Nurgle Unbound Hero List:
Knight: Generally found amidst the entourages of nurglite Lords, the Knight is a figure of martial power. These brave warriors can appear in a dizzying array of forms. Maybe one could be a tall, armored figure, standing still and silent behind a Grand Knight, just awaiting the command. Another could appear as a mass of thorny vines with a porcelain mask as a face; they would cling to a Beldame's body, or just scuttle in their Lady's wake, ready to rip apart any who would dare to threaten. Or yet, a Knight could be a loathsome fiend, spurting biles and riddled with cancerous growths and diseases. A servant of Plague waddling after a Rotking, basking in the King's pestiferous presence even as he hands out his own brand of sickening gifts.
Armed with physical might and powerful magic, a Knight is a force to be reckoned with. They are the hand of their Lord or Lady, finding great pride and purpose in the duty of service. Most of them act as guards, standing between their master and any that would dare to threaten. A chosen few are handpicked as commanders and lieutenants, acting as their Lord's eyes and voice on other battlefields. Knights can also be champions, but that lonely part doesn't suit them: they'd very much prefer standing beside their master or, missing that, at the head of a court of daemons. Knights are creatures of service and leadership at the heart, and it's very rare to find the odd Knight that eschews both to take to the battlefield as an independent slayer, an attitude that invariably attracts the ridicule of the others.
Their devotion brings the Knights to bicker constantly for their master's favor. Surprisingly, and apart from the most focused, Knights can prove themselves to be quite the squabblers. The Courts of the nurglite Lords are filled with the Knights' endless games of intrigue and loyalty, with the daemons fighting constantly over a labyrinth of titles and appointments so complex that would make a mortal sage go mad. The Lords and Ladies indulge this, constantly changing who wears what title while adding and discarding new ones at whim. In fact, both title and favor aren't handed out whimsically, or at least, not always.
But their eccentricities must not deceive: a Knight is a deadly warrior on the battlefield, crushing tanks with swipes of weapon and appendage, or blasting entire platoons to pieces with terrifying spells. Scores of Space Marine and Xeno champions have challenged the monster leading the daemon assault, only to be ripped apart by inhuman strength, their remains paraded back to chortling masters.
The most dangerous Knights are those few chosen to act as independent commanders. These are monstrous beings, swollen with power and the blessing of the Urfather. That they mainly act as commanders mean little. Once a mortal faces one of these Chosen, he should be ready for a being whose power approaches that of a Greater Daemon.
When it comes to weaponry, Knights have access to an almost unrivaled array. Apart from their own magic, enhancements to natural weapons are common. So a Knight could wear a sheathe of daemon-forged metal on its tail or claws, all the better to skewer and sunder. Weapons carrying the blessings of their particular patrons are also often used, with lances capable of corroding metals and swords that can overload the hearts of those they strike with life energy being only a couple of examples. In the end, each Knight will hold one weapon, one symbolizing his oath and fealty to his Lord or Lady, and to the Lone King himself. These Chivalric Armaments are invariably powerful pieces, each lovingly maintained and infused with the Knight's own essence, to the point that they are more actual part of the daemon than an independent object. As for their form, these glorious relics' appearance is as varied as the daemons that wield them.
Tales of devoted service:
All for a Gift (035.M33): Desperate to gain the favor of her Beldame, Ishka the Sycophant lays her greedy eyes on the stronghold world of Tarrax. Already a world in turmoil, shaken by the attritional warfare between legions of chaos cultists, their daemonic allies and Imperium forces, Tarrax trembles further when the Knight smashes through a hijacked portal, her capering hordes coming right after.
The khornate Red Cult leading the uprising is taken by surprise, and, while part of the cultists switch side and join the newcomers, many more retains their allegiance, especially since the arrival of Ishka attracts the raging Herald Skallagrax on the planet.
What was already a furious battle turns into a maelstrom of confusion and carnage as a three-way war crashes through the planet's nation-spanning fortresses. Among the carnage, Ishka is a whirlwind of destruction. For entire decades, the Knight rampages through the tunnels and trenches, her many steel-tipped tentacles ripping apart daemon and human alike. Twelve times is the Knight blasted by cannon fire or slashed by daemon blade, but each wound only strengthens her fanatical conviction to see her mission through.
