankind's opponents.

One by one Questoris detachments of Knights would leave Cattegirn to serve in the Great Crusade, until a bare skeleton force was left behind to train future Knights. But as battle honours and trophies began to filter back, all of the people of Cattegirn began to celebrate the exploits of their chosen warriors as they fought at the bleeding edge of the Emperor’s war of unity, just as they had fought in their King’s war for unity. Regular shipments of Knight Armours from several Forgeworlds periodically came in as part of the Emperor’s own promises to the King of Cattegirn, which allowed the world to remain independent of the wider Mechanicum to the distaste of many within the Order of Mars.

The Knights of Accolon fought at the forefront of many battles, fighting with honour and fury and gaining many accolades from the forces they fought alongside. The close ties between the King and Aubrey The Grey were well known during the decade they fought alongside one another, but he was far from alone. No less a person then Primarch Arelex praised the charge of Thegn Yvain during the Vogsphere Compliance, while a banner of House Accolon is known to have hung in the victory chamber of the Resolve, the Flagship of the Void Angels Legion. Though that banner represented a less then noble victory, when over a tenth of the Household including disastrously Uktar himself was destroyed during the Igwen Compliance due to the foolish bravery of one of the most famed Knights in the Household, the outsider Abdul Al-Sherar, known as "The White Knight". His exile would prove to be fateful, not only for the Househoild but also for the Void Angels in the years to come.

The fame of House Accolon brought them many enemies though, and other Knight Households routinely commented negatively on the fact that the head of House Accolon was a female in defiance of most knightly traditions, which led to much ill feeling between them and occasional bouts of violence.

The Altar of Sacrifice

The foremost Knight Household Detachment comprising two dozen Knights were resupplying at the Forgeworld of Mezoa after the end of the war against the dregs of Ullanor when the news of the disturbances in the Isstvan Sector came to light. Arturia did not hesitate to order a full Household Detachment of seven Knights under the command of one of her foremost Thegns, Thegn Esclabor to join the assault against the Traitors on Isstvan. Soon news came through of the Warmaster’s treachery and the butchering of no less then four loyal legions, and at this the King swore that she and her Knights would stand against the traitorous Warmaster and fight and die to deny him his victory, and that is just what the Knights of Accolon did.

The order went out that all Household detachments were to seek out and fight the traitors wherever they may be, though the many Knight detachments were scattered across the stars, and soon Household detachments of Accolon flocked to their nearest traitor warzones to fight. On a dozen warzones across the Imperium the Knights of Accolon fought and died to deny the traitors their victory. Some of these battles were the great and famous like Zhuko V and Rosskar. Other battles have been lost in the fog of war. In every case the Household fought till the end, and one by one they died. By the time of the Siege of Terra, almost all of the Knights not on Terra were dead, and the Siege of Terra would see all the rest fall, including the King of Cattegirn herself, who gave her life to try and hold back the tide of traitors and defeat the cursed First Traitor Aubrey Himself. When the Heresy was over the Household was all but extinct with only three Knights remaining. The shattered remnants now faced an uncertain future.

When the King comes back

Though the Imperium owed the Knights of Accolon a great debt, the Household was so ravaged the Household was considered beyond saving. What was worse, with the loss of the King the glue that had bound all of Cattegirn together was gone, and in the years following the Rebellion the United Kingdom of Cattegirn began to come apart, and lords and dukes clashed with one another. Soon Cattegirn was reduced to Five Kingdoms, all in sporadic conflict with one another. The chance of warriors from these five being able to come together under the Banner of the Knights of Accolon was remote.

But the new head of the Household, Thegn Bedieve "Diademed" was a wise and canny ruler. Already the new Imperial Faith was beginning to take shape across the Imperium, though fighting repression from the Supreme Commander of the Imperium, Gaspard Lumey of the Void Angels. And that cult revered many Saints of the God-Emperor, and one of those Saints was the 'Blade of Terra', the Knight King of Cattegirn who had fallen crossing blades with the First Traitor and now the Saint of Knights.

Bedieve made contact with some among the faith, and granted them the right to raise a Temple to the Saint of Knights on Cattegirn itself. It soon became a place of pilgrimage, defended by the Knights and protected from persecution from the outside. The tithes gathered from the faithful gave the Knights a source of income to rebuild their shattered forces, and agitation from the Imperial Faith helped to muster support for the Household. The newly-formed Adeptus Mechanicus began to provide replacement Knight Suits from Forges as far afield as Al-Sherar, Dieseleum and even Sacred Mars itself.

