Slaydo

Warmaster Slaydo was the architect and first Imperial commander of the Sabbat Worlds Crusade.

History
Following the disastrous loss of the Sabbat Worlds in 741, there were many suggestions to send an military expedition to liberate the besieged sector. but many within the high echelon of the military had little or no enthusiasm for such an investiture, all, except for then-Lord Militant Slaydo. A tactical genius, Slaydo was a capable Imperial commander whom had already established a reputation during the successful Khulan Wars (752-754.M41). Capitalising on his poplularity with the rank and file of the Imperial Guard, the Lord Militant petitioned the High Lords of Terra for the honour of leading such a crusade. He had supported the action as early as 732, as he felt a strong passion for the liberation of the hard won territories that had been so poorly discarded. Many of his senior commanders and aides related that Slaydo believed this to be an Imperial crime.

In 755, the High Lords declared him Warmaster, and charged him with the sacred duty of carrying out the monumental task of liberating the Sabbat Worlds. Slaydo's subsequent elevation to this esteemed position was the envy of his fellow Lords Militant, which were quickly tempered by the realisation of the task that had been set before Slaydo. The Warmaster's only overriding fear was that at his advanced age (150 years old), he would not live to see the eventual victorious completion of such a massive campaign. Unfortunately, his prescience vision would prove to be unerringly accurate.

Warmaster Slaydo met his fate on the world of Balhaut in 765, during his final push to take the heavily contested planet. Taking up his powersword, the Warmaster personally led the first attack wave against the Palace of the Oligarchy, where he hoped to come face to face with Archon Nadzybar, the spiritual leader of the Archenemy forces within the sector. On the tenth day at the eighteenth hour, Slaydo's command force encountered the Archon and his elite bodyguard on the Western Palisade. The Warmaster and the vile Archon soon joined in furiously intense single combat.

The fight between these two diametrically opposed forces lasted between 6 and 11 minutes. During the hand to hand fighting, Slaydo took two mortal wounds that he somehow managed to push past, maintaining the initiative, before delivering a lethal blow to the Archon. The Archon fell back, dead. The Warmaster was found, close to death, lying on the marble floor of the West Atrium. He was far beyond any medical help as his grievous wounds appeared to be fatal.

Warmaster Slaydo managed to live long enough to see the victory at Balhaut completed, although the pacification efforts would continue for a considerable amount of time. His premonition about himself not living to see the successful completion of the Crusade had proved accurate, though many witnesses report that he died contently, resigned to his inevitable fate to die on Balhaut as if fully expecting it.

It's often noted by Imperial historians that Slaydo's primary anxiety lie, not in his foretold fate, but of that of his eventual successor. The Warmaster recognised that there would more than likely be infighting amongst the Lords Militant. He knew the Crusade could not afford to be riven with internal dispute and that it would take a strong leader to capitalise on a great victory. Therefore, the dying Slaydo appointed the young Marshal Macaroth to be his successor as Warmaster. This appointment by the dying Warmaster brooked no argument from the Lords Militant, but Cybon, Dravere and others were incensed at Slaydo's decision, regarding the newly appointed Warmaster as too young and too junior. A period of bitter political infighting ensued, but Macaroth managed to cling to his rightful position as the newly appointed senior-commander of the Crusade.

Beliefs
Warmaster Slaydo was a man of great personal faith for he held a great personal faith to the legacy of Saint Sabbat Beati and had long felt a particular duty to conduct the liberation of the Sabbat Worlds. Over two decades before the Crusade had even commenced, many of his senior commanders and aides have related stories of Slaydo's fundamental passion for the cause of the Saint. It was later noted that even in the initial planning stages of the Crusade, Slaydo believed that he was 'walking in the path of the Saint', an oft overlooked reference to St. Sabbat beati's original campaign, and her great advisor, Faltornus, whom Slaydo especially admired. The Warmaster believed in paying great respect to the wisdom and beliefs of the figures that had inspired him to undertake the Crusade in the first place. When he went to meet his fate on the world of Balhaut, he went to his death with quiet contentment and resignation as if he had been fully expecting it. Some even claim that the Warmaster knew of his foretold death as early as 756. Slaydo's body was laid to rest with full honours on Balhaut, housed in a large mausoleum known as The Honorarium.