The war culminates in the devastating battle of the Sprawl, where the forces of Ishka collide with the legions of the Blood God and the army of General Teronce. It is at the apex of the clash that Ishka engages Skallagrax himself. The two Daemons struggle against each other for hours, until their fight is cut short by the furious shelling from an Imperial Knight of House Kresias. While Skallagrax is obliterated by the conflagration, Ishka survives thanks to her Blessed Armor.
Smoking, losing ichor from a hundred wounds and yet ecstatic at the chance of glorious victory, the Knight drags herself beneath her massive opponent's notice and climbs over its leg and then to the cockpit. The Noble inside is pulled apart alongside all his crew and machinery by a dozen of sharpened tentacles, before Ishka finally claims victory.
With the warmachine still fizzling and jerking in its death throes, the Knight enthusiastically rips her prize from a shadowed corner of the trench line: a cluster of Ork fungus left from an invasion hundreds of years old and mutated into an innocuous strain by repeated exposition to a mix of toxic gas and daemonic energy. A magnificent gift to offer to her Beldame, always fascinated by Ork physiology.
After the victory, the forces of Nurgle pull out at once, leaving a carpet of dead and friends and foes stumbling in confusion. Tarrax is soon back in its grinding warfare, but the planet has already slipped from Ishka's mind. Back in her Court, the triumphant Knight is received with all honor by her Beldame, and given a new title among the envy of all her equals: Ishka the Sycophant is now Ishka the Stubborn Seeker.
A fight to behold (924.M35): After a hundred years passed wandering the daemonic realms, Mighty Mazza longs once more for the challenges of the Materium. His eyes fall on an asteroid field set between an ongoing battle between Eldar and Drukhari.
Soul-riding a captive psyker, the Knight emerges into the dark vault of one of the Dark Eldars' transport ships, before slaughtering the crew to a xeno and commandeering the ship.
Setting his new Combat Ship in the middle of the asteroid field, Mazza broadcasts a challenge for all who would wish to test themselves in glorious combat against a champion of the Lone King.
The attempts from both sides to blow up the ship from afar are fruitless: the Banner of Truce wielded by Mazza will allow no contest outside of honor combat. With such an oddity under the eyes of both armies, voices spread quickly and, enticed by the chance to face such a powerful Daemon, many Aeldari are drawn to the site. Gladiator Wiches and Howling Banshees come, alongside Incubi and Exarchs and Succubi, all hoping to show their mastery.
It is all for nothing, as scores of the Xeno are butchered by Mazza, his Beloved drinking deep from their vitae. Soon, the lair of the Daemon is feestoned with trophies taken from his challengers. But Mazza doesn't break or touch any of the spirit stones of those he fell, for doing so would be unsportsmanlike and disrespectful. Instead, he throws them into the void of space alongside pieces of the Dark Eldar's bodies, where their comrades recover them swiftly.
The sport pleases Mazza greatly, until, wishing for a greater challenge, he guides the ship toward a close Maiden World.
The reason for the battle, Haematon is an ancient world that the Drukhari wished to raid and that the Eldar of Ulthwè were called to defend. With Mazza's disruption, the two forces set aside their difference to battle the newcomer.
Mazza is greatly pleased by this. His Combat Ship, swollen by Chaos energies, is transmuted into a portal, and a horde of daemons is unleashed upon the planet, the Knight striding amongst them.
It is during the furious fighting that a truly legendary encounter happens: Lelith Hesperax of Commoragh and Jain Zar of the Howling Banshee stand together against the advancing Daemon, the duo having been lured on Haematon out of thirst for glory and duty respectively.
As the battle rages around them, the trio fights a dizzying battle, the two Eldar dancing around Mazza's corpulent form. For hours, sword and spear clash with daemonblade, and neither side is able to gain an advantage. Eventually, Mazza's shield slams against the Succubus even as his Beloved crashes against Jain Zar. The two are forced back, but Mazza doesn't give chase. Laughing, the Knight lowers his weapons and declares himself satisfied, before disappearing in a burst of green light. His horde follows suit, leaving Aeldari and Drukhari facing each other in confusion. Their battlelust gone, they take leave from each other, the reason for their fighting impossible to remember.
Mazza
There are anomalies among the Knights, the odd Daemon eschewing courtly bickering, titles and strict personal service in favor of fighting in the thick of battles as a more independent champion. These fellows are watched with annoyance and ridicule by their more traditional comrades, that consider them vain and foolish. After all, who could be so stupid as to give up the chance for respect from equals and masters for a life "on the road"? Yet, none is equal to Mazza.