Though Cattegirn was fractured, the Nobles of the Five Kingdoms were still eager to send their sons to join the Knights of Accolon. Though tensions ran beneath the surface, and the entire Household was no longer as united as it had been in Arturia's day, the flow of recruits began once again and the Knights began to fill out their Knight Suits. Finally the Household was brought back from the brink of extinction, a debt the Knights would hold to in the centuries to come.

The Beast and the First of the White Knights

The Household had come back from the brink, but could still only muster fifty Knights by mid-M32, not even a quarter of the strength they once held. The Household was content to slowly rebuild themselves and ignore the Wider Imperium when fate overtook them once again. A young woman named Edith Swanneck came to the gates of the Iron Hall, claiming that she had had a vision of the long-lost King, commanding her to lead the Knights against a vast Ork Warlord who was bringing war to the Imperium. That was the first the Knights heard of this threat, and they dismissed it out of hand, returning Edith to her family. Twice more she came to the Iron Hall, and twice more she was turned away. But then news began to trickle through from Pilgrims seeking sanctuary on Cattegirn, speaking of a mighty Ork host that was bringing ruin to the Imperium and even threatened Terra itself.

The Return of the Snake

The Traitor Legions had been gone for centuries, disappeared into the Eye of Terror and largely forgotten by the Imperium. After the Beast had ravaged the Imperium, mankind had other foes to fear and other enemies to fight. But the Traiotrs were not destroyed, and united by one styled as the new Warmaster, they returned from the depths of the Eye. Tens of thousands of veterans supported by Daemons, Traitor Guard and Cultists swarmed out of the Eye and began to set light to the Imperium. And the new Warmaster had the support of many of the Daemon Primarchs of the Traitor Legions, among them the one known as First Traitor and the Snake Lord, Aubrey the Grey.

The Knights of Accolon had suffered heavily fighting the Beast and were once again rebuilding, but a young man, Theodric of Hwippa saw visions of the Snake Lord and the Lost King, and he came forth as the second of the White Knights, donning the suit Edith Swanneck had rode into battle against the Beast. The news that Aubrey the Grey had returned immediately spurred the Knights of Accolon into action, and under Theodric the Knights rode out in full force, sixty Knight suits heading for Segmentum Obscuras and revenge against Aubrey the Grey.

Matériel Strength

At the outbreak of the Heresy Household records have that there were two hundred and thirty seven tested Line Knights split over three dozen different Household Detachments across the Imperium serving with a dozen expeditionary forces, with another nineteen newly raised Aspirants and an unknown number of former Freeblades scattered among that number. Of all those Knights, only three would survive the Heresy to return to Cattegirn. Losses were compounded by the fact that the moment one world was secured by the Loyalists, the Knights would move on to confront the nearest traitors to their current position, and refused to stop this cycle of moving and fighting until all the Knights were destroyed. Additionally, several detachments serving alongside traitor forces were brought down before they knew the extent of the treachery going on around them.

The Knights of Accolon used every type and make of Knight with no preference, each Knight choosing his make of mount based on his own temperament. It is known that numbers of the Mechanicum Knights, the Maegaera and Stryx were comparatively rare compared to Cerastus and Questoris Knights. Additionally the Household had a large number of Transport vessels for moving the Household detachments around, which would come in great use when the Heresy broke out.

Ranks of Accolon

• Dux Bellorum: The head of the Knights of Accolon. The name translates roughly to ‘Duke of Battles’ or ‘Duke of Dukes’. As per tradition, there will be no King until the end times and the return of Arturia.

• Thegn: The Seneschal equivalent within the Household, Thegns are the most veteran and seasoned of all the Knights.

• Dux: A Line Knight of the Household, equivalent to the Scion rank used elsewhere.

• Gedriht: Veteran Knights who have yet to advance to the rank of Thegn, Gedriht are the solid heart and the forlorn hope of the Accolon Households.

• Geoguth: roughly translating to the Knights Dolorous or Uhlan of other Households, Geoguth are characterised as 'up for it,' comprising the younger and braver Knights ready to prove their prowess.

• Guguth: The ‘Destroyers’ of the Household, Guguth are the ones tasked with destroying tanks, buildings and smashing all before them. They are a humourless lot with none of the flash of the Geoguth or the tempered steel of the Gedriht.

