Dark Mechanicum

The Dark Mechanicum is a sect of Tech Priests of the Adeptus Mechanicus who swore their loyalty to the Warmaster Horus as the Great Crusade came to a close and the terrible civil war of the Horus Heresy began. Horus won over the loyalty of many of the Mechanicum's adepts after promising them lost secrets of Standard Template Construct (STC) technology that had been recovered from the worlds of the recently subjugated Auretian Technocracy by the Sons of Horus Legion. The members of what became known as the Dark Mechanicum supported Horus during the start of the Horus Heresy and they participated in the attacks against the Loyalist Space Marine Legions on Istvaan V where they used dark and forbidden knowledge against the Loyalist forces.

Today the Tech-priests and Dark Magi of the Dark Mechanicus have pledged their souls to the worship of the Dark Gods of Chaos. They service and maintain the war machines and wargear of the Chaos Space Marine Traitor Legions and the other Forces of Chaos with equal fervour and plum the depths of secret and forbidden knowledge kept hidden by the Ruinous Powers. Still dedicated to the acquisition of all knowledge in the universe much like their Loyalist counterparts, the Dark Mechanicus believes their uncorrupted brothers and sisters in the Adeptus Mechanicus are fools, for they will never be able to fully comprehend the divinity that is knowledge if they cut themselves off from the secrets offered by the Dark Gods. The adepts of the Dark Mechanicus see the Omnissiah of the Cult of the Machine as being embodied in the power of Chaos Undivided rather than the Emperor of Mankind. As such, they pledge themselves to the destruction of the God-Emperor, who they believe is a false prophet who has led the rest of their fellows astray.