Mazza is the first and greatest of the so-called Knight Champions, those odd daemons refusing the "proper course". Some say he's actually somewhat of a father to them all, the concept having been fostered into existence with his birth. If that is the truth, Mazza never said. But he's indeed always welcoming with every Champion he meets, gladly indulging in a joust or twenty at the youngster's request.
Mazza is flamboyant. He wears a long colored scarf and his helm is decorated with a feather reaching down to his shoulders. His green skin is warty and tough, and his single eye shines like a pond of crystal water. He's always polite and chivalric, but his voice is deep and a bit of a croak. He's patient as only the old can be, but he's also stern and quick to take offense if taken the wrong way, especially before unsportsmanlike conduct.
His sword is his Beloved, literally. The ancient daemonblade, as old as him, is another daemonic entity that chatters constantly. It doesn't pass a day without Mazza and Beloved bickering, but if true love can be said to exist in the Immaterium, it exists between these two. Some say that even his shield is part of his Beloved, but neither ever confirmed.
Mazza is strong. So strong that even Greater Daemon thinks twice before tempting his patience. There is nobody in the material and immaterial realm that Mazza cannot fight, but he seeks only the strong, for the weak offers no challenge, and challenge is what Mazza craves. The glory of honor combat. That is why Mazza always try not to kill: he seeks the fight, not death. That has to be what truly makes him such an oddity in the galaxy. His Beloved may drink blood and vitae eagerly, but it always strive not to take away a life that cannot be restored in one way or the other. In his presence, even Daemons' blows sometimes fail to land deathly hits. When he leaves, bloodlust disappears. His Banner of Truce, blessed uncountable ages ago, limits the fight to a strict code that Mazza sets at the start of each engagement and he has to follow as well.
Mazza has no master. While the other Champions offer their fealty in one way or the other to a Greater Daemon, Mazza has never bowed before anybody. Still, when the Lone King calls, Mazza comes. Rarely, he even appeared before this or that Court to bring messages from Him, or even rebukes, and when that happen even the King bow his head.
Mazza is a story, a legend. He comes, he goes, sure to depart as sure he is to return. Like a comet, he makes his journey across the stars, but he will always return, to step over his orbit once more. Some say that his battles are only distractions, that he's searching for something; others that he himself is carrying something and that the destination will be found the moment he stops walking. Nobody truly knows, and those that do aren't talking. When asked about the oddity that is offered the seat of honor in their Court, the Rotkings will laugh rancorously and wave their hand, the Beldames will cover their mouth and giggle slyly, and the Grand Knights will stay silent.
The oldest voices, the less said and yet never removed, say that Mazza is one of those from Before, when the Warp was different, when the Four were only a moment in the future and the Immaterium was a clean pond and not a raging maelstrom. Those voices are only whispers, and none knows if they are true. Does it matter? If they do, Mazza and Beloved aren't saying. And their journey continues.
The worthy servant (583.M36): The Spouse has been gone for too long from the Court, and Nurgle charges the Guardian with finding her.
Ever faithful to his charge, the Knight scours the stars, seeking clues about the Mistress. The trail leads him to ancient Estreth, a shadowy sub-realm of Commoragh. There, among blood-strewn laboratories and infested slave pens, the Haemunculi of the Prophets of Flesh experiments on the body of the sleeping Spouse, their wicked implements hacking and cutting.
The offense is absolute, and, when the messenger sent by the Guardian brings the news, the Warp trembles with the Lone King's fury.
Retribution comes as a horde of Daemons that, pushed by the Lone King's power, manages to breach even the very well-defended gates of the Haemuncoli. The fight is fierce, but the few Daemon forces that have passed through are no match for the grotesque array the ancient Drukhari can deploy. Only the Guardian manages to break through, and he reaches the pen where the Spouse lay sleeping.
After slaughtering everyone inside, the Knight sets. himself across the door, barring entrance to anybody. As he repels wave after wave of attackers, his trusty companion Melukai whispers at the sleeping Spouse. It takes three full days of constant fighting, but eventually, she opens her eyes.