'The Oortlanders'

House Accolon was built on the backs of former enemies of the King that upon defeat swore allegiance to her and became part of her Household. And so a tradition of allowing outsiders who had proven themselves to join with the Knights of Accolon, don the blue, white and silver and become one with their new brothers was born, one which would continue down the ages. Hundreds of Freeblades would be drawn to the Household and would set aside their masterless lives to join with the sons of Cattegirn. Most famous of all of these was Abdul Al-Sherar, but many others such as Lucius Hybernius, Vonnaghut and Uzhankov Yaroslavich were also sons of other Households who willingly took up the marks of Accolon for their own.

The Cold Heaths of Cattegirn

Cattegirn is an old world, trapped in a time well before man left Terra. The planet is far from its blue star, and much of it is bound up in great ice caps. The habitable lands between the northern ice cap and the equatorial sea are covered in great windswept moors and mighty forests. Life is hard and short, which suits the lords of Accolon. They refused any improvements to the lives they life from the Mechanicum, for the ways of the past preserved them through old night and were the ways their King once fought to defend, and make them a formidable foe to face.

The vast areas of uninhabited forests, heaths and fells are home to many creatures, from the great Wyrms that prey on the shaggy Elkens the people of Cattegirn farm, to the mighty Corvens of the icy seas, all of which provide many foes for the Knights to kill.

Cattegirn has many different peoples, but the most common are known as the Seaxe, named after the long daggers they use. Their culture is harsh, based on the blood feud and punishment by ordeal. Some feuds have lasted centuries, being passed down generation by generation. The plunder from this is the glue of loyalty, and loyalty means everything to the Seaxe.

Cattegirn is split into five kingdoms, each jostling for land and wealth. The once-true Kingdom of all Cattegirn fell apart after the Heresy when the King died, and the surviving Dux of Accolon were unable, and some say unwilling, to try and fix things. A fortunate byproduct of this disintegration is that the endless conflict keeps the nobles of Accolon sharp and skilled for when they must leave Cattegirn to ride beyond the stars. All of these wars and conflicts are fight in the ancient matter of pre-industrial Terra, with sword, axe and round shield.

The community of Cattegirn is a rural one, where primarily all classes of society live on the land. At the top of the social system are the royal houses of each of the Kingdoms. Very few of the Kings are also Knights, though many of their sons are, and they are mindful of the call from the Great Hall of Accolon. Below the kings are the eoldermen, the ruling nobility who provide most of the Knights. All Knights are sworn to their House before any King or Lord, and when the muster to war comes, all other pursuits are abandoned. It is known for entire wars to suddenly cease as nobles from across the kingdoms leave Cattegirn to ride in the stars.

The Kingdoms of Cattegirn

For most of its History, Cattegirn has been divided. The Knight Households of Cattegirn were divided, all fighting over resources, matters of honor and blood feuds. Artur the Uniter was the first who truly set out to end the anarchy and unite all Cattegirn together, and he almost managed it before his untimely death. It was his daughter who finally and decisively united all Cattegirn together as one, all Knight Houses were absorbed into the ranks of her own Household and all Cattegirn was bound together under her name.

The royal court of Cattegirn was made as a series of concentric circles. At the center as always was the King, Arturia Eld and her circle of intimates: Kai, Bedieve, Oswain, Gescwine and others of their household. Surrounding them are the Inner Circle knights, most of which had been servants of her father when he was the King. The next circle consists of knights who hold land belonging to the Inner Circle Knights, and here sit many of the lesser kings, cynings, tanaiste and other assorted rulers of Cattegirn who she or her father had overthrown or compelled to submit. The outer circle includes all the rest of knighthood, mostly nobles from across the planet. This system served well and ensured the peaceful rule and transformation of Cattegirn in the decade prior to the coming of the Emperor. After the King left for the stars, her rule was still enforced and the treasures and honours bestowed upon the Household came back in droves, filling the hearts of all the peoples with pride. And yet she alone was the glue that held Cattegirn together, and without her the united Kingdom would fall apart. And that is just what happened.

