Title: “Knights of Darkness: A Journey Through Warhammer 40,000’s Night Worlds”
In the grim darkness of Warhammer 40,000, no worlds have weathered the storm of terror and chaos quite as well as the Night Worlds. In an era drenched in terror, these noble houses acted swiftly, purging mutations from their populace and pruning their family trees of genetic deviants. Shunning the allure of thinking machines, they committed to laborious work and personal sacrifices, fortifying their planets and largely evading the wrath of the Men of Iron during the Cybernetic Revolt.
As the 30th Millennium approached its end, the Great Crusade, humanity’s ambitious mission to reunite its scattered remnants under the aegis of the Emperor of Mankind, swept across the galaxy. Along the journey, the Crusade encountered numerous Night Worlds. Their reunion with humanity came as vast fleets, dispatched from Terra, ventured into the void to bring distant kin back into the fold.
However, not all humans greeted the Crusade with open arms. Many worlds were dominated by tyrants, warlords, and despots who had seized power during the Age of Strife. These defiant rulers met their end swiftly and brutally at the hands of the burgeoning Imperium’s armies, their rule ending as quickly as it had begun.
The first recorded rediscovery of a Night World came courtesy of a rogue trader named Jeffers. His report to the Administratum shed light on the formidable technology of the Knight suits and the staunch loyalty of the Nobles who, over the years, piloted them. This discovery catalyzed the reunion of hundreds of other Night Worlds, their Noble houses quick to pledge allegiance to the leaders of the Great Crusade, seeing their own principles of order and duty reflected in the Imperium’s grand vision.
No organization within the Great Crusade was more successful in securing oaths of fealty from the Night Worlds than the Mechanicum of Mars. Coveting the ancient archotech harbored on these planets and the abundant mineral wealth beneath their surfaces, the Martian tech-priests secured the service of many Noble families. However, not all pledged fealty to Mars, with some houses swearing loyalty directly to Terra and the Emperor.
Regardless of where their loyalties lay, the Knights faithfully answered the call to war. In return, the Sacristan Order – the caretakers of the Knights – were welcomed into the mysteries of the Omnissiah, gleaning lost secrets of mechanical artifice and enhancing their ability to serve their masters.
However, at the height of the Imperium’s power, betrayal struck. The Imperial Warmaster Horus and half of the Space Marine Legions fell to the corrupting influence of the Dark Gods. War tore through the galaxy, and the beacon of hope carried by the Emperor was replaced by bitter darkness.
During this tumultuous time, the first Knights succumbed to the chaotic forces. Yet, a majority of the Night Worlds fought aggressively to stem the tide of heresy. They suppressed rebellious factions within their own societies before joining the loyalist Space Marine Legions on the battlefield. Yet, this same fidelity led some to align with the arch-enemy, as countless Mechanicum Forge Worlds sided with Horus, along with many of the Knight Houses loyal to these Tech-Priests.
As the Dark Mechanicum delved deeper into the forbidden arts of techno-sorcery, the Knights in their service were tainted by chaos. The Fallen Houses followed their own codes of honor, answering all calls to war, leading them down a path of damnation. These Chaos Knights have since continued to spread death and terror throughout the stars. While each loyalist Knight represents a long history of honor and self-sacrifice, the Chaos Knights are born from a lineage of horror and depravity.
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