All of Estreth is consumed in the aftermath, with all the Haemuncoli, their twisted creations and their slaves devoured wholesale. The section of the Webway containing the sub-realm breaks apart and is subsumed in the Warp.
The hammer (592.M38): Umbaga the Hammer, servant of Rotking Ka, leads a horde of daemons in an invasion of a planet held by the hated Emperor's Children. Even the skills of the sons of Fulgrim aren't enough before Umbaga's tactical ability, and the Space Marines are pushed back.
The arrival of the Daemon Prince Lancares, alongside a capering horde of Daemonettes, helps to stabilize the situation, with the Slaaneshi forces making a concerted, planet-wide push.
Yet, Umbaga is undeterred. He orchestrates a dozen of methodical offensives, the most glorious of which sees the entrapment and destruction of the famed Slaughtercade of the Palace, and the flanking and annihilation of the Sixth Maniple of Perfection.
His successes only stir Lancares' wrath, with the Daemon Prince leading bolder and bolder forays against the nurglite forces. Umbaga feints and draws back, only feeding the Prince's anger and self-confidence.
When Lancares finally launches what it's supposed to be his final offensive, Umbaga steps aside, leaving the newly arrived and thoroughly delighted Ka to take care of the overextended princeling. The battle that follows is a massacre whose proportions are rare even in the constant chaos of the Immaterium, with Slaanesh stung in pleasure and pain with humiliation.
The piercing stare (861.M39): In lieu of an increasing Warp activity in the sectors adjacent to the Eye of Terror, the High Lords of Terra dispatch a score of Culexus Assassins to battle the threat. One of these finds his way to the planet of Chitir, where Rotking Zut is leading an invasion of the human population.
Using his anti-psychic nature, the Assassin makes himself invisible to the Daemons. He passes through them, intent to reveal himself only to banish the Rotking.
Urkat the Vigilant, Knight of Zut, is the only one to pick the intruder's scent, his presence a void in the daemon's perceptions. Despite being unable actually to see the Assassin, the Knight stalks the traces he leaves, each bent blade of glass and moved pebble a clear mark for the hunter's senses.
Eventually, just as the Assassin is about to attack Zut, Urkat springs into action. The sword is swung blindly, but it still hits its mark: the Assassin's head rolls to the ground, and the attempt is foiled.
Urkat the Vigilant is lauded by Zut, his title confirmed once more.
Handmaiden: While a Knight is a spirit of martial mastery, oath-bound service and strategic thinking, a Handmaiden's domain is intrigue, seduction, and conversion. Unearthly beautiful, Handmaidens are commonly found in the service of Beldames. Only extremely rarely a Handmaiden follows a Rotking, for they represent the devious skill of the Wheel to conquer and subsume all and every soul into itself; and there is no place for Destruction in such a role.
Handmaidens are all invariably beautiful. Tall, graceful, they appear as the nymphs of the myths of old: fair females with soft skin the color of fresh leaves and gem-like eyes of the purest color. Their hair run long and is shot through with flowers and verdant ivy, the same coaling around their shapely bodies. Vitality, fresh and pure, hangs over them like an aura.
But appearances are deceiving. When she reveals it, a Handmaiden's teeth are long and razor-sharp. Her ivy can be shot forward, revealing itself to be cable-thick tentacles that can punch through ferrocrete and crush a battle tank in their spires. Her aura of vitality can be turned into a spear that burst hearts or into a withering field inside of which all living things are consumed. Even those that manage to close distance with the seemingly frail creatures should beware: the strength of a Handmaiden is unnatural, allowing her to break ceramite apart like it was paper.
Still, to a Handmaiden direct confrontation is but the last resort. Mischievous and wicked, these daemons delight in subtleness, turning their many gifts toward infiltration and subversion. Mind-numbing drugs and pollens are only the tips of their spear. Only those that are truly stout of heart and mind can resist the charms of the Daemon, with most men and women easily swayed to the service of the daemonic entity. Still, their most dangerous skill is arguably their ability to take over and impersonate any mortal being. In fact, when a Handmaiden feasts over the essence of a mortal, she can inhabit the empty shell of their body, allowing herself to walk the Materium freely. That the Daemon is also capable of perfectly imitating her host's mannerisms and has access to all its memory makes this ability the envy of all the Immaterium. Other Daemons are instead forced to tempt psychically reactive individuals through dreams and whispers, limiting themselves to influence and at best infusing part of their energy in the host, lest they deform it. Even when they possess the mortal entirely, their own power is always limited by the same flesh that allows them to walk the Materium. The Handmaidens know none of these limitations.