After the disintegration of united Cattegirn, there was a long period of bitter fighting as the many peoples and kings all fought for the throne. With the Knights of Accolon all but extinct, there was nothing the Iron Hall could do to stop this bloodshed and the war also meant no more noble sons were spare to attempt the dangerous process of becoming Knights. By the time the violence had finally subsided, Cattegirn was split into five major kingdoms. The Knights of Accolon were able to recruit from the nobles of these Kingdoms, but could barely influence them, and over time they themselves were influenced by these Kingdoms as they tried to get the Knights of Accolon on their side in their quests for power and status. While the Knights remained neutral, the Household itself was divided between factions from each of the Kingdoms and politics within the Household came to the forefront.

The five Kingdoms are as follows:

• Opplund: Located between the Northern Ice Cap and Nordercia and lashed by the Icebound Ocean, Opplund is a Kingdom apart. It is a Kingdom of extremes, with high mountains, great glaciers, dense snow-bound forests, brown heaths, bogs, and chilly lakes making it a bleak, foreboding and dangerous place. Known to all the southern lands as the ‘Land of Giants’, for the imposing size of the inhabitants, the people of Opplund are ice-blooded, ferocious raiders and warriors who constantly raid the southern lands by land or by sea. The few Knights that hail from these northern lands share the raiding spirit of their people and use speed, surprise and shock to overcome any foe, crushing the enemy beneath their armoured legs.

• Nordercia: The northernmost of the Seaxe Kingdoms, Nordercia is beset by the Opplunders to the north and the other kingdoms to the south. They raid their southern neighbours while holding the fort against the northern scourge, and their people are quick to anger and quick to jest. The Knights that come from these lands share the hot-blooded nature of their people.

• Dyfuaint: sandwiched between Nordercia, Ungwissa and Airthealga is Dyfuaint. Dyfuaint is the ‘Bristlehog Kingdom’, named for a native species of large rodent covered in sharp spines that deter any attacker. They are seen as crafty and untrustworthy, masters of ambush, luring in enemy raiding parties only to surround and destroy them with arrows and javelins. Like its southern neighbour Ungwissa it is a rich kingdom but its wealth is trade in tin, copper and other valuable minerals, as well as the only Diamond Mines on Cattegirn’s settled continent. its people are reluctant to acknowledge authority but their own, and though it is technically a kingdom the King’s rule is a thin veneer, though the King is called for to settle major disputes. Traders and sailors from Dyfuaint are found in ports throughout the Kingdoms of Cattegirn, and have explored much of the planet, though none have yet tried to circumnavigate it or explore the empty southern continents. Knights from Dyfuaint are fractious and no take kindly to orders they deem stupid, but they are expert shots and masters of ranged warfare.

• Ungwissa: The richest and largest of the kingdoms, Ungwissa is in the South-eastern lands, one of low-lying rivers and gentle hills rich in Iron, with great, dark forests and green pastures full of grain or wool all lashed by the ceaseless winds. The vast agricultural and mineral wealth of the Kingdom, both Iron and Gold makes it a prime target of raids from all sides and its people are always read to mobilize and face any threat. Though not readily warlike, there are times when Ungwissan forces march to strike their foes and delay and derail the constant flow of raids. The people of Ungwissa are known for their iron defence of their lands and stalwart nature, and the Knights that hail from here are bulwarks of defence.

• Airthealga: The Storm-Lashed kingdom of Airthealga juts out into the Great Ocean and is characterized by lakes, rivers, emerald-green pastures, forests, and bogs. High hills and ridges carved out by the ice which once consumed the planet thread across the Kingdom like scars. This rough, rocky land breeds rough, rocky people that live in fortified homesteads and emerge only to hunt, farm and do battle. The people here are more primitive than most, they still rely on Bronze over Steel, and their nobles ride into battle on two-wheeled chariots. Yet the ferocious animal spirit they exhibit is unrivalled across all of Cattegirn. Even the Opplunders think twice before sending their ships south to raid the rocky shores of Airthealga. The Knights that come from this land are the wildest and most fierce in battle.

Livery Of House Accolon

The overcast, rain-sodden skies of Cattegirn only rarely clear to reveal the deep blue colour that the Knights have taken as their own. This blue is trimmed with silver, the colour of the rare sunlight that reaches the surface and white, the colour of the breeze-pushed clouds.

Each individual Knight of Accolon will add personal marking to his Knight, including campaign markings, army badges, Space Marine Chapter symbols and other such emblems as a sign of the many battles that Knight has fought and the loyalty shown to the allies that a Knight has fought alongside. The more markings a Knight has, the greater their standing is and the more they are respected.

