From the writings of the Testimonio Millenniae, as written by Adept Tahau, 1 147.062.M42
The world of Mara had, for an extended period of time, remained quarantined by order of the Inquisition. The infamous "Landing Site Massacre" known to have happened there was due to the world being an apparent infernal breeding ground for the monstrous creatures known as Psychneuein. The infernal parasites were noted for their infestation of psykers that had come to the world - yet it was the conceptualizing of a force uniquely designed to handle the foe in question that raised the star of Arianis Vespasian, a former judge of the Adeptus Arbites, within the court of the Alpha Crusade.
The proposal he placed forth was ambitious, requiring a level of cooperation rarely if ever seen within the forces of the Crusade. A select group of Inquisitorial Storm Troopers were to work in concert with Astartes of the Knights Inductor, a group of Skitarii, and a mission of Battle-Sisters from the Order of the Sacred Rose. The cocktail of forces, he proposed, held merit - Inquisitorial Storm Troopers were battle-hardened veterans, unlikely to let the psychic creatures affect their minds. The Knights Inductor were noted for the level of blankness they emanated - a dampening upon the psychic powers of the infernal bugs. Skitarii were more machine than man, and thus mostly immune, while the Sororitas would be guarded by their faith in the Emperor.
It was for this reason that Judge Vespasian was granted the honor of commanding the expedition to the world's surface. Such a variety of forces under one command were unprecedented, yet here he had been granted a degree of power in such a swift manner. Perhaps it was fate, or perhaps the Millennial wished to test him. Nonetheless, it was he who landed upon the world in the first dropship.
A likely site for a Psychneuein hive had been located on the world's surface, and such was where the activity of this expeditionary force was focused. The units were relatively homogenized - both to ensure that a variety of responses could be made to any threats that reared their heads and to spread out the null field of the Knights Inductor throughout the party, ensuring that all had an extra layer of protection from psychic assault.
Yet they weren't the sort of prey that these beasts appreciated.
It was there as soon as they stepped foot on the world. All reacted to it in varying ways - storm troopers grimaced, attempting to mentally block out the sound, while the Astartes seemed unaffected. The soldiers of the Machine-God seemed indifferent as well - while the Sisters chose instead to curse the source of the noise with statements that the God-Emperor's wrath would be upon the infernal monstrosities.
As one, they marched, heading further forward into danger. Judge Vespasian grasped Scion, his venerable shotgun, which had been loaded with ammunition specially blessed by a triune of priests from the shrines of Saint Drusus. "Oh mighty God-Emperor - preserve us from the dangers of the alien, the daemon, and the heretic."
Upon their discovery of a large cave, the buzzing grew louder. Its source was now obvious as a horde of perfidious psych-flies exited. Yet their approach was not as blatantly aggressive as the tales told they were. The swarm encircled the warriors, as though it waited to see what they would do next - or waited for a moment of weakness.
A Sister named Teresa was the first target of the Warpspawn. One of the creatures hurtled towards her at breakneck speed, as its stinger ran through her armor, impregnating her side with its poison as the vile ichor worked its way into her system. Though she struggled to stay standing, her chainsword the only support she had, the creature swiftly avoided the strikes of her bolter before grasping her arm in its mandibles and throwing her some several yards. It was far enough that more of the creatures moved in to rend her asunder, her screams resonating even as her soul slowly slipped to the side of the Emperor.
Yet they served to imbue the force with a sense of righteous fury. Astartes battle-cries resonated throughout the air as the Knights Inductor began to aggressively pursue the foul wretches. As bolters blew their material forms away, and the energy of the Warp seeped from their ruined carcasses as only wounds inflicted by a chainsword could, the others grew bolder in their assaults. Skitarii struck with arcane weapons of unnatural precision - Volkites and Radium weapons long lost in humanity's past to all but the red priests of Mars. Inquisitorial Storm Troopers focused fire with their hotshot lasguns, allowing less time to be dedicated towards each flying monster.
The horde soon flew apart. Not only were the creatures slowly corroded away by the intolerant touch of the null field - they were also forced back by the faith of the Sisters who swore divine revenge upon them for the loss of Sister Teresa. And as hell hath no fury like the wrath of a woman scorned, so they advanced with righteous fervor, slaughtering the creatures. They forced their way into the cave and slaughtered the creatures' hives within, as the other Imperial forces purged those Psychneuein outside - yet many appeared to simply disappear. To return to the Warp from whence they came.
This was not the only hive on the world - but it was the first to be successfully purged. Perhaps in time, the Mara mining facility would become safe to operate again, but until then, Judge Vespasian was to remain in charge of the Mara campaign. Though some in the Inquisition voiced complaints of such an active operation on a quarantined world, Lord Inquisitor Caidin ignored them for now - whether such a bold action disturbed or intrigued him, none could tell. Yet for now, he would allow it.
For now.