It makes the Handmaiden one of the greatest demonic infiltrators there is, an ability that these Daemons bend to the subversion of Imperial Worlds, the foundation of daemonic cults and corruption of influential mortals. Often, all these efforts culminate in the opening of vast demonic rifts, through which their Beldames lead their hosts to doom entire planets and systems.
And yet, incredible as it may sound, maybe this is not the most dangerous feature of a Handmaiden. As manipulative as they are, the Handmaidens hold another particularity: their nature and domain of action overlap with those of Slaaneshi and Tzeentchian daemons, being seduction and intrigue respectively. Thought to be a reflection of the Lone King's all-encompassing power over all of the Warp, this extensive nature allows a Handmaiden to actually parley and get along even with the members of those opposing Powers. So it's not unheard of to see a Handmaiden dance among a riot of Daemonettes, her moves mirrored by a Herald of Slaanesh; or to take part in a council of Tweenchian Heralds, her voice held the equal of any other grand schemer.
To those knowledgeable of the chaotic nature of the Empyrean, this ability to bring unity and collaboration is frightening, for one of the greatest allies of humanity in the war against Chaos is the Warp's internal disunity. It should take a great mortal champion or Daemon Prince to rally the Four Gods under one flag.
That there exist Daemons that can so easily overcome these differences is a dire omen indeed.
Chronicles of devious subversion:
A pretty mask (491.M33): Always seeking diversions, Count Artori of Tracia Prime starts dallying with the more forbidden sources of entertainment. The underbelly of pleasure cults hidden beneath the aristocratic veneer of his society is there to satisfy his cravings, and he enthusiastically delves into it. The dalliance continues for years, with the Count turning to darker and darker pursuits. Eventually, the situation turns so bad that not even the vaunted insularity of Tracian aristocracy is enough to stop the other aristocrats, and reports are sent to Lord Inquisitor Kamil Iskander.
A fire-brand Puritan, it takes but a cursory investigation for Iskander to decide that only fire and bullet will suffice. Four Battalions of the Imperial Guard, supported by squads of Space Marines and a group of Grey Knights, are called to Tracia, and the Artori estates are sieged. Hundreds of deranged cultists man their defenses, but eventually, all locations are stormed and put to the torch alongside the host of blaspheme implements found inside. Count Artori himself, now a daemonhost to a dreadful Nurglite entity, is brought to a duel and slain by Captain Ruger of the Avengers chapter.
The victory appears complete, but, unbeknownst to the Imperials, the Handmaiden known as Mikaela is present as well. Hidden inside a lowly servant's flesh, the daemon ambushes a Space Marine and possesses his body. With her new, powerful form and a perfect recollection of her victim's memory, Mikaela easily infiltrates the Imperials.
Years later, the entire Avengers chapter is brought to destruction by internecine warfare between its members. It takes decades for the Inquisition to even suspect daemonic infiltration.
Mikaela, the Daughter of Istella
One of the most successful Handmaidens in existence, Mikaela is as old as she is boastful. She was already ancient when the Emperor rose to take the Galaxy, having long been present in the dreams and nightmares of Humanity during Old Night.
Her achievements are numberless, ranging from bringing entire systems into the embrace of the Lone King to having felled scores of the greatest champions and monsters that have ever infested the Milky Way. Still, it is difficult to separate truth from falsehood when it comes to this fearsome spirit, for Mikaela boasts continuously of the most incredible feats. She claims to have taken part in engineering the Fall of the Eldar that would sire Slaanesh, Khaine himself having been entranced by her charms to such an extent to allow her leave through his palace of iron and blood. She boasts that the Anathema paused in confronting her, and He was swayed from His unbreakable will for the briefest moment by her honeyed whispers. In more recent history, she boasts to have taken part in pivotal moments of the Imperium, from the corruption of Horus to the rise of Goge Vandire and the start of his Reign of Blood.
It's impossible to ascertain if any of these claims are true. What is true is that she's afforded the greatest respect when she visits the Silver Palace, Slaanesh himself allowing her to share His dais and whisper in His ear. And it is undeniable that, in the records of the Ordo Malleus and the Grey Knights, a daemon called the Daughter of Istella is held as one of the most dangerous enemies of mankind along the ages.