The Dux Bellorum of the Household, in addition to his own heraldry bears the markings of the hallowed once and future king of Cattegirn, Arturia Eld, to show that he is the chosen castellan who will guide the Household in her absence until her return at the end times.

The Saga of the White Knights

The White Knights of Accolon are peerless warriors and mighty leaders that arise every time the Imperium is threatened by some great evil. They are divisive figures that have many explanations. To some, they are proof of the power of the God-Emperor and His Saint of Knights and the protection they give to Mankind. Others of a more rational bend see them as a sign of the decline of the Household and the decay of the Thrones Mechanicum that the Knights rely upon. And some see them as a symptom of the curse wrought upon the Household by Aubrey the Grey when he bested their king at the Ultima Gate and sealed their decline.

Though the White Knights come from many backgrounds and classes, all of them share a common story. They have visions of the lost king of Cattegirn, Arturia Eld, who commands them to ride out and lead the Knights against an existential threat to the Imperium, sometimes even learning of it before the wider Imperium does. All are Machine-Touched, able to bond with their mount even without implants as the ancient King once did. All gravitate towards the White Knight itself, once the mount of the greatest Knight of all, Abdul Al-Sherar when he rode with Accolon. Though his Knight was broken during the Igwen Compliance its wreck was returned to Cattegirn and painstakingly repaired at the command of the King, with dozens of Archeotech systems incorporated into it. It remained unclaimed until the first White Knight tamed it and rode it into battle, and since then only those marked as a White Knight can command it. Finally, all the White Knights are peerless warriors and leaders, the greatest Knights of their age.

By the end of the 41st Millennium, there have been 12 White Knights, from Edith Swanneck, the first who led Accolon against the Beast, to Theodric of Hwippa who would be the first White Knight to cross blades with Aubrey the Grey and begin the eternal duel between the two.

Noted Knights Of House Accolon

• Arturia Eld, King of Cattegirn "The Sword of Promised Victory": 'The Blade of Terra', 'King of Cattegirn', 'Saint of Knights', all of these titles given to a single Household leader, one among many. And yet the actions of Arturia Eld remain long after the Crusade and Heresy have long passed, and have become legend. Born the only child of Artur Eld, the great uniter of Cattegirn, she was adopted out to one of his Knight Vassals to protect her. Raised as a paragon of chivalry and virtue with a string sense of duty and loyalty, when her father was assassinated she rose up against the usurper. On the first of the many myths surrounding her, she found and tamed an ancient Archeotech Knight Suit, Caliburn, despite having no implants to control it with. Defeating her bastard Brother, she united all of Cattegirn under her banner. Shortly afterwards the Imperium came to Cattegirn, and no less a figure then the Emperor Himself came to Cattegirn, though the reasons why are still debated. Arturia led her Knights into the Stars, and soon gained a reputation for near superhuman feats. Her cool temper both on and off the battlefield, her unshakeable faith in the Emperor, her tempered bravado and her clear concern for her warriors and subjects made her an awe-inspiring though distant figure to her Knights. Even the Primarchs were known to listen to her counsel on matters of war, and the Primarch Arelex's great work Knights of the Imperium was inspired by her actions during the Ultima Crusade. Her seemingly perpetual state of bountiful youth and her incredible battle skills brought her many suitors, from the bravest of her own Knights Abdul Al-Sherar, to the heads of other Households, Rogue Traders and Imperial Army Commanders. But she would take no husband until the task the Emperor set for her was done and the Crusade was won. When the Heresy broke out she immediately dispatched her Knights to hunt down the traitors, and when she learned of the Northern Massacres, she swore a mighty oath that as long as a single Knight of Accolon drew breath, the Traitors would be hunted down and destroyed. With that she threw her household into the storm. Eventually she ended up on Terra as the Warmaster unleashed his full fury upon it, and it was there that she finally met her end, standing alone against the entire might of the Traitor Legions, hoping to cross blades with either Hektor or Aubrey. Her Knight Caliburn was never recovered and her body never found, and some speculate that it was taken as a prize by the Traitors as they fled Terra. Some even claim that she didn't die on Terra, and is even now waiting for the end times to return to the Imperium and lead the Knights for the final battle. She has since become an Imperial Saint, worshiped on a thousand worlds. On many of those worlds though the legends have been corrupted and distorted, to the point where the Saint of Knights is considered a man.