Hilarion, Hazeroth Abyss, Calixis Sector, ? [DATE CENSORED BY ORDER OF LORD INQUISITOR CAIDIN]
To most, the world of Hilarion had been hardly more than an agri-world, a planet where Land Crawlers traveled amongst continent-sized fields and storehouses to provide the Calixis sector with the basic nutrients its billions-strong population required. On such a monotonous world, little was needed to spark heresy. Yet none could ever have expected the harm that would be caused by such a lack of oversight.
It began with the arrival of a small box at the home of one of the many farmers. The wife of a farmer responsible for the maintenance of several Land Crawlers opened the package - a small thing the size of a jewelry carton, and hinged at the back. As she opened that box, little did she know that the damnation of herself and many within the farm she and her husband worked at was soon at hand.
Within was a small stone, the size of a marble or ball bearing. It was perfectly polished, made of a crystalline material that was of pure darkness. She found it to be exceptionally enamoring, as though it spoke to her on some level. And it did - for this was no ordinary bauble. This was an artifact crafted by the vile Warp-worshipping xenos known as the Yu'vath. Though none of their number remained, the stain they had left on the Calixis sector in the form of seemingly harmless baubles such as these was a furthering of their ancient mission to spread the darkness of the Ruinous Powers.
From that day forward, the nameless farmer woman kept the bauble with her. At first, she merely kept it within a small sack. Soon she fashioned a crude necklace with it as the central charm. A ring soon followed - yet still she desired more intimate contact with the object, to feel a true connection with it. Thus with a smear of stolen industrial adhesive, the charm was placed within her bellybutton, nearly encapsulated by her flesh and free to speak with her as only something touched by the Warp could.
Soon, her body began to change. Terrible pain wracked through her flesh as she began to vomit forth a substance that could only be described as the purest essence of twilight. It stained floors, walls, and objects with a seemingly impossible to remove stain, a blackness that touched whatever it was and clung to it forever. Her eyes became solid black orbs as her flesh began to pale. Yet more changes would be in store.
The farmers began to slowly shirk their duties. Lured by her charmed husband, many came to visit her, falling under the control of whatever charnel creature had claimed her. More of the foul black substance issued from her gullet - the locals began to call it 'umbric ichor,' and those farmers within the region began to venerate it - and her, as though she was some sort of pernicious xenos god come to life. Those whose hearts were fully turned from the light of the Emperor found themselves bathed in the liquid, turned into living shadows who performed the bidding of their leader.
A hunger began to touch her. A hunger for something so unnatural that the last vestiges of her humanity struggled to accept that this would be the next stage in her evolution. Yet when one of her servants offered themselves to her, a willing sacrifice to sate her need, she accepted - his death was agonizing, flesh slowly stripped from his body and given to sate her ravenous appetite. The Midnight Queen, as she was called, continued to feed from the unhallowed meat of man in order to further the goals of the entity that spurred her actions - an entity that visibly gestated within her flesh.
Yet the cult had not been fully obscured. Rumors seeped from the world's spaceport - rumors that attracted an Inquisitor who found rumors of a night cult to be eerily similar to what he had studied for decades. Perhaps this was the evidence he needed to confirm his theories - in any case, it was a rare escape from his base of operations, and he trusted none of his acolytes to handle the matter alone.
So it was that Inquisitor Silas Marr and his acolytes landed upon the world in the dead of night. Through grain turned black thanks to its watering with unholy liquid, they traveled towards the farm, where the sigil of Chaos lay painted upon the wall in a blackness that seemed nearly indistinguishable from whatever paint had been used upon the home.
Within, they found a ritual nearing completion. The Midnight Queen cried out, her bloated abdomen writhing with abandon as whatever malefic monstrosity attempted to manifest itself. Those who had become shadow seemed to dissolve, their darkness wrapping around her. As the Inquisitor raised his power sword, the vile monster burst from her belly, leaving the cult leader upon the ground, umbric ichor pouring from the gaping wound to her stomach as her life passed from her, a husk no longer worth anything in the daemon's plan.
This was the true mastermind of the cult - a daemonic entity long gifted to the Yu'vath by the Dark Gods for their servitude. The Umbric Wyrm. Its form lept towards one of his acolytes, black liquid spattering across his face as he flailed with his chainsword at the creature, writhing through the air like an eel through the ancient seas of Terra. In desperation, he grasped the creature with all his might - as a strike from Silas' blade cleaved both him and the foul creature in two.
Kneeling by the corpse of the Midnight Queen, he sifted through shards of flesh before grasping the bauble within. The entity still was bound to the object - yet heavily weakened. Staring at it, he tore it away from whatever flesh remained. It would be another addition to the Lightless Vaults of the Tricorn Palace. Turning to another of his acolytes, he nodded as they threw an incendiary grenade upon the farm - there would be no trace. The corrupted grain and ground would be sanctified by righteous fire, and no trace of the corruption would remain.
As he muttered a prayer to the Emperor, Inquisitor Marr hoped that there were not more artifacts like the one he now possessed.