That said, such age-shaking feats are unnecessary to compound Mikaela's legend. Her exploits down the millennia are numberless and invariably awe-inspiring. Just to cite a few, she broke the iron-clad faith of the Lucis faith-fleet, leading its Astra-Cardinal in a gleeful anti-crusade that razed five systems before being put down. During a representation of the Fall held by the Harlequins of the Tearful Mask, she appeared in place of the Solitaire that should have taken the role of Slaanesh. Her performance on that occasion was such that both the audience, composed of leading seers of Ulthwè and Archons of Kabal of the Black Heart, - some say including Asdrubael Vect and Eldrad Ulthran themselves - and the Troupe couldn't but stare in enraptured fascination. She infested the dreams of Weirdboy Splithead, grooming the sickly Ork into a hulking Warphead that would lead a Weird-Waaaagh of apocalyptic proportions across the Scarus Sector. She danced for the awakening Maykarh Nekrons, even the soulless automatons remaining so entranced as not to notice the daemons ripping them apart.
In more martial-oriented exploits, she participated in a fight against a tendril-fleet of Leviathan, ripping apart the Hive Tyrant before leading a foray into the bioships that would end in a gleeful feasting over the Norn Queen's essence. When the Khornate Daemon Prince Ugor the Bloody challenged her, she ripped him to pieces in a ritual fight, before presenting his skull to a chuckling Nurgle. Autarch Uleth fell to her after a dizzying duel.
And these are only a few examples of the numberless deeds accomplished by this Handmaiden. Truth is, despite the grumbling of Knights and the other Handmaidens, that consider such boasting distasteful, Mikaela can back it up more than enough. All her most prized trophies she weaves in her hair, and today her mane is stacked full of bones and fetishes taken by felled opponents or on the cusp of triumphs. More shocking for other Handmaidens, Mikaela is the only member of her race that doesn't offer her fealty to a single Beldame. Rather, it is the Greater Daemons that court her, for her presence is considered a great blessing from the Lone King himself. It is this enduring favor that shields Mikaela from powerful daemons offended by her boasting, or just plain envious of her station. Things being otherwise, there would be a lot more feuds between bruised egos and the vindictive Handmaiden.
Mikaela appears as a shapely female, with ankle-long vine-like hair woven through with fetishes, bones and skulls. Her skin is pure gold and has an almost liquid consistency, seeming to ripple gently from time to time. Her eyes are a deep golden hue, without irises, deep and sparkling. Her weapon, apart from her razor-sharp vines, is a sword that she keeps between her hair when she doesn't need it, a marvelous piece of daemon-smithing that is said to be able to slash through a Titan armor like it was paper.
There is no telling how many events of the galaxy at large have been orchestrated or have had the hand of the Daughter of Istella in them. Mischievous, fickle and seductive, Mikaela hops across the universe, and it is almost impossible to track her down. As to who Istella is, it's a mystery that none but the Lone King knows the answer.
The Alien deceived (194.M38): Following an unprovoked assault on their ships, Eldar of Craftworld Biel-Tan descends en-masse on the Hive Planet of Sigmur Beta. With the Planetary Force easily routed, the role of defenders falls to the Space Marines of the Ultramarine chapter, their fleet just happening to be close enough to offer assistance.
Violent fighting erupts as the xeno clash with transhuman and human defenders amongst massive hab-blocks and shadowed slums.
Losses mount, but the Autarch leading the forces of Biel-Tan refuses to pull out, arrogantly believing the mutated mon'keigh unable to resist much longer. His predictions are proved wrong as days turn to weeks, and the streets run with both Xeno and Human blood.
As both sides turn depleted, the Handmaiden that orchestrated the fighting reveals themselves, having taken the form of the Captain leading the Space Marines. As she sheds their fleshy forms, her sister opens a Chaos Rift, through which the Beldame Ruin-In-Abundance strides forth, followed by her hordes. Too exhausted to fight, both Space Marines and Eldar are easy prey to the rampaging Daemons.
The Space Marines offer the hand of friendship, hoping to face the new enemy together, but the Autarch doesn't trust primitives so easily fooled. The Eldar try to break out on their own, only to realize too late that a third Handmaiden had replaced the Seer advising their Autarch. The Xeno are surrounded and slaughtered to a man. The Space Marine contingent follows suit, with only a few ships managing to escape the carnage.