• Abdul Al-Sherar "The White Knight": Considered the greatest warrior in the Household during his brief time within the ranks of Accolon, Abdul Al-Sherar was not a native son of Cattegirn. His origin was the Order of Bahri, the Thrall-Knights of Forgeworld Al-Sherar. His request to join the ranks of Accolon was unusual for few Knights would ever willingly join themselves to another Household, but the Knights of Accolon were one of the few Households who willingly opened their ranks to foreign-born Knights and none could doubt his earnest courage, so he was granted a place within the King's own Household. He swiftly proved himself a mighty warrior, peerless in battle and a master of single combat. He was even given the rank of Aucteller within the Household, and offered the chance to pursue a suit towards his King. However disaster struck at the Battle of Igwen. Abdul Al-Sherar disobeyed an order from his King and led a sizable detachment of Knights into a maelstrom to support a V Legion assault where they were surrounded and picked off by enemy Tank Hunters. The Battle saw over half the King's household detachment and a full tenth of the entire Household, twenty-eight line Knights lost. Calls were made to have Al-Sherar expelled from the Household for his conduct. His own Knight Mount had been crippled beyond repair in the battle, a stain of disgrace for any Knight. Though the King did not formally make any moves, she did inform him that he would have to redeem himself for his actions and that his suit was over. With that he left the ranks of Accolon to forge his own path, which would see him rise to become the greatest of Freeblades and rival the martial skill of even the King he once served.

• Thegn Uktar "Wigfruma": The Halfblood son of a Knight father and a Seaxe mother, Uktar would be always be caught between two worlds. A proud vassal of Artur the Uniter, his chivalry, honour and humility would see him selected to foster the King's daughter alongside his son. Though his wife died in childbirth shortly afterwards, he dedicated himself to raising his three Children to the highest standard. He came to love his adopted daughter as much as his two sons, and sought to shield her from the bitter fighting surrounding her father. When he was slain, he protected her as long as he could before reluctantly revealing all to her. His support was critical to her success and as king she appointed him to be her Gatekeeper and relied on his council. He would follow her into the Stars, always at her side, the proud father. Tragically, Uktar would be killed in battle on Igwen alongside the White Knight, his death leaving a dark shadow over the Household.

• Thegn Kai "Capalus": Considered boorish, rude and uncultured with an acid tongue and a fiery temper, Thegn Kai was nonetheless a brave and loyal warrior who stood with his adopted Sister until the very end. The adopted older brother of Arturia before she became King and the son of Uktar, Kai became a Knight over ten years before the final war against Medraut began. He sided with his own against the usurper and won several honours. When the Imperium came he accompanied his King into the Stars. He was considered her closest confidant and one of the few who could cool her temper when roused, though his own temper was even more volatile and more frequently unleashed. He was considered uncourteous, rude and had a less then stellar opinion of the virtues of chivalry, though he was valued as a naysmith who helped to maintain courtly order. He followed his King and Kin through thick and thin, before finally falling on Terra destroying the Chaos Warlord Titan "Torradon Lux" on day 55 of the Siege.

• Thegn Shrike "Lanius": The younger of Uktar's two sons, Shrike was direct, fiery, imperious and brave, almost the opposite of his big brother. He idolized his older sister and wanted nothing more than to please her. He was too young to fight in her rebellion, though he was Knighted just in time to take part in the last of her campaigns to unite Cattegirn after the Usurper's death. He would be appointed the Kingsward, to guard the King at all times, a duty that Shrike would never shirk from. This duty continued throughout the time of peace and into the Great Crusade. Shrike was highly taken by Abdul Al-Sherar and was his foremost defender within the household as well as a willing pupil of his, and his exile hurt Shrike so deeply he willingly stood down from the position of Kingsward. He would continue to ride alongside his beloved sister until Terra, where the Snake Lord himself Aubrey the Grey downed him as he covered the retreat of his fellow Knights.

• Thegn Bedieve "Diademed": The highest ranked Knight to survive the Heresy and the only survior of the King's own Household who fought on Terra, Bedieve was a wise and loyal Knight who was unafraid of disagreeing with his King if he felt it was necessary to do so. He lacked the grim bravery or Uwain, or the flamboyance of Grimir or the martial skills of the one later called the 'Lord of Bones'. But his wisdom ensured the King always kept him close as an adviser and somtimes confidant. It was he who faced the daunting task of rebuilding a Household that was all but extinct in the wake of the Hektor Heresy. To do this he helped cultivate the cult of Arturia as Saint, and welcomed those within the slowly growing Imperial Creed who advocated that belief, allowing the cult to grow in the space surrounding Cattegirn and entrench itself there. Thanks to this and to pressure on the newly-created Mechanicus to repay the debt owed to Accolon for their actions in the Heresy, he was able to secure enough Knight Armours to begin rebuilding the near destroyed strength of the Household, though he was unable to prevent the unified kingdom of Cattegirn from falling apart and splintering into dozens of feudal nations. Bedieve would fall in battle alongside the Void Angels and his old comrade in arms the Lord of Bones, though by his actions the Household would survive the scouring and rise again to serve the Imperium.

• Thegn Uwain "Mace": Uwain had been one of those who had fought against Arturia during the wars that had raged across Cattegirn before compliance, and he spent much of his life trying to prove himself to her due to his perceived disloyalty. He became famous for his grim exterior, his coolness under pressure and his rock solid defences. He commanded the Questoris Household Detachment that fought on Zhuko V during the climatic Tank Battle there, eventually falling to the guns of a Fellblade Platoon shortly before the end of the battle.

• Thegn Osmaul "Wallbreaker" Osmaul was a master of Siege Warfare, breaking many fortifications with his Castellan pattern Knight's quake gun. He ended up on Rosskar during the Heresy, where he defended the central pains for several months before finally being destroyed by a Reaver Titan of the Fire Masters a week before the Steel Marshalls arrived to liberate the world.

• Thegn Maleagant "Nadre" One of the first kings to submit to Arturia after her coronation, he would be present at the arrival of the Emperor and much taken in by the Primarch Aubrey. At his request, he was seconded to the Eternal Zealots, swearing lifelong oaths to Aubrey and the sixteenth. However when the Legion was censured and Lazarus was destroyed, he and his Knights were ordered to leave the command of the Legion. Remaining in the Eastern Fringe, Maleagant was drawn to the Atalantos worlds when news of the Rebellion broke out, and it was there that he would meet his old Legion in combat and eventually fall before them.

• Dux Grimir "Ringchaser": Known for his bawdy ways and his fondness for women, Grimir was nevertheless a seasoned Knight and proud warrior. He was a known figure within the ranks of House Walkur, where it is said he broke a hundred hearts and would have been skinned alive were it not for the direct intervention of the King.

• Dux Lucius Hybernius "Praefector": Another of the freeblade Knights who willingly joined with the Household, Lucius was a scion of House Nero exiled during one of the many bitter political disputes of that Household.

• Dux Uzhankov Yaroslavich "Huntsman": Outcast of the famed Knights of Kazak, Yaroslavich joined with Thegn Osmaul's Household, and after many brave actions was grated a place within his Household.

• Edith Swanneck, First of the White Knights, "Maid of Battle": The third daughter of a minor noble family with no great heritage, Edith was sixteen when she beheld a vision of the long-lost King of Cattegirn, calling her to take up arms and lead the Knights of Accolon against the Orks of Waaagh! The Beast.

• Theodric of Hwippa, Second of the White Knights, "The Snakehunter": The forth son of one of the major ruling families of Nordercia, he had been overlooked for a Knight due to his low place within his family. But when he began to have visions of the King, revealing that Aubrey the Grey had returned and calling the Knights to ride forth against him, he became the second to take up the mantle of the 'White Knight'.

• Ællen Sigeferth, Third of the White Knights, "White Tigress":

Rules

Arturia Eld (HQ)

The Once and Future King of Cattegirn, Thegn Rex of Accolon, Sword of Promised Victory, ‘The Blade of Terra’

	Pts	WS	BS	S	FA	SA	RA	I	A	HP
Arturia Eld:	560	7	6	10	13	12	12	5	4	8

Unit Composition

• 1 Caliburn (Unique)

Unit Type

• Vehicle (Super-heavy Walker, Character)

Wargear

• Excalithon
• The Evalorn Shield
• Phased plasma-fusil

Special Rules

• Super-heavy Walker (Fear, Hammer of Wrath, Invincible Behemoth, Move Through Cover, Relentless, Smash and Strikedown)
• It Will Not Die
• Thegn Rex

Excalithon

Range: - Str10 AP2 Type: Melee, Deflagrate, Tempest Attack, Shatter Strike

Deflagrate: After normal attacks by this weapon have been resolved, count the number of unsaved wounds caused on the target unit. Immediately resolve a number of additional automatic hits on the same unit or model using the weapon’s profile equal to the number of unsaved wounds – these can then be saved normally. Models in the targeted unit must still be in range in order for these additional hits to take effect. These additional hits do not themselves inflict more hits!