Sigmur Beta is consumed and given to the triplets known as the Sisters of Sacrament as a prize and playground.
No distance too far (035.M38): Abbess Istrinia of the Covenant of the Iron Rose declares her Sanctuary Planet of Scale impassable for all forces of Chaos, the faith of its inhabitants and strength of its guns too much for even the Gods to overcome.
Taking offense, the Lone King commands the Bloom-In-Light to see the insult repaid ten times over. The great Beldame gathers well over one hundred Handmaidens and set them loose over the surrounding systems.
Twelve years later, an inquisitorial fleet arrives in the system and performs Exterminatus on Scale. The population, Sisters of Battle included, are consumed by atomic fire, the planet broken apart by orbital cannons until nothing but a scattered mass of asteroids remains. The accusation, and as such is archived by the Inquisition, is that Scale had become a haven of Chaos worship.
None ever realizes the colossal conspiracy, and all memory of the Iron Rose is struck from imperial records.
Sorrow's Break (930.M40): Embroiled in hard combat on Solaris against the Necron Thut Dynasty, Imperial Governor Athanasius accepts a devil's bargain when Lissa the Dark emerges from the Warp to offer her assistance.
With the deal struck in blood, Lissa leads her Sorrowbearers in a series of blistering raids that see the entirety of the Necron command structure decimated. Left leaderless, the Necrons are brought to battle between the anvil of regiments of Planetary Defence Forces and the hammer of the Sorrowbearers. Lissa is at their fore for the entirety of the battle, a storm of gloom before which Necron Lords and Lychguards are cut down like cattle.
Eventually, the Necrons are eradicated, and Lissa comes for her price. Any traitorous thought is struck from Athanasius' mind when the Handmaiden rips to pieces his Ogryn bodyguards, and the Governor hands over his part of the bargain: two ships are loaded with the best and brightest of Solaris and disappear alongside Lissa and her forces.
Two years later, Athanasius is elevated to system Governor by the work of shadowy benefactors. The legends of "cowled saviors" still endure on Solaris to this day.
Lissa the Dark
The shadowy daemon known only as Lissa the Dark is an oddity and a legend among the Handmaidens. Alone among those vital and energetic spirits, she's gloomy and taciturn, her voice coming in raspy whispers. While all Handmaidens parade around barely clothed by their vines, Lissa is swathed in fabric and rags, her long, auburn hair barely visible.
Truth is, Lissa wasn't born that way. Created by the Lone King as a gift to His Spouse, she was the most joyful and happiest of the Handmaidens, her purpose to lift the spirits of Nurgle's divine consort.
Still, in time the sorrow of the Spouse laid over her, eventually warping her into the morose being she is today. Now, she carries a shard of the Spouse's sadness, a dark entity of sorrow and hard-heartedness. Her purpose has never changed: she still exists only to bring relief to her mistress. For that reason, she has left the Immaterium and taken a mortal body for herself and all her followers. Like her, these Sorrowbearers are daemons that have been warped from the Spouse's influence, each carrying a small shard of divine emotion. This makes them powerful as well as dark, but none more than Lissa herself.
The Handmaiden and her band now wander the cosmos, searching for the means to bring relief to a God. They gather brave souls and clear minds to feed to their mistress, as to bring her the smallest flicker of comfort, while scouring the darkest corners of the Galaxy for a way to end her sorrow forever. Lissa chases this pursuit relentlessly, striking bargains with Xenos and humans alike in exchange for dark lore and secrets, even renting her band's services as mercenaries for it.
Lately, the dark ship of the Sorrowbearear – The Endless – has been spotted more and more often close by to ancient Exodite Worlds dedicated to Isha, the Eldar Goddess of Healing. Hushed whispers say that Lissa is searching lore on that old entity, more importantly, on her nature and weaknesses. All, it seems, to compose a daemonic formula that, if brought to the Spouse, would allow her to fuse with the Eldar Goddess and become the Bride that the Lone King yearns for.
Should such an event come to pass, there would be another God beside Nurgle, a divine marriage that could rock the Warp to its foundation and maybe bring the Great Game to a conclusion. As for the Eldar, it could spell even more disaster, for the new Deity would have a claim over the soul as strong, if not stronger, than Slaanesh himself.