Tempest Attack: Rather than attacking normally, Caliburn may make a special attack at Initiative Step 2. This automatically inflicts a single hit against each model in base contact with it using the weapon’s listed profile.

Shatter Strike: Caliburn may halve its attacks (rounding down) and lose Deflagrate and Tempest Attack rules to give them the Destroyer and AP1 stats instead.

Phased plasma-fusil

Range: 24" Str6 AP3 Type: Salvo 2/3

The Evalorn Shield: When Caliburn is deployed, and subsequently at the start of each of the opposing side’s Shooting phases, Caliburn’s controlling player must declare which facing the Evalorn Shield is covering. The choices are: front, left side, right side. Caliburn has a 3+ invulnerable save against all hits on that facing until the start of the opposing side’s next Shooting phase, and the strength of any Shooting attack against it from that facing is reduced by -1, the effect increasing to -2 if the weapon has the Blast or Template rules (note, however, that this strength reduction has no effect on Destroyer or Haywire attacks). The Evalorn Shield is repositioned before any attacks are carried out in the Shooting phase and may not offer protection to Caliburn’s rear. In addition the Evalorn shield also provides a 4+ invulnerable save against attacks in close combat and forces close combat attacks by other Super-heavy Walkers and Gargantuan Monstrous Creatures to suffer a -1 to hit.

Thegn Rex: When calculating the victors of any and all assaults that take place within 24" of Caliburn, the owning player adds +1 to their score. However if Caliburn is destroyed, the enemy gain an automatic victory point.

The White Knight (HQ)

The Heir of Abdul Al-Sherar, the Chosen of Arturia, Accolon’s Retribution

	Pts	WS	BS	S	FA	SA	RA	I	A	HP
The White Knight:	560	6	5	10	13	12	12	5	3	8

Unit Composition

• 1 White Knight (Unique)

Unit Type

• Vehicle (Super-heavy Walker, Character)

Wargear

• Tempest Broadsword
• The Panoply of the White Knight
• Blessed Autosimulacra
• Ionic Flare Shield

Special Rules

• Super-heavy Walker (Fear, Hammer of Wrath, Invincible Behemoth, Move Through Cover, Relentless, Smash and Strikedown)
• It Will Not Die
• The Paragon of Chivalry

Tempest Broadsword

Range: - StrD AP2 Type: Melee, Deflagrate, Tempest Attack

Deflagrate: After normal attacks by this weapon have been resolved, count the number of unsaved wounds caused on the target unit. Immediately resolve a number of additional automatic hits on the same unit or model using the weapon’s profile equal to the number of unsaved wounds – these can then be saved normally. Models in the targeted unit must still be in range in order for these additional hits to take effect. These additional hits do not themselves inflict more hits!

Tempest Attack: Rather than attacking normally, The White Knight may make a special attack at Initiative Step 2. This automatically inflicts a single hit against each model in base contact with it using the weapon’s listed profile.

Ionic Flare Shield: When the White Knight is deployed, and subsequently at the start of each of the opposing side’s Shooting phases, the White Knight’s controlling player must declare which facing the White Knight’s ion shield is covering. The choices are front, left side, right side or rear. The Knight has a 4+ invulnerable save against all hits and the strength of any Shooting attack against it is reduced by -1, the effect increasing to -2 if the weapon has the Blast or Template special rules (note however that this strength reduction has no effect on Destroyer or Haywire attacks). Ionic flare shields are repositioned before any attacks are carried out in the Shooting phase and may not be used to make saving throws against close combat attacks.

The Panoply of the White Knight: Many riders have called the White Knight their mount, and each has customised the White Knight with their own chosen weapon. Before the game begins, you may choose which of the White Knights commands the suit and this determines the gun and gives a special rule:

Knights of the /tg/ Heresy
Imperial Knights
Households	House Accolon - Order of Bahri - House Goda - House Walkur
Characters	Arturia Eld - Lord of Bones
Chaos Knights
Households	House Castus
Characters	The Four